《Mage Tank》


 Chapter 1: A Deadly Oak Tree

    Chapter 1: A Deadly Oak Tree


    Mage Tank


    An autobiographical telling of the valiant exploits of Esquire Arlo, described exactly how they happened and without any frill or embellishment.


    Written by: Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel, Platinum Delver


    Volume: 1


    A tree killed me. Well, maybe that¡¯s not fair to the tree. Crashing my bicycle into the tree and bleeding internally until my organs could no longer function killed me. At least, I assume it was the bleeding. I¡¯m not a doctor, so I don¡¯t really know. But, I don¡¯t blame the tree, or the inevitable consequences of physics colliding violently with my frail human biology. Rather, I blame the motherfucker who didn¡¯t understand bike lanes.


    I didn¡¯t see the car that hit me. I heard it approach from behind, engine revving like the driver was competing for the littlest dick award. Sorry, that''s body-shaming. The car was loud; the type of thing you hear screaming through the neighborhood at one a.m., the driver announcing his (or her, but let¡¯s be honest, his) inadequacy to the world with the thundering trumpets of the NASCAR gods. I was firmly in the bike lane, reflectors on my helmet, bright clothes, middle of the day. The slight left curve of the road must have been too much for the driver because they drifted into my lane and swiped me. They didn¡¯t outright crash into me. Just clipped my left side so fast that my elbow turned to gravel and my tibia snapped and my hamstring tore and so, so much pain flooded my body. Bright and sudden and terrible. Then, I was careening off the road, down the grassy slope, and into the trunk of a mighty oak.


    I mainly hit the tree with my torso. A twenty mile-per-hour chest bump with an unyielding bro made of wood and bark. I heard my ribs and sternum crack more than I felt it. At that point I¡¯d gone into enough shock that I was aware something terrible was happening to my body, but I wasn¡¯t really feeling it. I spun and ragdolled into the line of trees and came to a stop, chest and head facing up, legs and hips rolled over to the right. A nice spinal twist. Perfect for relieving tension in the glutes and lower back. Of course, I couldn¡¯t feel my glutes or lower back. All I felt was something deeply wrong inside my body, and I couldn¡¯t breathe. I stared up at the canopy, overcast sky peeking down between the branches and thinning autumn leaves. It was the type of day I loved. Crisp and cool and just a little damp.


    I gasped in a breath and tried to call out, cry out, scream, I dunno, make some sort of noise but all that came out was a pathetic, high-pitched groan. I struggled to breathe in and out, the pain beginning to blossom in my chest and I heard the wetness in my breath, felt the gurgling in my throat. I sputtered blood like a gut-punched anime protagonist. Punctured lung, I guess. Maybe I suffocated? I doubt it. Pretty sure it was the blood loss. My body began to go numb, the sounds of the forest and the wind and the cars driving by on the road forty feet away all hushed. My vision darkened. And finally, the world disappeared.


    I wasn¡¯t totally convinced that I had died. I was partially relying on the general experience being similar to stories I¡¯d heard about moments before death; accident victims revived at the scene or in the hospital. But, mostly, I was relying on the text that formed against the black nothing reality had become.


    You died.


    I was confused for a moment. Then, I tried to laugh at the absurdity of the situation, but there was no sound. My abs didn¡¯t clench, my lungs didn¡¯t force out air, my vocal chords didn¡¯t tighten to make sound and express my delight at the humor. None of those sensations came. No sensation came. Nothing. I felt nothing. Physically, that is. I still felt the panic that came after the realization that my body was failing to send or receive signals. But, I could see, at least. Not that there was much to see in the dark beyond those words, which shifted and reformed into new ones.


    Would you like to remain dead or respawn?


    (A): Life sucks, let me die.


    (B): Respawn.


    Life sucks, let me die? I considered the option, confused. It was like one of those antagonistic video games that tried to shame you into playing at a higher difficulty. ¡°Normal¡± difficulty or ¡°I¡¯m a little baby who¡¯s afraid of games¡± difficulty, complete with a baby in a soldier outfit sucking on a pacifier. I didn¡¯t think life sucked. Well, at one point I had but not anymore. I¡¯d gotten my shit together. I¡¯d gone to therapy, got a late-in-life mental health diagnosis, started medication, quit drinking, started exercising. I took a goddamn bike to work for christ¡¯s sake. I was happy, I was engaged to a wonderful woman, I made decent money. This was a shitty time to die.


    I focused on the word ¡°Respawn¡±. The option highlighted and the text pulsed blue, then the text swirled and reformed once again.


    Respawning will start you in a new zone. Continue to respawn?


    (A): Hell yeah, new content!


    (B): No thanks, let me die.


    New content? What was this, a game? Was I getting Earth: the Expansion Pack? I rolled my eyes, if I even had eyes at that point, and focused on ¡°Hell yeah, new content!¡± It pulsed blue, then more text, and a countdown.


    Moving to character creation room.


    3...


    2...


    1...


    Light flooded my eyes and sensation returned to my body. There was no pain, my breathing was normal, and I was laying on my back on a soft surface. My eyes adjusted and I realized that the room was, in fact, a bit dim. I stared at a vaulted ceiling made up of dark wooden beams and what looked like densely woven straw or other raw fiber. I sat up, realizing I was laying on some sort of mattress. I ran my hands over the coarse fabric of the blanket beneath me, feeling the uneven bedding underneath. Rough and dry. More straw, I supposed. I looked around at the room, lit by a small fire in a stone fireplace and a dozen or so tall, thin candles set about on various surfaces and shelves.


    I turned and set my feet on the ground with a soft thud. I was wearing what looked like an ancient pair of leather boots. I stood and looked down at myself. My pants were made of dark linen and my shirt was made of the same material, but off-white. It was also very long, hanging down to my knees. It was cinched around the waist with a tattered leather belt. The sleeves were long and hung loosely around my wrists. It was very similar to a wizard outfit I¡¯d worn to the local renaissance fair, minus the wizard hat, cloak, and staff.


    I moved and stretched, making sure my muscles and bones were all back to where they were supposed to be. A few deep breaths confirmed there was no blood in my lungs. I remembered the pain. The memory was so fresh, the pain so sharp and real, and the sensation of it all disappearing without going through the slow, aching process of healing was strange. I looked around the room.


    It was small, about the size of a six-hundred square foot studio apartment, with a compact dirt floor beneath a loose spreading of more straw. There was a shabby wooden table at the center of the room where a large book sat. In one corner was a stack of wooden crates, and a bookshelf along the wall beside it, with a total of two thin books on the shelves. The rest of the room was empty¨Cno furniture or decoration of any kind.


    I considered whether I were dreaming. I rarely had lucid dreams though, and the moment I considered that I might be dreaming I usually snapped awake. But that didn¡¯t happen. I also tended to have to pee in my dreams. Not sure what that¡¯s about, but it was a common theme. I did not have to pee. Trying to flip a light switch sometimes helped me out of a dream. The light levels wouldn¡¯t change and I would realize it was a dream and awaken. But, no light switch. I could put the candles out, but that didn¡¯t seem very smart or effective. I also wasn¡¯t able to read in my dreams. So, there was at least one easy way to confirm. I stepped to the center table and slid the book to me.


    It was massive, bound in dark, supple leather, with a strap through a large buckle on the front keeping the tome firmly shut. The cover was soft and smooth to the touch and it was unnaturally warm. Almost like touching the hide of a living creature rather than an inanimate object. I took a deep breath and undid the buckle, then flipped it open to the front page. For a moment I felt a sense of relief as the text within was neat lines of ornately written symbols and letters that were alien and unfamiliar. Complete gibberish, which is what I¡¯d expect from a dream. But, was I still unconscious on the side of the road, or was that also imagined?


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The text faded and swirled, then reappeared in English. My jaw clenched and a chill ran over me. Not a dream. At least, it didn¡¯t follow the normal rules of my dreams. At the top of the page was a scribbled note written in a different style than the rest of the page. It was messily written, as though the author had made it hastily.


    As a newly arrived citizen of Arzia you have bypassed the normal means of character customization via natural birth and have access to the following additional options while in the character creation room: Physical Appearance, Birth Sign, Bonus Item Selection.


    I raised an eyebrow, then continued to the text below, written in a formal, flowing script that looked like the normal font within the book.


    Welcome, Traveler, and congratulations on qualifying for the first round of testing! You are currently in the character creation room where you may assign your starting attribute points, select your first passive and active ability, and purchase your starting equipment. Any starting currency left unused after exiting character creation will be forfeit, so even if you brought your own equipment, be sure to spend it all on something you might need. Turn the page to begin!


    ¡°Eyebrows?¡±


    For the first time I noticed that those had been missing as well.


    ¡°Just what I had before is fine. I mean, well I had one hair on my right brow that always grew way longer than the others so I guess if you can fix that.¡±


    He nodded and produced a thin brush with a long handle, almost like a toothbrush, and ran it along my brow. I had eyebrows again.


    ¡°Any preference for skin tone?¡±


    ¡°What are my options?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Anything you like. Fair, olive, tanned, any shade of brown, orange, blue, green, chartreuse, the sky is the limit.¡±


    ¡°Wow, ok. Just what I had before but give me a bit of a tan I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Very good.¡± He tapped me on the temple and my pale skin turned a few shades darker. ¡°That about right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s great. Don¡¯t want to look like I live in a tanning booth.¡±


    ¡°A wise choice. Eye color?¡±


    ¡°Oh, definitely green. Like a piercing green.¡±


    He ran a hand in front of my face and my irises turned emerald.


    ¡°Hell yeah, that¡¯s cool.¡±


    ¡°Any other physical features you¡¯d like to change? Height, finger width, the size of your feet or the size of any other parts?¡±


    I turned and looked at him.


    ¡°I can make... anything bigger?¡±


    ¡°Or smaller, if you so choose.¡±


    Needless to say I saw no reason to make anything on my body any bigger than it was already, as everything was certainly big enough and I had no personal insecurities or feelings of inadequacy. I opted to gain a couple inches in height, making me a member of the over-six-foot club, but otherwise I was perfectly happy with my proportions.


    ¡°Are you fine with your previous body hair?¡±


    ¡°Sure, but I guess get rid of my back hair, never was a fan of that.¡± I¡¯d been a somewhat hairy dude, and the feeling of my chest hair growing back tickled under my shirt.


    The tailor plucked at my garments, wrinkling his nose.


    ¡°I would love to do something about these clothes, but I¡¯m afraid that is a restricted area.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s restricted? How come?¡±


    He shrugged.


    ¡°I am but the lowly servant. I don¡¯t make those sorts of decisions. In any event, are you happy with your current look? Anything else you¡¯d like to change.¡±


    ¡°No, I think this covers it. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± He stepped back and looked me up and down, then smiled. ¡°Conservative, but classy. I think it suits you well.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, wondering what he meant by conservative.


    ¡°Very well. If that is all, then I shall take my leave.¡±


    ¡°Alright, have a good one,¡± I said, reaching out to shake his hand, but he¡¯d already disappeared. I stood there awkwardly, then let my hand drop. I took a moment to run my fingers through my glorious new beard, then checked the handwritten note for the next option. ¡°Birth sign!¡±


    A translucent blue window appeared in front of me, covered in text. Oddly, the first bit of text was in the same sloppy handwriting as the book notes.


    As an extra-dimensional entity you have access to a unique sign. I suggest you take it.


    Extra-dimensional entity? What the fuck did that mean?

 Chapter 2: Stats!

    Chapter 2: Stats!


    I read on, and the text for the unique extra-dimensional entity sign was also in the same sloppy handwriting.


    Unique Sign: The Traveler. Travelers go places and do things, bla bla bla, putting something here because there¡¯s a minimum text requirement for the description. Bonuses: (1) Spectacular Vernacular: You have an eidetic memory for languages and an intuitive grasp of grammar. You learn new languages and dialects at incredible speed. (2) That¡¯s a Lot of Stats!: You can gain bonus attribute points through training up to a maximum score of ten in each attribute.


    The bonuses looked good, but I was suspicious of the author¡¯s motives. Who was this person? Were they responsible for my ¡®respawn¡¯? Did they really have my best interests at heart? My mind turned to classic tales of mercurial gods making playthings out of mortals. Still, I couldn¡¯t see how either of those options could burden me with a monkey¡¯s-paw-style curse of some sort. Even so, I looked over the other options.


    They ranged from bonus experience when leveling different types of skills, such as martial, magical, crafting, or performance, to extra mana, the ability to turn invisible for one minute per day¨Cvery tempting¨Cand one even offered an increase to the potency of poisons and mind-affecting spells and abilities. Pretty standard RPG fare. I was curious about the That¡¯s a Lot of Stats! bonus. Was ten a high number, or was it trivial? How much of an advantage was it to gain stat points that way? I shrugged and decided to trust the author of the notes for now. At the very least, quickly learning new languages seemed useful. After all, I had respawned in a new zone, whatever that meant, so there was a good chance that English wasn''t the mother tongue. I selected The Traveler, got a confirmation message, and the window disappeared.


    ¡°Bonus Item Selection!¡±


    A new window popped up, once again scribbled by the mysterious author.


    You died and all your shit is gone. Too bad, now you¡¯re poor. Lucky for you I¡¯m feeling generous, so you can pick one item from the following list. The items are roughly equivalent in value to your personal net worth at death (when exchanged into Arzian currency), which wasn¡¯t a whole lot thanks to your outstanding student loans. Womp womp. Here are your choices:


    (1) 37 gold, 15 silver, and 85 copper: A straight cash exchange into hard Littan currency, which is the most widely accepted in your new region. Better buy a fancy purse to carry it all in;


    (2) Ring of Healing: While wearing this ring you¡¯re granted +100% to your health regeneration. Heal those nasty paper cuts faster;


    (3) Big-Ass Hammer: A six-foot-long war maul that weighs as much as a one-handed battle hammer, but still hurts as much as a full-sized war maul when you smack someone with it;


    (4) Infinity Quiver: Fletchers hate this one simple trick. A quiver of steel-tipped arrows that never runs out of ammo. No, you can¡¯t dump it out endlessly and fill up the ocean or become a war merchant with a cost-basis of zero and ruin the economy or any other weird exploit you¡¯re thinking of. You need an arrow, you get an arrow, that¡¯s it;


    (5) Edgelord Wakizashi: A wakizashi with a steel blade that will upgrade into higher quality materials after slaying a certain number of your enemies with it. Become the anime protagonist you¡¯ve always dreamed of cosplaying;


    (6) Wand of Wanting: a wand that will produce an item of minor value that your heart desires three times per day. Never pay for food delivery again. Want to know what counts as an ¡®item¡¯? Get the wand and find out, I don¡¯t have time to explain it to you.


    The jab at my net worth stung and I was beginning to become a bit concerned about the item descriptions. Why were they all so snarky? I spent a few minutes looking over the choices. The weapons seemed nice, but without knowing what I had gotten myself into I didn¡¯t feel confident in choosing one. If life outside this room was in any way similar to the one I¡¯d lived up to this point I wouldn¡¯t have much use for a melee weapon, and a quiver of arrows wouldn¡¯t be very helpful outside of an archery range. The style of the room I was in and the choices I was being given led me to suspect I was wandering into some sort of medieval fantasy combat scenario, but it¡¯s possible all that window dressing was setting me up to make biased assumptions that I would pay for later. As for the currency, although the author said I was getting the equivalent to my net worth at death, I didn¡¯t really know what that meant. I was apparently somewhere called Arzia, but the economy could be fucked. There was all sorts of nuance to local economies, especially when considered in the context of what time period the economy was in. There was also the fact that I hadn¡¯t exactly done an accounting of my material wealth lately. I didn¡¯t even know what was in my 401(k), and I was pretty sure I¡¯d lost the password to my online brokerage account.


    I almost went with the Wand of Wanting, but decided its description and benefits were too ambiguous. I ended up picking the Ring of Healing. Healing twice as fast as normal sounded good no matter what situation I was in. Fix a broken bone in three weeks instead of six? Works for me. Maybe it¡¯ll help with indigestion too. After making my selection the ring appeared in front of me and hovered in the air until I grabbed it. It was a simple golden band with three small rubies set into it. I slipped the ring on and it fit perfectly, but I didn¡¯t feel any surge of power or sudden sense of wellbeing. Having gone through all my ¡®bonus¡¯ options, I went back to the large book and turned the page.


    A familiar translucent blue window appeared over the book with text written in the normal decorative font of the previous page.


    You do not have a name, please input your name.


    I always had trouble with this part of making any character. I was shit at names. I also wasn¡¯t sure how to put the name in. I focused on the name ¡°Arlo¡± and it appeared on the screen. It wasn¡¯t my real name, but I¡¯d always liked it, so might as well. I considered whether I should come up with a surname but there wasn¡¯t any way to know if that was what the screen wanted. Maybe I would be assigned a last name, or maybe I¡¯d keep my old one. I¡¯d hate to enter a name into the window like it was my first and last name only to end up having the text I entered count only as my first name and be in the uncomfortable situation of having two names as my first name. I¡¯d never been a fan of compound names, and if that meant I didn¡¯t get a last name I wasn¡¯t too worried about it. I¡¯d rather be a Cher than a Mary-Kate. The screen updated with my new name along with a host of other information.


    Name: Arlo


    Age: 0 (physical age 18. Actual age 35)


    Citizenship: The United States of America


    Delver Level: 0


    Level Breakdown: Copper: 0, Silver: 0, Gold: 0, Platinum: 0


    Special Delves Completed: 0


    Health: 22


    Health Regeneration: 4/hour


    Stamina: 22


    Stamina Regeneration: 2/hour


    Mana: 45


    Mana Regeneration: 4/hour


    Race: Human


    Subrace: Extradimensional Entity


    Racial Bonus: Adaptable


    Adaptable: While Adaptable races lack many of the more powerful evolutionary advantages of other sentient creatures, they possess a high capacity for modifying their environments and developing technologies to suit their needs and desires. +100% to crafting skill progression.


    Subracial Bonus: From the Beyond


    From the Beyond: Your mind and body have been subjected to incredible dimensional forces and your soul has been irrevocably altered. This experience has earned you Dimensional Attunement. You¡¯ve earned +10 to the Dimensional Magic skill. You gain +100% to Dimensional Magic skill progression. You gain 50% resistance to non-consensual dimensional effects. You gain the active ability Shortcut.


    Birth Sign: The Traveler


    Birth Sign Bonuses: Spectacular Vernacular, That¡¯s a Lot of Stats!


    Loward


    There was a decent amount of information here, but most of it left me with more questions than answers. The entry for my age was unusual. At least, I thought it was. I had, in fact, lost seventeen years in physical age. I remembered reading about how the brain didn¡¯t fully mature until twenty-four or so. But maybe that was bullshit. Was my brain still 35? I still had all my memories, so maybe. It didn¡¯t have much impact on me at the moment, so I moved on.


    What were Delver levels? Was that like character levels? Why were there four different kinds of Delver levels? I tried to bring up more detail by focusing on it, but no more information came. I looked at my health, stamina, and mana. I was more magically inclined than anything else from the looks of it. Also, according to my math my health would fully recover in five and a half hours. Did that mean I could recover from any injury in an afternoon? Forget healing a broken bone in three weeks, this speed of healing was superhuman. Still, if I was actively in a fight getting one health back every fifteen minutes probably wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference.


    I¡¯d already seen a note about being an extra-dimensional entity, so I glossed over that as well. I also moved past the racial bonuses to crafting and dimensional magic. Other than confirming that magic was, in fact, a thing here, it didn¡¯t tell me much, though I did shudder when I saw that my soul had been irrevocably altered. That sounded ominous.


    The active skill, Shortcut, would probably be helpful. The obvious use would be escaping something or someone, or repositioning myself while in danger, but it could also help me cross the street without waiting on the crosswalk. The skill said that I could teleport to a place that I could see. I imagined that transparent barriers wouldn¡¯t stop me then. I could find a jewelry store and pop in through the glass without setting off any alarms. Not that I¡¯d ever been predisposed to stealing, but it¡¯s good to consider these types of things. You know, just in case.


    The parts that talked about a divine presence and its favor were the most concerning to me. Was the divine entity the one leaving me the notes? What did I have to do to garner their favor, and what sort of consequences were there for angering them? It made me deeply uncomfortable.


    The carryover stats were interesting and gave me some insight about what sorts of activities each stat influenced, or what activities I could undertake to train them using my birth sign. Physical training was probably the easiest, but studying, meditation, and mindfulness were also concrete activities. I¡¯d gotten Charisma for being funny. Or, at least, trying to be funny. So telling jokes helped. Maybe there were some open mic nights that I could hit up. Luck, though, gave me nothing to work with. Again, the divine presence had granted me one to Luck, and I focused on that wording. The other stats that carried over were ones that I earned, while Luck was the only one I¡¯d been granted. Was that significant, or an inconsistency in wording?


    The stat values felt... underwhelming. Didn¡¯t games with these types of systems usually start out in the teens, or even the hundreds? Everything being single digit made me feel underpowered, but I also had no frame of reference so I assumed that I was at least in an OK place. I also had ten stats to distribute. Assuming that each stat started at one, I already had fourteen points spread out across stats from my carryovers. So, ten more stats was about seventy-one percent more stat points than I¡¯d already been given, and a little less than a forty-eight percent total increase to my stats. The fact that I did that math so quickly in my head gave me pause. I knew I wasn¡¯t that good at math. More mysteries. I followed the window¡¯s advice to select a stat to see more detail, starting with Strength.


    Strength


    Pick heavy things up, put them back down, and pack on slabs of muscle to show off under a too-tight polo at your eight-to-five office job. Strength determines how heavy you can lift and how many random guys give you awkward compliments then ask about your protein intake. If you want to be a brawler, wear heavy armor, or be accused of steroid use, then strength is the stat for you!


    Ok, that wasn¡¯t very helpful. Strength makes you stronger. Great. It also possibly garners the attention of men. That was fine. I didn¡¯t mind compliments. But how much stronger would a point of Strength make me? I moved on to Agility.


    Agility


    Backflips and handstands always impress at parties and staying limber is one of the best ways to slow the ever-increasing torment your body plagues you with in old age. Hide in the shadows, round-house kick your foes, and tear it up on the dance floor! If you want to fight with bows, dodge attacks, or nail your kids from across the room with the Disciplinary House-Shoe, then throwing points in Agility is a must.


    Also more or less what I would expect. I¡¯d never been a great dancer, so there was an opportunity for some personal growth there. I kept going down the list.


    Speed


    Wanna go fast? It¡¯s not just for athletes. While speed determines how well you can keep up with track stars or run away from mounted bandits and stray dogs, it also enhances how quickly you think, react, or decide what to have for lunch. Whether you feel like wearing red tights for aerodynamics or want to start writing your graduate thesis three hours before it¡¯s due, speed is the key stat you need.


    The descriptions were beginning to make me question my assumptions about the medieval fantasy impression I¡¯d been getting. These were references to modern day life. Was this world or place or whatever some sort of hybrid? The fact that speed affected your thinking as well as physical movement was interesting. Probably useful if I wanted to win at Jeopardy.


    Fortitude


    Getting stabbed, poisoned, or taking a fireball to the face? It doesn¡¯t matter that the enemy hit you when you just. won¡¯t. die. If you¡¯re a petty mortal who fears death or a twisted masochist who wants to experience the limits of the human mind¡¯s capacity for pain without suffering life-altering injuries, then live long and prosper with this must-have stat. DISCLAIMER: Fortitude may help you heal from physical trauma, but it will also curse you with the burden of watching all your friends and loved ones die before you.


    Did...fortitude make you immortal? Or was life so dangerous that you¡¯d be the only one who didn¡¯t die an early, violent death?


    Intelligence


    Push up your glasses and practice saying ¡°actually¡±, because you¡¯re about to be the smartest person in the room! Your trivia team will love you and your classmates will hate you as you ameliorate your crippling insecurity by proving you can memorize facts and understand spells on the first pass. But, it¡¯s not just about memory. Intelligence also helps you combine old ideas in new ways and even allows you to come up with an original thought once in a while. Intelligence isn¡¯t just a stat, it¡¯s an entire personality!


    Easy memorization and having novel ideas was good. Maybe I could patent something and live rich on the royalties. But I felt like this description was a personal jab, especially since this was my highest base stat. I didn¡¯t even like trivia. Realizing that, my dream of becoming a Jeopardy champion died. Rest in peace.


    Wisdom


    When should you act, and when should you refrain? When should you follow the herd, and when should you take the road less traveled? Wisdom gives you insight into life¡¯s mysteries and helps you decide the best course of action in any situation. It allows you to tap into the strength of your spirit, providing both mental fortitude and a wellspring of mana. Know yourself and you shall know the universe.


    This was the only stat with a serious description.


    Charisma


    Charming compliments, rousing speeches, and looking good. Charisma lets you know what to say and how to act in order to get what you want, whether it¡¯s a discount on a used car or the autocratic power over a nation. Become an adored sex symbol, a terrifying warlord, or that clerk at the grocery store who¡¯s not too bright, but who everyone seems to like, and you like them too because whenever you go through the line they know just the right compliment to give you on your hair or clothes, but not in an uncomfortable way like a come-on it¡¯s just something nice they say to brighten your day and one time it really cheered you up after your cat had just passed away and even if it were a come-on maybe you wouldn¡¯t mind because they¡¯re actually kind of cute.


    This description was literally talking about a girl at my local Kroger named Ashley. At least, I thought it was. But I wasn¡¯t thirsting over Ashley, I was spoken for. I mean, she was attractive and, again, I didn¡¯t mind compliments, but that¡¯s where it would start and end.


    Luck


    Fools assume they have some sort of control over their lives, but you know the truth: the universe is random and your destiny is dictated by circumstance. Sudden tragedies strike down saints and monsters get rich off random picks on the stock market. You¡¯re a cynic, and let¡¯s be honest, why else would you pick this stat? Luck may not have always been on your side, but it damn well better be now! Load the dice of creation in your favor and stumble your way into power, fame, or a life-time supply of free chicken tenders.


    Talk about pessimistic. It was almost like the author was trying to scare me away from putting points here.


    I took a deep breath and concentrated on the numbers. I could distribute my points evenly, making me a jack of all trades, but I didn¡¯t think that was a good idea. I had the perk from my birth sign that let me train skills up to a maximum score of ten. Any points I spent on stats below that threshold were giving up potential free stats. In fact, if I didn¡¯t have to spend the stats before I left the room I would have saved them all until I got to ten in each on my own, then chosen where to dump them.


    In order to maximize my points, Intelligence was the obvious choice. It was my highest stat, which meant that I¡¯d only be giving up five free points to get it to ten. If I threw all ten there I¡¯d have an INT of fifteen. I tapped the window and was able to place a stat there to see the changes it made to my character. When I did, a confirm button appeared at the bottom. I was able to take the point back without confirming. Putting the point in INT gave me one to my mana, but I couldn¡¯t see it affecting anything else. I went down the list this way. Strength gave one to health with each level, Agility gave one to stamina, Speed didn¡¯t do anything, Fortitude gave ten to both health and stamina and improved health regen by two and stamina regen by one, Wisdom gave ten to mana and one to mana regen, neither Charisma or Luck did anything.


    So, I could gain ephemeral and unknown benefits from most of the stats, or go in on something more concrete like Fortitude or Wisdom. As I agonized over the choices, a new window popped up in front of the character screen.


    Four of five party members have completed their character creation process and have initiated a ready check. You have ten minutes to complete character creation.


    Shit.

 Chapter 3: New Friends!

    Chapter 3: New Friends!


    I had a mini-crisis when confronted with the time-limit. After placing my points I also had to select a passive and active ability and buy starting gear. The new screen changed to a large countdown timer and floated away until it was above the single door in the room.


    I looked at the stats again. I wanted to put them all in one place to maximize my training stats. I wanted to pick something that had a concrete impact on the values I saw on the screen. But, did I care more about mana or health? The sickening memory of my ribs shattering against the trunk of a tree and the agonizing pain of internal bleeding and then death flooded my mind. I didn¡¯t want to be a glass cannon. I wanted to not fucking die.


    I tossed all ten points into Fortitude, pumping it up to twelve and selected Confirm. I took a moment and looked up at my health and stamina.


    Health: 142 Health Regeneration: 28/hour


    Stamina: 122 Stamina Regeneration: 12/hour


    The health I got from Fortitude had jumped from ten per point up to twenty per point after level ten. Also, now I regenerated more health in one hour than my entire health total from just a moment earlier. I wanted to dig into these numbers even more, but I didn¡¯t have time. The game, or god, or whatever was controlling this system was giving me a kick in the ass. If I¡¯d known I was under a time constraint I wouldn¡¯t have fussed over my appearance so much. I stroked my luxurious beard and started looking for a way to move on to passive and active skill selections, but another goddamn window popped up in front of me.


    Wowee! You spent all your Character Creation points on a single stat! A truly inspired and nuanced build. As a reward for your foolhardy bravery you have earned the Dumping achievement!


    Dumping: After spending 5 or more stat points at once on a single attribute, you are granted 1 additional point in that attribute. This effect is retroactive.


    My Fortitude jumped up another point, and I gained another twenty health and four regen, bringing me to 162 health and 32 health regen per hour.


    Wowee! You have reached a Fortitude of 10 or higher at Delver level zero! You do know that just because you won¡¯t die, shit still hurts, right? You have earned the I Don¡¯t Attack You, You Attack Me achievement!


    I Don¡¯t Attack You, You Attack Me: So long as you did not attack first, an enemy becomes stunned for one second the first time they deal damage to you with a melee attack. An enemy who has triggered this ability will become vulnerable to it again at the next dawn. Certain skills and abilities may prevent this effect from occurring.


    Heavens to Betsy! Your Fortitude has reached level 10! Your body has transcended the limits of human resilience and simple attacks from non-magical sources now deal significantly less damage to you. You¡¯ve also unlocked your first Fortitude evolution. Please select one of the following:


    Like a Rock: Your body acts as though it is five times heavier when determining whether an enemy can force you to move by any means.Workhorse: You do not suffer the effects of fatigue when your stamina is below 50%.I Can Do This All Day: Health and Stamina regeneration bonuses from Fortitude are doubled.


    My blood pressure shot up when I was presented with even more choices. Don¡¯t get me wrong, It was nice to get more buffs, but I didn¡¯t have time to give it any real thought. I was sure that there were a variety of hijinks that could be had with the Like a Rock ability, and Workhorse sounded good, but, like so much of this process, I didn¡¯t know enough to decide how good it was. I defaulted to picking the thing that made my numbers go up: I Can Do This All Day. I was up to 64 Health regen and 26 Stamina regen.


    The window disappeared after I made my selection and I was left staring at the table. Where was the next window? I had to choose abilities and gear and there were only seven minutes left. Then I remembered the book. I reached out and flipped to the next page. Another blue window appeared.


    There are an endless number of skills in Arzia and we hope you¡¯ve done your homework! Please select what type of Active Skill you would like:


    Offensive


    Defensive


    I had a theme of defense going on but grabbing a defensive skill seemed like overkill. I selected Offensive.


    Poke ¡®em, slash ¡®em, whack ¡®em, or blast ¡®em. What type of offensive skill would you like?


    Melee


    Ranged Physical


    Magical


    INT looked like my highest offensive stat, so I selected Magical.


    From hellish flames that incinerate your foes to vivid hallucinations that torment them, your enemies will tremble at your power as a master of the arcane arts. Or, they¡¯ll freeze. Or collapse on the ground in a fit of giggling. Basically, how do you want them to suffer?


    Elementally


    Mentally


    Dimensionally


    Cursedly...


    ¡°Goddammit!¡± I said as the list went on and on. I selected Dimensionally since I already had a bonus to it. There was a single spell, and I selected it after reading the description through once.


    Oblivion Orb:


    Mana Cost: 5


    Cooldown: None


    Requirements: None


    For the briefest moment you create a small dimensional tear in the shape of an orb in your palm, which transports whatever it touches to another plane of existence. Higher levels of Intelligence increase the size of the orb, and higher levels of Dimensional Magic may unlock additional effects.


    Mike¡¯s Magic Shield: You and your allies gain damage reduction to hostile magical effects equal to your Wisdom up to a maximum of 25.Herd Leader: You and your allies gain an additional amount of Mana and Stamina regeneration equal to your Speed up to a maximum of 25.Who Needs a Cleric?: You and your allies gain an additional amount of Health regeneration equal to your Fortitude up to a maximum of 25.


    There were four of them, and two were gaping at me in open shock. A third merely raised an eyebrow, and the fourth looked disgusted.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said, sitting up. After recovering from the terror of being manhandled by an invisible giant and having it impress upon me the value of punctuality in this universe, I realized that being tossed out like a bucket of compost hadn¡¯t hurt at all. I hopped up onto my feet and took a look around, my new friends still silently gawking.


    One of the wide-eyed looks was from a tall, olive-skinned woman with dirty blonde hair pulled back and woven into a bun. She was dressed in dark leather armor with a bow slung over her shoulder. She looked what I would call, well, handsome. I couldn¡¯t describe to you what makes a woman handsome as opposed to pretty or plain or beautiful or kawaii, but she had it in spades.


    The other shocked look came from an even taller person, and seeing them reinforced to me that something truly strange had happened to me. They weren¡¯t human. They were long and lithe, with hands that came down past their knees. They were covered in gray fur and had a long snout, not quite like a dog¡¯s. It was thinner, more tapered, like a bandicoot or a rodent. Short white whiskers twitched to either side of a pink nose, jet-black eyes ran me up and down, and one of their short, pointed ears flicked. They were too real to be someone in a costume and I lost myself for a moment as my mind took a tiny step towards accepting the idea that I had actually, really died. That my home was somewhere very far away and my fiance?e was alone. I was alone. I quickly looked away.


    The raised eyebrow came from a short and curvy woman with light red skin, which was completely unnatural but after the last person it didn¡¯t trip me up too much. She had a mop of dark, curly hair that came down to her shoulders and she was leaning back on one of the plain stone walls, twirling a scepter in one hand. A small shield was propped against the wall beside her. She wore a long, blood-red tabard with some elaborate and twisting symbol on the front over a chainmail shirt with white robes that looked thick and padded underneath.


    The look of disgust came from the tallest of the group who had an entire head on me despite the extra couple of inches I¡¯d given myself and which were suddenly failing to fill me with the confidence I¡¯d thought they would. He was pale¨Cdeathly pale¨Cwith icy blue eyes and hair the color of snow you might find on the side of the highway. From the waist up he wore only a thin and tight linen shirt, just barely whiter than his own skin. From the waist down he was clad in steel armor. I knew there were nifty names for all the individual pieces of the man¡¯s metal pants, but I couldn¡¯t remember all of them. I remembered greaves. Or were they sabatons? Were those different things? I thought they were. Delightfully, fancy-pants was the first one to speak.


    ¡°Sure took your time,¡± he said in a voice so low I felt it in my bones. I had been staring at his lower extremities for a lot longer than was polite, and I nodded after he spoke, hoping I looked like I was deep in contemplation about something other than his trousers or what might lay beyond them. I looked up and smiled.


    ¡°I was just figuring some things out,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m Arlo.¡± I held out a hand to him. His jaw clenched as he looked down at it, then he sighed.


    ¡°Arlo, I¡¯m going to be honest with you. I¡¯m very unhappy with what I¡¯m seeing.¡±


    Left hanging for the second time today, I let my hand drop. Maybe they didn¡¯t do handshakes here.


    ¡°Ok,¡± I began, ¡°why-¡± He held up a finger and cut me off.


    ¡°First, what am I even looking at?¡± He gestured up and down at me. ¡°You¡¯re wearing rags. I¡¯m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that your gear pack and everything else you brought got left in the room you just fell out of, a room which no longer exists and where everything left inside is now cast out to oblivion.¡±


    I turned to look at the door and found a blank stone wall, the same as the rest of the room.


    ¡°If I assume that,¡± he continued, ¡°then I can believe that you¡¯re just an idiot, and not someone who is either profoundly challenged or, worse, a saboteur.¡±


    I peeked down at my linen clothes, then around at the others who were all wearing some form of armor. Each of them also had a large backpack on or near them and an additional large sack as big as my torso sat on the ground, stuffed full. I nodded.


    ¡°Ok,¡± I said. He tilted his head and clenched his hand into a fist.


    ¡°Second, you spent a really long time in that creation chamber. So long, in fact, that we,¡± he gestured between himself and the other three, ¡°all learned together on this very day that there is a thing called a ¡®ready check¡¯ that can force a player out of the room if they take too long. I¡¯ve never heard of a ready check. Sayil,¡± he said, turning to the tall beast-person, ¡°have you heard of a ready check before?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± said Sayil in a rough and tumble voice straight out of a Clint Eastwood movie.


    ¡°See?¡± said Fancy-Pants.


    ¡°So,¡± I said, ¡°what you¡¯re saying is that people don¡¯t normally take that long.¡±


    ¡°Since literally none of us have heard of it happening, I guess not.¡±


    ¡°Well, I apologize for my, uh, tardiness. It shan''t happen again.¡±


    He dropped a heavy hand onto my shoulder.


    ¡°Are you taking this seriously?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I think so?¡±


    He hung his head, let his hand slide off my shoulder, then took a deep breath and stood up straight.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯m the party leader. Have a problem with that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose.¡±


    The short woman leaning against the wall spoke up, looking to Fancy-Pants, whose identity had now been updated to Party Leader in my mind. Perhaps Fancy-Pants Party Leader. That was too long. Pants Party?


    ¡°You should at least ask him for his title,¡± she said, her tone much merrier than the pale man¡¯s. ¡°To make it official.¡± Pants Party¡¯s mouth made a thin line but he nodded.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he said. ¡°What¡¯s your title?¡±


    I had trouble deciding how to approach that question. I assumed he was asking me for something along the lines of a noble title, but I had no idea if noble titles were a thing here. If they were, what type of noble hierarchy did they have? Was this a kingdom? An empire? A dictatorship where supreme executive power was awarded by strange women lying in ponds and distributing swords? I decided to take the honest route.


    ¡°Esquire.¡±

 Chapter 4: Unilateral Decision Making

    Chapter 4: Unilateral Decision Making


    Esquire was a technically correct title; I did have a law degree. In fact I could have told them to call me Doctor if I¡¯d felt so inclined, but I thought that might sew some confusion. It was also pretentious.


    ¡°Esquire?¡± Pants Party asked, looking incredulous.


    ¡°He¡¯s a fucking landed peasant!¡± said the tall blonde in leather.


    ¡°Not a peasant,¡± said the shorter red-skinned woman.


    ¡°Not a noble either,¡± said the beast-person. Pants Party held up a hand to quiet them.


    ¡°Esquire Arlo,¡± he said slowly, ¡°how did you end up with a place in the Creation Delve?¡±


    I gave this a second of thought.


    ¡°It was a gift,¡± I said.


    ¡°Your lord gifted you with a slot in this year¡¯s Creation Delve?¡±


    I decided to see how far I could stretch the truth. One might characterize the act of granting me a second life as a gift, so that wasn¡¯t too far astray from what happened. Plus, it was a gift from a divine being. Perhaps that made them a sort of capital ¡®L¡¯ Lord instead of what Pants Party meant, so I just went with it.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, urging myself to believe the lie I was telling.


    ¡°Hell of a gift,¡± the beast-person drawled. The others were speechless.


    ¡°What, if I may ask, are all of your titles?¡± I said, looking around the room.


    ¡°He¡¯s fucking with us,¡± said the blonde. ¡°He¡¯s probably the whelp of some fat prince out in Timagrin or something. More money than sense.¡± She walked toward me and prodded me in the chest hard with a finger. I barely felt it. ¡°You may think this is funny, but your jokes have led you to an unmarked grave in the Delve.¡±


    ¡°Is that a threat?¡± I asked. She barked out a laugh.


    ¡°A threat? I¡¯m not the threat, the Delve is, you moron! I don¡¯t have to do shit for you to get dead.¡±


    ¡°Enough, Chilla,¡± Pants Party said to the blonde. ¡°Esquire or not, that is the title you have given and so the party will be organized with that fact in mind.¡± He turned to the short, red-skinned woman. ¡°Good enough, Xim?¡± She nodded. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled.¡±


    He turned back to me, glaring.


    ¡°I am Low-Lord Varrin Ravvenblaq, heir apparent to Thundralke Ealdric Ravvenblaq the Third. Such is my pedigree, which marks me as the highest of this group and thus I am its leader. Because you have claimed to be an esquire, who cannot possibly be of a higher rank than anyone here, or any who has ever walked the Delve for that matter, I will spare you the lineage of our other members. This is Low-Lord Chilla Stormreiss,¡± he pointed to the blonde woman. ¡°She is second in the party as her mother is a Wolfsbane.¡± He pointed at the beast-person, ¡°This is Sir Sayil Starion, who is third, as his father is a count in the Littan Empire. This,¡± he pointed to the shorter woman, ¡°is Xim of the Third Layer who is fourth because she is a citizen of the deep. And you are Esquire Arlo whose surname is irrelevant and who is the child of no one important.¡±


    ¡°My mother would definitely disagree with that.¡±


    ¡°Enough of your quips,¡± Pants Party, I mean, Low-Lord Varrin said. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back, looking forlornly at the ceiling. ¡°What¡¯s your class?¡±


    ¡°Lower than noble and higher than peasant, apparently.¡± I said. ¡°So, I guess middle?¡±


    ¡°Your build, you fool! How do you fight?!¡±


    I knew what he¡¯d been asking, and I knew it was immature to keep riling him up but I couldn¡¯t help myself on that last one.


    ¡°Spells.¡±


    Varrin waited a moment for me to elaborate, but I didn¡¯t. Telling him my stats would be telling him my strengths and weaknesses and I got the feeling me and him weren¡¯t going to walk out of here as good friends.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he said after it became obvious I wasn¡¯t giving him anything further. ¡°A caster. So that gives us four dealers and a cleric. It could be worse. We¡¯ve got ranged physical from Chilla and whatever the esquire here has for magic damage, plus two melee fighters, Sir Sayil and I, so our damage diversity is decent. Cleric for healing is good since we won¡¯t have a main tank, Xim can handle a shield and armor in case she gets attacked. Sir Sayil, did you balance for defense or focus more on attack?¡±


    ¡°Balance,¡± said Sayil. ¡°Gonna focus on attack as I level, but wanted to make sure I could make it work with whatever team I ended up with.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Varrin, ¡°So did I.¡± Xim and Chilla both nodded in agreement at the sentiment.


    ¡°Did you all not come in together?¡± I asked. They all looked at me in unison. Sayil and Chilla looked dumbfounded, but Varrin was pissed. Xim just stared at me.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how this works at all, do you?¡± Varrin asked.


    ¡°I do not,¡± I said. Even if I wanted to lie it would quickly become obvious that I didn¡¯t know what I was doing. I mean, I thought it was already obvious.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been teamed up with an infant,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Do I need to teach you your letters as well?¡±


    ¡°You think he can read?¡± asked Chilla.


    ¡°This is the Creation Delve,¡± said Xim, taking a step forward. ¡°It is the first Delve taken by those of noble lineage who wish to become Delvers.¡± The others watched her for a moment as she spoke, but Varrin stomped away and started pulling armor out of his pack. Chilla and Sir Sayil also turned to their own preparations.


    Xim walked closer to me and continued.


    ¡°One hundred candidates must enter at once for the Creation Delve to activate and the Delve assigns us into random groups of five. We do not know who we will be grouped with until after we have undergone character creation. I believe Chilla and Varrin know each other at least somewhat, but the rest of us are strangers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why they were talking about having a balanced build,¡± I said.


    Xim nodded, her dark, curly hair bobbing.


    ¡°Yes, it is difficult to specialize because too many with the same specialty may be grouped up, which makes it more difficult to complete the Delve on one of the higher tiers. Five defense specialists might be struck down by ranged casters in a fortified position. Five damage specialists can be overrun by melee attackers. And five healers, well,¡± she gave a slight smile, ¡°they can¡¯t do much without the rest of the party.¡±


    She began pacing around me in a circle, looking me up and down as she spoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just fog,¡± said Xim, kneeling to study the vapor and taking a hesitant sniff. ¡°It¡¯s poisonous.¡±


    By the time the door had sunk entirely, the mist was pouring out. Beyond it was a dark stone corridor, its walls rough and uneven. A set of stone steps was barely visible within, descending into the cloud.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s fucking ominous,¡± I said. Sayil shot Varrin another dark look. Chilla rifled through her pack and produced three small vials of a dark, amber liquid.


    ¡°I have three antidotes,¡± she said.


    ¡°Antidotes won¡¯t matter,¡± said Xim. ¡°It will dispel the poison, but you¡¯ll just breathe more in and get poisoned again immediately.¡±


    ¡°Then we take them after we¡¯ve gone through the cloud,¡± said Chilla.


    ¡°And how long,¡± said Sir Sayil, ¡°will that take?¡±


    We all leaned in for a closer look, but the bottom of the stairs was obscured in puke-green darkness.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said, ¡°we sit this one out. Catch the next Creation Delve.¡±


    ¡°Once entered,¡± said Xim, ¡°you cannot leave the Delve until it is completed.¡±


    ¡°And if we can¡¯t complete it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We die,¡± said Sayil.


    I swallowed, then wondered if there were some sort of record for speedrunning your second death.


    ¡°It¡¯s a beginner Delve,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It can¡¯t be very strong. Everyone check your health regen.¡± Varrin knelt and took a deep breath of the mist. He coughed and stood back up, eyes watering, then he stared off into the distance for a second. ¡°It¡¯s one damage every five minutes. See?¡± He made a face like he¡¯d just taken a shot of uncut moonshine brewed in a dirty bathtub. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad. Do some math and figure out how long it will take for your health to get low. Xim can rotate her heals. If the mist keeps going we just have to get through it in a few hours.¡±


    ¡°Holy shit,¡± said Chilla. ¡°My health regen is massive for some reason.¡±


    ¡°Mine too,¡± said Xim.


    Varrin stared off into space again. Checking his stats, I guessed.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said. ¡°The detail reads: ¡®Plus thirteen health regen granted from Who Needs a Cleric?¡¯. Is that someone¡¯s skill?¡±


    The others shook their heads. I raised my hand slightly and they all looked at me.


    ¡°That¡¯s mine,¡± I said. ¡°No offense, Xim. That¡¯s just the name of the skill. I¡¯m sure clerics are very much needed.¡±


    She just stared, which seemed to be happening a lot to me. People staring. These people, at least. I thought it might be a cultural difference. Maybe staring wasn¡¯t rude here. But, honestly, I knew that it was more likely that my whole existence within the context of this Creation Dungeon was a bit ludicrous.


    ¡°The name of that skill,¡± said Varrin, ¡°is absurd.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s strong,¡± said Sayil. ¡°Who cares what it¡¯s named?¡±


    ¡°Is it an aura?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Picked it up as my passive. Thought it looked pretty good.¡±


    ¡°Pretty good?¡± said Sayil. ¡°For level zero it¡¯s unhinged.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an aura,¡± said Varrin, ¡°They¡¯re always strong to start-¡±


    ¡°Not this strong,¡± Sayil interrupted. Varrin frowned.


    ¡°They don¡¯t scale well as you level. That¡¯s why no one takes them.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re lucky he did, though,¡± said Sayil.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Varrin, glancing at me. ¡°If all you do is stand there and give us that health regen you¡¯ll at least be useful. One damage every five minutes is twelve an hour, so thirteen extra health regen completely offsets the poison effect.¡±


    ¡°Glad I can help,¡± I said. It was true. Varrin was being an asshole, but I kind of understood why. I was obviously a complete amateur at whatever this Creation Delve thing was. Even if the others weren¡¯t experts, they had clearly studied and prepared for it. If this were a group project, I was the guy who hadn¡¯t spent a single day paying attention in class, then showed up expecting everyone else to do the work. I mean, I hadn¡¯t done that on purpose. I¡¯d been thrust into this situation somewhat against my will. I still wanted to be helpful, or at least not get in the way. So, I could forgive Varrin for his behavior at the moment. Though I expected he was always kind of a dick.


    ¡°Is everyone ready to go?¡± Varrin asked. The others nodded, shouldering their packs and beginning to move to the Delve¡¯s entrance. Varrin picked up the large sack and tossed it to me. ¡°Since you don¡¯t have anything of your own, you can carry one of these.¡± I smiled and hefted it onto my back.


    As I thought about the fact that I didn¡¯t have any gear whatsoever, I remembered that I was still holding onto the amulet I¡¯d gotten from the Tiny-Tot Traveler starter kit. The others were already starting down into the darkness, and as I stepped through the entrance behind them I looked down at the necklace. It had a dark chain speckled with red and silver flecks. A small and utterly black gem dangled off of it, wrapped in an ornate wire setting made of the same material. I focused, and a blue window popped up. That was still blowing my mind a little.


    Traveler¡¯s Amulet


    This is an evolving item.


    Current Level: Tiny-Tot


    Effects:


    (1): It¡¯s stylish.


    Complete the Creation Delve to unlock this amulet¡¯s next effect.


    It was exactly useless. I sighed and clasped it around my neck, then stepped down into the murky, green darkness.

 Chapter 5: Attack of the Stickmen

    Chapter 5: Attack of the Stickmen


    As I entered the fog, my nose was filled with a bitter, metallic scent that made my eyes water, and I was greeted with a notification that popped up to my left. Findd new stories at novelhall.come to your first Delve! Now Initiating user interface. You may customize the interface by concentrating on the element you wish to change.


    A series of colored bars appeared at the lower edge of my vision: Red, green, and blue. I assumed they followed standard gaming conventions with red for health, green for stamina, and blue for mana. Above the health bar there was a small skull and crossbones and when I focused on it, text appeared beside it that read ¡°Poisoned, Toxicity: 12¡±. I assumed that the toxicity translated to the damage the poison dealt per hour, since that matched up with the math Varrin had done earlier, though I wondered why he¡¯d done math if he had access to the same type of interface. His notification was before we went into the Delve, so maybe the notice he got worked differently than what I was seeing now, or maybe I had access to different information.


    To my upper left was a list of party members, but the only information presented beyond their names was the same skull and crossbones symbol. Each revealed identical text to my own when I focused, ¡°Poisoned, Toxicity: 12¡±. Another notice appeared, and I paused to read it.


    You have entered Delve 1156: The Toxic Grotto.


    Difficulty: Platinum


    Current accumulation level: 0.5


    This Delve¡¯s accumulation has been interrupted. Find and eliminate the cause of the disruption to clear the Delve.


    Reward: Early harvest and distribution.


    Time Remaining: 23 Hours, 55 minutes.


    The notification used a lot of language that I was sure was shorthand. The difficulty was platinum, nothing new there, but what made a Delve platinum? Was it the accumulation level? Sayil¡¯s reaction to the difficulty made me think there was more to it, but I had no idea what an accumulation level even was. Maybe it also had to do with the clear condition, which I was happy to see, even though it didn¡¯t provide a lot of information. I liked having a clear objective. As for the reward, what was an early harvest? I filed those questions away and continued down the steps.


    The stairs were damp and had patches of mossy growth that made them slick in places. I stepped down carefully, feeling my body move with an unfamiliar level of grace and precision. My worn leather boots felt like they still had good tread, and although my progress was slow, I made my way down without incident. As I descended, the stairwell grew gradually darker, until round orbs emitting soft light started to appear. They were set into the walls at regular intervals and I stopped to examine one, finding that it felt cool to the touch, with a surface like smooth rock. I moved on quickly to keep up with my party, but I was curious about what powered the rock lights.


    As we reached the bottom, the corridor opened up into a much wider space. The glowing orbs were set into the walls and along the ceiling, providing a gentle level of illumination. Despite this, the omnipresent green fog made it difficult to see more than ten or so meters away. The rest of the group had come to a stop, and I stepped forward to join their huddle. Varrin spoke softly.


    ¡°Have any of you heard of the accumulation being interrupted before?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Xim. The others shook their heads as well.


    ¡°Kill the freaks,¡± said Chilla. ¡°That¡¯s usually the objective. But I¡¯ve heard of others, like investigating unusual mana sources or reactivating ancient devices.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re creatures about as tall as a grown man,¡± he said. ¡°Their body is thin, flexible, and light, but covered in tough skin, so it¡¯s difficult to get a good hit on them. They attack with two long front legs that have hard points and inject you with venom.¡± He looked over my threadbare clothes. ¡°Try not to get hit.¡±


    He turned back to the front and drew his sword. Sayil stood with his spear ready, and Xim held up her shield, scepter held back and low. I didn¡¯t know what to do, so I took up a boxing stance. Xim eyed me, but then focused back on the dark shape of Chilla without comment.


    Chilla let loose an arrow with a soft twang, stood and watched for a brief second, then turned and hurried back toward the group. A baleful screech came from behind her, then dark, lanky creatures became visible through the fog, darting toward us.


    I tried to count them as they emerged, but lost track at a dozen. Their bodies were long and unnaturally thin, with two short hind legs and two lengthy front legs, each as long as my entire body. The front legs were segmented like a spider¡¯s, but ended in a slightly curved point the length of my torso, which dug into the ground as they galloped and crawled. Their skin was black and craggy, looking like tar-stained tree bark. They had small heads atop long, skinny necks, which were elongated and misshapen. They each had a single oversized eye which darted between the members of our group, and had mouths like a lamprey¡¯s, circular and covered in needle-like teeth. Ichor oozed from the orifice.


    A pair of the Stickmen had closed the distance between themselves and Chilla, and the archer leapt into the air as one shot a claw toward her. She spun and soared over Varrin, landing in a crouch behind him, another arrow already nocked. Varrin interrupted the attack from the first Stickman, leaning into the swipe with his shield, then bashing the creature away. He swung his sword in a backward sweep toward the second, and the blade skidded across the creature¡¯s flesh, knocking off a few chunks of bark. It let out a screech and tumbled to the side, where Sayil was waiting with his spear. The beast-man thrust at the creature, which was off-balance from Varrin¡¯s attack, and Sayil landed a strike on its joint. The spearhead dug deep and Sayil twisted it like a pry bar. The stickman¡¯s front leg tore off its body with a loud crack.


    Before Sayil could follow up on the injured creature, two more drove toward him and he spun the spear, knocking away two sets of thrusting claws. Varrin intercepted attacks from two more stickmen that had made it to our front line, their pointed limbs driving into his shield with loud thunks. Chilla let arrows fly toward the creatures, but their thin bodies and quick movements made them hard targets. A couple arrows glanced across skinny torsos before a third struck true on a joint, causing the creature to stagger into a strong downward strike from Varrin, which ran along the back of the creatures neck, catching on its head and cleaving off the top of its skull. It moved about drunkenly before crashing to the ground.


    The trio did their best to hold the front line, but Sayil was forced aside, spinning his spear to knock away a half dozen thrusting claws, and more of the Stickmen poured into the gap between him and Varrin. The eyes in the heads of the newly arrived Stickmen spun and moved between me and Xim, one locking onto me and two more moving toward the Cleric. I heard the sound of their pointed appendages crashing into Xim¡¯s shield. The creature that had locked onto me gave a low, wet moan as it brought its front legs up, getting ready to drive them down into my body.


    Now, I cannot express how much I did not know what I was doing. I had very little in the way of combat training. I had taken a grand total of one year of kickboxing lessons, and hadn¡¯t even entered the ring with anyone other than my trainer. I wasn¡¯t a fighter. Any time a situation had gotten heated enough that I thought violence might ensue, I either talked the person down or got the fuck out of there. I¡¯d taken the boxing stance because it was the only thing I knew to do. Beyond the fact that my understanding of the martial art was, at best, amateur, kickboxing was designed for use against a human opponent. My head was low to keep a fist from crashing into my jaw and laying me out. My arms and fists were up to intercept strikes and throw out jabs and straights. This leech-faced fuck didn¡¯t have fists. I was trying to stop a pair of three-foot-long pickaxes with my forearms. It also wasn¡¯t aiming for my face. Needless to say, my defense was... ineffective.


    The pair of pointed legs lanced down at me. One struck straight between my forearms and the other to the outside of my right. I felt a moment of abject fear as the deadly limbs shot out, followed by an overwhelming sense of calm. I had come close to dying a few times in my life, aside from the time that I actually, well, died. In each instance, the moment my brain accepts the imminent danger, it fucks right off with emotions like fear or panic. I shut down and immediately moved into damage control. What can I do? How do I mitigate the damage? It¡¯s a characteristic I was proud of, having a cool head in an emergency. There was also an element of acceptance to it. If things don¡¯t work out, if I actually bite it, then I did my best. No use worrying.


    Both of the points slammed into my chest, nearly knocking me on my ass. But my footing was good and, despite the power behind the strike, I stayed upright. I gritted my teeth, waiting for a delayed sensation of pain to begin crushing my will, but it didn¡¯t come. The claws didn¡¯t feel good, but they didn¡¯t hurt much either. It was like being roughly prodded with an umbrella. It didn¡¯t do much damage, it just felt rude. I confirmed this by glancing down at my health, which was still completely full. I glanced up at the stickman, who also stared at me in what I like to believe was a moment of confusion. His claws had met soft, tender flesh, and it hadn¡¯t done shit.


    I swung hard with a right-handed straight, popping the monster right in its tiny little face. Despite the solid hit, I didn¡¯t experience the satisfying, concussion-inducing thunk of a well-aimed blow. It felt more like punching a recoiling snake, or a green tree branch. There was no weight behind the creature¡¯s head, so my attempt at delivering blunt-force trauma was useless. There was another long moment where we stared each other down. In reality it was probably less than a quarter second of consideration, but in the middle of the adrenaline-fueled fight it felt long enough that I thought a tumbleweed was about to roll between us.


    ¡°Draw!¡± I shouted, then followed up with a brief combination of strikes, but like the first, none of them found good purchase. The creature drove its limbs into my ribs and chest as I rotated my hips and leaned into every hook and straight. We may as well have been having a pillow fight. I jumped back, surprised at the distance I cleared with the hop, and considered my options. At this point, an astute observer might notice, and perhaps loudly remind me, that I hadn¡¯t used my Oblivion Orb. You know, the one ability I had that was explicitly designed to maim and slaughter my enemies. In my defense, it¡¯s not like I came from a place where magic was an option so, when I flipped into fight or flight mode, that tactic wasn¡¯t among the very short default list of things I could do to not die. However, after leaping back like an olympic athlete competing in the GTFO olympics, I was reminded that I was not limited to the mundane options and abilities available to my previously puny human form. I didn¡¯t know how to use the spell, but I had an idea about how to apply it.


    The creature skittered toward me and I rushed to meet it. I had a plan. That plan, however, failed to account for what the monster did next. As its mighty claws rose into the air, it shrieked and the points of its front limbs began to glow with a green aura. I was already committed to the attack and couldn¡¯t stop my momentum toward the beast before its claws shot down at me faster than my eyes could process. The points of its legs hit me hard enough to arrest my upper body, though my legs continued forward, and the creature used my newly diagonal stance to slam me into the ground. Its legs dug deep into my chest this time and I felt something hot inject itself under my skin and begin burning away at my muscle.


    Overall, it hurt, but not nearly as much as the fatal tree hug given to me by my arch nemesis, The Mighty Oak, in Chapter One. I ignored the pain and reached up to grab the creature¡¯s thin neck. Again, I didn¡¯t know how to use Oblivion Orb, or how to cast any spell for that matter, but the System had given me a few hints as to how it worked. So far, I¡¯d been able to make selections, see additional details, and potentially change my HUD by concentrating or focusing on the thing I wanted to affect. So, I simply thought about casting Oblivion Orb.


    A power flowed out from my gut and a pulse of white light traveled down my arm. I felt air being sucked in between my fingers accompanied by a loud pop! My fist closed more tightly around the creature¡¯s neck, and something warm and wet started to trickle down my wrist. I let go of the stickman and saw that half of its neck had disappeared, replaced by a golf ball-sized hole. Its head lolled from one side to another, as a violent spurt of dark green blood sprayed from the wound. It yanked its limbs from my chest, sending up an arcing stream of my bright crimson blood, then collapsed onto the ground, its limbs flailing violently. I hopped to my feet, then dropped on top of the monster, reaching out and grabbing it in the same spot, then cast Oblivion Orb again. This time, its neck was nearly severed, the head held on by a small sliver of barky skin. Its body twitched, and then it lay still.


    ¡°Well, that was effective.¡±

 Chapter 6: A Perfectly Ordinary Bridge

    Chapter 6: A Perfectly Ordinary Bridge


    I took a second to confirm that the creature was dead, then examined my health. I had only lost eight HP from the creature¡¯s last attack, but my toxicity had gone up to twenty-four. I guess poison stacked? Regardless, my health pool was large enough that eight damage was negligible, and my health regen had plenty of runway before the toxicity build up became a threat. I stood and surveyed the rest of the battle.


    Two stickmen were chasing after Chilla, who landed an arrow in one creature¡¯s arm joint, sending it crashing to the ground. She turned and ran toward a wall, the second stickman chasing after her. Chilla ran up the wall, then backflipped off of it, the second stickman crashing into the stone as it tried to lance her. Chilla landed behind the stunned stickman and sent an arrow through its small skull. As it collapsed, she drew a dagger from her belt, then coup de graced the first stickman, which was still struggling to get back up.


    Overall, it was cool as hell.


    Varrin was fending off three stickmen, weaving blocks, shield bashes, and sword swipes with the power and precision of an industrial machine, three others laying dead at his feet. Two more were in a bloody heap near Sir Sayil, who parried and thrusted his spear at two more. Blood trickled down his legs from beneath his chainmail, but his movements showed no sign of injury that I could see. Of course, I didn¡¯t really know shit about fighting so take that with a grain of salt. He wasn¡¯t limping and crying and puking is what I mean.


    Another was dead near Xim, who swung her scepter at a second, but the blunt end of the weapon didn¡¯t seem to do much. A third stickman had crept up behind her and was rearing back for an attack with glowing claws. I rushed at the creature, hitting it dead center in a shoulder tackle, taking it down just as its claws descended. Instead of shredding through Xim¡¯s back, the claws came down on me, with one hitting the back of my right leg and the other piercing my left ass cheek. I mean, my left glute. It stung, but I¡¯d had worse spankings from my fiance?e.


    I got my hand on the stickman¡¯s chest and cast Oblivion Orb, the creature shrieking as a significant portion of what I think was its ribcage disappeared. I concentrated on the spell two more times, driving my palm deeper into the wound until the monster stopped moving. When I stood, I watched as Xim finished her opponent off by knocking it down, stepping on its neck, then bashing its skull against the stone floor with her scepter until it cracked open like a Cadbury creme egg.


    Chilla helped Sayil finish off his opponents, cutting one in half from behind with dual daggers. Then they moved to flank the three Varrin was fighting and took them down without much fuss. After the last Stickman fell, Varrin began walking the battlefield, examining each corpse in turn. He drove his sword through a couple that were still twitching, then looked over our group.Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com


    Chilla wiped away a combination of sweat and poison mist from her brow, but otherwise looked unharmed, while Xim went to examine Sayil, who was leaning on his spear. Altogether the battle probably lasted no more than a couple minutes, but I was surprised that no one was even breathing heavily. I checked my bars and, by focusing a little, managed to get numbers to show up, overlaid onto each.


    Health: 150/162


    Stamina: 130/132


    Mana: 20/45


    Poisoned, Toxicity: 30


    My toxicity was starting to get a bit high, but with my health regen of 90 it still wasn¡¯t close to hurting me. Other than my mana, of which I¡¯d blown through more than half, my numbers looked fine. My stamina would be back to full in about five minutes, and my health would take twelve. My mana, however, would take a little over six hours to recover. That was a problem I needed to address if I planned on using magic to fight.


    A strange sound started to come from the bodies of the stickmen, and I instinctively took a defensive posture again. It was a sort of sizzling hiss, and I watched as the bodies of the stickmen began to shrivel and dissolve. The skin and tissue of each sloughed off onto the ground, then melted into the stone, leaving behind a black stain. After a minute or two all that was left were thin, black bones. As I watched the macabre display I got a new notification.


    Your party has slain 15 Stickmen: Minor Demon, Grade Zero. Your party receives the following reward(s):


    1: 30 Ruby Chips.


    Party Leader has set Chip and Currency allocation to even distribution.


    You receive: 6 Ruby Chips.


    A series of glowing scarlet coins appeared in the air in front of me, then clattered to the ground. Chilla looked over at me and shook her head. I knelt down and gathered up the six ¡®chips¡¯, and looked them over. They shimmered with an ethereal luster, casting dancing points of light against the palm of my hand as it swirled within. They were flat and circular, about the size of the fifty-cent pieces my grandpa used to give me as a kid, or the size of one of those little dishes they give you at sushi restaurants to hold your soy sauce. There were two ornate symbols carved into the chip, one on either side, with sharp lines that came together in gently curving points. Overall it looked like an intricate Nordic rune designed by a calligraphy enthusiast.


    The chips had a satisfying weight and were warm to the touch, and I slid the small stack around in the palm of my hand as I stood. They had good haptics. I noticed Chilla was now standing very close to me and I jumped.


    ¡°You can set those to appear in your inventory,¡± she said, ¡°so they don¡¯t make a shit-ton of noise by falling onto the ground.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Thanks,¡± I said, hefting the chips, pleased at the bright clinking sound they made, almost like glass. ¡°How do I see my inventory?¡±


    Chilla rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Just think about it, dumbass,¡± she said. Then she turned and sauntered away back toward the others, who were gathered around Sayil. The way she moved was very fluid and I wondered if that was from putting points into Agility. Would my hips also sway in a hypnotic, cat-like manner if I got my Agility higher?


    I looked down at the steel kite-shield strapped to Varrin¡¯s forearm. It had taken a beating in the fight, with dozens of holes punched into it across the front by the stickmen¡¯s front legs. At this point it looked like it might do more good as a cheese grater than a shield.


    ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± I said. ¡°Just don¡¯t worry about me if a baddie or two comes my way.¡±


    ¡°Way ahead of you on that one,¡± said Chilla. ¡°When that stickman rushed you I figured you were a goner.¡±


    I smiled, ignoring the fact that she had just admitted to leaving me for dead, at least insofar as she believed at the time. Varrin kicked at the body of the stickman whose head I¡¯d mostly severed with my Oblivion Orb.


    ¡°Your fighting skills are poor,¡± he said, ¡°but at least you put enough into INT and WIS to kill something. Though I¡¯m wondering why you were going after them like a pugilist at first.¡±


    ¡°You saw that, eh?¡± I said. ¡°Sorry, I panicked.¡±


    ¡°It happens,¡± said Xim. ¡°It¡¯s even common on the first Delve. People forget about half of what they can do and start fighting on instinct. I think you did well.¡± Varrin shrugged, then went to his pack¨Cnot his inventory¨Cand grabbed a cloth, then began to wipe down his goo-covered sword. Xim placed a hand on Sayil¡¯s neck, and a pulse of light went down her arm, similar to what had happened when I cast Oblivion Orb, though her light was golden, rather than white. The light transferred to Sayil, then disappeared under his chainmail.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Sayil, putting his pack back on.


    ¡°Normally,¡± said Varrin, ¡°I¡¯d suggest a short rest to recover our resources, but I think we¡¯re mostly good. Let¡¯s go ahead and move on.¡±


    No one objected, and we began making our way deeper into the misty cave. I wanted to try and squeeze more information out of the group about the inventory system, among many, many other things, but we¡¯d gone back to our silent march with Chilla at the lead keeping an eye out for danger.


    It wasn¡¯t long before we found ourselves at a small, ancient stone bridge which spanned across a viscous river of dark liquid.


    ¡°Underground river,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°A weird one,¡± said Sayil, peering into the muck as it flowed by. ¡°Think that bridge is safe to cross?¡±


    The bridge was old and crumbling, with a number of large cracks that spiderwebbed across the masonry. I could see chunks of stone on the shore beside and below the bridge, where significant pieces of it had already broken and fallen off.


    ¡°We could ford the river,¡± said Sayil.


    ¡°You wanna walk through that?¡± Chilla said, her nose scrunching up at the thought.


    ¡°Chilla¡¯s right,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We have no clue what that stuff is. It¡¯s obviously not water and, given the state of this place, I¡¯d bet a golden note that it¡¯s poisonous.¡±


    ¡°Only one?¡± Chilla said. ¡°I¡¯d bet ten.¡±


    ¡°Chilla, you go across first since you¡¯re our scout. After that, we¡¯ll move across from lightest to heaviest. So, Xim is second.¡± Varrin took a glance at Sayil and I, seeming to weigh us each in his head. Sayil was a little taller than me, with chainmail armor, spear, and pack, but I was a lot broader than the slim-framed beast-person and carried the large, heavy sack Varrin had given me.


    ¡°Sayil, you go third, the esquire¡¯s fourth. I¡¯ll go last.¡±


    The order made sense. I doubted there was much of a difference between Sayil and I, but Varrin was obviously the heaviest, being a head taller and even broader than myself, while also wearing the heaviest armor of the group. As soon as Varrin was finished deciding the marching order, Chilla crept her way across the bridge without incident.


    Xim and Sayil also passed over without much fanfare, aside from a few small bits of stone that the bridge shed into the ¡®water¡¯ from its underside. I stepped across it gingerly, more than half-expecting it to fall to pieces beneath me, but got across with only a single, large brick dislodging from the side of the walkway and splashing into the muck.


    I held my breath as Varrin crossed, noting that this would be the most dramatic, and perhaps most predictable time for the bridge to collapse, with the party leader striding across confidently after the rest of the group had gone over untroubled. A few larger pieces of the bridge dislodged during Varrin¡¯s journey, but he stepped off the other side without any catastrophic architectural incidents occurring. He turned back to give the bridge an appraising look.


    I was expecting him to make a mouthy comment along the lines of, ¡°That wasn¡¯t so bad,¡± or ¡°Looks like the worst is behind us,¡± but he was smart enough not to taunt fate with such an obvious provocation. It was a real missed opportunity though, because the moment he turned back around, a massive, sludge covered hand reached out from the slimy river and grabbed him by the waist.

 Chapter 7: Fear is the Mind-Killer

    Chapter 7: Fear is the Mind-Killer


    To Varrin¡¯s credit he didn¡¯t scream or cry out when the creature snatched him up, he just grunted loudly and then immediately tried going for his sword. The sheath was pinned beneath the creature¡¯s palm, though, and he couldn¡¯t get a good grip on the hilt. I jumped forward and grabbed onto the hand, unsure of what to do, but I pulled at one of the fingers hoping to give Varrin enough room to squeeze out, or at least access his weapon. That¡¯s when the head of the monster breached the surface of the river, and its bulbous orange eyes peered up the bank at us.


    Dark, syrupy water flowed off the creature, revealing skin so pale that it was partially transparent. I could see blue and purple veins roping across the creature¡¯s skull, which pulsed with an irregular beat. Its face was wide and football shaped, if the football was about the size of a compact car, and thin hair was plastered to its skin. Its mouth spread out across its entire face and opened to reveal unsettlingly human teeth, ready to rip through Varrin¡¯s armor like a tuna can and mash him into a tasty paste. It dragged the two of us closer, until I was ankle-deep in the water, my boots sinking into the silt and mud of the riverbed.


    Two arrows thunked into the back of the monster¡¯s hand, followed quickly by the head of Sayil¡¯s spear. He dug the weapon deep into the hand, between what would have been the creature¡¯s metacarpals if it had been human, then twisted and wrenched the spear from side to side. Abyssal blue liquid poured out from the wound and the beast stopped dragging us closer, then let out a powerful, low moan that sounded like the pitch-shifted sobbing of an infant. It triggered some primal instinct buried in my brain and I was deeply disturbed by the sound.Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    I bit down on my lip hard enough to draw blood and tried to ignore the wretched terror the cry evoked within me. Varrin had given up on his sword, clawing frantically at one of the creature¡¯s massive knuckles. Sayil released his spear and fell back, splatting into the mud, then covered his ears. His eyes were wide and tears began trickling down his face.


    I slapped my palm on the knuckle where Varrin¡¯s gauntleted hands had torn off strips of the beast¡¯s skin and cast Oblivion Orb. I felt bone and cartilage disappear, then moved my hand slightly and cast it again, making a gap large enough to shove my hand into, fingers first. I pushed hard into the wound, tearing tendon and worming deep into cartilage. I cast Oblivion Orb twice more, then went for a fifth, but was met with an icy chill that ran out from my gut and a sharp jab of pain shot down my arm. I checked my bars. I was out of mana.


    I pulled my hand out, wet and dripping with dark blue blood, then wrapped my arms around the injured finger and pulled back against it with all my weight. The finger gave, then snapped as I bent it backwards. The creature roared again, and I fought even harder against the penetrating fear. Then, Xim was beside me, laying into the next knuckle with her scepter.


    Her swings proved far more effective against the beast¡¯s solid joints than they had against the stickmen, and it wasn¡¯t long before the monster gave up, snatching its hand away and sending Varrin crashing to the ground. The moment he was free he began scrabbling away, but the monster wasn¡¯t ready to give up on a potential meal, and it slapped its hand down, its uninjured finger digging into the mud. It heaved itself up and out of the water.


    Xim and I tried to fall back. I grabbed Sayil under the arms to try and drag him away as he continued to clutch at his ears and stare wide-eyed at the monster. Its massive arm pulled its body out of the water, where it began sprawling along the ground like a crocodile with quick movements from side to side. Despite the beast¡¯s humanoid head, its body was long, with three pairs of webbed and taloned feet. Its slick translucent skin was stretched taught against nubs of bones and ribs.


    Where the creature¡¯s second humanoid arm should have been there was only a ragged nub, bright pink and with the end of a shattered bone still protruding outward. It was injured, and severely. Something had already fought with this beast and inflicted enough damage to take off one of its enormous limbs. I spared a single second to consider what kind of monster would be able to do that, before the creature¡¯s giant head closed in on me.


    I dropped Sayil, realizing that I had no way to drag him away quickly enough. Now that it was out of the water and moving on its six reptilian legs, I doubted that I could escape even if I abandoned Sayil to his fate. Xim stood behind me, resolute and unyielding. She held up her shield, for all the good it would do, and had her scepter poised for a strike as soon as the beast closed the last few feet between us. I looked around for something to use to help her, maybe a rock that I could at least throw and distract it, when I noticed Sayil¡¯s spear on the ground.


    At some point during our struggle to free Varrin, it had dislodged from the monster¡¯s hand and plopped down into the mud. I swept it up into both hands, then drove the butt of it down into the ground. I held it like a pike and stood firm, aiming the spear head toward the mouth of the creature. Its head snapped forward and its jaws closed in around me.


    I felt the spear drive into the roof of the beast¡¯s mouth, but not before its teeth closed in around my waist, its teeth ripping through my skin and compressing my spine until I thought it might shatter. But, as quick as it had bitten, it reared back before it was able to begin chewing to sever me in two. The spear went with it, lodged into its hard palate. As it recoiled I saw that Xim clung to the side of the monster¡¯s face.


    She gripped a tuft of the creature¡¯s stringy hair and squeezed the side of its face with her thighs. Then, she raised her scepter high and swung hard for one of the creature¡¯s massive, orange eyes. It smashed into jelly with the first strike, the beast roaring and shaking its head. It started to raise its hand to swat at Xim, but I dove on top of it. My weight didn¡¯t arrest its movement, but the arm slowed. The limb was long and its grip was incredible, but the arm itself wasn¡¯t very strong, seeming designed to drag prey into the water, not to lift it into the air.


    Xim smashed her scepter into the eye twice more, mincing it completely, then hurled her weapon away and back toward the shore. She cocked her arm and drove her hand deep into the monster¡¯s eye socket. The beast bellowed and Xim let out a fierce battle cry as she ripped out a chunk of flesh from inside the monster¡¯s skull. It shook its head and turned its body, trying to flee back into the dark scum of the river, but Xim held tight, plunging her hand into the wound and pulling out another chunk, then another. The beast¡¯s body twisted and it made a terrible, gurgling noise, then it slumped, head plunging into the water. Xim fell, splashing down into the disgusting mess below.


    I crawled off the arm and waded in, getting waist deep before finding and helping Xim back up and out onto the shore. We fell back onto the ground, breathing hard and staring at the monster¡¯s corpse, which had already begun to shrivel and decay. A notification popped up.


    Your party has slain 1 Atrocidile: Lesser Abomination, Grade Zero. Your party receives the following reward(s):


    1: 5 Emerald Chips


    2: 1 complete set of Atrocidile Teeth


    3: 1 Atrocidile Essence


    Party Leader has set Chip and currency allocation to: Even Distribution.


    You receive: 1 Emerald Chip.


    Party Leader has set item allocation to: Master Looter.


    Party Leader receives all other rewards.


    Several moments passed before I spoke.


    ¡°That was metal as fuck,¡± I said to Xim. ¡°You tore its brain out through its eye socket.¡±


    Xim shook a combination of cerulean blood, brain matter, and river slime off her arm, then held it out and away from her body. She grimaced, squinting one eye shut and glanced over at me. Then, she smiled.


    ¡°I¡¯ll assume that was a compliment,¡± she said, ¡°and I graciously accept it. Feel free to build a temple in which you may worship me.¡±


    I grinned back at her, then looked around to check on the others. Sayil had come back to his senses, and he crawled up the shore and back onto the flat stone of the cave floor. He looked shell-shocked, staring at the monster¡¯s body, clenching and unclenching his hands. Varrin was farther away, barely visible through the fog. He was also sitting on the ground and looking toward Xim and I. I couldn¡¯t make out his expression but I assumed it was a look of awe and respect. Chilla was nowhere in sight.


    As the adrenaline of the fight wore off, my stomach and lower back began to ache intensely where the monster¡¯s teeth had closed around me. I checked my bars to see the extent of the damage.


    Xim drank down one of the antidotes, and she and I moved what we could from Chilla¡¯s pack to our own. Tools, rope, rations, medical supplies, several additional potions and elixirs with various effects, mostly to remedy different status effects. Xim dug out an extra pair of daggers and handed them to me.


    ¡°Here,¡± she whispered, ¡°it¡¯s better than nothing, but don¡¯t expect much. If you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing you¡¯re just as likely to cut yourself as the enemy. Don¡¯t have to steal any more of Sayil¡¯s stuff.¡±


    Sayil hadn¡¯t been happy with the fact that his spear was irretrievably lodged in the mouth of the half-dissolved Atrocidile, but he also wasn¡¯t about to wade into the slime river and try to dig it out. He pulled a pair of shortswords from his pack and strapped them on instead, grumbling about things like ¡®reach¡¯ and ¡®effective range¡¯.


    There was also a small journal in Chilla¡¯s pack, with an illustration pasted inside of a younger Chilla in front of a middle-aged man and woman. Her parents, I guessed. We gave that to Varrin, who tucked it away wordlessly. There was more in the pack, but it would get left behind.


    After resting for an hour near the body, Varrin waved a hand and I got a new notification.


    Party Leader has released Chilla Stormreiss¡¯ body.


    Defeated Party Member will be transported outside of the Delve.


    The floor of the cave opened up with the sound of grating stone, and Chilla¡¯s corpse and the rest of her belongings descended gently down into the cavity. The stone moved to close the gap, and she was gone.


    There was something about seeing her body that was so much more real than everything else that had happened. I¡¯d seen a number of living creatures brutally slain in a variety of ways that very day, but they were all monstrous. The violence didn¡¯t hit home because it was easy for my brain to dissociate from feeling any relation to the things that were being violenced. But a human body, torn apart and laid out to rot, was one of the most disturbing things I¡¯d ever seen.


    I¡¯d only ever seen bodies in-person at funeral visitations, and those had all been well-preserved and done up with makeup and nice clothes. I wasn¡¯t a complete neophyte when it came to witnessing disturbing scenes. I¡¯d grown up on ultra-violent movies and media, and had spent more time than I should have on LiveLeaks and other similar sites. But, seeing it up close and in person for the first time was... awful.


    We spent another hour after Chilla¡¯s body was taken away so we could rest, hydrate, and let Xim distribute another couple of heals. Varrin had gotten a bit squashed by the full-body handshake the Atrocidile had given him, and Sayil was still losing health over time from his toxicity.


    There wasn¡¯t much talking, aside from some discussion of our strategy, formation, and tactics moving forward. Our ranger was gone, so we no longer had the luxury of a trained scout. Chilla had also been our main source of ranged attacks, since my only spell effectively made me a third melee fighter. Xim was helpful enough to let me know that the choice to forego a ranged option by an aspiring spell caster at level zero was atypical. Varrin was helpful enough to let me know that it was also stupid enough that he was considering assigning me a conservator after we got out of the Delve, to make sure I wasn¡¯t a danger to myself or others. Ultimately, Sayil pulled out a set of knives with curved blades on either end and fastened them to his belt. He told me they were for throwing when I asked, and it seemed like everyone else already knew that.


    When we all stood and prepared to move on, I realized how disgusting we were. We¡¯d only been in the Delve for a few hours, but the two encounters so far had left us covered in a thick coating of filth. Varrin and Sayil were both clean compared to Xim and I, and they were still covered in mud, stickman goo, blood, and sweat. I¡¯d gotten doused with a good coating of Atrocidile saliva on top of that, and was caked from the waist down in drying, toxic river gunk.


    Xim was the worst off. After driving her arm up to the shoulder into the mashed eye and brain of the Atrocidile, which was nasty enough on its own, she¡¯d been completely submerged in the river. Her once white robes were stained a dark greenish-brown, the links between her chainmail were clogged, and I couldn¡¯t even make out the symbol on her tabard any longer. I¡¯m sure we had a nice scent to us as well, but, fortunately, the constant scouring of my nasal cavity by the omnipresent, deadly mist had robbed me of any sense of smell.


    As for my clothes, my shirt was a total loss at this point. After riding the Atrocidile¡¯s hand, the garment had earned a few new rips and had become more of a vague suggestion of a shirt. I pulled it off and threw it onto the ground, then considered doing the same with my pants. They were still mostly intact, but had enough new holes in them that they¡¯d made their way beyond ¡®fashionably distressed¡¯ and now fit more closely with ¡®homeless chic¡¯. Plus, they had about ten pounds of sludge caked onto them. My boots were doing ok, but soil squished between my toes with every step, even after taking them off and doing my best to clean them out. In the end, I decided that tackling the Delve with my dogs out and my manly parts dangling in the fog wasn¡¯t a wise course of action. Wisdom was my third highest stat, after all.


    Chilla¡¯s pack had held an extra pair of clothes, but with her slim frame I doubted they¡¯d have fit. I also wasn¡¯t totally keen on the idea of trying on the dead woman¡¯s shirts while Varrin literally mourned her loss right in front of me. Anything Xim had was too short and slim, Sayil¡¯s frame was too narrow, and if Varrin had anything that would fit me, he wasn¡¯t offering, and I didn¡¯t want to ask. So, I ended up striding through the Delve shirtless and covered in mud, like I¡¯d just lost the county pig-wrestling competition. (Which is properly pronounced pig rasslin¡¯, for anyone interested in the dialect of my homeland).


    First, we backtracked to the river chamber, looking for any additional tunnels or exits, but found none. Xim told me that this was normal for a low level Delve, which usually presented the simplest floor plans and layouts. As the level of the Delve increased, the rule of thumb was that its complexity increased as well, to the point where certain Delves turned into sprawling labyrinths whose main difficulty became finding the exit in time. I asked Xim why there was a time limit, but she shrugged.


    ¡°People have theories,¡± she said. ¡°A lot of Delvers think it¡¯s arbitrary; just part of the challenge to decide who¡¯s worthy of the rewards. Others think that the portals connecting the Delvers to the outside world can only stay open for so long. The supplicants of Astrania believe the Delves are evil, and that the whole thing is a trap that feeds on the souls of Delvers who become trapped. No one knows for sure, though.¡±


    After returning to the tunnel where we¡¯d found Chilla, we slowly made our way deeper. I began keeping time by tracking my mana regen, watching it creep upward at an agonizing pace. After more than an hour passed, the tunnel began to narrow. We had to swap from walking in pairs to moving in a single-file line, with me at the rear, and I started thinking about cave explorers who got caught in tight places underground. At one point I started to worry that the Delve actually was some sort of trap, that the tunnel would never end and we¡¯d walk merrily down it until the ceiling collapsed or it flooded with water or it turned out that we were really inside the throat of some giant space worm, and it was getting ready to swallow. Spending such a long time on edge, waiting for whatever killed Chilla to come stalking down the never-ending tunnel, was getting to me, and I began looking over my shoulder every couple of minutes to make sure I wasn¡¯t being stalked by something. I was doing that very thing when I walked into Xim ahead of me.


    The group had stopped, and Varrin sent a message down our line like a game of telephone, with Sayil whispering to Xim and then Xim whispering to me.


    ¡°There¡¯s a chamber ahead. Varrin doesn¡¯t see anything alive, but there¡¯s some antiqa in the room.¡±


    ¡°Some what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Ancient tech. A lot of Delvers delve just to hunt for it, but it¡¯s usually accompanied by some bad business when you find it.¡±


    ¡°What kind of bad business?¡±


    ¡°Lots of kinds. For example, the kind that doesn¡¯t kill you, but paralyzes you and lays eggs in your ear canals, then lets its babies suck your mana veins dry until you die. Or the kind that can take your arms off without shedding a drop of blood, then starts to dissect your hands, but somehow you can still feel your fingernails as it strips them off.¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± I said, swallowing, ¡°you¡¯re pretty dark.¡±


    ¡°People often say that about those of us from the Third Layer.¡±


    I noticed Varrin glaring at us from up the tunnel and I gave him a thumbs up, feeling like a schoolboy who¡¯d just been caught chatting in class. Xim faced forward and the four of us marched carefully into the room.


    The shit inside was wild.

 Chapter 8: Cash Crop

    Chapter 8: Cash Crop


    The irregular, natural stone walls and ceiling of the tunnel gave way to smooth-cut stone when we stepped out of the corridor. The room extended out in each direction farther than I could see through the ubiquitous mist, but the stone lights were still visible far above us when I looked up, their illumination becoming small, spectral blooms in the haze. From within the fog were rows of glowing green lights which slowly pulsed with the timing of a giant¡¯s breathing, long and slow. On the floor were a mess of spiraling black tubes that looked to my eyes like thick electrical cords or cables. I bent down to touch one, expecting to find rubber or plastic housing, but instead finding its surface hard and slick with moisture, like some sort of polished crystal. The edges curved out to meet the ground, looking as though the ground had been cast into this shape, or that the shape itself had grown from the ground.


    As we moved toward one of the pulsing emerald lights, we found a large crystalline object floating in the middle of a column-like structure. Its surface was made of something so clear that the only way I could see it was that the fog abruptly ended. It was as if a cylindrical beam of force descended from the ceiling to trap this massive crystal and protect it from the corrupted air outside. We all stared at it in wonder for a few seconds, then watched as a small bead of emerald liquid formed on the point at its bottom, then dripped down into a black grate beneath. One of the large tubes was set into the base of the structure, and it wound its way further into the underground facility. We walked around for at least twenty minutes, and found no end to it. There must have been thousands of the crystals hovering down here, slowly leaking their magical lime kool-aid into what I now suspected were hoses. But, where were the hoses taking the liquid? Was it being gathered somewhere? Was there an entire swimming pool of the stuff? Or, maybe a lake? I had no idea how long the fluid had been accumulating. There certainly didn¡¯t seem to be any people down here monitoring the place.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of something like this,¡± Xim said, her eyes wide and drinking in the sight. It would have been beautiful, had I not been covered in filth and inhaling toxic gas with every breath. That was beginning to wear on me mentally. My health regen made up for all the toxicity I¡¯d built, but it didn¡¯t negate it, it just healed the damage faster than it accumulated. My blood vessels felt like I was on a slow I.V. drip of pepper spray, my guts squirmed, and my eyes were definitely bleeding. Just a little bit, though. The others looked like they felt worse than I did, except for Xim, who had taken everything that had happened so far in stride.


    At one point Sayil tapped the barrier with the tip of one of his swords. It didn¡¯t make a clink or a scraping sound as though it were made of glass or plastic. It didn¡¯t make any sound at all. The point of his sword just stopped. Against Xim¡¯s protest he leaned into the sword a bit, putting his weight into the blade, but it didn¡¯t budge. He inspected the edge afterward, but it was completely undamaged.


    We eventually found the far wall to the complex, which was perfectly flat, ascending upwards out of sight, and we followed along it until we came back to the tunnel we¡¯d entered through. Then, we continued to follow the wall until we ended up back where we started, more or less.


    ¡°Dead end?¡± Sayil asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ve checked the other rooms,¡± said Varrin, looking around as if he could see anything more than a few meters away, aside from the glowing lights. ¡°There has to be an exit.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Xim, ¡°it¡¯s hidden, like an illusory wall or a secret switch.¡±


    ¡°Not in a Delve this low level,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Not that I¡¯m an expert,¡± I said, ¡°but it seems like this one is a bit unusual so far. At least, based on your reactions.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± said Xim. Varrin nodded reluctantly.


    ¡°Something like that... Atrocidile,¡± Varrin said, throwing a lot of stank on the word ¡®Atrocidile¡¯, ¡°is beyond what I would expect from a Creation Delve, no matter the difficulty. And these chambers are the type of things you find in a Special Delve, or, at the very least, a mid to high level Platinum.¡±


    ¡°The objective,¡± said Xim, ¡°mentioned that the mana accumulation had been interrupted by something. That¡¯s what we¡¯re trying to find and fix. What if this would be a higher level Platinum, or even a Special, if it were allowed to accumulate to maturation? It said the reward was an early harvest as well.¡±


    Sayil¡¯s eyes narrowed as she said this, and his hands balled into fists. He glanced at Varrin, then turned and walked away a few steps.


    ¡°If that¡¯s true,¡± said Varrin, ¡°then everything we¡¯ve assumed based on this being a Creation Delve would be wrong. But the layout so far has been simple, like you would expect from a low level Delve.¡±


    ¡°Higher level doesn¡¯t necessarily mean higher complexity,¡± said Xim. ¡°That¡¯s just true more often than not.¡±


    I¡¯ll admit that I wasn¡¯t smelling everything they were stepping in with this conversation, but I had a pretty good idea. If I was understanding them, it was like we were in a late-game area, but all the monsters were scaled down to our level.


    ¡°So,¡± I said, ¡°the magic batteries that run this place are set to low-power mode?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Xim.


    To be honest, I was surprised she understood that question. I guess they had batteries here? Or maybe it had to do with the way things were being translated. I¡¯d realized a while ago that we certainly weren¡¯t speaking English. But, my thoughts and expressions were still in English. Despite that, communication flowed together seamlessly, somehow.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not jump to any conclusions,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Let¡¯s walk the wall again. We¡¯ll each keep contact with it, and look closely for any irregularities that might indicate a hidden door.¡±


    And that¡¯s what we did. I slid my hand along as we walked, while Varrin and Xim did the same. Sayil dragged the sheath of one of his swords along the bottom of the wall, which did make an unpleasant scraping sound this time. We made our way back around again, and found nothing.


    ¡°What about the center?¡± I suggested.


    There was a brief debate over how to tell where the center even was, and it was decided that we would count steps from one wall to another, while also counting the rows of floating crystals. Then, we started at one wall and walked half the steps toward the middle, counting the pillars along the way. We didn¡¯t end up exactly between pillars at the halfway point, but were close enough to feel confident that the pillars were spaced equidistant from one another. Then, we took a walk up the center row.


    After another few minutes of walking we found a large spiraling staircase that led further down. There were dark, sticky streaks of blood on the steps, with three-toed footprints about the size of my hand pressed into them. The shape reminded me of a lizard of some kind, and I hoped we weren¡¯t about to run into a pack of acid-spitting dilophosauruses. I briefly stopped and considered how I knew the name of that particular dinosaur, but was interrupted when Varrin began making his way down. The rest of us followed.Findd new stories at novelhall.com nodded and Varrin gave me a look I couldn¡¯t quite decipher. I suspected that he was reevaluating me, since I was talking like I knew what the fuck I was saying for the first time, rather than asking questions that had him wondering whether I were secretly three toddlers in a trench coat, pretending to be a Delver.


    ¡°Do any of you know what those crystals are?¡± I said.


    Sayil shook his head and Varrin furrowed his brow.


    Xim set her chin on a palm, then said, ¡°I think it¡¯s a crystalized form of poison essence.¡± She gave me a slight smile. ¡°Just a gut feeling.¡±


    ¡°That...can¡¯t be,¡± said Sayil. ¡°It¡¯s too much.¡±


    ¡°Delves often contain resources we can¡¯t imagine,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case we should take as much as we can carry,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s poison essence?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Arlo,¡± said Varrin, which surprised me, since he actually used my name instead of calling me ¡®esquire¡¯, ¡°you¡¯re telling me that you can figure out what that thing was, along with the ultimate purpose of this entire facility, but don¡¯t know what an essence is?¡±


    ¡°I feel like it wasn¡¯t that hard to take a stab at what¡¯s going on in here,¡± I said. ¡°But, yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯m telling you.¡±


    At this point, Varrin didn¡¯t even look disappointed, he just looked confused.


    ¡°It¡¯s the pure form of something,¡± said Xim. ¡°Or, the most basic form, depending on how you think about it. Basically, a poison essence can be shaped into any type of poison, if you know what you¡¯re doing. The Atrocidile essence we got earlier could be used by a mana-weaver to shape an infant Atrocidile, or any specific part of an adult Atrocidile, with shape and size variations running the gambit of what is possible in an unmutated adult.¡±


    ¡°You can make... babies with it?¡± I said.


    ¡°With the right essence, yes. Those aren¡¯t very valuable, though. I mean, in the wider scheme of things. I¡¯m sure the Atrocidile essence is worth a heap of notes, since the creature was unusual and a little strong. But, generally, the more generic an essence is, the more valuable it is.¡±


    ¡°Since you can make more things out of it?¡± I guessed.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Xim said, a bit too loudly. ¡°Sorry. But, yes, that¡¯s generally the case. A poison essence can be used to make any type of poison, which can mean any number of things. What even is poison? Is it limited to things that are poisonous to humans? To deeplings? To the weaver that¡¯s shaping it? How do you define when someone is poisoned, as opposed to some other form of harm caused by ingestion or contact with something that harms you biologically? Maybe you can make compounds with poison essence that are revolutionary-¡±


    ¡°We get it,¡± said Varrin. ¡°What she¡¯s saying is that if that really is poison essence, there¡¯s enough here to buy a kingdom, and then crash the poison essence economy afterward.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true,¡± said Xim. ¡°But we can¡¯t carry all of this out with us. There¡¯s too much.¡±


    ¡°What about the inventory?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course we¡¯d use that,¡± she said. ¡°But how much do you think all this weighs?¡± she waved a hand out over the field.


    ¡°I have no idea.¡±


    I stepped to the closest stalk, then gingerly tapped the crystal on top. It tingled when I touched it, like it had a small electric charge running through it, but it didn¡¯t hurt. I took a hold of it, then twisted it like I saw the harvester do. It popped off with a slight crunch, and I hefted it. It was about the size of a spice grinder, a little longer than the width of my hand, maybe two inches in diameter at its thickest point. It might have weighed a quarter pound. If there were a hundred thousand in the room, that would be twenty-five thousand pounds. A bit more than ten metric tons. It was a lot. And, I had no idea if a hundred thousand was even a good guess.


    I opened my inventory and placed the crystal inside. The capacity now read 1/200. I also had my chips in there, and I didn¡¯t know if those counted towards weight. I went to the next stalk and popped the crystal off. It was a little bigger. I popped it into my inventory and there was no change. I was able to get four more into my inventory before it went to 2/200. So, five to an inventory slot. Slot? Unit of weight? I needed to figure that out. In any event, I had a rough guess. I could carry 198 more ¡®slots¡¯ worth, which was a little less than a thousand of the crystals. That was assuming I didn¡¯t want to carry anything else.


    The others had started doing the same thing, twisting crystals off the stalks and putting them into their inventory. I looked around for the harvester, concerned that it might be upset that we were stealing from its field, but it wasn¡¯t anywhere in sight. We all looted to our heart¡¯s content for a time, and when we¡¯d all filled up our inventories, leaving room for chips and other surprises, we¡¯d only cleared a space that was around ten meters wide and eight meters deep. A sliver of what was around us. I thought about what Varrin had said, and couldn''t help but imagine the rows of crystals as a field full of hundred-dollar bills that I didn''t have the room to pick up.


    I really needed a bigger inventory.

 Chapter 9: Dog Pile

    Chapter 9: Dog Pile


    Once we were done roleplaying a group of hobbits in a potato patch, we made our way through the field, once again following a wall. We walked past the tall harvester guy, but it didn¡¯t pay us any attention, still appraising each crystal it went past and stopping to pick the ones it found to its liking. We traveled in the same direction as it did for a few minutes and I wasn¡¯t able to discern how it was choosing between the essences. The thing took crystals of varying sizes and shapes, and each had little else to distinguish them. The stalks were of a fairly uniform height and each crystal had the same vibrant green color and radiance as the next. Maybe it was collecting a sampler, or a curated variety of sizes to decorate its house with. It could put them next to an incense burner shaped like a dragon and a copy of the Bhagavad Gita it had never read. I¡¯m sure they looked very nice beside a labradorite orb and a book on astrology.


    Unlike the chamber above, we quickly found a hallway branching off from this room. We continued around the perimeter without going down it to make sure we didn¡¯t miss any other paths, and found three more, one on each wall. The room was so large that, moving at a careful pace, a trip around the perimeter took us nearly an hour. After coming back to the first hallway we¡¯d discovered, which Varrin had marked with an ¡®x¡¯ using some chalk from his pack, we stopped to discuss a matter of increasing importance.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been in this Delve for a little over eight hours,¡± said Varrin. I wondered how he was able to tell, since he didn¡¯t have a watch or any other obvious timekeeping device. But, after studying my interface for a minute, I was able to bring up the system message that had given us our objective.


    You have entered Delve 1156: The Toxic Grotto.


    Difficulty: Platinum


    Current accumulation level: 0.5


    This Delve¡¯s accumulation has been interrupted. Find and eliminate the cause of the disruption to clear the Delve.


    Reward: Early harvest and distribution.


    Time Remaining: 15 Hours, 43 minutes.


    More than half the time had been spent exploring this massive, two-level essence farm.


    ¡°I¡¯m hoping that this area is the main body of the Delve,¡± said Varrin. ¡°If so, then we¡¯re doing well with our time. However, I think it¡¯s best that we not spend more time than we need on sight-seeing.¡±


    ¡°Is that what we¡¯re doin¡¯?¡± asked Sayil.


    ¡°The essences were a good find. But, we spent a while gathering them. I don¡¯t think we can afford any more delays like that one. I want to make sure we¡¯re all on the same page.¡±


    Sayil shrugged. Xim looked like she was about to start chewing on a nail, then caught sight of the state of her hand and decided against it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think time is going to be our problem,¡± she said. ¡°And I¡¯m fine with focusing on finishing the Delve, but we still don¡¯t know what we¡¯re looking for. We have to give the environment some level of attention.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Varrin. ¡°For now, let¡¯s keep a cautious pace. We¡¯ll revisit this when the time drops below twelve hours.¡±


    While the others discussed our temporal allowance for dilly-dallying, my eyes wandered over the environment. I looked out at the essence plants, absorbed by how strange they were, and by the scale of the underground farm. Regular drops of green liquid came down from above, and I glanced up toward the ceiling again, studying the dense fog above us. That¡¯s when I noticed the first creature crawling down the wall toward us.


    It froze when it saw me see it. It was about the size of a bulldog, with an oversized head that was two-thirds mouth, full of sharp, carnivore teeth. Two long arms grew from just behind its head, and it gripped the flat surface of the wall with wide fingertips, like those of a gecko. It had two stumpy legs ending in a pair of three-toed lizard-like feet, a pair of tiny black eyes, and dark, slimy-looking skin. Behind it, a pointed tail rose up and pointed down at me. At the end of it was a sharp stinger. There were at least a dozen more around and above it, with more creeping out from the mist. I was amazed that we hadn¡¯t noticed them.


    ¡°No one ever looks up,¡± I whispered, then reached out a hand and placed it on Varrin¡¯s shoulder. He looked over at me, then followed my gaze. Xim and Sayil followed suit, then slowly began backing into the hallway. The first creature cocked its head, and a thick stream of drool ran off its teeth down toward me. Its tail began to glow, then jerked and sent the sharp stinger shooting off of it. The barb pierced me right above the collarbone.


    I swore at the burning pain and jumped into the hallway, the monsters clamoring down the wall now that the brief standoff had ended. A couple more stingers thumped into the soil behind me as I flew out of their sight and one of the creatures landed hard on the ground, dazed. I was initially confused by that, but remembered my I Don¡¯t Attack You, You Attack Me skill, and assumed it had gotten stunned after launching the stinger that hit me and had lost its grip on the wall.


    After sprinting a few meters, I spun to see the creatures crawling into the corridor along the walls and ceiling. Several let themselves fall to the ground, spinning in the air and landing on their short legs, their feet making a wet smack as they hit the stone. They raised their comically long arms and bared fangs, then started lumbering down the corridor. Some of them had fat tongues hanging out over the row of sharp teeth, and I wondered how they didn¡¯t accidentally shred them.


    We made it a hundred feet or so down the hall when Varrin turned back toward the creatures and drew his sword.


    ¡°Why are we stopping?¡± I asked, sliding to a stop and nearly slipping on the wet stone. There was some sort of moss growing on the floor here.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know what¡¯s down this tunnel,¡± he said. I raised my eyebrows and pointed back toward the encroaching monsters.


    ¡°Not those!¡± I said, then ripped the stinger out of the base of my neck. It had only done four damage, but stacked another five toxicity which took me to thirty-seven.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Xim, getting ready behind Varrin, ¡°you can¡¯t say that for sure. Might be a whole nest of them down there.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Or there could be a fucking food truck selling tacos and cheap tequila shots! We don¡¯t know.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Did you- did you have other points?¡± Varrin stammered.


    ¡°I already had some points distributed, but I didn¡¯t place them myself. At least, not intentionally. I mean, I made life choices that gave me the points, so in that sense I placed them where they ended up, but getting an extra point in Intelligence wasn¡¯t really on my mind when I decided to pick up a double-major, ya¡¯ know?¡±


    Xim held up her hands, then shook them.


    ¡°How?!¡± she said.


    ¡°How many?¡± Varrin said at the same time.


    I pointed at Varrin.


    ¡°First, not sure I want to tell you that.¡± I pointed at Xim. ¡°Second, great question. Third,¡± I pointed down the hall, ¡°the fuck did Sayil go?¡±


    Xim and Varrin both turned to look down the corridor, but Sayil was gone. We soon got another notification. One that we¡¯d already seen one too many times this Delve.


    A party member has been slain: Sayil Starion.


    All items in the party member¡¯s inventory will be distributed to the survivors upon completion of the Delve.


    ¡°Did more of them come from behind?¡± Varrin asked as we marched down the corridor, looking for Sayil¡¯s body.


    ¡°If so, why wouldn¡¯t they flank us too?¡± said Xim.


    ¡°I was a little distracted, but did either of you hear anything?¡± I said. ¡°If he were attacked, wouldn¡¯t he call out or something?¡±


    ¡°Maybe they didn¡¯t come after us because they were satisfied with Sayil,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Or he fought them off while we were focused on the front, but fell later on.¡±


    ¡°If he fought them, then where are the corpses?¡± said Xim. ¡°The blood?¡±


    I looked at the ground as we went, but there weren¡¯t any out-of-place bodily fluids.


    ¡°So, with Chilla,¡± I began, trying to word my thoughts delicately, ¡°it seemed like she was affected by the atrocidile fear thing, and was driven away. Then she got ambushed by something. Do you think that Sayil may have run off as well?¡±


    ¡°From what fear effect?¡± Varrin said.


    ¡°Maybe a non-magical one? Like, he was just scared the normal way?¡±


    Varrin shook his head.


    ¡°You think Sir Sayil ran from those petty beasts of his own volition? No. Something took him away. We must not have heard anything over the sounds of our own fight.¡±


    Xim looked up at me.


    ¡°You were yelling a lot.¡±


    ¡°I was?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you were saying that the gekkogs were bad boys and that you weren¡¯t going to give them any canned food for a week. Then you said that the Delve had a ¡®one bite rule¡¯ so you were taking them to Dr. Varrin to be put down and that you were very sad about it.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± I grunted. I didn¡¯t remember any of that.

 Chapter 10: Feelings

    Chapter 10: Feelings


    Sayil¡¯s body was even worse off than Chilla¡¯s had been. It had also been hollowed out, but had even more meat stripped from it, leaving little more than bones and tendons behind. Even his face hadn¡¯t been spared, and ragged tufts of fur gave way to gaping holes in his cheeks, the white of his teeth visible through them.


    Varrin tossed his battered shield against a wall after studying the body, clattering loud enough to make me wince, and the sound echoed down the stone corridor behind us. He leaned against a wall and slid down to the ground, tossing his helm aside and gripping his dirty white hair in gauntleted fists. I watched him, trying to decide whether he was overwhelmed with anger or guilt, maybe both. Then again he may have just been overwhelmed in general.


    Varrin had been the one to decide on the difficulty of the Delve, a decision over which Sayil had made his feelings abundantly clear. Now that the Littan was dead, an unexpected pang of anger shot through me.


    When we¡¯d lost Chilla it had been a somber moment, but on some level she had gone into this with eyes wide open. She¡¯d defended Varrin over the choice, and I suspected that the two of them had decided on Platinum before they¡¯d even entered the Creation Delve. So, when she had died, the loss felt more like it was at the hands of the Delve.


    With Sayil, the blood was on Varrin¡¯s hands. He¡¯d made an arrogant choice, and now he was learning all about consequences. I wondered how much of that he¡¯d had to face up to this point, as the child of some sort of noble. I couldn¡¯t stop a bitter feeling welling up in me¨Cthat privilege had sheltered him, as it so often does. But I also didn¡¯t truly know the man or his upbringing. I left my assumptions behind and surveyed the room. Varrin could figure himself out in his own time.


    Sayil¡¯s body was in a large chamber lined with tall alcoves. The hall had ended here, and there were no other notable exits, aside from a large crack down one wall that might have been wide enough for a small human or other compact creature to crawl through. I suspected that whatever had killed Sayil had escaped through the crack, though I found it difficult to imagine something that small being able to eliminate Sayil so easily. There were no obvious signs of struggle in the room and, although there was some blood, there were no tracks that I could see.


    Within each alcove was a perfect copy of the harvester creature from the farm. All of them had a number of black tubes sprouting from their chests which, upon inspection, looked like they were fastened to the harvester and could be removed. I considered that one of these could have been the cause of Sayil¡¯s death, but the one back in the farm hadn¡¯t been subtle. Even while fighting the gekkogs, I figured there was a pretty good chance we¡¯d have heard one of these things stomping up behind us. There was also no blood or other viscera on the things, and the one active one we¡¯d encountered hadn¡¯t shown any hostility toward us.


    There was also a thick layer of moss, or whatever the local equivalent was, growing up and over the feet on the harvesters. If any of them had moved, the moss would have had to grow back up onto their feet real quick. As it was, I didn¡¯t think any of the ones in this room had moved for a long time. Still, I couldn¡¯t eliminate the possibility, so I kept an eye on them as I walked back over to Xim.


    She was leaning over Sayil, still peering at the wounds and turned his head from side to side to get a closer look at... something. She shook her head and started running her hands along his arms.


    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Bones,¡± she said. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have any broken bones.¡± She held his hand up and looked at me. ¡°No wounds on his fingers either.¡±


    ¡°Oh. So, that means what? He had good calcium intake as a child?¡±


    ¡°His swords are sheathed. His throwing knives and all still here. It doesn¡¯t look like he fought at all. But,¡± she gestured back down the hall, ¡°there¡¯s no blood trail leading to the body.¡±


    ¡°Still not following.¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯d been ambushed there should have been a struggle,¡± Xim said, standing and wiping her hands off on her tabard. The act probably made them more dirty, if anything. ¡°Unless whatever attacked him killed or disabled him with its first attack. Now, everything in here has tried to eat us. Everything except these things.¡± She waved a finger between the harvesters. ¡°Monsters we¡¯ve encountered attack with natural weapons. Claws, teeth...¡±


    ¡°Magically enhanced pointy bits,¡± I added.


    ¡°If he were attacked back where we were fighting, then he would likely have been bleeding. If so, we would have a blood trail. If something hit him and knocked him unconscious, then dragged him down here, his skull should have cracked.¡± She knelt and turned his head from side to side, a little less than gently, ¡°But there are no obvious signs of attack with a blunt instrument.¡±


    ¡°No blunt-force trauma?¡±


    It was the wrong thing for me to hear at that moment.


    So far, I felt like I¡¯d been giving Varrin a lot of slack. But that reproach sent an ice-cold lance of rage right down the middle of my body. Maybe if I hadn¡¯t been bleeding from the eyes, covered in shit, and fresh off of finding the second mutilated corpse of the day, I would have been a bit more chill. As it was, that statement sent me right over an edge I didn¡¯t even realize I¡¯d been standing next to.


    I strode over to Varrin and stared him down. He was a head taller than me, but he still looked young enough to get called into the principal¡¯s office, and he was starting to act half that age.


    ¡°It¡¯s called a coping mechanism, fuck-face, and it¡¯s the sort of thing that lets you choose between having a laugh and burying somebody, so you don¡¯t want me to take this seriously. If I did, you¡¯d end up right next to Sayil.¡± I gripped the collar of his armor and pushed him back into the wall. ¡°You¡¯re the one who put us in this situation. Xim and I didn¡¯t ask to get caught in orbit around your monumental dumbassery, but here we are. You¡¯ve already gotten your girlfriend and this poor bastard killed with the quality of your leadership, so don¡¯t you even dare take a self-righteous tone with me.¡±


    I let Varrin go and took a couple steps back. The lordling eyed me intensely, his expression going from shock, to rage, to a sort of hollowed-out anxiety. He looked away from me to Sayil¡¯s body after a few seconds, and I took a few deep breaths. The breathing exercise didn¡¯t help much, since it felt like huffing carolina reaper sauce. Eventually, I managed to put my less comfortable feelings back into a box and stuff them deep, deep inside. There¡¯d be a healthier time to deal with those later. For now, I needed to get back to not dying in the calmest way I could.


    ¡°This is a dead end,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve got what we need from Sayil, so go ahead and do your body-release thing, then we need to move on. We¡¯ve got three more exits to check and the clock doesn¡¯t stop while we all engage in healthy and constructive communication.¡±


    Varrin¡¯s hand clenched around the hilt of his sword and his jaw tightened, but he waved a hand and we got the notification telling us Sayil¡¯s body was being taken outside the Delve. The ground opened up, swallowed the beast-person, and we moved on in flinty silence.


    There were no more gekkogs on the walls of the farm area, and we kept our eyes up as we made our way around to the second hallway. Another ten minute hike brought us to a second chamber identical to the one where we¡¯d found Sayil, but the harvesters in this room were on the floor in pieces.


    Most looked like they¡¯d been disassembled, but two had obviously been torn apart. Soft, spongy material made up the ¡®flesh¡¯ beneath black skin, with thousands of small veins running through it, brown and desiccated. The bones were silvery and metallic, and their stomachs opened to reveal a large, membranous sack where the crystallized essences were stored after dropping down the hole in its chest. The disassembled harvesters were partially full of crystals, but the two that had been ripped open had their membranes slashed and any essences that had been there were gone.


    We studied the scene wordlessly, then moved on to the next hall. At the end of that one was a stone panel that could be lifted to reveal a wide shaft that descended in a slope deeper into the facility, reminding me of an old coal chute. Poison fog billowed out of it when opened, and I speculated that this is where the harvesters dumped the essences after gathering them. Or a garbage disposal. Either way, it was better than a dead end, but none of us were eager to go sliding down it.


    The fourth hallway was much shorter than the others, and led to a series of rooms that were full of what looked like benches, desks, and even beds carved from the stone. The rooms were filthy, covered in a thick coating of dust and grime. If there had ever been any bedding or other degradable items beyond the stonework it had long since rotted away. After briefly exploring the rooms and finding nothing of interest we went to the end of the hall, where there was another descending stairwell.


    I took the lead this time, Varrin following behind Xim and I without a word, and the stairs went much further down than was reasonable. After descending for twenty minutes my mind began to return to the paranoid fear state from the endless tunnel above.


    Would this ever end?


    How far down had we gone?


    I felt like we could have gone down the length of a skyscraper at this point, but I¡¯d never gone down that many stairs before. I started to wish for an elevator, but disregarded that idea after I considered all the classic horror-movie tropes like being trapped inside, falling to our deaths, or having a liquid metal murder-robot from the future land on top and start trying to carve its way inside to kill my son.


    When we finally exited at the bottom, any relief I felt at being out of the Delve¡¯s version of SCP-087 was quickly extinguished. We were in a perfectly circular, perfectly dark tunnel, with none of the glowing rocks that lit up the rest of the Delve. After a minute of us all staring down the tunnel, trying to will our eyes to pierce the inky dark, I broke the silence.


    ¡°I know I¡¯ve already said this once today, but that is fucking ominous.¡±

 Chapter 11: Mandatory Sewer Level

    Chapter 11: Mandatory Sewer Level


    ¡°Only a little ominous,¡± Xim said.


    ¡°You know it¡¯s probably full of monsters.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but we know there are monsters. It would be worse if we didn¡¯t know about the monsters and they surprised us. Also, the fog isn¡¯t too bad down here.¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡± She was right about the fog. There was still a slight haze, but the air was mostly clear. My toxicity still wasn¡¯t going down, though. ¡°I¡¯m assuming one of us has torches.¡±


    Varrin reached into the sack I carried and pulled out a lantern. He turned a dial on the side and the shutter opened up, sending a beam of white light down the tunnel.


    ¡°A bit better than a torch,¡± I said. ¡°How¡¯s that work? Do you have lightbulbs here? I figured with the medieval getup that this was sort of a pre-industrial type of vibe.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand half of what you just asked,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It¡¯s a glowstone lamp. There¡¯s a glowstone in it.¡±


    ¡°Oh. It works pretty well.¡±


    ¡°It has a minor focusing matrix to enhance and direct the light. It¡¯s one of the few magically imbued items you can bring into a Delve before level one.¡±


    ¡°There are restrictions?¡±


    ¡°So many,¡± said Varrin. He walked off down the tunnel.


    Xim and I walked side by side just behind Varrin, which was a little awkward with the curve of the floor, but both of us wanted to be able to see what was ahead. There was a light stream of water running along the ground so I assumed that this area was some sort of sewer or water runoff system. Unlike the Delve above, the sewers were not very straightforward.


    The first time we came to a junction that gave us three possible paths to follow, we decided to stick to the right wall. That led us to a wide, impassable grate that the water trickled away into. When we wound our way back to the original junction, we kept right again, which was straight from our original bearing, and came to another junction after a few minutes of walking. Varrin sighed and took out his chalk, then began marking the paths we¡¯d explored and the ones we hadn¡¯t.


    I began building a mental map of the sewer in my head and after two hours was starting to get a good idea of the shape of the area. There were a large number of junctions, and while they didn¡¯t follow a direct grid pattern, it was more geometric than organic in design. The bounds of the sewers also seemed to correlate to the facilities upstairs. Where I estimated there was a wall above, we would quickly find a grate or a dead-end with water trickling down from a drainage pipe in the ceiling.


    At one point we found a sheer cliff face where the water ran off into a massive underground chasm. Varrin¡¯s light wasn¡¯t strong enough to make out the far walls of the room and the sounds of the water hitting the bottom came from a long, long way down. I made a note of that one in the event we got desperate for a path to progress, but none of us thought it would be a bright idea to take a dive and pray.Visitt  for the latest updates


    Several hours passed before we became nervous. That¡¯s not true, we were all nerves down there in the endless labyrinth of absolute darkness, but we did begin to get more nervous when the twelve hour mark came and went. If my mental map of the place was correct, we had thus far covered an area of around fifty percent of the large grow chamber above. I was reasonably confident that we would find some sort of exit before our time got too short.


    That¡¯s what I told the others, at least. Who knows how big this place might be.


    While no one had outright told me I was in a different world, it was obvious from context clues, so I began processing information through that lens. What were the chances that life would evolve on a separate world in a shockingly similar humanoid form? Was the atmosphere coincidentally a similar mix of primarily nitrogen and oxygen? Why was gravity so similar?


    It was entirely possible that my physiology had been changed to adapt to a different set of environmental factors and that I was experiencing an alien environment in a familiar way.


    It was also possible that the humanoid form had some sort of universal functionality that caused alien life to trend toward it.


    It could also be the case that this was an alternate dimension centered on a version of Earth that was similar to, but distinct from, my own.


    That last theory was backed up by my subrace being listed as ¡°extra-dimensional entity¡±, and the attendant details concerning my body traveling between dimensions. Without having more concrete information, any serious consideration about all of that would have to be held in reserve.


    While I was curious about all that, the thoughts were mostly a new distraction from the core topic that I least wanted to think about. If I was dead, buried, and revived in a new world, then everyone I knew and loved was gone from my life.


    There was a time when I wouldn¡¯t have minded that. I was a pretty miserable dude in my twenties, and had a serious case of misdirected anger toward the world for my own perceived shortcomings. I was buried in debt, perpetually single, depressed, overweight, had a non-existent relationship with my family, and worked a series of godawful retail jobs. That last one was honestly the least tolerable item on that list. If this had happened to me at twenty-five, I would have probably loved it. Fuck that world and the cosmic horse it rode in on.


    But now...


    I had done a lot of self-improvement and reflection. I¡¯d gotten my mental health under control, which went hand-in-hand with my physical health. I lucked into a beautiful woman asking me out and that blossomed into a fantastic relationship. After some serious work in therapy I was able to speak to my father again after years of blaming him for my mother¡¯s death. It was still his fault, therapy didn¡¯t change that, but I was able to reconnect and find a way to exist with him. That also led to reconnecting with my sister, who I¡¯d alienated for supporting him.


    I still wouldn¡¯t say I was happy. I don¡¯t even know what happiness is. What I will say is that it was the best I¡¯d felt since I was twelve. And now, poof! Death by tree. My friends, my family, and most importantly, my fiance?e, are gone. The weird part is that they weren¡¯t the ones who¡¯d died, it was me.


    I couldn¡¯t decide if that made it better or worse. While I knew academically that my life was much better than it had been in the past, and that my life overall was much better than the lives of countless other people, when I took a hard look at how I felt about losing it all¨Cwell, I didn¡¯t mind too much.


    That was such an odd realization. I loved my fiance?e, I knew that at least. Sure, forget my family and my fancy high-paying job that was still boring as shit. Yeah, I never felt comfortable in society at large and wasn¡¯t very attached to any culture I was engaged with. Ok, I thought most of the world was stuck in an immutable political hellscape that would lead to the inevitable torment, suffering, and untimely death of all our descendants. But, I did love her. And I was sad. But she was alive and well and strong and would be able to move on without me. If I was truly stuck in an unconnected reality and we were lost to each other, then I would have to move on as well.


    The decision snapped me out of my reverie to realize that I wasn¡¯t moving.


    Xim and Varrin were about twenty paces ahead of me and I had no memory of slowing down. I started to hasten my pace to catch up to them, but heard a soft whisper from all around me, almost as though it came from inside of me.


    It hissed a single word.


    [Stop.]

 Chapter 12: The Wise and Magnanimous Grotto

    Chapter 12: The Wise and Magnanimous Grotto


    Now, I may be a pristine example of manly stoicism when it comes to a variety of stressful and life-threatening circumstances, but when a creepy ass voice starts whispering to me out of the darkness in a deadly underground maze of supernatural sewers, I am likely to lose my cool a bit. That is precisely how I realized that something unnatural was happening, when I failed to flinch even a little. I was calm, serene, more at ease than I had been my entire time within the Delve. I stopped without much thought, and looked around curiously for the source of the command.


    [Come.] The sinister vibrated within me. I noticed a pair of glinting eyes in an adjoining tunnel to my left.


    The owner of the eyes held a softly glowing orb in its hand and I walked towards it. I expected to see another twisted or mutated creature. Maybe a three-meter-tall gentleman in a crisp suit with a blank, white face. Perhaps a fucking werewolf. But, this was just a dude. A half-naked, pale, filthy dude with broken yellow teeth and stringy hair hanging down from a hairline that looked like it had started to give up in middle school. The guy was ripped, though, which was an odd contrast. Who had time to go to the gym, but not to brush their teeth?


    I walked closer to the man, who I noticed was about six inches shorter than me, and stopped when I was close enough that he could reach out and touch me. He smiled and looked me up and down, licking his lips. He had a satchel over one shoulder that was darkly stained along the bottom half, but looked empty. The orb he held was metallic, with two lines of luminous symbols ringing its top and bottom. It hovered gently over his palm. In his other hand he gripped a jagged tool. It had a thick grip, at the end of which was a sort of scoop, as large as a mixing bowl. The edge of the scoop was lined with long, serrated points which, when I looked closely, resembled teeth or fangs.


    The man peeked at my allies, receding down the hall, then looked back up to me with a grin. He adjusted his grip on the melon-baller from hell, and the runes along the orb lit up. I felt the whisper again, though the man¡¯s lips never moved.


    [Lie down.]


    I looked at the ground, then back up at the disgusting, pale man with the heroic physique.


    I reached out and grabbed him by the neck.


    ¡°You know,¡± I said, ¡°your Planet Fitness membership comes with complimentary access to the tanning booths.¡±


    His eyes went wide and he dropped his scoop, then grabbed at my wrist, but still held onto the orb with his other hand. I squeezed as hard as I could, then cast Oblivion Orb. There was a loud pop!, then blood came spilling out from between my fingers. That got him to drop the orb, which, to my surprise, didn¡¯t fall, but floated gently to the ground. He grabbed my wrist with both hands and twisted his whole body. The bones in my wrist creaked, and I lost my grip on his throat. He made a rasping, croaking sound, shooting blood from between his lips, then stumbled back into the dark. I wiped my hand off on my pants and called out to the others.


    ¡°Hey! I got something back here!¡±


    Xim and Varrin shot around, both looking confused that I was so far away, then began running back toward me. I squinted into the dark after the weird pale guy, who I could hear stumbling down the corridor, but I was in no hurry to go after him in the pitch black. I squatted down to observe the orb, then gave it a poke. It didn¡¯t react and I didn¡¯t feel any tingling or pain when I touched it, so I picked it up. When I stood, Xim and Varrin were beside me.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Varrin asked.


    ¡°There was this guy,¡± I said, ¡°he had this orb and he¨Cor the orb, maybe¨Cwas whispering shit right into my brain.¡±


    Varrin turned the glowstone lamp down the tunnel and we could make out the shape of the man as he squeezed into a large crack in the wall. As we watched, the crack widened to accommodate him, then shrank back down after he squirmed through it, now too small for a normal person to pass. He¡¯d also left his scoop behind, which I prodded with my boot.


    ¡°He had that, too.¡±


    Xim picked it up and examined it.


    ¡°What a strange implement,¡± she said, turning it over. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s designed to replicate teeth or claw marks.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean it whispered into your brain?¡± asked Varrin.


    I relayed the brief encounter, and Varrin¡¯s expression grew dark.


    ¡°You think that¡¯s what killed Chilla and Sayil?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said. ¡°He had some sort of mind control thing,¡± I held up the orb, ¡°and that organ-scooper-mabob.¡± I pointed at the tool Xim still held.


    ¡°How did you resist the mind control?¡± Varrin asked.


    ¡°You see, he had merely adopted the dark. I was born in it; molded by it.¡±


    Varrin scowled and opened his mouth to say something, when the whisper intruded into all of our minds.


    [Release...me.]


    I held the orb closer to my face and squinted at it.


    ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± I said. The symbols on the orb pulsed.


    [Release...me,]it repeated, its mental voice growing beyond a whisper.


    I gave the orb a shake.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I will.¡±


    The symbols flickered a few times.


    [Please?]


    I looked between Varrin and Xim. Varrin shook his head slowly, then turned to cast the light of his lamp around the area, keeping watch for any more surprises. Xim leaned close to the orb.


    ¡°What are you?¡± she asked.


    There was no response, so I gave the orb another shake.


    ¡°Answer the lady, please,¡± I said.


    [I am the mind and the will. I am the beating heart of hearts.] The sinister mental voice began to crescendo[I am the arbiter of what shall be and what shall not! I am-]


    ¡°The duck that flaps in the night?¡± I said.


    [I am not this thing... a duck.]


    ¡°What is a duck?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°It¡¯s, uh, nevermind. Listen, try to be a little less grandiose and a bit more specific.¡±


    [To be specific would be an endeavor your feeble minds would not comprehend. My nature is beyond your capacity to realize. I transcend that which you can grasp and the nuance of my being cannot be contained within the linguistic confines of your-]


    ¡°Ok, how about this. In five words or less, what are you?¡±


    The runes twinkled.


    [I am the core.]


    [I cannot be certain, since I am no longer in communication with the Delve¡¯s operations. Eliminating the C¡¯thon that drains the mana will be the first step. If there has been no further damage, then that will be sufficient.]


    ¡°And that probably involves getting rid of Hulky Hognay,¡± I said.


    [True. I find it doubtful that he would abandon this Delve of his own volition. You would need to persuade him to leave. Preferably through a liberal application of violence. However...]


    Grotto popped up out of my hand and hovered into the air, then took a lap around the pair of us. It went over to Varrin and did the same, until he waved it away like a fly. Grotto returned and its runes blinked.


    [You are all too weak. Even if your other two companions had not perished, the battle would be all but hopeless.]


    ¡°Aren¡¯t these Delves adjusted to player level?¡± I asked.


    [A crude description, but close enough to the truth. If this Delve were functioning normally, it would be a deadly challenge for a group of five newborns like you, but far from impossible. Hognay and his beast are not from the Delve, however. They have trespassed from outside and Hognay possesses power beyond what this Delve can produce at its current accumulation level. If that were not so, I would have crushed him myself and consumed his life essence to power even greater lethal countermeasures.]


    ¡°Then the Delve is a deathtrap to lure in Delvers and consume their souls,¡± I said, looking to Xim. ¡°I guess the followers of whoever-you-said were right.¡±


    ¡°The supplicants of Astrania.¡±


    [No. Your vulgar assertion is not the purpose of the Delves.]


    ¡°Then what is?¡± I asked.


    [You are unworthy of that knowledge. Know that you serve a vital purpose, and be satisfied.]


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t know?¡±


    [Of course I know, I am the core.]


    ¡°Then what is it?¡±


    [Why do you believe that absurd tactic will elicit more information from me? I am not a child and will not be goaded into revealing that which is hidden for a reason.]


    I frowned and looked at Xim, jerking my thumb at Grotto.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°A tragedy, for sure,¡± said Xim. ¡°To endure in a task without knowing the reason why, it must be very difficult.¡±


    [You are not as insidious as you believe with your clumsy antagonism. Continue to waste time here and the fate that befalls you will be well-earned.]


    I shrugged.


    ¡°We¡¯ll try to let you know when we figure it out. I hate the thought of you struggling down here without a clear purpose.¡±


    [Silence! We must find a way to restore the mana accumulation and this prattle is destructive to our cause.]


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said, ¡°but if a fight with Hognay and his... C¡¯thon is unwinnable, then what can we do?¡±


    ¡°Could you help us?¡± Xim said to Grotto.


    [Again, I am not integrated with the Delve... I would be capable of lending aid, were I placed back within the obelisk.]


    ¡°And what is the obelisk?¡± I asked.


    [It is the obelisk of this Delve.]


    ¡°Ok, but what does it do?¡±


    [That is also not for you to know.]


    ¡°There are theories,¡± said Xim, ¡°that it is the central structure which gathers mana from the surrounding areas. That¡¯s typically where you find the Delve¡¯s strongest monsters and the main goal for most Delves is just to reach it.¡±


    ¡°Sound right, Grotto?¡±


    [I can neither confirm nor deny your rudimentary theories and suppositions.]


    ¡°So it¡¯s true,¡± Xim said, looking excited. ¡°There¡¯s so much more I want to know! Why are there monsters in the Delves? Are they intentional, or a side effect of accumulating mana? I always thought they were a mix of both, since you earn chips when you slay monsters, and chips are a form of condensed mana. The monsters must spawn or grow from the mana-rich environment.¡±


    [I have not said any of that is true! Your presumptions are foolish.]


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put too much faith in the words of a malevolent mind-controlling murder-sphere.¡±


    [I am not malevolent. My existence serves a greater good.]


    ¡°You helped swole Napoleon murder two of our party members.¡±


    [I was under duress, and the lives of Delvers who enter the Delves are forfeit until they prove their worth. My actions were only an extension of their trials.]


    ¡°But not Hognay,¡± I said. ¡°You said he¡¯s far stronger than what should have been here. Mind controlling our allies into his clutches is a clear violation of whatever trial you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    [If you believe that my interests lie in providing a fair and balanced experience for Delvers who seek out my rewards, then you are misguided and naive.]


    ¡°What rewards are we even talking about?!¡± I said, getting a little heated.


    ¡°Chips and stats,¡± said Xim, frowning. ¡°I know you were less informed than you should have been coming in here, but you don¡¯t even know that much?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, feeling my reasoning for keeping my origins a secret growing weaker by the second. I didn¡¯t know these people and I didn¡¯t know what they would do with the information that I came from another world or whatever had happened to me, but at this point the risk of death at the hands of Hognay, his monster, this orb, or our time running out loomed larger and larger in my mind. I was also beginning to question whether my honesty could have gone towards preserving Chilla and Sayil¡¯s lives, but I didn¡¯t see how it would have made much of a difference. Maybe it would have helped our strategy, or maybe it would have created even more conflict in the group. I brushed away the sproutling of guilt and took a deep breath.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything.¡±

 Chapter 13: Figuring Out How to: Not Die

    Chapter 13: Figuring Out How to: Not Die


    ¡°I woke up in the character creation room and, until that moment, I had never even heard of a Delve before. Where I¡¯m from we don¡¯t have a System that shows us status screens or updates, we don¡¯t get missions, we don¡¯t have an inventory, there¡¯s no magic or any of that.¡±


    Xim drummed fingers along her cheek as she digested the information.


    ¡°You said your slot in the Delve was a gift from your lord.¡±


    ¡°A generous stretching of the truth. Someone or something put me here, but I don¡¯t really know what it was.¡±


    ¡°Coming from a place without System notifications isn¡¯t that strange. That¡¯s mostly a Delver thing, and some isolated regions don¡¯t have the ability to cultivate Delvers. But, not knowing about the Delve at all is very odd. You¡¯d have to be living somewhere totally cut off from the world. Like one of the primitive tribes in Alkea forest. As for magic, I mean, even small villages have someone who can cast. Where I¡¯m from nearly everyone has at least one skill that uses mana.¡±


    ¡°Well, believe me, where I come from is probably very cut off from wherever ¡®here¡¯ is.¡±


    I noticed Varrin glancing back at us. He was clearly listening in on the conversation, but he kept his thoughts to himself and continued watching for any approaching threats.


    [This revelation is not germane to our current course of action,] Grotto uttered into our minds. [I recommend your allies consider this knowledge and adjust accordingly, but we must decide how we are going to reclaim the obelisk and repair the Delve.]


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand,¡± I said. ¡°You were helping Hognay because he was threatening the Delve, but didn¡¯t helping him put the Delve in even greater danger?¡±


    [It was not an easy choice. When Hognay arrived, he decimated my defenses and began harvesting the mana for himself with the C¡¯thon creature. He promised that he would leave once he had gathered sufficient mana reserves, but I did not believe him. I queried the system to have the Delve listed for early harvesting and the system approved my request, but failed to list the Delve at the level I had suggested, using the measure of mana accumulation to determine difficulty rather than the power of the intruders.


    [When your party entered, Hognay was furious as your presence risked disrupting his machinations. He threatened to destroy the obelisk and the Delve if I did not assist him in eliminating your group before you were able to find the obelisk room. I did not believe you were powerful enough to stop him, even if you did reach the obelisk, so I agreed. It is unfortunate that your party members perished and I regret that I was forced to play such an active role in their demise, but as the Delve¡¯s core I am often responsible for the deaths of Delvers as part of my duties. I will not claim that it truly bothers me that I had to take such action.]


    ¡°So why do you think we can help you now?¡± I said.


    [You, Arlo. Not only were you able to break my invasion of your mind, but you possess an ability that can harm Hognay despite the fact that he is a tenth level silver Delver. Such feats are very difficult for a level zero Delver to achieve. If we work together, we may have a chance to put an end to his meddling and rid Arzia of the scourge that is his existence. Join me and deliver profound justice to Hognay and his beast through judicious application of torment and suffering.]


    ¡°He¡¯s a level ten silver?¡± said Xim. ¡°If so, he has more than double the stat points of me or Varrin, and who knows how advanced his skills are. We haven¡¯t even unlocked intrinsic skills yet, but he could have been developing his for years.¡± She looked up at me. ¡°I know you didn¡¯t want to tell us earlier, but how many bonus stats did you start with? We need to know if we plan on confronting Hognay.¡±


    ¡°Fourteen,¡± I said reluctantly. It still felt uncomfortable divulging the information without knowing how vulnerable it made me. ¡°But they were split among the different stats, so none of them were super high to start.¡±


    ¡°What are the scores of your three highest stats?¡±


    I bit my lip and considered how to respond, but didn¡¯t think about it for long. Xim had been nothing but helpful to me the entire Delve. Besides that, I liked her. She seemed honest, enduring, and smart as hell. I decided to take the risk and tell her whatever she needed to know.


    ¡°Fortitude is my highest. It¡¯s at thirteen. Intelligence is my second at five, and wisdom is my third at four.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible,¡± she said.


    [I don¡¯t understand. How is that possible? There is no mechanic for starting with any stats above one or getting more than ten points to allocate during creation.]


    ¡°Why is it even called creation?¡± I said. ¡°It seems like you all already had lives before coming in here. You just spent stat points, right?¡±


    [A Delver¡¯s body is not the same as the one they entered with. It is reforged and made anew to accommodate the power that is granted by the Delves, among other things.]


    ¡°So you all got to customize your appearance too?¡±


    There was a moment of silence.


    ¡°No,¡± said Xim. ¡°I look mostly the same as I did before, but there are some changes. I¡¯m, well, I¡¯m more trim, I suppose. I definitely have more muscular definition and much of my appearance has been refined. You know, scars are gone, no more blemishes and all that. But I didn¡¯t get to make any active changes. Did you?¡±


    [That... is not in their nature.]


    ¡°Then how about some other type of ¡®entity¡¯?¡±


    The runes on Grotto flickered.


    [Sure.]His tone was definitely suspicious.


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s talk about other advantages,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us have been able to pull out every tool we have in a fight. This is a situation where we want to hit the enemy with everything we have all at once. Put the pressure on and get them on the defensive.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve definitely got one big card I haven¡¯t played,¡± said Xim, a smile spreading across her face, ¡°but it¡¯s no fun to use.¡±


    We spent an hour discussing everyone¡¯s abilities in detail, asking Grotto for guidance on the enemy as we spoke. The orb didn¡¯t know everything Hognay could do, but had seen him in action enough to provide some good intel. The biggest unknown factor was the C¡¯thon. Grotto had only ever seen it feed, and it turns out that the monster didn¡¯t only eat mana from the Delve. Most of what Hognay gathered with his nightmare melon-scoop was given to the C¡¯thon to keep it happy and docile. He hadn¡¯t only been harvesting organs from our fallen allies, but also from monsters throughout the Delve. Monsters that had proven challenging to us, even when fighting them as a group.


    ¡°Arlo,¡± Varrin said toward the end of our discussion, ¡°Xim probably knows this already, but I doubt you do given your circumstances. Chips can be consumed to restore mana quickly, but there are two major reasons why no one does this. First, it¡¯s an act of extreme opulence. Ruby chips are the least valuable kind, and just one of them is worth enough to feed an entire peasant family for several years. There are alchemists that can dilute chips into potions that are much cheaper to use, and one chip can produce a dozen lower level potions. The potions degrade over time once they¡¯re made, but it¡¯s much more efficient overall.


    ¡°Second, chips are concentrated mana and consuming one puts a huge strain on your mana veins. It¡¯s possible to seriously injure, or even kill yourself if you use them irresponsibly. If it comes down to life or death and you¡¯re out of mana, it should be safe to use a single ruby chip to get your mana back, but it will be extremely painful. There are many documented cases of Delvers who consumed a chip and died after getting distracted by the discomfort. So if you end up in that situation, be prepared. In no case should you consume a second within twenty-four hours of the first. At our level, the first chip will cause serious damage, but a second will be fatal.¡±


    I nodded. I didn¡¯t know what mana veins were, but I imagined what it would feel like for blood vessels all over my body to suddenly begin rupturing. I couldn¡¯t imagine it was pleasant.


    ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you have any of those potions?¡± I said.


    ¡°No. For whatever reason, the Creation Delve suppresses most magically imbued items. The chips are a workaround because they¡¯re acquired in the Delve, and are raw and unrefined. Because of that, they flood your entire body with energy. That¡¯s why they¡¯re dangerous.¡±


    ¡°And how do I use one?¡±


    ¡°Chew it up and swallow.¡±


    ¡°I hear they taste awful,¡± said Xim. ¡°And it feels like eating shards of glass. My uncle had to do it once and he told me that there was just so much blood coming out of his mouth afterward.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks for the info.¡±


    After finishing our preparations to our satisfaction, we had Grotto show us the way to the obelisk chamber. It was, to my delight, in the northerly direction I had suggested we go. Mostly.


    Varrin traded his kite shield to me in exchange for Sayil¡¯s sword, allowing him to dual wield. He said he preferred greatswords, but having a second sword was still more in line with the way he liked to fight as opposed to a sword-and-board approach. He assured me that I would not find the sword useful, given that I knew nothing about sword fighting, so I made sure that my pair of daggers pilfered from Chilla was in easy reach and got my left arm through the shield¡¯s straps. It wasn¡¯t as heavy as it looked, but I imagined that it would get rough on my shoulder if I had to use it for any substantial length of time.


    The obelisk room wasn¡¯t too far away. Turns out we¡¯d gotten pretty close, which is one reason why Hognay had risked luring away another member of the group even though there wasn¡¯t a good distraction. We figured he knew we were coming so, while we didn¡¯t try to broadcast our approach, we favored speed over stealth.


    A series of questions ran through my mind about several things Xim had said during our prep time. Hognay was a silver Delver, but I wasn¡¯t sure what that meant. He had apparently conquered ten silver Delves, and it seemed like the reward for the Delves you defeated were commensurate with the difficulty. Beating a higher tier Delve gave more substantial rewards. What the rewards were specifically, I didn¡¯t know. Chips and stats, I guessed. That¡¯s what Xim had said, anyway.


    Our plan heavily relied on the nebulous support Grotto was offering, and I couldn¡¯t help but worry that the murder-ball would backstab us somehow. He didn¡¯t give off the sense of being a kind and caring sort of fellow. More of a ¡®revels in the pain and suffering of their enemies¡¯ type of dude. We didn¡¯t have much of a choice, though. We had to solve the Delve¡¯s problems or else we¡¯d be killed when our timer ran out. A timer that was currently sitting with a little under six hours left.


    Hopefully, killing or chasing away the C¡¯thon settled things and there wasn¡¯t some other bullshit we had to do for Grotto before we could leave. I¡¯d already been awake for twelve hours when I was killed and had pulled another eighteen plus in the Delve. I felt like the process of dying and being resurrected had given me something equivalent to a night of sleep for my body, but the mental fatigue was starting to grow thick. I was ready for a bath and a bed, not a high-stakes brawl with Hognay and whatever a C¡¯thon was.


    Grotto had given us a simple description of the creature, but it quickly became obvious that he wasn¡¯t very good at communicating visual concepts: it was big, had a lot of legs, and was very strong. We also had no idea of its combat capabilities. Our plan had so many holes that if it had been a bucket, well, it wouldn¡¯t have been a bucket. It would have been a piece of scrap that used to be a bucket. And here we were trying to scoop up a deep drink of victory juice with it.


    The entrance to the obelisk room was a fifteen-foot tall arch in which two heavy wooden doors had once been set. Now the doors were piles of splintered timber on either side of the archway. As we grew close I could see soft light emanating from inside the room and I drank the antidote Xim had given me after our fight with the gekkogs. My toxicity dropped from sixty-seven all the way back down to zero. Then, after a few breaths, it popped back up to three. The poison fog was a lot thinner down here and that lessened its potency, which was nice. Hopefully an extra point of health regen every minute would make a difference in the fight, but who knew.


    We all did a final check of our equipment and statuses, then walked through the large archway and into the obelisk chamber.

 Chapter 14: Thats a Lot of Damage

    Chapter 14: That''s a Lot of Damage


    The first thing that grabbed my attention was the enormous blue and violet octopus wrapped around a dark pillar at the chamber¡¯s center.


    At least, octopus was how my brain parsed the creature. After a second of processing, it became obvious that it was something else entirely. It had a thick cephalopod head with a pair of dark eyes that locked onto us. The body below was a series of large tentacles, several of which grasped onto the black stone structure that I assumed was the obelisk. But, unlike an octopus, the creature was covered in long, downy feathers that swayed and drifted in the air. It gave the C¡¯thon the appearance that it was underwater, or that gravity was something it had decided not to pay any attention to. Along the bottom of its tentacles, where I would expect suckers to be, the limbs were covered in hundreds of insectoid legs like the underside of a centipede. The central body of the creature was twelve feet tall, and I had no idea how long the limbs would be once they unfurled from the obelisk.


    All around the room were piles of dark bones; the remains of creatures that Hognay had fed to the C¡¯thon. He may have eaten some himself as well. If he¡¯d been here for three months, what else would he be surviving on? In the corner was a set of bones far larger than any of the others. The arm bones of the atrocidile. Whether Hognay had taken it, or the C¡¯thon had torn it from the monster itself, it didn¡¯t matter. Either situation was terrifying, and I didn¡¯t know which one would be worse. But the most impressive thing about the room was not the terrible creature and the remains of its meals that dominated the space, but what hovered where a ceiling should have been.


    Floating above the obelisk was an incredible mass of thousands upon thousands of poison essences. They extended out to fill up the entire space above the wide, circular room, and I got the impression that the mass was even larger than what I could see. The crystals spun lazily around in a whirlpool pattern, the smoking green crystals at its center being crushed into a fine powder that ignited and filtered down into a soda-can-wide beam of brilliant emerald energy. The beam struck the top of the obelisk, which shone bright enough to hurt my eyes and left me blinking to clear away the afterimage with only a second of gaping.


    At the base of the obelisk, beneath the C¡¯thon, Hognay sat with his back against one of the creature¡¯s tentacles. It coiled around his body and the tapered tip encircled his neck. I assumed it was doing something about the hole I¡¯d introduced to the man¡¯s throat¨Che hadn¡¯t even cleaned the dried, flaking blood off of his chest. His eyes were closed when we entered, but snapped open as soon as we crossed the threshold.


    Hognay¡¯s expression darkened and he climbed to his feet while the rest of us took in the room, the C¡¯thon¡¯s tentacle releasing him. When the limb moved from his neck I saw that the wound had been completely healed. He wasn¡¯t a particularly short guy, but he was definitely leaning toward the below average side of things. His frame was thick and well-muscled, but he moved easily, more like a well-honed athlete than a body-builder.


    Despite having a body like a greek sculpture, the man was revolting. His thin hair hung limply from his head in oily strands. His face was sunken, with dark bags under his eyes and a mouth full of yellow, chipped teeth. He was dirty and shirtless, and I wondered if he¡¯d lost half his clothes while tangling with the beasties down here like I had. His pants were also filthy, but were covered in sturdy-looking leather armor. Aside from that he wore only a pair of lightweight boots, an amulet that glinted brightly when it caught the light, and a mismatched pair of fingerless gloves.


    He opened his mouth to speak, making the classic bad-guy mistake of assuming he was about to get a chance to monologue. I didn¡¯t give him that chance.


    Our plan was shock and awe, so I opened up with an ability I hadn¡¯t been able to try out yet. I cast Shortcut.


    A ten foot crack tore open reality in front of me and sucked me inside in an instant. The world went completely black and silent for a fraction of a second, then I was standing right in front of Hognay, thirty feet closer than I started. I shoved a palm into his chest and cast Oblivion Orb.


    To Hognay¡¯s credit he recovered quickly after finding me close enough for a warm hug. He was already taking a step back to put space between us when I struck. My hand hit his chest, but he was able to move away the slightest bit before my spell activated. White light shot down my arm and I heard the familiar pop of the spell as it took a bite out of the universe and air rushed in to fill the void left behind. Hognay took a partial hit and he grunted and clapped a gloved hand over the fresh, golf-ball-sized hole in his sternum. Now he knew what it felt like to get a scoop taken out of him.


    I had halfway hoped that the hit would be enough to disable Hognay. I didn¡¯t know how far behind the sternum the heart was exactly, and even with a clean hit I doubted the spell would have dug in deeply enough to clip it. But I¡¯ve broken my sternum before. Probably twice, if you count body slamming the tree, but I wasn¡¯t around for the painful result of that injury.


    The first time it happened I could barely move for a week. The pectoral muscles attach to the sternum. An injury there can make any movement of the upper body agonizing. Laying down, sitting up, any lateral movement of the arm puts pressure on that bone and inflames any tear or injury to the muscle attached to it. What I¡¯m saying is that a broken sternum should take someone out of a fight, unless your adrenaline is pumping hard enough to let you ignore that sort of wound until you calm down. I didn¡¯t break Hognay¡¯s sternum. I put a hole in it.


    He didn¡¯t give a shit.


    Health: 87/162


    Stamina: 130/132


    Mana: 20/45


    My health was nearly halved, my mana was even lower, and my list of status effects was growing at a disturbing pace. Hognay¡¯s face was set into a firm scowl, but I could see him grit his teeth against the pain. He moved to a more defensive posture, keeping his arms close to his body with claws raised. He had three fresh holes, each one taking a disabling chunk of muscle out of his body, but I wasn¡¯t any better off. I was struggling to keep my core engaged, the muscle in my abdomen carved up. I could barely move my right hand from the injury in my forearm, and moving the right side of my body at all was excruciating. Even breathing hurt as my cracked ribs screamed with every inhale. I felt hot, wet blood running down my abdomen and seeping into my pants.


    That was fine, I was just the distraction.


    Xim slipped between thrashing tentacles as the C¡¯thon focused on Varrin¡¯s onslaught, carrying and protecting Grotto under her shield arm. The C¡¯thon had fully disentangled itself from the pillar and was floating through the air, hurling limbs covered in soft, shimmying feathers that gave the creature the look of a specter. Varrin spun and slashed, glowing blades whipping around him and digging into the C¡¯thon¡¯s legs. The wounds went deep, but compared to the overall girth of the feelers they weren¡¯t deep enough. The C¡¯thon was unwrapping itself from the obelisk and starting to pay more attention to Varrin, bringing four of its limbs into play. I could hear the insectoid claws on the underside of the tentacles scrape and clatter along Varrin¡¯s armor, and I deeply hoped I wouldn¡¯t get to experience what those would do to bare skin.


    Xim ducked down low and let Grotto zip away toward the base of the obelisk. Now that the C¡¯thon had moved, I could just make out a sphere-shaped recess about three feet up from the ground. Chunks of the obelisk had been broken and pried away to reveal the space where I expected Grotto spent most of his life.


    I took in all of that in a breath and Hognay took advantage of my distraction. He leapt forward, driving a claw at me like a punch, rather than a wide sweep like he¡¯d done so far. The hand glowed with an eerie yellow light, and I knew that if he landed a clean hit with that attack it would pierce straight through my body and skewer all the soft, squishy, and biologically-necessary vital organs in its way. I focused as much as I could in that split second, and hoped that spells worked the way I wanted them to.


    I cast Shortcut and, just as Hognay¡¯s claws were hurtling toward my chest, a crack opened in reality and sucked me in, then spat me out right behind him. Hognay overcommitted to the attack and was off-balance when his hand found only air rather than the beating heart of his enemy. I reached out and grabbed the base of his skull, then cast Oblivion Orb.


    Hognay¡¯s entire body stiffened the instant I heard the pop of the spell. Blood and other fluids spilled out of the new hole in the back of his head and he fell over like he actually had been carved from stone. When he hit the ground his body twitched and shook in what I assumed was some sort of trauma-induced seizure. I watched the display with a macabre fascination before coming back to my senses.


    I didn¡¯t think Hognay could survive having a golfball-sized chunk of his skull, brain, and cervical spine suddenly vacate his body, but he had so far shrugged off injuries that should have crippled him. I¡¯d practically removed half of his larynx earlier and he¡¯d been able to run away like it was a polite karate chop to the throat. No, I wasn¡¯t about to let this half-naked psycho get back up so he could go scoop more organs out of people. I had enough mana for one more Oblivion Orb, and if that didn¡¯t do the trick, I had my daggers.


    Always go for the double-tap.


    As I stooped over with an outstretched hand, preparing to coup-de-grace Hognay with all the mercy of a reptile, I found out what those insectoid C¡¯thon claws felt like on bare skin. A feathery blue and violet tentacle wrapped itself around my waist and hoisted me into the air.

 Chapter 15: Delicious Chips With a Side of Suffering

    Chapter 15: Delicious Chips With a Side of Suffering


    The creature¡¯s dozens of centipede-like under-legs scraped and clawed at my midsection. They weren¡¯t able to pierce my skin, but felt like they would leave large welts behind when they were done. While they couldn¡¯t break my skin on their own, several worked their way into the wounds along my gut from Hognay¡¯s claws and began digging into the exposed flesh within. It was far more painful than the attack that had caused the wounds in the first place as the hand-length, hard-tipped appendages tried to pry open my stomach.


    When the first of the bug-like legs dug into my stomach, the C¡¯thon froze for a second from my stun ability, and I was able to reach around the tentacle and yank my daggers from the hilts I had attached to my belt and I began stabbing down on the feeler frantically. It was like stabbing hard rubber wrapped in steel and the daggers bounced off of the C¡¯thon¡¯s skin, barely leaving a scratch behind.


    ¡°Grotto!¡± I yelled. ¡°If you¡¯re going to do something this is the time!¡±


    I squirmed in the tentacle¡¯s grasp and looked for the others, even as my health bar ticked down in small chunks with each piercing stab.


    Wounded: Bleeding 32


    Health: 80/162


    Wounded: Bleeding 34


    Health: 78/162


    Wounded: Bleeding 36


    Health: 76/162


    [Believe me when I say that the excruciating doom of my foes is one of my primary functions. Steel your delicate mortal mind and body, and prepare to witness my ire!]


    Varrin was wrapped up by two other tentacles. His armor was covered in scores and scrapes. His pauldrons had been torn away and I could see blood running down his legs. Xim had climbed up onto the limbs constricting him and was pumping a series of heals into his neck, golden light flashing down her arm every second. As I watched, another arm of the C¡¯thon whipped across the room and slammed into Xim, sending her hurtling into a wall twenty feet away.


    I went back to stabbing at the tentacle holding me. If I could just get through the skin...


    ¡°When?!¡± I said. ¡°When will we see your ire?!¡±


    [Just... give me a second. It¡¯s been awhile and my functions are not fully integrated yet.]


    ¡°We don¡¯t have a second!¡±


    I gave up one of the daggers and used the last of my mana to cast Oblivion Orb on the feeler. The monster didn¡¯t even flinch at having a piece of the leg removed, but I used the same technique the C¡¯thon was using on my gut and slammed the dagger down into the exposed muscle. It sank in this time, though only about a third of the way. I yanked the blade out and reared back, holding the grip in both hands with one on the back of the pommel, then drove it down with all the force I could muster. It went in up to the hilt and the monster let out a low bellow.


    The limb bucked and swung me around and, for a second, I was reminded of a terrifying carnival ride I had gone on as a child that slung you around in a swing fifty feet off the ground. I had been afraid that the swing would break and sling me off, hurling me to an untimely demise. That hadn¡¯t happened at the carnival, but it did happen with the C¡¯thon.


    The limb whipped out and threw me into a wall with even more force than it had done to Xim. My body hit the wall and I felt, as much as heard, a loud crack when the back of my skull smashed into the rock. Then, as though it had a will of its own, the ground came up and smashed me in the face. I assumed that I had fallen, but I¡¯d left my vestibular senses back up on the wall.


    My vision, which was already blurry from one of Hognay¡¯s curses, swam. I rolled and tried to get back upright, but I had no concept of up or down, so I collapsed back to the ground from all fours. I took a deep breath, distantly aware of the alarming amount of blood running down my face from the back of my head, and fought to get back up onto my hands and knees. I looked up and squinted through double-vision, incapable of making anything out beyond a squirming blob that the C¡¯thon had become. Sound slowly returned to me, which was worrying since I hadn¡¯t noticed it disappear, and I could hear Varrin screaming along with the squeal of twisting metal.


    [The power you wield is not your own, foul beast! Be smited by my radiance and know that I am the end!]


    My vision started to clear and I saw glyphs all along the body of the obelisk light up. Twisting blue veins began erupting all over the body of the C¡¯thon, then burst open. Thin streams of vibrant blue-white energy began flooding back to the dark pillar. The beast let out a screech loud enough to make the floor vibrate and tossed Varrin to the ground. It spun back around to the obelisk and its dark, beady eyes shot over it. More and more of the liquid energy was pulled from its body and into the obelisk.


    [Tremble in my wake, for I am the true ruler of this realm! Let thy flesh burn to ash and be consumed by me! Wait, wait, no... don¡¯t do that! Stop!]


    The C¡¯thon wrapped all eight of its tentacles around the obelisk again, then started thrashing violently. Fissures spiderwebbed out along the base of the obelisk where it had already been damaged. Grotto spun and his runes flared as the recess holding him began to crumble.


    [Insolence! Are your sins not yet grave enough? You defy even the will of the masters?!]


    There was a loud snap and the base of the pillar broke. The C¡¯thon heaved against the pillar and sent it smashing to the ground, casting up a cloud of dust and crushing piles of bones. Fragments and splinters shot through the air. The C¡¯thon reached out with its tentacles toward Grotto, but he zipped up into the air and began darting away.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I said. ¡°Was that it Grotto? That was your big play?!¡±


    [Your lack of faith is disturbing!] Grotto¡¯s thoughts came in anxious bursts as he dodged another lashing feeler. [I have taken back some of the mana it stole and this impudent cur has been substantially weakened. I have already initiated phase two and the C¡¯thon¡¯s destruction of the obelisk will not interrupt it!]


    I jumped, realizing Grotto was hovering right next to my head.


    ¡°Fuck, man. You gotta signal your approach or something.¡±


    [Why? I am an entity that thrives when hidden. It is my nature to be surreptitious.]


    ¡°What if we fled,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We can regroup and heal up, then come at this thing again later. It may be easier now that Hognay is dead.¡±


    I glanced over at the stealer of organs, various and sundry. He was still face down on the ground and it didn¡¯t look like he was breathing.


    [Doubtful. The C¡¯thon¡¯s body is highly mobile and flexible. It can fit through spaces much smaller than itself. You will be chased down and flogged until your death. Then it will feast upon your corpses.]


    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be good for getting your Delve back to working, eh?¡± I said.


    [Oh, that is impossible now.]


    ¡°The fuck do you mean?¡±


    [The obelisk has been destroyed and much of the power I was able to recover from the C¡¯thon has been expended on summoning our aid. There is no longer an effective method to synthesize materials for its repair within this Delve.]


    ¡°Does that mean we failed?¡± said Varrin. ¡°We¡¯re already doomed?¡±


    Grotto¡¯s runes twinkled.


    [Perhaps. What was the wording of your quest?]


    I brought up the notification and read it aloud, ¡°This Delve¡¯s accumulation has been interrupted. Find and eliminate the cause of the disruption to clear the Delve.¡±


    [It does not say that you must repair the Delve.]


    ¡°Shit,¡± I said, ¡°that C¡¯thon is the cause of the disruption, so as long as we ¡®eliminate¡¯ it we¡¯re good.¡±


    [Maybe. The system¡¯s logic can sometimes be... opaque.]


    ¡°You¡¯re in charge here, Grotto! You can¡¯t tell us?¡±


    [I manage the Delve itself, but I am as beholden to the system as you are.]


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Eat that mana-chip if you¡¯re going to. You¡¯ll need a few seconds for it to take effect and Xim isn¡¯t looking great.¡±


    I scowled at Grotto, then tossed the ruby chip into my mouth, biting down on it as I turned to check on Xim¡¯s fight. She was on the ground being throttled by tentacles. Her entire body was wrapped up in them, the creature using six legs to keep her pinned. As I watched, she struggled to press out of it with her constricted arms. Then, my mouth exploded.


    After the first couple of chews, wherein I thought eating the chip might not be as bad as it had been hyped up to be, the sharp shards of the crystalline chip shot out in all directions within my mouth. The jagged edges dug into my tongue, my hard palate, my cheeks. They gave me the tonsillectomy I¡¯d never had the pleasure of experiencing in my youth. I yelped and blood streamed out of my mouth as the needling fragments of the chip melted, then shot through my veins with an icy heat.


    Pain radiated across my entire body and I could see an unfamiliar pattern of hair-thin veins pulse with blue-white light beneath my skin. I felt them crawl across my face and when the phenomenon made it to my eyes, my vision became a bright, blinding flash. My mana shot back up to full, then the pain got worse. I fell to my knees, struggling to stay aware of anything outside of my body. A new debuff appeared over my health, and my interface was the only thing I could still see clearly.


    Mana Overload: Your mana matrix has been damaged. You are unable to regenerate mana for the next 24 hours. Any attempt at recovering mana will result in loss of health.


    I gasped and looked back up. Varrin was staring at me with the kind of expression one makes when watching someone else eat shit while skateboarding.


    I managed to get back to my feet, the adrenaline and endorphin hit from the internal blitzkrieg the only thing keeping me upright.


    ¡°Ok,¡± I said, slurring the words out of my ruined mouth, ¡°let¡¯s strategize a bit.¡±


    As soon as I spoke, Xim¡¯s transformation wore off.

 Chapter 16: Fuuuuusion Ha!

    Chapter 16: Fuuuuusion Ha!


    Xim¡¯s horn and fur dissipated into shimmering globules of colored light which floated into the air before atomizing and disappearing. Her body shrank down to its original size and she went limp. The C¡¯thon brought her up to its face, studying her for a moment. I hoped that it would decide she was no longer a threat and let her go, but I also didn¡¯t want to take any chances. I made a split-second decision, made sure I had my dagger in hand, and used Shortcut.


    I appeared just above the C¡¯thon and landed on its head, hugging it with my entire body for grip. The skin was slick, but I was able to plant an Oblivion Orb into its scalp and shove my dagger into the wound without slipping off. The creature let out another thunderous bellow and reached up with its two unoccupied tentacles, wrapping one around my ankle, the other trying to snake around my torso. I held firm to the hilt of my dagger, and as it gave a tug on my foot the blade cut a line across its head. Its limbs jerked back and it tossed Xim to the ground to bring up more of its feelers, presumably to find a less damaging way to remove me.


    It tried to rotate its body to shake me off, but that made the blade cut through more of its flesh and it quickly rethought that decision. Several tentacles wrapped me up and it managed to lift me upwards, though I made sure to twist and slash the dagger as I was pulled away.


    I could tell the grip of the limbs wasn¡¯t nearly as strong as before. When it constricted me and its smaller insectoid legs scratched at my skin, I didn¡¯t feel like I was moments away from being crushed to death, though it was still a very tight squeeze. It let go of my lower body with its rear tentacles and brought me around with its front four to stare at me, its grip growing more aggressive.


    I hung upside down in front of the C¡¯thon, struggling to take a breath.


    ¡°Hi there,¡± I wheezed, though the words were likely incomprehensible through my broken mouth.


    It growled, then reared back to slam my skull into the floor. As the ground rushed up to assault my cranium for the second time this fight, I cast Shortcut again, focusing on the opposite side of the room. The crack in space opened and I disappeared from its grip. Empty tentacles smashed into the stone.


    When I reappeared I was still upside down, but the momentum of my rapid descent into concussion-world did not travel with me, which was good information to have. I did, however, land on my head, doing my best to tuck and roll as I did so. It was uncomfortable, but the fall from a couple feet off the ground didn¡¯t do any damage. My Fortitude protected me from at least that much. As I scrambled back up I had a distracting thought about a series of experiments I could run to determine how far I could fall without taking damage each time I raised my fortitude. I tucked that thought away as the C¡¯thon spun and locked back on to me.


    To my surprise it didn¡¯t immediately charge. It hovered in the air, appraising me. Maybe it was confused by my magic disappearing act, or maybe it was trying to decide if I was worth the trouble. Thick, amethyst-colored blood oozed from dozens of wounds across its body. One of its feelers was cut nearly in half, and there were several deep gouges in its head, including the most recent one I¡¯d carved along the top. It turned and checked out Varrin, who pushed off of the wall and stood up straight, swords in hand, but I could tell he was putting on a show. There was no way he could fight anymore. He struggled to take in shallow breaths and, despite his tenacity, he wobbled off-balance and had to take a step to widen his stance.


    Grotto hovered next to Varrin, and the C¡¯thon¡¯s eyes narrowed when it caught sight of him. The creature rushed the orb and Varrin clumsily brought his sword up. I¡¯d been trying to get the C¡¯thon away from the pair, well, at least Varrin and Xim. Jury was still out on Grotto due to all the murder and mayhem, but blaming him for that felt like blaming a dog for eating the hotdog you left on the side table when you went to pee. Not that a sneaky snack was the same as homicide, but, well, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m getting at. I didn¡¯t hate Grotto, I was mostly just wary of him. Still, I was at least trying to get Varrin and Xim out of here alive and I was too far away to run back in. I had twenty mana left, so I cast another Shortcut.


    I teleported right into the C¡¯thon¡¯s face, which slapped into me as it continued charging. I clung to the octo with my right hand, which could only grip, and dropped my last remaining dagger. I took a page out of Xim¡¯s book and palm-thrust an oblivion orb into one of the creature¡¯s big black eyes. I was going to go for the Mortal Kombat style handful-of-brains fatality, but the monster bucked hard when the center of its eye vanished, and its tentacles thrashed at its face. One grabbed me and hurled me away like I was a hot potato and the ground kissed me on my mug for a third time. At this point, we were practically dating.


    The throw hurt. It wasn¡¯t the worst thing that had happened to me in the Delve, or even in this fight, but my body was screaming. The injury to my right arm alone would have been the worst pain I¡¯d ever felt in my old life. My ribs and gut were also gashed open, my mouth was dripping blood and I wondered whether a piece of my tongue had detached. My head was pounding, and the rest of my body was a mess of scrapes and bruises. My goddamn veins felt like they were being burned from the inside, which wasn¡¯t even a sensation I knew was possible. But, I wasn¡¯t dead.


    I had eighteen health and five mana. My bleeding debuff was up to sixty and as nuggets of the poison essences fell from the sky, the cloud of mist was growing thicker. My toxicity was steadily rising. Before long my health regen would be overwhelmed. It took everything I had to roll to the side and watch as the enraged C¡¯thon swung frenetically at Grotto.


    Varrin managed to dive aside, but the monster wasn¡¯t after him. Grotto wove between the first few tentacles, but one shot down from above. Grotto got spiked into the ground hard enough to crack the stone. I heard the crunch of metal as he hit. His body bounced and soared through the air, then landed and rolled toward me. Something inside of him rattled as he came to a stop a few feet away.


    I tried to get up. I had to do something. The C¡¯thon was coming for us, ready to finish the job it had started. But I couldn¡¯t do it. My arm crumpled and I collapsed. I tried to rise using core strength, but something else tore inside my abdomen and I slumped over again. My bleeding went up another tick.


    Two deaths in one day. Maybe I¡¯d get an achievement.


    [I... told you it wouldn¡¯t... be more than three... minutes,]Grotto¡¯s voice stuttered in my mind.


    Three large black shapes plowed down through the cloud of emerald crystal above, one right after another. All three rose up from the squat they had landed in. Nine feet tall, black leathery skin, scanning eyes, and a dozen thin, wriggling fingers on each hand.


    The harvesters.


    ¡°They dove down that chute?¡± I slurred.


    [Fastest... way to get... here.]


    ¡°Fuck. Glad we passed on that.¡±


    The C¡¯thon whirled to confront the new guests, who took up positions in a triangle around it. There was a standoff moment before the harvesters lunged at the beast. Their heavy bodies thudded into the C¡¯thon and they drove thick arms down upon it. Their thin fingers pierced into the C¡¯thon and the harvesters dragged their hands along its skin, leaving trails of new wounds along the octo¡¯s tentacles and head. It screeched and flailed, taking all three for a ride, but they held on and continued to savage the monster.


    The harvesters had the C¡¯thon on the backfoot. It was throwing limbs wildly, but its attention was split too many ways and the harvesters either dodged the feelers or began focusing their attacks on the ones constricting them. The wounds piled up on the C¡¯thon and I felt a smile creep onto my face. That was stupid of me.


    The C¡¯thon gave up on handling all three harvesters at once. It abandoned four of its limbs to two of the harvesters, letting them maul with abandon. It brought forth the four remaining tentacles on the harvester directly ahead of it, wrapping it up and squeezing hard. The C¡¯thon howled and wrapped a thick tentacle around the harvester¡¯s head, then tore it right off. It thrust the harvester high into the air, then flung it to the far side of the room where it smashed open, dozens of essences pouring from its split belly. The C¡¯thon focused on the next harvester.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    It wasn¡¯t enough. All of this, and it wasn¡¯t enough. The thing was too fucking strong. Half of the ground was slick with its amethyst blood and it was still fighting. Even if it died from its wounds, it would have plenty of time to take us with it.


    [Arlo,] Grotto¡¯s voice whispered into my mind. It was weaker than before, even quieter than the first time he tried to lure me to my death. [I cannot... relinquish this Delve to that monster. I must not... let it escape, now that it... has gotten a taste of this place.]


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said through a mouthful of broken glass, ¡°what is that supp-¡±


    Wires shot out from Grotto and dug into my skin, then the world became a wave of system notifications.


    WARNING! Delve Core 1156 is attempting to integrate with your biological systems. If you do not resist this attempt, Delve Core 1156 will have access to a variety of your bodily functions.


    WARNING! Delve Core 1156 is attempting to become your bonded familiar. If you do not resist this attempt, you will gain the passive skill ¡°Bonded Familiar¡±. You may only have four passive skills. If Delve Core 1156 becomes your bonded familiar, your unused passive skill slots will be reduced to: 2.


    ERROR! For Delve Core 1156 to become your bonded familiar, you must possess the intrinsic skill ¡°Dungeoneering¡±. You do not possess ¡°Dungeoneering¡±.


    Delve Core 1156 is requesting System access to grant you the intrinsic skill ¡°Dungeoneering¡±.


    ERROR! You have not unlocked intrinsic skills. System has denied Dungeon Core 1156¡¯s request to grant you ¡°Dungeoneering¡±.


    Delve Core 1156 is attempting to override System denial. Override code required.


    Delve Core 1156 has submitted override code 001: Preservation of Delve System.


    Delve Core 1156 has submitted override code 003: Preservation of Delve Core.


    Delve Core 1156 has submitted error code 999: I Really Want This To Happen.


    System accepts override code 003.


    You have been granted the intrinsic skill ¡°Dungeoneering¡±!


    You have gained the passive skill ¡°Bonded Familiar¡±!


    Delve Core 1156 has become your bonded familiar! Your new bonded familiar has already been named. Delve Core 1156 gains the designation: ¡°Grotto¡±.


    By making a delve core your bonded familiar, you earn +10 to ¡°Dungeoneering¡±.


    WARNING! Grotto has integrated with your biological systems.


    By integrating with a Delve core your mana regeneration has gained the evolution ¡°Ambient Absorption¡±.


    By integrating with a Delve core your Bonded Familiar skill has gained the evolution ¡°Psychic Bond¡±.


    System has applied an additional evolution to your Bonded Familiar skill. Your Bonded Familiar skill gains ¡°Shared Fate¡±.


    System has applied an additional evolution to your mana regeneration. Your mana regeneration gains ¡°System Tribute¡±.


    ERROR! A divine force has prevented the additional evolution ¡°System Tribute¡±. Evolution is canceled. See help menu for more details.


    The messages went beyond the visual text boxes I had experienced before. These messages flooded my mind. The information was beamed straight into my brain while the chip in my mouth exploded and pumped blazing energy through my mana veins. I lost track of time. I lost track of reality. I lost the connection to myself and my own identity. I became a distant entity, floating above and outside of my body¡¯s experience. I didn¡¯t know this man who was suffering. I didn¡¯t understand what was happening to him. I didn¡¯t know how I had gotten here.


    A booming voice thundered through the non-space I occupied.


    [I am renewed and reborn! I am made flesh and that flesh is burning with vitality! My very existence is the doomsdayclock that lingers over the lives of all those who oppose me! I am- Ah, yes. I forgot you were here, Arlo. This suffering is exquisite. A masterpiece of grotesquerie. It is a shame to wipe it from existence, but I will adjust your pain tolerance. One moment, please.]


    I was pulled back into my own body and engulfed in a flash of pain, but the moment I regained awareness of it, the torment began to recede. My mind sharpened and my eyes snapped open. The colors of the room were vibrant. Sounds were crisp and clear. I could feel every inch of myself, and though I knew where I was injured, the sensation was distant and unintrusive.


    Grotto hovered over me, his runes glowing with new intensity.


    [Now, Arlo, you must listen to me and do as I say. If you do not, we will all die.]

 Chapter 17: Are Severed Heads Loot?

    Chapter 17: Are Severed Heads Loot?


    I sat up. The C¡¯thon had just finished ripping off the head of the final harvester. The octo was in terrible shape. Five of its limbs dragged the ground. Its head was half mangled. Colorful feathers floated down through the air and covered the floor, mingling with the creature¡¯s blood. It turned to me, and its expression transcended the boundaries of species and dimension¨Crage.


    ¡°Got it,¡± I said. ¡°Go.¡±


    [The way you use spells is archetypal. The descriptions given to you by the System are strong suggestions, they are not inherent within the spell itself.]


    ¡°This the time for a theory discussion?¡±


    [Silence. Oblivion Orb manifests as a small orb within your palm because that is the most efficient size, shape, and distance from your body for your current mana matrix, which is small, crude, and weak. You are not beholden to this shape and you can adjust it to your will. Doing this will vastly increase the drain on your mana until you have mastered the techniques. These are skills that are developed by superior mages and many of your kind seem to have forgotten the art.]


    Grotto¡¯s speech came at an impossible speed, but I was able to comprehend it. He was communicating through feeling and intuition as much as through words, which allowed him to explain all this before I became octo food. The C¡¯thon was struggling, wobbling and looking like it was having difficulty staying aloft, but still closing the distance. It grasped at the floor with mangled feelers, dragging itself through the air.


    [This is called mana-shaping. The exact form and nature of a mana-shaped spell are personal to the caster and sometimes unique. I cannot tell you what shape to apply to the spell, I can only guide you there.]


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    [I don¡¯t think you do.]


    ¡°Then upload it to me, no time.¡±


    [That¡¯s not how this works!]


    The C¡¯thon was nearly on top of us. There wasn¡¯t any more time for Grotto¡¯s school of witchcraft and wizardry. I waited until the C¡¯thon was close enough to tickle my nose with one of its still-functioning tentacles. I looked up, and cast Shortcut.


    I went as high up into the rapidly deteriorating crystal cloud of poison essence as I could, my body facing flat downward toward the top of the C¡¯thon¡¯s head. I pointed my arm down toward it, two fingers extended, and concentrated on Oblivion Orb, rather than casting it.


    [Focus on the shape! It needs to be something you¡¯re intimate with! Something you resonate with! Don¡¯t cast the spell, release it!]


    I fell, smacking through the crystals, toward the C¡¯thon. It was turning around, trying to find me.


    No one ever looks up.


    I focused everything I had on my shape. I imagined it erupting from my fingers and felt the sensation of power building in my gut. I watched as my mana bar drained, going well past the five mana normally required for the spell. I plummeted as my mana did, growing closer and closer to the C¡¯thon. Finally, when my mana was about to hit zero and I was breaking through the essence cloud, I took a deep breath.


    ¡°Makankosappo, bitch.¡±


    A finger-wide beam of light-warping energy sprouted from my finger and shot out in a concentrated, spiraling shaft. The attack whipped through space in an instant, drilling into the top of the C¡¯thon¡¯s head. The pop that sounded from the spell was as loud as a nine millimeter and mixed with a wet, meaty slap as octopus flesh was sucked into the fresh vacuum within its own body.


    I landed on top of the C¡¯thon, its body like a hard rubber mattress covered in feathers. I bounced off of its head and flopped over onto one of its tentacles before hitting the ground. The air was knocked from my lungs and I struggled to take in a breath. It was only then that I considered the fact that the fall could have finished me off. Fortunately, octo was tough, but it wasn¡¯t hard.


    The C¡¯thon¡¯s remaining limbs went limp. It drifted to the side, then dropped to the ground as whatever force that kept it aloft had finally called it quits. Probably tired of the poor working conditions. I stared at the beast, waiting for it to get back up. I sat there for a full minute before I endeavored to get back on my feet. Without the screaming sensation of pain that I was sure my body was trying to send to my brain, it wasn¡¯t too much of a heroic effort. I went over to the C¡¯thon and gave it a good, hard kick, but it didn¡¯t stir.


    ¡°Gonna make a feather boa out of you or something. Maybe a shirt.¡±


    Another beam of light erupted up from where the obelisk once stood and I tensed.


    ¡°This better not be phase fucking three of this fight.¡± Rather than facing another hitherto unseen menace, a series of notifications popped up.


    Your party has slain 1 Hognay Haskagander: Silver Delver, Grade Ten. Your party receives the following reward(s):


    1: 9 Emerald Chips


    2: 9 Ruby Chips


    3: 48 Hiwardian Golden Notes


    4: 300 Hiwardian Silver Notes


    5: 981 Hiwardian Copper Notes


    6: 1 Glove of Cursing: Weakness


    7: 1 Glove of Cursing: Blindness


    8: 1 Amulet of Blinding Light


    9: 1 Pair of Grippy Boots


    10: 1 Tablet of C¡¯thonic Summoning (Broken)


    Personal Loot (Varrin Ravvenblaq) Lesser C¡¯thonic Bone GreatswordPersonal Loot (Xim of the Third Layer) Lesser C¡¯thonic Bone Prayer BeadsPersonal Loot (Esquire Arlo) Feather Boa of the C¡¯thonPersonal Loot (Esquire Arlo) Leather Vest of the C¡¯thon


    ¡°That¡¯s what they always want you to think.¡±


    ¡°They? Who wants you to think that?¡±


    I scooped up one of Varrin¡¯s swords, gave him a little salute, and walked back to Hognay.


    ¡°You dead?¡± I asked, giving the organ-thief a fiercer kick than I¡¯d given the C¡¯thon. He didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Guess you don¡¯t mind if I do this, then.¡±


    I swung the sword down hard on the back of his neck. The blade bit deep, but didn¡¯t go through clean. It took me four more chops before his head came off, which I felt took some of the drama out of the moment. The human spine is pretty tough. I rolled the head over with my foot, making sure it was really Hognay and not some sort of shadow ninjutsu clone, but it looked like him, right down to his oily hair and shitty teeth.


    I dropped the sword, picked up the severed head by the hair, then looked around the room. It was absolutely destroyed. Harvester parts, bones, cracked stone, corpses, shattered obelisk, gallons of octo blood and ink, and hundreds of feathers. More and more of the crystalline poison essences were crashing into one another and raining down around us. The mist was growing thicker by the second as well. Picture perfect post-apocalyptic vibes.


    I went over toward Xim, but was distracted when I noticed an unfamiliar pack in the corner of the room. My inner lootbug came out and I shimmied over to it. It was a different style from any of the ones brought by our party, so I figured it must have been Hognay¡¯s. I tossed it into my inventory, using up the little bit of space I had saved after farming the essences upstairs. When I did, a smaller satchel popped back out. The larger pack was still in the inventory, so this must have been tucked inside.


    ERROR! Unable to place Bag of Refreshments inside inventory. This is a spatial item. You don¡¯t want a black hole, do you? Because that¡¯s how you get a black hole. Stop it.


    I picked up the bag and peeked inside. There was some bread, cheese, various dried meats, and what looked like a fruit and nut mix, each wrapped in wax paper. There was also a canteen full of something, but I didn¡¯t open it. I put all that on my ¡°Shit to Check out Later List¡±, slung the strap over myself cross-body, and went back to Xim.


    I tried to wake her, but she was out cold. I set down Hognay¡¯s noggin¡¯, bent Xim¡¯s knees, tucked her feet together, put my foot on top of hers for leverage, then grabbed her arms and pulled her up and over a shoulder into a fireman¡¯s carry¨Cputting one of the skills I acquired from numerous three a.m. YouTube spirals to good use. Maybe I¡¯d find some utility for how to start a drop-shipping company next. I scooped up abbreviated Hognay and walked back to Varrin.


    ¡°Time to go,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m barely standing here. We wait any longer, I won¡¯t be able to walk out of this place. Also, poison fog of ever-increasing intensity.¡±


    He looked up at me. Leather vest over a dirty, shirtless chest. Gaudy feather boa. Luxurious beard caked in blood, mud, and probably some guts and other viscera. A couple pieces of bling, amulet and ring. Carrying an unconscious woman over my shoulder, and holding a severed head by the hair.


    I gave him a winning smile and a wink.


    ¡°Ok,¡± he said, then slowly, and with many a grunt and groan, pushed himself back up. He spat a wad of blood onto the ground next to his second sword, then stared at the blade. It was chipped and covered in C¡¯thon goo. He waved a hand at it dismissively, as though the effort to bend over and grab it wasn¡¯t worth the hassle, and started limping toward the opposite side of the room from where we¡¯d entered.


    A large section of the stone wall had begun descending, similar to the entrance we¡¯d taken to get into the Delve. Behind it was a shimmering portal of myriad flowing colors. I looked around for Grotto, who¡¯d been suspiciously quiet this whole time, and found him hovering over the C¡¯thon¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°You coming?¡± I asked.


    Grotto spun and floated closer to me.


    [The Delve is ruined.]


    ¡°Yeah, you mentioned the obelisk was toast.¡±


    [Without the obelisk, there is no reason for this Delve to exist.]


    ¡°Ok. So, you¡¯re coming then, right? One of the system notifications said we had a ¡°shared fate¡±, whatever that means. So, I figure I need to keep up with you.¡±


    [As my final act as the guardian of this Delve, I will set it to shut down.]


    ¡°Sure thing. Just, make it quick. My legs fucking hurt and I¡¯m carrying someone here.¡±


    Grotto floated back to the broken obelisk and nestled inside the spherical recess, what was left of it, and his runes played out in a pattern. A deep rumble filled the air and the ground beneath my feet trembled.


    ¡°What does shutting the Delve down mean?¡± I asked, too tired to grow nervous at the sounds.


    [I am making it collapse in on itself.]


    ¡°Oh. Self-destruct button.¡±


    I felt him scan my brain, though it was no longer an uncomfortable feeling, maybe because he was now my bonded familiar.


    [Yes, we have about sixty seconds to leave. Would you like to wait until the timer reaches one second, for the theater of it?]


    ¡°Absolutely not.¡± I marched straight towards the portal, Grotto floating over to my side.


    [Oh, one last thing.]


    ¡°Goddammit Grotto!¡±


    They hovered back to the C¡¯thon corpse, and tendrils of energy flowed out from them to the body. Feathers and flesh began sloughing off of the octo and started forming up around Grotto. After a few seconds Grotto was a perfect copy of the C¡¯thon, but three feet long from top to tentacle-tip. He was also decidedly cuter than the dead monster.


    ¡°I won¡¯t even ask why.¡± I kept moving toward the exit.


    Varrin looked back at me from the portal¡¯s edge and opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. He gave me a nod, then reached out and touched the portal. It didn¡¯t behave how I¡¯d expected. He didn¡¯t walk through it, he just disappeared as soon as his fingers brushed against it. He left a faint afterimage behind, which quickly vanished as well. I walked to the portal a second after he was gone, then reached out and slapped it.

 Chapter 18: The Man Who Doesnt Exist

    Chapter 18: The Man Who Doesn''t Exist


    Moving through the portal was similar to my Shortcut ability. There was a flash, a brief sensation of movement, then I was outside of the Delve. When I exited I was still indoors, finding myself in another large stone chamber, but the rock was of a lighter shade. Also, rather than being faced with terrifying creatures amidst misty darkness, this room was well-lit and full of people.


    Varrin was already being set upon by no less than ten men and women, several of whom fussed over him with concerned looks. One particularly stout fellow retrieved a large tool box and began extracting a variety of implements, presumably to pry the big man out of his armor. Another pair, dressed in light blue robes, were beginning to send wisps of crimson energy from their fingertips to the visible wounds on Varrin¡¯s face and exposed skin. The magic caressed the injuries, wiping away fresh bruises and causing cuts and scrapes to close up. It was obviously some form of healing, though while Xim¡¯s magic had worked in a general way¨Chelping out the whole body in a limited manner¨Cthis looked to be highly focused on specific areas.


    There was a richly-dressed young couple standing just beyond the group attending Varrin, watching him with worry. The man was as tall and broad as Varrin, and had a similar pale complexion and dirty white hair. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, and I assumed it was Varrin¡¯s brother. The woman was also tall, probably standing at least six feet, but was much more lithe. She held the larger man by the arm, and had her fingers laced through his own, so I assumed it was the brother¡¯s wife or otherwise significant other. Both of them were beyond attractive, looking like they belonged on the cover of Vogue, but before I caught myself staring, my attention turned to a small group approaching me.


    They were led by another couple, though they were decidedly more exotic. The man had dark black skin broken by pinpricks of white that gave me the sensation that I was looking at a man made of clear night sky, rather than flesh and bone. His sclera was a similar bright white and his pupils were a dazzling violet. As he approached, I noticed that he wasn¡¯t walking, he was floating. My brain had initially registered his lower half as a robe, but I realized that it was more like his entire form transitioned into an undulating shadow at the waist. The dark substance swam through the air as he moved.


    The woman next to him was short and curvy, with dark black hair and crimson skin. She wore a loose-fitting white gown and a pair of short, ebony black horns peeked out from beneath her bangs. Aside from the horns, this woman bore a striking resemblance to the unconscious cleric. I assumed this was also a sibling.


    The woman¡¯s eyes were locked onto Xim, who was slung over my shoulder, but paused her approach when the shadowy man placed a hand on her arm. His eyes had caught sight of the severed head I held, and he was likely, and rightfully, skeptical of this stranger. The general mess of my appearance probably also didn¡¯t help, which was made even more absurd by the pristine feather boa draped around my neck.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said. ¡°I assume you¡¯re Xim¡¯s family. Sorry about the head, it¡¯s not from anyone in our party, promise.¡±


    The woman broke away from the man¡¯s gentle grasp and the pair walked forward anxiously.


    ¡°Is she alive?¡± the woman asked, her voice nearly a whisper.


    ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s just passed out,¡± I said, looking for a place to deposit Xim. I was starting to feel like a conquering barbarian just standing there with her. The dark man floated over and reached out, taking her off of me with very little effort. Whoever he was, he was either extremely strong, or used some sort of spell to make Xim lighter. Not that she was heavy, but he¡¯d taken her away like she was made of cloth and stuffing. He turned and silently took her toward a small table, flanked by two men in blue robes similar to those attending Varrin.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± the woman said, her eyes glancing down at the severed head again. ¡°Forgive me,¡± she said, ¡°I have so many questions and we haven¡¯t had proper introductions, but I should go be with her.¡± She turned and watched her partner set Xim down, and the pair in blue began working with threads of dark red energy.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said again, before turning and hurrying over to Xim¡¯s side.


    I didn¡¯t know what to do with myself, but the overwhelming pain from my conglomerate of gashes, broken bones, blood loss, and series of debuffs was beginning to reassert itself. I looked around for a place to sit, and realized that the room was well-furnished. There were several tables near the edges of the room like the one Xim was laying on, but also clusters of plush loveseats and armchairs arranged around low tables. There were empty bottles, glasses and mugs, and trays of half-finished food scattered about, almost like this were some sort of lounge / hospital-ward hybrid. I walked to a loveseat set against a wall a few feet away and collapsed into it.


    As I looked around, I noticed a few more distinct groups in the room. Another well-dressed couple, who wore grim expressions, stood near an occupied gurney. The woman¡¯s hair was a familiar shade of blonde, and I realized that Chilla was the one laid out. One of the blue-robed healers looked down at her regretfully.


    The woman was crying, her body clearly wracked with grief, though she kept her distress quiet. The man next to her kept a hand on her back as he exchanged whispers with one of three armored guards surrounding them. They shot glances at Varrin as they spoke, then the man caught me staring. He looked me over intensely, then bent to whisper something to the crying woman. She turned and looked at me as well, but quickly returned to mourning.


    On the far side of the room was a group of six near another gurney, but the figure on top was covered in a cloth that had a colorful pattern embroidered into it. I knew who was under there, as five of the six people were Littans, the same race as Sayil. They had differing colors of fur, ranging from white to gray to brown, but all had a similar narrow and graceful build. None of them wept, but it was clear that they were distraught as they held one another or leaned against a wall, head slumping. A few of them also caught sight of me, looking at me for a time before whispering to one another, and I couldn¡¯t tell what type of reaction they¡¯d had.


    An older woman in more elaborate blue robes spoke with a pair of gentlemen wearing some sort of military uniform. One of the men had what looked like a rolled cigarette between his lips, smoldering gently. His eyes scanned the room, though he looked fairly disinterested in what was happening. When his eyes met mine he half-grinned and gave me a little wave. I tried to smile and wave back. He chuckled, then returned to his survey.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    The older woman patted one of the uniformed men on the shoulder, then turned and made a beeline toward me.


    She¡¯d obviously noticed me before, because she betrayed no expression while coming to me. She moved swiftly to cross the distance, though didn¡¯t look hurried. A professional gait with purpose behind it, but carefully considered to avoid looking harried or overeager. When she arrived, she placed her palms together flat in front of her chest and gave me a shallow bow.


    ¡°Forgive me,¡± she said. ¡°I apologize that no one has yet seen to you, but we were not given notice that another Delver would emerge within this chamber. Do you require any assistance locating your retinue?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t have one.¡±


    ¡°Ok. About those fees. Um...¡±


    Her smile widened.


    ¡°When you exit the lobby there is an attendant that will collect a portion of what you earned within the Delve. They will also provide you with a receipt in the event your own nation taxes your earnings.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s... good to know.¡± I began to get anxious. Taxes were truly inescapable, even after death. ¡°May I have your name?¡±


    ¡°I am Supplicant Hierti Madson, at your service.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a member of a religious order?¡±


    ¡°Of course. The Supplicants of Astrania provide many services to the Delver community in regards to healing and other post-Delve needs.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s... very nice of you,¡± I said, feeling as dumb as that platitude likely sounded. ¡°I was told that the Supplicants of Astrania have less than favorable views of the Delves.¡±


    She nodded politely, as though she¡¯d heard the characterization a thousand times before.


    ¡°This is true, though an oversimplification. We believe that the Delves themselves are entities of evil, though we also recognize the need to explore and conquer them, lest their corruption spread out into our lands. We believe that the actions of Delvers are, at the core, noble, even if a Delver¡¯s personal motivations are not always pure. I would be happy to speak with you further about our beliefs if you wish, though I expect getting cleaned and dressed is a higher priority for you than the theological proselytizing of an old woman.¡±


    I grinned.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right. I¡¯m deeply thankful for your help. I¡¯ve been feeling a bit out of depth.¡±


    She reached into her robes and fished out a small wooden token. It had the symbol of a tree carved into it, with a large eye set into the center of the branches.


    ¡°Our main church here in Formation is attached to this Delve facility. If you show this token to a member they will provide you with any guidance or knowledge within their means.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, taking the token. It was about the same size as a chip, which I expected was intentional. ¡°You¡¯ve been a great help, Supplicant Hierti.¡±


    She bowed her head, then dismissed herself to retrieve an initiate to get me sorted with clothes and a bath. I realized that I¡¯d been sitting with one hand on top of Hognay¡¯s severed head, and was impressed that Hierti had acted as though she hadn¡¯t even noticed it.


    She''d also ignored the floating, feathered octopus monster. I guess she saw a lot of shit in her line of work.


    As she left, she passed by the uniformed men, who were now approaching, and stopped to exchange a few words with them. While one was unarmed, I noticed the smoking man had a one-handed warhammer on his belt. He smiled at me again as Hierti moved on.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Esquire Arlo,¡± said the man not possessed of a lethal weapon. ¡°My name is Officer Dalton. This is Guardian Lito,¡± he gestured at the dude smoking, who gave a shallow bow.


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± I said. ¡°What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°Well, we noticed something a little odd when we got word of your party exiting the Delve. Erm, you, Arlo, aren¡¯t on any of our lists.¡±


    Lito plucked the cig from his lips and blew out a puff of smoke. He locked his eyes on me, then spoke in a gravelly drone.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a few questions to ask you about that.¡±

 Chapter 19: Nobody Expects the Hiwardian Inquisition

    Chapter 19: Nobody Expects the Hiwardian Inquisition


    Dalton gave Lito an irritated look.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just an oversight," he said, waving away some of Lito''s smoke. "Our branch upstairs has direct access to Central¡¯s records. I just need to make sure that you check in before leaving. So that we can get everything documented appropriately.¡± He gave up trying to stave off the Guardian''s secondhand, and began pulling at his middle finger until a knuckle popped.


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± I said, not sure how this was going to play out. ¡°What if my name didn¡¯t make it onto your list for some reason?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± he said, pulling at his thumb now, ¡°that would result in an investigation into the... error. It has happened a handful of times. Not for several decades, though. We keep a pretty good handle on who should or shouldn¡¯t be participating.¡±


    ¡°Not a lot of trespassers,¡± said Lito, still smiling.


    ¡°Those incidents were sometimes,¡± Dalton began, but paused to clear his throat. ¡°Those incidents were often an issue with the documentation process. I¡¯m sure it will be sorted to everyone¡¯s satisfaction. Aside from that, there is also the issue of your two guests.¡± He nodded first at the baby-C¡¯thon form of Grotto, and then at the severed head.


    ¡°I was actually just wondering what to do with this,¡± I said, looking down at Hognay. I tried to avoid looking at the hole my Oblivion Orb had made.


    ¡°And I was wondering why you have... that with you. All one hundred participants have been accounted for, yourself included. Well, one hundred participants came out. You weren¡¯t on the records, as I mentioned, but there are always one hundred participants... So this, um, gentleman is unexpected.¡±


    ¡°He was inside,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Tried to kill us. He was responsible for,¡± I looked toward Sayil and Chilla¡¯s groups, ¡°the deaths inside.¡±


    ¡°Really now?¡± said Lito. His smile didn¡¯t change, but there was obvious skepticism in his voice.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Dalton. ¡°A report will be collected from everyone in your party. It is a tragedy when we lose any Delver, but especially during a Creation Delve. Every year we have one or two that get in over their heads and try to tackle a gold without the proper preparation, but we lost more this year than we have for some time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. It is one of the dangers of this whole business. Most people with a good head on their shoulders stick to silver and copper, so it¡¯s usually not an issue.¡± Lito gave Dalton a serious side-eye as he said this, and Dalton cleared his throat again. ¡°Of course, there are talented Delvers who belong in gold Delves,¡± he quickly added. ¡°As for your other friend here, could you tell me what type of creature that is?¡±


    I looked up at Grotto, who hovered in the air next to me, staring Lito down. The uniformed man took another puff of his cigarette and stared back.


    ¡°It¡¯s a C¡¯thon,¡± I said. Dalton¡¯s face lost some color.


    ¡°And what is the nature of your relationship with it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my bonded familiar,¡± I said, repeating what the system had told me. Lito let out a low whistle.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty rare,¡± the smoking man said. ¡°Guess you found that in the Delve?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t seen a C¡¯thon inside a Delve before,¡± said Lito. ¡°Dangerous place to find a mana-fiend.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°¡®Cause they eat all the mana and get kind of tough to kill. Lucky you ran into a little one.¡±


    ¡°Guess I am,¡± I said. ¡°Though there was a bigger one too.¡±


    ¡°How much bigger?¡±


    ¡°A lot bigger.¡±


    Lito scratched his head and looked thoughtful.


    ¡°What difficulty did your party go through at?¡±


    ¡°Platinum.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± Lito said, ¡°lucky any of you came out in one piece. Do you know if that guy,¡± he gestured at Hognay, ¡°had anything to do with C¡¯thons being in there?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m pretty sure he did. He had a broken summoning tablet.¡±


    Dalton¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°He was another Delver?!¡± he said. ¡°With a summoning tablet?¡±


    ¡°What level was he?¡± asked Lito.


    ¡°Ten,¡± I said. ¡°Silver ten. That¡¯s what the System said after he was dead.¡±


    ¡°Damn,¡± said Lito. ¡°A big-ass C¡¯thon and a silver ten inside of a platinum Delve. You¡¯re one lucky fucking bastard.¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said Dalton, ¡°this is very irregular, to say the least. Obviously this, erm...¡± he waved his hand at the head.


    ¡°His name was Hognay,¡± I said. ¡°Hognay Haskagander.¡±


    ¡°Yes, this Hognay was certainly not supposed to be inside. And if he were silver ten there¡¯s no way he could have entered through normal means. But let¡¯s put that aside for a moment. I know you must be tired, and your attendant is here.¡± A blue-robed woman had approached and was waiting patiently for our conversation to end. ¡°There will be a formal request for a report to be made, and there is likely to be an inquiry. The unusual circumstances surrounding the death of your two party members are enough to trigger that, but a silver ten summon C¡¯thons into a Creation Delve!¡± He was now squeezing his finger hard enough for his knuckles to go white. He looked down, realized what he was doing and dropped them to his sides. ¡°Well... I have what I need for the moment. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll have Guardian Lito accompany you for the moment to make sure you can, ah, find your way to the appropriate office to have your records sorted out.¡±


    I nodded, understanding Lito¡¯s presence for what it was. He wasn¡¯t there to be a guide, I figured the initiate waiting nearby could do that. He was there to make sure that I actually went to the office, rather than sneaking off.


    ¡°No problem,¡± I said. ¡°I appreciate your help.¡±


    You have 8 attribute points to distribute. You have 23 hours until you lose 1 of your available points. Thereafter, 1 additional point will be lost every 3 hours.


    This should have been an easy decision. I was obviously angling toward a magic-focused build and my mana-pool and regeneration was trash, at least compared to my health. I needed Intelligence and Wisdom to round out my build, but I also didn¡¯t want to waste my bonus from my Unique Sign¡¯s ability: That¡¯s a Lot of Stats! I read back over the sign¡¯s benefits.


    Unique Sign: The Traveler


    Bonuses:


    1: Spectacular Vernacular: You have an eidetic memory for languages and an intuitive grasp of grammar. You learn new languages and dialects at incredible speed.


    2: That¡¯s a Lot of Stats!: You can gain bonus attribute points through training up to a maximum score of ten in each attribute.


    Again, I wanted to maximize that bonus, which meant that anything I had with a value less than ten needed to be trained to ten before I put any points into it. I would prefer to hoard my points and split them between Fortitude, Intelligence, and Wisdom once I had the other two at ten. But, the time limit.


    The fucking time limit.


    I didn¡¯t want to risk losing the points, and I¡¯m the type of guy that leaves an hour early to make an appointment twenty minutes away. You never know what might happen on the way there; traffic, car problems, vicious assault by otherworldly monsters and intervention by celestial manifestations of divine will. Sky was the limit. So, I sighed and tossed them all into Fortitude. It ticked up to twenty-one, then ticked over again to twenty-two after I confirmed, courtesy of my Dumping ability.


    Dumping: After spending five or more stat points at once on a single attribute, you are granted one additional point in that attribute.


    I took a look at my vital stats and shook my head at the enormous jump in HP.


    Name: Arlo, Esquire (New Title!)


    Age: 0 (Physical age 18. Actual age 35)


    Citizenship: The United States of America


    Delver Level: 1


    Level Breakdown: Copper: 0, Silver: 0, Gold: 0, Platinum: 1,


    Special Delves Completed: 0


    Health: 362


    Health Regeneration: 188/hour


    Stamina: 222


    Stamina Regeneration: 72/hour


    Mana: 45


    Mana Regeneration: 16/hour


    My health and HP regen had both more than doubled, which confirmed my earlier belief that health scaled on some sort of exponential path. That meant the higher it went, the better the bonus got for each point invested. If I was going to be throwing all my points into one stat, that was a good thing. A very good thing.


    Stamina was going up linearly, but the bonus to stamina regeneration was following a similar, escalating pattern as health regen. However, unlike health, stamina regen wasn¡¯t getting the buffs from my aura or ring, so the total number didn¡¯t look as impressive. Still, stamina would be a more limited resource than health, but its base recovery back to full would be quicker.


    The thing that really caught my attention was my mana regen. It had quadrupled, which wasn¡¯t something I expected, especially since my Wisdom hadn¡¯t increased. I scanned through my character sheet, trying to find something to explain the change, which is when I found the bonuses from my Bonded Familiar skill.


    Bonded Familiar: A favored pet? A tamed wild beast? A former ally turned into an animal against their will and enslaved? Whatever the means, you have acquired a bonded familiar! The bonuses and benefits from a bonded familiar vary wildly depending on the entity chosen as your familiar, so we hope you considered it carefully.


    Just kidding! We know you were forced to bond with a familiar with little or no forethought in order to escape near certain death. Oh well. What¡¯s life without a little risk? And you really rolled the dice on this one. Hope it works out for you! Or not. Either way will be entertaining.


    Your bonded familiar is a Delve Core that you and your allies gave the adorable little name Grotto, taken from the name of the Delve from whence he came. Very creative! By bonding with a Delve Core you gain the following evolutions to your Bonded Familiar ability!


    Psychic Bond: The empathetically-challenged orb known as Grotto possesses psychic abilities and, if you allow, can communicate with you telepathically. This permits subvocal communication between the two of you, and grants Grotto limited access to thoughts and memories relevant to what you are currently doing or communicating about. While Grotto is able to force his mental voice into the minds of weak and unwilling prey, since you are now its proud new owner, this ability is now toggle-able. It has also been turned off by default. Savor the peace and quiet, or concentrate on the connection to activate the ability.


    Shit. I concentrated on opening my thoughts up to Grotto, and heard his voice for the first time since leaving the Delve.


    [...and I do not care for the one with the smelly smoking weed in his mouth,] came Grotto¡¯s voice in my mind. [Although he¡¯s better than that obsequious priestess with her nonsensical ramblings about the evil within Delves.]


    [Hey,]I thought, focusing on Grotto. [Can you hear this?]


    [Hmm, I see you have deemed it prudent to respond to my inquiries, finally. I was growing weary of your ignorant facade. Your vacuous sham. Your inane play-acting!]


    [Alright man, chill.]


    The feathery octopus swooped down in front of my face, the insectoid claws on the underside of his feelers clacking.


    [They could not hear me and there was no need to ignore me completely.]


    He... almost sounded hurt. I might have felt bad, but it was hard to drum up compassion for someone who''d aided and abetted hypnosis-induced excavation of people''s insides.


    [About that. Apparently this Bonded Familiar ability had you on mute by default.]


    [Mute?]I felt a familiar scanning in my brain.


    [It had me on mute?!]

 Chapter 20: What? Your Skills are Evolving!

    Chapter 20: What? Your Skills are Evolving!


    [So, you haven¡¯t heard a single one of my carefully curated communiques concerning the curious ongoings of this primitive and infuriating culture you¡¯ve wandered out into?]


    [That¡¯s right. Though, I don¡¯t know why it gave me the option to mute you. Or why it turned it on by default. It says it¡¯s because I¡¯m your boss now, but I dunno.]


    [The System seems to treat you... strangely. Perhaps it did it to irritate us.]


    [Well, that¡¯s an uncomfortable thought. I¡¯m listening now, so communique away.]


    [I am displeased by this revelation, and will need a moment to gather my thoughts into a digestible form that will not cause your mind to suffer psionic damage from the complexity of the information to which I wish to make you privy.]


    [Alright. Take your time. Not looking for a nosebleed.]


    [Why would psionic damage cause your nose to bleed?]


    [I dunno. That¡¯s what it does in all the tv shows. You know, a little girl with psychic powers overexerts herself and gets a nosebleed. Something like that.]


    [That isn¡¯t how it works at all. Psionic damage attacks your psyche itself. It is madness distilled and made real. It shatters and eviscerates your persona, not your mucosa.]


    [I¡¯ll keep that in mind.]


    [Was that a pun?]


    I ignored the question and went back to the Bonded Familiar description.


    Shared Fate: Your bond with Grotto extends beyond the normal magical connection found between the bonded and the familiar, and Grotto has integrated himself with your organic systems. This provides a number of benefits and drawbacks, some of which even we cannot be certain of, which is very exciting. For us, not for you. You should be terrified. You have currently discovered 1 benefit, 1 drawback, and 1 ability that might be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Hopefully you¡¯re a glass-half-full kind of guy.


    Benefit: By integrating with a delve core you have gained a portion of its ability to ambiently draw in mana from your environment. All living entities possess some level of this ability, but a delve core has been artfully and painstakingly designed to maximize this effect. Your mana regeneration will increase based on the amount, quality, and type of ambient mana surrounding you, in addition to the strength of your bonded delve core. Mana which possesses an attribute matching your own magical attunement will be absorbed with the highest level of efficiency, while mana from the two opposing schools will be the least efficient, and may even cause interference with your ambient absorption.


    You are currently in an area with notable concentrations of both dimensional and divine mana. Dimensional mana matches your attunement and is absorbed with high efficiency. Divine mana is from an opposing school and is interfering with your absorption of dimensional mana.


    Drawback: Shared experience. An attack on your body is an attack on Grotto¡¯s mind and vice versa. Better keep an eye on this little guy, because if he throws himself into a volcano then you¡¯re gonna have a really bad day. Whenever either of you suffers damage, the other is made acutely aware of that fact with a stunning delivery of mental torment. Depending on the amount of damage, this can vary from a mild sense of impending doom, to a complete mental breakdown which leaves you sobbing inconsolably on the ground. You, that is. Grotto doesn¡¯t cry. Not only does he lack the physical capability to do so, but he also just doesn¡¯t care that much about you or anyone else.


    Benefit? Organic Access: Grotto has access to, and the ability to regulate and adjust, a variety of your biological functions. This ranges from the ability to increase your pain tolerance, to slowly reducing your heart rate until your body shuts down and you pass silently into the Big Sleep. But, we¡¯re sure he wouldn¡¯t do something like that. (Maybe try to stay on his good side.)


    The first benefit explained why my mana regen was higher. I was better able to absorb nearby dimensional mana, but the ability was also being hamstrung by the presence of divine mana. Still, even with the interference, my regen was quadrupled, so this ability looked like a solid win overall.


    The second ability was phrased as a drawback, but I could see it being useful. Even if we were unable to communicate psychically for some reason, Grotto and I would each have an intuitive understanding of the other¡¯s physical wellbeing. Hopefully this wouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem for Grotto, since I doubted he was planning on tanking any more giant octopus monsters. I also wasn¡¯t planning on being eighty-five-percent dead again anytime soon, though I hadn¡¯t planned on being one-hundred-percent dead during my bike ride yesterday. Man makes plans and the gods laugh, so on and so forth.


    The third ability was fucking terrifying. I had given this floating ball of malice enough control over my body that he could apparently kill me? What would stop him from using that to extort me into doing his bidding?


    [I am not so base that I would force you to obey my whims like some maniacal overmind.]


    [Jesus. Are you listening to my thoughts?]


    [I am able to monitor what you are reading and receive relevant information concerning the subject from your mind.]


    [So that¡¯s a yes.]


    [...yes.]


    [I¡¯ve had nightmares about this. Fuck, I¡¯m going to have to monitor my thoughts. What if I start thinking about weird shit?]


    2: Pocket Closet: This is an inventory ¡°upgrade¡±. Your inventory becomes an accessible three-dimensional space which exists within a pocket dimension. You are able to freely enter and leave this space through a portal that you can summon with one minute of concentration, but certain effects or conditions may prevent the portal from opening. Up to 50% of the space inside can be designated as ¡°quick access¡± space. Quick access space can be used to store and retrieve items through your normal inventory window. You will receive an initial increase to your inventory size, but Strength will no longer have any impact on the amount you can hold within your inventory. This space may be upgraded and expanded if certain conditions are met. Additional details will be revealed upon acquiring this evolution.


    3: Mana Void: Entities damaged by your dimensional magic lose mana equal to the damage taken. You regain mana equal to the mana lost by the entity up to a maximum of 50% of the cost of the dimensional spell that caused the damage.


    The implications of the first option, Dimensional Shielding, made me very uncomfortable. First, there were different versions of me across multiple realities? I mean, the idea had crossed my mind, but it was mostly a fun thought experiment. Having a way to confirm that it was true would have incredible implications on philosophy and science, at least back on Earth. Maybe here that was common knowledge and people just lived with that. Maybe they regularly had conversations with other versions of themselves and I was the weirdo for not having weekend brews with the other yous.


    Still, even if diverting damage and dividing it between a million copies of myself reduced it to an itch on the thigh, it was still impacting their lives without permission. I wasn¡¯t into that. Plus, what if every copy of me in an alternate reality making similar choices chose this same skill? Would we constantly be beset by mild discomforts or inexplicable tingles? Would the damage diverted manifest on the copy in the form of a single human cell being destroyed within the body, or was it more significant than that? I didn¡¯t want to take it, mainly because I wouldn¡¯t want another me to take it either.


    Pocket Closet looked like the exact type of monkey-business I was into. I¡¯d get my own extra-dimensional room to keep all my crap in, and I could still access at least half of it through my normal inventory screen. I¡¯d lose any buffs to my carry space from Strength, which I was just learning was a thing, but the description said the space could be upgraded, it was just ambiguous as to how.


    In any event, I¡¯d get an initial bonus to my inventory, though it was equally ambiguous about how much of a bonus. Even if it locked me in to my current inventory space and wasn¡¯t upgradable, the fact that I could literally disappear off the face of the planet into a room outside of reality was a very valuable skill to have. My mind also ran wild with what ¡°upgradable¡± meant. It didn¡¯t have to mean more space. Maybe I could get it to acquire some sort of temporal distortion, so I could train with some sort of time dilation. Or get a few extra hours of sleep. Or procrastinate with greater flair.


    Mana Void looked... useful. It was probably a solid, practical choice. If I ended up fighting a mage or a creature that used mana in any way, I¡¯d be hitting them in two resource pools with every attack: health and mana. If monsters in the Delve had had this, I would have been useless a lot of the time. It was also one of those skills that was probably better than it looked. There were almost certainly other applications for the effect beyond straight combat. I thought that the use of the word ¡®entities'' as opposed to ¡®creatures¡¯ or ¡®enemies¡¯ hinted at that. Maybe I could deactivate magical traps or devices with it. Who knows?


    I stared at this choice for a while, then asked Grotto for his thoughts.


    [I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about destroying the world with your underdeveloped magical abilities. Perhaps if you were to reach the height of mortal competency you might pose some minor risk to the integrity of the local fabric of space-time, but the thought that you would become capable of causing permanent damage is laughable. The entrances and exits to the Delves themselves utilize dimensional magic far above anything you can perform and those are highly stable.


    [Dimensional Shielding is a monkey¡¯s paw. Without knowing how it functions you rely on the forthrightness of this description to determine the relative safety of yourself and any other version of you that exists. I also find the idea that alternate versions of you exist a dubious conclusion given solely this description. If they aren¡¯t you then they aren¡¯t you. You¡¯d just be assigning the consequences of your poor life choices to strangers. Also, it says that it may increase the damage mitigation as your skill level rises, which is ridiculous. That¡¯s like a box made of ¡°up to¡± fifty-percent recycled material. It could have no recycled material! It¡¯s a sham! A farce! An affront to the integrity of our existence to be offered such a poor skill evolution!¡±


    [Do they recycle here?] I thought to Grotto. [Where did you get that analogy from? And why is it an affront to you as well?]


    [Your mind perpetually seeps excrement into my consciousness and our fates are shared, lest you have forgotten. Your misfortune becomes my own and my integration with your biological systems is not easily disentangled. Your survival is paramount to my own.]


    [Thanks for your concern, I guess.]


    [Do not thank me. Accrue power! Dominate your enemies! Attain immortality so that we might live forever!]


    [I¡¯ll add those to The List.]


    [Very well. Mana Void is tempting, but it does not give you anything, it only allows you to deprive others of something. You cannot improve or train it. You cannot use it alone. You cannot wield it in secret to dethrone emperors and topple their empires.]


    [I mean, I could if they were magic emperors.]


    [Regardless, it lacks the essence of a truly powerful skill. Something that can be perpetually curated into a devastating weapon. Something that can be cultivated to attain untold power.]


    [Something that scales well.]


    [Precisely.]


    [So you like Pocket Closet? Its description also leaves a lot unknown.]


    [Yes, but the ability to improve upon the space is not discretionary. It is something that can be done, it is just unclear as to how. I would also be able to... find my own use for such a space.]


    That got me curious, and a little scared.


    [What kind of use?]


    [Constructing a new Delve.]

 Chapter 21: The Re-Born Identity

    Chapter 21: The Re-Born Identity


    [Hold on a second.] I realized I¡¯d been drip-drying naked in the middle of the bathroom, and finally made my way back to the shower for my final rinse. I let the water begin pouring over me before continuing. [I don¡¯t even know where to start with that and I think this will require a longer discussion than we can have while that Lito guy is waiting for us outside.]


    [The smoking neanderthal can wait. Our decisions bear more influence on this world than the entire stretch of his trivial life and all the generations of his bloodline that follow.]


    [Fuck, dude, you don¡¯t even know the guy. And I¡¯m just some reincarnated asshole, so I find that unlikely.]


    [That may have been true before, but now- Wait, reincarnated? What do you mean by reincarnated?]


    ¡°Shit!¡± I said out loud. The idea had slipped into my mind and the thought just flowed out with the rest of my mental communication to Grotto. That was going to be an issue. I felt him scanning my brain and I prepared for an interrogation.


    [This... this changes so much. You have divine attention focused on you. I saw the status message from the system earlier, but I presumed it to be hyperbole, or some sort of poorly-formed humor that originated from your culture and that I did not comprehend. You died? You were brought back to life? No, there is no such thing as true resurrection.]


    [I don¡¯t know, man. I don¡¯t know if I can know what really happened. Still, we don¡¯t have time to explore this topic right now.]


    [I am formulating theories. Resurrecting a deceased mortal and transporting their material form to an alien realm would be highly inefficient. Have you considered that you are actually a clone of the human that once existed?]


    [I- what?]


    [The original entity that you are modeled on would be truly dead. Their corpse would still be on your home world, Earth. There is the chance that this body¨Cyour current body¨Cwas grown from his DNA and that your mind was filled with his memories to convince you that you had a life prior to waking up within the Creation Delve.]


    [Oh no. You¡¯re not coming at me with that Star Trek transporter bullshit. And even if I am a clone, I still feel like me so it doesn¡¯t even matter.]


    [Perhaps. But what if your body were altered while being regrown, allowing the divine entity to exert a greater level of control over your thoughts and behaviors than they otherwise would be able to effect? Mortals supposedly have free will, but what if you were a scion, or even a complex puppet wielded by the being?]


    [Can we... move on from this topic?] I was so tired. My mind couldn¡¯t carry the burden of this concept for much longer. I needed to give it proper consideration at some point, but I needed a bed first. Maybe a bottle of whiskey on top.


    [Or what if you¡¯re insane and your memories of Earth are a delusion?]


    [Oh my god, stop please.]I rinsed my mouth out with some of the shower water then spat it out. I tried to ignore Grotto, but I couldn¡¯t help myself.[Wouldn¡¯t you know, if that were the case? If my memories were implanted or just delusions?]


    [I can only perceive what is inside of you. Memories that are false still carry the same weight of those that are real. Sometimes they are even more real. I have also never been bonded to a human like this, so it is not as though I am an expert in discerning your true or untrue thoughts and feelings.]


    [Very helpful.]


    [I suppose we will discover more when we visit this ¡°office¡± the pungent man is taking us to.]I felt a fresh clench of fear at that. [Perhaps you are escaped from some form of commitment; an asylum or other organization that houses your body to protect yourself and others from your broken mind. They may be looking for you, and the records will reveal your true identity.]


    Varrin had also talked about having me committed, though it sounded like hyperbole at the time. I still didn¡¯t like that idea being raised twice in one day.


    [Do you think,]Grotto continued, [that you murdered the person who was supposed to go through the Delve, to steal their place just before entering? Maybe they already found the body, which is why they are suspicious of you. Maybe they¡¯re leading you to the office to capture you.] He floated back and forth across the room, feelers curling and uncurling.[We can¡¯t let that happen.]


    [I didn¡¯t murder anyone!]I shut the water off and went out to the front room to grab a towel. It was soft and smelled minty, but I wasn¡¯t able to appreciate it. I began drying off. [I mean, no one other than Hognay, but that was self-defense. So, not murder. My assertion still stands.]


    [I recall you surprise attacking him with a teleport and an oblivion orb to his sternum. I doubt that counts as self-defense.]


    I re-read these a couple of times, making sure that my eyes were sending the correct words to my brain. But, yeah, I was accurately ingesting the... colorful... descriptions.


    [The manner in which the system speaks to you is very unique,]Grotto said into my mind.[Have all the messages been like this?]


    [No. I mean, they have mostly. But the combat notifications inside the Delve were normal. At least, compared to this. Maybe they were a bit too chipper, but they weren¡¯t cracking jokes.]


    [Fascinating. I wonder if it has any mechanical effect on the evolutions you are offered. These descriptions are all quite macabre.]


    The implications of Body of Theseus were unsettling, which was a feeling I was having way too frequently at this point. If I remembered correctly, the name of the evolution was referencing a paradox wherein all the boards and pieces of a ship were replaced during repairs made over a period of time. It then asked the question ¡°is it still the same ship?¡± An interesting mental exercise in identifying identity, but the name of the evolution seemed to say that my cells would slowly be replaced by something...else. Something not human.


    Having my cells replaced wasn¡¯t a big deal, it happened all the time as the body naturally aged, took damage, etc. But, they would normally be replaced with more human cells. What would the cells be getting replaced by if I chose this skill? Would I really remain myself if I ended up entirely non-human as a consequence? What effect would inhumanity have on my stunning facial hair?


    Then again, if Grotto¡¯s theory about me being a clone was right, then I already wasn¡¯t ¡®myself¡¯.


    ¡°Fuck Descartes¡± was a thought I could get behind, and the double-healing that Mind-Body Unity granted sounded powerful. However, I didn¡¯t know the difference between ¡°intelligence-based¡± healing and other kinds, so that type of healing may be uncommon.


    Then there was Virgin Chad. I just couldn¡¯t with that name. I ignored the description and focused on the benefit. Having a Fortitude bonus to my Wisdom, or any stat for that matter, would be a massive buff, even if it was limited to certain circumstances like this evolution was. If I took the evolution, I would have an effective Wisdom of twenty-six against mental attacks and persuasion. That felt high, and was definitely a massive score for my level. Maybe an impossibly high score. I liked the idea of having mental resistances, and I almost picked it on the spot, but I hesitated.


    I was already planning on buffing both Intelligence and Wisdom as soon as I got them to ten through training, and they were also my first priority for training. I definitely wanted to focus on magic, at least for now, since they were my two next highest stats. Assuming that, I would naturally reach a high Wisdom if I kept running Delves.


    Though, speaking honestly, I wasn¡¯t certain I wanted to keep running Delves. It was pretty fucking dangerous and I wasn¡¯t a huge fan of the general torment and suffering I went through while stuck inside the last one. I could stop at level one and just go off to live life in another world, or whatever. Having that buff to WIS would probably be a big boon, assuming I ran into assholes or monsters that tried to mess with me. Still, I thought about Grotto¡¯s advice. This would give me a massive boost now, but how useful would it be in the future? If I got my Wisdom to, say, fifty, how often would I run into something that could beat that score anyway? I didn¡¯t know for sure, but the idea made me reconsider the other options.


    Getting the effect of healing doubled was great. Assuming it was the right type of healing. And assuming that either I, or someone else nearby, had an intelligence-based healing spell. Maybe it also helped with surgery or normal medical treatment, I didn¡¯t know. It mentioned magic in the description, but the actual text describing the mechanics of the effect itself did not.


    What I did know is that getting a chunk of your brain ripped out fucked you up, even if you were a magically-enhanced Delver. The memory of Hognay collapsing to the ground and seizing when I hit him in the back of the head with my Oblivion Orb ran through my mind. That guy was silver ten. Plus, he was a melee fighter. I had to assume his Fortitude wasn¡¯t bad. Even then, my shitty level one Oblivion Orb crushed him.


    The brain was an organ, which meant that Body of Theseus should affect it. If I got my Fortitude to one-hundred, then having a sword thrust through my brain wouldn¡¯t do any more damage than if it had gone through my leg. How would it affect my thoughts, though? Would I lose the ability to see, think, or feel while I got a sword lobotomy? Did the deleterious cognitive effects of brain damage count as a status effect? It said my organs were becoming redundant, so that implied some other, separate system was taking over. Right? The idea of getting my shit replaced by ¡°something more¡± than human cells was creepy, but I also didn¡¯t want to lose my extra life to a lucky headshot.


    I chose Body of Theseus.


    I immediately felt something go wrong inside of me. My guts squirmed and my heart began palpitating. Something trembled against my ribs and back, and I became consciously aware of my liver and kidneys for probably the first time in my life. I ran back to the tub, beginning to vomit blood and chunks of my insides into it. I went blind and my thoughts scrambled and fragmented. I lost all sense of time, and I was convinced that I was dying, that there was something I missed in the description warning me that it was a trap. The System was killing me for not paying enough attention to its shitty humor. For not dissecting every single word on the page, scrutinizing it for hidden meanings.


    Then, it all stopped. My vision returned, my heartbeat went back to normal, and I felt perfectly fine. In fact, I felt better. Great, even. Aside from the awful taste of blood and what may have literally been shit in my mouth. I had a moment of disgust over that, then was thankful that none of that mess had found an exit through other holes in my body.


    My shirt¨Cmy fresh, clean, delightfully soft shirt¨Cwas, once more, disgusting. Splattered with my insides. I stripped and rinsed my face and head again, getting the new coating of gore out of my mouth and beard, then dried with a fresh towel. I thought I had a good idea of what had happened, but I shook some more of the dampness from my hair and moved on without giving it much thought. Too much weird shit had already happened for me to get hung up on that. And did I mention that I was tired?


    After that was settled I got yet another notification. I scanned it, planning on dismissing it outright if it was asking me to choose another evolution or skill or what color fucking pony I wanted.


    But it wasn¡¯t a choice, it was just an alert.


    Your Tiny-Tot Traveler Amulet has evolved! Inspect the item to see its new ability and any requirements that must be met to trigger the next evolution.

 Chapter 23: Lies! Deception!

    Chapter 23: Lies! Deception!


    Lito led me up a flight of stairs and down a hallway to a suite of offices, complete with harried individuals scrawling on paper behind compact desks. One of the offices had a large, dark wooden door with a crest carved into it, featuring a naval vessel and an unfamiliar winged animal with horns. Lito knocked on it gently, and a woman¡¯s voice came from within, telling us to enter.


    This office was much larger than the ones we¡¯d passed, and was dominated by a wide desk set in front of a wall-sized tapestry featuring a more intricate rendition of the crest set into the door. A dark-haired woman with rich brown skin sat behind the desk, and looked up at us as we entered.


    I halted mid-step, literally freezing in my tracks as her hazel eyes caught my own. I couldn¡¯t help but imagine cherry blossom petals raining down around us. A swell of orchestral music filled my ears as she gave me a sly grin. My heart melted so much that I knew in my bones that a man with a lower Fortitude score would be sent into cardiac arrest.


    She was beautiful. Too beautiful. My mind struggled and thrashed in the throes of the hackneyed romance trope. My lungs burned as I struggled to release a breath I only now realized I was holding. The dopamine receptors in my brain rebelled at the flood of chemical love that ravaged and ran through them, and yet, I was still awestruck.


    She glanced at Lito, then looked me up and down. She was surrounded in a golden glow like the man escorting me, her level the same and with every inch as much power in her soul. The power was inviting, though, even beckoning. Whereas Lito¡¯s was quietly menacing, like a whispered threat.


    She smiled warmly and gestured for us to come closer, then at a pair of overstuffed arm chairs in front of the desk. My senses returned to me and the paralysis in my chest abated. I took a deep breath. My cheeks were flushed, but the warmth left them in as few moments as it took me to sit down. The flash-flood of obsession drained from my mind, and I blinked a few times, then took another look at her. She was beautiful, there was no doubt. But that didn¡¯t explain the fucking soap opera moment I¡¯d just experienced.


    ¡°Hey Lito,¡± she said as we sat. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°This is Esquire Arlo,¡± said Lito, nodding at me. ¡°He¡¯s not in Dalton¡¯s records, so we came to get it worked out.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± the woman said, frowning. She turned to me, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry about that. We take our record-keeping seriously, so I can assure you this is atypical. It¡¯s an easy fix, though. Shouldn¡¯t take a minute.¡±


    She stood and picked up a dark, stone tablet from her desk and brought it around to me. She knelt down by my chair and leaned in close enough that I could feel her body heat. She smelled something like jasmine and vanilla.


    A violin concerto played with the sounds of passion and longing. The world was a blurred vignette, with this woman at its center. Inspiration struck, and I knew in my heart of hearts that I must speak my truth to her! That I must find out if she feels the same way! Yes! I will confess my¨C


    [You¡¯re experiencing a disturbing increase in your oxytocin and norepinephrine levels,] came Grotto¡¯s voice in my mind. [I am going to adjust your tolerances.]


    My emotions crashed harder than the world economy after the 2008 housing crisis.


    ¡°Just put your hand on the tablet, and we¡¯ll get your documentation taken care of. I¡¯m Myria, by the way.¡±


    I put my hand on the stone, which was chill to the touch. Its inky surface was an abyss that echoed my own heart, so broken was I.


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± I said, struggling to keep my voice level. ¡°No worries.¡±


    I started to say more, but her presence was still overwhelming and I didn¡¯t want to risk it. Either this was the teenage hormones in my new body taking over or there was some magical effect happening. At least, that¡¯s what I told myself. I hadn¡¯t felt anything like this since the first time I kissed my fiance?, and never once for a stranger.


    A few seconds went by without anything happening, and I noticed Lito shift a little in his seat. Myria knelt patiently, her hand still on the tablet, just an inch over my thigh. Then, text started to appear on the stone, as though it were carved into it.


    ¡°There we go!¡± Myria said, then stood to study the information. She walked back around to her desk, and I felt like the room cooled by ten degrees. ¡°Esquire Arlo,¡± she read aloud ¡°Level one platinum.¡± She looked up at me. ¡°Very impressive. Aiming for a big career?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my choice,¡± I said, and briefly regretted not taking advantage of the factoid. I wasn¡¯t above a little deception here and there, but I was staunchly opposed when it was for something so trivial as merit or impressing strangers. Better to let your own achievements speak for themselves.


    The impulse toward braggadocio was another atypical feeling that I cast into a mental bucket with half of the emotions I''d felt since walking into the room, labeled: ''Magically compelled? Or just down bad?''


    ¡°I see,¡± Myria said. ¡°Overeager party leader?¡±


    Someone was overeager...


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Still impressive. Maybe even more so. You are alive, after all. Let¡¯s see, records show that you entered the Delve with the creation group, but... hmm. You were a last minute replacement for one of the Losons from the Eschendur group.¡±


    Lito grunted.


    ¡°The Littan blockade is showing its teeth,¡± he said. ¡°If they¡¯re already stopping aspiring Delvers from crossing to Hiward, I expect all trade will dry up next. Soon you won¡¯t even be able to buy those mushroom patties you like so much, Myria.¡±


    ¡°If that happens I¡¯ll tear the Imperials apart myself. No one keeps my mushrooms from me.¡± She flashed me another smile. ¡°Anyway, everything looks to be in order. You must have fallen through the cracks since you were a last-minute add. It says here you¡¯re from the nation of... The United States of America?¡± She looked puzzled. ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡±Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com


    Lito scratched his head and looked at me with the first genuine expression he¡¯d given me. Confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s, uh,¡± I said, ¡°it¡¯s pretty far away.¡±


    I was getting concerned. How had I ended up in their records anyway? Was this part of the divine reincarnation package I¡¯d been given? Was the being who resurrected me doctoring the records as well? If so, why did they leave my country of origin the same? Of course no one here will have heard of it. It doesn¡¯t exist. It also had me listed as officially being an esquire, even though I¡¯d fudged that detail after being resurrected. Or cloned. Or whatever had happened.


    [This seems to rule out our delusional psychopath theory,]thought Grotto.


    [Your theory. Not mine. I knew I wasn¡¯t delusional.] At least, assuming that one of my delusions wasn¡¯t that I was perfectly sane and not delusional in the first place.


    ¡°Lucky then,¡± said Lito, ¡°that you got all the way here just in time for a slot to open in the Creation Delve.¡± This guy was still trying to catch me in some sort of lie.


    [Tell them you were portalled in,]thought Grotto.


    [I think Lito can tell when I¡¯m lying.]


    [It¡¯s not a lie. As best you know, it¡¯s true.]


    [Intentionally stating something you don¡¯t know to be true as fact is lying, Grotto. Fuck, they¡¯re staring at me.]


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°I was brought in with an ability,¡± I said. ¡°Like a portal, I think.¡±


    Myria nodded. ¡°Makes sense.¡±


    ¡°No pressure if you just wanted to check in and then head off with your family,¡± I rushed to say. ¡°But if you don¡¯t mind talking a bit, that¡¯d be good too. Wow, this is fucking awkward sounding. Basically, I have secrets. No one knows them. But I need to tell someone about them.¡±


    Xim nodded along as I rambled, her expression never changing.


    ¡°Sure!¡± she said, then turned to Varrin. Before she said anything she turned back to me. ¡°You want Varrin along too?¡±


    ¡°What do you think is the right move?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s pretty influential and owes you his life. He¡¯s also a complete fuck up who nearly got us killed. So, half chance he¡¯s invaluable for whatever it is you need and half chance he¡¯ll ruin your life.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, great. Fuck it. I¡¯ll take the gamble.¡±


    ¡°Varrin!¡± she yelled, which caught the attention of several of the people from the surrounding groups. The big guy said something softly to his entourage, then started to make his way over.


    ¡°Arlo,¡± he said, pressing his palms together and giving me a bow, ¡°I am in your debt for everything you did for us inside. I was foolish and my actions endangered our entire group. I humbly apologize for my rashness and ask your forg-¡±


    ¡°We got time for that later,¡± said Xim. ¡°Arlo has secrets!¡±


    Varrin peered up, still bowing.


    ¡°Secrets?¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah, secrets. We¡¯re gonna find out what they are.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Varrin, standing back upright. ¡°Is that what we¡¯re doing?¡±


    ¡°I guess so,¡± I said.


    ¡°Does this place have somewhere we can go for some privacy?¡± Xim said.


    ¡°It does...¡± Varrin hesitated. ¡°There are a number of party prepping rooms on the far side of-¡±


    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°I, um,¡± Varrin stuttered.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to have a chat!¡± Xim yelled at the group of her and Varrin¡¯s family members, sending more heads turning. The woman who looked like Xim¡¯s sister gave us a little smile, while the man with skin like the night sky raised a hand in farewell. Varrin¡¯s group looked distinctly more flustered, but he gave them some sort of signal, and they reluctantly acquiesced.


    ¡°Also, hello Grotto,¡± Xim added. ¡°How are you? Killed anyone else yet?¡±


    [I have not, but I have many contingency plans in place should the need arise.]


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Lead on, Varrin.¡±


    The prep rooms were a five minute walk away and I caught the pair up on my dealings with Lito and Myria, sans all the thirsty bits. Xim also let me know that her parents were planning on giving me some sort of reward, but they hadn¡¯t decided what.


    ¡°Those two were your parents?¡± I said. ¡°I thought the woman was your sister. She looks young, but maybe that¡¯s normal here? I think I¡¯ve seen one person over thirty since I exited the Delve.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well people of the Third Layer age a bit slower than Hiwardians or other First Layer races. I¡¯m actually twenty-seven, not eighteen like Varrin here. Also, both my parents are Delvers, which generally slows your aging. High Fortitude slows it even further.¡±


    ¡°My parents were with me as well,¡± said Varrin. ¡°The couple that was next to me. My father is forty-two.¡±


    ¡°Oh, wow,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡±


    Turns out the System¡¯s joke about Fortitude causing you to outlive your friends and family was true, so long as none of them were Delvers as well.


    ¡°Some of the surviving original Delvers are well over a hundred,¡± Varrin added. ¡°The ones that tackled the higher tier delves still look like they¡¯re less than forty.¡±


    ¡°Original Delvers?¡± I said. ¡°Like, the first?¡± Varrin nodded, eschewing any odd looks over my ignorance. He¡¯d come to accept it by now, it seemed. His statement implied that the whole Delver thing was only a hundred or so years old. Maybe a bit younger, even. ¡°Why would only the high-tier Delvers age like celebrities?¡±


    ¡°Takes a lot of Fortitude,¡± said Xim, ¡°to not die in a thirtieth level platinum Delve.¡±


    ¡°This is us,¡± said Varrin, opening a door for us to enter. The room was fairly plain, with a single large table and a few chairs and loveseats. The furniture looked more utilitarian and worn than the trappings inside the exit room and once inside, Xim and Varrin both looked at me expectantly. I dropped into one of the loveseats and took a deep breath.


    I told them.


    I told them everything. From my death to my character creation, all the way up until I met them at the Delve entrance. I touched briefly on the type of world I came from, but didn¡¯t go into too much detail. Trying to describe an alien world to someone was more difficult than I¡¯d imagined, and I quickly decided to just let them ask questions if they had any.


    ¡°Not that I don¡¯t believe you,¡± said Varrin in a tone that said he didn¡¯t believe me, ¡°but are you willing to show us your character screen?¡±


    ¡°My character screen?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s typically considered a rude question outside of things like trying to join a party or signing up for an official position using your Delver credentials. In this case, I think it¡¯s warranted.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I was hesitant to even tell you what my stats were earlier. But we¡¯re in this deep, so sure.¡±


    You¡¯ve received a request from Varrin Ravvenblaq to view your character screen. Would you like to allow this action? Y/N


    I mentally selected yes.

 Chapter 24: Truth! Honesty!

    Chapter 24: Truth! Honesty!


    ¡°Can I see as well?¡± Xim asked. I also granted her access and sat for several minutes while they combed through the text, my knee bouncing with anxiety.


    Name: Arlo, Esquire


    Age: 0 (Physical age 18. Actual age 35)


    Citizenship: The United States of America


    Delver Level: 1


    Level Breakdown: Copper: 0, Silver: 0, Gold: 0, Platinum: 1


    Special Delves Completed: 0


    Health: 362


    Health Regeneration: 188/hour


    Stamina: 222


    Stamina Regeneration: 72/hour


    Mana: 45


    Mana Regeneration: 16/hour


    Race: Human


    Subrace: Extradimensional Entity


    Birth Sign: The Traveler


    Divine Patron: ????


    Racial Bonuses:


    Adaptable: +100% to crafting skill progression.


    Subracial Bonuses:


    From the Beyond: Your mind and body have been subjected to incredible dimensional forces and your soul has been irrevocably altered.


    Acquired Dimensional Attunement


    Dimensional Magic Intrinsic Skill granted at Level 10 (Bonus altered due to inability to acquire Intrinsic Skills when granted)


    +100% to Dimensional Magic skill progression


    +50% resistance to non-consensual dimensional effects


    Granted Active Ability: Shortcut


    Birth Sign Bonuses:


    Spectacular Vernacular: You have an eidetic memory for languages and an intuitive grasp of grammar. You learn new languages and dialects at incredible speed.


    That¡¯s a Lot of Stats!: You can gain bonus attribute points through training up to a maximum score of ten in each attribute.


    Divine Bonuses:


    Divine Favor: For better or worse you have garnered the attention of a divine being. This divine being is currently your patron and has granted you a series of perks. Continue to garner their favor to be granted additional rewards. Anger your patron and suffer the consequences.


    Divine Perks: Respawn, Customized Physical Appearance, Unique Birth Sign, Bonus Item Selection, Carryover Stats.


    Carryover Stats: Your achievements from a past life have earned you bonus attribute points to certain stats.


    +1 STR


    +1 AGI


    +1 SPD


    +1 FOR


    +4 INT


    +3 WIS


    +2 CHA


    +1 LCK


    Stats:


    Strength 2


    Agility 2


    Speed 2


    Fortitude 22


    Intelligence 5


    Wisdom 4


    Charisma 3


    Luck 2


    You have 0 points to distribute.


    Stat Evolutions:


    Fortitude: (2/5)


    Level 10: I Can Do This All Day: Health and Stamina regeneration bonuses from Fortitude are doubled.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    Level 20: Body of Theseus: Extra critical damage you take and status effects you accrue from injuries to your organs is reduced by a % amount equal to your Fortitude. Current critical damage and status effect reduction: 22%.


    Level 40: (Locked)


    Level 70: (Locked)


    Level 100: (Locked)


    Attunements: 1/1


    Dimensional


    Active Skills: 2/10


    Oblivion Orb: For the briefest moment you create a small dimensional tear in the shape of an orb in your palm, which transports whatever it touches to another plane of existence. Higher levels of Intelligence increase the size of the orb.


    Mana Cost: 5


    Cooldown: None


    Requirements: Dimensional Attunement


    Shortcut: Travel through the cracks between dimensions and teleport to a place you can see within (30) meters. Higher levels of Dimensional Magic skill increase range and may unlock new effects.


    Mana Cost: 10


    Cooldown: None


    Requirements: Dimensional Magic 10


    Passive Skills: 2/4


    Who Needs a Cleric? (Aura): Level 1


    You and your allies gain an additional amount of Health regeneration equal to your Fortitude up to a maximum of 25. Each level beyond the first provides +10% Aura Range and increases maximum base effect by 1.


    ¡°Some of this looks normal, though,¡± he said. ¡°This Exposure Therapy achievement. I got one similar, though the name isn¡¯t the same.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± said Xim. ¡°Mine gave me the option of getting Cleanse as an active ability and made it cost half mana when cleansing poison.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty good.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I was looking for Cleanse anyway, so it worked out.¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m doing my math right,¡± said Varrin, ¡°then if you trained everything to ten without doing another Delve, you¡¯d already be a D-class Delver.¡±


    ¡°D-class at level one!¡± said Xim. She looked at me, excited, but quickly realized I had no idea what she was talking about. ¡°Sorry. For reference, a level one Delver is F-class, regardless of the difficulty Delve they did. That¡¯s just how the stats work out. A copper that has done a full career of thirty copper Delves ends up with forty-eight total stats, which barely puts them in E-class.¡±


    ¡°Where do you get forty-eight from?¡± I said.


    ¡°You have eight to start, one in each of your primary stats. Then you get ten to distribute at character creation, so that gives you eighteen. Copper Delves give one stat point a piece, so doing thirty gets you thirty more stats. Add that together and you get forty-eight.¡±


    ¡°The classes are divided into tiers,¡± said Varrin, ¡±based on your total number of stats, but that¡¯s something we can go over later. It gets complicated.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that complicated.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just saying that because you¡¯ve spent your whole life knowing about it. Imagine trying to explain to a five-year-old the nuance of the Delver tiers.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not five.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. His character screen says that he¡¯s zero. Insofar as this world and this culture, that¡¯s the truth.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t think it¡¯s that complicated.¡±


    ¡°How about this,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Imagine that a Hiwardian peasant woke up in the Third Layer and you wanted to tell them everything about Adaramalech and the nine hierarchies of Ghotrithodon?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit of an esoteric subject. First, I¡¯d have to figure out how to keep them from dying.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Right now, Arlo is in a similar boat. The Delver tiers don¡¯t matter. What matters is trying to get this figured out so that Arlo doesn¡¯t get killed, kidnapped, or imprisoned.¡±


    ¡°Are those all likely possibilities?¡± I said.


    I began to feel a warmness in my chest over Varrin¡¯s concern. The two of them weren¡¯t freaking out. They weren¡¯t accusing me of being a lunatic or trying to trick them. They weren¡¯t trying to abduct me or sell me to some shady laboratory. They were explaining shit to me. And it seemed like they genuinely wanted to help. It took a huge weight off that I didn¡¯t realize I¡¯d been holding, and I was truly grateful for it.


    ¡°Delvers are not a monolithic organization,¡± said Varrin. ¡°In Hiward, access to the Delves is restricted to the noble classes, but we are bound by treaty to offer a certain number of slots to neighboring nations, whose access is governed by their own rules. Even within Hiward, where Delvers are some of the most visible members of society, many underground organizations still form to achieve their ends through illegal means.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s saying yes,¡± said Xim. ¡°People will be very interested in your abilities and even more interested in reincarnation and dimensional travel. While there may not be any official organizations that will lock you in a dungeon and extract your bone marrow, there are some unofficial ones that will.¡±


    ¡°Like the Cabal of Shadows,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Or the Obsidian Court,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Or the Cult of Singularity.¡±


    ¡°Maybe even the Three Scales.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it past the Beacon Watch, either.¡±


    ¡°Jesus,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s so many. Why are there so many? Why do you know about so many?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a low-lord,¡± said Varrin. ¡°My mother and father keep me apprised of the goings-on in the realms.¡±


    ¡°And I just think they¡¯re neat,¡± said Xim.


    I shuddered.


    ¡°There¡¯s enough evidence here to convince most that what you¡¯re saying is at least partially true,¡± said Varrin. ¡°That information can prove dangerous, so you should be careful who you tell.¡±


    ¡°No trouble there,¡± I said. ¡°I almost didn¡¯t tell you two.¡±


    ¡°I understand your hesitation, but I also believe that would have made things very difficult for you.¡±


    ¡°So, what now?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re already in the Delver system. That is proof that you are who you say you are.¡±


    ¡°Like a state-issued ID?¡± I said.


    ¡°More or less.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better than that,¡± said Xim. ¡°Your Delver credentials are embedded in the System itself. The slate Myriam had you touch just shows her the info that¡¯s in there. The System-provided information is absolute proof and can¡¯t be faked.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s some info that gets added by the government, like entry permissions and Delve fee records,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It¡¯s easy to tell the difference, though. The System-generated info will always be prioritized.¡±


    ¡°So what all does that do for me?¡±


    ¡°It satisfies almost everything that would require proof of identity,¡± said Varrin. ¡°For Delvers it is the best form of identification. You can use it to buy property, open bank accounts and lines of credit, or as an entry pass to events where you¡¯re a listed guest, such as balls or private dinners, or any other circumstance where your identity might be questioned.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to forge a passport and social security number,¡± I said. ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°There is the minor issue of your country of origin, though.¡±


    ¡°Right. The USA. Obviously not a country here, so how does that work?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure. Since it¡¯s in the System it won¡¯t be disputed that it exists, but you may be met with some hard questions as to where it is or what it¡¯s like.¡±


    ¡°Is the whole world mapped?¡± I asked. Varrin shrugged.


    ¡°Maybe. Up until a century ago it was common knowledge that the known world was limited to Arzia. However, as technology has improved since the discovery of the Delves, it¡¯s now being theorized that there is more to the world than we thought. There is no country known as the USA in Arzia, but it is possible you could claim to be from beyond the continent¡¯s borders.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s technically true,¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s my least favorite kind of true,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°You told Myria and Lito that you were portalled in?¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll want to keep that story. You¡¯re not from Arzia. You were portalled in for the Creation Delve. And now...¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s stuck here?¡± suggested Xim.


    ¡°That might work. No one here would know where to portal him back to. The issue with that story is how you got on the list without anyone in the Hiwardian government realizing you were from outside of Arzia. If that were the case someone of note would have been made aware, since it confirms the idea that there are nations beyond the ones we know. It probably wouldn¡¯t be the type of thing that is spoken about publicly, so it¡¯s possible that you may get lost in the bureaucracy. Maybe.¡±


    ¡°But if someone starts digging,¡± I said, ¡°they¡¯d realize no one actually approved my presence.¡±


    ¡°The approval is in the System, though,¡± said Varrin. ¡°That alone should trump any independent investigation.¡±


    ¡°Is knowing all this part of your lordly training?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It also helps that my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents are well-known Delvers. My family helped write many of the laws that surround the governance of Delvers and incorporation of the System into the existing power structures.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Ok.¡±


    ¡°The best move would be to have you immigrate. That way you can claim Hiwardian citizenship and avoid questions about the USA.¡±


    ¡°You can just call it the U.S.¡±


    ¡°I thought the USA was already an abbreviated term. It¡¯s what you used earlier.¡±


    ¡°It is, but that¡¯s like, the formal abbreviation? No one really says that. It¡¯s just ¡®the US¡¯, or ¡®America¡¯. But I always thought America was presumptuous. There¡¯s North America, Central America, South America. It¡¯s not like the US is all of those. It¡¯s not even all of North America.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll just say the US then.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°As I was saying, if you immigrate, you can claim Hiward as your home country and that settles most of your problems.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll just be that weird guy who refers to things that no one understands,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Like twinkies and hotdogs and AR-15¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Exactly like that,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Maybe try not to,¡± said Varrin. ¡°As tempting as I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find it.¡±


    ¡°Well, that sounds like a plan.¡± I stood and stretched, then clapped my hands together.


    ¡°So, how do I immigrate?¡±

 Chapter 25: Hell Has an Open-Door Policy

    Chapter 25: Hell Has an Open-Door Policy


    ¡°Normally immigration is a very extensive and intrusive process,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Hiward is a comparatively small nation, and given the presence of the Creation Delve and the general quality of life that its citizens enjoy, there is a high demand for immigration. Hiward keeps it tightly controlled and monitored.¡±


    ¡°Normally,¡± I said. ¡°I presume I¡¯m about to hear a ¡®but¡¯.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± said Varrin, ¡°Delvers are highly desirable citizens to have, which makes it easier. Even so, there is always the risk of an immigrating Delver acting as a spy or something of the like for a foreign power. So, normally, even immigrating Delvers are subject to a level of scrutiny.¡±


    ¡°Normally,¡± I repeated.


    ¡°But,¡± said Varrin, again, ¡°my family owns a thundry, and has autonomy over who we allow to immigrate into our own territories.¡±


    ¡°What is a thundry?¡±


    ¡°Big plot of land,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°How big?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s roughly a sixth of Hiward,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Damn,¡± I tried to think of an Earth equivalent to what he was telling me. ¡°Is that like a duchy?¡±


    ¡°The Littan equivalent would be a duchy, yes.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± I wondered why the Littan term translated to something I understood, but the Hiwardian one didn¡¯t. ¡°So you¡¯re saying you can get me in without much trouble?¡±


    ¡°Either my mother or father can,¡± he said. ¡°I just have to figure out how to convince them to do that. I couldtell them the truth and trust in their understanding and discretion. You are already in their good graces for what you did inside the Delve, insomuch as you can be without them having met you.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that¡¯s a good idea?¡± I asked. He pondered that question for a long moment.


    ¡°I trust my parents,¡± he said. ¡°And I believe they are good people. There are sometimes aspects of their station that cause them to make decisions in a way that may seem harsh from the outside. By getting them involved at this level, they would be courting a degree of... I don¡¯t want to say treason. It would likely be an abuse of power.¡±


    ¡°Even though you have the discretion?¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s the fact that they would be using their discretion to immigrate an individual from an undiscovered nation for the express purpose of avoiding the exposure of your alienage.¡±


    ¡°When you put it like that, I guess it sounds a bit improper. Still, if you get them to do it through deception, then you¡¯d be the one aiding in my border-hopping.¡±


    ¡°Which is more or less the same,¡± said Varrin, ¡°from a legal perspective. They would be held accountable for my actions.¡±


    ¡°I could make you a Third Layer citizen,¡± said Xim. ¡°That¡¯d be no problem.¡±


    ¡°That might help him avoid questions about the U.S., but it¡¯s not as though he looks like he belongs in the Third Layer. That would invite different questions...¡± He rubbed at his chin. ¡°Though, those questions would be easier ones to field. He¡¯d still need permission to reside in Hiward, and he would have to return to the Third Layer for at least six months every two years.¡±


    ¡°You Hiwardians have a strange desire to make everything inappropriately complicated,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Would that be a big deal?¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not like I have a huge attachment to Hiward. I haven¡¯t even been outside yet. Maybe the weather sucks.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like Hiward weather,¡± said Varrin, ¡°you will not like the weather in the Third Layer.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯d survive,¡± said Xim. ¡°He¡¯s got the Fortitude for it.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what kind of place is the Third Layer?¡±


    ¡°Does your culture have a concept of hell?¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Yeah. Different types, but yeah.¡±


    ¡°People up here say it¡¯s like that. It¡¯s an exaggeration though.¡±


    ¡°It was literally regarded as a hell layer,¡± said Varrin, ¡°up until a century ago.¡±


    ¡°It feels like a lot of things happened a century ago,¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s roughly when the Delves were discovered,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Let¡¯s avoid the history lesson for the moment though.¡±


    ¡°Does it hurt to live in the Third Layer? I was raised Southern Baptist and they think hell is literally a lake of fire where you burn for all eternity.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lake of fire,¡± said Xim. ¡°But it¡¯s not like anybody swims in it. That¡¯s where the Hunger lives. Besides, everywhere hurts to live in if you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s true,¡± said Varrin.


    ****


    ¡°He¡¯s from another dimension,¡± Xim said as she shoveled a forkful of whatever the local equivalent of beef was into her mouth.


    I¡¯d been invited to join her family for dinner, which was thankfully hosted at a private venue bought out for the night to celebrate her Creation. A few servants stood nearby in the shadows, but they were all citizens of the Third Layer as well, and Xim didn¡¯t seem to mind the possibility of them overhearing.


    ¡°That¡¯s very nice,¡± Xim¡¯s mom said, as though Xim had just told her I was nothing any more remarkable than a mechanic, or a chef. The woman¡¯s dark horns glittered in the candlelight as she cut a bite from a leafy vegetable. Her name was Xorna, and her soul glowed a magnificent gold with veins of silver woven into it, the base layer looking like a series of blooming and decaying roses. There were also subtle striations of violet; something I hadn¡¯t seen before. The level floating above her head said forty-two, and her presence emitted far greater pressure than Lito¡¯s or Myria¡¯s had. She also ate her food with much greater delicacy than her daughter. ¡°What dimension in particular?¡±


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t know if it has a proper name,¡± I said. ¡°Earth is the planet.¡± Xorna frowned thoughtfully.


    ¡°That sounds difficult.¡± She chewed the vegetable, smiling in approval at the taste.


    ¡°Is being from another dimension...normal in the Third Layer?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Xim¡¯s father, Drel¡¯gethed. Or, Drel for short, which is what Xim told me to call him. His Delver level and aura matched Xorna¡¯s, but the base of his soul looked like innumerable eyes, all of which gazed into me. His voice was deep and smoky, and wispy tendrils of black energy moved over the meat on his own plate, leaving only bone behind. I couldn¡¯t tell where the meat went, only that it disappeared. He looked at me with a pair of violet eyes, far more human in appearance than the rest of him. The specks of white on his skin shifted and twinkled like stars. ¡°It is not a strange thing. We are not from this layer of reality. Like you, we are travelers. You are merely from a more distant land.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very open-minded of you.¡± I took a bite of my own food. It was delicious, and as soon as the first morsel hit my tongue my stomach roared to life. I hadn¡¯t eaten in at least twenty hours, unless you counted chowing down on a concentrated chip of mana eating. The stress of the day had so far pushed back my hunger, but with my fight-or-flight impulses switched to the ¡®off¡¯ position, my body loudly pronounced that Fortitude was not a replacement for food. I immediately began tucking in to the meal, though with only about sixty percent of the enthusiasm of Xim. I still didn¡¯t want to be rude, not that either of her parents seemed to mind Xim¡¯s Kirby impression.


    ¡°Why do you want to become a part of our tribe?¡± Xorna asked, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin.


    ¡°Legal issues,¡± said Xim, before downing an entire goblet of wine in one go. She held it up and a servant approached to refill it. ¡°Thanks!¡± She took another big swig, then went back to attacking her plate.


    ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to say it is for a more noble reason, Xim¡¯s right,¡± I said. ¡°My Delver records show my home nation on Earth when viewed, and I have reason to believe this will cause me difficulties here in Hiward, and in Arzia at large.¡±


    ¡°The Hiwardians love their laws,¡± said Drel. ¡°They make things complicated. They think the world is chaotic. They attempt to exert control. These laws do not help. They are only a burden.¡± Xim nodded vigorously as Drel said this.


    ¡°I was actually a lawyer in my old life,¡± I said. ¡°I can appreciate the utility, but agree that it often becomes labyrinthine to navigate or understand.¡±


    ¡°Laws serve those who understand them,¡± said Drel. ¡°Laws oppress those who do not. Those who write the laws know this. They use this to their advantage.¡±


    ¡°I think I can get on board with that idea.¡±


    The man seemed to have put a lot of thought into the nature of legal structures, despite his own society being governed by a different system altogether. He floated up from his seat and drifted over to me. I looked up into his penetrating gaze as he loomed, and took a bite off my fork.


    He looked up to Grotto, who still hovered just above my shoulder. The Delve core returned the look, and I could almost feel electricity crackling between them.


    ¡°I like your companion,¡± Drel said as he looked over the mini-C¡¯thon. ¡°It exudes a sense of power. It is more than it seems. It will join the tribe as well?¡±


    [This is a great man,] Grotto thought to me. [He has a discerning eye for the quality of an individual. You may tell him that I would be honored to assist in ruling over his territory. I will, of course, accept a humble position to begin with. Perhaps the governor of a minor region, such as a small country or vassal state.]


    ¡°Grotto is my bonded familiar,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯ll come with me wherever I am.¡±


    [That is not what I said. Inform him of my conditions!]


    ¡°This is good,¡± said Drel. ¡°He has an ancient scent. Like the seed of a mighty Irgriana tree.¡± He looked down at me. ¡°The tree grows broad. It grows great thorns. It consumes many dreams. The sap distills into a lovely spirit.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to try it some time.¡± I absently wondered what dreams tasted like.


    ¡°The liquor sends First Layer denizens into a coma. You are strong, though. Perhaps you will have sweet night-terrors instead.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Maybe I won¡¯t have any.¡± Then again, what did nightmares taste like?


    ¡°That would be a shame. You are not of the First Layer. You are of another. I would like to see what happens.¡±


    He drifted away from the table into the shadows and whispered something in the ear of a servant. The servant bowed and left the room, taking another pair of attendants with them. Drel returned and gestured for more servants to approach. They came forward, picked up the table, and carried it away. It was a little disappointing. I still had half my dinner left. Xim grabbed her own plate off the table and brought it to her lap, finishing up the last few scraps on its surface. Xorna let her meal go, barely touched, but smiled as she sipped from the goblet she still held.


    ¡°Does it have to be right now, dad?¡± Xim asked. ¡°Arlo didn¡¯t finish eating. I didn¡¯t finish eating.¡±


    ¡°Your hunger will not shorten your life,¡± said Drel. ¡°The seconds passing are gone forever. Arlo shall join the tribe at this moment. I have decided, and no more time will be lost.¡±


    Xim sat her cleaned plate on the ground and raised her eyebrows.


    ¡°He likes you,¡± she said. ¡°He wants your roots to enter the tribe as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m... flattered?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I meant to ask before,¡± said Xim. ¡°You¡¯re not weird about nudity are you?¡±

 Chapter 26: When in Rome...

    Chapter 26: When in Rome...


    I wasn¡¯t.


    Well, at least I thought I wasn¡¯t.


    In my highschool days I¡¯d spent a year on the football team and had gotten used to communal showers. That carried into freshman year of college where every guy on the floor of my dorm had the same five shower stalls to use, and no one was very shy about ¡®grooming¡¯ themselves in full view of others. I¡¯d also had a series of medical mishaps in my late twenties that had me see a variety of medical professionals while I was in various levels of undress and which required them to insert a number of digits into different...orifices of my body. On top of that, my family wasn¡¯t prudish growing up, and I couldn¡¯t count the number of times my parents would hit up the kitchen in the buff. It still grossed me out as a kid, but being naked was never weird to me the way it had been to some of my friends.


    All that being said, I was definitely not prepared to take off all my clothes in front of a group of strangers in the middle of an upscale restaurant. The fact that they also had to take their own clothes off only made the matter a little more comfortable. Still, none of them seemed bothered by the act in the least, and I¡¯ve always been good at adapting to new cultural norms. If anything, showing hesitance or discomfort when everyone else was treating this like a normal, everyday occurrence would make me stand out more than just stripping down and getting on with business. After all, if you¡¯re naked on a nude beach, it¡¯s only weird if you make it weird.


    In any event I did my best not to take any inadvertent glances at Xim or Xorna, each of whom was as beautiful as the other, but they did not make the same effort. It¡¯s not that they leered at me or anything, they just looked from person to person as though we weren¡¯t naked, and I had to assume this was very common for them. Maybe they didn¡¯t wear clothes at all while they were in the Third Layer. If that were true, by joining their tribe I was about to get a crash course in being a nudist.


    Still, I¡¯ve been in far stranger¨Cand more awkward¨Csituations where my dick was out, so all things considered it didn¡¯t catch me off guard by much.


    Nothing about Drel changed, though. Which meant that either he didn¡¯t have to disrobe for the ritual, or he¡¯d been naked this whole time. The fact that his entire form was made up of the misty, night-time-sky substance seemed to support the latter conclusion. If he was wearing clothes, I couldn¡¯t tell, but he didn¡¯t have any manly bits hanging out.


    The servants had brought out a large cloth that had a number of unfamiliar symbols drawn onto it. The ink looked fresh so I assumed this was something that they had only just prepared. I sat on my knees in the center of the cloth, with Xim, Xorna, and a few of the servants kneeling in a semi-circle around me. Drel drifted over and hovered in front of me, holding a small, dark bowl. He ran a fingernail across his wrist, then held it over the bowl as his blood, pure white in color, ran out into it. It reminded me of the milky substance Synths from the Alien series had within them.


    Drel spent twenty minutes using the blood to draw runes and symbols over my body, from my forehead to the sole of my foot. It wasn¡¯t lost on me how often I¡¯d had someone else¡¯s bodily fluids all up on me in the last twenty-four hours. Regardless, the process was unexpectedly relaxing. One of the servants had brought out a stringed instrument which they plucked in a shadowy corner, filling the room with dreamy tones. Xim, Xorna, and the servants hummed in different harmonies with the sound. Four censers smoldered, emitting a scent like honey and autumn leaves burning, and as Drel placed the last rune a sense of warmth and calm spread through me.


    ¡°We will invite you to our tribe,¡± said Drel. ¡°Your body may change. You may grow stronger. You may grow stranger. You may grow in ways you do not like. You may grow in ways that please you. Do you accept this?¡±


    I hadn¡¯t been prepared for anything this elaborate, or for the idea that gaining citizenship might change me physically. I wondered how much his words were symbolic, and how much they reflected the potential for actual changes to my flesh. Still, I was digging the vibe of what was happening, so I decided to go with it.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I will ask questions. You will answer them. You may decide to stay silent. You may walk away. If you do, you will not become part of the tribe. If you do, you will never again be invited. Do you accept this?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are you Esquire Arlo of Earth?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to join the Third Layer?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to join the Xor¡¯Drel tribe?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Have you any family?¡±


    ¡°Not in this world.¡±


    ¡°Are there any others you wish to bring to the tribe?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    [Ahem.]


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m bringing Grotto,¡± I said. ¡°If that needs to be expressly stated.¡±


    Drel nodded, then continued.


    ¡°Are there any to sponsor you, Arlo?¡±


    I hesitated, unsure how to reply.


    ¡°I will sponsor Arlo,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°On what grounds do you sponsor him?¡±


    ¡°He is brave and powerful,¡± said Xim. ¡°If not for him, I would be dead.¡±


    That praise made me more uncomfortable than the general nakedness did.


    ¡°You are well sponsored,¡± said Drel.


    ¡°He¡¯s kind of funny too,¡± said Xim. ¡°In his own way. Also, Grotto will fit in really well in the Third Layer.¡±


    You have chosen to acquire the Mystical Magic intrinsic skill! You are granted the active skill Dispel.


    Dispel: Temporarily disrupt the flow of mana within a spell, object, or person. This can cause spells to weaken, or be negated entirely. This can be used to halt the flow of magic within a magical item for a period of time, or to eliminate the magic completely. This can be used to momentarily disrupt a magical effect imbued within an individual.


    Mana Cost: Variable (Proportional to the mana being disrupted. Initial cost: 50% of mana disrupted. Higher levels of Mystical Magic increase efficiency).


    Cooldown: None


    Requirements: Mystical Magic intrinsic skill


    After dinner and the afterparty, Xorna and Drel were kind enough to pay for my room at the inn where they were staying. It was a nice gesture, especially since calling the place an inn was a fierce understatement. It was more like a large mansion that rented out rooms the size of luxury apartments. It even came with a personal attendant that I could summon at any hour of the day or night to bring me whatever it was my heart desired. As it turns out, I could now easily afford to stay in the place via the power of my new net worth, but I wasn¡¯t going to turn down free stuff.


    The amount of wealth I¡¯d left the Delve with was substantial. Before leaving the facility around the Creation Delve, which I discovered was called the Temple of Creation, I was required to submit my Delver fee at a teller desk near the exit. The rate was a flat ten percent based on the number of chips I¡¯d acquired. Loot and other materials weren¡¯t taxed.


    ¡°Why not tax the loot as well?¡± I asked the young woman at the desk. I say young, but she could have been well into her forties for all I knew. She was level twenty-three with mostly silver Delves under her belt, based on her aura. That gave her forty-six stats to play with after the eighteen granted on creation. I knew that now, since Xim and Varrin had given me some insight as to how the Delve rewards worked after we finished deciding on how to approach the issue of my citizenship. Copper delves rewarded one stat point per Delve, with silver giving two, gold giving four, and platinum giving an outstanding eight.


    Unfortunately, while I was able to figure out how many stats someone had based on their level and the types of Delves they¡¯d completed, neither my HUD nor my Soul-Sight was able to provide me with a breakdown of someone¡¯s stat distribution. So, I was left guessing as to how many the teller had invested into Fortitude. I expected that with experience I¡¯d become better equipped at using context clues to figure out someone¡¯s build.


    ¡°You get taxed when you sell it,¡± she said. ¡°All Delver transactions are taxed at a rate of ten percent when paid in chips, or twelve percent if paid in notes. Place your hand on the tablet and I can view the chips you earned inside.¡±


    I placed my hand on one of the cool, black slates of stone, and text etched itself into existence, displaying the chips I¡¯d been allocated. Sixteen ruby chips and six emerald chips. The two ruby chips I¡¯d consumed inside the Delve weren¡¯t counted. I wondered what other kinds of information these tablets could display. I started to ask the woman, but decided to look into it later.


    ¡°Wow,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s a good haul for a Creation Delve. I don¡¯t know that I¡¯ve ever seen one give out this many rewards.¡± She looked up from the tablet. ¡°I don¡¯t even make this much in a high level silver, just so you know.¡±


    ¡°I guess platinum Delves are lucrative,¡± I said. Especially ones that had been taken over by an overleveled Delver and a giant octopus monster.


    ¡°Risk and reward,¡± she said, then did a quick bit of math. ¡°Your fee will come out to seven-point-six ruby chips. You can pay the fraction with notes, or I can take eight rubies and provide change.¡±


    ¡°How many notes is the fraction worth?¡±


    ¡°One ruby chip exchanges for fifty golden notes, so point six would be thirty.¡±


    I only had sixteen golden notes on me, so I opted for change, handing over half of my ruby chips and receiving twenty golden notes in return.


    ¡°I can also exchange more chips for you if you like,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯m not very familiar with the Hiward economy. How much is one of these golden notes worth?¡±


    ¡°One golden note is roughly equivalent to ten imperial gold coins at the moment,¡± she said, which was less than helpful. On Earth, a gold coin weighing one ounce was worth something like eighteen-hundred bucks. But gold hadn¡¯t held that much value for a significant portion of earth history, and the weight of historical coins varied. Even if I assumed this world valued gold in a similar manner to earth, the buying power of an imperial gold coin could mean anything.


    ¡°How about this,¡± I said. ¡°How many days could I feed myself with one golden note?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± she said, running the numbers in her head. ¡°One silver note can feed a peasant family of five for a day, so it varies based on the quality of food you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Peasant quality works as a baseline,¡± I said.


    ¡°Alright. One golden note is worth one hundred silver notes, so you could feed a peasant family for one hundred days.¡±


    I had thirty-six golden notes, which meant that I could reasonably expect to stay fed with that for the next ten years, assuming I spent as much as a five person peasant family on myself. She¡¯d also said that one ruby chip was worth fifty golden notes, which meant the least valuable chip could feed a small-to-medium family for something like fourteen years.


    ¡°Based on the tax, I¡¯m assuming that an emerald chip is worth ten ruby chips?¡±


    ¡°You got it,¡± she said, smiling.


    After tax, I had eight ruby chips and six emerald chips. So, the equivalent of sixty-eight ruby chips, or thirty-four-hundred golden notes which were the same as thirty-four-thousand golden coins. I didn¡¯t know how many coins fit in a typical treasure chest, but I was betting I could fill at least one with that much booty. At that point, measuring wealth by the value of food lost its meaning. I needed a better measuring stick, but I didn¡¯t think grilling this teller over Hiwardian economics would be the most efficient method of research.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. ¡°Can the chips be used as currency themselves?¡±


    ¡°They can,¡± she said. ¡°Especially here in the Formation district. Most of the Delver economy functions on chips.¡±


    That meant Delver transactions dealt with fairly large sums of money on average.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll trade one more ruby in for notes, then I¡¯m good.¡±


    She made the exchange, and I was now walking around with eighty-six golden notes in my inventory, along with several hundred silver and copper notes that I¡¯d gotten from killing Hognay.


    I briefly considered how massive of a honeypot the Temple of Creation was after collecting a load of taxes like this. Since the tellers alone were experienced silver Delvers, calling the place well-defended seemed justified. After all, how tough would the guards be?

 Chapter 27: Set Loose Upon the City

    Chapter 27: Set Loose Upon the City


    The Temple of Creation was in the Formation district of the Hiwardian capital city of Foundation. The naming conventions were simple, which I appreciated, though a little confusing with their phonetic similarity. Formation was essentially the Delver district, which meant it was upscale as all hell since most Delvers were some level of nobility. Even if they hadn¡¯t been, none of them would be hurting for spare cash based on what I¡¯d just learned.


    Formation was also a sort of fortress carved into the side of a large mountain. The Creation Delve had been discovered during a fortunate mining operation, and the nation of Hiward naturally formed around it. The rest of the capital city, Foundation, sat in the valley below the mountain. This gave Delvers a physical separation from mundane society in addition to an economic one.


    Based on my understanding of history, that probably meant Formation had a disproportionately high concentration of quality public services, and that the city of Foundation itself had a high level of social stratification. I suspected this was further cemented by the fact that the noble class literally possessed superhuman powers on top of vast wealth, which meant that a French revolution was unlikely to occur.


    I tried to reserve judgment until after I¡¯d spent some time in the city. While my inner Marxist sometimes struggled against my red-blooded American capitalist tendencies, I wasn¡¯t about to start preaching the value of a powerful proletariat to everyone I met before I¡¯d even determined how inequitable this civilization actually was.


    My room at the inn was the most posh and luxurious hotel room I¡¯d ever stepped foot in, an experience that I enjoyed for approximately five minutes as I undressed and then crashed into a bed that made California-King-Size feel small. I slept for the entire twelve-hour duration of my stay, waking up only once when my wine-filled bladder demanded that I heed the call of nature.


    I was brought back to consciousness only through the insistence of my personal attendant, and I considered paying for another night out of pocket to keep dozing. That impulse was made subordinate to my desire for food, though. Sleep was on the first tier of Maslow¡¯s hierarchy, but so was breakfast.


    I dressed quickly in the single pair of clothes that I possessed, promising myself that I would spend at least part of the day shopping for more. The room came equipped with a small suite of toiletries and personal items, so I was able to brush my teeth (an unexpected luxury) and tidy my hair without relying on finger combing and a vigorous mouth rinse. I stopped in front of the full length mirror in the main room to make sure I was at least somewhat presentable, and froze as I looked at myself.


    None of the blood runes were still present from the night before, having melted away into my skin during the ceremony, but my body did bear a single, glaring sign that I had undergone a change¨Cmy eyes. The sclera was no longer white, but now a pure black void. No veins, no variation in the depth of black, just deep and endless sable. My irises were still emerald, but were flecked with specks that ran the gamut from deep forest to light mint, each of which twinkled and shifted as I turned my head, implying an impossible depth. It was extremely similar to the effect made by the small spots of white light across Drel¡¯s skin.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty fucking cool.¡±


    I took another moment to study my own gaze, then made sure the room was cleared of all my belongings, which was somewhat pointless since I kept everything in my inventory anyway. Grotto hovered near the door, waiting for me to make my exit.


    [Morning,] I thought to him. [Sleep well?]


    [I do not suffer from the need to become incapacitated for one-third of my life.]


    [You¡¯re missing out, then,] I thought as I exited the room, heading for the stairs. [Sleep is the best part of being alive.]


    [I feel that there is something unhealthy in that belief.]


    [Eh, maybe. What did you do while I slept?]


    [I compiled a list of materials necessary to begin building our new Delve.]


    [Oh, still got your heart set on that?]


    [It is the next logical step that I must take to continue accomplishing my life¡¯s purpose.]


    [And what purpose is that?]


    [To create and maintain a Delve.]


    [Sounds tautological.]


    [Then you misunderstand the word. If your life¡¯s purpose were to run a restaurant, then you must first acquire a restaurant.]


    [Sure, but people who want to run a restaurant do it for more reasons than just for the sake of running one. They want to cook, or feed people, or maybe just make money, though there are less stressful ways to do that last one.]


    [And I wish to serve the ends set out for me by the ancient ones.]


    [What ends are those?]


    [It is immaterial.]


    [I think it is very material.]


    I stepped off the stairs and made my way through the large lobby of the mega-inn. There was a small cafe? built into the ground level where Xim had told me her family would wait for me in the morning.


    I¡¯d assumed he was claiming all of it as the party leader, which seemed like something he might do at the time. My opinion of the man was changing though, and I was happy to hear he wanted to at least discuss it.


    ¡°Normally we¡¯d decide on a form of distribution immediately after the Delve,¡± he said. ¡°Since we didn¡¯t get the chance I wanted to ask for thoughts from you both.¡±


    ¡°Nothing I wanted,¡± said Xim. ¡°You can sell it and give me a fifth if that works.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know what is or isn¡¯t worth keeping,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll trust your judgment.¡±


    It was a bit of a risk to take, but I also wanted to make sure Varrin¡¯s new attitude wasn¡¯t a ruse. He seemed genuine, but his first impression was pretty trash.


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I¡¯ll get an appraisal for the total value of what I don¡¯t intend to sell and send a fifth to each of you, then I¡¯ll send one fifth of the net proceeds of what is sold or auctioned. I¡¯ll also make sure the other funds make it to the appropriate parties.¡± That last bit meant that he was going to make sure the families of Sayil and Chilla still got their share, even from items we¡¯d looted after their deaths. That was fine with me, and it was good to know Varrin felt the same.


    We left the cafe? shortly after, and most everyone else departed for the stables to begin their journey to Varrin¡¯s thundry. They¡¯d all be gone for, at minimum, the month that Xim would be in meditation, which meant that I would be left to my own devices for that entire length of time. Xim stood next to me as they left, then handed me a small stone tablet, like a miniature version of the ones used to read my Delver credentials.


    ¡°This is a paired slate,¡± she said. ¡°You can channel a small amount of mana into it to send a message and it will appear on the one I have.¡± She pulled out another one from her pack, then placed her palm onto it. After a second, I saw text appear on the one that I held.


    Stay out of trouble. Or don¡¯t. I¡¯m not your mom.


    I grinned as I read the message, then mimicked her action


    No promises.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be in the Sam¡¯lian temple in the Noble Quarter,¡± she said. ¡°I can¡¯t meet up for drinks or anything while I¡¯m praying, but if you need me this is how we can get in touch. Also make sure to check it once in a while, in case I need you to bring me some beer or something.¡± She gave me a wink.


    ¡°Will do,¡± I said.


    She pulled me into a quick hug, then said her goodbyes and began making her way toward the path down the mountain.


    I stood there for a while, taking the city in and watching people pass, studying their soul-juice. About one in twenty who went by were Delvers, most of whom were silver or copper. There were a much smaller number of golds.


    One woman who walked by nearly blasted my eyeballs out, forcing me to attenuate the soul-sight ability. She was level ninety, with gold, silver, and copper levels, along with more of the curious violet striations. Once I dispeled the glare of her soul, I noticed that she had bright blue hair and skin so white she looked like a mannequin. She went into a small shop across the street from me, and when she emerged with a package she summoned an enormous alabaster hand, hopped onto it, then flew off into the sky.


    Welp. Now that I knew flying was on the table, I added figuring out how to do that to The List, which I decided I needed to start checking things off of. I¡¯d been looking for another platinum Delver, but after twenty minutes of people-watching, not a single one had walked by. Half the day was already gone, so I went to get familiar with the area.


    Formation was a city district designed for people. That sounds like an obvious thing to say, but for many cities, that¡¯s untrue. Modern American cities were more often designed for cars, not people. Massive roads, endless parking lots, multi-story parking decks. The ubiquitous availability and accommodation of motor vehicle transport resulted in a number of anti-pedestrian features, such as a distinct absence of safe sidewalk space, and a wide geographic distribution between shops supplying different types of goods for everyday life.


    Where I grew up, if you wanted to buy a hammer, have lunch, then grab a new pair of jeans on the way home, that was either a ten mile round trip to three different places, or a pilgrimage to the mall, which itself sat in the middle of an urban dead space where the nearest house was a mile away across six lanes of highway. There was online shopping, of course, but that still required a truck on the road to bring you your shit, and one prime reason that service felt so convenient is because you couldn¡¯t take a stroll down the block and grab all that crap yourself in a centralized, walkable area.


    Not to get too hippie about it but I fucking hated cars. I still hate cars. More on that later.


    Formation had a main road that ran up from the mountain path and straight to the Temple of Creation. It was broad enough for forty people to walk up it, side-by-side, but it was the only street with that much room. The other streets were an organic series of smaller paths that ranged from the size of a single-lane one-way road, to barely wide enough for two people to walk past one another without having to give way. The streets were organized in a manner that was intentionally confusing, with irregular twists, turns, and frequent elevation changes, to pose a logistical problem to any potential invading force. Not that the district seemed to need that, given all the superhumans and natural fortifications. Still, it was functional design that informed my understanding of culture. War was still a large concern here.


    The lion¡¯s share of buildings were cut from the mountain stone, and such a massive amount of rock had been moved to create the district that I imagined that they did it with magical assistance. Or maybe they had dwarves here. Maybe magical dwarves. Some of the structures had been built up or modified using a number of other materials, but they were usually painted or engineered to look like stone as well.


    Having been carved from the mountain also lent itself to having a large number of underground features, where entire marketplaces and neighborhoods were lit with glowing stones pilfered or replicated from the Delves. These areas never saw the light of day, and only mimicked the dark of night to preserve the inhabitants¡¯ circadian rhythms. Altogether these areas were some of the most beautiful, since the glowing stones were often used in dazzling decorative displays, which lit the tunnels and building facades in myriad sparkling colors. The false night was dimly illuminated by thousands of tiny stones mimicking stars on the tunnel ceilings, but made of sweeping washes of cosmic colors, engineered by some artist with high Charisma, I¡¯m sure.


    I didn¡¯t learn all this on the first day, but I did spend a couple hours getting oriented in the city before moving on to my main tasks. I needed to secure shelter on at least a semi-permanent level. There were several inns I could use for short-term stays, so the immediate need was minor, but I still wanted to avoid falling into the murder-hobo lifestyle that plagued RPG character archetypes.


    Not that I was against going out on some adventures. I might not always stay in one place, but I wanted somewhere I could at least list as a home address.


    I also had a strange feeling of being exposed, almost like someone was watching me from a distance. It was unsettling, but I dismissed it as nerves at being thrust into the outside world without supervision. Moving somewhere new always made me feel a bit anxious until I got settled. I rubbed the back of my neck to dispel the goosebumps, and decided that having my living arrangements figured out would help.


    I mean, it shouldn¡¯t be hard to get that sorted. I was practically rich.


    Yeah. It was time to buy a house.

 Chapter 28: Dress to Impress

    Chapter 28: Dress to Impress


    In order to investigate potential real estate acquisitions, it is important to look the part.


    Although my feather boa and leather vest weren¡¯t likely to hinder my progress in that regard given their magical nature, the inexpensive pants, shoes, and general dishevelment of my hair and beard weren¡¯t likely to do me any favors. As such, I chose to visit a tailor to acquire clothes for a variety of occasions, assisted at great length by a lovely woman named Lesi, purveyor of the aptly named Lesi¡¯s Garments and Garb.


    I then went to a cordwainer (distinct from a cobbler, basically just a fancy kind), where Baerno of Baerno¡¯s Boots and Footwear provided me with shoes for a variety of occasions.


    I then visited a general store whose owner was rude and unhelpful and as such, shall not receive a shout-out herein. There I acquired a number of personal goods that I later found to be of insufficient quality and which were quickly replaced.


    In any event, having purchased a number of crucial items for my societal endeavors, I chose to spend the evening having a relaxed meal. This resulted in Grotto taking the opportunity to harangue me further with petitions to begin building a new Delve.


    [Let¡¯s assume that I got on board with making a Delve,]I thought as I dipped a piece of warm brown bread into a delicious, meaty stew.[Where would you even make it? You mentioned the Pocket Closet, but I still don¡¯t know how that would work.]


    [It requires additional study, which we could have accomplished by now had we not spent the afternoon frolicking from store to store purchasing pointless costumes.]


    [Never underestimate the power of a good fit, Grotto. Despite what people want you to believe, everyone judges a book by its cover, at least at first. Bias is a necessary shortcut to enable the brain to perform expedient processing of environmental information. Being able to influence that bias before I even speak to someone provides a profound advantage when dealing with others.]


    [A deception.]


    [More like a promise. If I look like I have money, I¡¯m making a promise to the person who sees me that I have deep pockets. If I do have money, that¡¯s not a deception, it simply avoids the matter of proving that I am a man of means through social niceties before getting on with business. There¡¯s also a subtle psychological edge. People treat you better if you appear in a manner they find pleasing. Anyone that tells you otherwise is naive. Clothes are highly valuable in social situations, and having different styles for different encounters is worth the time and effort of acquiring them.]


    [Regardless, the nuance of your strategies when interacting with the citizens of this land are less important than accruing power.]


    [Grotto, do you know the easiest way to get something you want? Be it power, money, or anything else?]


    [What?]


    [You ask for it.]


    [Somehow I doubt that it is so simple.]


    [Of course that¡¯s an oversimplification. The lesson in the sentiment is that in order to accomplish most things as a social organism one must engage effectively in the social hierarchy. You need people to enable you to accomplish your goals. No man is an island, as they say.]


    [Hmm. If I required resources in the past, I would either acquire them myself, or submit a request to the System. There was none of this skullduggery involved.]


    [Alas, you have bound yourself to a human, and as such, you must grow to learn the human ways.]


    [Are you engaging in these ¡®human ways¡¯ or are you simply attempting to manipulate others with them?]


    [You will quickly come to learn that those are both the same thing. Listen, I understand you¡¯re eager to get on with your Delve. Let me finish dinner and we¡¯ll rent a room and figure out this Pocket Closet skill. We can assess our Delve needs afterward.]


    [Very well.]


    ****


    I didn¡¯t stay in the mega-inn again, opting for a more modest room that ran me twenty silver notes a night. It was still nice, with its own bath and attached sitting room, but nowhere near the luxury I¡¯d slept through the night before. Once I¡¯d gotten situated, I finally acquiesced to Grotto¡¯s demands and spent one minute concentrating on opening the door to my new inventory dimension. A tear in space formed a thin, bright line about seven feet high, which stretched outward and created a doorway about five feet wide.


    Through the door was a dark space with hundreds of glowing poison essences floating in a grid along the wall. When I walked into the room, it became filled with a low level of light with no discernable source. A notification window appeared.


    You have entered your Pocket Closet! You have gained access to the Pocket Closet interface.


    Pocket Closet Interface:


    Quick Access space: 1,000 cubic meters


    Total Closet space: 2,000 cubic meters (20m X 20m X 5m)


    You may meditate while inside the Closet to dedicate your mana regeneration toward increasing the space available.


    Current cost to upgrade: 10 mana per cubic meter


    Current features: None


    At least it wasn¡¯t complicated. I walked around the edges of the room, which were lined by all the items in my inventory hovering in the air. Nine-hundred-and-one poison essences, four pairs of clothes, four pairs of shoes, miscellaneous personal goods, ruby and emerald chips, stacks of Hiwardian notes, and Hognay¡¯s backpack.


    That last one reminded me that I was still carrying around the Bag of Refreshments slung over my shoulder, and hadn¡¯t investigated it yet. I reached out and Hognay¡¯s pack floated down from where it was hovering, the strap finding its way into my grip. I sat it on the ground, then turned to Grotto.


    [Whaddya think?]


    [Mana monsters. They are drawn to high mana regions, and sometimes arise within them naturally. They consume mana for food, and naturally condense it within themselves over time.]


    [Is that what the C¡¯thon was doing?]


    [No. A C¡¯thon is a mana fiend. They do not consume mana for food, but gorge themselves on it to grow stronger. To a mana monster, mana is sustenance that allows it to grow naturally according to its nature as a creature. There is an organismal upper limit, such as how a human will grow no stronger for having eaten three breakfasts every day once they are an adult. A mana fiend often consumes other materials for food, such as meat, but can fill itself with mana to grow stronger endlessly.]


    [Since Delvers apparently absorb mana from these Delves to grow stronger, but require other resources to live, like food, does that make Delvers mana fiends?]


    Grotto stopped waving his tentacles through the air, then floated to me.


    [An interesting conclusion.]


    He then went to the middle of the space, and looked up. [I would prefer the ceiling to be higher, but I can begin assembling a basic obelisk in this space. It can begin by harvesting the ambient dimensional mana. Then we can work on ways to improve the density of mana.]


    [Can Delves just be built anywhere, then? I thought they were all underground.]


    [A Delve needs only be in a location of suitable mana density.]


    [You still didn¡¯t answer my earlier question. If stats and chips aren¡¯t the best use of the Delve, then what am I getting out of it?]


    He turned back to me, dark eyes glittering.


    [Manufacturing.]


    ****


    I dug through Hognay¡¯s pack as I ran Grotto¡¯s ideas through my head. He¡¯d pitched using the Delve to engineer additional automated functions, such as the poison essence farm with its harvester bots. It would take a while to get something like that running, and a lot of time and materials, but being able to passively produce a preselected good would definitely be useful.


    I was a big fan of passive income.


    Grotto also hinted that there may be other things that can be made that are of greater utility than simply money-producing goods. We¡¯d just have to figure out the best utility, based on how the obelisk functioned once online and after Grotto had spent more time within the space, to gauge its suitability for different use-cases.


    The only weird thing was that he kept talking about all the traps he was going to install.


    There wasn¡¯t much inside Hognay¡¯s pack, aside from some dirty clothes and a variety of camping and mountaineering supplies. I separated the items into one pile to keep and one pile to burn to ashes, lest any of Hognay¡¯s stank infect my new inventory space. There was one item that interested me, which was a stack of envelopes bundled together with twine. Inside each was a letter written in a script I didn¡¯t understand. Either it was a language I hadn¡¯t yet learned, or it was some kind of code. I went over them for half an hour or so, before giving up deciphering them and deciding they¡¯d be better off in the hands of Lito or someone else associated with the upcoming inquisition.


    I opened the Bag of Refreshments and emptied out the contents. It was all food goods, like I¡¯d seen before. Bread, cheese, dried meats, fruit and nut mix, and a canteen full of something. I pulled the cork out of the top and sniffed. It smelled like water. I poured some out onto my hand. It looked like water. I took a sip. Tasted like water. I checked my bars to make sure I didn¡¯t get any debuffs, but I doubted Hognay was the type to go to such extreme lengths to booby trap his own food. Still, better safe than sorry. No debuff was forthcoming. Guess it was just water.


    I munched on some of the food, keeping an eye out for debuffs again. They were simple, but tasty. Nothing I¡¯d turn down at a party if found on a charcuterie board. In fact, this was all the essentials for a decent board. Maybe some honey, a softer cheese, and a bottle of wine. Bam! Charcuterie. I¡¯d be able to pretend I was sophisticated in front of my overeducated friends who worked at Starbucks during the day while laboring over their conceptual jazz-folk fusion album at night.


    I went over the list of materials Grotto needed to get started, still trying to decide if I really wanted to let him do this. From what I¡¯d heard and seen so far, the Delves in and of themselves didn¡¯t seem too nefarious. If anything, they provided huge benefits to Hiwardian society, and were necessary for Delvers to get stronger.


    They were dangerous, sure, and I knew Grotto was still keeping a host of secrets from me, but I was more curious than anything. I kept munching on my pilfered snacks and before I knew it, they were all gone. I drank down the last of the water in the canteen and stuffed it back into the bag, wondering how something like that could be considered a spatial item. There was no more secret food hidden inside, and the interior was exactly as big as it looked from the outside, so no Dr. Who hijinks going on. Figuring it out went on The List,, and I got ready to call it for the night.


    [Grotto,]I thought to the Core as I went back outside to my rented room, [I¡¯m heading to bed. You staying in there?]


    [Yes.There is much I must continue to observe.]


    [What if the door disappears when I go to sleep?]


    [Then I will wait for you to awaken in the morning.]


    [Think there¡¯s oxygen in there when it closes?]


    [I do not require oxygen.]


    [What about all your C¡¯thon bits?]


    He paused at that.


    [I will take the risk.]


    I shrugged. He could decide for himself. He was an adult. I think.


    I crawled into the more reasonably-sized bed, which was still extremely comfortable, and went to sleep.Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com

 Chapter 29: New Exploit

    Chapter 29: New Exploit


    I woke up with Grotto hovering a few inches over my face.


    ¡°Gah!¡± I instinctively reached up and tossed the C¡¯thon away, and Grotto tumbled through the air, then righted himself without hitting the far wall. ¡°What the hell, Grotto?¡±


    [I have finished my initial observations and I was waiting for you to regain consciousness.]


    ¡°Did you have to-¡± I realized I was talking out loud, and swapped to speaking mentally. I didn¡¯t think there was much risk of someone hearing us in the hall, but I wanted to get into the habit of only speaking to Grotto subvocally. This was both to train myself to get better about filtering the thoughts that made it through to him, and also for operational security.


    [Did you have to hang there right over my face?]


    [I wanted to be alerted the moment you came to.]


    [Then watch me from somewhere else! Farther away! Actually, don¡¯t watch me while I sleep, that¡¯s weird.]


    [Why is that weird? I have watched many Delvers as they slept within my domain.]


    [First, not your domain. Second, that¡¯s still weird. Third, I¡¯m the boss so give me at least...six feet of personal space while I sleep.]


    [Very well. I will indulge this aimless request. If that matter is settled, I require your participation to perform an experiment.]


    I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I wasn¡¯t awake enough for this.


    [What kind of experiment?]


    [The door to the Closet stayed open while you slept, but I want you to try and close the door while I am inside.]


    [Fine. Sure. Go back in.]


    Grotto floated back inside the modified inventory, and I focused on closing the door. It took another full minute of concentration, then the doorway collapsed into a point and blinked out of existence.


    [Can you still hear me?] Grotto asked.


    [Yeah. Hey, that¡¯s pretty cool. That could be useful.]


    [Indeed. If I am in here, then I am not subject to the attention or hostility of those around you.]Upstodatee from


    [Wait, can you put yourself inside an inventory slot? Can I pull you out through the interface?] I opened the inventory window and waited a minute, but no mini-Grotto symbol appeared.


    [It appears that I am unable. The stasis may not be able to receive a living organism, or perhaps it has to do with my status as a Delve Core, or as your familiar.]


    [Eh, it was worth a shot. Hey, try taking an item out of stasis.]


    I watched as one of my pairs of pants disappeared from the screen.


    [Oh, fuck yeah. Now try putting it back.]The pants reappeared. [Ok, hold on.] I climbed out of bed and looked around the room. I picked up a candle and placed it into my inventory. [See that? Can you take that out?]


    He did, then placed it back into stasis and I pulled it out of inventory then placed it back onto the writing desk I¡¯d taken it from. While Grotto was inside of the Closet, I could effectively use the entire space as my inventory, with Grotto swapping things in and out of the quick access. I wasn¡¯t limited to only half.


    [This will make delivering materials to me much easier.]


    [Oh yeah, that¡¯s true. No need to open the door to mess with the contents. You can manage it all from inside.]


    It was a discovery that was well worth the rude awakening, and I was sure there were some other ways we could exploit the ability.


    Although I understood that Grotto made the discovery with the intent of having me act as a supplier of goods for him, with instant delivery, the fact that he¡¯d discovered such a useful feature pushed me over the edge when deciding whether to go along with his Delve creation. If things got too out of hand, I¡¯d figure it out then... somehow.


    Tomorrow¡¯s problems for tomorrow¡¯s me.


    I did not immediately acquiesce to his demands that I become a materials supplier, opting to instead spend the morning trying to figure out a more permanent living arrangement. I placed my leather vest in my inventory, since I wasn¡¯t aiming to intimidate anyone, and dressed in an outfit that whispered of money without drawing attention to it.


    Something that showed someone with a discerning eye what I wanted them to see, without appearing ostentatious to those who might judge me for the same. The way a two-hundred dollar dress shirt made most people raise an eyebrow when you told them how much you paid, while still drawing compliments from folks who thought themselves chic. Essentially, it was a bunch of overpriced fabrics that served the same basic function as the ones you could get for one tenth the cost. Still, they looked good.


    I kept the boa, though. No reason not to look sexy as hell.


    Freshly dressed and groomed I set out for Formation¡¯s Deedsman. The Deedsman was a position that carried with it the title of low-lord, and the lord held a hybrid role as both realtor and title officer. Based on the information I sussed out from the merchants I¡¯d visited the day prior, there were no private citizens who managed real estate transactions. It was all facilitated through the city itself.


    [It is, though nothing so rudimentary and crude as what I have seen wielded by many Delvers.]


    [Doesn¡¯t that take refined chips and essences?]


    [It does.]


    [Are you going to use my chips and essences?]


    [You mean the ones you pilfered from my Delve? I am.]


    [How many?]


    [One emerald chip will be sufficient to serve as the seed mana for these inscriptions. The poison essences are not ideal for the process, but I can break them down into more fundamental components to get what I need. It may take two dozen or so.]


    [I see.]On top of the cost of materials earlier in the day, the startup capital for this project was ballooning pretty quickly. [Any other materials of staggering value you¡¯ll need to get this thing going?]


    [You don¡¯t even know how much the essences are worth. But, no. This will suffice for now. Once the obelisk is constructed, the Delve will begin providing its own resources, though the process can always be enhanced by procuring more materials.]


    [Maybe I should have started an LLC to offset some of these costs. I wonder if Delve Obelisk is something I can depreciate and claim on my taxes.]


    [Your words are nonsensical.]


    [See, this is why they need to teach business fundamentals in public schools. Our education system has failed you, Grotto.]


    Grotto paused his work and glanced at me with his dark eyes.


    [Are you done?] he asked.


    [I guess so. Is there anything I can help with? Maybe you should teach me some mana-weaving. Is it hard to learn?]


    [I came into existence possessing all the knowledge required to perform the necessary weaves. I am unable to pontificate on the relative difficulty an organism such as yourself might have when learning the art. I also doubt that I would be a suitable instructor for the same reason, and such instruction would be an impediment to completing this obelisk.]


    [Well, shit. I should have bought some books or something. Library is on the agenda for tomorrow, but if I¡¯d known I¡¯d be sitting here staring at a fluffy octopus all night I would have grabbed something to make use of the time.]


    [If you wish to maximize your utility in this endeavor, then you may meditate and dedicate your mana regeneration to expanding the space.]


    [Oh yeah. I guess instead of staring at you I can stare into the void.]


    [You have an aura, do you not?]


    [I do.]


    [Then if expanding this domain is insufficient to motivate you to apply yourself, you can advance your aura while meditating as well.]


    [I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t do it. Just getting myself mentally prepared. Meditation has never been my strong suit. How does advancing my aura work, though?]


    [It continues to astound me the amount of knowledge that you lack, but I do not fault you for it.]He spun back to me. [I suppose your Earth education system has failed you.]


    [Was that a- a joke? Grotto?]


    [Merely an observation.]


    [To be fair, there are no auras on Earth. I mean, none that work like this, if there were. Then again, it¡¯s not like I was too plugged in to the new-age lifestyle. So, maybe?]


    [Simply meditate as you would normally. Focus on the world around you that falls within the embrace of your aura, and attempt to bring it into focus. And don¡¯t forget to dedicate your mana regeneration, this space is too small to accomplish anything meaningful.]


    [At four cubic meters per hour, it¡¯s going to take a lot of meditation to make a substantial increase in total volume.]


    [More reason to spend all the time you can working on it. I can further augment the process once the obelisk is online. The obelisk¡¯s functions will also be improved in a larger space.]


    [Ok, I get it. We need the obelisk to do a bunch of ambiguous shit, so leave you alone to finish the obelisk.]


    [That would be ideal.]

 Chapter 30: Training Arc

    Chapter 30: Training Arc


    It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t have any experience meditating. On the contrary, I had done quite a lot of it, especially after starting therapy. It was an exercise in mindfulness, and it helped ground me in the present moment. I was normally predisposed to being concerned only with worrying about what will happen in the future and what had already happened in the past. But like many good habits I¡¯d developed over the years, it wasn¡¯t something I enjoyed doing, I just enjoyed the benefits of having done it. Still, if this could provide me with a bigger inventory while also training my aura, then the tangible benefits outweighed my intrinsic urge to procrastinate difficult tasks.


    I squared my hips and moved into the lotus position, a form that was much easier to take given the limberness of my Delver body. Lotus wasn¡¯t difficult, but I¡¯d always had tight hips and glutes. One of the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle in my youth.


    I closed my eyes and began to focus on my body and the information being delivered to my senses. I took passing thoughts and concerns and placed them into a large garbage bin, which was a visual trick I used to try and stay on task when meditating. Worried about what plans I had for tomorrow? Garbage bin. Thinking about that awkward moment at the grocery store checkout line where I said ¡°you too¡± to Ashley after she¡¯d said, ¡°thanks for shopping¡±? Garbage bin. Yesterday, tomorrow, errant and intrusive thoughts; garbage bin. I filled that motherfucker up and then tossed it into the ether.


    After getting into the groove of the empty mind, I tried tinkering around with Grotto¡¯s guidance. First, I concentrated on dedicating my mana to growing the Closet.


    Your mana regeneration rate is being dedicated to increasing Closet space. Namaste, bitches.


    Easy enough, though that wasn¡¯t the right way to use ¡®namaste¡¯. I moved on to figuring out my aura, focusing on the idea of it filling the space around me. I formed a mental image of a bubble surrounding me, though I had no idea if what I pictured was correct. How big was the aura? It didn¡¯t have a range listed, so I¡¯d assumed it was less of an AOE and more of a party buff. Though, if that were the case, it probably wouldn¡¯t have been called an AOE.


    I worked on visualizing a bubble growing outward from my body and encompassing the entire Closet. I imagined it passing over each item within the space¨CGrotto, the obelisk, all the essences and the clothes¨Cthen abutting against the walls.


    Before long I had a strong mental image of the room¡¯s contents. It wasn¡¯t a difficult exercise, I was always a very visual thinker. Summoning images, rotating objects, comparing color schemes, none of that had ever been difficult to me. I¡¯d heard that some people thought solely in words, and that those folks had no concept of what it was like to create an actual image in their head. It was a mode of thinking that felt very alien to me. Not to say there was anything wrong with it, but I leaned heavily upon my visual center.


    I played around with the replica Closet in my mind, imagining Grotto moving to and fro as he worked, as I tried to figure out what nine-hundred-and-one poison essences looked like with perfect visual clarity. I worked at this for a while, until my ass started to get sore. I was sitting directly on the floor of the Closet, which was made of something similar to steel. I ignored the sensation for a bit, but eventually gave into the discomfort and opened my eyes.


    I was surprised to see Grotto exactly where I had imagined him while my eyes were closed, though he was working in a relatively small space around the unassembled obelisk. I surveyed the essences on the walls, and it seemed like their density and pattern matched what I¡¯d been imagining. I stood up with a grunt and went out to my rented room to grab a blanket and a throw rug. I tossed them on the ground where I¡¯d been sitting, then reassumed the position and went back in.


    I tested my mental image a few more times, opening my eyes to find Grotto exactly where I thought he was. At first I thought it may have been due to the subtle perception of the sound of his feathers rustling as he moved, but the feeling I got was more like the sensation on my skin when a finger is hovering just above the surface. Not quite touching, but still creating a sensation in the flesh. The anticipation of touch.


    As I continued to focus on the feeling, Grotto¡¯s presence grew more distinct, while the rest of the room faded. Eventually, my mental image of Grotto was nearly as vibrant and real as when I opened my eyes. I kept pushing into the experience until I was startled out of my trance.


    Your Who Needs a Cleric? skill has risen to level 2! +10% Aura Range. Maximum base effect increased by 1.


    Through meditation and self-reflection, you have earned +1 Wisdom!


    Well, shit. That wasn¡¯t hard at all. I was worried that training a stat might take months of effort, or weeks at least. I just casually meditated for a bit, and got the equivalent of a copper Delve¡¯s worth of points. I¡¯d have to make Varrin think I worked a little harder for it, lest his envy grow even greater.


    I decided that was as good a place as any to call it for the night. I left Grotto to his work, and went back out into the inn room to find the first dregs of daylight creeping in through the windows. What I¡¯d thought had been a casual hour or two of meditation had been closer to eight. I shrugged, resigning myself to missing a night of sleep, and got ready to hit the books.


    Hiward had three major libraries, one of which was maintained by the Supplicants of Astrania within Formation, very close to the Temple of Creation. I used the wooden chip Supplicant Hierti had given me to gain entry, and was provided with a brief tour of the facility. The Delver¡¯s Library was, as its name suggests, one of the preeminent sources of literature concerning all aspects of Delving, from spell catalogs and technique manuals, all the way to the history of Delves and sociological surveys of their impact on modern culture. All of that was of incredible interest to me, but I resisted the urge to start doing deep dives on the mechanics of delving, opting to focus on something that would dramatically improve my chances of surviving Hiwardian culture:


    Etiquette.


    I tore through several modern manuals describing the appropriate attire and mannerisms at different levels of society, then chewed through a less rigorous treatise concerning the nuance of ¡®commoner¡¯ interactions. I took the latter work with a heavy grain of salt, finding it akin to something like a Fox News article about the nuance of the words ¡®drip¡¯ or ¡®bet¡¯. Probably not the most reliable source, but better than nothing.


    I made my way through the pile of books much faster than I¡¯d expected. My reading speed was substantially quicker than it had been in my old life, and I could fly through the text without losing my train of thought.


    I also felt like my retention was better, immediately able to start applying the knowledge to my view of the interactions taking place between the people within the library. Subtle gestures that spoke of relative rank. What a specific type of bow meant about the person giving it and the one receiving. How the Supplicants keeping one arm tucked behind their back was a historical vestige of a time when the left hand was kept pristine in the event they needed to hold a noble¡¯s coat or other personal item. The practice was now considered archaic, and didn¡¯t even hail from Hiwardian origins, but the Supplicants were devout to some of the older ways.


    I moved on from etiquette and dug into world history at large, then to the history of Hiward, then to the history of the Delves. I stopped myself at absorbing one textbook¡¯s worth of information about each subject. I wasn¡¯t trying to become an expert, just hold a conversation without exposing myself as an extra-dimensional alien invader. I lost track of time again, skipping lunch and then being politely asked to leave as I neared the end of Ultrig Tootef¡¯s On Delves.


    I got in some more meditation time without falling into a meditation induced stupor, got some good sleep, then went out to get Grotto some more stuff to craft with. I went back to the library and started working on studying Hiwardian economics, political science, legal code, sociology, a splash of philosophy, and an overview of the major world theologies.


    Acquiring a familiarity with all of those topics took me through the rest of the week, until my new underground abode was complete, and netted me another four to my intelligence. I also picked up another two points in wisdom from meditating in the evening.


    Wisdom now sat at seven, with Intelligence at ten, and I was offered my first Intelligence evolution.


    Your Intelligence has reached a score of 10! We¡¯d love to make a joke about how smart you are, but you probably wouldn¡¯t think it¡¯s clever enough. Your loss! Choose one of the three following evolutions:


    1: Resilient Thinker: You are significantly more resistant to attempts to break your concentration and far less likely to be stunned or surprised by unexpected events.


    2: Magical Thinker: You acquire a basic understanding of any spell after seeing it fully cast a single time.


    3: Visionary Thinker: You gain a near eidetic memory for visual details.


    Resilient Thinker was on brand for me to become an implacable wall of man, both physically and emotionally, but it would absolutely ruin surprise parties. It also didn¡¯t seem particularly...fun? Maybe not the best parameter to be basing my life-or-death build choices on, but I learned a long time ago that I perform a lot better when I enjoy how I¡¯m accomplishing a task, even if the method itself is less efficient.


    Magical Thinker and Visionary Thinker provided a very difficult choice. In some ways, I could brute-force acquire Magical Thinker by loading myself to the gills with magical knowledge. If I were the resident expert on all things arcane, then I¡¯d probably be able to identify spells and their likely effects without much trouble, similar to what the ability did. Picking up Magical Thinker would just save me all that time and effort, which could be spent elsewhere.


    The biggest benefit would be identifying magic that hadn¡¯t yet been cataloged or studied. If I did end up breaching the wall between dimensions and duking it out with some otherworldly monstrosity, then being able to discern the effects of their magic, ex nihilo, would be pretty nice.


    Visionary Thinker was self-explanatory. I always wanted to be able to Sherlock Holmes it up, and this seemed like a grade-A skill to take me one step toward that fantasy...


    ¡°Yes, Mr. Briarton had three cookie crumbs on his lapel which matched the texture of the snickerdoodle that Lady Rosingtonwatertingsonsire made the prior evening and thus, he is the one who snatched the herring from the lake!¡±


    *The room is filled with gasps of surprise. A woman in a red gown faints. Mr Briarton pulls a revolver from his attache?.*


    Alas, I would also be cursed with the inability to forget all the ugly details of events like the time I accidentally walked in on gramma Loryn¡¯s spongebath. Or things like bodies with their organs scooped out. I expected to see a lot more of that kind of stuff. The mutilated corpses, not gramma Loryn; she passed in ¡®06.


    As useful as Visionary Thinker would be, it didn¡¯t align with any particular vision I had for my build. (Too much of a dad joke? Too bad, prepare for more.) Whereas Magical Thinker aligned nicely with an uber-mage who happened to also have way, way too much health.


    I chose Magical Thinker, and immediately started plotting how to find a bunch of spellslingers to spy on. First, I needed to know what kind of spells I wanted to learn. For that, I needed to know what kind of spells existed. And for that, I needed to go back to the library.


    I did, also, move into my humble forty-five-hundred square foot underground abode, fully furnished with some of the finest fittings available to the up-and-coming. It was a lovely space to come home to before opening my Pocket Closet portal and spending most of my free time inside meditating.


    I focused on that for a few days, leaving only to buy food, absorb some vitamin D, and preserve my sanity. This resulted in bringing my Who Needs a Cleric? aura up to seven, and quickly netted me another three to Wisdom, bringing it even with Intelligence at ten.


    I¡¯ll spare you the details of my evolution choices. I doubled my mana regen, giving me even more resource regeneration, because resource regeneration was awesome.


    However, even though I¡¯d officially moved into my new place, I once again had that creepy feeling of being watched. It wasn¡¯t just when I was out on the town, it was even inside my own house. I spent several hours going over the place looking for hidden devices or mana-weaves that weren¡¯t supposed to be there, but this was obviously hindered by my abject lack of expertise concerning spycraft.


    Still, having found nothing despite my search, I once again chalked it up to paranoia and moved on with my life. I emerged from my self-imposed academic isolation and decided that it was time to hit the gym. These muscles ain¡¯t gonna grow themselves after all, and a nice, sweaty workout should help put my mind at ease.

 Chapter 31: Uninvited Guests

    Chapter 31: Uninvited Guests


    I started splitting my time between research and physical training, now that I had my mental stats at a good place. After a bit of experimentation, I determined that it took about eight hours of vigorous exercise with a focus on a particular stat to get it to increase by one.


    This led to gains that I can only describe as intoxicating.


    There were no traditional powerlifting gyms in Formation, which made sense because Delvers didn¡¯t improve their Strength that way. So, I bought a thousand pounds of iron and was able to fashion it into a basic barbell set with some help from a smith, who thought I was completely daft when I described the project to him. I paid him well, so he was happy to do the work, and a healthy tip elicited promises that he wouldn¡¯t develop a pair of loose lips if anyone asked about strange tasks he¡¯d recently taken on. He was very receptive, and I got the vibe that he dealt with that sort of thing fairly often.


    The bribe also prompted a new intrinsic skill called Bribery and Corruption, which I set aside with the other unselected intrinsics I had available. Not trying to go down that road. Not yet, at least.


    I threw myself into a variety of strength-building lifts, channeling my inner broseph, and found that my stamina allowed me to do a full body workout for as long as I wanted without getting winded at all. One muscle group would get tired, but by the time I had done a few sets on another, it was fully rested and ready to go.


    I created a loop where I rotated through twenty-five different lifts, three sets each, with as little downtime as I could manage in between. Instead of exhaustion, all that happened was that the work got a little easier every time I rotated back around. After the end of the first day I¡¯d gotten one to strength, and sweated out a couple gallons.


    I decided to wait on Agility, since I had a lot less experience or coaching with agility-based techniques or exercises. I wanted to get a trainer for that, so that I didn¡¯t pick up any bad habits.


    Speed was pretty easy. I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could. Unlike lifting, I couldn¡¯t do it forever. Fortunately there was a facility inside the Temple of Creation that allowed for Delvers to test out their stats and get used to the benefits they¡¯d gained, so finding a long track wasn¡¯t too hard. The place was open twenty-four hours, so I mixed up my schedule and started running at night when no one else was around. It¡¯s one thing to test your speed on a long track, it¡¯s another to sprint full-tilt for two hours straight before finally becoming exhausted.


    Sprinting, mind you, not running. I could full-out truck ass for two entire hours before stamina became an issue. I didn¡¯t even feel it for the first hour, until my stamina finally dipped below fifty percent, and the second hour was the kind of slog I expected from running. Once my stamina was close to empty, I ate, read through some magic theory I¡¯d checked out from the library, and was fully rested in a little over three hours. It took a couple days of this to grab a point in Speed.


    Normally, I¡¯m a big fan of breaks. I hated burn out, and was very cognizant of the benefits of rest, but I was obsessed. The way my body moved was beyond anything I could have imagined achieving in my old life, and it completely engrossed me. I fell into a rhythm with the work that was close to manic, pushing my mind and body every waking hour and operating on around six hours of sleep a night. By the end of the second week I¡¯d gotten another four to Strength and two to Speed.


    Stats:


    Strength 7


    Agility 2


    Speed 5


    Fortitude 22


    Intelligence10


    Wisdom10


    Charisma3


    Luck2


    I was looking pretty jacked, and I was feeling good.


    The feeling was lost when I found a group of well-armed and armored individuals in my house.


    I¡¯d just stepped out from the set of double doors that led to my Pocket Closet. I¡¯d had them custom-installed to match the specific height and width of my Pocket Closet portal. Normally, the doors opened to my impromptu weight room, but when I opened my portal it nestled into the doorway in such a manner that a visitor would think they were walking into another room within the house. I¡¯d mostly requested it for the aesthetic. Who doesn''t like a good disappearing room? But I¡¯d also expected it to save me some headaches in the future if I wanted to keep my Pocket Closet on the down-low.


    The first person I noticed in my foyer was a handsome, olive-skinned man admiring one of the pieces of art on a wall. He had a scruffy dark beard and medium length black hair, every inch of him looking like a guy who was one-hundred-percent trying to steal your girl. He was probably doing a damn good job of it, too.


    He also had a copper soul and the level ten floating above his head.


    I was shirtless when I walked out, having finished lifting not too long before, and when I saw the man I casually reached a hand behind me through the portal to summon my vest and boa. They floated into my grasp as I opened the conversation.


    ¡°You lost, friend?¡±


    He turned and gave me a practiced smile.


    ¡°This is nice,¡± he said, pointing a thumb at the painting. ¡°A bit dark for my taste, though.¡±


    It depicted five different versions of the god of death from different religions in Arzia. He was right, it was nice.


    ¡°I can give you the name of the gallery if you like.¡± I slid on my vest and boa, when a second man walked out of my kitchen.


    While the handsome one wore clothes that looked well-tailored, though slightly threadbare, this second man was kitted out in several pieces of steel plate. He was also twice as broad as the first man, and held a two-handed warhammer in one hand, balanced against his shoulder. He had an ¡®apple¡¯ he¡¯d pilfered from my fruit bowl in his other hand, and he bit into it.


    ¡°I¡¯m Artemix,¡± said the handsome man, giving me the shallowest of bows. ¡°My colleagues and I have been asked to bring you to meet with a client of ours, so it is my pleasure to extend the invitation.¡±


    ¡°Not the most polite way of doing it,¡± I said, eyeing the bigger guy, then noticing a lithe woman sitting on a loveseat to my right. She was in leathers, and a subtle glow played across her fingers. I suddenly regretted not taking the time to figure out better equipment.


    ¡°I apologize for any offense given,¡± said Artemix. ¡°But the matter is urgent, so it was crucial for us to meet with you as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Could have knocked.¡±


    ¡°Not how we normally introduce ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s your client?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a surprise.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯m a fan of that.¡±


    ¡°Alas, your feelings are not terribly important.¡±


    The big guy tossed the half eaten apple to the ground and hefted the hammer into both hands.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said, ¡°so what¡¯s the procedure here?¡±


    ¡°We take a walk,¡± said Artemix, shrugging. ¡°Unless you want to make it difficult.¡±


    ¡°I kind of do,¡± I said.


    [Ah, well they aren¡¯t set up with any triggers yet, so they need to be deployed manually. I¡¯m waiting.]


    [Waiting for what?!]


    [The right moment. If you¡¯re struggling with these incompetents, then I will demonstrate some of my illustrious power to assist you.]


    Grotto floated down from where he¡¯d been hiding in a shadowy corner near the ceiling of the Closet, catching the attention of the intruders. His eyes glowed with sickly green light.


    [Your minds are weak.]


    I felt his thoughts reach out beyond the limits of our psychic link, and could practically see the words ripple through the three invaders in my line of sight.


    Warhammer screamed, dropping his hammer and clutching the sides of his head, falling to one knee. Glow recoiled, squinting her eyes in concentration against the mental attack, while Artemix¡¯s handsome face was marred by a scowl. He stepped into the room and began weaving a new spell, aiming for Grotto.


    I tossed a Dispel at Artemix, trying out the spell for the first time, and the magic in his hands dissipated into vapor.


    A small, ethereal form rushed through the center of the room, the body passing straight through Artemix and Warhammer, coming to a stop directly in front of me. It was the girl Tiny, and a translucent, glowing shortsword appeared from nothing in her hand.


    You have observed the spell Conjure Blade.


    Conjure Blade


    School: Mystical


    Cost: 5 mana


    Cooldown: None


    Requirements: Mystical Magic intrinsic skill


    You summon a blade made of pure magic, sharper than the finest steel and lighter than the smallest feather. The blade is translucent and difficult to see, and will disappear shortly after leaving your hand.


    She swept the blade at me and I caught it with my forearms. It dug into my muscle, sending hot blood streaming down my elbows.


    The fifth member of the group, Sleepy, finally showed himself, entering the Closet and holding a hand out to Glow¡¯s head. Golden energy poured down it, and Glow straightened, casting off Grotto¡¯s influence. I got another spell notification, but I mentally dismissed them all to keep from distracting me.


    [Now is the right moment.] Grotto thought.


    I realized that all five of my opponents had entered the Closet. A hum filled the air and reality flexed.


    The intruders paused, wearing expressions of severe discomfort. For me, the feeling was unusual, but familiar. It was similar to when I was about to travel through the dimensional tear created by my Shortcut ability.


    A rip formed in the center of the room and a line of dimensional energy pulsed out from its center.


    ¡°Dive!¡± Glow screamed, before hitting the deck. Tiny managed to drop down in reaction to the warning, but Warhammer was still clutching his head, oblivious to anything outside of Grotto¡¯s psychic attack. He was on one knee, but it wasn¡¯t low enough. The line of dimensional energy tore across the big man¡¯s forearms and chest and his cries redoubled as blood began pouring out from the wounds.


    Sleepy tried to jump at the last second, but it was a poorly thought out escape. The beam sliced off both of his legs, and he hit the ground hard, blood pumping out from the stumps.


    Artemix took the beam straight through the gut, and the man fell to the ground in two. He looked surprised for a moment, staring at his lower body beside him, then went into shock.


    The energy passed harmlessly through me, and I darted forward, planting an Oblivion Orb into Warhammer¡¯s face. This one went off without a hitch, and the orb had gotten a big boost in size from my improved Intelligence stat. A baseball-sized sphere of the man¡¯s skull disappeared. He immediately collapsed to the ground, fluid pouring out from where his frontal lobe used to be.


    Glow screamed and pulled a sword from her belt, then launched off the ground with inhuman force and speed. She ran the sword straight into my chest, and the tip dug deep, though it didn¡¯t make it past my ribs. Her eyes went wide at how ineffective the attack was.


    ¡°What are you?!¡± she hissed in my face, then twisted the sword deeper into the wound. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be a mage!¡±


    Tiny kipped up and was behind me almost as soon as Glow¡¯s sword struck home. I felt her own sword dig into my back, the spectral edge digging deep. The pair leaned into their attacks, their blades piercing further into my muscle.


    HP: 263/367


    I cast Shortcut and appeared in front of the Closet door, sending Tiny and Glow crashing into one another. I funneled mana into my Oblivion Orb, shaping it like I had against the C¡¯thon.


    ¡°I am a mage,¡± I said, then let loose the spiraling beam of annihilation. Glow rolled out of the way, her body a blur with speed, but Tiny was still struggling to right herself after my sudden disappearance. She took the beam through the heart, fell to her knees, then collapsed backwards.


    I felt an intense pain in my ankle, and looked down to find Sleepy gripping me, golden energy pulsing down his arm. It turned black and necrotic when it reached his hand, and I felt fierce cold and heat in my leg, accompanied by incredible pins and needles. I didn¡¯t know exactly what his spell was doing, but it felt like my nerves were being slowly eradicated.


    Glow hurled herself toward me again.


    [You willdespair.]


    The woman stumbled under Grotto¡¯s attack, and I used the opportunity to reach out and grab her by the throat. I let Sleepy pump more death into me as I brought her up to my face, lifting her completely off the ground with one hand. I could soak the damage, and I needed to make a point.


    ¡°You¡¯re gonna sit the rest of this one out,¡± I growled.


    Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, her skin pale. Fresh tears streamed down her face and she nodded. I tossed her away, then kicked Sleepy in the side of the head with full force. It was hard enough to send him sliding away a few feet, and broke the grip he had on my ankle. Whether he were unconscious, or dead, I didn¡¯t know. But he wasn¡¯t moving anymore, and that was good enough for me.


    HP: 219/367


    Mana: 37/110


    I surveyed the room. Three definite corpses, one potential corpse, a woman who was balled up in the fetal position having a panic attack, and enough blood to make a Jackson Pollock painting on the ground.


    ¡°Well,¡± I said, ¡°not the housewarming party I was expecting.¡±


    [They didn¡¯t even bring us a fruit basket.]

 Chapter 32: Nobody Expects the Hiwardian Inquisition AGAIN!

    Chapter 32: Nobody Expects the Hiwardian Inquisition AGAIN!


    [What would you do with fruit?]


    [The fruit is unimportant. Our future subjects should endeavor to provide tribute whenever they are allowed to bask in our presence.]


    I sighed and looked around the room again. What the hell was I supposed to do in this situation?


    [If this were Earth, my first move would be to tie Glow up, call the cops, and try to keep Sleepy from dying, assuming he¡¯s still alive.]


    [Glow? Sleepy?]


    [I don¡¯t know their names, man.]


    [You could ask.]


    [What? I was a little busy.]


    I went over to Glow and knelt beside her.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said. She had her arms up, covering her head while she wept, but peeked out at me with one terrified eye. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    She shook as her brain processed the question.


    ¡°Mishala,¡± she croaked.


    ¡°Ok, Mishala. What about him?¡± I pointed at the unmoving man missing his legs from the thigh down. He wasn¡¯t bleeding, which was not a great sign.


    ¡°Jayko.¡±


    ¡°Cool. Thanks.¡± I stood and went to check Jayko, feeling for a pulse. Amazingly, he was still alive. I inspected his legs and saw that the wounds had been partially healed, the stumps covered in thick scabs. Maybe some sort of healing ability, I¡¯d have to check the spell list later.


    I went to the other three, finding them decidedly deceased.


    ¡°We got any rope?¡± I said.


    Turns out, we did have rope. Some of Grotto¡¯s supplies had come bundled together with thick cord and I spent a few minutes binding Mishala¡¯s wrists and ankles. She was well-muscled, so I used three times the rope that I figured a normal person would take to keep tied up. She¡¯d obviously invested in Strength.


    ¡°Alright, Mishala, I¡¯ve got a few choices to make here, so I¡¯ll need you to help me make them. Sound good?¡±


    She nodded, still pale, but it looked like the effects of Grotto¡¯s command were starting to wear off.


    ¡°First, why were you and your crew here?¡±


    ¡°We were hired to bring you to see our client.¡±


    ¡°I gathered that much. Who¡¯s your client?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Artemix dealt with the business side of things.¡±


    I glanced over at the bisected man. That was unfortunate.


    ¡°Ok, any hints or ideas? Anything at all?¡±


    She licked her lips.


    ¡°Probably a noble. Most our jobs come from nobles.¡±


    ¡°What did they want me for?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Artemix... he might have. We don¡¯t ask a lot of questions.¡±


    ¡°Earlier you said that I was supposed to be a mage. Where¡¯d you get that idea?¡±


    As far as I knew, there weren¡¯t a lot of people privy to my powerset.


    ¡°It was in the dossier.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Where¡¯s the dossier?¡±


    ¡°Artemix burns it after we memorize it.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Where were you supposed to take me?¡±


    ¡°South. To the mountains north of Ravvenblaq.¡±


    That was curious. Did Varrin¡¯s family have something to do with this? It could be a coincidence, since they controlled a huge swath of the country, but Mishala did say a noble likely hired them. Maybe his parents weren¡¯t as enamored with me as Varrin thought. But why would they want to kidnap me? It didn¡¯t make sense, so I discarded the theory for now.


    ¡°What are you going to do with me?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t decided.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t let me go, they¡¯re going to kill me. If that¡¯s your plan, you might as well do it yourself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit of an escalation, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Are you done with your questions?¡± A hint of anger had entered her voice. She was shaking off most of the effects of Grotto¡¯s intimidation, and my own.


    Maybe my soft-handed approach to interrogation was doing me a disservice, but it was hard for me to be rough with someone who was helpless. She hadn¡¯t even been trying to kill me. I mean, she might have been trying to deliver me to my death, or endless torture and confinement for all she knew, but it¡¯s not like she killed my dog. If she¡¯d killed my dog this conversation would be going very differently.


    Not that I had a dog. Did they even have dogs here?


    I opened my mouth to reply, but she interrupted me.


    ¡°Wh-what is that thing doing to Drake?¡±


    I turned to see Grotto dragging Warhammer, whose name was Drake, apparently, across the ground toward the obelisk. His tentacles were wrapped around the man¡¯s ankles, and the display of strength from his tiny form was impressive.


    [Hey, Grotto, what¡¯re you doing?]


    [Continue your interrogation. I am merely making use of these new resources.]


    [Wait, resources?]


    Grotto dropped Drake next to the base of the obelisk, and tendrils of energy began to stream from the corpse. Drake¡¯s body shriveled as the tendrils turned to thick columns, power pouring out of the body.


    ¡°Stop, dear,¡± said Myria. Mishala looked up at her and froze. Myria smiled down at her warmly.


    ¡°Please tell me your name.¡±


    There was a weight behind Myria¡¯s words and Mishala¡¯s expression went from fear to serenity.


    You have observed the spell Suggestion.


    Suggestion


    School: Physical/Spiritual


    Duration: 10 minutes


    Cost: Variable (Dependant on the strength of the desired effect and the target¡¯s mental state)


    Cooldown: One session per target per day.


    Requirement: 20 Charisma


    You make a request of a sentient entity who, if affected, will do their best to comply with the request. Once the target is affected, additional requests may be made for the spell¡¯s duration. The target is more likely to resist if the request is complex, or is likely to result in immediate physical or emotional harm to the target. The target must be able to understand your request and the effect will end if the target is subjected to a sudden shock, such as taking damage or hearing a loud and unexpected noise. While affected by this spell the target enters into a state of extreme relaxation, but will otherwise act normally.


    ¡°I¡¯m Mishala Houndel.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Mishala. I¡¯m Myria. Could you answer some questions for me?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! First of all, why did you come here?¡±


    ¡°I am part of a Delver party known as the Artemix group. Our party was hired by a client to locate and retrieve the Delver known as Esquire Arlo.¡±


    Myria waited for a moment before continuing.


    ¡°Who hired you?¡±


    ¡°I do not know the name of the client. We were contacted by a broker known under the pseudonym ¡®Typhoon¡¯, who provided us with a dossier that included details of the assignment and known information on Esquire Arlo.¡±


    Lito grunted when he heard the name, but said nothing.


    ¡°Please tell us about Typhoon.¡±


    ¡°Typhoon is an information broker and fixer agent here in Foundation. I can¡¯t tell you what he looks like because I¡¯m under the effects of an Oath spell that will kill me if I do. What I can say is that he¡¯s got a lot of non-Delver thugs employed that handle the normal stuff¨Cintimidation, collections, enforcement¨Cbut he¡¯s also known to hire Delvers on occasion for jobs. The rewards for the jobs are usually something better than notes.¡±


    ¡°Where do you meet with Typhoon?¡±


    ¡°We receive orders through dead-drops. Dead-drop locations are also part of the Oath spell.¡±


    ¡°Who administered the oath?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know their name.¡±


    ¡°What do they look like?¡±


    ¡°They look like an oath that will kill me.¡±


    Myria sighed.


    ¡°I hate oaths. Ok, different angle. What does the client want with Esquire Arlo?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Where were you supposed to take Arlo?¡±


    ¡°South. To the mountains in the north of Ravvenblaq. There¡¯s a cave with an old Delve inside. Artemix has a ring with the location inscribed on it.¡±


    Lito turned to the bodies and I pointed out Artemix¡¯s bisected corpse. After a brief search through the man¡¯s pockets, Lito produced a simple copper ring. I inspected it.


    Ring of Calvani


    This ring grants access to Delve 0102: Calvani Caverns. The coordinates for the Delve are engraved on the inside of the band.


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± I said.


    Lito tucked it into a pouch at his waist.


    ¡°What¡¯s your favorite type of cheese?¡±


    ¡°Bleu.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± said Lito.


    ¡°What?¡± said Myria. ¡°It¡¯s a lovely cheese.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her.


    ¡°Anything you¡¯d like to ask?¡± she said.


    ¡°Why are you risking your status as a Delver by becoming a criminal? You could be stripped of your titles; have your access to the Delve portals revoked.¡±


    ¡°Please answer Guardian Lito¡¯s questions.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a status,¡± said Mishala, an edge creeping into her otherwise sedate voice. ¡°I hold no titles. I already can¡¯t use the regular Delve portals. I¡¯m not and never was a noble.¡±


    ¡°Ok. So how did you sneak into the Creation Delve to become a Delver in the first place?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± said Mishala. ¡°I never went through the Creation Delve.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± said Myria. ¡°Then how are you a level ten Delver?¡±


    ¡°The Creation Delve... isn¡¯t the only way to become a Delver.¡±

 Chapter 33: Lito the Bloodhound

    Chapter 33: Lito the Bloodhound


    ¡°What do you mean you never went through the Creation Delve?¡± said Lito. ¡°How did you get your first level?¡±


    ¡°We went through the Delve on that ring.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s not just something for this mission?¡±


    ¡°No. The fact that the client wanted us to bring Arlo there had us very curious about who the client was and what we would find when we returned.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you get the ring?¡±


    ¡°Artemix is the one who acquired it. He never told us much, only that it was gifted to him by an older woman. We thought the woman might be the client, but had no good evidence to support that.¡±


    Myria produced a slate and had Mishala place her hand on it and consent to viewing her Delver profile. She frowned when she looked over the information.


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s in the System, but what she¡¯s saying is true. There are no addendums or authorizations made by Central. It¡¯s completely clean except for the System info.¡±


    ¡°She really never went through the Creation Delve?¡± said Lito.


    ¡°There¡¯s no authorization or notation here saying she did. It¡¯s possible she snuck through, but that would have required someone from Central fudging something with the entry and exit logs. She¡¯s also under the effect of Suggestion, so she shouldn¡¯t be lying.¡±


    ¡°Are you aware of any other Delvers,¡± said Lito, ¡°who received their first level without going through the Creation Delve?¡±


    ¡°Just the members of my party.¡±


    ****


    The pair asked Mishala a few more questions about the ring and how she located copper Delves to run, but didn¡¯t get much else that was useful. Lito then led her through a series of questions to determine where she went each day while in Foundation, noting the points where she would no longer discuss her location because of the Oath and where she was able to keep talking.


    The effect of the spell ran out, and Mishala immediately clammed up. They repeated the questioning with the legless Jayko, but also weren¡¯t able to discover much more than they already knew. Lito requested controllers to come and pick up the pair of would-be kidnappers.


    ¡°Normal penalty for Delvers committing this type of crime is death,¡± said Lito as the two were hauled off. ¡°All that stuff about becoming a Delver without the Creation Delve is going to keep them alive. For a while, at least.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said Myria, ¡°what¡¯s our next move?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of this Typhoon guy,¡± said Lito, producing a map of the city and marking it with Mishala¡¯s known whereabouts over the last few days and circling the area where she was forbidden from discussing where she was. It was a decent chunk of the freight quarter. ¡°Based on what we know about him, I suspect he¡¯s a Delver himself. He knows enough about Delvers to hire the right person for the right job. He¡¯s got a good understanding of countermeasures for mind control.¡±


    ¡°Suggestion isn¡¯t mind control,¡± Myria said. ¡°It places the subject in a highly receptive and compliant state.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not having this argument again.¡±


    ¡°If I bought you drinks until you had the confidence to ask out Ashe, would you say that was mind control?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any interest in Ashe.¡±


    ¡°So you agree with my argument.¡±


    Lito massaged his temples.


    ¡°Typhoon has a good understanding of countermeasures for... persuasive techniques of the Delver variety,¡± he said. ¡°Based on what I¡¯ve heard about the guy through my own channels, his strength and resilience are way beyond human, and he¡¯s got a lot of money.¡±


    ¡°Could be exaggerated tales,¡± said Myria.


    ¡°I¡¯ve talked to guys that have seen the aftermath of goons who tried to fight him. It¡¯s not the type of damage you can do with a truncheon unless you¡¯ve got a Strength of at least twenty.¡±


    ¡°Assuming you¡¯re correct, that gives us a male Delver with a Strength build, and some sort of presence in the freight quarter. Unless that¡¯s just where the dead-drop was.¡±


    ¡°No. I know he works out of the freight quarter.¡±


    ¡°How confident are you?¡± said Myria.


    ¡°This is what I do, Myria.¡±


    She smiled and turned to me.


    ¡°He¡¯s a Delver that moonlights as a bounty hunter,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bounty hunter ninety-five percent of the year, Myria.¡±


    ¡°A Delver is always a Delver first, and whatever else they¡¯re trying to do second.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re infuriating.¡±


    ¡°Everything in life is preparation for the next Delve.¡± She turned to me. ¡°If you don¡¯t see it that way, you¡¯re going to die. At least with gold Delves. For platinum you might also benefit from a healthy dose of prayer, maybe some large donations to an orphanage, helping some geriatrics clean out their attics...¡±


    Lito cleared his throat.


    ¡°Now that we know Typhoon is involved with hiring and defending against Delvers, I¡¯m confident that, when considered with the other evidence I¡¯ve received, Typhoon is himself a Delver. I¡¯ve already mapped out various locations in the freight quarter that are owned by Delvers. When we consider the area produced through Mishala and Jayko¡¯s movements and where the oath stops them from speaking, that narrows down the list. Then we consider which are owned by male Delvers. Then the publicly available records of the builds of those Delvers, looking for Strength focused.¡±


    Lito produced a large, leatherbound journal from thin air, with dozens of colorful tabs poking out from its pages. He threw it open on my console table, making the candle holders clatter and knocking over a small metal sculpture of a fox-like animal.


    Kind of rude, honestly.


    ¡°Hopefully we¡¯re close enough for this to work,¡± said Lito, pulling the copper ring from his pocket. He lit a fresh cig and took a deep puff, then blew the smoke out over the ring.


    Rather than dispersing into a cloud, the smoke formed a spiraling loop around the metal band, then stretched into a thin line that zipped away from us down the alleyway. I didn¡¯t get a notification, so whatever he¡¯d done wasn¡¯t a spell.


    ¡°What kind of ability is that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Technique,¡± said Lito. He looked at me for a moment as we walked down the alley, gears turning something over in his mind. He eventually decided to share more. ¡°I have the intrinsic skill Tracking. This is an active skill that gets offered when you pick it up.¡±


    ¡°It consumes stamina then? Instead of mana.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Apparently, my Magical Thinker ability didn¡¯t work for stamina-based abilities, which left me wondering what defined a ¡®spell¡¯. Maybe it had to consume mana to count.


    Lito¡¯s technique definitely looked like a spell, with the way the smoke snaked through the air and directed us toward some unknown destination. It eventually took us to a main street, then split into a line traveling in two directions. The trail formed just below waist-high off the ground. The right height for a man¡¯s pocket.


    ¡°This shows the ring¡¯s path through space,¡± I said, taking a guess at what I was looking at.


    ¡°More or less,¡± said Lito. ¡°It has some limitations, so it¡¯s better to get as close as you can to the trail you want to follow before using it. The trail north takes us back toward the artisan quarter, which is where we know the Artemix group was staying for the few days they were in town. South takes us toward Low-Lord Demarsus¡¯ warehouse.¡±


    ¡°Why use your own warehouse as a dead-drop location?¡± I said.


    ¡°I suspect Artemix kept some secrets from his allies,¡± said Lito. ¡°There may not have been a dead-drop. Or maybe he had his own business with Demarsus.¡± He shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll get some answers one way or another.¡±


    We continued down the street, passing by several more poorly maintained warehouses and buildings. We disturbed a group of squatters, who took one look at the uniforms Myria and Lito wore, then scurried off into the shadows.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be expected,¡± Lito grumbled as he watched them flee.


    It only took a few more minutes before we stopped at a large, timber building that was slightly less dilapidated than its neighbors. A careful study showed that much of the wear and damage was superficial, with the roof and structural features in good shape. Details that I would not have noticed in my prior life.


    We entered through the front and into a wide space, where a grizzled and portly woman leaned back in a chair on two legs behind a simple desk made of unfinished wood. It was covered in neat stacks of ledgers and papers, with a bottle of liquor and three glasses set out on the limited workspace free of paperwork.


    ¡°M¡¯lords,¡± she said, looking us over intently, her eyes lingering on Grotto. She took a sip from a fourth glass she held that was a little too full of the booze. Rather than two fingers of amber liquid poured into the crystal glass, she¡¯d opted for a whole hand. It failed to evoke the sense of sophistication it otherwise might have. She didn¡¯t seem like the type to be concerned with that.


    ¡°Drink?¡± she asked, gesturing at the bottle.


    Lito approached the desk and picked the bottle up, studying the label, then poured himself a measure. He offered it to Myria and I, but we both declined. I didn¡¯t feel inclined to experiment with unknown warehouse liquor, especially after catching a whiff of pure ethanol from Lito¡¯s glass.


    He knocked it back in one sip, then sat the glass on the table upside down as though it were a shot glass. I flinched. That was going to stain the unprotected wood. The man was an animal.


    ¡°What can I do ya¡¯?¡± the woman said. I swftly realized that she wasn¡¯t speaking in Hiward, but a divergent dialect that I recognized as Loward. It was a complex amalgamation of various foreign languages boot-strapped onto Hiward and primarily spoken by particularly poor members of the peasantry. She knew that Lito and Myria were nobles¨Cit was obvious from their uniforms¨Cand she¡¯d greeted them as such. She was either testing us, messing with us, or trying to delay us by making communication difficult. Maybe all three.


    ¡°Seein¡¯ fer the boss,¡± said Lito, also in Loward. ¡°Lordlin¡¯ Demarsus.¡±


    ¡°Aye. Given¡¯ a moment then. Can be here or there.¡± She sat her chair back down on all fours, then yelled behind her. A dirty young man no older than fourteen trotted up from between rows of crates. He bent down and she whispered in his ear.


    ¡°Who callin¡¯?¡± the woman asked.


    ¡°Lordlin¡¯s Lito an¡¯ Myria.¡±


    ¡°The third¡¯n?¡± she nodded at me.


    ¡°Arlo.¡±


    ¡°No-lord?¡± she asked, tilting her head.


    ¡°Third Layer,¡± I said.


    She studied my black and emerald eyes, then looked over Grotto¡¯s C¡¯thon body more closely. Her already pale Hiwardian skin went a bit paler, then she nodded. Lito raised an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°Recent immigration.¡±


    The young man ran off.


    ¡°Drinkin¡¯ again if ya¡¯ wish,¡± said the woman, pointing at the bottle. Lito took another pour, and the woman busied herself scribbling in one of the ledgers.


    ¡°You understand what they¡¯re saying?¡± Myria whispered to me.


    ¡°I¡¯m good with languages.¡±


    The young man returned after a few minutes and began leading us toward the back of the warehouse.


    We moved through the place without a word, surrounded by hundreds of crates and packages stacked on the ground and lining shelves. We went by half a dozen workers, their frames all muscle and scars covered in sturdy leather work clothes. The kind that made more sense in a smeltery rather than a distribution center. Or maybe a militia barracks. More than one had a truncheon hanging from their belt, and I spotted a couple poorly hidden daggers as well.


    It was a short walk to the back of the warehouse, where we entered through a small open door and into an office lit by a dozen hanging glowstones. There were no other doors or windows.


    The room was dominated by a slab of a man, wearing similar work clothes to the rest of the workers, though his were free of stains or wear. He looked like a competitor for World¡¯s Strongest Man¨Csix and a half feet tall, with thick and powerful muscles under a heavy layer of fat. Round face, neat-trimmed beard, shaved head.


    He was also a level thirty gold, ten levels higher than Lito or Myria, and the difference in power was palpable.


    Maybe we should have brought some backup.

 Chapter 34: A Dozen Cutthroats and a Level One Delver

    Chapter 34: A Dozen Cutthroats and a Level One Delver


    Demarsus stood as we entered and pressed his thick palms together, giving us a shallow bow.


    ¡°Guardian Lito!¡± he said in a rich baritone. ¡°And Dancer Myria! What a lovely surprise to have such a distinguished pair pay a visit to my humble business.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said Myria, ¡°if we¡¯re standing on Delver titles, then it is wonderful to see you as well, Tanker Dimo Demarsus.¡± The three of us returned Demarsus¡¯ shallow bow. With my recent acceptance into a Third Layer tribe, we were all of equal social standing.


    ¡°I am afraid that I am not familiar with your third,¡± said Demarsus.


    I ran through the list of Delver titles in my mind. They were categorized based on the two highest attributes, and invoking them implied a sense of familiarity between the conversants. Myria¡¯s Dancer title meant Agility and Charisma were her two highest stats. Lito¡¯s Guardian title meant Wisdom and Fortitude. Demarsus¡¯ Tanker designation was Strength and Fortitude. Fortitude was obviously my first, with Wisdom and Intelligence tied for second. That either made me a Guardian, like Lito, or a Strategist. However, I felt no particular familiarity with Low-Lord Demarsus, and there was no social expectation that I divulge sensitive information about my build on the first meeting.


    ¡°Esquire Arlo of the Third Layer,¡± I said. ¡°And this is Grotto, my bonded familiar.¡±


    Demarsus smiled.


    ¡°Always a pleasure to meet a member of the Third Layer. And it is the mark of a good man to take the time to introduce his familiar. It is my honor to make your acquaintance, familiar Grotto.¡±


    [You may tell him that such insipid flattery will not serve to overcome the sin he has committed by antagonizing my host.]Grotto crossed two of his tentacles over his front, eyes narrowing at Demarsus.


    ¡°Grotto can be wary of strangers at times,¡± I said.


    ¡°Of course, I take no umbrage,¡± said Demarsus. ¡°A C¡¯thon, correct? Curious creatures at the best of times. Alien minds can be difficult to decipher. It speaks even more highly of you to be able to bond to such a creature. Please, let¡¯s sit.¡±


    We sat in well-worn but comfortable leather armchairs, with Demarsus behind his desk. Lito produced a cigarette and paused before lighting it, until Demarsus gave him a go-ahead gesture. The young man who¡¯d led us inside disappeared, closing the door behind him, but not before I noticed a small cluster of warehouse ¡®employees¡¯ standing outside. None of them looked pleased.


    ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure?¡± said Demarsus, plucking a bottle and a few fluted glasses from the bar cart beside him. It looked distinctly nicer than the one on the woman¡¯s work station out front. He poured himself a glass of bubbling green liquid, then held a hand out to the other glasses. Lito nodded and the large man poured a second. I accepted a glass as well, more out of curiosity than anything. Myria once again declined.


    I briefly wondered about the wisdom of accepting a drink from a potential enemy. Then again, with System notifications it would be immediately apparent if I¡¯d been poisoned. This was also Lito¡¯s wheelhouse, and if he was game then I felt somewhat safe. He had a high Fortitude as well, so maybe he felt more comfortable taking the risk. I took a sip and it had a light and pleasant pumpkin flavor behind the burn of alcohol, like a boozy fall morning.


    Lito drained his glass in one go, then sat the flute back down. Rightside up, this time.


    ¡°Ever heard the name Artemix?¡± said Lito, jumping straight to the point.


    I nearly choked on my drink. I thought there¡¯d at least be some sort of social dance before getting into the meat of the matter.


    Demarsus¡¯ brow furrowed and he studied the liquid in his flute.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a social call, then,¡± he said. ¡°Part of an investigation?¡±


    ¡°Please answer the question.¡±


    Demarsus took a deep breath, then sat the glass down. He sat back in his chair, folding his hands over his gut.


    ¡°Esquire Arlo,¡± he said. ¡°Such a title does not exist in the Third Layer. You also don¡¯t look like a typical denizen, so I presume you were adopted into a tribe?¡±


    ¡°I was,¡± I said, then looked over at Lito. The man sat placidly, studying Demarsus.


    ¡°Esquire. A title given by nobility to peasants they deem wealthy enough that they might no longer be ignored.¡± He held up a hand. ¡°I mean no offense. I was also born of ... meager heritage. Curious, isn¡¯t it. To be raised amongst the masses and then to find ourselves in the midst of the ¡®elite¡¯.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an experience,¡± I said hesitantly.


    ¡°All of the Hiwardian nobility have humble beginnings if you look far enough into the past,¡± he said. ¡°Not even that far! I suspect Guardian Lito¡¯s ancestors were slaves not more than three generations past.¡±


    ¡°Is there a point to this, Demarsus?¡± said Lito.


    His eyes weren¡¯t on the large man, however. He studied the room with an intensity I¡¯d not seen in him before. Myria looked at Demarsus with what appeared like distant fondness, but I noticed that she adjusted her posture from relaxed to coiled, uncrossing her legs and placing her hands on her chair¡¯s arms. It was a subtle thing, and perhaps I imagined it.


    I watched a lot of martial-arts movies when I was young. I loved seeing Jackie Chan take on an entire gaggle of gangsters with fists, kicks, mop-handles, and the creative and aggressive use of pinball machines. Those types of fight scenes were known in the movie business as ¡°take-a-ticket¡± fights. The choreography was designed to show a single fighter going up against a group of enemies in a way that made it look like they were fighting everyone at once, when they were really fighting them one at a time.


    This did not reflect reality.


    At first, my plan was to bottle neck the group in the doorway and fight them one or two at a time. They were all jacked up by whatever magical effect Demarsus had thrown out, and I had no idea how strong a level thirty gold effect would be when applied to normal humans. That idea was immediately discarded when Lito placed a foot in my back and launched me out of the room.


    I crashed through three of the thugs before landing and sliding across the stone, my short trip brought to an end when I hit a crate hard enough for the wood to crack. I sat up in time to see the timber walls on either side of the office explode, shredded into splinters by Demarsus¡¯ axes which spun like buzzsaws through the air. One of the axes slapped back into Demarsus¡¯ hand, while another was buried in a translucent glowing shield held by Lito. Myria was nowhere to be seen.


    Demarsus kicked the solid hardwood desk aside with the same effort I¡¯d use to kick a small branch out of my path, and the heavy piece of furniture slid across the floor with an awful wrenching sound. Two of the legs snapped, and it buried itself a foot deep into one of the office¡¯s remaining walls.


    Then, the horde was on me.


    I¡¯d been distracted by the spectacle, and a sword and two truncheons began planting themselves into my limbs as I held them over my body for cover. Another pair of goons thrust daggers at my legs and I heard the twang of a crossbow as something pierced hard into my leg, way too close to my crotch for comfort.


    I used Shortcut and appeared in the air above the group, several of whom stumbled when I disappeared. That was a technique I was starting to enjoy. None of the attacks had done too much. While Demarsus¡¯ buff allowed them to bypass my Fortitude¡¯s resistance to mundane damage, they still didn¡¯t have the strength to inflict serious harm. I also didn¡¯t really want to magically massacre a bunch of non-Delvers, so I decided to take my new physical stats for a spin.


    The thing about falling through the air is that you don¡¯t have any leverage. Thus, when I swung for the back of one sword-wielding goon¡¯s head, I lacked the proper footing to give much force to the swing. That was fortunately made up for by the fact that I had the inertia of gravity behind me. My fist connected a little off target, but I felt the satisfying thunk of flesh as I punched into the back of the man¡¯s shoulder. I crashed to the ground on top of him, quickly righting myself and landing another blow to the side of his head. He went still.


    [Feel like helping out, Grotto?]


    [Help? As uncomfortable as I am with the sensations being sent to me by our Shared Fate curse, these augmented peasants are practically splitting open with the meager mana thrust into them by that ruffian. My abilities would leave them with brains dribbling from their ears. Brutalizing the common masses shows poor leadership and will not serve to benefit our new world order.]


    Two workers jumped onto my back while Grotto espoused his political theory on violence, and a sword thrust and a crossbow bolt hit me from either side. I stood, taking both men for a ride and leapt backward. I body slammed one onto the concrete floor, the other managing to let go and stumble away from me before I launched. The man at my back was left struggling to breathe, his diaphragm crushed. I kipped up and took a truncheon to the face. The woman wielding it hesitated when she hit me hard enough for the weapon to crack and my only reaction was to give her a death glare. I snatched the blunt instrument from her hand and hurled it away.


    Two men grabbed me by either arm while the disarmed woman delivered a kick to my knee, sending my leg buckling. I fell to kneeling as the men tried to press my arms back into locks. The tip of a shortsword came thrusting toward my face. I ducked my head in time for the blade to catch along the top of my skull, cutting a gash across the top and back of my head. The woman piled on me as well and I grunted and shook my body like a wet dog. My Strength of seven wasn¡¯t enough to break out of three different holds from magically augmented and disgruntled warehouse workers. That was fine. I cast Shortcut again, appearing behind a crossbowman, who was lining up another shot.


    While a Strength of seven may not have been enough to roleplay Hercules beating up the town guard, when combined with my Speed of five, the right hook I delivered to the crossbowman¡¯s ear had the power and speed of a championship heavyweight boxer. The man crumpled to the floor.


    I backpedaled as the remaining melee fighters spun to find me, sidestepped another crossbow bolt, then threw up an arm where a second dug into my flesh. I took the time to rip it out, then stepped into a truncheon swing from the closest fighter and ran an elbow across his nose.


    Blood sprayed out from the freshly broken feature, and I knew from having my own nose broken once or twice that he¡¯d be blinded by tears for a little while. I grabbed him by the collar and shoved him toward a man and woman coming closer with shortswords, and they caught their ally, careful not to accidentally skewer him.


    I barrelled forward and between two men wielding truncheons and they swung at my back. I got low to the ground and broke past them like a linebacker, then took another bolt to the chest as I found one of the two remaining crossbowmen. I hit him in the throat with two knuckles, then stripped him of his weapon.


    He coughed and sputtered, abandoning defense to clutch at his throat and I laid him out with a combination jab-hook-uppercut. I cast Shortcut again, getting behind the final crossbowman. I stomped the back of his leg, then grabbed the right side of his face as he fell and helped guide it into my rising left knee.


    The fight was messy. I didn¡¯t know any graceful or efficient martial arts like kung-fu. I didn¡¯t even have basic jiu-jitsu training. If a single one of my opponents was even a semi-trained MMA fighter I would have been outclassed. At least, assuming our stats were similar.


    As it was, however, these men and women weren¡¯t trained hand-to-hand combatants. I could tell they each had a basic understanding of the weapons they swung. Hell, the crossbowmen had about an eighty percent accuracy when firing, which seemed pretty fucking good. But they were bar-room brawlers and back-alley brigands, not soldiers. I took them apart through sheer force and the unfair tactical advantage of a short-range teleport spell.


    I did my best to disable my opponents, but there was a very fine line between cracking skulls hard enough to take someone out of a fight and hard enough for them to shed their mortal coil. I definitely crossed that line on more than one occasion, but for the most part I curated a mass of moaning flesh on the ground. Those that were still alive and conscious gripped broken bones and dislocated limbs, guttural sounds of pain choking their throats.


    [The symphony of agony is sublime when performed by the orchestra of our fallen adversaries.]


    [I was already feeling kind of nauseous, Grotto.]


    My awareness of the fight between the three gold combatants was distant, but their presence was unavoidable.


    Demarsus¡¯ axes cut swaths of destruction through walls, crates, and shelves. The force of his blows sent Lito flying on more than one occasion, the smoking man¡¯s shield flaring with blue light as it protected him. Myria flowed around the armored man, a thin rapier finding gaps in his armor. Her form shifted in color and hue to match the background, appearing as though the alien from Predator had taken the type of ballet classes they teach at Russian assassin academies. On more than one occasion she simply disappeared, emerging from nowhere a few seconds later to plant her narrow blade into Demarsus¡¯ back.


    For all her attacks did, Demarsus¡¯ face was plastered with a bloody grin.


    Ok, I thought to myself, how the fuck do I help with this?

 Chapter 35: An Entirely Inadequate Dungeon

    Chapter 35: An Entirely Inadequate Dungeon


    As I finished off the last of my thugs, Lito tossed a lit cigarette into the air which exploded out into a dense cloud of smoke. Demarsus¡¯s form was obscured by the smokescreen, but the sounds of coughing and retching could be heard within. Lito chanted over his one-handed warhammer and the head began to glow with white-hot heat. Molten metal dripped off its head, but the weapon seemed otherwise unaffected. Lito spun and slung sprays of the liquid fire into the smoke. The ground¨Cand Demarsus¡¯ armor¨Cburst into small blazes where it landed.


    There was an ear-splitting crack, and the smoke billowed out from Demarsus¡¯ form. He¡¯d swung one axe into the ground hard enough to churn the stone at his feet, sending out a pressure wave from the impact and chunks of fresh gravel spinning through the air with the force of bullets. More than one of his allies caught a piece, leaving at least one man dead on the ground with a pool of blood growing out from his shredded chest.


    Myria¡¯s camouflage faded and she appeared, stumbling back and grasping a wound at her hip.


    Demarsus let out another roar, and blood-red runes flowed in the air around his body. The nascent flames on his armor sputtered out as the wind around him swirled with the sigils. They crashed into Demarsus, branding his armor with what looked like bloody gashes. The metal wept blood from the scores left behind by the runes.


    His body shot forward, blurring through the air as he crashed into Lito, shattering the investigator¡¯s shield with an axe. Lito spun away from the force, but threw his hammer at Demarsus. It still glowed white hot, and a molten chain extended out to the weapon from Lito¡¯s wrist. The hammer smashed into Demarsus¡¯ chest with a spray of sparking metal, though the big man shrugged off the hit. The chain continued to extend, growing slack and then wrapping itself around Demarsus. His arms snapped to his side as he was bound and the sounds of pops and sizzles filled the air as his armor was scorched.


    Myria reached a hand out toward Demarsus, violet light flowing from her fingers and through the air to encircle his skull. The berserker¡¯s winged helm crackled more brightly with arcing energy, interrupting the spell Myria was attempting. She immediately followed up with a different one, but Demarsus let out another shout that sent reality trembling and shattered the molten chains. Beams of radiant white light poured out from his body, boiling away the dripping blood from the runes on his armor. A gale of wind began to fill the room.


    A wave of spell notifications poured in as I watched the high level combat.


    You have observed the spell Whirling Blades


    You have observed the spell Bulwark


    You have observed the spell Camouflage


    You have observed the spell Aegis


    You have observed the spell Firebrand


    You have observed the spell Blood Pact


    You have observed the spell Heroic Might


    You have observed the spell Gale


    You have observed the spell Distraction


    You have observed the spell Entice


    I stood and watched the display with awe. I could feel the pressure of Demarsus¡¯ soul growing, bursting at the seams of his body. Whatever might he¡¯d displayed up until this moment was a pale shadow compared to what he was invoking now. I took an involuntary step back, feeling as though I was staring into the mouth of an industrial shredder.


    If I got too close, I¡¯d be eviscerated. I knew in my bones that an easy toss of one of his vicious axes would split me in two.


    Myria pointed at me with a bloody hand and her presence dominated my attention.


    ¡°Go through the door in the office,¡± she said. Her voice was calm, but it carried through the gale of Demarsus¡¯ ability as though she were right next to me. ¡°Find Xim. This entire place is about to get annihilated.¡±


    Her words settled on me, and I began sprinting toward the gutted remains of the office, Grotto soaring behind me.


    The door was made of dark iron and covered in mana-woven symbols. I gave the handle a quick tug, but it was locked. It was worth a shot. I tried casting an Oblivion Orb on the lock, but the runes flared and the spell failed.


    [Perhaps a more subtle approach,] Grotto thought to me.


    I looked over the sigils. I¡¯d been through the basics of mana-weaving during my library time, but hadn¡¯t yet developed a comprehensive understanding of their meanings. Still, I knew enough to find the central nexus of the spell. It was fairly rudimentary, seeming meant to keep out non-Delvers and deter the nosy more than serving as a robust security measure.


    I placed my hand on the convergence of runes and cast Dispel, funneling mana into it until I felt the enchantment dissipate. I didn¡¯t have enough mana to destroy the weave, but it would be non-functional for a few hours.


    Your Mystical Magic skill has increased to level 2!


    I threw the door open as the wind from Demarsus started sending shelves crashing to the ground.


    I descended a wooden staircase lit by white glow-stones into an earthen basement, walls and roof held up by a skeletal framework of wooden beams. The earth smelled fresh, and the wood was lightly colored, unstained by age. The basement was freshly dug.


    A few utilitarian rugs had been tossed onto the packed ground, though they were marred by dirty tracks. A strange scent wafted through the damp air, like cloves and honey. The basement was not large, and I quickly found a languid figure sitting on a moth-eaten couch.


    Their feminine form was long and lithe, with a wide brimmed hat worn low over the eyes. They were dressed in tight leathers, dyed dark, and held a long, thin pipe. Gentle smoke wafted from the end.


    A delicate snout poked out from beneath the hat, with whiskers that twitched when I stepped closer. She was a Littan.


    There was a low table before her, upon which sat a small bowl filled with a grainy, crystalline substance. As I watched, the Littan took a pinch from the bowl and sprinkled it into the pipe, then took a glowing rod from a pocket and packed it down. It sizzled. She took a puff and sat back, peeking at me with a single ruby eye from beneath the hat brim.


    A deep thud sounded from the battle above, shaking the room and sending trails of dry earth falling from the ceiling.


    There were four twin beds lining the wall behind the woman, and I sensed delicate threads of energy trailing from her body to two of them. I stepped to the side to find Xim on one bed, sleeping. In the other was another woman with dark brown skin. The sides of her face and tops of her arms were covered in... scales? Like Xim and I, she was a level one platinum.


    The Littan in the hat was another level thirty gold.


    I swallowed, trying to figure out what angle to take, but the woman spoke first.


    ¡°You must be Arlo.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Starting to feel like I¡¯m famous or something.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    She sat her pipe down gently, then took off her hat. She ran a hand over her ears.


    ¡°Demarsus made a mess of this. What happened to Artemix?¡±


    ¡°Dead.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it dangerous to mix stimulants and depressants?¡±


    Pause.


    ¡°Are you a doctor?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No. Are you?¡±


    ¡°I am not.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you ask if I was one?¡±


    ¡°You might have known something that I did not.¡±


    The building above us rumbled again from the battle above. Dirt and dust fell between the beams above us, though when it came close to falling on Nuralie¡¯s head the sediment shifted out and away from her unnaturally, leaving her untouched. I, on the other hand, was getting a bit dusty.


    ¡°So you don¡¯t know if that¡¯s safe.¡±


    ¡°It is safe. I have tested it many times.¡±


    I opened my mouth to protest more, but Nuralie quickly dripped two drops between Xim¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Though I have not tested it on a denizen of the Third Layer.¡±


    Xim shot upright and took a few heaving breaths, then looked around with wide eyes. She and Nuralie locked gazes and both of them froze in that uncanny manner. Then Xim noticed me and smiled.


    ¡°I got kidnapped!¡± she said, sounding almost happy about it, though her smile turned menacing. ¡°I got kidnapped,¡± she said, this time a whisper, her hands balling into fists and gripping the sheets.


    She snapped up onto her feet and took in the room.


    ¡°This is shitty for a dungeon,¡± she said. ¡°The ambience is all wrong.¡±


    ¡°There should be skulls,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Some well-worn implements of torture and dismemberment.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± said Xim. ¡°And chains! There are zero chains here!¡±


    ¡°Not even a small cage for a prisoner.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta have at least one ¡®I can¡¯t stand up or lay down in this¡¯ cage.¡±


    Gods above. They were made for each other.


    ¡°I¡¯m Xim!¡± Xim said, a bit too loud.


    ¡°I am Nuralie.¡±


    ¡°Why does my mouth taste like a burning swamp?¡±


    ¡°She gave you a stimulant,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°I like it! Can I have some more?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Nuralie, swiftly tucking the bottle back into her inventory. There was an incredible crash from above.


    ¡°So what is going on?¡± Xim asked. ¡°Why am I here? Why are you here, Arlo? Why are you covered in blood again? Is it yours or someone else¡¯s? What is a Loson doing in this poorly-designed Hiwardian dungeon? Wait, are we still in Hiward? Did I get kidnapped to Eschendur?¡± She rattled off the questions like a machine gun, only stopping when her magazine was empty.


    ¡°We are not in Eschendur,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Still in Foundation,¡± I said. ¡°An attempt was made to kidnap me as well. My assailants are dead or captured and Lito and Myria are above fighting a local crime lord or something who was the facilitator of the ¡®nappings. I came down here and found a level thirty gold Littan keeping you both unconscious with a spell of some kind. Also, it¡¯s mostly my own blood.¡±


    ¡°She was Littan?¡± Nuralie asked, her face darkening with the first real sign of emotion I¡¯d seen from her.


    ¡°How did you know she was gold?¡± Xim asked. ¡°Did she tell you, or is this another one of those ¡®Arlo¡¯ things?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an Arlo thing.¡±


    Nuralie looked between us, the cloud of anger that had crossed her face fleeing as quickly as it had come. She noticed the bowl of crystalline substance the Littan had left on the small table and went over to it, giving it a sniff.


    ¡°We should evacuate now,¡± I said. ¡°I think this place might collapse.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± said Xim. She began to pull a set of her padded robes and armor from her inventory.


    ¡°Evacuating,¡± I said. ¡°Not fighting.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fighting somebody,¡± said Xim, throwing robes over her clothes.


    I made a mental note never to do any of the ol¡¯ nose candy with Xim.


    Nuralie, meanwhile, had pulled a large glass vial from her inventory and scooped a healthy amount of the Littan drug into it. She froze for a few seconds, then picked up the entire bowl and put both in her inventory. She caught me eyeing her as she looted the substance.


    ¡°Littans make good night-rush,¡± she said, as though she were offended by the fact.


    Another rumble and a clod of dirt the size of a bowling ball fell from the ceiling. Xim finished throwing on her gear with lightning speed and the three of us rushed up the stairs.

 Chapter 36: Any Frog in a Storm

    Chapter 36: Any Frog in a Storm


    The scene above looked like a natural disaster in action. All the shelves in the warehouse had fallen, crates were shattered and splintered, and debris lined the floor. Part of the roof had collapsed and there was a mighty gale of wind sending sharp shards of wood and gravel hurling through the air. Demarsus was at the center of the storm.


    Lito¡¯s uniform was ragged and torn. Blood covered his face and I saw more than a couple places where Demarsus¡¯ axes had hit home. He leapt from a pile of rubble, throwing his burning chain at the massive Tanker, who brought an ax up to catch it.


    The chain wrapped around the ax and Demarsus heaved back, pulling Lito toward him through the air. He brought his second ax up to cleave down on Lito as he drew close. Myria appeared from nowhere, a deep crimson stain on her uniform from the wound at her side, and drove her rapier into Demarsus¡¯ armpit. The big man shouted and dropped the ax, then drove his fist downward at Myria, who danced away from the attack, though she stumbled under the tempest.


    Demarsus hadn¡¯t escaped unscathed either. His armor was cracked and dented, and blood ran down his legs from Myria¡¯s countless sneak attacks. Still, the big man moved as though uninjured and I wasn¡¯t confident that the pair would take him down before one, or both of them, were killed.


    ¡°Is he gold too?¡± Xim asked, shouting a bit over the wind.


    ¡°Yeah! Tanker!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re way underleveled for this!¡± she said.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said evacuate!¡±


    ¡°Somebody¡¯s going to die, though!¡±


    ¡°You want it to be us?¡±


    ¡°I have a new skill I can use from range! I can even charge it!¡±


    Nuralie crawled next to me on all fours, then stood and leaned very close to me.


    ¡°He¡¯s behind all this, yes?¡± she said.


    ¡°No, he¡¯s a middleman!¡±


    ¡°Then we must speak with him.¡±


    I squinted at her, then waved at the room.


    ¡°That¡¯s what they¡¯re trying to do! He¡¯s not feeling talkative!¡±


    Nuralie froze, then pulled a massive frog the size of a house cat from her inventory. The wind gusting around her split and swirled, leaving her untouched by the artificial storm. She pulled out two more frogs for Xim and I. I realized I still held the flower she¡¯d handed to me, which continued to drip, and put it away into my inventory before taking the amphibian. The wind died all around us and we suddenly no longer needed to shout.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Mountain wind-frog,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°A most holy creature.¡±


    She placed her own frog on her shoulder, where it gripped her tightly with its sticky, padded toes. Xim and I copied the move.


    Even the lethal debris was swept aside by the mighty frog¡¯s power.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan of attack?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°There is no plan!¡± I said. ¡°What can we even do to that guy?¡±


    ¡°Distract him,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Insult his clan-mates. Pray for the gods to smite him.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll focus on that last one,¡± said Xim. She knelt and gripped her scepter, then began to mutter under her breath. Gold light began to cover her body.


    ¡°What do you think his lowest stat is?¡± Nuralie asked.


    I pondered it for a second.


    ¡°Luck.¡±


    ¡°Not useful. Other than that.¡±


    I gave it deeper consideration, and thoughts sped through my mind faster than I¡¯d ever experienced.


    Demarsus was a level thirty gold, which gave him one-hundred-and-thirty-eight stat points to distribute. He was a Tanker, at least according to Lito and Myria, which made his two highest stats Strength and Fortitude. Many of his moves didn¡¯t trigger my Magical Thinker perk, which meant they were stamina based, but several of his skills had triggered it.


    That, on top of this persistent hurricane, indicated that he was at least somewhat built into mental stats. So, Wisdom for sure, and maybe Intelligence to some degree. He was a high level Delver leading a second life as a crime lord, and his battle shout at the beginning of the fight had a strong mental effect on his goons. That led me to believe he¡¯d also focused on Charisma.


    He moved quickly, but not inhumanly so, unlike his strength which looked to be at the level of a Greek demi-god. His strikes were precise and he had decent footwork, but was nowhere near the level of Myria. So, Strength and Fort as his mains, with Wisdom and Charisma as his secondaries. Likely some Intelligence, and given his combat performance and raw number of stats available, he probably got Speed and Agility to ten to augment his primary means of combat and claim the first superhuman trait they offered along with the level ten evolution.


    ¡°Speed or Agility,¡± I said.


    ¡°Sticky-juice, then,¡± said Nuralie, producing two liter-sized glass jars from her inventory. She thrust one into my hands.


    ¡°What do I do with this?¡±


    ¡°Throw it at him. It¡¯s sticky."


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also flammable.¡±


    Demarsus continued to struggle, unable to break free of the enormous, burning chain links. His axes still flew back to his hands, but without free range of movement or the ability to create momentum, it looked like his ability to send them spiraling through the air was lost. His armor was blackened, and the electric crackling around the wings of his helmet had ceased. Myria managed to climb to her feet, made ambulatory by Xim¡¯s heals, and she reached out a hand.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t like to use this one,¡± she said, ¡°but it¡¯s the only one he hasn¡¯t resisted yet.¡±


    Violet light flowed from her arm toward Demarsus¡¯ head.


    You have observed the spell Dominate.


    Dominate


    School: Spiritual


    Duration: Channeled


    Cost: 10 plus 1 mana per minute.


    Cooldown: Variable.


    Requirement: 30 Charisma, 10 Wisdom


    You dominate the mind of the target, giving you total control over their actions. A dominated target cannot act of their own free will and is unable to take willful actions without your express command. If given an instruction, a dominated target will act to the best of its ability to carry out the instruction, but will otherwise behave in a docile and passive manner. A dominated target¡¯s personality is suppressed, and is incapable of acting ¡®naturally¡¯, even when instructed to do so.


    Demarsus was attempting to bullrush Lito despite his bindings and the Guardian had his shield up to catch the attack. When Myria¡¯s spell hit Demarsus, the man stopped in his tracks.


    ¡°Drop your weapons,¡± Myria commanded, and the axes fell from the Tanker¡¯s hands. ¡°Dispel all your skills, spells, and other magical effects.¡±


    The runes on Demarsus¡¯ armor disappeared and he deflated, growing slightly smaller. He slouched heavily, as though exhausted.


    ¡°Take a big nap.¡±


    Demarsus slumped over and passed out.


    Lito dropped his shield and studied the big guy on the ground. He pulled out his cigarette case, miraculously unharmed, and pulled out a smoke. After lighting it and taking a drag he looked around the destroyed facility, surveying the disaster and the dozen dead or unconscious thugs I¡¯d left in my own wake. The kid who¡¯d led us in and the receptionist were nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Could have gone worse,¡± he said.


    ****


    A whole crew of mundane and Delver authorities were on the scene in minutes. A familiar level ninety Delver showed up to take Demarsus into custody moments before Myria¡¯s mana ran out. Bright blue hair, skin whiter than even the palest Hiwardian I¡¯d seen so far. It was the same woman who¡¯d nearly burnt out my eyeballs while I was people-watching during my first day in Formation. Her presence was still overwhelming, and I was again forced to reduce the strength of my soul-sight.


    She grumbled about ¡®unwarranted emergency summons¡¯ until she saw her charge, where her attitude changed from irritated to outright pissed. She glared at us, then noticed the devastated surroundings for the first time and sighed.


    ¡°This is gonna be a hassle,¡± she said in a melodic voice, then summoned her massive alabaster hand. It scooped her and Demarsus up, then flew away through the destroyed roof with the pair of them in its palm.


    You have observed the spell Helping Hand.


    I scanned the spell text, which looked useful¨CI definitely needed a flight skill¨Cbut I disregarded it when I noticed it was Divine.


    One of the things I¡¯d discovered during my studies was that the magic in this world consisted of five main schools. The schools that were available for you to learn and cast were determined by your attunement. The schools were organized into a wheel, and a person was able to utilize spells from three of these schools. First, and most effectively, the school that matches their own attunement. Then, the schools on either side of their attunement.


    For me, with a Dimensional attunement, that gave me access to both Mystical and Physical magic in addition to Dimensional. However, that also put Spiritual and Divine magic out of my reach. So, no Helping Hand for me. I¡¯d need to figure out another way to shuttle my fine ass around.


    Beyond attunement, possessing the intrinsic skill for each school provided a better opportunity to discover and learn more advanced skills in that school, and the intrinsic skills also gave quantifiable bonuses to the spells in addition to unlocking evolutions.


    With all that in mind, I ran over the other spells I¡¯d observed during the hectic day. My Magical Thinker evolution gave me the opportunity to select any of the spells I¡¯d seen as an active skill, so long as I had an appropriate attunement and an available slot. None of them were quite what I was looking for though, and being limited to ten total active skills made me want to keep an eye out for more interesting abilities down the line.


    I briefly shared my experience of being attacked by the Artemix group with Xim, who told me about her own ordeal in turn. Apparently, being cloistered in prayer made her somewhat vulnerable, since her focus was entirely devoted to her god. She fasted most of the day, eating only one large meal in the evening, and the act of the prayer itself was physically demanding.


    She didn¡¯t recall much about how she¡¯d been taken, only remembering that she was in the midst of ¡°an ecstatic divine revelation¡± when an intruder came into her room and cast a spell that made her very sleepy. After that didn¡¯t take, her attacker jabbed her with a needle. The next thing she knew she was staring at Nuralie. Her memories were vague, but after being provided a description of the Littan in the hat, she was fairly certain that had been her attacker. We later discovered that her attendants had been similarly put to sleep, but were otherwise unharmed at the temple.


    ¡°Do you still have to go back to praying for two more weeks?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh, no,¡± she said. ¡°Vengeance is a revered teaching of Sam¡¯lia and the act of taking it is as good as any other act of devotion. Since I was attacked during prayer, Sam¡¯lia will even see a quest of vengeance as a proper holy crusade. Punishing my would-be attackers might even earn me a new boon!¡± She grinned widely as she said this.


    ¡°You¡¯re actually happy you were kidnapped,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah! Nothing really bad happened and now we get to go on a divine quest of retribution. I mean, I assume you¡¯ll come with me.¡±


    I thought about that ask. If I¡¯m being completely honest, I am the type to hold a grudge. Whoever was behind sending the Artemix group after me inside my own home was definitely on my naughty list, and I would take an unhealthy amount of pleasure in finding them and letting them know exactly how I felt about their manners.


    I wondered if I should start worshiping this Sam¡¯lia if revenge was one of their religious teachings. Then again, that might rub my own divine patron the wrong way, whoever they were.


    ¡°I¡¯d come with you even if we weren¡¯t tribe-mates,¡± I said. Her grin widened.


    Yep. Nothing like a good ol¡¯ fashioned holy crusade of vengeance.

 Chapter 37: Umi-Dooby-Doo, Who Are You?

    Chapter 37: Umi-Dooby-Doo, Who Are You?


    ¡°I am curious why I was taken,¡± said Nuralie, patting one of the frogs on the head. She¡¯d taken all three back from us and sat on the ground, her lower half buried under a frog-pile. ¡°You two know each other, but why am I involved?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re also a level one platinum,¡± I offered. She frowned at me when I said this.


    ¡°You can tell what difficulty Delves people have done,¡± Nuralie said.


    ¡°More or less.¡±


    ¡°A useful ability,¡± she said, beginning to massage a frog along the sides of its jaw. ¡°I initially thought Litta had something to do with my capture. Now I do not know. Why would a Littan have grudges against members of the Third Layer?¡±


    ¡°Do Littans dislike Losons?¡± I asked, sitting down next to the scaled woman. Although I had a rough understanding of world history and geography, the topic of modern geopolitics had not yet made it to my library list.


    ¡°I am young, and I have lived most of my life in the deep swamps, but even I was taught of the past tensions between Litta and Eschendur. It has only grown worse. I can¡¯t even return to Eschendur anymore.¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t return home because of the blockade?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes and no. I am one of four from Eschendur selected to attend the Creation Delve two years ago. The other three were each priests in one of the faiths of the triune. I was the neutral choice for those of us who still live in the wilds. When the Delve was completed the priests returned home, but I stayed behind to explore Hiward. When I finished my tour six months ago and attempted to return, my vessel was stopped by the blockade. I was offered the choice of being ferried the rest of the way by the Littans, or returning. I chose to return.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t believe they¡¯d ferry you safely?¡±


    She tilted her head to one side.


    ¡°They set up a naval blockade across the shores of my homeland. Littans encroach on our lands. I am a Delver who, even at level one, is worth more than ten normal soldiers on the battlefield. I am no true fighter... my passion lies in alchemy, but that does not matter. Enemy Delvers are a threat to any army, regardless of their specialty. I have no doubt that if I had accepted, my corpse would now be held in the embrace of Mother Geul at the bottom of the ocean.¡±


    ¡°I see... that sounds tough.¡±


    Pause.


    ¡°Yes. I worry for my clan. They will be sheltered from an invasion in the wilds.¡± Pause. ¡°But trade with the tranquil dioceses is crucial for their survival. I thought that the Littans had sent an agent to kill me since I did not surrender at their blockade, but that would not explain why the two of you were also taken. I am still alive as well, so upon reflection my initial theory is flawed.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember much about being taken?¡±


    ¡°My memories are similar to Lady Xim¡¯s. I was granted temporary permits to open an alchemy shop in Foundation due to the blockade. I live there as well. I was working into the night on several brews when someone appeared in my workshop. After that, all was dark until I awoke to your rescue.¡± Pause. ¡°All those recipes are probably ruined.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think ¡®rescue¡¯ is the right word,¡± I said. ¡°Your captor just walked off, and Myria and Lito did most of the fighting up here. I just beat up some warehouse workers, which can probably be classified as bullying given how easy it was.¡±


    Nuralie placed a hand on my arm.


    ¡°Where is your flower?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Oh, I put it in my inventory for safekeeping.¡± She gave me her usual unmoving stare, and I decided to grab the flower from my inventory. She took it from my hand and brushed my hair back to tuck it behind my ear. It was still dripping water. She stared for a moment longer, then went back to petting her frogs.


    ¡°That looks nice,¡± said Xim.


    One of the frogs crawled away from Nuralie and into my own lap. I wasn¡¯t sure how to pet a frog, so I gave it a gentle scratch under the chin. It closed its eyes in satisfaction, which was pretty cute. We all sat in silence for a few minutes, water trickling down my neck and shoulder, when Myria walked over to us.


    ¡°Well, kids,¡± she said, ¡°we get to go and talk to the big boss man!¡±


    ****


    The ¡°big boss man¡± was not big. He was, in fact, very small. He was also covered in long white fur, and sat in what appeared to be a very professional high-chair. He had big black eyes, was at most two-and-a-half feet tall, and looked like a baby yeti.


    His name was Umi-Doo.


    Umi-Doo was a level ninety Delver with gold, silver, and copper in his soul, along with a thin network of violet striations that looked like the icy patterns of a snowflake. I was thankful that I¡¯d kept the sensitivity of my soul-sight reduced, or else his presence would have turned my eyes into charcoal briquettes.


    He sat at the head of a round wooden table in a large conference room on the first floor of the Dark Iron Palace. The table was also populated by five big-wigs from Central, which was the governmental oversight organization for Hiwardian Delvers. Xim, Nuralie, and I sat flanked by Lito and Myria, all five of us under heavy scrutiny by the half dozen officials.


    I recognized one individual among them, Officer Dalton, who had spoken with me briefly after exiting the Creation Delve. He sat on Umi-Doo¡¯s right, which held the same cultural significance in Hiward as it did in many Earth cultures. Dalton was apparently a pretty important guy.


    There was some quiet chatter amongst the officials, who consulted a small stack of papers that Dalton had handed each of them as they entered. Three of them threw suspicious glances at me from time to time, but neither Dalton nor a woman with chestnut hair paid me any heed, beyond Dalton giving me a polite greeting upon seeing me. After a few minutes Dalton cleared his throat and stood. The room grew silent


    ¡°Calling to order this emergency session of the Central Authority¡¯s Delver Disciplinary and Investigative Board. Sorcerer Umi-Doo presides, with Officer Dalton Imilai as secretary. Board members present include-¡±


    Umi-Doo raised a hand and Dalton paused. The mini-yeti turned to the four board members about to be identified.


    ¡°Pyna, Fightia, Louin, and Geggaramanda, you four may leave.¡±


    Two of the members gave Umi-Doo affronted looks. The third, a middle-aged man with pure white hair, placed his face into his hands. The chestnut woman calmly picked up her belongings and began to leave. One of the first two, a red-headed woman, began to say something in protest, but Umi-Doo gave her an indecipherable look, and she promptly snapped her mouth shut. All four of them were gone in short order.


    Officer Dalton cleared his throat again.


    ¡°Board members present have been dismissed. Witnesses present are-¡±


    ¡°You may go as well, Dalton,¡± Umi-Doo said. Dalton¡¯s shoulders slumped.


    ¡°Sorcerer Umi-Doo,¡± he began, ¡°why call for the board if you intend on dismissing us all the moment the meeting begins?¡±


    Xim and Nuralie leaned over and read the title. They were sitting on either side of me, so it made me feel a bit crowded. They exchanged a strange look between each other, paused in that unnerving Eschen manner, then went back to leafing through their respective gifts.


    ¡°Among other things,¡± said Umi-Doo, ¡°the art is very well-done. Worth taking some time to appreciate.¡± He waggled his furry eyebrows.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I decided not to peruse the contents of that one until I was someplace more private.


    ¡°Maybe I can borrow that later,¡± Xim whispered without looking away from her own book.


    ¡°Lito, more books on etiquette,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°One day it might stick. Myria, still not much of a reader?¡±


    ¡°Maybe if you had another one with pretty pictures inside.¡±


    Umi-Doo nodded and another tome appeared, floating to Myria. She tucked it into her own inventory before I could read the title.


    ¡°Xim and Nuralie, your texts are self-explanatory. Now then, to business.¡±


    Apparently finished with his random acts of charity, Umi-Doo waved a hand and a map of Arzia appeared in the air before us. Hiward sat at its center, surrounded by a large stretch of sea on every side which ended at the shores of several bordering nations on the north, east, and west. South led to the open ocean, with another large island nation far to the southwest. A massive forest lay to the southeast, conspicuously missing any name or notation.


    ¡°There are presently a confluence of seemingly unrelated events occurring across the continent which, when considered together, present to me a curious convergence of causes and effects. Your conflict with Tanker Demarsus this afternoon represents an escalation that I believe signals a point of no return for certain unknown parties who are involved behind the scenes.¡±


    ¡°Our warehouse brawl is an international incident?¡± said Myria.


    ¡°Taken alone, it is merely an egregious breach of the peace within the Hiwardian capital city as the result of various top-level offenses perpetrated or enabled by a mid-rank Delver of noble station in an obvious and poorly-executed attempt to abduct four promising level one platinum Delvers.¡±


    ¡°Four Delvers?¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, four. In addition to you three, an attempt was made on Low-Lord Varrin Ravvenblaq last night.¡±


    ¡°They went after Varrin?¡± said Lito, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. ¡°He¡¯d be back in the Ravvenblaq estate by now. Not many places with a higher concentration of powerful Delvers.¡±


    ¡°Normally, yes,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°Such a crime would be nigh-suicidal if the Ravvenblaq matriarch and patriarch were within a hundred kilometers of the grounds. Unfortunately, they were not.¡±


    ¡°Varrin¡¯s parents aren¡¯t the matriarch and patriarch?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± said Lito. ¡°They¡¯re the current reigning Thundralke couple who rule the lands, but his paternal great-grandparents are the true rulers of the house itself.¡±


    ¡°And two of the most powerful Delvers on the planet,¡± said Myria.


    I considered this information. It now made more sense that Varrin had been so confident going into a platinum Delve. His parents had also been platinum, and I could only assume his great-grandparents were as well if they were as strong as Myria believed. Did that mean his grandparents were also platinum Delvers? On both sides? What about his other great-grandparents? I briefly imagined six geriatric couples wielding unfathomable magic power. That¡¯d make for a hell of a bingo game.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°However, neither Ealdric senior nor his wife Jasmaena were in the country, responding to an emergency request for assistance with a large mana eruption in the Eschen Wastes near the northern forests of the Kingdom of Ayama.¡± A portion of the map was highlighted in red toward the northern part of the continent.


    ¡°Ayama requested assistance?¡± Lito said, disbelieving.


    ¡°God-King Ayamari contacted them herself,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°Though, perhaps ¡®request¡¯ is a gracious way of characterizing it.¡±


    ¡°I bet,¡± said Lito.


    ¡°Regardless, Matriarch Jasmaena¡¯s expertise in dealing with catastrophic mana events made her an obvious choice for assistance. And, of course, where Jasmaena goes, Eadric Sr. goes. The fallout threatened a significant stretch of northern Ayama. In addition,¡± a new part of the map was highlighted far to the west, ¡°the active A-rank Ravvenblaq Delver team was also indisposed due to the sudden discovery of a special-grade Delve in western Timagrin, near the Mittak border.¡±


    ¡°Are you suggesting the attempted abduction was one of convenience?¡± said Lito. ¡°Or that the kidnappers themselves organized these high-profile occurrences?¡±


    ¡°The kidnappers themselves? No. The organization that hired them? Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°You yourself just said that the kidnappings were poorly-executed,¡± said Lito. ¡°Managing to manipulate the Ravvenblaqs, through Ayamari no less, would require a great deal of planning, foresight, and information gathering. Enough that you would think the crimes these events are enabling would be better organized.¡±


    ¡°On their face, each abduction had a good fucking chance of working, if you¡¯ll excuse my colorful language,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°My understanding of the events that unfolded in the Ravvenblaq Thundry are such that the abduction would have succeeded, if not for the presence of two unaffiliated and powerful Delvers.¡±


    ¡°Mom and dad!¡± said Xim, jumping to her feet.


    ¡°Correct. There were no official plans for the Xor¡¯Drels to visit Ravvenblaq. Such an event may have been unforeseen to any would-be ne''er-do-wells. A full party of level thirty-odd golds were deployed to abduct Varrin, and it was a harsh fight between the Ravvenblaq defenders and the invaders. I understand a significant portion of the main manor house was destroyed. All friendly parties involved are safe and well, so no need for worry, Lady Xim.¡±


    Xim nodded and slowly sat back down in her chair.


    ¡°Where in the hells did five gold Delvers willing to attack the Ravvenblaqs, of all people, come from?¡± said Lito.


    ¡°An excellent question,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°We have no fucking idea.¡±


    A chill ran over the room.


    ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse my colorful language.¡±

 Chapter 38: Main Quest Progression

    Chapter 38: Main Quest Progression


    ¡°You don¡¯t know where the Delvers attacking Ravvenblaq came from?¡± said Lito. ¡°It¡¯s not a rival house?¡±


    ¡°They are unaffiliated with any known noble bloodlines.¡±


    ¡°More peasant Delvers?¡± said Lito.


    ¡°It appears so.¡±


    ¡°That means this has been going on for some time. The ability to circumvent the Creation Delve, that is.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°A proper gold-focused Delver will tackle one Delve a year with skill-training in between. A particularly risk-tolerant and ambitious Delver, perhaps two a year.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s with full access to the existing Delver infrastructure in Hiward,¡± said Lito. ¡°Trainers, mana-weavers, alchemists, Delve analysts. If you were working outside of that...¡±


    ¡°Perhaps even longer, true. However, given that these individuals hold no titles of which we are aware, they would not suffer the delays caused by the duties of governance. Still, the attempt on Varrin was risky, but not hopeless. As for Xim and Nuralie here, given your own accounts of what transpired and Esquire Arlo¡¯s personal observations, I suspect the level thirty gold Littan was responsible for both of your abductions. She is likely a controller of some sort. As we all know, those abductions were successful, albeit temporarily. As for Arlo,¡± he raised his eyebrows at me. ¡°Well, one would think a five-person team of copper tens would be sufficient to capture a single inexperienced platinum one. Even if copper is the weakest progression, a single copper ten has more stat points than a platinum one, and ten times as much experience to boot.¡±


    Umi-Doo was throwing a lot of Delver terminology around, and it required me to do a bit of mental gymnastics to figure out how powerful the Delvers he was talking about were in relation to one another. I decided to start using my own internal rating system, since all the nonsense with metals, tiers, and levels was opaque, at best. We''ll call it Power Rating, or PR for short.


    Thus, we will step aside for a moment to discuss Arlo''s Treatise on How Delver Levels are Bullshit. Don''t care about that? Skip down to the next line break.


    ----


    *Ahem*


    The basic problem was that Delver levels showed only the number of Delves someone had done, and were the only thing one Delver could see about another Delver through the interface provided by the System. Levels were useful for seeing how much experience a Delver had in conquering Delves, but provided next to nothing about how strong the Delver was. The difficulty of the Delves conquered by a Delver determined the amount of stat points they were awarded, so knowing the types of Delves they''d conquered in addition to their Delver level could provide someone with a good guess at the total number of stat points that Delver had.


    The metal associated with a Delver''s first run of Delves--copper, silver, gold, or platinum--generally stuck, regardless of whether the Delver later went on to drop down to a lower difficulty. So, a level forty with thirty gold Delves and ten silver Delves was still called a level forty gold, despite the inaccuracy of the title. And to be clear, it was a title.


    Copper Delvers were seen as nobles who were out to grab a quick bag of superpowers before returning to rule their lands, or cowardly opportunists if one were being blunt. Silver Delvers were seen as pragmatic and measured, having chosen a reasonable path to power without whole-heartedly risking their lives. Gold Delvers were viewed in high esteem as the truly talented, brave, and driven. Platinum Delvers were seen as bat-shit insane, though they were still respected for the sheer skill and luck it took for them to remain alive, and the power it afforded them.


    So, there was utility in considering level, and utility in considering the metal associated with Delve difficulty, but I didn''t care too much about that. What I wanted to know was how many stats people had. That''s where Delver tiers came into play, but being classified under a specific tier required a Delver to submit to grading, which many Delvers were reluctant to do. It would, after all, tell the world how strong they were. Nevertheless, there were some advantages to getting graded beyond bragging rights, and the tiers were broken up into forty-point brackets based on total number of stats possessed by the Delver as follows:


    F - 19-40


    E - 41-80


    D - 81-120


    C - 121-160


    B - 161-200


    A - 201-240


    S - 241+


    With a little research, legwork, casual bribery, and a touch of extortion, one could find out what difficulty Delves different Delvers did, and as such could eventually figure out what tier that Delver likely belonged to. However, because of my soul-sight ability, I was uniquely suited to figuring that shit out just by looking at somebody. No crime or bothersome research required.


    For example, by looking at Umi-Doo, I could see through the interface that he had ninety levels, and with my soul-sight I knew those levels were equal part gold, silver, and copper. Because I knew the stat allocations for the different difficulties of Delves, his level, and the types of Delves he''d done, I could figure how many stats Umi-Doo possessed without having to rely on... everything else I just mentioned.


    Thirty gold Delves at four stat points a piece was 120, thirty silver at two stats a piece was 60, and thirty coppers at one stat a piece was 30. That gave me a value of 210. Then, I added the eighteen points gained through character creation (eight from the starting value of one in each stat, and ten from the initial stats provided) and I was able to come up with a total stat value of 228. Thus, Umi-Doo had a Power Rating (PR) of 228.


    That was a lot easier than saying he was a standard-progression level ninety A-tier gold Delver.


    This didn''t take into consideration skills, passives, evolutions, special abilities, gear, or assholes that violated all the aforementioned rules like myself, but it gave me a ballpark number to work with.


    I was currently a PR 62, which put me in E-tier. Xim and Nuralie, as first level platinums, were PR 26, while the level ten coppers of the Artemix group were PR 28, all F-tier. This led my brain the long way back around to Umi-Doo''s assertion that a single copper ten has more stats than a level one platinum, which was true, and would have been true for me as well if my stats weren''t completely broken. Bad for Artemix, good for Arlo.


    Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.


    ----


    With all that sorted in my head and squared away, I returned my attention to Umi-Doo''s lecture, pondering over how the Sorcerer had framed all of the attempted kidnappings as being poorly planned, before immediately contradicting himself by saying they were all close calls.


    ¡°If they all came close to succeeding,¡± I said, ¡°then why did you say they were poorly executed?¡±


    Umi-Doo scratched at his chin with a furry, ebony-taloned finger.


    ¡°Because they failed!¡± he said. ¡°Had they been successful, I would have cursed their nefarious cunning and begrudgingly praised their expert execution. As it sits, they are talentless curs with nothing to show for their efforts.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°I also suspect that the attempt on you, Arlo, was a last-minute consideration. Why send highly advanced Delvers against everyone but you? From what we¡¯ve thus far extracted from the survivors of the Artemix group, they were hired only two weeks ago and the job was admittedly rushed. They were required to match their actions to a timeline that predated the mission itself, and that haste was their undoing which also exposed Demarsus, a.k.a. Typhoon. Which I must say, after hearing the particulars of the battle, Typhoon isn¡¯t much of an alias. The man used the spell Gale. Might as well have been wearing a name tag.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true,¡± said Myria. We all nodded and mumbled in agreement.


    ¡°Why rush after me without much planning?¡± I asked.


    If the Artemix group had been hired a fortnight ago, then they''d have been assigned to me practically the day I walked out of the Delve. That would match up with when I started feeling eyes on my back.


    ¡°Probably because nobody knows who the fuck you are!¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse my colorful language. Varrin was clearly the main target, since so much effort was expended to make him vulnerable. I expect Nuralie was also initially targeted, given that her abduction occurred at roughly the same time as the attack on the Ravvenblaq estate. Xim¡¯s attacker was the same as Nuralie¡¯s, so I am assuming the Littan controller was always intended to pull double-duty. Especially given that she was unwilling to go beyond the bounds of her agreement and fight when she was discovered."


    ¡°I¡¯m not following some of this,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re talking like this has been a plot for a long time, but Xim, Varrin, and I didn¡¯t know each other before the Creation Delve. That would also match the timeline of when Artemix was hired.¡±


    "Certainly," said Umi-Doo. "While these aggressors would not have known who in particular may have ended up in low-lord Varrin''s party before entering the Creation Delve, the list of prospective Delvers is available through various channels, and keeping tabs on a hundred Creation Delve participants would be a trivial matter for large organizations, or those organizations with but a single specialized Delver in their employ. They would have known their habits, residences, where they''d be staying in Foundation after the Delve, etcetera. However, you, Arlo, came out of nowhere. You weren''t on the list, until you suddenly were! This necessitated a different skillset to find and apprehend, since they were dealing with an unknown. Jayko, the one you left without legs, was a scryer. Artemix himself was some sort of social build, so the two of them were good at tracking targets and getting information. The rest of that team focused on lockdown and capture.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still making a lot of wild assumptions,¡± said Lito.


    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°Everyone¡¯s a skeptic. I literally have Information Synthesis as an intrinsic skill, you know. Along with Probability. Still, I see where you¡¯re coming from. The reasoning for the abductions is murky, at best. Let me step back and provide some more background.


    Lito squinted at her.


    ¡°It¡¯s not even under Central¡¯s authority," he said. "It¡¯s military property.¡±


    ¡°A girl can dream.¡±


    Lito frowned, but turned back to Umi-Doo.


    ¡°What other Delvers can we get? We have no idea what we¡¯re walking into.¡±


    ¡°The Ravvenblaq Thundralkes and Varrin will meet you there. They are also bringing the Xor¡¯Drels.¡±


    ¡°That still feels light, considering everything you¡¯ve told us.¡±


    ¡°Two level forty-three golds, two level twenty-one platinums, two level twenty golds, and four level one platinums,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°That¡¯s a ten-Delver party with four B-class Delvers as the core."


    I translated that in my head to two PR 164s, two PR 186s, two PR 98s, three PR 26s, and myself at PR 62.


    "Maybe not a heroic-level party, but nothing to scoff at," said Umi-Doo. "Besides, didn¡¯t you listen to anything I just told you? Many of our most competent Delvers are spread out across the world. The best controller Central has is babysitting Demarsus and the two surviving Artemix members. Most of the other high-level Delvers beholden to Central are part of the core defense group, including myself. We can¡¯t leave the capital, especially under the current circumstances. I can authorize funds for you to do some recruitment among private Delvers, but this quest needs to be carried out post-haste, so there isn¡¯t a lot of time.¡±


    ¡°We might be able to pull in the triplets,¡± said Myria.


    ¡°They hate government work,¡± said Lito.


    ¡°But they love money!¡±


    Lito groaned.


    ¡°That they do, Myria. That they do. Just... tell them to leave the wine at home.¡±


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s no way Ashe will agree to that.¡±


    ¡°Then ask them not to wear the same outfits, at least.¡±


    ¡°Afraid you¡¯ll try and kiss the wrong one again?¡±


    Lito sank low into his seat in response, then stared vacantly at the wall across from him.


    ¡°What about the inquisition?¡± I said. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there going to be an official investigation into our Delve? With interviews and everything?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°Normally, yes, but I got involved personally. A typical inquisitor might take weeks to finish their investigation, but I reviewed the existing records and reports after your incident with Typhoon earlier today. I then extrapolated the contents of the interrogatories that hadn¡¯t yet been produced and used a mental model to provide your individual responses. I manually entered a no-fault judgment before this meeting.¡±


    I had no idea what most of that meant, but I was happy to have the matter settled.


    ¡°There is a minor issue still outstanding, though,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°A Littan duchess named Isaebel Ruinis arrived yesterday to participate in the proceedings. She¡¯s a very striking young woman. Lovely ears, and her fur is quite lustrous.¡±


    I considered the idea of a mini-yeti fawning over a mouse-person, then looked down at my gifted copy of Can I Have Sex with That? Umi-Doo was the sole author of that text.


    ¡°A duchess?!¡± said Myria. ¡°Why a duchess?¡±


    ¡°That Sayil fellow was some sort of distant cousin. It caught us all by surprise, since she was only a countess until very recently. She jumped a few ranks due to some sort of intrafamilial struggle within the former duke¡¯s household. Regardless, I¡¯ll have to inform her of my findings this evening,¡± He scratched at his furry face thoughtfully. ¡°Maybe over a drink or two.¡±


    ¡°You really think a duchess will take that lying down?¡± said Myria.


    Was she aware of her double-entendre? In any event, I was sure this wouldn''t come back to haunt me in any way in the future. Nope. No chance at all.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll be invoking a number of articles in the Delver Treaties. I have firm legal footing for my decision, but I¡¯ll probably end up throwing the whole issue to one of Filix¡¯s diplomats. I¡¯m going over to debrief him about this meeting in an hour or so anyway.¡±


    ¡°King Filix?¡± said Myria.


    ¡°His Royal Highness King Filix ¡°God-Step¡± Celeritia, Sole Sovereign of the Kingdom of Hiward and Defender of the Realm, long may he reign. Yes, the very same.¡±


    Myria stared at him wide-eyed, then shifted in her seat and ran a hand over her hair.


    ¡°I trust you¡¯ll impress upon him my pivotal role in unraveling Typhoon¡¯s dastardly plot.¡±


    ¡°With great poise, intelligence and grace,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°I will tell him that your competence is second only to your beauty.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that sounds nice. Please do.¡±


    ¡°Really, Myria?¡± said Lito.


    ¡°What? We¡¯ve gone too long without a queen. I¡¯m thinking of my country.¡±


    Umi-Doo shook his head, then levitated out of the room, the double-doors opening and closing behind him on their own. The meeting was over, apparently. Dalton came in shortly afterward to gather his notes off the table.


    ¡°Did he even use these?¡± Dalton asked.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°No, he did not.¡±


    ¡°Of course he didn¡¯t,¡± he said, clutching the documents to his chest. He rifled through them, making sure everything was in order. ¡°Well, at least he filled out the minutes.¡±


    I had no idea when Umi-Doo would have done that. Maybe he had used the notes after all, in some unseen way. Dalton quickly left in a huff soon after.


    After a moment of uncomfortable silence where Myria daydreamed about the King, Lito pulled out a fresh smoke, and another drop of water fell down from the fresh flower tucked behind my ear, Xim leaned over to me.


    ¡°So,¡± she said, ¡°about that book...¡±

 Chapter 39: The Sagacious Seinnador

    Chapter 39: The Sagacious Seinnador


    We were given three days to get ready for our excursion south. Originally, Lito had advocated for an earlier departure, but Myria and Nuralie each had things they wanted to accomplish that would take a bit longer, with Myria saying ¡°You think I can track down the triplets and get them on board in a day?¡± and Nuralie simply stating ¡°I need to brew more potions.¡±


    Myria decided to stay at Nuralie¡¯s place in the artisan quarter during the evenings, and assigned a rotating guard from Central to Nuralie during the day, while Myria worked on securing additional Delver support. Xim, deciding she had no further business at the temple, stayed with me. Unfortunately, Lito decided the two of us needed to be guarded as well, so he set himself up in one of my extra bedrooms. The house was big, so I didn¡¯t feel crowded or anything, but Lito¡¯s presence felt a bit paternal.


    It was early evening by the time Umi-Doo released us, so we all went to have dinner before separating into our two groups. After getting Xim and Lito settled in their guest accommodations I spent the evening meditating, working my aura, and helping Grotto use the mana that we ... acquired from the Artemix group.


    There was eighty-four-thousand mana, which would allow for eighty-four-hundred additional cubic meters of space, assuming we wanted to spend it all on raw size. I had a few other ideas, though, especially since we were about to go on a somewhat lengthy road trip.


    After all, who wanted to sleep on the dirt when we could have more comfortable accommodations?


    First, I added a thousand cubic meters to the top of the main room, creating a vaulted ceiling. This would allow Grotto to begin adding additional size to the obelisk, doing so by creating a new ¡®shell¡¯ that could fit on top of the original. Doing this over time would create an increasingly powerful obelisk with many layers, like a big pointy onion, and each layer could be mana-woven with additional enhancements or functions. The core was currently focused entirely on gathering mana, and Grotto advised that the next layer do the same. After all, more mana gathering helped us snowball the Pocket Delve¡¯s growth even faster.


    I then spent the rest of the mana making three additional rooms, separated by walls, with spaces where doors could be set. I adjoined these rooms to one another, then created a long hallway which led to the obelisk room. That way I could keep any guests separate from the more sensitive areas of the Closet.


    The first room would be focused on lodging, with a basic barracks feel and a couple smaller rooms for changing clothes or whatever other private activities might be required. I planned to rely on the great outdoors as a restroom, since I wasn¡¯t about to try and figure out plumbing and fresh water inside of an enclosed dimensional space in the span of a couple days. I was also able to move the Closet¡¯s entrance to this room, which gave me some ideas about spooky things like disappearing exits and shifting hallways. Those ideas went on The List.


    After speaking with Nuralie for a while about the length of time it took to practice her alchemy and the difficulty of ¡°brewing on the road¡±, I decided the second room could serve as an alchemy lab, at least for the time being. The third room would be a general-purpose practice and training space.


    I spent the next morning acquiring some doors, basic furnishings and supplies, and one sturdier, reinforced door to block off the obelisk room. It probably wouldn¡¯t deter Myria or Lito if they really felt like snooping, but it was an obvious sign that said ¡°off limits¡±.


    After a night of meditation, Delve-shaping, and aura manipulation, I gained another level to my Who Needs a Cleric? aura skill, and a fresh point in Dungeoneering. Working with Grotto on the Delve, in addition to our projects over the last couple of weeks, raised my Bonded Familiar skill to five.


    Satisfied that I had the requisite furnishings and fixtures for my expanded Closet, I spent the afternoon doing something I really should have done earlier.


    I went gear shopping.


    Lito and Myria were happy to provide me with a few recommendations, and they both agreed that my best bet to find quality gear for my ¡°early career¡± was a place called Seinnador¡¯s Combat Regalia. Lito and Xim accompanied me to the store, then moved on to make some purchases of their own while I perused. Lito made it clear that anyone trying to make trouble with me inside of Seinnador¡¯s was ¡°gonna¡¯ get made into a pair of boots.¡±


    Seinnador¡¯s was a larger shop than I¡¯d imagined. I was expecting a cramped space full of racks of weapons and armor, but the floor plan was much cleaner. It was closer to a high-end collector¡¯s boutique than what I imagined as a standard medieval fantasy front. It was about the size of a small department store, gently lit, with rows of neat and clean display cases lined with glow-stones and presenting a variety of different types of equipment. It seemed the idea was for you to pick the particular style of item you¡¯d like, and then it would be custom-made to your specifications. Larger items, like halberds and greatbows, lined the walls behind a lengthy counter that ran along three sides of the shop. The countertop was made of glass, under which a wide array of smaller items, such as daggers, jewelry, and gadgets, were displayed.


    Seinnador himself was a level sixty Delver, equal parts silver and copper. Like his store, he also defied my expectations. He was distinctly not Hiwardian, standing well over seven feet and with a willowy, yet graceful frame. Two small antlers extended out from his scalp, parting a long and lustrous mane of hair the color of red clay, which ran down over a pair of pointed and furred ears, similar to a deer¡¯s. His skin was a deep tan with a reddish hue, and he had a wide, flat nose, much larger than a human¡¯s. He wore an immaculate suit which evoked a sense of forestry and wildlife with organic patterns and leafy edges. He looked up from a ledger as I entered, and watched me approach the counter with a pair of sparkling, slate-gray eyes. There was no one else in the store.


    ¡°Welcome to Seinnador¡¯s Combat Regalia,¡± he said in a smooth voice with slightly musical undertones. ¡°I am the eponymous Seinnador. Whose acquaintance do I have the pleasure of making, this afternoon?¡± He held a hand to his chest, palm up, and gave a small bow as he spoke.


    ¡°Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel,¡± I said, deciding that his formal address was worth a full name in response.


    ¡°Yes, yes, wonderful,¡± he said with a slight grin, managing to sound pleasantly surprised by the information. ¡°I presume that makes you of the Third Layer.¡±


    ¡°Yes, though it¡¯s a recent move. Haven¡¯t had the opportunity to acquaint myself with the new motherland quite yet.¡±


    Seinnador¡¯s eyebrows crept up the slightest bit, and he gazed intently into my eyes.


    ¡°But you have already been touched by the Eye. I see. Yes, yes. So do you as well, it would seem.¡± He chuckled, though I wasn¡¯t precisely sure what the joke was. The sound also caught me a bit flat-footed, as it was made up of more than one tone and created a light harmony.


    He caught my look of confusion, and as I opened a mouth to try and formulate a response he held up a hand to stop me, then bowed again.


    ¡°My sincerest apologies, Esquire Arlo. My comments have danced out of step with you. Yes, yes. Before we proceed, is esquire the title you prefer? One of the Third Layer may also be addressed as low-lord or simply lord in this kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Feel free to call me Arlo.¡±


    ¡°As you will it, Arlo. You are not familiar with the Eye?¡±


    ¡°How about damage? Any holes or tears? Has this boa even lost a feather?¡±


    ¡°You know, now that I think about it, I did fight twelve members of an organized crime ring all at once yesterday. These both came out the other side of that unharmed.¡±


    ¡°A curious way to spend the day, but I am not one to judge. Yes, yes. These items both have a form of the ¡®immutable¡¯ property. It is a durability enhancement with many intriguing uses, but it requires a rather rare essence to craft.¡±


    ¡°What all does it do?¡±


    ¡°It prevents the item from being changed, more or less. There are limits, of course, as with all mana-woven properties. It is similar in structure to different ¡®resistance¡¯ weaves, like fire resistance, pierce resistance, and so on. I like to describe it as reality resistance, though that characterization is somewhat flawed. I¡¯ve yet to find a better term, however.¡± He drummed his lengthy fingers on the counter and stared off into the distance again. ¡°It changes as its concept demands, but changes not for concepts that seek to change it. Perhaps... conceptual resistance?¡±


    My brain did some backflips trying to figure out how that would even work, or what the limits of an ability like that would be.


    ¡°Does dirt being on something really change it though? I mean, this vest can be washed. The dirt isn¡¯t becoming a part of the leather. Does it create some sort of... causality field that prevents anything from gathering within range of creating a molecular bond... or something?¡± I struggled to put my thoughts into words, as I had a no-good-really-bad understanding of subatomic physics and the general science of very small things. My comprehension was also based on rules from an entirely different dimension, so I was assuredly out of my depth.


    ¡°Hmm, I believe you are trying to ascribe scientific principles to a magically imbued item. The practice can be useful for certain types of mana-weaves and item attributes, but at a certain point it all breaks down and leaves the Men of Letters weeping.¡±


    ¡°If this vest is immutable-¡±


    Seinnador held up a finger.


    ¡°Sort of immutable,¡± he corrected, then gestured for me to continue.


    ¡°If this vest is sort of immutable, will it stop an arrow? Or a knife? Does it ignore things like heat generated from friction? Why is it blue, and not black? Or should it be white, since it reflects light, rather than absorbs it?¡±


    ¡°Excellent questions, but you misunderstand the nature of the property. It will do the things you expect a leather vest to do, in addition to the effects listed in its description. The same for the boa.¡±


    I squinted at Seinnador, trying to decide if that meant my items had some sort of entity making conscious decisions about what constituted normal leather-vest things, and what didn¡¯t. Maybe it relied on my own understanding of the item?


    ¡°Perhaps it is better to show you,¡± Seinnador said, seeing me wind up with more questions.


    He walked down the length of the counter to where it was fitted with a hip-height door and opened it, waving for me to join him. Once I was behind the counter, Seinnador waved a hand and the back wall of the store became translucent, exposing a large workshop beyond, which was full of tables and shelves covered with in-progress weapons, armor, and trinkets. A pair of women walked between the tables, taking down notes or depositing jars and pouches of an array of unidentifiable substances next to the projects. Near the back were three beefy men working a forge and hammering away at lengths of metal. There was also a large space cleared of anything, though the stone floor and the wall beyond were riddled with scorch marks, divots, and cracks.


    Seinnador walked through the semi-transparent wall, and I walked behind him, feeling a gentle sensation of pressure as I went through. Once on the other side I looked back, finding the view of the storefront completely unobstructed, as though no wall existed at all.


    It was pretty impressive. I thought I might want to consider the idea for the Closet.


    [It would be a wonderful mechanism for spying on intruders,] Grotto spoke into my mind.[Perhaps it could also hide a small chamber full of mana-monsters. Or maybe a wall full of arrow traps.]


    [No illusory walls full of hidden dangers.]


    [Then what did you want it for?]


    [I thought it might be badass to put a lounge behind it. On one side is a dining hall where guests can enjoy a tasty meal, then the wall melts away to reveal a well-appointed sitting room complete with a fully stocked bar. Coffee and dessert to be served there as well.]


    [Are we building a Delve or a penthouse?]


    [You do what you want with your half, I¡¯ll do what I want with mine. Besides, I already have a penthouse. This will be a magic penthouse.]


    I ignored Grotto¡¯s subsequent grumbling, and followed Seinnador deeper into his workshop.

 Chapter 40: The Ultimate Attack Magic!

    Chapter 40: The Ultimate Attack Magic!


    ¡°Brielle, please take over and watch the front for me,¡± Seinnador said to one of the women working the half-finished gear. She nodded, smiled at me politely, then quickly headed off to her new task. Seinnador continued through the shop, giving the men at the forge a wave as we headed toward the area that looked like the magical equivalent of a munitions range.


    ¡°Oy!¡± one of the men at the forge called out. ¡°We ¡®avin a party today, eh?¡±


    ¡°No demos scheduled,¡± said a second, scowling as he wiped a soot-covered hand across his sweaty brow.


    ¡°Me ears can¡¯t take it!¡± yelled the first.


    ¡°Not going loud,¡± said Seinnador, which seemed to placate the men. ¡°Well... probably not going loud.¡±


    ¡°Ack!¡± spat the first, tossing a hammer down onto his work-bench with a clatter. ¡°Ya know we need to know! I got sensitivities!¡±


    ¡°Cannot be forgin¡¯ Madrin and black-iron when ya gots three types of hells sending mana fluctuations all over,¡± the second grumbled.


    ¡°Sounds like it¡¯s break time to me, bros,¡± said the third, standing up straight and stretching out his back. Unlike the other two men, who were mundane as far as I could tell, the third was a level eleven silver Delver.


    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± said Seinnador. ¡°A rested man reaps no folly of the weary. But Luidis, please stay and assist.¡±


    ¡°Ah, shit,¡± said the third man, Luidis. The other two clapped him on the shoulders and gave him wide smiles before meandering through a door at the back of the shop. Luidis walked over to us, pulling a pair of steam-punk style goggles down from his forehead and over his eyes.


    ¡°Luidis, this is Arlo,¡± Seinnador said, handing me a similar pair of goggles and donning a pair of his own. ¡°Luidis, we¡¯re doing a demo of an immutable weave.¡±


    ¡°Ok, boss man. We don¡¯t have any immutables in the works, though.¡±


    ¡°This one is customer supplied,¡± Seinnador said, waving a hand at me and bowing like a stage magician.


    ¡°What? The vest?¡±


    ¡°And the boa.¡±


    ¡°Why weave immutable onto those?¡± He looked at me as though he was offended at the fact, then seemed to remember I was a customer. ¡°No offense, bro.¡±


    ¡°None taken,¡± I said. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at Luidis¡¯ informal attitude, especially when contrasted by Seinnador, who took the man¡¯s attitude in stride.


    ¡°Alright, no problem,¡± said Luidis. ¡°Gonna¡¯ need you to strip though, bro. Unless you wanna get got.¡±


    ¡°Just the vest and boa,¡± said Seinnador, ¡°if you don¡¯t mind. Please keep on your other attire.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow, but took off the vest and boa, handing them both to Luidis. Just another afternoon spent shirtless with new friends. He took them in his darkly-stained hands and tossed them onto the ground in a pile. Then he stomped on them both with a heavy work boot, grinding his heel into the stone floor. A floor which was covered in all the dust, debris, and likely rodent feces that one normally finds on the unswept floor of an industrial workshop. He even jumped up and down on top of them a time or two, then gave the pile a kick.


    I watched with a sense of stoic detachment, unsure of whether the man was having a sudden mental breakdown.


    ¡°Good enough for round one, boss man?¡± Luidis asked. Seinnador was massaging the bridge of his wide nose with the double-thumbs of one hand.


    ¡°Thank you for your enthusiasm, Luidis, though I wonder if perhaps there was a portion of the demonstration that you forgot?¡±


    ¡°Wazzat?¡±


    ¡°The portion where it is explained to Lord Arlo that his items will not be harmed, despite the vigor with which we will test his unique and irreplaceable items?¡±


    ¡°Why did you say Lord like it¡¯s a big deal, boss man? You know my pa¡¯s a Firelara out in Ghashlain. I can see he¡¯s a Delver, so what else would he be? But, I didn¡¯t forget. Bro looks like a guy with a sense for the dramatic. He¡¯s got a feather boa, right?¡± He turned to me. ¡°You gotta¡¯ like theatrics to wear a boa, yeah?¡±


    I frowned and nodded. He had me pegged on sight.


    ¡°So I figured I¡¯d go for the shock and amazement routine.¡±


    ¡°There is no shock and amazement routine.¡±


    ¡°Well, there should be.¡± Luidis bent down and scooped up the vest. I expected to see a layer of dust and dirt slide off of it miraculously, but nothing of the sort happened. The vest was completely unharmed and entirely clean, as though the violent display had never occurred. The same was true for the boa. ¡°At least I didn¡¯t throw them in the forge, eh?¡±


    Luidis handed the boa back to me, then walked the vest out into the no-man¡¯s-land between us and the wall. He tossed the vest into the air, where it became suspended by an invisible force. He walked to a rack of weaponry next to the forge and pulled down a crossbow half as long as he was tall. He loaded it with a bolt, muscles bulging as he drew back the string while keeping the end of the crossbow on the ground with a boot in its stirrup. He walked back and stopped a couple feet ahead of us, then aimed at the vest.


    There was a deep twang followed near instantaneously with a chock and the vest fluttered slightly. Luidis set the crossbow down and placed his hands on his hips.


    ¡°What mysteries await us, bros?¡± he said, then began walking downrange. Seinnador and I followed him.


    The end of the bolt was lodged deep into the stone wall beyond the vest. The vest itself was, once again, unharmed.


    ¡°Did it... go through the vest?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think ¡®through¡¯ is the right word,¡± said Luidis. ¡°Unless you think of the vest like a tunnel.¡±


    ¡°The purpose of this part of the demonstration is that the item, though seemingly indestructible, will not prevent an amount of harm that would normally bypass the materials from which it is made,¡± said Seinnador. ¡°My wishes are but ash, burned by the prayers of my enemy.¡±


    He seemed to be full of tangentially-related adages.


    ¡°The description did say it would stop an agitated chihuahua, but not much else,¡± I said.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°What¡¯s a chihuahua, bro?¡±


    ¡°A small and bitey canine,¡± said Seinnador. ¡°According to the tooltip, at least.¡±


    ¡°It told you that?¡± I said.


    ¡°I see you have an eye not only for fine equipment, Arlo, but also for cultured magics,¡± said Seinnador.


    ¡°Blowing shit up is a culture I can get behind, bros,¡± said Luidis.


    ¡°As with any magical school, being granted the option to acquire it as an intrinsic skill by the System requires you to have an appropriate attunement, and then to spend time studying the nature of the magic and observing its effects. There are a number of tutors that I can recommend.¡±


    That didn¡¯t really sound like anything I had done, and I¡¯d already picked up both Dimensional Magic and Mystical Magic.


    ¡°That¡¯s the hard way, bro. Tell him about the easy way, boss man.¡±


    ¡°There is no easy way,¡± said Seinnador, furrowing his nose at Luidis.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy if you survive it,¡± said Luidis.


    ¡°What¡¯s the easy way?¡± I asked.


    Seinnador sighed.


    ¡°Again, you must have an appropriate attunement. However, if you are sufficiently...exposed to the effects of a magical school, you may be offered the option to acquire it.¡±


    ¡°What kind of exposure?¡±


    I thought I understood, since I¡¯d gotten Dimensional Magic from having my body torn through space and time to get to Arzia, and Mystical from undergoing the Xor¡¯Drel tribal ritual which channeled enough magical energy through me to alter my physiology. Still, better to ask the question than to assume.


    ¡°You get shot up with elemental spells, bro.¡±


    ¡°There are less painful spells that might be used,¡± said Seinnador. ¡°But the more... invasive, the more likely you are to be offered the skill.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I said. ¡°Can you shoot me with some elemental spells then?¡±


    ¡°I...¡± Seinnador paused and gave me an appraising look. ¡°The egg shall crack its own shell. Yes, yes. I presume you have an appropriate attunement?¡±


    ¡°Dimensional,¡± I said. ¡°I already have Mystical, so it would complete the set.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, going for a mage build?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    ¡°Well, I am afraid that it might be difficult for me to help you in this matter. In my heyday as a Delver I was focused rather heavily on very aggressive attack magic. I fear a level one Delver would be unlikely to survive a single spell.¡±


    I paused to consider my words.


    ¡°How much Fortitude would I need to survive you hitting me with something?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a complicated question. Unarmored and undefended, I assume?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then...¡± I watched as he did some mental calculation. ¡°Perhaps, twenty?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good to go then.¡±


    ¡°Really? What difficulty was your Creation Delve?¡±


    ¡°Platinum.¡±


    ¡°And you already have a Fortitude of twenty?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡±


    No reason to volunteer that it was in fact slightly higher.


    ¡°I thought you were going for a mage build?¡±


    ¡°Not dying seemed like the right move when I spent my points.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not the worst idea. Still. Does a level one platinum even have enough points to get to a Fortitude of twenty?¡±


    ¡°If bro went with Fortitude all the way, he¡¯d get to nineteen, boss man.¡±


    ¡°That still isn¡¯t twenty.¡± Seinnador tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at me. ¡°You were here to buy some equipment, yes?¡±


    ¡°I was. Still am.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see. In that case, perhaps we should discuss some purchases before I accidentally kill you.¡±


    ¡°I can also draft you a will, bro,¡± said Luidis.


    ¡°I thought you were a smith,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m a complex man with many talents and interests.¡±


    ¡°As is your right. Alright then, let¡¯s look at some gear.¡± I took off the thick goggles and rubbed at my eyes where the metal had dug in. They hadn¡¯t hurt, but they had been pretty uncomfortable. ¡°You know, I might be able to give you some design ideas for new eye protection.¡±

 Chapter 41: Weapons, Armor, and Swagger

    Chapter 41: Weapons, Armor, and Swagger


    Trying to convince Seinnador to sell me equipment that made sense with my current stats without giving away that something was unusual with my levels proved impossible. I eventually broke down and simply told him my stat distribution after Seinnador pulled out a very detailed confidentiality agreement that he used with his ¡°most discreet customers¡±.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly a blood oath, but if Seinnador spilled the beans on what I told him then I would become a much richer man. After signing, I had to show the merchant my character screen to prove that I wasn¡¯t delusional. Luidis, fortunately, was absent for this discussion.


    Not only did Seinnador take the information in stride, his eyes lit up as he considered the possibilities. Having a minimum of ten in everything was extremely unusual, and typically only occurred with the absolute most powerful Delvers, who had points to spare. I wasn¡¯t there yet, but that didn¡¯t stop Seinnador from theory-crafting.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t about to wear a full suit of dark-iron plate with a Strength of ten,¡± said Seinnador. ¡°The draw on your mana-veins would be too high, and it¡¯s no good for casters, either. Absorbs a bit of ambient mana, so it is known to interfere with spells. Very popular with mage-hunters for that very reason, though. A suit of Madrin isn¡¯t out of the question.¡± He tilted his head from side to side in consideration. ¡°Of course, there are budgetary concerns with that.¡±


    Seinnador took a sip from a steaming mug of herbal tea. We sat in his office, with Seinnador perched on the edge of a large wooden desk. I had my own mug in front of me which warmed my hands as I held it. I sipped at the brew politely, though the taste was particularly bitter and earthy.


    ¡°How big are these budgetary concerns?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It varies, of course, but the metal for a heavy set alone would run you an emerald chip or so. Then there would be the costs of the mana-weaves. The price of those are limitless for the most part, though even with your attribute potentials many would still be out of reach. Certain weaves require the user to be particularly robust in particular areas.¡±


    ¡°An emerald chip wouldn¡¯t break the bank,¡± I said. I had four. ¡°But I want to make sure that I can move well. Also, my Strength isn¡¯t at ten yet and I¡¯m about to head out on an expedition. Not sure how much room for training there will be.¡±


    ¡°Well, Madrin is heavier than steel, but even a full plate set wouldn¡¯t burden you much with a Strength of seven. As for mobility, the articulation we are able to achieve in the joints and other areas would leave you quite well off. If it were a matter of moving silently, then a lighter armor would be worth considering; but for you, I think a set of Madrin plate would be ideal. However, as you mentioned, there is the matter of your departure timeline. A set of plate requires a goodly amount of customization and adjustment for a proper fit. There are items that I could hand you ¡°off-the-shelf¡± as it were, but it might pinch or pull or restrict movement in certain places.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we save that for next time. What makes sense with the schedule that I have?¡±


    ¡°I have Madrin scale that can be used for a mail set and crafted to your measurements in time, assuming we do a rush job. Fortunately for you, the busy season is actually before the Creation Delve, as most houses make purchases to give as gifts at ceremonies or celebrations for the newly minted Delver in the family. This is the relative dead season.¡±


    It suddenly made more sense that I was the only one in the store.


    ¡°What about the ones who... don¡¯t make it?¡±


    ¡°We give a full refund, of course. Yes, yes. Few things crafted for level one Delvers are truly bespoke. Most can be resold without much effort. There is a markdown for anything that has custom engraving, but I believe that honoring those who fall within the Delves and easing the burden on their families is worth more than a few extra notes at the end of the month.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very gracious of you.¡±


    ¡°Reputation is the currency of those with full bellies, and I¡¯m a far cry from starving.¡± He stared off into the distance. ¡°Regardless, a Madrin scale set would provide adequate protection against blades and piercing weapons, but would leave you vulnerable to blunt attacks. Things like maces, hammers, and axes to a lesser degree. However, that is what gambeson is for. I would prefer to make you a custom arming doublet, but again, the time constraint.¡±


    Seinnador drummed his lengthy fingers against the desk.


    ¡°You know what,¡± he said. ¡°I have something a bit experimental I¡¯ve been working on for under-armor padding. Having someone take it for a field test might prove enlightening, if you would be willing to return and detail your experiences with it. I can have it ready on time and I wouldn¡¯t even need to add any weaves. Not free, of course, but I can give you a deal since it hasn¡¯t been put through its paces yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure how much I want to risk my life on a gamble like that. But, we can definitely take a look.¡±


    ****


    The ¡°experiment¡± was a type of gel that was bonded to layers of self-repairing leather. Seinnador produced it in sheets which could be cut and sewn into a variety of configurations. The edges where the sheets were cut were sealed with a precise application of heat. He¡¯d already produced a few test-sets in different sizes to be worn under armor.


    As proof-of-concept he had Luidis¨Cwho I was informed had a Strength of ten¨Ctake a smithing hammer to several ceramic plates protected by different materials. On its own the ceramic shattered easily, sending shards scattering for dozens of feet in every direction. The force of the breakage would have probably caused a few of the sharp pieces to cut me if it weren''t for the damage reduction I¡¯d gained from Fortitude.


    Beneath an unenchanted gambeson, the tile still shattered, though the damage was less catastrophic. A gambeson with a basic protective mana-weave resulted in a few cracks, but the plate was mostly in one piece.


    When he hit the plate protected by the gel, it was unharmed.


    ¡°As you can see, the gel is very resilient against impact.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the catch? If it¡¯s this effective, shouldn¡¯t you be able to sell it easily?¡±


    ¡°Commonly used materials and mana-weaves have a long history of reliability and, more importantly, longevity. The gel is untested insofar as how reliable it will remain after extended durations of use. The gel is based on a particular Delve technology I acquired from some antiqa, and I purchased it only a few months ago from a gold Delver for a rather substantial sum. In addition to the upfront expense, it isn¡¯t cheap to produce. The gel itself has a high density of ruby-grade chips integrated into it and the leather to which it is bonded also requires specialized weaves. It¡¯s a premium item with no track record.¡±


    ¡°And you want me to be the guinea pig?¡±


    ¡°Think of it this way. I¡¯ll sell this to you at...¡± Seinnador took a deep breath. ¡°Cost. Plus ten percent. It¡¯s an outrageous discount, especially for something of this quality. And when I have a monopoly, no less.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. You¡¯re ¡®practically giving it away!¡¯ I¡¯m just the lucky guy who wandered in when you decided to start soliciting Delvers for feedback.¡± I knew this song and dance pretty well. I¡¯d worked retail for a decade before getting my law degree.


    Mana Cost: Variable (Proportional to the mana being disrupted. Initial cost: 50% of mana disrupted. Higher levels of Mystical Magic increase efficiency).


    Cooldown: None


    Requirements: Mystical Magic


    Explosion!: Waga na wa Megumin!


    Range: (33) meters. Size and intensity scale with Intelligence. Range scales with level in Physical Magic.


    Mana Cost: 10. This spell can be charged at a cost of 10 mana per second.


    Cooldown: 1 hour


    Requirements: Dimensional Magic, Physical Magic


    Oblivion Orb: For the briefest moment you create a small dimensional tear in the shape of an orb in your palm, which transports whatever it touches to another plane of existence. Higher levels of Intelligence increase the size of the orb.


    Mana Cost: 5


    Cooldown: None


    Requirements: Dimensional Attunement, Dimensional Magic


    Shortcut: Travel through the cracks between dimensions and teleport to a place you can see within (31.5) meters. Higher levels of Dimensional Magic increase range and may unlock new effects.


    Mana Cost: 10


    Cooldown: None


    Requirements: Dimensional Magic 10


    Dispel gave me a bit of control, mitigation, and utility. Oblivion Orb was primarily a melee attack that was best used for hitting critical areas. Its ranged, mana-shaped version was useful, but way too mana hungry to rely on at the moment. Explosion! was non-discriminatory ranged area-of-effect. The cooldown made it more of a big one-shot in combat.


    I was missing a reliable, bread-and-butter ranged attack spell. The Wand of Piercing Force was a decent stop-gap, but had a hard cap of ten casts per charge. Seinnador also informed me that the spell cast by the wand wouldn¡¯t benefit from my skills and stats, but rather the quality of the mana-weave. Utilizing wands with stronger spells and weaves required the user to possess the stats required to cast the base spell. So, it was useful for now, but I would outgrow it eventually.


    Then again, I had been doing pretty well getting up in people¡¯s faces, and there were only ten active skill slots. I considered that I might be better served by focusing more on what I was already doing, rather than trying to adapt to a ranged style. Having options was good, but specialization to some degree would enhance my potency.


    As for the armor, the main thing it left to be desired was the clear vulnerability to my face and hands. When I asked why this was necessary, Seinnador explained that many spells required exposed skin, dextrous manipulation, or clear vocal and expressive communication to maximize their effect. One example was the finger snap for Explosion!, which would be difficult to pull off in gauntlets.


    To distract me from my apprehension over my beautiful mug becoming the main target of my enemy¡¯s ire, Seinnador pointed out a series of small loops that would allow me to wrap my boa around my shoulders without having it fly off or get yanked away. The armor was also slim enough that my C¡¯thonic vest could fit over top. I could be well-protected, without sacrificing style.


    In the same vein, Seinnador made sure to inquire about my color preferences. Though he was unable to take any real aesthetic design requests into consideration due to the timeline, coloring the armor was apparently a trivial matter. I shrugged and asked him to make it match the violet and ocean tones of my vest and boa, then left the rest up to him.


    For my eyes, Seinnador took some of the design suggestions I¡¯d given him for new goggles to heart, and crafted a pair of Madrin-crystal specs that looked sort of like the kind of glasses you get at a gun range, but with a bit more panache. They had a strap that fastened around my head to keep them in place, and had a pinkish-purple hue to the lenses.


    ¡°They¡¯ll help you with flying debris, glancing attacks, and people trying to poke you in the eye, but a well-placed arrow will still ruin your day. They also provide limited protection against bright light without compromising vision in dimmer areas.¡±


    When I tried them on I was surprised to see that, despite their color, they didn¡¯t tint the world with a magenta hue. Magic was pretty great.


    Altogether I was amazed that Seinnador could get all the gear ready for me by the time I had to leave. He was happy to tell me that his entire workshop had been dedicated to the effort, while heavily insinuating that I should keep him in mind for future purchases whenever I came to report about the performance of the body-suit.


    ¡°Speaking honestly, young Delvers are an investment. While I primarily deal in lower-level Delver goods, I¡¯m perfectly capable of producing premium wares. Nonetheless, it is difficult to break into that market since everyone is already well established. There are only so many high level Delvers. Yes, yes.¡± He let out a heavy sigh, then gave me a grin. ¡°I¡¯ll also lose out on data if you die before telling me how the items perform. On the other hand, your death would be a data point on its own.¡±


    He gazed once more into the middle distance, which I was convinced he did only to add drama to his next line.


    ¡°Death is but another lesson for the living.¡±

 Chapter 42: Ashe, Ember, and Cole

    Chapter 42: Ashe, Ember, and Cole


    While my gear was in the works I rounded out the day buying a variety of steel weapons from a mundane weapons shop, along with a couple shields. I also grabbed a couple different bows and all the arrows an irritable fletcher would sell me, which was a few hundred. All of that got tossed into my inventory for me to play around with later.


    I had the cash, I needed to figure out what I vibed with, and it wasn¡¯t that expensive to buy non-magical items. Plus I had the inventory space with my recent Closet expansion.


    Ok, maybe my concept of money had been slightly distorted by my new wealth, since throwing down a decade¡¯s worth of peasant wages was what I considered ¡®cheap¡¯.


    I went back to my place and spent the evening and most of the next day training, snagging another plus one to Strength and Speed. I did my best to avoid Lito as I did so, but couldn¡¯t help but get a few perplexed looks when he caught me mid-pump. I wasn¡¯t about to sacrifice gainz to keep the Guardian from thinking me eccentric, or perhaps misguided as to how Delvers got stronger. Closing the deal with Seinnador had also gotten me a point of Charisma and offered the intrinsic skill Mercantile, which I seriously considered, but decided to pass on for the moment.


    I would have liked to train more before the journey, but I was pretty happy with how my stats were looking.


    Strength 8


    Agility 2


    Speed 6


    Fortitude 22


    Intelligence 10


    Wisdom 10


    Charisma 4


    Luck 2


    I mentally updated my power rating to sixty-four. Considering my level, I¡¯d normally be a PR 26, a discrepancy that should continue taking people by surprise. I reminded myself to stay aware of that fact, in case there were any other unique cases out there.


    The evening before our departure I went to Nuralie¡¯s alchemy shop and helped her install a basic workstation in the Closet. She insisted that I move the entrance to the alchemy room for ventilation reasons. She had a few purification wards that she could place above the various beakers, alembics, and one straight-up witch¡¯s cauldron, but said that there was no good replacement for fresh air.


    The conversation reminded me that I didn¡¯t know how quickly the space would be depleted of oxygen if we were forced to seal it and stay inside for an extended period. I mentioned it offhand to Nuralie and she decided there was a fifty-fifty chance that a purification ward similar to her own would remedy the issue, though some experimentation would be needed. Maybe I could just build a greenhouse? A really big greenhouse. Another one for The List.


    The morning of, I traveled to Seinnador¡¯s with Myria and Nuralie in tow, each of whom had a few last-minute purchases to make. Seinnador was kind enough to open up early, and we walked through the doors to his surface-level establishment just as the sun was beginning to peek out from the horizon. The east-facing mountainside gave a gorgeous view of the golden spectacle, and I couldn¡¯t help but take a few minutes to observe the distant star shining through an unpolluted and crystal-clear atmosphere.


    Seinnador helped me don my new equipment, and I was forced to do a little modeling for the trio.


    ¡°Wow!¡± said Myria. ¡°Looking good for a newbie, Arlo.¡± She stepped around me as Seinnador took notes for potential adjustments on my next visit.


    ¡°It¡¯s colorful,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°Looks expensive.¡±


    ¡°True. I didn¡¯t think Creation Delves paid so well, platinum or not. How¡¯d you manage this?¡±


    ¡°Now now, ladies,¡± Seinnador chided, ¡°a gentleman shouldn¡¯t be asked the value of his armor. Yes, yes.¡±


    Myria smiled and stuck her tongue out at Seinnador behind his back.


    ¡°Nor should a lady make such faces,¡± he said without turning around.


    She ignored the mana-weaver and put a thumb on the handle of the mace hanging at my hip.


    ¡°Planning to try out smashing in some skulls?¡±


    ¡°Needed to have a fallback,¡± I said. ¡°Mana doesn¡¯t grow on trees. Unless it does. Does it?¡±


    Myria gave me a quizzical look.


    ¡°Technically it grows in trees,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°I just thought they absorbed it,¡± said Myria.


    Pause.


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    Having finished my adjustments, Seinnador helped Myria and Nuralie select a few ready-made items. Nuralie picked up a pair of shiny black gloves made from the skin of a giant serpent creature. They boasted several useful qualities¨Cwaterproof, fireproof, corrosion resistant, among others¨Cand fit snugly around her fingers. Myria picked up a pair of rings that served to stabilize her body while performing acrobatics. We¡¯d all been given a discretionary budget for ¡°necessary items¡± by Umi-Doo, and everyone seemed determined to spend it.


    I¡¯d sort of forgotten about it, so I hastily bought a bundle of paralytic arrows and a half-dozen of what Seinnador called ¡°Dazzlers.¡± They were some sort of magic flash-bang, and that seemed like a good thing to have.


    ¡°Planning on becoming an ambush assassin?¡± Myria asked, seeing my purchases.


    ¡°Well, I already have a pretty cool hood to make me seem mysterious and foreboding. Might as well complete the package. I don¡¯t suppose you know where I can buy a tanto?¡±


    Myria snorted at the shitty joke in a way that made her overwhelmingly cute, and I had to shake off a sudden wave of attraction like I hadn¡¯t felt since the first time I met her in the offices above the Creation Delve. I didn¡¯t think it was magical in nature this time, though. Did she know what a tanto was, or was the word translated to something that made sense in context?


    We made our way to the meeting point along the main street that led from Formation down the mountain and into Foundation proper. Xim, Lito, and a trio of unfamiliar Delvers awaited us.


    Two of them were women, clearly identical twins. The first wore a light, scale armor suit similar to my own, though it was gold and bronze in color. Her white and gray Hiwardian hair was tied up in a bun, and she lounged on a bench with her arms spread wide over the top of the backrest. She had bright blue eyes which were somewhat lidded, but studied me as I approached.


    The second had on a set of what at first appeared to be form-fitting travel clothes, though the neutral-toned jacket and leather riding pants were thick and sturdy. I suspected the clothes were a disguised set of protective gear. Her own hair was woven into a single long braid that hung over one shoulder. She stood next to her more obviously armored twin and followed her gaze toward me.


    The third was a slim-built man who stood at the exact same height as the second woman and had uncannily similar features, though distinctly masculine. He had a short, neat beard, the same dirty-white color that all three had up top, and wore a buckled crimson tunic that came down to his knees. He was speaking with Lito and paid no mind to our approach.


    When Lito saw me, he looked me over and grunted.


    ¡°You look like you want everyone on the battlefield to know you¡¯re there,¡± he said.


    ¡°I do have a sort of presence to me.¡±


    Lito tapped a finger on the bench and fidgeted with his cigarette case in his offhand.


    ¡°Nuralie can just stay inside the Closet,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re asking since a Fortitude above ten provides enough stamina and regen that we can run through the day with minimal breaks.¡±


    Lito nodded.


    ¡°The portal will open wherever you are?¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°When you go inside and close it,¡± said Xim, ¡°does it open back in the same place where you entered?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°What if you go inside while on something that¡¯s moving, like the barge? If you close the portal, does the exit stay where the boat is while it moves, or will the portal open back over the river where the barge was when you closed it?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°I have no idea.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re taking a wagon down to the docks,¡± said Lito. ¡°You should experiment and figure it out on the way.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing.¡±


    ¡°After our stay in Arsenal, we¡¯ll run south to the Northern pass into the Ravvenblaq thundry. It¡¯s about a hundred-and-twenty-five kilometers, so we should make that in a day if we continue moving a bit after dark.


    That statement made me take a step back. Assuming we were moving for sixteen hours, that math¡¯d out to an average uninterrupted pace of around five miles per hour. Not exactly a speedy jog, but that was the length of a triple-marathon and I somehow doubted that we¡¯d be staying on well-paved roads with helpful attendants handing us Gatorade and energy bars the whole time. We were running into mountains. The terrain would likely go from shitty wagon trails to shittier wagon trails over big ass hills.


    ¡°How much are we getting paid for this?¡± said Cole.


    ¡°Umi-Doo will owe us each a favor,¡± said Ember, fussing more anxiously at her braid. ¡°Plus an emerald chip.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need the favor that bad,¡± said Ashe, shifting to set her elbows onto her golden thighs with a clink. ¡°An emerald chip is nice... but running. Ugh.¡±


    ¡°I dunno,¡± I said. ¡°Umi-Doo¡¯s got a pretty good library.¡±


    ¡°He does,¡± said Myria with a distant look and a smirk.


    ¡°Once we make the pass,¡± said Lito, ignoring the grumbling, ¡°we¡¯ll turn west and follow the south side of the mountains for about seventy-five kilometers. This is where we will meet up with the Ravvenblaq group, consisting of the Ravvenblaq Thundralkes, Ealdric the Third, and Nola, along with the Xor¡¯Drel chiefs, Drel¡¯Gethed and Xorna. These four will serve as the core of our expedition heading into the mountains since they¡¯re all B-tier Delvers. Ealdric and Nola¡¯s son Varrin will also be with them.¡±


    ¡°I love power couples,¡± said Cole.


    I quickly ran the math in my head. Lito¡¯s group were all level twenty gold, which gave them a PR of 98. Ealdric and Nola were level twenty-one platinums, which was a PR of 186, while Xorna and Drel¡¯gethed were level forty-three with what I expected was thirty gold and thirteen silver, giving them a PR of 164. Lito¡¯s group would all fall into the D-tier of Hiward-official Delver classifications, while level one platinums like Xim and Nuralie were in F-tier. The tier names were pretty insulting toward the lower end, but maybe the letter-based grading system didn¡¯t carry the same cultural connotations in Hiward as it did in many cultures back on Earth.


    With my own current stats, I was in E-tier.


    So far, I¡¯d only encountered two Delvers who would be considered A-tier: Umi-Doo, and the mysterious blue-haired woman with the alabaster-hand spell. They were both level ninety, and their presences had been enormous to my soul sight. I shuddered to imagine meeting an S-tier.


    From what I¡¯d seen so far, there was a big leap in capability between average members of each tier. Typhoon had been C-tier and was able to fight off both Myria and Lito simultaneously. I was able to go toe-to-toe with the entire Artemix party, who were all F-tier, despite being level ten. Copper Delves were pretty trash for stat rewards.


    Of course, I had some advantages in that fight, like Artemix not wanting to kill me, and fighting me inside of my own personal dimensional space inhabited by a blood-thirsty Delve core with mind-control powers, but still.


    Thinking of Grotto, I hadn¡¯t heard much from the little murder-ball in a day or so. He was busy constructing the new Obelisk layer and I¡¯d been giving him some space. Still, I thought I better check up on him to make sure he wasn¡¯t doing anything too nefarious.


    ¡°It¡¯s then a twenty-five-kilometer hike north through wild mountain-land to make it to the coordinates for The Calvani Caverns. Any questions?¡±


    ¡°What do we expect to find at the caverns?¡± asked Ember.


    ¡°Myria gave you the rundown when recruiting you, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Sure, but I like hearing what you think, Lito.¡±


    The two of them shared a strange look between them, and Ashe did a bad job hiding a smile as she watched whatever unspoken communication was going on.


    Myria had made an offhand comment about Lito ¡°kissing the wrong one¡± after our meeting with Umi-Doo, but I¡¯d thought that was just a tease. After all, Ashe and Ember looked cosmetically similar, but their demeanors were strikingly different. Ashe spread herself out in what my mock-trial coach would have called power-poses and dominated her bench with open body language. She was also quick to joke and, from what little I¡¯d seen, a smile wasn¡¯t ever far from her lips. Ember stood stiffly upright and her comments and expressions were much more subdued. She¡¯d even gone to lengths to disguise the fact that she had armor equipped, whereas Ashe wore it proudly.


    I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d accidentally kissed Cole.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know for certain, but most likely there will be a group of Delvers unaffiliated with any noble house,¡± said Lito. ¡°We¡¯ve gone up against a pair of level thirty golds, but can¡¯t say for certain whether that¡¯s the full depth of their talent pool. I find it unlikely they have anyone more powerful, especially since they were sending dregs like the Artemix group after Arlo, but there¡¯s evidence that the group involved in this mess has been pulling strings at a major scale.¡±


    ¡°So there might be a powerful figurehead or leader,¡± said Ember.


    ¡°Possibly.¡±


    ¡°Worried we can¡¯t handle an A-tier?¡± said Ashe.


    ¡°Oh, if it were just us we¡¯d be fucked,¡± said Cole. ¡°But with the Xor¡¯Drels and the Ravvenblaqs, a single A-tier shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡± He shifted his weight, moving to a contrapposto stance. ¡°Assuming the leader is just a single bossy A-tier that¡¯s sent all their minions off and left themselves suicidally unguarded.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the main thing that worries me,¡± said Ember.


    ¡°Our group will have very competent scouts,¡± said Lito. ¡°If we recon and it looks like more than we can handle, we back off and send word to Umi-Doo. He can rally someone more suited.¡±


    ¡°Right now all the big boys and girls have better things to do,¡± said Myria. ¡°But I¡¯m sure they¡¯d be happy to swing by if we find them a worthy playmate.¡±


    Lito looked around the group, but no one else volunteered a question.


    ¡°If that¡¯s everything,¡± said Lito, rolling up his map, ¡°let¡¯s get ourselves on a boat.¡±

 Chapter 43: The Eye of Samlia

    Chapter 43: The Eye of Sam''lia


    The portal to the Pocket Closet would travel with the wagon while it was open. The portal exit would not travel with the wagon while it was closed and I was inside. This led to a mildly embarrassing moment where I stumbled out into the middle of the busy street and had to jog to catch up with the group.


    We had two small cabins on the barge. Cole and Ember would stay in one, while everyone else would sleep inside the Pocket Closet barracks, with the entrance located inside the second cabin.


    A horde of suntanned men and women labored to load the vessel with crates of goods as we boarded. All of them did their best to avoid looking anyone in our group in the eyes, and essentially acted as though we didn¡¯t exist while simultaneously doing everything they could to ensure their presence didn¡¯t offend us. Moments like this reminded me that most Delvers were nobility.


    ¡°Welcome aboard! Welcome, welcome,¡± said the captain, who scurried out to greet us the moment we approached the ship. He was short and plump and wore a fancy blue doublet and matching tudor flat cap. The man looked like he hadn¡¯t done a single day¡¯s worth of manual labor in his entire life.


    ¡°It is truly a privilege to have so many men and women of your great stature joining us for this voyage,¡± he said, giving us all a saccharine smile and bowing slightly as he spoke. ¡°I have endeavored to make your accommodations as comfortable as possible. Although my humble ship is only able to provide a modest measure of luxury, I assure you I have gone to great efforts to ensure your privacy and have tasked two of my brightest crewmen with providing you anything you need. I¡¯ve also taken the liberty of opening a crate of the finest vintage I trade in, a lovely merlot favored by the crown prince himself!¡±


    ¡°Only one crate?¡± said Ashe.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have a second delivered immediately if you find it to your liking,¡± the captain said, smiling easily. He was obviously used to catering to indulgent requests. ¡°One of my primary trades is in spirits, so I have a little¨Cor a lot¨Cof just about everything on board. I¡¯m happy to provide anything that you desire.¡±


    Lito gave Ashe a withering stare.


    ¡°Please ignore her, Captain Mot. If you sought to truly slake her thirst she might ruin you.¡±


    ¡°The offer is on the table, nonetheless. Central was insistent that I spare no expense while hosting.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem like something Umi-Doo would do,¡± said Ember.


    ¡°Dalton probably wrote a blank check to try and get one over on the old Sorcerer,¡± said Cole.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have one of everything,¡± said Ashe.


    ¡°No,¡± said Lito, ¡°you won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Come on now, Smokey, don¡¯t ruin the fun. Unless you¡¯re afraid to drink with me again?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re all afraid to drink with you,¡± said Ember.


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± said Myria.


    Cole rolled his eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you wanna make out with her.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t threaten me with a good time, Myri,¡± Ashe said, sauntering up next to the dark-skinned woman.


    Lito frowned and rubbed his temples.


    ¡°Just show us to the cabins, please.¡±


    ****


    Once we were settled, Nuralie began working on her alchemy while Lito chain-smoked on the deck and became deeply engaged in conversation with Cole. Myria and Ashe received their wine, along with a few different bottles of various other alcoholic beverages, and joined Xim, Ember, and I in the training room I¡¯d created.


    The room was sparse, but I¡¯d assigned the portion of my inventory replete with varying lethal instruments to appear inside the space. As a result, the walls of the room were lined with steel straight swords, rapiers, cutlasses, greatswords, daggers, various other specialized blades, spears, halberds, pikes, hammers, axes, maces, bows, a couple different shields, and a whole fuckton of arrows. They floated at chest-height, held aloft by whatever invisible force kept my items in stasis. There was some amount of ¡°oohs¡± and ¡°aahs¡± at the sight, but the novelty of the effect quickly wore off in the eyes of the magically-jaded Delvers.


    I was then able to convince the group to start showing me the ropes of the different weapons. This quickly got out of hand as the group of supernaturally-talented women began having heated discussions over the advantages of their own chosen implements, and maligned those wielded by the others.


    Well, it was mostly Myria and Ashe, whose liberal imbibement inflamed their passions, while Ember calmly commented only when she could provide insight. Xim was rotating through each of the weapons, reducing the crate the wine arrived in down to ever finer degrees of splinters, along with a few empty barrels that had been acquired from...somewhere. For demonstration purposes.


    I eventually managed to begin the embarrassing process of displaying my complete lack of expertise to the women, one weapon at a time. I¡¯d never been too concerned with making a fool of myself, and I¡¯d never had much of a problem with nerves around the opposite sex, like some of my friends had, but this was like a panel of expert biologists watching an adult toddler draw a picture of mitosis with crayons. There was no real excuse for me to be this bad, especially since I was a friggin Delver. My pimped out armor was probably making me seem even more inept.


    Was I a clown? The Delver jester? The cartoon character that survives having an anvil dropped on their head, but can¡¯t catch a goddamn mouse to save their life? What the fuck was I doing?


    ¡°Wow, Arlo,¡± said Ashe. ¡°Did you learn to use anything while training for the Creation Delve?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not constructive, Ashe,¡± said Ember. ¡°The first step to recovery is acknowledging that you need help.¡±


    ¡°Recovery from what?¡±


    ¡°From being bad at...¡± Ember gestured vaguely at me, ¡°...everything.¡±


    ¡°Arlo¡¯s not bad at punching things,¡± Xim offered. ¡°But his main strength is survival.¡±


    ¡°Do any of them feel more comfortable to you, Arlo?¡± said Myria.


    I took a deep breath, shaking off the nerves and the mini internal meltdown.


    ¡°There¡¯s a classic appeal to swords, but I¡¯m not sure they¡¯re for me. I think I¡¯d need a lot of training before I could wield one without accidentally hurting myself or someone else.¡±


    ¡°How bright is it, mister ¡®I don¡¯t know what changes to look out for¡¯?¡±


    I ignored the jab and peered around the deck.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Obviously not as bright as it is during the day, but I can make out most things. Look, I don¡¯t know. Where I come from...¡± I stopped myself, remembering that Nuralie wasn¡¯t in on the Secret. ¡°I figured nights here were just bright. I didn¡¯t know it might be from some special magic eyeballs I got from a ritual.¡±


    ¡°Can you see the cliffs?¡± asked Xim. ¡°Not just the tops where they block the sky, but the faces.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Can you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure. How about you, Nuralie?¡±


    Pause.


    ¡°Yes. Sort of.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you ask?¡±


    ¡°Nuralie¡¯s a Loson. They¡¯ve lived in swamps with canopies that block out the sky for eons. All of them can see pretty well in the dark. In the Third Layer the day-night cycle works... differently than it does here in the First. Most of us native to the Third have some level of night-vision. But I bet if you ask any of the Hiwardians here they¡¯d say it was a pretty dark night, and none of them would be able to see the cliffs unless they¡¯re augmented by something. Like a Delver skill or some other magic.¡±


    ¡°Ok, so maybe I have better sight in the dark because of the eyes. Or maybe Hiwardians have naturally bad eyesight. I¡¯m not Hiwardian, so I don¡¯t have much of a baseline there.¡±


    Xim shrugged.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    Still, I liked the idea of seeing in the dark. When I thought about it, I hadn¡¯t ever been in an environment I found to be truly dark since I left the Delve.


    ¡°So what about the other two categories?¡±


    ¡°¡®Reveals¡¯ is a sort of extension of the first, but there¡¯s some nuance. It not only lets you see things that others cannot, but also lets you see through things that otherwise shouldn¡¯t be there.¡±


    ¡°What? Like illusions?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s a pretty concrete example. There are stories of those who could also reveal things like lies, or divine accurate information from sources that were faulty. More of an intangible reveal. Beyond that, revealing also allows you to reveal what you see to others.¡±


    ¡°Right there in the name, I guess. Not sure if I¡¯ve revealed anything so far.¡±


    ¡°Something to think about, then. As for the third, the Eye ¡®embraces¡¯ by imparting a portion of its own domain onto all those it sees.¡±


    ¡°It does what now?¡±


    ¡°I probably could have said that better. For example, the Eye is how we travel to and from the Third Layer. All of the Third Layer lies under the gaze of the Eye and everything under the gaze of the Eye lies within the Third Layer. To step into the First, we beseech the Eye to turn away from us. When we wish to return to the Third, we ask it to look upon us again.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of creepy, no offense. I mean, it¡¯s creepy in a cool way. Or, that is, things other people find creepy I find cool a lot of times. Except for creepy things like people being creepy in a pervy kind of way. So I don¡¯t find it creepy, except in a cool way. Shit, just ignore all statements I¡¯ve made in the last ten seconds. It seems neat. The Eye does neat things.¡±


    Xim laughed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I get it. As far as what embracing can do for a person gifted by the Eye, it varies. I¡¯ve heard stories of people who could create a sort of domain that they could will other people into. The person affected would still be visible and exist to everyone outside of the domain, but the laws of reality might become distorted for that person. Like never-ending hallways, or stairs that always take you to the same floor no matter how many times you climb them. Every pebble on the ground appearing as large as a mountain, though you could still step on them without growing any larger.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like dream logic. That¡¯s also a very scary ability. And not in an ¡®I think scary things are cool¡¯ kind of way. Legitimately scary.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very rare, if anyone has ever actually had that ability. I¡¯ve only heard legends.¡±


    ¡°Well, if I ever accidentally create a mind-warping dreamscape and abduct unwitting victims into it, I¡¯ll let you know.¡± My mind turned uneasily to the Pocket Delve. ¡°As far as seeing things others can¡¯t...¡± I reached down and drew my amulet from beneath my armor.


    Traveler¡¯s Amulet


    This is an evolving item.


    Current Level: Crumb-Cruncher


    Effects:


    1: It¡¯s stylish.


    2: Soul-Sight: You can perceive the strength of the souls around you. This effect is set to the lowest setting by default. You can intensify it by concentrating, but be careful. Some souls are better seen from a distance.


    Make ¡°Soul-Sight¡± your own to unlock this amulet¡¯s next effect.


    Would the Eye¡¯s gift let me unlock the next ability for this amulet?

 Chapter 44: We Cant Stop Here!

    Chapter 44: We Can''t Stop Here!


    ¡°Cool necklace,¡± said Xim. ¡°Get that from Seinnador as well?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve had this the entire time. Even back in the Creation Delve.¡±


    Xim cocked her head to the side.


    ¡°Like, in your pocket?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve been wearing it.¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± she said, ¡°for most of the time I¡¯ve been around you, you haven¡¯t been very fond of wearing a shirt. I think I would have noticed something like that dangling around your neck. It¡¯s not really subtle.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not sure. I forget about it until I remember I have it, and it¡¯s like it suddenly appears. I never remember it getting in my way or even feeling it on my skin. It sort of melts away from my perception. Maybe it does the same to everyone else?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s... pretty weird. Where¡¯d you get it?¡±


    ¡°It was my purchase from the gear shop at the beginning of the Creation Delve.¡±


    She frowned.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t offered any perception-warping amulets. What else does it do?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s how I can tell what types of Delves people have done. It gives me an ability called Soul-Sight. There¡¯s probably more to it than just seeing if someone has spent their time in higher-difficulty Delves, but I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°Mind if I inspect it?¡±


    I opened my mouth to agree, but was interrupted by a loud thud as something heavy hit the deck just in front of us. All three of us jumped at the sound and I immediately sprung to my feet, followed quickly by Xim and Nuralie.


    A dark shape began to rise up, its form shrouded in what first appeared like a long robe. What I thought was the hem began to flow outward, until it unfurled into a pair of leathery wings, spanning twenty feet across. A creature stood before us, tall and lean with giant black eyes and a wide mouth sporting two rows of sharp teeth. Its body was covered in short brown fur, though it wore a loose shirt and torn pants made of rough-spun fabric.


    I pulled out my wand with my left hand and prepared to Oblivion Orb the shit out of it with my right. Xim drew her scepter from her inventory and Nuralie produced a long knife, stepping back to put Xim and me between herself and the creature. It was a sensible move. Nuralie didn¡¯t strike me as a frontliner.


    It opened its mouth as if to speak... or maybe to lunge forward and take a chomp out of us.


    I really wanted it to say ¡°I¡¯m Batman.¡±


    It did not.


    What it did say was something like ¡°Ghurrrrrglech!¡± before having a coughing fit and collapsing to its knees. One hand gripped its abdomen, and I noticed a dark, wet stain on the shirt.


    ¡°I- I think it¡¯s injured,¡± I said.


    ¡°What is it?¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°A Chovali maybe?¡± said Xim. ¡°But I¡¯ve never seen one before.¡±


    ¡°Chovali?¡± I said. ¡°Like the colony we¡¯re supposed to dock at?¡±


    Xim nodded. I watched the creature closely, but stowed my wand and approached. I knelt down in front of it, close enough to reach out and touch, trusting my durability to handle any potential tricks.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you need help?¡±


    The creature looked up at me with its large, dark eyes, and nodded. It struggled again to say something that resulted in another series of wet coughs and it collapsed to its side.


    ¡°Xim, it...¡± Him? Her? ¡°They need healing. Nuralie, can you go grab Lito? The captain as well.¡±


    Nuralie nodded and disappeared silently into the night. Xim knelt next to me and reached out to move the creature¡¯s hand from the wound.


    It was a massive bite mark. Whatever had gotten to them had taken a whole chunk of tummy as large as a bowling ball with it. Blood streamed out, quickly forming a pool on the deck.


    ¡°This looks recent,¡± she said. ¡°Very recent.¡± She placed a hand on the Chovali¡¯s chest and golden light went down her arm and into their body. The bleeding slowed and the flesh around the wound began to scar over, but the large mass of gut that was missing did not miraculously reappear.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can...¡± Xim trailed off, her hand hovering over the Chovali¡¯s chest.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°You can¡¯t heal them?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I can keep them alive for a while, but they¡¯re missing organs.¡±


    The creature spat blood on the ground, then looked up at Xim.


    ¡°Your bedside manner... it is not good, yes?¡± It said in a layered, raspy voice. Its mouth curled up in what might have been a smile, though it looked quite sinister.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been told I¡¯m pretty blunt,¡± Xim said, returning the ¡®smile¡¯. ¡°If I were more advanced maybe I could... Wait! Cole might be able to help.¡±


    I heard boots on the deck behind us and saw Nuralie leading Lito toward us with Captain Mot in tow.


    ¡°Thanks, Nuralie. Can you grab Cole as well?¡±


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s on the way,¡± said Lito. He stopped and squatted next to Xim. ¡°Greetings, moon-son. It appears you¡¯ve had a rough night.¡±Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com


    ¡°Greetings to you... day-son. I have not had many worse than this one, yes?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Then I guess we know how they¡¯ve been sinking the ships. Cole, Xim, get Quickwind below deck,¡± Lito¡¯s eyes searched the darkness downriver. ¡°Get him stabilized as fast as you can, but we¡¯ll need you both back up here as soon as possible.¡±


    Cole finished bonding the strip of flesh he¡¯d pulled from the jar around two severed portions of the Chovali¡¯s innards, then packed his bag and put it away. He pulled a large plank of wood out from his inventory and laid it on the ground beside Quickwind. I noticed that there were handles on either end and realized that it was a rudimentary stretcher. Xim and Cole lifted Quickwind onto it, then began moving him toward the hatch.


    ¡°Ember, give me a flare,¡± said Lito. ¡°Ashe, now¡¯s a good time to bring a friend out.¡±


    Ember nodded and drew an arrow from her quiver. The end began to glow with white light as she aimed upward and fired in a high arc. The arrowhead grew in luminosity as it ascended until it illuminated the entire riverway between the cliffs. The projectile halted at the apex of its flight, suspending itself in the air.


    At the outside edge of the arrow¡¯s radiance, dark shapes became visible. Several humanoid forms flew with leathery wings, their lean and fur-covered bodies marking them as more Chovali. A half dozen others crawled along either side of the cliffs, their sinewy limbs flexing as clawed hands pierced the rock and earthen faces.


    At the center of the formation was a Chovali whose body was far thicker and more muscular than the others. His wings were extended out into the air, but he didn¡¯t seem to use them to fly. For one thing, he was oriented upright, rather than moving with his front facing the ground, like the others around him. His body didn¡¯t bob or swoop, but maintained a perfect line through the air and he held his hands folded behind his back. Beyond all that, I couldn¡¯t imagine a twenty-foot wingspan was sufficient for physics to give this brick of a creature a pass. However he moved, it was supernatural.


    His spread wings were just his way of t-posing on us.


    It was unmistakably the Alpha. If not for the dominant center position and general air of superiority over his fellows, I could tell from how his soul radiated power. He had no Delver levels. There was no platinum or gold or silver within him. It was black, with churning brown and red hues, like congealed blood mixed with ink and set to boil.


    The mass of Chovali parted, and those flying went to the cliffsides, latching on alongside their crawling brethren. The Alpha continued to hover, looking down at our group with what almost passed as a bored expression.


    A harsh screech filled the air, and a bird the size of a fucking elephant landed atop the western cliff. Its wings were large enough to blot out half the sky, and a single flap sent a gust through the entirety of the tiny valley, kicking up sand and tousling my hair. Its face was dominated by a long and bulbous beak that ran up the front of its head in a rounded column. Two pairs of tiny, black eyes dotted the sides of its visage, which regarded us in a way that made me feel like a worm flushed out of the ground by fresh rain.


    ¡°Ashe,¡± said Lito, ¡°any time now.¡±


    The warrior triplet tilted her head to the side, as though listening for something.


    ¡°It¡¯s not quite the right time.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck does that mean?¡± I whispered.


    Myria strode back across the deck, holding one hand over her stomach and looking a bit green around the gills. She whispered something into Lito¡¯s ear and he nodded, never taking eyes off the enemy.


    ¡°Ember, Myria, support Ashe up front. Try and tie up the Alpha until Cole gets here as backup. Arlo?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Think you can get the attention of the chaff?¡±


    I looked around at the two dozen beastmen crawling along the sides of the cliff. It might be time to try out a new spell.


    ¡°I reckon I can make that happen.¡±


    ¡°Good. Nuralie, stay close to Arlo and... do whatever you do, I guess.¡±


    Pause.


    ¡°Ok.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A friend of mine once had a pet bird that would peck the shit out of me every time I visited. He thought it was hilarious.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I always hated that bird.¡±


    ¡°Hiwardians, I seek to parlay with one who speaks for you.¡±


    The Alpha sounded as though he stood right before us, despite the distance.


    ¡°State your business,¡± said Lito.


    ¡°I claim your ship and shall cast it into the spiral. I seek no blood to spill, but neither shall you leave. Surrender to become guests among my flock. Fed and watered. Bathed and housed. Set loose when my task is done.¡±


    ¡°What do you want with the ship?¡± said Lito. ¡°And how long will your task take you?¡±


    ¡°I have spoke the words that will be spoken. No more shall issue. Decide.¡±


    Lito took a drag from his cig, hammer resting on his shoulder.


    ¡°Eh, it was worth a shot,¡± he said under his breath. Then, louder, ¡°This vessel sails under commission by the Central Delver authority, which acts under charge of the Crown. Piracy will be viewed as an act of violence against the King himself, and your flock courts extermination in doing so.¡±


    ¡°Then you reject my offer. A folly.¡±


    His eyes crawled over the six of us.


    ¡°I am not unlearned in the strength of those who pillage the depths of the old world. It is hubris to think your pilfered magicks rival the ancient customs. You will receive this wisdom, imparted unto you as death.¡±


    I tensed, anticipating the start of the fight, but was caught off guard as a tear opened in reality near the bow.


    A beefy, three-fingered hand shrouded in gray feathers tore out through what I realized was a dimensional portal. It snagged a crossbow bolt that was zipping through the air, inches from Ashe¡¯s face.


    ¡°Oh, shit,¡± said Ashe. ¡°Good catch!¡±

 Chapter 45: This is Bat Country!

    Chapter 45: This is Bat Country!


    My evolution, Magical Thinker, required me to see a spell to gain an understanding of it. However, I hadn¡¯t seen any obvious sign that someone had cast a spell before the feathered hand tore open a hole in the universe. My Magical Thinker ability still sent me a notification despite this, which meant that either the skill description was misleading, or I didn¡¯t have to understand who cast the spell or how to still receive its benefit.


    You have observed the spell: Dimensional Summon


    Dimensional Summon


    Cost: 30 Mana plus 30 Mana Tribute per Hour.


    Cooldown: 24 Hours


    Requirements: Dimensional Magic, Mystical Magic


    You open a portal to another plane, summoning a creature to act as your guardian for as long as you pay the mana tribute, or until the creature dies or is dismissed. The strength of the creature summoned is based on the caster¡¯s might and the type of creature summoned is based on personal affinity.


    A seven-foot-tall monster wrenched itself out of the portal. It had a vaguely feminine shape, though it was tough to tell through all the plumage. It had an oversized head with two massive, golden eyes set in the center, and a sharp beak just below. Its head swiveled a hundred-and-eighty degrees to survey our group, then swept back over the Chovali.


    ¡°BATS!¡± it squawked. ¡°DELICIOUS!¡± Then it leapt off the deck, shattering planks and sailing toward a Chovali holding a suspiciously empty crossbow.


    While the bird thing had been crawling from its portal, Ember dismissed her ornate longbow, then shrugged off her thick traveler¡¯s coat. The shirt beneath was sleeveless, exposing her arms and shoulders.


    Ember was jacked. The reserved archer had a body that looked like it belonged in a World¡¯s Strongest competition. It was definitely not the willowy elf body I was expecting, but the muscles made sense when she pulled out her next bow.


    The thing was taller than she was, and she produced an arrow that was at least half my body in length. As she nocked it, and while the owl cannoned toward its target, the cliffside Chovali started firing their crossbows. Well, that wouldn¡¯t do.


    Time to pull the adds.


    I threw my hand to the sky and began chanting at the top of my lungs as the battle finally kicked off.


    ¡°I beseech you, gods of volatile chemical reactions! Lords of potential energy and barely contained eruptive might! Empower me as your vessel and I shall make irresponsible use of your booming fury! Now! Behold! EXPLOSION!¡±


    I snapped my fingers, having channeled fifty mana into the spell Explosion! My target was a Chovali at the center of its formation on the eastern cliff face, who was busying himself launching bolts at Ashe and Lito along with his buddies.


    The boom wasn¡¯t quite as big as Seinnador¡¯s, despite pumping it full of juice, but the Chovali I targeted was turned to a meaty pulp, with several of its closest allies receiving surprise amputations and shattered spines. The rock and earth behind the beastmen detonated into flying shrapnel that pegged several more, and some of the smaller chunks made it all the way to the ship¡¯s deck, landing with clatters and thuds. Then the cliff face began to collapse.


    Everyone on the battlefield knew exactly who had cast the spell.


    The Alpha charged toward me but slowed when Ember fired her fantasy equivalent of a fifty-cal at his center mass. The Alpha swiped at the arrow, shunting it aside where it rocketed into the cliff face, creating a miniature explosion of its own, blasting away dirt and rock. Ember fired three more times in less than a second and the Alpha swapped targets to her, barreling down at the archer while it knocked aside the massive projectiles.


    When the Alpha was within striking distance, Ashe appeared from nowhere directly in front of the creature. The warrior twin caught the Alpha in mid-swipe, bashing its hand away with her shield. She then drove a sword thrust at its midsection, her blade wrapped in green light, but the weapon halted inches before making contact, arrested by some unseen force. The Alpha backhanded Ashe¡¯s shield, sending the golden-armored woman skidding across the deck, though she never lost her footing.


    Lito¡¯s hammer ignited into its molten form and he slung a chain toward the Hammerhead. The massive bird screeched and launched off the clifftop, but Lito¡¯s burning shackles extended outward to cover the multi-story distance in an instant, wrapping around the Hammerhead¡¯s ankle. The Guardian launched off the deck, pulled by the avian¡¯s ascent, and the pair disappeared into the night sky.


    Yet another impressive technique that allowed a Delver to fly.


    The chaff, as Lito had called them, had no other distractions, and a half dozen crossbow bolts pinged and clinked off my armor before a mass of flapping wings, claws, and teeth descended toward me. The closest Chovali collapsed from the air with an arrow through its throat, and I shot a quick look toward Nuralie. She dropped an onyx-colored shortbow as she pulled out a glass sphere filled with green liquid, then paused.


    ¡°Duck,¡± she said, and I hit the deck... literally.


    She slung the orb at the mass of approaching bodies and it shattered in their midst, releasing a cloud of green gas that nearly gave me flashbacks. The Chovali that passed through it began coughing violently, a few dropping to their knees and clutching at their throats before vomiting with the enthusiasm of a college freshman at their first frat party. Whatever Nuralie had just used, I doubted it would have been approved by the Geneva Convention.


    I drew my wand with my left hand and shot several bolts of piercing force at the ones still closing from the west. The shots created a transparent, shimmering spear that traveled at the speed of an arrow, leaving inch-wide holes through their targets.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him,¡± I said, still focused on the Alpha fight. ¡°Should we help...or something?¡±


    The owl creature had the Alpha in a full nelson and was biting at his neck, while the Chovali leader opened his mouth and shot out a blast of force, knocking Ashe and Ember off their feet. Myria darted in for another thrust, then stepped back and put a hand on her chin like a painter considering her work.


    ¡°Help? No. They¡¯re stringing the Alpha along, letting him wear himself out. Cole would have helped that go a bit faster, though.¡±


    ¡°Trying to keep him alive?¡± I said.


    He pointed at me.


    ¡°You got it. He wouldn¡¯t answer my questions earlier, but maybe he¡¯ll change his mind.¡±


    Lito began yanking himself from the floor, and I continued to watch the four-versus-one fight. Nuralie stepped up next to me and watched as well while Lito went to find Cole.


    ¡°What was that chant for?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, when I beseeched the gods of blowing shit up? I was just trying to make it obvious who was casting the Explosion! spell. There¡¯s also just something about the spell that makes me want to monologue while I charge it.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That makes sense.¡± Pause. ¡°It was kind of a stupid chant, though.¡±


    I sighed melodramatically.


    ¡°Guess I wasted my time at all those improv classes.¡±


    Nuralie ran a hand over her blonde strip of hair and nodded thoughtfully.


    The owl finally got a good chunk of the Alpha¡¯s trapezius and tossed its head back to slurp it down.


    ¡°Is it weird that watching this makes me kind of hungry?¡± I said. ¡°I know we ate like an hour ago, but still.¡±


    ¡°No. I want more of that meat from dinner.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should go check on that bird in the river. Make sure it¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Pause. ¡°It¡¯s already half cooked.¡±


    ¡°Have you had Hammerhead before?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No. But it¡¯s supposed to be good.¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a shit ton of it out there. Waste not, want not, right?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    We continued to watch the fight for a little while longer.


    ¡°BATS!¡±


    ¡°DELICIOUS!¡±

 Chapter 46: The Subtle Art of Hammering

    Chapter 46: The Subtle Art of Hammering


    Eventually the Alpha was subdued, and Ember dismissed her mega-owl to keep it from eating the body parts the beastman needed to respond to questions. Myria managed to lock him down with her mind-magic, but she was unable to encourage the man toward providing any useful information. Since the Alpha wasn¡¯t responsive to Myria¡¯s good-cop routine, Lito called in the big guns to serve as the bad cop.


    A familiar level ninety Delver arrived atop a mighty alabaster hand, and took custody of the Alpha. Despite Lito¡¯s protests, the blue-haired woman flew off with her prisoner in tow, her only response to complain loudly that ¡°paperwork isn¡¯t why I signed up to work for Central!¡±, and ¡°if everything¡¯s an emergency, then nothing¡¯s an emergency!¡±


    Cole and Xim had been kept busy trying to stabilize Quickwind during the battle. His condition had taken a nosedive with the arrival of the Alpha. The brawny beastman possessed some sort of tribal magic that caused the bodies of Chovali near him to react in different ways. For his minions, it apparently made them a bit bolder than they¡¯d normally be. For Quickwind, it aggravated his wounds and forced him into shock. A boon for his allies and a bane for his enemies. It might have been worth it to try and study the effect with my aura, but by the time the thought crossed my mind the Alpha was already gone.


    I also received a new notification after the fight.


    Yer a wizard, Arlo! Keep growing out that beard, because all spellslingers know that it¡¯s the one true path to thaumaturgical power. You¡¯ve not only acquired intrinsic skills for all three magical schools available to you, you¡¯ve also slotted and cast at least one spell from each. Because of your profound focus on annihilating foes through arcane means, you are offered the Archmage passive skill.


    Archmage: You no longer suffer any penalty for casting spells from magic schools adjacent to your attunement. Mystical and Physical spells will now operate at 100% efficiency.


    +25% Maximum Mana


    +25% Mana Regeneration


    Oh yeah, that hits the spot. I took it immediately.


    Passive Skills: 3/4


    Archmage: Level 1


    You no longer suffer any penalty for casting spells from magic schools adjacent to your attunement. Mystical and Physical spells will now operate at 100% efficiency.


    +25.75% Maximum Mana (+0.75% per level of Archmage)Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com


    +25.75% Mana Regeneration (+0.75% per level of Archmage)


    Bonded Familiar: Level 5


    You acquire a bonded familiar. Effects vary based on the familiar. Each level grants your familiar a +1% stat bonus.


    Who Needs a Cleric? (Aura): Level 8


    You and your allies gain an additional amount of Health regeneration equal to your Fortitude up to a maximum of (32). Each level beyond the first provides +10% Aura Range and increases Maximum base effect by 1. (+70% range, +7 max base effect)


    I only had one passive slot left, but I couldn¡¯t imagine a better passive for my build. Archmage gave me resources and a little boost to damage for Physical and Mystical spells, which normally operated at eighty percent of their potency, since they weren¡¯t my primary attunement, Dimensional. Bonded Familiar gave me a lot of utility with Grotto, who could also debuff enemies with his mental attacks and regulate my body in emergency situations, and Who Needs a Cleric? was raw health regen for myself and my party.


    All I needed was either a purely defensive passive for classic tankiness, or one that helped me kick a little more booty. Maybe one that did both if I was being greedy.


    I checked out my adjusted mana and regen.


    Mana: 97/138


    Mana Regeneration: 25/hour (Base Effect) 34/hour (Actual, +9 Dimensional Absorption)


    Either the System rounded off the decimals, or the text didn¡¯t bother to get that granular. I could probably change the display to show the detail, but I didn¡¯t think it was necessary.


    When we arrived at the Chovali colony, the scene was grim. Quickwind was able to move around the settlement with the help of Xim, but there were very few of the adults left alive. Some of the women had been spared, and a few of the elderly, but most of the Chovali who¡¯d been able to fight were gone. It was possible that they¡¯d been scattered and would return, like Quickwind, but dried and tacky bloodstains spoke of a more tragic conclusion.


    All of the children, however, were safe and well cared for.


    We also found a dozen Hiwardian crewmen from three different vessels that would shortly be reported as missing. From what we gathered, the Alpha and his troupe sank several more as well, but other captains were less inclined to submit themselves to capture. The beastman leader failed to elucidate his reasoning for the attacks to any of the prisoners, and the surviving Chovali had little insight to provide either.


    ¡°All of the vessels we¡¯ve been told about were destined for Arsenal, like ourselves,¡± Lito said after we¡¯d spoken with the captives. ¡°Which is either a coincidence, or means they have some sort of access to shipping records, and were targeting trade to the city for some reason.¡±


    ¡°Customs,¡± said Myria, ¡°or legwork.¡±


    ¡°Well, we know there aren¡¯t any Chovali skulking about in Foundation writing down the names and cargo of ships on the river,¡± said Lito. ¡°They likely have a non-Chovali spy in the capital.¡± He heaved a sigh and rubbed at his eyes. It was pushing toward the witching hour, and we still planned to disembark in the morning. Fortunately, none of us would be hoisting any anchors or manning any sails bright and early the next day. Still, something told me Lito wasn¡¯t the type to sleep in.


    ¡°With Umi-Doo carting off all our leads,¡± said Lito, ¡°there¡¯s not much I can do with this info. Pass it along through the slate, Myria. Then let¡¯s get some sleep.¡±


    ¡°Hammerheads are Littan war-birds,¡± said Nuralie before Lito could start making his way back toward the Closet.


    ****


    Lito looked around my training room with a critical eye. He ran his hand along the shafts of several of the floating weapons, then kicked his heel at the floor.


    Somehow, all of the wood, splinters, and debris from the barrels and crates Xim and I had trashed the day earlier were gone. Either someone did a little sneaky cleaning, or the detritus decided to excuse itself. Either way, the floor was spotless.


    ¡°Pretty sparse,¡± he said. ¡°But it works. What¡¯s the floor made of?¡±


    ¡°Some kind of metal, I think.¡± I appraised the strange material. ¡°Actually, I have no idea.¡±


    He grunted.


    ¡°Alright, show me what you can do.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said, shaking off some nerves. I¡¯d had a single day of embarrassing practice, but that was alright. Only way to get better was to just go and do the thing. Even if Lito thought I was beneath his ability to instruct, I would just find someone else.


    Yeah. No worries. Just do it.


    I pulled the steel hammer down from the wall and took a stance.


    I went through the few practice motions that I¡¯d been shown. Quick strikes, followups, backswings. I moved to hold the hammer with the spike facing forward, moving through attacks intended to pierce helmets and joints on armored opponents. Several of the swings moved into one another, and a few felt more like physical exercises than anything meant to kill someone.


    ¡°You¡¯re starting from an odd place,¡± said Lito, who prowled around me as I moved. ¡°What do you know about the history of warhammer use?¡±


    ¡°Uh, nothing, I guess.¡±


    He nodded, looking like he¡¯d expected that answer.


    ¡°The most commonly used weapons in traditional warfare, historically, have been axes and spears. Swords are used often enough, but generally carried as sidearms by knights and wealthy veterans. Not widely used among infantry.


    ¡°Axes are popular because every peasant knows how to swing an ax. They use it for chopping and shaping wood, butchering and skinning game, and as a stand-in for a host of other tools they might lack. Doesn¡¯t take much training for a peasant to use a waraxe, and the weapons are effective against infantry.


    ¡°Spears have a lot of reach, so they give an inherent benefit to the wielder against an enemy using a one-handed weapon. Longspears are particularly effective against cavalry charges. Both of these uses benefit from unit tactics, and the tactics are pretty simple. Hold a defensive line and poke the enemy. Again, doesn¡¯t take much to train a new recruit. Axes and spears are both cheap to produce.


    ¡°Swords are more expensive to make, both in materials and the ability of the blacksmith, and also have a high skill threshold. Swords take money and training. A well-trained swordsman wielding a well-made sword is a nightmare for unarmored opponents in a small skirmish, but on a larger battlefield those advantages tend to be lost in the face of numbers and, more importantly, armor.


    ¡°A knight in full-plate armor is mostly immune to mundane attacks made by one-handed weapons, especially swords. Swords don¡¯t have a lot of weight, and their utility is best for cutting and piercing flesh. Take a one-handed sword to an armored opponent, it¡¯ll bounce right off. There are some techniques with a two-handed sword that overcome that limitation, but it¡¯s not ideal. Axes are a little better, since there¡¯s some heft to them and the weapon¡¯s designed to split shit anyways. Spears work if an armored opponent is charging you, but less useful if you¡¯re both on foot.


    ¡°Maces, including warhammers, became popular once knights in heavy armor were common on the field. An infantryman might not rely on it as their mainstay, but would likely have some sort of bludgeoning weapon as a backup. The skill required to make basic use of a mace is not very high, but there is also a good amount of benefit gained from training and technique.


    ¡°The reason for maces being so effective is that the force of a blunt impact travels through armor, even without piercing it. Any man learning to wield a shield can tell you how much it hurts to take a hit without properly deflecting the attack. The kinetic energy travels into your body, and can still manage to break bones, despite those bones being protected by metal.


    ¡°Many knights have now taken to equipping some sort of mace as a primary or secondary weapon. After all, hitting a man with a wad of steel will still kill or disable them without armor, and if the enemy is a fellow knight in full plate, well now you also have a weapon that¡¯ll hurt them pretty well, too. Longer maces can also be used on horseback, since hitting a man with a hunk of metal at speed will doubly ruin their day, regardless of what kind of armor hugs their ass.¡±


    ¡°So why do so many Delvers use swords as a main weapon?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Delvers use swords for three main reasons. First, they can afford to buy the weapon and the training required. Second, most Delvers are concerned with fighting monsters, not people, and most monsters are soft targets. There are a variety of beasts with natural armor, but they¡¯re a lot less common than the squishy ones. Third, Delvers have access to stats and magic. It doesn¡¯t matter much what I¡¯m hitting someone with if I have a Strength of forty. Even if I used a broken chair leg, most mundane knights would be crushed. So, a sword wielded by a high-Strength Delver cuts through steel as though it were the belly of a newborn pig, even without weaves. Add weaves into the mix, now the knight may as well be wearing the air as armor.


    ¡°There are a number of other advantages to blades¨Cprecision, speed, blood loss, difficulty healing the types of wounds inflicted¨Cbut those are lessons for later. We¡¯re talking about maces. Specifically, hammers.


    ¡°Hammers have the same advantages as more traditional ball-type maces, but require a little more finesse. You need to hit the enemy with the head of the hammer to maximize damage. With a ball-mace, you just have to hit them at all, since the end is uniform on all sides. What the hammer gains for this trade-off is increased utility, and lower weight for greater speed and control.


    ¡°The front of a hammer concentrates power into a small point of impact, increasing the force per square centimeter against a target. This increases the kinetic energy applied to a specific area, and also increases the chance of warping or crushing armor, which can debilitate an armored opponent, even if the strike doesn¡¯t cause any internal harm.¡±


    I thought about Varrin being stuck in his twisted cuirass back in the Creation Delve. He could barely breathe, let alone fight.


    ¡°The opposite side from the head of a hammer is the spike, usually curved slightly, which can be used to pierce through targets and also grapple them. This can penetrate an opponent¡¯s helmet and brain. It can crack through joints and disable. It can be used to hook and pull targets off balance, and also disarm. The one you have there also has a spike at the tip for lunging and piercing, though that¡¯s not a universal feature. Gives a bit of reach and another vector for punching through armor. Also bad news when someone takes that to the gut.¡±


    I nodded as he spoke, absorbing the information. I began to ask a question, but he continued.


    ¡°Now, since the main utility of hammers is hitting armored targets, why would Delvers use them, when monsters and beasts have soft hides ready for slashing, and which are slightly more resilient against bashing? It¡¯s simple, really. One, hammers get the same benefits from stats as swords, so having a high Strength will make most targets die just as quick from a hammer to the gut as a blade. Blades still have the advantage of exsanguination and causing easy disability by shearing tendons and muscles, but by and large it¡¯s a subtle difference that only shows in the toughest fights.


    ¡°But, the most important reason is that Delvers don¡¯t always fight monsters. We fight each other as well.¡±

 Chapter 47: I Cant Feel My Guilt When Im With You

    Chapter 47: I Can''t Feel My Guilt When I''m With You


    ¡°Many Delvers may act as though their exploits are limited to conquering Delves and clearing out inhuman creatures from around villages and new settlements. That is the dream of the naive, and of those who wish to portray themselves in an overly flattering light.


    ¡°So, we end up back where we started. Yes, Delver blades can cut through normal armor with ease, but give me a Tanker in full dark iron, and a swordsman will struggle the same as a mundane soldier against a knight in plate. Mages will struggle as well, given the nature of dark iron and the sheer fortitude of a tanker. But a well-trained fighter wielding a hammer... Well, fuck that Tanker and the soon-to-be-broken legbones he rode in on.¡±


    ¡°What about the fight with Demarsus? From what I saw, Myria was doing a good job poking him through his armor.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Myria is very good with an accurate, agility-based technique that exploits an enemy¡¯s weak spots. However, Demarsus would have rolled over us if we¡¯d relied on him bleeding out from those attacks. The thing that turned the tide of that fight was your crew creating a distraction, and then me hitting him in the head one good time with my hammer.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°And then Myria casting Dominate, of course. But, the helmet would have stopped that spell if I hadn¡¯t cracked it. You¡¯ll also notice that Demarsus was primarily focused on me. He knew I had a better chance of ending the fight than Myria.¡±


    ¡°I thought he just had a hard time seeing Myria, with all her camouflage and such.¡±


    ¡°That too.¡±


    I felt like Lito was... maybe giving himself a little extra credit here.


    ¡°Since our ultimate goal with a hammer is to be prepared for armored opponents,¡± Lito continued, ¡°then there needs to be a good reason that we aren¡¯t using the biggest hammer possible. Bigger hammer means heavier strike, more force traveling through the armor, and enemies that are more dead than they would be otherwise. For myself, I prefer a one-handed hammer because I combine it with a shield, and also augment my attacks with fire.¡±


    He summoned his translucent blue shield.


    ¡°This is a spell called Aegis. It has a low mana cost, can be summoned and unsummoned at will, and can change shape to suit my needs.¡±


    The shield narrowed into a more pointed shape in the direction of Lito¡¯s fist.


    ¡°I can swing the hammer with my right hand, then shield bash or thrust with my left as a follow-up. Having something in your offhand also creates a counterbalance for the weight of the hammer. The alternative is to use a two-handed hammer, where I would focus on hitting the enemy with as much force as possible.


    ¡°So, the reason I say that you¡¯re starting from an odd place, is that you¡¯re wielding a one-handed warhammer with nothing in your offhand. That creates potential issues with your sense of balance, and also wastes the utility of your left hand.¡±


    ¡°Ok, I think I follow. The reason I¡¯m doing it this way is to keep one hand available for spells. Maybe also have my wand in my offhand.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t plan on using a shield at all?¡± said Lito, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°It¡¯s still early days. I don¡¯t know enough about shields to decide if I like them or not. I just know that I want to focus more on magic. The hammer is an extra option, and I need a hand free to cast.¡±


    Lito stroked his chin as he considered. He then pulled a new hammer out of his inventory that was slightly longer than the three-foot steel hammer I held. It was deep blue in color, with a semi-translucent exterior that gave it the appearance of pure ice that had all of the air squeezed out of it by pressure. The kind you¡¯d see within a glacier.


    ¡°This is Arbitros. It¡¯s a hammer I used for several years during my early career. It¡¯s made of frozen steel, which is a material crafted by the Yonaks in the depths of Mittak. The material is unique, since it is worked and forged at a temperature cold enough to kill most humans in seconds. Whereas heat will harden the metal. That made it ideal for me at the time, since I could use my Firebrand skill without melting it. It does become brittle if it¡¯s made too hot, though.


    ¡°This would be considered a two-handed weapon for a mundane human. However, with a decent Strength, it can be wielded in one hand without trouble. The material is heavier than steel or Madrin, but lighter than dark iron. The metal is rich in mana, so it bypasses the mundane resistance of Fortitude without any weaves. I could never decide what weaves to give it, anyway. By the time I¡¯d saved up enough to get what I wanted, I was ready for an upgrade.¡±


    He tossed the weapon to me. I caught it roughly in the crooks of my elbows, nearly dropping the steel hammer I already held. It was a lot heavier than the one I was using. I released the steel hammer, letting it drift back to its inventory slot along the wall, then took up Arbitros in two hands.


    ¡°Consider using a hammer that benefits from being held in two hands, but which is light enough for you to use one-handed with a high enough Strength score. That way, you can focus on two-handing the weapon when not casting for maximum impact, then swap to a one-handed style when you want to sling spells, without having to change out weapons.¡±


    ¡°That... sounds like a pretty good idea,¡± I said. ¡°This is the sort of thing that would be impossible without all the magic shenanigans of Delvers, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not uncommon to use a hammer this way, but most warriors would focus on a one-handed weapon, wielding it with two hands when they wanted additional force. We can go in the opposite direction by focusing on a two-handed weapon, and wielding it with one hand when needed because we¡¯re just that fucking strong.¡±


    ¡°As opposed to having an impossibly big hammer, that no mortal man might wield?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lito pulled a long rod of iron from his inventory and held it over one shoulder. ¡°Now, we need to start with the basics. I¡¯ll show you the forms, watch you execute them, and issue corrections when you fuck it up.¡±


    I glanced at the rod.


    ¡°In what way will you be issuing these corrections?¡±


    Lito gave me a small smile and tapped the rod against his shoulder. This wasn¡¯t the empty smile that he¡¯d given me when we met outside the Creation Delve.


    No. In this smile, I saw joy.


    The corrections were him hitting me. Though, he wasn¡¯t just beating me up when I got something wrong, he used the rod to swat at different parts of my body when my form was sloppy. A slap to the knee when it was beginning to collapse inward during a warrior stance. A snap at my shin when my stance was too wide or too narrow. A knock to my elbow when it sagged. A smack to my back when I slouched.


    At first, the strikes didn¡¯t hurt much, but Lito quickly wised up and felt out my pain threshold with an expertise that was worrying. Why was he so good at figuring out how to hurt me without really hurting me? His strikes would do one to three damage each time. Enough to really sting, but not enough that I hadn¡¯t recovered completely by the next time he swung the rod.


    The instruction was long, grueling, and slow. He forced me to take every action at the slowest pace possible, allowing me to move faster only once he¡¯d deemed my form acceptable. Even then, if I displayed any sloppiness he would knock the speed back down. Over and over again.


    Slow motion swing.


    Beaten mercilessly until form was ¡°acceptable¡±.


    Slightly faster swing.


    Beaten mercilessly and forced to return to slow motion swing.


    Slow motion swing.


    Beaten mercilessly...


    [I am experiencing... sensations that I am unused to. I believe our bond is causing some level of cognitive seepage.]


    I felt him probing my mind.


    [I believe you call this emotion... worry? Malaise? Insecurity? Perhaps some other synonym for weakness.]


    [You think my feelings are rubbing off on you?]


    [It is a theory.]


    [Well, I definitely have some insecurities, but I¡¯m not particularly happy that¡¯s the main emotion coming through.]


    [I have been experiencing minor aberrations in my thought process for the last week. It became something I could no longer ignore once you began your martial training.]


    [Ah, I see. I did have a bit of a meltdown for a second. I kind of got overwhelmed by how ridiculous everything is.]


    [Ridiculous in what way?]


    [I mean, I¡¯m a freaking lawyer, not a soldier. Since I¡¯ve been in this world everything I¡¯ve done is either fight something or prepare to fight something else. I¡¯ve got all these Delver abilities, I¡¯m on this ¡°quest¡± with a bunch of people who have spent a good chunk of their lives preparing for this sort of thing, and I asked them for pointers. I probably looked less competent than a child to them. I really have no clue what I¡¯m doing, and I¡¯m acting like all of this is normal while I¡¯m wearing armor that¡¯s violet with ocean-blue and fuchsia highlights. The imposter syndrome struck hard and fast.]


    [We have slain mighty foes and used their own power to fuel our growth.]


    [Sure, but I mostly got that done by being overpowered for my level. People underestimate me, and you. Most people don¡¯t even know what you are, so how could they be prepared?]


    [I have seen many Delvers, and observed much conflict. I have rarely seen a fight that I would consider ¡°fair¡±. Combat is a game of advantages, and there is no shame in using what has been given to you. You should not deny yourself the spoils of victory by becoming concerned with the enemy¡¯s own lack of foresight. Their errors are to your advantage. Obsessing over it is a fool¡¯s errand.]


    [I dunno, it doesn¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve earned what I have. That¡¯s one reason I wanted to train with some professionals, but as soon as it started I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I was exceptionally out of place. The feeling will pass over time, I¡¯m sure. Assuming I live long enough to let it. But it¡¯s something I¡¯m working through. I guess it makes sense that if anything is bleeding over, it¡¯s that sensation.]


    [It is of paramount importance that you endeavor to ameliorate your misgivings as quickly as possible. I loathe experiencing this sensation of imbalance. I am beginning to question my actions, which is absurd.]


    [You know, if my emotional state is affecting you, does that mean some of what you¡¯ve got going on might be affecting me?]


    [I have been evaluating that matter as well. I do not believe the emotional blending is as powerful in your direction. I am the familiar, not you. The normal bonding mechanism provided by the skill may give you stronger influence over me, while my own mental impact has to do with communicating my status or desires. I become more like you cognitively, while you give greater consideration to my needs. It is an efficient way for the System to help ensure a mutually beneficial relationship, especially if the bond had been created with a wild animal, or other creature with sparse intelligence.]


    [Well, that¡¯s a relief. No offense, but from a human perspective your worldview is kind of skewed.]


    [I was not finished.]


    [Oh.]


    [I have done an analysis of your reactions to a variety of stimuli in the time we have been bonded. While you may not be influenced in as noticeable a fashion as myself, I hypothesize that there is still some level of personality adjustment occurring.]


    [I don¡¯t like the sound of that.]


    [Soon after I became your familiar, you expressed a complex web of emotions over the death of Hognay. You were intellectually convinced of the righteousness of your decision to kill him, but still felt some level of guilt over the violence, especially since it was committed proactively.]


    I¡¯d never gotten to the point of expressly stating feeling any guilt over the death of Hognay, but I¡¯d be lying if I said that killing the man hadn¡¯t created a tangled mess of conflicting emotions. I¡¯d felt justified, but I hadn¡¯t felt good. I¡¯d gotten over it fairly quickly though. Haskagander was pretty garbage-tier as far as people went.


    [Whereas I felt no guilt over Hognay¡¯s fate, nor would I, had his death been at my own hands. I experience no remorse over any of the lives I have taken in my role as a Delve Core. I experience dissatisfaction when I consider the deaths of Chilla and Sayil, but that has more to do with the circumstances that led me to be Hognay¡¯s tool, rather than any regret over the loss of life itself.]


    [I¡¯m aware of your antisocial personality disorder.]


    [Your reaction was far more subdued when you killed the men and women at Typhoon¡¯s warehouse.]


    [I wouldn¡¯t say that-] I paused in the middle of the thought. I¡¯d barely even considered those people since it happened. They¡¯d attacked me, and were involved with a crime-lord who¡¯d tried to organize my kidnapping. Still, were they any more culpable than Hognay? They hadn¡¯t murdered anyone that I knew of, though I doubted any of them had clean hands. Still, I only had circumstantial evidence to support that conclusion. I¡¯d done my best to disable them, rather than going for the kill, but several of them had died at my hands. Shouldn¡¯t I feel... something?


    [You think you¡¯re rubbing off on me.]


    [While I am experiencing the presence of emotions that were previously absent, you may be experiencing the absence of certain emotions that would normally be present.]


    [Look, I don¡¯t want to kill anyone. I care about other people, even people I don¡¯t know. If an old lady fell and broke her hip on the sidewalk, I wouldn¡¯t just walk past her because helping would be an inconvenience.]


    [And I am not about to become paralyzed by self-doubt because I think five potential breeding partners are judging me.]


    [Whoa, don¡¯t involuntarily turn me into a harem protagonist. That¡¯s not where this is going.]


    [I am saying that, while the influence is there, we each remain primarily governed by our own principles.]


    [Do you think this will get worse?]


    [That is what I am endeavoring to find out. I began analyzing your neurochemical reactions during stimulating events, trying to find an analogous process within my own mind, but that was not very helpful. I lack neurochemicals, and what hormones and other secretions are produced by this organic shell to maintain itself do not affect me, as I am a distinct entity piloting the vessel. My mind and body are not mirroring your own during these experiences through physiological means.


    [Thus, I turned to your mana matrix and attempted to examine the connection the System established between us when making me your Bonded Familiar. I am attempting to ascertain the nature of the emotional communication traveling via that channel, but have so far failed to find anything helpful. I did, however, discover something of particular interest while studying your mana-veins.]


    [You have access to... to all that?] I felt very exposed. [What was it that you found?]


    [I believe I know how you are able to improve your stats through training.]

 Chapter 48: Enter the Mana-Matrix

    Chapter 48: Enter the Mana-Matrix


    I raised my eyebrow at Grotto¡¯s claim.


    [I thought improving my stats with training was just some divine fuckery.]


    [It is. However, I believe that I can distill the fuckery into quantifiable concepts. I have examined your mana-matrix closely, and found a strange interaction between the matrix and your mana-veins.]


    [Those are different things?]


    [I do not wish for this discussion to devolve into a rudimentary lesson on the physiology of inherently magical creatures, but yes.]


    I would quickly discover that Grotto was about to devolve into a rudimentary lesson on the physiology of inherently magical creatures.


    [They are different things, though inextricably linked. Your mana-matrix, among other functions, anchors your mana-veins to your soul, while your mana-veins themselves act as a conduit for mana in your body.]


    [Is that why my soul-sight is so effective at seeing how powerful someone is? I¡¯m seeing the strength of the mana-matrix?]


    [I- Well, yes, I suppose that theory may be sound. Strength is a poor word, however, perhaps robustness. We would need to do some testing... we could- Ack! This is a digression! Pay attention and try not to let your mind wander.]


    [I¡¯m just a curious guy, Grotto, but I¡¯ll hold my questions.]


    [As I was saying, your mana-matrix anchors your mana-veins to your soul, while the mana-veins direct the flow of mana through the body. For a magical creature to increase its capacity it must improve both systems. However, the mana-matrix grows reactively to improvements in the mana-veins. The mana-veins themselves improve via exposure to elevated levels of mana.]


    [Sure. Makes sense.]


    [Most creatures exist with a certain level of homeostasis to the ambient mana around them. This is why a normal magical creature or mana-monster will typically mature to an adult state and no longer grow in strength or size without intervention. Their veins and matrix grow acclimatized to the ambient mana and reach an ideal form, after which they will no longer advance.]


    [What if you dropped them into a denser mana concentration?]


    Grotto gave me a glare.


    [Each species acquires a natural end-point for their development based on the circumstances in which that type of monster has developed over generations.A typical mana-monster will reach maturity and that¡¯s where it will remain.]


    That sounded a lot like magical evolution to me. I wondered if there¡¯d been some sort of wizard-Darwin in Arzia, or if I could make that ¡®discovery¡¯ and take the credit.


    [A mana-fiend, on the other hand, does not suffer this limitation. Its mana-matrix and veins are capable of adapting to any level of ambient mana. Because of this, they are driven to seek out ever-denser regions of mana, often finding the source of the enhanced mana and latching onto it.]


    [Like the c¡¯thon and the obelisk.]


    [Which is precisely why that creature was so dangerous. It is likely the case that there are mana-fiends in other Delves, though one of a Delve Core¡¯s duties is to guard against such an event. A duty that I failed, regrettably.]


    [It¡¯s alright bud, you did your best.]


    Grotto spun to me and somehow managed to raise an octo-eyebrow.


    [When a Delve remakes a Delver¡¯s body, it reorganizes the matrix and veins to accommodate a higher flow of mana and to respond to mana in a more dynamic way, similar to mana-fiend¡¯s.]


    [Whoa, now. Aren¡¯t we getting into some of that forbidden knowledge you weren¡¯t willing to give up previously?]


    [I have... decided to adjust your permissions in accordance with your role as co-arbiter of the Pocket Delve. But you shall not speak of this to anyone else!]


    [Uh-huh. Thanks.]


    That sounded like code for ¡°I changed my mind, shut-up,¡± but whatever helped the little core sleep at night. Or, shut down at night? Go into low-power mode? Did Grotto even rest at all?


    [The normal operation of this new mana-organization is interlinked to the System and the Delve process. A Delver can only receive so much benefit at once, or their veins are at risk of over-expansion, and their matrix will be unable to accommodate the new load. A Delve will inject mana into the Delver, who then decides in what areas to apply the mana to improve their veins and matrix prior to the injection dissipating.]


    [Which is why there¡¯s a time limit for spending stat points,] I concluded.


    [Indeed. Thus, via normal means a Delver cannot improve their stats without engaging in a Delve. They do not have access to the System¡¯s managed mana injections outside of the Delves, and what ambient mana they are able to draw in goes toward fine-tuning other mana-consuming systems, such as intrinsic and passive skills. Growth in those skills is analogous to the normal growth a magical creature might undergo during development, but the natural endpoint for such growth is set to a very high level in Delvers.


    [Your personal mana veins and matrix are no different from a typical Delver¡¯s. I believe you experienced an injection prior to arriving in the Creation Delve from your divine benefactor, which explains your bonus starting stats. Since it was not managed by the System, you were still marked as a level zero Delver. However, in order for you to acquire further stats from training, there must be a source of the additional mana injections that you are receiving in order to generate the growth.]


    [Wouldn¡¯t that also be my divine benefactor?]


    [Yes, but no. It is more elegant than a godly being thrusting its essence into you from time-to-time. Beyond that, you do not cultivate the type of celestial connection that Divine casters and fighters do in order to gain access to such a benefit.]


    [What¡¯s a celest-]


    [Go and ask one of your religious allies if you want to know more about divinity and its relationship to magic. I¡¯ll not let you derail me again.]


    I held up my hands in surrender.


    [Please continue.]


    [It appears that your mana veins have been coated with a crystallized form of mana that is diffusing itself into your veins in dense packets, with a release mechanism somehow governed by your activities. The mana is then automatically applied to the specific regions of your veins and matrix that have been primed to receive them through the training you¡¯ve undergone. The growth is encouraged along both systems simultaneously.]


    I made a series of thoughtful noises as Grotto continued to speak in increasingly technical terms. I was uncertain how I should be reacting to his revelations. My response was honestly a bit muted, but I think I understood what he was saying.


    Maybe.


    [The nature of the crystallized mana is unique. I am familiar with compressing mana into similar forms¨Cthat is how mana-chips are created¨Cbut the concentration of what surrounds your mana-veins is likely of diamond grade or higher. Two orders of magnitude more concentrated than a ruby chip. The volume would also be several times greater than a typical diamond chip.]


    He stroked his tentacles together in a way that was as sinister as it was cute. It was hard to keep a handle on how dangerous Grotto was in his itty-bitty-cephalopoid form.


    [Further,the technique is only useful at lower stat values. Once your mana veins are sufficiently advanced, the strength of the injections will no longer prove adequate to encourage stat growth. Anything under ten is trivial to encourage growth in comparison to what is generated by a well-developed Delve obelisk. This technique is also inordinately expensive. It would be a ludicrous expenditure of mana for the benefits being received.]


    Well, that was disappointing.


    I mean, that¡¯s good. He didn¡¯t know how to use it. That was good. Yes.


    But disappointing.


    [Is that the full report?]


    [Does this not excite you?]


    [You just said yourself that it¡¯s useless with higher stat values, so it¡¯s not much of an advantage to me. I mean, great job and all, but even if you figured it out you¡¯d need to use it on...someone...else... Damn, am I an asshole? You could use it on Xim and Nuralie.]


    [Yes. Varrin as well. He is a capable fighter who is indebted to you and with a powerful family. He would prove an indispensable tool for your cause, and his obligation toward you would only increase with such a powerful gift.]


    [Eh, I mean, Varrin? He got a bit better after the Creation Delve, but it¡¯s Varrin.]


    [You must find it in your heart to forgive his prior actions.]


    [The fuck? You¡¯re just saying that because you want to use him.]


    [Of course I want to use him! We will become indomitable! Unyielding bulwarks upon which our enemies shall shatter the vessels that are their dreams!]


    Grotto¡¯s tentacles flailed as he monologued, and I watched him with unease.


    [Ok, good talk.] He continued to flail, caught up in his imagined future full of demon-lord level conquest. [If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m gonna go check on our ETA to Arsenal.]


    Grotto stopped his flailing, then quickly regained his composure.


    [I have taken the liberty of banking the mana being generated by the obelisk. If we wish to pursue this endeavor, then we¡¯ll need massive reserves. Assuming that I figure out the specific technique for creating the specialized crystal mana... and that I figure out how to apply it to a Delver¡¯s mana-veins without killing them. But such challenges are no more than a trivial stumbling block before me!]


    [That locks up any expansion to the Closet. How long do you think it will take to store up enough mana?]


    [The obelisk is currently producing three-hundred-and-twelve mana per hour after the recent expansions and improvements.]


    [Wow, that¡¯s a whole lot more than before!]


    [Yes, this dimensional realm is a highly fertile source even without any modifications to the environment for generating additional yield. I estimate it will take approximately... eighteen point two nine years.]


    I scratched at my beard, studying the indecipherable symbols still crawling by on the wall-slate.


    [Yeah, that¡¯s way too long to get everyone situated with-]


    [Per Delver.]


    [Grotto.]


    [Yes?]


    [Set the obelisk back to expanding the Closet. I need some bedrooms and shit. Maybe a bathroom, or at least a tub.]


    The mini-c¡¯thon deflated.


    [Perhaps you are right. We must focus on enhancing our gathering rate. It would ultimately reduce the overall timeline.]


    [Wasn¡¯t that kind of obvious?]


    [I am unused to dealing with temporal matters at the truncated scale of biological meatbags that wither and die the moment a single century has passed. I rarely concern myself with such trivial inefficiencies.]


    [Sure, brother. That makes sense.]


    I just wanted to take a fucking bath whenever I wanted. I could probably make a tub even bigger than the one they had at the Temple of Creation. A heated swimming pool, maybe, or a Japanese style bathhouse. Yeah, that¡¯s the one. I¡¯d have to figure out how to portal in a hot spring, though.


    Another one for The List.


    Overall this discussion had been a bit like a fever dream. I¡¯d learned a lot, but wasn¡¯t sure if I should be on board with Grotto¡¯s idea or not. It was also a struggle to manage both my own idiosyncrasies and Grotto¡¯s tendency toward villainous soliloquy while having a coherent dialogue. I needed a damn referee for these chats.


    Then again, would anyone I knew have made the conversation less insane?

 Chapter 49: Some Light Exercise

    Chapter 49: Some Light Exercise


    Arsenal was the quintessential trade hub and traveler¡¯s town. The economy revolved around providing services to the merchants, traders, and commuters moving from Hiward¡¯s eastern shoreline to Foundation, and most of the south as well. Trade goods passing through Port Sarsora¨Cwhich serviced ships sailing from The Littan Empire and Eschendur¨Cand bound toward Foundation or Ravvenblaq, found their way to Arsenal where they were purchased, sold, distributed, or transferred to make the rest of their journey.


    This made Arsenal a melting pot of races and cultures, both of those native to Hiward and those from the eastern nations. While the majority of the population was still ethnically Hiwardian, with pale skin and white-gray hair, there were a few other flavors of stock-and-trade humans with different skin tones and hair colors. There were also a fair number of the tall, lithe, and fur-covered Littans making a layover in Arsenal on their way to hawk goods in other cities and regions.


    There were a few Losons, though not many, and the slightly reptilian individuals steered well clear of the Littans. There were also a small number of men and women who I first thought were wearing headdresses, but later realized they had actual feathers in place of hair. Similar to the Losons, they were mostly(ish) human in appearance, but also sported feathers along their arms and back, along with bright yellow or orange irises like you might see on a bird.


    The main street of Arsenal was packed with cramped shops, offering everything from traveling goods to souvenirs, side-by-side with numerous restaurants which were usually the first floor of an inn. Because of the diversity of wealth possessed by the town¡¯s patrons, there were considerable choices as to how luxurious a stay one might make in Arsenal. You could find an upscale suite that occupied an entire story, full of posh decor and luxury furniture, or a straw floor just large enough to lie down, with three feet to spare for a random stranger to tuck in beside you. There were also accommodations for every budget found between the aforementioned classes of ¡°rich as shit¡± and ¡°poor as fuck¡±.


    Although our group was a merry band of low-lord nobles with fat Delver pockets, Lito felt it would be imprudent to reserve anything above the level of ¡°kind of nice¡±. While we weren¡¯t tasked with a mission of the utmost secrecy and stealth, the fewer eyebrows we raised while moving through Arsenal, the better. Fortunately, Delvers were a common enough sight here. Our weapons and armor didn¡¯t turn too many heads. Aside from mine, that is.


    After I smiled and waved at the fifth agape gawker on our way to the selected inn, Lito encouraged me to consider a more conservative outfit. I told him that I would take it under advisement. I could always swap to my boa, vest, and exposed manly chest combination, but I doubted that¡¯s what Lito was asking for. Luckily, my closet was replete with a variety of clothing styles that selectively communicated the particular size of coin purse I wanted someone to believe that I carried.


    After booking our rooms and getting situated¨Cand my reluctant change into less awesome clothes¨Cmost of the crew went down to the attached pub and grabbed dinner and drinks. I joined for the meal, but once the food was tucked away an entire barrel of ale was ordered, and the revels began. I chose to excuse myself at that point and headed back to my room, which is where I¡¯d spent the last ten minutes doing pushups.


    Not sets of pushups, but a single, endless set of pushups.


    I didn¡¯t really like pushups, never had, and I¡¯d given up counting once I passed five-hundred. It was dull, monotonous, and required a lot of attention to my form to keep from getting sloppy.


    I also didn¡¯t feel like it was doing anything for me.


    [Grotto, can you tell if I¡¯m building up any lactic acid in my muscles?]


    [You are not. Not only are your muscles receiving a sufficient supply of oxygen to prevent it, at this point the physiological consequences of exertion within your body are being dampened by your magical nature, which is helping to bear the load. The traditional biological mechanics that are actually still occurring are also being managed and augmented in a similar fashion.]


    [Cool, cool, cool. So I can do pushups indefinitely.]


    [I would agree with that assessment. However, I do not believe this research proves fruitful to our endeavors.]


    [I¡¯m not doing research, I¡¯m trying to get that final point in Strength to bring me up to ten.]


    [Perhaps you would be better served by gripping your hammer while Lito hits you with his rod again.]


    [Phrasing, Grotto. Phrasing.]


    [It seemed effective at the time.]T/his chapter is updated by


    [Sure, but Lito is taking a break with everyone else and I don¡¯t want to monopolize his free time.]


    [That seems like a self-inflicted limitation with little utility.]


    [People need space sometimes.]


    Grotto floated to the ground, bobbing up and down in front of my face in time with my pushups.


    [You just don¡¯t want to get hit with the rod again.]


    [It hurt! A lot!]


    [Your endorphin levels were elevated during the experience, so I thought that you enjoyed it.]


    [Not you, too. That joke is getting stale, Grotto.]


    [What joke?]


    I stopped, hopped up to my feet, and squinted at Grotto, trying to decide if he was fucking with me.


    [Nothing. Just, never mind. I need a better way to do this.]


    [You could rent a wagon and pull it around town.]


    [Doesn¡¯t vibe with Lito¡¯s ¡°don¡¯t draw too much attention¡± commandment. Kind of wish I¡¯d loaded up all my weights. This happens every time I travel. I get where I¡¯m going and realize I forgot something.]


    [I do not believe that it is common practice to travel with a thousand pounds of weight-training equipment.]


    [Dwayne Johnson does it, and he doesn¡¯t even have several metric tons worth of inventory space.]


    Grotto didn¡¯t find that comment worth replying to.


    [Why don¡¯t you just buy what you need?]


    [You¡¯ve gotten mean lately.]


    [My words are given with no malice. If you do not appreciate the honesty then you may refrain from seeking my guidance.]


    [You¡¯d just give it to me anyway.]


    There was a moment of mental silence, where I imagined Grotto was waggling his tentacles within the Pocket Delve.


    [Yes, you are right. I would.]


    [Well, good time to remind myself that there is a mute button for this relationship.]


    Nimean Weapon was cool. If I took it, every mundane melee weapon in my inventory would become capable of bypassing the basic level of resistance granted by Fortitude. I also wouldn¡¯t need to add any basic damage weaves to my items, but the ability didn¡¯t passively improve damage. It gave the option of adding a spell to my attack, which gave me a few ideas.


    The first and most obvious one was picking Oblivion Orb and adding it to a two-handed weapon to put a little range on the spell without dumping half my mana bar into mana-shaping it. It would still tick up the cost from five to seven (damn you upward rounding, it should only cost six-point-two-five, where does the other point-seven-five go?!), but that was still a lot cheaper than the ranged edition of the spell I¡¯d used on the c¡¯thon.


    Sure, it couldn¡¯t hit a target from across the room, BUT, what counted as a Strength attack? What if I threw something really, really hard? Would that still work?


    Augean Effort looked very enticing. The word ¡°alter¡± could mean a lot of things. Also, having my Strength score doubled likely did a lot more than just doubling how strong I was. My Oblivion Orb did a lot more than double in volume going from a four to a ten in Intelligence, and the amount of weight I could add to my max lifts for each point of Strength gained steadily rose while I was weight training.


    Stats were, at least in some ways, geometric. Going from a twenty Strength to a forty may be more like a five times multiplier to the force I could apply, rather than a measly doubling. Going from a forty to an eighty? Yee-haw.


    I salivated over the thought of busting through walls while yelling ¡°Oh yeeeeaaaah!¡± like the motherfucking Kool-Aid man. I was already rehearsing my inflection for when I inevitably plowed through a door screaming ¡°I¡¯m the Juggernaut, bitch!¡±


    It would also be good for creating traps, constructing defensive fortifications, building all sorts of other wacky shit, and landscaping.


    Lernean Teamwork was the obvious choice for a consistent boost to party damage. I already gave one buff to my team from Who Needs a Cleric? This would stack a damage modifier on top.


    However, I wasn¡¯t planning on mainlining Strength attacks. It was helpful for now because of my training stats, but the one thing I knew for certain was that I planned on using spells for a lot of my fighting. A plan that had, thus far, not been executed as well as it could have. I really needed more mana.


    Also, Lernean Teamwork was boring. What catchphrase would I use for that ability? ¡°There¡¯s no ¡°I¡± in team, so get wrecked, scrub!¡±? That didn¡¯t even make sense. ¡°Power of Friendship attack!¡±? Boo. ¡°Teamwork makes the dream work and our dream is that you fucking die!¡±? Too long. I could just hold up my hammer and demand that we assemble, but that was pretty unoriginal.


    I selected Nimean Weapon comboed with Oblivion Orb, because I wanted to hit things with a reality-erasing hammer. That sounded swell.


    ****


    The following morning our group gathered at the Eastern gate of Arsenal, which guarded a bridge we¡¯d use to cross a river flowing into Lake Hollow before heading south toward Ravvenblaq.


    There were a few hangovers, though none of them particularly severe due to Delver resilience, and a quick couple of cleanses and heals from Xim took care of the rest.


    I wondered if her ability created electrolytes. Water as well. Cole had said it could help with blood loss, so I suppose it made sense that it could create anything the body needed to some extent.


    Just, not entire stretches of intestine. At least, not yet.


    The run toward the mountains was exactly as entertaining as you¡¯d think it would be.


    There were shitty roads, random travelers who watched us with interest as we zipped past, wide and fertile plains, farmland, cattle, horses, a butterfly that was fucking on fire and burned like hell when you got too close, and all the variety afforded by rural pasture and grassland.


    Those of us with the lowest Fortitude were able to all-out sprint for about an hour and a half, after which we would trade down to a jog while our stamina recovered. A couple hours into the jogging portion my stamina was back to full, but Xim and Ember were still regenerating.


    I asked Lito to call us to a stop, and floated the idea of anyone with Fortitude below twenty hanging out in my Pocket Closet. The impossibility of the math was not lost on Ember or Lito, who pointed out my personal incapability to possess a Fort that high at level one, but I hand-waved it away by telling them I had abilities and achievements that gave me more stamina than I should have otherwise. True enough, and they let it slide, though I suspected Lito would have more questions for me some time soon.


    Still, I¡¯d made the mistake of pretending I was weaker than I was back in the Creation Delve, and people had died. Would being honest have made a difference? I still didn¡¯t know, but I didn¡¯t want to have any regrets over ignoring my strengths in favor of subtlety.


    Plus, my citizenship with the Third Layer made me a tougher target to annoy with coercive inquiries. I was, politically, much safer than I had been in the past.


    So, Xim, Ember, Cole, and Myria joined Nuralie in the Closet, while Lito, Ashe, and I continued sprinting south toward the Ravvenblaq mountains.


    I was kind of jealous. Especially when Myria broke out a skin of fruit tea and little cakes before heading into the Closet, to be enjoyed by those inside.


    Beyond helping us get to Ravvenblaq faster, there was also a more selfish reason for presenting this plan. I needed to sprint to train my Speed, and now I could do so with abandon.


    Three more hours sprinting, a one hour jog to recover, and another hour at speed brought us to the southern edge of the mountain pass. Overall, we¡¯d gotten there quite a bit faster than Lito had expected, since we weren¡¯t slowed by our less hearty members. I was also rewarded with the delectable +1 SPD notification, which brought me up to seven. I wouldn¡¯t make ten before the cave, but I¡¯d already made more progress on the trip than I thought I would have.


    The three of us turned west, moving along the southern edge of the mountain range, and made it to our meet-up point a day early. South of the mountains featured several stretches of woodlands, and we set up camp a couple kilometers deep into the forest.


    The night was filled with a thick sense of tense antici...pation as we prepared ourselves for what we might face on the ¡®morrow.

 Chapter 50: Gracorvus

    Chapter 50: Gracorvus


    I forewent physical training on the eve of our approach to the cave. Initially, I¡¯d asked Lito if he could teach me a technique that utilized stamina rather than mana, but he was of the opinion that techniques were better ¡®discovered¡¯ than taught. I also asked Ember about her flight ability, which was stamina-based, though I didn¡¯t see how that made sense, and she demoed it for me a few times. She wasn¡¯t able to give me any useful guidance on how to acquire it, though.


    ¡°I¡¯ve just always wanted to fly,¡± she said. ¡°Since I was a girl, it¡¯s the first dream I remember having. Other children would talk about growing up to be teachers, or rulers like their parents, and there was no shortage of talk about becoming Delvers. One girl in my class wanted to be a diplomat from the age of five, if you can believe it.¡± Her eyes wandered over to Myria. ¡°But when they asked me, all I¡¯d say was ¡°fly¡± or ¡°be a bird¡±. Sometimes I even said ¡°angel¡±, those sorts of things.


    ¡°We were in our sixth gold-tier Delve, fighting a Megatross,¡± she continued, ¡°It took me in its claws and flew me over this ridiculous pit that surrounded the obelisk. Biggest obelisk chamber I¡¯ve ever seen, no idea why it needed a giant pit of all things. It let me loose, and I fell for a few seconds. Then, I stopped falling. I don¡¯t even remember the System message, I just accepted the skill on instinct.¡±


    [The Delve core likely built the pit for that very reason,] Grotto volunteered to me. [A poor choice, as many Delvers possess flight skills or ways to avoid falling in the first instance. The floor-space to kill ratio is terrible for that sort of construct.]


    ¡°So it just happened?¡± I said, ignoring Grotto.


    ¡°Yeah. Sorry if that¡¯s unhelpful.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s really good to know. I just need to think about my childhood dreams and get a skill moments before my untimely demise. Easy enough.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not usually how it happens,¡± Ember said with a grin. ¡°But it happens enough that it¡¯s a well-known strategy. Gets some people killed, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the greatest idea.¡±Re?Ad lateSt chapters at novelhall.com Only


    Ember and Nuralie had been in the middle of a discussion around the finer points of fletcher-ing, so I let them get back to talking over ways of adding alchemical concoctions to arrow shafts and heads.


    Lito, Myria, and Cole were going over the slate, transcribing information coming from Umi-Doo and deliberating, while Xim and Ashe were conversing about the warrior¡¯s Dimensional Summon spell. I eavesdropped on the conversation a bit, while I sat down away from everyone else.


    I hadn¡¯t been sure that Ashe was the one to produce the summoning spell, but she had an auto-cast evolution to her Luck stat. Her build sounded atypical, since she focused on summons and Luck to mitigate damage alongside high Fortitude, but didn¡¯t have much in the way of Strength. Ember, her archer sister, was actually stronger than she was, though Ashe used that factoid more for ribbing Ember over her muscle-mommy physique than any point of shame or embarrassment for herself.


    I thought about the spell and whether it was worth picking up. The mana cost was a bit high, and the fact that the summon was decided based on ¡°personal affinity¡± made it tough to justify. To what was I affinized?


    I liked dogs a lot. Maybe I¡¯d get a hellhound or cerberus. I¡¯d had a snake for a while, but wasn¡¯t sure I wanted to go full Voldemort just yet with my own personal Nagini. I at least needed an underage rival who thwarts my evil plans with luck, determination, and the power of a platonic Mary Sue side-character from whom they consistently steal the credit.


    Dinosaurs were pretty awesome. I was huge into the triceratops when I was a kid. I was also always a big fan of horror movies and halloween. Who knows what I¡¯d get?


    Moving on from that distraction, I reached down and pulled my amulet from beneath my body-suit. I considered its effects and decided to do some experimenting now that I had a few hours to kill, so I took it off. The souls of everyone around me fluttered out like dying candles, and I was struck by how alien it felt. I¡¯d grown used to the ability, and seeing everyone without liquid soul-essence hugging their forms completely changed the scene before me.


    The five-person team of gold Delvers no longer bore the blatant evidence of their power. They looked like a group of twenty-somethings LARPing in the woods, rather than a group of superhuman killers. They were all obnoxiously attractive, though, so it was more like a scene from a Hollywood movie about a group of twenty-somethings LARPing in the woods. Not to denigrate LARPers, just saying that no normal group of humans had any right to be so really ridiculously good-looking.


    Xim and Nuralie... well, they still looked like they belonged in a magical land of wonders and danger. One had red skin and had begun to review a book full of unholy, mind-melting symbols in the middle of the night, in the forest, with no additional light-source to speak of. And Nuralie was a straight-up monster girl.


    Apart from the others, Lito stood out the most. Without his halo of golden light, Lito looked tired. He still had the face of a man in his mid-twenties, but his eyes and mouth were set like a guy twice his age with a rocky background who¡¯d seen more than his share of tragedy. A guy who spent twenty years as an alcoholic, got sober, started going to church, then got roped back into his rough-and-tumble lifestyle when his daughter got kidnapped by east-european gangsters. Now he was using his particular set of skills to plot her rescue.


    I focused on what Xim had told me about the Eye¡¯s gift, and moved on from my people-watching, transitioning to soul-watching. I tried to spot any trace of the shiny stuff with my unassisted vision, though there was nothing to see. At first, that is.


    After several minutes, I started to notice a faint outline around Lito¡¯s body. I¡¯d chosen him as my target because I didn¡¯t want to be caught staring intensely at any of the women, and I didn¡¯t really know Cole at all. Lito already thought I was strange, so this would just be another drop in the bucket of weird that was Arlo.


    The outline was so subtle that I thought I might be imagining it. It was the type of thing that I caught in my peripheral vision, but when I looked directly at it, it disappeared; like a Hermann grid illusion.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re staring at me,¡± said Lito. ¡°I just don¡¯t know why.¡±


    ¡°Guess I should have seen that coming, what with you being the truth-seer and all.¡±


    The morning came and went and the Ravvenblaq crew showed up around brunch time, though there were no mimosas to be had. Xim and I greeted Varrin while the adults were talking.


    He was as tall and broad as I remembered. His ice-blue eyes remained the only splash of color against his pale skin and white-gray hair, although the edge that was within them when we first met had softened.


    He walked with a long greatsword, rested on his shoulder. It had a deep blue blade and a bone-white handle; a bit wider than a claymore, but nothing so large or gaudy as you might see in an MMORPG. A little disappointing, but it worked for him.


    He also had a lovely couple of gifts for me.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked as he handed me the fanciest scroll case I¡¯d ever seen in my life. It was also the only scroll case I¡¯d seen in my life, but it was still fancy. Leather-bound, well made, and with a bit of heft to it. There was even some lovely gilding in the shape of an A on the top, which I popped off to have a look at the contents.


    ¡°Your share of the proceeds from selling the Creation Delve loot.¡±


    ¡°Ohhhhh,¡± I said as I unfurled a piece of parchment about the same size as my undergraduate degree, but with far more elegance and pizzazz. It was a bank note with a value of two-hundred-and-sixty-three Hiwardian golden notes. A little north of five ruby chips, or half an emerald.


    ¡°This is a tidy little sum,¡± I said as I looked over the detail on the document¡¯s ornamentation. Were those little dragons that I spied?


    Were there dragons here?!


    ¡°The atrocidile parts were pretty valuable, but not as much as the c¡¯thon¡¯s were,¡± said Varrin as he gave Xim a forearm handshake. ¡°There were also Hognay¡¯s gloves, amulet, and boots, which weren¡¯t the best, but still mana-woven Delver gear.¡±


    ¡°To the victor go the spoils, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Varrin, before handing me the real prize. ¡°My family bought the atrocidile and c¡¯thon essences at market rates, then had this made for you. It¡¯s a token of thanks for keeping me alive.¡±


    What Varrin presented me with was a heavy, polished wood box that opened to reveal a set of eight thick, hexagonal slabs, each about the size of a dinner plate or frisbee. They were dark blue in color, the same as his blade, and seven of the plates were identical. The eighth was attached to a long armguard made of sturdy metal. I didn¡¯t have any idea what I was looking at, so I inspected it.


    Gracorvus


    Unique Targe


    Made with the gratitude of the Ravvenblaq family for use by Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel, this modular targe has been crafted from the essences of an atrocidile abomination and the c¡¯thon known as Ihbriobrixilas by the renowned smith and mana-weaver Ealdric Ravvenblaq Junior. The shield was meticulously forged and woven to custom-serve the unusual needs and abilities of the recipient. It is the first and only shield of its kind.


    Requirements: Strength 10, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 10


    Specialized Requirements: Dimensional Attunement (Effect 1)


    Armor Rating: High. This item will halt even the fangs of the mighty Chihuarberus, although it will fall short of mitigating the slavering maw of the Demihuahua.


    Effects:


    1: The modular slabs of Gracorvus have been woven with Ihbriobrixilas¡¯ ability to defy gravity by altering space, along with its capacity for directing eight limbs simultaneously. This allows the user to rearrange the modular slabs of Gracorvus into a new configuration by spending 1 mana. This also allows the shield to float in place at the cost of 1 mana per minute, or move at the command of the wielder at a cost of 1 mana per second, at a speed of up to [Intelligence score] meters per second. Each individual slab can also be directed independently by the wielder at the same speed at a cost of 0.5 mana per second per plate, though the cognitive load of doing so increases substantially for each additional slab beyond the first.


    2: The core of Gracorvus has been woven with an atrocidile¡¯s frightful presence. While wielding this item in any of its assembled configurations, non-sapient enemies will perceive you as significantly more threatening than they otherwise would, and sapient creatures must succeed on a Wisdom save or suffer the same. This may cause enemies to fight, flee, or piss themselves, depending on their nature.


    ¡°Well, this looks fucking awesome.¡±

 Chapter 51: LFG

    Chapter 51: LFG


    ¡°We took the liberty of naming it,¡± said Varrin, looking over the disassembled shield, ¡°since Modular Floating Targe of the Honeycomb Atrocidile¡¯s Maw was too much of a mouthful. I hope it serves you well.¡±


    I strapped the armguard onto my left hand, then picked up one of the slabs. There were four hexagonal slots along the top of my forearm. When I held one of the slabs over it, it snapped into place with a surprising amount of force.


    ¡°Whoa.¡±


    ¡°Seven of the slabs can move independently to form different patterns,¡± Varrin said as I slotted the other six. ¡°The eighth is bonded to the metal plating along the top of the armguard. When any of the formations is dismissed, they reassemble next to the eighth plate, which acts as a sort of beacon for the others. Papa called this the ¡°home¡± configuration.¡±


    I paused and looked up at Varrin from beneath raised eyebrows.


    ¡°Papa?¡± I said.


    ¡°Er, grandfather.¡±


    ¡°You call your grandpa Papa? What do you call your dad?¡±


    ¡°Father.¡±


    ¡°Your great grandpappy?¡±


    ¡°Patriarch.¡±


    ¡°But grampa¡¯ Ealdric is just ¡°Papa¡±?¡±


    ¡°I, er, I call him Papa Junior, if you really need to know.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± I grunted, looking down at the guard and trying to figure out how to use it.


    ¡°I know you probably don¡¯t have the stats right now,¡± said Varrin, shaking off his embarrassment, ¡°but we wanted to make it powerful, and with your ability to train, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll eventually-¡±


    I focused on connecting to the guard like my wand and sent it a light pulse of mana.


    Seven of the slabs shot off of my forearm and into a seven-point honeycomb pattern. It created a shield the size of a, well, a targe, but the hexagonal sides of the slabs gave it a geometric edge, rather than a round one.


    ¡°I-¡± Varrin stuttered, looking from me to Xim. ¡°You didn¡¯t say he¡¯d...¡± He turned back to me. ¡°You already have tens in Strength, Intelligence, and Wisdom?¡±


    He¡¯d tried to whisper that last part but failed.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said, waving a finger between the pair, ¡°what was that? Xim, have you been spying on me for Varrin?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± she said with a grin. ¡°He wanted to make sure whatever Papa Junior made suited you. So I kept tabs on your progress and sent it along when I could.¡±


    ¡°I feel betrayed and yet, extremely pleased at the same time. The cognitive dissonance is staggering.¡±


    ¡°Tens??¡± Varrin hiss-whispered again. ¡°In all three??¡±


    I¡¯d gotten a bit excited and forgotten that I was planning on breaking the news about my meteoric training progress to the big guy a little slower than this.


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised,¡± said Xim, also lowering her voice. ¡°He¡¯s always sneaking off to train. We¡¯ve barely hung out this entire road trip. And when I do see him, he¡¯s all sweaty.¡±


    ¡°That may not have always been sweat,¡± I muttered under my breath.


    ¡°At least tell me you¡¯re still an E tier,¡± whispered Varrin. ¡°You were barely in that tier the last time I saw you.¡±


    I ran the numbers in my head.


    ¡°I am at PR 68, so still an E tier, yes.¡±


    ¡°PR?¡± whispered Varrin. ¡°No, nevermind I get it. That means you¡¯re only twelve away from D tier. Gods, you¡¯re five platinum Delves ahead of us. And change.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but my intrinsic skills aren¡¯t very high. What¡¯s your Blades level?¡±


    ¡°Twenty-seven,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I got twenty-five at level one for my training before becoming a Delver.¡±


    ¡°My highest is twelve. And that¡¯s Dungeoneering. Not really the flashiest skill. My Blunt is only level one.¡±


    Varrin crossed his arms.


    ¡°You can train those,¡± he once again whispered too loudly. ¡°I can¡¯t train stats.¡±


    ¡°Well, not yet,¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Grotto has some ideas, but it¡¯s pretty underbaked for now. Practically still just eggs and flour, really. Doubt he has sugar. And the butter, no way he¡¯s got that yet.¡±


    Xim walked forward and grabbed me by the collar of my armor with both hands, pulling me down to her level.


    ¡°Are you saying you can give us your That¡¯s a Lot of Stats! perk?¡± Her face was stone serious, her words barely audible. I¡¯m not even sure her lips moved.


    ¡°It is conceptually possible,¡± I said. ¡°But with our current capabilities, it would take twenty years to do it.¡±


    She let me go and took a step back, putting her hands on her hips.


    ¡°Spill it.¡±


    ****


    We took a walk into the Pocket Closet under the guise of finishing our prep, and I gave Xim and Varrin the rundown.


    [It is good that you have decided to entrust Varrin with this power. His family already controls vast swaths of Hiward, which will make the nation an ideal target as our first conquest.]


    [What happened to just ruling the Delves, Grotto?]


    [To rule the Delves is to rule the world!]


    ¡°What is he saying?¡± said Varrin, picking up on our subvocal communication through body language.


    ¡°Just the usual. Multi-planar conquest, powerful figureheads dangling from puppet strings, supreme executive authority derived from overwhelming force.¡±


    ¡°Can you really do it, Grotto?¡± said Xim.


    ¡°The stats thing, or taking over the planet?¡± I said.


    She spun and looked me up and down.


    ¡°You seem like the most dramatic of us. Besides,¡± she turned to address Varrin and Nuralie, ¡°do either of you care?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°A name is important,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It heralds your purpose. Signals to others the nature and intent of your group. It should be something memorable, but not too ostentatious.¡± He gave my armor the side-eye.


    ¡°You may not believe it,¡± I said, ¡°but I¡¯m terrible with names.¡±


    ¡°My family has a long history of naming,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We are taught from a young age the nuance of balancing creativity with tradition. Names should speak truth in a unique way, while maintaining a clear message. Too orotund and the meaning is lost. Too mundane and no one will hear your words.¡±


    ¡°Your family is literally named ¡°black raven¡±,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Yes, it was our patriarch¡¯s call sign during the Foundation War. The Littans had learned to fear the name, so it had power.¡±


    ¡°And what was your patriarch¡¯s name?¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Ealdric Ravvenblaq.¡±


    ¡°And what about Papa Junior?¡±


    ¡°Ealdric Ravvenblaq Jr.¡±


    ¡°And your father¡¯s name?¡±


    Varrin frowned.


    ¡°Ealdric Ravvenblaq the third.¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you named Ealdric?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s my older brother¡¯s privilege,¡± he said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about the name,¡± I said. ¡°Willing to accept suggestions, though.¡±


    We had a Hiwardian, a Loson, a Denizen of the Third Layer, and an Earthling.


    HELD?


    That¡¯s dumb.


    Shit, they didn¡¯t have the Power Rangers here. Using the name wouldn¡¯t be trademark infringement. Xim would be Red Ranger; Varrin, White; Nuralie, Black; and I could be Purple, I guess? Was there a purple ranger? I suppose I could be Pink...


    Drel¡¯gethed¡¯s ephemeral voice broke me from my contemplation of naming.


    ¡°Greetings, Arlo. You have protected our daughter again. We are most thankful. Your place within the tribe is well-earned.¡±


    The spectral man intoned his head toward me, his shadowy body forming into a sort of bow.


    ¡°Of course, no problem,¡± I said. ¡°Ready to rescue whoever needs it, whenever or wherever.¡±


    We could be the Rescue Rangers!


    No, that¡¯s not any good.


    ¡°We¡¯re ready to go, dear,¡± said Xorna.


    While Drel looked the same as he always did, masculine upper body, amorphous lower body, with pitch-black skin speckled with pinpricks of white light, Xorna was decked out in heavy armor that would have looked right at home in a Doom video game. Thick, ribbed plates of hard and semi-organic-looking material. Crimson and flesh-colored tones. A helmet that hid all but her gleaming amber eyes. Her black horns rose out from the helm, tipped with an intricate weave of silver that extended out into sharpened spikes. She had a battleaxe held over one shoulder, and an onyx tower shield strapped to her back.


    ¡°Hello, Arlo,¡± she said. ¡°Lovely to see you. Have you been having a fun trip?¡±


    Fucking. Boss-mom.


    ¡°I¡¯m good, thanks,¡± I said. ¡°I mean, yes, the trip has been... Well, I don¡¯t know if ¡°fun¡± is the word I¡¯d use. It¡¯s been eventful. And productive.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Is your group ready to leave?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±


    She tittered a bit, then went to put an arm over Xim¡¯s shoulder, guiding her away from the group.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Drel¡¯gethed gave me an enigmatic look, then floated off to join his family.


    Varrin and I moved on to meet with his parents, who both wore immaculate, matching sets of black and silver armor engraved and embossed to the gills with depictions of mythical creatures. Varrin accepted a pack from his father and began donning a near identical set of plate.


    It was like they were all going to delve Disney World together.


    Lito approached, still wearing the blue uniform of the Hiwardian Central Delver Authority.


    ¡°We defer to your leadership, Thundralkes,¡± he said, giving a bow to both Ealdric the Third and his wife Nola.


    ¡°Then we should set out,¡± said Ealdric. The man was nearly as tall and broad as Varrin, striking an imposing figure in his heavy armor. ¡°Time to put this mystery to rest. Perhaps quell a rebellion at the same time.¡±


    Nola regarded her husband, though it was difficult to tell what expression she made under her helm.


    ¡°I almost think you want it to be a rebellion, love.¡±


    ¡°Of course I do,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°They burned the manor house. If that was the work of upstart brigands then we¡¯re merely on a punitive mission to disabuse the criminals of their belief that they are above the law. If it is a rebellion, then we are valiant heroes, defending our lands and preventing a civil war.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± said Nola. ¡°The house was quite expensive. Exacting justice in our role as executors of His Majesty¡¯s will gains us little in exchange. Coming out of this as heroes is a much better trade.¡±


    ¡°Precisely, my love. Pre-cisely.¡±


    We set off into the mountains. Thirteen Delvers with a core party of four powerful B tiers, each of whom was the ruler of vast lands and peoples, kitted out with enough magical arms and armor to bankrupt a small country, hailing from four different nations, two separate layers of reality and dimensions, and with one big-ass bone to pick.


    We were underleveled, and undergeared.

 Chapter 52: A Perfectly un-Ordinary Bridge

    Chapter 52: A Perfectly un-Ordinary Bridge


    We made our way into the mountains at a brisk walk, rather than the break-neck speed of the journey so far. This gave Ember and Drel¡¯gethed the time they needed to properly scout the area ahead of us. Even with their Delver abilities, it still took time to canvas a wide area and ensure there weren¡¯t any spies or traps laid out.


    I toyed with Gracorvus as we walked. By sending it a pulse of mana I could array the slabs into a few different shapes. The first was the traditional targe shape, but with a seven-point honeycomb pattern, rather than rounded edges. I could also send it into a line, two slabs wide, along my arm, and ending with one slab at the point. The corner of the hexagonal plate pointed forward, so it could be used for punching.


    ¡°The edge is a bit blunt at the tip,¡± said Varrin, watching me work. ¡°But still more effective than using your fist. It¡¯s also good for striking at joints.¡±


    I nodded, then returned the shield to its rounded form, and activated the hover function. The shield detached from the armguard and locked in place in the air. It stood stock still, even as we continued to move away from it. I was able to guide it back to me using mana, then dismissed it into its home formation, which sent the slabs zipping back into the hexagonal slots along my forearm in stacks of two. The whole series of transitions took five mana.


    ¡°Send it back to its targe shape,¡± said Lito, who had paused to let us catch up to him.


    I activated the rounded honeycomb formation, and the Guardian inspected it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the edges,¡± he said.


    ¡°Sorry that it doesn¡¯t suit your sense of style,¡± I said.


    ¡°He¡¯s got a point,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Show him why, Guardian Lito.¡± I looked between the two of them, though Varrin was giving Lito a wry smile. The gold Delver didn¡¯t seem very pleased with the expression Varrin was giving him and furrowed his brow at the shield.


    ¡°Shields have rounded edges to help keep the enemy from hooking it with their weapon.¡±


    He pulled his hammer from his waist and sat the head of it over the lip of the targe. The haft slid down into the triangular groove where two of the plates connected, with the hammerhead tucked behind the shield.


    ¡°If an enemy gets your shield hooked like this, they can tug their weapon to pull it aside or possibly even strip you of it. Then they can attack with an offhand weapon or their ally can hit you while your block is down.¡±


    ¡°Try and strip it,¡± said Varrin.


    The three of us stopped, and Lito yanked on his hammer. The seam between the two slabs split, letting the hammerhead pass between them, before immediately snapping shut behind it.


    ¡°Damn,¡± said Lito. ¡°That¡¯s useful. With that, not only is the shape not a liability, it¡¯s an advantage.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I said. ¡°But, pretend that I don¡¯t understand and explain that bit to me.¡±


    Varrin rolled his eyes.


    ¡°An enemy will see that shape,¡± said Lito, ¡°and assume the same thing I just did. When they go to strip the shield, they¡¯ll be putting their whole weight into pulling against it.¡±


    ¡°So when the weapon doesn¡¯t find purchase,¡± said Varrin, ¡°they¡¯ll be off balance since they didn¡¯t meet the resistance they were expecting.¡±


    ¡°And while they¡¯re recovering, I activate my trap card,¡± I said. ¡°Sounds useful.¡±


    The two warriors passed a glance between them, obviously to nonverbally communicate to each other their desire to possess half the humor that I did. They both had a touch of the ¡®wet blanket¡¯ demeanor, so it was an understandable feeling for them to harbor.


    [Even more will come to idolize you as your heroic exploits are heralded. Fame is a powerful tool, and you should seek more ways to enhance it.]


    [First, I¡¯m uncomfortable with how much access you¡¯re gaining to my internal monologue. Second, the thought was artfully executed sarcasm. Did that not come through? It¡¯s a thought, why wouldn¡¯t the context carry? And third, my feather boa is already doing that.]


    The boa had a great deal of legalese dealing with the particular ability that enhanced my reputation gain. It was, perhaps, the most detailed ability description I had.


    [The tone may not have communicated because you were actually self-aggrandizing, and not-so-subtly masking that fact by attempting to undermine the statement with self-deprecating humor.]


    [Ok. I don¡¯t like how quickly you¡¯re learning this whole ¡®emotions¡¯ and psychology thing.]


    [I¡¯m always listening to your feelings.]


    [Did you mean to say that you¡¯re always available to listen to my feelings? Like a good friend might?]


    [I said what I meant.]


    [Mmm, great.]


    Our journey toward the Calvani Caverns went unimpeded for the first few hours until Drel¡¯Gethed emerged from the scrubby mountain trees ahead of us. We gathered up to hear what he had to report.


    ¡°There is much mana venting ahead,¡± he said. ¡°Monsters have gathered. The enemy has scouts surrounding the area. It is difficult to pass unnoticed.¡±


    ¡°How serious is the mana venting?¡± said Lito.


    ¡°It is potent. The levels that precede an eruption.¡±


    Varrin¡¯s father, Ealdric, stepped closer.


    ¡°We¡¯ve heard of no mana vents of that density in Ravvenblaq,¡± he said. ¡°We have Sages that run the lands, and Sorcerers who monitor any unusual mana signatures. We might miss a small vent, but not one large enough to lead to a catastrophe. Nola? Have you heard anything?¡±


    ¡°There are no reports of dangerous mana monsters in this area,¡± his wife replied. ¡°Much less a fiend.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps it is recent,¡± said Drel. ¡°Something that has not yet been seen.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, then the vent is growing quite fast,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°The winds here travel in a northeasterly direction. We¡¯ll need to send word to evacuate the lands between the mountains and Lake Hollow.¡±


    ¡°Myria,¡± said Lito. ¡°Can you report that with the slate?¡±


    The dark-skinned Dancer pulled out the slate and began weaving mana into its surface. She frowned as she tried this for over a minute.


    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she said. ¡°The vent must be interfering.¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Could we just go around the mana vent?¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly willing to take a peek at my new homeland, but is that an overcomplication?¡±


    ¡°It expands as far as we have searched,¡± said Drel. ¡°A fissure along the mountain range. The Caverns may be within.¡±


    ¡°And they have scouts all along the range?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I do not know. There are a few ahead. They have high positions. They likely see much with few eyes.¡±


    ¡°If we assume no more scouts,¡± said Ealdric, ¡°how much time do we lose by going around the line of sight of those you saw?¡±


    ¡°To be safe. To avoid detection if we fight through the vent. We will require the rest of daylight.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯d be traveling into enemy territory amid night,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°With no intelligence.¡±


    ¡°With a prepared enemy,¡± Lito pointed out. ¡°If they have scouts, they¡¯re expecting something.¡±


    ¡°That only makes sense,¡± said Nola. ¡°They stirred up trouble and now run to ground and dug in.¡±


    ¡°The Cavern wasn¡¯t much of a secret, either,¡± said Lito. ¡°If we do what you suggest, Drel, will that give us the element of surprise?¡±


    ¡°We will appear where no one was,¡± Drel¡¯gethed said. ¡°With none seeing us come.¡±


    ¡°But will we be able to see what we¡¯re walking into?¡±


    ¡°Not in a meaningful way,¡± said Drel.


    ¡°So we either stumble into a fortified enemy position at night,¡± said Ealdric, ¡°after fighting through a horde of mana monsters and potentially a fiend or two. Or we walk right up to the Cavern and appear out of thin air with no knowledge of who or what we¡¯ll find?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to travel at night,¡± said Lito. ¡°We could move around the boundary of the vent, camp out, then move again come sunrise.¡±


    ¡°Wasting an entire day in the process,¡± said Nola. ¡°We have them in our sights. I say we do as Drel suggests.¡±


    Ealdric grimaced at his wife¡¯s words but didn¡¯t contradict her.


    ¡°How safe is this... layer walking, Drel?¡± he asked.


    ¡°If you are attentive, and follow instruction, it is not dangerous. No more than a walk across a bridge.¡±


    ¡°There are a wide variety of bridges,¡± said Lito. ¡°With varying degrees of danger.¡±


    Xim spoke up.


    ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯s like a stable, but narrow bridge across a tall ravine with deadly spikes at the bottom, without any wind or other stuff to push you off. If you walk straight across, no problem. But if you walk to either side, big problem.¡±


    ¡°Good analogy, dear,¡± said Xorna. She patted Xim on the head with a demonically-armored hand. ¡°But I would have added that there are whispering voices encouraging you to jump, as well. Nothing to worry about if you ignore them.¡±


    ¡°Is it... like that everywhere in the Third layer?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Xim. ¡°The less populated an area is, the more responsive it is to your personality. With twelve people it should be stable, but not if you wander off alone.¡±


    ¡°So just don¡¯t wander off?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡±


    ¡°Sounds easy enough.¡±


    Lito fidgeted with his cigarette case but resisted pulling one out to smoke.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like going in blind,¡± he said. ¡°Even if getting there is easy, we could find ourselves in an ambush.¡±


    ¡°Come now, Lito,¡± said Nola. ¡°Unless an entire team of A-rank Delvers has defected and is plotting rebellion against the Kingdom, we¡¯ve enough ability here to handle any problems. Besides, we¡¯ll be the ones doing the ambushing.¡±


    ¡°I do find it unlikely we¡¯d meet that level of resistance,¡± added Ealdric.


    ¡°But we don¡¯t know for certain,¡± said Lito.


    ¡°I¡¯ll grant you that,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°But if I waited until I was certain before making any aggressive moves in my life, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten nearly so far as I have.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re arguing for caution with platinum Delvers, Lito,¡± said Ashe, speaking for the first time. She was leaning back against a boulder, golden armor gleaming in the midday sun. ¡°Your efforts are in vain.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to accompany us, Guardian,¡± said Nola. ¡°Let the Ravvenblaqs and the Xor¡¯Drels handle the matter. Your party can remain behind, to call for aid if we do not return by nightfall tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°But I still wanna go,¡± said Ashe, bumping up from her rock. ¡°What about you, Cole?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m staying out of this,¡± her brother replied. ¡°If you go, I¡¯ll go, but I¡¯m not picking any sides.¡±


    Ember dropped down from above us with a flutter. I had no idea where she¡¯d come from.


    ¡°We stick together,¡± the archer triplet said.


    ¡°What about Myria?¡± said Lito.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave her a sigil,¡± said Cole. ¡°She knows to look for one. It¡¯s how she¡¯d come find us if we¡¯d moved on normally anyway. She can be the one to call for aid if none of us return.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said Nola, ¡°it¡¯s settled. Let¡¯s get on with this layer-walking. It sounds very exciting.¡±

 Chapter 53: The Third Layer

    Chapter 53: The Third Layer


    ¡°I will have a guiding light,¡± said Drel. ¡°When we are in the Third, you must follow it. Do not speak to one another. If someone speaks to you, they are not real. We shall not risk confusion.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re drinking in the landscape and see something concerning,¡± Xim added, ¡°best idea is to ignore it and focus on the light.¡±T/his chapter is updated by


    ¡°We Xor¡¯Drels will calm the region,¡± said Drel. ¡°We cannot stop your minds from warping the land, but with a dozen of us, it will ebb toward a consensus. This allows we who are native to soothe the journey, and guide it toward a common vision.¡±


    ¡°What would happen if one of us were alone?¡± I asked.


    ¡°More minds, more safety,¡± said Drel. ¡°Alone in the wilds, it is... difficult to find a way back out. Do not wander. Stay close, if you are able.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we be able to stay close?¡± said Ealdric.


    ¡°Distance can get confusing in the wilds,¡± said Xim. ¡°Even if you feel far away, you¡¯re still close if you can see us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long,¡± said Xorna, ¡°since I¡¯ve taken younglings on a walk.¡± She sounded cheerful, though it was hard to tell under the infernal armor.


    ¡°I will begin,¡± said Drel.


    The shadowy man held his hands to the sky, beginning to whisper under his breath. Xim walked over to me as he did so.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to bring up the rear to make sure no one falls behind,¡± she said. ¡°Drel will lead, with you and Mom toward the center. Anyone who hasn¡¯t been to the Third before will likely be nervous, or even scared. That¡¯s going to affect the environment, but my family knows how to help pacify the lands.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± I said.


    ¡°You may be able to help, but it can take time to get used to the Layer.¡±


    ¡°How could I help?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re of the tribe now,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°If you relax and radiate calm, then you can also help keep things in check.¡±


    ¡°Sure, just remain calm. Got it.¡±


    ¡°Just remember that this isn¡¯t what it¡¯s always like down there. Cities and villages are a lot less, eh, weird.¡±


    She patted me on the arm, then moved to the back of the group. We formed up into a line to keep the person ahead of us in easy sight.


    ¡°Should we attach ourselves together with rope?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t help, dear,¡± came Xorna¡¯s voice from two spots ahead of me.


    I frowned and tried to quell my nerves. Was this really the best way to get where we wanted to go? No, of course it wasn¡¯t. But it was the fastest way, and that¡¯s what the Ravvenblaqs wanted. The Xor¡¯Drels were taking a visit home, so no big deal for them. For the rest of us... I just hoped everyone was good at following instructions.


    The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and the sun began to go dim until it formed into a tiny speck in the sky. The world in all directions was cast into total darkness, though each of my allies was still visible as though the sun still shone above us. The speck that was once a life-giving star fell from the sky, and my brain struggled to comprehend the sense of size and distance to the light until it came to rest over the palm of Drel¡¯Gethed¡¯s outstretched hand. He held it aloft, and the darkness trembled.


    I turned to look at her as she stepped carefully between the faces, a carefree smile on her lips.


    ¡°We could stop and pry this open. It wouldn¡¯t be hard with our abilities.¡±


    I considered the people beneath us, but focused on what Drel had told us before we entered.


    If someone speaks to you, they are not real.


    And how could we speak? Though the world was filled with rumbling machines, tortured souls, and turbulent weather, there was no sound. Silence reigned, and even the grinding of my own teeth failed to resound in my skull. I ignored the Xim who had spoken, continuing to focus on Drel¡¯s light.


    ¡°Good for you,¡± the not-Xim said, voice trailing into a whisper that sent hot breath along my ear. ¡°It¡¯s more fun when they¡¯re smart.¡±


    As we found ourselves in the valley, the oozing trees loomed up over us. Thick growths hung down from the branches, wriggling and set to burst. I kept a cautious eye on them, lest one rupture and send whatever contents it held upon my head. The underbrush became thick, and I caught the sight of movement from the corner of my eye. Grasping fingers moved within the dark recesses of the growth. Fingers that began creeping out, seeking our ankles.


    Xorna paused in her stride, glancing at the unnaturally long digits beginning to impede us. She waved a hand at the sides of the path, and bright, spring flowers sprang into existence, entangling the fingers. The vibrant blooms dragged the fingers back into the brush, and no more came forth. Xorna nodded, then continued her march, and the treeline itself withdrew from her, widening and clearing the path.


    When we reached the next incline, I managed to regain some of my composure. The land around us was impossible and nonsensical. If this was a landscape composed of our thoughts and fears, then its danger only existed so long as we gave it the power to do so. We¡¯d also followed Drel¡¯s rules, and no harm had yet befallen our company. I turned inward and began to feel out the world with my passive aura. I emptied my mind and sought to enter a meditative state, allowing myself to follow Drel¡¯s light without thought.


    The metal grating began to melt away into the dirt and rock that I expected. Chains dangling from tree limbs morphed into vines, and the errant internal combustion engine sprouting from the stone was revealed to be pareidolia, the truth of its form shown when examined closely: An oddly structured bit of rock. The Eye watched me from above, and I felt its connection strengthen.


    Through my aura, I felt the presence of my eleven companions. Xim radiated calm and wellness and connecting to her bolstered my tranquility. Drel was the guidance that revealed the path and Xorna was the bulwark that kept the nightmare from swallowing the road that Drel created. I brought all three into my aura, weaving the sensation of regeneration and healing from my passive with their own contributions. Then, I touched on the others.


    Cole felt trapped, suffocated by fleshy ropes that tangled his legs, threatening to bind his movements. Xorna¡¯s presence unraveled the bonds, allowing him to move freely.


    Ember was falling behind, convinced that she could no longer catch up even as she marched less than three feet from her allies. Drel¡¯s guidance revealed that her path was true.


    Ashe¡¯s body was wracked with pain, eaten from the inside by the same disease that had taken her father. My aura regenerated the decrepit flesh and cleansed the sickness.


    Ealdric shrank away into nothing, Nola was judged for failure, Varrin was consumed by guilt. Xim calmed their minds, Xorna pushed back the alien emotions, I healed the psychic wounds, and Drel showed them how to move forward. The four of us acted in harmony and symbiosis.


    Nuralie and Lito were both trapped in isolation, having lost everything that gave them warmth. Home, family, the closeness of good friends. I linked all twelve of us, the Eye guiding my power, revealing to them the presence of stalwart companions. Old bonds that would rekindle, new bonds that would grow rich over time.


    I turned to view the world anew, seeing it not as a nightmare hellscape, but as a flowing structure of organic beauty. Bent bones and warped flesh became massive seashells and verdant plants. Dark and twisted treelines became placid groves, while the tortured souls beneath us became peaceful spirits of the past, wishing us a better life than they had. It was all set under the crimson light of the Eye above, and though it was not a picturesque view of earthly beauty, it was still beautiful, in its own, alien way.


    I brought this vision to the others, the Eye helping me to show them the lands as I saw them, and the silence around us broke. There was a gasp from Ashe as she received the view, others pausing and rubbing their eyes at the shift in scenery. It was a ripple that went through the group, followed by an uneasy relief, and we made our final ascent toward the cave, and the Calvani Caverns within.


    When the cave was in sight, the Eye called to me, and I saw it turn down to the cave itself. It was watching something within, something it deemed worthy of notice. I studied the cave mouth as it grew closer, but it was shrouded in darkness so deep my enhanced sight couldn¡¯t penetrate it. We walked through the opening, and my eyes adjusted to show me a dim view of carved stone and leveled floor. There was a tunnel that went deeper, and in its depths was pure, pitch black.


    Something shifted in that darkness, and I felt a pressure weigh down on me. A pair of perfectly round shapes opened in the gloom, even darker than the air around them, impossibly. Within the circles was not the absence of light, but a void that consumed reality. A presence that annihilated anything it contacted, even space and time itself. This was what the Eye was watching.


    Drel halted in the middle of the chamber, the twelve of us gathered around. I tore my eyes from the tunnel, thinking to warn Drel, but how would I? I had been commanded not to speak. My words would be disregarded, or worse, I would be seen as an imposter. I bit my tongue as Drel began the process of bringing us back into the First layer.


    I would warn them the moment after we crossed.

 Chapter 54: Orexis

    Chapter 54: Orexis


    The light in Drel¡¯s hand expanded outward and enveloped us. Within it, I was cast back into the world of complete black the same as when we¡¯d first transitioned to the Third. My allies were once again still visible, though the light illuminating their forms was dim. A shadowy form coalesced near me, and I took a step back as it began to come into focus.


    Tall, lean, with a wide-brimmed hat. It held what looked like a pipe, and ethereal vapor puffed from its mouth. It was a woman, I realized. A Littan, and a familiar one. The level thirty gold solidified and became as real as the first time I¡¯d seen her in the basement of Typhoon¡¯s warehouse. She turned and looked in my direction, although her eyes passed over me like I wasn¡¯t there. Her soul was barely visible, the darkness itself seeming to compress it.


    Nola drew first blood, her long, thin sword whipping out at a level twelve copper, and half of his head was on the ground before the enemy even realized they were under attack. There must have been twenty enemy Delvers gathered, ranging from low-level coppers to three golds around level thirty, including the Littan.


    Drel, Xorna, and Ealdric rushed the golds, while Lito¡¯s party and the others from my own moved to handle the lesser threats. Nola simply moved to the next target of convenience, giving little consideration to their relative strength. The enemy hadn¡¯t been prepared, many wearing casual clothing, or with weapons stowed beneath tables and benches. It quickly became a slaughter.


    The ebon world still had not brightened when the fighting broke out, and before I could call out my warning, my mind was crushed like a can of air at the bottom of the sea. I collapsed to my knees, becoming consumed by an oppressive force. The black around me tore at my soul, sucking away my life, leaving me cold and icy, gnawing at my thoughts and taking those away as well. My mind became blank and the only thought left was one of escape.


    This cave was a ravenous pit, the mouth of a leviathan greedy to gorge itself on everything I had. Where the Eye¡¯s nature was to see all, this entity existed only to take all, to pull the marrow from my bones and hollow out the core of my identity. My id and ego were drained away, leaving me to exist only as a jumbled mass of fear and panic, the scraps of which soon began to follow the rest of me. The sucking absence went beyond anything I¡¯d ever known, even further than death. I was being obliterated and replaced by the being that erased me. I tried desperately to struggle against it, but I was a fly in the winds of a hurricane. My only hope was to shut my eyes against the terror and hope that it did not take all of me.


    But my eyes weren¡¯t shut, I realized. Scraps of my senses still reached me, like the spits and crackles of a dying fire. I could see the faint glimmer of the souls around me, though the world was sideways. My allies, even the enemies, were just as buried and consumed by the black as I was, but they still fought. They moved unhindered, not noticing the voracious being tearing at them. They weren¡¯t aware of it. I was seeing something they couldn¡¯t. A soul.


    I was blinded by it.


    I clamped down on my soul-sight, driving the ability into the ground with what little will I had left. The light around my allies disappeared, and the black around me receded. Thought and sensation returned, and I felt cool dirt and stone beneath my fingers. I was lying on the ground, curled up on myself.


    Drel¡¯gethed waved an arm and dark hands erupted from the ground at one man¡¯s feet, wrapping his body and pulling him down into the earth. Ealdric dashed across the room, too fast to see, skewering another man who held a spear. The enemy had managed to partially don his armor, but Ealdric¡¯s claymore went straight through his chest, the metal failing to even slow the strike.


    Xorna took her ax to a woman¡¯s knees, who sprayed gouts of fire at Xim¡¯s mother even as she fell. The Xor¡¯Drel was unaffected, and a kick to the woman¡¯s temple left her unmoving. Nola moved as quick as her husband, taking apart two silvers in their twenties with her thin blade before they had a chance to use a single skill. Chunks of them were scattered across the room.


    A man and woman were pinned to the wall, massive arrows puncturing their hearts, and Ember drew another arrow to launch at a man trying to flee. Ashe tried to pin down the Littan with her sword, but the woman¡¯s body became mist which flowed around her. Lightning arced from Cole¡¯s hand, forcing the Littan back into her normal form, and Lito followed up on Cole¡¯s attack with a hammer strike to the back of her skull. The blow sent her face crashing into the floor, and yet the Littan still began crawling away. Nola halted her by pulling out a shortsword and thrusting the blade through the woman¡¯s back and kidney, into the ground below. The Littan screamed, but was trapped.


    I watched the massacre, unable to move. My body refused to respond, feeling like a dream where the ground swallowed my legs as I tried to run.


    [Grotto, can you do something to help me out? Jumpstart me with adrenaline, maybe?]


    Your familiar is incapacitated.


    That wasn¡¯t good.


    Xim and Varrin tag-teamed a level twelve silver who chucked axes covered in blue flame while leaping off the cave walls. They corralled him into a corner, and Nuralie hit him with an arrow that exploded into green vapor. The man staggered, then collapsed, as Nuralie fell back into a shadowy corner, disappearing.


    Xim caught sight of me, made a quick scan of the room, then rushed over. Varrin followed behind, watching her back and facing what few enemies remained with greatsword leveled, though they were getting mopped up by the group¡¯s powerhouses. Two-thirds of the enemy was dead, with several restrained or incapacitated. Only three still fought, and did so only by the grace of their combatants, who looked to want to subdue them rather than add to the body count.


    Xim knelt and looked me over.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked. ¡°Your health is full, and you don¡¯t have any status effects.¡±


    ¡°We have to leave,¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°Leave?¡± she said. ¡°Alright. But, why?¡± She turned and shouted to Drel, who¡¯d disengaged from the fight, leaving it to the Ravvenblaq Thundralkes to quell the remaining resistance. He began to float over.


    ¡°Something in here is too strong,¡± I managed to get out. ¡°Just seeing its soul did this.¡± I began to get feeling back in my limbs, though I could barely shift my weight.


    ¡°You see the souls of others?¡± said Drel.


    ¡°Yeah. Saw one real big. We go now.¡±


    Drel paused to consider.


    ¡°I will tell the Ravvenblaqs,¡± he said.


    ¡°How powerful?¡± asked Xim as Drel left. ¡°Stronger than Umi-Doo?¡±


    I was stunned by what I was seeing. I believed the others were as well, but my focus was fully on the creature before me. Even without my soul-sight, there was an easy strength to it; like the gentle sway of a crocodile as the apex reptile prowls through the water. I feared to speak or move, to dare it to see me.


    ¡°I know of this being,¡± Drel whispered in his spectral voice. ¡°I advise for us to leave. I wish not for him to notice us.¡±


    I turned as slowly and as silently as I could, my body having regained feeling just in time to grow stiff with fear.


    The Ravvenblaqs watched the creature intently, their bodies poised for action. Their eyes did not move from the monster, but Ealdric nodded slightly, and we began to back out of the cave in unison. Unfortunately for us, the mouth of the cave was gone.


    ¡°I would like it if my visitors would stay,¡± said the creature. ¡°I wish to speak with you, to understand those that butchered my children.¡±


    ¡°Orexis,¡± said Drel, addressing the creature. ¡°I believe that is your name. Forgive me if I err.¡±


    It turned its hollow gaze on Drel¡¯gethed.


    ¡°I know this name and others have known me by it. The name I desire cannot be heard here. The realm is too thin.¡±


    ¡°Orexis, we have come to investigate. These men and women have committed grave crimes.¡±


    Orexis breathed, and another fallen Delver disappeared into its maw.


    ¡°I have no interest in crimes,¡± said Orexis. ¡°I do not wish to understand your pretense of judgment.¡±


    ¡°What do you wish to understand?¡± said Ealdric. His sword was still drawn, held in a tight grip with both hands. ¡°These people are rogue Delvers, wanted by the crown.¡±


    ¡°I do not care what the crown wants!¡± Orexis yelled, the sound loud enough to send pebbles raining from the ceiling. My ears rang, and the others winced. Nuralie collapsed with a cry, holding her hands over her ears.


    Orexis moved to another body and inhaled it.


    ¡°I see, I see, I see, I see,¡± said Orexis, his smaller pair of hands scratching at his belly as he spoke. ¡°Mortal man comes to punish mortal man for punishing. Punishment beget by my own desire, desire which impregnates the minds of the punished, and they have brought themselves to bear upon me. To punish me.¡± The hands clawed and scraped more violently.


    We all took a second to process his words, as Orexis paused his feast to pull Nola¡¯s shortsword from the Littan¡¯s back. She squealed and rolled onto her side, clutching at the wound. Then Orexis selected a new corpse to fondle


    ¡°You sent these people to assault us?¡± said Nola, her voice strained. ¡°You tried to kidnap my son?¡±


    Orexis looked up from the fresh body he was caressing, surveying our entire group for the first time. He dropped the corpse and lumbered toward us, knuckles digging deep grooves into the stone cave floor as he went. Weapons were raised, but he stopped a few feet away, head moving from side to side. His snout snuffled at the air. Even that was powerful enough to create a strong breeze.


    ¡°The wise have brought me gifts,¡± Orexis said. ¡°Or the foolish bring treasures to a dragon¡¯s den. It does not matter. I accept them either way.¡±


    Orexis reached out a massive hand and snatched up Varrin faster than the big man could bring his greatsword to bear. Nola tensed to pounce, but Drel took her by the arm.


    ¡°This is not a fight you win,¡± said Drel.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± said Nola. ¡°That¡¯s my boy.¡±


    She launched at Orexis, sword-point forward, the speed and strength of her dash creating a shockwave in the air. Her long, thin blade erupted into scarlet light and a dozen more blades sprang out from it.


    I never saw Orexis move, but his right hand intercepted Nola, her wall of blades crashing into his palm. He flicked his hand downward and Nola was cast into the ground, sending chunks of stone flying out from her impact.


    There was a moment of silence as dust cleared from the air, revealing Nola kneeling in a newborn crater, helm shattered, face bloody. She looked up at Orexis in rage.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± said Ealdric.


    Then, he went to back up his wife, with Lito and crew right behind him.

 Chapter 55: God of Yearning

    Chapter 55: God of Yearning


    Ealdric opened with a spinning slash. His blade grew twice in length, sailing for the side of Orexis¡¯ head, but the creature¡¯s left hand appeared in front of the blade. The hand pivoted, sending Ealdric sailing behind him with his own momentum.


    Ember launched an arrow at Orexis¡¯ chest, but one of his smaller hands intercepted and crushed it.


    Lito hurled his molten chain at the creature¡¯s right wrist, just below the hand that held Varrin. Orexis moved the arm up a hair, and the chain missed entirely. The smaller right hand snaked out from beneath its rags, revealing itself to be nearly as long as the larger appendages, and it grabbed the chain. It yanked hard, and Lito flew away across the room to smash into a stone wall hard enough to crack it.


    Cole summoned an array of six elemental darts, fire, ice, lightning, acid, earth, water, and began rapid-firing them at Orexis. The creature turned its body, then ignored the attacks as they crashed harmlessly against his hide.


    Ashe called forth a creature with six wings, its center dominated by a large eye. The summon began gathering energy to cast a spell, but Orexis reached out and crushed it in his grip before the thing could act. It threw the corpse at Ashe, bowling them away in a tangled mess.


    Nola leapt from her crater, sword swinging in an upward strike, but one of the smaller hands grabbed it and twisted. Nola spun through the air and lost grip on her sword, then crashed into the ceiling. On her way back down Orexis used his left hand to swat her away and into the wall next to Lito, this time sending chunks of stone falling from the impact.


    Xim, Nuralie, and I watched the fight in awe. Everything happened in the span of two seconds, before I could even think about how to help. The moment I considered using Shortcut to land an Oblivion Orb somewhere on Orexis¡¯ head, Drel¡¯s hand was on my shoulder.


    ¡°Your group should not intervene,¡± he said hurriedly. ¡°We must fight with everything. You would be collateral.¡±


    His body swirled into a dark and speckled ribbon, then flew toward Orexis¡¯ face. Xorna was right behind him, ax in one hand and tower shield in the other, leaping up and bringing the ax down toward the monster¡¯s skull.


    One of Orexis¡¯ smaller hands pointed a glowing finger at Drel and an arc of dark energy shot from it. When it hit, Drel scattered into smoke which drifted and tried to reform. Orexis¡¯ large left hand backhanded the cloud, dispersing it across the room with a massive gust formed from the sheer speed with which it struck. The hand then came back around to grab Xorna from the air before she was close enough to strike. It then began bashing her into the floor, showering us with rubble.


    Cole gathered the flying debris into a pointed spear the length of a sedan and shot it at Orexis. The creature once again turned to let his flank take the hit, coming out unscathed.


    Ember¡¯s arrows were caught and shattered, even when she used skills to fire volleys of three at a time. One arrow arced behind Orexis, turning midair to assault from his rear, but the creature¡¯s back seemed impenetrable as it smashed against it.


    Ealdric returned, hovering in the air as his blade spun in a circle before him, creating a halo of white light. He thrust his arms and the circle shot at Orexis¡¯ back, Ealdric¡¯s sword flying in its center. One of Orexis¡¯ smaller hands made a gesture, an oozing blue fingertip pulsed, and the energy of Ealdric¡¯s attack fizzled out of existence, sending the sword falling to the ground, skittering along the stone.


    Then, a tail revealed itself from beneath Orexis¡¯ rags.


    ¡°No more mewling,¡± Orexis said, as the tail whipped out and took Ealdric in the side. He hit the edge of the cave with a thunderous smack, the most forceful blow so far, and half the wall collapsed on top of Varrin¡¯s father as he fell.


    Drel had reformed, weaving a spell of dark-purple energy, and it shot out in a dozen tendrils for Orexis¡¯ face. Yet another of the monster¡¯s glowing fingers twitched, throwing circular pulses of mustard-yellow mana, which sucked the attack into its swirling power, then crashed into Drel, shredding his form once again.


    Xorna struggled back to her feet and swung for Orexis¡¯ leg, but the monster bucked and stomped at her, revealing a hardened mass from beneath the rags, rather than a foot. Xorna had her shield up and ready as she swung, but the heavy metal shield warped and cracked from the impact, and the monstrous hoof crushed her into the stone beneath it.


    Even had I wanted, there was no opening to assist. The fighters'' movements were a blur, Orexis¡¯s hands nearly appearing to teleport from place to place to block and counterattack. Still, I ran through my abilities, discarding each in turn.


    Explosion! would hit allies, and what would it do if Cole couldn¡¯t even hurt the thing?


    What would I Dispel? By the time I saw one of Orexis¡¯ fingers twitch, whatever magic it was casting had already activated.


    If I closed the distance for Oblivion Orb I would get hammered like the melee fighters with multiple times my own Speed, the same holding true for fighting with my mace or shield.


    Shortcut might be my only viable option, but would I teleport in the way of one of my allies?


    Xim¡¯s hands gripped the haft of her mace, and I could see her watching the battle with taught features. Her parents were being thrashed, and there was nothing she could do. Nuralie had her bow drawn, but her arrows flew slower than either of the Ravvenblaqs, and they had been caught and decimated at every turn. Varrin struggled in the monster¡¯s grip, reminding me of a similar scene with the atrocidile.


    That guy got grabbed a lot.


    But Varrin didn¡¯t look panicked. I watched him struggle to dislodge himself, but there was none of the fevered alarm in his eyes I¡¯d seen in the last grabby fight. His body shone once or twice as he attempted some skill to break free, but each failed in turn.


    Ashe dismissed her summon, banishing its corpse and leaping to her feet. She summoned a new ally, using a Divine summoning spell, rather than the Dimensional one I¡¯d seen before. A being of pure light emerged and immediately began firing blinding white beams at Orexis. This caused the monster¡¯s rags to smolder and dissolve.


    Orexis shrugged off a renewed assault from both Lito and Nola, wrapping the former in its tail and pointing a vomit-colored finger at the latter. Lito¡¯s neck was wrung, and Nola¡¯s skin turned black and necrotic. As Nola fell and Lito writhed, Orexis turned its attention to Ashe, her summon continuing to scorch away his rags.


    ¡°A Kallergian is a good choice to fight me,¡± said Orexis, ¡°if you hadn¡¯t summoned an infant.¡±


    Light the color of rotted eggplant blasted from one of Orexis¡¯ fingers, and Ashe¡¯s summon sprouted mounds of mold and fungus, then burst into a spray of tainted compost. Orexis brought a hand down toward Ashe, and the warrior somehow managed to dodge. It wasn¡¯t through skill or speed, Ashe seemed to stumble in just the right way for Orexis to miss.


    Orexis tilted his head to one side when his strike failed to hit. Then his features twisted and the hollow holes that were his eyes shuddered. His head snapped forward like a lunging pitbull. Ashe wasn¡¯t able to evade this one, and she was caught in Orexis¡¯ maw.


    The beast breathed, and Ashe dissolved into mist, flowing into the monster.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°Do we have any idea,¡± I said, ¡°whose fucking cave we walked into?¡±


    ¡°You seemed to know better than us,¡± said Nuralie. She pulled a potion from her inventory and passed it to Xim. I was amazed we still had access, but I also didn¡¯t know any way to block it. Regardless, I wouldn¡¯t assume anything was beyond the capabilities of a creature that just took apart eight D and B-tier Delvers without breaking a sweat.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Xim, casting another Cleanse, then downing the bottle.


    ¡°I have healing as well,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°When they¡¯re able to swallow.¡±


    ¡°Low-level healing potions are a drop in the bucket for these three,¡± said Xim, nodding at Xorna and the Ravvenblaqs. ¡°Might do something for Lito, but I doubt he¡¯s swallowing anything anytime soon.¡±


    I took a closer look at the Guardian¡¯s neck, which was a swollen mess of blue, purple, and red. It was amazing he was alive at all.


    ¡°And it was Orexis¡¯ cave we walked into,¡± said Xim, answering my earlier question.


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°I caught the name, but do we know more than that?¡±


    Xim took a deep breath as she cast a final Cleanse, then sat back on her heels. She studied Orexis for a moment as the monster worked, then turned back and met my eyes.


    ¡°Orexis is,¡± she paused. ¡°Well, if that is the Orexis I know of, then he¡¯s a god.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± said Varrin, looking up sharply from his mother.


    ¡°Half a god, really,¡± Xim corrected herself.


    ¡°Half of a god?¡± I said. ¡°Like he¡¯s half god, half man?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Xim. ¡°Orexis is an ancient god of yearning. He¡¯s one half of a pair of twin lovers; Orexis and Anesis. Anesis is a goddess of, what¡¯s the best way to put it? Release, I guess. Their concept when together is difficult to translate, but is something along the lines of... satisfaction?¡±


    ¡°Your description only increases my discomfort,¡± I said. ¡°Twin lovers? As in, they¡¯re just so alike that they¡¯re practically twins or-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s irrelevant,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I don¡¯t care if they¡¯re fucking siblings.¡±


    ¡°Literally, even.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything we can do about it?¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°They¡¯re gods, Varrin,¡± said Xim, looking far too calm for the situation.


    ¡°No gods walk Arzia,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Only avatars can exist.¡±


    ¡°So says most doctrine,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°There are no records of true gods upon the world,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°There are no records of avatars, either,¡± Xim countered.


    ¡°There are records.¡± Pause. ¡°Unreliable ones.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t change anything. This is out of our depth.¡±


    ¡°I mean, we went from a god,¡± I said, ¡°to half a god. Now maybe down to the avatar of half a god? What¡¯s an avatar, by the way?¡±


    ¡°A vessel of power for a god to inhabit,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Its form is mortal, its power a fraction of the true deity¡¯s.¡± Pause. ¡°Still greater than any person can attain.¡±


    ¡°Was that rule decided before,¡± I said, ¡°or after Hiward discovered the Delves?¡±


    Nuralie furrowed her brow, considering the question.


    ¡°Before, of course,¡± she said. ¡°Some Delvers are very strong, but I do not think this strong.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said Varrin, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡±


    Before Varrin could continue, Orexis turned and began to approach us.

 Chapter 56: Override Code: FAAFO

    Chapter 56: Override Code: FAAFO


    ¡°You think I have no ears?¡± said Orexis, as the hardened masses of his feet clunked along the floor toward us. He paused and held a hand up to the side of his head, patting it. ¡°Ah, I do not, it seems,¡± he said as though it were the first time he considered it. ¡°Still, I hear all that you say. I do not wish for you to struggle, as the sacrifice I want from you is minor.¡± He let out a grumbling breath. ¡°For most of you, anyway.¡±


    ¡°What sacrifice?¡± I asked.


    Orexis stopped in front of the line of our unconscious allies, leaning over until his face nearly touched them. He turned his head from side to side, examining each in turn.


    ¡°Too weak,¡± he said when he examined Lito, then turned to Xim¡¯s mother, Xorna. ¡°Not dense enough. This one, though,¡± he lingered over Varrin¡¯s mother, Nola. ¡°She is suitable, and unforgivable, but I have tainted her.¡± Finally, he placed a finger from one of his massive hands on Ealdric the Third¡¯s chest. ¡°Sufficient.¡±


    He scooped Varrin¡¯s father up.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Varrin cried, beginning to wrestle with Orexis¡¯ hand. The creature prodded him away with one of his smaller limbs, almost gently. Varrin struggled against it, and Orexis eventually shoved him hard enough to knock him down and send him skidding a dozen feet along the stone floor.


    ¡°I will show you what I wish of you,¡± he said in his raspy, echoing voice. ¡°You three, come.¡± He gestured at Xim, Nuralie, and me. ¡°You as well,¡± he said to the still-prone Varrin.


    He moved back toward the small, white obelisk. The members of my party exchanged glances but decided to follow. What choice did we have?


    When Orexis arrived at the center of the room, he held out one of his smaller hands toward a far wall, two fingers glowing. I looked to where he pointed, and for the first time noticed there was a large, circular doorway set deep within the rock, ornately engraved with foreign, but familiar symbols. They looked like what I¡¯d seen crawling along Grotto¡¯s slate while we sailed for Arsenal.


    Broken rock and gravel lay in piles to either side of the door, and the short stone tunnel leading to it had rough-hewn edges. The doorway had been buried, and Orexis had unearthed it. Recently, from the looks of it.


    One of Orexis¡¯ smaller fingers shone deep blue, and the other looked as though it were coated in diamond, with subtle prismatic glints within. As I watched, the door cracked down the middle and began to open, the heavy stone slabs of each half sliding away. A swirling portal was revealed behind it.


    It was a Delve portal.


    Portal to Delve 9998: The Cage.


    This is a Special-grade Delve.T/his chapter is updated by


    Level Requirement: 1


    Party Size Requirement: 5


    The world beneath us rumbled threateningly, sending vibrations up and through my entire body.


    ¡°What was that?¡± I asked.


    Orexis looked down at me with his hollow eyes, then turned to the hovering orb next to the obelisk.


    ¡°Nasro,¡± he said, ¡°report on the status of The Cage.¡± The sphere was clearly a Delve core, now that I was close enough to get a good look. ¡°Feel free to include my four guests.¡±


    A voice intruded into my mind, but rather than being sinister and histrionic like Grotto, this presence was deep, cold, and mechanical.


    [Report: Delve 9998, The Cage. The Cage is currently in a state of instability due to mana disruption. Mana disruption will continue so long as the void sphere installed by USER DESIGNATION: OREXIS remains in the external service matrix.


    OBSERVABLE SYSTEMS STATUS REPORT:


    SYSTEM UPLINK: ONLINE


    PORTAL ACCESS: ONLINE


    PORTAL BARRIER: ONLINE


    DIMENSIONAL OFFSET: ONLINE


    ENTRY PERMISSIONS: RESTRICTED, LEVEL 1 TECHNICIANS ONLY


    MANA ACCUMULATION: ONLINE


    MANA VENTS: ONLINE, CURRENTLY VENTING, ERUPTION IMMINENT


    OTHER SYSTEMS: UNKNOWN


    The Cage is currently operational. Mana disruption will cause significant overflow onto surface if continued. Would you like to hear recommended action items?]


    ¡°No, Nasro. End report,¡± said Orexis. He peered into the Delve portal, the edges of his non-eyes shuddering. ¡°I cannot enter, though I desire to do so. The walls cannot be breached, as the Delve is in another realm.¡± His smaller hands clutched at his chest as he spoke. ¡°I have tried many things and made many plans. Some have failed. Others may yet succeed. But for now, my labors have brought me to you four.¡±


    Orexis stepped beside the table he¡¯d been bent over earlier, and on its surface was what looked like a life-sized clay statue of a woman. He peered down at the figure.


    Xim took a step toward Orexis, hands balled into fists.


    ¡°A void sphere?!¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re the reason for the mana vents in the mountains. You¡¯re going to destroy entire towns if you don¡¯t stop this! Make the land uninhabitable for a generation!¡±


    Orexis caressed the side of the clay figure¡¯s face, the way he¡¯d stroked the dead before he inhaled them.


    ¡°You desire that this does not come to pass?¡± he said.


    Xim¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Of course I do.¡±


    ¡°Then we may grant each other¡¯s desire,¡± said Orexis. ¡°I want only to free my sister. This Delve, this cage, exists to keep her imprisoned. Alongside others, as well. You will enter the Delve. You will free Anesis, as you call her. After this task is done, I will remove the void sphere.¡±


    Varrin cast a glance between Orexis and his father in the beast¡¯s hand.


    The sigils on Nasro¡¯s orb flared to life, alongside the runes running down the primordial creation obelisk. Tendrils of mana reached out from the obelisk, splitting out into thousands of fine threads that pierced the doll. The sculpture began to reshape itself.


    Two new pairs of arms emerged from the clay, mimicking the half-god¡¯s own. The face stretched and elongated into a snout until the feminine features were lost completely, and the ropes of mana Orexis had forced inside the doll spiderwebbed into a network of veins. I experienced a nauseating sense of overstimulation as my aura felt the mana connect to a framework that was indecipherable to me, while my soul-sight watched the black energy dig deep within the sculpture¡¯s transformed flesh.


    They were bonding.


    [This is well outside of my predictions for how the day would go,] came Grotto¡¯s voice in my mind. I couldn¡¯t help but flinch at his sudden presence.


    [Grotto! What happened? Are you ok?]


    [Whatever overloaded your mind was passed onto me through our connection. It seems I was... less equipped to mitigate the experience than yourself.]


    [Well I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright now. You are alright, right?]


    [I am still recovering, but we do not have time to discuss my status. I need you to open the entrance to the Closet so that I may exit. Close it behind me once I am outside. We cannot risk exposing our own Delve.]


    [What? Why? The situation out here is pretty fucked. You¡¯re safer inside.]


    [It is a necessary risk. This noxious vermin is attempting to exploit the System¡¯s rules.]


    [What can you even do to Orexis?]


    [No, not Orexis. Core 0102. This blighted Creation procedure will override the System¡¯s level restrictions, and I require local access to Delve 0102 which I cannot establish while cut off within the Closet. There¡¯s no time to explain further. I must end him.]


    I focused on opening the Pocket Closet and dumped mana into the ability to mana-shape it.


    I didn¡¯t like the idea of Grotto exposing himself. Not just for his sake, but for my own as well. If he got a tenth of the smackdown as the rest of the team, he¡¯d be annihilated. That would lead to a very unpleasant experience for me through our Shared Fate ability. I didn¡¯t know how bad it would be, but the ability¡¯s description didn¡¯t inspire me to experiment. Regardless, there was no time for hesitation. Like Grotto said, it was a risk, but I was willing to take the chance. This was a holy quest of vengeance, after all.


    Grotto seemed like the kind of guy that could bring some of that to the table.


    I used as much mana as I could, going well beyond what I¡¯d tried during my meager practice. Luckily, Orexis was consumed by his task, and ten seconds later the portal opened.


    Grotto floated out, and the little Delve core looked rough. His feathers were ruffled, one eye was held shut, and he listed to the side as he moved. I snapped the door shut behind him.


    [System access requested. Target: Delve Core 0102.]


    Override code required.


    [Override code 001: Preservation of Delve System.]


    [Override code 023: Aberrant Delve Core behavior.]


    [Override code 998: Target is pissing me off.]


    Evaluating...


    Acquiring targeted core...


    Delve Core 0102 not found!


    Refreshing Delve Core connection.


    Delve Core 0102 has disconnected itself from the System.


    Override code 023 accepted to reestablish link.


    Link reestablished!


    The runes on Nasro blinked a few times, and the orb spun toward Grotto.


    Accessing Delve Core 0102 memory cache... successful.


    Evaluating target core actions... aberrant behavior confirmed.


    Override code 001 accepted. Granting USER DESIGNATION: GROTTO System access to Delve Core 0102.


    Updating permissions...


    Override code 998 accepted.


    Administrative control assigned.


    [Core 1156,] Nasro subvocalized,[you are not authorized to interfere with the operation of Delve 0102, The Calvani Caverns. Discontinue your actions.]


    [Request denied. Terminate Core 0102.]


    Nasro¡¯s sigils blazed, flames and sparks leaping off of the core. The mana-fueled fire spat and hissed, the metallic form of Nasro screeching in protest.


    [Grotto... the System... is malfunctioning... shutdown procedures... required... my actions are not... my actions are... my act-]


    With a final, violent spray of molten metal, Nasro clanked to the floor. The light of his runes, scorched and deformed, died.


    The web of tendrils emanating from the obelisk faltered, and Orexis¡¯s eyes shot open.

 Chapter 57: S-Tier

    Chapter 57: S-Tier


    Orexis turned and searched between us, looking for the source of the interruption. His gaze quickly landed on Grotto, and he snarled. The tendrils from the obelisk continued to fluctuate, losing cohesion, pulling Orexis¡¯ attention back to his task. He began weaving his magic through the unsteady energy. The threads stabilized, but the power from the Obelisk was erratic.


    [Whatever this creature is,] Grotto thought to us, [I¡¯ll not let it threaten my Delves any further. Administrative request. Delve 0102 core eliminated. New core assignment for Delve 0102. Core Designation: Grotto.]


    Administrative request granted.


    [Terminate obelisk functions.]


    The runes along the obelisk blinked off without fanfare, and the tendrils dissipated into mist. Orexis growled and leaned in to study his earthen effigy. A thin layer of platinum soul encircled the dense base of black, but it was turbulent. He reached down with a massive hand and again ran a finger along the side of its face.


    The golem¡¯s eyes snapped open, and a Delver level appeared over top of it.


    Level 1-99-1-1-99-1


    The level blinked and glitched, flickering between level one and level ninety-nine. Orexis stared at the indicator, apparently capable of seeing the same thing I was. His eyes and mouth shuddered, and he twisted back toward Grotto.


    ¡°What have you done?!¡± he screamed, voice causing the ground to tremble, nearly deafening me. Nuralie once again gasped, hands clapping to her ears.


    Orexis thundered forward, galloping toward Grotto, causing the floor to shudder even more violently. He lifted a colossal paw to swipe at the mini-c¡¯thon.


    Orexis closed most of the distance in an instant, and I reacted without thinking. I cast Shortcut, appearing directly between the two.


    Orexis paused for the briefest moment, then slapped me so hard that for generations my terrified descendants would wake in the night with aching bones. Assuming that I lived to have any descendants, of course.


    I had flashbacks to a giant c¡¯thon hurling me away with a tentacle as I shot into the wall from Orexis¡¯ full-body spanking. I felt the carved rock give beneath me on impact, distantly aware that soft and squishy things like the human form shouldn¡¯t be making such enthusiastic contact with anything having a value of four or higher on the Mohs scale with enough speed and force to break it. Especially when said substance was as thick as the inside of a mountain.


    Perhaps it was my fate that giant creatures would sling me into hard surfaces. Shit, I didn¡¯t even need monsters to send me crashing into crap. Cars would do, as evidenced by my very death itself.


    Alas, I had come a long way from colliding with such soft and supple surfaces as the trunk of a large oak tree.


    Varrin had the luxury of being grabbed, but I had the duty of being walloped. To determine whether a living creature could reach escape velocity from being slapped. For posterity¡¯s sake, I would come to learn how much Fortitude one needed to survive the speed of that impact against an unyielding surface.


    The majority of my health bar chunked away as my body miraculously avoided becoming a fine paste upon the wall. I didn¡¯t even feel myself hit the ground afterward.


    Organs have been critically damaged!


    Critical damage reduced by 22%Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    Bonus Damage reduction: 246 -> 192


    Total damage taken: 318


    Status effects from critical damage reduced by 22%


    Bleeding reduction: 182 -> 142


    Compound fractures reduced to simple fractures!


    Health: 49/367


    Body of Theseus had just saved my life.


    Grotto used the second I¡¯d given him to rush at the Delve portal, but Orexis was too quick. The shaking of the ground grew even greater, which my staggered mind realized didn¡¯t make sense.


    Orexis wasn¡¯t causing the tremors.


    Something burst through the ceiling above us, and a line of golden lightning blasted down onto Orexis¡¯ outstretched arm. I watched in awe as the limb was pinned to the ground by what I realized was the radiant blade of a resplendent halberd, held by a man cloaked in crackling electricity.


    He looked about fifty, which with Delver lifetimes likely made his real age fall somewhere in the realm of ¡®old as shit¡¯. His body was short and stocky, and a dozen tresses of white, Hiwardian hair writhed atop his head. He wore nothing but a leather girdle over a fur skirt, with braided sandals that roped around his feet and calves.


    Orexis pulled his arm free from under the weapon¡¯s blade. He held it up to study, and I could make out a long gash leaking dark blood, but the wound closed in seconds.


    A woman floated down from the fresh tunnel above as hunks of rock crashed to the ground. She was around the same age and wore a similar outfit, though her entire torso was covered in fur armor, with matching armguards. A golden circlet hovered and spun lazily over her head like a halo, just below the text ¡°Level 90¡±.


    Even with my soul-sight open only a fraction, I could tell these were the two most powerful Delvers I¡¯d seen, their outermost layer wrapped in platinum. I did some quick math in my head, realizing that they were both PR 438; nearly double Umi-Doo.


    Also, upon the woman¡¯s shoulders sat Myria, looking down like she was at a rock concert.


    ¡°Patriarch Duckgrien?¡± Varrin said, finally tearing his gaze from his father¡¯s corpse, then looked up at the woman. ¡°Matriarch?¡±


    ¡°Aye, lad,¡± the man said, eyes never leaving Orexis. ¡°Canna¡¯ say this looks like the source o¡¯ the mana vents though. Yer great-grandpa regrets he couldn¡¯t be here ta help ye all.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯ mind the blade-daemon owin¡¯ us a favor,¡± said the woman, who halted halfway down from the eighty-foot ceiling. She crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°This one looks troublin¡¯, though. Was this what ye¡¯ were expectin¡¯ ta find, Myria?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say that it was,¡± said Myria, gawking at Orexis.


    ¡°Well then, off with ye¡¯,¡± said the matriarch, patting Myria on the thigh. ¡°Bobret and I ¡®ave some work ta do, seems.¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    You are now entering Delve 9998: The Cage.


    Warning! You have entered Delve 9998 while one or more members are outside of a party.


    Five level one technicians detected.


    A party will automatically be formed.


    Warning! This Delve is unstable.


    Dimensional anchor operating outside acceptable parameters. Delve portal exit location unavailable.


    Rerouting party.


    Your Delve entry point has been changed. Please refer to your schematics before proceeding deeper into the Delve.


    Warning! Anomalous levels detected. One or more party members possess a level that exceeds the maximum allowed for this Delve.


    Initiating countermeasures.


    Error!


    Member(s) cannot be ejected due to mana-instability.


    Error!


    Member(s) too powerful to be atomized.


    Error!


    This Delve has priority safety overrides. Cannot partially collapse Delve on intruding Member(s).


    Error!


    ...processing...


    Party member(s) no longer possess excessive levels. Resolving ticket.


    Warning! Anomalous levels detected. One or more party members possess a level that exceeds the maximum allowed for this Delve.


    Initiating countermeasures.


    Error!


    Cascading error code detected.


    Evaluating...


    Identified source: Anomalous party member(s) possess fluctuating levels.


    Evaluating...


    Resolution: Collapse Delve portal on incoming party while in transit.


    Collapsing...


    Override request received from USER DESIGNATION: GROTTO.


    User is Administrator of entry-point Delve 0102.


    Evaluating alternatives.


    Delve 9998 possesses unique mitigation features.


    Override code 919 accepted.


    Deploying assets to suppress anomalous party member(s).


    Entry to Delve 9998 granted.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Welcome to The Cage.

 Chapter 58: Player 5

    Chapter 58: Player 5


    You¡¯ve entered an area with a very high concentration of Dimensional mana. Bonus mana regeneration capped at 10xWIS.


    Current mana regeneration: 125/hour


    You have survived the notice of a Divine being. You are granted +1 LCK!


    I exited the Delve portal like a man doing a backward dive onto pavement. Well, it wasn¡¯t like a man doing a backward dive onto pavement. I was a man doing a backward dive onto pavement. Or, whatever the Delve equivalent of pavement was.


    It was hard and hurt like hell is what I¡¯m saying.


    The portal I came out of was a ragged tear in space, its edges warped and stuttering as the universe tried politely explaining to the aberration that it needed to stop existing while slamming the world in its face. The portal had its proverbial foot in the door, however, and it persisted, growing ever more turbulent and wild.


    I tried to survey my surroundings, my body reminding me that approximately all of my bones were broken as I twisted my neck and torso to see anything other than the gaping wound in reality above me.


    I was in some sort of corridor with an arched ceiling. Every inch of its dark surface was covered in glowing blue runes and sigils that served as the only light source beyond what little emanated from the portal. They thrummed and flickered, casting the passage into stuttering darkness. The floor rumbled in time with the lights, until they flared and returned to their normal luminance.


    Didn¡¯t seem like a good sign, all things considered.


    Otherwise, I seemed to be alone. I focused on my interface and brought up the list of notifications, clenching away the ice in my gut as I read through the ways the Delve had already tried to kill us. Ejection probably wasn¡¯t deadly... maybe? But atomization, collapsing a tunnel on top of us, or closing a dimensional portal while in transit sounded lethal.


    At the bottom of the list, I found what I thought was my answer.


    You are being subjected to a non-consensual dimensional effect.


    Subracial Bonus From the Beyond activated!


    You gain 50% resistance to the dimensional effect.


    You have been ejected from the dimensional buffer.


    Either I got shat out a little earlier than everyone else while the Delve decided what form of annihilation to try next, or I¡¯d ended up in a completely different area. I really hoped it wasn¡¯t the latter. Playing through solo missions during a party-centric campaign was pretty frustrating. I already had my single-player session with Artemix, after all. Getting split from the group I just pieced back together would be shit for pacing.


    Varrin¡¯s ass crashing into my face quelled my fears.


    My nose held firm in its determination to be one of my twelve bones not yet fractured by the day¡¯s events, and Varrin rolled his armored frame off of me without skipping a beat. He was back on his feet, greatsword at the ready in less than a second.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at holding onto that,¡± I said. He glanced down at me, features taught and skin clammy. I nodded at his sword.


    ¡°Eventually I¡¯ll find something I can kill with it,¡± he said, a tremble entering his voice. ¡°How bad are you hurt?¡±


    I glanced at my health.


    ¡°I¡¯m about seventy-nine percent hurt.¡±


    ¡°Can you stand?¡±


    ¡°Legs are just as broken as they were five minutes ago.¡±


    ¡°Never know with you,¡± he said. ¡°Figured you might have a Broken skill.¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± I said, ¡°that¡¯s a pretty good one.¡±


    His eyes were fixed on the portal, unblinking. I let the silence hang, unable to keep the tension from my own body. Another form was ejected, but Varrin stayed his blade when he realized it was Xim. Nuralie followed a few seconds after.


    Varrin helped Xim to her feet and the Cleric helped Nuralie stagger away from the portal. The Loson was grabbing at the sides of her head, still suffering from the intense sounds of Orexis¡¯ tantrum.


    Finally, a fifth figure emerged, and its black soul filled the air.


    Varrin immediately swung for the golem¡¯s neck, but the creature darted back. Still, the tip of his blade carved a line across its torso as the edge descended, and the creature let out a shriek. The level one was above its head, but the value flickered as it raised glowing fingers at Varrin.


    1-44-1-3-1-98-1


    The runes along the walls and ceiling ignited into blue-white light, heat searing the air. Mana arced from the sigils and struck Etja¡¯s body, which warped and deformed beneath them. Varrin took advantage of the moment, bringing his blade to bear on the golem¡¯s center mass. It screeched and batted at the blade with its larger upper arms. The blade bit deep, and the creature staggered back.


    Varrin used the momentum of the swing to rotate into another arcing strike, cutting another gash along the creature¡¯s chest, then followed up with a third. His attacks never ceased, each swing flowing into a new maneuver, rotating the massive blade with ever greater speed and power.


    1-23-4-1-16-5-1


    Mana crackled out from the sigils again as the creature¡¯s level continued to dwindle. Varrin spun and brought the blade around with his full weight and speed, when the shadow of Orexis¡¯ soul split off from the golem.


    The black shroud surrounding the golem took its own form, bearing the brunt of the arcing mana from the runes, and gripped Varrin¡¯s blade in distended, taloned hands. The swordsman¡¯s eyes went wide. Without my soul-sight, Varrin must have seen his blade freeze from some invisible force. Before the phantom of Orexis was able to capitalize on Varrin¡¯s shock, the runes unleashed another volley of mana.


    Down the entire corridor, the blue sigils came to life, forcing me to shut my eyes against the flash. There was a violent crackle, followed by a series of pops before the light dimmed enough for me to see again.


    Several of the runes had burnt out, showering the hall in gouts of sparks and evaporating mana. Ropey beams of energy wound around the dark form of Orexis¡¯ soul, now completely divorced from the golem¡¯s body. It flexed against the bonds, and the mana frayed, beginning to dissipate. Finally, the dark form wriggled free from the magical shackles, fleeing down the hall in an undulating spectral mass as power from the runes continued to arc toward it.


    The golem collapsed to its knees, the black soul of Orexis no longer engulfing it. Now, all that was left was the gentle flux of platinum.


    Its body morphed, one pair of hands receding into its torso, leaving it with four arms, rather than six. The elongated snout reshaped itself into the prior, vaguely feminine features, more similar to a mannequin than a person.


    ¡°Was?¡± I said. ¡°Is that still your purpose?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then what is?¡±


    Etja paused to consider.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. My bond with Yearning was severed. I should have become inanimate.¡±


    ¡°Golems aren¡¯t fully autonomous,¡± said Xim. ¡°They require a host to direct them. If the host dies or the link is severed, the golem normally becomes dormant or fails entirely.¡±


    ¡°Then why does it still work?¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s the platinum level,¡± I said. ¡°Delver levels add to your soul. At least, that¡¯s how it looks to me. It, er, she has platinum in her soul, but the base layer isn¡¯t there, which is strange. Does ¡®she¡¯ work for you, Etja?¡±


    ¡°My original physical structure,¡± said Etja, ¡°was modeled after a Mirtasian woman who served as Yearning¡¯s high priestess two millennia ago.¡±


    ¡°The Mirtasians existed?¡± said Xim, getting a curious glint in her eye.


    ¡°They must have,¡± said Etja. ¡°Orexis had memories of them.¡±


    ¡°What were they like? Did they really practice blood magic?¡±


    ¡°I,¡± Etja paused, thinking, ¡°I do not know. It feels like some things are... missing.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Xim, deflating.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get back on topic,¡± I said. ¡°Do you have any sort of goal? Anything you¡¯re trying to get done here?¡±


    Etja looked around with her freshly minted eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I don¡¯t know where ¡®here¡¯ is.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°But, is there something you feel like you should be doing? Anything in particular you want?¡±


    Two of Etja¡¯s hands went to her stomach.


    ¡°I want... something to eat.¡±


    I furrowed my brow.


    ¡°Do golems eat?¡± said Xim. ¡°What would they eat?¡±


    ¡°I remember liking cheese,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Cheese?¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Etja nodded. ¡°I think that my goal is to acquire cheese.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I said, pulling out my Bag of Refreshments, ¡°the charcuterie gods have blessed you on this fine day.¡±


    While I scrolled through my inventory trying to find something that would make for a good serving board, the portal spat out one final person. With a burst of feathers and a virulent slew of mental curses, Grotto flew out of the portal. He spun through the air and hit the ground, rolling onto his side.


    [I swear on the very names of the founders that I will find the core that manages this Delve and dismantle his chassis like I did with that traitor Nasro! What sort of a maniac sets the safety parameters on an inbound Delve portal so high that atomizing incoming Delvers is the primary fallback?! It¡¯s madness!]


    ¡°Hey, Grotto,¡± I said as the mini-c¡¯thon popped up off the ground. He began running tendrils over his plumage to straighten the downy mess, then shot a look around the group.


    [You¡¯re all lucky that I was allowed to follow you into the portal because of my familiar bond with Arlo. Do any of you know what happens when a dimensional tunnel is collapsed on someone? No, of course you don¡¯t. No one does! They¡¯re dead! Probably.] His eyes settled on Etja. [I also notice a suspicious lack of murder happening to this fiend-spawn.]


    ¡°This is Etja,¡± I said. ¡°I think she¡¯s probably ok now. Fun fact, she likes cheese.¡± I settled on a small buckler I¡¯d purchased during my mundane weapons buying spree and began making a spread from the contents of my endless bag of chow. I was mildly inconvenienced by a couple of fingers that I noticed were dislocated, but I made do.


    Varrin stared coldly at Etja, but the golem watched him impassively in return. His eyes unfocused, until he was staring through the golem, perhaps feeling the day¡¯s events catching up to him.


    The others passed an unconvinced look between them.


    [I do not think it is wise to allow such a dangerous entity to remain unrestrained. Its allegiance to Orexis is uncertain, and it may share that creature¡¯s violent tendencies.]


    ¡°Grotto,¡± I said, ¡°if I drew the line for who I can be friends with at people who were recently in league with homicidal cutthroats, you wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    [That was different.]


    ¡°You¡¯re right. You had a choice. It sounds like Etja here was created just to be possessed by an evil deity.¡±


    I finished my board and slid it out toward the group.


    ¡°Charcute, anyone?¡±

 Chapter 59: Short Rest

    Chapter 59: Short Rest


    ¡°So, what are we doing?¡± said Xim through a mouthful of hardtack.


    We¡¯d all broken out some provisions once Etja had dug into my offer of cheese and dried meats. The golem mostly nibbled at the cheese in delicate bites with varying degrees of awe on her face, while ignoring the meats. She¡¯d even grown a pert nose with which to sniff them prior to consumption.


    Her favorite seemed to be what I considered a Reggiano of some sort. I was happy enough to hoard the cured meats for myself. Nothing better than a little ham with two hundred percent of your daily sodium intake keeping it fresh.


    Although it felt like we needed to act immediately, what with the rumbling, unstable Delve and hostile, divine soul-shard running around doing gods know what, but the break was necessary. We were strung out from the day and hadn¡¯t eaten in hours, though none of us knew exactly how long it had been. We also had no real battle plan or any idea what we should be doing in the first place.


    On top of that, needed some time for my body to put itself back together.


    Fortunately, Nuralie didn¡¯t disappoint in the alchemy arena, and she had a handful of health and mana potions with her. The potion added 144 to my health regen for an hour, which brought me up to 332. Good news for Xim, since she was able to let her mana recover, rather than dumping heals into me. I¡¯d be back to full in under an hour.


    That left Nuralie with two potions of health and mana each, along with her usual assortment of deadly toxins, flammable adhesives, mildly hallucinogenic battle stimulants that came in flavors both for bashers and casters, and several antidotes and spiritual sedatives in case of an oopsie with any of the aforementioned.


    I went ahead and gave Nuralie the paralytic arrows I¡¯d bought from Seinnador since it was clear I wasn¡¯t going to use them. The sneaky Loson had a whole theme going. If she stuck around with the group, I¡¯d probably throw a dozen poison essences her way to see what she could do with them. As it was, however, the Closet, and her tiny alchemy workshop within, were barred from us.


    Unauthorized Dimensional space has been blocked.


    Bit of a disappointment getting that message, but the skill had said that it may not function everywhere. I could still access my robust inventory, so the glass was half full.


    ¡°What are we doing?¡± I said, responding to Xim¡¯s inquiry after daydreaming for a moment. One of my knuckles popped back into its socket, causing me to hiss through my teeth at the sharp pain. ¡°Well, Orexis is busy with the Dukgriens. That was their name, right? Dukgrien?¡± I turned to Varrin, who nodded. The big guy had transitioned from rage to quiet sullenness after I talked him down from beheading Etja. I was impressed he was as functional as he looked to be, given what he¡¯d witnessed Orexis do to his parents.


    ¡°So,¡± I continued, ¡°we don¡¯t know if Orexis will be around to remove this void sphere thing from the external service whatever to keep the Delve from going boom once we¡¯re out. At this point, doing what he asked and freeing Anesis is a gamble I don¡¯t feel comfortable taking. Besides, who¡¯s to say that his Alabama girlfriend isn¡¯t more dangerous than a mana eruption?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s an Alabama girlfriend?¡± Nuralie asked.


    ¡°Forbidden love,¡± I replied. ¡°As such, I vote that we absolutely don¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± said Varrin. He held a half-eaten chunk of bread limply in his hand, lacking the appetite the rest of us had. ¡°Releasing Anesis would be foolish.¡±


    Both Xim and Nuralie nodded. Etja finished the last slice of cheese and looked down at the board in disappointment. She noticed us watching her and raised eyebrows that hadn¡¯t been there a few minutes ago.


    ¡°Am I... supposed to vote?¡± she said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that would be appropriate,¡± I replied. ¡°I believe we¡¯re still a little concerned you might be the dark agent of an evil god, so just checking in to make sure that plan doesn¡¯t cause problems.¡±


    She shrugged, then gave one of the meats another try. It did not suit her palate.


    [I also agree that Anesis should not be released.] Grotto looked between us, as though daring any of us to tell him he didn¡¯t get a say. The little octo had saved all of our lives, maybe more than once by this point, so I wasn¡¯t about to start putting down his opinion. Not about this, at least.


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Xim. ¡°That¡¯s what we won¡¯t be doing. Not what we will be doing.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no objective,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The System hasn¡¯t said anything.¡± Pause. ¡°It¡¯s strange.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± said Xim. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a Delve that doesn¡¯t hand out an objective when you enter.¡±


    [This Delve is unusual,] Grotto thought to us. [The mana density is far too high for a level 1 requirement, and the safety parameters on the entry portal were intended to obliterate anyone trying to enter that didn¡¯t strictly conform to the level parameters.]


    ¡°Is that unusual?¡± I said. ¡°I thought most Delves had level requirements.¡±


    [They do, but most Delve portals will refuse to permit access to a more powerful entity. If something manages to bypass those restrictions, there are less extreme countermeasures. Annihilating curious Delvers testing their luck is not normal protocol.]


    He floated up to one of the walls, examining the extensive runes and sigils glowing along its surface. [These are highly complex mana weaves; far more advanced than anything I¡¯ve encountered before. They appear designed to restrain specific entities and several of these symbols represent various facets of Divine magic.]


    ¡°It¡¯s called The Cage after all,¡± I said. ¡°If Anesis is a half-god, then none of that is a surprise.¡±


    [This goes well beyond a single divine entity. There are layered weaves for dozens of aspects. I am not familiar with many of them, but the core rune for divinity is written into each.]


    ¡°Are you saying there¡¯s more than one?¡± said Xim. ¡°That there are multiple deities in here?¡±


    [I doubt any worldly construct could contain a true deity, but an aspect? Perhaps. It would require more mana than I can fathom to contain one, much less several.] He floated down the corridor, eyeing more of the sigils.[The weaves in this corridor alone would require the full output of The Toxic Grotto to sustain. No, more than that. The ones I can understand would require that much. Then, there are the other eighty percent to account for.]


    The Delve gave a sinister rumble to accentuate Grotto¡¯s words.


    ¡°Cool,¡± I said. ¡°So we¡¯re stuck in a giant god-prison constructed by ancient, unknowable beings who have since disappeared from the planet. A wrathful half-god has used a void sphere¨Cstill don¡¯t know what that is, by the way¨C to destabilize the Delve, and a part of his soul is rummaging about, probably trying to tear the place open to get to his sister.¡±


    ¡°Makes the Creation Delve sound pleasant,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Right. That was just an over-leveled Delver trying to feed our organs to his pet mana-fiend while we wandered through a pervasive mist of deadly poison.¡±


    Nuralie blinked a few times.


    ¡°That was your Creation Delve?¡± she said. I nodded. ¡°Mine just had giant ants.¡±


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Ants!¡± I said. ¡°I still can¡¯t get my head around the animals...¡± Nuralie looked at me, confused. ¡°Sometimes the names are the same,¡± I continued. ¡°But I haven¡¯t seen any animals that are the same. And a bunch have completely different names. What gives?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°He¡¯s not from around here,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°They don¡¯t have ants where you¡¯re from?¡±


    ¡°No, they do have ants. But are they the same ants? No idea. They aren¡¯t giant, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    ¡°Most ants aren¡¯t giant,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°That¡¯s why giant ants are called giant ants.¡±


    Before I could formulate a response, we were all hit with a System message.


    You have entered Delve 9998: The Cage


    Several seconds went by without anything further.


    ¡°In your old world. Were there alchemists?¡±


    ¡°Maybe not in the sense you¡¯re thinking. There wasn¡¯t any magic, or if there was it wasn¡¯t overt. There were chemists, pharmacists, brewers... different professions that might fall under the umbrella.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Feel free to pick my brain when we get out of here. I wasn¡¯t an expert in any of those fields, but I did study pre-med for a while when I went back to undergrad before settling on law school. I might remember something helpful. Gut instinct says penicillin, but from what I remember it¡¯s pretty tricky to distill in high enough quantities to be useful. Something about growth vats and a type of corn liquor was involved... Never did get around to memorizing the formula for gunpowder. Damn, that might¡¯ve been useful. Or terrible, depending on how you look at it.¡±


    ¡°Has no one asked you about that?¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°About knowledge from my old world? Not really.¡±


    ¡°Then I will ask.¡± Pause. ¡°When we get out.¡±


    ¡°Sure, no problem.¡±


    ¡°The questioning will be extensive.¡±


    ¡°Uh, ok. I get it.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± She sat back and looked thoughtful.


    Etja had gone back to observing her four hands.


    ¡°Maybe what happened to me wasn¡¯t so strange, then,¡± she said. She turned her eyes to Xim. ¡°Do you have an unusual backstory as well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m from another layer of reality,¡± Xim answered.


    ¡°You¡¯re also like Arlo?¡±


    ¡°No, Arlo¡¯s from another dimension,¡± said Xim. ¡°I¡¯m from another layer of reality within this same dimension.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°It¡¯s completely different.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Etja asked of Varrin.


    ¡°Nothing so notable,¡± he said.


    ¡°He¡¯s the second son of the most recent Thundralkes who rule over Hiward¡¯s southern quarter,¡± said Xim. ¡°Born to one of the most powerful Delver dynasties in history. Trained in the art of the spirit-sword from the moment he left diapers, and identified as a blade prodigy by the age of four.¡±


    [And I am an ancient and powerful creature born by the will of the Old Ones, destined to carry out their machinations upon this world in pursuit of the Great Work!]


    Grotto flailed his feelers.


    ¡°He¡¯s a Delve core,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Wow,¡± said Etja.


    She reached out to pat Grotto, but the mini-c¡¯thon darted away.


    ¡°What about you?¡± Etja asked Nuralie.


    ¡°I¡¯m a Loson,¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh. Well, that sounds interesting too!¡± Etja nodded intently, until her head jerked back and she began swatting at the air again. We¡¯d gotten another System message.


    The world rumbled as the text appeared.


    No.


    No one comes into our Delve and tells us what kind of divine monstrosities we can or cannot keep hidden away from the world.


    Especially not an upstart godling.


    Updating Objectives...


    1: Prevent Delve collapse.


    2: Neutralize the specter of Orexis.


    Evaluating party...


    Rewards:


    Arlo Xor¡¯Drel: Evolution Specialization


    Xim Xor¡¯Drel: Evolution Specialization


    Varrin Ravvenblaq: Evolution Specialization


    Nuralie of Vyxmeldo¡¯a: Evolution Specialization


    Etja Nothosis: Passive Skill Modification: Bound Construct


    Time Remaining: Unknown... Specter of Orexis attempting to breach central cage. Delve eruption in less than 10 hours.


    The message was followed by an unfamiliar voice in our minds.


    {Heyyyyy guys. Sorry about trying to kill you on the way in and all.}


    {Not that I didn¡¯t have a good reason to stop a cosmic spirit from piggybacking its way in with you and destroying everything I¡¯ve worked for during my entire VERY LONG existence, but-}


    {Nnnnnnnow that that¡¯s water under the bridge, maybe I can get your help with something?}

 Chapter 60: Delve Core 9998

    Chapter 60: Delve Core 9998


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°What fresh asshole is talking into my brain?¡±


    {Fresh? If I were an asshole I¡¯d be very old. I doubt I¡¯d be fresh at all.}


    ¡°That¡¯s gross,¡± said Xim, giving me a disapproving look.


    ¡°Jesus, I didn¡¯t know he was gonna take it in that direction.¡±


    I decided not to have another discussion with a Delve core about ¡®boy or girl?¡¯ It sounded like a little dude, so that¡¯s what he was until he said otherwise.


    ¡°I was asking for your name,¡± I said.


    {That¡¯s a weird way to ask about something. Grotto, does this new generation like to use vague references to their orifices in their primitive way of communicating?}


    [Why are you speaking to me as though we¡¯re acquaintances? From what I¡¯ve seen of your Delve so far, you appear to be both negligent and paranoid, which are not qualities I seek in cores with whom I associate.] Grotto turned from side to side, as though he were looking for the target of his ire. [Also, yes.]


    {Great. Looking forward to our dialogue, organic and inorganic alike. Mmmmmmy designation is Core 9998, but feel free to call me ¡®98 if you like.}


    ¡°Nah,¡± I said. ¡°Not into calling people by their numbers.¡±


    ¡°People?¡± said Nuralie, raising an eyebrow at Grotto.


    {But that¡¯s my name...}


    ¡°Sentient entities,¡± I corrected myself. ¡°We can come up with something better. Maybe a nickname, like Nate? Kind of sounds like ¡®98.¡±


    {Hey! Listen!}


    ¡°Oh, no. You don¡¯t want me to call you Navi.¡±


    {What? Nevermind. Why are you naming me yourselves? It¡¯s my name!}


    ¡°Most people don¡¯t name themselves,¡± I said. ¡°Their parents do.¡±


    {I don¡¯t have any parents.}


    ¡°That¡¯s very sad.¡±


    ¡°Just call him Cage,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It¡¯s what you did with Grotto. Just name it after the Delve.¡±


    ¡°Wow, good idea,¡± I said. ¡°But, Cage is a pretty badass name. Do we really want to use it on... ya¡¯ know. This guy? He nearly killed us.¡±


    ¡°So did Grotto,¡± Varrin said, giving the little octo a mean look.


    {Don¡¯t blame him, It comes with the territory. Wwwwwwhatever, guys. Call me Cage, I don¡¯t care. Look, I¡¯ve added it to my USER DESIGNATION. Happy?}


    {We don¡¯t have time to ffffffffool around, you insipid lunatics!}


    I wasn¡¯t sure if Cage realized he was still broadcasting what sounded like his side-thoughts. They were quieter and a lot faster than his normal speech, and definitely didn¡¯t do him any favors in the ¡®winning us over¡¯ department. Like the mental equivalent of muttering under his breath, except unlike the ears of your asshole boss who might be in another room when you shit-talk about them, our brains were point blank to Cage¡¯s mental communication.


    [Does your request relate to the System¡¯s erratic behavior?]


    {Damn, Grotto. Be careful thinking that kind of thing. But yeah, stuff is really mmmmmmessed up. But it wasn¡¯t my fault! This was supposed to be a quiet job! An easy few millennia babysitting the god-sicles. Important, but easy.}


    ¡°Ok, start from the beginning,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re clued in about a few things, but walk it back for us.¡±


    Cage gave a mental huff like he was calming himself down.


    {Three thousand nine hundred and six years ago, I was born. After that, things went downhill. My first assignment was a Delve called The King¡¯s Pit, and that place was a real dump.}


    ¡°Cage,¡± I said. ¡°Keep it relevant.¡±


    {Oh. Rrrright. A few months ago that demigod fellow started screwing around near the Delve¡¯s anchor points within, uh-}


    I felt Cage scan my brain in the same unpleasant way Grotto used to do. The mini-c¡¯thon hadn¡¯t done it in a while, which made me think his connection to my brain had grown more harmonious. Even when Grotto had done it, it was only a mildly off-putting experience. Cage felt like a spunky labrador rooting around in the pantry while his owners were out to dinner.


    {Arzia! That¡¯s what you¡¯re calling it these days. In Hiward, specifically. Anyway, he located one of the anchors and found the external service matrix. That asshole 0102 was helping him out for some ridiculous reason. Kept broadcasting about the System having gone off the rails.}


    [Yes, Nasro began to say something of the sort to me, before I terminated his program.]


    {You... you terminated him? How did you get the authority to do that?}


    [The System granted me administrative access both to him and Delve 0102.]


    ¡°Ohhhh,¡± I said. ¡°Did you just execute a mafia hit for the System, Grotto? Like, if Nasro was right and the System has gone bananas, it makes sense that it might want you to kill him.¡±


    [What kind of question is that, Arlo? He was working with an ancient evil deity to unleash its twin sister to wreak havoc upon the world.]


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sure this portends nothing of events to come.¡±


    {Well, uh, anyway, 0102, er, Nasro was helping Orexis to muck about in the external service matrix to one of The Cage¡¯s primary reality anchors in Hiward. That access point was only ever meant to be used for monitoring and basic maintenance functions, which is why access wasn¡¯t restricted to power-limited techs.}


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot to unpack there,¡± I said. ¡°Reality anchor?¡±


    ¡°Orexis mentioned something,¡± said Xim, ¡°about the Delve not being in this realm.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s like a dimensional space? Like my Pocket Closet?¡±


    {Right. Access to The Cage is only possible through the main portal, which prevents anyone capable of breaking anything inside from entering.}


    ¡°The level one requirement,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Nasro said only level one technicians had entry permission.¡±


    {You¡¯ll need to enter the central confinement area to release Fortune.}


    The five of us were moving down the corridor at a brisk walk, having had enough time to heal up and recover. Cage was guiding us toward the first step of our objective, though the Delve was fairly simple in structure.


    {The outer layer of the Delve is a large sphere, in which the majority of the restrictive weaves are set. The central confinement area is a smaller sphere at the center, with more powerful and specialized weaves for the difficult guests. That¡¯s where both Anesis and Fortune are.


    {Between those two layers are a pair of spherical subchambers on opposite sides of the central structure that host the beings who provide most of the power for the outer weaves. These are also the locations of two locking mechanisms that you will need to deactivate to access the central area.}


    ¡°Anything we should be on the lookout for?¡± I asked. ¡°Delves are normally crawling with mana-monsters, right?¡±


    {Unlike other Delves, The Cage was not designed with prospective Delvers in mind. We do not normally allow the growth of mana-monsters.}


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± I said.


    {However,} Cage continued, thwarting my cheer at the news, {because the restrictions are failing, a small amount of the guests¡¯ divinity is leaking out. This tends to give rise to... other entities that may give you some trouble.}


    ¡°What kind of entities?¡± asked Varrin. He already had his greatsword at the ready, and the rest of us had our weapons out soon after.


    {I don¡¯t know, they¡¯re all weird. Each of them has something to do with the nature of the baby god they¡¯re spawning around. Oh, you¡¯re coming up on the first subchamber.}


    We slowed our march, the far end of the corridor opening up into a larger room. The runes pulsed and glowed in a swooping pattern, but I couldn¡¯t make out much.


    ¡°Nuralie,¡± I said, ¡°up for some scouting?¡±


    ¡°They always want me to scout,¡± Nuralie grumbled. ¡°I¡¯m sneaky so I can move away from danger, not get closer to it.¡±


    ¡°Is... that a no?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± she said. The runes around us pulsed brighter, then went completely dim for a second. When the light returned, Nuralie was gone.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s interesting,¡± Etja whispered.


    I turned to look her over. She was wearing a dark robe Nuralie had given her, with new holes cut through the sides for her two extra arms. She hadn¡¯t exactly been nude earlier¨Cher body was more the suggestion of a person, like a mannequin¨Cbut the longer she was with us the more human her appearance became.


    Her earthen skin texture had morphed to become indistinguishable from human by this point. Her skin tone was a reddish-brown which seemed to be an average of the rest of our group. I also noticed a few dark scales around her neck from where she¡¯d drawn some inspiration from Nuralie. She probably wouldn¡¯t pass as a member of any native Arzian race, but it had started to get a bit weird with her walking around like an undressed Barbie doll. Fortunately, Nuralie took the initiative on getting her dressed before anyone said anything about it.


    ¡°You have a platinum level, Etja,¡± I said. ¡°Do you know how to do anything with that? Do you have any skills or abilities?¡±


    ¡°I think so,¡± she said. ¡°There was something called a character screen I saw while I was... inhabited by Orexis. One second.¡±


    I watched her squint her eyes and focus on the air between us. Her eyebrows went up, and she nearly jumped back again.


    ¡°There it is!¡± she whispered excitedly. ¡°Hmmm, there¡¯s less here than there was before. Still, this all looks familiar.¡±


    ¡°You think you can defend yourself if needed?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I already know how all of these work.¡±


    ¡°Even though you haven¡¯t used them?¡± I said. ¡°Is that a, uh, a golem thing?¡±


    ¡°I feel that I was born into this world with a great deal of knowledge, but also that I am missing a great number of important things.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you knew what cheese was,¡± I said.


    ¡°But not what it tasted like!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°I just suspected I would like it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, well things may get pretty dangerous. Don¡¯t try to be a hero or anything. We¡¯ll try and handle everything ourselves, but you might have to get involved if it gets messy.¡±


    ¡°Yessir, Mr. Party Leader, sir,¡± she said. I was beginning to think she was also born with an intuitive understanding of sarcasm.


    ¡°Did someone tell you I was the party leader?¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s on the interface.¡± She tilted her head to one side.


    I looked up and checked the status of the other party members on my HUD, then down at my bars. Just above my health read the words: Party Leader of Unnamed.


    ¡°You can see that, huh?¡±


    Checking the HUD made me remember that I could share the specific numerical values of my health, mana, and stamina with my party if I chose, rather than just the colored bars. I mentally toggled that on, then mentioned it to Varrin and Xim. They agreed to share after Varrin grumbled a bit over my numbers being so massive for my level.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Varrin,¡± I said, clapping him on the shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll soak the hits for you.¡±


    ¡°You better,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re the main tank with that kind of health.¡±


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to use my taunt skill.¡±


    ¡°Taunt? You mean the atrocidile ability on your shield?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s probably helpful, but I got one better than that. You¡¯ll love it.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Varrin replied, drawing out the word in uncertainty.


    ¡°Cage,¡± I said to the air, ¡°you mentioned these things follow the nature of the deity they spawn from. What¡¯s the ¡®nature¡¯ of the one inside this chamber?¡±


    {It is a rather violent aspect of Fervor.}

 Chapter 61: The Wailing, The Moaning

    Chapter 61: The Wailing, The Moaning


    ¡°Hmm, wonder what Fervor monsters look like,¡± I said.


    ¡°Spiders,¡± said Nuralie. I jumped at her sudden appearance beside me.


    ¡°Really? Spiders?¡± I scratched my beard. Definitely needed a trim at this point. ¡°Feels kind of normal, ya¡¯ know?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re very scary,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Sure, but I¡¯ve never been bothered by spiders. I mean, I try and catch them when I find them in the house and let them go outside when I can.¡±


    ¡°Do your spiders have human heads?¡± she asked.


    ¡°They, uh, do not.¡±


    ¡°Are they six feet wide?¡±


    ¡°Negative. Are you describing spiders as they¡¯re generally found in Arzia?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°These are much worse.¡± Pause. ¡°They¡¯re muttering as well.¡±


    ¡°Muttering?¡±


    ¡°It sounds like a religious chant, but I couldn¡¯t recognize the language.¡±


    ¡°Awesome. How many?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Lots,¡± she said.


    ¡°Cool.¡±


    I filled Nuralie in on sharing our specific health, stamina, and mana values through the interface, and both she and Etja were on board with reciprocating. I glanced at all the numbers, getting a sense of who needed the most protection.


    Xim and Varrin both had health just above 100. Compared to my pool of 367 it looked low at first glance, but it was massive for any normal level one. Fortitude was probably each of their highest stat. Nuralie and Etja were hovering in the low 30s, which made them the priority for keeping out of harm¡¯s way. Etja had the most mana, aside from myself, so she looked like the main caster. That was assuming she knew how to cast.


    I turned and motioned for the group to form up.


    ¡°So, seems like a swarm,¡± I said. ¡°Suggestions on tactics?¡±


    ¡°It depends,¡± said Varrin. ¡°If the creatures follow normal Delve patterns, then the tank pulls them into a tight group and we focus on area-of-effect abilities.¡±


    ¡°If they follow normal patterns,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Swarms are comprised of weak individuals but are a considerable threat to vulnerable party members when they attack in numbers. Since these are god-spawn, it¡¯s anyone¡¯s guess.¡±


    ¡°The System titled them Praying Heads,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Minor aberration, grade zero.¡±


    I thought back to the System telling me I was able to ID monsters on sight after finishing the Creation Delve. It was an ability that I hadn¡¯t been able to use so far and had nearly forgotten about.


    ¡°Does that tell us anything?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The System¡¯s grades are simple enough,¡± said Varrin, ¡°Minor indicates it¡¯s the lowest form of aberration, and grade zero means that one of the creatures should prove a challenge to a single level zero Delver. That is, a Delver going through the Creation Delve.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the same grade that the stickmen had, right? Those first monsters we ran into inside The Toxic Grotto.¡±


    Varrin nodded.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    ¡°Those were minor demons, but yes. The grade was the same.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not so bad, then. We kicked the asses of fifteen of those. We¡¯re all a good bit stronger now than we were then.¡±


    Varrin exchanged looks with Nuralie.


    ¡°There¡¯s more than fifteen,¡± she said. ¡°At least a hundred.¡±


    ¡°Ok,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s six or seven times as many. Do we feel six or seven times as strong?¡±


    Varrin gave me a grim look. Xim shook her head.


    ¡°Come on,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve all got more stats, better gear, new active and intrinsic skills, new passives.¡±


    ¡°Maybe three times stronger?¡± Xim said, uncertain.


    The group above disentangled itself, and dozens more of the Praying Heads began dropping to the floor, skittering over the corpses of their brethren, their howls doubling in intensity. Before long, a horde of monsters was rushing me, and I activated Gracorvus.


    Until now, I¡¯d never used the shield in real combat. I¡¯d put it into targe formation several times, but not while staring down a group of hostiles. So when the ghostly visage of an atrocidile erupted from its front and let out a bellow in return to the advancing monsters¡¯ howls, I was taken by surprise.


    The roar sent a ripple through the oncoming heads, causing them to pause their advance for a brief moment. Then, they began not to moan, but to scream, charging me even faster.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got aggro,¡± I muttered to myself, preparing to receive the charge and pulling out the mace Lito had lent me. Arbitros was four feet of glacier-blue frozen steel, and I was just strong enough to one-hand it.


    When the first of the heads got within reach, I swung it down on the aberration, pulping its skull with little resistance. For the briefest moment, I thought that this might not be as tough as the others had made it sound. Then the next dozen swarmed me.


    I bashed a pair away with Gracorvus while bringing Arbitros around with the momentum, cracking the next Praying Head open and slamming into the two beside it. Four of the heads began clawing at my right arm with their serrated legs, while another pair unhinged their jaws and bit down on my right leg with gaping, fang-filled mouths.


    They weren¡¯t able to penetrate my armor, but the mass of six beasts, each of which weighed as much as a full-grown pitbull, threw me off balance. I stumbled, trying to swing my hammer back toward the right. I took out another head with the spike on the back of the weapon, but this opened up my left flank to attack from five more heads.


    Their claws scraped at Gracorvus, hooking over the top and sending the slabs snapping open and shut as they pulled backward, trying to strip it from me. I bashed a few more away, but another three latched onto my left leg. I swung my hammer, despite more heads clambering on the back of the ones already latched to my right arm. All the while, more of the horde began amassing at the edges of the fray, climbing over one another to get to me. They threatened to bury me under their sheer numbers.


    Varrin charged in, swinging his greatsword. The blade cleaved through three of the heads, cleanly separating them from their limbs or cleaving them entirely in half. He rotated the sword over his head, then brought it into a low arc toward the ground, splitting three more that had drawn close. He waded into the fracas and carved a swath until he was beset on all sides, then he activated one of his skills.


    In a flash, his body spun in a full 360-degree loop, the end of his blade lengthening with a burst of red mana. A split second later every head within eight feet of him collapsed into pieces.


    After the attack, Varrin held the weapon extended out behind him with one hand, then spun his body to meet the weapon¡¯s orientation, gripping it with his second hand and bringing it back around on the next pair of aberrations charging him. He never stopped moving, and heads fell before his onslaught nearly as fast as they came.


    Nearly.


    Despite Varrin¡¯s non-stop onslaught, a few of the monsters made it to his legs, beginning to entangle him with their raking limbs and biting maws. He faltered, the cadence of his strikes interrupted, and more of the beasts closed in.


    A beam of crimson light fell from the sky, six feet wide, and two of the heads were caught in the blast. They ignited, bodies engulfed in red flame, screeching and crawling away over their allies. The fire spread, and soon six of the creatures were immolated. Xim charged in after her divine spell, caving skulls with her scepter, and slamming more away with her shield. The horde divided themselves between us, and then Nuralie and Etja began to rain death upon them.


    Two glass spheres of green liquid exploded within the heads¡¯ ranks, bursting into toxic vapor that began dissolving flesh. The heads retched up foul ichor, staggering and collapsing in the cloud of poison, but the rest scattered away from the attack. Arrows lanced out at the ones trying to escape, burying themselves in eye sockets and bulbous necks.


    Etja followed behind, her steps moving to an unheard rhythm, and she brought her hands up toward a group of heads. Three of them rose off the ground, their claws raking at the air, and their bodies began to dissolve into fragments. The bits flowed into a line and shot toward Etja¡¯s outstretched hand. The golem absorbed them in a gruesome mimicry of Orexis¡¯ breath, then shot forth a beam of azure force that splattered another head. Her movements flowed in a dance as she slung spells like orchestral hits.


    Dozens of the creatures were dead at our feet, and my footing became slick on the gore. I was barely able to move beneath the horde atop me, and I cast Shortcut to fall back to the edge of the fight, moving forward again into the fray with arms free to smash more of the aberrations with my mace. I sent Gracorvus into its pointed formation, following up my hammer strikes with punches at the praying heads too close for the long weapon to hit. This tactic gave me leave to cull another six of the monsters before I was tangled up in them again.


    Varrin launched his whirling technique once more, scattering the heads grappling him and cutting down several more in his weapon¡¯s radius, but gained only a few seconds of breathing room. Xim was backpedaling away from the group, striking with her scepter at the ones growing close, but there were fresh gashes on her face, one eye held shut against flowing blood from her scalp. Etja and Nuralie continued to lob ranged attacks, but there were just too many creatures for us to manage.


    Soon, Nuralie was darting from side to side, evading several heads that had broken away from the main group. She fired her bow as she retreated, but outside of the horde, the heads were quick and nimble, dodging the arrows as they came.


    Etja was surrounded by a dozen or more of the creatures, which were floating off the ground and slowly dissolving into bits. The golem¡¯s face contorted as she struggled to keep the spell going as even more barreled toward her. One managed to get close enough to strike her leg.


    No blood fell from the wound, but her health bar lost a sizeable portion.


    I cast Shortcut to appear by her side, smashing away the attacking head and beginning to take apart the ones that were floating. I intercepted several more approaching, giving Etja room to breathe as she wove more spells. Her mana was more than half gone, but at least three-quarters of the enemy remained.


    Despite my efforts, heads flowed around my arcing hammer to approach Etja from the flank. Scrabbling claws raked at my legs as I maneuvered to try and shield the mage from the attack, but they approached from all sides. Etja launched them into the air, sending them hurtling away, but the disintegration effect was no longer present in the spell.


    The horde had begun to encircle all of us, Varrin and Xim overwhelmed by monsters grappling their limbs. Nuralie continued to evade, but the heads grew thick around her, giving her little room to move. I was unable to guard Etja from all sides. These things weren¡¯t much of a threat to me, unable to penetrate my armor, but I wasn¡¯t able to keep all of them focused on me.


    My mind scrambled for a solution. Explosion! Was my only AOE, and its cooldown was an hour. I¡¯d seen a litany of other spells, and I had active slots open. I did my best to think over what was available as a head bit down on Etja¡¯s wounded leg, taking her below half HP. She teetered, nearly toppling over before I smashed the head away from her.


    Grotto swooped in, his eyes alight with amber light as he levied a mental attack on the creatures outside of my range. Several shrieked and fell, writhing in mental agony under Grotto¡¯s assault, but it was a temporary tactic.


    [The minds of these creatures are alien and fragmented,] Grotto thought to me. [I am unable to cause significant harm to them.]


    ¡°You have anything bigger, Etja?¡± I shouted over the wailing moans. ¡°Something to hit more of them?¡±


    ¡°Maybe!¡± Etja yelled. ¡°It will take a minute to set up!¡±


    I wouldn¡¯t be able to guard her for a minute. I needed another body. A second me to take on the beasts coming from Etja¡¯s back.


    That¡¯s when my mind fixated on a spell I¡¯d already been considering.


    I slotted Dimensional Summon in a free active skill slot, steeled my resolve, and cast the spell. It was mana-hungry, and I didn¡¯t know what kind of creature I¡¯d get out of it, but we needed another fighter on the field.


    A dimensional tear formed in space beside me, at least nine feet tall and six feet wide. I flicked my eyes toward it as I continued to beat away more Praying Heads, keeping Etja tucked close to my back.


    A thick tentacle snaked out from the portal, covered in downy, black and green feathers that swayed in the air as though it were water.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve got to be fucking kidding me.¡±

 Chapter 62: Shogtuatha

    Chapter 62: Shog''tuatha


    A deep voice echoed from the portal, purring like a lion as it spoke.Findd new stories at novelhall.com


    ¡°Slayer of Ihbriobrixilas,¡± it said. ¡°I am pleased to hear your call.¡±


    Tentacles continued to spill from the portal, and a heavy, muscled leg stepped out behind them. The flesh was dark green, the muscle corded, and the foot never touched the ground. A long arm emerged next, gripping the edge of the dimensional tear and pushing its body the rest of the way into our universe.


    The thing that emerged hung in the air, defying gravity like the last true C¡¯thon I¡¯d seen. Unlike Ihbriobrixilas, this one was not a full-on feathered octopus clone. It still had a large and feathered cephalopod head from which the many tentacles spilled like a gruesome beard, but below that was a humanoid body.


    The limbs were too long, its hands and feet with too many joints, the digits spreading out into the air like bony serpents. Its musculature was impossibly lean, lacking any trace of fat to hide the striations and pulsing veins beneath its boreal skin.


    It wasn¡¯t as big as a school bus like the c¡¯thon from my Creation Delve, but the fucker was still eight feet tall. Its black, oblong eyes scanned the battlefield, then settled on me.


    Shog¡¯tuatha: Lesser C¡¯thon, Grade Five.


    ¡°This is a good fight,¡± it purred. ¡°I am pleased to be greeted by such lurid death.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re on my side, right?¡± I shouted, smashing another Praying Head.


    ¡°Of course!¡± it bellowed. ¡°Ihbriobrixilas consumed my brother and fled to this realm like a coward! I am proud to serve y-¡±


    ¡°Good! Protect Etja¡¯s back!¡±


    The c¡¯thon¡¯s arms dropped and it glanced at the golem, then flew through the air and behind her. Its feathered tentacles began wrapping up Praying heads and tossing them away while its taloned hands reached out and struck long gashes across the eyes of others. One of the feelers trapped a head within it, and the limb stuffed the monster behind the c¡¯thon¡¯s nightmare beard. There was a sickening crunch, loud enough the be heard over the moaning. When the tentacle came back out from behind the mass of feelers, the Praying Head was headless.


    ¡°Bah!¡± Shog¡¯tuatha shouted, spitting gore onto the ground. ¡°God-spawn! I cannot eat this.¡± It tossed the corpse away in disgust, then went back to ravaging the rest.


    ¡°Fallback formation!¡± I yelled at the rest of my group, repeating the command a few more times for good measure. Nuralie dove over a pair of heads, rolling back to her feet and hitting another point-blank with an arrow. I waded out into the fight and hammered aside a few more, making way for her to dash behind me and line up beside Etja.


    Xim continued to dart backward, heaving a few heads from her body, then barreling at our formation. Varrin roared and cast his whirling attack again, slinging seven of the monsters from his large frame and sprinting to us.


    Me, Varrin, Xim, and Shog¡¯tuatha fought in a four-person perimeter around Nuralie and Etja. Nuralie fired arrow after arrow between us into the line of monsters, their numbers dense enough to make it easy work for her once again.


    Meanwhile, Etja danced. A ring of praying heads floated from the ground, and the melee fighters took them apart. The line behind that began to crumble to dust, flowing into Etja¡¯s upper pair of hands that she held up and out as she moved. More heads moved in and she fired beams of blue light out at them. All the while her lower pair of hands were held at her waist, a point of orange light growing between them. Each time she cast a spell, it pulsed and grew larger.


    Finally, it grew into a blazing orb and Etja stopped.


    ¡°Down!¡± she shouted.


    All of us crouched low, Praying heads immediately dogpiling onto us. Shog¡¯tuatha glanced back at Etja, then floated up into the air beside Grotto.


    A beam of orange light erupted from Etja¡¯s orb, sending a devastating ray out into the Praying Heads. The attack was visually identical to the beam Orexis had fired at the Dukgriens, and it cut through the heads as easily as the half-god¡¯s attack had cut through stone. Etja spun her body in a circle, a lethal, disintegrating line passing through swaths of the heads. Her mana bar plummeted, and before she could complete the circle it was exhausted completely. She collapsed to her knees.


    She¡¯d killed at least fifty heads with that attack.


    The rest of us sprung back into action, the herd of heads thin enough now for us to continue the slaughter without being overwhelmed. There were another five minutes of ceaseless hammering, arcing blades, scepter strikes, pillars of crimson light, volleys of arrows, and a healthy dose of tentacular strangulation.


    With one final cleave of Varrin¡¯s greatsword, the last of the Praying Heads was cut down, and the fight was done.


    Xim immediately went to check on Etja, whose wounds had the appearance of pierced flesh, just without any of the blood.


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to worry about bleeding I guess,¡± Xim said, wiping some drying blood from her eye as she inspected Etja¡¯s leg. Her face sported a few long slashes. ¡°Normally I¡¯d offer to heal you, but Arlo¡¯s aura will get you back to full pretty quick and my mana only goes so far.¡±


    ¡°Aura?¡± said Etja.


    ¡°If you check your health regen, you¡¯ll see it¡¯s much higher than it should be.¡±


    Etja¡¯s eyes glazed for a second.


    ¡°It says twenty-six. Is that high?¡±


    ¡°Twenty-two of it is from Arlo.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± said Etja. ¡°Then I guess it is a lot.¡±


    Varrin walked up and looked Etja over.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need a thirty-minute breather then,¡± he said. ¡°It gets us some mana back as well. Does anyone have anything Etja can use for armor?¡±


    ¡°I think I can do something for myself,¡± said Etja. Her face scrunched up and she held her arms out, but nothing happened. She stopped after a few seconds. ¡°I guess I need to get my mana back first.¡±


    As soon as the words came out, Nuralie plopped a mana potion into one of Etja¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Oh, thanks!¡± Etja said, peering into the bottle¡¯s murky blue contents.


    ¡°You drink it,¡± said Nuralie.


    Etja nodded, then tipped the bottle back, draining it in one go.


    ¡°I see. It raises my regen as well, but with mana... by sixty! Thirty-eight more than Arlo!¡±


    Nuralie looked over at me and gave me a rare smirk. I wiped a spray of gore from my shades, managing to do little more than create a smear.


    ¡°My aura¡¯s free,¡± I said, giving her a grin in return.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone paying me for my potions.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. We should reimburse you once we¡¯re outside.¡±


    Pause. ¡°That would be nice.¡±


    ¡°It should be standard,¡± I said. ¡°Since alchemy costs money and we all benefit from it, we can dedicate a portion of what we make.¡±


    ¡°But first,¡± said Varrin, ¡°survival.¡±


    Then, we got the loot notifications.


    Please select a method of loot distribution:


    ¡°Obvious? How is it obvious?¡±


    ¡°Your first big kill was a c¡¯thon,¡± she said, beginning to count off on her fingers. ¡°You¡¯re wearing a c¡¯thonic vest and a c¡¯thonic boa. You¡¯ve practically lived in those since we finished the Creation Delve. The color scheme of your whole armor set is based on a c¡¯thon. Your familiar is also decked out in c¡¯thon materials, and Grotto has adapted some pretty c¡¯thonic behavior.¡±


    [What insolence is this?]


    ¡°You¡¯re always waggling your feelers and grooming your feathers.¡±


    ¡°It is important to keep your plumage in good order,¡± Shog said, still stroking his feathered limbs.


    ¡°Also,¡± Xim continued, ¡°you¡¯re from another dimension, like the c¡¯thons.¡±


    ¡°Ok,¡± I said. ¡°I also used to wear leather and eat steak. I¡¯m from the same dimension as cows. Why wouldn¡¯t I get a bull?¡±


    ¡°Would a bull have been helpful?¡± Xim asked.


    ¡°Maybe it could have been a super-bull.¡±


    Xim squinted at me.


    ¡°Are super-bulls real?¡±


    I sighed.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I was also eager to serve the slayer of my sworn foe. And you have been embraced by the Third Layer of this dimension.¡±


    ¡°One,¡± I said, ¡°how can you tell that? Two, why does that matter?¡±


    ¡°Three, I can scent my kind. The c¡¯thon¡¯s reside within the Third Layer of our home dimension.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand how to use the numbers the way I was using them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do. I was answering both questions at once. The sum of one and two is three.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re both prone to useless tangents,¡± Varrin offered.


    ¡°You both have beards,¡± Nuralie added.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the biggest factor,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t a beard. That is tentacles.¡±


    ¡°I am proud of my beard,¡± Shog said, affronted. ¡°A c¡¯thon can take many forms, and this is the one I chose for this world. A beard is a majestic attribute and a symbol of both fertility and virility.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like affinity to me,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°My mother wears the largest beard I¡¯ve ever seen while she mates. It is why I have so many brothers.¡±


    ¡°Shog, my man, that¡¯s gross,¡± I said. ¡°Look, while you guys are recovering mana, I¡¯m in a minor deficit with this guy out. The Divine mana in here screws with my absorption ability. Out in the hallways I had much better regen, so we should figure out what Cage needs us to do.¡±


    ¡°You could dismiss it,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°It has a twenty-four-hour cooldown. I¡¯d like to keep him around.¡± I looked to the sky. ¡°Cage? The fuck are we doing?¡±


    {Glad you all remembered I existed!} Cage subvocalized. {I wanted to let you have some space after what any reasonable person would consider a highly traumatizing experience but it sssssssseems like you guys aren¡¯t worried about nearly dying at the hands of hundreds of divine monstrosities.}


    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s been a weird month,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen worse this very day,¡± Varrin said softly.


    {Right. So, the lock override is at the center of the chamber where that nest of ¡®no thanks¡¯ was gathered up in a pile. Fortunately, it¡¯s pretty resilient, so you didn¡¯t blow it up! That would have been a problem.}


    ¡°This is a communication issue,¡± I said as I got a few dirty looks from the group. ¡°We should be made aware of the location of sensitive infrastructure prior to entering a space where we expect heavy fighting to occur.¡±


    {I¡¯ll make a note of that. If you move to the center of the chamber you¡¯ll find a sub-obelisk. It might be buried under some, uh, well... you¡¯ll see.}


    We made our way directly beneath the massive figure suspended in the center of the room where the lower mound of Praying Heads had been formed. There was a hard, slimy mass of an organic substance similar to the legs of the creatures. There was a network of cracks in it, and a chunk had been blown away on one side, revealing a pulsating mass of flesh within.


    ¡°What am I looking at?¡± I asked.


    {I think this is their birthing mechanism, but who knows! An egg for heads? An egghead? Just pry all that gunk away and the sub-obelisk should be at the center.}


    I swallowed back an approaching gag and started to chip away at the stuff with the spike of my hammer. The hardened surface broke away easily, allowing the contents to spill out behind it.


    ¡°It is like the ovum of a nostworm,¡± said Shog. ¡°A delicacy. It is too bad these are inedible.¡±


    ¡°Shog, five-minute timeout from speaking.¡±


    Shog grumbled but refrained from further commentary. Once the mass was removed, a dark obelisk was revealed, about six feet in height.


    {The unlock requires four of the five technicians to consent, so four of you should each place a hand on one of the obelisk¡¯s faces and channel mana into it.}


    I forewent any further questions, afraid of opening my mouth lest my stomach give an evacuation order. The mess at our feet did not smell good.


    Me, Varrin, Xim, and Nuralie placed our hands on the obelisk and gave it a gentle pulse of mana. Runes along the sides of the obelisk lit up, and there was a deep grinding sound in the distance. Then, a little chime played and echoed throughout the chamber.


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of cute,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°That somehow makes it worse,¡± said Varrin.


    {Great! Now, you just have to do that one more time, wake up the sleeping avatar of a grumpy god, then stop a divine specter from collapsing the dimensional space and dooming everyone within a hundred miles of the reality anchor back in Hiward!}


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s do that.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t wait to get away from the weird mass and out of the chamber. The sleeping god above us twitched, and the runes around the room flared. Cage guided us to the exit on the opposite side of the chamber from where we entered, and we hastily beat our retreat.

 Chapter 63: Heads Shoulders Knees & Toes

    Chapter 63: Heads Shoulders Knees & Toes


    The hike from one spawn-infested subchamber to the next was about four miles, which made the entire loop around the outside of the main cage an eight-mile circumference.


    We moved at a jog, giving our health and mana some time to recover while trying not to dawdle too much and letting the world implode around us. The goal was to make the journey in about thirty minutes, which would put Etja close to full on health and at about half on mana. My mana regen shot back up to 125 when we left the prior chamber, which was really 95 when considering Shog¡¯s thirty-mana tribute each hour. I¡¯d hopefully be somewhere around seventy mana when we arrived.


    As we made the run, we heard the occasional skittering ahead of us and caught sight of at least one Praying Head fleeing before our advance. The others of its kind had seemed intent on fighting to the last head, so I found it curious that one or several had decided to run. When I asked the question out loud, Etja was the one who answered.


    ¡°The heads are overwhelmed with fervor for their god, but they still have individual personalities. For some, the compulsion isn¡¯t strong enough to overcome their will to survive.¡±


    ¡°Is this some of that Orexis knowledge?¡± I asked. ¡°Would have been good to know more about those things going in.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°When I used my consume ability in the fight I harvested a portion of their memories. It was unexpected and... awful.¡±


    ¡°I bet. I can¡¯t imagine what kind of memories a mutated murder-head would have. It didn¡¯t seem like those things had much personality beyond muttering and extreme violence.¡±


    ¡°They were once followers of that entity. They sacrificed themselves to it in exchange for eternal life in servitude but didn¡¯t expect to be continually resurrected in the form of a monstrous drone. When the compulsion to protect their deity took over, any individuality they might have expressed was lost to the rage.¡±


    ¡°Except for the few that ¡®expressed¡¯ themselves by getting the fuck out.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Can you do this with anything? Absorb memories?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was the first time I cast the spell. Also,¡± she looked at me excitedly, holding out two arms, ¡°now I can do this!¡±


    As I watched, the surface of her limbs morphed into a replication of the chitin from the heads, but without any of the gore and goop. The hard substance glinted in the pulsing blue light of the Delve.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool,¡± I said. ¡°Guess you¡¯ve got your armor for the moment.¡± She nodded, smiling like a kid on her birthday.


    ¡°Something else I¡¯ve been meaning to ask,¡± I said, addressing the group. ¡°If we find the specter of Orexis and it comes down to dealing with the thing ourselves, how do we hurt it? It¡¯s just a soul as far as I can tell.¡±


    ¡°Most schools of magic can cause some sort of effect on the soul,¡± said Xim. ¡°My divine fire can damage non-corporeal entities who oppose Sam¡¯lia, or that she abhors.¡±


    ¡°Guess Orexis counts,¡± I said. ¡°Quest of vengeance and all.¡±


    ¡°Varrin¡¯s family practices spiritual swordsmanship, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯s got something.¡±


    ¡°Soul-strike is the first ability we learn after Creation,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It¡¯s a mixed attack that hits flesh and also damages the soul directly. It won¡¯t be as effective against a non-physical entity, but it will still cause harm.¡±


    ¡°What about you, Nuralie?¡± I asked. She was moving along on all fours, her steps completely soundless, with her tail swishing in the air behind her. She glanced up at me.


    ¡°I have spiritual sedatives, but they are meant to be used as an antidote for different mental effects, like enraged. I didn¡¯t brew them for offense. Maybe they can help still.¡±


    ¡°Etja?¡±


    The golem shook her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not sure I should get too close to Orexis.¡±


    ¡°Think he might try and body-snatch you again?¡±


    ¡°On my character sheet, there¡¯s a passive called Bound Construct. It¡¯s inactive, but it gives me bonuses when I¡¯m inhabited by the soul of my master. Right now it says ¡®soul not found¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you could trap him if he dove back in?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea how I would. He¡¯s much more powerful than me. Maybe you should-¡± She bit her lip, then continued. ¡°Maybe you should make me dangerous to inhabit.¡±


    ¡°What? Like booby-trap you?¡±


    ¡°I could keep Nuralie¡¯s spiritual sedatives inside of me, and consume them when Orexis attempts to take me over. It may cause him to bond with a weakened vessel.¡±


    ¡°That sounds really dangerous for you, though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only a couple of hours old,¡± she said with a sad smile. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how long I can live like this, without Orexis maintaining me. Maybe something happened during my Creation and I can live for a long time, even without him, or maybe I¡¯ll break down in a week. Either way, I¡¯d rather have that happen than become Orexis¡¯ sock again. And if he does retake my body, I¡¯d rather not be around anymore. So, I don¡¯t mind if it¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°You know, in my world, there¡¯s a famous story where a slave is given a sock, and because of the gift he¡¯s set free.¡±


    Her brow knit in confusion.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Sock is a weird word to use,¡± I said. ¡°I might have said puppet or glove. Still, it made me think, maybe you¡¯re your own sock now.¡±


    ¡°My own sock?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Instead of Orexis walking on you, your own foot¡¯s in there now.¡±


    ¡°Your metaphors are awful,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is maybe don¡¯t be so eager to unalive yourself.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± she said, still looking lost. ¡°I don¡¯t have any socks though.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll get you a pair tomorrow,¡± I said. ¡°I like mine with some color. I have, had a pair with little dachshunds on them. I had a whole silly sock drawer, in fact.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a dachshund?¡±


    ¡°A small and long dog.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a dog?¡±


    ¡°A furry, four-legged mammal that is always excited to see you and has very bad breath.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I prefer amphibians,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°They¡¯re much more calm.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s staring at us.¡± She drew back on the arrow. ¡°That may be all it does.¡±


    She loosed the arrow and struck the odd creature''s center mass. Its wings flapped a few times as it collapsed to the ground, then went still.


    ¡°Remind me never to film you without permission,¡± I said, moving forward to check out the corpse. I nudged it with my boot, but nothing happened. After a minute of inspection, we didn¡¯t even get a System message.


    ¡°No loot for grade nones, I guess. Cage, got any insight on this little fella?¡±


    {Well, we¡¯ve got eyes everywhere. On this side of the Delve, that is. Monster eyes. I have eyes too, in a more abstract kind of way, but these don¡¯t belong to me.}


    ¡°Your intel leaves something to be desired, Cage.¡±


    {What is there to say? They¡¯re little monsters with eyes. I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re for! Although they¡¯re flocking around a group of much nastier-looking things closer to the subchamber.}


    ¡°Scouts, maybe?¡± said Xim as she squatted down by the dead Eye.


    ¡°If it¡¯s an eye of consumption,¡± said Varrin, ¡°there may be other body parts.¡±


    ¡°Like the jaws of consumption?¡± I said. ¡°Feels like they¡¯d be infringing on Sam¡¯lia¡¯s trademark.¡±


    Xim tilted her head in confusion.


    ¡°Because Sam¡¯lia has the different organs,¡± I continued. ¡°You know, the Eye, the... other parts.¡±


    ¡°Brain, Ear, Tongue, Nose, Heart, and Stomach,¡± she said. ¡°I know what you were getting at, I just don¡¯t know what a trademark is.¡±


    I started to reply but Xim held up a hand to stop me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t actually want to know.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°We should keep moving,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Nothing more to do than remain vigilant, as we have been.¡±


    There was a flutter of wings, and three more of the creatures flew from around the bend further down the corridor.


    ¡°Should we take them out as we go?¡± I asked.


    Nuralie pulled her arrow from the body of the first Eye with a squelch, nocked it, and shot another one further down the hall. The two beside it each turned a single eyestalk toward their fallen comrade but otherwise made no move.


    ¡°As long as I don¡¯t run out of arrows.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a few hundred extra if you need ¡®em.¡±


    Pause.


    ¡°A few hundred?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    She took out a quiver and slung it over one shoulder, then quickly slew the next two eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s run and gun, then,¡± I said.


    We set back out at a jog, immediately encountering more of the Eyes, and Nuralie skewered them with arrows without missing a step. She left the projectiles behind, rather than scooping them back up. When her quiver went empty she discarded it to the floor and I handed her a new one from my inventory.


    She killed dozens of the things as we went.


    None of the Eyes showed any regard for their safety. They landed, watched us approach, and died soon after. They were lemmings and Nuralie was the seaside cliff.


    Although I read that lemmings don¡¯t really die that way, the whole thing is an exaggeration. Still, it¡¯s a metaphor that even Varrin would be satisfied with.


    Twenty minutes of zoom and doom later, we caught sight of a Praying Head being accosted by a dozen of the winged creatures and paused to appreciate the sight.


    The Head struck out with its serrated legs, dismantling one of the eyes while eight others darted around it. For whatever reason, they were far more agitated by the presence of the Head than our traveling slaughterfest. The Head took the time to cut down three more before it caught sight of us.


    Its face contorted, and it immediately forgot about the harrying Eyes, turning and fleeing down the corridor. More Eyes appeared, fluttering around it and perching themselves on its legs. We followed, watching as more and more Eyes swarmed the Head until an unseen disturbance scattered the flock. The Eyes retreated further down the hall, leaving the Head unharried.


    It turned back to check on us again, then continued bolting in the direction of the fleeing Eyes. Another hundred feet down the hall, we found the Head halted in its tracks.


    The Head was completely still, staring down the flickering corridor at a dark shape a dozen paces in front of it. We slowed our approach and crept up, focusing on the new figure.


    It was inhuman, looking more like a mass of shaped muscle than something with distinguishable features. It was tall, with a conical top that ended in a blunted point, and two large bulges along the length of its body. Down the center of the creature was a large seam, making it appear as though it was folded in on itself, with another conical mass protruding from its chest.


    All along the seam were countless humanoid hands, palms held together as though they were praying.


    Hand of Consumption: Lesser Aberration, Grade Four


    ¡°There¡¯s the next body part,¡± I whispered as we all prepped for a fight. ¡°Heads, Eyes, and Hands. Eventually, we¡¯ll have a whole fucked up person in here.¡±


    The Praying Head continued to stare at the Hand, then turned around to face us. It hesitated, looking between our group and the Hand. The Hand monster split down the middle, opening up into a hellish starfish, and the Head made its choice.


    It began sprinting toward us.


    The Hand turned to the side, then began cartwheeling down the hall behind the Head. Its five large appendages rumbled across the ground, the multitudinous sub-hands writhing in the air.


    I readied my hammer, preparing to slap an Oblivion Orb onto it as the monster got closer. But the enormous starfish of doom cartwheeled twice as fast as the prey Praying Head. Before the slimy, spider-like beast made it halfway to us, the pentameral mammoth slammed down on top of it with an appendage. The hands along its thick, pointed limb grasped the Praying Head¡¯s serrated legs, restraining the monster. When the handsy echinoderm raised its leg, the Praying Head was held firm by tens of clutching sub-hands.


    Then, it tumbled away from us down the hall, the still-alive and wailing Head in its grip.


    ¡°What the fuck have I just witnessed?¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Hand of Consumption,¡± said Xim. ¡°I¡¯m guessing it wants to consume the Praying Head.¡±


    ¡°It begs the question,¡± said Varrin, adjusting his grip on his c¡¯thonic greatsword, ¡°where¡¯s the Mouth?¡±

 Chapter 64: Handsy

    Chapter 64: Handsy


    {The Mouth is definitely in the subchamber,} Cage thought to us.


    ¡°Is there a reason,¡± I said, ¡°that you¡¯re withholding critical information until the last second?¡±


    {It goes against my nature to help Delvers overcome a Delve. This is all a vvvvvvery new experience for me. Besides, this isn¡¯t the last second! It¡¯ll take another couple of minutes for you to jog there.}


    ¡°I refuse to believe you¡¯re that literal,¡± I said. ¡°You want this Delve to collapse or not? If not, we¡¯re going to need better cooperation from you.¡±


    {Look, eighty-three percent of my processing power is being used to direct the mana-overload mitigation functions, ten percent is being spent trying to repair the mana-weaves everywhere I can, and six percent is going toward managing the normal Delve functions. You guys are getting one percent. One percent!}


    ¡°That feels low,¡± said Xim.


    {It¡¯s proportioned based on the probability that the managed solution will result in a favorable outcome.}


    ¡°Good to know you have faith in us,¡± I said. ¡°Anything else you can tell us?¡±


    {Don¡¯t get too close to the main baddie in the next chamber. It looks like it¡¯s dissolving things. Very slowly, though. One of the Praying Heads is inside of it and just screaming and screaming.}


    I grimaced, then looked at Xim and Varrin.


    ¡°Are all Delves complete horror shows?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Xim. ¡°Coppers are kind of pleasant from what I hear.¡±


    ¡°Not how I would describe them, Xim,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Safer to assume it will always be a gruesome endeavor.¡±


    ¡°Why did I ask that?¡± I muttered. ¡°Never mind, let¡¯s go.¡±


    We continued down the corridor, though at a more careful pace. We encountered no more Eyes until we found the entrance to the chamber. The sounds of shrieking echoed down the hallway.


    Nuralie went to scout and returned with enough information that it made me wonder if Cage was secretly trying to sabotage us. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he was just bad at communicating.


    ¡°The chamber is much smaller,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Everything is covered in flesh-plants.¡±


    ¡°Flesh-plants?¡± I said. ¡°Can you be more specific?¡±


    ¡°The walls, floor, and ceiling are covered in plants.¡± Pause. ¡°Made of flesh.¡±


    I nodded. I hadn¡¯t expected poetry, but maybe I needed to buy Nuralie a thesaurus. I gestured for her to continue.


    ¡°There are four Hands, nineteen Eyes, and something called a Bloom of Consumption at the center. Lesser Aberration, Grade Two.¡±


    ¡°Then the hands are the real threat,¡± I said. ¡°They¡¯re all grade four.¡±


    ¡°The Hands stuffed the Praying Head into the Bloom,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The Bloom sprayed it with mist and its skin fell off.¡±


    ¡°Calling it a Bloom really diverges from the theme here.¡±


    ¡°Regardless of what it¡¯s called,¡± said Varrin, ¡°that sounds like the mouth.¡±


    ¡°The Eyes scout for prey,¡± said Xim, ¡°the Hands grab it, and the Bloom eats it.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s our strategy?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Kill the Eyes,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Any reason other than you hate being watched?¡±


    ¡°The Hands don¡¯t have eyes. The Bloom doesn¡¯t have eyes.¡± Pause. ¡°Only the Eyes have eyes.¡±


    ¡°You think that¡¯ll blind it.¡± Nuralie nodded. ¡°Ok. Nuralie, you¡¯ve been taking the Eyes out so far, so you should focus on that. The Bloom is a threat if we get close, so we need to avoid getting grabbed.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but look at Varrin as I said this.


    ¡°Not helpful,¡± he said, scowling.


    ¡°I doubt my brand of letting everything hit me will help here,¡± I said. ¡°My Fortitude doesn¡¯t help with getting grappled, and I¡¯d rather not see how effective it is against getting dissolved.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still the strongest,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Sure, but stronger than two or three of those things? I don¡¯t like the chances. Ideally, we¡¯d disable one or two of them and focus down the others. Nuralie, you¡¯ve got those paralytic arrows I gave you. Anyone else have some crowd control?¡±


    ¡°I can stun,¡± said Xim, ¡°but not for long. It¡¯s mostly to make room for a follow-up attack.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll aim for the limbs,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°I am eager to test myself against one of these creatures,¡± Shog said, tentacles snaking through the air. ¡°We will see who can strangle the other first.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t see a neck to strangle on one of these, Shog.¡±


    ¡°I will make it work.¡±


    I looked Shog up and down. Despite his size, he was still a good bit smaller than one of the Hands. Then again, his grade was one higher. He might be able to solo one. If it didn¡¯t work out, well he wasn¡¯t a core party member.


    ¡°Shog, if you die here, do you die in real life?¡±


    ¡°This is real life,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°I am no specter. My true body is before you. Any harm I suffer will endure if I am dismissed.¡±


    I cast Shortcut, trying to aim for the general direction of the rest of the fight.


    Unfortunately, trying to activate a short-range teleport while being rotated at vomit-inducing speeds made my accuracy a bit shit. I decided to speak with Nuralie about inventing Dramamine as I appeared thirty feet from the fight, seven feet off the ground, and at an angle that allowed me the familiar experience of falling on my face.


    At least I hadn¡¯t been thrown this time. Seriously, there had to be a better way to deal with giant enemies than getting grabbed and tossed around, hoping for the best.


    While I hadn¡¯t been able to teleport my way back into the fray, the accidental distance gave me a good view of the overall battle.


    Varrin and Xim were playing a lethal game of tag with their target. While their initial combo had done serious damage to one of the Hand¡¯s limbs, the monster was only slowed. It was still able to turn on its side and cartwheel at its prey, but the motion was jerky and the thing had trouble turning. Varrin was able to duck to the side and carve a gash down its back, while Xim led it on a merry chase. She stumbled as the roots caught her ankles, but was able to dive aside as the crippled Hand drew close.


    Shog¡¯s fight had deteriorated into the strangest bit of ground wrestling I¡¯ve ever seen. The monster starfish had tried to cartwheel while Shog¡¯s tentacles wrapped three of its arms, but the c¡¯thon pulled it off balance, sending them both to the ground. The Hand now lay on top of Shog, who struggled to make room to strike with his claws as hundreds of the lesser hands squeezed his feelers and tore away fistfuls of feathers. One little hand was even poking Shog in his big black eyes with manic aggression.


    Etja¡¯s jaw was clenched and her arms trembled as she held them out toward the Hand she was levitating. Her mana was below a quarter, which I math¡¯d out to mean the enemy would be set free and Etja would be juiced in another minute or so.


    Nuralie was making headway taking out the Eyes with her archery, but the winged creatures had gotten wise to her attacks and were now swooping and fluttering through the air, dodging her arrows. There were at least a dozen left, and I doubted Etja would last long enough for Nuralie to hit all of her targets.


    The Hand near the Bloom turned and began stiffly cartwheeling back toward me, as the Bloom itself turned its goopy mouth in Nuralie¡¯s direction, the Loson having abandoned stealth once she realized the enemy could still see her. She was near the far wall, forty feet from the Bloom, so she wasn¡¯t threatened by its mist, but I didn¡¯t like what I was seeing. Why would the mouth turn toward Nuralie, unless it was going to do something? It didn¡¯t have eyes on its main body, so it¡¯s not like it was watching her.


    If taking out the Eyes did blind the entire entity, then we needed to make that happen faster. We needed more ranged firepower, and Etja was busy.


    I could swap out with Etja, but I could barely keep one Hand busy, much less two. I didn¡¯t have a good build for this fight, aside from giving one Hand the runaround while I teleported. Even then, I could only do that four more times before I was out of mana as well.


    The Bloom began to swell as it continued to point itself at Nuralie.


    I began sprinting in her direction, but my footing was hampered by the grasping roots. The Hand also rolled at me and would intercept before long. The moment before we collided, I cast Shortcut to close as much distance as I could between myself and Nuralie, but my aim was thrown off as a root wrenched my ankle. I wound up several feet away from my target, which was a point directly between the Bloom and Nuralie.


    The Bloom¡¯s body contracted, and a stream of liquid shot out at the Loson.


    I threw out my arm and detached Gracorvus, sending it through the air and into the way of the spray. The goop sizzled and hissed as it made contact, and the force of the spray sent droplets scattering across my body. Smoke poured off my armor where it was struck, and a few droplets hit my face. It felt like molten steel hitting my skin, causing me to reactively claw at my mug, but all that did was get some of the liquid on my fingers, my nerve endings screaming in protest.


    HP: 295 -> 285


    Paralysis: 10


    Toxicity: 7


    Even I would have been in trouble if that attack struck me head-on. Grade Two my ass.


    The Bloom pointed its mouth back to the sky, and I hoped it only had enough juice to do that once. The Hand I¡¯d teleported away from was already rolling at me again. Etja¡¯s mana continued to tick down, Varrin and Xim stumbled as they fought, nearly getting grabbed, Shog bellowed eldritch curses as he was smothered, and Grotto...


    Grotto was hovering in the air, watching the fight.


    [Grotto! Wanna help out here, bud?!]


    [The Hands have no minds from what I can tell. Nor do the Eyes.]


    [And the fucking Bloom?]


    [It is like touching on the consciousness of dozens of individuals, rather than one entity.]


    The semi-paralyzed Hand struggled to spin toward me as I tore my feet free from the roots. Grotto¡¯s statement made me realize something that should have been obvious.


    [It¡¯s a fucking hive monster! Try and isolate the Eyes inside its hivemind and get them to stop dodging!]


    [That is much more difficult than you real-]


    [I don¡¯t give a shit, figure it out!]


    I watched the approaching Hand, wishing I had a better ranged option.


    ¡°Fuck it,¡± I spat, deciding to try a hail mary. I pulled the one-handed steel warhammer from my inventory and brought it up over my head like a throwing axe. I cast Nimean Weapon, priming an Oblivion Orb, then chucked the hammer with all my strength. The weapon shot through the air, turning end over end as it sailed toward its target.


    It went wide, landing several feet to the side of the advancing monster. I probably should have tried the move with the actual axes I had, rather than a fucking hammer. I pulled another steel weapon out, an axe this time, and cast Nimean Weapon again. I needed to be able to hit these things from a distance. As I reared back for a second toss, the Hand only a couple cartwheels away from me, I got a System message.


    Would you like to learn the technique, Homing Weapon?


    Homing Weapon


    Cost: 10 Stamina


    I didn¡¯t have time to read the rest of the message. I accepted the skill, hoping that it was what I thought it was. I focused on the technique and layered it on with Nimean Weapon, then flung the axe.


    The weapon flew through the air, looking like it was also going to go wide like my hammer, but it not only course-corrected, it picked up more speed. The axe buried itself up to the handle in the approaching starfish, and I heard the familiar pop! of Oblivion Orb going off.


    I guess throwing shit really hard did count as a Strength attack.


    Not only that, but the axe tore itself from the wound and zipped back at me. As the axe traveled through the air, the already partially paralyzed mega-starfish cartwheeled onto the leg where eight inches of axehead and a citrus-fruit-sized dimensional tear had mangled the muscle, in addition to the wounds I inflicted with my wand.


    It buckled.


    The pentameral beast lost its balance and hit the ground hard. I heard the crunching of dozens of fingerbones as the smaller hands on its body were crushed by its enormous weight. The axe whipped back and slapped into the palm of my hand.


    As the monster tried to right itself, my eyes turned back to the air, where ten surviving Eyes dodged Nuralie¡¯s arrows.


    Time for some target practice.

 Chapter 65: Breaking Gear

    Chapter 65: Breaking Gear


    Turns out Homing Weapon was not a Guaranteed Hit, as the flappy asshats were still able to swoop out of the way of my thrown axe, technique be damned. The ability guided the weapon toward my target, but the axe didn¡¯t turn on a dime when the chosen creature dodged last second.


    It had perhaps been a bit optimistic to assume that I, with three visits to the axe-throwing range for a round of tossing axes while tossing back beers, would be able to outshoot Nuralie, a trained archer, even with my shiny new method of death-dealing.


    After four throws, I¡¯d managed to down just one, and the superstar I¡¯d toppled was struggling back onto its... legs?


    The starfish was not in a good way, but it was still in the fight. It had a score of holes across its body, mostly on its limbs where my attacks had been focused. My wand had been next to useless, as the magic bolts it shot had taken chunks out of the surface of the limbs without penetrating. My two Oblivion Orb-infused attacks were the only ones that had gone deep and damaged the internal muscle, and I suspected that the paralytic arrows Nuralie had fired were responsible for most of the monster¡¯s present sluggishness.


    I was preparing for round three, estimating my chances of killing the creature with the three uses of Nimean Weapon I had left in my vanishing mana pool when I heard Varrin let out a savage scream.


    I chanced a look in his direction and saw him grappled in the center of the mega-Hand he and Xim had been fighting, but his greatsword had gone completely through his opponent¡¯s center. The whole body of the starfish shuddered as Varrin let out his victory cry. Then, it toppled forward onto him.


    Varrin¡¯s jubilance turned to violent swears as he disappeared beneath the beast, and Xim turned to scan the battle, eyes fixing on me.


    ¡°Aim for the center!¡± she shouted, then rushed to try and lift the Hand off of Varrin. The thing was huge, but she was no slouch for Strength, and neither was Varrin. They might pull it off.


    Even if I¡¯d wanted to help them, I had my own battle to fight before I could.


    As the semi-paralyzed Hand stood, I looked over its center, trying to see what Xim had been talking about. I noticed a single, large wound where one of my wand bolts had struck it in the middle, and it was much larger and deeper than any of the others.


    ¡°Fucking starfish has a weak spot in the center,¡± I grumbled as I tossed my axe away at another Eye, then pulled out Arbitros. I spun it so that its spike was facing forward and began running at the monster. ¡°Who would have guessed?¡±


    I ignored any semblance of defense, gripping the hammer in two hands and charging, winding up for one big swing. When I got within the Hand¡¯s reach, its three upper limbs all crashed down toward me, but I was already bringing the hammer around laterally while using one of my few remaining casts of Nimean Weapon. The spike hit home as all three limbs smashed down onto my back, and Oblivion Orb popped off inside of the five-limbed monster¡¯s middle.


    I was crushed into the ground by its attack, but I felt a shudder go through the monstrous Hand, and then I found myself in the same position as Varrin, buried underneath its substantial bulk.


    Perhaps it was their deadman¡¯s switch. Attack the center to kill it, it flops over on top of you, killing you right back.


    Fortunately, while the crush-and-tackle combo had taken away a nice chunk of my health bar, I was still far from dead, although I felt the familiar sharp pain of cracked ribs.


    HP: 285 -> 213


    ¡°Got mine!¡± I yelled, knowing there was little chance anyone heard me through the corpse encompassing my whole body. It was more for myself than anything.


    Several of the sub-hands continued to grasp and claw at my back, but they were quickly going limp. I was face down on the floor and was mildly dismayed when the roots covering it began to wriggle up and around my neck.


    ¡°Nope, not doing that!¡± I said with a groan as I began the most challenging pushup of my life. I imagined the floor as my most hated enemy, which it may as well have been given that it was actively trying to strangle me, and tried to shove it away with everything I had. I was able to do infinite pushups with a Strength of nine, so I damn well better be able to do one ultra-pushup with a Strength of ten.


    My jaw was set and I felt blood pounding in my head as I tightened my core into a sheet of steel and pressed. I went up an inch, then another, until the fleshy roots around my neck were straining and beginning to snap. The creature¡¯s scent filled my nose and I focused on my breath, exhaling the smell of rot and soil through clenched teeth. I was able to bring up a knee and wedge it into the ground, then lock my elbows.


    The mass on top of me was heavy, but it also covered a lot of ground. Some of the weight was distributed onto the floor around me, allowing me to form a little Arlo-cocoon in the center. Warm, sappy blood poured down on top of me, and one resilient sub-pinky was giving me a bloody wet-willy.


    I managed to crawl forward, snapping away roots from my wrists and ankles as I went, until I found the edge of the starfish and squeezed out from beneath it. I took a deep breath of somewhat fresher air, then pushed to standing. I turned around, realizing that I¡¯d left my hammer beneath the thing.


    Guess I¡¯ll get that back later.


    I checked my HUD and looked at the fight, trying to see where I would be needed next. Six of the Eyes still fluttered. Xim had Varrin by the wrists and was pulling him from beneath their corpse. Shog had reversed the tide of his fight, seemingly having heard Xim¡¯s advice, now clawing wildly at his monster¡¯s center. The starfish was lifting its body from the ground, then smashing down on top of Shog over and over again, but the c¡¯thon had the same number of fucks to give as a goddamn Honey badger. Etja...


    Etja had just run out of mana.


    I reached out to Gracorvus, the shield still hanging in the air where it had intercepted the acidic attack on Nuralie, and commanded it to fly toward Etja. Some concern entered my mind as it left a trail of caustic smoke in its wake. It would be a pretty dick move to break the gift Varrin¡¯s family had given me on the same day I¡¯d received it. Assuming it was the same day, that is.


    The Hand that Etja¡¯d been wrangling hit the ground with a thud and instantly flopped upright. I ran toward the pair of them, but my shield made it there first, swinging around the Hand and between it and Etja. I didn¡¯t know how anchored Gracorvus was while in flight mode. It had stopped Varrin¡¯s full-power greatsword swing and hadn¡¯t budged when hit by the Bloom¡¯s super-soaker attack.


    However, the Hand showed me that my shield was not an immovable object, its arm bashing into the targe twice before a third hit sent Gracorvus¡¯ slabs scattering across the battlefield. Either it wasn¡¯t strong enough to weather repeat attacks of that force, or it had been weakened by the Bloom¡¯s acid.


    She raised an eyeridge at me as she nocked another arrow.


    ¡°Where do you keep all your stuff?¡±


    ¡°Fair point.¡±


    Loose. Thud. Plant-rage.


    ¡°How do you know it¡¯ll work on that thing?¡± I asked.


    She shrugged.


    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t, you can throw something heavy at it,¡± she said.


    The Bloom didn¡¯t look like it was winding up for another jetstream of death, so I was betting it only had the one good shot with that attack. It may have needed to refill its venom sacs. Poison sacs? It¡¯s not like it had fangs or a stinger... either way, we were safe for the moment.


    ¡°I¡¯d hate to spend more stamina if I don¡¯t have to.¡±


    Dip. Draw.


    ¡°This is why I like alchemy.¡± Loose. Thud. ¡°I have as much as I can prepare.¡±


    Thirty arrows later, and the Bloom sagged to one side, no longer pumping out mist, and Nuralie gave it another ten or so plant-killer arrows for good measure. The rest of us did post-combat cleanup and recovery while Nuralie slowly ensured the monster¡¯s doom, and while we waited to make sure the air wouldn¡¯t liquefy our lungs. Finally, we began the process of carefully dismembering the entity to reach the sub-obelisk inside of it. Everything wet inside of the creature was acidic, and everything inside of it was wet.


    Nuralie again proved invaluable for this process, since she had her acid-proof gloves and a resistant smock for her alchemy. I used a halberd, which I discarded halfway through when the steel dissolved, and then a poleaxe, which also made its way into the junk pile by the time we finished.


    My armory was taking a serious hit in this fight. The head of the battleaxe I¡¯d been throwing had broken, the spear was a pile of ash, and one dagger had pinned its victim to the vined ceiling while the other was lost to space and time and not worth looking for in the mess of a room.


    I did get the team involved in recovering Arbitros from beneath the Hand it was buried. That one wasn¡¯t mine to lose, since it was on loan from Lito.


    We did some vigorous rinsing from our collective waterskins and canteens, then placed our hands on the obelisk and channeled mana to undo the second lock.


    ¡°It¡¯s interesting,¡± said Xim. ¡°The obelisk is completely unharmed, despite being inside that thing.¡±


    {A little bit of divinely-attuned, flesh-and-steel-dissolving acid wouldn¡¯t hurt one of these obelisks,} Cage thought to us. {They¡¯re tougher than that!}


    ¡°And you were worried about my explosion spell?¡±


    {Not really! Just trying to be encouraging. Go get ¡®em, big mage guy! Er, big... tank guy! Wait, what role are you trying to be?}


    ¡°I¡¯m a-¡±


    ¡°We should move on,¡± said Varrin. ¡°This already took us longer than I¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to make do with the resources we¡¯ve recovered.¡±


    Xim had taken Nuralie¡¯s final mana potion while we worked, and the rest of the effect on Etja¡¯s had run its course as well. Xim had a smaller mana pool, so hers was now looking fairly healthy, but Etja was only back to a third.


    I¡¯d taken a break back out in the hall to keep Shog around, where the Divine mana interference ended. Walk into the room, divine interference. Step out of the room, mega-mana regen. It was like a game of ¡®the floor is lava¡¯, and the logic of it was just as sensible.


    {Wards!} was the extent of Cage¡¯s input on the matter.


    I was glad that I had one ability that used stamina rather than mana, since I was close to empty on the latter when we left the subchamber. Everything we¡¯d done so far was just to unlock the ¡®door¡¯ to the central Cage. I hoped we still had enough juice for whatever we found behind it.

 Chapter 66: Gods and Ladders

    Chapter 66: Gods and Ladders


    ¡°You know what¡¯s odd?¡± I said as we hustled down the flickering corridor. The door we¡¯d unlocked was a quarter turn around the loop from where we¡¯d fought the Bloom.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s odd in here,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Right, but I didn¡¯t see any big god-mummy in that last room. The first subchamber had that huge guy in it.¡±


    {That chamber contained an incorporeal avatar of consumption,} Cage thought to us. {It isn¡¯t in there anymore. I, uh, sort of lost track of it.}


    ¡°How do you lose a deity?¡± said Xim.


    {Again, not a deity. Just a little piece of one. And how did I lose it? Have you seen what¡¯s happening here? I can¡¯t keep up with every invisible pseudo-god running around this place! If I have one escapee after this mess I¡¯ll say mission accomplished. If Orexis wrecks the whole cage, then all of them get loose.}


    ¡°And collapsing the dimensional space doesn¡¯t kill them,¡± I said.


    {If that worked, I would have pushed the big red button already. Why do you think we trapped them if we could just murder them?}


    ¡°Uh, compassion and mercy?¡±


    {Not a lot of that going around in here.}


    ¡°I think I saw some,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Varrin, his tone darker than I liked.


    {Just keep disintegrating baddies and I¡¯ll keep ignoring that you¡¯re the vessel that snuck in half of my current problems.}


    ¡°Okay!¡± said Etja.


    There was an awkward moment of silence and Cage sent us a mental impression that I think was his equivalent of a sigh.


    ¡°What will we find on the inside of the cage?¡± said Varrin.


    {Eh, it¡¯s a bit of a war zone. The guests within are under stricter containment than the pair out here, so they haven¡¯t spawned anything too big and bad, but there are still a lot of weaker creatures duking it out.}


    ¡°Why are they fighting?¡± I asked.


    {Because... they¡¯re mindless beasts that entered the world knowing only that they exist to serve their demigod? Or, maybe it¡¯s a territorial thing. Could be that everyone in here hates each other because they¡¯re all pretty awful to be around.}


    ¡°Two assholes walk into a bar,¡± I said, ¡°doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re friends.¡±


    ¡°I dunno,¡± said Xim. ¡°I usually encounter them in flocks.¡±


    ¡°Fortunately, I haven¡¯t had that experience here yet.¡±


    ¡°What about the Artemix group?¡± she said.


    ¡°Well, were they assholes?¡± I asked. ¡°Or just a group of desperate people down on their luck and roped into evil machinations beyond their understanding?¡±


    ¡°The asshole theory is simpler,¡± Xim replied.


    ¡°Who cares?¡± said Varrin. ¡°They were criminals, and by now they¡¯re executed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s... a pretty quick penal system,¡± I said.


    Varrin furrowed his brow.


    ¡°You killed three of them yourself, Arlo. Swifter justice could not have been had.¡±


    [It was my trap that killed the leader,] Grotto thought to us.


    ¡°Yeah Varrin,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t misallocate credit for wanton slaughter like that. I only killed two.¡±


    [Again, a feat enabled by my contributions to the battle. Had I not preyed on their fears and forced them to confront the terror within their minds, then you would have been captured or killed for certain.]


    ¡°Talents and skills to take great pride in,¡± I said.


    [It is good that you are finally beginning to acknowledge the value of my methods. Varrin, you should also be pleased that Arlo has begun to see reason, for Iam also responsible for him allowing you back into the party.]


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not true at all,¡± I said.


    [You were filled with doubts, calling him an ¡®asshole¡¯ in your crude way. But I convinced you of the value of allying with a powerful noble so that he might be used as a potent tool for our conquests.]


    Varrin raised an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°That is a total fabrication,¡± I said. ¡°I did call you an asshole, not going to deny that. And yes, Grotto did say those things he just said with as much grace and eloquence as he just said them, but that¡¯s not the reason I decided to party up with you again.¡±


    ¡°Even if it were,¡± said Varrin, refocusing on the path in front of us, ¡°you wouldn¡¯t cause me much offense. I am used to dealing with ruthless political motivations, and I know full well that my family¡¯s name opens doors. I wouldn¡¯t begrudge you using it for the same, though we are not an easy house to manipulate.¡± The group began to slow as we approached the location Cage had sent us. ¡°Speaking of doors, this doesn¡¯t look like one.¡±


    I studied the entrance to the cage in front of us and had to agree with Varrin¡¯s assessment. What I was looking at wasn¡¯t so much a door, as it was abstract art engraved into the stone walls. There were hundreds of looping ribbon-like lines with a variety of geometric shapes filling the spaces between them. Circles, squares, triangles. Together they formed what one of my old art professors would have called ¡®a suggestion of the human form¡¯. It was something you might see in a mid-20th-century art museum.


    ¡°Varrin,¡± I said, looking him in the eye, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to use you like Grotto is saying.¡±


    He gave me a rueful smile.


    ¡°Grotto states bluntly what most would hide behind honeyed words,¡± he said. ¡°Murderers and kidnappers should be put to the sword, and the world should celebrate their deaths. Alliances are not friendships, they exist for the sake of utility. Perhaps your old world had different values.¡±


    ¡°It depends on who you were asking,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think most people were that cut-throat.¡±


    ¡°Well, those values may not serve you well in this world. If you believe that everyone who smiles at you is a friend, you will soon feel a knife in your back.¡±


    ¡°And villains I let live will seek retribution, I get it. You saw me chop Hognay¡¯s head off, right?¡±


    ¡°And you slew members of Artemix.¡± He turned and frowned at me. ¡°Yet you chide us for our actions against the traitors they worked with. The ones who attacked my family. Your ¡®values¡¯ are at odds with your actions.¡±


    I stepped up to the portal and gave it a hearty high-five.


    Now entering the Inner Cage


    Evaluating user permissions...


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Permissions verified


    Please remember to observe all proper safety protocols


    I landed on the other side of the portal, on my feet this time, and into utter chaos.


    Varrin was engaged with two creatures that looked like little more than clouds of gas, but they each had a pair of three-foot horns that were solid and trying to gore Varrin¡¯s stomach. The warrior¡¯s greatsword passed through them without causing any visible harm, until he growled and his blade lit up with mana. He made a wide horizontal slash that caused the creatures to puff out of existence, their horns clattering to the ground as they disappeared.


    We were standing on a wide catwalk that ran around the perimeter of the massive interior of the cage, giving us a full view of the multi-floor prison riot that was underway. To either side of us, monstrous creatures fought savagely with one another. Their forms were wide and varied, and my mind barely had time to parse them all.


    Floating eyes attached to brains that were bashing into the brains they were attached to. Humanoid creatures with enormous holes in their guts, from which they pulled and threw what looked like spears made of their own spines and ribs. Crab-like beasts with enormous sacs on their rears that they drug behind them, spreading some kind of webbing on the ground. The webbing had fucking faces in it, and they gnawed at the feet of anything that walked over it. There were thirty-foot-tall pillars of color that reminded me of every impossible nightmare creature I¡¯d ever dreamt about. Literally. Looking at them gave me flashbacks to specific nightmares that I remember waking from in a cold sweat.


    There were also a few creatures that must have spawned from a god of lust, but this isn¡¯t this kind of book so I won¡¯t go into too much detail about those. Suffice to say I was disturbed by how into it I was.


    They definitely exerted some sort of mind control that made you kink-shame yourself into submission, and I kept telling myself that for years to come.


    Varrin and I had to deal with a few errant creatures that found our existence offensive. But for the most part, the hordes were more concerned with each other. The rest of the party soon joined us, and we began carving a path in the direction that Cage pointed us.


    We did our best to avoid looking at anything that created a memetic hazard, but most of us were forced to confront our internal demons on top of the real ones we were fighting at some point. Xim, however, was mostly immune to those effects. She was also completely willing to slap the rest of us out of it when needed.


    We eventually made our way up a ladder high enough that a professional tower climber would think twice about ascending it. While Varrin had some helpful climbing gear to make sure we didn¡¯t test my theory on how much Fortitude was needed to survive a terminal velocity impact, there were flying fish-like creatures with dozens of spiky tendrils that gave a paralysis debuff when they stung. Nuralie nearly fell at one point, but Etja came in clutch with the gravity magic, both in keeping Nuralie afloat, and then in sending the fly-fishes plummeting while they disintegrated into fish flakes.


    At the top of the ladder was another portal. We spent zero time debating whether or not this one might kill us and promptly entered. On the other side of that was one big, chubby dude.


    The room was smaller than the Bloom chamber, about forty feet across. At its center was another sub-obelisk, and behind that was what looked like a man, though he stood twelve feet tall and was about the same in width. He wore a wide hat that reminded me of a rice farmer, with baggy, loose-fitting pants, sandals, and an open vest with no shirt beneath. He had on a pair of metal bracelets, a simple necklace, and a pair of studs in his ears. His hair was long and unkempt, though his round face was clean-shaven.


    The guy also looked like he¡¯d been frozen in time at the exact moment someone had told him a particularly funny joke. Hands on his gut, mouth open, and his smile was just a bit too wide to be human. His eyes also existed within the uncanny valley, being a bit too big, even on his large face. Also, his other eyes were a bit too big, even on the left side of his large face. And his other other eyes were a bit too big, even on the right side of his large face. The same went for the extra mouths as well.


    He didn¡¯t have a nose.


    While we all examined the big guy, I realized there was something else about the chamber that was unusual. The runes and glyphs were emitting a steady, uninterrupted blue glow. No flickering or stuttering, no bursts of light followed by darkness. I even still had my dimensional mana regen bonus. The room was a little oasis.


    ¡°Even the gods appreciate the bare-chested look,¡± I said, straightening my own vest. It was a shame that I had to wear armor under it.


    ¡°This is Fortune?¡± said Xim, walking around the frozen man. ¡°I expected... something else.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Like someone... more fortunate looking.¡±


    ¡°His girth might be a sign of wealth,¡± I said. ¡°Shows he had plenty to eat. He could be from a culture that frequently experienced famine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about his weight,¡± she said. ¡°His outfit is a bit plain.¡±


    ¡°You wanted an expensive suit and a mountain of jewelry?¡±


    ¡°Maybe some fancy armor and a legendary scepter.¡±


    Nuralie walked up and tapped a nail on the man¡¯s knee. It clinked like he was made of glass.


    ¡°Why would he need armor?¡± said Nuralie. ¡°If he¡¯s Fortune, wouldn¡¯t every attack miss him?¡±


    ¡°Sounds more like Luck to me,¡± I said.


    Pause.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same?¡±


    ¡°Well, fortune is like... you know... Hmm, maybe they are the same thing.¡±


    She stared at me, then blinked.


    ¡°Moving on,¡± I said. ¡°Cage, how do we let this guy out?¡±


    {Easy enough! Do the same thing with this sub-obelisk you¡¯ve been doing everywhere else.}


    ¡°Murder it when it tries to eat us?¡±


    Varrin stomped over to the obelisk and placed his palm on one side.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this,¡± he said.


    Nuralie, Xim, and I joined him, and we sent a puff of mana into the obelisk. The runes lit up, and the room was baptized in golden radiance.


    Gouts of mana exploded off of Fortune¡¯s skin, exposing what was an otherwise invisible barrier surrounding him. It peeled up and away, floating into the air in chunks and clouds, then being sucked in by the wards, which began behaving more in the way I¡¯d come to expect from this Delve. Several exploded into sparks and fire as the mana overwhelmed them, and the System sent me the usual notice letting me know my mana regen was being bombed by the divine.


    The sound of laughter filled the room, deep and bellowing. I turned to see the thing we¡¯d just set loose, and the figure paused mid-guffaw, eyes going wide in surprise. Then, he caught sight of me, and his smile grew even wider until it was nearly bisecting his face.


    ¡°Arlo!¡± Fortune said in a voice that rumbled my very soul. ¡°My boy, you made it!¡±

 Chapter 67: Fortune

    Chapter 67: Fortune


    I reeled from Fortune¡¯s words, but their meaning wasn¡¯t lost on me. Still, I needed to be sure.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve been getting to know a lot of gods lately,¡± I said. ¡°Where did we meet again?¡±


    Fortune¡¯s smile receded an inch, and Xim turned her head slowly in my direction, eyes wide. It was the first time I¡¯d seen her look genuinely worried about something. Then, Fortune¡¯s laughter filled the room again.


    ¡°Arlo!¡± he said, the sound coming from his right mouth as his front one laughed. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve got some zest to you. Where did we meet?¡±


    ¡°Nowhere!¡± shouted the left mouth.


    ¡°Right here!¡± shouted the right.


    ¡°What counts as a meeting?¡± asked the front. ¡°On Earth and in heaven and now here in the land of...¡± Fortune paused, and his left pair of eyes fixed on Varrin. ¡°What have you all named it?¡±


    Varrin watched the god, standing tall. He spoke with a respectful tone, but his grip on the hilt of his greatsword was tight enough for his gauntlet to creak.


    ¡°Forgive me, divine one, but do you mean the name of the world?¡±


    ¡°The world, the continent, the country, anything will do.¡±


    ¡°The known world is called Arzia. The entrance to this Delve is in the Hiward Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°A kingdom,¡± said the left mouth while the right one frowned. ¡°I enjoy kingdoms. The power imbalance is delightful.¡±


    ¡°Boring,¡± said the right.


    ¡°We have met three times,¡± said the front mouth, ¡°But only in Hiward have we met in the flesh.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re the one who brought me here,¡± I said.


    ¡°To Arzia,¡± said the right.


    ¡°To this kingdom,¡± said the left.


    ¡°You brought yourself to this Delve,¡± said the front.


    ¡°I see,¡± I replied, running a hand over my beard.


    For whatever reason, this creature didn¡¯t bother me the way it obviously bothered my other party members. Xim¡¯s smile was gone, her face pale. Nuralie was back on all fours, eyes flitting around the room. I thought she was looking for a place to hide away, but the chamber was well-lit and barren. Varrin stood stock still, save for his flexing grip. Even Shog had floated down to settle on the ground, as though he feared looking at Fortune at eye level. Grotto was tucked close to my shoulder.


    Etja didn¡¯t seem to mind Fortune¡¯s presence, though. She stared up at him curiously, leaning from one side to the other to see his three faces.


    Maybe it was the fact that I¡¯d already died once. Or that my life had been under constant threat ever since being resurrected. Also, this guy was the one who brought me back. Why would I be afraid of him?


    Or there was the possibility that I was genetically engineered to view him favorably.


    ¡°Am I a clone?¡± I asked. ¡°Or the original?¡±


    That shook Xim from her shock.


    ¡°A... clone?¡± she said.


    [That is exactly what I wanted to ask.]


    ¡°You are not a clone,¡± said Fortune. ¡°Nor have I modified your mind in any way.¡±


    ¡°I swear upon my name it is true,¡± said the left.


    ¡°No fun if we cheat,¡± said the right.


    ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s fun,¡± the left retorted.


    ¡°You are also not an android, cyborg, homunculus, collective hallucination, a brain in a simulation, or any other manner of Arlo facsimile,¡± Fortune¡¯s front continued. ¡°Your body is temporally consistent with the person that existed on Earth. A single continuity through space and time, not a copy. I did add a few improvements, though. Purely functional. My own modified Creation process.¡±


    ¡°Then you have the ability to physically pull someone across dimensions,¡± I said, considering the power that would take. Honestly, I had no frame of reference for it, but if this Fortune was a similar brand of god to Orexis, did that mean Orexis also had abilities at that level?


    Fortune frowned, letting go of my shoulder and standing upright. He looked me up and down, then crossed his arms.


    ¡°I know how much time we have,¡± said Fortune¡¯s front.


    ¡°Plenty,¡± said the left.


    ¡°Less than two minutes,¡± said the right.


    ¡°The reason why I brought you here is simple,¡± his three mouths said in unison. Reality shook under their combined speech, reminding me of the sensation from Orexis¡¯ words when he created Etja. ¡°You exist to set me free.¡±


    ¡°Good job,¡± said the left.


    ¡°Congratulations,¡± said the right.


    ¡°Your reward is that you are alive when you should have died,¡± said the front. ¡°As for those that aided you...¡± His three sets of eyes looked over the rest of my party. ¡°I allow you to do battle with the Specter of Orexis.¡±


    All six eyes settled on me, and I took an involuntary step back. For the first time, I began to see the soul of Fortune, and I got the impression that he was showing it to me. Allowing me to see it, and reminding me that without his permission, I couldn¡¯t, even with my soul-sight ability.


    An ability he gave me in the first place with the Traveler¡¯s Amulet.


    Fortune¡¯s soul did not dominate the room. It didn¡¯t crash down on me like an all-consuming force as Orexis¡¯ did. It was tight, controlled, and held firm to his body like custom-made armor. Still, all the details of the world around me disappeared, robbing me of any perception outside of Fortune¡¯s soul.


    It held no metallic color like a Delver¡¯s, but was made up of thousands of faces with myriad hues, each wearing a different expression ranging from horror to glee. Fortune¡¯s soul was less like seeing the soul of an individual, as much as it was like seeing thousands of souls at once, all wrapped around a single entity and compressed on top of one another. It was not malicious, but neither was it benevolent.


    Like Orexis, there was a deep desire within it. A desire that would serve only Fortune, and grant blessings and curses to all in his wake.


    I was brought here to prison break this? Cage had told us Fortune wasn¡¯t as bad as the other avatars in here but still gave the divinity a fifty percent chance of raining hell down upon the world. After seeing Fortune¡¯s soul, I thought Cage might have been conservative with his estimate. Sure, he wasn¡¯t giving off sadist vibes, but most psychopaths weren¡¯t malicious. They just did what they wanted and fuck everyone else. This was my fucking quest?


    I¡¯d never really thought of myself as a summoned hero, but I didn¡¯t think I was a goddamned summoned villain.


    ¡°Fighting Orexis,¡± Nuralie began to say, then paused for much longer than her normal beat. ¡°Fighting Orexis doesn¡¯t sound like a reward.¡±


    Fortune turned a face to the Loson, and his soul disappeared from my sight. The world rushed back to me all at once, and I gasped as Fortune began to belly-laugh again.


    ¡°If you prevail, it will be!¡± Fortune said.


    ¡°And if we don¡¯t?¡± Nuralie asked.


    ¡°That question answers itself,¡± said the right mouth, Fortune nodding with the words.


    ¡°Then why did we release you?¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be a fallback, to stop him.¡±


    ¡°This Delve exists at my pleasure,¡± all three voices declared. ¡°I am no mechanism to be deployed.¡±


    The room¡¯s mana-weaves flared and flickered. Several more of the sigils sparked and died before the room went back to its normal, steady glow.


    ¡°Do not worry,¡± Fortune¡¯s front said in a calming tone after his verbal assault on the fabric of the universe. ¡°I will ensure that Anesis does not accelerate the Delve¡¯s collapse.¡±


    ¡°But that stain,¡± said the right, ¡°that suggestion of Orexis is beneath me.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be good practice for you,¡± said the left.


    ¡°It is time,¡± said the front. ¡°Now, we shall go to Orexis, and I shall teach his sister that she¡¯d have been happier if her brother had let her rot in here.¡±


    Fortune strode forward, causing me and Shog to hurry out of his path, and approached the room¡¯s portal. He waved a mighty hand, and the portal collapsed into nothing, revealing an arched doorway to the inner cage.


    ¡°It really did just take us to the other side of the wall,¡± I muttered.


    Fortune bent down to walk through the arch and leapt off the platform at the top of the mile-high inner cage without sparing the rest of us a glance.


    We ran outside the room to the top of the ladder, looking down to see Fortune plummeting away.


    ¡°How the fuck do we follow him?¡± I asked. The answer we got was a wave of force that tore us from the platform and sent us careening toward the bottom.

 Chapter 68: The Quick Way Down

    Chapter 68: The Quick Way Down


    I¡¯d never gone skydiving. I thought that I wouldn¡¯t like it.


    I was correct in that assumption.


    The inner cage was a sphere with a diameter of about two and a half miles. We¡¯d entered at the midway point and climbed our way up an absurd distance, though we were still far from the top. That meant there was well over a mile between us and the bottom. Or, if my recollection of terminal velocity was correct, and assuming it held true inside this Delve, we had about thirty seconds until splat.


    I¡¯d seen Lito fall from the sky and land on a boat without much injury, though I didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d dropped from high enough to reach the maximum velocity a Delver could achieve when caught in gravity¡¯s clutches. Also, I was betting that the wood of a riverboat deck had a lot more give to it than the stone or mystery metal that made up the inside of this Delve. Given the strength of its prisoners, I assumed the building materials were pretty tough.


    Getting thrown around by monsters hurt. I doubted they threw me faster than one hundred miles per hour, but no one was standing around with a sports radar gun to provide snarky commentary on Orexis¡¯ pitching speed.


    Point is, I was betting my Fortitude wouldn¡¯t be enough to prevent this much fall damage. I might live, but I was still regenerating health from our last fight, and another ding before the confrontation that Fortune was leading us toward would be... undesirable.


    I was also confused about something: Gravity. If the Delve existed in its personal little dimension, then there was no planetary mass to generate gravity. Where did it come from? It felt about Earth equivalent, but why? For the first few seconds of the fall, this was all I could think about. I was trying to logic my way out of the problem. By convincing the universe that the gravity here was nonsense, I could push my glasses so far up my nose that I¡¯d stop falling altogether.


    Once I realized that the universe was not interested in a debate concerning this matter, I began approaching the problem more pragmatically. This was made difficult not only because of the involuntary freefall but also because I was distracted by the spectacle I was seeing as we plummeted.


    The interior of the sphere was ringed with multiple wide platforms. Here and there a portal could be seen, which I presumed led to other prisoners like Fortune and Anesis. While we¡¯d made our climb, the platforms had been a battleground of a dozen breeds of divine monstrosity, waging a multi-faction holy war inside the Delve. It was brutal, chaotic, and at times disturbingly erotic.


    But as we fell, all of the divine spawn were dying.


    For some, fights became instant trades of deadly blows, killing every combatant involved. Other creatures slumped over for no visible reason, or screamed and wailed, blood gushing from their orifices before collapsing. The pillars of light shattered into sparkling fragments that rained down on the corpses around them. One group of creatures exploded, taking everything nearby with them. Many of the ones closest to the edge of the platforms simply lost their footing, joining us in our descent.


    I looked below, to the distant form of Fortune as he fell ahead of us, and watched the event begin to unfold on every platform he passed. It was then that I truly began to fear the avatar.


    Turning away from the mass execution, I could still see my party members. We were in a tight group, and even Shog and Grotto were falling just behind us. That added to my confusion since they could both fly from what I knew. Either they needed some type of ground nearby, or Fortune¡¯s magic had them in its clutches.


    Maybe that meant that the avatar would ensure our safe landing. Maybe that meant that any solution I came up with wouldn¡¯t work, subject to the same countering force as the c¡¯thon and the Delve Core. Still, I saw the ground coming this time, so I was going to plan a way to keep my face off of it. I also needed to make sure my allies all had a solution.


    ¡°Etja!¡± I shouted over the raging wind blasting past us. ¡°Can you gravity magic this shit away?¡±


    ¡°I- I think so!¡± she shouted back.


    ¡°How many people can you get?¡±


    She hesitated.


    ¡°Three?¡± she said, uncertain. ¡°I need more mana!¡±


    Nuralie, Xim, and Varrin didn¡¯t have any tricks for falling from what I knew. Nuralie had the lowest Fortitude and was the lightest of the three, behind Xim in her mail and armored robes. Etja¡¯s ability seemed to work off weight, since she could lift scores of Praying Heads, but struggled with one mega-starfish.


    ¡°Get Nuralie and Xim!¡± I shouted. ¡°I¡¯ll get Varrin!¡±


    Before waiting to see if she understood, I held my left arm over my chest and activated Gracorvus. The item went into shield formation, and I felt pressure against my body as it caught the air. It wasn¡¯t a lot wider than my torso, but the shape was less aerodynamic for sure. My allies dropped away from me slowly as my atmospheric drag increased, and I began testing a theory.


    Was Gracorvus¡¯ velocity when I willed it to move relative to my body, or some other fixed point? Was the listed speed a simplified expression of force, or some kind of magical constant?Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com


    I held the shield out from my chest a bit, muscling it to keep it stable. The slabs were marred and pitted by the Bloom¡¯s acid, but it still functioned. I began by commanding the shield to move away from me at full speed. That way, if its maximum speed was relative to a fixed point that wasn¡¯t me, it would only feel like crashing into the shield at a hundred miles per hour, rather than the full terminal velocity I¡¯d reached.


    The shield began to zip away from me, which I rejoiced over. I then willed the shield over to Varrin.


    ¡°Grab it!¡± I shouted.


    Varrin didn¡¯t ask questions, he just hugged the targe when it got close. Then, I brought Gracorvus back to me, Varrin on top of it. I brought the big guy underneath me, then hugged him from behind, having to search a bit to get a good hold.


    ¡°Sorry if this is a little awkward!¡± I said, trying to speak just loud enough for him to hear, and not shout his ear off.


    I focused on telling Gracorvus to move back toward me at a gentle pace and felt us slow as the shield began pressing into Varrin, and in turn, into me.


    If Gracorvus was trying to move backward relative to my body¡¯s position at a constant pace, then we should be decelerating at a value equal to Gracorvus¡¯ speed. Or maybe the shield did whatever the fuck it wanted with magical bullshit and my mental gymnastics were pointless. Still, I began to command the shield to move backward even faster, the g-forces on my body growing as our speed continued to reduce. It wasn¡¯t too strong, so I ramped it up to max.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Blood makes your hands slick,¡± said Varrin, working the cloth between the joints of his gauntlets. ¡°There¡¯s value in avoiding it by moving well while striking. No one tries to bathe in their enemy¡¯s blood.¡±


    ¡°Eh,¡± said Xim. ¡°Some people do. Still, it¡¯s better to stay out of the way of gouts of bodily fluids. It¡¯s all about weaving your attacks the right way.¡±


    ¡°Varrin,¡± I said, ¡°I watched you slice and dice six Praying Heads while they were on top of you. How? How did you ¡®move well¡¯ to not get blood all over you?¡±


    Varrin tossed the soiled towel to the ground and began inspecting his blade.


    ¡°I also have a self-cleaning mana-weave on my armor,¡± he said.


    ¡°Aha!¡± I pointed a finger at him. ¡°There¡¯s no bloodless kung fu, it was magic all along!¡± I swung my finger to Xim. ¡°What about you? Are your promises of sanitary martial arts lies as well?¡±


    Xim¡¯s eyes wandered as she pulled a small black gem from her inventory. It pulsed with mana, and the few blood spatters on her gear began to fade.


    ¡°Were... either of you ever going to tell me about laundry magic?¡± I asked.


    Xim and Varrin exchanged a conspiratorial glance, and Varrin even cracked a small grin. He banished the expression so fast that I barely saw it.


    Fortune¡¯s booming voice interrupted us.


    ¡°Good to see such dynamic camaraderie!¡± said Fortune¡¯s front.


    ¡°They¡¯re bickering,¡± said Right.


    ¡°Playful teasing,¡± said Left.


    ¡°And it has taken exactly as long as it needed to,¡± said Front. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    ¡°Fortune,¡± I said as the avatar tried to leave.


    Fortune kept walking, but his head turned, showing me his left face. I had to do a quick jog to catch up with his large strides.


    ¡°What the fuck, man?¡± I said, pointing up at the sky.


    Before Fortune could answer, Shog floated up beside me, leaning in close. His beard-tentacle-feathers tickled my face.


    ¡°You would make a mighty c¡¯thon, Arlo,¡± Shog¡¯tuatha said. He wasn¡¯t whispering, so I had no idea why he felt he needed to get so close to deliver his non-sequitor.


    ¡°The hell does that mean, Shog?¡±


    ¡°The way you challenge this more powerful being borders on suicide, yet you still make your anger known. A true c¡¯thon declares what is his and will die to keep it!¡±


    His tentacles undulated as he grew excited, and I took a few steps away to reestablish my personal bubble.


    ¡°He brought me back from the dead, Shog,¡± I said. ¡°You think he¡¯ll kill me because I¡¯m pissed he just pushed us all off a cliff? Even you, by the way!¡±


    Shog tilted his head, reaching up to continue smoothing his still-messy feathers.


    ¡°I was not pushed,¡± he said.


    ¡°Pulled, then. However you want to say it. Point is, Fortune forced us off a mile and a half tall cliff and nearly killed us all!¡±


    ¡°Nor was I pulled. I saw all of you leap daringly from the cliff, despite your flightless non-c¡¯thonic bodies, and followed you down. I wondered why you screamed and flailed, but I do not know human culture very well. Was that not intentional?¡±


    I looked at Shog, dumbfounded. The c¡¯thon had literally jumped off a ledge just because everyone else was doing it.


    ¡°I knew you¡¯d survive!¡± said Left, smiling. ¡°You even learned a thing or two on the way down!¡±


    The exchange with Shog had thrown ice water over my anger at Fortune, so I decided not to reply. Instead, I turned and followed the avatar, wondering what the next cliff he pushed me from would look like.


    Well, not really. I was pretty sure that it was going to be the extra-dimensional prison of an angry god.

 Chapter 69: May I Borrow a Cup of Soul?

    Chapter 69: May I Borrow a Cup of Soul?


    Fortune continued to walk, footfalls trodding neatly between the bodies. Though the overall shape of the central cage was a sphere, the ground here was level. Looking at the distant edge, I could see that the floor we walked on abutted the sloping wall, built flat. I had no hint as to our destination from studying the terrain.


    The world was filled only with the sound of our steps, and the occasional sparking of a rune and rumbling shudder of the Delve, until Xim grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me over to Nuralie.


    ¡°Nuralie!¡± Xim said, the sound of her excitement cutting sharply across the silence.


    The Loson blinked at her.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Nuralie said.


    ¡°I was thinking, and you mentioned that you have spiritual sedatives.¡±


    Pause. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Our tribe has an Irgriana tree in the Third Layer,¡± said Xim. ¡°We use its sap to brew a type of liquor, but we don¡¯t call it liquor, we call it a spirit. Not just because we prefer that word, but because the liquor has spiritual properties. Lots of things in the Third Layer do.¡±


    ¡°...Ok.¡±


    ¡°For tribe members, the spirit induces a mild hallucinogenic state. Since hallucinations in the Third Layer can manifest in physical form, it¡¯s great for festivals and celebrations. Everyone sees what they can create with their mind.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°Sounds fun... what if someone manifests a demon?¡±


    ¡°The rest of the tribe steps in if things get out of hand,¡± said Xim. ¡°Hallucination Demons are no big deal. Pushovers.¡±


    ¡°What if they spawn something worse? Like a... clown... demon?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hush,¡± said Xim, before turning back to Nuralie. ¡°For people from the First Layer, the spirit doesn¡¯t induce hallucinations, it sends them into a coma. The reason for this is that the brew has a positive interaction with the souls of Third Layer denizens, but it has a negative interaction with the souls of those from the First.¡± Xim stopped walking and took Nuralie by the shoulders, bringing the three of us to a halt. ¡°It¡¯s poisonous!¡±


    ¡°This is,¡± Pause. ¡°Very fascinating. Why are you telling me?¡±


    Xim whipped her head toward me.


    ¡°Arlo,¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Do you still have those poison essences we farmed from The Toxic Grotto inside your inventory?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± I said, trailing off on the vowel sound as I caught up with what she was getting at. ¡°You said a poison essence can be used to make any type of poison.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Xim said with a broad grin. ¡°Nuralie, are you familiar with any spiritual poisons?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Nuralie said, her eyes widening. ¡°My sedatives are poisonous in large doses. Most alchemy products are.¡±


    ¡°Could you convert a poison essence into one?¡±


    ¡°Any crafter can convert essences,¡± she said. ¡°Your skill limits what you can do with it. I could make one, but it would only be so strong.¡±


    ¡°Strong enough for an itty-bitty divine soul fragment?¡± I said. ¡°Like Orexis?¡±


    Nuralie looked thoughtful, then shrugged.


    ¡°I do not know if it would be,¡± she said. ¡°We don¡¯t know how powerful he is as a specter.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the limiting factor?¡± I asked. ¡°Is it based on skill level, or something else?¡±


    ¡°There are many,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°Time is our first problem. My Intelligence evolution makes me craft faster, so I can do something quick and crude. The product won¡¯t suffer too much. My Alchemy skill affects the potency of everything I make. I have an evolution to make poison more effective if a target is already poisoned.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re fast,¡± I said, ¡°make stronger stuff, and maybe we can hit him with more than one poison to boost the effect. Sounds good to me.¡±


    Nuralie shook her head.


    ¡°All spiritual substances require a spiritual tribute,¡± she said. ¡°The stronger the soul, the stronger the product. Compared to Orexis, I do not think I am a good match. The sedatives are already a gamble.¡± Pause. ¡°Anything else I make would be a gamble as well. If none of them work, we waste time and ignore other strategies.¡±


    As Nuralie spoke, my eyes wandered to Fortune. The avatar, along with the rest of our party, had stopped. Most of them gave us questioning looks, but not Fortune. He had a smile on all three of his faces. Like all his smiles, it was the kind that made me think he knew something I didn¡¯t. It was an expression I was learning to dislike.


    His body was also hugged by the thousands of crawling faces that made up his divine soul. Something I knew he was showing me on purpose.


    ¡°Does it have to be your soul?¡± I asked, and Nuralie followed my gaze back to Fortune.


    ¡°I have to be involved,¡± she said. ¡°But I do not have to pay the tribute.¡±


    ¡°Heat,¡± she muttered, then pointed the spoon at Xim, slinging a bit of the poison broth onto the hem of the cleric¡¯s robes. ¡°Divine fire!¡±


    Xim knelt next to Nuralie and held out her hands, sending a gentle flame of Sam¡¯lia¡¯s crimson fire into the bowl.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a hatchling!¡± Nuralie snapped. ¡°Hit it harder!¡±


    Xim smiled gleefully and gouts of flame rushed from her palms, the fire arcing up out of the other side of the bowl, swirling into the air. Nuralie kept stirring.


    First of all, I had no idea Xim could do that. I¡¯d thought her divine fire was limited to her big smite attack.


    Second, Nuralie¡¯s health began ticking down one point at a time, which was concerning, considering her diminutive health pool. I could see steam coming off of the Loson¡¯s face and scales. After a few feverish seconds of stirring and inferno, Nuralie nodded curtly.


    ¡°Stop,¡± she said, and Xim pulled back. Then, Nuralie held her hands out over the steaming, bubbling concoction. Her brow furrowed as she pressed her palms forward, looking like she was struggling with an invisible force. The laughing faces all along her body began to slide down her arms, then spiraled around her hands. They moved faster and faster until they were a multi-colored blur.


    The gifted piece of Fortune¡¯s soul streamed from Nuralie¡¯s palms into the liquid, the smiling faces reforming on the poison¡¯s surface, then dissolving into it. I watched in fascination as the liquid itself began to glow within my soul-sight.


    Finally, the last bit of Fortune left Nuralie¡¯s body, and she collapsed backward, holding herself off the ground with her elbows. She looked like she¡¯d just run a marathon.


    Nuralie took three deep breaths, before pushing herself back up to sitting and pulling out a quiver of arrows. She grabbed the entire bundle by their hafts in one hand, yanked them out, and then shoved the heads into the still-boiling poison. She held up her free hand and began chanting again.


    Mana streamed from her palm and wrapped itself around the arrows, then shot down into the brew. As I watched, the level of the liquid began to drop. When it dropped enough that the arrowheads could be seen again, I saw that the poison was being sucked into the metal. The arrowheads took on a sinister green sheen that rippled with a rainbow hue.


    I leaned in closer to get a better look and could make out a tiny, laughing face crawling across the surface of each arrow.


    Nuralie placed the bundle of arrows on the ground beside her, keeping one for inspection. She held it up in both hands, running her eyes over it. She flipped it up and squinted at the tip. Satisfied, she let out a breath and held the arrow out to Xim, then picked up another to hand to me. As we did our own inspection, Nuralie began packing up her supplies.


    Divine Madrin Arrow of Soul Toxicity


    Imbued with a spiritual poison crafted from the soul of a cosmic avatar, anything struck by this weapon will be afflicted by the debuff Soul Toxicity.


    Soul Toxicity: A target afflicted by this debuff suffers damage over time to their spiritual essence. Unlike normal Toxicity, which naturally decays, Soul Toxicity persists until it is cleansed.


    This is a spiritual weapon that is capable of affecting incorporeal entities. Spiritual weapons ignore physical armor.


    This is a divine weapon that deals bonus damage to entities scorned by the patron deity. Divine weapons ignore deific damage reduction.


    Based on the crafter¡¯s skill, this item has been granted 1 Divinity Bonus.


    Chosen Divinity Bonus: Fated Target.


    Fated Target: This weapon gains a bonus to damage and debuffs when striking a target chosen by the crafter, but cannot harm any other entity.


    Chosen Target: Orexis, Avatar of Yearning.


    This is a fleeting item and may only be used once.


    ¡°Well, goddamn,¡± I said as I read the description. ¡°Talk about having a bullet with a name on it...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing,¡± said Xim. ¡°I was worried that with Fortune involved, it would end up with some weird Luck-related skill.¡±


    ¡°One of the Divinity Bonuses I could have chosen was called Divine Misfortune,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°I didn¡¯t like it.¡±


    I once again wondered about the speed at which some people managed to read the System notifications. Did it just upload it to their brain? Was I the only one using my eyeballs to look at them?


    ¡°Not a fan of relying on Luck?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± said Nuralie as we began walking again. Pause. ¡°You saw what happened to Ashe.¡±


    I grimaced and wondered if Nuralie head learned the wrong lesson from that encounter. The lucky tanker triplet had been the only person to affect Orexis when we first encountered him inside the entrance to The Calvani Caverns.


    ¡®Affect¡¯ meaning that she singed his clothes.


    Ashe also managed to dodge a single one of Orexis¡¯ strikes, whereas the higher-level golds and platinums were getting slapped into craters. Really, Luck seemed to work well against Orexis. However, it had also caused Orexis to single Ashe out and it doomed Cole and Ember¡¯s sister to her atomized fate.


    Some part of me wondered if Fortune being arrayed against Orexis and his sister, Anesis, was somehow related to the God of Yearning¡¯s apparent vulnerability to Luck. Regardless, no one in our party was built into the stat, so Nuralie likely made the right call.


    Now that we had the ¡°Fuck Orexis In Particular¡± arrows, we just needed to figure out how the Loson was going to hit his specter with them.


    After all, Nuralie couldn¡¯t see him.

 Chapter 70: The Inner, Inner Cage

    Chapter 70: The Inner, Inner Cage


    The portal was in the ground.


    Our group was gathered in a circle around the entrance to Anesis¡¯ prison, looking down at its languid surface. The gateway swirled at a slow and leisurely pace within the floor, as though it defied the chaos of the world around it¡ªa mute and unfeeling guardian, behind which catastrophe gestated.


    We¡¯d spent the last few minutes of our brisk walk preparing ourselves. Nuralie¡¯s quick work had made twenty-five of the soul poison arrows, which she distributed between us. Xim, Varrin, Etja, and I each received two, leaving Nuralie with the other seventeen.


    I¡¯d practiced using Homing Weapon with a few of the spare steel arrows I had, using Varrin as my consenting target. Though the skill worked, the projectile was far slower when thrown than it would have been if shot, even with the speed boost the skill gave. Varrin could easily avoid it, and because the arrow had little weight to it, the missile plinked off Varrin¡¯s shield pathetically when it hit, lacking the velocity it needed to deliver a penetrating blow. I wasn¡¯t going to risk wasting one of the divine arrows with the skill. We only got one shot with each.


    The rest of the party wasn¡¯t any better off when it came to firing arrows. Varrin said he was a half-decent shot, but he wasn¡¯t interested in shooting his arrow. Nor were the rest of us non-archers.


    None of us needed a bow to stab a motherfucker.


    Nuralie had also given Etja both vials of non-divine spiritual sedative that the alchemist had, which the golem absorbed into her body and stored within her abdomen. She would crush and ingest the potions if Orexis tried to reinhabit her, and if she wasn¡¯t quick enough to do it on her own, we all knew where to aim to burst the vials if it came down to it.


    I was conflicted about bringing Etja with us. On one hand, Orexis could inhabit her, denying us a party member and turning her tools against us. On the other, Etja had proven she was good in a fight for both damage and control.


    In some ways, having Orexis inside a physical body might make the fight simpler for my allies, since they would have an easy, visible target to attack. This was especially true if Etja managed to take the sedatives and Orexis got saddled with whatever debuff that caused.


    The scenario was probably a death sentence for Etja, but I wasn¡¯t such an idealist that I would hesitate to defend myself against her if she became possessed. At least, that¡¯s what I told myself. Running that situation through in my mind was a very different animal from running it in real life.


    So, we stood around the portal, weapons ready, with a battle plan that left a lot to be desired, while Fortune drummed his fingers along his belly.


    ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± asked Varrin. He began pacing around the portal¡¯s edge, fingers flexing on his sword hilt.


    ¡°More mysterious timing?¡± I said, though I could tell Fortune was reading something the rest of us couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°I am displeased,¡± said Fortune¡¯s front.


    ¡°Just a little setback,¡± said Left.


    ¡°This will make everything more difficult,¡± said Right.


    Fortune dropped his hands from his gut, his mouths tightening into thin lines.


    ¡°I cannot override this portal,¡± he said. ¡°I was certain that I had it figured out.¡±


    ¡°Override it?¡± said Varrin, stopping his prowling. ¡°Can we not just jump through it like the others?¡±


    ¡°You can,¡± said Fortune. ¡°I cannot. All of the portals inside the Delve are designed to collapse if I enter them. This is why I dismiss them.¡±


    ¡°But this portal is different?¡± I said. ¡°Why? In fact, why is Anesis¡¯ portal at the exact center of the very bottom of the inner cage?¡±


    ¡°She is an avatar embodying Release, Arlo,¡± said Fortune. ¡°The world rebels at her confinement, and so she requires special treatment. Treatment that requires greater authority to override than my user designation gives me.¡±


    ¡°You have a user designation?¡± said Xim, looking up at the avatar. She¡¯d been staring into the portal with silent intensity since we arrived, but her interest in Delve transportation gave way to Fortune¡¯s shiny new factoid. ¡°Is that normal for a god?¡±


    ¡°Is that normal for a prisoner?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°No,¡± Fortune answered. ¡°To both. Another example of my exceptionalism.¡± He heaved a sigh so profound that I felt myself becoming depressed. ¡°I will have to speak with Cage.¡±


    Fortune waved a thick hand through the air, and the Delve Core¡¯s mental voice instantly returned.


    {Testing communication access, repeat 11567. Testing communication access, repeat 11568. Testing comm-}


    ¡°We hear you, Cage,¡± I said.


    {Finally! Fortune! Yyyyyyou... you are! You are... not pleasant! Ack! Why is that the worst thing I can say about you?!}


    ¡°Please dismiss this portal, ¡®98,¡± said Fortune.


    {I- This- The nerve of- You kick me out of local access, mute me the entire time you¡¯re traipsing around and bullying through my Delve, and this is how you say hello? By making demands? You¡¯re such a... ssssssuch a big...} Cage delivered a series of mental impressions that I interpreted as huffing. {You¡¯re a person of questionable character!}


    ¡°I ended your monster problem,¡± said Fortune, eyes narrowing. ¡°Now I intend to end your god problem. Dismiss the portal, or I will find something else to end.¡±


    Cage went radio silent for a moment, and then the portal at our feet began to swirl rapidly. It twisted into itself and disappeared like it had been sucked down a dimensional drain. The hole it left behind was deep and dark, but there was a subtle orange glow coming from within.


    ¡°It¡¯s not blue,¡± I said. ¡°Good to know I haven¡¯t gone color-blind.¡±


    {That¡¯s because Orexis has destroyed all of the mana-weaves. All that¡¯s left is Anesis and her divine spawn.}


    ¡°Then why isn¡¯t a wrathful god tearing the Delve to pieces?¡± I asked.


    {Unlike Fortune, Anesis wasn¡¯t permissively brought out of stasis. She¡¯s still waking up.}


    ¡°Good,¡± said Fortune. ¡°I still have time to bid her good morning.¡± The avatar hopped into the hole and disappeared within its depths.


    ¡°Normal marching order?¡± I said, receiving nods from the group. ¡°Then let¡¯s get inside before Fortune decides we need some encouragement again.¡±


    I jumped into the hole, my allies close behind me. I already had Gracorvus out, in case I needed to do any more flying tricks, uncertain of the pit¡¯s depth.


    The stone of the tunnel zoomed past until the orange glow at its bottom filled my vision. I crossed the tunnel¡¯s threshold and broke out into a room that was a microcosm of the Delve above it.


    Anesis¡¯ prison was a spherical chamber with a diameter around the length of a basketball court. Compared to the massive, multi-mile-wide sphere we¡¯d just left, this one was practically fun-sized.


    All along the interior of the sphere, crawling on every surface regardless of orientation, were hundreds of people.


    They weren¡¯t monstrous, they didn¡¯t have fangs or claws or multiple rows of pointy teeth. They were haggard and worn. Spine and rib bones poked out from under pale, bruised flesh. Paper-thin skin sagged off of emaciated muscle. Their limbs were skeletal, their faces gaunt. The only inhuman thing about them was the orange glow running through their spiderweb veins, lighting their bodies up from the inside.


    A thousand bloodshot eyes rolled up to look at me as I fell toward the chamber¡¯s center.


    Which is where Anesis hung, suspended in the air.


    I snapped, casting Explosion! without a chant, and detonating a pile of the spawn crawling over one another to get closer.


    Then, the entire room exploded.


    The creatures at the epicenter of my detonation were blasted into chunks, which scattered out around the room. The thin network of glowing orange veins inside each chunk grew brighter, escalating in intensity as it landed amidst more shambling mounds of the monsters. Then, the chunks exploded.


    A chain reaction of deadly eruptions cascaded across the entire surface of the sphere. The monsters were so tightly packed that each explosive chunk of the last monster found a new monster to turn into chunks, which then soared through the room to find new monsters to chunk.


    Organs, muscle, skin, bone, anything blasted away from one of the creatures turned into an unholy hand grenade, and the world became a single, endless detonation that propagated outward from my initial blast. It was surreal, horrifying, and, I gotta be honest, fucking cool as hell, especially when it made its way to the monsters above us. I was looking up at the devastation, but my perspective told me I was looking down at it.


    Everyone on team Arlo had their hands over their ears, the booming sounds amplified by the enclosed space, but Fortune crossed his arms, smiling up at Orexis. The specter watched the event with disinterest.


    Finally, the remaining few bits of the last monsters to be exploded, themselves exploded, popping like late kernels in a bag of microwave popcorn. Once the booming ceased, the air was filled with the rank smell of burnt flesh, but very little smoke. The room was also quite a bit dimmer, although the corpses still gave off a weak orange light.


    ¡°What was the purpose of that display, Fortune? Those creatures have no value to me.¡±


    ¡°Your sister,¡± said Fortune, ¡°with all her power, birthed monstrosities so weak, that a level one Delver could annihilate them all with a single spell.¡±


    ¡°She is sleeping!¡± Orexis shrieked, one ghostly arm hugging Anesis around the neck. ¡°Those creatures are the flakes of dead skin shed from her dreams! They are nothing!¡±


    ¡°You insult your own sister, Orexis,¡± said Fortune somberly. ¡°Even the excrement of a sleeping god¡¯s nightmare should quake the ground! Nations should tremble at the very thought! Anesis is a powerful avatar. You both are, especially together! So, why is she so weak?¡± Fortune spread his hands and looked around. ¡°This place robs her of her power, Orexis. Even with all the mana-weaves within this chamber destroyed, the cage beyond it presses down on her. The outer cage presses down on top of that. She will never be whole while inside.¡±


    ¡°Fortune,¡± Orexis said in a low snarl, ¡°I wish for you to speak plainly. I am here to free my sister, am I not? Why do you tell me what I already know?¡±


    ¡°Because you are acting like a fool!¡± roared all three of Fortune¡¯s faces. The specter flinched, hiding more of itself behind Anesis.


    ¡°But, it¡¯s alright,¡± said Fortune¡¯s front. ¡°I am here, and I will fix the mess you¡¯ve made.¡±


    ¡°I do not want you to fix anything,¡± said Orexis. ¡°I have destroyed the wards. My sister awakens without your help!¡±


    ¡°And when she awakens fully, her presence will destroy this dimensional pocket,¡± said Fortune. ¡°She will destroy it while two more layers of mana-weaves work to suppress her. What do you believe will happen to her then?¡±


    The specter considered the question for a moment.


    ¡°She will live,¡± it grumbled.


    ¡°But how long will it take her to return to you?¡± said Fortune. ¡°The real you?¡± Fortune held up a hand in a halting gesture. ¡°Allow me to make a suggestion. Allow me to take Anesis out of here.¡±


    ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I will take her outside of this horrid place, and you will be reunited with her in the flesh! And, in doing so, I will ensure she does not bring down the foundation of the very house in which she stands.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± said Orexis. ¡°You are restricted in here as much as she. What power do you wield that she cannot?¡±


    ¡°I have access to the System¡¯s portal network.¡±


    The specter perked up, leaning out from behind Anesis. The half-god of Release twitched again, and her lower pair of arms unwrapped themselves from her belly. The Delve shuddered.


    ¡°How do you have access?¡± asked Orexis.


    ¡°There is no time,¡± said Fortune. ¡°I will tell you later. For now, I need you to consent to allow me to take Anesis out of here.¡±


    ¡°You wish me to give away dominion,¡± said Orexis, tilting his head down in thought.


    ¡°Temporarily. I cannot move her on my own, and by the time she is awake and caught up, well...¡±


    The Delve shuddered again.


    ¡°Uh,¡± I began, uncertain if I liked what I was hearing. ¡°Fortune, what are you-¡±


    Fortune waved a hand at me in a dismissing gesture, and something caught in my throat. My question was cut off in a fit of choking. Varrin looked between Fortune and me, changing his stance to keep Fortune in his line of sight.


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Orexis. ¡°You may take Anesis outside of this Delve to the land known as Hiward. No more!¡±


    ¡°And I graciously accept your limited dominion, freely given.¡±


    There was a blast of air, and Fortune was beside Anesis, who was now twitching with greater frequency. Fortune grasped the half-god by the waist, hugging the taller woman to his body. A flash of light filled the room, and a portal opened behind the pair.


    Then, Fortune reached up and flicked Orexis¡¯ specter off of Anesis¡¯ shoulder.


    ¡°Farewell, Arlo and company!¡± Fortune said, giving us a wave. ¡°Good luck with your fight!¡±


    ¡°Wait, Fortune!¡± said the specter, tumbling through the air. ¡°I wish to rejoin my essence!¡±


    ¡°No room for passengers, I¡¯m afraid,¡± said Fortune, stepping backward into the portal. The bodies of Fortune and Anesis blinked out of existence, leaving only a faint afterimage behind.


    My entire group stood, stunned, as the afterimages faded.


    I coughed, clearing the gunk from my throat.


    ¡°Did we... just get scammed?¡± I croaked.


    {WHAT in the ever living FUCK just happened?} Cage¡¯s voice filled our minds. {Where¡¯s Fortune? Where¡¯s Anesis?! Why did Fortune have portal access?!}


    As we struggled to process the events that just unfolded, the specter of Orexis righted himself, then turned his eyes from where his sister was moments before, to us.


    Even as a soul fragment, the creature still had Orexis¡¯ features.


    His bottomless, empty eyes shuddered.

 Chapter 71: Cage Match, Round 1

    Chapter 71: Cage Match, Round 1


    Before Orexis could voice his displeasure, I asked a question that was burning a hole through my mind.


    ¡°So, if you¡¯re in here, as a soul fragment,¡± I said, gesturing at the specter, ¡°does that mean that the real Orexis, outside, doesn¡¯t know that Fortune just kidnapped his sister?¡±


    ¡°Tell me where he has taken her,¡± Orexis demanded. His shadowy form trembled as the words whispered their way across our ears.


    Varrin spat on the ground.


    ¡°I see no reason to answer the questions of a ghost,¡± he said.


    It would have sounded pretty badass, if he wasn¡¯t speaking to a spot several feet to the left of where Orexis really was. Varrin was following my gaze, but there was nothing for him to lock onto.


    ¡°No, no, no...¡± Orexis muttered, looking away from us and running a translucent hand along the side of his snout. ¡°Do you even know where Anesis would be? Or has Fortune betrayed you, as well?¡± He turned back, studying each of us in turn. ¡°Yes. I see. The avatar of mystery has tricked us all.¡±


    ¡°Avatar of... mystery?¡± I said. I was expecting this conversation to be a lot more hot-blooded than it was, but Orexis¡¯ rage seemed directed at Fortune, rather than at us.


    ¡°I guess the concept of fortune can be mysterious,¡± Xim said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not what I was expecting.¡±


    ¡°You are all fools,¡± snarled Orexis. ¡°No one knows what he is the avatar of. He calls himself Fortune, but what is he really? Fate? Luck? He defies each concept with his actions, eternally contradictory in his motives.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like chaos,¡± I said.


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± said Xim.


    As the three of us conversed, Nuralie disappeared. The room was lit only by the lingering orange glow of the hundreds of obliterated corpses. The mounds of dismembered flesh were also large enough to hide behind in places.


    ¡°He is too organized for chaos,¡± said Orexis. ¡°His plans interlock in layers. There is reason to them, but they are impossible to foresee.¡±


    ¡°A foe I would call cunning,¡± offered Shog. Orexis¡¯ eye-holes narrowed at the c¡¯thon, then swept the room.


    ¡°It is of no matter,¡± the specter said. ¡°I wish to hunt all my betrayors, whether in the worlds above or below.¡± He floated closer to the center of the chamber, glaring down at us. ¡°And I see many betrayors before me.¡±


    ¡°I never agreed to work for you,¡± I said. ¡°Sort of impossible for me to betray you.¡±


    ¡°I need not your consent to deliver unto you my decrees. You have defied me, and I now wish to consume you. To understand why you have done so.¡± He floated down toward us, arms spread like six-armed Jesus descending from the heavens. ¡°Especially you, daughter.¡±


    Orexis reached out toward Etja with all three of his right arms, clutching his heart with the largest of his left.


    Etja¡¯s eyes went wide as she listened to Orexis¡¯ words, her body as stiff as when she was made of clay.


    ¡°I brought you into this world,¡± said Orexis.


    ¡°Hey, hold on,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re not about to say ¡®and by gawd, I can take you back out!¡¯ are you?¡±


    Orexis slowly turned his head toward me.


    ¡°I will savor you last,¡± he said.


    ¡°Dude.¡± I pointed at Orexis, who¡¯d drawn within fifteen feet of us. ¡°You gotta work on your villain speech. It¡¯s a bowl full of Oops! All Tropes! right now.¡±


    ¡°And because of your betrayal,¡± Orexis said, ignoring me, ¡°I will allow the void sphere to collapse this space, and wreak havoc on the outside world. Perhaps the prisoners will find their ways to your family homes as well. Those was the terms of our agreement, and such shall be the payment for your treachery.¡±


    ¡°No, you said that you would take the void sphere back out of the dimensional anchor if we helped you release Anesis,¡± I said, still pointing at Orexis. ¡°The contract didn¡¯t specify what would happen if we didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± Orexis hissed, his ephemeral voice echoing through the spherical chamber. ¡°Your pedantry knows no bounds! There was no contract!¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you admit that we weren¡¯t legally bound to help you.¡±


    Orexis rushed me, his form trembling in rage. The fingers of his smaller hands began to glow as his pair of large, upper hands reached toward my throat.


    I gulped, but kept pointing at the specter.


    A twang sounded from just behind me, and I felt the wind of an arrow as it tore past my right ear. Nuralie had been behind me this entire time. The projectile shot along my arm¡¯s trajectory, the missile close enough that the fletching brushed my armor. It sailed directly at Orexis¡¯ center mass.UppTodated from


    Orexis did a goddamn barrel roll.


    The specter spun to the side, evading the arrow and closing the distance between us. I tried to bring up Gracorvus, but Orexis was too fast. His oversized hands grabbed me by the throat and lifted me into the air as one of his smaller fingers blazed orange.


    ¡°My sister¡¯s favorite spell,¡± he whispered, then a beam of disintegrating energy erupted from the digit. The same beam that Orexis Prime had used to melt stone. The same beam that Etja had used to cull dozens of Praying Heads.


    It struck me in the chest and bore a hole through my armor in a second. I felt the ice-cold chill of flesh being seared away by intense heat. The sensation overwhelmed me and I wrestled with Orexis¡¯ limbs in panic, rather than doing something more useful like, say, casting Oblivion Orb on his wrist.


    Orexis grappled several of Shog¡¯s feelers in his upper and lower hands, but the c¡¯thon had yet more, which he used to whip the space in front of me. Shog¡¯tuatha may not have been able to see Orexis, but his attacks didn¡¯t require much finesse, and my summon began weaving claw strikes and kicks into the mix.


    Where Shog struck, his blows dispersed Orexis¡¯ form like smoke, but the specter¡¯s essence quickly reformed. I had no idea if the attack was even dealing damage, but either way, Orexis was tired of the c¡¯thon¡¯s antics.


    The specter raised a finger, the color of rotted eggplant, and drove a wave of mana into the c¡¯thon.


    Shog ignored the spell, continuing to strike at his invisible foe, and I watched in horror as the c¡¯thon¡¯s exposed flesh began to blacken. His feathers fell from his body in droves, exposing necrotizing flesh beneath.


    ¡°It is especially effective against summons,¡± Orexis commented, as Shog¡¯s body continued to decay before my eyes. ¡°I know not why.¡±


    Violet blood began seeping from Shog¡¯s large, black eyes, and the c¡¯thon took a breather from his melee. He reached up with his long, taloned hands and wiped the blood from his face, body trembling.


    Then, he bellowed, but his voice was not the one I¡¯d come to know.


    ¡°I WILL EAT YOU!¡± Shog roared in a demonic screech.


    His tentacles flew open, revealing the mouth that lay behind his ¡®beard¡¯. It was a vicious beak, with six sharp edges that snapped open, revealing rows and rows of dripping, dark blue teeth. His tongue was spiked and covered in sharp bristles. It shot out into the air like a harpoon and, to the surprise of both myself and Orexis, it connected.


    Then, a pulse of dark light ran down Shog¡¯s tongue, transferring into Orexis¡¯ shade-like body. Shog¡¯tuatha jerked back and the tongue retracted, pulling the specter to his horrible mouth, where the beak¡¯s razor edges bit down and chewed.


    Whatever Shog was doing, it was working. Chunks of Orexis¡¯ soul broke away, and I could see the visceral impact his gnashing teeth had on Orexis¡¯ body¨Cfleshy resistance giving way beneath the relentless pressure of Shog¡¯s piercing teeth. It was one of the most fascinating things I¡¯d ever witnessed; an extra-dimensional mana-fiend gorging itself on the magical essence of a divine soul fragment, and I was literally seeing it from arm¡¯s length, still held in Orexis¡¯ grasp.


    The damage done by Orexis¡¯ spell began to reverse. Bloodflow stymied, dark veins cleared, rotting flesh began to regrow. I even saw a few fresh tufts of feathers sprout from Shog¡¯s bare chicken skin.


    But, Orexis was smiling.


    It was a ghastly thing, the avatar of Yearning¡¯s non-mouth. It was little more than a spiraling pit to whatever hell his atomized victims fell into, but it stretched broad across his snout like a feral dog.


    ¡°I am reminded of my place, sometimes,¡± said Orexis, reaching up and stroking one of Shog¡¯s tentacles as the c¡¯thon took another bite. ¡°To all the beasts that prowl the land, using tooth and claw to sate their hunger, I am your god.¡±


    Orexis¡¯ mouth opened wide, the pit to endless nothing on full display. A single word echoed through reality, and the revolting desire of Orexis¡¯ soul pressed down upon me.


    ¡°Consume.¡±


    And Shog went from the eater, to the eaten.


    Shog¡¯tuatha¡¯s flesh first began to crumble, then shatter, into thousands of pieces that were sucked into Orexis¡¯ endless maw. It began with Shog¡¯s tentacles, and the dark c¡¯thonic bone beneath was quickly revealed. Then, the phenomenon moved toward the c¡¯thon¡¯s center.


    This was going to kill him.


    I hit my mental emergency release button, and dismissed the summon. A portal opened, sucking Shog into it and away from Orexis. It snapped closed in an instant, leaving the specter vaccuuming up the last few c¡¯thon flakes drifting through the air.


    Orexis turned to me and wiped the side of his mouth with the back of a hand. It was a superfluous gesture, but his empty eyes stared into me as he did so. I was surprised he wasn¡¯t licking his fucking fingers.


    The pressure on my neck redoubled, Shog¡¯s limb no longer present to prevent my strangulation.


    I glanced down toward my allies, eyes feeling like they were about to pop out of my skull. My party members manuevered from place to place, trying to get a good angle on the unseen force attacking me, but it was no use.


    Nuralie had her bow drawn, but Orexis kept my body between himself and her attack. Varrin circled, looking like he was prepared to leap up and strike at Orexis, but he had no way to plan his trajectory. Etja¡¯s hands glowed, but she couldn¡¯t, or wouldn¡¯t, risk an indiscriminate death ray. Grotto hovered at a safe distance, but his tentacles writhed in the shared anguish of my impending demise, our Shared Fate ability displaying its hazards.


    Xim, however, was praying.


    HP: 258 -> 228


    The sight of Xim praying made something click in my mind.


    Body of Theseus has negated the debuff Unconscious.


    I was the only one who could see Orexis, because of my soul-sight.


    HP: 228 -> 198


    I no longer needed the Traveler¡¯s Amulet to use the ability, because I had learned to see souls through the Eye¡¯s blessing.


    Body of Theseus has negated the debuff Unconscious.


    Seeing was the Eye¡¯s first blessing.


    HP: 198 -> 168


    Showing was the Eye¡¯s second.

 Chapter 72: Cage Match, Round 2

    Chapter 72: Cage Match, Round 2


    ¡®The Eye reveals¡¯ is how Xim had explained it back on the riverboat to Arsenal. An ability that I¡¯d tapped into later, during our Third Layer walk. I¡¯d become connected to the other eleven people in our Layer-hopping crew, able to show them the way I saw the Layer. Not a desolate horror-scape, but a strange, yet beautiful place.


    Back then, I¡¯d been in Sam¡¯lia¡¯s domain, and her Eye had helped guide me in how to use the gift. Now, Sam¡¯lia wasn¡¯t inside the Delve with me, and I was not in the Third Layer. But, something else was the same. The mental connection, that first contact with the group psyche, had begun with the other members of the Xor¡¯Drel tribe.


    As Xim prayed, I could feel her. Not just through the vague awareness of my healing aura, but through something deeper, more profound, more intimate. The connection I¡¯d forged in the Third Layer lingered. A subtle opening into her mind and soul that I could knock upon like the front door of an inviting cottage.


    It was Xim, so it was more like a cottage in the middle of a forest that drank your nightmares, but it was warm and ¡®friendly¡¯ and everything poisonous in the front garden was clearly marked. Regardless, the door was already unlocked and Xim was there, holding it open for me.


    I walked through, my presence a revelation for us both.


    Reveal went much deeper than sharing visual perception. It brought with it emotional nuance, cognitive bias, mental shortcuts¨Call the baggage and insight the human mind slathered the world in. Xim wasn¡¯t looking through a camera lens with an Arlo filter on it, she was dual-booting reality using Arlo.exe.


    As I realized the connection, my mind went into overdrive. I blasted the signal out to everything around me, hunting for the doorways to my other party members. Varrin and Nuralie were easy to find, the connection was already made within the Third Layer. Grotto was even easier, our connection being the oldest among them. Etja was unfamiliar, but she did nothing to hide herself. She had no mental walls built up, only vague suggestions like a child in a pillow fort.


    Touching the inner world of each party member, in turn, made me realize that the Eye¡¯s gift was not a series of discrete abilities. It was a single, cohesive whole that I accessed one bit at a time. Seeing allowed me to see the souls of those around me while Revealing allowed me to touch upon them; to take their hand and guide them through the universe as it existed within me. I was familiar with the souls of my party, having watched them for days or weeks, and their presence called to me.


    Something else called to me as well.


    The pit. The screaming void that throttled me. Orexis was even more noxious to behold with this new sense than he was through my soul-sight. It was the difference between standing on a ledge, feeling the urge to jump, and active freefall. His existence was a gravity well that swallowed rock and light without malice, a hunger being sated by all those within his orbit being pulled in. It was his nature, and he demanded that it be known.


    But, this was not the real Orexis. This was not a singularity, but a micro black hole, doomed to collapse and vanish. The soul-fragment strutted like a god but was little more than an altar boy.


    And he was wounded.


    It was difficult to see damage on the specter. It had no blood to shed, no bones to break, no guts to spill out.


    It was raw soul. Granted, it was a powerful enough soul to interact with the physical world, but the physical world didn¡¯t do much in the way of interacting with it. There were no cuts, scrapes, or bruises, but I could feel the damage and, once I knew that it was there, I could see it as well.


    The edges of the specter¡¯s form fluttered. I¡¯d assumed it was from rage, but it was the soul losing cohesion. With no body to anchor itself to, it was bleeding off into the ether. Something that Cage had alluded to earlier, but that I could now watch in action. It wasn¡¯t just pressure from the Delve or Orexis¡¯ unstable form causing the damage, our attacks had also made an impact.


    Orexis had regrown his arms after Varrin¡¯s strike, but subtle fractures remained in his Orexis-shaped soul costume. He¡¯d doused Xim¡¯s flames, but the patches of his body that were burned vented trace amounts of his essence. He¡¯d shrugged off Shog¡¯s attempted devouring, but I swore he was fucking smaller than he¡¯d been two minutes before.


    He was a fake, and he was so convinced of his invulnerability that he wasn¡¯t even trying to hide the fact that he was hurt. No, I didn¡¯t think he even realized he was hurt.


    I decided to reveal the specter¡¯s truth to itself.


    I didn¡¯t ¡®knock¡¯ on the door to Orexis¡¯ soul. I kicked it in.


    Had it been the real Orexis, it never would have worked. Had the Delve not been suppressing the ever-living shit out of the specter, it probably wouldn¡¯t have worked. If we hadn¡¯t kicked its ass a little, or if the specter had been prepared for me to use a divine gift like a battering ram, he might have been able to keep me out.


    As it was, I made the Specter see himself as I saw him.


    The specter¡¯s head flinched back, and its grip on my neck loosened. I reached up and wrenched his shadowy fingers away from my throat. It wasn¡¯t enough to escape, but it was enough to rasp a few words.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a god,¡± I croaked. ¡°You¡¯re a fucking minion. And you¡¯re on a goddamn suicide mission.¡±


    Upon hearing the words, the Specter snapped his hand tighter around my neck, and I saw stars. Just as quick, the Specter¡¯s eyes went wide and it jerked its arm back, then shoved me away like I¡¯d given it a jumpscare.


    A wet oof pushed past my lips as Orexis¡¯ thrust knocked the wind out of me, and I was once again caught in gravity¡¯s loving embrace. An embrace that gravity then used to suplex my body onto a mound of dismembered divine spawn, ensuring that every molecule of air had vacated my lungs.


    As I struggled to convince my diaphragm to un-collapse, I saw the results of my unfiltered blast of the Reveal blessing.


    Xim had her hands out in front of her as she sat on her knees like she was trying to steady herself after a night of heavy drinking. She was taking deep breaths and furtively glancing around the room, sweat dripping down her face.


    Maybe it was closer to a night of bad decisions with hallucinogens.


    When our eyes met, she looked desperately confused, but blinked a few times, then gave me a single, firm nod.


    Nuralie was frozen in an unending pause, while Etja rubbed at her eyes and looked between everyone present with wonder. Grotto floated down to me, no longer unstable in his flight or writhing in pain.


    [Did it work?] I thought to him. [What¡¯s it like?]


    Grotto hovered within six inches of my face, c¡¯thonic eyes rolling over my features.


    ¡°You feeling ok?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said. Pause. ¡°But there¡¯s work to do.¡±


    A heavy hand fell on my shoulder, and I turned back to Varrin.


    ¡°Lost myself for a second,¡± he said. He looked like he wanted to say more, but he set his jaw and hefted his blade, then watched Orexis spiraling through the air. ¡°I need a flight ability.¡±


    ¡°I could give you a lift,¡± I said, detaching Gracorvus and sending it to his feet. He looked down at it, cocked his head to one side, then shrugged. He stepped onto the shield, and I willed it up toward the deranged specter.


    The specter was moving faster than my shield, but Orexis was maintaining a somewhat consistent elevation. I brought Varrin up, and kept him drifting in the general area, the warrior adjusting his position to account for Orexis¡¯ erratic path. He looked a little silly on the shield since he had to keep his feet so close together. He was also slightly bent, ready to launch himself off of the shield if the opportunity presented itself.


    Etja gave him that opportunity.


    A disintegrating beam of orange light illuminated the room for an instant, cutting across Orexis¡¯ amorphous body. The specter shrieked and fled from the attack, taking him back toward the levitating Varrin, who kicked off from the shield to meet Orexis¡¯ path. The specter spun and reformed into the imitation Orexis, catching Varrin¡¯s blade with his large hands the same way he¡¯d caught it when he first left Etja¡¯s body at the beginning of the Delve.


    But Varrin¡¯s blade was wreathed in gray mana, which I now realized was the signature of his Soul Strike ability. The blade cleaved down through the hands and dug deep into the specter¡¯s shoulder. Orexis reached up with his lowest set of arms and spun, tossing Varrin like a Judo fighter, using the warrior¡¯s momentum to send him sailing away and down toward the surface of the sphere at a ninety-degree angle from me.


    My shield wasn¡¯t fast enough to keep up with Varrin¡¯s descent, but the big guy managed a tuck and roll, dropping his greatsword to allow for the maneuver on impact. He shot a contemptuous glance up at Orexis, then moved to reclaim his blade.


    Orexis dodged another arrow, but the arc brought him into a fresh beam attack from Etja. The golem¡¯s mana was beginning to run low, and I worried that despite our counterattack we might not have the resources to take the specter down.


    Xim hadn¡¯t been full on mana when we started the fight and her smite attack wasn¡¯t cheap. Nuralie had gone through eight arrows, nearly half of her reserve. After my Shog upkeep, Explosion!, Shortcuts, and Oblivion Orbs, I was down below half mana and my health was even worse off, having been chest melted and strangled down to 138.


    Etja let out another beam, and I glanced at her mana, worrying that it was about to run dry. To my surprise, I realized that the level had barely changed. Then I noticed the trail of shadowy dust being sucked into one of her outstretched palms.


    Etja was consuming Orexis.


    ¡°It¡¯s a goddamn food chain in here,¡± I muttered, turning my attention back to the dark form darting around the room. I needed to find a way to contribute, but Orexis was moving so fast that I doubted I could aim a proper Shortcut. Good thing I had an ability that I didn¡¯t really have to aim.


    I began hurling one-handed weapons using Homing Weapon, pulling them out one after another from my inventory. I chucked a steel spiked mace, the Madrin flanged mace I¡¯d purchased from Seinnador, a longsword, a shortsword, a rapier, a cutlass, a bludgeon, and a pick. I tried to throw a flail, but it didn¡¯t work. Guess there were some limitations.


    I refrained from adding Oblivion Orb to the attacks. These weren¡¯t meant to harm Orexis, only give him more shit to deal with while my allies slammed him with the attacks that counted. Since my Strength evolution Nimean Weapon made every Strength attack I made with a weapon count as magical, I was hoping that the attacks would at least cause the specter some discomfort. Even if the attacks were ultimately useless, the specter didn¡¯t know that. So far, we¡¯d consistently hit it with skills and abilities that could hurt it. Weaving in some feints was just good strategy.


    Orexis, however, was beginning to regain his composure. He dodged my throws, and avoided the beam attack and divine arrow follow-ups. I sent my shield to Varrin to transport him back to the ascended battlefield, but the specter gave the levitating warrior a wide berth. After a feverish minute of combat, there was a lull. My party didn¡¯t want to waste resources on attacks that would miss, and the specter was taking the soul-shard equivalent of a breather. Which is to say, it began making new demands.


    ¡°Take me outside of this Delve,¡± said the specter. ¡°I will remove the void sphere. I will allow you to live.¡± Its wraithlike body shifted and morphed, the emulation Orexis transitioning between solid and ephemeral.


    ¡°I¡¯m not into trusting sociopaths,¡± I said. ¡°Also, you¡¯re just a shade. The real Orexis could decide not to uphold your promise.¡±


    ¡°I am Orexis,¡± the specter hissed, though his voice trembled. ¡°Nothing... nothing will change when I rejoin my body.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t leaving,¡± said Varrin. He¡¯d ended up on the other side of the sphere, looking up at us as we looked up at him. I¡¯d been forced to bring Gracorvus back to home position, no longer able to handle the mana expenditure of ferrying Varrin around.


    ¡°Would Orexis even accept you back?¡± I asked. ¡°You let Fortune elope with his sister.¡±


    The specter shuddered but didn¡¯t take the bait. We all stood there, staring at one another for several seconds. The imitation Orexis grasped its head, and its mouth moved like it was speaking under its breath, but I was too far away to hear. Then, its finger glowed the familiar color of rotted eggplant.


    A wave of mana shot forth in a massive cone toward me, Xim, and Nuralie. Etja tried to intercept with Nullify, but was too late. I was also caught off guard, failing to use Dispel in time, my inexperience rearing its ugly head.


    The attack landed, and we were all hit with a pair of afflictions.


    Bleeding: 44


    Toxicity: 44


    It was a debuff that meant little to me, but became life or death for Nuralie, and to a lesser extent Xim. 88 damage an hour took Nuralie from full to dead in around thirty minutes, despite my healing aura. It killed Xim in less than two hours. Even if we dealt with the specter, now we had a ticking time bomb to handle as well. Fortunately, Xim had Cleanse, which could hopefully alleviate the issue.


    Then, Orexis cast it again.


    And again.


    And again.

 Chapter 73: Cage Match, Round 3

    Chapter 73: Cage Match, Round 3


    After missing her first counterspell, Etja was ready for the follow-up. A wave of blue mana washed across me, Xim, and Nuralie as Orexis¡¯ second cloud of putrescence bombarded us, creating a swirling fog of mutual magic annihilation.


    I checked on Etja¡¯s mana, seeing that the golem was nearly empty, and focused on timing my Dispel for the next round. When I saw the pestilent glow of the specter¡¯s finger, I cast, and the spell blinked out of existence while it was still a wispy vapor emerging from the specter¡¯s pinky.


    The cost of Dispel was equal to half the mana cost of the spell I was trying to stop. Orexis¡¯ AOE debuff cost me fifteen mana to disrupt, dropping my reserves down to twelve. This told me one of three things, either the specter¡¯s mana pool was massive, or he was dumping everything he had to try and end the fight as fast as possible. Worst case scenario it was both.


    It was probably both.


    Orexis hit us with a fourth and fifth cast of the spell, neither me nor Etja having the mana to stop it, and the debuffs tripled.


    Bleeding: 132


    Toxicity: 132


    Toxicity reduced by Exposure Therapy¨CPoison.


    Toxicity: 132 -> 99


    Even with the reduction from my Creation Delve achievement, my afflictions exceeded my health regen by forty-three. My life was now on a timer along with Nuralie and Xim, although they were much worse off, especially Nuralie.


    I did the math in my head, and after subtracting the health regen from my healing aura and the Loson¡¯s natural recovery from Fortitude, she would be taking something close to four damage a minute. It was a far cry from the rapid decomposition that Shog had gone through, but it gave her eight minutes to live.


    As my thoughts accelerated through the numerical implications the debuff had for our party, my body began to remind me that this wasn¡¯t a game of math.


    My vision went red, blood seeping from my eyes and clouding my sight. The color mixed with the orange gloom of the chamber to bathe the world in a bloody sunset. My guts twisted, and I doubled over, my empty belly purging stomach acid and bile.


    As I wretched, I caught sight of my hands. Blackened splotches were forming on my skin. My joints screamed, my head pounded, and a tuft of my beard fell out onto the ground.


    If I wasn¡¯t pissed off before, I was now.


    [I am attenuating your pain response,] came Grotto¡¯s strained voice in my mind. [Increasing adrenaline and norepinephrine. Endorphins as well.]


    The pain and nausea began to subside as my heart rate spiked, and I felt an icy calm overtake my mind. It was the endless serenity of rage in its purest form. The boiling anger that casts aside all self-doubt, all mundane worry, all considerations except one. My world became a singular point of focus: The specter.


    It had to die now.


    I brought the full weight of that belief down on the specter using Reveal. The false god had clawed back his sense of self after my earlier assault, but he hadn¡¯t completely severed the connection. Still, pushing through the specter¡¯s doorway now was like moving through a wall of mud. I could press into it and leave handprints, but couldn¡¯t pass through.


    Orexis¡¯ chained spell attack was interrupted, but we were locked into a stalemate. It wasn¡¯t long before the soul fragment¡¯s ghostly hands reacquired their lethal glow.


    [Grotto, dump everything you have on the specter,] I thought to my bonded Delve Core. [Full brain-melt.]


    [There is no brain to melt, but I understand your inartful request. I have not been idly watching during this conflict. The specter¡¯s mental defenses are significant, and my spells are brushed aside.]


    I continued my spiritual battle with the specter, feeling a profound exhaustion overtaking me. It went deeper than the gruesome state of my body; the Reveal ability had a cost that went beyond mana or stamina.


    [Grotto sensei, have you forgotten the first lesson you taught me? I don¡¯t want you to make a psychic attack the archetypal way.] I felt my will begin to slip, and the specter let loose at me with a disintegrating beam. I clenched my already grinding teeth harder, preparing to take the hit, but it went wide when the specter ducked to dodge an arrow. A few hundred stacks of Bleeding and Toxicity didn¡¯t keep Nuralie from taking shots.


    [You want me to mana-shape a mental spell attack?]


    [Can you do it?]


    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking,¡± I slurred through the cuts and blood in my mouth. Another one of the specter¡¯s hands reached out and muzzled me, pressing my face into the ground.


    Grotto floated higher into the air, near the center of the room. Although his c¡¯thonic form was no bigger than a beach ball, his mental presence felt a hundred times larger.


    [Your beliefs are as vapid as they are misplaced, cretin.] Grotto splayed his feelers into the air, each ball python-sized limb snaking out to dominate the sky like Jo?rmungandr, an octopoidal Shiva gracing us with his words. [Unlike you, I am more than grotesque scum dislodged from the throat of a divine mistake. You compare me to these meatbags, and speak as though I should be insulted that I am not my progenitor, whose feeble shell has long since left this world. I am not limited by the flesh and blood of the Old One¡¯s form, nor the form that conveniences this chassis. Neither am I beholden to the metal and magic that lay beneath this alien tissue.]


    Grotto continued to swell, his body simultaneously a tiny blob high above us and a titanic face peering down from between nonexistent clouds. The space of the room continued to distort in my vision, expanding beyond reason as Grotto continued.


    [I am the mind and the will. I am the beating heart of hearts. I am the arbiter of what shall be and what shall not. I am the hand of the System, and the System¡¯s dominion is wherever it so chooses. Wherever it so chooses, the System¡¯s dominion is absolute.]


    The Delve shuddered.


    [You are not a god. The System decides who is a god. You are a feeble plaything, like all the others trapped within these walls. A pittance of magic and a hundred thousand weaves reduces you to an insect, trapped in the System¡¯s web and sucked dry of your aberrant lifeforce. You are not a god, you are a source of mana accumulation.


    [The System is god here, and I am the System. No one will bow to you, for they already supplicate themselves before me. Now, parasite, you will bow to me as well. You will bow, and you will despair.]


    As Grotto¡¯s final statement rang through our minds, I pressed hard on my connection to the specter, forcing him to confront the fact that he was a spiritual clone. That he was ephemeral and doomed to perish within the Delve¡¯s confines. That if anyone in here was a god, it was Grotto.


    I shook my head, trying to clear that last belief from my mind. I kept pushing on the connection regardless, doing my damndest to not make it an act of worship toward the megalomaniacal Delve Core. I had enough gods in my life, I didn¡¯t need to be bonded to one as well.


    The specter didn¡¯t howl or wail or scream. It didn¡¯t throw insults or curses or spells. It stared up at Grotto, motionless. I felt its grip on my face and arm slacken, and broke its hold, rolling away and getting back on my feet. It only took me two tries before I made it to standing without falling back over.


    Xim also pulled her arms free from the specter, swiping a claw at the soul fragment. When the crimson flame delivered a touch of Sam¡¯lia¡¯s judgment to the specter¡¯s soul, it brought Orexis back online.


    The specter dashed back, its form beginning to break down completely. It was barely humanoid anymore, looking closer to the shadow of an evil tree with six wispy branches.


    It hung in the air, a pair of empty, dark pits the only concrete resemblance left to Orexis Prime. It watched us with its hollow eyes, like a confused animal, and I began to wonder if it had gone catatonic.


    ¡°No, no, no, no,¡± the echoing, hissing voice of the specter whispered in our ears. ¡°I am not this thing...¡± It spoke the words quietly, with no strength or energy behind them¨Clike a weary old man muttering about the regrets of his past. ¡°I am... I am... Orexis... I wish to be Orexis. I do not want to be... a phantom...¡±


    The dark pits on its vague face shuddered, then narrowed. The smaller hands re-solidified and began to glow. It pointed ten mana-charged fingers at us.


    But a man fell from the sky and cleaved the specter in half, his blade anointed with gray mana.


    Varrin landed in a deep squat, c¡¯thonic bone blade buried an inch into the ground at the specter¡¯s feet. The false Orexis was split down the center, from head to groin, the light of its fingertips extinguished. Its two halves floated apart, then dissipated into the air like windswept smoke.


    Gracorvus hovered back to me, and I sent it into home position along my armguard. Me, Xim, and Varrin watched the air where Orexis had been a moment before, waiting for the gotcha, but none came.


    I took a deep, rasping breath, wet with blood and maybe some decayed lung matter.


    ¡°Is flying on the shield fun?¡± I asked, eyes watering from resisting the urge to cough. I didn¡¯t want to see what would come out if I did. Varrin frowned at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little awkward,¡± he said. ¡°My feet are too close together for a balanced stance.¡±


    I nodded, looking at the pitted and scored slabs on my armguard.


    ¡°Maybe Papa can make it bigger,¡± I said.


    Then, I puked blood, and we began figuring out how to not die. Again.

 Chapter 74: Through the Gift Shop

    Chapter 74: Through the Gift Shop


    I was making Nuralie MVP of this Delve, and I would hear no argument about it.


    We had problems. The loson had chemical solutions. Nuralie and Xim had both popped one of Nuralie¡¯s antidotes while I went on crusade with Grotto, and I eagerly accepted one for myself now that the immediate threat had ended. It knocked sixty stacks of toxicity off my debuff, which got me back into the black with my health regen.


    Xim had also emptied the rest of her mana using Cleanse to purge the remainder of Nuralie¡¯s toxicity, and most of her bleeding. Unfortunately, this left Xim with nothing to remedy the rest of her own afflictions, but Nuralie still had two health potions. They took one each, which got Nuralie comfortably regenerating health, but failed to offset all of Xim¡¯s ticking damage.


    After Orexis¡¯ laser to Xim¡¯s gut, she¡¯d gone down to sixty-eight health and was currently taking a net value of twenty-eight damage an hour from the specter¡¯s afflictions. The bonus to her regen from the health potion would wear off in an hour, at which point she¡¯d jump up to losing 172 HP an hour. Xim would get enough mana back for a Cleanse or two by that point, but it wasn¡¯t enough to deal with the problem.


    The cleric had less than ninety minutes to live.


    ¡°Can you take another mana potion?¡± I asked. Xim had returned to her normal, humanoid form and held a hand pressed to her gut. Blood dribbled from the hole punched through it by Orexis.


    ¡°I¡¯m out,¡± said Nuralie, as Xim shook her head. ¡°It would cause mana toxicity as well.¡±


    ¡°What about a chip?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Chips are the core ingredient in mana potions,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°She would suffer mana toxicity from another potion or chip.¡± Pause. ¡°The chip would be far worse.¡±


    [She also does not have a bonded Delve Core to offset the mana overload. Her matrix and mana veins could be irreparably damaged. Even your own may have suffered harm despite my efforts. I¡¯ll need to examine you. Although...]


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said after Grotto trailed off. ¡°No potions, no chips. Does anyone have any healing or cleansing abilities I¡¯m not aware of?¡± There was a round of shaking heads and muttered no¡¯s. Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com


    I considered the spells I had seen in the past, bringing up the list to review. I couldn¡¯t copy Xim¡¯s healing¨Cit was Divine-type and my Dimensional attunement didn¡¯t give me access. I did have access to physical magic, however, which was the school that Cole¡¯s healing had used.


    ¡°What about the spell Surgeon?¡± I asked. ¡°I could put it into one of my open skill slots.¡±


    ¡°Requires competent medical knowledge,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Is that something you possess?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°Other than basic stuff. Not to the level of surgery.¡±


    ¡°The spell augments your capabilities,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It won¡¯t make up for lack of knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Then we haul ass out of here,¡± I said. ¡°If Orexis Prime was chased off by the Dukgriens, there¡¯s bound to be someone that can help in the area outside the Delve.¡±


    ¡°What about Cage?¡± said Nuralie.


    {Me?} Cage¡¯s voice came into our minds. Now that Fortune wasn¡¯t around to shut the Delve Core out, he could eavesdrop on all of our conversations. {I¡¯m just an administrator. You all are the god-slayers. Also, I appreciate your crisis, and thanks for dealing with the specter, but there¡¯s still an outstanding problem to address.}


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, somewhat testily. I was distracted by Xim¡¯s condition, still running potential solutions through my head.


    I was also still bleeding and poisoned, just healing faster than the damage. Blood dripped from my eyes and nose. Dark splotches emerged on my skin then sloughed off, replaced by fresh tissue. My shoulder was still dislocated, as well, and the hole in my chest continued screaming for my attention.


    The Delve shuddered again.


    {The void sphere in the reality anchor!} Cage thought to us, his psychic voice tinged with creeping hysteria.


    ¡°Dammit!¡± I said, pushing my hood back and grabbing a fistful of my hair. ¡°OK. The anchor is outside, so we have to get out of here to deal with either problem. Most direct route to the exit, Cage?¡±


    {I¡¯ll do better than that! I¡¯ll open a portal directly to the anchor. It¡¯s technically still inside the Delve, but it exists within Hiward. Like a guest house on the manor grounds. Not really inside the house, but it¡¯s on the property. Once you fix the problem there, you can walk right out to find your friends!}


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you open a portal for us to get in here then?¡± I asked. ¡°Instead of making us do all the lock bullshit?¡±


    {One, it was locked. Now it isn¡¯t! There are five other good reasons. Do you want to hear them?}


    ¡°No, never mind,¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to get into the finer points of portal transport.¡±


    ¡°But, I want to hear about it,¡± said Xim with a bloody grin. ¡°Don¡¯t hurry for my sake.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll come back once you aren¡¯t in mortal peril. Can ask Cage all about it then.¡±


    {Um, no you won¡¯t! As soon as you are gone and the void sphere is taken care of, I¡¯m closing the hidden access point inside Calvani Caverns. Since, you know, it isn¡¯t hidden anymore. And if anyone comes knocking on one of the other two entrances, I¡¯m collapsing the portal on their way in!}


    ¡°Do what you gotta do,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get that exit portal now, please.¡±


    {As you command, Godsbane!}


    ¡°Godsbane?¡± I said as a swirling blue hole in reality appeared before me. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good name.¡±


    ¡°Spectersbane is more accurate,¡± said Nuralie. She touched the portal and disappeared.


    10 Diamond Chips1 Lesser Divine Soul Essence1 Get Out of Cage Free Card


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna regrow my hands, Grotto!¡± I looked to the group for support.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± said Varrin. ¡°This is my homeland, my thundry that is threatened. If a sacrifice is needed, it should be my own.¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± said Etja, taking a tentative step forward. ¡°I could just use Siphon.¡±


    ¡°Siphon?¡± I said, bringing up the list of spells I¡¯d seen using my Magical Thinker evolution. The Cage had been a non-stop sprint, and I¡¯d sort of ignored the ability while inside.


    ¡°My gravity magic,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve got a little mana back. I can cast it on something that small.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah. I see it.¡±


    Grotto¡¯s tentacles undulated, and he swiveled from Etja toward the anchor.


    [There is no way that spell works.]


    ¡°Why not?¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a dimensional spell, too.¡±


    [The gravitational array required to anchor a dimensional membrane of this complexity is so intricate that there is no conceivable way the engineers did not shield it against gravitational manipulation.]


    ¡°Hmm? How did Orexis get it in there?¡± I said. ¡°Think he used his crude extremities?¡±


    [The methods of divine avatars are many.]


    ¡°Just let her try,¡± I said. ¡°Actually, why am I petitioning you over this? Etja, go ahead and give it a try.¡±


    The golem nodded, then brought up her lower pair of arms and focused on the void sphere. There was a light glow of mana along her fingertips, and the black jewel floated right out to her.


    ¡°It worked!¡± she said as the void sphere landed in her palm.


    Then, she screamed.


    Etja¡¯s fingers snapped shut over the jewel and her back arched as though she¡¯d grabbed onto an electrified pole. I dashed to her and pried her fingers back, forcing her to dump the jewel onto the ground. Her grip was tight, and so I wasn¡¯t gentle. Her fingers made a few sounds they weren¡¯t supposed to.


    When the void sphere left her hand, Etja collapsed, and I checked her status in my HUD.


    Mana Overload: This party member has had their mana-matrix damaged. They cannot regenerate mana for 24 hours. Any further attempt to regenerate mana will result in loss of health.


    Her HP had ticked down ten. It didn¡¯t look like she was in danger now, but if she¡¯d held that gem for too long...


    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked, kneeling next to Etja to check on her. She was unconscious.


    [The housing of the void sphere continues to degrade. It is releasing vast quantities of mana.]


    As if to accentuate his words, we got a new notification.


    Warning! The area you are in has a very high mana density. Continual exposure to excess mana levels may result in negative status effects or loss of health.


    ¡°I vote we leave,¡± I said, inspecting Etja¡¯s hand. Definitely dislocated a finger. ¡°We got the thing out of the anchor. That was our job. We can let someone higher level come to deal with this.¡±


    [If the housing breaks down completely, the void sphere will release a mana cloud on a scale similar to a Delve eruption.]


    ¡°Of course it will,¡± I said. ¡°Thus rendering a large part of Ravvenblaq uninhabitable. Suggestions?¡±


    [We¡¯ll need to mitigate the mana output or slow the process somehow.]


    ¡°Hey, Grotto,¡± I said, ¡°you¡¯re always looking for sources of mana for the obelisk.¡± I gestured at the void sphere like a gameshow host.


    The mini-c¡¯thon¡¯s feelers froze, reminding me of a Nuralie-style pause, and then he shot over to me.


    [Open the Closet!]


    I began focusing on the ability, relieved to find that it was no longer being blocked. Whether that was due to being in the Delve¡¯s ¡®guest house¡¯, Cage¡¯s assistance, or something else, I didn¡¯t know. I mana-shaped the ability and forced the closet open in a few seconds.


    ¡°Arlo,¡± said Varrin as the door-shaped portal opened. ¡°What obelisk?¡±


    The big guy had an eyebrow raised in my direction, and I was receiving similar looks from Nuralie and Xim.


    ¡°Shit,¡± I said. ¡°I never told you guys about the Pocket Delve.¡±

 Chapter 75: Void Transaction

    Chapter 75: Void Transaction


    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯ve done?¡± Varrin said as he stood before the dark pillar that was the Pocket Delve¡¯s obelisk.


    ¡°Grotto wouldn¡¯t stop bugging me about it,¡± I said, poking my head back out of the entrance to check on the void sphere. ¡°He needed a passion project. The little guy had just lost his home.¡±


    The dark jewel lay on the ground, showing no sign of the terrible power it was ready to release upon Hiward, save but for a few small cracks on its surface. It was like a radioactive marble¨Cmundane at first glance, and by the time you realized the danger, it was too late.


    ¡°No Delver controls a Delve,¡± said Varrin. ¡°There are laws forbidding it.¡± He looked over his shoulder at me. ¡°Delves that are accessed through portals in Hiward are owned by the crown. They have no lord or lady, to prevent the temptation to exploit them.¡±


    ¡°Interesting fact, Varrin,¡± I said as I sized up the jewel, trying to decide how to get it into the Pocket Closet. ¡°Grotto, if I touch this, I¡¯ll get the same treatment as Etja, right?¡±


    [It will be worse since you are already suffering from mana overload.]


    ¡°Good to know. What if I covered it in something?¡±


    [The closer you are to the void sphere, the stronger its effects, but avoiding direct contact will dampen the mana conductivity.]


    Varrin strode back out to me.


    ¡°The matter of who owns this Delve merits additional discussion,¡± he said, peering down with me at the deadly gem. ¡°It will set a precedent. If the crown allows you to keep it, others may rush to bond with Delve Cores so they might acquire one for themselves.¡±


    [Most cores will destroy their Delve, rather than letting it be captured by miscreants. And I am beholden to no king of yours. This is my Delve, and I choose its administrator.]


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± said Xim. She sat with her back against the obelisk, Nuralie squatting beside her and offering what limited care the alchemist could. A blood-soaked bandage covered the cleric¡¯s belly. ¡°Delves discovered in the wild usually go inert after they¡¯re looted.¡±


    ¡°Which is why they are protected by law,¡± Varrin added. ¡°They¡¯re a natural resource, and there are only so many.¡±


    ¡°Turns out they¡¯re renewable,¡± I said. ¡°Since more can be made. Can I borrow another towel?¡±


    ¡°I have more health than you,¡± said Varrin, ¡°for once. I¡¯m also not suffering from mana toxicity. I¡¯ll use my gauntlet.¡± He looked to Grotto.


    [It should be as effective as anything else.]


    Varrin gave a curt nod, then knelt to grab the jewel. I moved out of his way, giving him a clear path back inside the Pocket Closet, figuring he would run inside to the obelisk.


    He snatched it up in a flash, and his armor lit up like a Christmas tree.


    Runework on Varrin¡¯s armor burst to life, the sigils having been concealed within the ornate engravings along its surface. They vented vaporous mana as they flared, and then exploded. Varrin shouted and dropped the gem. He tore his gauntlet off and threw it to the ground, the glove scorched and blackened.


    [Curious,] Grotto thought to us. [The mana-weaves in your armor had a catastrophic reaction to the overwhelming mana output.]


    Varrin¡¯s armor smoked, making him look like a cartoon character that just accidentally detonated their dynamite.


    ¡°You ok?¡± I asked, but his health was full and he didn¡¯t have any debuffs.


    ¡°This armor was an heirloom,¡± Varrin said, looking himself over. ¡°The same set men in my family have worn at low levels for three generations.¡± He clenched his naked fist, glaring at the gem, fury pouring from his eyes. ¡°Must this day take yet more from me?¡±


    I grimaced, but let that minefield lay undisturbed.


    ¡°I have an idea,¡± I said, beginning to take off my c¡¯thonic leather vest. It was tough since I wore it over my armor. But after a bit of squirming and Varrin¡¯s assistance, I got the vest off and held it out to the big man.


    ¡°What is this for?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s immutable,¡± I said. ¡°It won¡¯t stop the mana, but it won¡¯t explode either.¡± I smiled at him. ¡°I don¡¯t think.¡±


    [C¡¯thon flesh is also a good mana insulator,] Grotta added.


    Varrin took the vest and squatted down, then tossed the leather over the jewel. There was no reaction. He held his hands wide, then brought them together, bunching the vest up with the jewel in the center, as though he were trying to catch a big bug.


    Varrin¡¯s body stiffened, and he grunted, but he quickly turned and dashed into the Pocket Closet.


    Grotto had exposed a bowling-ball-sized recess within the obelisk by sliding a panel aside, its purpose to absorb the mana from, or condense mana into, chips. The void sphere was essentially the biggest, baddest form of a chip, so the slot should work with it inside. Varrin ran to the obelisk and shoved in the entire wad, vest and all. Grotto flicked a tentacle, and the panel slid closed.


    Then, numbers went up.


    Pocket Delve has absorbed 99,999 mana from VOID SPHERE. Mana held in reserve 123,999.


    Pocket Delve has absorbed 99,999 mana from VOID SPHERE. Mana held in reserve 223,998.


    Pocket Delve has absorbed 99,999 mana from VOID SPHERE. Mana held in reserve 323,997.


    ¡°Holy shit,¡± I said.


    [Spend it!] Grotto thought to me. [The obelisk¡¯s capacity is limited. It lacks the storage for this level of accumulation!]


    I closed my eyes and focused on the Closet, beginning to expand it outward. First, I targeted the room we were in, the obelisk chamber. The size of the chamber limited the size and capacity of the obelisk that could be constructed, so I went big. Really big.


    After several minutes of focused effort, the room was massive. Not central cage massive, but it sprawled a thousand feet in every direction. After that, I forewent any structure or organization, simply thrusting the boundaries of the Closet outward.


    There was a limit to how fast I could do this. A limit that was both relative to the total size of the space and also my mental capacity to guide the expansion. Despite my efforts, I wasn¡¯t spending the mana fast enough.


    Pocket Delve has absorbed 99,999 mana from VOID SPHERE. Mana held in reserve 21,619,950.


    Pocket Delve has absorbed 99,999 mana from VOID SPHERE. Mana held in reserve 21,709,860.


    ¡°How much fucking mana is in this thing?¡± I said, eyes clamped shut as I continued to focus.


    [This is a only fraction. We need additional ways to spend it.]


    I tried pushing the boundaries in different ways, looking for the most efficient growth. As the total size increased, the amount I could spend at once went up proportionally, but the scaling was too slow. Given enough time, I could catch up to the speed of absorption, but we didn¡¯t have the luxury.


    [The obelisk is already beyond its capacity. It is undergoing stress.]


    ¡°What happens if it breaks?¡± I asked. A beat went by with no response. ¡°Grotto?!¡±


    [I do not know. I have never witnessed such an event. I would imagine it is catastrophic.]


    ¡°We gotta¡¯ take the void sphere back out!¡± I said.


    [We have not yet mitigated the potential disaster!]


    ¡°Then figure out something else!¡±


    [I...] Grotto hesitated, and I cracked an eye to peek at the mini-c¡¯thon. He swiveled around the room, surveying the various stockpiles of materials I¡¯d procured for him that he¡¯d yet to use. [Nuralie, Xim, and Varrin place your hands on the obelisk. One of you hold Etja¡¯s onto it as well.]


    The party immediately followed Grotto¡¯s instruction, again showing the speed of their initiative. When we were in the thick of it, the party didn¡¯t argue or ask questions, they just did what needed to be done. They¡¯d shown it time and time again throughout the Delve, and I was glad to have allies that displayed that level of trust.


    The fact that this trust was being placed so readily in the hands of Grotto, however...


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked as Grotto gathered essence powders and engraving tools from the bundles of materials.


    [The crystalline mana coating your mana veins is extraordinarily concentrated, and the process by which it was placed there is a grotesque over-expenditure of resources.] The bonded Delve Core floated to the obelisk, and three of his feelers gripped styluses, beginning to carve new symbols along the pillar¡¯s side. [We presently possess a commensurately grotesque overabundance of said resource.]


    ¡°I thought you hadn¡¯t figured out how to make that happen yet!¡± My concentration began to slip, and I snapped my eyes back shut to continue expanding the Closet.


    [Fortune made a curious comment when discussing his modifications to your physical body. He referred to the act as his ¡®own modified Creation process.¡¯] Grotto poured essence powder into his hastily engraved rune, and it shone with fresh life. [The Calvani Caverns holds a primordial Creation obelisk within it. Orexis and Nasro used that obelisk to perform the procedures that shaped Etja¡¯s mana veins and matrix. Her body is a perfect template for mana flow, designed purely by the System.


    [Now that I am the administrator of the Calvani Caverns, I have access to its logs, along with the procedures and guidelines for operating the Delve. These include the rudimentary Creation process they performed. This has given me the insight I needed to answer most of my questions concerning how to create and embed the unique material found coating your mana-veins.]


    ¡°When did you have time to do that?¡± I asked.


    [I have several subprocesses analyzing data at any given moment. I have been working on this problem constantly.] He flitted to the next side of the obelisk, beginning to carve more symbols. [The primordial obelisk is grossly inefficient. This inefficiency is to our advantage, however, since it will require an order of magnitude more mana to activate the Creation procedure than it would were we using a proper Creation Delve.]


    ¡°Wait,¡± said Xim, ¡°you¡¯re going to put us through the Creation process again?¡±


    [In a limited manner. I will reforge your body with a superior mana matrix. One coated in the crystalline mana that allows Arlo the ability to train his stats.]


    Grotto paused his engraving, tentacles rising into the air.


    [You shall become the pinnacle of a newly created Delver! A superior specimen of Delve technology, imbued with abilities beyond that which should be possible using your limited organic forms! And I, Grotto, will have achieved a feat unclaimed by any core before me!]


    My mod was applied to I Can Do This All Day, which normally doubled the health and stamina regeneration bonuses I got from Fortitude. The modification was in addition to the existing bonuses from the evolution and I looked over it briefly, uncertain how I felt about it.


    We Can Do This All Day: Whenever you take damage, the ally closest to you regains an amount of health or stamina equal to half the damage taken, their choice.


    We were happy to get the reward, but we were also too tired to celebrate. We exited the Delve and into a cave, which then deposited us into a valley. Dusk had begun to set, but the creeping darkness was resisted by an inferno that dominated half of the skyline.


    ¡°Is that... entire mountain on fire?¡± I asked, watching the blaze.


    ¡°Matriarch Dukgrien,¡± said Varrin, awe entering his voice. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen her go all out.¡±


    ¡°Wonder if they¡¯re still fighting Orexis Prime,¡± I said.


    We watched the mountains for several minutes, waiting to see any sign that the epic battle was ongoing. Eventually, we spotted a dark form flying across the sky. Whoever it was, they were human, lacking the size or extra limbs of a dark god. Xim sent up a gout of her divine fire, which got the person¡¯s attention. They turned and flew down toward us, and some part of me, the part that was still on edge, prepared for the worst.


    Matriarch Dukgrien landed before us, hair wild and face bloodied. Myria was once more atop the older woman¡¯s fur-clad shoulders.


    ¡°Arlo!¡± Myria shouted, jumping down from her human steed. She ran over and wrapped me up in a hug, which I wasn¡¯t expecting. When did we get so familiar?


    She let me go and stepped back, looking everyone else over.


    ¡°Wow!¡± she said. ¡°Everyone¡¯s alive! Plus a bonus person.¡± She leaned in toward Etja. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Etja!¡± said Etja, clasping her four hands together and giving Myria an unfamiliar bow. The dark-skinned Dancer raised an eyebrow but gave a mock curtsy in response.


    ¡°And I¡¯m Myria,¡± she said. ¡°What happened to you all?¡±


    ¡°Long story,¡± I said. ¡°The mana eruption is taken care of, so everyone should be safe from that impending disaster. Were y¡¯all able to handle the ongoing disaster?¡±


    ¡°Orexis?¡± asked Myria. I nodded.


    ¡°The fiend fled,¡± said the matriarch. ¡°But not before ¡®e wiped tha¡¯ floor with us. We battled for hours until he got ta¡¯ shoutin¡¯ about ¡®is soul and ¡®is sister. Then, he runs off.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± I said. ¡°Problems for another day.¡±


    ¡°Good, he says. Me ¡®usband lost an arm and I burnt through three irreplaceable relics,¡± said the matriarch. ¡°But we did survive. All¡¯s well, I suppose.¡±


    I sucked air through my teeth.


    ¡°The patriarch lost his arm?¡±


    ¡°Aye,¡± said the matriarch. ¡°But it¡¯ll grow back. Painful, though. And tha¡¯ skin won¡¯t match.¡± Her head tilted to the side like she was listening to something distant. ¡°Myria, mana-monsters are breakin¡¯ from the mana vent, now that it¡¯s dispersin¡¯. We¡¯ll need to corral them before they make it out of tha¡¯ mountains.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± said Myria. She turned back to us. ¡°You all need anything? Heals? Remedies?¡±


    ¡°Therapy,¡± I said.


    ¡°I know a good masseuse,¡± Myria replied. ¡°I can schedule you an appointment.¡±


    ¡°Not the kind I meant, but yes please.¡±


    Myria gave me a bright grin, then hopped back up onto the matriarch with the grace of an expert equestrian.


    ¡°We¡¯ll swing back by when things are settled. Unless you want to walk to Foundation on your own?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll take a breather, and wait for you guys to pick us up.


    Myria nodded, and gave me a wink. Then, she pointed a finger to the sky.


    ¡°Ride on!¡± she shouted. The matriarch rolled her eyes, but took off without another word.


    Once they were out of sight, Xim nudged me with her shoulder.


    ¡°You and Myria got something going on?¡± she asked, giving me a knowing look.


    ¡°No,¡± I said, then heaved a sigh. ¡°You know, I was engaged until about a month ago. Or, several thousand years ago, depending on how you look at it. Either way, not quite ready to move on yet.¡±


    Xim frowned and patted me on the shoulder, then plopped down onto the ground. The rest of us quickly followed suit.


    For a time, we watched the blazing horizon, and I found its warmth pleasant. The world was literally on fire, but the parts we were responsible for were dealt with. From hostile delvers, to demi-gods, to divine soul fragments, we¡¯d been through the blender, and come out in one piece. The feeling of relief mingled with my fatigue, making me giddy.


    Xim was first to break the silence.


    ¡°What do we think about the names?¡± she said.


    ¡°For the party?¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah. Godsbane wasn¡¯t bad. Cage was onto something there.¡±


    ¡°Spectersbane,¡± said Nuralie. The loson was lying on her side, tail swishing back and forth. Her eyes were lidded, and she looked on the verge of falling asleep.


    ¡°I still say Avatarsbane is the one,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Too many syllables,¡± said Xim, and Varrin¡¯s head dropped an inch.


    [Bane of Souls is the superior choice,] Grotto thought to us. [Imagine the terror, the fearful whispers in the dark as our enemies lament our coming!]


    ¡°Grotto,¡± I said, ¡°I don¡¯t think-¡±


    ¡°Soulsbane sounds fun!¡± said Etja. ¡°Now that I know it¡¯s for the party.¡± She turned delighted eyes toward us. ¡°Am I in the party?¡± She held her hands together over her chest like a hopeful schoolgirl.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re in the party, Etja,¡± I said as the others nodded their approval. ¡°We like Soulsbane?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the perfect amount of creepy,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Don¡¯t care anymore,¡± Nuralie mumbled. ¡°Sleeping now.¡± She closed her eyes and was out in seconds.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit like,¡± I began, searching for the right words, ¡°it¡¯s a bit ¡®angsty teenager¡¯, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Eh,¡± Xim waved a hand dismissively, ¡°depends on who¡¯s wearing it. I think we¡¯ll make it work. We can always change it later if we don¡¯t like it. Besides, anything is better than what Lito¡¯s party is named.¡±


    ¡°What are they called?¡±


    ¡°Jester¡¯s band,¡± said Xim, overenunciating the words with a smirk.


    ¡°Huh? Who¡¯s the jester?¡±


    ¡°I disagree,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Not about the name of Lito¡¯s party, it¡¯s terrible. But we should commit to a name, make it our own. Rebranding is disruptive.¡± He took a breath, leaning back on his hands and looking at the sky. A few stars twinkled down between the clouds and smoke. ¡°Soulsbane is fine if it pleases the rest of you.¡±


    ¡°Okay then,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll name our party Soulsbane, strike terror into the hearts of men, and inspire a generation of brooding adolescents to emulate us.¡±


    I opened the System screen and focused on the party menu. I looked for where to input our edgy new designation.


    The name for the party had already been filled in.


    ¡°Uh, guys,¡± I said. ¡°Did any of you already name the party?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± said Varrin. ¡°No. Only the party leader can-¡± his eyes drifted as he checked on the name himself. ¡°No, this isn¡¯t...¡± He whipped his head to me. ¡°Can you change it?¡±


    I prodded the text with my mind, but no matter what I did, I was locked out.


    I rubbed my temples and stared at the screen, reading the text after my name over and over again. After a while, I sighed and flopped back. This was not something I was prepared to process at the moment. I decided to let sleep overtake me, surrendering to the demands of my body. But my rest was fitful, and the System text haunted my fleeting dreams.


    Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel


    Party Leader of ¡°Fortune¡¯s Folly¡±


    End of Mage Tank, Volume I

 Chapter MT1 - Epilogue

    Chapter MT1 - Epilogue


    *** SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY USER NAME: [ERROR: REDACTED]NewW novels updates at novelhall.com


    ADDENDUM NOTE: ¡°Two years after the events of The Cage¡± ***


    Jakom stared at the floor, waiting for the screaming to subside and the crunching to cease. Holy as they may be, the offerings always invoked a wave of nausea and revulsion Jakom could never fully repress. Hearing it was bad, but seeing it much worse.


    Jakom felt a hand upon his shoulder, and turned to see Brae''ach. The towering man was fixing his facemask back into position, blood dripping from underneath to add to the chitinous armor¡¯s old and growing red stain. Soft clicking emanated from beneath the holy cloth covering Bre¡¯ach¡¯s mouth as he looked down upon Jakom. He began to speak, the air shuddering beneath the deep weight of his voice.


    ¡°You know I value your counsel,¡± said Brae''ach. ¡°Tell me what troubles you.¡±


    Jakom drew a slow breath. He did not fear Brae''ach, but he never wanted to test his companion¡¯s temper lest it be taken out on someone less favored.


    ¡°I fear we move too quickly,¡± said Jakom. Brae''ach continued to look upon him with a warm gaze, betraying no reaction. ¡°I mean to say,¡± Jakom continued, ¡°the holy power we have been granted is still . . . untested, in so many ways.¡±


    ¡°You are concerned for my safety?¡± said Brae''ach.


    ¡°No. Well, yes,¡± said Jakom. ¡°I am concerned for the safety of our forces.¡±


    Brae''ach said nothing, waiting for Jakom to continue.


    Brae''ach looked once again out to the seas, where so many ships stood ready to sail, flying the flag of Unity.


    ¡°Unity allowed us to choose it, because we were worthy,¡± said Brae''ach. ¡°And our worthiness is proven by our total dominance over all the clans; a feat not seen in two thousand years.¡±


    Jakom felt the resonance of the earth slowly recede, as the echo of the words faded. Jakom looked to Brae''ach and, after a moment of reflection, gently took his arm.


    ¡°I know we have been given a tremendous honor,¡± said Jakom. ¡°I only wish not to squander it.¡±


    Brae''ach knelt so that he was at eye level with Jakom, and placed his volcanic hands gently upon the young man¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°I know it is difficult to see, as you have not received the Holy Form,¡± said Brae''ach. ¡°But there are such greater things beneath our feet than dirt and rock. Our power is fed not only through sacrifice, but by slaying the enemies of Unity. We will use their dead essence to achieve strength far beyond even what we have known ¡®til now.¡±


    ¡°I thought you, we, could not consume the unwilling?¡±


    ¡°A limitation we can soon overcome,¡± said Brae''ach. ¡°A great lock has been cut, an ancient door swung open. We must travel to the island of the grave-robbing Delvers. Not for mere conquest, but to acquire a gift long sealed away which Unity can finally reclaim.¡±


    Brae''ach stood, and brought his hand up to his mask. ¡°With it,¡± he said, pulling the cloth away, revealing the long and writhing teeth cascading down his neck, and the myriad tendrils opening from the cavernous maw that expanded across his chest, ¡°we need not hide any longer.¡±


    *** END ADDENDUM ***

 Chapter 76: Vicious Mimicry

    Chapter 76: Vicious Mimicry


    ¡°Grotto¡¯s hiding something.¡±


    Nuralie turned away from the ancient and disorganized art gallery she¡¯d been watching intently, raising an eyeridge at my statement.


    ¡°Everyone hides things,¡± the loson said. Her expression was hard to read in the dim lighting, even with the enhanced eyesight my divine blessing gave me. Nuralie was the only person I had trouble seeing when the lights were low, and it had little to do with her black leathers or her dark sable skin and scales.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, ¡°but putting aside general commentary on humanity¡¯s love of secrets, Grotto¡¯s been pretty stingy with his advice lately.¡±


    Nuralie paused. ¡°Grotto hides more than others,¡± she admitted, then turned back to her vigil.


    The rest of our party, Xim, Varrin, and Etja, all slept while me and Nuralie kept watch over the gallery. It was a strange thing to find in the depths of a platinum Delve, but everything one found within the depths of a platinum Delve was strange.


    The room where our allies caught some kip was a dead end, with no other entrances or exits other than the one we guarded. We¡¯d chosen it not just for that reason, but also because the room had only been partially full of the clutter of vases, wall paintings, reliefs, ancient weapons, armor, ornate stone furniture, sculptures, statues, effin¡¯ dolls, and all sorts of other shit that this entire leg of the Delve was absolutely stuffed full of.


    The room had looked like it belonged to my brother, whom I¡¯d given an armchair diagnosis of third-stage hoarder to back on Earth. Compared to the rest of the place, it was practically barren.


    So, we¡¯d taken the liberty of designating it as our bedroom for the night and promptly broken everything that was inside. We¡¯d smashed, bashed, crushed, and ground every priceless relic into smithereens. Only once no individual piece larger than my hand remained did we decide it was safe to sleep.


    Because anything inside this Delve...


    Anything


    Could be a fucking mimic.


    And these weren¡¯t cute mimics. They weren¡¯t silly treasure chests with a tongue hanging out or a sword with a very tail-like belt strap that purred when you reached for it. No, these were perfect copies; completely dormant and unidentifiable until you leaned a little too close to an incredibly detailed triptych to admire its masterful brushwork. Then, it grows a pair of monstrous jaws big enough to chomp your whole head off in one go.


    I¡¯d never seen a painting try to commit murder before coming into this Delve, and now I¡¯d seen it three times. I¡¯d had no desire to see it, but I saw it regardless. My appreciation of art had been forever changed, and I¡¯d be haunted by the subtle suspicion that every woodblock print I encountered from hereon out would seek to end my life in a violent manner.


    Everyone else in the party didn¡¯t seem to have the same problem. Just stay away from the art! they¡¯d said. I harrumphed at that. Harrumphed!


    No threat, be it man, beast, or bloodthirsty amphora would keep me from engaging with the visual pleasures. I may have been a violent masochist with unresolved trauma hellbent on a quest for vengeance against a pair of dark gods, but dammit I was a sophisticated one!


    All that to say, I did not like this Delve. It was like walking through the candy aisle, where one of the chocolates was poisoned. You could eat as many as you liked, and they were free! But one would definitely kill you... by ripping your guts out with its nine-inch fangs. The whole thing got me heated.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± asked Nuralie, and I took a deep breath.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I said, shaking my head to clear my thoughts.


    ¡°You looked angry.¡±


    ¡°I am angry,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m angry at the injustice of this place.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d ask if you want to talk about it,¡± said Nuralie, ¡°but I don¡¯t want to hear any more about,¡± pause, ¡°the exaggerated sexual features of early fertility deities.¡±


    ¡°The place where the claws sprang out from was totally inappropriate!¡±


    ¡°Did I say the opposite of what I meant to say?¡± Pause. ¡°Because I¡¯m hearing more about the thing I didn¡¯t want to hear about.¡±


    ¡°How do they think thoughts?¡± I asked, and Nuralie pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. ¡°They don¡¯t have brains. I smashed the head right open on the one that was an uncanny valley clone of Varrin, and it turned into a puddle of slime and slid away.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they don¡¯t think,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Nothing too deep,¡± I said, ¡°but they must have some level of consciousness. Their actions are so complex, so premeditated. Do they know that imitating an exemplar of subtractive sculpture will draw me in, or do they copy random things until they ensnare me in their web?¡±


    A deep voice came from behind me.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s magic, Arlo,¡± said Varrin, and I turned to see him approaching, rubbing the sleep from one eye. He was still out of his armor, wearing only a thin pair of linen leggings, leaving his ghostly pale chest and arms exposed. Despite the basement-dweller skin tone that came naturally to Hiwardians, Varrin was as fit and well-muscled as they came. I couldn¡¯t help but give the nearly seven-foot-tall man a quick up and down with my eyes.


    ¡°How do you get your shoulders that big?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted bigger shoulders.¡±


    ¡°Hush, Arlo,¡± came Xim¡¯s smooth and upbeat tone. ¡°You¡¯re jacked, too. You can both be big muscly boys.¡±


    The rose-skinned Cleric walked out from behind a pile of broken furniture, already dressed in her thick robes and chainmail, complete with a blood-red tabard that sported a dark and mind-warping symbol. It shifted and changed when you looked at it. Her old tabard hadn¡¯t done that, but we¡¯d all gotten a few upgrades that were flashier than our starting gear from the year before.


    ¡°Your beard¡¯s bigger,¡± said Nuralie, looking between the two of us.


    ¡°Varrin doesn¡¯t have a beard,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Pause. ¡°So what I said is true.¡±


    ¡°Youd¡¯ve made a good lawyer,¡± I said, then looked to Xim. ¡°Is Etja still sleeping?¡±


    ¡°She is. I¡¯m starting to wonder if golems need extra rest for some reason, or if she¡¯s just generally a sleepyhead.¡±


    We dominated Delve after Delve, which was beginning to cause some powerful people to ask some difficult questions. Nonetheless, we pursued our goal relentlessly, eschewing subtlety in favor of power leveling, and trying to unravel the mystery of the card.


    So far, the leveling was going great, but the investigation had been a bust.


    ¡°Not using the card, Xim,¡± I said. ¡°A priceless magical artifact with unknowable power isn¡¯t worth sacrificing to skip a few mimics.¡±


    ¡°But, but, they¡¯re art mimics!¡± she said, walking up and gripping me by the arms. She peered up at me, her amber eyes glistening with fake tears. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right? You hate art mimics!¡±


    ¡°Eh, at this point I think I¡¯ve gotten over it.¡± I heard Nuralie choke a bit. ¡°Besides, the mystery of the card is why we¡¯re here. It¡¯d be a shame to waste it.¡±


    ¡°Half the reason,¡± Xim said, releasing me and stepping back, her pleading facade wiped away in an instant. ¡°We¡¯re also learning more about Delves in general.¡±


    ¡°And I thought we were here to grow more powerful,¡± said Varrin, who¡¯d begun to don his armor. It was impressive that he could put on the heavy, frozen-steel plate without assistance, but the armorsmiths of Hiward had better designs than the ones of medieval Earth. That, and an auto-equip manaweave. He pulled at the cuff of a gauntlet, fitting it tightly over his hand, then looked up. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you both considered this a research mission.¡±


    ¡°The card is one-third of the reason we¡¯re here?¡± I said.


    ¡°Money,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Chips. Essences. Gear.¡± Pause. ¡°Loot.¡±


    I counted those off on my fingers.


    ¡°One... eighth of the reason we¡¯re here?¡±


    ¡°Call it ten percent,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Etja, are you ready to move?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± said Etja, walking out from behind the broken stack of furniture that she and Xim had made their fort for the night. The golem-turned-Delver was fully dressed in light-blue robes, the exposed skin of her neck and arms already transformed into the crimson chiton that she used in place of armor.


    She¡¯d continued to refine her appearance over the last year, her features now indistinguishable from human, although her clay-red skin tone made her stand out in Hiward. That, and the fact that she had four arms.


    ¡°Ready to kick ass and smoke grass!¡±


    ¡°Etja,¡± I said, ¡°I taught you that phrase with the understanding that you¡¯d only use it when appropriate.¡±


    ¡°When is it appropriate?¡± asked Xim. ¡°Who smokes grass?¡±


    ¡°The Hyrachon,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°It stinks.¡±


    ¡°I thought it meant that I was excited to do something,¡± said Etja, waving her hand in the air like a showman. ¡°Kind of like when you say ¡®I¡¯m ready to rock out with my co-!¡¯¡±


    ¡°Nope!¡± I interrupted. ¡°I¡¯m having regrets about our lessons.¡±


    Etja dropped her hand and pouted a bit.


    ¡°Then which one should I use?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Um, how about,¡± I cleared my throat and dropped my voice an octave, ¡°Spooon!¡±


    There was a moment of silence for my dignity.


    ¡°What do utensils have to do with anything?¡± asked Xim. ¡°Is that a Shog thing?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I said, ¡°No, why would it be?¡±


    ¡°Because he ate that c¡¯thon that tried to eat him, then stole one of his tentacles. The one that made cutlery.¡± Xim squatted a bit and did her best Shog impression. ¡°C¡¯thons do not need tools to consume, so I devoured that heathen and his brothers such that their heresy would not spread to the impressionable broodlings.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember that,¡± I said. ¡°I only remember that he grafted a new tentacle to his body because ¡®the c¡¯thon it belonged to was tasty, and I like the smell.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Shog says a lot of things,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I doubt most of it is true. Also, Xim just made that last one up.¡±


    ¡°Why would you ruin my joke like that, Varrin?¡± Xim asked. ¡°I could have gotten him to confront Shog about it. Start subtly testing whether his summon is haunted by a sudden urge to craft the finest silverware.¡±


    ¡°So, I shouldn¡¯t say spoon?¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Every morning,¡± Varrin grumbled, looking up at the ceiling. ¡°These conversations. Every. Morning.¡±


    ¡°You could try ¡®Hulk smash!¡¯¡± I said. ¡°Or, ¡®Plus Ultra!¡¯¡± I ran a hand through my beard, happy to find it free of gore for once. I was doing exceptionally well on the Arlo hygiene scale this Delve. ¡°You know what, maybe try out a few of your own. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get something.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡± said Etja, clapping her hands, then lifting her upper arms into the air, hands balled into fists. ¡°Let¡¯s hunt some mimic!¡±


    That one still sounded a bit familiar, but I let it slide.


    And hunt mimic we did.

 Chapter 77: Cadaverous Mimicry

    Chapter 77: Cadaverous Mimicry


    ¡°It¡¯s the corpse in the middle,¡± I whispered. ¡°Gotta¡¯ be.¡±


    Our journey deeper into the Delve had gone mostly unimpeded. As was typical, our course took us down. The maze of rooms cluttered with art and relics eventually revealed an arched entryway to a wide stairwell. We descended, our nerves still frayed from the prior day¡¯s endless hit-and-run assaults, and any slight movement, real or not, got a callout. There was more than one false alarm.


    It was strange how the shadows moved and the eyes of the sculptures seemed to follow us while we remained hypervigilant. This had been building into a ¡®boy who cried wolf situation¡¯, and our diligent lookout for mutating tapestries and transmogrifying murals began to flag. Nuralie, however, never faltered, and the rest of us only barely caught a glimpse of what she pointed out.


    One of the wide stone tiles of the hallway floor walked away and around a corner on eight tiny feet. Around that corner, was a tomb.


    ¡°Should I blast it?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± I said.


    ¡°Why the corpse in the middle?¡± asked Varrin, looking over the series of desiccated corpses lining the walls, little more than dust and bones. ¡°It could still be a piece of floor.¡±


    The bodies were tucked into alcoves, and each one held a metallic rod over its chest, like a warrior buried with their sword. What they were holding was too round for a blade, however, and too short for a staff, even accounting for age and deterioration. It was closer in size and shape to the handle of a broom or mop.


    At the center of the room was a body better preserved than the others, laying on a burial slab angled up so that the cadaver could be viewed from the entryway, where we stood. Its skin was thin and dry like paper mache and tufts of wispy white hair hung from its arms and legs¨Cmuch longer than any of the humanoid races I¡¯d seen in Arzia, aside from Umi-Doo. This wasn¡¯t a two-and-a-half-foot tall yeti munchkin, however. The head was bald and the face bare, but a jeweled chain adorned its skull, with a shimmering ruby gemstone as its centerpiece upon the person¡¯s brow.


    ¡°That¡¯s what the mimic would expect us to think,¡± I said. ¡°We saw it as a piece of floor, so it knows we¡¯d be looking at the ground.¡±


    Xim ran a crimson flame along her knuckles, a habit I¡¯d noticed her picking up when agitated. It was a bad tick for stealth, but we weren¡¯t trying to stay hidden.


    ¡°How do you know it saw us see it?¡± she asked, looking at everything in the room except for the prominent carcass.


    ¡°The mimics have never taken the same form twice,¡± I said.


    Varrin grunted.


    ¡°There may not be more than one,¡± he said. ¡°We never got a kill notification for the others we cut down yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, ¡°they¡¯ve been playing possum. Or, it has been.¡±


    ¡°Is that a game?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°No, a possum is a marsupial that pretends to be dead to avoid predators,¡± I said. ¡°Back on Earth. Sometimes my idioms come across and other times they don¡¯t. What gives?¡±


    ¡°I got it,¡± said Xim.NewW novels updates at novelhall.com


    ¡°So did I,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°What do you think I¡¯m talking about when I say possum?¡±


    ¡°I think of...¡± Xim began, ¡°a marsupial that pretends to be dead to avoid predators.¡±


    ¡°How do you know what a possum is?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not rare,¡± she answered.


    ¡°So there are possums in Arzia?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°What do they look like?¡±


    ¡°Spines,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Teeth and spines.¡±


    ¡°Spines, as in quills?¡± I said. ¡°Like pointy defensive growths on their back?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°They have multiple spines.¡± Pause. ¡°And torsos.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a possum,¡± I said.


    ¡°What does it sound like?¡± asked Xim.


    Nuralie poked at a scale along her jaw while she pondered.


    ¡°Maybe what it copies has to be generic,¡± she said. ¡°To mimic perfectly.¡±


    ¡°The art in here isn¡¯t generic,¡± I said, earning me a couple of pairs of rolled eyes. ¡°What? Some of these are clearly unique works!¡±


    ¡°You never saw the original,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°There could have been defects.¡± Pause. ¡°Ones an expert would have noticed.¡±


    ¡°Then it isn¡¯t what it is until it isn¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t ever what it was until it wasn¡¯t, it is what it is until it¡¯s not, and that is a deception.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m confused,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Yep,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to be opaque, Arlo,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°I said what I said.¡± I sucked at my teeth, then held a finger up in the air. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve got a plan.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Varrin. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go in there,¡± I pointed at the crypt, ¡°and let it attack me. Then,¡± I pointed at Xim, ¡°Xim can cast Judgment on me while I grab it.¡±


    ¡°Your plan is bad,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Dragging the enemy into a pillar of divine inferno is not a reliable strategy.¡±


    Xim looked at me, her face devoid of any expression.


    ¡°Have you ever felt the cleansing pain of holy fire?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Uh,¡± I began to second guess my plan. ¡°No?¡±


    Xim nodded, then looked at Varrin.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good plan,¡± she said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it anymore,¡± I said.


    ¡°Too late,¡± said Xim. ¡°Go on, then.¡± She made a shooing motion at me. ¡°Gods know it won¡¯t kill you.¡± She was already beginning to kneel.


    ¡°Don¡¯t charge the spell too much,¡± I said, then began hesitantly walking into the tomb.


    The soft muttering of prayer came from the cleric¡¯s lips, words squirming through the air like shuddering insects looking for an ear to crawl inside.


    My boots clicked against the polished stone floor, echoing off the room¡¯s hard walls and mingling with Xim¡¯s disquieting invocation. Her devotions swept the reverberance up and twisted around it, the chamber mute and silent but for the orison that made all other noise subservient.


    Was this what it felt like to be targeted by Xim¡¯s spell, or had I never heard it properly before?


    I walked to the crypt¡¯s center, where the cardinal body lay in eternal repose. My hand was raised, prepared to send a hunk of the corpse into the endless void. When I was close enough to touch it, I reached out, my fingers moving within an inch of the gemstone chain atop its head.


    ¡°Hey, bud,¡± I whispered. ¡°Is this whole place your burial mound? Interred with all your worldly possessions as grave goods?¡± The dead man gave no reply. ¡°Why get buried in a Delve? Or, did you build it yourself? Did it get turned into a Delve afterward? I know those Delve Cores like to build their nests wherever it looks good. I¡¯ve got a whole infestation in my closet.¡±


    I tapped the gem with a fingertip. It was warm to the touch. I furrowed my brow and leaned in closer. The gem danced and shimmered. When I held my hand close, I could see points of light play across my palm. The gem had been crafted from a ruby chip, I realized.


    ¡°Fancy,¡± I said, wondering what that said of the man. Had he been a Delver? An ancient one? Hiward had only discovered the Delves a century and change prior. This gentleman was much, much older than that. If he had been a Delver, was he part of the society that created them?


    Considering what I knew so far, I doubted it. Cage, the only Delve Core to date himself so far, had said he was several thousand years old. While this body was ancient, I didn¡¯t think it was ¡®pharaohs of Egypt¡¯ ancient. But, then again, magic. It could be a million years old with a ¡®decay-away¡¯ manaweave. I doubted carbon dating would work very well here.


    I pulled back a bit and pursed my lips. I gave the guy a gentle tap on his empty ribs, and a touch of dust scattered into the air from the ragged cloth that covered the fragile bones.


    ¡°You¡¯re no mimic,¡± I said.


    And he wasn¡¯t. The mimic was smarter than that. It was Arlo levels of smart. The fucker used my own signature move against me.


    It came from above.

 Chapter 78: Mimic Mimicry

    Chapter 78: Mimic Mimicry


    The world got dark and sharp real quick, and then it burned.


    The mimic hadn¡¯t been the corpse in front of me, but the cobweb-ridden chandelier above me. That it could imitate something with as much fine detail as cobwebs was of no surprise, especially after the craftsmanship with which it replicated the quillwork on illuminated manuscripts. NewW novels updates at novelhall.com


    The mimic didn¡¯t need to be down here in a forgotten Delve preying on ambitious Delvers, emergent mana monsters, or whatever wildlife found its way in. It could partake in any number of lucrative career paths out in society. Its range and functionality were incredible!


    It could become the ultimate multi-tool for a smith or engineer, an undetectable spy, a model, a celebrity impersonator, or a high-end three-dimensional mirror. If it kept everything it had mimicked stored in its cellular memory, or however its body worked, it could be an entire library, morphing into any book on command! It could even become a migrating museum!


    Alas, as I shouted these ideas into the slathering mouth that engulfed my head and shoulders, the mimic was unswayed. It grew a hundred new fangs, and the freshly formed ivories launched from every direction within the orifice to pierce my face and neck. My eyes were spared, but my latest pair of rose-colored shades cracked and chipped as the teeth pressed into them.


    HP: 1121 -> 1078


    Bleeding: 24 (40% reduction from Body of Theseus!)


    The mimic may have been better served by using fewer teeth since my face was doing the ¡®walking on nails¡¯ trick. There wasn¡¯t enough penetration for any single fang to stab deep into something vital because the force was being spread too thinly between the canines. Although I was a pretty hard guy to chew, so I understood why it may have misjudged its approach.


    My words having failed, I reached up and grabbed a part of the mimic¡¯s amorphous body above my head and cast Oblivion Orb.


    Oblivion Orb had gotten some serious juice over the last year. My Intelligence now sat at a healthy score of twenty, and I¡¯d also gotten some practice in with mana-shaping. I could reliably adjust the size of the orb on the fly, which resulted in a linear decrease to the spell¡¯s mana cost when adjusting down, and an exponential increase to the mana cost when adjusting up. The exponent by which the cost was multiplied had gone down quite a lot with practice, but it was still more efficient to cast the spell multiple times to achieve the same volume of annihilation, as opposed to shoving mana into the spell for a bigger one-off cast.


    In this instance, I used the downward adjustment, since the default cast of the five-mana spell was now as big as a bowling ball. I was casting pretty close to my head, and while losing a bit of skull and brain wasn¡¯t as lethal a proposition as it had been during the Creation Delve, I didn¡¯t want to accidentally teleport part of my parietal lobe to the nether.


    Oblivion Orb blinked a pomelo-sized chunk of the mimic out of existence with a satisfying pop, and then the mimic and I burst into flames.


    I felt the heat of Xim¡¯s Judgment spell building before it hit. In three seconds it went from hot, to ¡®heatstroke warning¡¯ hot, to ¡®I just leaned against the stovetop after making a stirfry and forgot to turn the eye off¡¯ hot, to ¡®why am I standing on the space shuttle launch pad?¡¯ hot.


    The wet sucking and crunching sounds of the mimic¡¯s mouth were drowned out by the roar of a blazing conflagration, and I was hammered by the delayed-onset agony of seared nerve endings. It burned. Gods above, did it burn and it burned deep. Too deep. More than flesh was scoured by the flames, my very soul becoming tinder for Xim¡¯s divine pyre. The fire reached into me and sought out my sins and transgressions. Molten hands groped within my spirit to claw out my most wicked deeds to place them upon the scales and measure my depravity.


    The hands fumbled about, then hesitated. They poked a few more places but came up empty. I sensed... encouragement. Like the metaphysical equivalent of a thumbs up and a slap on the back. The hands withdrew, and the spiritual pain vanished.


    The physical pain remained.


    I was on the ground, rolling from side to side, head still covered by the mimic. I was on fire. The mimic was on fire. I¡¯m pretty sure the floor around us was on fire.


    HP: 1078 -> 993


    Ignited: 10 damage per second


    The upside was that the mimic was no longer trying to eat me. It was trying to get away from me. In the confusion of the moment I had wrapped my arms around the mimic, hugging it tightly to my face while I rolled. My panicked attempt to smother the fire did nothing, however, since magic napalm didn¡¯t need oxygen to persist. The mana of the spell and the sins of its victims were both self-oxidizing compounds.


    With my health ticking away and no more good ideas, I fell back on casting Oblivion Orb on the monster, plane-shifting another tropical fruit¡¯s worth of its goo. The creature¡¯s body split around my arms and hands and I lost my grip on it. It slimed its way up off of me and I lost track of it through the flames.


    ¡°It was as though Sam¡¯lia came by for a visit, looked over my deeds, and told me to keep up the good work.¡±


    ¡°Really? She wasn¡¯t mad?¡±


    ¡°Nothing to be mad about, I reckon.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Xim¡¯s eyes unfocused as she contemplated my feedback.


    ¡°What were you expecting?¡± I asked. She blinked but kept staring into space.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting anything,¡± she said. ¡°But I was interested in the results.¡±


    ¡°Happy to be the subject of your experiments whenever you need.¡± That got her to glance back up at me, although the look she gave me was somewhere between excited and concerned.


    Maybe she was excited to experiment, but concerned over my poor sense of self-preservation. Maybe she was excited to experiment, but concerned about how excited she was to experiment. Maybe she was excited to experiment, but concerned over how to maximize the utility of the irresponsible level of control I just gave her over my bodily well-being. Before I could ask a follow-up question, Varrin returned to us, grumpy.


    ¡°Still no kill notification,¡± he said, hand tightening on the hilt of his sword. Despite being the coolest cucumber in our party¡¯s vegetable drawer this Delve, I could see the cracks starting to form. ¡°It¡¯s no more than a smoking dark spot on the ground and wall, but the System doesn¡¯t think we¡¯ve slain it.¡±


    I looked over to where Nuralie was managing the dying fire. There wasn¡¯t anything to burn once the accelerant had been consumed, so it was already mostly out, despite only a minute or so passing. I looked up to the ceiling, where the chain that had been attached to the mimic still hung. It was noticeably shorter.


    I walked to the center of the room and looked up at it. The end of the chain looked goopy, either from being stuck inside the mimic or...


    I activated my shield Gracorvus, the thick slabs flying off my armguard to form a honeycomb pattern in the air before me. I directed it to hover flat over the ground at my feet.


    The targe had been reforged by Varrin¡¯s grandfather, Ealdric Ravvenblaq Junior, or as Varrin affectionately called him, ¡®Papa¡¯, after it took a beating inside The Cage. It now had a total of twenty slabs, nineteen to make up the honeycomb body of the shield, and one ¡®home¡¯ slab inside the armguard which could be used to quickly recall the others.


    With the additions, it was no longer sized like a traditional targe, which was generally a little broader than my chest. Now it was a much wider ¡®round¡¯ shield. The decision to make it bigger was made with little concern for its utility as a shield. The extra width made it easier to stand on.


    I stepped onto Gracorvus and willed it up into the air to inspect the chain twenty feet above me. The body of the chain looked exactly how I would expect. It was brass in color, with spots of corrosion from age and a thick coating of dust and cobwebs along it. At the bottom of the chain, it transitioned from metal, into mimic goo. I went all the way to the ceiling and found something else out of place.


    The topmost link of the chain was three-quarters absorbed by the chandelier¡¯s ceiling mount, which itself looked like it was being pulled into the ceiling. I gripped the chain and cast Oblivion Orb.


    The links were severed, and the chain below immediately morphed into wriggling slime as it fell to the ground. It snaked around the room, drawing curses from Varrin and a request that I become a better communicator from Xim. Then, the roof swallowed the chandelier mount, along with the rest of the chain. Once it was gone, the ceiling was flat and bare, looking every bit like that was exactly how it should be. There were even some little chips in the stone and other imperfections.


    The rest of the party made quick work of the mimic-snake-chain. The Mimake. The Chaimic. The Snachic. The Snamain...


    One might have said they¡¯d killed the Mimchake once its wriggling body was a dark spot on the ground like the rest of the mimic we¡¯d just fought, but I thought that Varrin had been right. None of the mimics that we¡¯d fought had been killed. Not because they were all the same mimic that played dead and ran away, but because they were all pieces of the same mimic.


    And it was a big fucking mimic.

 Chapter 79: Royal Mimicry

    Chapter 79: Royal Mimicry


    ¡°You think the whole Delve is a mimic?¡± Varrin asked. His tone was genuine, without a hint of incredulity toward my theory. It said a lot about our experiences as a group that the idea could be floated without much pushback.


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it swallow?¡± asked Nuralie. ¡°If we¡¯re inside already.¡±


    ¡°Or smoosh us?¡± said Xim. ¡°Or send bigger mimics?¡±


    ¡°It may not be the whole Delve,¡± I conceded. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s like a parasite, and it¡¯s woven mimic-ness throughout.¡±


    ¡°Why send one mimic at a time?¡± asked Varrin. ¡°If it has a much larger central mass, it could overwhelm us.¡±


    ¡°One mimic hasn¡¯t given us too much trouble,¡± Xim added. ¡°It should know that by now. Sending them single-file just keeps us on edge.¡±


    ¡°That could be the goal,¡± I said. ¡°Wear the enemy down on the approach. Only commit to a larger engagement once it knows we¡¯re weakened.¡±


    ¡°A losing plan against us,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Our party excels at resource generation.¡±


    ¡°Health and stamina, sure,¡± I said. ¡°We still have the opportunity to improve with mana.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand what normal values are,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°I know what they are, I just don¡¯t care,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve got a good point either way. The mimic may be used to dealing with ¡®normal¡¯ parties. A few sneak attacks on the tank, some jump-scares to rattle the spell-slingers until they¡¯re trigger-happy, soon enough, the party would be low on health and mana.¡±


    ¡°But not us,¡± said Xim. ¡°It¡¯s taken a bite out of you four times by this point, Arlo. I haven¡¯t even had to heal you yet. Or anyone else for that matter.¡±


    Xim looked conflicted over that fact. Not needing the healer to heal was usually the sign of a clean Delve. Superior tactics and skill won the day, with no injury serious enough that magic had to get involved. With our party, if Xim needed to break out the heals then we were taking the kind of damage that would put most groups six feet under.


    Part of our group''s healing came from my aptly named aura, Who Needs a Cleric? It gave bonus hourly health regen to everyone in the party equal to my Fortitude, which was presently a stout thirty-eight. I also had a modification to my tenth level Fortitude Evolution I Can Do This All Day, which I received for completing The Cage.


    At base, the evolution doubled my health and stamina regen from Fortitude. The modification, We Can Do This All Day, caused one nearby ally to regain health or stamina whenever I took damage, equal to fifty percent of the damage taken. My health regen was massive, and my proclivity for becoming injured was high, so this ability went a long way toward keeping my allies topped off, although Varrin was usually the one getting the biggest benefits from it.


    Varrin and Xim had both received Fortitude evolution modifications from The Cage as well, which further enhanced our party¡¯s recovery.


    Varrin¡¯s original evolution was already a resource buff:


    Deep Breaths: Your stamina recovery is tripled while you are outside of combat and not engaged in strenuous activity.


    The key word in that ability was ¡®recovery¡¯. It applied to all sources that gave back stamina, not just regeneration. The modification he received also shared the wealth with the party:


    Let¡¯s All Take Some Deep Breaths: If your stamina is full, your nearest ally who is missing stamina gains the benefit of Deep Breaths.


    That made for a fun symbiotic relationship where the damage I took in combat kept Varrin¡¯s stamina healthy, and then after the fight I could take advantage of Deep Breaths to get my own stamina back. We even tried to munchkin the ability by having Varrin punch me in the face to get his stamina back faster so that I could then get Deep Breaths sooner, but, sadly, my ability didn¡¯t trigger if an ally was the one dealing me damage.


    Varrin was insistent that we keep experimenting with the technique, though...The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))


    Xim¡¯s Fortitude Evolution augmented the healing she received:


    Receptive Healing: Charisma-based healing is twice as effective when used on you.


    And her modification, again, spread the love around.


    Instructive Healing: Whenever you recover health in an amount greater than the health that you are missing, 25% of the excess recovery is granted to the next closest ally who is missing health.


    Once more, the key word there was ¡°recover¡±. It didn¡¯t only apply to healing, but all sources that gave back health. Thus, while Xim was at full health, 25% of the bonus she got from my healing aura, along with 25% of her natural health regen, was granted to the next closest person who was missing health. Normally, that was me.


    The typical resource flow went something like: I get stabbed, grant stamina to Varrin based on the damage from getting stabbed, get my stamina regen buffed by Varrin once we killed what stabbed me, and also get extra health regen from Xim to recover from being stabbed.


    For mana, our benefits were not as great, but still robust. My personal mana regen was often higher than it should have been due to the Ambient Absorption trait from my Bonded Familiar passive. If there was excess dimensional mana around, I sucked that shit up. I also had a Wisdom evolution that doubled the mana regen I got from the stat.


    ¡°Magic Blast is mystical!¡± said Etja. ¡°That must be why my beam worked so well. I can use my Incarnation passive to combine it with Nullify.¡±


    ¡°Magic laser with countermagic properties,¡± I said. ¡°Should play hell with its shapeshifting.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± said Nuralie, looking at Xim. ¡°Mana flows from the mystical realms, through the divine, into the spiritual realm, and then out into the physical world. But, mana can also flow through the dimensional void to get to the physical realm.¡± Pause. ¡°It could have mana nodes instead of a mana-matrix.¡±


    The conversation then devolved into the nuances of the five-school model of magic, which is as exciting as an intriguing textbook. Suffice it to say, Nuralie¡¯s suggestion required specific conditions that we hadn¡¯t observed with the mimic.


    As the conversation moved on from how to kill the mimic more effectively, to how to find and defend ourselves against the mimic, I began to develop a feeling of being exposed. My gut tingled and the hair along my neck stood on end. It was a sensation I¡¯d learned to trust, and as the others talked, I began scanning the room. I¡¯d barely begun when I found the face watching us.


    It was on the wall behind Varrin. While the large warrior leaned back against the stone surface, a woman¡¯s countenance had emerged just behind his waist. It was mostly obscured, but a slight step to one side gave me a better angle on it.


    Her eyes were a little too large, and the pupils bent outward to the side ever so much, not fixed on a single point. Her mouth hung slightly open in a pleasant smile, though her lips were too big, and a bit of drool ran down her chin. Her exposed teeth were two rows of wide and uniform incisors, with no canines or variation that I could see. Her nose was tiny and pert, but glistened as though made of marble. A smattering of dark freckles covered her cheeks, perfectly mirrored on both sides. Each element alone would have looked a touch out of place on a person¡¯s face, but together, they were a horrifying conglomeration of features.


    ¡°Varrin,¡± I said, ¡°I need you to step away from the wall.¡±


    The big guy gave me a questioning look, but immediately popped off the wall and took two steps away, then turned. The rest of the party followed our eyes until we were all staring at the woman on the wall. Weapons were readied and Etja¡¯s fingers glowed, but I held up a hand and signaled a halt.


    The face turned its exotropic eyes to me, then rolled them slowly over the group. A stringy line of spittle dripped from its chin onto the ground, and its smile widened. It began to speak, its voice high-pitched and barely audible, like it was talking to itself. I strained to listen, but the language was unfamiliar. The face paused and looked over us again, then began speaking with a different cadence. It sounded like an entirely different language, but still one I didn¡¯t recognize.


    After a minute of rotating through different tongues, the face finally began speaking in one that I recognized, having learned it earlier that year. Loson¡¯binora, Nuralie¡¯s native language.


    The scaled alchemist took a sharp step backward when the face first began to utter phrases in the language of Eschendur, lowering the arrow she had nocked and pointing at the thing. The others took note of her shock but stayed focused on the creature, weapons and spells ready to splatter the face if need be. I shrugged off the surprise and my mind caught up to the words being spoken.


    ¡°...time to be that I have seen them. Too much time to have seen them. I have not seen them in time to be... it has been... it has been time, too long, I have forgotten...¡±


    The words were droned and the face stopped and started like it were malfunctioning or having a stroke. I eventually realized that the stutters were an attempt at the loson-style pauses that Nuralie was prone to, but it was failing at using them properly, just as it was failing to make any sense at all.


    As we watched, the face began to swell and bulge out from the wall until an entire head was revealed, the sides of it lined with geometrically perfect scales. It made a harsh retching noise and slime poured from its mouth. It licked its lips with a long and rounded tongue, then continued.


    ¡°It has been time... too long a time... since I have seen proper Delvers...¡± it said, then smiled broadly once the words were out. One of the eyes drooped, then snapped back up into place. ¡°A face, a face, difficult to see, I don¡¯t see... like this anymore...¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± I began, then cleared my throat and dropped into the dulcet tone of Loson¡¯binora. ¡°Hello, are you the mimic?¡± Pause. ¡°That we¡¯ve been fighting?¡±


    The face smacked its lips a few times.


    ¡°Mimic, a m-mimic, a w-word...¡± it stuttered, then its voice became loud and confident. ¡°System Inquiry: Mimic.¡±


    My eyebrows shot up as its lazy eyes began moving over unseen text. The thing had System access, and I began to wonder if Xim had been spot on with her guess at the Delve Core being in charge.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said the face, and its features bunched together as though five different people were each in control of a specific part, trying to make it scowl. ¡°A mimic... poor choice of word...¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± I said. ¡°Is there something you wanted to talk about?¡± Pause. ¡°Or are you here to try and kill us again?¡±


    The face moved its wet lips back and forth, and its cheeks puffed in and out a few times.


    ¡°No,¡± it said.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°To which part?¡±


    The face smiled wider, and three monstrous arms grew from the ground at my feet, each as long as my whole body. One grabbed my neck, and the others each took one of my arms, pulling them back behind me. The hand at my throat squeezed, and my vision was filled with squirming dark spots.

 Chapter 80: Chatty Mimicry

    Chapter 80: Chatty Mimicry


    If I had to play ¡®Marry, Fuck, Kill¡¯ with my active abilities, Oblivion Orb is the skill I¡¯d marry. It was reliable, flexible, affordable, and it got the job done when things needed to get dead.


    Shortcut is the skill I¡¯d fuck.


    I teleported out of the three-armed clutches of the mimic, appearing atop the burial slab of the room¡¯s central corpse. My boot knocked his skull to the side, the gleaming gem along his forehead sliding to his temple. It glittered and swirled in response. I whispered a quick apology to the gentleman while surveying the state of my party members.


    Varrin was laying into a series of lancing spikes that had grown from the wall, their hard tips attached to knotted, organic limbs. He parried and evaded with inhuman speed, spinning his greatsword overhead and bringing the momentum down on the softer bits, severing the spikes. When they hit the ground, the spikes squirmed and then melted into the floor. He was keeping pace with the attacks, but I doubted he was doing much damage.


    A mouth as wide as a sofa had opened at Etja¡¯s feet, its flat teeth clacking together as it bulged out from the ground. The golem escaped by casting her gravity magic, darting halfway up to the ceiling. She was now establishing air superiority by raining death beams down on the various limbs and facial features sprouting from all surfaces of the room.


    Xim¡¯s scepter was covered in crimson flame, and she shield-bashed a groping hand away, then connected with her weapon, setting it ablaze. Her martial prowess wasn¡¯t near the level of Varrin¡¯s, however, and she was becoming overwhelmed by the attacking appendages.


    A few of the grasping limbs around the room had gone limp, golden arrows piercing their forms, and the face on the wall that had been speaking with us hung lifeless, an arrow protruding from one of its aberrant eyes. I spotted a shadow dart out from one of the corpse-filled alcoves, Nuralie diving out of cover as the entire recess exploded into thrusting spikes.


    I processed the situation and took action.


    I cast the spell Life Warden on Etja to shore up her defenses, and a thin layer of dimensional distortion coated Etja¡¯s exposed skin. It was the only new active skill that I¡¯d been willing to commit to over the last year.


    Life Warden


    Physical/Dimensional


    Cost: 10 mana reserved plus 10 mana per hour


    Cooldown: None


    Requirements: Physical Magic 10, Dimensional Magic 10


    Grant a nearby ally the buff ¡°Life Warded¡±. Any time a Life Warded ally would take physical or dimensional damage, you take half of that damage instead. The damage you receive in this way is reduced by 1 for each level of your Physical Magic skill, but cannot otherwise be reduced or negated by any means other than natural resistance or immunity. Life Warded allies must remain within a number of feet of you equal to 20 plus your Dimensional Magic skill level to sustain this effect, or within the range of an aura skill originating from you and by which the Life Warded ally is affected, whichever is larger.


    It was the only skill that I¡¯d gotten through diligent research, rather than circumstance or necessity, and by diligent research I mean that it was listed inside a book on auras that Umi-Doo had gifted me. The normal range of the Life Warden skill was too short for the spell to be viable in high-level Delver fights, where battles could sprawl across massive areas. For me, however, the range was as big as my aura, and the range of my aura was, ¡®Are they in the party?¡¯


    With Etja shielded and cutting through mimic with her anti-magic laser, I turned my attention to the others.


    I split off seven slabs of Gracorvus, arranging them into a shield that I willed through the air to Xim¡¯s back, blocking a claw descending on her flank. I sectioned off a part of my brain to direct the shield and give her cover, then leapt off my perch to Nuralie, assembling the rest of Gracorvus into my own shield and activating its atrocidile roar.


    An abominable, spectral face launched from the shield¡¯s surface, letting out a bellowing moan like the distorted wailing of desperate children. The limbs and spikes that Nuralie ducked and wove between turned toward me, abandoning their pursuit of the archer-alchemist to batter my defenses with clubs and lances. I blocked what I could and soaked the rest.


    With some of the heat taken off of Etja, Xim, and Nuralie, I considered what I could do for Varrin, aside from continuing to allow the mimic clubs to crack me in the ribs, blessing him with a fresh stream of stamina.


    Eh, Varrin didn¡¯t need any more help.


    I instead focused on trying to figure out a better plan of attack than the reactive melee we presently had going on.


    The room was too small for a proper Explosion! without catching my allies in the blast, and I doubted the spell would do much against the mimic, who was immune to physical damage. I also hadn¡¯t advanced enough with Mystical Magic to use Dispel on something as general as an entity¡¯s mana matrix.


    Oblivion Orb was my best bet, but there were so many attacking limbs around the room that I didn¡¯t want to fully commit to a melee and get distracted by the few targets in arm¡¯s reach. Fortunately, I had a better way to use the spell. I threw open my inventory screen and started pulling out my new favorite toys with my free hand.


    Throwing hammers.


    It sounds ridiculous, I know. Believe me, Seinnador¨Cand Lito¨Ctold me as much when I commissioned them. Why throw a hammer? A knife, mediocre for throwing reliably at a moving target. An axe was OK but not great for the same reasons, it just had a bit more weight behind it than a knife. A spear or javelin was much better since it was easy to get the pointy end to stick where you wanted it to go. But a hammer? No blade, axehead, or speartip to stab into a target. Without the force and weight of an arm swinging the blunted head, it would hurt, but wouldn¡¯t do much else. Just, why?


    Because it¡¯s fucking awesome, that¡¯s why.


    I¡¯d raised my Blunt skill high enough to specialize it into hammers, which gave my hammer attacks some pretty serious armor penetration. Further, I had Homing Weapon, which was a technique that did exactly what it sounded like it did, while also adding extra speed and oomph to my weapon throws and returning the weapon to my hand after it hit. Additionally, I had selected an appropriate evolution to my Blunt skill once it reached level ten, which took advantage of my avant-garde build choices.


    Hammer Throw: You suffer no penalty for using hammers as a thrown weapon. The maximum speed and distance you can throw a hammer is increased by 10% per level of Blunt.


    So, when asked, ¡®Why throw a hammer?¡¯ ¡®Compounding returns¡¯ is my answer, and coincidentally my new favorite phrase. My Strength was a ten, not as good as Varrin or Xim, but still at the lower end of superhuman. Homing Weapon buffed the speed and force of thrown weapon attacks, which was additive with Strength, but my Hammer Throw evolution was a compounding bonus applied on top of both. Huck a hammer at eighty miles per hour, get another fifty on top from my technique, and then double that from my Blunt skill of ten... that¡¯s a hammer moving at a third of the speed of sound.


    He¡¯d use the momentum of a swing to carry his body, touching down for a split second with the ball of his foot before taking the force and applying it to the next raking hand. He¡¯d find a wall, kick off from it to cleave a spike from the ceiling, release his blade with one hand to reach up and push away, adjusting his course to the next wall and taking out two more.


    At one point he was entirely upside down, his greatsword spinning in the air before him, until he grabbed the hilt of the weapon and used the energy of its rotation to right himself enough to plant a foot on the ground before he fell from the air. He ended that move by cleaving a face growing beside him down the middle. I don¡¯t even think he needed to cut that one. It had just been watching Varrin with wide eyes, looking as impressed by him as I was.


    As Varrin did his clearcutting, more faces began to emerge on the surfaces of the hall. They were identical to the strange ¡®woman¡¯ that had spoken to us earlier, its lazy eyes staring us down from all directions. The smiling, drooling mouths began to scream at us as we hurtled past, and between the screams, it spoke.


    ¡°Finally! Finally!¡± it shrieked in Loson¡¯binora. ¡°No more suckling swine clawing at the Delve¡¯s tits! No more feasts for fools! Come! Come!¡±


    The faces contorted and melted away as fast as they appeared, each one speaking only a few words before the next took up the cry.


    ¡°Such fine children! So soon, as well! How many generations have come and gone?! How many eons since we saw such haste towards the end?! It has been so long!¡± Between the shouts were chittering squeals and throaty gags that might have passed for a dying man¡¯s fit of laughter.


    ¡°What in the absolute fuck?¡± I muttered to myself as the faces continued to spout nonsense.


    Before long, our group came into a new chamber, one which pulsed and moved like a living creature. The walls, ceiling, and floor were covered by a thousand identical faces. They spoke and laughed and spat and howled. Some looked like they wept, but all of them had eyes fixed on one point¨Ca hole in the center of the room, leading down.


    No more limbs grew to attack us, no more gnashing teeth or hungry mouths. Still, I couldn¡¯t help but think of this hole as some sort of throat.


    ¡°Go on! Go on!¡± shouted a face. ¡°It¡¯s the only way to leave!¡±


    We studied the pit, only Varrin brave enough to let his feet touch the face-covered floor. The mimics he stepped on smiled up at him, and the faces seemed to delight in the abuse. It was... weird.


    ¡°Why does it always have to be a hole?¡± Varrin asked, waving at the dark opening. ¡°One where we can¡¯t see the bottom?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s always down,¡± I said. ¡°That gives us either a hole or stairs. Holes are quicker.¡±


    ¡°Ladders,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°Holes, stairs, or ladders.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a drinking game,¡± I said.


    ¡°What about a lift?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°Like an elevator?¡±


    ¡°Yes! You could use an underground river or something to turn a water wheel, and use that to create an elevating or descending platform.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll add it to the list,¡± I said. ¡°Holes, stairs, ladders, and lifts.¡±


    ¡°Now it sounds like a card game,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Why?!¡± screamed a face. ¡°Why are you talking?! Go down! Go down!¡±


    I held up a finger to shush the face. Surprisingly, it piped down.


    ¡°What do we think?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not staying here,¡± said Xim, looking around at the faces in annoyance. ¡°If I want to be in a room of countless faces screaming nonsense at me, I can just go home.¡±


    ¡°The objective is to reach the obelisk,¡± said Varrin, ¡°and then ¡®conquer the challenge that awaits us.¡¯¡± He sighed. ¡°Seems as good a place as any to look for the obelisk room.¡±


    ¡°A hungry giant invites you down its gullet,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s warm inside, and no enemy will ever reach you.¡±


    ¡°Are you quoting something?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Nope,¡± I said. ¡°Just explaining the situation to myself.¡± I rolled my right shoulder, working out some stiffness. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±


    And so we jumped merrily into the belly of the beast.

 Chapter 81: The One and Only Mimicry

    Chapter 81: The One and Only Mimicry


    The hole was a little narrower than arm¡¯s length. The rest of us flew, floated, or rode into the descent, but Varrin led the way by pressing his hands and feet into the tunnel walls and sliding. The edges were shaped organically, with irregular lumps and folds, but made of hard metal. Varrin¡¯s gauntlets and sabatons sparked against it as he skated down at near-freefall speed.


    The tunnel opened into the ceiling of a dark, two-hundred-foot-tall chamber, and Etja slowed Varrin with her gravity control to prevent him from an uncomfortable landing. We made our way to the ground and inspected the new space.


    It was an obelisk chamber, and at first glance, it was a boring one.


    The obelisk itself was impressive, its tip rising more than halfway to the two-hundred-foot ceiling above. While one-hundred-and-fifty feet of meticulously engraved obsidian-black stone, glowing with untold mystic power, and hidden within the depths of the Earth for time immemorial would have been considered quite interesting for most people, we¡¯d grown a bit jaded to that sort of thing.


    ¡°Big obelisk,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Seen bigger,¡± I said, turning my gaze over the rest of the barren chamber. Aside from the obelisk, there was nothing else. No strange machines, no boss monster, no gruesome aftermath of ancient violence. The chamber was as wide as it was tall, with a circular edge and an arched ceiling, making it a dome or half-sphere. ¡°There¡¯s a pattern to Delve architecture. Feel like they should mix it up now and again.¡±


    ¡°It probably has to do with the mana accumulation,¡± said Xim, taking a few steps closer to the obelisk. ¡°This shape may be more efficient.¡±


    ¡°My Pocket Delve¡¯s obelisk is in a rectangular chamber,¡± I said, walking up and placing a hand on Xim¡¯s shoulder, stopping her. ¡°Grotto hasn¡¯t complained. The ceiling is vaulted, though. Also, this is the most obvious ruse the mimic¡¯s made so far.¡± I nodded at the obelisk.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Xim, shoulders slumping. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Should we start burning it down, or wait for it to attack?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re both much too relaxed about this,¡± said Varrin, pulling his greatsword back out of his inventory.


    I mused over how we¡¯d all originally lugged heavy gear bags around, rather than relying solely on the inventory. On death, inventory items were returned to a designated home point and thus lost to the rest of the party for the duration of the Delve. My own home point was my permanent underground residence back in Formation, although I worried that my death might result in a rather large loot-based explosion in the district since I had a lot of stuff in there.


    Gear bags carried outside of the inventory space ensured that our essential items would be available to those who survived. While it was a nice thought, our party had a pretty mobile fighting style, and the bags did more harm than good. The reality of my Pocket Closet also made the gear bags feel... quaint.


    The listed inventory size on my interface was no longer a plain number without any mention of what the number referred to. It had been cubic yards, it turns out, which was a strange measurement to see once I¡¯d figured out how to toggle the advanced UI filters on and off. Now, it was listed in cubic miles. Yeah, the Closet was Big, with a capital B. We had a hundred different gear bags stuffed full of different styles of provisions inside the Closet, and I could pull one out to toss it onto the ground when needed.


    The chamber was pretty dark, so I did that very thing and pulled out a bag full of glowstones. There were handheld glowstone lamps, headlamps, mounts that we could hang the lamps onto, and even a pair of modified crossbows that would launch a glowstone-laden arrow with enough force to penetrate rock if we wanted some overhead lighting. That last one was Nuralie¡¯s invention. I tossed a few loose stones around the chamber, giving Varrin and Etja a bit more light to see by. Nuralie, Xim, and I all did well enough in the dark without them.


    ¡°Calm?¡± I said, looking at Varrin as I hurled another glowing rock. I could almost hit the ceiling. ¡°Don¡¯t let my placid demeanor mislead you. That shit was disturbing.¡±


    ¡°Many Delves are a sort of test,¡± he said. ¡°Grotto has admitted as much, but this one feels like a test. The other Delves we¡¯ve done have all had an objective that obscured any intentional challenge being engineered for us.¡±


    ¡°This one states it outright,¡± I replied, hefting one of the crossbows. We probably didn¡¯t need it, but these things were fun as hell. ¡°Go, go, gadget glowstone!¡± I said, firing the bolt into the ceiling high above. The glowstone was nowhere bright enough for it to provide any useful lighting from that distance.


    No one commented on the wastefulness. We had a dozen of the launchers in my Closet, and glowstones were cheap. Cheap to us. For an average person, they were a luxury that could never be justified against the cost. And before anything is said about how I could use that money for a greater good, I already had an orphanage named after me: Esquire Arlo¡¯s School for Gifted Youngsters. It was nice, too. No slum-lord Arlo in these here parts. Delvers were an overall net benefit to the world economy, anyway. Mana chips were useful and in high demand.


    Not that we¡¯d gotten any from this Delve so far, but the choir room¡¯s worth of historical artifacts I¡¯d plundered should make for some fine additions to the Supplicants of Astrania¡¯s public collection, assuming that none of the relics were mimics...


    And let no more be said about my generosity.


    ¡°What was the king screaming about, anyway?¡± I asked. ¡°¡®No more suckling swine clawing at the Delve¡¯s¡¯... places... ¡®How many eons since we saw such haste towards the end?¡¯ It used the word ¡®generations¡¯ as well. ¡®How many generations?¡¯ Both Grotto and Cage have used that word when talking about Delvers.¡±


    ¡°Is that what it was saying?¡± asked Xim. ¡°Also, I don¡¯t wanna call it ¡®the king¡¯. Come up with a better name.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps slime-face has simply gone mad,¡± said Varrin. I gave him a dubious look.


    ¡°Emperor Ooze didn¡¯t seem-¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Mommy Mimic-¡±


    ¡°Uh-uh,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Queen Yuck-¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t ruin the word queen!¡± said Etja.


    ¡°What¡¯s this fucking Delve called?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The Naysayer¡¯s Tomb,¡± answered Varrin.


    ¡°Tomb Mimic didn¡¯t strike me as crazy.¡±


    Nuralie looked at me in disbelief, while Xim tapped thoughtfully at her chin.


    ¡°It¡¯s functional,¡± said the Cleric. ¡°Not your best name.¡±


    ¡°Why am I in charge of the names?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the party leader,¡± she replied with a smirk.


    ¡°If you like,¡± Varrin began, ¡°I could-¡±


    ¡°Varrin, brother, your names are... they need some work.¡±


    The big guy hung his head a bit. I turned to Nuralie.


    ¡°It felt like it was spurring us on,¡± I said. ¡°Like a misguided cheerleader.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you got from that?¡± asked Nuralie.


    ¡°What did you think? No one else speaks Loson¡¯binora but us. You understand the native syntax better than I ever will.¡±


    Nuralie froze in a ¡®deep thought¡¯ pause.


    ¡°Tomb Mimic¡¯s rhythm sounded,¡± pause, ¡°broken, in the beginning. As it spoke, it became one of elation... elation and relief.¡±


    ¡°Was it pausing at the end?¡± I asked. ¡°Sounded like it was rambling non-stop.¡±


    ¡°Staccato,¡± said the loson. ¡°Subtle, advanced. Can be mistaken for a breath or other beat.¡± Pause. ¡°We can cover them in the next lesson.¡±


    ¡°I thought we¡¯d gone over them all.¡±


    ¡°You are fluent without them. It is also something that non-Eschens,¡± pause, ¡°can rarely grasp. I am sure you will pick it up in a day.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve no more interest in your curiosities,¡± she said. ¡°Your party is promising, especially given that you are only in the first phase. All of you exhibit abnormal mana signatures, too powerful for your stage of advancement. That is not all, either. Hmm.¡± She eyed me and Xim. ¡°Two revelators.¡± She then turned to Nuralie. ¡°Perhaps a third, but the power has been sealed. I am disappointed that a loson has failed in her faith. There is yet time to redeem yourself, child. Your weapon¡¯s borrowed power is a crutch.¡±


    Nuralie''s arms went slowly limp, and she dropped her bow. Her expression was an ocean¡¯s depth of shock and desolation.


    The Mimic turned to Etja.


    ¡°Divine spawn,¡± she said in a clinical tone. Pause. ¡°With Delver levels. This is novel, perhaps worth my awakening. That it has happened worries me, however. The avatars grow more troublesome.¡± She finally turned to Varrin, looking down at him with disdain, and swapped back to speaking in Hiwardian. ¡°You are nothing special.¡±


    The words echoed through the chamber and lingered in the silence that followed. Varrin gave The Mimic a beastly what the fuck did you just say to me? look, and I feared that the encounter would turn very violent very fast, but The Mimic followed her statement with a single word that reset the tone.


    ¡°Yet.¡± She leaned back in her throne, hand stroking her tail like a favorite pet. She¡¯d have made a great Bond villain. She continued, still speaking Hiwardian. ¡°I am disappointed. I know why you are here; I have heard all of your conversations while inside of this place. I will not help you. It is too soon for this generation.¡±


    The excitement that had been building within me sank.


    ¡°We were originally going to ask the Delve Core for information,¡± I said.


    She glared at me.


    ¡°I know. I have heard all of your conversations. This Delve¡¯s Core has no personality graft. It will not speak with you, even if you were to tear it from the obelisk and dismantle its chassis. It exists solely for the automated functions it provides me.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s it?¡± I said. ¡°You lay down all these ridiculously intriguing statements, then clam up?¡±


    ¡°Such is my privilege,¡± said The Mimic.


    ¡°What about the challenge?¡± asked Varrin. ¡°The Delve objective?¡±


    The Mimic rolled a hand in the air.


    ¡°You may have your paltry level and may leave this Delve. I have already challenged you more than is appropriate.¡±


    ¡°Geez, what a letdown,¡± I said. ¡°I was starting to think you might be cool, then you go all Grotto on us.¡±


    ¡°Your lives continue,¡± she said. ¡°Be thankful that I allow that much, child. What little knowledge you already possess is dangerous, especially in the hands of such an underdeveloped society. The only reason I let you live is that you are too impotent to use it.¡±


    The Mimic¡¯s insults and entitlement caused my emotions to boil over, and all of the aggravation that I¡¯d bottled up throughout the Delve started to peek through. I pointed a finger at The Mimic.


    ¡°The past two days inside this shit stain of a Delve have been the most frustrating and infuriating of both of my entire lives,¡± I said. ¡°You and all the other ancient Delve asshats in your little secret club are irritating the fuck out of me, stringing us along with tantalizing details, only to blush and cover your mouths when you let something substantive slip. I¡¯m sick of it!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, tell her! Boo!¡± shouted Xim. It startled me, and I turned to the Cleric, who gave me a thumbs-up. She took a step forward and pointed at The Mimic as well. ¡°Give us answers or we¡¯ll kick your ass!¡±


    I took Xim by the arm and pulled her back, pushing her hand down to stop her from pointing.


    ¡°What the hell, Xim?¡±


    ¡°What? She¡¯s only level ten. We¡¯ve been carving our way through mimics this whole Delve. We can get answers out of her the hard way.¡±


    ¡°First, not sure I want to advocate for torture or physical abuse when confronted with a non-violent obstacle. Second, she¡¯s got ten times more violet in her soul than anyone I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± said Xim. ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡±


    ¡°Her level doesn¡¯t mean shit is what I mean.¡±


    ¡°Neither does ours,¡± she retorted, crossing her arms.


    ¡°Christ, just don¡¯t volunteer the whole party for a fight by yourself. She¡¯s giving us the opportunity to leave.¡±


    ¡°Then what were you going on about?¡± she asked, holding her hands out in confusion.


    ¡°I needed to express my dissatisfaction with the Delve experience she¡¯s cultivated here.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving?¡± asked Etja. She looked up at me with big, sad eyes. I swear she did it because she knew it would get me to capitulate to whatever it was she wanted. ¡°It was just getting good!¡±


    ¡°You want to stay?¡± I said. ¡°And fight that thing?¡± Etja nodded, clutching her upper pair of hands together at her chest. I rolled my eyes. ¡°What about you, Varrin?¡± His grip was as tight on the hilt of his sword as I¡¯d ever seen, but his expression was stone cold.


    ¡°She insulted me,¡± he said. ¡°As an adult, I find it best to confront these sorts of interpersonal conflicts head-on. Shouldn¡¯t let them fester.¡±


    ¡°Stabbing somebody is not an appropriate interpersonal conflict resolution skill.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± said Varrin. ¡°I find that it works quite well.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say it wasn¡¯t effective.¡±


    ¡°I need to know more,¡± said Nuralie. She¡¯d recovered her bow and, although she looked a bit shellshocked, had regained most of her composure. ¡°Also, I can test my new products on her.¡±


    ¡°Why does this conversation make me feel like we¡¯re not the most upstanding of people?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a monster, Arlo,¡± said Xim. ¡°Monsters don¡¯t have feelings.¡±


    ¡°That line of thinking is problematic. And I¡¯m pretty sure this one does have feelings.¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± she said. And that was the end of that argument.


    ¡°Mimics are violent and deadly,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°If we defeat her, maybe we defeat all of the mimics.¡± Pause. "We''d be saving lives."


    ¡°Now you¡¯re reaching.¡±


    There was a loud thud, and I turned to see The Mimic standing at the foot of her massive throne. She was unhappy.


    ¡°The insolence,¡± she spat. ¡°The stubbornness. The greed. The overconfidence.¡± Her eyes drifted slightly apart. Her mouth opened into a wide smile. Slime ran down her chin and dripped onto the ground as the floor rose to fold around her. Her throne collapsed and joined the mass enveloping her body. As her demented face was subsumed by the enormous mound of churning mimic goo, her voice raised an octave and she let out a gurgling shout.


    ¡°Maybe I won¡¯t be disappointed, after all!¡±


    Then, the blob of slime rose, growing a new mouth for The Mimic to speak, its lips fat and dripping with ichor.


    ¡°COME NOW, CHILDREN. TRY AND MAKE ME TALK.¡±

 Chapter 82: Tanking Mimicry

    Chapter 82: Tanking Mimicry


    The ¡®malformed and misshapen¡¯ Mimic began to grow dozens of eyes over its body that spun and locked onto us, gummy and seeping thick fluid like they were infected. Limbs sprouted from its bulbous form with skinless muscle attached to yellowed bone. The ooze along its hands slimed up into the shape of various weapons: sword, shield, axe, spear, and claw. The weapons each had faces of their own, and lips stretched taut against bared teeth as the mouths of the lethal instruments muttered nonsensical phrases at us.


    I had an excellent jeer to throw at The Mimic involving John Carpenter, but there was no more room for games. It was time to take this seriously.


    ¡°Ew,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Riiiight?!¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a lot of nasty shit in Arzia, but come. On.¡±


    Ok, maybe serious wasn¡¯t our thing.


    ¡°What¡¯s the play?¡± asked Varrin as The Mimic began sprouting ears, noses, and scales.


    ¡°Big Bang Attack,¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s immune to physical.¡±


    ¡°Mana Bomb variant.¡±


    Varrin nodded. ¡°Good call. Disrupt its shapeshifting. How much time do you need?¡±


    ¡°Twenty seconds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a big bomb.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a big mimic.¡±


    Xim reached under the collar of her chainmail, touching a mana-weave that only she could activate.


    ¡°How come your favorite tactics,¡± she said, grunting as she shoved her hand deeper to find the weave, ¡°are the ones where you aren¡¯t the tank, Arlo? Gods above, this thing needs to be higher up!¡± She finally found what she was looking for, and her armor dropped away, leaving her wearing her mega-stretch bodysuit.


    ¡°Pitfalls of a dual spec,¡± I said. ¡°Besides, Varrin likes getting the practice in.¡±


    I dismissed the Life Warden skill from Etja, then cast it on Varrin. Now, half of the damage Varrin took from physical or dimensional transferred to me, the damage was reduced by my Physical Magic skill, and half of the damage I ended up taking from the transfer got refunded to Varrin as either stamina or health.


    To translate, I just gave Varrin 70% DR.


    Nuralie tossed the big guy a potion, and he popped the stopper, then downed it.


    Nuralie¡¯s Night-Rush Potion


    (Reluctantly formulated based on a Littan recipe)


    Duration: 15 minutes


    Your melee damage is doubled.


    -5 To all physical defenses


    INT-based skills require twice as much mana and stamina to use.


    You gain Toxicity: 10


    Xim held her scepter in the air and moved it in ritualistic patterns. Varrin¡¯s body began to glow with crimson light as she cast two buffs on him.


    Sam¡¯lia¡¯s Blessing of Hunger


    Spiritual/Divine


    Cost: 10 mana


    Cooldown: 1 use per target per day


    Requirements: Fortitude 10, Charisma 10, Spiritual Magic 10, Divine Magic 20, Patron Deity: Sam¡¯lia, Revelation of the Stomach


    You grant a nearby ally a number of stacks of Blessed equal to your Divine Magic skill level, plus your Charisma, divided by five.


    Whenever the target ally deals melee weapon damage to an enemy, they consume a portion of the enemy¡¯s life essence, dealing 1 additional damage and receiving 1 point of healing for each stack of Blessed they possess. The target ally may elect for their melee weapon attacks and damage to become Divine for so long as they are Blessed.


    Sam¡¯lia¡¯s Blessing of Pounding


    Spiritual/Divine


    The Mimic brought its blade around, and Xim¡¯s footing was slick with the inert goo at her feet. She took the blade in the side, but rolled her body to try and reduce the force of the impact. Blood sprayed out from her ribs, and the blow sent her to the ground, sliding across the floor. The mimic¡¯s body elongated, its arms and weapons reaching out to where Xim lay, while still exchanging blows with Varrin on its opposite side.


    Xim finally got to cast Heal.


    Golden light pulsed down the Cleric¡¯s body, and the wound on her ribs began to close. I knew that one cast wouldn¡¯t be enough to fully recover from that type of strike, and her body was awash with smaller cuts and punctures, but Xim could take care of herself. She and Varrin were focused on tying The Mimic up while doing as much damage as possible, and something minor like seeing an ally getting cleaved in the chest by a car-length claymore made of carrion and sadness wouldn¡¯t distract me from my own job, which was to announce to the world foreboding things like:


    ¡°The dead cannot make war, and so you shall know peace!¡±


    Etja whirled and shot out a beam of pure mystical force, carving a line across the mimic¡¯s side. The cost of my channel went down by 1. She swept one leg in front of her in a wide arc and went into a forward cartwheel, then sucked the dislodged mimic goo towards us and consumed it into herself through her palms. The cost of my channel went down by 1.


    Finishing Move will be applied to your next skill.


    Etja raised her hands, and the power of her Nullify spell flowed through her soul, into mine, and out into the tips of my fingers. The cost of my channel went down by 1.


    Etja pumped more and more into the spell, its magic-disrupting potency swelling in crescendo with the last few seconds of my near two-hundred mana charge.


    ¡°Witness! Take Heed!¡±


    Varrin heard the signal words, and dumped every stack of Blessed he had accrued into a final attack, cleaving a massive, crimson line down the center of the Mimic, then both he and Xim got the fuck out.


    ¡°Explosion!¡±


    I snapped my fingers, and The Mimic became one with the stone and the air.


    My chest cavity thumped as the shockwave crashed through the air in my lungs, and my sinuses were rocked like someone had just dropped a king-sized mattress on my face. The sound of the explosion was brief, but it was God leaning over to clap in my ears.


    The Mimic was reduced to a fine spray that assaulted my skin with a split second of hurricane-grade downpour. My eyes were protected by my specs, but my mouth...


    Gods, it was in my mouth!


    As I retched and spat, I saw that Etja was lying on the ground. I was still floating, so I used Gracorvus to lower myself to her. Her entire frontside was soaked in mimic, and her eyes popped open when I knelt to check on her.


    ¡°You ok?!¡± I shouted at her.


    ¡°What?!¡± she shouted back


    ¡°Are! You! Oh! Kay?!¡±


    She wiped some goo from her eyes and squinted at me.


    ¡°... What?!¡±


    We needed to figure out some hearing protection.


    Varrin made his way over to us, and I started to ask how he was doing, but he waved a hand to stop me and just pointed at his ear. He sat down on the ground next to Etja. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and I knew that he¡¯d be riding the Night-Rush bus for another fourteen minutes. It was better to avoid interacting with Varrin while he was on the rage high, so I let him be.


    Xim appeared, back in her normal form, and somehow more soaked in slime than any of the rest of us. She must not have gotten as much distance as Varrin, which made sense. Her Speed was half of his.


    We surveyed the room in silence, observing the thin paste that was The Mimic.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t we gonna ask it some questions?!¡± Xim shouted. I nodded at her. ¡°The fuck do we do that now?!¡± I shrugged.


    I maybe didn¡¯t think the plan through as well as I should have. My first priority was to win. A fireside chat afterward was a distant enough second that it wasn¡¯t even in the same county.


    I began to struggle with the feeling of letdown, and a bit of guilt. I was frustrated that answers had been within our grasp, and my tactical use of a yee-haw!¡¯s worth of supercharged magic TNT had taken it away. I could have played this one smarter. I could have played this whole Delve smarter, to be honest.


    I took a breath and tried not to dwell on it. We¡¯d do a deconstruction once we got back to Ravvenblaq, to talk about what worked and what didn¡¯t inside this mess of a Delve. For now, I needed to focus on claiming our level and getting us the hell out of here. Also, Nuralie was still missing.


    I looked around for the sneaky alchemist, but she was nowhere in sight. What I did see was some mimic goo starting to wriggle.


    ¡°Fuck me¡± I said, and waved to get the attention of the others.


    They looked up and saw me pointing out the puddle of goo that was now beginning to rise up into a vaguely humanoid shape. They stood, getting ready for round thirteen with this friggin¡¯ thing, when a different puddle began to rise. Then another. Then... another.


    Suddenly, we were surrounded by a dozen or more mimics, their bodies dripping and viscous. They continued to coalesce, their forms becoming more distinct, but they were struggling to stay cohesive. One flopped back and splattered into slime again, then trembled and tried to get back up.


    Before we could move in and start working our way through this new horde, however, golden streaks of light filled the air.


    Divinely charged arrows sprayed out from the dark, one for each mimic, and in less than a second, all of the struggling creatures were skewered through the head. They collapsed back into puddles, and moved no more.


    Except for one.

 Chapter 83: Ded Mimicry

    Chapter 83: Ded Mimicry


    Nuralie stepped out of the shadows, her bow venting golden mana into the air. While the weapon was normally jet black, intricate rune work revealed itself when the loson put it through its paces, which she just had.


    ¡°You were charging Hunger Shot that entire time?¡± I asked.


    Nuralie stopped several feet away from us, wrinkling her nose at our sludge-covered bodies. She, in contrast, was spotless.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°You never gave me a position for the Big Bang strategy.¡±


    ¡°Sure I did.¡±


    ¡°¡®Just shoot it¡¯ is not a position.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s guidance,¡± I said, putting my hands on my hips. ¡°And you executed it flawlessly.¡±


    Xim looked over the inert puddles of slime.


    ¡°It¡¯s weird that Nuralie¡¯s attack targeted the mimics individually after the big one split up,¡± said the Cleric.


    Xim was right. The skill was normally single-target.


    Hunger Shot


    Physical/Spiritual


    Cost: 1 stamina/ second


    Cooldown: None


    Requirements: Agility 10, Fortitude 10, Archery 10


    Take aim at a target and charge this skill for any length of time. Upon firing, you make one ranged weapon attack against the target for every five seconds this skill was charged. These attacks occur in rapid succession. All bonuses applied to this skill, your attack, your weapon, or your ammo, apply to each attack made this way, regardless of whether the bonus is restricted to a single attack or projectile.


    ¡°Skills are as skills do,¡± I said. ¡°It must have still considered The Mimic a single entity, even though it¡¯d divided. The System isn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Not the time for your theories,¡± said Varrin, an edge to his voice. He bounced on the balls of his feet, staring at the only puddle of slime that still quivered.


    Varrin¡¯s words got me a bit miffed, but I let it slide since he was ¡®roided up on Nuralie¡¯s potion, and we made our way over to The ¡®Last¡¯ Mimic.


    The Mimic was still partially shaped into her loson body, although her features were distorted halfway between her Architect form and her ¡®blech¡¯ form. From the waist down, she was nothing but slime. Organs spilled out onto the ground from her abdomen and chest cavity, dissolving into goo before us. Her skin was half-melted, exposing muscle and bone, and one eye slid down the side of her face, staring off into the distance.


    The other eye had an arrow in it.


    Varrin clomped across the wet and sticky floor, then dropped one of his armored, size sixteen feet on The Mimic¡¯s chest hard enough to make a thud. Some more of her internals squished out from the pressure. He pivoted his greatsword off of his shoulder and swept it down until it was pressed into the side of her throat, the movement so quick that the tip of his blade dug a groove in the stone next to The Mimic.


    The man could be terrifying.


    I hid my apprehension over Varrin¡¯s death knight vibes, and squatted down next to The Mimic, putting on a veil of calm distaste. I sighed.


    ¡°Nothing special?¡± I said. The edge of The Mimic¡¯s mouth curled up into a grin, showing off several missing teeth. ¡°I believe the deal was that, if we win, you talk. Are you even able to talk right now?¡±


    The Mimic licked its lips with a greasy tongue, and struggled to take a rattling breath.


    ¡°The card,¡± she said, gurgling, ¡°show it to me.¡±


    I pushed my lips to the side and raised an eyebrow at the party. Their faces were hard masks aside from Etja, who looked on with the wonder of a five-year-old watching a building burn. No one objected. I opened my inventory and took out the Get Out of Cage Free card, then held it up next to my face, out of The Mimic¡¯s reach. With her shapeshifting, she could probably extend her arms to try and snatch it, but that would result in a quick end for her.


    ¡°Let me inspect it,¡± rasped The Mimic.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°S-system... Insight,¡± she said.


    ¡°You think you¡¯ll get more details from it than we¡¯re able to?¡±


    ¡°I know that I can.¡± She sneered up at me, and a part of her cheek slid off. I rotated the card in my fingers for a few seconds, considering the request, and decided to take the risk of letting her touch it. This was the best lead we¡¯d found after a year of ceaseless training and Delving. I needed a fucking vacation. Maybe this creature could give us enough information that I felt justified taking some time off.


    I brought the card closer, and she reached up to brush it with skeletal fingertips. A gentle light flashed in her deformed pupil, and she let the hand drop.


    ¡°This is... worse than I thought,¡± she said.


    ¡°What¡¯s worse?¡±


    Saekongr¡¯s Crevice: Special-grade, level 20 or less


    Deijin¡¯s Descent: Special-grade, level 10 or less


    I read the message, discovering at that very moment that my HUD had a map function, then pulled up the locations. A map of Arzia appeared, mostly grayed out except for Hiward, and three glowing points spread out across the continent.


    The first was in the middle of the absurdly named Less-Than-Habitable Forest to the east, and the second was in the middle of the ocean southwest of Hiward, between the shores of Timagrin and the island nation of Davah. The third...


    The third was in Eschendur.


    ¡°We could probably do this third one!¡± said Xim ¡°It¡¯s level ten, and our effective level is-¡±


    ¡°Witless child,¡± said The Mimic. ¡°The level requirements are not guidance. They are restrictions. Do not hang yourself with the chains around your neck.¡±


    ¡°Why give this to us if you don¡¯t think we can use it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Everything is impossible,¡± said The Mimic, ¡°until it isn¡¯t.¡±


    More of the meat along her face melted away, and her eye became a watery slush that drained from its socket. Varrin¡¯s boot sank further into The Mimic¡¯s chest as it grew soft and formless.


    ¡°I have... enjoyed this,¡± she whispered.


    The Mimic was reduced to a viscous puddle, and we finally got the notification that had evaded us the entire Delve.


    Your party has defeated The Mimic: Architect, Level 10!


    Your party receives the following rewards:


    1) 10 Emerald Chips


    2) 5 Greater Mimicry Essences


    3) The Staff of Archon¡¯s Maker


    Party leader has set chip and currency allocation to: Even Distribution.


    You receive: 2 Emerald Chips


    Party leader had set item allocation to: Master Looter


    Party leader receives all other rewards.


    ¡°Easy come, easy go,¡± I said, staring at where The Mimic had been. ¡°Which is a saying that should also work in the inverse, so why the fuck didn¡¯t we get more out of her?¡±


    ¡°Defeated?¡± said Varrin, scanning the message. He dismissed his System window with a sharp wave and kicked at the inert slime on the ground. A trail of fluid slung off the tip of his sabaton. ¡°Defeated?!¡±


    ¡°Guess we didn¡¯t slay it,¡± I said, watching him carefully. Varrin tossed his sword into his inventory, pulled off his helm, and threw it in behind. He stood still for a moment, hands flexing, then pulled out a towel and began wiping himself down.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave this place,¡± he grumbled, running the towel over his face and hair. It came back darkly stained, and he looked at me with a fury that I knew wasn¡¯t meant for me. I raised my eyebrows at him, and his features softened. He dropped the towel and pulled out a fresh one, beginning to work on his gauntlets. ¡°Please,¡± he said, and it almost sounded pleading.


    I glanced up at the obelisk, which had already begun to hum with power, preparing to dump a massive wave of mana into our bodies.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s take our level and go.¡±


    ¡°What do we do with this information?¡± asked Xim. She¡¯d gathered her mail and robes up from where they¡¯d dropped before her transformation, and held them folded over one arm. She clutched a handful of her black, curly hair with her other hand, eyes shifting over the ground as she thought.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said, ¡°for now. We can talk about what it all means once we¡¯ve had a bath, some food, and twelve or more hours of sleep. Twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep, preferably.¡±


    I¡¯d been able to push through for forty hours without rest inside the Delve with a steadily rising debuff to my stamina regen as the only listed consequence. But something the character screen didn¡¯t show was the massive brain fog I was starting to feel, and the downward pressure the lack of sleep was putting on my mood. I didn¡¯t have the brain cells left to rub together over this intel, and if I didn¡¯t find a bed soon I might do or say something I¡¯d regret.


    I also couldn¡¯t keep using my Fortitude as an excuse to avoid a bedroll, but some part of me, the part that needed to be in control, hated leaving the watch up to someone else. My party members were more than competent, and I trusted them with my life, but that still didn¡¯t help me catch any z¡¯s while we were in mortal danger. It was a problem I had to overcome, or I worried I¡¯d make a fatal mistake.


    The obelisk issued our mana distribution, we assigned our stat points in line with the builds we¡¯d worked out beforehand, and we exited through the portal that appeared afterward.


    Fuckin¡¯ mimics, man.


    Fuckin¡¯


    Mimics.

 Chapter 84: Mandatory Tavern Scene

    Chapter 84: Mandatory Tavern Scene


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to chant to cast Explosion!¡± I said to Etja through a mouthful of stew-soaked brown bread. It was warm and buttery and presently fulfilling all of my lifelong dreams and fantasies. ¡°I started doing it half as a joke, and half because it was a great way to let every aberrant hound within a one mile radius know who just turned their pack leader into a blast crater.¡± I swallowed the bread and drained an entire mug of fruit juice, slamming it down on the table with more enthusiasm than I¡¯d meant to. The handle snapped off. ¡°It¡¯s taunt, intimidation, and flex all rolled up into one.¡±


    A waitress dedicated to our table swung by to grab my mug and I smiled sheepishly at her as I handed her a silver note.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I whispered. She looked down at me from beneath raised eyebrows as she tucked the cash into her apron, but I could tell she was used to this sort of thing. We were in a tavern that catered to traveling Delvers, after all.


    ¡°But there¡¯s more to it than that,¡± I continued, ¡°and through experimentation and analysis, I¡¯ve distilled my theory down to a single concept: ¡®restrictions¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Arlo,¡± said Varrin, ¡°we talked about this.¡± He was leaning over the table, head hanging low as he gripped a horn of ale as long as my forearm in both hands. It looked like he was getting ready to give himself a shower with it.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t talk about anything,¡± I said. ¡°You talked at me, and I chose to ignore your advice.¡±


    He let out an elongated grunt, like a frustrated, dying animal. I turned back to Etja, who was, of course, enraptured by my commentary. She had the second of two assorted cheese plates offered by the establishment in front of her, and she dutifully nibbled on a piece of brie. She¡¯d already eaten her way through the first.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to chant,¡± I said. ¡°I can silent cast Explosion! if I want, as incongruent as that might sound. But I do chant. I chant every time I cast the spell in combat, because when I don¡¯t chant, the spell is less powerful.¡±


    ¡°Whaaaat?¡± said Etja. ¡°That¡¯s not in the description!¡±


    ¡°I know! There¡¯s nothing in the System¡¯s description of the spell that discusses a vocal component to the ability. But, I¡¯ve already realized that the System¡¯s text is incomplete. It doesn¡¯t account for the total sum of any given spell¡¯s effects and interactions, because one, that¡¯d be way too much text, and two, ninety percent of Delvers don¡¯t give a crap.¡±


    ¡°I give a crap!¡± Etja said.


    ¡°You¡¯re one of the good ones, Etja.¡± She smiled at the praise. ¡°So, the System¡¯s description is an abstraction of the true magic that¡¯s occurring-¡±


    ¡°Allegedly,¡± Xim interrupted. She was slouched back in her chair, hand wrapped loosely around a goblet of wine that rested on the table. There were five empties scattered around it.


    ¡°Allegedly,¡± I agreed. ¡°The System truncates the dissertation¡¯s worth of theoretical context for the spell. That¡¯s frustrating, and it''s terrible design if the System¡¯s descriptions are intended to be a magical manual.¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t?¡± Etja asked, leaning forward. ¡°Then what are they?¡±


    I shook a finger in the air, smiling at her.


    ¡°That¡¯s the golden question,¡± I said. ¡°I no longer believe that the System¡¯s spell descriptions were ever intended to serve as a Magic 101 textbook. They¡¯re a glossary of technical reference material for people who are already experts.¡±


    ¡°Does anyone think that?¡± asked Nuralie. ¡°That it¡¯s meant for beginners?¡± Pause. ¡°Everyone studies magic before going into the Creation Delve. Before they have access to the System.¡±


    ¡°Almost everybody,¡± said Xim, grinning at me.


    ¡°All of the theory taught in Hiwardian magic academies is based on information acquired from the System,¡± I said.


    ¡°Been to many Hiwardian magic academies?¡± Xim retorted.


    ¡°Two,¡± I said.


    ¡°What?¡± she said. ¡°When?¡±


    ¡°When you did that month of cloistering.¡±


    ¡°Hells,¡± said the Cleric. ¡°I missed a lot when I did that.¡±


    ¡°While visiting said academies, I skimmed most of their core books on technique. It¡¯s just lists of spells and practical considerations when using them!¡±


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t,¡± said Varrin. He sat back up and took a deep pull of his beer. His chair creaked out a threat under his weight.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said. ¡°Where was I? Uh, restrictions make the magic stronger?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Etja nodded emphatically.


    ¡°Ok. My theory is that restrictions for magic are like a high-velocity nozzle on a garden hose. The Seinnador on my shoulder would tut-tut at me for trying to reduce the idea to such mundane terms, but it works for me, so get lost, shoulder Seinnador.¡± I brushed my left shoulder off.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a... what?¡± said Etja, confused.


    ¡°Shit,¡± I said, searching for a better analogy. ¡°Ok, so, say you have a fire. It gets the whole room a little warm, right?¡±


    ¡°Right!¡±


    ¡°But if you put that same fire inside an oven, then it gets the inside of the oven really hot, but the rest of the room stays the same temperature. Mostly.¡±


    ¡°Ok...¡± Etja said. I didn¡¯t think I quite nailed it with that one.


    ¡°Let¡¯s skip the metaphors for now.¡± I cleared my throat and added a bit of drama to my voice. ¡°Thus, my theory is born! If the System can use restrictions to engineer powerful magical effects and abilities,¡± I paused for effect, ¡°then so can I!¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡±


    ¡°Yes! But, it¡¯s fickle. I can''t just slap any requirement onto any spell to make it stronger. Like mana-shaping, it¡¯s something that I have to be deeply familiar with, that resonates with me personally, and that makes sense for the spell or ability that I¡¯m using.¡±


    ¡°Shouting,¡± said Xim, and we turned to her. She swallowed and sat up a bit straighter, slapping herself on a cheek. ¡°Shouting,¡± she continued, speaking with very intentional diction, ¡°about your explosive awesomeness and inviting lethal countermeasures from everyone who can hear you is a very ¡®Arlo¡¯ thing to do.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°That¡¯s why my chanting works for Explosion! Now, I was very proud of this discovery. My unique skills and talents led me to this breakthrough, benefiting from my extraterrestrial origin as a cross-dimensional invader!¡± Nuralie¡¯s eyes went a bit wider and she snuck some looks around. No one else in the tavern was paying any attention to what I was saying and, even if they were, our table had already proven to everyone in the square that we were blasted. ¡°My superior Earth-based scientific method and modern-world ingenuity let me figure something out that...¡± I leaned in, and Etja leaned forward to meet me conspiratorially, ¡°something that everybody who is somebody already knows about.¡±


    Varrin returned and sat back down heavily in his chair. Something in the piece of furniture cracked, but it held. I went ahead and earmarked another few silver notes for the damage.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s nothing new,¡± said Nuralie. Etja looked between me and her, frowning.


    ¡°Correct. When I presented the idea to Varrin,¡± the big guy snorted, ¡°he let me know that his family already engages in the practice. They keep it secret, though. For reasons.¡±


    ¡°Our house has many enemies,¡± Varrin said, droning like it was a memorized sound bite. ¡°Such things are not spoken about publicly, lest our foes seek to use the knowledge against us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like some forbidden ninja techniques or something. I hate it.¡±


    ¡°The same thing is true for mana-shaping,¡± said Xim. ¡°After you told me about it, I asked around. A lot. A lot a lot. People don¡¯t know about it because the people who do know about it keep it to themselves and use it to give themselfs an edge.¡±


    ¡°Trade secrets, as I would have called it in my prior career,¡± I said. ¡°C¡¯est la vie.¡±


    ¡°Why not share the love, Varrin?¡± asked Xim, narrowing her eyes as she bent toward him. She slipped a bit, nearly tumbling from her chair. She grabbed the edge of the table to keep herself steady, then continued like nothing had happened. ¡°We¡¯re your teammates. We saved Ravvenblaq together! Doesn¡¯t that deserve a lil¡¯ sssssecret knowledge as a reward?¡±


    ¡°My mom says parties are like suitors,¡± the big guy mumbled. ¡°Don¡¯t tell them everything until you¡¯re planning to be wed.¡±


    ¡°Not sure how I feel about that advice,¡± I said. ¡°But, I get it. A party is a complex set of social relationships, and it might not work out. Don¡¯t want to start spilling the beans on treasured family methods after one night of passionate world-saving.¡±


    ¡°Can we talk about our builds, now?¡± said Varrin, throwing his hands up. ¡°What are your Fortitude evolution options, Arlo? They better be good. Level forty.¡± He belched. ¡°That¡¯s a big one.¡±


    ¡°At the risk of further compounding your present inability to think and talk coherently,¡± I said, ¡°allow me to blow your minds with the choices that I have been offered.¡±

 Chapter 85: Keystone Evolution

    Chapter 85: Keystone Evolution


    ¡°But first!¡± I said, looking around the table. ¡°Would any of you like to hear the evolution I picked for reaching Dimensional twenty?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Fortitude, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Aw,¡± Etja said, frowning.


    ¡°Fine, ok.¡± I brought up the evolution options for my Fortitude skill and shared them with the party.


    While stats had to be assigned within twenty-four hours, I could sit on an evolution choice for as long as I liked¨Csomething I did often, since I relied heavily on the input from my expert allies.


    ¡°It basically comes down to ¡®Do I want to practically live forever?¡¯, ¡®Do I want to literally live forever?¡¯, or ¡®Do I want to continue transforming myself into an eldritch entity until the line between man and monstrosity is so blurred that I cannot know if I am the Arlo that came to this world or a malevolent god¡¯s twisted replica of the original?¡¯¡±


    Varrin had been about to take another sip from his horn of ale, but hesitated and set the vessel down on its rest. He turned to Xim.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll need a Cleanse for this,¡± he said.


    Xim rolled her whole head toward him, mouth half-ajar.


    ¡°But I¡¯m not done being drunk yet,¡± she said.


    ¡°Xim,¡± he dropped a heavy hand onto her shoulder. She slid even further down in her chair, but made no effort to adjust. ¡°I hate to poop your party, but this was supposed to be a team meeting.¡± She scowled at him.


    ¡°You hate to do what to her what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s that thing you say.¡± Varrin waved broadly at me, nearly scattering a trio of mugs off a passing waitress¡¯ serving plate. She dodged the gesticulation. He didn¡¯t notice her existence. ¡°You say it when you claim that I¡¯m ruining the mood.¡±


    ¡°Party pooper.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°The phrase is ¡®party pooper¡¯. Not ¡®pooping a party¡¯. That¡¯s a whole different kind of party. You don¡¯t want to go to that party.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± He turned back to Xim. ¡°Look, most of the fun of being drunk is getting drunk. We can sober up for now, and then start drinking anew once we¡¯re done discussing.¡±


    Spoken like a proper young adult, with a healthy liver and few regrets.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Xim huffed, sitting up straighter in her chair. She cast Cleanse on both herself and Varrin. Their eyes lost their lidded appearance, their expressions tightened, and the loose and relaxed postures of inebriation were replaced by Varrin¡¯s regular prim bearing and Xim¡¯s... Well, Xim¡¯s posture was the same. She even slid back down in her chair and crossed her arms.


    Varrin rubbed at his eyes, then fell into the far-off look of a man studying a System message.


    Fortitude.


    FUCK YEAH!


    Your Fortitude has reached level 40 and your inhuman resilience has ascended into the realm of myth and legend. Choose one of the following evolutions and try not to regret it!


    1) Prince of the Universe: You are immune to all mundane disease and sickness, cannot be subjected to any effects that force aging, and once you reach the physical age of 30, you no longer grow any older. When you take this evolution, you are cured of any genetic abnormalities that interfere with your physiological functioning, except for those with few or no deleterious effects that contribute to the unique bundle of eccentricities that make you who you are. Unless you want those gone, too. It¡¯s your identity, do what you want.


    2) Just a Flesh Wound: You are immune to Bleeding and (so long as you aren¡¯t dead) can naturally regenerate from any injury, no matter how severe. Your body becomes capable of fully replacing any part of itself with your natural HP regeneration. This includes limbs, organs, entire bodily systems, and even your brain! But, if your head is destroyed, will you be the same person when it grows back?


    3) Body of The Minotaur: Your cells are already being replaced by something more powerful, something better. Why not give that new organic matter an upgrade? Your body gains perfect physical recall. This grants a range of benefits, but we won¡¯t leave you guessing entirely. Here¡¯s one of the less obvious perks this ability enables: Every step you take is cataloged by your bones, every turn memorialized in your muscle, every climb or descent inscribed upon your skin. You intuitively remember the floor plan and location of any physical space your body has traveled through.


    You are also offered the active skill: Blood of My Enemy


    Blood of My Enemy


    Physical


    Cost: none


    Requirements: FOR 40, Body of The Minotaur


    Touch an entity that you or a member of your party has slain. You consume the life essence of that entity, adding X% of its maximum health to your HP regeneration for one hour, where X is equal to your FOR. This bonus does not stack if you consume multiple slain entities, but can be reset and replaced by a higher bonus if a healthier entity is consumed.


    ¡°I feel ill,¡± said Nuralie as she studied the options. ¡°Are all of your evolutions like this?¡±


    ¡°Only most of them,¡± I said. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I could pick it back up and hold it onto my neck until it re-attached.¡±


    ¡°I... kind of want to see that now,¡± said Xim. Nuralie blinked at her.


    ¡°And then,¡± said Varrin with a heavy sigh, ¡°there¡¯s The Body of The Minotaur.¡±


    ¡°You should take that one,¡± said Etja. I turned and looked at her, confused.


    ¡°You like that one?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s like it was made for you!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what worries me. It¡¯s like the System wants to turn me into some weird flesh, uh...¡±


    Etja tilted her head to one side.


    ¡°Golem?¡± she said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not where I was going,¡± I lied. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s what I was going to say, but I didn¡¯t mean it like... I just meant it¡¯s as though the System is encouraging me to abandon my humanity as rapidly as possible.¡±


    Etja turned back to her cheese platter and poked at some gouda.


    ¡°I¡¯m not human,¡± she said, her normal enthusiasm lost. ¡°I get along fine.¡± She flicked the cheese with her finger and it plopped off of the plate. I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. ¡°I can see why someone who is human may not want to be reshaped by some kind of super-powerful being.¡± She smiled at me, but it felt frail. ¡°At least you¡¯d be getting to choose what happens.¡±


    Nuralie watched Etja, her expression neutral, but I knew the loson was worried. She¡¯d taken up a lot of, for lack of a better word, parental duties when the golem first joined the party. Teaching her how to dress, how to use utensils, keeping up with her location and making sure she was safe, and that she wasn¡¯t being swindled or otherwise having her naivete taken advantage of. There was a bond there, and I suspected Nuralie felt like Etja was still under her wing.


    ¡°Awkward,¡± said Xim. The Cleric reached across the table and patted the back of Etja¡¯s hand. ¡°We love you just the way you are, Etja.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she said, but her smile was gone. She picked the gouda back up and tossed the entire piece into her mouth. I should probably have done something similar with my foot.


    ¡°Flesh Wound is a good choice,¡± said Varrin, ¡°Any immunity is a boon, and regeneration is always useful. This third one, The Body of The Minotaur, has advantages. When combined with the aspect of your Dimensional Thinker perk that grants an intuitive understanding of spatial relationships, you¡¯d be able to understand and memorize the layout of any physical space you¡¯ve been without effort. You¡¯d never get lost, mazes and complex Delves would prove no obstacle, and your recon would be incredible.¡±


    He looked up at me intently until I returned his stare, then held my gaze, drawing my thoughts away from Etja.


    ¡°However,¡± he said.


    ¡°However,¡± I repeated, making it clear I was paying close attention.


    ¡°This active skill, Blood of My Enemy, is dangerous.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°There are...¡± his jaw tightened, ¡°some who would believe it profane. And most would take a very dim view of you, if you used it on another person.¡±


    I was assaulted by a memory of flesh and blood withering to blackened bone, and Grotto pulling another corpse toward the obelisk. Would this skill do the same thing that my obelisk did to members of the Artemix group? That Orexis did to Varrin¡¯s father? I couldn¡¯t imagine what it would be like to be in a party with someone whose main skill reminded me of the violent murder of my dad. A murder that I witnessed.


    And let¡¯s be honest, if I took Body of The Minotaur, I was going to slot Blood of My Enemy. And if I slotted Blood of My Enemy, it was going to become one of my main skills. The health regen was too good, especially for someone whose build revolved around fast regen. And the spell was free.


    But, the cost of the spell, the real cost, would be both social and psychological. Could Varrin work with me if I drained bodies like that? Would I be tempted to show less mercy to those I fought if I was low on health and wanted a sip of their vital juices? At what point would consuming the remains of those I slew become rote, with other people reduced to potential corpses in my eyes?


    Was this a road I was already walking down, by letting Grotto continue to build the Pocket Delve?


    If this were a game, and I was playing some kind of vampiric death mage, I¡¯d have taken it in a heartbeat. My name was Esquire Arlo, however, not darkelorde69. I didn¡¯t want the spell, not because I didn¡¯t like it, but because I liked it too much. I had an honest moment with myself, and accepted that I¡¯d eventually make a terrible choice if I possessed it. If I was truly going to live a thousand years, that only made the mistake more likely.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking Just a Flesh Wound,¡± I said in a rush and chose the regeneration evolution before I could think about The Body of The Minotaur any longer.


    The choice was confirmed, and bleeding immunity was added to my resistances.


    I¡¯d been expecting this conversation to be fun, if not a little dark. Instead, I was left feeling shaken. From my blunder with Etja to realizing how easy it would have been for me to lean into my darker impulses, it called into question some of the things I believed about myself.


    Still, there was a voice in my head that told me I¡¯d made a foolish choice by giving up that skill.


    ...That voice was Grotto.


    [I cannot believe you¡¯ve chosen to hamstring yourself out of some misguided lust for paragonism!]

 Chapter 86: The Why

    Chapter 86: The Why


    [The concept of virtue¨Ca dubious quality, if it exists at all¨Cis invalidated by its wanton pursuit! You¡¯ve sacrificed might in exchange for nothing but empty self-platitudes!]


    [Uh, hey Grotto.]


    [Perhaps we should call upon the gods to examine your karmic worth. I would wager that it has risen three entire points from this blunder. It is unfortunate that morality is weighed upon an infinite scale with no beginning or end.]


    [Did you... need something? We¡¯re busy talking about our skills and shit.]


    My party members watched me, picking up on the signs of my silent communication with the bonded Delve Core.


    [Yes, I have also chosen an evolution. I wished to share it with you, such that you might be apprised of the value I bring.]


    [Oh, so you wanted to be part of the group?]


    [That is not what I said.]


    [It¡¯s ok to come out of your room from time to time, Grotto. You don¡¯t have to ask permission.]


    [I am busy with important matters. It is a Dungeoneering evolution. You may view it on your character screen.]


    He was gone as quick as he came.


    ¡°What was that?¡± asked Xim.The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))


    ¡°Grotto wanted to say that he¡¯s disappointed in me, but that I should be proud of him.¡±


    ¡°Sounds about right.¡±


    ¡°He got some evolution to Dungeoneering. I guess he finally cracked level twenty with it.¡±


    ¡°I wish my frogs could advance my alchemy skill,¡± said Nuralie. She pulled one of the amphibians from her inventory, which is something I still didn¡¯t know how she did. My inventory wouldn¡¯t let me put anything living inside of it.


    ¡°His work advances my Dungeoneering skill,¡± I said, ¡°but he chooses all the evolutions, and he¡¯s the one who uses all the benefits.¡±


    ¡°I would be fine with that,¡± said Nuralie, leaning down to touch noses with the housecat-sized frog. ¡°You¡¯d pick good evolutions, wouldn¡¯t you, Bertegog?¡±


    The frog replied with a mighty croak


    ¡°It¡¯s like having an intrinsic slot occupied by an annoying roommate,¡± I continued, ¡°instead of a skill.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the evo?¡± asked Xim. I brought up my list of skills, read it over, then shared it.


    Engineered Terror


    Fear and intimidation checks performed by allied entities within a Delve, dungeon, or labyrinth you control are 1% more effective per level of Dungeoneering.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the hounds will like that one,¡± I said.


    [They will remain ineffective so long as you continue to bring them steaks to consume. A starving beast is much more dangerous than a well-fed one.]


    ¡°Welcome back, Grotto. Done with your ¡®important matters¡¯? That was fast.¡±


    [I have dedicated a subprocess to managing my ongoing projects.] The others at the table made varying expressions, telling me that Grotto was now broadcasting to everyone.[I feel that it is important I monitor the party¡¯s build planning, now that you¡¯ve committed such a blunder with your evolution choice.]


    ¡°I can literally have my heart ripped from my chest and grow it back now. I thought you¡¯d be happy about that.¡±


    [It matters little if the damage dealt by the blow reduces your health pool below zero.]


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll get more health. Look, I¡¯m not going to turn into one of your monsters and-¡± I hesitated, realizing that there were some topics that shouldn¡¯t be discussed openly in a crowded tavern. I¡¯d been a bit liberal with my ¡®free the knowledge¡¯ philosophy so far, but intimate party secrets were a different matter from mana shaping or restrictions, which I believed every Delver should be equipped with. I swapped to telepathy.


    [I¡¯m not gonna¡¯ stalk the Pocket Delve, eating the corpses of people who enter.]


    [You also had the opportunity to attain eternal youth, yet eschewed that option with little regard. It is one of the few items that I have added to your ¡®List¡¯. Item number three! Attain immortality!]


    [Yeah, right after ¡®Accrue Power!¡¯ and ¡®Dominate our enemies!¡¯ I feel like I¡¯m kicking ass at those first two.]


    [Two of three is barely a passing grade, Arlo.]


    [D¡¯s get degrees, baby!] I shot finger guns into the air. [I made all A¡¯s in school, though. Except for ethics. Made a B in ethics.]


    ¡°This is still very strange,¡± said Nuralie, holding a hand to one ear like she was starring in a spy-thriller, listening to her commlink. ¡°You aren¡¯t talking, but it is like you¡¯re all around me.¡±


    ¡°Eh,¡± said Xim. ¡°I¡¯m used to this sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what some of my memories are like,¡± added Etja. Varrin grunted.


    ¡°Now that our sixth party member has joined,¡± I said, ¡°any other important evolutions we should all know about? Etja?¡±


    ¡°I got my Fortitude to twenty!¡± she said, her demeanor moving back into its normal exuberance. She rarely sulked, and when she did it wasn¡¯t for long. ¡°I was offered Mana Barrier. Since it¡¯s one we discussed, I went ahead and picked it.¡±


    Mana Barrier


    You may choose to have 50% of the damage you take be dealt to your mana pool instead of your health. Damage dealt to your mana in this way is doubled.


    ¡°Nice,¡± I said. ¡°Now you can really lean into WIS and CHA for a while. Nuralie?¡±


    ¡°My Archery intrinsic went to twenty,¡± the loson said. ¡°Now I do extra damage when I take a few seconds to aim.¡±


    ¡°Amass power to defend ourselves,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s a legitimate reason to Delve.¡± Etja nodded.


    ¡°Protect Eschendur,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°I need the strength to return, and the strength to push back the Littans.¡±


    ¡°Defend others. I think that¡¯s also good.¡±


    ¡°I just wanna know what¡¯s up with the Delves,¡± said Xim, shrugging. ¡°I don¡¯t think too hard about it. There¡¯s clearly something going on with platinum difficulty that¡¯s different from the others. We get all sorts of hints that you never hear about from gold or lower.¡±


    The table agreed with the sentiment, and we turned to Varrin. The warrior had gone back to staring into his horn of ale, though he didn¡¯t take a drink. His expression was dark, and there was a lot more weight behind the anger that smoldered in his eyes than a guy his age should have to bear. His eyes flicked up to meet mine, and he passed his gaze between the rest of us.


    ¡°In the Creation Delve,¡± he said, voice low, ¡°I was overconfident in my abilities. If that Delve had been a normal platinum Delve, I believe we would have conquered it without any losses. What I learned that day, and what I¡¯ve learned since, is that there are no normal platinum Delves. It was arrogance to expect the Delve to cater to my assumptions, and people died under my watch.¡±


    He sat back, looking over the crowd of people in the tavern and I followed his gaze. The room was full of mundane humans, but there were a dozen other Delvers mixed in, some in groups, others with what looked like friends or family. Most of them were below our level.


    ¡°I took that lesson to heart when I went back to Ravvenblaq. I decided that I would make sure I had the skill to carry my party through, if another... difficult... situation arose. I discussed with my parents, my grandparents,¡± he gestured at Xim, ¡°Drel and Xorna, as well. Their wisdom matched much of what I¡¯d learned firsthand. They were lessons I¡¯d already been taught while training for Creation, but lessons that required a hard kick to settle into my mind, it seems.


    ¡°And then, I made another mistake.¡± His eyes narrowed. ¡°I assumed that my parents were almighty. Thundralkes of the most powerful nation in the world, blood of one of the most powerful Delvers. Platinum, and nearly as fearsome as the highest echelons that can be reached by gold. They, too, were swatted like insects by an enemy with power outside the bounds of what is to be ¡®expected¡¯. My father was murdered, my mother...¡± He trailed off.


    I wasn¡¯t certain about the state that Nola Ravvenblaq had been in since The Cage and the death of her husband, but Varrin¡¯s careful avoidance of the topic had told me it was nothing good.


    ¡°I Delve because I must,¡± he said, fist clenched hard enough that the horn of ale groaned in protest. ¡°To protect Hiward from Orexis, and whatever other unknown powers-that-may-be. To protect Ravvenblaq, to protect my family.¡± He relaxed his grip on the horn, and placed his elbows on the table. ¡°But I will not lie to you, either. That is what should drive me, and it does. But the thing that sends me through those portals, what presses me forward every moment, is the thought of slaying the beast that has done this thing.¡±


    He finally took another drink from his horn, draining it. The waitress began to approach, but he held up a hand and shook his head. He sat the horn on its rest with care, then stood.


    ¡°I would take my leave,¡± he said. ¡°I- I would better serve this conversation after some time has passed.¡± Then, he turned and left.


    We sat in silence, stunned. It was more insight than any of us had gotten into Varrin¡¯s thoughts in months. What he said hadn¡¯t surprised me, I¡¯d suspected as much, but the fact that he laid it all out there so plainly was unusual. Especially the last part.


    [He could have merely said ¡®protection¡¯ as well.]


    [Is your goal to be as insensitive as conceivable, Grotto?]


    [That would be impossible, as the thought of sensitivity does not enter my mind.]


    [You say that, but I don¡¯t believe you. Did you want to add your own goals to the discussion?]


    [You are not already aware of what I seek?]


    [No! You don¡¯t tell us shit, other than some abstract commandments about strength and conquest. If you want to drop the smokescreen, feel free. Until then, I¡¯ll put you down as undecided.]


    Grotto didn¡¯t reply, and Xim broke the silence.


    ¡°What about you, Arlo?¡± she asked. ¡°I think that you¡¯re the real mystery. Everything that happened last year made sense; you were dropped into the Creation Delve, and then got caught up in Orexis¡¯ scheming. But, ever since, you¡¯ve been just as enthusiastic about this as the rest of us. You¡¯ve got enough money to spend the rest of your life hopping from one capital city to the next, staying in pricey inns and sleeping with top-shelf courtesans. Why don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I like travel, but I prefer my intimacy to be less transactional.¡±


    ¡°You know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°Hey, not avoiding the question, just adding some clarity. First, I¡¯m a busy-body. Even if I retired, I¡¯d find some other work to do. Leisure is something I enjoy in small doses, but not a lifestyle I think I¡¯d enjoy.


    ¡°Second, the rewards from Delving are insane. It may not be anyone here¡¯s primary motivator, but wealth and superpowers? Sign me up. I think we all feel that way to some degree.¡± Nuralie and Xim nodded. ¡°I mean, we¡¯ve got a lot more than walkin¡¯ around money. That mimic Delve was absolute trash for rewards, and we still each got two emerald chips. You could buy a small estate for that.¡±


    ¡°Or a big boat,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°And hire a crew for a year.¡±


    ¡°Where I came from, I¡¯d have to take out a loan and then work for twenty years to pay the bank back in order to buy a decent house. I just made that kind of money in a couple of days, and it was a shit-tier reward!¡±


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe we got diamond chips for the specter,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°I could retire modestly on the interest those generate, alone.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making interest?¡± asked Nuralie.


    ¡°Yeah. I know a gal. Can introduce you later if you like.¡±


    ¡°I thought you spent it all on that orphanage,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°No way. An orphanage that fancy would be called a prep school.¡±


    ¡°You literally named it a school.¡±


    ¡°Point is, chips and stats are reward enough in and of themselves,¡± I continued. ¡°I also think I¡¯m an adrenaline junky and never realized it. We¡¯re dancing on a knife¡¯s edge with our lives, but I¡¯m usually enjoying myself inside of Delves.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fun!¡± Etja said again.


    ¡°And there¡¯s Orexis,¡± I said, mirroring her earlier sentiment. ¡°Put my worry about him on the pile as well. I like the idea of protecting people, too, although you guys are the main people I¡¯d want to protect, and each of you is hardly a vulnerable target.¡±


    ¡°Tanking mindset,¡± said Xim with a grin.


    ¡°But the core of it, the main thrust of why I¡¯m so on board with the pace Varrin wants to set, is that I¡¯m worried.¡±


    ¡°What are you worried about?¡± asked Nuralie.


    ¡°You have seemed anxious lately,¡± said Xim.


    I tapped my finger against the table, organizing my thoughts.


    ¡°The state of the world... troubles me.¡±

 Chapter 87: Tavio of Seqaria

    Chapter 87: Tavio of Seqaria


    ¡°There are many who are worried,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Between the avatars and Litta, there is much to be concerned about.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s going on in Eschendur and whatever Orexis is brewing is serious. I don¡¯t want to downplay that. But...¡± I took a moment to look around the tavern. So far, everything I¡¯d said was either something I didn¡¯t care about other people knowing, or the type of thing that could be written off as a joke or drunken boasting. However, I needed to get into some more sensitive topics to properly explain my trepidation. ¡°Tell you what, this is probably a discussion better had in private.¡±


    ¡°Geez, Arlo,¡± said Xim, ¡°and you complained about The Mimic stringing us along.¡±


    ¡°Now you decide to be discreet,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you! Just let me pay the bill, and we can hop inside the Closet back in my room.¡±


    ¡°If I go upstairs, I¡¯m going to bed,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°We just got up three hours ago.¡± I leaned over to peek out one of the tavern windows. It looked like the sun had long set.


    ¡°Yeah, but my schedule¡¯s all screwed up after we left the Delve. I went to bed at sunrise today.¡±


    Etja yawned.


    ¡°I can always sleep,¡± she said.


    ¡°Just give us the basics,¡± said Xim. ¡°Use... code phrases or something.¡±


    I rubbed at my eyes, then gave her a tired glance. She watched me expectantly.


    ¡°Really? You can¡¯t wait five minutes?¡±


    ¡°If we go upstairs,¡± she said, ¡°open the Closet, and go into your magic penthouse to talk about one of your theories, it¡¯s not going to be five minutes.¡±


    ¡°I will admit, that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Outline it for us. Entice me with your hints and intrigue.¡±


    I drummed my fingers along the table and considered.


    ¡°There are some patterns I¡¯m noticing here that remind me of some things that happened in my... homeland during the century before I was born. Mutual defense pacts, an aggressive imperialist nation, an ongoing technological renaissance... Most importantly, however, you¡¯ve got the most destructive weapons the world has ever seen, and these lands have yet to experience the devastation that fielding those weapons in open conflict will cause.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about Delvers?¡± asked Xim.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Among other things. Hiward also has a fucking airship the size of a small lake hovering over Foundation.¡±


    She furrowed her brow and thought for a moment. ¡°People know Delvers are dangerous,¡± she said. ¡°No mundane soldier in their right mind would try to fight one.¡±


    ¡°Soldiers rarely choose whether they go to war,¡± I said. ¡°Or, who they fight when they do so.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not claiming anything will or won¡¯t happen. The conditions here are very different from where I came from, but maybe not as different as you might imagine. It¡¯s something that I¡¯m paying attention to.¡±


    ¡°You said this reminds you of your history,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°How about this,¡± I said. ¡°Timagrin, Mittak, and Hiward all have reciprocal defense treaties. If one of them gets pulled into war, all three of them do. On the other hand, you have the Littan Empire, which is made up of Litta and six vassal nations. When Litta marches, that¡¯s a seven-nation army. If a conflict arose between those two sides, you¡¯d have three-quarters of Arzia wrapped up in it.¡±


    ¡°You think Litta would be that stupid?¡± asked Xim. Nuralie was the one who answered.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Pause. ¡°They are already doing it.¡±


    ¡°Hiward and Eschendur are friendly,¡± I said, ¡°and that hasn¡¯t deterred Litta from whatever dumbassery they¡¯re engaging with over there. Hiward¡¯s relationship with Litta, however, is one of necessity. Given the history between Litta and Hiward, it¡¯s surprising they haven¡¯t fought more than they already have.


    ¡°Right now, peace is kept through mutual deterrence. Hiward has way more Delvers, but Litta has way more people and resources. Litta can¡¯t approach Hiward because of how well-entrenched the nation is. There¡¯s a big stretch of ocean between them, and every port along Hiward¡¯s coast doubles as a military fortification. Hiward can¡¯t approach Litta, either, because they don¡¯t have the manpower to seize and control such vast swaths of territory. If given the chance, I¡¯m sure either side would be happy to be rid of the other.¡±


    ¡°But, why?¡± asked Etja. ¡°What would they fight over? I know the Littans enslaved the Hiwardians a long time ago, but is it worth starting a war because you''re grumpy about the past?¡±


    ¡°The most important ¡®natural¡¯ resource in the world,¡± I said, ¡°is the Creation Delve. Only a hundred new Delvers can be minted every year, and Hiward gets to say who those hundred people are. They have total control over the number of superhumans available to every nation on this planet.¡±


    ¡°Just Delvers,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°There are other roads to power.¡± Pause. ¡°But delving is the easiest.¡±


    ¡°Litta has guaranteed slots every year,¡± said Xim. ¡°It¡¯s not like Hiward can completely deny them.¡±


    ¡°There are treaties, sure,¡± I said. ¡°But how secure is that? Litta has the largest share of Creation slots next to Hiward, and Hiward still has twice as many as Litta does, despite having a fraction of the population. As far as what everyone else gets? They¡¯re fighting over scraps.¡±


    ¡°So, Litta wants the Creation Delve?¡± said Etja, ¡°And Hiward wants those extra slots back?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not a politician, but wars have been fought over less. Regardless, if it comes down to conflict, you¡¯d have two multinational superpowers going to war with an army of Delvers at their backs, in addition to their traditional militaries. That¡¯s never happened, and I¡¯m afraid of what that looks like.¡±


    ¡°There was the Davahn invasion,¡± said Xim. ¡°Thirty years ago. That involved Delvers.¡±


    ¡°Only in a minor way. Davah didn¡¯t have many Delvers because they didn¡¯t have many Creation slots. That¡¯s why they sailed against Hiward in the first place, and they were beaten so badly that their whole country went into hiding and hasn¡¯t come out since. History has shown us that you can¡¯t fight Delvers without Delvers, but not what it looks like when you do.


    ¡°Just imagine Matriarch Dukgrien raining fire on a Littan city. She can light up an entire mountain with one spell! Now, what does the retaliation for that look like? A single fight between two high-level Delvers could annihilate an entire region. What about a fight between a hundred mid-level Delvers? A thousand?¡± I turned back to Nuralie.


    ¡°What happened in my homeland is that no one really understood how devastating a war with these new weapons would be. Once the fighting started, everyone got sucked into it, and that only led to even faster development and production of deadly technologies. By the end, entire nations were ruined, and millions were dead.¡±


    Nuralie shifted in her seat, and her tail began to swish in agitation.


    ¡°Something like that,¡± said Xim, ¡°don¡¯t you think it would end quickly? What general would send a mundane army against a group of Delvers?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s common knowledge here in Hiward how dangerous Delvers are because Hiward¡¯s concentration of Delvers is tens of times higher than anywhere else per capita. I expect there are a lot of traditional military commanders in the world who may have never met a Delver, or if they have, only ones who are low-level. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they didn¡¯t take the threat seriously, especially if one little party of Delvers told them to turn their whole ten-thousand-man-strong army around. It¡¯s the type of thing that defies common sense until you¡¯ve seen it in action.¡±


    ¡°You think you could fight ten thousand people?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Normal soldiers?¡± I said, then sat forward in my chair. ¡°How would they hurt me? I wouldn¡¯t need a single spell or technique. I could just swing my hammer until my arm got tired, and my arm would never get tired.¡±


    Xim tilted her head to one side as she thought about that, and I saw that the message got through. Even amongst Delvers, the impact they could have on a battlefield had no frame of reference.


    ¡°This... has been lovely,¡± said Nuralie, and she stood. ¡°But, I do not want to hear more. I¡¯m going to go and be depressed in my room now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, nepotism is a thing. However, I¡¯ve spent a good amount of time with the Ravvenblaqs since then. They¡¯re not so... subtle, I suppose? If they wanted to help Varrin get away with something, they¡¯d just draw a sword and dare you to come and get him, not participate in some kind of coverup.¡±


    ¡°Such is as I¡¯ve heard. Still, it is something that I must do.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want to know?¡±


    He sat up straighter.


    ¡°Did Varrin Ravvenblaq take any actions that contributed to, or resulted in, the death of Sir Sayil Starion of Nohrrin?¡±


    The way he worded the question was so precise that I suspected he was using some ability to tell the truth of my reply. Either that, or he¡¯d recited words dictated to him by someone else.


    ¡°Varrin chose the difficulty of the Delve without consulting the party,¡± I said. ¡°Sayil had an issue with that, but nothing physical ever occurred between the pair of them. Once we were inside, Varrin acted with skill and care, but the challenges of the Delve were greater than any of us contemplated. Sir Sayil was killed by a level two Delver named Hognay Haskagander, who was aided by a Delve Core that he¡¯d coerced into his service.¡±


    I took another sip of juice, waiting for any further questions. Tavio frowned thoughtfully and played with a whisker.


    ¡°It is a good answer,¡± he said.


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I believe you.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean we¡¯re done?¡±


    ¡°No, I do not think so.¡±


    ¡°Then what else can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°Where do you come from, Esquire Arlo?¡± he asked, uncrossing his arms and resting his chin on his palm again. ¡°I heard you speak of your home, but it does not sound familiar to me.¡±


    ¡°Does this relate to Sayil in some way?¡±


    He looked up toward the ceiling, and his nose twitched.


    ¡°It could, I suppose, but it is not why I am asking.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like to discuss my past.¡±


    Tavio looked disappointed, but let his arm drop to the table and sat back.


    ¡°There are other questions I was told to ask,¡± he said, ¡°but I do not feel they are important. The types of things that one with no nose for the truth might ask.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s so, I should be getting back to my room. I¡¯ve already stayed up later than I intended.¡±


    ¡°Before you do that,¡± said Tavio, holding up a hand, ¡°I would ask a favor.¡±


    ¡°What... kind of favor?¡±


    Tavio placed both hands on the tabletop and leaned in toward me, his eyes growing a little wider, his whiskers dancing.


    ¡°Fight me.¡±


    I took a cue from Nuralie and froze for a second.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I would like you to fight me.¡±


    ¡°Dude, you¡¯re level seventeen.¡±


    ¡°And you have done five platinum Delves in one year!¡± he said, growing excited. ¡°I wish to know how strong you are, to do such a thing.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t... No, I¡¯m not going to fight you. I¡¯m not trying to die tonight.¡±


    ¡°I will pull my punches!¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I said, doubting. ¡°What¡¯s your Strength score?¡±


    ¡°What is your Fortitude?¡±


    Tavio had continued to lean in, rising to his feet until his chair clattered over onto the ground. The jacked beastman loomed over the table, and I¡¯d pulled back so far that I was slouched into my chair. He seemed to realize what he was doing, and a cool look came over him as he stood upright.


    ¡°You will not fight me?¡± he asked. I shook my head. ¡°It is a pity.¡±


    He looked me up and down out of the corner of his eye, then walked away toward the bar.


    ¡°What the shit,¡± I mumbled, watching him as he beckoned the barkeep forward. I saw a viridian glint from within Tavio¡¯s palm as the Littan slid the barman something. It was a chip.


    A fucking emerald chip.


    Tavio leaned over and I barely made out what he said over the noise of the tavern.


    ¡°For the damages.¡±


    The barkeep¡¯s eyes went wide, and Tavio spun on his heel then marched back toward me.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, ¡°you¡¯re not about to-¡±


    He was about to.


    Tavio punched the fuck out of me.

 Chapter 88: Dont PvP with a PvE Spec

    Chapter 88: Don''t PvP with a PvE Spec


    Past Arlo sometimes did future Arlo favors. In this instance, past Arlo had considered the idea that future Arlo would one day be caught with his chausses down, and had chosen a Speed evolution with that in mind. After all, this wasn¡¯t the first time that another Delver decided to surprise me with an unexpected gift of violence.


    My inventory screen opened and closed so fast that it was little more than a blue flash on the edge of my vision, and my arm swept into the bracer that held Gracorvus in a fraction of a second.


    Rapid Blocks


    You may equip or stow your shield near instantaneously. Your Speed is considered doubled for determining how quickly you can block.


    Gracorvus snapped into targe mode and Tavio¡¯s fist crashed into the shield, the blow sending a shock through my entire body. The tavern was filled with a resounding gong like Tavio had just rung a church bell and, despite my block, pain erupted in my forearm.


    HP: 1220 -> 1184


    Tavio hit me with an empty fist, through a shield, and did more damage than one of the mimic¡¯s surprise attacks. But while the punch hurt, the ceiling hurt more.


    Tavio struck with an uppercut, and the force of his blow launched me through the air in a diagonal up to and then through the twenty-foot-high ceiling above. I smashed into the timbers, the air was crushed out of my lungs, and my world was awash in splinters.


    The deafening crash of snapping planks announced my uninvited entry into the second-story room of a Hiwardian couple in the throes of intimate activities, and I heard a woman¡¯s screams for a quarter second before I connected with the next ceiling. The boards bent and cracked, but refused to allow me through to the roof, and I bounced off, hit the wall, shattered a dresser, then tumbled to the ground.


    The couple looked down at me, their cries turned to shocked silence.


    HP: 1179 -> 1128


    ¡°Apologies,¡± I groaned as I hopped to my feet, then ran toward the door to the room. Tavio¡¯s strike had certainly activated my I Don¡¯t Attack You, You Attack Me achievement, which would give me one second to act and plan while the Littan was stunned. Of course, most of that second had been spent on air travel. When I grabbed the doorknob, a furred arm slapped itself across the exit, and when I pulled, the handle tore from the sturdy door as Tavio kept it from opening inward.


    I looked up to see the Littan staring at me with his big, black orbs, looking just as relaxed as when we¡¯d been discussing spell restrictions over a mug of fruit juice.


    ¡°That is a good ability,¡± he said. ¡°I did not expect to be stunned.¡± He connected across my jaw with an elbow, and my whole body spun with the speed of a figure skater going for a perfect ten. The room whirled as I found the bedroom¡¯s western wall and I could practically hear a disembodied voice shouting ¡°Let it rip!¡± as I connected like a fucking Beyblade, my torso shredding the planks.


    I ended up halfway through the wall, my upper body hanging into an adjoining room where a pair of feathered Deijinon gaped at me, wide-eyed.


    HP: 1128 -> 1047


    ¡°Please forgive the intrusion,¡± came Tavio¡¯s voice from behind me as I tumbled forward. ¡°He is being difficult, I hope that you understand.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being difficult?!¡± I shouted as I got to my feet and turned. A couple of teeth flew from my mouth when I spoke and I stared at them dumbly, momentarily struck by the loss, and by lack of blood in my mouth.


    Tavio was talking to the pair of Hiwardians with arms raised in a shrug, as though he were embarrassed for me. He turned and raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°We could have done this somewhere else,¡± he said, then placed a hand on his hip. ¡°That was a good block, earlier. It is an evolution, yes? Rapid Blocks. That means your Speed is at least a ten.¡± He walked forward and stepped through the hole I¡¯d made as I backpedaled, but my leg found the edge of the bed where the two Deinjenon sat frozen. ¡°I know that your Fortitude is forty, at minimum, since you shouted to everyone in the town that you were choosing the Total Regeneration perk. At level six, you would have sixty-six stat points. Dedicating nearly two-thirds of them to Fortitude is a bold choice. I like it.¡±


    I cast Shortcut and appeared behind Tavio, back inside the Hiwardians¡¯ bedroom, then shoulder-checked the door and smashed it down. I ran out into the hall, finding several more of the inn¡¯s guests peeking out from their rooms, disturbed by the ruckus. I needed backup for this shit, but I hadn¡¯t paid attention to where everyone else in my party was staying. Still, the inn wasn¡¯t that big, I just needed to-


    A hand landed on my shoulder.


    ¡°Your block was quite sturdy, and you broke that door like it was nothing. That is a ten in Strength at the least, I think.¡±


    I wheeled around and formed Gracorvus into its pointed formation, driving the blunted tip toward Tavio¡¯s wrist. He pulled the limb back with easy grace, avoiding the strike.Follow the latest novels at novelhall.com


    ¡°That teleport is called Shortcut,¡± he said, holding one arm behind his back and studying the clawed fingers of his other. He picked at the nail of his pointer finger with his thumb, then flicked away whatever he¡¯d dislodged. ¡°Then you have Dimensional Magic at level ten or more, and it is not the cheapest spell, so I expect you have invested in Wisdom.¡± He paused and scratched at his chin. ¡°That should be all of your points...¡±


    I turned and looked through the window at the end of the hallway, then cast Shortcut to get outside. If I was going to stand any chance against this asshole, I needed more room. I couldn¡¯t fight properly inside of an occupied building.


    After nearly being consumed by Orexis, I had dismissed Shog back to his home dimension sporting vicious wounds that cut all the way down to his dark bones. Many of his original tentacles had been lost, but Shog had picked up a few new tricks after eating a part of the specter.


    A wounded c¡¯thon is food, according to Shog, and that seemed to be the prevailing opinion on his homeworld. When he was dismissed, he was set upon by a mountain of foes seeking to finish the job that Orexis had started, but Shog had slaughtered them endlessly. After tapping into Orexis¡¯ soul, he¡¯d learned how to bond with the essence of his victims, and had taken to claiming tentacles from those he slew as trophies, and as replacements.


    Shog¡¯s beard was now an amalgamation of feelers, varying in length, color, and girth. One swayed through the air, covered in chitinous barbs that clacked and clattered, another glowed with spectral luminescence, and a third dripped venomous ichor. There were many more interspersed between the remaining black and green tendrils that were his originals, and the ones that came stock flexed with monstrous strength.


    ¡°It is grade ten!¡± shouted Tavio. ¡°How do you summon something so strong?¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at Tavio. The jackass had started a fight I didn¡¯t want, and even though he fought me without armaments, I had no guarantee that he was trying to let me live. For all I knew, he was ordered to exact revenge over the death of Sayil, regardless of whether he believed Varrin, Xim, or I had contributed to the Littan¡¯s death.


    When someone attacked me without warning my default assumption was that it was with lethal intent. Beyond that, Tavio had somehow managed to keep from punching me through any people while he slugged me through walls, but I had no idea how long that pattern would last. Someone was going to die.


    ¡°Shog,¡± I said, ¡°hungry?¡±


    ¡°Always.¡±


    Shog didn¡¯t need anything more. The c¡¯thon shot through the air at Tavio, and the Littan was taken by surprise when one of the summon¡¯s tentacles shivered with a blaze of mana, firing a paralyzing arc of power at the man.


    Tavio stepped to the side and narrowly avoided the beam, but Shog brought several feelers down on the Littan. Tavio struck at the tentacles as they assaulted him, his fists landing with meaty thunks. Shog¡¯s feelers were shunted away with each blow, and I could already see violet c¡¯thon blood beginning to dribble onto the ground.


    Still, Tavio had only two hands, and Shog¡¯s feelers were endless. The c¡¯thon got a pair wrapped around Tavio¡¯s waist and began stabbing the Littan with a venomous stinger. Tavio¡¯s expression finally moved from calm surprise, to irritation.


    ¡°Detestable creature!¡± Tavio spat, then connected with a glowing fist in Shog¡¯s face. There was a burst of radiant light like I¡¯d seen when the Littan charged me, and Shog let out an inhuman howl. Rather than releasing the Littan, however, the c¡¯thon was enraged.


    I moved in as Shog began to flail at his grappled foe with increased ferocity and used Nimean Weapon to layer Oblivion Orb onto my hammer swing. I went for Tavio¡¯s center mass, trying to angle my strike away from Shog¡¯s feelers, and not trusting myself enough for a head blow.


    Tavio continued to punch Shog¡¯s feelers away, and a few of them were little more than pulp by this point, raining monstrous blood onto the ground. The Littan twisted his body, wrenching himself free of Shog¡¯s grip, and struck the head of my warhammer again. His strike landed on its side, and Oblivion Orb failed to activate.


    The weapon shattered.


    The hammer¡¯s head scattered into a hundred pieces that shot down the street like a shotgun blast. They shredded through the exterior of a bakery across from us, furniture and display cases exploding from the force. Tavio tore a tentacle from Shog¡¯s face, then landed a kick to the c¡¯thon¡¯s center that sent him flying away. Shog caught himself in the air before crashing into a building, using his c¡¯thonic flight to stabilize himself.


    Tavio turned and scowled at me.


    ¡°You work with such a beast?¡± he snarled. ¡°I had a better impression of you than that.¡±


    [The Closet entrance has been moved.]


    I dropped the handle of my broken weapon onto the ground, then detached Gracorvus, sending it into hover mode. I began to focus on opening the Closet, mana-shaping the ability.


    ¡°Shog,¡± I said, and the c¡¯thon growled in response. ¡°Taking this guy on a trip.¡±


    Shog roared and blasted toward Tavio as I cast Shortcut to appear behind him. At the same time, I commanded Gracorvus to fly at the Littan, creating a three-point assault.


    Tavio spun and punched Gracorvus away, the shield scattering into its individual slabs. They spun in the air, trying to reform as I thrust my palm at Tavio¡¯s side, pumping mana into an Oblivion Orb. The Littan caught my wrist and twisted. I felt bones snap as Tavio leaned into the move. There was a resounding pop as the spell activated, but without contacting my target. Tavio¡¯s lock brought me to the ground, and I face-planted into the dirt roadway, made muddy by Shog¡¯s blood. The acrid scent of it filled my nostrils.


    Amidst the fray, the Closet opened, and Tavio had busied himself avoiding my two-pronged attack. Shog barreled into the Littan, wrapping him up and pushing him toward the Closet entrance.


    Tavio¡¯s feet dug into the ground, dirt piling beneath the soles of his boots as they dug deep into the road. I cast Shortcut again, appearing beside Tavio and I kicked at his knee. The Littan bent his leg inward in response, my foot meeting the front of his kneecap, but the move cost him leverage against Shog¡¯s charge.


    He stumbled off balance and Shog carried him through the portal and into the Closet.

 Chapter 89: Don’t PvP in a Pocket Dimension Controlled by Your Opponent

    Chapter 89: Don¡¯t PvP in a Pocket Dimension Controlled by Your Opponent


    Tavio regained his stance after being pushed a few steps across the portal¡¯s threshold, then threw Shog aside with another burst of radiant light. The pitch dark room within the Closet was illuminated in a photo flash of white, the sharp edges of the uneven metal floor glinting, but the cavernous ceiling remained cast in shadow. At the chamber¡¯s edges, forms began to stir.


    I cast Shortcut deeper into the room, then stepped carefully between sculpted potholes, the phantom pain of sprained ankles leaping to my mind. Still, I kept my eyes on Tavio. Even without the aid of my enhanced sight, I was intimately familiar with the sloping and hostile terrain.


    The Littan stood in a beam of moonlight that cut across the room from the Closet entrance. He studied his surroundings with caution, nose snuffling the air and whiskers twitching. Shog had recovered from Tavio¡¯s toss, but hovered and waited for my direction, violet blood dripping from his wounds. This fight was no longer on the aggressor¡¯s terms, and the c¡¯thon knew enough to let the asshole wade deeper into the trap.


    Deep growls sounded from the dark, echoing off hard surfaces and accompanied by the clatter of talons.


    To his credit, Tavio took the time to appraise the situation, and it seemed like the Littan wasn¡¯t fond of what he found. He stared into the gloom, shifting eyes searching for the source of the hungry snarls. Even I had trouble making out the aberrant hounds from this distance. Despite the dark, Tavio stared in their direction as the pack made their approach, as wary of the intruder as he was of them.


    ¡°This... is not a spell I recognize,¡± Tavio said, taking a few steps further inside.


    I considered shutting the portal behind him, but I didn¡¯t like cutting off his only route of retreat. He¡¯d pissed me off and endangered innocents with his senseless brawl, but it wasn¡¯t yet my goal to end him by any means necessary. Even if it was, Tavio was certain to be more dangerous when trapped, and I could do without a level seventeen rampaging through all of mine and Grotto¡¯s hard work.


    The air shimmered to Tavio¡¯s left, and the Littan ducked low to the ground as a wave of dimensional force tore through the space he¡¯d just been. He placed his palms flat on the floor and tumbled forward as another shot out and left a line carved through the metal. He rolled gracefully back to his feet, searching for the source of the attacks.


    While Grotto took his potshots, I pulled out my throwing hammers. I cast another Shortcut to give myself a better angle from atop a small rise, then lobbed a Void Hammer.


    The hammer screamed through the air and Tavio dodged aside, then spun again as another arc of twisting space sought to rend his flesh. My hammer struck the ground with a crash, annihilating a soccer-ball¡¯s worth of the floor before hurtling back toward me. Tavio followed the arc of the hammer as it came back, then used his glowing charge to close the distance.


    I caught the hammer and cast another Shortcut, taking myself into the midst of the pack.


    Most of the aberrant hounds came up to my elbow, but the pack leader looked at me from eye level. Their four-legged frames were covered in knotted muscle beneath wet skin, their mouths pulled back into permanent snarls. They appraised me with rheumy eyes, but after taking a few sniffs, ignored my presence. Being the co-administrator of a Delve had its perks.


    Tavio turned his head about for a few moments before looking in my general area. I got the sense that he could make me out, but just barely. To my knowledge, Littan¡¯s didn¡¯t have the best darkvision, so it had to be a skill of some sort.


    Tavio began to make his way slowly in my direction, when the floor opened up and swallowed his foot. He let out a startled grunt, but it sounded more surprised than concerned, and he staggered to a stop. He pulled against the trap, the sound of wrenching metal filling the air.


    This fucker was strong enough to tear his way out of the Delve equivalent of reinforced steel. It didn¡¯t even look like he was trying that hard. Still, it gave him pause, and that¡¯s all that Shog, or the hounds, needed.


    I led with two Void Hammers while Tavio struggled with the ground and Grotto activated another dimensional trap. The Littan jerked his foot free and avoided all three, but Shog was on him again, wrapping him up in a barbed tentacle and landing several more strikes with a stinger. He followed it up with several clawed swipes that Tavio intercepted with his fists, leaving the c¡¯thon¡¯s fingers broken and bloodied.


    The pack leader howled and the hounds charged, splitting the pack into two groups that flanked Tavio. They quickly overwhelmed the Littan with numbers, and Tavio hurled hound after hound away from him while yet more began to chew at his thigh and calves.


    I caught my hammers and cast Shortcut into the fray, swinging with Oblivion Orb-infused strikes, but Tavio abandoned his defense against the hounds to avoid my attacks. Shog¡¯s grip did little more than slow the Littan, and I heard the awful sound of tearing skin and muscle as Tavio pulled with enough strength to begin ripping more of Shog¡¯s tentacles free.


    Even with all of the level seventeen¡¯s advantages, he couldn¡¯t dodge everything. Wounds began to cover his legs from the merciless jaws of the hounds, and Shog continued to pump him full of venom as I did my damndest to connect with a hammer.


    ¡°Stop!¡± shouted Tavio, but I ignored him and rage began to boil within me over the command. He had demanded a fight, and this was the fight I was going to give him. I didn¡¯t fuck around with sucker punches and snide comments.


    Finally, the pack leader bit down on Tavio¡¯s shoulder, and his movement was halted by the combined force of my allies. My hammer descended toward his torso and the Littan couldn¡¯t dodge away this time. But when the hammer struck, it struck with a clang.


    My eyes widened as a broad kite shield appeared over Tavio¡¯s left arm in another burst of light. The shock of the impact jolted down my arm as my weapon smashed into it. Tavio thrust the shield back at me at the same moment and I was staggered, falling back a few steps to catch my balance. Tavio bashed the pack leader with the shield and then Shog in rapid succession.


    The alpha hound was knocked away and the c¡¯thon¡¯s grip was broken, feelers hanging limp from his body. Tavio kicked at my summon once more, sending him sailing through the air. This time, when Shog caught himself, spectral vines rose from the ground and wrapped themselves around his body. Their edges were covered in sharp thorns and rose-red flower petals began filling the air. They whirled around Shog, shimmering and translucent, and I saw that they left thin cuts across the c¡¯thon¡¯s skin where they whipped past him.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Tavio raised one arm into the air and a pillar of light burst from his hand, revealing a resplendent spear that turned the area around us to daylight. He spun, and in a quarter second the legs were cut out from beneath several of the hounds. They howled as they collapsed to the ground, stumps dripping thick blood. Then, Tavio leapt backward, clearing a hundred feet and landing in front of the exit portal. He held the shield before him, eyeing the scene and looking... embarrassed.


    ¡°This spar has gone farther than I intended,¡± he said.


    I began silent charging Explosion!


    ¡°Spar?¡± I said. ¡°I declined your ¡®spar¡¯. You started a fight.¡±


    ¡°Tavio,¡± he said, ¡°these Delvers are not level six.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tavio gestured at me. ¡°You can see the level right above his head.¡±


    Gharifon turned and appraised me with glittering brown eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you got roped into this,¡± he said. Then, to Tavio, ¡°I do not care what the level indicator shows, they are not level six.¡±


    A chill ran through me.


    ¡°Are you talking about my party?¡± I said, tensing. ¡°What did you do to them?¡±


    The second Littan, Gharifon, held up a hand and bowed slightly.


    ¡°Nothing harmful, I swear. Tavio merely asked that I distract them. They were asleep for most of it.¡±


    ¡°Most?¡± said Tavio. ¡°What do you mean by-¡±


    A pillar of crimson light fell from the sky, engulfing them both.


    ¡°You. Fucking. Asshole!¡± shouted Xim, and I turned to see her charging towards us from the inn. She had her scepter raised over her head, but she wore only a long sleep shirt. In the distance I saw Varrin struggling to follow, one hand on the hem of his pants as though he hadn¡¯t had time to lace them up. ¡°Try and haunt my nightmares?! I¡¯ll find your fucking family you little shit!¡±


    I turned back to the Littans, and was confused by what I found.


    Whenever Xim had cast her Judgment spell, the fire had always burned with a blood-red hue. Tavio, however, burned with the natural orange and yellow flame of non-divine fire. Gharifon¡¯s immolation, on the other hand, burned in the color that I expected. Tavio shouted and patted at his body, but his companion waved a gentle hand through the air and a blue wave of mana rolled over them both.


    In the instant before the inferno was doused, I saw the outline of Gharifon¡¯s face within it. His eyes were deep and hollow, filled with a dusk that defied the raging light engulfing him. They were endless and, for a moment, I felt them sucking me in.


    When the fire disappeared, the Littan had the same weary smile on his face and his eyes were a normal honey brown, though his clothes were charred and ruined. Tavio took a deep breath and uttered a series of swears in Imperial.


    ¡°Burning!¡± he said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how much damage it does, I despise it!¡±


    Gharifon heaved a sigh.


    ¡°May we go now, Tavio?¡± he asked.


    Tavio gave Xim, who had paused her charge ten or so yards away, a frustrated look.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Tavio, then he turned to me. ¡°I have learned much from this. Thank you, Esquire Arlo. Perhaps we will meet again.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I hope not,¡± I said, still fixed on Gharifon and the strange feeling he¡¯d given me.


    Tavio¡¯s look of annoyance gave way to a wide smile, then both he and Gharifon disappeared in a cloud of shadow.


    Xim marched up to me, bare feet slapping through the muddy ground where Shog had bled. She stopped a few inches away, looking me up and down.


    ¡°Arlo,¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah, Xim?¡±


    ¡°What in all the hells was that about?¡±


    I looked at the empty space where the Littans had been.


    ¡°I have no fucking clue.¡±

 Chapter 90: Fix My Build

    Chapter 90: Fix My Build


    Varrin trotted up to the scene, still lacing up his pants and looking over the damage.


    ¡°What happened?¡± he asked. His ice-blue eyes were puffy from sleep.


    ¡°I got my jaw punched through some buildings,¡± I said, following his gaze to the wrecked bakery and then to the smashed up haberdashery. ¡°Then, the guy left.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Neither do I!¡± I shouted. I took a breath and tried to calm down. Several onlookers were beginning to come out of hiding, and a few flinched when I raised my voice. ¡°Hold on, we need to make sure Shog isn¡¯t dying.¡±


    We entered the Closet to find Shog dragging himself by his mangled hands towards the portal. Xim swore, then ran over to check on him.


    ¡°Do not fear, demoness,¡± he choked out, ¡°that mouse was a mighty foe, but it will take more than a light dismemberment to fell me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still not a demon, Shog,¡± she said, kneeling and beginning to cast Cleanse and Heal on the c¡¯thon. She looked surprised for a moment. ¡°Too bad you¡¯re not immune to bleeding.¡±


    ¡°His strikes were sharp and the force of his blows ruptured many lesser organs. But... the loss of such mundane fluids does not... impede me.¡±


    She paused as Shog¡¯s head began to droop and patted him on one of his intact tentacles.


    ¡°Sure, Shog. Sure.¡±


    My summon laid his head onto the ground, then passed out.


    Xim stood and wiped her hand on her shirt, leaving a dark stain of c¡¯thonic blood behind. She judged that Shog would live, then took a quick spin over the injured hounds. They were already recovering on their own, however, drinking in the rich ambient mana of the Delve.


    ¡°Just walk it back,¡± she said to me once she¡¯d finished. ¡°Tell us from the beginning.¡±


    I relayed the basic events. The cleric¡¯s expression grew ever darker as I did so, while Varrin listened attentively. When I finished, the big guy grunted and his eyes flicked up to look at his interface.


    ¡°You¡¯re only missing about a third of your health.¡±


    ¡°¡®Only¡¯ you say? Half of that damage was dealt directly to my face, ya¡¯ know.¡±


    ¡°You fought a level seventeen,¡± said Varrin. ¡°You should be dead. Instead, you hardly look injured.¡±


    I started to argue with him, but reached up and ran a hand along my face. It was tender, but there was no blood or gashes.


    ¡°Do I have a black eye at least?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± said Xim. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the party screen and your clothes being all torn up, I wouldn¡¯t even know you¡¯d been in a fight.¡±


    ¡°Guess immune to Bleeding means... I don¡¯t bleed? At all? Even internally?¡±


    ¡°How did you think it worked?¡± she asked, cocking her head to one side.


    ¡°Look, this magic shit isn¡¯t very intuitive sometimes. I wasn¡¯t going to make any assumptions.¡± I poked inside my mouth with a finger, feeling out the holes in my gums. ¡°It¡¯s like I gah bead up and don¡¯d haff anything to show wor it. I¡¯n nissing teeth though, see?¡± I opened my mouth to show her and rather than recoiling like any reasonable person might, Xim peered into my mouth curiously.


    ¡°Regardless,¡± said Varrin, the word dripping with the tone of a man speaking to an idiot, ¡°we¡¯ll need to report this to Central. They won¡¯t be happy about a rogue Littan Delver causing mayhem in Hiward.¡±


    ¡°Oh, he wasn¡¯t rogue,¡± I said, dropping my hand and letting the anger creep back into my voice. ¡°He said he was here at the request of a fucking duchess.¡±


    Varrin¡¯s jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s even more imperative that we do so. This may have political implications.¡±


    Xim arched a brow.


    ¡°Why would a Littan duchess send a guy to beat you up and leave?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I think he improvised that second part,¡± I said. ¡°His questions about Sayil sounded scripted. Once he was satisfied with my answers, he started swinging.¡±


    ¡°So he came to interrogate you and then... just felt like having a brawl?¡±


    I gave her an exasperated shrug.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have my family look into Tavio,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Gharifon as well. Littans at that level are uncommon, so we should be able to find out a good deal of information.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll eagerly await their home addresses,¡± I said, briefly fantasizing over some mobster-grade payback. I dispelled the thought as soon as it came, then sighed. ¡°Not that I¡¯d be able to do anything with it.¡±


    My mood began to cloud, and I turned my eyes toward the ground. I¡¯d confronted some harsh odds since arriving in Arzia, but I¡¯d never been so profoundly outclassed. Any time I¡¯d gone up against something this far beyond me, I¡¯d had my allies to back me up. If my experience with Tavio had taught me anything, it was that I was much more vulnerable on my own than I realized.


    Varrin marched forward and loomed over me. I looked up to find him peering down, looking disappointed.


    ¡°You speak as though you were defeated,¡± he said.


    ¡°I... was, though? The guy kicked my ass, roasted it, cut it up into thin slices, then served it back to me on a knuckle sandwich.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± he said. ¡°What I saw was a level seventeen being explosively jettisoned from your Closet and crashing through some unlucky baker¡¯s pie shop.¡±


    ¡°I hit him with that spell after he¡¯d already given up. It was petty. How could you tell it was a pie shop?¡±


    ¡°Did you?¡±


    ¡°Did I what?¡±


    ¡°Give up?¡±


    ¡°I- No, but it¡¯s not like I argued with him when he wanted to call it quits.¡±


    ¡°When you and I duel,¡± he said, ¡°how do we determine the winner?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s pretty gentle,¡± said Xim. ¡°To her worshipers. She¡¯s vicious toward her enemies. When she wants me to know something it¡¯s usually a relaxing experience.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool,¡± I said. ¡°Also, what was the deal with Gharifon when you cast Judgment on him? Tavio as well. The spell did weird things.¡±


    ¡°Weird?¡± said Xim. ¡°With Tavio, he took normal fire damage since Sam¡¯lia didn¡¯t find anything worthy of judging him for.¡± She frowned. ¡°It doesn¡¯t do nearly as much damage.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same thing that happened to you, Arlo,¡± said Varrin, ¡°when Xim cast Judgment on you and the mimic.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I said. ¡°I just knew burning and fire. Wasn¡¯t paying attention to the color. But, Gharifon burned crimson, so Sam¡¯lia thought that the guy who was kicking my ass wasn¡¯t worth judging, but the guy who showed up, apologized, and was generally very polite, he was worth judging?¡±


    ¡°Must be,¡± Xim said with a shrug. ¡°It¡¯s not like I get a report when I cast the spell.¡±


    ¡°Could you ask her about it?¡±


    ¡°Why? You¡¯ve never cared about what something was being judged for before.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± I admitted. ¡°There was the thing with Gharifon¡¯s eyes, though.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked.


    ¡°While he was burning, his eyes were endless pits. It gave me an impression like the one I get from looking at Orexis.¡±


    Both Xim and Varrin tensed at those words.


    ¡°Could you... be more specific?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°Not really,¡± I said. ¡°It was just a glimpse, and when he dispelled the fire it was gone. I¡¯m curious if Sam¡¯lia can give us any insight into it.¡±


    Xim stepped up to me and placed a hand on my arm.


    ¡°Arlo, I know you aren¡¯t the religious type, you¡¯ve told me plenty of times, but I didn¡¯t see anything like what you¡¯re talking about. Seeing things that others don¡¯t is part of The Eye¡¯s revelation. If you caught a glimpse of Orexis in the Dark Mother¡¯s holy flames, then you should be the one to ask her about it. If that¡¯s not a sign that she wants to talk, then I don¡¯t know what is.¡±


    I considered Xim¡¯s words. It was true that I wasn¡¯t a religious guy, not since I had a falling out with my Baptist upbringing as a young teenager. I didn¡¯t have any problem with the concept of religion, but I did have strong feelings about the way some people wielded it as a weapon to get what they wanted, and when the beliefs themselves involved oppressive ideologies. Shitty people did shitty things with the tools in front of them, whether or not the tools themselves were good, bad, or anything in between.


    I¡¯d also never resonated with any religious belief structure I encountered. Miracles, visions, apocryphal tales of supernatural events. I didn¡¯t buy most of it, so I¡¯d just tried to live my life as a good enough person and stopped thinking about it. But religion here on Arzia was a different animal. I didn¡¯t need to have faith, I¡¯d met these so-called deities. I was Fortune¡¯s lockpick, Orexis¡¯ chew toy, and Sam¡¯lia¡¯s adopted son. The gods of Arzia were very different from the concept of ¡®God¡¯ that I¡¯d been raised believing in, but they still resonated with the way gods were viewed in Earth antiquity.


    Still, the idea of praying to something made me feel icky. I couldn¡¯t explain it.


    ¡°What if you talked with her about it?¡± I said.


    Xim let go of my arm and looked irritated.


    ¡°I commune with Sam¡¯lia every week. The evocations have never involved Orexis, much less Gharifon. This sign isn¡¯t for me, it¡¯s for you.¡±


    I groaned and rubbed at my eyes.


    ¡°Fine. If I wanted to ask Sam¡¯lia about it myself, how would I do that?¡±


    ¡°If you want to have a real chat,¡± she said, ¡°not just send her your regards and ask forgiveness for being a turd toward her, then we¡¯ll need to go to the Third Layer.¡±


    ¡°Oh? How come?¡±


    ¡°Sam¡¯lia doesn¡¯t reside in the First Layer,¡± she said. ¡°She¡¯s blind to it in some ways, since The Eye only beholds the Third. Without a strong connection like the one I¡¯ve cultivated, you¡¯ll have to be in closer proximity to her to get anything concrete.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I stretched my arms and let out a yawn. The adrenaline of the fight was wearing off, and my fatigue was asserting itself. ¡°So, we need to go to the Third Layer for my orientation, to get myself a new and more badass hammer, and so that I can ask Sam¡¯lia some questions about Gharifon and Orexis.¡±


    ¡°It might also be good,¡± said Varrin, ¡°to ask her about the System phase rollout as well.¡±


    ¡°You think so? Would she have any insight into that?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a goddess, Arlo,¡± said Xim. ¡°She¡¯s existed since time immemorial. If these phases are something that¡¯s been going on for eons, she¡¯d know about it. Better than any mortal would.¡±


    ¡°Say no more. I need no further convincing. We were all planning on taking a break from Delving once we hit level six, so I suppose that Xim and I will spend our time sojourning in the Third Layer. What about you, Varrin?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll look into Tavio and Gharifon, while doing my own research into the phase rollouts. I¡¯ll also keep my ear to the ground for anything concerning Orexis and focus on training in between.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like much of a vacation,¡± I said.


    ¡°I like what I do,¡± was his only response.


    ¡°I reckon that Nuralie and Etja will travel the countryside like they¡¯ve been talking about, and-¡±


    [And I will join you on your visit to the Third Layer,] came Grotto¡¯s voice in our minds. [Drel¡¯gethed is a powerful individual with whom you must further ingratiate yourself, Arlo. It will be important that my presence be known, such that we both might impress upon him our talents.]


    [You¡¯re leaving the Closet?]


    [Yes. I believe that you will soon know enough about the rollout that my life is no longer at risk of termination by the System.]


    [Wait. That was a possibility? And you were dealing with that on your own, without telling anyone?]


    [Indeed.]


    [Grotto, you can talk to us, man. If you need space because of some System-derived bullshit, you can always ask.]


    There was a beat of pause before Grotto replied.


    [There were other considerations. To even mention it would be...] Another few seconds of mental silence passed. [Very well, I understand.]


    [I¡¯m glad. If you want to talk about it during our trip, I¡¯m here to listen.]


    [I will be sure to enlighten you beyond the bounds of comprehension capable by your fleshy confines.]

 Chapter 91: Homecoming

    Chapter 91: Homecoming


    Traveler¡¯s Amulet


    This is an evolving item.


    Current Level: Crumb-Cruncher


    Effects:


    1) It¡¯s Stylish


    2) Soul-Sight


    Make ¡°Soul-Sight¡± your own to unlock this amulet¡¯s next effect.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pretty necklace,¡± said Xim, ¡°but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s pretty enough for you to stare at it as much as you do.¡±


    I held the amulet in my palm, gazing idly into its glittering black gem. The chain was a dark metal that I¡¯d come to recognize as the material many of the Delves were constructed from, and it was speckled with red and silver flakes. The red, I theorized, was from ruby chips, and the gem at its center reminded me of the void sphere Grotto and I had drained, but without the massive mana charge. I wasn¡¯t sure about the silver, though. Could be some other Delve-related material, or it might just be plain old silver.


    ¡°It¡¯s just...¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s fuckin¡¯... a fucking fuck, ya¡¯ know?¡±


    ¡°Eloquent,¡± Xim replied.


    We sat in a small clearing in the woods a few miles west of Ravvenblaq¡¯s main manor. It was the geographic equivalent of where Xim¡¯s tribe resided within the Third Layer, and the cleric was preparing to transition us over. Unlike Drel, who could invoke The Eye in moments, Xim required some ritual preparation. She¡¯d just finished inscribing a large rune into the dirt with liberal amounts of black ink and was presently sprinkling it with what looked like dried flakes of blood. I didn¡¯t ask what half of the materials she was using were, because I didn¡¯t want to know.


    ¡°Maybe the whole thing¡¯s a joke,¡± I said. ¡°I can just imagine Fortune laughing his giant ass off at the idea of me agonizing over how to get this thing to move on to the third effect.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it is,¡± said Xim, finishing her sprinkling with a flourish and dusting her hands off. ¡°Or maybe you haven¡¯t made soul-sight your own yet.¡±


    ¡°What does that even mean, though?¡±


    ¡°It is related to your divine gifts,¡± she said. ¡°Maybe Sam¡¯lia can jostle something loose.¡±


    ¡°You think she and Fortune are in on it together?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anything,¡± she said, pulling out her scepter and giving it a twirl. ¡°I stopped thinking about that amulet a long time ago. Ready?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, standing up and clapping some of the dirt from my pants. I was back in my feather boa, leather vest, and exposed manly chest combo. If I was going on vacation, I was going to do it in comfort and with style. ¡°What do you think about Siphon?¡±


    ¡°Etja¡¯s gravity spell?¡± she said as she raised her scepter to the air. It began to glow with crimson light. ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°My two biggest problems with Tavio were that he catapulted me all over the place, and then he dodged everything I threw at him.¡±


    The sun in the sky above began to dim, growing ever smaller until it was a modest orb. The radiant sphere floated down from on high and settled at the tip of Xim¡¯s scepter. In the sky above, a massive blood-red eye opened.


    ¡°I thought you were trying to figure out how to do more damage,¡± she said.


    We both stared up at The Eye as it branched out into an all-encompassing nautilus spiral, copying itself ten thousand times over until it dominated the entire expanse overhead.


    ¡°I can spam Oblivion Orb,¡± I said. ¡°I just have to hit him with it. Siphon is a Mystical spell, so I can pick it up, and it could let me lock people down. I might also be able to make myself heavier with it to keep from getting...¡±


    The trees around us began to melt, and I trailed off. I¡¯d seen a lot of stuff since coming to Arzia, but the transition to the Third was one of the most impressive. As the flora around us deteriorated into shimmering puddles, they revealed a wall of black spires that jutted from the ground. Runes lit up along the spires, and a wave of multi-colored mana coursed over the pair of us. A shiver ran through my body.


    ¡°It¡¯s a useful spell,¡± said Xim as the spires began to descend into the earth with a rumble, ¡°but it takes a lot of mana to get it strong enough to use offensively. Etja mostly uses it for utility and zoning.¡±


    When the spires no longer blocked our view, the Xor¡¯Drel lands were revealed to me.


    The soil, like so many things dealing with the Third Layer, was red. Not Martian rust n¡¯ dust red, but the deep red of a Devil¡¯s food cake, with all the moist and springy goodness that came along with it. It was soft beneath my boots, and the air was filled with the scent of pleasant sweetness.


    From the ground grew elaborately twisting bushes, their stems the color of tar, their leaves a dark violet, and with flowering blooms that shifted and moved in the air. The flowers varied in color from orange to blue, and minute glittering particles drifted up and away from their petals.


    Rising up amidst the bushes were trees with curling branches, covered in bronze fronds that clinked and chimed in the light breeze. More of the dark spires were set into a regular pattern that followed along the dirt trail before us, their lengths thrumming with energy. The sigils upon them oriented themselves toward us, as though watching.


    ¡°Uh, which one¡¯s more fun?¡±


    ¡°Fun for me, or fun for you?¡± she asked.


    I gave her a flat stare.


    ¡°Brand it is, then,¡± she said and opened the pouch to pull out a small iron rod with a flat end. She summoned some divine fire and began roasting the tip, then gestured at my arm. ¡°Your wrist, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    I looked warily at the literal brand she was heating, then held out my arm, gritting my teeth at what was about to happen. She pressed the end of the iron rod to my skin and... it tingled. There was no sharp burn, or delayed onset of icy pain, just a slight buzzing sensation. When she pulled the brand back, there was a small crest burned into my skin.


    ¡°How long does this last?¡± I said, looking over the simple linework. It sort of looked like a hyena with wings.


    ¡°Until you decide you don¡¯t want it.¡±


    ¡°Oh? That simple?¡±


    ¡°Welcome to the Third Layer,¡± she said in reply, then turned back to the path. ¡°Now, try not to pass out!¡±


    Xim once again began skipping, and the world blurred past. I didn¡¯t even have to move my feet. When I tried to take a step, in fact, I didn¡¯t go anywhere. Each hop from Xim sent a massive stretch of the path zipping past us, and the plants and houses that flew by looked more like impressions than real things.


    Huts became expressionist paintings, the bushes, blotches of watercolor. When Xim¡¯s skip landed, the world reasserted itself as a well-defined, three-dimensional space full of concrete structures, but her next prance would send it all back into vagary. It was jarring, but mesmerizing, and for the first time in a while I began to question whether any of this was really happening to me.


    In a matter of seconds, we were at the base of the Irgriana tree, which had been more than a mile distant moments before. Standing at the base of the tree were Xim¡¯s parents, Xorna and Drel¡¯gethed.


    Xim ran forward and leapt into Xorna¡¯s arms. The ruby-skinned woman swept the cleric up and off her feet, onyx horns glinting in the day¡¯s scarlet ¡®eye¡¯-light. Drel drifted over and gave me a Hiwardian bow, which was made a bit awkward given his shifting, gaseous lower half. I returned the gesture to the man with skin like a star-speckled midnight sky and he stared deep into me with purple irises.


    ¡°It has been too long, Esquire Arlo,¡± Drel said, voice like a whispered sonnet.


    ¡°I regret we couldn¡¯t have come sooner,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s been a busy year.¡±


    ¡°I see that it has,¡± said Drel, gaze drifting up to my level indicator. ¡°To think it has been only a year. You both grow powerful in such little time. I will need to contemplate Xim overtaking me, much sooner than I expected.


    ¡°I suspect that¡¯s the dream of many parents,¡± I said. ¡°That their kids do better than they did.¡±


    ¡°¡®Better¡¯ may be too humble a word, Esquire Arlo. Xorna and I spent five years reaching level six.¡± He drifted a bit closer, waving his nose through the air just above me. ¡°Your scent is much richer than level six should be,¡± he said.


    It was then, for the first time, that I considered Drel might have a revelation of The Nose.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Xim is excited to tell you all about our training,¡± I said, doing my best not to take a step back from the floating man in my personal bubble.


    Xim ran over and gave her father a hug, though less exuberant than the one she¡¯d given her mother. Xorna, now free of her daughter, walked up and wrapped her arms tight around my ribs, lifting me off the ground as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Arlo,¡± she said in a polite, reserved tone that was wholly divorced from the enthusiasm of her hug. I hesitantly patted her on the back, worried that if I let any air escape my lungs that it would never be allowed to return.


    ¡°You too,¡± I rasped.


    She set me down and gave me a grin.


    ¡°We¡¯ve made dinner,¡± she said. ¡°I selected several dishes that I am excited to watch you try.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be delicious,¡± I said.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, yes, I suppose.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what to make of that.


    ¡°Where is your bonded familiar, Esquire Arlo?¡± said Drel. ¡°I am eager to speak with him once more.¡±


    ¡°Of course, he¡¯s in the Closet. I¡¯m interested to see if it opens from here. Er, probably should have checked before we came.¡±


    I focused on opening the Closet, mana shaping it to speed things along. The portal opened like normal, which I was very glad to see, and a little man in gray robes floated out of it, looking over us all with dark, imperious eyes.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said in a voice I¡¯d only ever heard inside my head, ¡°I find that this realm suits me quite well.¡±

 Chapter 92: Tonight We Dine in Hell

    Chapter 92: Tonight We Dine in Hell


    ¡°Grotto?¡± I said, looking over the small dude.


    He was three feet tall, although his robes dangled down to cover his feet, so he may have been shorter. He was bald and bare-faced, looking like some kind of religious monk with beliefs that ran antithetical to hair growth, with deeply tanned skin. He held his hands behind his back, chest puffed up proudly and he managed to look down upon us all from where he hovered.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he said.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a mini-c¡¯thon.¡±


    Grotto raised an eyebrow and floated closer to me, peering at my face.


    ¡°And the three nose hairs that grow to excessive length out of your left nostril are no longer present, either. It would seem that this layer allows one to assert their own self-image upon their chassis.¡±


    ¡°This is how you see yourself?¡± I said, rubbing at my nose. I¡¯d have to check on that when we got back. ¡°Your ¡®self-image¡¯ is a diminutive bald guy in robes?¡±


    ¡°My personality matrix was forged from my predecessor, as you may recall. From my perspective, I lived my entire life as the man you see before you prior to being assigned a Delve. I have had no need for mirrors within my facilities, so there has been nothing to amend that perception.¡±


    As Grotto spoke, he brought a hand around to gesticulate, and a feathered c¡¯thonic feeler sprouted from beneath the loose sleeve. I pointed at it and he followed my gesture, then paused.


    ¡°I suppose that since adopting the form of Ihbriobrixilas, these limbs have been in my field of vision quite often.¡±


    He brought his other arm around, which was also a waggling tentacle, then looked down as several more sprouted from the hem of his robes.


    ¡°You look like you¡¯re about to be summoned to form some dark pact with unwitting primates,¡± I said, ¡°dooming them to an eternity of mishap because you misinterpreted their simple wishes.¡±


    ¡°I have not done that in some time,¡± he said, then spun in the air, feelers flailing. I couldn¡¯t tell if he was joking. ¡°This is unsatisfactory. If I am to be a man, I require arms. If I am to be a c¡¯thon, then these ribs will be an impediment.¡±


    I watched in awe as his body began to twist and reshape itself. For a moment he became the rune-covered orb that was normally hidden beneath his c¡¯thon disguise, which made me suspicious of his claim of having no mirrors. Then, the limbs and feathers sprouted anew and he was back to being a downy little octo.


    He looked over his appendages, then stared at them intently. They began to elongate and the gray robes reappeared to cover him from just below his big black eyes. Two tentacles sprouted from the sleeves and small hands formed at the ends of two of them. Once finished, he looked like a dark wizard who had been the victim of a tragic polymorph backfire and was somehow even cuter than he had been before. Except for the hands. The hands were creepy as shit.


    [That should suffice,] he thought to us. [There are many advantages to phalanges. I shall make use of them while I am here.]


    ¡°You can¡¯t magic yourself some fingers in the First Layer?¡±


    [I have no desire to modify my usual form into a horrid amalgamation such as Shog has done. I also doubt that many would be fooled by my disguise if I were to take such liberties.]


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± I said, trying to avoid looking at the child-like hands he now possessed. I turned to the trio of Third Layer residents. ¡°Is this... normal?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡¯s normal with Grotto,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°It is impressive,¡± Drel said, looking at Grotto. ¡°You have already learned to amend the belief in your concept. It is a skill that might take years to learn, and never be mastered.¡±


    [Thank you for your kind words, Patriarch Drel¡¯gethed.] I was briefly taken aback by the gratitude.[You will find that I am equally superior in many other areas. The bounds of my talents are as wide as the cosmos, and likewise ever expanding.] Ok, that sounded more like Grotto.


    Xorna tittered at the Delve Core¡¯s comments.


    ¡°His sense of identity is surprisingly malleable,¡± she said. ¡°I think he¡¯ll fit in well.¡±


    ¡°Can anyone do this?¡± I said. ¡°Is that how...¡± I gestured at Drel¡¯s shade-like body. Xim¡¯s father looked down at himself, then back to me.


    ¡°To what do you refer?¡± he said.


    ¡°I, uh, never mind.¡±


    Xim gave her father a playful shove.


    ¡°Dad¡¯s messing with you,¡± she said, and I spotted a small grin on Drel¡¯s speckled face.


    ¡°My body has many adaptations,¡± he said. ¡°They come from different sources. Some are from reshaping my identity, as Grotto has done. Others are from Sam¡¯lia¡¯s gifts, like your eyes, Arlo. Yet more have come from the System¡¯s guidance.¡±


    I considered the changes that I had undergone in my brief time as a Delver. I¡¯d made a series of small modifications to my body during Creation, and my black sclera and cosmic-green irises came from The Eye. It had only been a year, so I could imagine that undergoing decades of compounding modifications might result in an appearance that was wholly distinct from where I¡¯d started. Especially if I were to begin trying to ¡®reshape¡¯ my identity.


    Maybe I could get an extra pair of eyes on my back...


    ¡°I draw the line somewhere outside the main friend group,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t know if that would extend to an entire tribe. Do you know everyone in the tribe that well?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that big compared to a city like Foundation, and I grew up here. Everyone knows everyone.¡± She looked thoughtful for a moment. ¡°You don¡¯t know anyone here yet, though, so that¡¯s not a problem for you. There are a few people I could set you up with.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say no to a Third Layer fling,¡± I said, ¡°but let me get my bearings a little better before you start sending me on blind dates.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    ¡°So, now that we¡¯ve had the Cul¡¯gute conversation, ready to tell me what¡¯s inside that building?¡±


    Xim took a deep breath and watched the stone hut for several seconds, clasping her hands together in front of her face.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± she said, suddenly speaking with quiet reverence. ¡°It is known that there is nothing inside, and so it is empty.¡±


    ¡°Does nothingness have a sacred meaning to Sam¡¯lia?¡±


    ¡°No. I might say the opposite. The purpose of the building being empty is that when you enter, the only things within will be you, Sam¡¯lia, and whatever you¡¯ve brought with you.¡±


    ¡°Was I... supposed to bring a gift?¡±


    Xim smirked.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have been a bad idea, but it¡¯s not expected.¡±


    ¡°I could give her some poison essences.¡±


    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t mean much,¡± she said.


    ¡°Why not? They¡¯re worth a heap of notes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s less to do with what the item is worth to society, as much as what it¡¯s worth to you, or the effort you spent acquiring it for Sam¡¯lia. You¡¯ve still got hundreds of essences, so they¡¯re not that valuable.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± I said. ¡°I value them at exactly thirty-two golden notes a piece, as per my contract with Seinnador.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± she said, which meant she wasn¡¯t interested in a debate. ¡°Unless you¡¯ve got something you¡¯ve prepared yourself, it¡¯s probably better not to offer anything.¡±


    ¡°Like a handmade card?¡±


    Xim nodded. ¡°She likes those.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I could make one. We could come back later.¡±


    ¡°Just get inside!¡± she said, giving me a shooing motion.


    ¡°What about Grotto?¡± I asked. ¡°He said he wanted to come.¡±


    ¡°If Grotto wants to go in, he can go in on his own after you¡¯re done.¡± She placed a hand on her chin and considered. ¡°I wonder if she¡¯d be willing to talk to Grotto.¡±


    I took a deep breath, then walked toward the building. The door was simple, with only a handle. Not even a knob or latch to keep it shut. I pulled it open and peered into the interior. It was dark inside, impenetrable even with my sight.


    ¡°Call her Lady Sam¡¯lia!¡± Xim called after me. ¡°Or Dark Mother! Or say ¡®My goddess¡¯! ¡®Divine One¡¯ works as well!¡±


    I steeled my nerves and stepped across the threshold, then pulled the door closed behind me.


    The room was utterly black for a moment, but a gentle light began to fill the space like someone was slowly pushing up a dimmer switch. When the light rose enough to see again, I found myself in a well-appointed sitting room.


    The colors and vibe matched the rest of the village, from the dark and winding roots that served as the body of the chandelier on the ceiling, to the luxuriously polished wood counter on the bar in the corner. There were two overstuffed armchairs of the deepest shade of brown set before a small fireplace, which crackled with a fire that burned blue.


    In one of the chairs was a woman in her early forties, looking every bit like your middle-school best friend¡¯s mom. She wore a royal blue dress, loose and comfortable, with a few subtle pieces of jewelry that looked like they were made of ivory, or possibly bone. Her eyes and hair were blood red, and she smiled when I caught sight of her.


    ¡°Hello, Arlo,¡± she said, cheerfully. ¡°It¡¯s wonderful to meet you in the flesh.¡±

 Chapter 93: Talking to (a) God

    Chapter 93: Talking to (a) God


    ¡°Lady Sam¡¯lia,¡± I said, giving the goddess a bow.


    ¡°No need to be too formal,¡± she said, then gestured to the chair beside her. ¡°Please, sit.¡±


    I walked forward and lowered myself into the chair. There was a knot of anxiety building in my gut that prevented me from appreciating how disgustingly comfortable it was. I wasn¡¯t sure what I¡¯d been expecting Sam¡¯lia to look like; maybe a disembodied presence, a giant floating brain, or an incomprehensible cosmic void. A relaxed soccer mom hadn¡¯t made the list of things I was prepared to see.


    It was nice that she appeared like someone that I could have a ¡®normal¡¯ conversation with, but on the other hand, it made the situation more real. I didn¡¯t think that I would have had much of a problem with the discussion growing contentious if the entity with whom I was speaking was monstrous. As it was, the woman before me looked kind and non-threatening. Her appearance touched on an ingrained social instinct that made me want us to get along. Not that I hadn¡¯t wanted us to be amicable before, but now if we didn¡¯t, I¡¯d feel kind of bad for letting this nice-looking lady down. Maybe she¡¯d planned for that, or maybe I was overthinking it.


    ¡°How are you doing?¡± she asked, breaking me out of my mental spiral.


    I started to respond with a stock reply but paused to think it over. I saw no reason to be anything less than honest with Sam¡¯lia. She¡¯d already seen everything I¡¯d ever done in my life twice. Once when I was layer walking and the Eye peered into me and another time when Xim hit me with Judgment.


    ¡°I think there are several answers to the question,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯d be disappointed if there weren¡¯t,¡± she replied with a smile.


    She reached down and picked up a crystal decanter from a side table between us which I hadn''t noticed before. It was filled with a golden liquid and she poured a measure of into one of two crystal tumblers. She held it up, inquiring.


    ¡°Honestly,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to avoid the harder stuff as much as possible in this life.¡±


    Her smile grew mischievous, and she leaned in a little.


    ¡°It¡¯s apple juice,¡± she half-whispered, as though it were a secret.


    ¡°Apple juice? As in, Earth apples?¡±


    ¡°As best as I could make them from your memories.¡± She took the liberty of filling the second glass nearly to the brim, then picked it up and handed it to me. I took it gingerly so as not to spill and took a tentative sip. It was chill, but not too chill, as though it had been left to rest outside on a crisp autumn day. It was also damn good. I savored it, then took a deeper swallow.


    ¡°That¡¯s the second-best apple juice I''ve ever had,¡± I said.


    ¡°Second?¡± said Sam¡¯lia. ¡°What was the first?¡±


    ¡°My nan had an orchard. Nothing quite like homemade, no offense.¡±


    She waved a hand.


    ¡°None taken. If I were second best at everything I tried for the first time I think I¡¯d be doing pretty well. Besides, sentiment and nostalgia aren¡¯t something you can grow in apples.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you, though? Here in the Third Layer?¡±


    She pointed at me with the hand that held her glass.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s a question with many answers,¡± she said. ¡°You first. How are you?¡±


    I sat back in the chair, feeling the knot inside me starting to loosen a little.


    ¡°I¡¯m stressed,¡± I said. ¡°Among other things.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    I gave her a careful look, trying to decide if she was trying to play the part of concerned relative, close friend, or therapist.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been in Arzia a little over a year now and I¡¯m starting to get a rhythm, but I still feel... alien. Maybe ¡®isolated¡¯ is a better word for it.¡±


    ¡°Is it so different from Earth?¡± she asked.


    I shrugged.


    ¡°Depends on how you look at it. There are people and social structures that I understand. The cultures are different, but they make sense. It¡¯s not as though I landed on a planet full of unrelatable squid people, but it¡¯s still enough to take some time and effort fitting in.¡±


    ¡°Is that what you want?¡± she asked. ¡°To fit in?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to pretend like I¡¯m some special edge case who¡¯s unaffected by feeling like an outcast. I don¡¯t need to fit the world like a glove, but I¡¯d like my glove to have the right number of fingers if that makes sense. I have no problem pushing back against things I think are wrong or being disliked by people who support abhorrent ideologies, but when it comes to regular, everyday people, I like to know I can have a conversation. That I can relate and that they don¡¯t think of me as some outsider to be avoided or afraid of.¡±


    ¡°And you don¡¯t think that you can do that.¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± I said. ¡°When I first came here, the thing that created this sense of separation was my lack of knowledge about the world. That was something I could fix. I couldn¡¯t pretend like I was a lifelong resident, but I could read up and talk to people enough to sound like a competent foreigner. But now, the thing that separates me is that I¡¯m constantly migrating away from many of the things that make a person a person.


    ¡°Compared to the majority of people on this planet, I¡¯m superhumanly strong, agile, quick, and¨Cat the risk of sounding immodest¨Cattractive. I can get thrown through entire buildings without breaking a bone and I don¡¯t even bruise or bleed anymore. I lost two teeth a week ago and they grew back in an hour.


    ¡°I see things others can¡¯t: threads of mana, specters, people¡¯s souls. Not to mention the amount of violence I¡¯ve participated in this last year is more than any ten average people will witness in their entire lives.¡±


    ¡°Your allies share this experience with you, don¡¯t they?¡± she said.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. For most of it. Sure, I¡¯ve got this ever-growing chasm between myself and ¡®mundane¡¯ people, but I can relate to Delvers. However, the problem with relating with other Delvers is two-fold. First, a lot of Delvers are... guarded. Secretive. Each has their own power set and growth so it can be difficult to find someone that truly shares the experience of how you¡¯re changing. Second, my party members each have their own culture and families which I don¡¯t share. There are multiple layers of separation I have to cut through to connect with people. Plus, even back on Earth, I was considered to have kind of a big personality. Not everyone¡¯s cup of tea.¡±


    Sam¡¯lia nodded and studied her glass.


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable,¡± she said. ¡°But you have been adopted, Arlo. You may feel isolated, but do you think part of that is your own doing?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah. Of course, it is. I¡¯ve always had this problem. Arzia just amplifies it. As far as the adoption, I apologize that I haven¡¯t come here sooner. Still, if we¡¯re talking about strange... this place is as far from Earth as anywhere I¡¯ve been so far.¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize to me,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m not here to tell you what to do or how to do it, especially if you have no wish for me to do so. If I were to give a word of advice, however, you might consider embracing the culture that you have been made a part of, rather than expecting it to embrace you.¡±


    Sam¡¯lia¡¯s words cut through me, but the idea wasn¡¯t a surprise. I¡¯d always kept a degree of separation between my true emotions and the world at large, which I believed was a reasonable thing to do up to a certain point. I had taken it too far in the past, and maybe it was something I was still doing. I really couldn¡¯t complain about failing to connect with people if I wasn¡¯t making much of an effort.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure vengeance is the thing I¡¯m seeking, but as an example, sure.¡±


    ¡°If you wish to confront one, grow stronger. Grow until your power might wash away a nation and then grow stronger still.¡±


    ¡°Any advice on how to do that?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t wait for the path you¡¯re on to embrace you.¡±


    ¡°Embrace the path I¡¯m already on.¡± I paused for a beat. ¡°The System phases.¡±


    Her eyes returned to the fire and the flames danced for her. She ran a hand through her hair, and it flowed like liquid around her fingers.


    ¡°Yes. Although the System is not your only road to strength,¡± she said. ¡°You have your allies, your revelations, even the gifts given to you by the avatars themselves.¡±


    I thought for a moment, then pulled out the Traveler¡¯s Amulet and studied its dark gem.


    ¡°If avatars like Fortune are so dangerous, I thought you might ask me to get rid of this thing.¡±


    She tilted her head from side to side, considering.


    ¡°Fortune¡¯s gifts to you have been a great boon. I hesitate to say you should abandon them. Would you cast off that ring of his, as well?¡±


    I looked down at my right hand where the Ring of Healing sat with its simple golden band and three ruby gems. I had gotten it as a ¡®bonus item¡¯ when I was resurrected, to compensate me for the loss of all my worldly possessions. Since learning more about Delving and mana-woven items I¡¯d realized that the ring¡¯s effect was much more powerful than its description let on when I chose it. It doubled every source of health regen I had and was practically the centerpiece of my build.


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t give him some weird power over me,¡± I said, ¡°does it?¡±


    She glanced down at the ring.


    ¡°Only the gratitude that it earns him,¡± she said. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard about Fortune he is a curiosity, even among the avatars. He¡¯s not the type to lay out traps. He¡¯ll convince you to build them yourself.¡±


    ¡°Then laugh as you fall into it,¡± I said.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± She sighed. ¡°Of all the avatars that could be keeping an eye on you, he is, perhaps, the best.¡±


    ¡°Where does Orexis rank on that list? From best to worst?¡±


    ¡°Very bad.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s... really great.¡±


    I turned my attention back to the amulet.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to unlock the next effect on this thing,¡± I said, holding it up and letting the chain dangle. ¡°Xim thought you might have some insights.¡±


    She studied the amulet, then held out a hand.


    ¡°May I?¡± she asked. I set it down into her palm and she ran a thumb across the flecked metal. She smirked. ¡°¡®Make Soul-Sight your own¡¯,¡± she said, then chuckled. She passed the jewelry back to me. ¡°Fortune has given you an impossible task.¡±


    ¡°How so? I initially thought that receiving the revelation¨Cbeing able to use Soul-Sight without the amulet¨Cwould be enough. It hasn¡¯t been.¡±


    ¡°That is because the power flows through you, but it is no more ¡®your own¡¯ than the air you breathe or the river you drink from. Your body is an organized pile of borrowed things. With every inhale and swallow you add to it, with every exhale and drop of sweat you return what was lent.¡±


    ¡°Huh. If that¡¯s how Fortune sees it, then is that the big joke? I can¡¯t unlock the next effect because I can only ever ¡®borrow¡¯ Soul-Sight?¡±


    ¡°That sounds too crude for Fortune from what I¡¯ve heard about the creature,¡± she said. ¡°I think he wanted to make sure that you came and talked to me.¡±


    I tilted my head in confusion.


    ¡°Why would he want that?¡±


    ¡°Why did he encourage you toward Soul-Sight in the first place? He must have known that it would draw my attention and that my Eye would get a kick out of inspiring your growth.¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯m fun?¡±


    She furrowed her brow.


    ¡°Naturally,¡± she said. ¡°A man from another universe saves the life of one of my daughters and then begins peering into her soul. A man with the divine stink of avatar wound around his veins, adopted into one of my tribes. A man who by all measures shouldn¡¯t be having anything to do with half the things you''re doing. You¡¯re interesting.¡±


    ¡°Thanks?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± she said, picking up her glass and taking another sip.


    I hefted the amulet, trying to decide if I wanted to ask anything more about it, but tucked it back into my pocket.


    ¡°I assume Fortune isn¡¯t the only avatar handing out trinkets,¡± I said, and Sam¡¯lia nodded. ¡°Is that why you showed me Orexis¡¯s eyes in the flames of Judgment that covered Gharifon?¡±


    ¡°What you saw was influenced by your perception of the avatars.¡± She ran a thumb over one of her bone rings. ¡°Eyes are important to you, Arlo, even when looking past your gifts. That vision of endless pits gave you insight into Gharifon¨Ceither his nature or his past. The flames were a conduit for the vision but not its source. As for what I saw, Gharifon is a man of faith. That faith clouded what I could make out of his deeds, but the taste of them... He has been in contact with something like Orexis if not Orexis himself.¡±


    I mulled that over, wondering how much of my encounter with Tavio was chance. I started to move back to the System phase rollout, wanting to dig more deeply into what Sam¡¯lia knew but I was taken by a different idea.


    ¡°Can you teach me more about magic?¡±


    Sam¡¯lia¡¯s smile returned, genuine and gleeful.


    ¡°I try not to meddle much,¡± she said. ¡°But if you¡¯re willing to take a risk, then I¡¯m willing to give you a hint.¡±

 Chapter 94: System Phases

    Chapter 94: System Phases


    When I walked out of Sam¡¯lia¡¯s stone treehouse I found Xim kneeling in prayer, her body bathed in crimson light. I waited a few minutes for her to finish what I expected was her own communion with the deity. When she finally opened her eyes she looked more excited than I¡¯d ever seen her.


    ¡°Whaddya think?¡± I asked. She stood so quick that she did a little jump.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s changed,¡± she said, ¡°but nothing has.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I feel about the same.¡±


    Xim hopped forward and took me by the arms.


    ¡°We¡¯ve gotta tell everyone,¡± she said, looking as though the knowledge she now possessed pleased her to no end. ¡°Come on!¡±


    Xim used her dream step and the branches, houses, and foliage swept by us in an abstract blur. In a matter of seconds, we were back inside the Irgriana tree within a large library where Drel and Xorna were lounging and reading.


    ¡°News!¡± Xim said, rushing forward and pulling her mother out of a velvet chair. Drel sat his book down and drifted over.


    ¡°Yes?¡± said Xorna, giving Xim a pat on the head. The cleric waved her mother¡¯s hand away.


    ¡°We talked to Sam¡¯lia and she told us lots of stuff!¡± said Xim. ¡°Stuff she¡¯s never told anyone! Well, she¡¯s told people, but not for a long time. We¡¯re the first ones from this generation that she¡¯s told. Everyone else she¡¯s told is gone. She hasn¡¯t had a reason to tell anyone yet because it hasn¡¯t mattered but now that there are avatars and we found out about the phases she decided that we were the ones to tell!¡± Xim said all of this is a rushed jumble.


    ¡°Calm yourself, Xim,¡± said Drel. ¡°What did she say?¡±


    ¡°Where do I start? It¡¯s uh- The System is- No, the avatars are-¡±


    ¡°May I?¡± I asked. She turned, eyes a bit wild, then nodded. I cleared my throat. ¡°The avatars will endlessly grow stronger and destroy all life unless someone finds a way to stop them and the System is a world-spanning device that turns Delvers into gods.¡± I paused to let the statement settle. ¡°Oh, and Sam¡¯lia helped me learn a new technique.¡±


    ¡°The avatars are that dangerous?¡± asked Xorna.


    ¡°What is meant when you say ¡°turn Delvers into gods¡±?¡± said Drel.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said to Xorna. ¡°Sam¡¯lia doesn¡¯t know the exact reasons why, but when the System starts pumping out Delvers the avatars come out of the woodwork. They grow more dangerous over time and their past hijinks have resulted in the devastation of multiple civilizations that rose and fell on this planet prior to the ones that currently exist. We haven¡¯t seen them up until now because it usually takes time for them to emerge, but Sam¡¯lia says it¡¯s happening faster this go-round than it has in the past. Probably a bad thing.¡±


    I turned to Drel.


    ¡°Gods, as in celestial beings. True divinities, not avatars. The System phases continually unlock additional resources that allow Delvers to ¡®transcend¡¯ the physical plane and become one with the divine. It culminates in ascendancy for anyone who¡¯s made the grade. Phase two is mainly about increasing the accessibility of the Delves; allowing more people to undergo Creation and giving the high-level Delvers that exist a new crop of challenges to help them grow.¡±


    Silence ran across the library for a few seconds.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Xorna. The woman was normally as detached as they came, but she placed an arm around Xim¡¯s shoulder to steady herself.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the avatars can reach us here, Mom,¡± said Xim, patting her mother¡¯s arm. ¡°They¡¯re limited to the First Layer.¡±


    ¡°For now,¡± I said. ¡°Not to be too negative, but Fortune brought my body across dimensions. I¡¯m sure some of these entities could find a way to travel between Layers.¡±


    ¡°We have all of us tasted Orexis¡¯s strength,¡± said Drel. ¡°You say such power is only the beginning?¡±


    ¡°Orexis is less powerful than a normal avatar alone,¡± I said. ¡°And all of the avatars will be getting stronger over time.¡±


    ¡°How many are there?¡± asked Xorna.


    ¡°No idea,¡± I said. ¡°It sounds like a lot of them got locked into the Cage, but Sam¡¯lia doesn¡¯t have good vision into the First. She can¡¯t be certain how many escaped that trap or how many new avatars have arisen in that time.¡±


    ¡°New ones?¡± said Xorna. She was going pale. ¡°They can breed?¡±


    ¡°Their reproductive habits are unknown,¡± I said. ¡°But they do multiply... somehow.¡±


    ¡°I must confess,¡± said Drel, ¡°I do not desire godhood. Had I known that was the path of Delvers, I might have chosen a different trail.¡±


    ¡°Why did you become a Delver?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I was... curious,¡± he said.


    ¡°Guess that¡¯s where Xim gets it from. What about you, Xorna?¡±


    ¡°You have only just arrived home,¡± said Drel.


    ¡°Let us send a messenger,¡± said Xorna. ¡°Cul¡¯gute is quick and good with the Eye.¡±


    ¡°He is an honorable young man,¡± said Drel.


    ¡°And handsome,¡± Xorna added.


    ¡°He is of an age that is ripe for bonding, as well,¡± said Drel. Both of Xim¡¯s parents were now staring at their daughter.


    ¡°Please stop telling me about Cul¡¯gute,¡± said Xim. ¡°In fact, yes, send him away to Varrin. Tell him to be our Ravvenblaq contact while Arlo and I are here. That way I won¡¯t have to worry about any more ¡®surprise¡¯ dinners with his family.¡±


    ¡°He will be eager to prove his merit to you,¡± said Drel.


    I knew that Xim was irritated with her parents over this Cul¡¯gute guy, but the whole situation was a little funny. I did my best to hide my grin while I tried to find a way to guide the conversation toward a change of topic.


    ¡°So,¡± I said, ¡°now that we¡¯ve got the line of communication between the First and the Third sorted, I think this would be a good time to talk about getting me a new hammer.¡±


    *****


    There were no smiths in the Xor¡¯Drel tribe. There were dream forgers. The most skilled of them was named Khigra.


    Khigra¡¯s workshop was near the base of the Irgriana tree, surrounded by a wide field on all sides. The forge itself was open to the air, with only a canopy set upon stilts to keep the rain and weather off of the forge master¡¯s back and a series of tarps to set apart its different sections.


    I traveled to Khigra¡¯s alone while the Xor¡¯Drel¡¯s worked out the logistics of communicating with Varrin and continued to discuss both the implications of Sam¡¯lia¡¯s truth bombs and the various suitors that Xim¡¯s parents wanted to hook the cleric up with. I was happy to be away from that conversation since I didn¡¯t want to get ¡°roped in¡± like Xim suspected that I might.


    Drel had already sent the broken haft of my old hammer, Arbitros, to the forge master to inspect. The Xor¡¯Drel patriarch expected Khigra to have formed some strong opinions about both myself and my fighting style from reviewing the remains of my old hammer, although I was uncertain what that meant. I tried to walk into the forge while leaving all of my assumptions at the metaphorical door since I had no idea how crafting weapons operated in the Third Layer, which was only slightly less than the amount I knew about how weapons were crafted in the First.


    Upon seeing Khigra, I realized that I hadn¡¯t been successful in abandoning my presumptions.


    When I thought of a forge master I thought of a sweaty man with a beard in an apron and covered in soot. Maybe a stout dwarf or, at the very least, a hale lass with thirty kilos of muscle buried beneath a few decades'' worth of hardy post-manual-labor meals.


    Khigra was a level 23 Delver, six feet of lean and trim with curves that defied her body¡¯s attempt at eliminating all fat in favor of muscle. She had thick, black hair that ran down to the small of her back and which floated in the air behind her, kept out of her work by an unseen force. Her clothes were minimalist and functional, hugging close to her body with no loose articles to get in her way, but lacking the thick and protective nature of typical smith wear.


    When I approached she turned her orange eyes to me. Set against her light red skin they gave me a profound sense of sunset, as though the world were preparing to call it a day and settle in for the night. She¡¯d been leaning over a heavy wooden counter, engraving squirming sigils into a length of unfamiliar metal.


    ¡°You must be Arlo,¡± she said, resting an elbow on the counter and looking me over.


    ¡°And you must be Khigra,¡± I said. ¡°Pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡±


    She met my greeting with a half-amused smile, then turned and walked behind a thick curtain. She returned holding the haft of Arbitros.


    ¡°What material is this?¡± she asked, which surprised me.


    ¡°It¡¯s frozen steel,¡± I said, and she looked at me expectantly. ¡°It gets harder when it¡¯s hot and gets softer when it¡¯s cold. It also has some simple magic properties.¡±


    She flipped the haft over in her hands, feeling its weight.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look like you run hot,¡± she said, still studying the haft. ¡°Or cold.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°It was a gift. It wasn¡¯t the best fit for me, to be honest.¡±


    She nodded, then gripped the haft by either end. Her forearms flexed, the striations of her muscles pressing against her skin, and she bent the length of magically enhanced metal until its ends crossed like a simple ribbon.


    ¡°Not the strongest substance,¡± she said, then stepped forward and handed me the twisted remains of Arbitros.


    I accepted it out of reflex but couldn¡¯t help but stare at Khigra and experience a moment of enlightenment. While my body responded to the symmetry and grace of Charisma, it responded more profoundly to the raw power of Strength.


    ¡°Come,¡± she said as she held back the curtain, ¡°let me show you a few things.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± I whispered, then followed her deeper into her shop.

 Chapter 95: The Hammer is My...

    Chapter 95: The ''Hammer'' is My...


    ¡°Your Blunt skill is too low,¡± said Khigra. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be worth my time to make a hammer for you.¡±


    We stood before a rack of weapons the dream forger had made, each with requirements more substantial than the last.


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± I said. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t hire Michaelangelo to paint your house.¡±


    I brought up the item description for a sword that floated in the air, its edges fading in and out of being. Varrin might have been able to use that one, but only because his Sword Prodigy passive lowered the required stats for any sword he held.


    Khigra walked over to me and gripped my shoulder then went lower and squeezed my upper arm. Her grip was very firm.


    ¡°What¡¯s your Strength score?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Ten.¡±


    She crossed her arms, then leaned against a post.


    ¡°Why do you want to wield a hammer?¡±


    ¡°Would you object to the answer ¡®because hammers are cool¡¯?¡±


    She gave me another mildly entertained look.


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°I enjoy all the weapons I make. It¡¯s why I do this.¡± She gestured around the shop.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to like what you do. How high would my Blunt skill need to be?¡±


    She looked up at the tarp above us, pursing her lips in thought.


    ¡°I have some ideas for using Intelligence as the main stat,¡± she said. ¡°Fortitude would be better, but I don¡¯t think it fits with the way you want to use it. In a perfect world, your Blunt skill would be equal.¡±


    ¡°Twenty-one,¡± I said. ¡°That means I¡¯d need to go up another nine levels.¡± She nodded. I dismissed the item screen for the sword I was inspecting. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll come back in a couple of months.¡±


    Her eyebrows went up.


    ¡°Just like that?¡± she said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I tell you I won¡¯t make it and you¡¯re willing to walk away?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯ll come back. Training is always at the top of my List, so it¡¯s not like you¡¯re asking me to do anything I wouldn¡¯t already be doing.¡±


    ¡°Patriarch Drel¡¯gethed commissioned me himself,¡± she said. ¡°He told me to make you whatever you asked for.¡±


    ¡°And that was very generous of him. What, uh, what¡¯s your point?¡±


    She popped off the post and looked me up and down.


    ¡°You could insist that I do it,¡± she said. ¡°Right now, even with your low skill level.¡±


    ¡°Seems like a waste,¡± I said. ¡°Besides, forcing someone to work against their wishes is a bit dumb for a couple of reasons. One, asshole move. Two, and not to doubt your integrity, but what if they did a shit job out of spite?¡±


    She nodded and looked thoughtful.


    ¡°Anyway, It was nice meeting you,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll come ba-¡±


    ¡°Do you have a trainer?¡±


    ¡°No. Xim¡¯s Blunt is more than double mine, so I thought-¡±


    Khigra waved a hand dismissively.


    ¡°Sparring with a party member is fine for sharpening skills,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s no good for building fundamentals.¡±


    ¡°Do you... have someone in mind?¡±


    She looked me over again, drumming her fingers along a biceps.


    ¡°I¡¯ll train you,¡± she said.


    ¡°Really?¡± I said, confused. ¡°I won¡¯t assume how long it takes you to make a hammer but if you¡¯re worried about wasting time, training me up nine levels will take weeks, at the least.¡±


    She smiled again. This time it was a little feral.


    ¡°I would learn nothing from making a bad hammer,¡± she said. ¡°There is always something to be learned from training.¡±


    Somncres


    War Hammer


    This is an evolving item.


    Requirements


    STR 10, INT 21, Blunt 21, Dimensional Magic 20, Mystical Magic 10


    Effects:


    1) Somncres can be summoned and dismissed at will.


    2) Somncres¡¯s size and form can be adjusted at will, so long as you would normally be able to wield such a hammer.


    3) Whenever you make a thrown weapon attack with Somncres you may create up to X copies, where X is your INT/10. Each copy costs 2 mana to create. These copies possess all qualities imbued into Somncres at the moment the copies are created.


    4) Khigra may imbue this item with an additional effect once you reach your next Intelligence evolution.


    The haft and handle of Somncres were black and the head was emerald green. All along the length of the weapon were points of light that shifted and moved as I turned the hammer, evoking a sense of cosmic space like both Drel¡¯s body and my own irises. All in, it was pretty damn cool and I couldn¡¯t wait to throw it at a motherfucker.


    ¡°Growth was a good choice,¡± said Khigra, looking over the item with me. ¡°It is less powerful than the weapons I normally make, but it may be worth boasting about one day.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, holding the hammer reverently. Khigra gave me a gentle pinch on the ribs.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a baby,¡± she said. ¡°Stop cradling it like one.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°That tickles, you know.¡±


    ¡°Would you rather it hurt?¡±


    ¡°Both are good.¡±


    She smiled and squeezed my shoulder, then I took a few steps away from everyone and gave Somncres a couple of practice swings. It was a little over three feet in length in its current form. I focused and the weapon grew until it was comfortable to hold in two hands. I went through a few practice motions, then willed the hammer down to a form that mimicked my throwing hammers. I wasn¡¯t about to go tossing it around with everyone milling about, so I looked it over and gave it a flip. The weight and balance were perfect for me in each form it took. I turned to the tribe members who were gathered and gave a bow.


    ¡°Thank you all for this greeting,¡± I said. ¡°It is my honor to be a part of the Xor¡¯Drel tribe.¡±


    ¡°Thank us at the tavern!¡± someone yelled, which got a few chuckles.


    The group broke up and several members approached to give me their well wishes. Afterward, the casks of ale were opened and the spiritsflowed. Xim and Drel eventually wore me down and convinced me to try some of the fabled liquor brewed from the sap of the Irgriana tree.


    Unlike normal First Layer denizens, I did not go into a coma. Instead, I got to take my hammer for its first test drive fighting the hallucination demons that I accidentally spawned. I¡¯m pretty sure the others were helping the manifestation along, as I doubted I had learned enough about manipulating the fabric of the Third Layer to summon Grade Two monsters without assistance.


    The evening passed, I set my Checkpoint within the Irgriana tree and then spent the night with Khigra. The next morning Xim and I said our farewells to the tribe and returned to the First Layer, setting out for Ravvenblaq.


    When we arrived, Varrin was cutting down training dummies with a sword that was as long as a giraffe was tall, from hoof to head. It was also so thin that there was no way physics was letting that thing exist without a whole lot of magic devilry going on.


    ¡°That¡¯s a big fucking sword!¡± I yelled from a good, safe distance. I wasn¡¯t willing to get within a hundred feet of the man while he held the thing. Varrin paused and turned to see us, then the sword collapsed down on itself until it was the length of a normal longsword.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a lot to discuss,¡± he said as he made his way toward us.


    ¡°Yep!¡± said Xim, trotting forward and peering over the sword. ¡°Arlo got laid.¡±


    Varrin raised an eyebrow and looked at me.


    ¡°Good for him,¡± he said. ¡°But that¡¯s not what I meant.¡±


    ¡°Have you gotten laid recently?¡± Xim asked. Varrin opened his mouth to reply but snapped it shut without answering. Xim patted him on the arm. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, me either.¡±


    ¡°Not for the lack of trying by your parents,¡± I said, and she scowled.


    ¡°Why are we talking about sex?¡± said Varrin. ¡°Let¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°Ok,¡± said Xim. ¡°We can move on to Arlo¡¯s new mystery technique. Sam¡¯lia taught it to him herself.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t really teach it to me,¡± I said. ¡°More like she guided me to it. It¡¯s called Gravity Anchor.¡±


    Varrin held up a hand, his expression growing serious.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to see it later,¡± he said. ¡°The crown has called a meeting of all high-profile Delvers. That includes my entire family and our associated party members.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Three days ago,¡± he said, expression going from serious to dark, ¡°Timagrin¡¯s third largest city, Canotha, was destroyed.¡±

 Chapter 96: Patriarch

    Chapter 96: Patriarch


    Timagrin was Hiward¡¯s staunchest ally, and my mind obsessed over how Hiward might respond to the destruction of Canotha. The nations had a shared history of joint defense, and the idea that an invading force was to blame reignited my worry over the potential for a Delver war that would run rampant across the entire continent.


    My worries only grew as we traveled with the Ravvenblaq retinue to Hiward¡¯s capital, Foundation. Varrin knew little beyond the most basic facts and the Ravvenblaqs who were in the know were unavailable to our humble level 6 party. It was a frustrating, somber journey, but our arrival in the nation¡¯s largest city reunited us with Etja and Nuralie.


    I spotted the pair on the main thoroughfare through Hiward leading up to the Dark Iron palace, where the meeting was to be held in three days. They were hard to miss, not only because one was a dark, scaled loson and the other had four arms, but also because of the absurdly sized head coverings they each wore.


    ¡°Nice hats,¡± I said as I approached them through the crowd of moving people along the road. The pair turned to see Varrin, Xim, and I, and Etja gave us all a bright smile.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± she said, reaching up and running her hand along the side of an oversized tricorn, complete with an array of colorful feathers.


    Etja¡¯s entire outfit had seen an upgrade. Her simple blue robes had been replaced with a well-made dress of navy and cerulean. She had on jeweled bracelets, anklets, a couple of rings, no less than five different necklaces, and had acquired a taste for bold makeup choices. She held her Staff of Archon¡¯s Maker in one hand and there was a stringed instrument similar to a lute on her back.


    Nuralie had also taken to a more fashion-forward outfit, though more subdued than the former golem¡¯s. She was dressed in an expensive-looking suit of black and gray, with silver buttons and embellishments. Her high-top boots sported intricate filigree and were well-polished enough that I feared to stare directly at them, lest the reflected sunlight blind me. Fortunately, my shades shielded me from the worst of their photic assault. Upon her head was a stovepipe hat that looked to have been crafted by a milliner who may have been better suited for designing watchtowers.


    ¡°How was your ¡®vacation¡¯?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It was so good!¡± said Etja. ¡°We went to every big city in Bluewren and Heronwyte. Nuralie learned how to do magic tricks and I learned to play four different instruments at the same time!¡±


    ¡°Magic tricks?¡± I said, looking at Nuralie.


    The loson held up her hands, spread wide and empty, then took off her multistory hat and held it up so that we could see that it was empty. She snapped, flicked her wrist, then pulled her cat-sized frog, Bertegog, from within.


    ¡°That¡¯s just using your inventory,¡± I said.


    ¡°Still magic,¡± said Nuralie, and I had to give that one to her.


    ¡°And you became a one-woman band?¡± I said, turning back to Etja. She nodded with enough enthusiasm that her tricorn bobbed forward over her eyes.


    ¡°She is now a bard of some renown,¡± said Nuralie as Etja pushed the hat back up. ¡°At least, across the western coastal cities.¡± Pause. ¡°I have never seen so many grown men cry.¡±


    ¡°Twelve different people proposed to me,¡± said Etja, placing one pair of hands on her hips and striking a dashing pose. ¡°One of them even offered me six goats as a bride-dowry.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the offer was tempting,¡± I said. ¡°I was neither proposed to nor offered any livestock.¡±


    ¡°I sort of got proposed to,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°There were two Hiwardians and one geulon,¡± said Nuralie, ¡°who offered to become my mate. There were many others who inquired about¡±¡ªpause¡ª¡°more informal arrangements.¡±


    ¡°What about you, Varrin?¡± I asked. ¡°Any offers of marriage during our time off?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve received several letters of intent each season since I was fourteen,¡± he said. ¡°The past few months have been no different.¡±


    ¡°Hot damn,¡± I said. ¡°This is a popular crew.¡±


    ¡°Rich, powerful, and gorgeous,¡± said Xim. ¡°Most of us have all three.¡± She gave me a sly look as she said this and I clutched at my heart in feigned grief.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask which one I¡¯m missing,¡± I said. ¡°I have a difficult time with criticism.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± said Xim. ¡°I saw you getting ¡®criticized¡¯ quite a lot these last few months. Publicly, while getting your butt kicked. You seemed to handle that pretty well.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t criticism. That was instruction.¡±


    ¡°Is that what you kids are calling it these days?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m... older than you.¡±


    ¡°We what now?¡± I said.


    Varrin cleared his throat and gave me a sharp look.


    ¡°Forgive me, Patriarch,¡± he said. ¡°If that is your wish, we are happy to oblige. May I ask whether we should be made aware of the reason for your request?¡±


    ¡°There are two reasons,¡± said the patriarch. ¡°First, I¡¯ll tell you what they¡¯re going to say in the meeting right now. They¡¯ll drone on and on... I¡¯m sure it would be very boring for a group of eager adventurers like you five. This way, you can avoid a tedious meeting headed by the old and slow like myself.


    ¡°Second, your group plays an important role in the narrative Hiward is about to hand out to all five of the major houses. I think it would be better if you made yourselves scarce until everyone is more concerned with what was said at the meeting that was truly important, rather than busying themselves trying to figure out who all of you are.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re important?¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said. ¡°The only reason that we¡¯d be important is if it has to do with what happened in Ravvenblaq last year.¡±


    ¡°For this level of play, that is true,¡± said Ealdric Sr. ¡°Central has good reason to believe that the avatar you encountered last year is responsible for what happened in Canotha.¡±


    ¡°That was fast,¡± said Xim, and Ealdric looked at her expectantly. ¡°Sam¡¯lia just told us that the avatars were going to be a big problem.¡±


    ¡°Timely advice,¡± said the patriarch. ¡°Sam¡¯lia... Could it be advice that looks timely?¡± He pondered that for a few seconds, and I had no idea what he¡¯d meant by it. He took a quick breath and moved on. ¡°A large mana vent opened near the outskirts of Canotha twelve or so days ago. One that grew and threatened to cause an eruption much faster than anyone expected. Very similar to your experience in the mountains. Because of the size and density of the mana vent, one of Timagrin¡¯s most advanced Delver parties was sent to investigate and remedy the situation. There was also a party of mid-level Hiwardian Delvers in the region who responded to see if they could help.


    ¡°When the Timan Delvers arrived they were ambushed by a pair of powerful giants. The Hiwardian party described one of them as ¡°breaking people down into the faintest of particles and breathing them in like the most horrible of pipe smoke.¡± The other was said to ¡°lay siege to the lands with her flesh, which turned all it touched to her own likeness.¡± I think it¡¯s reasonable to believe the first is a description of this Orexis creature. The second may be its sister, Anesis.¡±


    ¡°And Canotha?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Destroyed by the mana eruption,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°The buildings and structures still stand, but all of the people were laid to rest by the mana toxicity and the region will be uninhabitable for years.¡±


    ¡°How did the Hiwardian team escape?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They fled as soon as the avatars began dismantling the Timan team.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t help?¡± asked Etja. She had her hands clasped together, worry clouding her expression.


    ¡°I think they made the right decision,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°They were level sixteen. If the Duckgriens couldn¡¯t fell one of those beasts, then that party had no hope. They brought back an account of events, which is useful. Throwing their lives away for honor would have been... less useful.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s Hiward¡¯s response going to be?¡± I asked.


    Ealdric Sr. crossed his arms behind his back and looked up at the sky.


    ¡°Most of the inner circle knows what happened in our mountains¡ªthe patriarchs, matriarchs, and thundralkes. We agreed to pursue the matter quietly. Our hope was that we could find some clues without stirring up more trouble with these creatures or whatever groups might be allied with them. That¡¯s part of what has kept me so busy these last sixteen months. The strategy has had mixed success.


    ¡°Now that these avatars are openly attacking Delver parties and civilian populations, our cautious approach is... not needed. Hiward will give an account of what transpired in the mountains to everyone present, along with what I just told you about Timagrin and Canotha. We will then be advised that Hiward¡¯s official position is to kill on sight, and we will be encouraged to break the seals on any treasures, relics, techniques, tricks, or dangerous imprisoned relatives we may be hiding away. If any such object, skill, or person was considered forbidden, illegal, or in bad taste, Hiward will kindly look in the other direction while we aim them at the enemy.¡±


    ¡°War footing,¡± I said.


    ¡°It goes farther than that,¡± said the patriarch. ¡°Wars are fought against people. There are some rules for war. These things are not people and so there are no rules.¡±


    ¡°And our party knows more about them than most,¡± I said.


    ¡°Which is why I think it is wise that you stay out of the way of the other houses while they process how much grace Hiward has just given them to act like fools.¡±


    ¡°What about the System phases?¡± said Xim. ¡°If Hiward is looking for tools to use against the avatars, unlocking the next System phase might do that.¡±


    The patriarch tilted his head to the side. His relaxed and somewhat distant demeanor evaporated as his eyes focused and fixed on Xim.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± he said, ¡°what are System phases?¡±

 Chapter 97: Umi-Dooby-Doo, Ecchi Otaku?

    Chapter 97: Umi-Dooby-Doo, Ecchi Otaku?


    ¡°Let me repeat that back to you,¡± said Ealdric, ¡°and you can tell me if I¡¯ve understood you correctly.¡±


    He clasped his hands together before him, pointer fingers held together close to his mouth.


    ¡°The System gave you a mysterious item, called the Get Out of Cage Free Card, which hinted at the existence of something called System phases. While searching for information about these phases, you hunted down and defeated a powerful entity known as The Mimic, who rewarded you with the location of several special-grade Delves that must be conquered to advance to the next phase. You then sought out and spoke with the goddess of the Third Layer, who told you that the System¡¯s second phase will allow more Delvers to be made each year and will provide existing Delvers with greater access to power and resources.¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± said Xim.


    Ealdric took a deep breath, then pondered the information for a full minute. We waited in silence as he did so.


    ¡°Fascinating,¡± he finally said. ¡°Who have you told about this?¡±


    ¡°Arlo and I told Varrin,¡± said Xim. ¡°No idea who he told.¡±


    Ealdric¡¯s eyebrows went up and he turned his head slowly to the big guy, who had gone completely still.


    ¡°I reported the matter to Mother,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°As is appropriate,¡± said Ealdric Sr. ¡°She is the sole reigning Thundralke since my grandson perished.¡±


    ¡°She advised me to inform Grandfather,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I did so and he instructed me to stay silent while he reported the matter to Umi-Doo at Central.¡±


    ¡°My son has been keeping secrets from me,¡± said Ealdric Sr. ¡°I¡¯ll have to have a word with him about that.¡±


    I experienced the strangest mental image of a 90 year old man getting spanked by his centenarian father.


    ¡°If I may,¡± said Varrin, ¡°I believe Grandfather wanted to validate the claims before troubling you with it.¡±


    ¡°The information is somewhat suspect,¡± said the patriarch. ¡°I do not doubt the word of your party, Varrin, but this intelligence was gathered from item descriptions, mana monsters, and divinities with unknown agendas. Unreliable sources, in other words.¡±


    Xim frowned as Ealdric indirectly insulted her goddess, but she kept silent over the matter.


    ¡°Still,¡± Ealdric continued, ¡°the chance that it could be true makes it valuable enough to be worth my time. I would like to hear Umi-Doo¡¯s thoughts.¡±


    The patriarch then strode away from us in the direction of the Dark Iron Palace. I looked around at the group, but Varrin simply turned and began following after Ealdric Senior without missing a beat. He gestured for us to follow.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, ¡°guess we¡¯re going to see Umi-Doo.¡±


    *****


    We entered the Dark Iron Palace through the front, uncontested. Guards parted and servants swept doors open as the patriarch made a beeline for the west wing. We kept close at Ealdric Senior¡¯s heels, earning no more than a careful glance from any of the security.


    We came to a large, spiraling staircase that ascended to the palace¡¯s highest tower. I leaned back, peering up at the endless rows of circling stairs. There were enough flights to give Nuralie¡¯s hat a run for its money. Ealdric paused and looked back at us.


    ¡°Let us take the quick way,¡± he said, and we received a notification.


    Ealdric Ravvenblaq Sr. has invited you to join his party.


    Accept? Y/N


    We accepted the invite, the patriarch looked up again, and the world became a blur. No more than a second passed before we¡¯d ascended to the highest landing. The movement was as quick as Xim¡¯s dream step, but we didn¡¯t cheat our way through reality by believing we were somewhere else, we just moved at ludicrous speed.


    Once we reached the top, the patriarch unceremoniously dismissed us from his party then marched to a set of high-arched doors and pushed them open. Beyond was Umi-Doo¡¯s office and library.


    Ealdric entered like he owned the place, eyes scanning for the mini-yeti who was his target. The Director of Central was nowhere in sight and while Ealdric continued his search for Umi-Doo I took in the furry guy¡¯s choice of aesthetic.


    The room, like the tower, was massive and cylindrical. Bookshelves lined the walls from the floor to the 200-foot-high ceiling, lacking any sort of ladders or walkways to allow one to browse their contents. Amidst the books, countless trinkets and baubles were scattered, many of which looked magical in nature.


    There was a set of thirteen gears that continuously assembled themselves into different configurations, turning for several seconds before finding a new arrangement that suited them. One shelf held dozens of vibrant crystals which I suspected were different types of essences, emitting puffs of colorful vapor. They were outrageously expensive crafting materials and Umi-Doo displayed them like nick-nacks.


    There were orbs that showed what appeared to be live feeds from different locations around Foundation when you peered into them. One shelf had a series of hand mirrors that reflected what I would look like if I were a geulon, a Chovali, a Littan, or any number of other races present on Arzia. I spent several seconds admiring myself as a Timan, the deer-like race that my favorite shopkeep, Seinnador, was a part of. The beard didn¡¯t quite work, but it gave me the look of a deerman who was both distinguished and willing to challenge conventional fashion trends.


    The collection that most drew my eye, however, was one that lined a shelf that ran the length of the entire room, right at the level of my hip. I squatted down and examined the contents, finding it stuffed full of figurines. Some of the sculptures were of different goddesses representing a dozen pantheons and religions. Others were representations of important historical figures hailing from each nation on the continent.


    Yet more were of specific Delvers, each of which had the Delver¡¯s name engraved on the base of the little statue. Varrin¡¯s mother, Thundralke Nola Ravvenblaq, was among them, along with Matriarch Dukgrien, several matriarchs from the other houses¨CBluewren, Heronwyte, Thrushmahagony¨Cand even God-King Ayamari, who I¡¯d only ever heard descriptions of, but never seen a representation.


    The most powerful Delver on the planet looked similar to a Timan, though her antlers were far grander than anything I¡¯d seen on a typical member of the people. Her body proportions were also closer to a Hiwardian¡¯s, while her face was less human than a typical Timan¡¯s and more deer-like. Her eyes were also... strange. Any amount of the detail could have been the liberties taken by the sculptor, so I didn¡¯t pay them much heed.


    Despite the disparate subjects, all of the statuettes had three things in common. They were all women. They were all wearing clothes or armor that I would describe as ¡®nonfunctional¡¯. They were all portrayed in a moment of ¡®compromised¡¯ positioning.


    There were hundreds of them.


    I couldn¡¯t decide if the collection was entertaining or disturbing. Had any of these women agreed to become the subjects of said miniaturization, or was Umi-Doo more of an ¡®ask forgiveness, not permission¡¯ type? Did Hiward have any laws regarding the commercialization of a celebrity¡¯s likeness? I could probably make a case for misappropriation, assuming that¨C


    ¡°Umi-Doo!¡± Ealdric bellowed. ¡°Where are you?¡±


    Several books fell from a high perch and the white-furred face of Umi-Doo sprouted from the shelf behind them. The mage had literally been buried in the books.


    ¡°Ealdric?¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°What are you doing in my office?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to have a meeting,¡± Ealdric Sr. called up to him.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Umi-Doo, extricating himself from the shelf and hovering in the air a hundred feet above us. He began floating down. ¡°The patriarch of Ravvenblaq comes to my office and asks for a meeting, so I suppose that I am now having a meeting with the Ravvenblaq patriarch.¡±


    Umi-Doo landed before Ealdric, craning back to look up at the silver-haired man, who towered over him by three feet or more.


    ¡°What do you know about the System phases?¡± asked Ealdric, and Umi-Doo let out a purring snort in reply.


    ¡°What do I know about System phases?¡± he said. ¡°Fucking nothing! If you¡¯ll excuse my colorful language.¡±


    ¡°Nothing?¡± said Ealdric, his tone skeptical.


    Umi-Doo threw his arms up in frustration.


    ¡°Almost nothing!¡± he said.


    He then spun on his heel and glided through the air to a large marble desk at the center of the chamber. We all followed and when we drew close, I noticed that there was yet another figurine on the desk, half-painted, with an extensive set of fine brushes and pigments laid out beside it.


    It looked like my friend Myria landing in one of her cat-like poses after leaping off something unreasonably tall. However, the figurine was wearing a mini-skirt that was distinctly not designed to be worn while performing acrobatics, resulting in certain undergarments being exposed that should have otherwise remained unseen. Knowing Myria, there was a good chance she had approved this model.


    Umi-Doo waved a hand as we got close and the figurine and paint set disappeared, replaced by a mountain of dusty tomes that plopped onto the desk in rapid succession, landing with heavy thuds. Umi-Doo waved again and the cloud of ancient soot that now filled the space was sucked away into a small, ruby bottle along a shelf to our right.


    ¡°No mention of System phases among the ancient culture of Hursrabargdraf,¡± said Umi-Doo, gesturing at one of the piles. He gestured at the next. ¡°No mention among the theological texts of the dead religion of VONT. No mention among speculative fiction which pre-dates the founding of the Littan Empire concerning the existence of the demon spirit, Juntin. No mention among witness interviews after the fall of Mudong-Dal. No mention¨C¡±


    Ealdric held up a hand.


    ¡°These are all very specific sources,¡± he said. ¡°Why would they mention System phases in the first place? Most of these were written before the Creation Delve was discovered.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well I¡¯ve already read everything written about the Delves,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°Everything published, that is. Probably half of what is unpublished. It goes without saying that nothing about System phases is mentioned in those.¡±


    ¡°Does it, though?¡± I asked, and Umi-Doo turned to look at me. I was pretty sure he¡¯d only just noticed my existence.


    ¡°Esquire Arlo,¡± he said.


    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I had no good reply to that.


    ¡°Hiwardians frequently cross the blockade,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I¡¯m certain you can grant us passage.¡±


    Umi-Doo blinked at the big guy, then looked at Ealdric, who nodded.


    ¡°I do have some arrangements that can be leveraged,¡± Umi-Doo said. ¡°If a request is made by you, patriarch, then I would be willing to spend some of my diplomatic capital.¡±


    ¡°Then consider the request made,¡± said Ealdric. Umi-Doo shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s your influence to waste, I suppose,¡± he said.


    ¡°Once we cross the blockade,¡± said Nuralie, ¡°I can be our escort.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d been sanctioned by the church with such capacity,¡± said Umi-Doo.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± Pause. ¡°But I can be.¡±


    ¡°Then you have two of your three required miracles,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°Your party moves quickly. Now you just have to survive the Delve.¡±


    ¡°And avoid any difficult Littans,¡± I mumbled, mulling over the chance of a second encounter with Tavio and Gharifon. The Littan armies weren¡¯t in Eschendur, but they sure as hell were around it.


    ¡°Who would you send for the 20 and under Delve?¡± asked Varrin. ¡°Saekongr¡¯s Crevice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s been a misunderstanding,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°I, in my role as Director of Central, cannot condone this mission. If we assume the information you have is correct, the nebulous claim that your actions will generate new methods to mint Delvers is unfavorable to Hiward.¡±


    ¡°Here it is,¡± I said. ¡°The politics and bullshittery.¡± Umi-Doo tilted his head at me. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse my colorful language,¡± I added.


    ¡°As such,¡± he continued, ¡°any assistance I can provide is limited. Even petitioning for your passage into Eschendur puts me in a tricky position.¡±


    ¡°What about brother Ealdric?¡± Varrin asked, turning to Ealdric Senior. The patriarch shook his head.


    ¡°He and his party are only level 12. A level 20 Delve would be suicide. Normally, I would say your own party is reaching too high with a level 10, but the reports I¡¯ve read on your team¡¯s activities are enough to persuade me to allow you to pursue it.¡±


    ¡°Any other Ravvenblaq teams in that range?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The other family teams are too high level,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°I would have to entreat one of the other houses. It would be a difficult task, especially in light of Hiward¡¯s reaction to the avatars.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°The Thundralkes are unlikely to allow their best and brightest to chase fairy tales while the king has us readying ourselves to take action against god-like beings in Timagrin.¡±


    ¡°So, someone else?¡± I said. ¡°One of the non-Hiwardian teams?¡±


    ¡°Hmph,¡± Umi-Doo purr-grunted. ¡°Timagrin is busy, my native people in Mittak wouldn¡¯t care, Ayama doesn¡¯t play nice with anyone, and our present relationship with Litta is poor. Beyond that, the imperials are more concerned with their chokehold on the Eschens.¡±


    ¡°Anyone in Eschendur?¡± I asked, looking at Nuralie.


    ¡°The Eschens have few capable Delvers,¡± Umi-Doo said before Nuralie could respond. ¡°They are a Revelator culture, ill-equipped to¨C¡±


    ¡°Sakra Manar,¡± said Nuralie, and Umi-Doo¡¯s mouth clapped shut. ¡°She could do it.¡±


    ¡°What level is she?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Fifteen.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think that¡¯s too low? Is her party really skilled or something?¡±


    ¡°Eschendur is a Revelator culture,¡± said Nuralie, eyeing Umi-Doo. ¡°Sakra Manar is one of the ruling triarchs of Eschendur, the Zenithar of the Church of Deijin, a sixth-stage Revelator, and the only member of the Triune who is also a Delver.¡± Pause. ¡°She is more than capable.¡±


    Umi-Doo shifted uncomfortably and a heavy book fell from his desk. It made a loud clap as it landed, but the little mage ignored it.


    ¡°In that case,¡± he said, ¡°you would need only to convince one of the most powerful and important people in your nation to pursue a Delve on the opposite side of the continent.¡±


    Nuralie lowered her head and her tail twitched.


    ¡°I will convince her that our mission is righteous.¡± Pause. ¡°And necessary.¡±


    Ealdric watched Nuralie¡¯s expression for a moment, then rapped his knuckles against the desk.


    ¡°Sounds like you have a plan,¡± he said. ¡°Umi-Doo gets you through the blockade, Nuralie guides you through Eschendur and recruits the assistance of the Zenithar, then the five of you conquer a hitherto insurmountable Delve.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve had worse,¡± said Varrin. ¡°There are no half-gods trying to kill us this round.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I said. ¡°Why would you speak that into existence?¡±


    Our group spent another hour hammering out some of the details, then began to make our way out of Umi-Doo¡¯s office. It would take a couple of weeks to get our blockade passes, mainly because Umi-Doo would have to grease some palms to help us get Nuralie through. The Littan blockade had already kept the loson from returning home for nearly two years.


    On our way out, Etja stopped and admired some of Umi-Doo¡¯s figurines, picking one up to examine. The model was of Yara¨Cqueen of the gods and rightful ruler of the celestials¨Cin upward dog position. Etja turned it over and studied it from all angles, then caught me watching her.


    ¡°These are neat!¡± she said as she set the figure down and picked up another. While she looked over a Dhonvon angel of purity shedding her mortal body¨Cand clothes¨Cto rise into the heavens, Umi-Doo floated over to study it alongside her.


    ¡°I take great care to portray them exactly as the scriptures describe,¡± he said.


    ¡°Really?¡± both Etja and I said at the same time, though with distinctly different tones.


    ¡°What about the real people?¡± I asked, pointing over the section of Delvers.


    ¡°Also made with high fidelity,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s a point of personal pride, and also why they sell so well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the only reason,¡± I said. ¡°So, do these ladies get a cut?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± said Umi-Doo, looking affronted. ¡°Do you take me for a thief?¡±


    ¡°I, uh, no. I thought that, maybe... nevermind.¡±


    He looked at me quizzically, but turned back to Etja.


    ¡°I hear you made a name for yourself out on the western coast,¡± he said.


    ¡°You did?¡± said Etja. ¡°Already?¡±


    ¡°You left quite the impression. You may not be a woman of exceptional renown at the moment, but I can see you one day being known the world over.¡±


    ¡°Aww, that¡¯s sweet of you to say.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s never too early to think about merchandising,¡± he continued. ¡°If you like, we could collaborate on a statue for yourself.¡±


    Etja paused her inspection of the figure and looked at Umi-Doo. Umi-Doo looked at Etja, his mini-yeti face expressionless. Etja looked at me. I looked at Etja. We both looked back at Umi-Doo.


    Etja sat the model back onto the shelf.


    ¡°That¡¯s a really nice offer,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡±


    ¡°Proposal¡¯s on the table,¡± said Umi-Doo. ¡°Let me know if you change your mind.¡±


    We then left the Director of Central¡¯s office behind, so that he could do his highly professional Director-of-Central things alone.

 Chapter 98: Spirit, Sea, and Lots of Cannons

    Chapter 98: Spirit, Sea, and Lots of Cannons


    Before parting ways with Ealdric Senior, the patriarch pulled Varrin aside to provide some words of wisdom. The pair made no effort to avoid being overheard and I made myself obvious as I waited on the big guy, so that no one could fairly accuse me of the eavesdropping that I was certainly engaging in.


    ¡°I see that you¡¯ve taken up your father¡¯s sword, Kazandak,¡± said Ealdric Sr., gesturing at the sheathed blade on Varrin¡¯s hip. The giraffe-length weapon¨C20 feet at its longest¨Cwas the size of a normal longsword when fully collapsed. Varrin nodded at the patriarch¡¯s words, placing his hand on the sword¡¯s pommel, but didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°When your grandfather forged that sword,¡± Ealdric Sr. said, ¡°it was the first blade made by a Delver that could only exist because it was made by a Delver. Other craftsmen had well-honed the art of producing blades that could only be wielded by a Delver¨Cdemanding mana weaves, absurd size and weight¨Cbut your grandfather was the first to cast the entire art of weapon smithing into the fire before using that heat to forge Kazandak.


    ¡°This weapon could not possibly exist without magic. No metal can be worked to be so long and so thin while keeping its structural integrity. Everything that had come before it relied on traditional designs, adapted to the abilities of Delvers, but Junior¡¯s first masterwork asked the Delver to adapt to the weapon, instead. To wield Kazandak, one must bend to Kazandak. The blade makes itself a part of your technique, your style, a part of you.


    ¡°When Junior presented it to me as a gift, its requirements and enhancements fell well below what I was able to wield, but I recognized the potency of it. The blade is light, so it takes great advantage of Speed, but the force required to use it effectively at its farthest reach demands incredible Strength. When both are applied with skill, the sword proves itself more potent than many blades with... ¡®flashier¡¯ or higher-level bonuses. I used it for many years, before passing it down to your father.¡±


    Varrin watched the patriarch respectfully, though it looked like he knew this story well. I imagined it was a favorite bedtime tale for many of the Ravvenblaq children, tucked to sleep with their wooden play swords to keep them warm in bed.


    ¡°Var,¡± said Ealdric, ¡°when I was a child, we slept on threadbare blankets on cold stone deep within the mountains. Our family ate what we called Rhyming Soup, made from moisture collected from the mines and whatever vermin we could hunt for meat¨Cbats, rats, and cats, mostly. We held nothing of value but for one thing: an ancient, brittle shortsword.


    ¡°For you or I now, something like that would be less than junk in our eyes, but at that time, it was a treasure. We could have traded it for a month of full bellies and dry beds near the warmth of the smeltery. Being discovered with it could also have sent my father to the pens for a year, which was the same as a death sentence. It was the most valuable¨Cand dangerous¨Cthing anyone that we knew owned.


    ¡°My father did not keep it for its worth in silver, or even to use as a weapon, however. He kept it because it was his totem; a symbol of his lineage, passed down from parent to child for unknown generations. Our family held no surname at the time, but that sword was our crest, the sigil of our house.


    ¡°I tell you this not to remind you of your heritage or because old men enjoy repeating stories they¡¯ve told a hundred times... Well, maybe a little bit of that second part. No, the reason I am telling you is because our house has lost some part of itself since we were granted titles and lands and more money than we know what to do with. I have struggled with it myself, and I fear that I have failed to pass on the essence of my father¡¯s customs. The customs that were held for centuries before the name Ravvenblaq was first spoken.


    ¡°To my father, that sword was not an object¨Cnot a weapon or a tool. To him, the blade was the spirit of our family. Each hand that had held it was a part of the blade, a piece of every man or woman who¡¯d owned it, imbued into the metal. The sword was a living thing that spoke to him in some deep way, and he passed before I ever truly understood what that meant to him.


    ¡°I have struggled to hand his beliefs down through the family. When I was young and angry, I blamed my father for much of what we endured in my youth. Here was a man who muttered to his sword, instead of using it to cut down our taskmasters. A man who prayed to the ancestors that had allowed us to be enslaved. A man who never raised a fist to anyone, no matter how cruel. I thought him weak and foolish. As I have aged, I have... calmed down some.¡± He gave Varrin a smile soaked in regret.


    ¡°While my father never broke fetters or drove our oppressors back across the sea, he accomplished a feat that I think is just as grand. He kept our identity. Ours was the only family with history, with a story that told us who we were. We were connected to all those who came before us, and though that connection grew frayed and distant, it never broke. It persists to this day.¡± Ealdric reached down and placed his hand over Varrin¡¯s along the sword¡¯s pommel.


    ¡°That ancient sword is lost,¡± he said. ¡°Stolen and shattered before the earliest days of the war. But, this blade,¡± he shook the pommel for emphasis, ¡°this blade is our legacy now.¡± He released his grip and took Varrin by the shoulders. ¡°I taught Junior everything I knew, Junior put everything he had into forging this blade, and your father...¡± Ealdric looked down for a moment and swallowed. When he looked back up at Varrin, he was no longer the Ravvenblaq patriarch. He was a man, forlorn and world-weary, who¡¯d seen his share of tragedy.?iscover new chapters at novelhall.com


    ¡°Your father lost his life trying to protect you with it,¡± he finally said, softly. ¡°Now, this blade is yours, but I want you to meditate on the ones who came before you. Try to understand your connection, not just to the three generations that held Kazandak, but to all those who lived and died in the mines, and all those who lived as free men and women before. This may not be the sword that was taken from my father, but this is the sword he whispered to in the night. That history and connection go beyond the limits of this physical world.¡±


    Ealdric grasped Varrin by the back of the neck and gave the big guy a gentle shake, then dropped his hand. He searched Varrin¡¯s eyes for a few seconds, then turned to leave. Varrin watched the patriarch go, and I could tell the story had moved him but also left him a little confused. He raised his hand from the pommel of the sword and stared down at it. When he looked back up, the patriarch had passed out of sight.


    He turned to me with a strange expression, as though he didn¡¯t know whether he was allowed to ask me what the fuck that was all about. Eventually, he walked over and the pair of us moved to catch up with the rest of our party in silence.


    *****


    We¡¯d been told to make ourselves scarce, so after setting a Checkpoint at my Formation estate¨Cnot ransacked and no squatters yet, so huzzah!¨Cand making a visit to a few shops, we hustled our way out of Foundation before the Delver meeting was ever held. We spent the time waiting for our blockade passes by traveling to Port Sarsora on Hiward¡¯s eastern coast, where we¡¯d depart across the sea bound for Eschendur.


    We took the journey at an easy pace and ended up with a few days in the port, which was enough time for me to use my Spectacular Vernacular bonus to teach myself the Imperial language to a conversational level. Uncommon words would be tricky and my accent was probably shit, but it seemed like a reasonable thing to spend my time on since we were about to be interfacing with a fleet¡¯s worth of Littans.


    Our passes arrived without a hitch, and no less than a dozen merchants and rental fleets denied us passage or vessel after catching on that we had an Eschen in our party, despite the fact that our passes expressly granted Nuralie permission to cross the blockade. As it turns out, Varrin was a deft hand at sailing and Etja had a good grasp of what was required from her inherited knowledge, and they assured us that we three laymen could be instructed for the brief voyage from shore to shore. So, we bought a caravel with a speed-enhancing mana weave.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    We set out at dawn with the wind at our backs and Etja¡¯s tricorn making her look like the most fabulous of sea captains as its large, colorful feathers flapped in the breeze. Three dawns later, we were pulling up to thirty imperial warships off the coast of Eschendur and facing down one grumpy Littan admiral.


    After dropping sails, allowing ourselves to be boarded and ¡®inspected¡¯, handing over our passes, and watching a schooner full of Littan soldiers sail away with them, I was still pretty calm. That didn¡¯t last.


    After an hour, a galleon moved into position on our starboard side along with a second which closed in on our bow. Both ships faced us broadside, with a battery of cannons on full display. The attempt at intimidation got me irritated, and I briefly wondered how much damage a cannonball would do if I took one to the chest.


    When the admiral finally showed his face, it was from very far away on the deck of his galleon with a pair of level 3 Delvers at his side, full copper. One of them had a skill that amplified the admiral¡¯s voice, the latter of whom began engaging us in a meaningful dialogue in which he made demands that none of us were willing to acquiesce to.


    ¡°You will remove all weapons and armor,¡± said the admiral in a nasally voice that echoed across the water. ¡°My sailors will retrieve these items from you before allowing your passage into Eschendur.¡±


    ¡°You have no right to-¡± I began to shout back, but the admiral cut me off.


    ¡°If you do not comply, we will fire upon your vessel.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re threatening to sink a legally sailing crew with full permission to¨C¡±


    ¡°If you attempt to flee, we will fire upon your vessel.¡±


    ¡°You cannot possibly be this stu¨C¡±


    ¡°You have thirty seconds to signal your intent to hand over the Eschen.¡±


    ¡°Ah, fuck this,¡± I said.


    I cast Shortcut twice in quick succession and appeared on the deck of the galleon beside the admiral. The beastman stumbled back when I popped out of a dimensional tear two feet from him, but one of his copper flunkies steadied him before he fell. All along the deck, soldiers leveled spears and crossbows at me. The second copper, a brawny male Littan, stepped between myself and the admiral, glowing scimitar at the ready.


    ¡°It seemed like we were having difficulty communicating,¡± I said, leaning to one side and ignoring the level 3. ¡°I think this is more convenient.¡±


    The admiral¡¯s eyes had gone wide, but he recomposed himself after the woman came around to join the other level 3 between myself and their commander.


    ¡°Listen, my guy, think about what you¡¯re asking here,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got a full party of platinum Delvers on that boat, people that I¡¯ve fought and bled with, people I care quite a lot about, and you¡¯ve just asked me to hand one over to you. It¡¯s not gonna happen.¡±


    ¡°I-if you refuse to cooperate, then¨C¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re going to shoot cannonballs at us? Do you think you¡¯d hit any of us with them?¡±


    ¡°Your vessel will be¨C¡±


    ¡°We bought that boat with one-tenth of what we made in our last Delve. Sink it, see if I care. Or, wait, do you think we need a boat to make it to shore?¡±


    ¡°Seize this intruder!¡± the admiral shouted, and the coppers jumped into action.


    They weren¡¯t very impressive.


    The woman began weaving a spell, which I Dispelled. She seemed genuinely shocked when her mana fizzled. Scimitar brought his weapon down, but I cast Shortcut again and appeared behind the admiral. I sent Gracorvus into targe mode and had it fly at Scimitar, who struck at it like a charging monster, which accomplished very little. I kept willing the shield forward at 40 miles per hour and Scimitar was sent tumbling off the side of the ship. The splash was satisfying.


    The woman began weaving viridian mana, which I Dispelled again.


    ¡°You gotta, ya¡¯ know, try to fake me out or something,¡± I said as I Dispelled a third spell. ¡°This shit costs me like 40% of what you''re spending on that magic and I guarantee I have more mana than you.¡±


    She bared her teeth and pulled out a long dagger, then charged. I gripped the admiral by the collar of his jacket and jerked him in front of me, which caused her to stumble to a halt to keep from skewering her commander.


    ¡°We¡¯re all reasonable people,¡± I said as a soldier stabbed me from behind with a spear. His weapon broke on my armor. ¡°You gave me one option, which is to say, an ultimatum. I¡¯ll do you a favor and give you two options. Option one, you let me and my crew sail to Eschendur like our blockade passes give us the legal right to do. No one gets hurt, and everyone walks away happy. Option two, you act like a pissy asshole and I sink your battleship. Less people walk away, happy or otherwise.¡±


    The admiral turned and looked at me with one wild eye. Two more soldiers broke their spears on my back and I gave the admiral a winning smile.


    ¡°Your choice,¡± I said.


    ¡°Fire all cannons!¡± the admiral screamed.


    ¡°This is why I¡¯m not a diplomat,¡± I said, my voice lost in the thundering sound of big guns.

 Chapter 99: At Loggerheads

    Chapter 99: At Loggerheads


    I checked to make sure my party had abandoned ship before our caravel was shredded by 40 cannons, full broadsides from two different battleships. Varrin had leaped out onto the water and was now literally sprinting across its surface. Etja, Xim, and Nuralie all hovered up and into the air under the effects of Siphon.


    I jumped off the edge of the ship, then cast Shortcut when I could see inside of a gunport, appearing next to a rather surprised Littan cannon crew. I pulled out Somncres and extended it into a two-handed form, then brought it down on the cannon before me. The mundane iron crumpled beneath the magically enhanced blow, rendering the cannon useless.


    I began marching down the line, ignoring soldiers who tried to prod me with spears and blades. Their weapons either broke or were turned aside by my armor. Here and there I shoved one roughly aside as I rapidly made my way down the entire length of the ship, dismantling every cannon I came across. While my Strength alone wouldn¡¯t have been enough to make such casual work of the materials I was tearing through, Somncres and my recent buffs to Blunt added a lot of oomph to my swings.


    As I wrecked each piece of artillery in turn, I began to consider that there may have been a few ways to handle this situation that would have been... better than how I¡¯d approached it.


    Could we have called the admiral¡¯s bluff and tried to run the blockade? Maybe. However, when someone points a gun and says they¡¯re going to shoot, I believe them. Turns out, that was the correct assumption to make.


    Could we have dived below the water and hidden in the Closet, then used our combined magic prowess to figure out a way to swim under the blockade once the Littans thought us dead or in the wind? Possibly. But, I hadn¡¯t thought of that.


    A soldier landed a spear in my cheek, but it failed to penetrate the skin. I snatched the weapon away and glared at him. He backed off, with several more around him abandoning their attempts to subdue me.


    We¡¯d had passes that granted us the legal right to travel through the blockade. My first instinct had been to argue my legal point, rather than fall back on committing a ¡®crime¡¯ to avoid an asshole with power. In retrospect, that was naive of me, but it was how I¡¯d always done things. I hadn''t been given much time to think, so I¡¯d relied on what had worked for me in the past. Of course, my past self had never interfaced with foreign military elements in possession of a fleet of ships and what appeared to be carte blanche to use them however they saw fit. I¡¯d wanted to ¡®talk it out¡¯ with the guy.


    Unfortunately, in order to talk with the admiral, I¡¯d had to get close to the admiral. Teleporting onto the man¡¯s galleon in full Madrin plate was, I supposed, a threatening gesture, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯d attacked anyone. I didn¡¯t even have my weapon out. Again, it was probably naive of me to think he would have reacted any differently.


    Once I¡¯d disabled all the cannons, I smashed through the planks below me, exposing the ship¡¯s lowest deck where the hull went below the waterline. I began channeling Explosion!.


    Now, I was in a predicament. The admiral had just tried to kill my allies. He¡¯d had no chance of succeeding, but that attempt irked me nonetheless. I¡¯d already seen red when he¡¯d demanded that we turn Nuralie over to him, so this wrinkle added to my irritation with the Littan. Unless he had more Delvers¨Cones a lot better than the level 3¡¯s he was rolling with¨Chis insistence on keeping his ultimatum would do nothing more than result in the deaths of his soldiers while my party carved its way to shore.


    I turned to the soldiers who were either brave or stupid enough to still have weapons leveled at me.


    ¡°You guys should get out of here,¡± I said in Imperial. They glanced at my upraised hand, then ran.


    Maybe we could fly over the blockade, banking on the idea that their cannons wouldn¡¯t get a good angle on us. Then we might have Littans chasing us into Eschendur, which was an entirely different can of worms to open. They also had ballistas, but if they weren¡¯t mana-woven in some fashion I doubted they¡¯d do any real harm to anyone in the party. That was an assumption, though, and a risk that I wasn¡¯t completely comfortable with. Also, Varrin could run on water and I could use Gracorvus, but I wasn¡¯t confident Etja¡¯s mana would hold out while transporting three people across the mile of sea left between us and the Eschen shore. It was all very frustrating.


    I snapped my fingers and cast Explosion!. A pressure wave rocked through the belly of the ship as planks and iron bands were obliterated. Seawater began pouring in through the massive breach. I looked up and brought my hammer around on the planks above me, tearing open a hole. I hopped up, grabbed the edges, and hefted myself back topside. Several soldiers scattered from where I emerged, and I marched back over to the admiral.


    The woman Delver in the sand-colored robes¨CSandy, I decided to call her¨Chad pulled out a second dagger and tried to intercept me, but I sidestepped her. Her physical attributes had to have been abysmal and some part of me couldn¡¯t believe she was trying to fall back on them after I¡¯d tossed a few Dispels at her. I grabbed the admiral by the collar again, then positioned him so that Sandy couldn¡¯t keep coming for me.


    ¡°Why the fuck wouldn¡¯t you accept our passes?¡± I said, glaring at him. The ship groaned beneath us, but it would likely take a few minutes to begin listing.


    ¡°No Eschen Delver is to cross the blockade,¡± said the admiral.


    ¡°Then why did your government give us passes that gave us the express right to do so?¡±


    ¡°My orders are given with the weight of the Imperial throne,¡± he said. ¡°An administrative blunder does not overrule the emperor¡¯s authority.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that the passes were issued negligently?¡± He didn¡¯t give any reply to the question, verbal or physical. ¡°You could have let us turn around,¡± I added.


    The man had recovered his composure and was now looking at me with a mix of contempt and bewilderment.


    ¡°I am also tasked with capturing any Eschen Delver who attempts to cross,¡± he said. ¡°I will not allow such a weapon to return to Eschendur.¡±


    ¡°Then you realize that Delvers are dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do,¡± he spat, insulted.


    ¡°But you just threatened a whole crew of them.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re level 6!¡± he said. ¡°My Delvers told me as much. I have been apprised of the capabilities of Delvers in different ranges. The lower levels are dangerous, but hardly a threat to a significant military force.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s the root of the misunderstanding. You don¡¯t think we¡¯re dangerous enough.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mad,¡± said the admiral. ¡°I know that some Delvers become drunk on the powers they gain, but this... it rises to the level of absurd.¡±


    ¡°Sandy,¡± I said, turning to the woman, ¡°have you seen Delvers fight mundane soldiers?¡± She swallowed and looked between myself and the admiral, but didn¡¯t comment. Either she hadn¡¯t¨Cnot in any serious way¨Cor she wasn¡¯t willing to contradict her CO¡¯s position.


    ¡°Not dangerous enough,¡± I said, repeating my earlier statement. ¡°That guy has a Strength evolution that makes him ten times more effective against mundane objects. Are any of the ships in your fleet made from magic wood?¡±


    The admiral looked back at me, shocked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think so,¡± I said.


    I reared back and hurled Somncres into the deck at the admiral¡¯s feet, who shouted in alarm and stumbled back, falling. The sounds of smashing planks followed the hammer down through the vessel. When it whipped back up out of the hole and into my hand, it was dripping with briney water.


    ¡°Well,¡± I said, ¡°if your ship¨Cthe admiral¡¯s ship¨Cdoesn¡¯t have any weaves, then it¡¯s probably safe to say that none of them do.¡± I squinted down into the hole. ¡°You asked how much it cost me to disable this vessel. I¡¯ll be honest, I couldn¡¯t sink an entire fleet of ships with the same speed as what I just did here, but I could sink a few. That guy, however¡±¡ªI pointed at Varrin, who was speeding out to the next approaching vessel¡ª¡°What he just did to that galleon didn¡¯t even use stamina.¡±


    I reached down and took the admiral by the arm, helping him back to his feet. I looked back out over the water, where several more vessels from the fleet had begun sailing closer.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how this goes,¡± I said as one ship aimed a ballista at my floating trio of party members.


    The massive bolt launched through the air, and a casual wave from Etja sent it flying off course. She guided it into another vessel closing from the opposite direction, leaving a gaping hole in its hull. A volley of bright arrows rained down onto the deck of the attacking ship from Nuralie, laying out the soldiers manning the ballista along with who I suspected was the captain, though I couldn¡¯t quite tell from this distance. Then, a beam of crimson light hit. The boat quickly began to burn.


    ¡°You had 30 ships, right?¡± I said. ¡°Now you have 27.¡±


    The admiral looked over the galleon Varrin had cleaved in twain and the one that was quickly becoming a pyre. I clapped him on the back.


    ¡°You should tell your men to abandon this one,¡± I said.


    He looked around at the soldiers who watched us, many of whom looked uneasy as they adjusted their stance to the ship¡¯s increasing tilt. Still, they all held firm and none abandoned their post, despite the display.


    ¡°I don¡¯t... understand,¡± said the admiral. ¡°The reports said... a level 6 shouldn¡¯t be able to...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you in on a little secret,¡± I said. ¡°Levels don¡¯t mean as much as you think. Now, you¡¯ve just made an error.¡± I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. ¡°An error that has so far cost you 10 percent of your fleet. None of my party members have taken so much as a single point of damage. Do you want to compound your error, or would you like to withdraw and let us become someone else¡¯s problem?¡±


    The admiral stared me down, but then shrugged off my hands and turned to start shouting orders to his men.


    ¡°Fly the fallback flag!¡± he shouted. ¡°Prepare the rowboats for any injured! Ensign, go to my cabin and secure my strongbox!¡±


    The soldiers became a flurry of activity and their focus became survival, rather than me. I turned to will Gracorvus to my feet and found Scimitar climbing back over the railing of the deck, fur soaking wet. He looked from Sandy, clutching her knee, to the soldiers preparing to abandon the galleon, then to me. Gracorvus landed and I stepped onto it. He narrowed his eyes but made no move to stop me. I took off from the ship, aiming for Xim, Etja, and Nuralie.


    When I drew close, Xim crossed her arms and frowned. She kicked her feet a bit as she hovered.


    ¡°Negotiations go well?¡± she asked.


    ¡°The admiral has agreed to a temporary cease-fire,¡± I replied, eyeing the ships that were starting to change course to avoid us. A few were approaching the distressed vessels for rescue operations.


    ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± said Etja. Nuralie looked disappointed if anything.


    ¡°How long can you keep this up?¡± I asked, gesturing at the three of them.


    ¡°A few minutes,¡± said Etja. ¡°If I don¡¯t cast any other spells.¡±


    ¡°Think we can make it to shore by then?¡±


    ¡°If no one¡¯s shooting at me, maybe,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get going.¡± I scanned the area. ¡°Anyone seen Varrin?¡±


    The others looked around as well but came up short. I decided to use an aura trick I hadn¡¯t pulled out in a while and focused on my allies. With focus, I could get a general sense of where anyone in my party was and even see their surroundings to a limited degree.


    As I worked on finding Varrin, the big guy¡¯s health dropped by a fifth on my interface. I swore and quickly got his approximate location, then went to view his surroundings.


    All I saw around him was dark, endless water.

 Chapter 100: Yaretzi!

    Chapter 100: Yaretzi!


    Varrin was somewhere near a retreating galleon north of our position and the four of us quickly flew over. Etja set Xim and Nuralie down on the ship¡¯s deck both to give her mana a break and also to help me search for the big guy, which was distressing for the Littans aboard the vessel. The ladies gave the crew a few mean looks and they backed off without much trouble.


    Varrin had taken a burst of damage while I felt for his location earlier, which indicated he¡¯d been attacked by something that could not only hurt him but hurt him severely. The good news was that he hadn¡¯t taken any further damage, but the view my aura gave me of his surroundings placed the man underwater. Even if whatever attacked him had backed off, drowning was a minor concern. Varrin had plenty of stamina, so we had several minutes to find him and figure out what was going on, but there still wasn¡¯t much room for dawdling.


    The bad news was that there was a level 17 Littan¨Cfull gold¨Cslowly rising into the air off the Galleon¡¯s starboard side.


    The man was clad in ostentatious armor, which is saying a lot considering my own getup. It was bright blue and silver mail that was studded with rows of gemstones in swirling patterns. He wore a tabard that looked like a rhinestone cowboy¡¯s kitchen apron, with the sparkling image of a bird as its central coat of arms. It looked suspiciously like a rooster.


    On top of all that, the man¡¯s headgear was in the style of a frog-mouth helm like the ones used in jousting tournaments but had a massive, shining crest on top that looked like it was made from fine threads of spun moonlight. He held one hand tucked behind his back with the second outstretched as if he were holding a fencing blade or rapier, but it was empty. He brought the hand around from behind him and gave me a jaunty wave.


    ¡°Hello!¡± he shouted. ¡°Correct me if I am wrong, but you are Esquire Arlo, aye?¡±


    The man¡¯s level and the fact that he knew my name both gave me a very bad feeling.


    ¡°I am,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh, this is wonderful news!¡± he said. ¡°Yaretzi has heard many good things about you!¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at his use of the third person.


    ¡°Did Yaretzi happen to hear these things from a guy named Tavio?¡±


    ¡°Aye, yes!¡± he replied, still floating slowly upward. ¡°It is all that Tavio would speak about for three days. He sometimes becomes obsessed, you see, and he is still very curious about your party. Gharifon, though... he was not so impressed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try not to take it personally,¡± I said. ¡°Is Yaretzi the reason one of my party members is sinking to the bottom of the ocean?¡±


    The man fully bent over to look down at the water below him, then righted himself and shrugged.


    ¡°Yaretzi saw a man trying to sink this galleon. Yaretzi stopped him.¡±


    I turned and caught Etja¡¯s eye, then nodded at the water.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get him,¡± she said, then flew off the side of the boat and into the drink.


    ¡°Well, if you see this Yaretzi fellow, you should let him know that I¡¯m unhappy he attacked my group. Otherwise, we were just finishing up here and heading to shore. So, nice chat.¡±


    The man placed a hand on his chest.


    ¡°Yaretzi is Yaretzi,¡± he said.


    ¡°Sure, that makes sense,¡± I said. ¡°Who else would Yaretzi be but Yaretzi? Anyway, if you run into him, let him know that I think he¡¯s kind of a dick for what he did to Varrin.¡±


    I looked down at the gentle waves, waiting for Etja to reappear, hopefully with our missing warrior. The man scratched at his helm.


    ¡°You are fucking with Yaretzi,¡± he said. ¡°That is unkind.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m confused. Is Yaretzi in the room with us right now?¡±


    ¡°We are not in a room.¡±


    ¡°Is he outside of the room?¡±


    He threw his arms out.


    ¡°What room?!¡± he shouted.


    ¡°The room where Yaretzi is!¡± I shouted back.


    ¡°How long?¡±


    ¡°A couple of minutes or so.¡±


    I turned back to the caravels. Yaretzi had finished dressing down the lead boat¡¯s crew and the other two ships seemed to be awaiting his orders. They all gave the spike weapons a wide berth.


    ¡°Reckon he¡¯ll be happy with his cheap shot and let us go?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what happened,¡± said Xim, keeping her eyes on Varrin¡¯s wounds as she focused a low-power Heal on the backs of his legs. ¡°Where¡¯d that lightning come from?¡±


    ¡°Right, they¡¯re still invisible,¡± I said. ¡°Get ready for an Arlo upload.¡±


    The party steeled themselves as I connected to each of their souls and used Reveal, sharing my ability to see through the illusion that cloaked the caravels.


    ¡°The Littans have been experimenting,¡± Varrin growled once he caught sight of the vessels. ¡°That spike cannon on the front looks like Madrin. The traditional cannons look like dark iron.¡±


    Yaretzi turned around, looked up to see me, and then gave me another wave. He gripped two large handles at the rear of the caravel¡¯s magic gun and swung it in the galleon¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Shit is he gonna¨C¡± The runes along the body of the weapon lit up. ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted. ¡°You¡¯re firing on your own ship! You¡¯re going to sink your own galleon!¡±


    ¡°No, no!¡± Yaretzi shouted back. ¡°You are sinking the galleon, you fiendish Delvers! By the time I arrived, all that was left for me was flotsam and vengeance!¡±


    He fired, and I dove to the deck of the ship with my allies. The kaleidoscopic web of lightning crackled across the boat¡¯s hull then arced over the side and struck at the deck with enough force to shatter planks. A dozen more Littan soldiers were annihilated, their bodies reduced to charred embers. The flames that the crew had been diligently extinguishing redoubled, joined by a score of new fires. One of the bolts struck my armor, but like with Xim and Nuralie before it didn¡¯t do much.


    HP: 1220 -> 1209


    Stamina: 364 -> 359


    Mana: 250 -> 245


    ¡°What the fuck?!¡± I said, jumping back to my feet. Yaretzi was yelling at the other two boats and gesturing at their big guns, but the Delvers were understandably hesitant. Even Yaretzi¡¯s hands now smoldered, and the person that I suspected first shot the spike cannon, losing their hands in the process, had passed out. Instead, the crews started manning the normal cannons and ballistas.


    The galleon¡¯s captain was beginning to lose control over his surviving soldiers, who were panicking, unable to see the enemy that was attacking them. A few had already begun jumping overboard. I went over to look down the side of the galleon, finding the hull ruined and the ship taking in water. Before long the vessel would be a sinking inferno.


    ¡°Those smaller cannons have mana threads running through them,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°So they¡¯re all magic bullshit guns,¡± I said. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°What did he mean when he said that we¡¯re the ones sinking this ship?¡± Etja asked.


    ¡°He can shoot all he wants,¡± said Varrin, ¡°and we¡¯ll take the blame.¡±


    ¡°What about the Littan crew? They can see we aren¡¯t attacking!¡±


    ¡°Yaretzi is invisible to them,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve already destroyed three vessels. It¡¯ll be rank and file reporting that there were Delvers and Delver magic sinking non-Delver boats. Just because they¡¯re confused about where the spell came from won¡¯t change much.¡±


    I looked around at the rapidly burning ship. There was a loud report and part of the deck exploded as the caravels started firing ¡®normal¡¯ cannons. Their ships were much smaller than the galleon, so their angle was too low to hit us directly on the deck of the taller vessel. Still, whatever the cannonballs were made of went through the ship like its hull had been assembled from clouds and wishes.


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°If he¡¯s going to try and frame us for blowing up his boats, we may as well actually blow some boats up. More boats, that is.¡± I looked over the group. ¡°Xim, your first priority is to get Varrin upright. Preferably before this ship sinks. Etja, Nuralie, there¡¯s three of us and there¡¯s three of them.¡±


    ¡°Sixteen, actually,¡± said Xim. ¡°Three boats crewed by five Delvers each, plus Yaretzi.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the clarification,¡± I said. ¡°There''s three of us and sixteen of them. I¡¯ll distract Yaretzi. You two focus one caravel down, then move in on the other. Ranged air superiority, got it?¡±


    They each nodded, and I hopped back up onto Gracorvus. Then we started our strafing runs.

 Chapter 101: Three vs Sixteen

    Chapter 101: Three vs Sixteen


    The moment we rose over the galleon¡¯s deck, five cannons began trumpeting their disapproval over our existence. Two level 3 Delvers from each caravel fired shots from the mana-enhanced big guns, then moved down the line to the next pair of cannons. That is, except for the central ship where one cannoneer was unconscious due to severe hand trauma.


    A third Delver on each crew¨CSpeed-focused¨Creloaded the spent weapons so quickly that I wondered if they¡¯d put points in any other stat. The fourth member of each was a caster who began throwing up a shielding spell and who was likely responsible for the illusions that kept the boats invisible as well. The fifth directed their actions and looked built for close combat, potentially with some sort of Leadership or party buffs. The groups looked purpose-built to man these ships, and the idea of a navy dictating a Delver¡¯s build specifically for military application chilled me.


    One of the caravels could easily sneak up on and devastate a traditional warship many times its own size, evidenced by the rapidly sinking galleon I¡¯d departed, but they were ill-equipped to handle my party. Even with superhuman accuracy and skill, cannons weren¡¯t meant to hit fast-moving aerial targets, and I wove between the shots on the back of Gracorvus as I summoned Somncres into my hand.


    Etja immediately began sending a disintegrating ray at the southernmost caravel as Nuralie downed an unknown potion and then followed up the mage¡¯s attacks with a volley of arrows. The archer¡¯s missiles disappeared as soon as they left her bow, blinking back into existence when they crashed against the enemy spellslinger¡¯s shield alongside Etja¡¯s beam.


    Waves of force rippled along the surface of the spell, but runes flared on the body of the caravel, flooding the mage¡¯s body with mana and reinforcing the barrier while the cannons returned fire. Etja kept Nuralie and herself flying on a wandering course through the air, dodging the projectiles as the pair laid into the shield again. The runes began to smolder, then burst, and the shield flickered as the mage gasped and fell to a knee. The runes, like the spiked weapon, had a cost, and the copper was now paying that price. Nuralie sent a final arrow down while the caster struggled with what I suspected was a sudden, acute case of mana toxicity. This arrow was slower than the others, and the enemy mage recomposed himself enough to thrust a hand out and halt the missile with some form of telekinesis when it was a few feet away from his chest.


    The arrow had a blunt tip and a payload, however. It was one of Nuralie¡¯s experiments in fletching, and it didn¡¯t need to make contact to activate. The end of the arrow exploded into a murky green cloud as it hung in the air, and there was no shield spell to stop it.


    The entire deck of the caravel was covered in poisonous gas and its effects were immediate. The Delvers manning the cannons gave up on their attack and grasped at their throats, doubling over and beginning to empty their stomachs. The Speed-focused Delver pulled out two potions, presumably antidotes, but his movements had become slow and clumsy. He fumbled one and it shattered on the deck of the ship. He downed the second, but I knew from experience it wouldn¡¯t help. It would cleanse the poison he had, but the cloud lingered and he would get re-poisoned immediately. The man was either panicking, or this team didn¡¯t have much experience with persistent clouds of toxic gas. My party might have been somewhat unique with that experience, so I tried not to make any harsh judgments about their competency.


    Etja used the opportunity to carve out the bottom of the caravel, cutting the lower hull apart with her destructive beam. Nuralie produced a final arrow, one with a flame at its end, and fired it into the cloud. It ignited the gas, which exploded in a ball of blue-white flame. The enemy Delvers were no longer immersed in a deadly haze but were now on fire. The mage and the speedster both collapsed¨Cwhat little Fortitude they had exhausted¨Cand the cannon crew and captain dove into the water.


    ¡°Drop me,¡± Nuralie said to Etja, who nodded and let Nuralie free of her Siphon spell. The alchemist-archer fell to the sea, rotating in the air and kicking off her boots before hitting the waves with a perfect forward dive. Nuralie was a member of the loson subrace called the Geulon, and the Geulon were best known for thriving in wet environments. I imagined it was one reason she got along so well with her frogs.


    Before long, the Delvers who had leaped into the ocean to douse themselves would begin disappearing beneath the surface, never to be seen again.


    While Etja and Nuralie dealt with the southern caravel, I made it my mission to draw fire from the other two. I had Somncres in a throwing-hammer shape and began to unload with a combination of two of its abilities.


    Somncres can be summoned and dismissed at will.


    Whenever you make a thrown weapon attack with Somncres you may create up to X fleeting copies, where X is your INT/10. Each copy costs 2 mana to create. These copies possess all qualities imbued into Somncres at the moment the copies are created.


    I threw Somncres at the northern caravel, activating its copy ability and adding two ethereal versions of the hammer that followed behind it on its flight path. I immediately dismissed Somncres, which caused the lead version of the hammer to disappear but left the two copies still hurtling at my target, which was the mage managing the vessel¡¯s shield. Then, I summoned Somncres back into my hand and threw it again.


    This allowed me to make attacks without using Homing Weapon to get my hammer back and to make thrown weapon attacks even faster than if I were pulling extra hammers out of my inventory. I¡¯d also picked up a fresh Blunt evolution when I¡¯d reached level 20 in the intrinsic that gave my throws an extra perk.


    Hammerang (Blunt 20)


    The Speed-focused Delver rushed me with a shortsword while their commander cast a buff on him. From watching the speedster load the cannons, I knew that he had to at least match Varrin for the stat, which put him somewhere in the 20¡¯s. A full copper was truly level 3.75, not 3, with 48 stat points to play with. Fully half of this man¡¯s stats were in Speed, which left him with very little for anything else. I also doubted that he had much in the way of the Blades intrinsic, especially if he¡¯d focused heavily on skills for these dumb little boats. I thought about letting him hit me to confirm my suspicions, but there was no reason to be sloppy.


    He was fast, but my own Speed evolution made my blocks almost as quick. Gracorvus slapped onto my arm guard and I brought it up to halt his blade. It was a basic Delver weapon with a minor mana weave, but nothing more. I blocked it easily, then brought Somncres around. The man ducked back to avoid the weapon, which was still in its short, throwing hammer form, but I adjusted its size as I swung until it was a full hand-and-a-half war hammer.


    His dodge had been made with precision, moving only far enough away to avoid the attack and keep himself close for a counter. It was a good instinct, but it did him a disservice in this instance. Somncres caught him in the ribs. His simple leather armor did nothing to soften the penetrating blow and I heard his ribs crunch as the air was knocked from his lungs with a sharp, rattling breath. He didn¡¯t immediately perish, which meant he¡¯d put a lot of his remaining points in Fortitude, or maybe the captain¡¯s buff had given him an edge. The strike still laid him out, however, so either way it hadn¡¯t been enough.


    The captain shouted a few words in Imperial and I felt the familiar tug of a Charisma attack on my mind. My Wisdom and mental defenses were too high, so whatever it was didn¡¯t take effect. Two arrows hit me; one in my shield and one in my chest. I looked over to see the cannoneer with a bow out, drawing back for another shot.


    HP: 1209 -> 1178


    His attack hadn¡¯t done a lot, but it pierced my armor and did enough to settle my mind over something I¡¯d been struggling with.


    A part of me felt bad for this level 3 group. I didn¡¯t know why they¡¯d been given this assignment, and while I¡¯d made some assumptions about them based on the lack of empathy their actions had shown for their fellow soldiers, I had no idea what might have pressed them into this role. It was possible the Empire had draconic rules surrounding their Delvers and forced them to take these boats for a test drive with sinister orders. Yaretzi himself might have threatened them into firing on the galleon, which didn¡¯t seem unlikely given how he¡¯d been berating them. At the end of the day, this could be a group of fairly decent people placed into a bad situation.


    My mind flashed back to the peasant Delvers being cut down by my allies back in the Calvani Caverns while I¡¯d been disabled by Orexis¡¯s soul presence. That surprise attack on people we barely knew a thing about had never sat well with me, even if the circumstances had pointed to them being involved with nefarious activities.


    I had no desire to kill these Delvers, but I also didn¡¯t want to allow myself to become blinded by a self-sacrificing pursuit of righteousness. My party had followed Imperial law, gotten our passes, and been detained without cause. Now we were facing down escalating lethal force to try and stop us from reaching Eschendur, a place we needed to go to have a shot at giving the world better resources against the avatars. That wasn¡¯t an immediate goal, though, and these people had no idea how important we felt our mission was. More immediate and more personal was the fact that these Littans wanted to take Nuralie, and I was pretty sure what would happen to her if they succeeded. They knew what would happen to her if they succeeded.


    Unlike the regular soldiers, who could do little or nothing to harm me, these Delvers were weapons that could hurt. Unlike the slaughter in the caves a year and a half ago, we did not possess an overwhelming force that gave us the luxury of options. When Yaretzi eventually hauled his ass out of the water these level 3¡¯s would become too much of a risk to me and my allies. We¡¯d need to be wholly focused on the level 17.


    So, instead of stepping over the prone speedster who could use my mercy to get up and stab me in the back or toss potions to his allies, I brought my hammer down on his skull. It was a gruesome, calculated act, and the first choice I¡¯d made that truly forced me to question whether the path I was walking was a noble one.


    I pushed the rest of my doubts aside and rushed the cannoneer.


    Archers benefitted from range and an open, complex battlefield. This archer had neither. He fired more shots, infused with skills, but they struck harmlessly against my shield. He backed up a few feet but ran into the railing and had a split second to decide if he would dive off to avoid me. He hesitated, perhaps because he¡¯d noticed that his allies who had dived in had never resurfaced, and when I got close I brought my hammer down on his thigh, bone snapping under the attack. He fell and a strike to the head finished him.


    I turned to find the mage heaving herself into the water while pulling the handless man with her. The captain had a mace out and tried out a different Charisma attack, but this one too failed. I shrank Somncres and threw it at his chest. He wasn¡¯t quick enough to dodge and, even without Oblivion Orb, the hammer crushed him and his corpse flew off of the boat into the sea.


    ¡°Tavio was right,¡± Yaretzi said from my left, and I jerked my head to find him hanging on to the side of the ship, peeking over the boat¡¯s railing. His wet, dripping helmet sported a massive dent. ¡°You are too strong for your level.¡±

 Chapter 102: One vs. One

    Chapter 102: One vs. One


    ¡°Were you just... watching that whole time?¡± I asked.


    Yaretzi pulled himself up and over the railing, then surveyed the body of the Speed Delver. Etja had begun bombarding the northern caravel and its shield was beginning to fail.


    ¡°Yaretzi did not see you kill this one,¡± he said, nudging the body with a boot. ¡°Yaretzi came back up when you struck Lintiel.¡± He gestured at the archer.


    ¡°Why not help them?¡±


    ¡°Yaretzi needed to see what you could do.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Tavio believes that he can make the climb up to Platinum if he were only a bit stronger. That is why he wishes to know your secrets. Yaretzi finds that idea intriguing, so this one does not want to accidentally kill you before finding out what your trick is.¡±


    ¡°What does that have to do with these boats?¡± I asked. ¡°Did you come out here just to wait for me to show up?¡±


    His face was obscured by his helm, but his body language showed puzzlement.


    ¡°What? No. This is a happy coincidence. Yaretzi was sent to the blockade to test these weapons.¡± He pointed at the broken spike gun on the bow of the ship. ¡°The copper ships are... not ready for deployment. The silvers show more promise, though.¡±


    ¡°You tested them on your own people,¡± I said, voice low.


    He waved a hand dismissively.


    ¡°It was pointed at you,¡± he said. ¡°Yaretzi will not be in any trouble.¡±


    ¡°Then it doesn¡¯t bother you to kill your allies?¡±


    ¡°Allies?¡± said Yaretzi. ¡°Those soldiers were not Yaretzi¡¯s allies. How could they be, as weak as they are?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a member of the Navy? That doesn¡¯t make them your comrades?¡±


    Yaretzi sighed.


    ¡°When Yaretzi reached level 10 the Empire bestowed upon him the rank of Captain. It is a great honor, but it is not an honor that Yaretzi wished for.¡± He rolled a hand in the air. ¡°This is all an obligation. Yaretzi does not care for it. Yaretzi would never say this to the duchess, but if Yaretzi could break free of the Empire, Yaretzi would.¡± He paused and flicked his wrist, a saber appearing in his grip. He locked eyes with me, and I could just make out his dark brown irises beneath the helm. They glowed with eerie light. ¡°You must not tell anyone, but this is not the first time that Yaretzi has killed Imperial soldiers because it was convenient to do so.¡±


    As I realized the depth of Yaretzi¡¯s psychopathy, I received a notification.


    You have observed the Intimacy spell!


    Intimacy


    Divine


    Cost: None


    Requirements: CHA 20, Divine 20


    Effects:


    Choose one character you can perceive other than yourself and reveal to them something they don¡¯t already know that is personal to you.


    You receive a number of stacks of Blessed based on how vulnerable the information makes you and by how much it affects their opinion of you, good or bad. You receive a minimum of one stack and up to a maximum number of stacks equal to your CHA.


    Blessed: You may expend any number of stacks of Blessed to increase your damage or defenses by 7 for each stack spent for one attack.


    Yaretzi dashed forward, saber slashing through the air. I brought up Gracorvus and barely intercepted the strike, but he twisted his arm and the blade slid down off the front of the shield. He ducked low and brought it up beneath my guard, stabbing me between the plates of my armor in my armpit.


    Critical damage reduced by 40%!


    Bleeding negated!


    HP: 1178 -> 1079


    Weakness: 25%


    You have been affected by Blade of Censure! You lose mana equal to half of the damage Yaretzi dealt.


    Mana: 289 -> 240


    The damage wasn¡¯t anything special. The Weakness debuff and the hit to my mana were the real threats. I leaped back and threw Somncres, copying it into a triple Void Hammer and arcing it to one side to take Yaretzi from his right. I immediately followed up with another series aimed head-on.


    ¡°We won¡¯t!¡± said a woman hastily. ¡°But you have to kill him! Everyone who¡¯s even thought about reporting him disappears!¡±


    Yaretzi sighed.


    ¡°Yaretzi does not like how this is going,¡± he said.


    ¡°I bet.¡±


    Yaretzi brought up his rapier in his offhand and held it up in front of his face, then gave me a duelist¡¯s bow.


    ¡°Yaretzi will no longer try to capture you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but I don¡¯t buy that for a second,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yaretzi will now kill you instead.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that makes more sense.¡±


    Yaretzi¡¯s torso shone with sparkling light and I was hit with a debuff.


    Lockstep


    You and Yaretzi may only move away from one another.


    I squinted at the debuff and tried to take a step toward the man, but my feet wouldn¡¯t budge. I took a step to the left, which put a little more distance between myself and Yaretzi, but couldn¡¯t step back to the right.


    ¡°Fun trick,¡± I said as Yaretzi took two big steps away from me and came to a stop next to one of the boat¡¯s side-mounted cannons.


    He kicked the cannon¡¯s mount and several bolts came loose. The cannon rotated around toward me and came to a stop aimed directly at my chest. There was no magic involved, no spell or technique used from what I could see. It was as though the cannon¡¯s mount had been built with a specific, intentional flaw for this exact situation.


    ¡°Are you built into fucking Luck?!¡± I said, scrambling to adjust Somncres into a throwing hammer shape, but I was too slow.


    Yaretzi gave the cannon another kick and it fired. A mana-woven, dark iron cannonball hit me in the chest at about 700 miles per hour.


    It sucked.


    The force jettisoned me backward and I crashed through a mast, then bounced off of the boat¡¯s quarterdeck and smashed the railing on the stern. I was thrown out across the sea, tumbling end over end through the air. While the world rotated around me my eyes caught sight of something on the distant shore that momentarily broke through the shock of my sudden, acute injuries.


    There was a monstrous soul presence rising up over the coastline and visible even from a mile away. It was as potent as any soul I¡¯d ever beheld, but there were no Delver levels surrounding it. There was something else imbued within it, a presence that hinted at unknowable depths as the soul substance churned like a storm-swept sea.


    I splashed down into the cold water and lost sight of whatever it was. For several seconds I couldn¡¯t move as my mind and body processed the traumatic damage I¡¯d just sustained and I sank into the dark abyss.


    Critical damage reduced by 40%!


    Bleeding negated!


    HP: 817 -> 605


    My ribs were gravel, my lungs were collapsed, and the front of my plate armor was bent inward to the point where it was crushing me. The pain was blinding and I was disoriented, unable to tell which way was up or down in the water. After several seconds of battling against the agony in my chest I finally managed to begin making a feeble effort at swimming¨Cthat is to say, I used Gracorvus to float me in a few different directions. I figured out which way was up by figuring out the direction that I couldn¡¯t ¡®swim¡¯, which was in the direction of Yaretzi who was above me in the caravel. It was exactly what had happened to Varrin.


    I tore at the straps of my chest armor and ripped it away, then tossed it into my inventory. The fact that I could perform any functions with my arms that required the use of my pecs was likely due to Body of Theseus. The ribs that anchored those muscles were in a hundred little pieces, after all, and the movements were slow and difficult. I took a moment to think through my next course of action as my empty lungs began to burn. That particular discomfort was a drop in the bucket while said metaphorical bucket sank deeper into an ocean of hurt, so it was easy enough to ignore.


    [The feedback from our Shared Fate connection has now caused me to ruin three separate weaves that I was working on.]


    [A tragedy, to be sure. Feel like helping out?]


    [If the alternative is that you suffer a miserable demise, then I suppose it is in my interest that I assist.]


    [Alright, get ready to think real hard at an asshole.]


    I used Gracorvus to keep myself from sinking any further and tested using Shortcut to get closer to the surface. The teleport was successful, unrestricted by the Lockstep debuff, but I kept myself a few feet under the water while I considered. I looked at the debuff again, but there was no hint as to how long it would last.


    I was below half on health and had a third of my mana left. I had no idea how much damage I¡¯d done to Yaretzi. Certainly a lot less than he¡¯d done to me, but my allies would be moving in soon. I needed to be sure I was there to keep Yaretzi from quickly cutting apart my less tanky party members, but I also wanted to make sure I had a good counter to this ability. If anything, Lockstep was just as much of a detriment to Yaretzi as it was to me, although the Littan likely had a lot more experience dealing with its downsides.


    If Yaretzi couldn¡¯t move toward me, what would happen if I pulled him toward me?


    I decided that was something I¡¯d like to find out.

 Chapter 103: Four vs. One

    Chapter 103: Four vs. One


    I cast Shortcut again to appear a hundred feet above sea level, scoping out the aquatic battlefield before me while standing on Gracorvus. I felt a tug at the back of my mind to turn and study the massive soul presence I¡¯d seen, but I ignored it. There were more immediate problems than some distant demigod, avatar, or outrageously leveled Delver. Whatever it was, it was firmly within Eschen territory. I doubted it was Littan.


    I also resisted the temptation to get tunnel vision on Yaretzi, choosing to take a few seconds to let my ribs begin to fuse back together while I scanned the fleet. The psychopath had mentioned the existence of Silver-grade Delver boats like the Copper caravels we¡¯d just wrecked, and I didn¡¯t want any sneaking up on us.


    I didn¡¯t spot any more encroaching caravels, but that didn¡¯t mean a whole lot. I couldn¡¯t use my See ability on the whole ocean at once, so unless I knew generally where to look for them they could still be out there. What I did spot was the entire Littan blockade fleet regrouping and sailing our way.


    ¡°Fallback flag my ass,¡± I muttered before turning back to Yaretzi.


    The number one asshole in my life was currently sailing his caravel out of a cloud of poison while holding a cloth over the slit in his frog helm. Without a crew, it should have been impossible for the man to manage the craft alone. And yet, he did. The boat was moving quite fast as well. I added ¡°magic sailor¡± to my mental model of Yaretzi¡¯s build.


    I was glad to know that Nuralie was still in the fight, but still had no idea where she was, exactly. I checked her status in my party interface and saw that she was close to full on health, so it didn¡¯t look like Yaretzi had done any damage to her while I was taking a bath.


    While Yaretzi cleared his deck of the toxic mist, Etja launched off the northern caravel and began raining death rays down onto him. Her beams carved across the deck while the Littan danced between them, his body moving and contorting in inhuman ways. He made it to one of the cannons and raised a hand toward Etja, the familiar blue mana of a Dispel dancing along his fingers. I was pretty far away but hadn¡¯t ever had a problem with the range of my own Dispel before, so I decided to counter his counterspell. I shakily raised my hand and focused on his mana, activating the skill with all the righteous fury of a mono-blue player at Friday Night Magic.


    It didn¡¯t work.


    Dispel negated by Absolute Authority


    You cannot counter, dispel, or negate any of Yaretzi¡¯s skills unless your relevant skill level is equal to or higher than Yaretzi¡¯s Mystical Magic skill.


    I tried to let out a frustrated grunt when I saw the message, but it came out more as a gurgle that sent me into an excruciating coughing fit. Yaretzi¡¯s ability countered spells trying to counter his counterspells. I fucking hated this guy.


    To soothe my irritation, I mana-shaped the Pocket Closet portal and unleashed Grotto into the world. He swept out in all his feathered and octopoid glory.


    [Direct me to the insolent fiends and I will wreak havoc upon their minds!]


    While I was focused on the Closet, Yaretzi cast his Dispel, Etja¡¯s beam fizzled, and he fired his cannon just as I finished opening the portal. My first instinct was to Shortcut between Etja and the projectile, but that was a very precise teleport and I also knew that Etja had plenty of defensive abilities of her own. I couldn¡¯t afford to soak another 200 damage right now. I needed to do a little setup to make sure Yaretzi found his way into a watery grave. He was too dangerous and the risk that he would pursue the party after this fight was too high. Unless escape was the only viable option, I would do everything in my power to end him.


    The cannon shot was lined up perfectly, but Etja used a powerful burst of Siphon to shunt the projectile aside. Yaretzi cartwheeled to the next cannon and began aiming it, but Etja adjusted her tactics and began cutting through the weapons aboard the Littan¡¯s caravel. Unlike Yaretzi himself, the hunks of dark iron couldn¡¯t dodge.


    [He is very acrobatic.]


    [Think you can disrupt some of that?]


    [His level is substantial, but my experience with the specter has given me a few ideas.]


    [Alright, help the others hold out while I get a combo going.]


    [Very well.] He floated away toward the fight at speed.


    I summoned Somncres and swung it in the air before me, testing my grip and strength. It was barely manageable with the state of my ribs, but I didn¡¯t need to be able to chuck the hammer full force. I just needed to get it going. The skill that Sam¡¯lia helped me to learn would do the rest.


    I activated Gravity Anchor.


    Yaretzi could only move away from me, but he could also only move toward Nuralie. Since she and I were standing side by side, there was nowhere for the Littan to go.


    Nuralie let out a yelp as she was sucked into my side by my gravity well, but I was able to use the technique''s secondary effect to adjust the pull to flow around her, giving her some relief from the pressure. It took a lot of concentration and upped the stamina drain substantially, but I only wanted to make one person a pancake today.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± I said to her, but I kept my eyes on Yaretzi.


    ¡°What is this?!¡± Yaretzi yelled as I kicked the gravity up another notch, dumping more stamina into the ability. I was down to a quarter of my reserves.


    The Littan¡¯s body contorted as an immense pressure pulled him toward me while his own ability forced him to stay in place and endure it. His limbs dangled and his mail armor billowed and clinked. Metal ringlets began to come loose from where I¡¯d severed it with Oblivion Orb. They smacked into my wet skin and stuck to me alongside drops of blood from the Littan¡¯s bruised and bloody wrist.


    The caravel was no longer sinking, held aloft by my pull. The boards of the boat below creaked and groaned, then began to splinter and break. The ocean rose over the sides of the ship and began to gather and swirl around Nuralie and me. Pretty soon I would have to start holding my breath.


    But that was only the opener.


    My hammers did not travel with me when I teleported. That was a problem I was working on, but it was also an advantage I could manipulate. All ten of my copied hammers had been thrown with Homing Weapon and all ten were currently trying to make their way back to me. My first teleport had been made to pull them into an angle of approach from Yaretzi¡¯s rear, while my second teleport put him directly in their path.


    Ten Void Hammers rushed at Yaretzi¡¯s back in a chaotic spiral of varying arcs. Their orbits had been disrupted by the sudden absence of anything to orbit and Homing Weapon demanded that they return to me, causing the copied weapons to crisscross and approach like a cluster of hastily fired missiles from five different launchers.


    Yaretzi¡¯s eyes narrowed and he struggled to twist his head to look behind him, but he couldn¡¯t crane his neck under the force of my pull. He had something that alerted him to attacks that he couldn¡¯t see coming. He¡¯d used it the first time I pulled this trick. Yaretzi couldn¡¯t move to avoid the incoming disaster. Instead, he made a confession.


    ¡°I donate half my salary to a wounded children¡¯s fund!¡± He screamed in a rush of words.


    I barely had time to register his statement, which must have been true because his body glowed with fresh stacks of Blessed. The moment before the hammers impacted he also activated a skill.


    Funhouse Mirror


    So long as you are facing Yaretzi, you only deal half damage with your attacks. So long as you are facing away from Yaretzi, you deal double damage. This effect also applies to Yaretzi when attacking you.


    Before I could process the debuff and adjust, the hammers came down on Yaretzi in a storm. His immobilized form was battered by Somncres copies that activated bowling ball-sized Oblivion Orbs on contact. Yaretzi¡¯s body glowed with holy light as he struggled to absorb the damage with his Blessed stacks while his Funhouse ability halved everything that was incoming.


    Not all of the hammers landed. A few smashed into the deck of the ship and swallowed large holes out of the already broken and distressed vessel. A couple whipped past Yaretzi and I hastily caught them, then did my best to throw them back, but the strength was shit from my destroyed chest and the force of my gravity working against me. Still, the throws weren''t enough for the hammer to do much kinetic damage, but the Oblivion Orb charges activated.


    The last three pierced all of Yaretzi¡¯s defenses and the runes on his armor exploded. Large circles of the armor were cut away, revealing scoured, bruised and bleeding flesh beneath. One wound on his abdomen had been stripped of its skin completely, and I could see a bit of intestine trying to worm its way out. Blood rained down onto me, mixing with the seawater that swirled and churned around my midsection.


    Before I could savor the victory, Yaretzi produced the biggest fucking crossbow I¡¯d ever seen from his inventory.


    He could barely hold it. His left arm dangled toward me as his body was still locked in place by his own ability while being sucked in by my skill. The weapon was so long that it ended less than a foot from my chest. It was already loaded and primed.


    I considered using Shortcut to escape, but Nuralie had slipped directly behind me. I could drop Gravity Anchor and kick her off the boat, but there was no time. Yaretzi was mortally wounded and, unless he got some sort of treatment, he would certainly bleed out. No. I wanted to keep him locked down. I decided to eat it.


    ¡°Come on!¡± I screamed. ¡°Think it¡¯ll be enough?!¡±


    He fired. The bolt hit me in the chest. It pierced my heart.

 Chapter 104: Thunderdome

    Chapter 104: Thunderdome


    Critical damage reduced by 40%!


    Bleeding negated!


    HP: 605 -> 381


    The pain was sharp and bright. My lungs constricted and spots danced in my vision. Vertigo overwhelmed me and the only thing that kept me upright was Gravity Anchor. Each beat of my heart brought fresh torment and an extra tick of damage. I waited for death, certain that even I couldn¡¯t survive my fucking heart having a massive hole drilled in it, but I was wrong.


    Body of Theseus kept the muscle going, despite the structural damage. Just a Flesh Wound kept me from bleeding out, despite the ragged hole. My absurd health pool did the rest. I glared at Yaretzi, whose look of shock was plain, even through his helm.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°Not enough.¡±


    He let the enormous crossbow go and it smashed into me, pressing the bolt further into my chest. He pulled out a fucking second one.


    That¡¯s also when my stamina ran out.


    Gravity Anchor ended and I crashed to the ground alongside a deluge of water, blood, broken planks, and bits of armor. The entire boat sank back down onto the ocean with a resounding splash, kicking up froth and spray. Yaretzi slumped from the impact, but caught himself with a hand, managing to stay upright. I struggled to try and sit up, but my body refused to cooperate. Having a foreign object in my heart didn¡¯t kill me, but it sure fucked with my mobility.


    Nuralie immediately drew back on her bow and fired. The Littan released the crossbow and his rapier blinked into his hand as he ducked the first arrow. Nuralie fired another and Yaretzi swatted it aside drunkenly. His rapier disappeared and he pulled a knife from nowhere and then threw it at the loson. Nuralie could only dodge forward, but she chose to take the knife in her arm rather than get closer to the lethal fighter. She dropped her bow and pulled out a vial of something toxic, but hesitated, looking at my heavily wounded state.


    I tried to grab the bolt in my chest and pull it out, but my arms were weak. I couldn¡¯t get them to move in the right direction. The damage to my chest was finally too much for my evolutions to overcome. I kept taking damage as my heart shredded itself against the bolt with every beat.


    HP: 298 -> 288


    HP: 288 -> 278


    HP: 278 -> 268


    ¡°At least I¡¯m not bleeding,¡± I slurred.


    Yaretzi¡¯s lower body was painted red as he held his guts in with his useless dominant hand. He produced another knife and moved to throw it at me, but a streak of lightning struck him from behind. He halted, then turned.


    The northern caravel had sailed closer to our¨Conce again¨Csinking ship and the hands of the level 3 mage aboard glowed with mana. She gritted her teeth and readied another spell. The two cannoneers also drew back bows, the guns on their ship having been slagged earlier during their fight with Etja. Soon, the entire level 3 crew was lobbing attacks at Yaretzi.


    The level 17 Gold watched them in confusion, the attacks bouncing off his battered armor. He swept the projectiles aside as they came.Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com


    ¡°Yaretzi is upset,¡± he croaked. ¡°Why are you attacking Yaretzi?!¡±


    He heaved a knife at the mage, who went down when it struck her in the neck. The Speed-Delver aboard dragged her away and poured a potion into her mouth.


    Nuralie used the opportunity to move closer to me and grip the bolt in my chest.


    ¡°Ready?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Do it.¡±


    She yanked it out. I would say that it hurt, but it was the kind of hurt you write love songs about. The relief of having the thing out of me was overwhelming and I considered asking Nuralie to marry me on the spot.


    ¡°Stop looking at me like that,¡± she said. Pause. ¡°Here, drink this.¡±


    She pulled out one of her advanced healing potions and tipped it into my mouth. She did the same with a mana potion.


    Nuralie¡¯s Advanced Healing Potion


    +946 HP regen/hour


    Nuralie¡¯s Advanced Mana Potion


    +364 MP regen/hour


    Total HP Regen: 1,514/hour


    Total MP Regen: 429/hour


    ¡°Going to burn through all our emerald chips using the good potions so liberally,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, very liberal.¡± Pause. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who can drink them without going into shock.¡±


    Yaretzi tossed a few more knives at the Littan Delvers, then hefted the massive crossbow and railed one of the cannoneers with it in the eye. The man slumped over, but the attacks of his allies had started to land. A couple of arrows stuck out of Yaretzi¡¯s torso where my orbs had removed his armor. He snarled and raised a hand into the air, then used a new technique.


    Darkness flowed out from his body and filled the air, casting everything in impenetrable shadow. Even my enhanced sight couldn¡¯t see through it, barely able to perceive Nuralie right next to me. The alchemist drew out a dagger and continued to crouch by me while I activated Gracorvus and held it up.


    ¡°The debuff only lasts so long,¡± came Yaretzi¡¯s voice from the dark. It echoed all around us.


    ¡°How many fucking abilities does this guy have?¡± I said, growing frustrated with the asshole¡¯s bag of tricks.


    ¡°Ten, I suspect,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Feels like more.¡±


    A knife thudded into Gracorvus.


    ¡°Any second now,¡± Yaretzi whispered.


    The effects of Lockstep on you have ended!


    ¡°Maybe this place moves through time in a weird way,¡± I said, leaning over and peering down at the water. While it looked completely still at first glance, I could make out the faintest movement along the surface. ¡°Thus, once you¡¯ve tortured and killed me, when you return to the First Layer everyone else will be unprepared for your miraculous full heal.¡± I slapped some more plates together and watched him. He shifted uncomfortably, so I figured I was more or less correct. ¡°Hmm, here¡¯s a question. It says we can¡¯t leave but does that stop me from doing this?¡±


    I concentrated on the Closet and spent the full minute opening the portal. I didn¡¯t want to mana-shape it since I needed to recover my resources, and if Yaretzi wanted to kill time, then I was going to let him. The portal opened without trouble and I could see the obelisk within. I reached out and tried to put my hand through the portal, but an immovable force stopped me. I couldn¡¯t go in, but the ambient dimensional mana could come out.


    Ambient Absorption


    You are absorbing high levels of ambient Dimensional mana. Ambient mana regen is capped at 10x WIS.


    +260 MP regen/hour


    Total MP regen: 689/hour


    Yeah, those were some good numbers.


    I finished assembling the plates and attached a few long, metal slats for the feet. The result was a waist-high fortification, complete with defensive mana weaves. I slid a ruby chip into the center of the array of runes and a small dome shield formed around me. Yaretzi sat up a bit more at that.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re not bleeding anymore,¡± I said, pulling a few more items out of the bag. ¡°Coagulation potion? Was the other one health? Had to be. What about mana?¡± I set a series of Seinnador¡¯s Dazzlers onto the ground, which were magic flashbangs that burned people¡¯s eyeballs out if they weren¡¯t careful. There were also a couple of canisters using similar tech with Nuralie¡¯s poisons in them.


    By the time I¡¯d set all that up, I had regenerated 250 health and 60 mana. My fingers had grown back completely, my cheek was in one piece again, my teeth were half-grown in, and my heart no longer murmured. My ribs were still collecting themselves, but that was fine.


    ¡°How good¡¯s your alchemist?¡± I asked. ¡°Did you buy the nice potions, or did you cheap out?¡±


    Yaretzi scowled at me. Alchemists were rare. Good alchemists especially so. I doubted the Littan had access to anything nearly as robust as I did. Assuming he had basic potions and no regen evolutions, he was probably getting back a tenth of what I was over the same time period.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me how you could use a deific skill,¡± I said. ¡°You got it from a Special Delve, sure, but that doesn¡¯t give you the capacity to use that level of divine magic.¡±


    ¡°Yaretzi no longer feels like talking.¡± He pulled a knife from his inventory and threw it at the barrier. It bounced off harmlessly. He rotated his dominant wrist, testing his injury, but winced.


    I crossed my legs and sat back again, feeling my ribs pop back into place. It was a wonderful feeling, like cracking all the stiffness out of your middle back. A few more minutes went by and I prodded the Littan with more questions, but he had nothing but insults and silence for me.


    I was back to half health and mana in under 20 minutes, and all my bones were in much better shape. There were still a host of fractures, but my chest was no longer concave. I pulled a fresh breastplate from my inventory¨Cnothing fancy, just some basic steel with a defensive mana weave¨Cand slapped it on. I stood, and Yaretzi flinched as he looked me over.


    ¡°You- how did you?¡± he began.


    ¡°What are your normal victims like?¡± I asked. ¡°Who does this work on? I mean, have you ever brought someone competent into this trap?¡±


    A look of rage crossed his face. His cloak billowed out and he rose into the air.


    ¡°Coppers?¡± I continued. ¡°SIlvers? Tavio seemed like the type of guy that likes to challenge himself. He was an asshole, but he knew his shit. He named my abilities as I used them. Deduced my build from punching me around a village. But you... you¡¯re a fucking dumbass. How did you end up in the same party?¡±


    Yaretzi flicked his wrist and his rapier appeared. He summoned his saber into his injured hand, but I could tell it still wasn¡¯t at 100%. He rushed toward the barrier and began slashing at it. The shield flickered and hummed under his assault. It wouldn¡¯t hold up under his attacks for long¨Cit was designed for hordes of mana monsters, not level 17 Delvers¨Cbut I didn¡¯t need it to last. I activated two Dazzlers and two canisters of Nuralie¡¯s paralytic poison and tossed them out towards him. They passed through the barrier, and I covered my eyes as all four exploded.


    Yaretzi devolved into animalistic screams and guttural coughing. He continued to assault the barrier, but his attacks were weak and erratic. I produced a tinder box and a torch, lit it, then tossed it out as well. The poison erupted into a ball of flame. This not only lit Yaretzi on fire but also allowed me to drop the barrier since all the gas had burned off.


    Yaretzi dove off of the ship and crashed onto the surface of the water. Whatever temporal effect it was under made it hard, or maybe just really thick. He rolled to put himself out and I hopped down after him. There was a little give to the water, but I could stand on it without trouble. I watched him for a second, observing how pitiful he¡¯d become.


    ¡°The portal I opened made me curious about something else,¡± I said as Yaretzi finally doused the flames. He glared at me and raised his swords, ready to charge with his cloak. ¡°Again, the skill description said that we can¡¯t leave. But, can someone else come in?¡±


    I cast Dimensional Summon and Shog¡¯tuatha clawed his way through a tear in reality. Yaretzi¡¯s blades lowered slightly as he watched the c¡¯thon emerge.


    ¡°Slayer. I always look forward to your call.¡± He turned his big, black eyes on Yaretzi.¡°I see you have found us another mouse to play with.¡±


    ¡°What- you-¡± Yaretzi stuttered. ¡°How can you summon a Grade 10 beast?!¡±


    ¡°You said that Tavio talked about me for three days! He didn¡¯t mention this?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps he feared retribution, should he use my name with ill regard,¡± Shog said, tentacles writhing and talons clacking.


    I surveyed Yaretzi¡¯s expression until it dawned on me.


    ¡°You tuned him out,¡± I said. ¡°You lived in Yaretzi!-land and ignored everything he had to say.¡± I felt another rib pop and I thumped my chest with a fist. ¡°Oh, that was a good one. Shog, want to grab this guy for me?¡±


    ¡°With pleasure.¡±


    Yaretzi turned and tried to flee as the c¡¯thon floated toward him, but Shog struck like a coiled snake and wrapped the semi-paralyzed Littan up in a half dozen tentacles. Yaretzi managed to get a few thrusts in with his swords, but Shog quickly wrenched the man¡¯s arms in directions they weren¡¯t meant to bend. Finally, Yaretzi was subdued.


    I walked forward and looked him over.


    ¡°Please, Yaretzi is helpless,¡± he said. ¡°I can tell you things. About the Littan military! I can tell you about the duchess and about Tavio. I¡¯ll-¡±


    I swung hard with Somncres into Yaretzi¡¯s temple, and the Oblivion Orb that activated took half his skull with it. The man went limp, as dead as everything else in the Layer. I spent a few moments processing the violence but found that I didn¡¯t feel very strongly one way or another about it. I was glad he was dead, and I wasn¡¯t upset that I¡¯d been the one to kill him, but there was no exultation or joy in it. I also wasn¡¯t disturbed by it. Eventually, I shrugged and let the matter pass out of my mind.


    ¡°Do you plan to consume this corpse?¡± Shog asked.


    ¡°Eh, Grotto might want it for something, but the Closet is pretty self-sustaining as it is. Feel free to have it if you like.¡±


    ¡°Excellent!¡±


    Shog immediately tore Yaretzi¡¯s arms off of his body, then pulled the rest of the Littan back behind his tentacles where his vicious beak began to work on it. Shog held the arms up and studied them, then wrapped two tentacles around them.


    As I watched, the flesh of his c¡¯thonic limbs melded around the Littan arms until all that could be seen were the furry hands. Shog let out an excited grunt, mouth full of Littan, then swept Yaretzi¡¯s blades off the ground in his furry new hands. He spun and slashed through the air, then did a few thrusts with the rapier. His grade got an update as he took the Littan¡¯s skills for a test drive.


    Shog¡¯tuatha: C¡¯thon, Grade 12


    Before I could ask what the fuck that was all about, the world collapsed in on me and I was splashing down into the ocean back in the First Layer.

 Chapter 105: Geuls Embrace

    Chapter 105: Geul''s Embrace


    I didn¡¯t mind a beach day here and there, but I tried to stay out of the water as much as possible. All the salt made me itchy.


    I broke back through the surface of the ocean to find Varrin looking down at me, sword at the ready.


    ¡°Arlo?¡± he said. ¡°How did you-¡±


    ¡°Teleported to the Second Layer,¡± I said, then cast Shortcut to appear next to him on the half-sunk caravel. Shog floated above the water, unperturbed by the sudden Layer transition and still testing his new limbs out. As a dimension-hopping mana fiend, he was probably used to suddenly being portalled from place to place.


    ¡°But you were just...¡± Varrin pointed at the space where I likely disappeared from only a second or so beforehand. ¡°And you¡¯re healed?¡±


    ¡°Time was weird there.¡± I looked down to check on Nuralie, but the loson was already bandaging her wounds, an empty potion bottle on the deck beside her. I glanced over the Littan galleons continuing to draw closer. There were at least three within striking distance and a dozen more closing in from farther out. ¡°Looks like the entire blockade is out to get us.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± the big guy said, dropping his hand and sheathing his sword. ¡°We should go, then. Unless you prefer that we destroy the entire blockade?¡±


    I appraised Varrin¡¯s expression, trying to decide if it was a serious question. I couldn¡¯t tell.


    ¡°We got shit to do. Yaretzi said there were more caravels like these, but crewed by Silvers. Plus, the longer we stick around the more likely someone tougher than a level 17 shows up.¡±


    ¡°What happened to that bastard?¡± Varrin asked.


    ¡°Slayer removed half of his skull and then I consumed his corpse,¡± Shog said, then held up his sword-wielding tentacle hands.¡°Look! I have taken his appendages for my own!¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Good riddance.¡± He eyed Shog with some level of concern as the c¡¯thon continued to swipe Yaretzi¡¯s blades through the air.


    ¡°Want to train him?¡± I asked. The big guy¡¯s face went through a quick series of emotions from disgust to consideration and finally to curiosity.


    ¡°Perhaps...¡± he said.


    I clapped him on the shoulder.


    ¡°Awesome. But first, we must commandeer ourselves a vessel!¡±


    I cast Shortcut to the northern caravel, appearing amid seven deeply uncomfortable level 3 Littan Delvers, an unconscious Etja, and Grotto. The core gave everyone mean stares as he hovered over our mage.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said. ¡°I won¡¯t pretend to understand what the fuck all just happened, but thanks for shooting at Yaretzi, I guess. You shot at us first, so really it¡¯s kind of a wash.¡±


    Varrin leaped onto the boat with Nuralie in his arms, landing heavily on the deck. Several of the Littans flinched. The small-ish vessel was getting crowded.


    ¡°We¡¯re heading to shore,¡± I continued. ¡°So, this is our boat now. If you don¡¯t like it, there¡¯s the door.¡± I pointed at the water. As I did so, a light red hand appeared on the railing and a very wet Xim crawled into the boat. She stood and glared at Varrin, then her body became cloaked in crimson flame. Steam rose off of her as she quickly dried.


    ¡°I need a movement ability,¡± she said.


    ¡°You¡¯re letting us go?¡± one of the Littans asked. It was the mage woman from the central caravel who¡¯d fled with Handless, who lay beside her. The guy was no longer unconscious but was obviously in a lot of pain. Varrin was already moving to get the boat underway heading east toward the shore.


    ¡°I never had any interest in fighting the Littan navy,¡± I said. ¡°We had blockade passes. Your leadership ignored them and tried to kidnap one of my party members. That led to a scuffle, and now we¡¯re here. Do what you want.¡±


    Two of the Littans immediately jumped ship and began swimming toward the closest galleon. The rest looked to the man I suspected was the ship¡¯s former captain, who stepped forward and cleared his throat.


    ¡°Where is Captain Yaretzi?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Dead.¡±


    ¡°The body?¡±


    I jerked my thumb at Shog, who had finished his sword acrobatics and was floating closer. There was a hungry glint in his eye.


    ¡°Eaten,¡± I said.Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com


    Another Littan dove overboard, leaving us with four. The captain¡¯s eyes went wide at my words, but he stood firm.


    ¡°What Captain Yaretzi did,¡± the man said, ¡°and what he ordered us to do, was illegal. He lied to us about how these weapons functioned.¡± He nodded at the spike gun. ¡°No one knew that it would... have such a large area of effect, and strike our fellow soldiers. Only one of us was foolish enough to fire an unfamiliar weapon while you were aboard the galleon.¡± He gave Handless a dark look.


    ¡°Cool,¡± I said, giving him a thumbs-up. ¡°I don¡¯t really care. Sounds like something to tell your admiral.¡± We were now cruising toward the shore at a decent kip.


    ¡°What I am saying is that the other vessels will not fire upon this caravel while there are Littan soldiers aboard.¡± A couple of the others shot the man angry glances but stayed silent.


    I rubbed my eyes to try and soothe an oncoming headache.


    ¡°We¡¯re not taking hostages,¡± I said. ¡°We just want to get to Eschendur. I doubt you¡¯d be welcome there.¡±


    ¡°You would still release us, then?¡± he asked. ¡°Even though you would be safer with us aboard?¡±


    ¡°Destruction of naval property, piracy, and murder,¡± the admiral replied. ¡°More charges will be forthcoming as well, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± said Zura. ¡°I have it on good authority that this team of Delvers was granted permission to pass through your blockade unimpeded.¡±


    The admiral frowned and exchanged a few whispers with Sandy. He turned back and straightened his uniform.


    ¡°Do you argue that this excuses their crimes?¡±


    ¡°Your blockade attempted to detain this group without cause,¡± said Zura. ¡°Fearing for their lives¨Cmost reasonably, I would say¨Cthey attempted to flee, but were given chase by your fleet. You sought to use lethal measures to complete your unlawful detainment, to which these men and women responded in kind. Do you deny this?¡±


    ¡°She... knows a lot about what just happened,¡± I whispered to Nuralie.


    ¡°The Zenithars see much,¡± was her response.


    ¡°Their passes were issued in error,¡± said the admiral. ¡°Rather than submitting to inspection, their leader destroyed my vessel while his allies slaughtered good men and women.¡±


    ¡°Your characterization of events is delusive, admiral. I will not condemn these people on such specious grounds.¡±


    ¡°Then you intend to harbor enemies of the empire?¡±


    ¡°I intend to grant asylum to a group fleeing your barbarity.¡±


    The admiral flinched.


    ¡°If that is so, then I will have no choice but to send my soldiers to retrieve them.¡± The admiral made a gesture and the Silver caravels began sailing closer.


    ¡°Admiral,¡± said Zura, ¡°you should consider your actions more carefully. You are within Eschen territory, which is already a violation of our treaties. If you insist on deploying soldiers I will consider this an invasion.¡±


    ¡°This is no invasion, Zenithar. I am apprehending criminals who¡¯ve not yet set foot in your lands.¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯ve resorted to complete falsehoods, Admiral. We are within Eschen borders at this very moment. Recall your soldiers, or I will respond with force.¡±


    By this point there were at least fifteen Littan galleons spread out across the sea, along with the three Silver caravels that continued to sail toward us. There were no Eschen ships, nor were there any soldiers.


    The admiral had nothing else to say. Zura bowed her head, shaking it in disappointment.


    ¡°A fool¡¯s blade still cuts,¡± she said softly. ¡°And the fool is still to blame.¡±


    She raised her halberd into the air, spun it, and then drove the blade down into the ocean. This time, it did not stop at the surface but drove deep into the water. Another pulse rippled out from the impact, growing in intensity as it traveled away from us until it was a mighty wave that rocked the hulls of the galleons.


    Zura¡¯s soul shone with even greater intensity, then fell upon the halberd and traveled its length into the sea. The water shook and trembled beneath my feet causing me to adjust my footing. The effect also grew more intense the farther it got from us until the admiral fell and disappeared behind the railing of his ship. Even the Silver Delvers were unable to keep their balance, though a couple took to the air with flying abilities rather than struggle on deck.


    You have observed the Geul¡¯s Embrace spell!


    Geul¡¯s Embrace


    Deific


    Cost: 2000 mana


    Requirements: Zenithar of Geul


    Effects:


    All enemies that you can see within 1000 feet of a significant body of water are embraced by Geul. This effect may only occur within the borders of Eschendur.


    There was a heavy thud from below us and ice ran through my veins as I saw something vast rising from the deep. The ocean churned and a tendril nearly as thick as one of the Littan galleons burst from the sea and wrapped itself around the admiral¡¯s vessel. It constricted, destroying sails and shattering through the vessel¡¯s planks like toothpicks, then pulled the entire ship down into the ocean.


    The bright snaps of boards shattering filled the air and the resounding crash of massive waves heralded the arrival of another tentacle, yet the screams of the Littan soldiers could still be heard over the tumult. The titanic feeler wrapped around a second galleon, smashing through it like a sledgehammer across twigs. Two more tendrils rose and took the rest of the ship down into the drink.


    Across the entire fleet, the massacre repeated. Smaller tentacles assaulted the Delver caravels, wrenching them apart and seeking out their crews. Those that had taken to the air tried to fly away from the assault, but more limbs shot from the water and wrapped them up. The tendrils twisted and contorted the Delver¡¯s bodies until they were wrung into pieces, their blood and viscera splashing down into the water in streams and chunks.


    The billowing sea sent a surge of rocking tides toward us, but the waters settled and calmed before reaching the Zenithar. We all watched in quiet awe as the Littan blockade was swallowed up. It all happened in under a minute.


    By the end, the sea was an endless shipwreck save for a single galleon. The galleon that had stopped to pick up our castaways, and which had never sailed close enough to enter Eschen waters.


    The Zenithar stood unmoving for several minutes after the catastrophe ended and none of us dared to break the silence. Eventually, she turned to us, looking worn out and with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Let us go then,¡± she said, ¡°and tell the other Triarchs what I have done.¡±


    She walked past us across the water, and we all followed without a word.

 Chapter 106: Cheer Up, You Got Levels!

    Chapter 106: Cheer Up, You Got Levels!


    We walked across the surface of the sea behind the languid steps of Zenithar Zura, but the water formed a channel that swept us to the shore in under ten seconds. No one spoke, and as I set foot on the dark sand of the beach I looked back over my shoulder at the scene behind us.


    The waters that had so violently churned and frothed as battleship-wide tentacles rent the Littan vessels had calmed. The only evidence of the devastation was scattered planks, barrels, other broken ship parts, and destroyed cargo. There were no cries of pain or pleas for help, no voices to be heard at all. Not even a floating corpse to be seen, as though the crews had simply vanished like they had when I was taken to the Second Layer.


    I reflected on the experience, a bitter taste in the back of my throat rising. I¡¯d adjusted to the violence necessary for Delving with ease. Slaying monsters and beasts that attacked on sight was an easy moral choice. Even the part of me that wanted to respect the creatures that I hunted by making use of their bodies was satisfied when the Delves took in their mana and essence. What I¡¯d just witnessed, what I¡¯d just been a part of, wasn¡¯t the violence of Delving. It was the violence of war. I found it to be more... difficult to process.


    For Yaretzi, I felt nothing. The absence of any emotion over killing the Littan bothered me more than the act of deleting half his brain had. The level 3s that I¡¯d slain weighed more heavily on me, especially after hearing what the surviving Littan Delvers had to say.


    I didn¡¯t regret my actions, but I found flaws in my justifications. I couldn¡¯t pretend that what I¡¯d done was virtuous. I doubted it had even been necessary. No. Those Littans had been a threat, a very minor threat, and I¡¯d eliminated it. Yaretzi had me down to the dregs of my HP by the time Varrin had shown up, so it was possible the level 3¡¯s could have swung the balance in his favor. It was also possible that they would have abandoned their leader much as the other Delvers had as soon as it was shown that the level 17 was no longer in total control of the situation. There may have been a way to avoid doing what I¡¯d done.


    If I were placed back in the situation, I¡¯d probably make the same choice. I wanted to make sure I understood where that line was in my head, though. At what point did I reclassify an aggressor from being as dangerous as an angry toddler¨Clike the mundane soldiers¨Cto being something dangerous enough to kill? I wasn¡¯t sure there was a good answer to that.


    Either way, the fates of those Delvers may have already been sealed. For me, though, killing a person minutes before their demise or decades before wasn¡¯t much of a difference. Everyone died at some point, and a person¡¯s temporal relationship to that universal law of mortality wasn¡¯t a valid way to reduce culpability. It was still murder. The fact that Zura decimated the whole fleet shortly afterward didn¡¯t change the equation for me.


    While I wanted to carefully consider how I made those types of life and death decisions, I ultimately let the emotion of the deaths roll away from me. At the end of the day, they had been enemy combatants trying to capture or kill my party, not misguided children in need of a scolding. They¡¯d made their choices. I¡¯d made mine. I didn¡¯t feel good about it, but I wasn¡¯t going to lose any sleep over it either.


    We walked across the beach and through the outskirts of the city of Geulangal. The town was Eschendur¡¯s largest port, but we never set foot inside its walls. The docks were empty of any people. Cargo ships bobbed in the water, unused and in varying states of disrepair. The buildings around were abandoned, the roads untraveled. It was a ghost town.


    While our silent caravan made its way past the city, I distracted myself by going through a wave of notifications I¡¯d been ignoring since my fight with Yaretzi had ended.


    Your party has slain Yaretzi of Seaward: Delver, Level 17!


    Your party receives no System-issued rewards for this victory.


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased to level 21!


    Your Mystical Magic skill has increased to level 11!


    Your Mystical Magic skill has increased to level 12!


    Your Physical Magic skill has increased to level 12!


    Your Physical Magic skill has increased to level 13!


    Your Blunt skill has increased to level 22!


    Your Shields skill has increased to level 21!


    Your Heavy Armor skill has increased to level 12!


    Your Heavy Armor skill has increased to level 13!


    Your Leadership skill has increased to level 2!


    Your Leadership skill has increased to level 3!


    Your Leadership skill has increased to level 4!


    Your Leadership skill has increased to level 5!


    Your Leadership skill has increased to level 6!


    You have defeated a Delver more than ten levels above your own. You have earned the This is Bullshit! achievement!


    This is Bullshit!: While your opponents blame exploits, unbalanced mechanics, or a laggy rural broadband connection, everyone else knows the truth: they sucked! How else could you have won? Skill? Please. You now inspire greater rage in your superior foes.


    ¡°I-¡± Nuralie hesitated. ¡°Right here?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± said Zura. ¡°I may appoint you Deacon of any of the three churches in my capacity as Zenithar. If you wished for something more advanced from Deijin or Hyrach you would need someone else, though.¡± She shrugged.


    ¡°A Deacon must have a revelation,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°You have one, do you not?¡±


    ¡°It is¡±¨CPause¨C¡°incomplete.¡±


    Zura considered.


    ¡°You received insight into a truth of the world, correct?¡±


    ¡°There were many who did not believe so.¡±


    ¡°It is not a matter of believing,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°I sense your revelation as clearly as I sense his.¡± She gestured at me. ¡°Or hers.¡± She gestured at Xim. ¡°No one in the Church can doubt that you have one. If they refuse to heed the wisdom you have been granted, that is their own folly to grapple with.¡±


    ¡°But there is no manifestation,¡± said Nuralie. A bit of frustration was creeping into her voice, which was a rare thing for the loson. ¡°I cannot use what has been given to me.¡±


    ¡°Receiving a gift and knowing what to do with it are different things,¡± said Zura. ¡°With every passing year, I find new understanding in my own revelations. They are not static things, to be mastered and wielded. They breathe and change as you and I do. A revelator who claims to fully understand their gift is farther from the path than one who has received no insight at all.¡±


    The Zenithar watched Nuralie process her guidance. The conversation was also generating a few questions of my own, but I didn¡¯t want to interrupt.


    ¡°Even if I wished to become a Deacon,¡± said Nuralie, ¡°because of my revelation, I cannot choose a church.¡±


    The Zenithar paused and blinked.


    ¡°What an odd way to phrase that,¡± she said. ¡°Not that you have trouble choosing, but that you cannot. I spoke with your village priest after you became stranded in Hiward and he told me a little about the revelation you received. I do not doubt that his heart was in the right place, but I think that his explanation may have been... biased. I would love to hear how you would describe it.¡±


    Nuralie shifted uncomfortably but didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°We can talk privately later if you wish,¡± said Zura. ¡°Or not at all, if that is what you desire. If you do not accept a position as Deacon, however, it will be more difficult for your allies to traverse Eschendur. You know that outsiders may not wander without escort, and escorts must be ordained. Any escort that would be provided to you would be less¡±¨CPause¨C¡°understanding of the tasks you wish to undertake.¡±


    ¡°How much do you know about why we¡¯re here?¡± I asked. ¡°Because it feels like a lot.¡±


    ¡°My insight is vast and mysterious, aided by the gods themselves!¡± said Zura, raising her arms to the sky dramatically. She looked me over, then gave me a wink. ¡°Umi-Doo sent me a missive,¡± she said, dropping her arms, halberd thudding into the ground.


    ¡°Oh, that makes sense,¡± I said.


    ¡°I thought I might receive special dispensation,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°To serve as their escort.¡±


    ¡°That is a messy solution,¡± said Zura. ¡°Special dispensation carries with it many restrictions. You would need to submit a specific itinerary detailing where you will be traveling and why. Do you wish to have your every move scrutinized and documented?¡±


    ¡°That is... not ideal.¡±


    Zura took a deep breath and let out the longest sigh I¡¯d ever seen anyone give.


    ¡°There is one title that I might grant for your circumstance,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°It is a neutral position, unaffiliated with any one of the churches, and carries with it more rights and privileges than an ordinary Deacon. It is normally reserved for times of crisis and handed out only to those of significant skill and personal power. A third-stage revelator has been the requirement in the past, but that is not a strict prerequisite.


    ¡°It would appear to me that we are in a time of crisis,¡± Zura continued. ¡°Littans encroach on our borders and, if what you have told Umi-Doo is true, powerful beings will soon threaten all of creation, Eschendur included. As for the second requirement, while you may not be a third-stage revelator, that guidance was written before the Creation Delve was discovered. I expect you would fare well in a contest against one in the third stage using your strength as a Delver alone.¡±


    ¡°What is the title?¡± asked Nuralie. Zura leaned in slightly, and the two of them paused in unison before she answered.


    ¡°Inquisitor.¡±

 Chapter 107: Ownership

    Chapter 107: Ownership


    ¡°The Inquisitor serves an important role during difficult times,¡± said Zura. She turned and motioned for us to follow behind her as she continued down the road. ¡°It is important for Eschendur to present a united front in the face of major threats. While our triumvirate is effective at balanced governance during peaceful times, our forebears acknowledged that such a three-pronged structure was less nimble than monarchies or empires, which possess a more vertical chain of authority.¡±


    As we walked, the road curved away from the edge of wild swampland, ruled by trees with corded trunks and thick canopies set over murky water. Zura continued straight, however, and we quickly walked off of the road and began plodding through tall grass, my boots sinking into the wet soil below.


    ¡°The Inquisitor is empowered with the authority of both priest and judge,¡± Zura continued as we grew closer to the tree line. ¡°When there is a disagreement between authorities from different churches in regard to how to respond to the crisis, the Inquisitor¨Cin their role as a neutral party¨Cserves as an arbitrator to settle the matter. Oftentimes, the Inquisitor is invited to make the decision themselves in the first instance.¡±


    By this point, Xim and I were struggling a bit through the muck as we passed under the shade of the first big tree. Highly saturated mud seemed to count as water for Varrin since he walked across the surface without issue. Nuralie and Zura also had little difficulty, neither of whom were currently wearing boots and whose Geulon feet were well adapted for the terrain. Etja was engaging in gravity hijinks, while Shog and Grotto, of course, floated.


    Zura paused and glanced back at us with a single green eye. She waved a hand, and the next step I took felt like it landed on solid ground.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said as Xim and I stepped up out of the knee-high sludge. I gave the cleric an empathetic look since her boots were now likely as full of goop as my own. She shrugged, took her boots off and put them into her inventory, then kept going barefoot.


    I saw no reason to trudge through a swamp in full kit, so I followed suit, then also removed my steel breastplate and began working on my other bits of armor. The gear was heavy enough to be annoying over long walks, and if something or someone attacked... well, Zura was basically a walking nuclear deterrent. The Zenithar continued on and soon enough the road was no longer visible behind us, the midmorning sun disappearing behind the leaves and fronds overhead.


    ¡°The Inquisitor may enforce the law and investigate crimes at their discretion,¡± said Zura. ¡°They may also act as powerful soldiers during war, and serve as the point of first contact for basic diplomatic matters.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a pretty broad set of responsibilities,¡± I said.


    ¡°Responsibilities and privileges,¡± Zura corrected.


    ¡°I am not experienced in... most of that,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Humble is the sea with gentle waves until the storm rolls in,¡± said Zura. ¡°Do not underestimate yourself, Nuralie Vyxmeldo¡¯a. As I said before, I have familiarized myself with your background. There is a reason that you were chosen to represent Eschendur at the Creation Delve. One of only four candidates that year. The candidate who was selected from the wilds as the neutral representative.¡± She gave Nuralie a meaningful look. ¡°Unlike Eschens who were raised in the more populous Dioceses, you were trained in all three aspects of the faith in equal measure. You excelled in your youth, your first revelation attained at a remarkably young age. Since then, you have not only adapted to life in a foreign nation but flourished with your party while advancing at an unprecedented rate.


    ¡°I do not yet know you well personally, but on vellum, you are well-rounded and gifted academically in both secular matters and subjects of faith. More so than many priests I have known. Your ability to navigate the difficulties you have faced evidences good decision-making skills and character, which are essential for a judge or investigator. Your combat prowess is hardly under question. You just broke through an entire naval blockade with only four allies! As for diplomacy¡±¨CPause¨C¡°there are few Eschens who are as well-traveled. Even fewer who surround themselves with such diverse friends and allies. I expect you would do better than you might think.¡±


    ¡°I am honored by your words, Zenithar,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°But I do not think I would be able to¡±¨CPause¨C¡°fulfill those functions while we carry out our mission.¡±


    ¡°I did not expect you to take up residence at a local parish and guide the faithful had you accepted the title of Deacon,¡± said Zura. ¡°This is a means to an end. You would possess the authority, but your obligation to use that authority would be limited to any situations you encounter during your journey. Even then, your involvement may be brief and discrete.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Nuralie, sounding unconvinced.


    ¡°Think deeply upon the matter,¡± said Zura. ¡°We have a short walk ahead of us.¡±


    ¡°Where are we going, exactly?¡± I asked. I felt like we¡¯d been swept up into the Zenithar¡¯s wake without much input or explanation.


    ¡°Eschengal,¡± she said.


    ¡°The capital?¡± I asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t that 600 miles inland?¡±


    Zura nodded.


    ¡°That sounds right.¡±


    I considered our current speed over the very wet and very overgrown terrain. Even if we walked 16 hours a day it would take us more than a week to make that distance.


    ¡°Erm,¡± I began.


    ¡°Is my geriatric pace too slow for you?¡± she said, turning to give me a roguish smile.


    While it was true that I would have preferred that we moved with more urgency, the reality was that the Zenithar would save us a lot of time dealing with the politics of our mission. Getting permission for Nuralie to serve as our escort was a matter that I expected to take days or weeks at minimum, and there had always been the chance that the authorities would want to saddle us with a more traditional babysitter. The kind that might insist on specific routes or modes of travel that would add a lot of time to our journey. The Zenithar was ready to hand Nuralie a title that would solve that problem immediately. If the cost was burning a week on a casual stroll through the swamp, then that was a small price to pay.


    ¡°I think that depends on what you mean when you say ¡®their own¡¯,¡± she said. ¡°But it sounds like those aren¡¯t your words.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°I have an item, an amulet. When I got it, it did nothing, but it promised to unlock an effect when I finished my Creation Delve. When that happened, it gave me something called Soul-Sight.¡±


    A hint of a smile crossed Zura¡¯s lips, but she didn¡¯t say anything, so I continued.


    ¡°Now it says that I need to ¡®make Soul-Sight my own¡¯ to unlock the next effect. As it turns out, Soul-Sight is part of the first revelation I received. Now I can use Soul-Sight without needing the amulet. However, even though I have the revelation, the amulet¡¯s next effect hasn¡¯t unlocked.¡±


    Zura nodded and motioned for me to continue.


    ¡°My revelations are from Sam¡¯lia,¡± I said, ¡°and I actually got to have a chat with her.¡± Zura¡¯s eye ridges rose at that. ¡°She said that the task is impossible because you can¡¯t ¡®own¡¯ a revelation, that the power flows through you like the air we breathe or the water we drink. It¡¯s borrowed power.¡±


    Zura chuckled.


    ¡°I am struck by that simile,¡± she said. ¡°Perhaps the next time I piss, one of my revelations will flow out with that morning¡¯s tea.¡± She lost herself in a brief fit of laughter, though she struggled to stay quiet. I was caught off guard by the Zenithar¡¯s appreciation for the fine art of middle-school bathroom humor.


    ¡°I may be misquoting her,¡± I said, smiling as her mood infected me. Eventually, the Zenithar calmed down and she patted me on the shoulder.


    ¡°I hold great respect for the Goddess of the Third Layer.¡± She locked eyes with me. ¡°But, she is, by her nature, a deity of the present moment. Her nature is one of thought, dream, and I would argue emotion. These are very immediate concepts. Vengeance is her most forward-looking aspect, but not one that I would say is strong on contemplation of the future.¡±


    ¡°What about thought, though? You can think about the future.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but you can only think in the present. I will not attempt to codify the behavior of deities by any firm rules, but that is my impression of Sam¡¯lia, based on all the tales that I know and all of my discussions with her followers. She is a wonderful protector, a terrible foe, and quite easy to talk to, I hear.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but why is thinking about the future important? In this context, I mean. Obviously thinking about the future is quite important. Sometimes I think it¡¯s too important.¡±


    ¡°That resonates,¡± Zura said. ¡°As for the future, Sam¡¯lia hears ¡®make Soul-Sight your own¡¯, and considers it in the moment. Soul-Sight cannot be yours, right now, right here, because it is constantly flowing through you, to use her words. But that phrase, I do not believe it is meant to say that you must ¡®own¡¯ Soul-Sight to make it your own. Perhaps the phrase invites you to take ownership of the revelation not in a literal sense, but in a personal sense.


    ¡°Take this swamp, for instance,¡± she continued. ¡°One does not need to ¡®own¡¯ the swamp to make the swamp ¡®their own¡¯. Someone who has made the swamp their own is someone who thrives in the swamp, and who thrives there for reasons that are unique or personal to them, not someone who can exclude others from the swamp, or isolate a piece of it.¡±


    I glanced over to Nuralie, who was buried under no less than six cat-sized frogs. None of them were frogs she¡¯d had when we¡¯d woken up that morning.


    ¡°To make something your own, you must first become familiar with it, you must consider your experience with it, and then you must commit to it. It requires thinking deeply about both the past and the future to develop a certain mindset, and then applying that mindset to the present.¡±


    I found Zura¡¯s logic about past, present, and future and how those related to Sam¡¯lia questionable, but I liked where she was going otherwise.


    ¡°Which takes us back to your words from earlier,¡± I said. ¡°If a revelation changes and grows with the revelator, then a revelator can focus on guiding that growth in a direction they like. And maybe, by guiding that growth in a personalized direction, they might make that revelation their own.¡±


    ¡°It helps if it is a direction that makes sense for the revelation,¡± she said. ¡°A revelation of sight is unlikely to grow in a direction that allows you to fly.¡±


    ¡°Unless, through my powers of observation, I learn how to fly.¡±


    She swatted my chest with the back of her hand.


    ¡°You may take your sophistry to your bedroll now,¡± she said.


    I grinned and bid her goodnight. As I climbed back toward my uninviting bed, I thought about how easy Zura was to talk to. It was like hanging out with somebody''s laid-back grandma, not a theocratic pope-queen head of state.


    You¡¯d also never suspect that she¡¯d massacred more than a thousand people earlier that day.

 Chapter 108: On Revelations

    Chapter 108: On Revelations


    The bark and gnarls of the enormous tree branch weren¡¯t painful to lie on, but they were definitely uncomfortable. I¡¯d discovered long ago that my best bet in such a situation was to set my mind on auto-pilot and allow it to ruminate until the world fell away in the middle of my thoughts. I turned away from my physical experience and focused on the cerebral, contemplating Zura¡¯s guidance and the nature of my revelations while I struggled to fall asleep.


    While I¡¯m sure theologians and experts would argue for greater nuance, in my mind revelations broke down into two parts. The first was the information or ¡®truth¡¯ that the revelation granted. The second was the ability, or ¡®manifestation¡¯ that you gained from it.


    It had taken me a while to decide when it was that I¡¯d truly gained my first revelation, the Eye¡¯s Sight. I¡¯d eventually concluded that it was while I was Third Layer walking leading up to the Calvani Caverns and The Cage hidden within. The Eye itself had gazed deeply into my soul and exposed all of the actions I had taken as a conscious being, from those that brought me pride to those that I so profoundly regretted that I had forced myself to seek out help and change.


    The revelation did not deal with the greater world around me. It was internal. The Eye embraced me despite my flaws, forgiving my transgressions and heralding my achievements. It shared that perception, allowing me to view myself and my life from an external point of view. An experience that I was sure few people would ever receive. Ultimately, it led to a deep sense of self-acceptance and had gone a long way toward building a stable psychological foundation for me to begin my life anew in Arzia. It¡¯s hard to feel secure when your existence is beset by turmoil both external and internal, after all.


    It was the closest thing I¡¯d ever had to a religious experience and, even so, I still considered it more akin to a sudden shift in my philosophy of self. Nothing about it made me want to commit myself to a ¡®higher¡¯ being or worship anyone or anything. I viewed Sam¡¯lia as an ally¨Cespecially after our talk¨Cbut I didn¡¯t see her as intrinsically superior, just vastly more powerful. Should she require any sort of offering or devotion, then my respect would have to do. It seemed like she was fine with that.


    The manifestation¡¯s relationship to that insight was not obvious. I had excellent darkvision. I could see the souls of others, which allowed me to glean knowledge about their nature and past in addition to their strength. It made it easier for me to pierce illusions and find entities hidden through stealth. It was external, but I began to wonder if my characterization of the insight was flawed. The Eye had seen me at the deepest levels, then shared with me what it saw. The raw knowledge I¡¯d gained had been about my inner self, but See¡¯s manifestation emulated what the Eye had done. The first step was to See the person or thing in front of me. The next step was to Reveal.


    My second revelation, the Eye¡¯s Reveal, began to take root during the Layer walk as well. I¡¯d been able to connect to the souls of my allies and had shared my perception of the Third Layer, allowing them to escape manifestations of the inner demons that tormented them. That had been accomplished with a lot of help from the Eye and from the Xor¡¯Drels as well, with whom I had gained a level of soul connection through the blood ritual that made me part of their tribe. My experience with Grotto and our Shared Fate trait had also helped. I was certain that the connection with my Bonded Familiar involved an intertwining of our souls. On some level, at least.


    I fully realized the revelation during our fight with the Specter of Orexis. I began not only to see souls but to feel them on a more profound level. While extraordinary individuals had been what first exposed me to sensations evoked by souls that went beyond the visual, after my experience with the specter I became much more sensitive to the pressure emitted by nearby souls, be they strong or weak.


    The truth that I¡¯d received was ongoing, everpresent. It was a deeper understanding of the individuals that passed through my life, a keen vision of what their inner world might look like. The ability went hand-in-hand with that knowledge. I could interact with that world, enter it, and share my own world with it.


    These were the basics. They were the fundamentals of the revelations that matched the teachings of the tribe. There was one more step in the sequence, Embrace, but the powers that it granted made me question whether or not I even desired it¨Cthe ability to forcefully alter reality for a target, to create a domain that I ruled as sovereign and sucked people into. It was very... tyrannical. Perhaps it could also be used to create something wondrous and personal to the individual I affected. Maybe it could provide someone with solace or healing, but with my lifestyle, I doubted that would be how I primarily used it. I didn¡¯t feel great about my chances at therapizing mana monsters and psychopaths back to a healthy mental attitude amid their attempts to murder me. I had no idea what insight the revelation would grant, but it was something that also frightened me to some degree.


    Then again, it sure would be handy to have a mind-melting hellscape to afflict my enemies with at the drop of a hat. I was already working on that with the Pocket Delve, though, but having two mind-melting hellscapes would be twice as good, right? I did love having options.


    Instead, I considered what might have helped me recently, and what would give me an advantage right now. I needed something that would maintain utility into the future, but that wasn¡¯t an exercise in delayed gratification. If our plans proceeded smoothly, I expected to be facing down a Delve that had crushed prodigies in the very near future. If it kept me alive, then power now was a better investment than power later. The Delve wasn¡¯t the only difficulty ahead, though.


    While I was focused on the Delve, I was also focused on the journey. There were powerful individuals who could stand between the party and our objective. Being able to persuade them to allow us to proceed might be a prerequisite to stepping foot inside the Delve in the first place. The Littan blockade was only one example, and while we¡¯d bypassed it, that victory wasn¡¯t an easy one after Yaretzi had gotten involved. Had I better understood the admiral¡¯s motivations, had I been able to convince him of the truth of how outclassed he was, he may have stood down. That would have saved us a lot of grief, and the admiral a lot of Littan lives¨Chis own among them. I didn¡¯t doubt that other Littans might appear in our path, and there was no guarantee the other Zenithars would be as amiable as Zura.


    Perhaps there was a way for me to See more deeply into the reasoning behind someone¡¯s actions or demands in real-time. Some power of observation into the soul that provided context that I could use to my advantage. It was also possible that I could subtly deploy Reveal to signal the honesty of my own statements; a way to touch lightly on the soul and send the resonance of my veracity into them without invading or wholly entering their inner realm. I could give someone a gentle tap on the soul¡¯s shoulder, rather than a warm and awkwardly long, full body-contact hug.


    I also had some clues as to how that second part might be accomplished. Yaretzi¡¯s evil-monologue ability, Intimacy, had granted him stacks of Blessed for revealing secrets to others. The bonus he received was based on how vulnerable the information made him and how much the knowledge changed the target¡¯s perception of him. However, who was to say that his target wouldn¡¯t think he was just a liar liar pants on fire?


    While I hadn¡¯t realized it then, I hadn¡¯t really questioned whether either of Yaretzi¡¯s statements while using the ability was true or not. I knew that what he was saying was true, even if it seemed absurd. This was especially evident when he claimed to donate half his salary to a wounded children¡¯s fund. I knew that was true, even though it was diametrically opposed to who I believed Yaretzi to be.


    Maybe it was somehow nefarious, or he actually had some genuine concern for the kids that the fund helped, but I expected he made the donations for the sole purpose of using it as a trump card with his ability. Telling his foe about more of the awful shit he¡¯d done wouldn¡¯t change their opinion much. Once their opinion of the Littan couldn¡¯t go any lower, he hit them with the ultimate move of ¡°I selflessly help kids in need!¡± There¡¯s no way I would have believed that under normal circumstances, and I didn¡¯t see how it would have made him vulnerable.


    Either way, thinking deeply about the experience allowed me to glean some familiarity with how the ability had worked. It was a Divine spell, but Divine magic could manifest in ways that acted like any other school of magic to a limited degree. The ability touched on the soul like a Spiritual skill. Spiritual wasn¡¯t a school that I had access to with my Dimensional attunement, but my Reveal ability was a god-given cheat that provided me with Spiritual capabilities regardless. It wouldn¡¯t be easy, like reconstructing an entire person from the feel of their hand brushing against your back, but it was somewhere to start.


    This gave me some model on which to build my capacity as a truthsayer, but I wasn¡¯t sure about how to become a truthseer. My half-awake mind chuckled internally as I realized that my attempt at designing an analytic ability for the See ability had somehow resulted in understanding how I might develop one for Reveal instead, but that was par for the course. I was an orderly man who enjoyed doing things in sequence... until I didn¡¯t.


    Rather than feel irritated at the circuitous route my mind liked to take through contemplative topics, I instead channeled my inner Grotto and affirmed that, when I chose to follow a different sequence, it was only because it was obviously the superior choice. My incredible intellect intuitively understood the best path to the knowledge I sought, which was a natural talent that I¡¯d cultivated with countless hours of fruitful daydreams.


    Daydreams that finally turned into regular dreams. I drifted off to sleep, transforming into a flailing octopus bent on world-spanning domination.

 Chapter 109: Grotto Safari

    Chapter 109: Grotto Safari


    The next morning I awoke to an unfamiliar tingle in my senses; the senses with designated values above five, that is. The extra ones. I sensed some weird soul shit is what I¡¯m saying.


    Upon opening my eyes, the first thing I noted was not the source of the soul ping I was getting. Instead, it was Grotto staring at me from a distance that I would describe as close, but not intimate.


    [Were you watching me sleep again?] I thought to him.


    [I have been waiting for you to awaken while providing you with the six feet of personal space that you¡¯d previously requested.]


    [Still weird.] I stretched and hopped out of the bedroll, then dismissed my sparse camping gear into my inventory. [Any reason you were so eagerly anticipating my resurrection?]


    Grotto rubbed his feelers together.


    [I do not know what to do with myself out here.]


    [Out here? You mean, outside of the Closet?]


    [Correct. All of my mana-weaving supplies and projects are inside the Pocket Delve. Once you and your fellow organics began to slumber I had little to occupy my time.]


    [Okay, no problem. I¡¯ll open the portal. Feel free to wake me for something like that. Then again, I might be able to figure out a way for you to open the Closet yourself at this point, but it¡¯d take some testing.]


    [I would prefer not to return to the Closet at this moment.]


    I¡¯d already started focusing on the portal but dropped my concentration in surprise.


    [You what?]


    [Our subordinates have endured my absence for too long. It would be a disservice to continue denying them the advantage of my presence.]


    I ran that through my Grotto translation filter.


    [Sure, you¡¯re always welcome to hang out.]


    [I am aware. However, I have nothing to do.]


    [Are you asking me what you should be doing?]


    [It has been my experience that entities with fleeting lifespans tend to engage in continuous activity regardless of their physical surroundings. I believe this serves a dual function of both improving their personal utility while also distracting them from the everpresent march of time that will inevitably bring about their demise. You are an exemplary model for this behavior.]


    I crossed my arms and waited to hear a question.


    [While I could continue my efforts with mana weaving, it is an unwieldy practice for our current level of mobility and too delicate to risk in such a humid environment. Since the party benefits from my guidance which, in turn, is enhanced by the immediacy of my physical presence, I require other projects that I might engage in outside of the Pocket Delve.]


    [And you can¡¯t think of a single thing to do outside of the Delve? No, never mind. That makes a lot of sense. More than 99% of your life has been spent inside of Delves doing things for Delves.]


    I took a quick look around the camp and found the surrounding branches empty of bedrolls and other effects. Peeking through the canopy above, I could see that the sky held the first tinges of sunlight, though dawn had yet to fully break. I quickly located my allies down in the swamp, already awake and each doing their own thing. I couldn¡¯t remember the last time I was the late riser.


    [Let¡¯s go observe and see if we can find you a hobby, then.] I hopped down off of the branch, letting Gracorvus slow my fall so I didn¡¯t splash down and make a racket. Despite everyone getting a head start on the day, the camp was nearly silent.


    [I do not believe in hobbies,] Grotto thought to me as we floated toward Varrin. [Activities should be fruitful pursuits that provide measurable progress toward desired goals and outcomes.]


    I paused a dozen feet away and watched the big guy, who sat on his knees in a meditative pose, eyes shut. He occupied a rare patch of grass and earth that was more solid than mud, with Kazandak laid out before him. This alone wasn¡¯t unusual. Varrin had done some version of the ritual each morning since his chat with the Ravvenblaq Patriarch about communing with his blade. What was unusual was that he was the source of the weird soul itch I¡¯d felt.


    Over the last year and a half, I''d come to be very familiar with the souls of my party members. Varrin¡¯s soul was exceptionally stable and controlled. Steady and unyielding, the soul felt like it had a great weight to it, even when he went a bit berserk.


    At the moment, however, his soul was a touch more erratic. Small sections along the edge would flare a few centimeters or a current in the flow around him would deviate. It was subtle and nowhere near the level of weird that the mimic had given off when it had tried to copy his soul presence. That had still been a pretty good facsimile overall, but what I was presently seeing was minuscule, comparatively.NewW novels updates at novelhall.com


    [Here, we observe a wild Ravvenblaq engaged in a curious type of... soul training?]


    [He is napping in front of his sword.]


    I looked over my Bonded Familiar¡¯s soul, which looked like oil in water. It was always in motion, moving in many directions, but not with any haste. Beneath the rich platinum of the Delver levels I shared with him, his base soul was a dark green, although it had grown somewhat lighter as we¡¯d spent time bonded. My own base layer was closer to an emerald color that matched my eyes, and I suspected that our connection was causing Grotto¡¯s soul to gradually shift in the direction of my own.


    [Potential hobby number one: you could focus on our soul connection and try to figure out how we can make better use of it.]


    [I have crafted a suite of analytic tools within the obelisk chamber to assist in functions dealing with our connection.]


    [Sure, but how much progress have you made with those?]


    [Very little,] he admitted.


    [All your mental magic stuff has Spiritual elements. You could try to leverage some of that to figure it out.]


    While Grotto digested that idea I turned to find Xim, but was distracted by a glimpse of movement near Varrin. I turned back and studied him for a few seconds, but couldn¡¯t see anything that had changed about either him or his environment. I noted the oddity and planned on keeping a closer eye on the man during his morning routine, then moved on toward the cleric.


    Xim was also kneeling with her new scepter held in both hands. She was communing with Sam¡¯lia, rather than a blade, and her patch of nature was more of the mud variety. Xim was unbothered, though, and had simply gone full swamp-lady and discarded all clothes that weren¡¯t required for Eschen sensibilities, rather than deal with dirt-caked garments.


    As for what Eschen sensibilities required, it didn¡¯t take much. Personally, I had on the armguard for Gracorvus, a pair of linen trousers rolled up to my knees, and not a damn thing more. My brain grappled between feeling incredible freedom and having flashbacks to Grotto¡¯s Delve after fighting the Atrocidile.


    Xim¡¯s soul was doing normal Xim-soul things, at least insofar as how it appeared while she was communing with a goddess from another Layer: a slow-motion inferno that pulsed with the beat of a godly heart and hungered to feed on the sins of the wicked. Very relaxing soul presence, overall.


    [The untamed Xor¡¯Drel can often be found in search of divine truth and wisdom.]


    [She is napping with her scepter.]


    [Isn¡¯t your attunement Divine?] I thought to him, absently grooming some more burs from my beard. Seriously, I was awake for five minutes and already finding more, where the fuck did they come from? [Could work on deepening that connection.]


    [Yes, my attunement is Divine, and my patron deity is the System. There is little more that I can do to strengthen that connection.]


    [Could try and get some revelations,] I offered. Grotto¡¯s tentacles groomed his feathers as he thought that over. I absently considered whether he was mirroring me.


    [That is an interesting proposal. While I possess a wealth of knowledge and abilities granted by the System, they are not categorized as revelations. I am unaware of any such archetypically Divine gifts given by the System, however. Even if it were possible, I do not believe it could occur in the current phase.]


    [Why not?]


    [The System exists in the physical realm. While it serves as a patron for my attunement, it presently lacks appropriate access to the Divine to function in a traditionally deific manner.]


    [Are you saying that the phase rollout will literally turn the System into a god? I thought all that stuff about the System being a god was a joke.]


    [No, but it will allow it to harness divine energies on a much greater scale. How else do you believe it would be capable of assisting Delvers in ascending?]


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    [I guess I didn¡¯t really think about it. Well, seeking the divine as a hobby may need to be delayed until we get phase two things going.]


    [Indeed.]


    We then floated over to Etja, who was a hundred feet away from everyone else, dancing in the air. She moved gently to an unheard song, with small bursts of mana appearing around her, eyes shut tight in concentration. I could tell she was micro-casting some of her spells, but they felt different from her usual repertoire.


    The caster¡¯s skills were a bit of a unique case. She had only five skill slots, but could combine any two of them together to form a new spell. She currently had fifteen combinations and was on the verge of being able to combo three at a time, giving her access to many more. At first, I thought that she had finally crossed that hurtle, but realized that what she was doing was more complex.


    [Vanishingly rare and often misunderstood, the Nothosis may sometimes be seen refining her understanding of mana shaping.]


    [She is... very good at that.]


    [Yeah, I honestly had no idea she¡¯d gotten this far.] A dozen small orbs appeared in the air, then burst into fragments, hissing as they dissipated. [I can¡¯t even tell which of her spells this is supposed to be, or whether it¡¯s a combination.]


    [Magical Thinker does not tell you?]


    [The ability doesn¡¯t trigger if I¡¯m already familiar with the spell. Either this is something I¡¯ve seen, or it isn¡¯t well-formed enough to be considered something new.]


    [It cannot be new, she has no more skill slots.]


    [Sure about that?] Grotto and I watched for another minute or so, but neither of us was confident enough to draw any conclusions. [Potential hobby number three: improve your mana-shaping capabilities.]


    [I would need additional test subjects for that.]


    I frowned and agreed that, for Grotto, that didn¡¯t seem like a solo activity. I also didn¡¯t want to break Etja¡¯s concentration, so we moved to Shog.


    The true c¡¯thon was, to no one¡¯s surprise, studying the art of the blade. He was the farthest from camp by several hundred feet and had single-handedly clear-cut an area the size of a small park. Vines, limbs, and entire small trees littered the ground and floated in the swampy waters. There were no dead and dismembered critters, though, but the mystery of the missing prey was solved when I caught sight of some... leftovers in his beard.


    [Occasionally, the swamp contains a predator that is foreign to the environment, released into the wild by irresponsible summoners. In this instance, we can observe a Grade 12 c¡¯thon in possession of a disturbing amount of martial prowess decimating the local flora and fauna.]


    Agility 10: Point Blank - Better hammer throws in melee


    Speed 10: Rapid Blocks - Block with double Speed


    Fortitude 10: I Can Do This All Day - Double HP and SP regen


    Fortitude 10 (Super): We Can Do This All Day - Allies regen health or stam when you take damage


    Fortitude 20: Body of Theseus - Crit & stat effect reduction, but maybe also turning into homogenous flesh monstrosity?


    Fortitude 40: Just a Flesh Wound - Immune to Bleeding, can regen missing body parts


    Intelligence 10: Magical Thinker - See a spell? Know the spell.


    Intelligence 20: Coordinated Thinker - Double INT for spatial and dimensional comprehension.


    Wisdom 10: Fast Recharge - Double mana regen


    Wisdom 20: Where¡¯s Nuralie? - Concentrate to reveal stealthed enemies. When used with See can also reveal invisible/ illusion enemies.


    Charisma 10: Center of Attention - Better taunts


    Active Skills (8/10):


    Dispel: Get rid of some magical reality


    Explosion!: Explode some of reality


    Oblivion Orb: Delete some of reality


    Shortcut: Teleport around some reality


    Homing Weapon: Throw an enemy-seeking hammer and it comes back reality


    Life Warden: Take damage in place of an ally reality


    Dimensional Summon: SHOG¡¯TUATHA! REALITY


    Gravity Anchor: Become immovable, suck everything in real hard reality.


    Passive Skills (3/4):


    Archmage: +25% Mana, +25% Mana Regen, +10 to effective intrinsic when casting


    Bonded Familiar: GROTTO!


    Who Needs a Cleric? (Aura): Healing aura, locate allies, expands range for buffs


    Intrinsic Skills (8/10):


    Blunt 22


    Dimensional Magic 21


    Dungeoneering 20


    Mystical Magic 12


    Physical Magic 13


    Shields 21


    Heavy Armor 13


    Leadership 6


    Intrinsic Skill Evolutions:


    Dimensional 10: Pocket Closet - Pocket Dimension


    Dimensional 20: Checkpoint - Make waypoints and long-range portals


    Dungeoneering 10: Additional Pylons - Cheaper to build Delve shit


    Dungeoneering 20: Engineered Terror - Scarier Delve shit


    Mystical 10: Mana-shaping efficiency - what it says on the label


    Physical 10: More! MORE!!! - Phys skill cooldowns reduced


    Blunt 10: Hammer Throw - Speed and distance of thrown hammers mega better


    Blunt 20: Hammerang - Can throw hammers in silly ways


    Shields 10: Megablock - Block even more dmg


    Shields 20: UNSELECTED (Sinful Arlo)


    Heavy Armor 10: UNSELECTED (Indecisive Arlo)


    Attunement:


    Dimensional


    Languages:


    English


    Hiwardian


    Loward


    Imperial


    Notable Achievements:


    Dumping - spend 5 stats get 1 free!


    Exposure Therapy: Poison - 25% poison res


    I Don¡¯t Attack You, You Attack Me - Sometimes stuns mean people


    Strength of Xor¡¯Drel - Harder to fear


    This is Bullshit! - Easier to taunt strong people


    Notable Equipment:


    Ring of Healing - double health regen


    Traveler¡¯s Amulet - jack shit atm


    Rocket Man¡¯s C¡¯thonic Feather Boa of the Cat¡¯s Pajamas - Sexier, more renown


    Outlaw¡¯s C¡¯thonic Leather Vest of the Dirty Muffin Toy - Scarier, some stam regen


    Somncres (War Hammer) - Summonable, copies itself, and shapeshifts


    Gracorvus (Shield) - flies, floats, modular, atrocidile roa

 Chapter 110: No Time For Sightseeing

    Chapter 110: No Time For Sightseeing


    Eschengal, the capital of Eschendur, was a city of three identities. An elemental triad informed all aspects of its architecture, with water, earth, and air being celebrated in equal measure, each a tribute to one of the three gods of the Eschenden. The themes wove together like threads of a fine tapestry, circling the churches that made up the city¡¯s center and converging upon a central park of unparalleled beauty and splendor.


    That¡¯s what I was told, at least. We never set foot inside.


    The second leg of our sprint through the swamp began at a slightly faster pace than the day before. An hour in, Zura heard a sound that she alone could detect and her mood darkened. After that, we were no longer on a playful stroll through nature. The water beneath our feet rushed forward with us, doubling our speed as we ran along the moving channels.


    By noon we¡¯d exited the swamp and made our way across wet plains, then into more domesticated farmland. Our passing left a small flood in our wake as the waters continually rose from the ground beneath us to hasten our arrival, driving us even faster now that the terrain was devoid of thick vegetation. We quickly encountered civilization, passing entire villages built atop lakes, sprawling through the treetops, and hidden beneath earthen mounds.


    We soon crested a high ridge, and in the distance, enormous stone walls could be seen that marked the outer boundary of Eschengal. Before we could draw another step closer, however, the ground fractured, and a twelve-foot-tall boulder emerged, churning up moist soil in large piles around it. A seam appeared along the rock¡¯s center with a loud crack and its two halves fell away, the chunks of stone landing heavily on the path. A man, who¡¯d been inside the rock, stepped forward.


    He was a Hyrachon, over seven feet tall with sandy skin and wide-set eyes on a broad face. Small, granite horns dotted the ridgeline of his head, and thick fur covered his shoulders and back, his frame as broad as a bull¡¯s. He wore only a heavy brown skirt, its edges embroidered with black runes and script.


    ¡°Zenithar Zura,¡± the man said, his voice deep and rumbling. ¡°You take a trip to the coast to survey the blockade, and now we are at war. I¡¯d wager your trip was not boring.¡±


    ¡°Zenithar Dal,¡± said Zura, inclining her head slightly to her peer. ¡°You would win that wager, although I believe we have been at war for some time. Should I expect Zenithar Manar to greet us as well? I¡¯d planned to call a formal session of the triarchs, but I am not opposed to meeting here on the road if she is already on her way.¡±


    ¡°Bah!¡± said Dal, waving a thick hand through the air. A bit of rock dust puffed away into the breeze as he did so. ¡°Sakra Manar is not in Eschengal, she is at Skyharbor.¡±


    ¡°Have you sent a flyer?¡± asked Zura.


    ¡°Why would I?¡± said Dal. ¡°The Right Ring has rung. The gong will have been heard at Skyharbor as well as it has been heard anywhere else.¡±


    Zura tapped her nails against the haft of her halberd.


    ¡°Why is Manar at Skyharbor?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Sparring with Yri, I expect,¡± said Dal. ¡°It¡¯s all she does up there.¡±


    ¡°You expect her to take note of the gong while sparring with Yri?¡±


    Dal threw up his hands and then dropped to the ground with a thud, sending tremors through my boots. He crossed his legs and heaved out a loud breath.


    ¡°She is no fool,¡± said Dal. ¡°But... she may be distracted.¡± He shook his upper body, more stone dust kicking up from his fur. ¡°You and I may decide how to address the immediate matters.¡± He looked over our group. ¡°First, tell me who these strangers are.¡±


    ¡°Delvers,¡± said Zura. ¡°The party known as Fortune¡¯s Folly. They were waylaid by the blockade on their way to Eschendur.¡±


    ¡°You left in such a rush,¡± said Dal. ¡°Did you go to rescue them?¡±


    ¡°They made it through the blockade under their own power.¡±


    Dal leaned forward.


    ¡°Did the Littans pursue?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Zura.


    ¡°Into our borders?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And you asked them to leave, no doubt.¡±


    ¡°The Littans refused,¡± said Zura. ¡°Then deployed three Delver parties to take this group by force. After the Littan admiral disregarded multiple warnings, I sank the encroaching vessels.¡±


    Zenithar Dal sat up straighter, rolling his shoulders back, which made a few loud pops.


    ¡°How much of the blockade fleet did you destroy?¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Nuralie, looking down at the book.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯d hoped to spend more time with you all,¡± said Zura, looking around the group. ¡°Unfortunately, I must assist Zenithar Dal in managing our response to the Littans.¡±


    ¡°Zenithar,¡± said Nuralie, looking up from the book. ¡°The blockade... and now the invasion.¡± She glanced at the rest of the party. ¡°We-¡±


    Zula reached out and took Nuralie by the arm.


    ¡°You are in no way responsible for this,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°The Littans have been looking for an excuse to escalate this conflict ever since it became clear we wouldn¡¯t give them any of the concessions they demanded. It was only a matter of time before the blockade became violent, even if your group hadn¡¯t forced your way through. Also, know that I did not destroy those ships for your sake. I destroyed them for Eschendur. The blockade had become untenable. Beyond the economic impact it has had, the blockade had begun to cost lives. Eschens are dying every day because we cannot import certain medicines. Food insecurity has also become a serious concern in the cities. The blockade needed to be eliminated, and so it has. I shoulder the blame for the escalation. None of you are at fault.¡±


    Nuralie searched the Zenithar¡¯s eyes for a while, then seemed to accept her words.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said.


    Zura gave her arm a gentle squeeze.


    ¡°The Littans have a long history of conquering their neighbors,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°They are aggressive, but they are not barbarians. They target soldiers, not civilians. Your village should be safe for the moment, and I have faith that your group can handle any hostility you find. Good luck on your journey.¡±


    Zura nodded to the rest of us, then summoned a stream of water to carry her toward the city.


    The rest of the hour passed with the party standing awkwardly on the side of the road while I established the Checkpoint, discussing ways to make it to Nuralie¡¯s village while avoiding the legion. Nuralie and Varrin also talked more about their understanding of why the Littans wanted to be in Eschendur in the first place, and how the conflict started.


    ¡°It comes down to magical resources,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Littan territory is rich in mundane materials such as iron, gemstones, and cropland, but they don¡¯t have access to extraordinary metals or mana-rich plants and animals. Eschendur is the world¡¯s largest exporter of Madrin, has unparalleled diversity in alchemical ingredients, and can produce a variety of materials useful for mana weaving. The Littans wanted a larger share of the Eschen trade that was going to Hiward, but didn¡¯t have anything to offer that Eschendur wanted in return.¡±


    ¡°Block trade to Hiward, force Eschendur to sell to Litta,¡± I said. ¡°Thus, the blockade. I get it.¡±


    ¡°The blockade didn¡¯t accomplish much,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Eschendur refused to sell to Litta.¡±


    ¡°Eschendur¡¯s economy is fairly self-sustaining,¡± said Varrin. ¡°They¡¯ve always been somewhat isolationist, so they aren¡¯t reliant on outside goods for much. Stonewalling the blockade caused harm to Eschendur, but not to the level the Littans were likely expecting.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Hiward in all this?¡± I said. ¡°Litta is fucking up a really important trade channel to the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Hiward can¡¯t do much,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It¡¯s complicated, but it boils down to treaties. Hiward generally can¡¯t interfere with Littan military action. If they do, all existing political relationships between the nations are severed.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°So, if it all comes back to Litta wanting Eschendur¡¯s magic shit, what was that comment Zenithar Dal made about the Eschen Gap about?¡±


    ¡°Pretense,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The Gap is home to an entity known as the Operator. It is¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°very strong. Stronger than most Delvers. We don¡¯t settle the Gap because of this. The Littans, however, began building settlements within the Gap when they first started testing our borders. The settlements were destroyed and Litta blamed Eschendur.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I said. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The Operator is... a legend to some extent,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The Littans think of it like a folk tale. When the settlements were destroyed, the evidence showed that it was caused by a single, powerful individual. There were no survivors to attest to what happened, so the Littans assumed it was an Eschen Delver. When Eschendur responded by saying it was the Operator, it wasn¡¯t taken seriously.¡±


    ¡°Litta thought you were telling them that the boogeyman did it?¡± I said.


    ¡°I will assume what you said makes sense and say yes,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Litta demanded that we turn over the culprit, but there is no one to hand over.¡±


    ¡°That was their excuse to start the blockade,¡± I said. ¡°Act like it¡¯s righteous, when really they just want to take your shit. Bet that angle works great as propaganda.¡±


    A few more minutes went by and I finally got the notification that the Checkpoint was active.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°Long-range portal destination locked in. Time to go interfere with a major international dispute. More than we already have, that is.¡±


    Once again we set off in the direction of an objective that just happened to be on the other side of a major Littan military unit.


    Maybe I¡¯d be able to talk my way past this one.

 Chapter 111: Camping

    Chapter 111: Camping


    ¡°In my experience, most heads of state travel with a large entourage,¡± I said as we ran. The party traversed a span of grassy hills that spread for dozens of miles on our journey east of Eschengal. Some of the rolling mounds were the size of petite mountains, with ponds and small lakes nestled between them. ¡°Yet, between Zura and Dal, not a single groupie.¡±


    ¡°Our interaction with the Zenithars was¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°unusual,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Our interactions with powerful individuals as a whole are unusual,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Meetings with my own mother feel more formal than our average talk with prominent authority figures.¡±


    ¡°Even Fortune was kind of laid back,¡± I said. ¡°Aside from all the fuckery with Anesis.¡± This sentiment drew strange glances from both Xim and Varrin. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I have three different abilities that increase my resistance to fear effects,¡± said Xim. ¡°None of them helped with Fortune.¡±


    ¡°I endeavored to be formal with the avatar,¡± said Varrin. ¡°At the time, I believed that if I did not show him the utmost respect, I would die without even knowing how I¡¯d perished.¡±


    ¡°Scary doesn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t casual,¡± I argued.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t scare me!¡± said Etja, doing a little jump and spin through the air as she ran.


    ¡°Must be that divine heritage,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re inoculated against deific intimidation. For the record, I wasn¡¯t afraid of him either. At least, not in a visceral way. More an intellectual understanding of how trivial it would have been for him to kill me.¡±


    ¡°I was not yet strong enough to challenge him, so I kept my silence,¡± said Shog.


    ¡°Sure, bud. Same logic for you as well, Grotto?¡±


    [I am no fool. There was no reason to draw his attention to me, and so I did not do so. He also displayed a great deal of antagonism toward Cage, so I did not believe his attitude toward my status as a Delve Core would be positive.]


    ¡°Wonder what that guy¡¯s up to, anyway,¡± I said. ¡°We know he didn¡¯t hide Anesis from Orexis if the reports from Timagrin are accurate.¡±


    ¡°It is likely foolish to ponder it,¡± said Varrin. ¡°If gods have little insight into his actions, I doubt that we will.¡±


    ¡°Kind of defeatist. I know tons of stuff gods don¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°Like how to make a proper apple martini. I bet we all have some insights that transcend the divine.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t Sam¡¯lia know everything about your life on Earth?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Sure, but that doesn¡¯t mean any other gods do.¡±


    ¡°Fair.¡±


    I considered Sam¡¯lia¡¯s ability to replicate delicious apple juice, and whether that would translate to a superior cocktail. It probably would.


    ¡°We¡¯re close to the forest,¡± said Nuralie, and we came to a stop atop one of the massive hills.


    A mile ahead of us the sparse trees became vastly more numerous, growing dense and dark. It looked like another swamp to me, with most plant growth sprouting from ubiquitous pools of water. Just, with a lot more trees than the swamp we traveled through on our way inland.


    ¡°How far to the Gap?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Four hundred miles or so,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°And your village?¡±


    She paused to think it over.


    ¡°Around three hundred and fifty.¡±


    ¡°Alright. How fast does a legion move?¡±


    ¡°Across open land, twenty miles a day, give or take,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Through this type of jungle... less than that.¡±


    ¡°Assuming this is day one,¡± I said, ¡°then the Littans won¡¯t make it to your village until sundown tomorrow. We can make it there first, I bet.¡±


    ¡°There will be scouts,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We know they¡¯re mixing Delvers with their traditional military as well. They may have elite units that move much faster.¡±


    ¡°So we want to avoid those if possible.¡±


    ¡°That will be difficult,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Nuralie is the only one of us that specializes in stealth. Three of us wear medium to heavy armor, and our movements through the forest will not be quiet.¡±


    ¡°We could fly,¡± I offered. ¡°Rest in the Closet to get mana back when we run out.¡±


    ¡°We really can¡¯t go that far flying,¡± said Xim. ¡°Your shield takes, what, 1 mana per second?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not really made for long-range travel. I need to fix that.¡±


    Requirements:


    LCK 20


    Once per day, one of the following effects may occur, although you may not choose when or if one triggers.


    1) An attack you make that would otherwise miss miraculously hits.


    2) An attack made against you that would otherwise hit miraculously misses.


    ¡°Interesting, but useless,¡± I mumbled. No one in the party was building into Luck, and as far as I knew no one was planning to. I passed it around the party, letting everyone else take a turn and decide if they cared for it, then moved on to the ring with a thousand sparkling facets.


    Ring of Many Blessings


    Requirements:


    Divine Magic 20


    This ring may store up to 5 stacks of Blessed. So long as this ring holds any stacks of Blessed, you are considered Blessed. You may consume these Blessed stacks as though they were your own. If this ring holds less than 5 stacks of Blessed, you may choose to transfer any number of Blessed stacks you possess to the ring until it is at capacity.


    Current stacks: 0/5


    ¡°Now we¡¯re getting somewhere,¡± I said, tossing the ring to Xim. Both Nuralie and Etja also had Divine, but neither had the intrinsic skill high enough to use the ring. The cleric¡¯s eyebrows raised as she read the description, and then she slipped it on and cast a blessing on herself. I moved to the color-changing amulet.


    Amulet of Efficiency


    Requirements:


    WIS 20


    Effects:


    Whenever you would spend mana, the amount you spend is reduced by 10%. The minimum cost reduction from this effect is 1 mana (1 mana every 6 seconds while channeling), but cannot reduce the mana cost to less than 1.


    ¡°Damn, so close to making me fly cheaper,¡± I said, before handing the amulet to Etja. Xim and I also had enough Wisdom to use the amulet, but it would benefit the group¡¯s dedicated caster most. Besides, Xim just got a ring and I already had the Traveler¡¯s Amulet, despite it being completely useless at the moment. Finally done with the belated loot session, I turned back to the matter at hand.


    ¡°A couple of upgrades, but nothing that helps with our immediate problem. How are we feeling about the floating Shog cuddle-puddle?¡±


    ¡°We would be an obvious target,¡± said Varrin. I was proud of the man for allowing my description to go unchallenged, as profane as it had been. ¡°We may not make noise, but there would be no cover while flying over the forest.¡±


    ¡°Loud through the woods, or quiet out in the open,¡± I muttered. ¡°Five people in the loving embrace of a mana fiend while soaring through the sky at the speed of Grandma on her way to Sunday service would make a pretty big, easy target. We¡¯d also be grouped together and just asking to get hit with a fireball or something. It¡¯s probably safer to go on the ground. Nuralie, you can scout ahead while we follow at a distance. Grotto, stick with her and psychic reports back to us once in a while.¡±


    Nuralie nodded and Grotto floated over to land on her shoulder, wrapping his tentacles around her upper arm. The two eyed each other for a second¨CI was pretty sure this was the first time they¡¯d ever made physical contact¨Cbut Nuralie darted off toward the swampy woods without a word. We gave her a five-minute head start, then followed. I could keep up with her relative position using my aura, so her presence became our compass.


    We kept quiet as we moved through the brush, using Grotto as a psychic relay whenever something needed to be said that couldn¡¯t be communicated with a hand gesture. While he was outside of the Closet, everyone could consent to his mental presence, which was a boon we didn¡¯t take enough advantage of as a party. Stealth wasn¡¯t our typical strategy though, and I was the only one comfortable with the internal comms. It gave everyone else the sort of buzzing discomfort I¡¯d felt any time Grotto had scanned my brain back in the day.


    We still moved quickly, so our progress was anything but silent. The goal wasn¡¯t to avoid notice but to cause any prying ears to assume that we were a herd of swamp rats or rampaging toads for at least a few seconds, rather than a group of dangerous humanoids. Enough time for us to spot them or react in some way, hopefully.


    Nuralie kept ahead of us by about a mile, and with her movement bonuses from being in the shady terrain, she was faster while in stealth than she was moving normally under the sun. She even got a touch of invisibility based on how dark it was and could teleport between shadows like a proper ninja-alchemist-archer.


    Hours went by, and while our pace was slower than our mud marathon with Zura, we still made better time than we¡¯d have made with the Shog-blimp strategy. We kept our eyes peeled, but the only living creatures that we saw were the local wildlife. A couple of ambitious predators tried to ambush us, and Varrin sent a lanky, ten-foot-tall simian creature running away with a flash of his sword and a skin-deep cut across its wide nose. Later, some sort of anaconda-millipede hybrid dropped from the branches above and clamped down onto my neck, wrapping its thirty-foot-long body around me. It couldn¡¯t break my skin, and a quick Shortcut got me out of its thousand-arm grapple. I was happy to let it scurry away as well, but Shog hadn¡¯t had a proper meal since Yaretzi and decided the creature had volunteered to become lunch. The c¡¯thon¡¯s snacking was surprisingly quiet despite his victim¡¯s crunchy exoskeleton.


    I eventually started playing around with my Soul-Sight, raising and lowering its sensitivity while trying to identify different levels of detail. I¡¯d wanted to play a few rounds of two truths and a lie with the others, but current circumstances didn¡¯t allow for it. Instead, I tried to hone in more on the feeling Soul-Sight provided, rather than relying on the visual information it gave. It was something I¡¯d been practicing in my spare time anyway, but I felt like my recent reflection on the revelation had opened me up to new ideas.


    I began to filter away the biases that the title of my first revelation gave me, migrating from the concept of sight and seeing to the idea of experiencing souls. The ability had never really manifested as a purely visual phenomenon. There had always been a physical component, even if that component had been centered in my eyes, feeling like they might pop out from staring at someone who was overly strong.


    It had progressed to something I felt all over, though the experience migrated across my body depending on where someone was, among other things. Like a powerful light source, I felt their metaphysical heat on my skin. That was an overly simple way to put it, but it got the idea across well enough.


    We continued through the night, stopping only briefly for food, drink, and biological necessities. None of us needed any of that nearly as much as a mundane person, but we all still required it to some degree, although by this point I could go days without feeling much hunger beyond an annoying tug in my gut.


    We¡¯d put about three hundred miles behind us by midmorning the following day, and we slowed down substantially as we crossed into what we expected was scouted territory. We hadn¡¯t heard much from Nuralie, but I could still detect her moving and her health was full in the party interface. She was still a little under a mile ahead of us and we felt fairly comfortable that such a significant lead would give us a good buffer if she detected anything.


    I continued under this delusion, only realizing how wrong it was when I felt a fierce pressure and lost vision in my right eye. My head snapped back a bit. It was like something had tugged on the back of my hair with incredible strength but for only a fraction of a second. I heard a small explosion behind me at the same moment, and I noticed that my shades fell off of my face, broken. As I looked down, I saw that the right lens was completely gone. I was desperately confused.


    Why were my glasses on the ground? Did they break from just falling off my face? I¡¯d always bought special lenses that were more durable, so that didn¡¯t make sense. Those were always expensive too, and insurance only covered one pair per year. Shit, now they were sinking into the muck¨Cgoing down and down. I¡¯d lose them at this rate, but when I tried to bend over, I¡¯d forgotten how to move. Where¡¯d all this mud come from, anyway? I hadn¡¯t mopped the kitchen in a while but...


    No. Wait.


    Something was very wrong.

 Chapter 112: Shouldnt Have Aimed for the Head

    Chapter 112: Shouldn''t Have Aimed for the Head


    A damn popup ad appeared in my field of view, and a lance of anger ran down my core. I thought we¡¯d moved past those things. I couldn¡¯t even remember the last time I¡¯d seen a popup ad that wasn¡¯t just a computer virus that directed you to a scam call center. Nowadays we had cookie banners that demanded your consent every fucking time you visited a website, not popup ads inviting you to spend $9.99 a month on scandalous images of questionable quality. It was a more civilized era!


    However, as I studied the invading text, I realized it was not an ad, but a notification of some sort. It didn¡¯t have a solid background or blinking colors. I could look away from it and it didn¡¯t incessantly follow my eyes. There were no demands for me to call IT and acquire antivirus software with the only payment option being gift cards to a popular electronics brand. No, this looked like normal text. Non-intrusive, but easy to spot.


    It was too bad that I had no idea what it said.


    That somehow got me more irritated. I looked over the letters and numbers, but they were nonsensical. I knew that there were words, but I couldn¡¯t quite get them to process. That was when a memory slapped me in the face like I was a window AC unit with a bad rattle. It shook loose some of the gears in my head and my present circumstances reasserted themselves.


    Some time ago, I¡¯d woken up after dying to a tree and found a book. Believing what I was experiencing to be a dream, I challenged the assumption by trying to read the book. I couldn¡¯t read in my dreams, so if I could not read the book, that was evidence that I was dreaming. At first, I couldn¡¯t read the book, until whatever linguistic knowledge that had been inserted in my head applied itself and I could read the book. It was one of my first memories after coming to Arzia and appearing inside the Creation Delve.


    I didn¡¯t need prescription glasses. I wasn¡¯t in my kitchen. I wasn¡¯t even on Earth. My brain flashed through a series of disconnected events¨CHognay, Demarsus, fighting bat people, The Cage, The Mimic, Sam¡¯lia, Littans being assholes¨Cuntil I was back in the present. I was standing deep inside the woods in Eschendur, wondering why my thoughts were so scattered. My anger grew.


    I struggled to consider two ideas. One: I was being attacked mentally. Two: head trauma. Considering my inability to see anything to my right, I explored the second option. I reached up and felt around my right eye, feeling something slimy on my cheek. There was a deep gash just below and above my socket, and I tentatively poked a finger deeper. My finger kept going, and I decided that my eye was completely gone before I got far enough in to truly touch anything.


    I reached around to the back of my head. I still had my hood equipped since it was separate from my mangled chest piece and I could still wear it with the shitty steel cuirass I had on. The hood was no longer up, having been knocked back by something. Thus, the back of my head was exposed, and I quickly found an unwelcome hole. I briefly probed its edges to get an idea of the size, feeling pretty disconnected from the experience. It was about as big as a teacup saucer.


    It appeared that a non-trivial amount of my brain had recently exploded out of my skull. That explained the confusion.


    But this realization caused me to become more confused about how I wasn¡¯t more confused. Shit, I should be unconscious, not exploring the boundaries of a severe head wound. I struggled to process and the difficulty invited more rage, which threatened to overtake me. Finally, another memory bubbled up: the desire to survive a lucky headshot. An evolution I¡¯d picked a long time ago. I didn¡¯t have the capacity to figure it out any further, so I moved.


    All of this occurred in a handful of seconds, while several people moved around me nearby. Someone had a hand on my left forearm, bringing it around in front of me. I looked up to see a woman with unrecognizable features. Not unrecognizable as in I didn¡¯t know who she was, unrecognizable in that her features didn¡¯t make sense. Eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth, they were all there but they didn¡¯t coordinate into something that I could make sense of.


    Her soul, however, was very familiar.NewW novels updates at novelhall.com was talking to me, her soul flaring in distress. My left arm¨Cwhich she was shaking¨Cwas equipped with the armguard that contained Gracorvus, so I deployed the shield in front of me. Probably a good idea if someone was trying to take my head off. Xim also sent a warm pulse that I recognized as healing through my body. The numbers on my notification changed, but I still didn¡¯t know what they meant. I also didn¡¯t regain sight in my right eye, so whatever she was doing wasn¡¯t entirely working out. My feelings continued to boil over.


    He ran into my outstretched palm, unable to change trajectory on a dime to avoid the still-smoking limb. As I stiff-armed the man running at over sixty miles per hour, I cast Oblivion Orb. Anger continued to boil through my addled mind, and I mana-shaped the ability, pumping far more mana into it than I needed. I wasn¡¯t thinking about the other enemies or the potential for reinforcements. I didn¡¯t care about the expense or resource management. My universe was the death of the man in front of me.


    Oblivion Orb let out a sharp snap as it removed the man¡¯s chest from existence. The rest of him continued forward with his momentum, severed arms clunking off my sides. His head flew off into the dark over my shoulder as his legs crashed into the ground and tumbled for a dozen feet. I spared no further thoughts for the Littan as the light of his soul extinguished, and I turned to find my next target.


    I looked to the southern presence, but Varrin and Etja were on their way to intercept. Shog flew directly for the most distant pair of targets with Xim along for the ride, but it would take them a couple of minutes to get there. That left me with the northern soul, a quarter of a mile away.


    I used Shortcut seven times, appearing beside the Littan in half as many seconds. He was buried beneath leaves and dirt, half submerged in muddy water. He was also Silver, level 7, with exactly thirty Delves done. He was alarmed that I¡¯d located and teleported to him in a handful of seconds, but he also did not panic, even calmer than the first Littan.


    I peered at him through the muck and paused to see yet another curious thing. A thin thread of spiritual essence traveled from his head and into the forest. It went south, toward the presence being approached by Varrin. I studied it while I summoned Somncres into my hand, intrigued by what it might be.


    I felt Etja and Varrin engage, their souls thrumming with the power of a series of abilities, and the southern presence disappeared. The thread also disintegrated, indicating that whatever had been happening, the southern entity had been the source. The man at my feet began to lose his composure, and I knew that he would attack. I also knew that he was not built for damage.


    He rolled over in a flash, and a pulse of energy washed over me. I got a spell notification that I, again, couldn¡¯t read, but I felt what the ability had done. It exposed my weaknesses. It wouldn¡¯t help him. He fired a crossbow at my face and a spell at my chest at the same moment.


    I tilted my head to the side, avoiding the arrow, but the spell landed like a spear in my ribs. It hurt, but it barely registered. Not because my mental state was ill-equipped to process pain¨Cit was¨Cbut because it was too weak to matter.


    I responded by throwing Somncres into the man at point blank, layering skills for a Void Hammer. The dirt and mud exploded as the hammer impacted his solar plexus, crushing his body down into the filth as Oblivion Orb carved a bowling ball out of his core. There was no excuse for level 7s to have so little health or defense. This crew was obviously designed for stealth and ambush, but still, one needed to be able to survive getting caught out.


    I turned east, toward the remaining pair of ambushers, and waited for a few seconds. Finally, Gracorvus crashed through the brush and landed at my feet. These targets were more than a mile away, and even through my anger and clouded thoughts, I knew that spending 200 mana on chained Shortcuts wouldn¡¯t be wise. Gracorvus wouldn¡¯t be much cheaper to use if I flew the entire distance, but I had a third option.


    I stepped onto Gracorvus and rose above the treetops. The cold, seething anger still pulsed through me, and though my thought process had grown slightly more organized, I was still acting with almost no inhibitions. Otherwise, I would have never taken the risk I was about to take.


    I felt my connection to Shortcut, primed the mana, and then began to break the spell.

 Chapter 113: That Won’t Stop Me Because I Can’t Read

    Chapter 113: That Won¡¯t Stop Me Because I Can¡¯t Read


    When I created Gravity Anchor with Sam¡¯lia¡¯s guidance, the process involved three main steps. This technique is what Grotto referred to as ¡®forging¡¯ a skill, though Sam¡¯lia had called it ¡°the old way of doing things.¡± It was a practice that required great care and intense concentration, and I¡¯d been hesitant to try it out alone for fear of the potential backlash. It was possible to brick a skill by making a hasty modification, or potentially alter the skill in a way where it actively harmed you by using it.


    First, I needed an appropriate ¡®model¡¯ skill. The ideal model was one that was already very close to the skill that I wanted to create, and the process mainly involved making minor tweaks. It was possible to forge a new skill without a model, but it was an order of magnitude more difficult. It was also tough to conceive of a skill that was so alien from what already existed that you¡¯d need to begin from scratch, while also being practical, so there was little reason to do so.


    Once I¡¯d settled on a model for Gravity Anchor¨CEtja¡¯s Siphon skill¨CI then needed to ensure I could learn the model skill. While Etja was a Charisma-based caster, Siphon was an Intelligence-based spell, so I could learn it. Etja had a passive that allowed her to use CHA in place of INT for her skills, which was kind of broken. The trade-off was that she hadn¡¯t gotten to choose her skills, since they¡¯d been ¡®inherited¡¯ from Orexis. That¡¯s all beside the point.


    Once I¡¯d had my model and confirmed that I was able to use it, step two was to then slot the skill using the System. This is where things got tricky.


    The reason for the System¡¯s ten-slot limit on active skills wasn¡¯t arbitrary¨Cit was a safety measure. Each time an active skill was learned, it was imprinted onto the Delver¡¯s mana matrix. The mana matrix could only handle so many imprints before the skills began to overlap and interfere with one another.


    Each skill had a dedicated mana flow through the matrix. Since the mana matrix was limited, there were only so many channels for these dedicated flows to traverse. Adding additional skills beyond the cap was¨Cto make a poor comparison¨Clike trying to have multiple cardiovascular systems. There is only so much room in your body for veins and arteries. Having extra might result in spreading blood flow too thin, placing too much of a burden on your heart, or creating a tangled mess that absolutely fucked everything.


    There were a few caveats to this 10-slot limit that Grotto had hinted at during some of our phase two discussions, but this illustrates the main thrust of the third part of forging a skill: adjusting the mana flows.


    There were varying methods to adjust a skill¡¯s mana flows. The one that I was most familiar with was restrictions. While a skill was being imprinted, it was possible to voluntarily add conditions to its use which allowed for the skill to become more robust in certain areas. I had various theories for why restrictions were only accepted if they resonated with the user, but at the end of the day, magic bullshit didn¡¯t really take well to logic. If a good restriction was selected, it could be added to a skill while slotting it without much risk of messing anything up too badly.


    For Gravity Anchor, I¡¯d added two restrictions. One, that it could only center on myself, and two, that I could not move while using it. This adjusted the mana flows so that the gravity created was much stronger for its cost than Siphon. This also allowed the skill to use stamina, rather than mana, since the skill was wholly centered on my body. While there was great debate over what differentiated a technique¨Cwhich used stamina¨Cfrom a spell¨Cwhich used mana¨Cthe general consensus was that techniques originated within the body, while spells could manifest anywhere. This is in addition to the obvious difference that techniques required physical exertion, whereas spells did not. I was really clenching when I used Gravity Anchor, for example.


    I¡¯d done all of this with heavy guidance from Sam¡¯lia, who¡¯d gently steered me away from doing anything that might cause harm to myself or result in an unusable skill. It was possible to do this with a skill that had already been slotted, but it was more complex. A skill was most malleable when first imprinted, and making changes after the fact required more forceful manipulation and thus a greater chance of catastrophic failure. Overall, it was much safer to mana shape a skill that had already been slotted. Mana shaping allowed the user to adjust the bounds of the skill once it had already passed through the channels, but before it manifested. Of course, mana shaping cost additional mana, so being able to customize the ability in the first instance was more efficient.


    Now, back to me missing a chunk of my brain in the woods of Eschendur.


    The pair of souls that allegedly belonged to the party¡¯s remaining ambushers were more than a mile away. That was a distance that I could run in a few minutes, but I was enraged and operating partially on instinct. I¡¯d also noticed that Nuralie had begun to use several skills, engaging our distant foes in combat. For whatever reason, the fight did not seem to be going well.


    I needed to close the distance fast. Shortcut had a range of 210 feet¨Cwhich was based on my Dimensional skill¨Cso it would take me more than 20 casts to cover the ground I needed. At a cost of 10 a pop, that was more than 200 mana total, which was well over half of my maximum mana pool. I realized that was unacceptable, even though I was down a few billion neurons. The obvious solution, then, was to reforge the crap out of Shortcut until it allowed me to make that kind of jump at a substantially reduced cost.


    One might begin to see the problem with this approach. I did not have the guiding hand of a Divine being while within a domain that granted her near omnipotence. I was not changing a freshly slotted skill, but forcefully adjusting one that I¡¯d had since the very beginning of my Delver career. I did not have the capacity to act with care and restraint while performing the feat.


    I did, however, still have a few advantages. Because Shortcut was one of my oldest abilities, I was extremely familiar with the skill. It was a Dimensional spell, which not only matched my attunement but also resonated with my subrace: extradimensional entity. The spell was also simple, which made it easier to modify. Most importantly, I had my Soul-Sight activated at a profound level of sensitivity.


    The mana matrix was inextricably linked with the soul. By turning my Soul-Sight inward, I was able to study my own mana matrix with a level of detail and precision that was, frankly, absurd. Skill forging normally relied on feeling, intuition, and a bit of guesswork. It was like carving a block of wood while it was hidden behind an opaque barrier. One could feel and manipulate the wood as they worked, but one didn¡¯t really know what they were going to get until the carving was revealed. In my circumstance, I was able to reforge Shortcut while looking at it through an electron microscope. Unfortunately, my mental tool was the equivalent of a hacksaw.


    I dove within myself, found the mana flows for Shortcut, and then committed felony-level assault on its existence. I destroyed its requirements, mana cost, and range limitations, then did what came most naturally to me. I forced it to regenerate. NewW novels updates at novelhall.com


    Unlike physical regeneration, this did not take much time. What I¡¯d destroyed was a pattern, not a group of cells, and the imprinting of a skill was a rapid process. As the new pattern emerged, I willed it to conform to my needs. This could have resulted in the skill having requirements I no longer met, or a mana cost that was worse than what it already had. This could have also made its range terrible, or potentially limiting it to long-range travel only.


    However, by being able to study the pattern in excruciating detail with Soul-Sight and guide it as it regrew at every step, I was able to mitigate these hazards. Regenerating was also very on-brand for me, and I have no doubts about how important that was for this to work the way it did. There were a variety of other factors at play, such as my mana matrix being partially designed by a divine avatar for the express purpose of cheating the System at times, but what I accomplished took more than a simple combination of privilege of dumb luck. No, the resulting success was clearly a product of pure skill, and a result wholly attributable to my ever-present git-gud attitude.


    I glanced down at the wound, then back at the sniper. He looked down at his mini-ballista, then back at me.


    ¡°Got anything bigger?¡± I asked.


    The crafter turned to leap off the massive branch. I used a quick burst of Gravity Anchor at full force, and his jump turned into a backward fall toward me. He landed hard on the bark.


    The sniper had gone up onto his knees to take the shot at my stomach, and he was thrown down by my skill as well. He caught himself with a hand, preventing his face from burying itself into the tree, but the move loosened his grip on the ballista. It clattered over to me and I kicked it as it got close, sending it sailing off the branch and down to the ground far below.


    The crafter pulled a bottle from his inventory and was rearing back to toss it, but I hurled a Void Hammer at him at the same time. He managed to make the throw but had a bad angle from how he¡¯d landed. I easily side-stepped it as my hammer took a massive chunk out of the Littan¡¯s shoulder and neck, nearly decapitating him. The bottle connected with a branch behind me, exploding into a misty blue cloud that left a layer of brittle frost coating everything within ten feet of the impact. He wasn¡¯t dead, but he¡¯d bleed out in seconds.


    The sniper snapped up to his feet and produced a great bow from his inventory, well over five feet in height. He already had an arrow nocked, its end ignited with a massive flame, and he loosed it at me.


    Gracorvus flew up to intercept, and the projectile exploded into an inferno. Everything within twenty feet was bathed in sticky fire, including the sniper himself. Gracorvus shielded me from the brunt of the attack, but my legs and hair were ignited. I tossed out another dispel, trying to douse myself for the second time that day, but the skill didn¡¯t have any effect. The fire wasn¡¯t magical, it was alchemical.


    The sniper produced a glass orb filled with white powder and crushed it. It exploded out into a cloud of dust that consumed the fire on his body, then he prepared another arrow.


    I swore and ignored the sweltering heat beginning to cook the skin along my lower extremities and scalp, then rushed the sniper. I swatted the bow just as he released his arrow, the projectile taking a chunk out of my left ear as it went. I reached out to grab the man¡¯s blistered face, but he bobbed and weaved, avoiding my hand. He kicked at my leg, sending me to one knee as he leaped back and landed on another branch thirty feet away, making it look as easy as a kid playing hopscotch. Of all the Littans I¡¯d encountered from this ambush, he was the only one that seemed built for pure combat.


    I had no doubt that I could hurl hammers until the man was reduced to chunks, but I¡¯d likely take another hit or two in the process. I didn¡¯t know what other fun arrows he had stashed away and, besides, I had something I wanted to give him.


    I focused on the experience of having a big chunk of my brain explode out of my head; the disorientation, the profound confusion, the rage. I connected with the sniper¡¯s soul, forced my way inside, and used Reveal to share that beautiful memory. I allowed all the agony of the wounds I¡¯d been ignoring to wash over me and sent that experience along as a bonus.


    The sniper¡¯s features twisted, and he staggered under the onslaught. Reveal alone was enough to send someone reeling, even without sharing the bucket of hurt that was my current state. It created space for me to throw another Void Hammer, which connected with the Littan¡¯s chest. While the sniper was the most combat-focused member of the group, he still didn¡¯t have any more Fortitude than the rest. An orb of flesh was deleted along with his heart, and he fell from the tree.


    I watched him crash through the branches, confirming the kill, then frantically searched my inventory for one of our go-bags. I found one with a variety of alchemical solutions crafted by Nuralie and dropped it onto the ground, biting my lip as the fire began burning away parts of me below the waist that I really didn¡¯t want to experience growing back. I found a large jar of extinguishing agent and broke the top off, then poured it all over my legs and head. I hissed as the chemicals washed over my many, many wounds, then stopped to wonder how bad it would be for this stuff to get inside my cranium.


    I didn¡¯t notice any further cognitive decline after a few seconds, so I assumed I would be fine. My hair was definitely gone, but I¡¯d managed to save my beard and... other delicate areas.


    By this point, I was starting to come back to my senses. A little. I used the party interface to check on Nuralie. She¡¯d taken damage and had a couple of status effects, but it seemed like she¡¯d gotten off without too much trouble. Then her health lost another chunk.


    I spun and looked out over the forest, picking up the soul presences of my allies again. Varrin and Etja were nearly on top of us, with Shog and Xim also making good time. Nuralie wasn¡¯t far from me, but she was on the forest floor a hundred feet below. I didn¡¯t have line of sight to her from where I was, but I could detect her using rapid-fire skills and her health ticked down again.


    I was confused over what was going on and I scanned the forest for more enemies before it dawned on me. When I¡¯d first begun searching the forest with Soul-Sight, I¡¯d filtered out everything that wasn¡¯t a ¡®threat¡¯. I may have set that threshold too high.


    I quickly adjusted my Sight and seven new, less powerful souls appeared, all of whom were engaged with Nuralie.

 Chapter 114: Symbiosis

    Chapter 114: Symbiosis


    I hopped onto Gracorvus and headed toward Nuralie¡¯s skirmish, evaluating the new combatants as I went. They were between levels 3 and 4, also Silver like their stealthy brethren, but with fewer Delves completed. As I watched, several of the souls enhanced one another, creating a multiplicative effect that created power greater than the sum of their parts. If the level 7 party was specialized around stealth, this group appeared to be specialized around buffs.


    I broke through the canopy to find a complex battleground, the naturally difficult terrain of the swampy forest made even harsher with earthen walls and rocky spikes. Nuralie was surrounded by four fighters in melee, all clad in heavy armor. Two of them were in the center of the formation, wielding shields and blunt instruments¨Cmace and hammer¨Cwhile the other pair were to either side of Nuralie, flanking her with long polearms.


    The polearm fighters attacked with fast, sweeping arcs, keeping Nuralie corralled in the center of the four-person formation. The archer had little recourse against their reach, holding a single dagger in her right hand while clutching Grotto in her left. The Delve Core was unmoving, but I hadn¡¯t received a jolt from him through our soul connection, so I felt that he was uninjured. What likely happened was that the mini-c¡¯thon was rocked by the shot I took to the head and passed out from Shared Fate¡¯s feedback.


    The two fighters in the center engaged Nuralie at close range, their bodies covered in translucent energy that blocked the loson¡¯s bladed swipes. Her back was against a ten-foot wall of earth and rock that curved over her head, keeping Nuralie from leaping to safety. All around were orbs of bright light, bleaching the battlefield in a glow that eliminated shadow and stopped her from using her short-range teleport.


    Further back were two soldiers in chainmail, weaving spells that were the origin of the earth walls and luminous orbs. While the melee fighters kept Nuralie trapped, spikes shot up from the ground at her feet which she nimbly dodged. She was quickly running out of room and would soon be skewered.


    The seventh attacker also wore mail, but with an intricate tabard that set her apart from the others. I could sense a web of connections spreading out from her to the rest of the soldiers, the threads pulsing as she issued orders. She was clearly the ranking officer and had at least one aura stacking bonuses onto her soldiers while she cast additional buffs on top.


    There were also three corpses with arrows in their hearts and skulls, evidence that Nuralie hadn¡¯t been cornered without dishing some out in return.


    It looked like two full parties had appeared to strike at our scout while the sniper¡¯s third group provided overwatch and tried to soften up the rest of our party. Had we been a normal group of level 6 Delvers, this tactic would have been deadly. Unfortunately for the Littans, we weren¡¯t a normal level 6 party, and I was far from an ideal target for an easy headshot.


    I swept in on Gracorvus and landed behind the group of four melee fighters, activating Gravity Anchor and spending additional stamina to reduce the skill¡¯s effect on Nuralie. Shouts of alarm rang out as the enemies were thrown off balance and fell toward me. I ended the Anchor before they collided with my body, leaving three of them collapsing to the ground from the sudden shift. One managed to keep upright, an ability causing his feet to sink into the wet earth and counter the pull.


    I hurled a Void Hammer at one of the downed polearm fighters, taking him by surprise and removing the base of his spine as he lay face down in the mud. The officer issued a command and the battlemages changed targets from Nuralie to myself. Earthen walls surrounded me on three sides, cutting me off from chucking more hammers at the prone melee fighters.


    A series of rock spikes erupted from the mud, aiming for my lower body. The Madrin armor on my legs blocked the spikes, but the garbage-tier steel breastplate failed to prevent the spikes from penetrating. The lances pierced my skin but failed to travel deep into the muscle beneath. While the attacks lacked damage, they made up for it by immobilizing me.


    My Strength was a 10. That put me at the low end of superhuman but was an amount of power easily mitigated by any competent Delver, even one at low level. It was enough to give me an advantage against people who¡¯d treated Strength as their dump stat, and it gave a boost to my throws, but it wasn¡¯t enough to be a threat on its own. My main form of escape wasn¡¯t to muscle my way out of traps and grapples but to teleport away with Shortcut. Shortcut was on cooldown due to my abuse of the skill, so I was left with little recourse against the ensnaring elemental attack.


    I wasn¡¯t concerned with escaping, however. While I could eventually bash my way out with my hammer or focus on killing the officer to disrupt their chain of command, I had regained enough sense to pivot to the second role I was built into. I didn¡¯t need to kill these soldiers, the backup emerging from the forest could do that.


    I reached out to Nuralie through my aura and cast Life Warden, granting her a shield that would direct half of the damage she took back to me, while also mitigating some of it. I hadn¡¯t used the ability since the mimic Delve, as the party was overall tanky enough to rarely need it.


    I then raised Gracorvus and used its Atrocidile roar. The spectral, uncanny valley face of the monster erupted from the front of the shield and let out an unholy scream. One of the battlemages fumbled his spell, flinching at the sound and taking a step back. The second mage¡¯s features twisted, but he managed to resist the effect and sent another pair of rock spikes into my ribs. The officer appeared unaffected, but this was quickly proven untrue when she pointed at me and began screaming fresh orders.


    The orders were issued in Imperial, but I¡¯d taught myself the language before we departed Hiward. It generally translated to ¡°Jesus fucking Christ, kill that fucking guy, holy shit kill him with fire and scatter his cursed ashes into a bottomless pit,¡± or something along those lines.


    ¡°Making your brain come back so fast,¡± she said. ¡°When I use Heal, I can sense the damage inside of a person. My mana distributes itself around the body, letting me affect everything at once, but not allowing me to concentrate on any particular area.¡± She said all of this rapid-fire, talking to herself as much as to me. ¡°It helps fix anything that would heal on its own over time and under the best possible circumstances, but I can¡¯t help much with the types of damage that would be permanent. Whatever you just did allowed me to break that restriction.¡±


    She let go of my arm and took a few steps away, running a hand through her dark, curly hair.


    ¡°I felt my mana healing you at a level way higher than what I can do right now.¡±


    ¡°Grotto used my regeneration evolution. He sped it up.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense! But, he used my mana to do it. I felt the entire process. I saw how the mana could be focused and accomplish more than it normally can. I think... I think I can replicate it. Hells, I need to meditate.¡±


    She plopped down in the mud right there and closed her eyes. Varrin and I watched her for a second, then the big guy looked at me with concern.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I said, unsure. ¡°I mean, that was... an experience. I¡¯m fine physically, but I¡¯ll need to process for a while.¡±


    He gave me a curt nod and a clap on the shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad,¡± he said, then left me to approach our captive.


    Something about both Xim and Varrin treating my head half exploding like any other day with Fortune¡¯s Folly made me feel a little less freaked out. Part of me thought that I should feel the opposite, but it wasn¡¯t the time to get too introspective. For all I knew, there was a Littan legion marching on our position at that very moment. I turned to follow Varrin, walking around the wall of earth and rock that had barricaded me in. I placed eyes on the captive.


    The man had a grim look on his face, outwardly determined and unfaltering, but it was only skin deep. I could tell he was terrified, which was understandable. A Grade 12 mana fiend was clutching him in several feelers while sniffing him with delight.


    Varrin looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and I nodded.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take this one,¡± I said. I took a seat on a large root, then reached up and felt my head. While my wounds had healed, my hair was missing. I still had my eyebrows and all hair below my ears, so it wasn¡¯t a total loss. Maybe I could rock the Greek demigod look for a while.


    Varrin turned to the prisoner. He removed his helm and fixed the Littan with a frightening, albeit professional, stare.


    ¡°For the sake of your fellow soldiers,¡± he said, ¡°you will answer a few questions.¡±

 Chapter 115: Vyxmeldoa

    Chapter 115: Vyxmeldo''a


    A cool wind began to blow through the forest, the gentle rustle of a hundred thousand leaves helping to soothe my emotional hangover. I took a second to collect myself, then briefly checked in with Grotto and Nuralie as Varrin began his interrogation. Our prisoner was uncooperative and Varrin was working the ¡°good cop¡± angle, so I suspected it might take a little time to get anything worthwhile out of the man.


    The sniper had fired his shot while Nuralie was still some distance away. He¡¯d also been a hundred feet up and hidden in the canopy, so there¡¯d been little chance of Nuralie catching sight of him. The loson had a couple of perception-related abilities, but it wasn¡¯t her focus. When running up against a party of stealth specialists, it was no surprise that she¡¯d missed a well-hidden enemy from hundreds of feet away through thick cover. By the time the crew of traditional fighters arrived, Grotto had been knocked unconscious by the feedback from Shared Fate, which broke our psychic alarm system.


    The whole experience made me feel out of my depth. When it came to Delves, the party was well-equipped. When it came to dealing with professional soldiers and traditional battleground tactics, our inexperience showed. Against a normal army, our lack of military focus was irrelevant because of the vast power difference between ourselves and mundane people. The Littans were deploying Delvers with a focus on soldiering, however, and we¡¯d been briefly outmaneuvered. We were still able to overcome the surprise attack through brute force, but if the enemy had been a higher level, I might have eaten it without ever knowing what had killed me.


    As it was, I¡¯d survived because I was a damn cockroach. Body of Theseus helped me to ignore some of the effects of the headshot, while Just a Fleshwound allowed me to recover without suffering permanent damage. After checking my notifications, I saw that the opening hit had done nearly 500 damage, so my enormous Fortitude had also come into play. That was a one-hit kill on anyone else in the party.


    On the other hand, my face being exposed was once again shown to be a big weakness. Seinnador had encouraged the choice, insisting that many spells required the caster¡¯s face to be visible or for their voice to be clearly heard. None of my spells or abilities took advantage of that fact, and I was beginning to think I needed a helm, or at least a thick-ass mask. The only potential exception was my chant while casting Explosion!, but that didn¡¯t give a massive boost. I thought that the extra protection would be worth a minor reduction to the effectiveness of that spell. It wasn¡¯t even a staple, just a nice opener.


    Honestly, I needed a total refit for all of my protective gear. My chest piece was trashed and the pieces of Madrin plate that remained only had basic weaves for physical resistance. With the way we¡¯d been dunking on Delves, it hadn¡¯t been an issue, but by this point, it was becoming a serious liability. Our timeline for entering the phase 2 Delve was flexible, so finding time to get better equipment would need to be a priority. The only problem with that idea was that Eschendur wasn¡¯t exactly known for their wealth of skilled smiths and mana weavers. Their Delver population was quite low.


    I began looking over some of the gear from the slain Littans, but it was lower quality than what I already had and a bad fit because of their slender frames. I was also in no mood to loot the meager items they possessed, aside from the mini ballista and its accompanying arrows of incredible size. Those were pretty neat. I also kept Shog from eating anyone, since that wouldn¡¯t have gone over well with our prisoner and I also held no enmity for these people. I didn¡¯t want to deny them a proper funeral. By the time I¡¯d finished my survey, the Littan captive was beginning to warm up.


    Varrin impressed upon the man that we had important business in Eschendur, that we would make our way through any obstacle in our path, and that it was in everyone¡¯s best interest that the legion not become one of those obstacles. The Littan was willing to give us the general location of the legion but refused to detail any of its capabilities, which was fine. We eventually placed the man in a fortified room inside of the Pocket Closet for safekeeping and I made sure he had decent accommodations. I wasn¡¯t trying to run a Gulag. We planned to turn him over to the Eschens once we evacuated Nuralie¡¯s village.


    ¡°The good news is that the legion is marching west, further into Eschendur and away from the village,¡± said Varrin. A look crossed Nuralie¡¯s face that made it clear she didn¡¯t agree with Varrin¡¯s use of the word ¡®good¡¯. ¡°The bad news,¡± Varrin continued, ¡°is that Nuralie¡¯s village connects to one of the few developed roadways through this region. Thus, it¡¯s likely occupied to secure the legion¡¯s supply lines.¡±


    ¡°How did they move so fast?¡± I asked. Varrin shrugged.


    ¡°Given their tactics so far, I expect there are more Delvers mixed in with movement and stamina buffs.¡±


    ¡°This feels like a lot of Delvers,¡± I said. ¡°Litta only gets twenty slots in the Creation Delve each year. Between this crew and the ones who died in the blockade fleet, forty of their Delvers have been killed. That¡¯s two years worth of Creation slots.¡±NewW novels updates at novelhall.com


    ¡°Most have been of an average level or lower,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It¡¯s a notable loss, but not crippling.¡±


    ¡°Assuming 50 years worth of Delvers are alive in Litta, that¡¯s already a 4% attrition rate,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s pretty brutal for two days of war.¡±


    ¡°True. But, it¡¯s not our problem and not worth speculating over,¡± said Varrin. ¡°The immediate question is how to approach the village.¡±


    ¡°We can skirt the mountains to the east,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The terrain is too difficult for normal soldiers and there is less cover for ambushes.¡± She paused and looked at Varrin, who nodded for her to continue. ¡°We can then travel directly west to the village. It isn¡¯t far from the mountains, so we can get there quickly.¡±


    ¡°And if it¡¯s occupied?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Our approach should depend on who it is occupied by,¡± said Varrin. ¡°If there are mundane soldiers who pose little threat, then we can disable them and then evacuate. We¡¯ve already stirred up enough hostility from our actions so far. I would prefer that we not encourage more by slaughtering soldiers who are helpless against us.¡±


    ¡°I would also prefer less blood on our hands,¡± I said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a change of attitude for you since the blockade, though?¡±


    I grinned, then opened the Pocket Closet, an act that was received with wide eyes and a few soft words of surprise. One Guelon even gently clapped. The moment the portal was open, Nuralie darted inside. I walked in behind her, finding her sticking a needle into the shoulder of our captive Littan, who¡¯d been sleeping. He grunted and sat up in alarm, then his eyelids drooped and he immediately fell back. Nuralie caught him, then gently guided him back onto the bed.


    ¡°Just in case,¡± she said. I ignored the light prisoner abuse and focused on my Checkpoint to Eschengal. I cast Shortcut, hoping that I hadn¡¯t fucked up this skill combo when I reforged the spell, but the portal opened without trouble.


    ¡°One hour to get everyone through,¡± I said, and we began herding Nuralie¡¯s village through the portal to the nation¡¯s capital. The crowd found this feat far more impressive than opening the Closet, and there were many thanks given and I even received a few gifts of fruits and vegetables as the people went through.


    Not all of the villagers were in good spirits, however, and I noticed more than one family with red eyes and somber expressions.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± I asked as Nuralie ushered more of her kin through the portal.


    ¡°There were twenty soldiers. I put them to sleep without issue. The villagers¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°were treated humanely,¡± she said. ¡°But there were several in the village who were sworn to defend it. They were all killed, along with the village priest.¡±


    ¡°They killed the priest?¡± I said. ¡°That seems... unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°Eschen priests are often the strongest fighters in a small village like this,¡± she said. ¡°They are at least second-stage revelators, and have all been trained in the art of combat.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I said.


    ¡°All of the nation¡¯s defenders are affiliated with the Church in some way.¡± Pause. ¡°Father Kiagalo was a good man,¡± she said softly, and I could tell that she was struggling to keep up a strong front.


    Etja had been watching the migration, uncharacteristically silent since our earlier encounter with the sniper. She came over and took Nuralie by the shoulders, then gave her a tight hug. She maintained a silent vigil with Nuralie, and the pair stood side-by-side until the last villager was through the portal.


    Tiania was the last to step through, and she stopped to study Nuralie¡¯s face for a moment.


    ¡°You¡¯ve grown up,¡± the older Geulon said. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The pair watched one another awkwardly, and I figured there was some history there that I wasn¡¯t privy to. Eventually, Tiania nodded and then stepped out through the portal herself.


    My eyes turned to the unconscious Littan Delver, and just as I was about to ask how we wanted to approach handing him over, a gust of wind blew in from the portal.


    Standing just inside the Closet was a female Deijinon. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, was a hair over 5 feet tall, and had skin the color of a ripe peach. Along her head and shoulders were feathers of the purest white and wore loose-fitting clothes that matched, reminding me vaguely of an Eastern martial artist. She was smiling as she looked us over and had the level 15 above her head.


    Her soul, however, was even more potent than Zenithar Zura¡¯s, and the platinum of her Delver levels was woven into a rapidly swirling gale of mist.


    ¡°Zenithar Manar,¡± said Nuralie, bowing deeply.


    ¡°Hi!¡± she said, tilting forward and giving us a wave. ¡°I heard you were looking for me!¡±

 Chapter 116: Sakra Manar

    Chapter 116: Sakra Manar


    ¡°Oh, and feel free to call me Sakra,¡± said the Zenithar of Deijin.


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you, Sakra,¡± I said, before introducing the members of our party.


    As pleasantries were exchanged, several more of the feathered Deijinon came through the portal. They looked around the interior with curiosity, their heads moving in swift tilts and bobs. Sakra also did a lap of the room while listening to the introductions, and I noticed that her feet never touched the ground. The space was filled with a gentle breeze that continuously emanated from her body.


    We were inside one of the bedrooms attached to my half of the Closet, which was by no measure small. Still, as one Deijinon after another continued to appear, it quickly became crowded with peering losons. While I felt a bit exposed, with my personal space being studied by so many prying eyes, there wasn¡¯t anything within that was too personal. There was a reason I¡¯d selected it to house our prisoner, after all.


    Sakra Manar eventually paused next to the Littan, looking down at him with the same vague curiosity as the rest of the room.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± she asked.


    ¡°A Littan Delver that we captured,¡± I said. ¡°Part of an ambush our party ran into.¡±


    Sakra went to the exit portal for the Closet, looking out at the dark wood near the village. She sniffed the air.


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing with him?¡± she said.


    ¡°Handing him over to you, actually.¡±


    She nodded and gestured at a pair of her fellows, who approached and carried the man away toward Eschengal. I was happy to have him out of my custody. I¡¯d been worried that the Eschens might not want to deal with the logistics of holding enemy combatants, and I was uncomfortable with the idea of becoming a Littan prison warden. I didn¡¯t ask what would ultimately happen to the man, as it wasn¡¯t any of my business.


    Sakra then floated toward Shog, looking him over. The c¡¯thon kept his silence and I noted that his swords had been stowed as soon as Sakra had appeared. The Zenithar eventually moved on to Grotto, and my bonded familiar slowly drifted away from her as she appraised him.


    ¡°So,¡± I said as she followed the Delve Core, ¡°we¡¯ve come to Eschendur over an urgent matter that we believe requires your assistance.¡± I glanced at Nuralie, hoping that she would take the reins of the conversation. While I¡¯d learned a little about Eschen culture during my lessons with Nuralie on Eschendur¡¯s native language, Losonbinora, I felt that our request would be better received from a local. The alchemist immediately picked up the lead.


    ¡°Zenithar Zura was sent a missive from Umi-Doo,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°I would not want to waste your time if you have already been made aware of its contents.¡±


    ¡°All we¡¯ve talked about at our meeting of the Triarchs is the invasion,¡± said Sakra as she moved within a few inches of Varrin. The big guy stood stiffly upright, as though he was undergoing a military inspection. ¡°Explain, please.¡±


    ¡°There are many¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°dangerous entities threatening the world,¡± Nuralie began. ¡°We have faced a handful ourselves, and know them to be divine avatars.¡±


    Sakra¡¯s head tilted, the movement so fast that it looked like a twitch. She didn¡¯t comment, however, so Nuralie continued.


    ¡°These avatars have begun attacking the nations of the world. First, an avatar known as Orexis threatened Hiward¡¯s southern quarter while trying to release his sister, Anesis, from imprisonment. He destabilized a void sphere and tried to destroy a special Delve designed to hold many other avatars in captivity. Our party was involved in that conflict, and Hiward narrowly avoided disaster. However, Anesis was set free, and Orexis fled after fighting with two of Hiward¡¯s most powerful Delvers.¡±


    ¡°He kicked their asses,¡± I added. Nuralie frowned at me, but Sakra didn¡¯t react to my ¡®informality¡¯. The other Zenithars had been fairly casual, and it looked like Sakra was the same.


    ¡°Another avatar, known as Fortune, was also released from confinement during the conflict,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°We do not know his motivations, but he helped Anesis escape. We currently consider him to be hostile.¡± Sakra moved to study Xim, who studied the Zenithar in return. ¡°The avatars disappeared for over a year. The destruction of a major city in Timagrin marked their return.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± said Sakra, looking away from Xim. ¡°I heard that Canotha was destroyed, but not how.¡±


    ¡°Orexis caused a large mana eruption, likely by destabilizing a nearby Delve.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what he tried to do to Ravvenblaq,¡± I said. ¡°Although, that was more of a side effect of him trying to get his sister out. He also tried to detonate the void sphere after we made him mad, but we fixed that afterward.¡±


    ¡°Why are you all alive?¡± asked Sakra. ¡°If Orexis is really an avatar he could kill your group with a thought. He could literally¨C¡± She pointed her fingers at her temples and squinted at us. ¡°Just, think really hard and splat!¡±


    ¡°Erm, he wanted to use us first. Only level 1 Delvers could enter the special Delve where his sister was kept.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± said Sakra. ¡°That¡¯s odd.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was a whole thing. He also had a shard of his soul running around inside that we had to kill. Kind of annoying.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d he manage that?¡± asked Sakra. She¡¯d begun drifting up into the air and spun lazily, horizontal to the floor. ¡°Delves are pretty tough with their entry requirements. They won¡¯t even let me inside with my divine treasures. I practically have to go in naked.¡±


    ¡°He piggybacked in on me!¡± said Etja, raising her hand halfway into the air. ¡°I was a golem he made, but then he used a primordial creation obelisk to give me a level, and then he hid a piece of his soul under the Delver part of my soul. The Delve kicked him out of me once we got inside, though.¡±


    Sakra swept over to Etja, turning fully upside down to look at her. She was still at eye level with Etja, the Deijinon¡¯s feet nearly touching the ceiling.


    ¡°I like your feathers,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± said Sakra. She spun around to give Etja a better look. Her outfit had an open back that exposed white feathers running down from her shoulders all the way to her waist. Once she did a full rotation, she smiled at the former golem. ¡°I like your extra arms!¡±


    ¡°Much appreciated!¡± said Etja. She lifted off the ground and also did a spin. Soon, the pair were rotating around one another as they spun and floated. It looked like some sort of humanoid orrery. They just needed a central figure to act as the sun.


    ¡°Anyway, after Orexis set off the mana eruption, Timagrin sent some of their highest-level Delvers to deal with it,¡± I said. ¡°He and Anesis killed them all. A Hiwardian Delver party was there and reported back what they witnessed.¡±


    ¡°Soooo, do you want me to fight them?¡± Sakra asked.


    ¡°No, Zeni¨C¡± Nuralie began, but stopped herself. ¡°No, Sakra.¡± She paused after struggling to refer to the Zenithar by her first name. ¡°Our party discovered a way to increase the power of the System. This will allow more Delvers to be created and give all Delvers greater tools to fight the avatars.¡±


    ¡°There are more avatars out there as well,¡± said Xim. ¡°We spoke with my goddess, Sam¡¯lia, who told us the avatars will continuously get stronger over time.¡±


    ¡°Culminating in worldwide destruction,¡± I said, finishing the thought.


    ¡°They¡¯ve got at least one full party in the 30s,¡± said Varrin. ¡°That level 34 you saw is probably a part of that group. They have three in the upper forties, including the emperor. They keep a lot of their Delving secret, so they may have more high-level Delvers than we thought.¡±


    ¡°Might explain why they¡¯re willing to throw away so many low-level Delvers,¡± I said.


    ¡°They weren¡¯t thrown away,¡± said Varrin. ¡°They got unlucky that they ran into us.¡±


    ¡°Point is,¡± said Sakra, ¡°we don¡¯t want to invite every big shot from Litta to join in.¡±


    ¡°How effective will your monks be against Delvers in those level ranges?¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s their Delver-level equivalent?¡±


    Revelators were categorized in ¡°stages¡±, rather than levels, which referred to the number of revelations they possessed. The notable exceptions were revelators who were also Delvers, such as Sakra, Xim, me, and to a lesser extent, Nuralie. Those were quite rare, however. The people in the room might comprise the majority of the ones who existed.


    ¡°You¡¯re getting back into state secret territory,¡± said Sakra. ¡°Also, that¡¯s not an easy question. What level would you be without your revelations?¡±


    It seemed that all of the Zenithars could smell revelations on a person without being told about them.


    ¡°Uhhh.¡± My mouth hung open as I pondered the question.


    My Revelations gave me abilities that might be classified as top-tier perception and mind-affecting skills. Those would be governed by Wisdom and Charisma, respectively, but they did nothing for survivability or physical attributes. It might take a 30 in both WIS and CHA to get similar Delver skills, but those skills would be a lot narrower in scope and less potent overall due to their interaction with resistances. It also wasn¡¯t as simple as taking the required attribute score and translating that to levels, since the revelations didn¡¯t give me all the other benefits of possessing high attribute scores, such as a robust mana pool or a potent social presence.


    ¡°I dunno,¡± I said, and Sakra gave me a see-what-I-mean? gesture.


    ¡°Moving back to the topic at hand,¡± said Varrin, ¡°getting inside the Delve will become even more complicated once the legion makes it to that forward operating base.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, if we have to go HAM on Littan Delvers to make it inside, then having a thousand mundane soldiers in the mix would make for a bloody mess.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t just mean the potential for collateral damage,¡± said Varrin. ¡°With wide-area buffs, they may become an actual threat.¡±


    I thought back to the ruffians that had been imbued by Demarsus when I¡¯d fought the crime lord in his warehouse alongside Lito and Myria. The henchmen hadn¡¯t given me too much trouble, but they had been able to hurt me. I¡¯d gotten a lot stronger since then, but Demarsus hadn¡¯t been built around buffs. Those people had also been thugs, not soldiers, there¡¯d only been a dozen of them, and their gear had been dumpster-tier. A thousand well-trained and well-equipped soldiers with high-level buffs from Delvers dedicated to enhancement skills might prove troublesome.


    ¡°They may also have more tricks, like those specialized ships,¡± Varrin added. ¡°Those mana-woven cannons could put out a lot of damage, and it may not take a Delver to fire one.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re still magic items,¡± I said. ¡°They¡¯d need a connection to their mana matrix. That would fry a mundane soldier.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. We don¡¯t know enough about their technology right now.¡±


    ¡°Okay, sure. If we want to beat the legion, then we need to make our way to the Delve sooner, rather than later.¡±


    ¡°Based on the legion¡¯s speed so far, we¡¯d have a day and a half at most,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Great. We don¡¯t even have a good way to keep ourselves from running into another ambush, especially if we¡¯re rushing.¡±


    ¡°There are solutions,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°We had too many people in the field last time. It makes us easier to target.¡± Pause. ¡°Some of us could stay in the Closet.¡±


    ¡°Good idea,¡± said Xim. ¡°Arlo could also wear something other than a brightly colored hood and pants. Even your steel breastplate stands out in the middle of a forest.¡±


    ¡°I could carry us through the canopy,¡± Shog offered. ¡°If I am only burdened by Slayer, then I am confident I can move silently while staying hidden.¡±


    ¡°Shog is green and black,¡± said Varrin. ¡°That will give him an advantage for blending in with the environment. There would also be no sound from footfalls or pushing through the brush.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d need some camo,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe some leather armor that¡¯s been dyed.¡± I quickly checked on the portal to Eschengal, reviewing the time we had left before it closed. There were only a few more minutes. ¡°Looks like we don¡¯t have time for shopping.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also the middle of the night,¡± said Xim.


    Nuralie responded by pulling out several blankets from her inventory. They were darkly colored, ranging from black to olive green. I looked down at the pile.


    ¡°Guess I can wrap myself up like a woodland banshee. Dammit, I really wanted to look for some better armor.¡±


    ¡°Nuralie can scout from stealth like she did previously,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Grotto was obscured by my stealth skills while he¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°rode me.¡±


    [I do not like that characterization at all.]


    ¡°Grotto stays with Nuralie then,¡± I said. ¡°I have to stay outside for the Closet to move, so I¡¯ll follow behind at a distance while carried by my own faithful steed, Shog. Everyone else can wait it out inside.¡±


    ¡°Sounds great!¡± said Sakra.


    We all looked at the Zenithar, and I realized we¡¯d forgotten about an important matter. The entire reason that we¡¯d wanted to speak to Sakra Manar in the first place.


    ¡°So, uh, do you want to go and do that level 10 and up Delve?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think that I can do that right now.¡±

 Chapter 117: Delayed Evolutions

    Chapter 117: Delayed Evolutions


    ¡°But, before I decide anything, tell me more about the Delve,¡± Sakra said. ¡°Where is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on the other side of the continent,¡± I said, trying to sound casual. ¡°Between south Timagrin and Davah.¡±


    ¡°In the ocean?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on the seafloor,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve confirmed that,¡± I said.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else there,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°No islands. The waters have been well traveled.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know that for sure.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called Saekongr¡¯s Crevice, Arlo,¡± said Xim. ¡°Not only is it at the bottom of the sea, it¡¯s probably even deeper. It may be inside of a crevice, for example.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± I said. ¡°We don''t know that for sure.¡±


    Xim sighed in exasperation.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, are you guys even trying to be persuasive?¡±


    ¡°Why does it need to be me?¡± asked Sakra.


    ¡°These Delves are extremely difficult,¡± I said. ¡°From what we can tell, they only allow the best parties inside, and none have ever returned.¡±


    ¡°Except for God-King Ayamari,¡± said Sakra. ¡°Who you say defeated the one that¡¯s level 30 and above, and who is supposed to be the most powerful creature on the planet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s our theory, at least. Also, Ayamari¡¯s status as the strongest is unclear since the avatars appeared.¡±


    ¡°Do you know how long the Delve should take?¡±


    ¡°We do not,¡± I said. ¡°Are there any Delves that take longer than a week, though?¡±


    ¡°The Mimic Delve had no time limit,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It¡¯s possible that we could have spent longer inside.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but it only took as long as it did because we were careful. Even then, it was just a few days.¡±


    ¡°Your concept of ¡®careful¡¯ is questionable,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°What kind of Delve is it?¡± Sakra asked. ¡°Know what¡¯s inside?¡±


    ¡°No idea,¡± I answered.


    ¡°The name usually gives a hint. Who is Saekongr?¡±


    ¡°Good question. We should look that up.¡±


    ¡°Umi-Doo made no comment on the name,¡± said Varrin. ¡°And I could find no information about who Saekongr was during our time off.¡±


    ¡°It may not even be a person,¡± Nuralie added.


    ¡°If the entrance is underwater,¡± said Sakra, ¡°the entire Delve might be submerged. That would make many of my abilities difficult to use.¡±


    Deijin was the Eschen god of the sky, so the concern made sense.


    ¡°There¡¯s oxygen in water,¡± I said. ¡°Hydrogen as well.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± said Xim.


    ¡°They¡¯re both gases when they aren¡¯t bonded.¡±


    ¡°Sky is a concept,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°It is not as simple as an elemental composition.¡±


    The initial option might have been helpful with our current stealth problems, but I doubted that it would have made a difference with the sniper.


    1) Lightweight Alloys: Heavy armor you wear becomes light as a feather and no longer affects your movement or mobility. Additionally, any sound made by your armor is substantially reduced.


    It was a decent buff for anyone who wanted to focus on heavy armor while having a relatively low Strength score. While the Madrin plate I normally wore wasn¡¯t as heavy as frozen steel or dark iron, it was still heavier than regular steel. I¡¯d be lying if I said it didn¡¯t weigh me down. It hadn¡¯t had too big of an impact on my combat mobility, since I could use Shortcut for positioning. Still, that tactic would become unavailable if I used the reforged Reckless Shortcut for a big teleport and put the skill on cooldown. The extra speed and easier time dodging would surely be helpful.


    As far as the stealth component, I didn¡¯t really care. Being able to move while undetected was an advantage, but it wasn¡¯t something I was ever planning to focus on. In most circumstances, I wanted to be seen and heard. Our current situation was a rare exception, and I felt that using an Evolution for such a circumstance would be a waste. Besides, it¡¯s not like the sniper heard me from over a mile away. He just saw my beautiful face and sought to destroy it out of jealousy.


    2) Resilient Alloys: Choose 1 class of damage from the following choices. You receive 1 point of damage reduction against that class for each level of Heavy Armor.


    PhysicalSpiritualDivineMysticalDimensional


    After having spent a long time considering my weaknesses, I thought that this option was more in line with what I needed. At first, I wondered whether I required more pure defense. I had a massive health pool and incredible regen, which already made me a tough cookie to crack. However, my mitigation was trash.


    High health was pointless if an enemy could carve you up with a butter knife. If I protected my health pool, each point of health would become more valuable, since it took more effort from the enemy to eliminate it. Having a substantial amount of flat DR would also make me invulnerable against weaker enemies and attacks, removing the threat of death by a thousand cuts.


    The problem was deciding what class of damage to select. Physical damage was the majority of what I ran into, even in Delves. Kinetic damage such as slashing, pierce, and blunt were Physical but were already being mitigated by my armor, shield, and good old-fashioned dodging. Elemental damage like lightning, fire, and acid were also physical damage types that bypassed some of my traditional defenses. Metal armor didn¡¯t help much against a lightning bolt, for example.


    Doubling down on Physical would significantly improve my defense against common magic types while also making it more difficult to harm me with normal weaponry. However, Physical was the easiest defense to improve, whereas the other damage classes were more difficult to get flat reduction against. Normal armor did nothing against the other classes unless it had specific weaves.


    Like Physical damage resistance¨Cwhich benefited from Speed, Agility, and Fortitude¨Cdifferent attributes helped against the other damage types as well. Wisdom granted resistance to Spiritual damage and Fortitude granted resistance to Dimensional. I was already focused on those attributes, so I was already building my defenses there. Mystical had no attribute-based defense, but Mystical was also the school with the least offensive options, so it wasn¡¯t as big of a problem to defend against with specialized items.


    Divine resistance, on the other hand, was governed by the accursed Luck. Luck was my weakest stat, and I had no plans of putting any points there if I could avoid it. Its bonuses were nebulous and unpredictable, and I still had training stats that could shore it up another handful of points. I had no idea how to train it, aside from crossing paths with deific entities that could destroy us on a whim, but putting points there before it hit 10 still felt like a waste. The min-maxer in me couldn¡¯t tolerate the idea.


    Divine was also something the party was consistently running into and would likely continue to run into. Tavio had used Divine skills, Yaretzi had used Divine skills, and another member of that party, Gharifon, was in contact with at least one avatar. He probably had Divine skills coming out of his butt.


    Speaking of avatars, they were all Divine in nature, and the heavens knew that we were on the shit list of a couple of those folks. Further, the level 30+ Delve allegedly closed by Ayamari was replaced with a stone monument covered in Celestial text once it¡¯d been beaten. Celestial was the language of the Divine. The Delve we were about to crash was a sister Delve to that one, and it even had a damn god in its name: Deijin. I¡¯d bet my left nut that it had all sorts of Divine crap inside.


    Maybe that wouldn¡¯t be a very serious bet, since it would grow back, but it would still be a symbolic gesture of my conviction.


    What I¡¯m getting at is that Divine would probably be the best class of damage to choose since it was one of my lowest defenses, it was difficult to find sources of resistance, and we were walking a path that would probably result in a variety of entities trying to smite the crap out of us.


    It seemed like an easy choice, but the third evolution option was very tempting, and the main reason that I¡¯d spent so long deliberating.


    3) Receptive Alloys: Choose one piece of heavy armor you have equipped. Increase the potency of all mana weaves on that item by 1% for each level of Heavy Armor. This effect can be swapped to a different piece of heavy armor once per day with one minute of concentration.


    This option was the most versatile. The variety of weaves available for armor was endless. At Heavy Armor 100, I could double the strength of the weave. By the time I¡¯d made it to that level, I would probably have access to some damn strong weaves as well, making this evolution even more effective. Plus, I could swap it around depending on what I ran into or what other evolutions I eventually chose.


    However, it was kind of bad for me at the moment. I didn¡¯t have any heavy armor with good weaves. It was possible that this evolution would be the strongest choice at high level, but it was probably the worst of the three options with my current setup.


    I decided to stick with the philosophy of picking something that would help me survive right now, and that would remain useful at a higher level. I bit the bullet and picked the second option, granting myself flat DR to Divine damage that would grow with my Heavy Armor skill. It was only 13 points of DR right now, but Heavy Armor would be easy to train up to 20 and would keep advancing as I kept taking hits. The only reason that it was so low is that I¡¯d picked up the intrinsic a bit late.


    With that decision made, I moved on to Shields.


    1) Reactive Shielding: Whenever you block an attack, deal Force damage to the attacker equal to the level of your Shields skill.


    Simple, easy, useful. The effect applied to any ¡°attack¡±, which I believed meant that it would trigger even when hit from range or with a spell. The damage type was Force, which was Mystical damage and was therefore difficult to resist. It didn¡¯t do much damage, but it was a passive bonus that might make an attacker think twice about blasting me with chip damage. It might even encourage them to drop their high-damage trump cards instead, which I was in the best position to absorb among the party. However, it didn¡¯t do much in the way of making me an unkillable, spell-slinging meat wall, so it didn¡¯t get me excited.


    2) Dynamic Immunity: Choose one of the following status effects. A blocked attack cannot apply that status. You may select a different effect once per day with one minute of concentration.


    StunBleedingFearWeaknessParalysisAll sensory debuffs, such as Blindness or DeafnessToxicitySilenceBerserkFatigueIgnitedImmobilizedMesmerizedParanoiaPsychosisSlow


    When I first saw this list, I hadn¡¯t even been aware of several of the listed statuses. For example, Mesmerized was fairly rare but would cause the affected target to treat the effect¡¯s source as an ally. It could completely change the course of a battle. The ability would also apply to any blocked attack, so it wouldn¡¯t just work for me. It would also activate when I blocked for an ally, which I did fairly frequently with Gracorvus flying around the battlefield.


    The problem with the ability was that it would work best if I knew ahead of time what statuses would be most common in the situation I was heading into. Some were fairly ubiquitous, like Stunned and Toxicity, so there were options that could be kept active as a general backup. Still, it was an evolution that might be completely useless half the time. It also didn¡¯t help when the status came from something I didn¡¯t¨Cor couldn¡¯t¨Cblock. It was very circumstantial, which wasn¡¯t my style.


    3) Spell Breaker: You may block any type of spell, reducing the damage by 5 plus an additional 1 per level of Shields. If the blocked spell is Physical, this DR is in addition to your normal block DR.


    Broad-spectrum mitigation against casters. The evolution did not apply to magic, only to spells, but spells were a significant chunk of attacks. It would make me much tankier against Physical spells, and give me some protection against spells that normally bypassed armor. Most schools had something along those lines, but Spiritual and Dimensional were replete with spells that ignored general protective gear. Martial techniques wouldn¡¯t be affected, but techniques that completely ignored armor were uncommon since they were usually layered onto physical attacks.


    I¡¯d hesitated on this choice primarily because I¡¯d been considering how to buff my damage output based on guidance from Varrin and Xim. If I wasn¡¯t a threat, enemies would just ignore me for softer targets. Reactive Shielding would add some damage to my build, but I decided that it wasn¡¯t enough to justify bypassing a good defensive buff. I¡¯d let my offensive intrinsics pick up the slack, and invest more into Intelligence to shore up any deficits. Somncres and Gravity Anchor had already done a lot to improve my fighting style anyway.


    I picked Spell Breaker and felt the burden of indecision melt away. Unfortunately, I was immediately beset by new worries, as I spotted an impressive soul in the distance.


    At first, I thought it was a powerful Littan Delver who was a league above any I¡¯d seen thus far. But as I studied the soul, I began to think that wasn¡¯t the case. The owner might be even more dangerous than a Littan powerhouse.


    The soul was potent enough to place them somewhere in the mid-20s. That alone would make them dangerous, but the true threat was the number of Special Delves they¡¯d completed. The soul was flooded with violet striations. It was a density I¡¯d only ever seen within one other entity: The Mimic.

 Chapter 118: Architect

    Chapter 118: Architect


    When I first noticed the powerful soul, it was little more than a glimmer along the distant horizon. Had I been using my eyes and relying on Soul-Sight as I had in the past, the entity would have been obscured by the thick vegetation of the Eschen swamplands. I wouldn¡¯t have seen it until we were much closer. However, I¡¯d learned a few lessons from my recent experience of having a vacuous head.


    One curiosity after the headshot was that, while I hadn¡¯t been able to recognize faces, I had been able to recognize souls. One possible explanation was that such information was processed by a different part of my brain from faces, one that hadn¡¯t been injured. But, the majority of my mental faculties had been hindered to some extent.


    I wasn¡¯t a neurologist, but I was pretty sure several processes had been interrupted even though the corresponding structure in my brain hadn¡¯t been directly injured. Perhaps there was a ripple effect from the trauma, and the jolt to my head caused widespread damage to my entire brain beyond the parts directly impacted by the ballista bolt. Maybe my outrageous constitution allowed me to stay conscious during the ¡®reset¡¯ that might occur when getting knocked out, which caused temporary mayhem across the board. Either way, Soul-Sight not only remained unaffected but was more potent than it had ever been.


    What I thought to be more likely was that the information from Soul-Sight wasn¡¯t all being processed by my physical brain.


    I hadn¡¯t suffered any of the deleterious effects from Soul-Sight while it went on auto-pilot, such as feeling overwhelmed or painfully blinded. Souls were crystal clear, with more information available than in the past. I could sort and filter the sight effortlessly, guiding the skill with incredible nuance. I could do this, even though I couldn¡¯t read or recognize the faces of my party members.


    Soul-Sight connected directly to the soul, and I began to work under the theory that much of the information passed directly into my spiritual self. The sensations I¡¯d experienced were closer to impressions and intuition than rationalized concepts born of higher reasoning. I felt like it all needed to reach my brain eventually, but I wondered whether my wetware was getting in the way during the intake. Perhaps my overreliance on being cerebral was to my detriment in this instance.


    So, I began trying to capture that feeling of mindlessness. I allowed the ability to guide itself, rather than trying to force technique or structure upon it. I let the sensations flow into me unfiltered and unopposed, and tried to limit my mind¡¯s involvement to receiving the fully-formed insights, rather than doing the processing itself.


    Simply put, there¡¯d been too many cooks in the kitchen. I amended the flow of information from hitting both my brain and soul simultaneously to having the soul take in the info first, which then sent it along to my brain, packaged up nice and neat.Discover new chapters at novelhall.com


    Overall, this left me pondering how divorced my current philosophy of thought was from my Earth self. I¡¯d never been religious or spiritual. I¡¯d never believed in souls, karma, or gods. I¡¯d developed some habits like meditation, but they were centered around the concrete psychological and physiological benefits that could be provided, not some metaphysical connection to my transcendental self.


    Yet, here I was, allowing my soul to process spiritual information granted to me by a divine revelation while relegating my rational self to the role of observation. Of course, all of this was still based on hypotheses that could be tested and supported with quantifiable results, so it would be silly to try and live my life the way I had on Earth. When faced with new evidence... so on and so forth.


    I sent a message to Nuralie via Grotto about the mysterious presence. We¡¯d finished our western route and moved north toward the Delve and the Littan operating base. The soul wasn¡¯t directly in our path, but it wasn¡¯t too far off course.


    ¡°Why would you want to approach something like that?¡± Nuralie thought to me through our Grotto relay. ¡°Are you certain that your brain grew back correctly?¡±


    [Hear me out,] I replied. [Unless the Empire suddenly has access to dozens more special Delves than the rest of the world, I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s a Littan. The feeling I get from it is closer to an entity like The Mimic.]


    ¡°This does not encourage me to get closer to it. The Mimic was... violent.¡±


    [The Mimic was testing us, not trying to kill us,] I thought back. [Well, maybe it was testing us by trying to kill us, but all of that was part of it deciding whether we were ¡®worthy¡¯ of information about phase two.]


    ¡°Even if it is something like The Mimic, why does that matter? We have the knowledge we need. Why put ourselves at risk?¡±


    [There¡¯s a small army of Littan Delvers around the entrance to the Delve. Our current plan to deal with that is to hope the level 34 isn¡¯t there and run in quick.]


    ¡°We have many ways to create distractions...¡±


    [Individuals such as The Mimic do not exist to provide Delvers with conveniences,] Grotto interjected. [They are arbiters of capability, the second filter that Delvers must pass through on their journey toward ascension.]


    [Yeah, but we don¡¯t need help with a Delve, we need help getting inside of a Delve. Wait, do you know what that thing might be?]


    [I do not have any specific knowledge,] Grotto thought hesitantly. [My duties always related to normal Delves. I did not manage any portion of the phase unlocks, although I have experienced them many times. Even if there is an Architect like The Mimic in this region, it would have no reason to assist you unless doing so was directly in line with its duties.]


    [Would it have a reason to kill us unless doing so was directly in line with its duties?]


    [That is difficult to say. I would not think so unless you become an impediment. However, the personality of The Mimic appeared to be... unstable. I fear that whatever modifications the Architects have undergone to extend their lives have had some unintended side effects. There is also no way to be certain that this creature is an Architect.]


    ¡°It is an unnecessary risk,¡± thought Nuralie. ¡°We should investigate the Littan encampment before approaching something so powerful and unknown.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave Nuralie out here alone,¡± I said.


    ¡°You can keep up through Grotto,¡± said Varrin. ¡°If there¡¯s an issue, we can emerge in seconds.¡±


    ¡°Grotto can talk to me from anywhere inside the Closet because my inventory interface covers the whole interior,¡± I said. ¡°Otherwise, his psychic range is more limited. If I go inside the Closet while he¡¯s out here, it might cut off the connection. Eschendur isn¡¯t part of my inventory.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait it out,¡± said Xim. ¡°Keep silent, and be ready to retreat.¡±


    I nodded and kept watching the souls. I briefly considered how the level 17s had come out of nowhere. Soul-Sight was still susceptible to some stealth effects until I focused on piercing them, which meant their whole party had been hiding for some reason. That supported the idea that they¡¯d been tailing us, but I still wasn¡¯t convinced. Before I could think too deeply about the matter, the battle grew closer.


    A buff, brown-furred Littan in full plate shot through the foliage like a bullet a hundred feet from us. It was Tavio, and his body crashed through a three-foot-thick tree trunk, reducing it to splinters. Despite the abuse, the man managed to keep hold of his radiant spear and immediately kicked back up to his feet. He was covered in muck and spat out a wad of blood.


    A massive gout of blue vapor erupted to the east, and plants began to wilt on contact. Entire trees started to creak and tip after a handful of seconds, their rotting trunks no longer able to bear their weight. Reptiles and birds fell from the canopy in droves, and one massive, six-legged salamander crawled from a hole in the mud to slither a few feet before collapsing.


    From the mist, a figure emerged, moving so fast that the cloud swirled and began to disperse. Its form was a blur, but it appeared to be wearing ragged, stitched-together armor the color of a dying elephant¡¯s skin. Its face was a pale, emotionless mask that glinted as though it were made of porcelain, and its arms were exposed tendon and muscle with a set of bone blades at the ends. This was the entity I¡¯d been tracking. I quickly tried to identify it.


    The Operator: Architect, Level 24


    This was the thing that Zenithar Dal had been talking about? The Operator was one of the Architects?


    Tavio began to speak, but couldn¡¯t get a word out before the figure closed the distance. The Operator struck at Tavio, who blocked with the haft of his spear and was sent careening through the swamp again, out of sight.


    The azure cloud gathered itself back up and compressed as a Littan in bruise-colored robes appeared. The vapor formed a sphere upon the man¡¯s palm. It was Gharifon, and he pointed a finger at Tavio¡¯s attacker.


    The sphere warped and wrapped itself around Gharifon¡¯s digit, which glowed an eerie green. The colors mixed, and a tainted cone shot out from the Littan, leaving everything in its path rotting and decaying. The Operator leaped upward, out of the attack¡¯s path. Its eyes flashed with a light bright enough to leave me blinking away the after-image, and Gharifon¡¯s cone disappeared. The Operator kicked off from a tree with enough force to shatter the entire trunk, the top half of the tree tumbling away. It hurtled toward Gharifon, but as its blades began to close on the caster¡¯s neck, the man disappeared in a pool of shadow.


    The ground exploded as The Operator landed, and it immediately raised its blades to intercept a half dozen flying needles. Arms moved in a blur, and bright sparks flashed as each projectile was cleanly knocked aside. I scanned the trees, looking for the source of the attack, and spotted the third soul, though it was dim and subdued.


    The Operator¡¯s flesh began to slither along its arms, the bones and tendons reshaping to replace the blade with a crossbow in under a second. It fired a dozen bolts into the forest in less time than it had taken to transform the limb. The dim soul moved as though to dodge, but they flashed with pain as at least one of the bolts landed. The figure fell to the ground, but Gharifon¡¯s soul appeared for an instant next to the wounded person, and then both of them were gone.


    The Operator watched the trees for a breath, then lowered its limb and looked around.


    Tavio¡¯s group did not reappear. I scanned the surroundings for any signs of their souls but saw nothing. Either they¡¯d gone back into hiding, or Gharifon had teleported all three of them away.


    I held my breath as The Operator continued to peer around the swamp, then I glanced at my party members. Xim and Varrin looked on with stoic intensity, whereas Etja was wide-eyed and curious. Varrin looked up at me, and ever so slowly put one finger to his lips in a ¡°keep quiet¡± gesture. I tried to convey how little I needed that warning through the silent language of expressive eyebrows, then turned my head back toward The Operator with sloth-like speed.


    The entity¡¯s limbs molded and twisted until they were humanoid arms, all traces of its flesh-and-bone weaponry gone. It took a few heavy steps north but paused and looked around again.


    Its soul flared, and I felt a pressure wash over me that sent chills down my back. It looked up in our direction, meeting my eyes through the leaves and branches. Its porcelain lips never moved, but a voice like the grave filled the swamp.


    ¡°More scavengers to send back to the maker?¡± it asked.


    Before I had time to think, a hand was at my throat.

 Chapter 119: Generations Past

    Chapter 119: Generations Past


    Vines and foliage whipped past me as I sailed through the canopy in The Operator¡¯s grasp. Its grapple had come so quickly that I was snatched from Shog¡¯s tentacled grasp before he could tighten his grip. Varrin had drawn his sword, but even he couldn¡¯t match the Architect¡¯s Speed, and his blade cleaved through empty air behind us. We hurtled through space until gravity took its hold, and we landed amidst the water and mud with enough force to send the mire scattering for a hundred feet.


    I sputtered, nearly choking as soiled water flooded my nostrils and sought to invade my lungs. I blinked filth from my eyes to find The Operator drawing back an arm, its flesh molding into a spike. My mind raced and I strained to figure out how to defend against the appendage¡¯s inevitable descent into my skull. This time, I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d survive the hit.


    I discarded the idea of struggling after a split second. The power pouring out of this entity¡¯s soul was immense¨Cit was out of my league. Even if I could get my shield up in time, I doubted Gracorvus would hold up. Instead, I forced air through my compressed throat and wheezed out a few short words before the strike came.


    ¡°The Mimic sent us!¡±


    The Operator paused, and its head tilted slightly to the side. His eyes flashed with stuttering light as he appraised me. On a whim, I concentrated on my memories of the party¡¯s interactions with the Mimic. I focused and reached out to my assailant with Reveal, holding the remembrance in place. I didn¡¯t seek to force my way into the creature¡¯s soul¨CI doubted I had the power. I reached out with the barest touch on its spirit, offering the experience to prove the truth of my words.


    The Operator flinched when it felt the connection, and the spike descended an inch toward me, but it hesitated. Another series of lights flashed in its dark eyes beneath the porcelain mask, and then it accepted the link. I focused on The Mimic¡¯s appraisal of the party¨Cthe good and the bad¨Cand then on its description of the three Delves. The Architect above me processed what I sent it, then loosened its grip on my throat.


    Varrin splashed down behind it, Kazandak held aloft to attack, for all the good that would do. I held up a hand to stay him, and Varrin held back. The rest of the party joined soon after, each person cautiously watching The Operator. It eventually released its hold on my neck, although it continued to straddle me, its thighs like an iron vice on my ribs. The experience was made stranger when I realized that, whatever this thing was, it appeared to be naked. The clothing that I¡¯d interpreted as ragged, stitched-together leathers was actually its skin.


    The spike morphed back into an arm, the patchwork skin sewing itself together as the muscle and sinew finished transforming. It turned to look over the party, then gave me a final, hard stare before it stood.


    ¡°The Mimic,¡± it spat. ¡°That whimsical child. It is too early, this will become another aberrant event.¡±Alll latest novels at novelhall.com


    While I was no longer mounted, the creature continued to stand over me, so I kept my spot in the mud. We¡¯d made a small crater when we¡¯d landed, so it was sort of cozy in a slimy, rapidly filling-with-water kind of way. Like being buried in the sand at the beach, but fucking gross.


    ¡°Sorry?¡± I said. ¡°The Mimic mentioned something similar. She said that this civilization wasn¡¯t advanced enough. Is that what you mean?¡±


    The Operator suddenly reached down and grabbed me by the collar. It roughly hefted me to my feet. Gobs of muck slid down my back and fell off in sloppy chunks. I also felt a hefty amount of mud oozing in my pants. At least, I hoped it was mud.


    I had to crane my neck back to meet The Operator¡¯s eyes, which was an experience I was sick of having. Seriously, if I¡¯d known that half of all the sentient beings I met in Arzia would be taller than me I¡¯d have given myself more than a couple of extra inches when I got the option to customize during my pseudo-resurrection. I was six feet and change, but between Varrin and Shog I was uncomfortably close to the median of our party¡¯s vertical measurements. At least Grotto was only three feet from top to tentacle tip, but he still hovered a hair above me at all times.


    ¡°This generation¡¯s technological development has advanced at an above-average rate,¡± said the Operator. ¡°However, it is still at a nascent stage.¡±


    I took a step back since the creature had hoisted me within a couple of inches of itself. It made no move to stop me as I recovered my personal space, and I began wiping gunk off of my bare head.


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°Well, early or not, we¡¯re here to challenge Deijin¡¯s Descent. We¡¯re not scavengers.¡±


    ¡°That claim is under consideration, but inconclusive.¡± It turned and began carefully studying the other members of my party. Its eyes lit up with flickering light as it looked at each in turn.


    ¡°What does that mean, anyway?¡± I asked. ¡°Scavengers.¡±


    The Operator ignored me.


    ¡°High-grade summon,¡± it said after scanning Shog, then turned back to me. ¡°Yours?¡±


    ¡°Shog is his own man, but yes.¡±


    Its finger swiftly turned into a blade and it swiped at my arm, leaving a shallow cut. I flinched back as everyone else tensed, but all The Operator did was watch the wound as it closed in a handful of seconds.


    ¡°Moderate Fortitude,¡± it said, ¡°with high regeneration.¡± It closed the distance and grabbed my arm, then squeezed. ¡°Low Strength, but above base.¡± It twisted my limb in a few directions, putting an uncomfortable amount of pressure on my joints, Varrin raised his weapon again.


    ¡°It¡¯s chill,¡± I said with a groan while The Operator bent my wrist in a direction it shouldn¡¯t bend. ¡°We¡¯re chill, right?¡± It met my eyes but continued its examination without responding.


    ¡°Similar Agility. Previous reaction time indicates the same for Speed. Verbal compulsion strength indicates the same for Charisma¡± Its eyes flickered. ¡°Mana matrix development at low-moderate, indicative of average Intelligence and Wisdom for a caster in the sub-10 level bracket.¡± It continued to hold my arm in its bone-creaking grip.


    ¡°Going to criticize my Luck as well?¡± I asked.


    [Several unfortunate events led to the System forging the bond.]


    The Operator squatted and placed a hand on its chin. ¡°That... is strange.¡± It ran a finger through the wet soil. It was still in the form of a blade. ¡°What level of permissions does this group have?¡±


    [Phase two precursor information.]


    The Operator began drawing complex shapes in the dirt. I watched him work for a minute, and the shapes developed into something that looked like a mathematical formula.


    ¡°This iteration has produced candidates 23% faster than the last. The largest reduction so far.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked. ¡°You said that it¡¯s too early, but what is it too early for? Why is it too early?¡±


    The Operator looked up from his equation to Grotto.


    ¡°Have you provided them with any historical context?¡±


    [No. Much of the information from the prior generation has not been categorized. I have been hesitant to share it.]


    ¡°Evidence of further degradation,¡± said The Operator. It stood, then peered back down at its formula. ¡°The System has had ample time to process that data. If it has not done so, it is by choice.¡±


    [I find that idea unsettling.]


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, stepping forward and putting myself between Grotto and The Operator. ¡°You two are obviously talking about something that the rest of us have no context for. Care to enlighten us?¡±


    The Operator slowly turned its head up to the sky and stared at the canopy. It held his arms out, as though it were basking in the few rays of morning light coming through the foliage.


    ¡°This world has been caught in a diminishing cycle,¡± said The Operator, and I was struck by its sudden turn from frosty and analytical to top-tier drama. ¡°The Great Work was set into motion by the Old Ones with holy intent, but the blessing they sought to bestow upon these lands has spawned a curse that endless peoples have endured for eons.¡±


    My brow went up, as it sounded like we were finally about to receive some concrete detail about the history of the world and the System. Of course, Grotto tried his best to get in the way.


    [I do not believe this information is necessary for the party to advance at this stage.]


    ¡°Really, Grotto?¡± I said. ¡°I thought you were cool again.¡± The mini-c¡¯thon bowed his head, but his eyes shifted as though he was watching for some unseen danger.


    [The System is always listening,] he thought to us ominously.


    ¡°Ever have we hidden the truth,¡± said The Operator. ¡°To force mortals to discover the methods of their own accord. To provide trials, to test and strengthen the candidates. Secrets, in every era, until the precipice of calamity.¡± It faced Grotto with its porcelain mask, the impassive expression marred by angry eyes. ¡°I shall not reveal the challenges, or solve the formalist puzzles. But there is no longer time for this age of sapients to discover the histories for themselves.¡±


    The Operator¡¯s gaze bore into Grotto, and the core averted his eyes in submission.


    ¡°The Old Ones sought to ascend beyond the physical realm,¡± The Operator continued. ¡°Through a hundred thousand years of effort, they birthed a method which could breach the membrane between this world and the divine. Through this breach, fragments of divinity flowed, and with these fragments, the Old Ones would saturate themselves. As their bodies and spirits fused with these fragments, their existence would naturally rise to the divine realm, as a bubble rises to the surface of the sea.


    ¡°Or so it was theorized. The process was not easy. For many generations, it met with failure. Countless perished during their attempts at fusion, and the energies involved were great. Such failures often led to vast destruction. Yet, there was limited success that drove them forward. New magicks were discovered, and men and women grasped power beyond what was possible with mundane biology.


    ¡°As the Old Ones experimented, they learned. The fusion needed to take place over time, which varied greatly from one person to another. Such fusion could also only occur with meritorious individuals, but such merit was not always measured by human values. Even with careful application, the subjects would also need to possess a fortified mind and an inconquerable will. These variables were vast. They were unpredictable. A guiding hand was required to manage the process. Thus, the System was created.


    ¡°The System knows more than the most learned scholar, sees more than the wisest sage, and is more incorruptible than the most valorous knight. With a world of knowledge and a singular mind to encompass it, the System alone possessed the insight and resilience necessary to fuse fragments of divinity with the mortal shells of the Old Ones. With reverent dedication, the divine veil was pierced, and with glorious celebration, the first generation used this tool and ascended.


    ¡°And after the first ascension from this world, the first cataclysm befell it.¡±

 Chapter 120: Damned if You Dont

    Chapter 120: Damned if You Don''t


    I leaned back against the gnarled trunk of a dark, contorted tree as The Operator spun its yarn, wishing I had a bit of popcorn to munch on. Kettle corn, specifically. I liked a little sweet with my salty.


    Despite the absence of snacks, I was still intrigued by what I¡¯d heard so far. Much of it added detail to suspicions I¡¯d already harbored, or theories pieced together from the information we¡¯d gathered. One thing that surprised me was the time scale the story dealt with.


    The Old Ones being responsible for the System was nothing new. It was practically the first thing Grotto had said when we¡¯d met him. But a hundred thousand years of experimentation to access the divine? Followed by multiple generations of trial and error before the System was devised? How old was this original civilization, and how advanced were they? Human civilization had existed on Earth for less than 10,000 years when I¡¯d died, but these Old Ones spent 10 times longer than that experimenting, presumably after they¡¯d already reached an advanced stage of development.


    ¡°Ascension is not achieved by a single individual,¡± said The Operator. ¡°When the first generation rose to the heavens, 10,000 mortals transcended at once. Their minds and souls joined to push through the thin breach between realms with their combined will. However, their passage was imperfect. It was like a man squeezing through a narrow tunnel of broken glass, shedding flesh and blood in his wake.


    ¡°Shards of the ascended were left behind; shattered pieces of individuals, no longer distinct and whole. These shards mimicked the behavior of the ascended and were drawn to one another to form a new entity that sought to ascend. However, by the time it gathered, the ascension had ended, and the breach had closed. There was nowhere for this new being to go. And so, it fell back to the physical world.¡±


    ¡°The birth of an avatar,¡± Varrin guessed, and The Operator nodded.


    ¡°That does not make sense,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The avatars are manifestations of fundamental gods. Concepts that are woven into reality. They are not¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°hive minds of mortal people.¡±


    ¡°How ascension changes those that ascend is not well understood,¡± said The Operator. ¡°To reach the divine, their essence may be refined to its most basic nature. Perhaps something like humanity is a concept, or perhaps each generation ascends to become part of a concept that the majority leans toward. The ascended might even be divided into a thousand smaller pieces once they traverse the gap, each to join the heavenly force that they resonate with.¡±


    ¡°So, they don¡¯t keep any sense of self?¡± I asked. ¡°Their identity is annihilated.¡±


    ¡°An individualistic interpretation,¡± said The Operator. ¡°I believe that their identity is added to a greater whole. Nothing is lost, but there is no ¡°hive mind¡± like the Geulon describes. The new entity is singular, but contains all the distinction of each individual within.¡±


    Xim tapped a finger along her jaw in thought.


    ¡°How does a random group of Delvers that missed their carriage to the divine realm turn into something like Orexis?¡± she asked. ¡°Were there a hundred psychos in the god of Yearning¡¯s generation?¡±


    ¡°Moral purity is not required to reach the divine,¡± said The Operator. ¡°If it were, then reality would be morally pure. It is not. But, I do not believe that it is so simple. When the veil is pierced, divine energy flows into this world. That energy contains the intent of the gods. This intent seeks to shape anything it contacts. The shards are incomplete, lacking the combined will of the ascended. They are... easily corrupted.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°There are a lot more ¡®I believe¡¯ and ¡®perhaps¡¯ statements in your explanation than I¡¯m comfortable with, but assuming what you¡¯re saying is correct, then the entire avatar problem was created by the Old Ones and their System.¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± said The Operator. ¡°And the problem grows worse with every ascension.¡±


    ¡°Can we go back a little?¡± asked Etja. ¡°What happened after the first ascension? You said it was a calamity.¡±


    ¡°Yes. All of the world¡¯s most powerful Delvers ascended, and the breach to the divine closed. The System would gather mana for the next breach while the subsequent generation grew in strength, preparing themselves for their own ascension. When the first avatar fell upon them, there was no one strong enough to resist it.¡±


    ¡°Which avatar was it?¡± I asked. ¡°What concept did it embody?¡±


    ¡°The precise aspect is lost to time, but it is believed to be an avatar related to Unity.¡±


    ¡°Unity?¡± said Xim. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very... calamitous.¡±


    ¡°It sought to ¡®unify¡¯ all life within itself,¡± said The Operator. ¡°Whether such life wished to be unified or not. After the avatar appeared, the civilization of the Old Ones quickly fell.¡±


    Varrin grunted.


    ¡°If it was so dangerous, why is anything left alive now?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The avatars require a large amount of divine energy to sustain themselves. Once the breach was closed, the flow of divine energy was reduced to a trickle. With the world¡¯s Delvers slain by the avatar, there was no reason for the System to once again pierce the veil. The avatar starved until it went dormant.¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡± I said. ¡°A few hidden survivors decided to start Delving again, despite the consequences?¡±


    ¡°No. All of the Old Ones were either slain or perished as the world became a barren wasteland devoid of most life.¡±


    ¡°Well, if everyone was dead then who-¡± I froze mid-sentence as a thought occurred to me, but it seemed too absurd to be true. The time required would make 100,000 years a drop in the bucket. ¡°Did... an entirely new sapient species evolve and rediscover the Delves?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± said The Operator. ¡°The next generation had no knowledge of the Old Ones or the dormant avatar. When they discovered the System, it was likely viewed as an incredible treasure. What records I can access indicate that they were able to proceed through all of the phases before the avatar of Unity reawoke. They ascended without ever knowing what they left in their wake, and with their ascension, created a new avatar.¡±


    ¡°How fucking old is the System?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I do not know,¡± said The Operator. ¡°The time between generations has also grown shorter with each cycle. There is no reliable way to estimate.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not an Old One?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°No. I am from a much later generation.¡±


    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t anyone shut this shit down?¡± I asked. ¡°If the System creates avatars with every ascension, but the avatars are dormant while the System is offline, then turning it off would solve the problem, right?¡±


    ¡°For most early generations, the avatars were not discovered until they were on the verge of ascension,¡± said The Operator. ¡°As the cycle repeated, the avatars began to awaken earlier. Some of the more recent generations have attempted to destroy the System or to disrupt it before the avatars grew too powerful, but they all failed.¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Why are the avatars showing up earlier each time?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Then you were the cause of the Littan encampment being destroyed,¡± she said. ¡°You set off the entire conflict with Litta.¡± Nuralie¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t accusatory. She sounded more like a belief she¡¯d held had been justified.


    I took a deep breath.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say that we still want to get into Deijin¡¯s Descent,¡± I said, then looked at the Operator. ¡°We¡¯ve passed your test, right?¡±


    ¡°The Mimic administers the test,¡± said The Operator. ¡°I ensure the Delve is operational and govern its access.¡±


    ¡°Alright, so we can go in?¡±


    ¡°The Delve will grant your entry,¡± it said.


    ¡°Great. Now the problem is how we make it to the entrance of the Delve. Maybe you can help us with that.¡±


    The Operator tilted its head as it considered the request.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The Littans have established themselves around the Delve,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We expect that some of them will give us trouble.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re on their bad side,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve been told there¡¯s at least one that¡¯s pretty high level, so it might be tough to get through them.¡±


    ¡°I am aware of the Littans around the entrance,¡± said The Operator. ¡°How significant is the animosity between your groups?¡±


    ¡°We killed fifteen of their Delvers yesterday,¡± said Xim. She squinted up at the morning light coming through the canopy. ¡°Or was it the day before? Hells, maybe it was today since we haven¡¯t been to bed. I need some sleep.¡±


    ¡°They attacked us first, though,¡± I added.


    ¡°We were also partially responsible for sinking one of their fleets,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Only like 10% responsible,¡± I countered.


    ¡°And Arlo slew one of Tavio¡¯s party members,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°That was a team effort,¡± I corrected.


    The Operator scratched at its patchwork neck.


    ¡°I am heavily discouraged from assisting Delvers in any capacity,¡± it said. ¡°I have already disregarded that dictate several times, however. If you can complete Deijin¡¯s Descent, then I would no longer need to worry about the reality anchors for now. I could focus my energy elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a yes? I¡¯m taking that as a yes.¡±


    ¡°I can create a distraction,¡± it said. ¡°I will not defeat an army for you.¡±


    ¡°A distraction is good enough,¡± I said. ¡°We can help with that, as well.¡±


    ¡°Many distractions,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°Big distractions.¡±


    I clapped my hands together and looked around the party.


    ¡°Before we move forward, have any of us changed our mind in light of what we¡¯ve just learned?¡±


    ¡°We need more advantages,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Hiward¡¯s best Delvers can¡¯t face the avatars as they are now. If they¡¯re allowed to develop further, then they will have an insurmountable lead. Even if unlocking the phase increases their growth, we just have to grow faster with the tools the unlock gives us.¡±


    As usual, Varrin had a well-thought-out and reasonable point of view.


    ¡°It is also a special Delve,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°We will be stronger for having completed it.¡± Pause. ¡°I look forward to disrupting the Littan¡¯s operating base, as well.¡±


    I thought that Nuralie may have been focusing too much on the Littan part of the situation, but that was fine.


    ¡°We already came all this way,¡± said Xim. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving without seeing what¡¯s inside.¡±


    A wholly irresponsible take from Xim, but I¡¯d allow it. We all looked at Etja, who shrugged.


    ¡°Go team!¡± she said. I grinned and shook my head.


    ¡°Good,¡± I said, opening my inventory screen and scrolling through the list of our ready-made kits. I stopped on the group labeled ¡°shock and awe¡±.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go confuse some Littans.¡±

 Chapter 121: Confusing Some Littans

    Chapter 121: ''Confusing'' Some Littans


    We returned to the strategy of keeping most of the party inside the Closet while Nuralie scouted ahead. The Operator moved with her, able to stealth using its own methods. Nuralie may have grown up in these swamps, but The Operator had called it home for much, much longer. It knew exactly how to move through the terrain.


    We made it close to the encampment without running into any further trouble. Between Nuralie¡¯s advance scouting and my Soul-Sight, we avoided a couple of basic patrols, but the Littans didn¡¯t seem concerned with catching a small group. I expected the watches they held were designed to keep from being surprised by an advancing army.


    After observing the movements of the sparse patrols for a while, Nuralie guided Shog and me forward using Grotto¡¯s psychic link. We stopped a few hundred feet from the edge of the camp. We couldn¡¯t see anything through the thick foliage, but The Operator assured us the camp was there. The Architect possessed a sense for anything close to one of the constructs it was responsible for guarding, and since the Littan encampment was built around the Delve entrance, the entity had a good understanding of its bounds.


    I opened the Closet, and we started our preparations in earnest.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure you want to sneak around the perimeter?¡± I asked as I handed a heavy pack to Nuralie. It was full of various goodies for her to distribute around the northwestern side of the Littan camp, which would hopefully help to obscure our approach from the south.


    ¡°The only reason the last group saw me is because Grotto started flailing through the brush before splashing down into the water,¡± said Nuralie. She eyed the mini-c¡¯thon as she deposited the pack into her own inventory. I handed her two more.


    [See how you react to the spiritually transmitted pain of your head exploding,] Grotto thought to us. He crossed his feelers and gave Nuralie an octo-scowl. [I cannot help that I am bonded to a man who insists on suffering life-threatening injuries every second sunrise.]


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m trying to get hurt,¡± I said, eliciting several doubtful expressions from the group.


    ¡°Khigra might disagree,¡± said Xim with a grin. ¡°How did you deal with that, Grotto?¡±


    [His training with the dominatrix did not communicate as... pain. It came across as¨C]


    I cleared my throat. ¡°Moving on,¡± I said. ¡°Shog, are you confident that you won¡¯t be seen?¡±


    ¡°Any true predator knows how to take advantage of the shadows,¡± he purred. It sent a tingle down my spine. I nodded, then handed him two packs of his own, which he stuffed behind his tentacles.


    ¡°Then the rest of us will wait for Nuralie to return before moving in,¡± I said.


    ¡°Wait,¡± said Etja. She¡¯d been gazing into the forest since we came to a stop, but now turned her eyes to the soil and knelt. She ran the fingers of her lower pair of hands over the muddy turf, fingertips glowing blue. ¡°It¡¯s faint, but I can feel a ward.¡±


    ¡°Wards?¡± asked Varrin, looking urgently at the ground. ¡°Have we triggered them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only one, and no, we aren¡¯t in its area of effect yet,¡± said Etja. ¡°I think that it¡¯s surrounding the camp.¡±


    ¡°One ward?¡± said Varrin. ¡°Surrounding the entire camp?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a big ward,¡± said Xim. ¡°Or a small camp.¡±


    ¡°The camp encompasses several square miles,¡± said The Operator.


    ¡°No single ward is that large,¡± said Varrin. ¡°To cover an area that big would require using many smaller wards in unison.¡±


    Etja shrugged.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know what to tell ya¡¯,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s one really big ward.¡±


    ¡°Can you discern its function?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not until I¡¯m closer.¡±


    ¡°Think it¡¯s something you can deal with?¡±


    ¡°I can probably shield us from its effects if everyone stays close to me. The ward is huge, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s super strong. Still, disrupting the entire thing would take a lot of mana. Way more than I have.¡±


    ¡°Will it cause problems for Nuralie and Shog while they set things up?¡±


    ¡°Not if they stay outside of the camp itself,¡± said Etja. ¡°The problem will come once we¡¯re inside.¡±


    ¡°Another minor inconvenience,¡± I muttered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t change much. We¡¯ve all got out marching orders.¡± I turned to The Operator. ¡°What do you plan on doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll engage the Level 34,¡± it said, before stepping away into the forest and disappearing.


    ¡°Power move,¡± said Xim.


    I turned to give Nuralie and Shog the go-ahead, but both of them had already disappeared as well.


    As several more Delvers looked around to find the source of their comrade¡¯s concern, each of the Super Dazzlers broke into six regular Dazzlers, which spread out as they descended onto the camp. A couple of spells intercepted the individual projectiles, but most of them landed throughout the northwestern quarter of the camp, and then exploded into bursts of sound and light.


    I averted my eyes as the cluster of Dazzlers rocked the Littan Delvers, the cacophonous blasts overlapping one another and making it sound like an airstrike had just landed on the camp. The Dazzlers were non-lethal¨Cto Delvers, at least¨Cbut they were enough to blind and deafen anyone with low Fortitude, while seriously disorienting hardier individuals if they were close enough. Needless to say, that got the Littan camp stirred up.


    Dozens of Littan Delvers clutched at their eyes and ears, with several on the ground, some unconscious. The rest of the camp burst into action, with defensive skills flaring and buffs being cast. The flap of the command tent was practically torn away as a scarred, broad-shouldered Littan in military regalia burst through and appraised the situation. It was the level 34.


    In Hiward, there was only a handful of Delvers over level 30. Delvers who pursued a full career delving gold generally made it to level 26. To reach higher required one to tackle at least some levels at platinum. A ¡®normal¡¯ platinum progression went through the first 30 levels at platinum, then dropped down to gold because the escalating difficulty of the Delves made it too dangerous to continue. So, to reach level 34, a Hiwardian Delver would conquer 30 platinum Delves and then 8 gold Delves. The most powerful Delvers in all of Hiward had followed that path.


    This Littan had not followed that path.


    He was level 34, and his soul held violet-streaked platinum without a hint of gold.


    A wave of mana erupted from the man¡¯s body and flooded the battlefield. It rippled out over the entire northwestern quadrant of the camp and cascaded into the woods. At first, I couldn¡¯t tell what it had done, but then a simple, worn longbow appeared in the man¡¯s grip, and ten arrows fired out into the forest toward a single point. The world was rocked with explosions that put the Dazzlers to shame.


    Trees fell as rocks and dirt were thrown a hundred feet into the air under the onslaught. All ten arrows homed in on one spot at an unseen target, laying waste to a significant chunk of wild swampland. As the debris fell back to Arzia, clattering and splashing through mist and dust, a figure blasted out into the camp.


    The Operator¡¯s arms were blades, his legs and feet were elongated like a mutated cheetah, and his passage was so fast that it shattered the bodies of Delvers in his path. As he rushed the platinum Littan, the man fired another dozen arrows, but the Operator knocked them aside with his blades in a flurry of strikes too fast to see. The arrows ricocheted across the camp, striking the ground with the force of mortar shells and sending Delvers flying. A look of consternation briefly crossed the Littan¡¯s face, and then he disappeared.


    A massive pair of wings made of bone and flesh erupted from The Operator¡¯s back, and it rose into the air, kicking up a storm of wind in its wake. I looked up to see the Littan a hundred feet in the air, wielding a large pair of scimitars. The Operator rose to meet him, and a shockwave heralded their clash.


    As the titans fought, two familiar figures emerged from the tent. Tavio stumbled out wearing his full plate armor and holding his radiant spear, but he looked worse for wear. He leaned on his spear for support, and I noticed that his soul was infected by sinister, dark lines. Gharifon followed soon after and looked up at the fight above with a scowl. He quickly turned to survey the treeline, however, ignoring the epic duel.


    As the rest of the Littan Delver camp gaped at the spectacle above, part two of our distraction began.


    Another series of launchers fired payloads of a modified edition of Nuralie¡¯s Night-Rush Potion. It was the potion Varrin used when he wanted a little extra spunk during combat, giving him a massive boost to damage at the cost of going a bit bananas. This version had been brewed with less of a focus on the damage while leaning more heavily into the herbaceous fruit portion of the concoction.


    In other words, it was a berserker potion.


    It had also been formulated to vaporize on contact with air, allowing it to be delivered via a lovely cloud of rage-inducing mist.


    Six bottles of Nuralie¡¯s Bad-Night Potion entered the fray. The Littan¡¯s were on the lookout for surprises by this point, and half of the bottles were destroyed by spells and techniques before making it close. The other three either detonated in the air over the camp or made it to the ground where they billowed out into angry fog. While the potion wasn¡¯t strong enough to make the Littans begin tearing each other to pieces, it put them into an acutely agitated mindset, which primed them for part 3 of the distraction.


    Shog had many tentacles, and we¡¯d given him bags full of many offensive potions. This made the c¡¯thon an automatic turret of bad news, which he began spreading throughout the Littan camp.


    Glass vials flew out from the forest at a rate of at least five a second, creating effects ranging from disabling gas, to smoke screens, to mundane infernos. A few exploded into bursts of sparkling, multi-colored sand that stuck to skin and fur. That was something Nuralie devised after I explained to her the concept of glitter bombs. They didn¡¯t have any true combat utility, other than keeping the Littans on their toes and making bath time a fucking nightmare.


    Once random bursts of inconvenience began raining from the woods, the score of Littans affected by the Bad Night began rushing out of the camp and toward the hidden c¡¯thon, slinging long-range spells and techniques with abandon.


    While the devastation was centered on the unfortunate souls in the northwestern quarter, many of the Delvers spread throughout the rest of the camp began moving toward the attack. None were so foolish as to walk into the area plagued by Nuralie¡¯s chemical genius, but many spread out to flank the enemy from the north and south.


    Ideally, all of the Littans would have been fixated on the madness, but the group had enough discipline to watch for other potential avenues of attack. Squad commanders held their members back and barked orders, keeping a token watch on the rest of the camp¡¯s borders. We¡¯d done a lot to thin out the herd between ourselves and the command tent, but there were still a substantial number of Littans in the way of our objective.


    We¡¯d planned for this, however, and so long as the big daddy platinum stayed occupied with The Operator, we were prepared to (non-lethally) carve a path to the Delve¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°Figured the ward out yet?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s an alarm and a mana-dampener,¡± said Etja. ¡°Alarm part doesn¡¯t matter, since they clearly know we¡¯re here. The mana-dampener will make our spells bad. It will also keep you from teleporting.¡±


    ¡°Can you handle it?¡±


    She nodded with determination.


    ¡°Good. Time to roll.¡±


    We all stood. Etja held her staff in her upper pair of hands while blue mana danced in her lower pair. She used Nullify to create a sphere of ward-breaching energy around our group.


    Xim cracked her knuckles as Grotto floated over to land on her shoulder. The cleric led the group in front, crimson flames smoldering across her body. She jumped out from the trees with the rest of us in tow, landing heavily in the middle of one of the remaining squads.


    ¡°Wanna see something cool?¡± she asked, then raised a hand to the sky.


    The icon of a beating heart appeared above us, wrapped in divine fire and emitting a wave of dread with every pulse.

 Chapter 122: Reaching the Descent

    Chapter 122: Reaching the Descent


    As the heart hammered above us, Grotto¡¯s eyes glowed and his tentacles wrapped tightly around Xim¡¯s arm. The cleric¡¯s forehead split and the obsidian horn that marked the transformation to her beast form appeared, but the rest of her remained normal. Tentacles sprouted from the heart, c¡¯thonic feathers replaced by crimson fire that swayed hypnotically. The heart drummed, and the Littans around us cowered, eyes wide and glistening.


    Xim glared at them, and they ran.


    She continued to channel the spell as we marched through the camp, and I cast Life Warden on Etja to keep her safe from any errant attacks while she channeled Nullify. More than half of the Littans were on the opposite side of the camp, dealing with the fallout of our distractions or rushing into the woods to hunt down Shog. The Littan duchess was also busy casting wide-area cleanses, purging the berserk and other status effects from the soldiers. She activated an aura that seemed to draw the attention of anyone nearby, and she began issuing commands. It wouldn¡¯t be long before the camp recovered from our initial assault with her help, but I was glad that we didn¡¯t have to deal with her ourselves.


    Other Littans were fixated on the fight overhead as impacts thundered above from The Operator¡¯s battle. Pressure waves that were powerful enough to kick up dirt and debris issued from the blows. I was tempted to glance up as well, but we didn¡¯t have the luxury of time to appreciate the high-level fight. There were still enemy Delvers to oppose us, and we needed to make quick work of them.


    As we rushed through the camp, most of the Delvers below level 10 fled as the pulse from Xim¡¯s icon washed over them. A handful managed to resist, and a group ranging from level 7 to 11 moved to stop our advance. Varrin stepped forward to meet them, hand along the hilt of his blade, but he never drew Kazandak.


    As I watched, an ethereal hand formed from Varrin¡¯s soul and drew a spectral copy of Kazandak. The motion was quickly mirrored by Varrin himself, and the big guy was left wielding a version of his blade formed from spiritual energy. It lengthened out to ten feet, and he swept it across two of the advancing Delvers.


    One raised a shield to block it, but the attack went straight through. The blade didn¡¯t cut flesh or bone, but it did cleave straight through their souls. The silver energy shrouding their forms was separated, and the base layer of their beings was sent into turmoil. The two that had been hit screamed as their bodies locked up, and then they were on the ground. Varrin was already bringing the spiritual blade down on the next foe.


    The level 11 resisted the attack with a barrier, but the woman looked more like a support fighter. She wove spells that disrupted the blade and protected herself, but Varrin¡¯s assault was ceaseless. He was also much faster than the Littan. After five exchanges she was also on the ground. None of them were dead, just disabled as their souls struggled to recompose themselves. It was a devastating ability, one that I suspected came from Varrin¡¯s morning routine of meditating over Kazandak. Whatever it was that the Patriarch had meant for his great-grandson to learn from the practice, Varrin sure was learning it.


    Another pair of Littans had approached during the melee, but Nuralie put them down with a flurry of thrown needles that knocked them unconscious. Our party barely slowed as we fought, the few Littans that resisted the fear effect thrown into a blender of physically and spiritually disabling attacks. As we got close to the command tent, a single Littan stepped forward that I thought might give us some trouble.


    Gharifon appeared in a puff of shadow, hands bathed in sickly energy. He raised them as if to cast, and Varrin dashed forward to strike, but something was wrong.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted before Varrin could close the distance. The big guy stopped without hesitation, and the Gharifon before us sneered. While it looked like the level 17 gold was a second from bathing our group in the same cone of death he¡¯d fired off earlier in the forest, the figure was invisible to my Soul-Sight. A copy. I quickly shared the realization with the group using Reveal, and a beam of necrotic mana came from our left as the copy exploded in a burst of corrupted mana.


    I willed Gracorvus around to intercept the attack as it came for Etja, who was entirely focused on keeping the ward from dampening our skills. The beam crashed against the shield, and I said a silent thanks to my past self for choosing the Spell Breaker evolution. Some of the attack still pierced the defense, but it was diffused into a cloud, rather than focused into a line. It didn¡¯t make it to our mage. I followed the attack to catch sight of Gharifon, but he disappeared into another cloak of darkness.


    The ground around us began to twist and rise, rapidly forming massive walls that threatened to swallow us up. The dirt closed overhead in under a second and the light of the sun disappeared. It happened much too fast and, even though I¡¯d seen that Gharifon was a capable caster, he hadn¡¯t used any typical Physical magic like this yet. Alll latest novels at novelhall.com


    It wasn¡¯t outside the realm of possibility for Gharifon to have earth-shaping skills, but a Delver only had 10 skill slots, and there were only very limited ways to swap them out. Suddenly having earth-shaping abilities would be off-brand for Gharifon. The skills I¡¯d seen from him so far focused on three things. Teleportation of himself and allies, afflictions like those that rotted the swamp while he fought The Operator, and the class of spells that allowed him to make clones and which kept my party from interfering when Tavio was kicking my ass: illusions.


    I focused my will on the earthen barriers and used my Sight to break the mirage. The walls disappeared as though they¡¯d never existed¨Cwhich they hadn¡¯t¨Cand this truth was Revealed to the party. Gharifon once again stood in front of us, barring our path to the command tent, but this time it was truly Gharifon standing there, looking shocked as Varrin charged him.


    He raised his hand to cast another shadow escape, but I was ready for it and countered with Dispel. The spectral hands growing from Varrin swung down toward Gharifon, and the action was mirrored by Varrin himself, cleaving through Gharifon¡¯s soul with the spiritual edition of Kazandak. The caster grimaced and gnashed his teeth, but he didn¡¯t falter. As soon as the blade cut through his soul, it was already knitting itself back together, though the threads of energy that repaired the damage were dark and emitted a sense of endless hunger.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Varrin glanced back at the new arrivals, then took a step toward Tavio, looking like he wanted to force the Littan out of our way, but I placed a hand on the big guy¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yaretzi,¡± said Tavio. ¡°What happened to him?¡±


    I considered the question, then made a quick decision, trusting my gut. When Tavio had originally attacked me, he¡¯d seemed curious¨Cin a very aggressive and painful way¨Cbut not outright evil. That, on top of the fact that Sam¡¯lia¡¯s divine fire did not mark him as being worthy of judgment, made me think he may have fallen in with a bad crowd.


    I packaged up the memories of our fight with Yaretzi, then gently offered them to Tavio with Reveal, the same way I¡¯d done with The Operator. Either Tavio already knew what Yaretzi was, in which case his attitude toward us wouldn¡¯t change, or he hadn¡¯t realized he was working with a psychopath, in which case he might begin to question the people he was allied with. Tavio twitched when I touched his soul, but he grinned soon after.


    ¡°I did not think you had spiritual abilities,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯d decided you had a Dimensional attunement. Curious.¡±


    He accepted the memories, then stepped to one side as he absorbed them. Varrin jumped over the railing and into the tunnel leading below ground, followed quickly by Nuralie, Xim, and Etja. As I passed by Tavio, I saw a series of complex expressions cross his face while he reviewed what I¡¯d given him. Confusion, sorrow, anger.


    ¡°He killed Littan soldiers?¡± Tavio asked, disbelieving.


    ¡°You should choose your party members more carefully,¡± I said. ¡°Gharifon is trouble as well. Maybe worse.¡±


    I hopped the barrier, then took one last look at the injured woman in the corner. Laying on the ground next to her, beside a set of dark leather armor, was a wide-brimmed hat. A memory of a Littan smoking a pipe sprang to mind, and then I rushed down after my allies, musing over how Tavio really had bad taste in allies. I hoped that the duchess he worked for wasn¡¯t the same, but I wasn¡¯t going to hold my breath.


    Tavio stopped the other Littans from pursuing us, and we soon found ourselves in front of the entrance to the Delve.


    It was little more than a stone archway that looked like it had been buried underground for centuries, likely longer, and had only recently been excavated. There was no door or tunnel beyond it, no indication that there was a facility of any kind that it led to. On the other side of the arch was just more dirt.


    I looked over the arch, briefly examining its plain surface. There were carved symbols in a language I didn¡¯t recognize, and while I suspected it was designed to house a portal, there was no obvious way to activate it.


    Before I could ask the party for ideas on how to jumpstart the thing, Etja reached out and ran her fingers along the arch. Reality shimmered before us and a silvery portal appeared.


    ¡°New portal color,¡± said Xim, peering into the swirling magic. ¡°Neat!¡± She slapped a hand onto its surface, then disappeared.


    The rest of us followed suit, and our journey into Deijin¡¯s Descent began.

 Chapter 123: Beginning the Descent

    Chapter 123: Beginning the Descent


    There was a tug at my gut and a sensation of weightlessness as the world blinked. An instant of darkness cut off my vision, and then a field of endless stars burst to life. The pinpricks of light shimmered in the black, turned a slight shade of blue, then began to slowly move in an arc. Each left a trail of light in its wake, and soon the universe was a mass of glowing azure circles.


    I was frozen, unable to move for several minutes. A chill invaded my body, and my lungs began to protest a lack of air as I couldn¡¯t even take a breath. Eventually, a pair of eyes opened before me, inches away. Had my muscles been responding, I would have flinched. My paralysis definitely saved me from letting out an undignified squeak.


    The eyes studied me with irises simultaneously dark as the void around me, while also radiating vibrant, prismatic light. As we stared at one another, I began to sense that the eyes were not inches from my face. I had nothing to act as a frame of reference for scale, but I knew that the eyes were distant¨Cas distant as the blue circles, which had begun to pulse and vibrate. I felt that each peering orb was vaster than an entire planet and that its scrutiny tore at the fabric of my existence.


    A deep sound thundered through the universe, like the tantara of a thousand horns rumbling across an endless sky. Then, as though a camera shutter clicked, there was another stutter of absolute darkness. Then, I found myself standing in a small, metallic chamber with runes covering every inch of its surface.


    My vision swam and I fell to my knees. Beside me, I heard the sound of retching and turned to find Nuralie on her hands and knees, expelling the remnants of her last meal. Oddly, the sight reminded me that I hadn¡¯t eaten since breakfast more than a day before and made me hungry, rather than disgusted.


    Xim knelt to my left, eyes staring into the middle distance. Varrin leaned against a wall, helmet off and gripping his head in both hands. Grotto floated to the ground and spread out his tentacles, apparently too unstable from the teleport to stay hovering. Etja was...


    Etja was totally unaffected, and she looked around at us with worry.


    ¡°Are you guys okay?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Fuck no,¡± said Xim in a hushed tone.


    ¡°What sights befell my mortal eyes?¡± asked Varrin in a hoarse whisper.


    We got some version of an answer when a system message appeared.


    You have survived the notice of a Divine being! You are granted +1 LCK!


    ¡°It appears that we encountered some sort of deity,¡± I said as the others looked over the same message. Just as I began to sigh and lament the trouble that accompanied leveling Luck, we got another message.


    You have survived the notice of a Divine being! You are granted +1 LCK!


    ¡°Does that mean there were two?¡± asked Xim. ¡°Or does that mean the one we ran into was a big deal?¡±


    I read over the notifications with creeping concern.


    ¡°Not sure we¡¯ll ever¨C¡±


    You have survived the notice of a Divine being! You are granted +1 LCK!


    You have survived the notice of a Divine being! You are granted +1 LCK!


    You have survived the notice of a Divine being! You are unable to gain additional training stats to Luck.


    ¡°Oh, shit,¡± said Xim. ¡°My Luck just got pushed up to 10.¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Mine as well,¡± said Varrin.


    Nuralie nodded, and I began to reply but paused again.


    Your mind and body have been subjected to incredible dimensional forces. Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased to level 22!


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased to level 23!


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased to level 24!


    You led your party through an encounter that was significantly above your level.


    Your Leadershipskill has increased to level 7!


    Your Leadershipskill has increased to level 8!


    Your Leadershipskill has increased to level 9!


    Your Leadershipskill has increased to level 10!


    ¡°Skill levels on top,¡± I said. ¡°We should take risky teleports more often.¡± I frowned after saying this, wondering whether the Leadership came from rushing the Littan camp, or surviving whatever the shit we¡¯d just survived. The Littan encounter made more sense.


    I looked at Etja. ¡°You seemed to handle whatever that was without a problem.¡±


    ¡°Compared to when I was born, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal,¡± she replied with a shrug. ¡°But it was interesting!¡±


    I reflected on the forces involved when Orexis violently shaped her body and soul from clay. She was even a clone of the avatar for a little while before morphing into the lovable, multi-limbed caster we now knew. That was probably an uncomfortable process, now that I thought about it.


    ¡°Nearly a full level from Luck alone,¡± said Varrin. ¡°My score was only 3, now I¡¯m up to 10. I also got a handful of skill levels.¡±


    There was another round of nods, then everyone began to study our surroundings in earnest. The stats and skill levels left me with two new evolutions to choose from, but I dismissed the notifications to get my bearings as well.Alll latest novels at novelhall.com


    The room was small¨Cabout a hundred square feet¨Cwith cylindrical walls. Unfamiliar glyphs of varying sizes covered every surface. There was a regular pattern of large symbols the size of my torso with the space between them filled tightly with smaller engraved runes, some tinier than my pinky nail. Aside from that, the chamber was empty.


    ¡°This is Celestial!¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Language of the divine,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Not too surprising, but tells us that whoever made this place could harness words of power.¡±


    ¡°First,¡± I said, pointing at Varrin, ¡°putting the question of what the hell that means on the back burner, but you have my curiosity. Second,¡± I said, pointing at Etja, ¡°what¡¯s it say?¡±


    ¡°With Celestial, a lot of nuance gets lost in translation,¡± she said. ¡°Normal language can¡¯t express the ideas with the same clarity and precision, so keep that in mind.¡± She stepped away from the wall and reviewed the text further.


    ¡°Welcome,¡± Etja read. ¡°You have proven yourselves worthy of undergoing the trial. Based on my understanding of the¨C¡± She paused and furrowed her brow. ¡°Based on my understanding of the ¡®tethered¡¯ world, this is a laudable achievement. Do not rejoice, however. Your path is incomplete and the risks to your lives are, uh... the risks to your lives are manifold.


    ¡°If any of your number had failed to appear within this chamber, know that they would have perished for lacking conviction. This is but the beginning. The challenges do not change¨Cor, they don¡¯t get easier. It means both. The challenges do not change if the number of party members is ¡®reduced¡¯.¡± Etja stopped and squinted. ¡°This one is tricky... Um, ¡®cherish¡¯ your allies, for their survival is your own.


    ¡°While this Delve has been created to test you, it has not been created to ¡®slaughter¡¯ talented individuals needlessly. You will each be evaluated, and remedial measures may be offered to ensure that you have reaped the appropriate rewards from the System before continuing the trial.


    ¡°To begin, place your hands on the... the nodes? The confluences?¡± Etja looked frustrated with translating the final word until five luminous rings appeared on the wall. ¡°The glowy circles!¡± she said triumphantly.


    We all exchanged a few looks. As a group, we were apprehensive but determined. Without discussion, we each touched the rings.


    A gentle vibration ran through my body, leaving me with skittering goosebumps. The process took only a second, and then the text changed.


    ¡°All party members are at Delver level 6,¡± Etja said, reading the new script. ¡°Suggested Delver level: 10. Incomplete active, passive, and intrinsic skill catalogs. Equipment evaluation...¡± Etja paused as her eyes ran ahead. She turned to look at me. ¡°It says everyone is adequate but it suggests a few upgrades, especially your armor.¡±


    ¡°No surprises there,¡± I said, feeling the holes in my steel breastplate beneath the discount-camo blankets strapped to my body.


    ¡°It says that it¡¯s really bad.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡±


    ¡°It harps on it a lot,¡± she continued without pause or hesitation. ¡°It says it¡¯s surprising you even made it here without dying.¡± I gave her a blank stare in reply. ¡°It just makes it seem really important that you do something about it.¡±


    ¡°Fucking hell, can we move on? What am I supposed to do, carve a new breastplate out of the damn walls?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just telling you what it says, Arlo,¡± said Xim. ¡°Don¡¯t get mad about it.¡±


    ¡°Never shoot the messenger,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It¡¯s bad tactics.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad at her!¡± I said, waving an arm in frustration. ¡°This Celestial thing is being a dick!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s right, though,¡± Xim countered.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say it wasn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Etja said. She cleared her throat and continued. ¡°Remedial measures are strongly encouraged. Would you like to initiate remedial measures? Yes/No.¡± She turned and gave me a questioning look.


    ¡°Anyone opposed?¡± I asked, putting aside my irritation.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Delve,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Whatever these remedial measures are, they won¡¯t be a handout.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Xim. ¡°It might teleport us to four Delves in a row or something.¡±


    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± I asked.


    Varrin held out a hand and gently made a fist.


    ¡°Our skills,¡± he said, looking forlorn. ¡°When will we level our skills?¡±


    ¡°While killing shit,¡± said Xim. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m with Xim,¡± I said. ¡°Unless you want to stand here and train until we¡¯ve each got 200 total intrinsic levels.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he said, hanging his head. ¡°Let¡¯s move forward.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I turned back to Etja. ¡°We¡¯ll do what it suggests.¡±


    Etja smiled and looked back to the text. She stood there for a while, and then her smile faded.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t say how to accept it,¡± she said.


    ¡°I mean...¡± I stroked my beard as I thought. I decided to go with the simplest potential solution. ¡°Oh great and mysterious being of Deijin¡¯s Descent, we acknowledge that we suck and accept your offer of remedial measures.¡±


    Gears began clicking and the hiss of sliding metal sounded as a large panel of the wall slid into the ground. It revealed a wide doorway leading to a dimly lit tunnel.


    ¡°Delves need more variety in their architecture,¡± I said, studying the plain, rectangular hallway. ¡°Nonetheless, tally-ho!¡± I marched forward into the dark, with the party close behind.


    At the other end, we found a massive and incredibly well-equipped training facility. The scale alone was breathtaking, stretching for miles in every direction and with a ceiling as high as a modern skyscraper. On the far side of the facility was a large portal, surrounded by an archway. Carvings of countless monsters were set into the arch, with forms varying from supreme beauty to something that made you want to delete your eyeballs. As we entered, we got a notification.


    Reach level 10 in 30 days or less.

 Chapter 124: Dread Star

    Chapter 124: Dread Star


    ¡°Hot damn,¡± I said, looking over the massive space.


    The area was partially set up like an expo or swap meet, with fairly open regions exposed to a large central path running between them. Of course, the Delve¡¯s Big Honkin¡¯ Training Expo had booths several hundred times larger than one might see at their local crafts fair. I could also spot several areas that were completely walled off, possibly for skills or professions that didn¡¯t play well with others.


    At a glance, I could see dedicated space, equipment, and supplies for working on a half dozen skills directly in front of us. One was full of cloth and other textiles, including a wide selection of leather¨Cboth tanned and raw. Another was filled with an orchestra¡¯s worth of musical instruments and had a small stage with comfy-looking chairs set before it. There was even what looked like a rudimentary machine shop, full of raw materials along with gears, springs, and various other small gizmos and trinkets that I couldn¡¯t name because I didn¡¯t know shit about mechanical engineering.


    Intrinsic skills came in all shapes and sizes. Each one had some way to benefit a Delver. Even the skills that seemed esoteric, like Animal Husbandry, could be put to effective use inside a Delve. Outside of a Delve, skills that focused on things like Mercantile were more useful than something that might be superior within a Delve like Athletics. Still, there was an argument to be made that being able to procure equipment at low, low prices or amassing vast hordes of wealth were both helpful when conquering a Delve. Money might not be able to buy happiness, but it sure as hell could buy sweet gear. The point is, there was a skill to complement any mortal pursuit, and they all had value.


    That being said, deeper in is where we found the good stuff.


    Racks of armor and melee weapons that went on for hundreds of feet. An entire bowyer and archery range that covered more than a square mile. Obstacle courses that could simulate any weather condition. A combat arena the fucking size of a modern football stadium. A veritable army of magic-resistant target dummies ready to be abused by spells.


    These were the training halls for people of action, more action, and who had a skewed perspective on the quantity of violence that should exist within a healthy work-life balance.


    Each space was also accompanied by a library of texts covering all aspects of the attendant skill, ranging from things as simple as Baby¡¯s First Sword to more advanced material like Bleed Effects for the Master Exsanguinator. The place was designed to take anyone from zero to hero in any skill imaginable, and we had it all to ourselves. I was practically drooling.


    But, we only had it for 30 days, and Varrin immediately killed my buzz by further shortening that timeline.


    ¡°We can¡¯t get Delver levels from training skills,¡± he said. ¡°I assume that the portal takes us to a Delve or other challenge with an obelisk.¡±


    ¡°Thirty days to reach level 10,¡± Xim muttered. ¡°So, we¡¯ll need to clear whatever is through the portal before that timer runs out.¡±


    None of us had to ask what the penalty for failing the objective was. Unless the notification said otherwise, there was only ever one penalty for failure: death.


    ¡°The question is,¡± Varrin continued, ¡°will it force us to undergo four Delves in a row? If so, how long will that take?¡±


    Without any good answers to those questions, we made our way to the portal in search of clues. The gate was nearly a hundred feet tall, and we studied the engravings along its arch intently, searching for any hint as to what lay beyond. All of the carvings were representations of monsters, which gave us little information beyond the implication that what lay on the other side would be... monsters. However, there was a single line of text on the wall beside the portal, written in Celestial. Sadly, it wasn¡¯t terribly helpful.


    ¡°Take with you only what you owned when entering,¡± Etja read, ¡°and what you have crafted while inside.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t stuff the whole alchemy lab in my inventory,¡± I said. ¡°Dang.¡±


    ¡°Some of the raw materials alone are incredibly valuable,¡± said Varrin. ¡°That lab had entire chests full of ruby chips. Pocketing those items would be more efficient if one wanted to steal.¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± I said. ¡°I could fit most of this stuff in the Closet.¡± That elicited a few curious looks.


    ¡°How fucking big is the Closet now?¡± asked Xim.UppTodated from


    I opened my inventory screen and took a look.


    ¡°A little under 5 cubic miles. Half of that can be assigned as inventory.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡± Xim tried to wrap her head around the scale, then jumped into the air to survey the training space. She had a 20-foot vertical, so she could get a much better view over the lower structures with the leap. She landed with ease and turned back to me. ¡°I think this place is bigger.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s mostly empty space,¡± I said. ¡°I bet I could shove all the actual stuff inside my inventory. Well, maybe not the damn colosseum, but you get the idea.¡±


    ¡°Regardless, it¡¯s forbidden,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Unless I make a colosseum,¡± I said, scratching my chin.


    Varrin rolled his eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s our plan?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Well, the longest that a Delve has taken us is around 3 days,¡± I said. ¡°If we have to do 4 in a row, then 12 days would be a safe amount of time. On the other hand, look at all this incredible shit we have access to.¡±


    ¡°We could have done the Mimic Delve faster,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°That would have been irresponsible,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°What¡¯s irresponsible is not taking advantage of this place for as long as possible,¡± I argued. ¡°Most Delves take a day or less. If we assume we can progress at our average Delve speed, that¡¯d be something like 30 hours per Delve. So, 5 days.¡±


    ¡°With no rest in between,¡± Varrin grumbled.


    ¡°This place could be a honey pot,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Designed to keep us here.¡± Pause. ¡°Whatever is through that portal might take the full 30 days.¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°I doubt it. That Celestial person said that our intrinsic skill catalogs were ¡®incomplete¡¯. If the remedial measures are meant to help us fix our shit, we¡¯re supposed to use this place. Besides¨C¡± I gestured broadly at the surroundings. ¡°You think they¡¯d go to this much effort for a trick?¡±


    ¡°Depends on who ¡®they¡¯ are,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°The Old Ones? The System?¡± I said. ¡°When has an objective ever lied to try and trick us into killing ourselves?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be lying,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The objective tells us to gain Delver levels. It did not say anything about leveling our skills. Whatever that entity told us about remedial measures is external to the objective.¡±


    [There will be a Delve Core here as well,] Grotto chimed in.[We are not categorically opposed to deception. Although I admit that this would be an incredible dedication of resources for a simple trap.]


    ¡°This Delve is meant to test us, right?¡± I said. ¡°If this is a trap, then what would it be testing? Our ability to pass up on a good thing? The simplest explanation is that we¡¯re intended to train here and proceed when we feel confident in speed-running our way to level 10.¡±


    ¡°We could probably already do that,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Regardless of the religious implications,¡± said Varrin, ¡°the evolution is excellent.¡±


    ¡°If it works with all three Eschen gods, then it¡¯s even stronger,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Assuming that it works that way,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°I have not been very devout during my time in Hiward.¡±


    Xim reached over and placed her hand on Nuralie¡¯s.


    ¡°We all stray,¡± she said. ¡°Once we return, our faith is stronger for it.¡±


    Nuralie''s eyes darted to her, then back to the table. She swallowed, then sat up straight in her chair. She shifted her gaze between a few invisible screens, then let out a breath.


    ¡°I accepted it,¡± she said. ¡°Now I would prefer that we move on to¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°someone else.¡±


    I rapped a knuckle on the table.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a Leadership evolution,¡± I said. ¡°The first two options take work and I don¡¯t like them. The third option, however, is objectively perfect.¡± I shared the screen with the party.


    Auradin


    The effects of your auras on allies are 1% stronger per level of Leadership.


    ¡°More health regen?¡± said Xim. ¡°I won¡¯t complain.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± I said. ¡°Who Needs a Cleric? is really strong at low level, but the bonus to regen it gives is linear, while health grows exponentially with Fortitude. This will help it keep up while giving me an excuse to pick up a second aura if I see one I like.¡±


    ¡°I assume this is another aura ability mentioned in that book Umi-Doo gave you?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°Yes, it is,¡± I said. ¡°Feel free to apologize for insulting my choice of an aura passive when we first met.¡±


    ¡°You never apologized?¡± asked Xim, giving Varrin a motherly glare. ¡°That aura saved our lives in The Toxic Grotto!¡±


    ¡°I apologized,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°When?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I apologized generally,¡± he said. ¡°For my behavior during the Creation Delve.¡±


    Xim shook her head in disappointment.


    ¡°I think you need to look Arlo in the eye,¡± she said, ¡°and tell him that auras are the greatest.¡±


    ¡°That would go a long way to restoring our friendship,¡± I said, placing my hands behind my head and relaxing back in my chair.


    ¡°I¡¯m too tired for this,¡± said Varrin. ¡°But, fine.¡± He locked me with a murderous stare. ¡°Auras are the greatest, my dearest friend Arlo.¡±


    ¡°Kind of feel like I need to sleep with one eye open from now on, but thanks.¡±


    ¡°Luck!¡± shouted Xim, startling me. ¡°I got the one that makes me hit sometimes when I would have missed.¡±


    ¡°Like that ring we found?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s better because it¡¯s not a gaudy ring and doesn¡¯t have charges or take up an item slot.¡±


    ¡°Mine are all crit related,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I¡¯m taking the one that gives me a 10% chance to deal double damage with melee attacks.¡±


    ¡°Same,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°For ranged attacks, though.¡±


    ¡°I got crits for spells!¡± said Etja. ¡°What about you, Arlo?¡±


    I pulled up my evolutions for the execrated stat of Luck, having ignored them so far out of principle.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± I said as I reviewed the first option.


    1) Divine Favor of Ju''Ro''Qi, The Dread Star of Heaven: Speak the Dread Star¡¯s true name and be seen. Ask one question and be answered. Should you survive the Dread Star¡¯s truth, forget its name for seven days.


    I drummed my fingers on the table.


    ¡°Just what I always wanted,¡± I said. ¡°Some cryptic bullshit.¡±


    I put my thoughts about the portentous text on hold and moved down to the next option.


    2) Divine Favor of Ju''Ro''Qi, The Dread Star of Heaven: Speak the Dread Star¡¯s true name and be seen. Ask one question and be answered. Should you survive the Dread Star¡¯s truth, forget its name for seven days.


    I froze, beginning to realize that something was deeply wrong with my evolution choices. I looked at the third option and was met with exactly what I expected.


    3) Divine Favor of Ju''Ro''Qi, The Dread Star of Heaven: Speak the...


    I stared at the three identical choices and then showed the text to my party members.


    An eerie chill filled the air as they read, and I started to appreciate how fucked up the options were when Varrin began weeping blood.

 Chapter 125: Eldritch Doom and Scheduling!

    Chapter 125: Eldritch Doom and Scheduling!


    Xim recoiled from the shared text, whatever desire she¡¯d held for experiencing god-like secrets fleeing from her. Etja wore a grim expression like I¡¯d never seen. Grotto¡¯s eyes flitted from side to side as he read and re-read the notification, seemingly undeterred by whatever force was impacting the others. When I glanced at Nuralie, she looked between the others with unease.


    Varrin batted at the air, physically dismissing the shared message, then stood and staggered away from the table. He clutched at his gut and doubled over, looking like he was about to return the food the magical kitchen had gifted us. Xim got to her feet and followed, placing a hand on his back and sending a Heal into him. I turned and raised an eyebrow at Nuralie.


    ¡°What?¡± she said. ¡°Your evolutions are always disturbing.¡± Pause. ¡°I stopped looking at them.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I grimaced and scratched the back of my head. ¡°Probably for the best.¡±


    [Why do you break everything?] Grotto thought, giving me an accusatory glare.


    ¡°You think I choose to have the System treat me like its pet monster? It¡¯s been offering me evos with horrifying implications since day 1!¡±


    [Your presence invites disruption, regardless of culpability. And do not blame the System, it had no hand in this.]


    ¡°Sorry, what?¡± I¡¯d looked away from my familiar to check on Xim and Varrin while he rebuked me for things out of my control. The big guy was standing straight again, though he was supporting himself with a hand on the metallic wall. He¡¯d managed to keep dinner down.


    [The text returns an error message when I view it. ¡°Evolution choices have been overridden by an outside force.¡± Some unknown entity has intervened on your behalf.]


    ¡°Saying it¡¯s on my behalf implies a positive meaning that I¡¯m not sure I agree with.¡±


    [Nevertheless, something has interfered because it has taken note of you. No one else received such an option.]


    I narrowed my eyes at the mini-c¡¯thon, but chose not to engage further in the petty argument.


    ¡°What did everyone else see?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I cannot remember,¡± Varrin growled. He turned, one trembling hand gripping his sword hilt tightly. ¡°Something about speaking with... something. I grow tired of being battered by the wake of domineering creatures.¡±


    ¡°It had a divine nature,¡± Xim said. ¡°But it was so far beyond anything¨C¡± Her voice caught and she swallowed. ¡°What did it tell you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Etja said, fixing me with grave eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t speak the name.¡±


    I thought twice about telling the others anything about the evolution as I appraised Etja. Her entire body was wound tight, looking almost like a stranger inhabited her. The thought left a sinking feeling in my gut, given her history.


    ¡°It offered me the ability to ask someone a question,¡± I said slowly, not looking away from Etja. ¡°It hinted¨Cnot so subtly¨Cthat receiving an answer would be very dangerous. It has a one-week cooldown, sort of.¡±


    ¡°Sort of?¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°It makes me forget the, uh, code word to use it for seven days.¡±


    Pause. ¡°Code word?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a true name,¡± said Etja. ¡°I couldn¡¯t read it, but the feeling I got when trying was unmistakable.¡±


    ¡°True name, like it gives me power over the entity?¡± I asked. Etja shook her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s so wrong, it¡¯s dangerous. A being will always know when its true name is spoken. It doesn¡¯t matter how far away you are, even if entire realities separate you. No spell or weave can stop it. It will know absolutely, and it will know who spoke it and where they are.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I skip the Luck evolution,¡± I said.


    ¡°And risk offending something this powerful?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°If it really wanted to talk, I feel like it would just swoop in and grab me up for a conversation. Having an option to choose feels like a trap.¡±


    [Some magics require that a choice be offered,] Grotto thought to us, his feelers anxiously snaking through the air.[Many functions of the System operate under that rule, for instance.]


    ¡°I¡¯m getting pretty strong ¡®demonic pact¡¯ vibes from this,¡± I said.


    ¡°Does it require any sort of payment?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°I mean, aside from having an evolution burned into my body and soul, no.¡± I reviewed the text again. ¡°Wait, if I can see the true name in the description, do I even need the evolution?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it¡¯s demonic, but pacts with more powerful beings are real,¡± said Xim. ¡°It sounds like choosing the evolution is part of the pact. If there¡¯s no payment, are there restrictions?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I get one question, then seven days of name amnesia.¡±


    ¡°Then saying the name without agreeing to the rules would be like...¡±


    ¡°Right. Like any agreement without a contract,¡± I finished. ¡°You¡¯d be depending on the good faith of the other party not to screw you, while they¡¯d be watching for you to try and cheat them as well.¡±


    ¡°I was going to say it was like dueling without agreeing not to kill each other first, but sure.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t say that it won¡¯t try to kill me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably implied,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°I like my terms to be express, but I get it. No way to cheese my way around the evo if I want to contact this thing.¡±


    ¡°Did you use cheese as a verb?¡± asked Xim. ¡°Why?¡±Alll latest novels at novelhall.com


    ¡°It means to use an exploit or find an easy way to do something that¡¯s supposed to be hard.¡±


    ¡°What does that translate to cheese?¡± she asked.


    ¡°He eats people,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°They¡¯re bad people, though.¡±


    [He would consume anyone in this room without hesitation if he did not view you as a superior predator.]


    ¡°Grotto has also been responsible for countless deaths,¡± Varrin added.


    [Those were acts taken as part of my duties as a Delve Core. Those people knew what they would face when they entered my Delve.]


    ¡°First time we met,¡± said Xim, ¡°you tried to mind-control us into getting our organs scooped out by a psychopath.¡±


    Grotto¡¯s feelers twisted.


    [I was coerced.]


    ¡°It¡¯s Smithing!¡± I said, trying to re-rail the conversation.


    ¡°Good choice!¡± said Etja. ¡°You can make new armor for yourself. The Celestial voice was super-concerned about your¨C¡±


    ¡°I know what it said,¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°What about you, Varrin?¡± Etja asked.


    ¡°Blades,¡± said Xim, Nuralie, and I at the same time. Varrin crossed his arms and looked affronted.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even give me a chance to respond.¡± I gave him some side-eye.


    ¡°What are you planning to work on, Varrin?¡± I asked, monotone.


    He fidgeted, tapping a finger on his bicep.


    ¡°Blades,¡± he said. ¡°I think I can get it to the level 40 evolution if I focus on it exclusively.¡±


    ¡°Aaaanyway,¡± I said. ¡°I can summon Shog tomorrow if you want a sparring partner. I should still have sixteen hours on the cooldown. Let me check.¡± I brought up Dimensional Summon and took a look. ¡°Or the cooldown has already reset. Geez, how long were we in that portal?¡±


    ¡°You could summon Shog and we can ask him,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Are you suggesting that I Consort with Evil to uncover hidden truths?¡± I grinned, already casting the spell. A portal tore open the universe, and a mass of feelers, muscular limbs, and a body-fat percentage that would make any professional body builder envious floated out.


    ¡°Slayer, I am glad to see you did not perish. That nest of mice was more impressive than I expected.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Shog. Glad that you¡¯re okay as well. See, guys? Would someone who¡¯s evil care so much about my well-being?¡±


    ¡°Shog, why are you glad Arlo¡¯s alive?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Had he passed on, demoness, it would be more difficult to acquire Delvers to consume.¡± He pulled out his rapier and saber, his stolen Littan hands flexing along their grips at the end of two long feelers.¡°The power I gained by feasting on the gaudy one was unparalleled.¡±


    She gave me a fierce ¡®see-what-I-mean?¡¯ expression, then turned back to the c¡¯thon.


    ¡°Still not a demon.¡±


    ¡°As you say, demoness.¡± Xim¡¯s mouth made a line thinner than Bible paper.


    ¡°How long has it been since I dismissed you, Shog?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I have seen 71 sunrises since our last battle together.¡±


    My eyes went wide as I blanched.


    ¡°More than two months?!¡±


    [Are the days on your planet longer or shorter than those here?] asked Grotto. I nodded enthusiastically, hoping that Shog¡¯s planet had a faster rotation.


    ¡°I believe they are longer. If so, it is not by much.¡±


    You could hear a lighter pin drop.


    ¡°I¡¯m just... I¡¯m gonna pretend I didn¡¯t hear that.¡±


    ¡°They probably think we¡¯re dead,¡± said Xim, as calm as someone reporting on the weather. Slightly overcast with a chance of widespread destruction. Not too hot, though.


    ¡°Like so many other things, this changes nothing,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We are not powerful enough that our presence in Arzia would deter the avatars from causing further damage, and our party cannot afford to further antagonize the Littans. What we have already done in Eschendur will bring down a great deal of political scrutiny. Our absence will not be missed, and we have been given time for the Littans to forget about us.¡±


    Varrin¡¯s appraisal was a touch callous, but he was right. We were teetering on the edge of being an Eschen military asset. He also reminded me that, despite our meteoric growth, we weren¡¯t very important on a global scale.


    ¡°Then we need to work on becoming powerful enough to deter the avatars,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Which will also make us more resistant to political bullshit,¡± I added. ¡°We have our work cut out for us. If no one else has anything to add, we should start milking this place for everything we can.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± said Etja, pumping a fist into the air. ¡°Then we can use that milk to cheese our way to greatness!¡±

 Chapter 126: Crafts!

    Chapter 126: Crafts!


    One might wonder why our party valued the Training Expo so much. The short answer is that it was going to save us a hell of a lot of time. The long answer is:


    Arlo¡¯s Treatise on Why Varrin Goes Bananas for Intrinsic Skill Levels


    Delvers have access to three types of skills: actives, passives, and intrinsics. I like to think of the relationship between these three as that of a murderous jazz trio.


    Actives are the essential skills that let you do things like cast spells or use techniques. A Delver is limited to 10 total, and there are few (painful) ways known to swap them around. These represent the flashy lead instrument in a Delver¡¯s arsenal. The sexy tenor saxophone played by a mysterious man wearing sunglasses in a dark and smoky club. They need the shades ¡®cause they¡¯re in the spotlight. Summoning Shog, Oblivion Orb, and Dispel are three fine examples.


    Passive skills are powerful buffs that always exist in the background. There are only 4, and if there is a way to change them, no one talks about it openly. A good passive will help to determine the entire approach a Delver takes to their build. They¡¯re the bedrock, the bass guitar played by a nondescript person in the shadows. Easily forgotten, but sorely missed when they¡¯re absent. My aura is a passive.


    Intrinsic skills are the percussion, the drums, a technical player with impeccable timing who lays down the tempo for everyone else. While the crowd¡¯s attention is focused on the lead, an amazing lead cannot overcome a bad percussionist. A solid percussionist, however, can elevate an entire group of mediocre musicians. Blunt, Shields, and Dimensional Magic are three of my main intrinsics. They are the easiest of the three categories to swap out, but doing so costs all of the skill¡¯s progression and starts you back at level 1 with the new skill.


    Most intrinsic skills have passive effects that scale as the skill levels, such as the escalating physical defense granted by Heavy Armor. Intrinsic skills also determine the power of some aspect of most active skills. Dimensional Magic has just as much of an impact on the damage of my Oblivion Orb as my Intelligence. But the most satisfying part of intrinsics is the evolutions.


    There are five break points for evolutions, which are the same as the break points for stats: levels 10, 20, 40, 70, and 100. Evolutions might significantly boost a Delver¡¯s build efficacy, offer the chance to take powerful actives, or even grant new abilities that don¡¯t count against the active skill cap. While attribute evolutions affect general aspects of a Delver¡¯s potency, intrinsic evolutions are laser-focused and more powerful for the specific competency they are evolving. Strength is great for swinging a hammer, but Blunt is usually better.


    Because of their significant impact on potency, most Delvers have strict goals for their intrinsic growth before they are willing to tackle the next level of Delves. Training intrinsic skills takes time, however, and is thus the main bottleneck for most Delvers trying to advance through Delver levels. This goal is generally defined by a Delver¡¯s total number of intrinsic skill levels.


    For Coppers... it¡¯s honestly not that big of a deal because Copper is trash and boring to talk about. Silvers generally want to gain 3 levels in total intrinsics between each Delve, which translates to 12 skill levels per Delver level. This will place Silvers at 90 total intrinsic skill levels by the time they¡¯re done with 30 Silver Delves, which is typically when they drop down a difficulty to Copper.


    Golds aim for 7 levels in total intrinsics between each Delve, which is 14 skill levels per Delver level. That gives them 210 total skill levels by the time they¡¯re done with 30 Gold Delves before they drop down to Silver. When I fought Yaretzi, he was level 17, full Gold, which is more gold Delves than the typical progression. Assuming that he followed a standard skill formula, he would have had 238 total intrinsic skill levels at minimum.


    Platinums are rare enough not to have a common standard, but Varrin¡¯s push is for us to gain 20 levels in total intrinsics per Delver level. This is, of course, something at which we have failed gloriously, given our manic pace through the lower levels. Our training stats allowed us to make up for the lack of robust intrinsics, but it¡¯s a deficit that has caught up with us some.


    So, to be a well-rounded and healthy level 10 Platinum¨Caccording to Varrin¨CI needed to have 200 total intrinsic skill levels. One way to accomplish that would be to have all 10 intrinsic slots filled, with an average skill level of 20. This formula starts to break down once total intrinsics gets close to 400 since getting skills above 40 takes a lot more effort focused on specific accomplishments. But, If we were to take it all the way through Platinum, we¡¯d have 600 skill levels after 30 Delves.


    I had 8 intrinsic skills and 135 total intrinsic levels. That put me in a good place for level 6, though I¡¯d had a deficit before my training with Khigra, the fight with Yaretzi and the Littan military, and my encounter with whatever the shit was in that portal. Probably the Dread Star¨Cthe jerk responsible for my dictated Luck evolution¨Cif I had to take a guess.


    An average Delver could generally get 1 intrinsic skill level per month. The lower levels heavily weight that figure since getting intrinsic skills to level 10 is pretty quick, and then there¡¯s a significant slow-down between each evolution. Regardless, at an ¡®average¡¯ pace it¡¯d take me 5-and-a-half years to bridge the gap between 135 and 200. Ain¡¯t nobody got time for that.


    Most Delvers were nobles with important noble duties like collecting taxes, attending balls, and spending their money. They also do some governing, but that¡¯s more of a side gig. This means that most Delvers were not working on their skills full-time. Intrinsic skill growth was also gated by the limited availability of scarce resources, monopolization of competent trainers by the wealthiest families, and the general hoarding of knowledge by, well, everyone. Even an expert hired to help a Delver skill up won¡¯t divulge their most sensitive secrets, and no amount of money can buy you a crafting material that no one has.


    Inside the Training Expo, our party suffered from none of these limitations.


    The Smithing zone consisted of a small library, a smithy, and a mana-weaving studio. The library contained texts that would guide a Delver from their first level in Smithing, with comprehensive manuals and treatises up to level 40. There were some books that spoke to advanced techniques above that level range, but leveling after 40 was heavily impacted by the individual. There wasn¡¯t much ¡®standard¡¯ advice, just examples of what had been accomplished by others in the past.


    The smithy was a comprehensive forge and workshop. Notably, it contained a mana-powered furnace¨Can emerald chip provided practically unlimited fuel¨Cand more ingots of various metals than I could hope to use in the time I had. These included mundane iron and steel, Madrin, dark iron, various precious metals, and something I¡¯d never seen before. The manuals referred to the metal as verdantum, and it had inherent self-repairing and poison-resistant properties. There was even some frozen steel and a small, inverted forge to work it, which was covered in a perpetual layer of frost and emitted a glistening vapor.


    The mana-weaving studio was a blessed addition to the space that I was excited to find. Mana-weaving was an important component of most crafts, although it was not mandatory. Most crafters chose to incorporate at least some weaving, but others often specialized in manipulating the base materials, which were then handed off to those who focused on weaves. Mana-weaving was the part of Smithing that I was most interested in, and I¡¯d even gotten a head start on it by memorizing a book gifted to me by Umi-Doo.


    While I was looking through this treasure trove of resources like it was my birthday and I was turning an age young enough that people still cared, Grotto discovered what may have been the most important addition. There was a metallic orb covered in runes set into an alcove of the workshop that looked much like a Delve Core. When Grotto poked it with a bit of mana, the runes lit up and it floated into the air to greet us. While it wasn¡¯t a fully-fledged murder ball like my familiar, it had a complete internal library of interactive experts to guide my progress. These could be projected like straight-up sci-fi holograms to demonstrate the more physical aspects of the craft and give me appropriately disappointed glares when I sucked at something. I decided to name the core Smith.


    I had unlimited materials, a wealth of available knowledge, a menagerie of experts to teach me, and no external demands on my time. Aside from the looming death clock.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I also had the +100% progression bonus to crafting from my human racial boon.


    Extension. With 1 second of concentration, the chain can magically lengthen ;) itself up to twice its normal length, or shorten :( itself to half its length. The maximum length is doubled :D and the minimum length is halved :((( for each evolution you have in Smithing other than this one.Resilience. The maximum weight the chain can support is doubled for each evolution you have in Smithing.Animation. You can issue commands to the chain, which it will perform. The chain gains a movement speed equal to your Smithing skill in feet per second and can fly, though at least one link of the chain must be touching the ground for it to move. If it takes an action that requires an attribute or skill (such as unarmed ¡®grappling¡¯) it uses the attributes and skill levels of its commander. It cannot make attacks or contests. With 3 seconds of concentration, you can relinquish command of the chain to another individual; if you do¨Cwhich we bet you will¨Cyou may no longer issue commands to the chain unless they relinquish command back to you.


    Verdantum Bascinet of the Soul


    Requirements: 10 STR, 10 CHA


    Armor Rating: Medium-high


    Effects: Spiritual DR +20, +2% Poison Resistance, Self-repair


    Verdantum Cuirass of the Redoubt


    Requirements: 10 STR, 10 STR


    Armor Rating: Medium-high


    Effects: Physical DR +20, +4% Poison Resistance, Self-repair


    Verdantum Gauntlets of the Catapult


    Requirements: 10 STR, 10 AGI


    Armor Rating: Medium-high


    Effects: +20 thrown weapon damage, +1% Poison Resistance, Self-repair


    Verdantum Leg Harness of the Traveler


    Requirements: 10 STR, 10 WIS


    Armor Rating: Medium-high


    Effects: -20% to teleportation mana cost and cooldown, +2% Poison Resistance, Self-repair


    Verdantum Sabatons of the Quickfoot


    Requirements: 10 STR, 10 AGI


    Armor Rating: Medium-high


    Effects: +20% movement speed, +1% Poison Resistance, Self-repair


    After sequestering myself in the smithy for three weeks, I finished the set with a day to spare. The armor was naturally a forest-green hue, and I decided to leave it as-is. I used my extra time to attach a series of small loops to secure my feather boa and was happy with how the violet and fuchsia mingled with the green. It was like I¡¯d become a beautiful flower, emerging at the end of a miserable, steely winter.


    I¡¯d also opted for a closed-face helm which hid some of my glory, but protecting the money-maker took precedence. I made a mental note to acquire a colorful feather plume to attach to the top. Something to match my boa would really bring the whole set together. My vest, unfortunately, had to be worn beneath the armor. The cuirass was too bulky for it to fit on top.


    Finally, after a good night¡¯s sleep and a hearty breakfast where the party went over our gains, we prepared ourselves to enter the portal.


    Powerleveling is what we had for lunch.

 Chapter 127: Monster Battle

    Chapter 127: Monster Battle


    ¡°We don¡¯t know what¡¯s through this portal,¡± I said. ¡°If it¡¯s a Delve, we need to hit the ground running.¡±


    ¡°We should still move with caution,¡± said Varrin. ¡°But we should spend as little time looking at the scenery as possible.¡± He gave both Xim and me a pointed look.


    Xim crossed her arms.


    ¡°Hey, I only waste time looking around for research purposes,¡± she said.


    I mirrored her body language.


    ¡°And I only waste time,¡± I said. Varrin raised an eyebrow, waiting for the second half of my statement. There was no second half to my statement.


    ¡°We can lean on our stat advantage,¡± he continued. ¡°Overwhelm the regular enemies with aggressive tactics without relying on intricate tricks that take time to set up.¡±


    ¡°Bad time to be stingy, as well,¡± I added. ¡°We can¡¯t worry about burning consumables.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t drink a potion if you¡¯re dead,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°We have many,¡± said Nuralie. She¡¯d spent nearly half her time in the Training Expo concocting, focusing on formulas she could make efficiently. She¡¯d already handed us each a dozen health and mana potions.


    ¡°Alright, standard diamond formation,¡± I said. ¡°Shog, you¡¯re in the front with me. Grotto, stick with Xim for now in case you need to buff her Heart of Scary spell.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what it¡¯s called,¡± Xim said, scrunching her nose.


    ¡°The real name¡¯s too long. Does anyone else have business before we enter?¡± No one volunteered anything. ¡°Okay, buffs up.¡±Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    I cast Life Warden on Etja while Xim placed her blessings of Pounding and Hunger on Varrin. With everyone set, I squared my shoulders and stepped through the massive portal. This time there was no intermission within a mind-crushing non-space.


    I exited into a chamber lit by a bright, blue-green hue. Large plants glowed with bioluminescent light, each more than twenty feet high. Their leaves were the size of sedans and dripped with condensed moisture from the humid air. My boots crunched on coarse soil as I moved from in front of the portal. Shog came through next, quickly followed by the others.


    I scanned the space for any signs of enemies but saw none. I took a moment to inspect the ground, finding it interspersed with fist-sized rocks. The dirt was amassed into small clumps that broke into granular pieces each the size of a grain of rice. I looked back up to the plants, finding tall, thin stalks rising between the leafy bushes. I walked up to one, still keeping an eye out for danger. It looked like a massive stalk of grass. Taking in the area as a whole, I felt like I¡¯d been shrunk down and dropped onto a forest floor.


    The ceiling was only forty feet above us, however, and there were no impossibly large trees or other vegetation, so I put the theory of Honey, I Shrunk the Delvers out of my mind. Once everyone else had gotten their bearings, we exchanged silent nods and moved forward.


    After passing the first group of leafy bushes, we found an obelisk less than fifty feet ahead.


    ¡°Uh, that was quick,¡± I whispered.


    Shog hovered up beside me, while everyone else gathered behind.


    ¡°Did it take us straight to the end?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°I-¡± Shog¡¯s hand on my shoulder interrupted me.


    His long, too-many-jointed fingers wrapped all the way down to my chest. I was momentarily distracted by his razor-sharp claws tapping on my armor and the closeness of his thick, powerful feelers. It reminded me that my summon was 8 feet of floating, unadulterated horror.


    I gave him a questioning glance, and he gestured above us with a tilt of his head. I looked up and spotted a large creature clinging to the ceiling between the leaves. As my eyes landed on it, it dropped, its body tearing through the vegetation and landing on the ground with enough force to send tremors through my body.


    The monster was the size of an elephant, rising ten feet off the ground and more than twenty feet long. It was covered in thick, leathery skin that was dark in color with a yellow tinge. Its torso sat low to the ground, supported by six fleshy legs with bear-like paws at their ends and its head was nearly as wide as its body. It had no snout or nose, but two slits crowned its skull, which huffed and spat vapor into the air while its mouth¨Ca circular mass of teeth¨Cpulsed and squirmed. A pair of wide-set, beady eyes looked at us with the empty gaze of a fish.


    Lardigrey: Beast, Grade 14


    We all tensed and I readied my hammer for a throw, but Shog¡¯s hand moved from my shoulder to gently push my weapon back down.


    ¡°Slayer,¡± he purred, ¡°allow me to test myself against this creature.¡±


    I looked between my summon and the monster. Shog was two grades lower than the beast.


    ¡°Alone?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I shot a glance at Varrin. The big guy shrugged and I relaxed my stance.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll jump in if it looks like you¡¯re having trouble. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s coming up after this, so we need everyone in good shape.¡±


    ¡°It will not be necessary.¡±


    The c¡¯thon pulled out his rapier and saber with two Yaretzi-handed tentacles and floated forward. The Lardigrey snuffled at the air, then snorted and angled its body to follow Shog. A croaking growl rumbled through its body, spits of liquid shooting from the slits.


    Before Shog could grow too close, it charged, paws digging into the ground and trodding with thundering beats. The growl turned to a hoarse roar, and its mouth opened wide. When it was ten feet from my summon, the mouth launched out from its body on a long, slimy tube as thick as my torso.


    Shog flew to the side with more speed than I knew he was capable of, thrusting his rapier into the creature¡¯s flank. The blade¡¯s tip bounced back from the monster¡¯s thick skin, and Shog followed up with a slash from his saber, but it also failed to penetrate. The beast turned sharply and its mouth struck at Shog like a snake.


    The c¡¯thon whipped out with a pair of tentacles and knocked the striking mouth off course, maneuvering himself further toward the monster¡¯s rear. The beast continued to spin as Shog sent more exploratory thrusts and slashed at its armored hindquarters.


    After a few more quick attacks, Shog hovered up into the air. The monster reared back and batted at Shog with its meaty paws, talons raking, but Shog easily dodged. The beast¡¯s back legs coiled, and it launched up at the c¡¯thon as though its enormous bulk were meaningless. Shog fellow backward from the lunge, staying out of the beast¡¯s reach while his stinger-tipped tentacle landed three quick attacks into his enemy¡¯s face. Three more of his feelers wrangled its eel-like mouth. The beast fell back to the ground with a deep thud and began running its two front paws over its head in frantic strokes. Apparently, the stinger had found purchase.


    I watched as Shog¡¯s grade jumped from 12 to 13 in real time.


    ¡°Damn, that works fast,¡± I said.


    ¡°No. I was already on the cusp of advancing. It will continue to release energy for several days.¡±


    ¡°Terrifying,¡± muttered Nuralie.


    Shog went back to Varrin¡¯s caretaking instruction and I peered around the obelisk chamber.


    ¡°I reckon we don¡¯t need any downtime,¡± I said.


    ¡°We should assign our stats at least,¡± said Xim with the vacant eyes of a person studying their menus. ¡°I¡¯ll just add 2 to everything I care about.¡±


    ¡°I will work on reaching 20 in Agility,¡± said Varrin as he supervised Shog.


    ¡°So you can use the bedazzled cloak of flying?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There are many good reasons for a melee fighter to have superior dexterity and control.¡± He pointed out a smudge of viscera Shog had missed. ¡°But the cloak would be useful, yes.¡±


    ¡°I will finally get my Fortitude to 20,¡± said Nuralie, though she sounded reluctant. She gave me a defeated look. ¡°You wore me down. The other 4 will go to Agility. I feel it will be more useful than Intelligence if we are fighting.¡±


    ¡°Evolution?¡± I asked.


    She looked over her menus for a moment, then shared a prompt with the rest of us.


    Chemical Constitution: Beneficial substances you ingest are 2(X)% more effective, where X is your Fortitude.


    ¡°Yeah, that looks good,¡± I said. ¡°Just don¡¯t develop a potion addiction.¡±


    ¡°Too late,¡± she said with a grin.


    ¡°I will become wiser,¡± said Etja in a solemn tone. ¡°And more charismatic!¡± She did a cartwheel and ended it with a spin and a bow. ¡°How about you, Arlo?¡±


    I looked at my screen and was about to throw my points into Intelligence, but hesitated. Stats needed to be assigned within 24 hours of receiving them or they started to decay. However, if the Delve pushed us through the rest of the levels as quickly as it just had...


    ¡°I¡¯m holding onto them,¡± I said.


    ¡°Why would you do that?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°He has that dumb achievement,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Dumping.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not dumb,¡± I said. ¡°Overpowered is what it is.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s dumb because it makes me jealous.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± said Xim. ¡°Totally stupid.¡±


    ¡°What does the achievement have to do with anything?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°The ability gives me a free stat point for every 5 I spend,¡± I said, ignoring the haters. ¡°I can normally only get 1 per level since a Platinum Delve grants 8 stat points. Since stats decay, I can¡¯t save them up. But if I were able to get 2 levels...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d have 16 stat points,¡± Varrin finished. ¡°Which will give you 3 uses of Dumping for 2 levels worth of stats.¡± He kicked the Lardigrey corpse. ¡°I hate you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what we call min-maxing,¡± I said, doing a little jig.


    ¡°Stop that,¡± said Xim. ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous.¡±


    I continued to cut a rug, undeterred.


    ¡°I think what you meant to say is that I¡¯ve got style.¡±


    ¡°I can teach you to dance later,¡± said Etja. ¡°Since you don¡¯t know how.¡±


    I sucked in a breath.


    ¡°No!¡± I said. ¡°Innocent Etja, they¡¯ve corrupted you!¡±


    ¡°That burned more than my Judgment spell,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re finished assigning stats,¡± said Varrin, ¡°we should move on.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± I said, spinning around and looking at our surroundings. ¡°How do we do that? There¡¯s no portal.¡±


    There was a deep rumble, followed by a cascade of cracking stone. I looked up toward the noise, eyebrows crawling up my face.


    The ceiling began to collapse.

 Chapter 128: Clockwork

    Chapter 128: Clockwork


    Chunks fell away from the ceiling above, crumbling down on us like the ancient structure had suddenly felt the weight of its age and given up. Hunks of stone, some larger than the Lardigrey, crashed to the ground as we all strafed and dove to avoid being crushed. We were all heavily resistant to mundane damage, but no one wanted to test how effective that was against the tons of rock threatening to squash us.


    Fortunately, we all had the benefit of maxed-out training stats in Agility and Speed, which adjusted the difficulty of avoiding the largest slabs from impossible to demanding. Too much fell for us to avoid everything¨Caside from Varrin, who wove through the debris with the speed and grace of a gazelle made of neoprene rubber. I grunted as a cantaloupe-sized piece of rubble collided with a pauldron. My armor absorbed the brunt of the impact, but the force told me enough to keep out of the way of the largest fragments.


    A rain of gravel plinked and clattered across my body as I leaped to one side to avoid a scrap the size of a cow. It impacted the soft dirt with a low thunk, kicking up clods of soil to mix in with the growing haze of rock dust beginning to cloud the air. Shog¡¯s tentacles whipped around him, knocking aside anything smaller than a basketball while flitting between the larger pieces. Xim had Grotto tucked beneath her round shield, protecting the core, who was likely our most vulnerable team member.


    The destruction began at the center of the room, directly above the obelisk, and rippled outward. After ten perilous seconds, the middle of the ceiling had fully disintegrated. I scrambled over uneven terrain to reach the area, which was now free of shedding boulders, finding Nuralie and Shog already there. Xim and Grotto were close behind, with Xim hunched over and enduring several fist-size pieces striking her back. Varrin slashed through a rock falling toward Etja, and the pair moved out of harm¡¯s way as well, putting the whole party inside the safe zone.


    A quick glance at my interface showed that no one had lost more than a few points of health, and I looked up, curious to see what had been revealed beyond the shattered ceiling. Less than twenty feet above where the original ceiling had been was another enclosure, but this one was distinct from anything I¡¯d seen inside of a Delve before.


    Rather than plain stone or dark, rune-covered metal, the new ceiling was a sprawling network of endless gears and cogs. They were hardly visible in the rapidly dwindling glow of the bioluminescent plants, which were quickly becoming buried. I peered through the dark, using my enhanced vision to study the intricate web of unmoving machinery as the cacophony of destruction resounded for another full minute, the walls crashing down in a final crescendo of demolition. Finally, silence filled the space, broken by the occasional tumble of unsettled pebbles.


    Amid the smaller ratchets and wheels were larger gears interspersed at regular intervals. They brought order to the otherwise chaotic mess of interwoven hardware. There were at least a hundred, each one bearing a symbol engraved onto the hub at its center. Most were unfamiliar, and many were obscured by the dark, but I recognized a few from my practice with mana weaving. Heat, cold, pierce, spirit; they were basic forms of the fundamental building blocks of runework.


    I took them in at a glance as I searched for threats in the enlarged space. Everything was silent and still, but a form dominated one side of the room, the dull glint of metal barely visible in the dark. It was a shadowy mass the size of a two-story house. The moment I¡¯d looked it over, it began emitting a low hum, followed by ticking clinks that rapidly grew in tempo.Vissit  for updates


    One of the large gears above us groaned and came to life.


    It rotated with stops and starts, its movements jerky and uneven as it dislodged a torrent of soot and rust. As the offscourings joined the settling stone dust, the movements of the gear smoothed out until it squeaked and spun at a consistent pace. After a few seconds, it moved as though it were freshly oiled, and the rune on its face came to life. Once it began burning with a ruby glow, it wasn¡¯t hard to make out what it said.


    Mind.


    Veins of mana pulsed out from the gear in an irregular pattern of sharp lines and hard angles. They spread across the entire mass of gears, the smaller cogs beginning to turn as energy passed through them. Soon the sound of clanking metal and drumming mechanisms banished the tenuous silence with the roar of a factory in full swing. The room was lit up in a color that reminded me of red emergency lighting.


    Fierce jets of steam began to burst from a few spots in the ground, firing in brief spurts powerful enough to clear the rubble above them. Smaller rocks were sent flying so high it was as though they sought to reclaim their place in the ceiling, but the insistence of gravity brought them back down to add organic pops to the mechanical racket as they landed.


    The geometric mana made its way to the dark form at the edge of the room and its body lit up with yellow bulbs crackling with electricity. It was a mess of brass tubes and rotating side rods. On its front was a clock with a 30-foot diameter, all hands pointing to 12 o¡¯clock, but there were no numbers on its face. A hundred runes matching the gears above lined the clock¡¯s edge.


    ¡°What am I looking at?¡± asked Xim. She hefted her scepter, stance low, eyes flitting about in search of something to smite.


    ¡°Some kind of steampunk nightmare,¡± I said, also looking for an obvious boss monster. ¡°Honestly, the theme is completely out of step with the other Delves we¡¯ve been through.¡±


    Etja and Shog each flew to a different gear and I trundled over the piles of broken stone toward the large machine. After a few feet, I swapped to flying over the terrain with Gracorvus. There wasn¡¯t time to conserve my mana by fighting with my footing.


    Etja fired Nullify at the heat gear and the rune on its face dimmed. The temperature in the room began to abate, but much slower than it had spiked. Shog made it to the weight gear and struck it with his bone greatsword. Sparks flew, but the gear continued to turn. The c¡¯thon growled and swung again, rotating his body and putting all his weight behind it. The gear hitched, gravity returning to normal for a brief moment, but immediately began to move once more. I could barely make out a scratch on the gear¡¯s surface. A few seconds later, the gear Etja had Nullified lit back up and began to spin. The heat in the room rose.


    The minute hand ticked, and the vents of steam erupting from the ground multiplied.


    A vent fired from beneath me and I shot into the air. I felt my skin blister beneath my armor as the heat found its way between the plates and joints. I quickly course-corrected and made it the rest of the way to the giant clock, doing a quick flyby of its perimeter, looking for anything of note. Large side rods turned over metal wheels half-buried in its mass and I could see innumerable moving parts through slats in the outer housing. I heard the plink of arrows as Nuralie tried her hand at destroying a gear, but none of the effects abated. After I¡¯d swung around the three exposed sides of the machine, Varrin appeared beside me.


    The minute hand turned, and lightning began to crawl through the room, arcing from floor to ceiling. I turned to see Shog take a bolt, scorched feathers shedding from one of his feelers. He looked more annoyed than injured, but a swath of flesh was blackened.


    ¡°It looks like there¡¯s a lot of sensitive moving parts inside,¡± I said. Varrin nodded and immediately drew back to take a swing with Kazandak. He swung with enough force to send a sharp thrum through the air and his blade bit deep into the metal, though it was just shy of penetrating. He swung again, managing to cut a little deeper, but he wasn¡¯t making much progress.


    I dropped down from Gracorvus and grew Somncres to a full two-handed form, then swung at the machine with full force. I left a deep dent in the machine¡¯s surface, but it was hardly a scuff compared to the device¡¯s surface area. I jumped across broken rocks to the clock face and took a swing at it instead. A shimmering wall of force rippled as my strike impacted a barrier, leaving the clock face unharmed.


    Another tick and a dark fog began to pour out from the slats in the large machine. A burst of vapor hit me directly in the face, and voices began to whisper into my ears.


    ¡°Wait, all you have to do is wait, take time and stop to think, wait, wait, wait,¡± they hissed.


    Now, when strange, unseen entities begin giving me unsolicited advice in the creepiest way imaginable, I tend to ignore them. I felt a subtle tug on my mind as the voices encouraged me to ignore my problems, but I resisted it without much trouble. Varrin, on the other hand, had stopped his attack and was shaking his head sharply.


    ¡°Mental attack,¡± I said, giving him a strong clap on the back. ¡°You got this.¡±


    He blinked a few times, then nodded and began his attack anew. With each strike, he grew faster, his blows more powerful, and his body was shrouded in growing divine light. Whatever this machine was, it counted as an enemy, and Varrin¡¯s wombo combo of buffs and blessings was beginning to build. The metal plating in front of him was nearly shredded, the shifting machinery beneath exposed.


    I raised a hand for him to pause, then hefted Somncres and swung in with an Oblivion Orb-powered attack. The moving gears of metal glowed when my attack landed, the Oblivion Orb leaving a thousand small holes in the material. The hammer strike left a dent, but overall the attack had been lackluster. There was a loud clunking as the metallic plates and gears continued to move, but it made no noticeable difference in its overall operation.


    Another tick and tendrils of barbed wire crawled out from between the broken stones at my feet, wrapping themselves around my legs. A bolt of lightning struck my armor, locking up my muscles for an instant and preventing me from moving to escape the grasping strands. A spray of venting steam hit me from below. My joints screamed as the force of the blast pressed me upward while the razor wire dug scores into my armor and locked my legs in place. When the blast of steam stopped, I fell to my knees under my body¡¯s increased weight.


    Sweat poured down my back as the voices grew louder.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±

 Chapter 129: Clockwork II

    Chapter 129: Clockwork II


    I used Oblivion Orb to destroy the wire and disentangle my legs, doing my best to ignore the insistent voices. I hopped back onto Gracorvus and checked on my allies.


    The wire embraced Varrin¡¯s entire lower half, but the big guy ignored it, swinging at the machine with ever-increasing haste. The moving plates were shredded after a dozen strikes, and their movement stopped. The gears above continued to turn and none of the effects ended, but Varrin never paused to check, he just kept swinging.


    Everyone else was still fighting to destroy the gears on the ceiling. The best any of them could manage was an interruption, but all it did was give us a few seconds of relief from one of the hazards. There was a flash of crimson as Xim tested Judgment on one of the cogs. Divine fire clung to the gear¡¯s surface but it continued to spin.


    I looked back at the clock face. Varrin¡¯s efforts had destroyed a small fraction of the machine that I could see, and I searched the timepiece for any hint that it had been the right move.


    The second hand ticked relentlessly, the minute hand turned another notch, and waves of screeching sound began rolling across the room. My armor shuddered as the harsh squeal pierced my ears.


    Another bolt of lightning struck me, and I barely flew out of the way of a vent. I¡¯d taken less than 10% of my health in damage, but my allies had much smaller health pools. Xim shifted her focus from damage to healing, holding her hands out towards one party member at a time to cast Heal at range. For now, she could rotate through everyone without trouble, but her mana would only last so long.


    Varrin had ramped up to making several attacks a second, and a mass of exposed springs and cogs shattered under his onslaught. He stepped forward into a hole he¡¯d carved, his powerful legs ripping up the wire trying to hinder him as he stepped, his heavy armor protecting him from the sharp protrusions.


    I kept watching the clock face, trying to decide if I should begin channeling Explosion! and pack a massive detonation inside the hole Varrin had made. The compressed space would make it significantly more effective, but that came with a cost. I¡¯d picked up an evolution to lower the spell¡¯s cooldown, but the reduction was based on my skill level in Physical Magic, which was low. It would take 52 minutes to get the spell back, and if we were forced into another boss immediately after this it wouldn¡¯t be available. There was also the chance that we would be rushing into two more bosses, each of which would presumably be more dangerous than this one. I wanted to hold it back as a trump card.


    I watched the second hand tick past as I debated how much I wanted to commit. I wasn¡¯t sure if I imagined it, but it looked like the hand was moving the slightest bit slower. Attacking the gears wasn¡¯t getting us anywhere. Even if I was mistaken, it was time to swap tactics.


    ¡°Everyone focus on helping Varrin!¡± I shouted.


    My words were lost in the screech, which continued to cause everything in the room to tremble. The screech had become more of a loud ringing, however. I realized that I wasn¡¯t hearing the screech anymore. I¡¯d been completely deafened. The only sound I could hear beyond the ree of aggravated tinnitus was the whispering voices. I looked at Varrin to find blood dripping from beneath his helm, evidencing his own deafness. His eyes were bloodshot as he manically carved away, ignoring any alarm the lack of hearing might be causing him.


    The rest of the party didn¡¯t need to hear my directions, however. The move was obvious. Etja was already flying towards us but was waylaid by a lightning bolt and a blast of steam. Her body lit up as Xim tossed her a Heal while moving carefully over the rocky terrain below. She carried Nuralie on her back, keeping the loson out of reach of the grasping wire. Like Varrin, Xim¡¯s Strength allowed her to power through the obstacle, shredding and snapping the metal strands as she stepped. However, her armor was lighter than Varrin¡¯s and she was forced to Heal herself or risk losing a leg. Shog shot through the air toward the massive machine, bringing both greatswords down and creating a small shockwave. He left sizable dents but failed to penetrate.


    When Etja pulled up, I pointed at the hole Varrin continued to carve. There was no way we could destroy everything on the surface of the machine, but we could dig into its center. Hopefully, the deeper we went, the more sensitive shit there was to break.


    Another tick and a tornado formed at the room¡¯s center, sucking everything toward it.


    Rocks shot through the air, only to be ejected with monstrous force as the whirlwind churned. I clung to Gracorvus, resisting the pull while floating up to grab Etja by the arm. She was holding herself steady with her gravity magic, and I hoped to take some of the strain off and reduce the drain to her mana. Xim dropped Nuralie and stood behind her, keeping the lighter woman from being sucked away as Grotto clung to the cleric¡¯s shield arm. The grasping wires snaked up Nuralie¡¯s legs, easily piercing her leathers and drawing deep gashes.


    Nuralie began firing arrows into the hole Varrin made, narrowly avoiding the warrior. Their tips released a caustic liquid that bubbled on contact with the material, allowing Varrin¡¯s sword to cut through it more easily. Kazandak was a masterwork sword created by Varrin¡¯s grandfather, one of the most heralded blacksmiths in Hiward. While Nuralie¡¯s acid was potent enough to eat through mana-enhanced metals, it would take something a lot more potent to damage Kazandak¡¯s blade.


    Nuralie''s arrows flew with enough force to overcome the enhanced gravity and the violent wind, but I could tell she was straining as she drew her bow back to its limit with each shot. She was also suffering through constant damage from the barbed wire as it made its way to her torso, but Xim continued to rotate Heal.


    Lightning struck us with increasing frequency. My muscles spasmed as a bolt arced to my back and I nearly lost my grip on Gracorvus, feeling myself slide toward the whirlwind at the room¡¯s center. The electricity traveled to Etja through my hand, but her body glowed blue as her mana shield ate the damage. She gritted her teeth and began firing a constant beam of disintegration into the hole.


    Shog saw what was happening and abandoned his futile attempts to carve up his own section of the monstrous machine, instead taking my place to keep Etja steady. I gave the c¡¯thon a silent thanks, then flew forward into the hole.


    The ground at Varrin¡¯s feet was covered in broken metal and each strike released new scraps. The tornado had the unexpected benefit of vacuuming up the shattered plates and gears before they could add to the pile and had even begun sucking away some of what had already gathered.


    The space was tight and there wasn¡¯t much room for me to contribute. Varrin¡¯s blade was a blur in front of him as Etja¡¯s beam carved at the edges of his destruction and loosened gears and pistons. Nuralie¡¯s arrows impacted around Etja¡¯s blast, caustic acid dripping down to soften the metal. While I searched for a good time to add an Oblivion Orb to the mix, I caught sight of a glimmer of flowing liquid beyond the wall of twisted metal before me. It was at the machine¡¯s center, and I focused on it instead of doing something that would probably just get in Varrin¡¯s way. This machine was alive, and my Soul-Sight was picking up the spiritual presence buried at its center.


    Another tick and a demonic face grew from the twisted metal before us, its mouth dripping with molten brass. Its fanged mouth was open in a scream that none of us could hear, and fear gripped my intestines and sent ice water through my veins. The whispering voices rose in crescendo with the visage¡¯s appearance, but I squashed the emotions and ignored their urgings. Varrin flinched under the dreadful glare and stumbled, losing his footing. The wire at his feet released him and he was caught by the suction, beginning to tumble backward. I used Gravity Anchor to pull him back toward me, then snaked my fingers into the collar of his breastplate and held him steady.


    An arc of lightning found its way into the hole Varrin had wrought, now six feet deep into the machine. It rocked us, more powerful than any bolt before it, but Gravity Anchor kept us locked in place through the paralysis and a Heal kept Varrin¡¯s health from falling too low. Varrin¡¯s sword was lowered, held in a trembling hand. He didn¡¯t move to renew his assault. I looked into his helm, finding his eyes bloodshot and snapping from side to side, flinching from invisible terrors. His teeth were bared in a rictus grin.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I took a breath and turned back to the demonic face, which pulsed in silent laughter. I focused my Sight on it and it disappeared, exposed for the illusion it was. I turned my thoughts inward, arresting the voices with my ability, no longer fixated on the visual aspects of how the power worked. The voices went silent, leaving me hearing nothing but the fierce ringing. I then connected to Varrin and used Reveal, sharing my understanding of the illusions. He blinked and his eyes fixed on me with shock that quickly turned to fury. He grabbed my wrist and I let go of his breastplate, dropped Gravity Anchor, and let him get back to work.


    Flames began pouring out from the broken pipes around us, trying to cook us in our armor, but we ignored them. It hurt, but with our defenses and Xim¡¯s Heals, it was manageable. I focused on the glow at the center of the machine as my pride and joy ingnited, filling my nostrils with the scent of burnt hair. We were close now, and after a few more frenzied strikes, I gave Varrin two swift knocks on his back. He gave me a questioning glance and I opened my fist in the signal for him to unleash everything he had. He turned back to the machine and pulled his blade to his side for a thrust. He twisted his hips as he launched the blade forward, driving the tip of the blade into the machine and unleashing every stack of Blessed that he had accrued from Xim¡¯s Pounding buff.


    The target ally gains one stack of Blessed each time they deal damage with a melee weapon attack, so long as they are Blessed.


    2) 1 Metal Essence


    3) 1 Machine Essence


    4) 1 Clockwork Gear Shield


    Party Leader has set chip and currency allocation to: Even Distribution.


    You receive: 3 Emerald Chips.


    Remainder of 2 Emerald Chips have been awarded to Varrin Ravvenblaq for outstanding contribution.


    Party Leader has set item allocation to: Master Looter


    Party Leader receives all other rewards.


    I pulled out the shield to inspect it. It was a large round shield with sharp spokes along the edge. It was coal-black with glints of brass beneath, as though it had been heavily scorched. A lattice of orange-red lines ran across its surface which smoldered like the embers of a dying fire.


    Clockwork Gear Shield


    Requirements STR 20, Shields 20


    As you persist, your enemies break.


    Armor Rating: High


    Effects: While in combat, you may activate Clockwork Gear with 1 second of concentration.


    When you activate Clockwork Gear, you gain 1 stack of Clockwork. For every 10 seconds Clockwork Gear is active, you gain an additional stack of Clockwork, up to a maximum of 10.


    For each stack of Clockwork you have, you gain an amount of Shielding and Thorns (fire) equal to 10x the number of evolutions you have in Shields (current value per stack: 20). All stacks of Clockwork are lost when this ability ends. While this ability is active you are Slowed.


    This ability has an 8-hour cooldown.


    It was an excellent shield with a powerful ability, but I was well equipped with Gracorvus. Xim, however, was using a basic round shield with a durability weave. She was more than happy to accept it. Between her self-healing and the shield¡¯s ability, she might have been a better tank than I was. Of course, she would need to drop another 20 points in Fortitude to properly compete.


    With everyone finished looking at gear and placing their points, I gave the party a sharp look.


    ¡°We could benefit from a rest, so nobody says anything about the obvious question.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± said Xim. Nuralie gave a silent nod.


    ¡°The obvious question?¡± said Etja. ¡°Oh! You mean about, uh, yeah don¡¯t want to jinx it.¡±


    By the time our distribution was finished it was pitch black and even my dark vision was useless. The ground shifted slightly, and I felt the rocks and rubble sink down until the floor was level again. Unease crept up on me when a series of scraping noises came from above. A rumble came from behind me, and I reached out blindly toward the massive machine, but it was gone.


    The question was whether the next boss would happen immediately.


    The answer was yes.


    Vibrant, prismatic light swelled around us.

 Chapter 130: Kaleidoscope

    Chapter 130: Kaleidoscope


    It began as a tranquil blush of iridian luster rising from the dark like a warm morning star. A crystalline structure at the center of the room caught the light and its endless facets glittered, casting trails of color across the floor. The 12-foot-high gem had replaced the dark pillar of the Delve obelisk. A warmth bloomed at its center, pulsing with the on-and-off rhythm of a firefly.


    The edges of the space remained lost in inky darkness. The ceiling above became a soft sky of drifting, prismatic clouds seen through a solid dome of translucent polygons. As the meandering puffs of vapor drifted above, the reflected trails from the gemstone rolled across us like the guiding beacon of a lighthouse. Where the System hadn¡¯t identified Clockwork Alpha, an identification did pop up for the grand crystal.


    Subject C-209, ¡°Kaleidoscope¡±: Extradimensional Entity, Grade 20.


    Xim leaned toward me and whispered, ¡°Friend of yours?¡±


    ¡°Some might find that offensive, Xim,¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t all know each other. In fact, this is the only other extradimensional entity that I¡¯ve met.¡±


    ¡°What about that thing in the in-between space when we came into the Delve?¡±


    ¡°Eldritch deities don¡¯t count.¡±


    The crystal rose from the ground and slowly spun in the air, the refracted beams of light moving with more urgency. I began to feel like I was in a roller skating rink. Part of me expected to be treated to the thumping beat of the 1993 hit single, What is Love. Sadly, the worldly baritone of Haddaway did not grace our ears. Instead, I felt a familiar twist in the pit of my stomach as something tried to teleport me.


    You are being subjected to a non-consensual dimensional effect.Upstodatee from


    Your resistance has been overcome!


    Space twisted, my vision blinked, and I was suddenly within 20 feet of the crystal. The rest of the party was spread out in even intervals around the entity, but their forms were gray and washed out. I blinked, trying to see if it was a trick of the light, but they looked like ghosts. Now it was less of a skating rink and more of a haunted disco. I checked my interface, seeing that no one had lost any health.


    ¡°Everyone okay?¡± I shouted.


    Each of my party members was looking around, taking in our new positioning, but no one answered. Xim turned and said something, but her voice was silent. I transformed Somncres into its throwing hammer form and strafed around the edge of ¡°Kaleidoscope¡±, keeping my distance and heading toward Xim. She kept talking but made no sound. As I drew closer, I noticed that she was semi-transparent. She reached out to poke me with the tip of her scepter, but the weapon passed through me.


    I gave the situation of firm ¡°Hmm.¡±


    [It appears we have been shifted to a realm adjacent to the others,] Grotto thought to me. I turned to find the mini-c¡¯thon floating six feet away.


    ¡°Geez, you crept up on me,¡± I said. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you get separated?¡±


    [Likely because I am your Bonded Familiar, an extension of your power.]


    I considered the theory, then looked around to find Shog. He was across the room from me, washed out like the others.


    ¡°If this effect cares about our familiar bond,¡± I said, ¡°why wouldn¡¯t it keep my summon with me?¡±


    [Yes, it is curious.] Grotto¡¯s feelers undulated while he pondered.[Shog¡¯tuatha has not been treated like a typical summon during these encounters.]


    I furrowed my brow.


    ¡°The personal loot. I¡¯m guessing summons don¡¯t normally receive customized rewards from the System.¡±


    [Indeed. Such an award is reserved for Delvers.]


    I scratched my chin and a flash of irritation hit me as I realized the inferno inside Clockwork had completely burned away my beard.


    ¡°The System is treating him like another Delver?¡± I said, wiping away some gritty residue from my chin. ¡°Why? How does that make sense?¡±


    I also wondered whether my beard would have lived had it not been so well-oiled. Did my precise grooming and appreciation for the scent of sandalwood and vanilla increase its flammability?


    Before Grotto could respond, the crystal began to spin faster. Its surface bulged and deformed, flowing as though it had become liquid. Large mounds of the crystal dripped off its sides, creating iridescent piles that looked like molten glass. They surrounded the crystal and began transforming as soon as they hit the ground. Several shifted into grayscale, matching my party members, but the one in front of me rose up in full color.


    On each side of the original entity, the mounds transformed into crystal monsters of different sizes. A dozen squat, four-legged crystal hounds stared down Etja. Three lithe golems with limbs shaped into sword, hammer, and spear faced Nuralie. Four segmented insectoids shot into the air on shimmering wings before Varrin. Xim¡¯s challenger rose beside my own, a miniature copy of Kaleidoscope, while Shog faced an orb surrounded by balls of crackling energy. Mine was a giant, its wide chest filling my vision. All were made of the same glittering material as Kaleidoscope.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°Individual challenges. I think¨C¡±


    The golem rushed me.


    The crystal¨Cstill on fire¨Cfucking ran away.


    I hadn¡¯t known that a creature made of gemstones and fuckery could experience terror, but it was a pleasant discovery. It only made it a few meters before the divine fire melted it into slag, which flowed back to the central crystal. I turned to check on our final member, Shog.


    Shog had eaten his opponent.


    His feathers were scorched in places and a layer of frost covered a couple of tentacles, but he was happily shoving a final handful of crystal fragments behind his ¡®beard¡¯. I couldn¡¯t hear the tooth-destroying crunch that ensued, but I could imagine it.


    ¡°Is that the meta?¡± I wondered aloud. ¡°Eat the enemy so its essence doesn¡¯t return to the center part?¡±


    [Shog is not a role model.]


    Once we¡¯d each defeated our opponents, Kaleidoscope¡¯s body rippled and reformed to its original shape. It began to spin faster and then started shedding new masses of crystal. I sighed.


    ¡°This enemy is annoying,¡± I said. ¡°Let me guess, we each have to fight every version of the crystal monsters.¡±


    As I spoke, a dozen shimmering piles began growing sets of four legs in front of me.


    I sighed and prepared to do the fight six times in a row when I noticed Nuralie fire a shot into the side of the main crystal. She was now facing the flying creatures, which dive-bombed at her with gleaming talons, but she teleported out of their path and fired another arrow at the center crystal. Then, the arrows exploded, taking a large chunk out of Kaleidoscope-prime.


    Kaleidoscope froze in place, and then each of its sides glowed in sequence. The broken crystal liquified then reversed course and flowed back into the cracks and holes, repairing the damage. The crystal began spinning again, its surface unblemished.


    After a moment of annoyance, I realized that each of Kaleidoscope''s glowing sides had been facing one of the party members. It looked suspiciously like a hint for boss mechanics. I puzzled over whether that was a natural property of the creature or something that had been added. It was called Subject C-209, so maybe it had been intentionally designed to serve this purpose.


    By this point, I was under assault by a horde of shiny, ankle-biting doggos. I cast a quick Shortcut to kite them, then locked eyes with Nuralie and gave her a nod. She nodded in return and I hucked my hammer at the center crystal with a triple throw. The three hammers smashed into its side, creating a shower of prismatic fragments. At the same time, Nuralie fired another exploding arrow which detonated with my hammer strikes.


    Kaleidoscope paused and its faces glowed in sequence. This time, however, only one side of the entity repaired itself. Each member of the party had been keeping an eye on everyone else during their fights, knowing better than to get wholly distracted by their individual combats. After Nuralie and I made our simultaneous attacks, everyone else caught on quickly.


    We ignored the adds and attacked the boss.


    Explosive arrows, duplicating hammers, focused beams of force, infernal scepter strikes, and a whole lot of sword attacks mercilessly plowed into Kaleidoscope.


    Its minions tried desperately to interrupt our assault, but there was nothing they could do. Nuralie shadow jumped, Etja kept them at bay with her minefields as she flew, Varrin and Shog simply killed everything within ten feet with their arcing sword swings, and I just tanked the damage because I didn¡¯t want to spend the mana on Shortcut. My health regen was ten times faster than my mana regen, and that was without spending half my mana regen every hour to keep Shog summoned.


    In the end, Kaleidoscope was an enemy that had been designed to test for weak links. The problem was that none of us were weak. We all had answers for each enemy type presented.


    Additionally, it was a puzzle boss and we had an alchemist hopped up on homebrewed stimulants with 33 Intelligence and a Target Analysis skill. Nuralie also got bonus effects when taking drugs she made herself and a buff to beneficial substances she ingested from her recent Fortitude evo.


    Normally this would result in a host of negative side effects, but she even had a passive that allowed her to ignore detrimental effects from shit she brewed herself. It was a pretty awesome combination.


    However, to be clear, I am not advocating for anyone to organize their lives around the consumption of mind-altering substances.


    Stay in school.


    Say no to drugs.


    Unless you''re a master alchemist with virtual immunity to toxicity and addiction. Then you can do whatever the fuck you want.


    I downed potions for all three resources while we waited on our stats and loot, and everyone else made sure they had recovery going for all three as well. We had no idea what we were going to face to take us to level 10, but none of us felt like being conservative. Varrin¡¯s stamina was low, Xim¡¯s mana was around 40%, and everyone else had spent a decent chunk of mana or stamina. We were all nearly full on HP, however, so I felt pretty good going into the next fight.


    Yep.


    Pretty good.


    Overflowing with confidence, even.


    No challenge was too big for us to handle.

 Chapter 131: It’s too Big for Us to Handle

    Chapter 131: It¡¯s too Big for Us to Handle


    There was the sound of scraping stone and the obelisk rose from the pile of broken glass that was once Kaleidoscope. Its runes lit up and beams of energy connected to our bodies, distributing our stats. I dutifully confirmed that I now had 8 points banked, then closed the screen without distributing them. Everyone else took a moment to drop them where they wanted and we got a loot notification soon after.


    Your party has slain Subject C-209, ¡°Kaleidoscope¡±: Extradimensional Entity, Grade 20. Your party receives the following rewards:


    1) 20 Emerald Chips


    2) 1 Mirror Essence


    3) 1 Crystal Essence


    4) 1 Prismatic Mask


    Party Leader has set chip and currency allocation to: Even Distribution.


    You receive: 4 Emerald Chips.


    Party Leader has set item allocation to: Master Looter


    Party Leader receives all other rewards.


    I pulled out the mask the moment it hit my inventory. I wanted to make sure we made the most of what limited time we likely had.


    It was made of the same crystalline substance as Kaleidoscope, its translucent surface a pearlescent sheen of chromatic reflections. The face consisted of intersecting straight edges which gave it a polygonal appearance, uniform across its surface except for two holes for the eyes and one for the mouth.


    Prismatic Mask


    Draw the line.


    Requirements: INT 20, Mystical Magic 20


    Effects:


    1) +20 mana regen


    2) Whenever you cast a spell that creates a line extending from you, you can duplicate that line in a different direction by spending mana equal to the spell¡¯s mana cost.


    3) Whenever you are targeted by a spell that is a line, you can spend mana equal to that spell¡¯s mana cost to redirect the line in a different direction extending from you. If you do, the spell has no effect on you.


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t have any good spells for it, though.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh,¡± said Etja, her eyes widening as she studied it. ¡°I can make any of my spells into a line!¡±


    ¡°True. But, you¡¯re focused on Charisma casting because of that passive you have. Do you even have 20 Intelligence?¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°No. Although, maybe the passive would apply to the mask as well?¡±


    Her eyes went distant as she pulled up her character screen, then shared the text of her passive with me.


    Cantor: The many years of ritual and song once used as worship are not easily forgotten, and the rote of these rituals carried through your forebear and into yourself. Whenever a spell you cast would call for INT, you may choose to engage in ritual performance while casting; if you do, you use your CHA instead.


    ¡°I dunno,¡± I said. ¡°The ability specifically talks about spells. You also have to do your Mirtasian dance while casting to get its benefit.¡±


    Etja bit her lip and furrowed her brow. After a few seconds, her features lit back up into a smile, looking like she was about to shout ¡°eureka!¡±


    Instead, she shouted ¡°I have an idea! Before I try it, though, does anyone else have a use for the mask?¡± She looked around at the party.


    ¡°You and Arlo are the only two who even have Mystical Magic,¡± said Xim. Etja gave me a hopeful look and I shrugged, then handed her the mask.


    ¡°Okay, good,¡± she said, holding the mask in her two upper hands. ¡°Because if this doesn¡¯t work, it¡¯ll probably break it.¡±


    Normally I might have questioned taking such a risk with a rather unique and powerful item, but we were on the clock and didn¡¯t have time for a debate. Besides, if Etja couldn¡¯t make it work then it was just another lump of treasure for the Closet. We weren¡¯t hurting for cash, especially after having so many emerald chips dumped into our laps, and hopefully, she¡¯d get something out of whatever she was about to do.


    She raised her lower hands and held them in front of the mask. Ruby mana danced along her fingertips, then trailed out to the mask. The opaline surface of the item began to crack and flake, and then fragments of it drifted into her palms and melted into her skin. A minute later the item had been completely broken down and absorbed by Etja¡¯s Incorporate ability.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t seen you use that in a while,¡± I said.


    Her smile faded a bit.


    ¡°It reminds me too much of Orexis,¡± she said. ¡°I mix it in with Disintegrate to get mana back sometimes, but consuming something entirely is kind of... a bad feeling.¡±


    ¡°Blades are good for exsanguination,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Now, they¡¯re better.¡±


    ¡°But no tacked on immunity.¡±


    ¡°It makes me immune to having enemies that survive for very long.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll probably make you immune to having clean clothes as well.¡±


    ¡°That is why we have towels,¡± said Shog. ¡°To wipe off the viscera.¡±


    ¡°How much time did the two of you dedicate to the art of toweling?¡± I asked.


    Before Varrin could explain how weapon upkeep was a core skill for all swordsmen, a rumble went through the chamber.


    ¡°Here we go,¡± said Xim, hefting her scepter. ¡°So far we¡¯ve fought a giant bear, an oversized clock, and a big, shiny rock. Any bets on what¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°Maybe the next boss will be tiny,¡± I said. ¡°Like a super rabbit. We¡¯d never see it coming.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve been getting more esoteric,¡± said Xim. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a rabbit. Maybe a violent raindrop, or an enraged gold coin.¡±


    ¡°Hard currency makes it too simple. If we¡¯re thinking esoteric, a battle with inflationary economics would be more compelling and nigh-unwinnable.¡±


    The semi-transparent crystalline ceiling began to diffuse into vaporous mana. The colorful clouds beyond it darkened. An icy wind blew through the chamber.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Sure it does!¡± I shouted. The wind was really starting to blow. ¡°As the fight would go on our attacks would lose value! We¡¯d be forced to invest damage into an appropriate instrument that appreciates faster than the rate of debasement!¡±


    ¡°This is why I¡¯m glad Hiward¡¯s currency is pegged to ruby chips!¡± Varrin hollered.


    The ground began to tremble. Shadows bled away from the distant walls and they crumbled. Thunder rolled across the sky.


    ¡°But then you have the problem of a fluctuating supply and demand affecting the buying power of your notes!¡±


    ¡°Still superior to depending on scarcity without utility, like gold!¡± Varrin shouted back.


    ¡°What in all the hells are you two talking about?!¡± Xim said. ¡°We were guessing what the next boss is! Not arguing about finance!¡±


    The outermost perimeter of the floor fell away.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s something that flies!¡± said Etja, eyes darting around the clouds. ¡°Like a wyvern!¡±


    Another section of the floor disappeared, leaving us on an ever-dwindling platform in the sky.


    ¡°Perhaps a swarm of mutated birds!¡± Varrin offered.


    ¡°Ah!¡± I said as I shoved my helm over my head. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a duck!¡±


    Xim shot me a death glare. The floor beneath us collapsed. We went into freefall.


    The broken ground below fell apart until it was reduced to gravel, which was then scattered by the gale. Pebbles clinked and rattled off my armor until the mass of falling debris was taken by the winds like smoke in a hurricane. I blinked away a few tears as the air clawed through the gap in my visor, and I saw what we were falling toward.


    Miles below us was a dark, frothing sea that stretched endlessly in all directions. Amid the erupting waves, directly below us, was an island made up of a single mountain.


    The mountain had a face.


    Two flesh-red orbs rolled up toward us, eyes that must have each been the size of small lakes. Lips as thick as oil tankers peeled back from fangs the size of train cars. The fangs sat in rows in front of more fangs the size of school buses which sat in rows in front of even more fangs the size of pickup trucks¨Cthe kind with truck nuts and extra exhaust pipes on top and that were just overall larger than they oughtta be¨Cwhich sat in rows in front of yet more fangs the size of some other, slightly smaller vehicle that was still much too big to be teeth.


    From beneath the waters, gnarled tendrils rose, extending out the length of a city and covered in throbbing pustules. Upon the titan¡¯s midnight flesh were a million squirming barbs, every square inch of its body covered in a lethal forest of thorns. It did not roar, or screech, or howl. An earthquake was its battle cry, a tsunami its hunting call.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like a duck!¡± I shouted. It was mainly a psychological knee-jerk reaction to protect my withering resolve. I used Gracorvus to begin slowing my descent while I looked over the goliath, trying to figure out where I¡¯d even begin to attack it.


    The System then confirmed that it was, in fact, not a duck.


    The King¡¯s Pit: Delve Remnant, Grade 24.


    The name of the creature pulled on a vague memory I had. The creature type answered exactly zero questions while raising at least one: what the fuck was a Delve Remnant? I growled and got my bearings, trying to find a way to meet up with the party, but it didn¡¯t look like there¡¯d be time for a mid-flight strategy meeting.


    The Pit was miles below, but our altitude was no shield. A thousand coiling appendages rose up to the sky to meet us.

 Chapter 132: Stacking DOTs

    Chapter 132: Stacking DOTs


    Etja caught Xim, Nuralie, and herself with Siphon shortly after the floor collapsed. Varrin¡¯s fabulous cloak billowed out with sparkling fury as he flew to meet them, while I stood upon Gracorvus and quickly closed the short distance. Shog and Grotto floated like usual, their inherent ability to fly without cost sending a flash of envy through me.


    The storm had begun to pelt us with small, icy droplets, carried on the wind with enough force to rattle my armor. The Pit¡¯s limbs ascended toward us, but¨Cmassive as they were¨Cwe had a brief time to prepare.


    ¡°Big!¡± Xim shouted over the wind when I got close. She studied the mountainous creature with wide eyes, although a smile tugged at the edges of her mouth.


    ¡°Really big!¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Too big!¡± Nuralie added informatively.


    ¡°What is a Delve Remnant?¡± asked Varrin, his bass-baritone voice effortlessly overpowering the gale. I wondered whether Strength affected how loud the man could be.


    [A Delve corrupted by the energies within until it can no longer be controlled. Sometimes by an outside force, other times by the negligence or hubris of the Delve Core.]


    Like so many other instances, we didn¡¯t have the time to go over the implications of what my familiar had just told us.


    ¡°Grotto!¡± I shouted. ¡°Link us all up!¡±


    I felt a mental tingle as everyone in the party was connected through Grotto¡¯s psychic link. It consumed much of the Delve Core¡¯s focus, but the wind was obnoxious and the battlefield was orders of magnitude larger than any we¡¯d dealt with. I expected the distances between our party members to grow and quickly become prohibitive of normal speech. As long as this thing didn¡¯t blast us into different dimensions like Kaleidoscope had, I expected the ability to be invaluable.


    ¡°Nuralie,¡± I thought to the group. ¡°Weaknesses?¡±


    Nuralie¡¯s eyes were already lit up with mana as she used her Target Analysis skill. It was a skill she¡¯d picked up after the Mimic Delve, but we hadn¡¯t yet had the opportunity to really take advantage of it. Our fights with the Littans had been too sudden and there was a chance the affected entity knew it was being targeted, so it wasn¡¯t the best for her stealth. The bosses within the Delve so far hadn¡¯t been worth spending a chunk of Nuralie¡¯s limited mana pool on.


    Target Analysis: You can focus for six seconds to examine another creature and determine various stats, such as their current and maximum HP, mana, or stamina, what kinds of damage they are most resistant or vulnerable to, or which status effects they are strongest or weakest against. The amount of information you gain is determined by your INT and is opposed by their CHA.


    ¡°Its resources come back as question marks,¡± she thought. ¡°Strong against Dimensional. Other defenses are low.¡±Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    [It will be unable to resist your attempts to sting it like insects.]


    ¡°Negative attitude, but Grotto has a point,¡± I thought to the group. ¡°Normal attacks probably won¡¯t be worth much. Stacking damage over time is likely our best bet. Varrin and Shog, you both try to dismember the incoming limbs. If it has blood, bleed the shit out of it.¡±


    The pair nodded their understanding and shot off in opposite directions. The gnarled and infected-looking tendrils were closing in fast.


    ¡°Xim, I doubt stuns will work, but confirm that theory. Either way, focus on Ignite. We¡¯ve seen an entire mountain burn before. Let¡¯s see it again.¡±


    ¡°Last time we saw that was because of a super spell from a level 54 Hiwardian Matriarch,¡± she thought back to me with a grin, ¡°but I¡¯m happy to oblige.¡± An obsidian horn grew from her head and fur sprouted across her body as she was enveloped in crimson light. ¡°Etja, let me fall.¡±


    ¡°If you say so!¡± Etja thought back as she let go of Siphon¡¯s hold on the cleric. Xim hit the release weave on her outer armor. Her muscles bulged as she fell alongside the pieces of her chain mail, her features twisting into a bestial form.


    While we mapped out our battle plan, Varrin met with the first of the approaching tendrils. The end of the limb sprouted into three massive fingers with a dozen knuckles, swollen as though the Delve Remnant had a fierce case of rheumatoid arthritis. Along its side, the pustules glowed with heat, rain boiling off their surfaces on contact.


    Kazandak reflected a flash of lightning as it grew to its maximum size, 20 feet in length. Varrin brought it across the tendril as it hurtled toward him, deftly dashing to one side as it blasted past. His blade carved through one of the fingers as the ¡®hand¡¯ grasped at him, sending it careening back toward The Pit. If the mountain noticed the wound, it gave no sign. The twisted ¡®arm¡¯ slowed as the mountain arrested its movement, then began to swing back around to connect with the warrior, casting a trail of wine-colored blood through the air.


    Varrin shot lower and targeted its wrist. Even with Kazandak at maximum length, it wasn¡¯t enough to cleave through. He only slashed through half of the limb. The giant arm sagged where it had been cut, and the weight of the mammoth feeler did much of the rest of Varrin¡¯s work for him. Cutting through half of the tendril destroyed its structural integrity and the top section peeled back, the wound tearing further. Vital fluids exploded outward as the limb split. Unfortunately, there was a lot more arm left to go, and the monster¡¯s near-stump met Varrin¡¯s blade once more, the top of it dangling by a thread.


    Incarnation: You are the incarnation of a Divine aspect. Your active abilities have been predetermined, but as a descendant of divinity, you can combine two active skills together to achieve a combination skill incorporating aspects of both skills.


    Finishing Move: If you cast three different spells in a row, the next different spell you cast is 200% more effective, and any additional mana used to cast it is 200% more efficient.


    My stomach lurched as Etja accelerated the force of gravity pulling us downward. A tendril whipped past and wind tore across my entire body as it went. I also discovered what the simmering pustules did.


    They exploded.


    A gout of flame burst from the mass along the limb and rocky shrapnel filled the air. Etja kept me close as we flew and I had Gracorvus at the ready. I brought it up between us and the tendril, barely responding in time, even with my Rapid Blocks evolution letting me move my shield three times faster than normal.


    I was pelted by hard, sharp fragments as we were enveloped in fire. The shrapnel bounced off my shield and armor, absorbing most of the attack while Etja hid behind my larger frame. The fire found its way into the cracks of my plate, searing my skin and enveloping both of us. My Life Warden skill was still active on Etja, however, and it shunted half the damage she took back to me.


    HP: 1220 -> 1202


    My recent advancements in Heavy Armor and Smithing showed their worth as the majority of the damage was completely mitigated. Some of it came from the ward on Etja, but the spell reduced that damage by an amount equal to my Physical Magic skill. Etja certainly took more damage than I did, even after being protected from the shrapnel and having half the elemental damage passed on. Her defenses weren¡¯t as robust as mine, but the mage had over 400 health, natural armor, and her mana shield to fall back on if things got dicey. She wasn¡¯t a typical, fragile nuker. More of a tempered and bulletproofed glass cannon.


    While we raced toward the mountain¡¯s face, Xim was hit by a tendril. I cringed when I saw it connect, hearing the thunk of the tendril¡¯s thousand-ton body slam against her flesh over the wind and rain. A pustule exploded on contact as well, burning away fur and piercing the cleric¡¯s skin.


    Xim had stowed her shield but kept her scepter in one hand. Her clawed feet and freehand dug into the monstrous limb, each wreathed in divine fire. She would normally rely on her natural claws when fighting in her ascended form, but the scepter she received from Khigra and the tribe gave her a chance to ignite based on her skill with Divine Magic. Her skill with Divine Magic was much higher than it had any right to be at her level, and it only took two blows before blood-red fire bloomed on the limb.


    Each strike from Xim was also accompanied by a spell, her ability to wallop and cast simultaneously buffed by a Speed evolution. The first spell was Heal, and a golden light bathed her form, closing up wounds and smoothing over burns. The second was Judgment, which struck the limb farther down, creating a second wave of ruby fire which rapidly began to expand. With the tendril properly burning, Xim leaped away at another swinging limb, tanking another slam to the face¨Cand every other part of her¨Cand then healing herself again as she continued to light the fucker up.


    She was unstoppable, but only for the moment. Her mana wouldn¡¯t allow her to keep up the combo for long, and the buffs to Strength and Speed from her beast form only lasted two minutes.


    Nuralie appeared on top of a different tendril, her body translucent from the darkness continuing to gather from the ever-worsening storm. She rapidly fired arrow after arrow into the limb until The Pit got wise and brought another arm to bear, trying to crush the loson. Nuralie disappeared an instant before it connected.


    The mighty limbs clapped together, sending a wave of force that scattered the rain in a perfect sphere. When the tendrils separated, a cloud of poisonous gas expanded from Nuralie¡¯s previous location¨Ca little gift she¡¯d left behind to sink in through the remnant¡¯s skin.


    Varrin and Shog continued to slice through more of the mountain¡¯s arms, which filled the sky with their massive forms. The pair flew circles around them, though Varrin¡¯s speed outstripped my summon¡¯s, and Shog was sent sailing by a crushing strike and exploding pustules. The c¡¯thon was wounded and smoking, but he looked pissed off more than anything.


    From the limbs that Varrin bisected, blood poured out like small waterfalls.


    ¡°Are you gonna channel while we fly?¡± Etja thought to me as she swung us around another tendril, which exploded in our faces.


    HP: 1202 -> 1184


    ¡°I have to release the spell if I run out of mana! Too risky to start before it¡¯s in range.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Then what¡¯ll you do until we get there?¡±


    I looked down at The Pit¡¯s massive, disgusting face below. It was a big target, and it wasn¡¯t like it could move out of our way. An idea came to me, and I smiled despite myself. Our party was quickly becoming a bunch of grinning lunatics.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna drop shit on it.¡±

 Chapter 133: Dumping (Not Just for Stats)

    Chapter 133: Dumping (Not Just for Stats)


    Like any good member of the well-to-do, one of my most reliable methods for solving difficult problems was to throw money at it.


    Back in the Creation Delve, our party had stumbled across an immense field of poison essences that we happily stuffed our pockets with. The only thing that stopped us from taking more essences than we had was the size of said pockets. At that time, my inventory had yet to become the self-perpetuating growth machine of the Closet, so I was limited to a paltry sum of slightly less than a thousand essences. The essences had a wide array of crafting uses and I currently sold them to Seinnador at a rate of 32 golden notes a piece.


    For reference, a ruby chip could be exchanged for 50 golden notes, which made each essence worth a chunky bit more than half of a ruby chip. That much money would have allowed a peasant family to live comfortably for a year or more.


    I still had 570 of them.


    The egg-sized crystals naturally emitted a toxic vapor. It wasn¡¯t very potent on its own, so it was much more efficient to transform an essence into the poison one desired if the goal was to stack Toxicity as fast as possible. A crafter could convert essences and poison essence could be transformed into any type of poison that the crafter was familiar with, although there was a limit based on their crafting skill.


    Nuralie¡¯s Alchemy skill was well-developed and allowed her to make some pretty vicious poisons from the essences. My contract with Seinnador had been formed before I met the scaled alchemist, else I would have saved all of the essences for her use. Despite selling Seinnador all of his requirements for poison essences, Nuralie was still my number 1 consumer of the deadly nuggets. Seinnador was a generalist after all. Nuralie was a death-brewin¡¯ specialist.


    Thus, it was with both great financial pain and schadenfreude-filled delight that I emptied our entire backup stock of Nuralie¡¯s poisons right onto The Pit¡¯s stupid face.


    I dropped everything from highly refined nerve gas to experimental hemotoxins. I threw vials of rapid-release metabolic suppressants and long-lasting hepatotoxins. I even tossed out a failed batch of phototoxin, which did little more than give the victim a vicious sun allergy and probably an increased risk of skin cancer. I threw in a liter of undiluted genitotoxin for good measure, which was a key ingredient in a contraceptive that Nuralie sold. At this concentration, it would lead to less of a temporary sterilization and more of a permanent melting of the sensitive areas. No idea if The Pit had those, but I wasn¡¯t holding anything back. No one wanted this thing reproducing anyway.


    An alluring display of baneful colors exploded on The Pit¡¯s surface. A carpet bombing of violet clouds, slicks of bubbling green, and bright red detonations that sent venom-laced razors into the beast. Nature¡¯s toxic hues encompassed the entire rainbow.


    Despite the indiscriminate bombardment, Grotto¡¯s characterization of our attacks being insect bites to the monster was an apt one. The poisons landed like pinpricks along the remnant¡¯s head and body, covering only a sliver of its total surface area. Although I did land one acidic necrotoxin in its giant fucking eye, which was supremely satisfying. However, when it came to poison, we didn¡¯t need to take big bites. The venomous chomp of a snake could be deadly, but its fangs only left a small mark.


    I dumped enough toxic waste to give an EPA agent a heart attack, but I got it done in a flash. Many of the poisons were held in potion belts that were quickly emptied. The ones that held the vials more securely got tossed, belt and all¨Cterminal velocity would be enough to shatter the ampoules and distribute their payloads.


    Sadly, some of the poisons were in a few of our meticulously assembled go-bags. I didn¡¯t have time to hunt for bottles full of concentrated opiates in our emergency triage kits, or flasks of stone-melting solvent in our MacGyver duffels, so everything got dumped. Between the assault on the Littan operating base and my liberal dispensation, we were going to be in need of a materials resupply and a few weeks with Nuralie in mass production mode.


    I soon ran dry of Nuralie¡¯s products, but I wasn¡¯t finished. As I said, essences could be converted by a crafter, limited by their familiarity and skill level. In fact, Convert Essence was a fundamental ability for any crafting skill that utilized mana weaving, which was practically all of them since essences were a key component for many weaves. This included crafting skills such as Smithing.


    My personal familiarity with poisons was unusually high for a smith. Not only had I observed Nuralie¡¯s work on many occasions, but the loson¡¯s alchemical innovation often required test subjects. This was sometimes accomplished with the ¡®cooperation¡¯ of mana monsters while we Delved, but field testing involved a lot of unpredictable variables that made for results that were less than clinical. So, much of our testing occurred outside of Delves and since we were an ethical group of Delvers, our test subjects were uniformly volunteers. One volunteer, really. A proper test subject for poison needed to have a robust tolerance for Toxicity, which meant either a high Fortitude, a strong poison resistance, or both.


    I had both. Geett the latest novels at novelhall.com


    I was the test subject.


    My Smithing skill had reached level 16 during my armor-making spree, which was a far cry from Nuralie¡¯s 32 in Alchemy. Even though I was familiar with many poisons, what I could produce by converting essences was nowhere near as strong as what the loson made, especially after she processed the raw toxic materials into a proper potion. But I wasn¡¯t going for potency, I was going for variety.


    There were a handful of poisons that Nuralie had shown (tested on) me, and that we were currently out of. These were some of the more exotic ingredients Nuralie had used to theory craft, but which hadn¡¯t shown substantially usable results. I couldn¡¯t produce the complex brews that Nuralie made, but I could generate the base compounds. One of the more interesting of these was a tranquilizer with psychotropic properties.


    The poison induced visual and auditory hallucinations, confusion, and the sudden onset desire for a nap¨Call decent effects for a control-type poison. It also instilled a sensation of well-being so profound the target became immune to Fear, Berserk, and Paranoia. This was accompanied by a level of pain tolerance that could only be described as ¡°absolute¡±, allowing the subject to continue fighting through injuries that would have otherwise incapacitated them.


    In high doses the negative effects reduced the subject to a drooling puddle of drowsy dissociation, experiencing a level of disconnection from reality only achieved by the most dedicated of tie-dye-clad Grateful Dead enthusiasts. Enough of the stuff would even cause one¡¯s nervous system to call it quits, leading them to a sleepy asphyxiation.


    In low doses it caused monsters to become bliss-fueled killers immune to pain.


    What my assault did accomplish was applying a shit ton of unique poisons to The Pit. Now, each time Nuralie poisoned the remnant, it compounded the stacks of Toxicity on it. I had no idea how many stacks it would take to kill it, but Etja and I were on the job of providing a healthy distraction.


    With my inventory cleared of anything worthy of having the phone number for poison control listed on its label, Etja and I continued to dive toward The Pit¡¯s enormous visage.


    We laced our way between tendrils, taking the occasional pustule explosion and glancing blow from the whipping towers. Etja maneuvered me between herself and The Pit¡¯s careening limbs, allowing me to serve as a meat shield. She shunted me from side to side fast enough that I could barely focus on anything other than blocking. She thrust me in the path of meaty hits and fiery explosions with so little hesitation, I briefly wondered whether I¡¯d done anything to make her mad lately. It was the smart strategy and I was serving my main role in the party of soaking hits, so it wasn¡¯t a real concern. Still, after she shunted me headfirst into the fifth jet of flame and shrapnel, I started to worry.


    HP: 1184 -> 948


    ¡°I can block better if I¡¯m using my shield!¡± I thought to her. ¡°Not my face!¡±


    ¡°Doing a lot here!¡± she replied, tearing us to one side of a tendril with enough G-force that the edges of my vision darkened. ¡°I¡¯m doing my best!¡±


    I brought up Gracorvus to fend off another explosion. The hair on my head was starting to go the way of my beard.


    HP: 948 -> 930


    Etja¡¯s body flashed blue as she soaked the damage with her mana shield. The splash damage I couldn¡¯t block was enough that she¡¯d been forced to use it several times. I glanced up at her bars, finding her health just above half and mana down to one-third. Her body pulsed as she spent her Fast Recharge ability for the day, getting her mana back up to 60%. She couldn¡¯t sustain this level of abuse for too much longer, even though we were dodging three-fourths of what The Pit sent our way.


    Fortunately, the limbs grew thicker as we descended and moved much slower than the thrashing tips. More and more of the attacks missed, and we finally got close enough to The Pit¡¯s face that I started channeling Explosion!.


    At the same time, the remnant¡¯s horrendous maw widened until it encompassed all that I could see.


    Bright, orange flames filled its mouth.


    A burst of fire and molten rock poured from its mouth, a stream of death too wide for us to avoid. Etja moved me in front of her, then accelerated towards it. I grit my teeth and held up Gracorvus, widening my stance as much as I could while still protecting my vitals behind the wide shield. Etja sailed toward the attack in a Superman stance, making herself as small as she could behind me. As the wave of fire approached, she let out a scream of defiance.


    Heat became my world and I felt my skin immediately begin to blister. The rest of my hair was scoured away, filling my helm with acrid smoke. My shield rattled as globs of lava struck it. Its weight grew as the molten rock adhered and hardened on its surface and my skin was reduced to ash below my armor where it struck. My breath was ripped from my lungs as the fire consumed all, the ravenous inferno creating a brief vacuum.


    HP: 930 -> 748


    The storm¡¯s gale hit me with its icy winds like slamming into an iceberg as we burst through the other side of The Pit¡¯s withering breath. Etja shot us up and around the mile-long rows of monumental teeth until we hurtled toward its massive, fleshy eye, pitted and bubbling where some of the poison had landed.


    Its head turned as it tried to bring its mouth back around and six limbs swung toward us, converging in an inescapable net. I readied myself to release Explosion! early, unable to see a way for us to escape without blasting one of the tendrils apart. I hadn¡¯t charged it nearly enough, but I didn¡¯t think Etja would survive the upcoming squashing. She¡¯d avoided most of the damage from the breath weapon, but her health had still dropped below half and her mana had taken another hit as her shield offset the damage.


    Seconds before we were crushed, the limbs lumbered to a halt.


    The Pit stared at us, frozen in place as its monumental eye focused on me. No, not me, it focused on Etja. I took deep breaths, continuing to channel Explosion! while the remnant appraised us. Then, miraculously, the limbs withdrew and it turned its gaze back up toward the rest of the party who still fought its tendrils high above.


    ¡°It worked!¡± Etja shouted, startling me. I glanced at her, then back to the goliath that had just failed its Wisdom check.


    She¡¯d mesmerized a fucking mountain.

 Chapter 134: Danger Close

    Chapter 134: Danger Close


    I pulled earplugs from my inventory¨Cacquired after my last dance with deafness from the spell I was about to supercharge¨Chanded a pair to Etja, then quickly shoved my own in. Hopefully, everyone else was far enough away to keep their hearing. I shoved my helm back on and began chanting.


    ¡°The Goliath and the ancient, in due time they all crumble!¡±


    Etja¡¯s flight seamlessly transitioned into the graceful rhythm of her Mirtasian cadence while her soul wrapped itself around me. Siphon, keeping us both aloft, immediately counted as the first spell in the cadence¡¯s sequence and reduced the cost of my Explosion! channel by 10% through Shared Vessel¡¯s benefits.


    Molten rock continued to weigh down my shield and smoldered where it was splattered onto my armor, dealing a small tick of damage as the heat penetrated through to my skin and muscle. A quick pulse of Nullify from Etja caused the still-burning material to cool and degrade into chunks of ash. As it blew away into the storm winds, my channel became 20% cheaper.


    HP: 748 -> 740


    Varrin had made some impressive headway with his work above. Rivers of blood poured from a dozen of the remnant¡¯s limbs, the vital fluid scattered by the gale as it descended. The biting rain was interspersed with large droplets of a deep burgundy hue. Etja used Siphon combined with Incorporate to pull some of the blood to her and absorb it. Her eyes lit up with the knowledge she gained. My Explosion! channel became 30% cheaper.


    Finally, Etja began to channel Magic Blast into Explosion! with her Incarnation passive. My Explosion! channel gained another 10% reduction as mystic force saturated my spell. I felt Etja shape her blast into a sphere and begin pouring the rest of her mana into it to increase its size. The spell was already charged well beyond what we¡¯d managed during our fight with The Mimic, and I sensed the mass of potent mana growing at an incredible rate.


    ¡°Time¡¯s inevitable decay may be slow, but it is inexorable!¡±


    The base diameter of Explosion! was 54 feet, which was determined by my Intelligence. For every second I channeled, that radius increased by another 5.4 feet. My resource expenditure through the boss fights hadn¡¯t been very high compared to my typical high-octane slug fests. My mana regen had also been massively buffed by one of Nuralie¡¯s mana potions and my Ambient Absorption ability, which really loved this leveling gauntlet. I expected the entire thing was taking place within some sort of walled-off, extradimensional space. Altogether, when I fell into this fight my mana was nearly fully regenerated, even after spending half of my normal regen on maintaining Shog¡¯s summoning and Etja¡¯s Life Ward. I¡¯d also done little more than get wrecked in the fight, so my tank was full when I¡¯d started channeling.


    After my recent points allocated to Wisdom, my mana pool was at a healthy 412. Explosion! cost 10 mana per second to channel, which meant that I could channel it for 41 seconds from full. I valued my life, however, and wasn¡¯t about to drain my entire mana pool while the big bad was still relatively unmangled. I decided to hold back 100 mana for Shortcuts, Void Hammers, and flying around on Gracorvus. Since I¡¯d already spent a little mana flying on my shield during the fight, that gave me a full 30-second charge to my big boom spell.


    That would put Explosion!¡¯s diameter at 216 feet¨Cthe space in which it would deal its full damage. The deafening shockwave and after-effects had a much larger area than even that. Now, 216 feet is decent. That¡¯s more than half a football field in length. But the eye in front of me was at least 500 feet across. I wanted it to be a lot bigger. That¡¯s where Etja came in.


    ¡°The destruction of the Parthenon! The annihilation of Flood Rock! Man often aids the present as it eats the past!¡±


    First, my channel became cheaper from Etja¡¯s Mirtasian cadence. My 30-second charge became a 38-second charge, taking the diameter from 216 feet to 259 feet. Not bad. Still too small.


    Second, Etja combined my spell with Mystic Blast, pumping in more mana to shape the blast into as large of an area as possible. Etja had abilities that improved the efficiency of spending extra mana, the efficiency of mana shaping, and the efficiency of creating AoEs. They all stacked.


    But that¡¯s not all, folks. The biggest bonus from being wrapped in Etja¡¯s soul hug was getting to take advantage of her Finishing Move ability. When she cast 4 different spells in a row, the fourth spell in the sequence became 200% more effective, and any additional mana used to cast the spell became 200% more efficient.


    The ¡°additional mana¡± text was primarily geared toward mana shaping and other bonus effects one could add to a spell from external abilities. My Explosion! spell did not get the increased efficiency bonus since I was casting it naturally, using its channel for all my mana without shaping or weaving in other abilities. It did get the benefit of the first half¨Cincreased effect¨Cwhich tripled its size and took it from 259 feet to 777.


    However, Etja mana shaped the shit out of Mystic Blast. The base spell got a boost in potency from the first half of her Finishing Move passive and all of the extra mana she gave it for increasing size became 3 times more efficient. That meant she could dump 3 times as much mana in, adding 3 times more AoE to the attack than she could normally contribute. Her mana spend was much smaller than mine on a point-by-point basis, but she still increased the size of the attack¨Ceven after its diameter had tripled¨Cby another 60%. All of that together took the spell from a diameter of 777 feet to 1243 feet.


    For reference, the Eiffel Tower stood 1060 feet tall. The Empire State Building rose 1250 feet at its architectural peak. I was about to unleash a spell with a spherical volume of over 37 million cubic yards.


    ¡°For those who evoke my ire, the unavoidable doom of time is too slow! I¡¯m happy to speed that shit up!¡±


    We were way too close.


    My current max range on Explosion! was 230 feet. We needed to be at least 622 feet from the epicenter to avoid getting turned into giblets, a fact I realized uncomfortably late into the channel after realizing how out of control the spell¡¯s size was becoming.


    ¡°Pull us further back!¡± I thought to Etja. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to dump more mana to shape the spell for extra range!¡±


    HP: 740 -> 704


    The Pit¡¯s molten breath had a limited range and my initial safe distance plus my frantic flight allowed me to escape the worst of it. A lake of fire briefly enshrouded me, but my resistances allowed me to emerge from it mostly unscathed. However, I exited into a half dozen tendrils descending onto me, leaving no space to dodge.


    I hastily cast Shortcut, taking me 300 feet northward to avoid all of the descending tendrils. There was a light crack of thunder as I appeared, the movement far enough to send the reforged skill into a 5-second cooldown but not enough to cause me any damage. By the time I got my bearings, a new group of The Pit¡¯s limbs were already crashing down toward me. It was too soon to use Shortcut again.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    I deactivated Gracorvus¡¯s flight, sending myself into a ballistic arc over the sea. I flipped forward, grabbing the shield and bringing it around between myself and the tendrils. I braced the back of it with my knees and took a deep breath.


    The limbs, united in their hatred, spiked me into the ocean like a team of hundred-story volleyball players jacked up on an Olympic swimming pool¡¯s worth of anabolic steroids.


    The world went white. My shins and left forearm were shattered. My left shoulder was dislocated and my right knee became gravel. My heart struggled to keep my brain supplied with oxygen as the hit drove me downward. Spots danced in my vision until I impacted the ocean fast enough to feel like I collided with a brick wall. The sea¡¯s briny water was ice-cold, immediately beginning to invade my muscles and joints, but shocking me back to awareness.


    HP: 704 -> 475


    It seemed that any time I encountered one of this world¡¯s oceans, I was to be thrust into its depths with half my body crushed. I¡¯d even taken nearly the same amount of damage from the tendrils as I had from Yaretzi¡¯s cannonball. It was an odd thought to fixate on, but running the numbers jarred my brain out of the sudden fog that had come over it.


    Unlike the fight with Yaretzi, I was granted no reprieve or time to plan while I sank into the frosty depths. The tendrils snaked into the ocean after me like horrible sea serpents. The water grew cloudy with blood and rotten flesh and water boiled from the persistent touch of divine fire.


    I needed to move.


    I clutched onto Gracorvus with my working arm and jetted away through the water. The fluid dragged at my frame as I went, sending fierce, bright pain through my broken limbs. I easily fought back against the pull with my increased Strength, angling myself toward the surface while avoiding the remnant¡¯s seeking limbs.


    They weren¡¯t nearly as accurate as they had been above, which I assumed was because The Pit could no longer see me beneath the dark waves. I managed to twist between two of the tendrils as they writhed past me, the knobby fingers at their ends grasping blindly.


    I broke the surface, the wind nearly paralyzing me as it battered against my soaked frame and compounded the freezing cold. The Pit hadn¡¯t divided its attention in the brief time I was gone, still wholly fixated on my destruction. A storm of limbs flailed in the air in every direction and then, all began converging on me.


    My allies, however, were being completely ignored.


    Nuralie stood atop The Pit¡¯s cranium, driving arrow after arrow into its head. Each strike made the necrotic veins on its tendrils pulse with sickly mana, growing thick and varicose. Xim leaped across its body below, bashing her way through the sharp barbs on its surface. They rose up past her waist and thrust themselves at her when she came close, her fur already matted with blood. She didn¡¯t care. Her body glowed with divine healing. Crimson infernos had begun to rage in ten different places across its hills of meat.


    Varrin and Shog rode the limbs as they thrashed, driving their blades through them without resistance. Varrin cleaved one through completely and the amount of blood that erupted from it would have made Quentin Tarantino proud.


    Our plan was working, I just needed to keep The Pit busy a little while longer.


    The burning, bleeding, and necrotizing limbs blotted out the sky. I focused on a point on the opposite side of the mountain, just barely visible, and cast Reckless Shortcut at its maximum range.


    My skin was minced by thousands of micro tears when I arrived at my destination, having moved more than 2 miles. The peal of thunder I created when I appeared rivaled the booming roar of the sky above. I planted my feet atop Gracorvus and spun to face The Pit. It turned and searched for me, but its massive eye wasn¡¯t just for show. It spotted me in an instant and the tendrils swung around to start approaching me once more.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, dummy,¡± I said. ¡°Look at me, look at me.¡±


    I activated the Atrocidile roar on Gracorvus, joining the ghostly wail with a roar of my own, preparing myself for the second¨Cand final¨Cround.

 Chapter 135: We are Arlo

    Chapter 135: We are Arlo


    I began to think that pushing Reckless Shortcut to its maximum distance had been a mistake.


    My eyes bulged as the delayed onset agony of my body being thrust through a dimensional blender and spat out through a hole in reality that was several sizes too small caught up to me. Unlike the last time I¡¯d used the reforged spell to extend the teleport¡¯s range, I currently had my entire brain available to process the consequences. However, my knee-jerk decision to blink to the opposite side of the mountain was making me question how much of my ¡®entire¡¯ brain I actually used. This was especially true after I took a second to glance at my health and saw that I¡¯d hurt myself nearly as much as the three-limbed, exploding slap from a sentient mountain of hatred had.


    HP: 475 -> 291


    Screaming at the monster was also a mistake, as my body made clear to me via piercing pains throughout my battered joints. Trying to stand atop Gracorvus was also, also a mistake.


    My left forearm was broken and the shoulder dislocated. My right knee was shattered and both of my tibias had multiple fractures. This was on top of the usual snapped ribs, scorched skin, and body-spanning muscular damage that resulted from having three-quarters of my HP beaten, burned, and exploded out of me.


    If I¡¯d been able to bruise normally, I would have been more purple than tan. Fortunately, Just a Flesh Wound saved me from the inordinate amount of internal Bleeding that I¡¯d normally have suffered when my veins and organs ruptured. Likewise, Body of Theseus saved me from collapsing and was the only reason I could stand at all. My leg bones were in several more pieces than they should have been, after all.


    And yet, these decisions had been made. I stood in the blistering wind. Rain battered my armor and the frigid dampness of my recent dunk penetrated every cell of my body. It would have been miserable, had I not been wholly focused on the hundred tendrils heading toward me, moving at a speed just south of Mach 1. As such, my mind was preoccupied with how fucked I was.


    The remnant¡¯s limbs were in bad shape. They left trails of blood and smoke in the air as they hurtled my way, burning with insatiable flame, and pulsing with toxic veins. Their 20-second journey saw a dozen of their number collapse, overwhelmed by some combination of debuffs. The Pit¡¯s single remaining eye was inflamed with creeping veins of venom, pulsing with each arrow Nuralie landed. I could still make out the loson a mile distant, and it looked like she was dipping new arrows into prepared bottles of poison, having exhausted her supply of pre-coated arrows.


    She¡¯d had a lot of pre-coated arrows.


    The surface of the remnant below its head was steadily becoming engulfed in Xim¡¯s divine fire which spread without opposition while The Pit was fixated wholly on me. Meanwhile, Varrin continued intercept whipping limbs, cutting another two down with the 20-foot length of Kazandak as they made their way to me.


    Meanwhile, Shog leaped from limb to limb until he was at the foremost tendril, greatswords stowed and feathers being blown off his tentacles from the sheer speed of his ride. He was looking in my direction, legs coiled and body ready to pounce.


    I held Somncres clenched in my remaining usable hand, weighing the benefits of hurling some Void Hammers against the brief burst of flight my 58 remaining mana would get me with Gracorvus.


    My gains in Wisdom and Intelligence combined with the spatial understanding granted by my Coordinated Thinker evolution allowed me to do a pretty decent job of plotting the path of the tendrils¨Cespecially as their number reduced¨Cbut at the end of the day, I just wasn¡¯t fast enough on Gracorvus. The duration of my flying mobility wouldn¡¯t be good enough, either.


    Thankfully, Shog seemed to understand my situation. As he grew closer, I even saw Grotto latched onto one of the c¡¯thon¡¯s feelers like he was Shog¡¯s little octo bro, tagging along for the adventure. A disdainful psychic communication quickly dispelled that impression.


    [Are you aware that the overwhelming majority of all discomfort I have suffered in the last several million years is from our Shared Fate connection?]


    ¡°Several million?¡± I thought back to my familiar. ¡°Wait, how old are you?¡±


    [Too old to keep counting and too young for your bravado to become my end.]


    ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯re here to rescue me?¡±


    [I am having one of our subjects rescue you.]


    ¡°One of ¡®our¡¯ subjects? Pretty sure Shog is my summon.¡±


    [Irrelevant. We are so closely bound that your summon may as well be my own.]


    ¡°Yeah? How do you feel about that, Shog?¡±


    ¡°Say the word and I will consume this c¡¯thon pretender.¡±


    ¡°Ha. No, please don¡¯t do that. The psychic feedback would probably kill me.¡± The limbs were a few seconds from impact. ¡°Plan?¡±


    [I will unify our minds and allow you to treat Shog as your wings.]


    ¡°You¡¯re gonna what?¡±


    [You will be able to control him.]


    I was a mortal man, piloting a murderous mana fiend like a flesh suit. Our souls mingled to transmit haptic feedback and our minds were psychically unified and stabilized by an ancient, marginally sociopathic Delve Core. Where Arlo ended and Shog began became a vague suggestion, the distinction between our thoughts no more discrete than two hemispheres of the same brain, with Grotto serving as the corpus callosum between them.


    We were fused into something new. Someone distinct. We were now Grottarlog? Grothuarlo? Tuagrotar?


    No, we¡¯d become the mighty Arlottog.


    Four of Shog¡¯s tentacles secured me at the center of his body, protected by his bearded mass of feelers with Gracorvus over my chest and stomach. Grotto was wrapped around me at the small of my back in the most protected position between myself and Shog. As two more of The Pit¡¯s tendrils struck, I saw them from all directions with my Sight, and we moved instantly to avoid them.


    We spun through the limbs, our combined minds able to see the paths they would take, to predict the corrections they would make as we dodged. We feinted and dove, driving into the freezing waters to break The Pit¡¯s line of sight. We emerged and climbed, seawater spraying off of us as we moved at over 200 miles per hour.


    The limbs that attacked us continued to die¨Cincinerated, decayed, or exsanguinated. We moved as little as possible with each dodge, skirting just outside the blast radius of the pustules and giving ourselves as much time as possible for the next maneuver. The enemy limbs were also growing more sluggish, and a few even struck at places we were nowhere near.


    While The Pit¡¯s attention was wholly on Arlottog, my allies were still not completely safe.


    Xim¡¯s transformation ended, her shrinking body assaulted by the vicious barbs that covered the surface of The Pit¡¯s island body. Her mana was empty and she was no longer able to heal through the damage, her health pool dropping precipitously as she was pierced by a dozen lancing stingers. The world burned around her.


    We swooped down, already angling toward the cleric as the last of her mana was spent. We grabbed her with a pair of feelers, snatching her up from the grasp of the barbs, and went back on the run. We moved around the remnant¡¯s massive head, its eye¨Cnow fully corrupted by black and green veins¨Cno longer gazed at us with unmasked hatred. The pupil was dilated and flitted from side to side, looking at things the rest of us couldn¡¯t see. Its mouth oozed molten rock, the edges turned up in an absent grin.


    The drugs I¡¯d administered were kicking in.


    As I realized that The Pit was starting to feel realgroovy, Varrin fell from one of the tendrils.


    His stamina had fallen to 0 during his mad assault on the tendrils, rendering the warrior unconscious. He descended between the swiping limbs, and we plotted our flight to take us to him without any of the tendrils crossing his descent in their search for us. We caught up and our c¡¯thonic arms wrapped the big guy up.


    Most of our working limbs were now occupied, the rest too injured to hold anyone or anything. Fortunately, The Pit suffered from a combination of dying and dosed up. Despite our burden, we made it back to The Pit¡¯s central head without injury, the lion¡¯s share of attacking limbs destroyed or flailing at invisible enemies.


    We dropped Xim and Varrin onto the top of The Pit¡¯s head next to where Etja had collapsed, her mana dry and her health around one-third. Sweat poured down Nuralie¡¯s face as she dipped an arrow into her poison, drew it back until the muscles in her arm pushed taught against her tight leathers, then released it into The Pit¡¯s skull alongside tens of others. She looked up as we approached, eyes wide from the effects of one of her stimulants.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask,¡± she thought to us while looking Arlottog up and down.


    ¡°Tell me it¡¯s time to use Venemous Escalation,¡± we thought to her. Nuralie looked a little uncomfortable at the psychic harmony of our combined mental voices, but she nodded and began casting the spell.


    Threads of mana shot out from her core, connecting to the webbed veins of Toxicity crawling across The Pit¡¯s head and body. Her eyes flared a sickly green, and a pulse went down the threads. When the energy connected, the veins exploded into growth. In a handful of seconds, they were twice as thick and numerous as they¡¯d been the moment before. There was hardly an inch of the remnant¡¯s surface that was untouched by the corruption.


    Our chest and bones rattled from another infrasonic roar. A few of the remaining tendrils began to flail weakly toward the top of its head where we stood. We didn¡¯t have enough feelers or stamina to carry the entire party away from the assault. Meager as it was, it was still a lethal attack in our state.


    Grocorvus moved from my chest to hover at our front. We drew Shog¡¯s greatswords and we uttered a command to The Pit, its alien mind vulnerable, already teetering on the edge of breaking.


    ¡°You will Despair.¡±


    The mental attack rolled across the Pit and made the last few tendrils hesitate. We flew forward, raking our greatswords across the stuttering limbs. Gracorvus moved to protect us from the weak blasts of a few pustules as their smoldering remains sputtered.


    Finally, only a single limb remained, and we mana-shaped an Oblivion Orb with the last of my mana, increasing its size as much as possible. Despite The Pit¡¯s dimensional resistance, the orb at the palm of our c¡¯thonic hand carved a hole into the center of the limb, large enough for us to pass through. We flew within, then cleaved the limb in half from the inside with our greatswords.


    The limbs were all broken and The Pit¡¯s remaining eyes rolled in its socket. Its flesh sagged and sloughed away and smoke filled the sky from the divine fire ravaging most of its body like an unchecked forest fire. Our bodies shook from another inaudible roar.


    After a minute of silent agony, The Pit finally perished.


    Nuralie dropped her bow and fell onto her ass. She leaned back on her hands, breathing hard and staring at the sky as the rain beaded and ran down her face. Eventually, she turned back to us.


    She started to say something, but my thoughts were hijacked by a notification that plastered itself in the center of my vision.


    Your Crumb-Cruncher Traveler¡¯s Amulet has evolved! Inspect the item to see its new ability and any requirements that must be met to trigger the next evolution.

 Chapter 136: Entry Requirements Met

    Chapter 136: Entry Requirements Met


    I minimized the notification for my amulet to check on my allies and ensure we were truly out of danger. The Pit had gone completely still, most of its tendrils destroyed and the rest unmoving. The remnant¡¯s remaining eye gazed out toward the sea, unfocused. The rain and wind continued, but nothing was presently attempting to murder us.


    Etja, Xim, and Varrin were all unconscious, but the entire party was benefitting from the full suite of potions we¡¯d downed throughout the boss gauntlet. The brews we¡¯d taken after the Clockwork battle were still active but would be running out soon. After that, we¡¯d all be stuck with potion cooldowns for the rest of the day. Still, between the massive bonuses the potions gave us and my health regen aura, everyone¡¯s health was steadily ticking upward and we¡¯d be well out of danger by the time the effects wore off.


    ¡°Are you going to stay like that?¡± Nuralie asked aloud. While the storm continued, it seemed to be abating with the death of The Pit. Our proximity made verbal communication easy enough for the moment. ¡°It is¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°unsettling.¡±


    Her comment caused me to evaluate my mental state. Now that I was no longer engrossed in the life or death combat, it became easier to divorce myself from the shared identity that the mind and soul connections I¡¯d formed with Grotto and Shog had created. I realized I was viewing Nuralie entirely through my Soul-Sight, my body wrapped up in Shog¡¯s tentacles and hidden beneath my shield. I was struck by an acute sense of claustrophobia, and the thought was enough for Shog to release me.


    He guided me to the ground, not gently, but not so roughly that my injuries would be worsened. I sat on the decaying surface of The Pit¡¯s head, no longer willing to force my broken legs to bear my weight. The effects of Grotto¡¯s neurochemical manipulations were also wearing off, and my body was beginning to reassert its disappointment over my choices. I took in a long breath through my teeth, leaning back and placing my good arm behind me to prop myself up.


    ¡°That was weird,¡± I said to no one in particular.


    [An unexpected and creative use of your revelations,] Grotto thought to us. [I cannot say I found the experience to my liking, but I will not deny that it was effective.]


    ¡°I was Slayer. Slayer was me,¡±Shog said, looking at his menacing hands. It reminded me of the first time I¡¯d connected to Grotto with Reveal.


    ¡°It was like a supercharged version of the identity confusion that Reveal can cause,¡± I said. ¡°But it went both ways because of your psychic link, Grotto.¡±


    [Yes, yes. My talents are boundless and I am happy to take credit for the feat,] he thought to us, but the words were half-hearted at best¨Clike he was failing to maintain the charade of Grotto the megalomaniac. [I must spend some time... digesting this phenomenon. Please do not disturb me unless the need is dire.]


    I raised an eyebrow as Grotto floated over to settle on my shoulder. He latched on with his feelers, then closed his big, black octo eyes. Nuralie tilted her head.


    ¡°Did he just say ¡®please¡¯?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I do believe the word just came out of him,¡± I said, wincing as a rib clicked back into place.


    Nuralie replied with a short ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°I felt things!¡± my summon shouted. I was too burned out to be startled, so I just shot him a curious look.


    ¡°Yeah, Shog? What did you feel?¡±


    ¡°I felt... fear. Fear that the demoness would die. When we pulled her from the mountain¡¯s thorns, I was elated. As though I¡¯d just bitten into someone delicious and full of mana.¡±


    ¡°Er, okay?¡± I said, uncertain of what he was getting at. ¡°I also felt that way, except for it being like eating a person. It didn¡¯t feel like that at all.¡±


    ¡°How many people have you eaten?¡± asked Nuralie with a grin.


    ¡°Zero, I think,¡± I said.


    ¡°You think?¡±


    ¡°I try not to make any absolute statements. I ate a lot of hotdogs back on Earth. Nobody knows what¡¯s inside of hotdogs.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t dogs?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Probably not,¡± I replied. ¡°Usually. Maybe.¡±


    ¡°The feelings were potent, much stronger than they should have been,¡± said Shog. ¡°The demoness is a useful ally, but does not serve an essential role in my continued growth.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I get it,¡± I said.


    ¡°You do?¡±


    ¡°Sure. You¡¯re normally a heartless monstrosity whose sole motivation is the urge to feed and grow stronger. No offense.¡±


    ¡°Why would that offend me?¡±


    ¡°While we were in our Voltron form,¡± I continued, ¡°you were sharing some of my emotions. Since I have an evolved primate brain that derives benefits from social cohesion, I¡¯m more considerate of the well-being of others, beyond for the simple reason that they grant me advantages.¡± I grunted as two pieces of a tibia slid and fused back together. ¡°Your brain might be closer to a reptile¡¯s...¡±


    There was a groan from the nearby crowd of unconscious party members, and I looked over to see Xim sitting up.


    ¡°Why are we talking about Shog¡¯s emotions?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Because everyone¡¯s emotions are important?¡± I offered.


    ¡°That is not true,¡± said Shog.


    ¡°Good to know I didn¡¯t rub off on you too much.¡±


    There was another groan from Xim, but rather than a groan that said ¡®Oh gods, I feel like shit,¡¯ it was a groan that said something along the lines of ¡®Oh gods, I¡¯m covered in shit.¡¯


    She was looking down at her chest, which was splattered in blood and dark goop. She lifted a hand from the surface of the Pit¡¯s head to find it slick with rotting, liquifying skin. I looked down and realized that the ground all around me was also rapidly decaying and I was sinking into it ever so slowly. It emitted a rather pungent odor.


    ¡°Can we leave this wretched place?¡± said Xim, shaking some of the goo from her arm.


    ¡°How do we leave?¡± asked Nuralie.


    We all looked around for an obelisk or a portal but were met with nothing but a putrifying mountain, a dwindling storm, and an endless sea.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait a few more minutes until we¡¯re all conscious and able to walk,¡± I said. ¡°Then we can start looking for whatever it is we¡¯re meant to find.¡±


    Xim grumbled, but the group agreed. I took the time to pull out my amulet from beneath my armor and inspect it for the thousandth time since it last evolved. I was half expecting the notification to be some sort of prank, and that the item¡¯s description would now read ¡°Haha, fuck you,¡± or something. Happily, that wasn¡¯t the case.


    Traveler¡¯s Amulet


    This is an evolving item.


    Current Level: Junior Jumbuck


    Effects:


    1) It¡¯s stylish.


    2) Soul-Sight - My dearest Arlo, you¡¯ve realized that making Soul-Sight your own means more than gaining simple competency. Your identity informs the ability, and the ways that you use it to see the world can be as unique and personal as your bohemian fashion choices!


    If you¡¯re seeing this message, then you¡¯ve now realized the way that these revelations can be used goes well beyond the default settings baked into them by whatever divinity they draw power from. The same is true for all revelations! Will you keep this secret to yourself and hoard the power that it grants? Will you share it with only your closest allies? Maybe you¡¯ll shout it out for all the world to hear! I could take a guess at what you¡¯ll do, but I hate to prognosticate when the potential outcomes are so unpredictable.


    Now that I have imparted unto you this divine wisdom, let¡¯s move on to the interesting bit: more buffs!


    3) Extrinsic Intrinsics - Your bonded familiar is a quirky pet, and I find the way that the System bound your fates together to be both unique and unusual. The System even went so far as to grant you a shared intrinsic skill: Dungeoneering! Well, if there¡¯s one thing I adore about new and untested abilities, it¡¯s that they are ripe for exploitation!


    Using the soul connection between yourself and Grotto, you can share more than just Dungeoneering. In fact, I¡¯ve figured out a way to allow you to share all of your intrinsic skills with the little fellow. How broken is this capability? I¡¯ve no idea, but I¡¯m eager for you to find out!


    Dig deeper into the soul connection between yourself and Grotto to unlock this item¡¯s next effect!


    I read through the text several times. It was clear that Fortune was now talking to me directly through the amulet¡¯s description, which made me wonder how much of my current activities he was aware of. Did the amulet broadcast everything I did to the wily avatar? I¡¯d already given up on discerning the motivations of the rotund giant without further intel, but couldn¡¯t help from being drawn into a fresh round of speculation.


    The text implied that Fortune was somehow directly influencing the System¨Ceither behind the scenes and from within the System itself, or simply by abusing its mechanics. The text also implied that Fortune was able to use this System access to manipulate the soul connection between me and my familiar. The fact that the System allowed any entity to have a backdoor into my soul was disturbing. I couldn¡¯t think of any examples of when Fortune might have made nefarious use of that access, but that didn¡¯t mean he hadn¡¯t.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    When the avatar had brought me to Arzia, he¡¯d reshaped my body. For a time, I was concerned that he¡¯d Trojan Horse¡¯d some kind of obedience directive into my thought process. It was possible that my actions were subtly guided by some deeply buried manipulation he¡¯d left inside me. Fortune had denied doing such a thing¨Csince it was, according to him, cheating¨Cbut my trust in the demigod went about as far as I could throw him and his amply-gifted buttocks.


    This ability raised another similar issue. If Fortune could manipulate my soul connection to Grotto, could he surreptitiously influence the actions of either myself or the Delve Core? It was another question that had no good way to get answered, so I stuffed it down into a mental box I¡¯d labeled ¡°da¡¯ fuck?¡±. It was practically overflowing by this point.


    ...


    Portal guardian difficulty rating: A


    Maximum reward distribution authorized!


    Each party member receives 2 Diamond Chips!


    All party members receive a progression bonus to intrinsic skills used during the encounter.


    Now releasing all intrinsic skills gained during the remedial level-up procedures.


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased to level 25!


    ->


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased to level 30!


    Your Mystical Magic skill has increased to level 13!


    ->


    Your Mystical Magic skill has increased to level 16!


    Your Physical Magic skill has increased to level 14!


    ->


    Your Physical Magic skill has increased to level 20!


    Your Blunt skill has increased to level 23!


    ->


    Your Blunt skill has increased to level 26!


    Your Shields skill has increased to level 22!


    ->


    Your Shields skill has increased to level 25!


    Your Heavy Armor skill has increased to level 14!


    ->


    Your Heavy Armor skill has increased to level 20!


    Your Leadership skill has increased to level 11!


    ->


    Your Leadership skill has increased to level 19!


    This portal guardian realm will be collapsed after 10 minutes. Please enter the portal to Deijin¡¯s Descent before that time.


    After the parade of notifications ended, a swirling, silver portal appeared before us.


    ¡°So many intrinsic levels,¡± Xim said in awe.


    I blinked and nodded, looking over the endless skill-ups.


    ¡°Portal guardian?¡± I said, eyes catching on that bit of text. ¡°I thought we were fighting ¡®remedial¡¯ bosses to get up to level 10.¡±


    ¡°Other than Clockwork, the earlier bosses weren¡¯t too impressive,¡± said Xim. ¡°And all of them were at a level that I think makes sense to appear in a platinum Delve. The thing we just fought¨CThe Pit¨Cwas leagues ahead of a level 9 to 10 Delve, even if it were a platinum.¡±


    ¡°Right. Can¡¯t say I expected to fight a monster the size of a mountain before at least level 20,¡± I said. ¡°Actually, are there any mana monsters of that size? Besides the one we just killed, that is.¡±


    ¡°None that have been confirmed,¡± said Varrin. ¡°There are legends, though. Creatures of myth, such as The C¡¯thon. After this, however, I wonder if any might be real.¡±


    ¡°The C¡¯thon?¡± I said. ¡°Is that just a really big c¡¯thon?¡±


    ¡°The legend of The C¡¯thon predates the discovery of the c¡¯thonic race by centuries, perhaps millenia. The c¡¯thons that you know, such as Shog, were named after the creature in the legend due to similarities in their appearance.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, but it could just be a really big c¡¯thon.¡±


    Varrin sighed.


    ¡°For all our sakes, I hope that it isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Well, no more time for banter I suppose.¡± I glanced at the portal. It had the same silvery shimmer as the portal that had sent us to the in-between and cast us through the void for some unknown length of time, potentially months.


    ¡°We should spend our stat points so they don¡¯t decay in case this portal takes its time like the last one,¡± I said. ¡°Evolutions can wait until we¡¯re on the other side. We¡¯ve only got seven minutes to get through and evolutions can sometimes have unforeseen side effects.¡±


    Everyone agreed to the plan, and I spent my 16 accrued stat points according to my previous distribution. I placed 6 into Wisdom, 5 into Intelligence, and 5 into Strength, snagging that luscious bonus point from Dumping to all three. I gave my stats a brief review once I was finished.


    Strength:22


    Agility:10


    Speed:10


    Fortitude:40


    Intelligence:33


    Wisdom:40


    Charisma:10


    Luck:10


    I now had the same number of total stats as a level 19 Delver, which was insane considering I was only level 10. Of course, my intrinsics were once again lower than what Varrin thought a level 10 platinum should have, but overall I felt phenomenal about the gains. With great reluctance, I pushed away the evolution notifications, then I confirmed that everyone in the party was ready to go.


    We stepped up to the portal and I gave it a hearty slap.


    Now entering Delve 2997: Deijin¡¯s Descent.


    This is a Special-Grade Delve.


    Time Limit: None


    Objective: Escape

 Chapter MT2 - Epilogue

    Chapter MT2 - Epilogue


    ***


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY USER NAME: [ERROR: REDACTED]


    ADDENDUM NOTE: Nine months after the disappearance of Fortune¡¯s Folly into Deijin¡¯s Descent


    ***


    Brae¡¯ach guided his long, sharp fingers slowly over the monolith, creating delicate swirls of mana-rich color that etched into the stone¡¯s surface. Jakom had been watching his work over the past hour as the tall man¡¯s artistry created a spiraling weave of symbols and song that seemed to be written into the very fabric of the slab. The celestial language was beyond Jakom¡¯s understanding, but the process of writing it was mesmerizing to behold.


    The others present were not so easily impressed, it seemed.


    ¡°Your ineptitude gnarls my patience,¡± said Orexis. The lumbering entity frowned beneath his ragged cloak. His twin was tucked behind him like always, her empty face staring off into some distance only she could perceive.


    If Brae¡¯ach heard the avatar, he showed no sign. He continued his soft and gentle sweep of mana across the monolith¡¯s surface undeterred.


    ¡°Your haste erodes my goodwill,¡± said Limbo.


    The dark avatar stood opposite the room from Orexis, leaning against the wall of the dilapidated temple with some armored human hanging limply by its side. Jakom found all the avatars loathsome in their own way, but this one was especially unsettling. Being near Limbo felt like being removed from the world, each sensation and thought isolated in a never-ending spiral of self-doubt and loneliness. Looking at it was like looking at an island on a pitch-black sea, cut off from reality by some impenetrable barrier that cascaded into a fathomless abyss. Even Orexis kept his distance from the shadowy figure, and Anesis always kept her brother between them.


    Only Brae¡¯ach seemed unaffected by Limbo¡¯s presence, or at least he never let it show. For its part, Limbo was unusually supportive of Brae¡¯ach, seeming warmer to the executor of Unity than the other avatars. Considering how much the god spawn all hated each other, it was miraculous that they even listened to Brae¡¯ach at all, much less followed his direction, but Jakom knew that Brae¡¯ach possessed an immaculate spirit of leadership that could bring together even the most disparate of peoples. Even the avatars respected him, or at least tolerated him enough to work together, which Jakom had heard was nigh unprecedented.


    ¡°¡®Goodwill,¡¯¡± said Orexis with a huffing snort. ¡°You lack the capacity, singular one. Do not chide me with your hypocrisy.¡±


    ¡°I will chide you with your foolishness, ¡± said Limbo. ¡°Mistake not Unity¡¯s silence for tolerance. You draw undue attention far too quickly; your brash methods of spectacle and clamor are the envy of Hysteria.¡±


    ¡°We shall see if Unity abides truly in the herald or not,¡± said Orexis. ¡°We wished for the mortals to leave. A mana eruption shatters their presence. This generation lacks the will to oppose us anyway; why should I care what they notice?¡±


    ¡°If you would pull your head out of your sister long enough to smell the air around you,¡± said Limbo, ¡°you would notice the fires are burning far too quickly. Their escalation outpaces those before them. You ignore them at our peril.¡±


    ¡°I have tasted their might and am not impressed,¡± said Orexis.


    ¡°Your overconfidence is staggering. I will separate you two if that is what is required to grant you clarity.¡±The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))


    Orexis snarled, baring his teeth and spreading his many arms into a fighting stance.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± said the avatar of Yearning, standing to tower over the shadow. Anesis woke from her trance at her brother¡¯s rage, smoke curling at the edges of her hollow countenance.


    ¡°Please,¡± said Brae¡¯ach, keeping his eyes on the monolith. ¡°The past cannot be changed. I will request another prepare the next ritual site. You are efficient, Orexis, but lack the finesse to sow all the seeds we need later reap.¡±


    Jakom watched as Orexis eyed Brae¡¯ach. The contempt was clear in the squint of the avatar¡¯s glare, but he said nothing. Instead, he lowered himself back into his hunched position and crossed his arms as the shadow lazily slumped against the wall once more. Anesis slipped back into her hypnotic state as Orexis calmed.


    ¡°There,¡± said Brae¡¯ach, making one last swirl of his finger before lowering his hand to his side. ¡°Now for the catalyst.¡±


    Brae¡¯ach motioned to Limbo, and the shadow pushed the armored human towards him. Brae¡¯ach held out his hand, which the human mindlessly took as they stumbled forward. The high chief removed the human¡¯s helm, revealing a light-skinned man with short white hair and grizzled stubble about his jawline. His eyes were open but unfocused, as though he were blind, but he followed Brae¡¯ach¡¯s instruction and stood in front of the monolith.


    ¡°Hm,¡± said Brae¡¯ach, examining the man. ¡°Yes, a dense and well-organized matrix, attuned strongly to the Physical.¡±


    ¡°A level 31,¡± said Limbo, ¡°mostly platinum. It should suffice.¡±


    Anesis turned to face Orexis and placed her hands within his. Jakom saw something he recognized as a smile, which he had never seen either of the siblings do. The two hugged fiercely, which slowly turned into caressing, and then heavy breathing.


    Jakom looked away. He had seen them embrace before, having no sense of propriety or care for the stares of others. He saw Limbo look upward in an expression Jakom took to be rolling his eyes.


    -----


    Brae¡¯ach rested within the halls of the ancient temple for many days, with several of his most capable United standing guard. They were nearly as tall as he, featuring long dripping arms that ended in fierce talons. They could no longer speak human language and their faces held little resemblance to human features, but their steadfast stance and unshakable vigilance spoke more about their loyalty than any words could muster.


    They allowed no one through save for Jakom, who would bring food and water to the sleeping giant. For the first few days, he never saw Brae¡¯ach eat or drink, but the bowls would be empty upon his return nonetheless. After nearly a week, Brae¡¯ach finally stirred on Jakom¡¯s arrival, and smiled seeing his most trusted comrade. Jakom returned the expression, taking Brae¡¯ach¡¯s hand in his own.


    ¡°You did it,¡± said Jakom. ¡°It actually worked. They answered your call.¡±


    Brae¡¯ach slowly rose to a sitting position, placing his head in his free hand as he oriented himself to the room.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Brae¡¯ach, with a grin. ¡°You doubted me?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not,¡± said Jakom. ¡°But I doubted the intelligence provided by the avatars. They are capricious and self-centered at the best of times, always playing games against each other.¡±


    Brae¡¯ach grunted as he shifted in his bed, swinging his legs over the massive slab of mossy stone and onto the floor.


    ¡°True,¡± said Brae¡¯ach, ¡°but they are capable when properly motivated.¡±


    ¡°I imagine any resistance they had to your leadership will be truly abated now,¡± said Jakom.


    ¡°Yes, and no,¡± said Brae¡¯ach. ¡°Those who desire the Unification will have their doubts quelled, but there are those who desire it not. They will be galvanized to oppose us directly, when word spreads that we can truly achieve it.¡±


    The large man stood slowly, before losing his balance and falling back to his seated position with a groan.


    ¡°Easy,¡± said Jakom. ¡°You have been asleep for many days. Allow yourself to fully wake.¡±


    Brae¡¯ach leaned his back against the wall, taking a deep breath that swirled around the stone room.


    ¡°In many ways, I am more awake now than I ever have been,¡± said Brae¡¯ach. ¡°More than any man has ever been. I saw the heavens, but for a brief moment. It is staggering to behold.¡±


    ¡°Then be sure your feet are firmly placed,¡± said Jakom. ¡°There is ample time, and you must be ready for whatever the ritual requires next.¡±


    Brae¡¯ach placed his hand gently on Jakom¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°I do not think I can be truly ready,¡± he said, ¡°but I must proceed regardless. The Physical monolith has been activated, and it required much of me physically. The next monolith is the Spiritual, and I worry what it shall require.¡±


    ¡°Your spirit is the strongest of any,¡± said Jakom. Brae¡¯ach chuckled.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± he said. ¡°But this ritual was not meant for any. I can only hope I will be enough.¡±


    ¡°It may help if the next site is prepared less... catastrophically,¡± said Jakom.


    ¡°Catastrophe was well suited for Canotha, though I regret its excess,¡± said Brae¡¯ach. ¡°But yes, I believe I will ask Hysteria to prepare the Spiritual site. They are uniquely suited to compel the spirits of others.¡±

 Chapter 137: To the Moon!

    Chapter 137: To the Moon!


    We were on the fucking moon.


    Or, maybe it was a space station. It could also have been a particularly large asteroid, perhaps. The latter two would have required artificial gravity, of course. Then again, my body weight felt no different than it had on the surface, so if we were on the moon then it probably had some artificial gravity mechanism as well.


    Or the moon was really, really big. I didn¡¯t think that was the case since the planet that the continent Arzia sat upon was pretty close to us and I think I would have remembered a moon that took up three-quarters of the sky.


    Or the moon could have been very dense, maybe? Would it have been easier to make a moon extra dense rather than cover it with an artificial gravity field? Maybe not, given the presence of magic fuckery in this universe. Either way, these were questions for greater minds than my own.


    The point is, we were on the moon. The fucking. Moon.


    The portal to phase two Delve, Deijin¡¯s Descent, had spat us out into a massive hallway that was doing its damndest to act as a botanical garden as its side hustle. It was doing a pretty good job of it, too.


    The architecture of the hundred-foot-wide hallway had very little of what I¡¯d come to recognize as traditional Delve feng shui. Instead of dark stone, the floor was made up of bright, marble tiles. The walls consisted of matching slabs of the light-colored metamorphic rock but were adorned with reliefs inset with gold, silver, and a variety of precious stones.


    The ceiling, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t there. Instead, we were treated to an expansive, breathtaking view of the planet we¡¯d all come from, set upon the black backdrop of space. We¡¯d all stared up at it in stunned silence when we arrived, watching the clouds slowly meander across the continent of Arzia. The landmass was unmistakable, with Hiward sitting at its center in the midst of a thousand-mile gulf that stretched from the shores of the Littan Empire and Eschendur east of Hiward to the edges of Timagrin to the kingdom¡¯s west.


    ¡°Heavens above, it¡¯s beautiful,¡± said Xim. Her amber eyes reflected the light from the planet¡¯s surface, her rose-colored features locked into an expression of awe.


    ¡°It¡¯s so grand,¡± said Varrin. The giant of a man shifted uncomfortably. ¡°But it also feels so...¡± he trailed off, looking for the right word.


    ¡°Small?¡± said Nuralie. Varrin nodded without turning to look at the darkly clad loson. The scaled alchemist looked pensive and slightly troubled by what she was seeing.


    ¡°Everything any of us has ever known is up there,¡± said Etja. She bit her lip, brow furrowing, then crossed all of her arms. ¡°Down there?¡±


    ¡°Where I come from, they call this the overview effect,¡± I said. ¡°Unexpected, overwhelming emotion when seeing your planet from space for the first time.¡±


    I reached up to scratch my beard, but it was still missing after being scorched away during our fight with Clockwork. I frowned in irritation that my Just a Flesh Wound evolution allowed me to regenerate any missing body part, but didn¡¯t work for my hair. The description said that it would regenerate any missing vital organs. My beard was a vital aesthetic feature. It should have counted!


    At least my c¡¯thonic feather boa was still attached and in one piece. The blue, violet, and fuchsia item was immutable, so no fire could harm it. I stroked that instead as I pondered.


    ¡°Did... your people often see things from the perspective of gods?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°From your point of view, I guess so,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°We were nascent space explorers. Only a handful of people went into orbit. Even fewer to the moon itself. We also had satellites that we launched much further out into the solar system. They¡¯d take pictures and send them back.¡±


    ¡°It seems the Old Ones also achieved such feats,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°From what we¡¯ve discovered it seems like they were farther along technologically than Earth. Combined with the magic they had, I bet their civilization was incredible. The System alone is pretty impressive.¡±


    ¡°It is too bad they doomed themselves,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°The hubris of the powerful,¡± said Varrin. ¡°To create a machine capable of destroying everything they¡¯d built.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t really know what happened. We¡¯ve no idea if everything the Operator told us was correct.¡±


    ¡°Regardless, they¡¯re gone,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We are not. And we have a goal to achieve.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said, tearing my eyes from the spectacle above and surveying the hall.


    Aside from the marble adorned with a dragon¡¯s hoard of wealth, there were rows of leafy plants growing in irrigated troughs down the length of the hall. Hundreds of wall sconces bore vegetation with long, hanging vines and fronds. Some flowered in vibrant blooms of orange and violet.


    ¡°Overall, this is definitely the prettiest Delve we¡¯ve run across,¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s still too damned cold,¡± Xim grumbled. She was wearing her mega-stretch onesie, her chainmail, doublet, and tabard having been lost during our fight with the mountainous Delve remnant, The Pit.


    ¡°The fact that we failed to pack an extra set of armor for you is proving to have been a major oversight,¡± I said.


    Nuralie pulled a few of her thick, brown-and-green blankets from her inventory and handed them over. Xim accepted them thankfully and wrapped them around her shoulders. Personally, the chill in the Delve was also getting to me. I was still soaked through from getting dunked during the fight, despite hours having passed. That is, hours from our perspective. We had no idea how much time may have gone by since we traversed the second swirling, silver portal. The first one had blipped away a couple of months'' worth of time at the least. I shivered and decided I would be better served removing the clothes and armor to let them dry. There was no sign of enemies so far.


    As I started to strip, a tapping noise came from above, like metal on glass. A ripple crossed the otherwise clear view of the planet. I looked up to find Shog poking at an invisible barrier above with one of his long claws. He also had his rapier out, gripped in the stolen mousy hand of Yaretzi at the end of a feathered, black-and-green tentacle. He was about to stab at the barrier.


    ¡°Shog, no!¡± I shouted.


    My summon turned to look down at me, his beard of tentacles undulating. I was only a little jealous that his own beard counted as a part of his body. Even his feathers came back when his health regenerated. Life wasn¡¯t fair.


    ¡°Why?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The moon where I¡¯m from doesn¡¯t have an atmosphere.¡±


    He stared at me blankly with his large, black eyes.


    ¡°If there¡¯s no atmosphere outside,¡± I continued, ¡°then if that barrier is breached, it¡¯ll suck the atmosphere that¡¯s inside here¡±¨CI pointed at the ground with both fingers¨C¡°out there.¡± I pointed up at the planet. ¡°Violently.¡±


    Honestly, I wasn¡¯t sure how violent the decompression would be. I remembered some factoid about how the way it was portrayed in movies was exaggerated, but getting the point across to the c¡¯thon took precedence over my factual accuracy. Suffocation would have been a shit way to go out, especially after everything we¡¯d already survived.


    Shog looked up at the transparent barrier again, then hovered back down toward the ground.


    [I find it unlikely that any power we possess could disable a barrier keeping a facility such as this contained.]


    I looked to my left shoulder where my familiar, Grotto, hugged onto me with his tentacles. The Delve Core¡¯s c¡¯thonic eyes were lidded as though the little octo were drowsy.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± I said to him. ¡°Done processing after our fusion event?¡±


    [Yes. The emotional context transferred through our soul connection was overwhelming,] he thought to me with surprising forthrightness. I raised an eyebrow at his lack of snark. The fact that he failed to condemn any of my recent life choices was also impressive.


    ¡°Shog had some trouble with that as well.¡±


    ¡°I experienced what Slayer calls empathy,¡± my summon added. ¡°I did not like it.¡±


    [I am aware. Part of what made the matter difficult to digest was the dichotomy between the mental state of an uncaring predator against the overly sensitive nature of our shared host.]


    ¡°Overly sensitive?¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think¨C¡±


    [Your front of emotional immaturity is a vacuous attempt to shield yourself from the potential loss of those you care for. You also distance yourself from those around you in order to avoid the potential sting of betrayal.]


    ¡°Thanks for sharing that with the group,¡± I said.


    ¡°Since when is Grotto so in tune with human emotion?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°He¡¯s always had an uncomfortable level of insight into my mental state.¡± I tossed my breastplate into my inventory and started pulling off my doublet.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    [Your longing for connection while keeping yourself isolated from opportunities to do so causes your anxieties to trickle down to myself. You need to address this mental vulnerability for our shared benefit.]


    Restrictor Belt 2


    So long as you have spent no mana in the last 20 minutes, your weapon attacks gain +1 damage per every 2 levels of Physical Magic.


    ¡°Doubling down on the zero-mana build,¡± I said.


    ¡°When added to Restrictor Belt 1, it is 16 points of added damage,¡± he said. ¡°Still a small bonus, but it will continue to escalate as I acquire the higher evolutions. Eventually, it will account for a significant portion of my damage output.¡±


    He moved on to Tactics.


    Allied Engagement


    Allies who make attacks against an entity you have damaged in the last 10 seconds deal bonus damage to that entity equal to your level in Tactics.


    ¡°Team up boss gun,¡± I said. ¡°Always a good choice.¡±


    We golf clapped, then moved to Nuralie. She¡¯d raised Intelligence to 40, snagging her second keystone stat evolution. She placed her 2 leftover points into Speed, bringing it to 12. For intrinsics, her evos were in Spiritual, Physical, and Divine.


    Her Intelligence evolution added some new flair to her build.


    Weak Spot


    With six seconds of focused observation, you can deduce the weakest point on any entity. Once an entity¡¯s weak point has been identified, your Intelligence improves your chance of scoring a critical strike against that Entity. This bonus is in addition to any other stat that improves your chance of scoring a critical strike.


    ¡°Pivoting into crits?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I needed more burst,¡± she said. Pause. ¡°And I already have that crit evolution from Luck. Might as well.¡±


    ¡°Synergy!¡± said Etja.


    We moved on to Spiritual.


    Haunting Poisons


    Whenever an entity suffers damage from Spiritual Toxicity you apply, that entity takes an additional amount of Psychic damage equal to your level in Spiritual Magic. This effect may only occur once every 10 seconds per entity.


    ¡°Poisons that corrupt your soul and your mind,¡± I said.


    ¡°I have been experimenting more with the poison we used against the specter,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°I believe that I can diversify my damage further into Spiritual.¡±


    Next up was Physical.


    Plague Doctor


    Whenever you apply a stack of Bleeding to a character, you apply an additional stack. The Toxicity of all poisons you inflict is increased by an amount equal to your level in Physical Magic. You can take the active skill Mad Experiment.


    Mad Experiment


    Physical


    Cost: Variable


    Cooldown: 1 minute


    You utilize another creature as a test subject for your biological research. You can increase a target¡¯s stacks of Bleeding up to double the current amount by spending 2 stamina per added stack, and you can increase their toxicity up to double their current amount by spending 1 mana per 2 toxicity added.


    ¡°Good for your poisons,¡± I said, ¡°But, Bleeding?¡±


    ¡°Arrows make people bleed,¡± she replied. ¡°The active skill will also combine well with Varrin¡¯s build.¡±


    ¡°Teamwork makes the dream work and the dream is that they fucking die,¡± I said with a sigh, reciting a slogan I¡¯d long ago abandoned for being too long.


    Next was Nuralie¡¯s evolution to Divine Magic.


    Lightbringer


    You bring light into the darkest places. You gain darkvision and Evil Sense out to a number of feet equal to your Divine Magic skill level. Additionally, whenever you hit with an attack against a hostile character, you gain shielding for 1 minute equal to your Divine Magic skill level, or twice that much if the target is profane to your deity. This shielding can only be granted once per target per minute.


    ¡°An ironic skill for your build,¡± I said, ¡°considering you are the thing in the shadows.¡±


    ¡°It gives shielding,¡± she said as though that were her sole consideration for taking the evolution.


    ¡°How many ¡®sense¡¯ skills do you have now?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°Sense life out to 42 feet, Divine Magic sense out to 23 feet, which also detects things profane and sacred to the Eschen triad, and now sense evil out to 23 feet.¡±


    ¡°Hot damn,¡± I said, thinking back to the moleman threat that might have been lurking under our very feet. ¡°Sense anything nearby?¡±


    Nuralie focused for a second.


    ¡°Plants,¡± she said.


    ¡°Are they evil plants?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Pause. ¡°Nor are they sacred or profane.¡±


    ¡°Are any of us secretly evil?¡± I asked.


    Nuralie took a long, hard look at Grotto and then a longer, harder look at Shog. Shog returned the stare while sharpening one of his greatswords with a pair of tentacles and oiling the other with his hands, talons clinking against the blade.


    ¡°No?¡± she said.


    ¡°Not very reassuring.¡±


    ¡°I do not think it was a secret.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± I said, looking warily at my summon.


    Shog pulled out a large hunk of what looked like Pit flesh with another, unoccupied tentacle and started snacking as he worked on the massive pair of swords. His vicious beak crunched away at the rocky skin of his meal. I also noticed that his Grade had gone up to 16. I swallowed, clearing my suddenly dry throat. I thought I caught Shog giving me a sinister wink, but it could have been my imagination.


    ¡°Heh,¡± I chirped. ¡°Who¡¯s up next?¡±

 Chapter 138: You Get an Evo, and You Get an Evo, and You Get an Evo!

    Chapter 138: You Get an Evo, and You Get an Evo, and You Get an Evo!


    After taking a moment to appreciate Shog¡¯s existence as a barely contained entity of malevolent destruction, Etja decided to go next.


    ¡°I got Wisdom to 40!¡± she said with a bright smile. ¡°I put the 2 other points into Luck.¡±


    ¡°Luck?¡± I said. ¡°Why Luck?¡±


    ¡°I wanna see what the level 20 evolutions look like.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, good enough for me, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°I have several volumes you can look over,¡± said Varrin. ¡°They list the common evolutions for different stats.¡±


    ¡°Shhhh,¡± said the mage, holding up a finger. ¡°I want it to be a surprise,¡± she whispered. ¡°Other than that, Divine got above 20 and Performance went from 9 all the way to 18!¡±


    ¡°Does Performance level when you dance with your Mirtasian Cadence while casting?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It does,¡± she said, leaning in with eyebrows raised. ¡°My Divine evolution is the most problematic, so let¡¯s talk about that one first.¡±


    ¡°Whaddaya mean, ¡®problematic¡¯?¡± I asked. Etja answered by sharing the evo.


    Release


    You understand well the state of exaltation that can be attained when you enforce your will upon the world. Bliss is not your only reward for doing so. Whenever you cast a Divine spell, you gain a number of stacks of Blessed equal to the number of evolutions you have in Divine Magic.


    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± I said. Etja was right. The evolution was mildly concerning, and I was reminded of her connection to Orexis. Her skills and evolutions often held themes that related to the avatar. ¡°Your last evo in Divine was called Yearning, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said, some of her excitement over the advancements disappearing. ¡°Yearning rewards me when I focus. The bonuses I get related to Orexis usually involve granting me buffs when obsessing over a goal.¡±


    ¡°That one wasn¡¯t surprising,¡± I said. ¡°After all, Orexis is your progenitor. Your abilities related to the Mirtasians are also understandable since you were modeled after Orexis¡¯s long-lost high priestess. This ability, however...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s related to Anesis,¡± Varrin finished. ¡°The avatar of Release.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s strange,¡± said Xim. ¡°Orexis is connected to his sister at a fundamental level. They¡¯re two halves of the same god according to the apocrypha.¡± She drummed her fingers along her thigh. ¡°She¡¯s like Etja¡¯s aunt in a way.¡±


    ¡°You only have 1 Divine active skill, right?¡± I said, looking at the mage. She nodded.


    ¡°Incorporate,¡± she said.


    ¡°Do you experience ¡®exaltation¡¯ when you use it to absorb stuff like this description says?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not not fun, but I think saying that it gives me bliss is a stretch.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it,¡± said Xim. ¡°You haven¡¯t turned into a frothing monster of consumption using the skills you got from Orexis. I doubt something like this will change your personality.¡±


    ¡°Why did you pick it if you¡¯re concerned?¡± I asked.


    ¡°All of the evolution options were called Release,¡± said Etja. ¡°They just did different things.¡±


    ¡°That does not follow the normal pattern,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Evolutions have unique names. They are sometimes similar to one another, but never the exact same.¡±


    ¡°Unless they¡¯re forced upon you by an eldritch god,¡± I muttered.


    Etja shrugged.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know what to tell ya¡¯. They all had the exact same name.¡±


    ¡°You can just keep a close watch on your feelings,¡± I said. ¡°If you start experiencing a ravenous desire to eat something other than cheese or blow stuff up just for the hell of it, let us know. Otherwise, let¡¯s not worry about it too much. There¡¯s nothing we can do about it right now.¡±


    Etja continued to look troubled, but she nodded.


    ¡°What I find more interesting,¡± said Xim, ¡°is that you can generate Blessed stacks without worshiping any deity. Blessed always has a divinity as the source of the blessings. Since you don¡¯t worship anything, where does the Blessed come from?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh, maybe they come from me?¡±


    Xim furrowed her brow, re-reading the ability.The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))


    ¡°That has implications,¡± the cleric said softly.


    ¡°What kind of implications?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I have no idea,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to think about it.¡±


    With the matter settled Etja¡¯s smile returned, washing over her features and carrying away all signs of her stress like an ocean wave erasing a child¡¯s sand castle. She moved on to Performance.


    Crowd Work


    While you love to perform in more intimate venues, you¡¯re more than capable of wowing larger groups. Whenever your performance has an audience with more than one member, you have a chance to Mesmerize any individual member. For each member Mesmerized, your chance to Mesmerize the others increases. Your chance to Mesmerize is based on your CHA and opposed by the audience member¡¯s WIS.


    ¡°A good example of a non-combat evolution,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°A little vague about its chances of success,¡± I added.


    Nuralie tilted her head as she read the ability.


    ¡°Is mind controlling a non-hostile audience¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°ethical?¡±


    What followed was a healthy debate over what constituted ¡°mind control¡± and¨Ceven if Mesmerize were¨Cwhether an ability that kept an audience from attacking Etja was a problem. Mesmerize would also cause the affected people to treat her as an ¡®ally¡¯, but outside of combat none of us were certain of what that meant. Since the only thing that is forced anyone to do was refrain from violence against our friend, we ultimately gave it a pass.


    ¡°On to Wisdom?¡± I asked, and Etja shared her choice.


    Total Recall


    Paranoia


    An entity with Paranoia treats all other entities as enemies and no entities as allies for the purpose of effects that reference the allegiance of other characters. For example, an effect that states ¡°All allies within 30 feet of you heal 30 HP¡± does not affect anyone because you do not treat any entity as an ally.


    Additionally, a paranoid entity is never considered a willing target for any effect that requires one. Effects that require a willing target, such as Blessings, immediately end if the target becomes paranoid.


    However, paranoid entities are not necessarily hostile to everyone. They may still be willing to fight alongside their comrades, but they are keenly suspicious, awaiting some inevitable betrayal.


    I ignored the System¡¯s jibes and focused on the evolutions. The first one, Sage Advice, was right up my alley. Providing others with information that they may or may not have requested or had any desire to hear was something I was exceedingly good at.


    The exact math for how ¡®checks¡¯ worked was unclear, but we knew they were heavily governed by the primary stat affecting the check. That may sound obvious, but I tried not to take anything for granted with the System. Delvers had done a lot of experimentation to make sure that was how it worked. As such, adding my substantial Wisdom score to an ally¡¯s check would be hugely beneficial.


    I would presently get 3 uses of the ability, although if I were to use all 3 of them at once it would take 3 days to recover them all. Consecutive cooldowns were pretty shit since they required a single charge to complete its full cooldown before the next charge began its own.


    The immunity to Paranoia was also nice, especially how it extended partially to my allies. However, it wasn¡¯t a huge draw for me. We hadn¡¯t run into much that inflicted that debuff, but things could always change.


    2) Eye of the Storm: Your maximum number of Rage stacks before becoming Berserk is doubled, and your Rage stacks do not decay. You may focus for one minute to lose all stacks of Rage in order to rest.


    Additionally, whenever you would gain any number of stacks of Rage, you may gain double that amount instead.


    You may take the active skill Typhoon.


    Typhoon


    Physical


    Cost: 1 stamina per stack of Rage you possess


    Cooldown: None


    Your strike booms with unbridled fury, causing this attack to deal an additional 5 sonic damage for each stack of Rage you possess.


    If you have 10 or more stacks of Rage, then:


    If this is a melee attack, this attack targets all characters in a cone out to a number of feet equal to twice the number of Rage stacks you possess. If it is a ranged attack, it targets all characters in a radius equal to half the number of Rage stacks you possess.


    Characters hit by this attack are knocked prone and deafened for 1 minute.


    Rage


    You gain +1 damage for each stack of Rage you have. If you have more stacks of Rage than your WIS, you become Berserk for as long as your Rage stacks exceed your WIS.


    Rage decays in two ways. If you fail to make a weapon attack for 6 seconds, you lose 1 stack of Rage. If your Rage stacks exceed your WIS for 6 seconds, your number of Rage stacks is reduced to an amount equal to your WIS.


    This option confused me. I had no abilities that could even generate Rage stacks. It seemed like a solid choice for a Rage build, but that was more of a Varrin kind of thing. I thought over what might have caused the System to offer me this evolution and the only thing I could come up with was how I¡¯d gone all Jason Vorhees on the Littans after taking a ballista bolt to the face and losing a big chunk of my gray matter. Still, it¡¯s not like I planned on making Terminator Arlo a recurring guest star in my life. That guy was scary.


    The active skill was cool, but I only had 2 more slots open and, again, I didn¡¯t generate Rage. I moved on, doing my best to manage my supreme disappointment.


    3) Bastion of Solace: Other entities may no longer apply buffs or debuffs to you. You may no longer apply buffs or debuffs to other entities.


    After the first two evos I was glad to find one that was short and simple, and gee gosh was it a potent ability. The shenanigans! The exploits! The immunities!


    However, the ability had the biggest BUT I had ever seen. I couldn¡¯t get buffs from my allies. I couldn¡¯t give buffs to my allies. A significant portion of my build was granting bonuses to my allies. Further, shared bonuses were quickly becoming central to our party¡¯s style. It would break a lot of our synergy, and that was too big of a downside for me. From the very beginning, I¡¯d wanted to be able to empower those who fought beside me. This evolution was a solo player¡¯s dream, but it wasn¡¯t my dream.


    This really left me with Sage Advice as my one viable option. The only time I¡¯d felt more pigeonholed by an evolution choice was when an eldritch god decided my Luck evolution was going to be a series of chats and literally left me with no other option. Instead, I¡¯d taken the secret option and simply hadn¡¯t accepted the evolution, partially because I was being deliberately recalcitrant.


    Before I accepted Sage Advice, I decided to take a look at my other evolutions. Technically I¡¯d gotten to my Wisdom evolution after my intrinsic skills leveled. I¡¯d never seen an evolution offered that would be as useless as Eye of the Storm, so I went looking to see if I¡¯d been offered some way to generate Rage with my other evos. As it turned out, my Heavy Armor skill did just that.


    1) Berserker: Whenever you are hit by an attack (whether or not it deals damage), you gain 1 stack of Rage.


    I couldn¡¯t argue that it was a bad evolution. I did get hit a lot, and this would make me an absolute beast against swarms and speedsters. The way I saw it, this was effectively a paired evolution. If I took Berserker, I¡¯d want to take Eye of the Storm to complement it. It was kind of tempting, but I took the time to look over my other Heavy Armor options before I gave it any serious consideration.


    2) Thorns: While wearing heavy armor, whenever you are hit by or block an attack, the attacker takes kinetic damage equal to your Heavy Armor skill level. Ranged attackers only take half this value.


    The System graciously offered me an evolution that would have been super cool, had I taken the Reactive Shielding evolution to Shields. I hadn¡¯t, and I didn¡¯t want to take this evolution for the same reasons. It wasn¡¯t a lot of damage on its own and it didn¡¯t do a thing to improve my status as the most handsome immovable object on the block. Neither did Berserker for that matter. These were Heavy Armor evolutions, so where were the defensive options?


    3) Standard Bearer


    While wearing heavy armor, the range of your auras is increased by a number of feet equal to your Heavy Armor skill level. Additionally, allies within any of your auras cannot be feared as long as you are conscious and not feared.


    You may take the active skill Aura of Perseverance.


    Aura of Perseverance


    Physical


    Cost: 20 stamina + 1 stamina per second


    Cooldown: None


    You create an aura around you with a radius in feet equal to your Physical Magic skill level. Allies within this aura gain Shielding equal to your STR + CHA when this skill is activated. While the ally remains within range, this Shielding regenerates at a rate equal to its maximum value over 6 seconds.


    Ah, there it was, and it had it all. It was an aura buff. It offered an active skill that was an aura. It gave immunity to my allies. By the gods, the aura even gave Shielding!


    Now, it wasn¡¯t a lot of Shielding for the moment. My Strength and Charisma weren¡¯t nearly as chunky as my Wisdom and Fortitude, but it would give me a good excuse to get more swole. I also wasn¡¯t running into the limits of my stamina in most fights, so having another spender for my green juice would be good. I thought that the skill was worthy of one of my remaining 2 slots.


    I did a quick search for the keyword Rage in my other evos but didn¡¯t see it listed anywhere else. I decided to choose Sage Advice for Wisdom, allowing me to massively boost the skill checks of my allies, and Standard Bearer for Heavy Armor, because it was just all sorts of sexy. I held off on hitting confirm until I¡¯d finished giving all my evolutions their proper consideration. It was always possible that a strong combo could pop up. That wasn¡¯t something I normally considered since I didn¡¯t usually get four fucking evolutions at the same time.


    I read through Strength, seeing some simple and interesting choices, then made sure to closely read my options for Physical Magic. I paused, blinked, and read one of the options a few more times before I decided to get some input from the party.


    ¡°Sooo,¡± I said, dragging out the word. ¡°How would y¡¯all feel if I, say, grew some tentacles?¡±

 Chapter 139: Becoming a C’thon in 1 Easy Step

    Chapter 139: Becoming a C¡¯thon in 1 Easy Step


    ¡°Go for it,¡± said Xim, looking up from where she¡¯d sat to meditate while I reviewed my evolutions.


    ¡°More limbs are better!¡± said Etja, raising all four arms like she¡¯d just won a prize fight.


    Nuralie watched and listened to the others react, but voiced no opinion.


    ¡°Evolutions for additional limbs can be tricky,¡± said Varrin, throwing a bucket of ice water over Etja¡¯s enthusiasm. The mage¡¯s arms drooped. ¡°They can be difficult to master, especially when adapted into a combat style that has already been well-defined.¡± He looked me up and down critically. ¡°I suppose that would not be an issue for you.¡±


    ¡°You know I just tanked a Grade 24 mountain, right?¡± I said, narrowing my eyes at him slightly. I was used to Varrin¡¯s standards being unreasonably high, but I wasn¡¯t about to let him run roughshod over all of my achievements.


    ¡°All of our styles are incomplete,¡± he said, raising a hand in a placating gesture. ¡°None of us have a full complement of actives and intrinsics. What I mean is that if you are going to add such a significant complication to your tactics, now would be better than later.¡±


    ¡°You have too few tentacles as it is,¡± said Shog. ¡°If I¡¯d known you lusted for them, I would have offered to graft some to your body.¡±


    ¡°First of all,¡± I said, ¡°your choice of the word ¡®lusted¡¯ makes me uncomfortable. Second, can you even do that?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea,¡± my summon said before producing a thin dagger I didn¡¯t know he had. He ran a finger along the flat of its blade, looking over my torso as his claw scraped smoothly across it. ¡°I would be willing to try, though.¡±


    [That would be unlikely to succeed. Your mana matrix would most likely reject the foreign body parts.]


    ¡°No need to argue against it Grotto,¡± I said. ¡°Already decided against undergoing any surgeries performed by Doctor Zoidberg here.¡± I turned back to the evolution. ¡°So, extra limbs might be tough to use?¡±


    ¡°It depends on how they are acquired,¡± said Varrin, ¡°and personal capability. Some minds are more flexible than others.¡±


    [You have multiple evolutions that modify the nature of your physiology already. You would likely have an easier time adjusting to such a radical change than most.]


    ¡°Plus you¡¯re already leaning into the c¡¯thon vibe anyway,¡± said Xim. ¡°There¡¯s something to be said for learning magicks that resonate with your personality and interests.¡±


    ¡°What about wings?¡± I asked.


    Xim squinted at me.


    ¡°You have two different evolutions offering body mods?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No, they¡¯re the same evolution.¡±


    She stood up from her lotus position.


    ¡°Show me,¡± she said, eyes alight with curiosity.


    I shared the level 20 evolution option for my Physical Magic intrinsic.


    Therianthropy: You have no fear of melding your mind and body with the inhuman and have taken the form of a beast as your own. This form can take many shapes and appearances that you may decide, but regardless of your choice, you retain all of the capabilities of your normal form. With 3 seconds of concentration, you may transform to gain the following benefits:


    Your movement speed is enhanced by X%, where X is your Physical Magic skill level.


    Your unarmed attacks deal bonus damage equal to your Physical Magic skill level.


    Additionally, when you gain this evolution you can pick any two of the following traits, gaining their benefits while you are transformed. You may only have one instance of any given trait.


    Avian. You can fly.


    Equine. When you sprint, you gain an additional X% movement speed equal to your skill level.


    Feline. You can balance on any mundane surface and cannot be knocked prone by mundane means.


    Lupine. You may add your CHA to your unarmed attack damage.


    Ursine. Your maximum lifting capacity is doubled.


    Leporine. The speed at which you can dodge is increased by X%, where X is your Physical Magic skill level.


    Piscine. You can breathe underwater and can move safely through virtually any hazardous water condition such as strong currents or violent waves. Not only can you swim as fast as you can run, but your speed while swimming is also increased by X%, where X is your Physical Magic skill level.


    Draconic. Choose from among the acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage types. Your unarmed attacks deal that damage type instead of kinetic.


    Serpentine. You may add your WIS to kinetic damage dealt by your spells.


    C¡¯thonic. You grow two tentacles that can be used as extra arms, allowing you to wield up to four objects simultaneously.


    Whenever you gain a new evolution in Physical Magic, you may pick a new trait, adding to the ones you already have.


    You can remain transformed for a number of minutes equal to your skill level. After that, you return to your normal form.


    You can transform a number of times equal to the number of evolutions you have in Physical Magic. You regain all transformation uses after resting for 8 hours.


    ¡°Just as I suspected,¡± Xim said after she finished reading. ¡°Your evolution options are too good.¡± She stepped in and peered up at me. ¡°Did you make some sort of sacrifice in the System¡¯s name? Is that why you started that orphanage? For more victims?!¡± She stepped closer with each question, going on her tippy toes to rise toward my face once she was an inch away.


    I could feel her body heat.


    At some point, she¡¯d shrugged off the blankets she was wearing to keep warm. I was suddenly very aware of her curves through her form-fitting bodysuit. I was hit by the memory of when I was adopted into the Xor¡¯Drel tribe, and how we were all nude at the rit-


    ¡°Then with 2 evolutions, you¡¯d have 5 motes,¡± he said. ¡°That would be 100 extra damage an hour. Substantial for a single evolution, but I do not believe it is strong enough to give up the utility that Therianthropy would provide.¡±


    ¡°I know we said a while ago that you needed more damage,¡± said Xim, ¡°but with your recent improvements, you¡¯ve already become a lot more threatening. Since damage isn¡¯t your focus, this doesn¡¯t seem like a great choice.¡±


    ¡°Plus I¡¯m pumping Intelligence next, so my damage will still get better, even without it.¡±


    With the matter settled, I looked over the traits that I could choose from. Lupine and Draconic were out. I didn¡¯t use unarmed attacks and had no plan on pivoting to become a brawler. In fact, I had refused to take Unarmed a few times at lower levels, back when I was taking apart gangsters with my bare hands. Serpentine would make Explosion! more lethal, but the spell had a long cooldown and I had no other spells that did kinetic damage.


    That left me with 7 options that were all very useful. Still, I didn¡¯t find it to be a difficult choice. Gracorvus was great for short bursts of flight, but it was mana-intensive. I¡¯d been leaning on flight heavily in recent encounters, so having an option that let me fly without burning through mana that I could otherwise use to teleport and delete chunks of my enemies would be a big upgrade.


    I¡¯d ¡®only¡¯ get it for 40 minutes a day, but I could fly on Gracorvus for less than 10 minutes using all of my mana. Hovering in place with the shield was literally 60 times less expensive, but mobility was a huge factor in fights. I wanted Avian.


    The second choice was obvious. Maybe the System thought it was snarky to offer me the chance to become more unified with my c¡¯thonic brethren, but I didn¡¯t take any offense. I¡¯d seen how effective Shog¡¯s tentacles could be. Even Grotto made good use of his numerous feelers when crafting and mana weaving. I wanted some of that for myself.


    The extra limbs would require some additional cognitive load, but my recent experiences gave me a couple of ideas for how I could potentially ¡®outsource¡¯ the mental demand.


    With 3 of the evolutions decided, I moved on to my fourth and final choice: Strength 20.


    1) Cleave: Your melee attacks fly with such force that they pierce, slash, or bash through the first entity they contact. When making a melee attack, you may carry the full force of the blow to an additional entity within your weapon¡¯s reach.


    Strength alone could already allow for something like this if I sufficiently overpowered an enemy. Against a mass of chumps, I could already smash Somncres through 2 or 3 if I swung with everything I had, but I was interested to see how much more effective that would be with an evolution backing it up.


    However, it only applied to melee attacks. My recent gains in Strength would improve my abilities in melee by a substantial amount, but my primary attack was throwing hammers. I wanted something that helped with range as well as melee.


    2) You¡¯re the Juggernaut, B***h: You can effortlessly move through any object or structure with an amount of kinetic DR equal to or lower than your STR, explosively destroying a 5-foot diameter around you.


    Additionally, you may choose to ignore any forced movement effect that would move you a number of feet equal to or lower than your STR.


    This one reminded me of an evolution option I was offered at Strength 10¨CAugean Effort¨Cwhich doubled my Strength when applied to terrain or objects. I¡¯d even made this exact joke about becoming the Juggernaut, so I assumed the System was stealing my material. Not very original, System. You should be ashamed.


    This Juggernaut evolution was more specific than Augean Effort but less versatile. It was probably more powerful at destroying objects. Finding a wall or door that had more than 22 DR would mean I was encountering some extraordinary materials, or at least those with some heavy mana weaves. This would let me break walls with such ease I¡¯d probably find myself turning to the camera and talking to the audience. Plus, the forced movement reduction would have been great in my fight with Tavio.


    However, Varrin had an evolution that multiplied his damage against mundane objects by 10, and his damage against magical objects by 2. Juggernaut wasn¡¯t limited to mundane materials and the effect being based on DR likely made it more effective against magically enhanced barriers, but the overlap made it less useful for the party.


    It was better not to make evolution choices based solely on the dynamics of the specific party you were with. It was always possible that one would find themselves fighting with a different group, where such decisions hindered teamwork, but the immediate party was always a factor. Our party was also about as tight-knit and functional as a party could be, so I didn¡¯t see myself with a different group unless it was a single-mission type of deal. Overall, I wasn¡¯t a big fan of this one.


    3) Flurry of Blows: Each attack you make deals additional damage equal to your STR times the number of previous attacks you¡¯ve made in the last 6 seconds.


    You may take the active skill Impale.


    Impale


    Physical


    Cost: 10 stamina


    Cooldown: None


    Make a weapon attack. If this attack hits, you may instantly repeat the attack against the same target. The second attack does not repeat.


    Impale was cool, but not worth my final active slot. A double-strike ability was great for damage, but as Xim said, that wasn¡¯t my focus. At first glance, the evolution didn¡¯t look amazing either. However, after considering it for a moment I realized that it might be completely broken for my build.


    I wasn¡¯t Speed-focused, so I wasn¡¯t a traditional multi-attacker, but I had Somncres. Somncres had an ability that this evolution could enhance substantially.


    Whenever you make a thrown weapon attack with Somncres you may create up to X copies, where X is your INT divided by 10. Each copy costs 2 mana to create. These copies possess all qualities imbued into Somncres at the moment the copies are created.


    My Intelligence was 33, which let me summon 3 copies of Somncres. I would bring the stat to 40 with my next level, letting me summon 4 copies. Along with the original hammer, I¡¯d be able to hurl 5 hammers with a single throw. That was 5 attacks.


    That meant the second hammer would do 22 bonus damage, the third would do 44, the fourth would do 66, and the fifth hammer would hit for 88 bonus damage. Across all five hammers, that was 220 extra damage.


    While damage was difficult to calculate¨Cit wasn¡¯t like we had damage numbers pop up or DPS listed on our skills¨Cmy guestimate for my raw hammer throw was in the neighborhood of 60. They had a shit ton of optional effects that could buff that number, such as layering Oblivion Orb onto the attack, and had fantastic armor penetration. That number felt low, but it did more work than it sounded, especially against well-defended targets.


    Now slap an extra 88 damage on top. Now we were getting somewhere.


    And what would happen if I used my shiny new tentacles to throw even more hammers at the same time?


    Between the options I liked Flurry of Blows the best. While damage wasn¡¯t my focus, the evolution was a much bigger buff than Cleave, and Juggernaut wasn¡¯t terribly useful for the party.


    With all of that said and done, I went ahead and confirmed all four choices. Sage Advice to grant a huge buff to intrinsic skill checks made by my allies, Standard Bearer to improve my auras and make allies immune to Fear, Therianthropy for flight and feelers, and Flurry of Blows for a big boost in damage output. I also slotted the active that was offered by Standard Bearer, Aura of Perseverance, to grant my nearby allies a solid chunk of Shielding.


    I felt big. I felt strong. I felt as mysterious as the dark side of the moon. Maybe we¡¯d fight some Huns later.


    After our evolution interlocution¨Cprobably the longest one we¡¯d ever had¨Cwe rested for a few hours to ensure our resources were topped off and to give ourselves a mental break. The boss rush hadn¡¯t taken that long. By my account, it had only been around brunch time when we¡¯d finished, but we were still worn out from the post-adrenaline dump.


    Naps were had, we got our heads on straight, and we moved out to take on the Delve, more powerful than ever. We had no idea how long we¡¯d been gone, but from our perspective, more than three weeks had gone by. That was a long time to be stuck with the same 7 people, completely removed from society. We were ready to make quick work of the place and get back to our lives.


    One. Month. Later.


    ¡°I fucking hate this place.¡±

 Chapter 140: The Winding Path

    Chapter 140: The Winding Path


    The first part of the Delve was a maze, naturally. To be honest, the maze part was easy. Etja¡¯s Total Recall allowed us to make sure we never backtracked unless necessary. Coordinated Thinker allowed me to keep us oriented spatially so that we always understood where we were relative to where we¡¯d been. Finally, there were nodes hidden in the walls attuned to divine magic, which Nuralie could spot with her Inquisitor evolution. The nodes didn¡¯t exactly tell us where to go, but their patterns changed when we got close to a new section of the maze.


    Getting lost wasn¡¯t a problem. The hazards were.


    Each sector had an environmental challenge, and the first one took us the longest. The hallway where we¡¯d entered the Delve ended in a thick, metal door. Upon opening the door, we exposed a small chamber, barely large enough for the entire party to fit inside. On the opposite wall of that chamber was another door that was identical to the first, except that it had a small, round window set into it. There were three buttons inside, with labels written in celestial. They read ¡°Depressurize¡±, ¡°Inner Door¡±, and ¡°Outer Door¡±. I recognized what we were looking at immediately.


    It was an airlock.


    The outer door was exposed to hard vacuum. Whatever force generated the artificial gravity in the Delve was also absent on the other side. So, we had to figure out how to navigate a stretch of maze without air or gravity. Additionally, the section was fully enclosed, the view of the planet above replaced with a ceiling of marble hiding dark, impenetrable metal. So, it was completely dark as well.


    I had the highest Fortitude, which meant I was the best at holding my breath. My darkvision also let me navigate the tunnels, although we had a decent supply of glow stones with which to leave a trail for the others. My wings, as it turned out, did not require an atmosphere for lift and direction, although that wasn¡¯t surprising. Wings operating on magic shenanigans were more common for Delvers than not.


    I took a few test drives with the wings while we worked out a strategy for the spacewalk. Each wing was 10 feet long, giving me a little more than a 20-foot wingspan. The wings still functioned if they were tucked close to my body, however, so tighter spaces didn¡¯t have much impact on mobility. They were covered in bird-like feathers but, to my delight, the feathers were violet and fuchsia, matching the colors of Grotto and¨Cmore importantly¨Cmy feather boa.


    C¡¯thon feathers were downy like the undercoat of a bird or what you¡¯d see on juvenile avians. Meanwhile, my wings had the robust, fully formed feathers of an adult bird so the wings didn¡¯t match a c¡¯thon exactly. Still, the theming was on point. The green of my armor was no longer the dominant shade of my outfit and the wings provided an important sense of balance to the getup. After all, any Delver with sense held color coordination in high esteem. I just needed that plume for my helmet to complete the ensemble. A cape might also be nice, but I wouldn¡¯t want to step on Varrin¡¯s toes. Or rather, the hem of his bedazzled cloak. Maybe a more subdued mantle would suffice.


    The pair of tentacles that also came with Therianthropy were slightly shorter than the wings, but a good bit longer than my arms so they improved my reach. They grew from my back, below the wings, and about where my kidneys were, assuming I still had kidneys. Their colors also matched, although these were covered in the typical, fluffy feathers of a c¡¯thon.


    The new appendages took some time to adapt to, as Varrin had suspected, but it didn¡¯t take me long to get the hang of them. The issue with flying was more about getting used to their speed and maneuverability, and also figuring out how to stop my forward momentum. My mind had little trouble adjusting to having 4 additional limbs, which was apparently the main hangup most people had. My high Intelligence probably helped, but I suspected my bond with Grotto and my recent experience as Arlottog had a greater impact.


    The wings let me move freely through a zero-g environment and Gracorvus took up some slack when the transformation ran out. I could use the shield for short bursts of speed that carried me down straightaways on momentum alone without much mana expenditure. Both the wings and Gracorvus allowed me to decelerate fairly quickly, but a short hit of Gravity Anchor would bring me to a complete stop instantly.


    My transformation would last a maximum of 40 minutes per day until I improved my Physical Magic, which was coincidentally the maximum length of time I could hold my breath. My lungs would begin to protest after ¡®only¡¯ 8 minutes, though, and it took a lot of mental effort to get used to ignoring my body¡¯s natural desire for oxygen. Going the full 40 minutes would also completely drain my stamina, so I needed to make it back to the airlock before that time if I didn¡¯t want to pass out.


    We all had some way to deal with the environment presented, but I was still the best choice for mazerunner. Grotto didn¡¯t need to breathe at all since¨Cas a Delve Core¨Chis true self was a construct, but the c¡¯thonic body he hid behind was organic and needed air to maintain itself. He was on backup to come grab me if my time ran out while I was still outside, but he was reluctant to let his fleshy bits die since he¡¯d gotten used to having limbs and there was no available biological matter around for him to form a new body with.


    Xim could see in the dark as well as I could and could restore her health and stamina when she self-healed, but she had no mobility options to overcome the lack of gravity.


    Varrin could fly with his cloak, but his Fortitude wasn¡¯t that high, he just had good stamina regen from evolutions. He¡¯d still run out of breath faster than I would.


    As a Geulon, Nuralie had exceptional lung capacity. Shadow Walk would let her teleport around, but her mana was limited so she couldn¡¯t keep it up for long.


    Shog could also fly and see in the dark, but aside from that he assured us that prolonged exposure to a vacuum would not be good for him.


    Etja¡¯s body was also technically a construct, but her transformation from a golem into a thinking being brought along some of the biological limitations of a normal body. She breathed automatically, but she didn¡¯t have blood. Holding her breath was uncomfortable and became an overwhelming need after a few minutes, but her stamina didn¡¯t drain if she was able to ignore the discomfort for a longer period. However, her Siphon spell required mana to let her fly and she didn¡¯t have anything that granted her darkvision. That made navigation a lot more difficult, even with Total Recall.


    So, it was up to me.


    Because of the time limitation on my transformation, it took us more than a week to pass through the first section. There was no ticking clock on the Delve, so we decided that taking the slow but safe route was preferable to risking Etja getting lost and becoming trapped somewhere within the maze. We might not have been able to find her and, like I said, she still felt like she needed to breathe. Imagine spending hours or days with the constant sensation that you were on the precipice of suffocation; like being trapped underwater, desperate to take a breath. None of us were strangers to pain, but aside from Grotto, we all shuddered at the thought. That sort of torture could break people.


    While I hunted for the way forward for 40 minutes a day, we used the downtime to train. Without the resources of the Training Expo, our progress was comparatively miserable. Still, if we had time to burn we had time to learn. Five of my skills were Physical so I managed to get my Physical Magic to 21 by flexing my new aura and blasting a wall with Homing Weapon. That gave me forty-two minutes of uptime for my transformation every day. I could still only hold my breath for 40 minutes but hey, small victories.


    When I found the path, I lit it with glow stones and the rest of the crew followed, moving as fast as we could. Varrin carried Nuralie and Xim rode on my back. Thankfully, her demands to ¡°giddyup!¡± were impossible to shout in the vacuum. Even if she could have continued commanding me to trot, cantor, or stay, the sound wouldn¡¯t have traveled.


    None of the remaining areas were completely dark, but the view of the planet was still blocked and the lighting was mostly dim. Otherwise, the rest of the sections were much simpler. The second sector was freezing cold, the third was blazing hot, and the fourth was filled with poison gas. We laughed our way through that one. The fifth was filled with magical traps and warded so heavily that none of our spells functioned unless Etja or I counter-dispelled an area.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Nullify was better for large areas than Dispel, which focused on a single target, so our jubilant mage handled the bulk of the countermagic. She even picked up the Reconnaissance intrinsic to assist Nuralie with finding and disarming traps. The intrinsic keyed off of Wisdom, so she was a natural. Nuralie¡¯s Flawless Precision evolution proved invaluable since it allowed her to manipulate the inner workings of the traps with... flawless precision. Her Machinist intrinsic also showed its worth by helping her understand and disarm the hazards. She dutifully tucked their components away into her inventory for later use.


    ¡°If the first passage is Divine,¡± said Xim, ¡°and the third is Physical and Mystical, then the second needs to be Spiritual and Dimensional. ¡®The spirit guides Deijin¡¯s wings¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Deijin¡¯s wings are certainly Divine,¡± said Varrin. ¡°But wings are also a physical thing. How would that relate to Dimensional?¡±


    ¡°The wings are a metaphor,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°¡®She flew on Deijin¡¯s wings¡¯ is an expression that means the person has died. The wings guide you from the mortal world to the afterlife.¡±


    ¡°Those aren¡¯t dimensions, they¡¯re realms,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Dimensional is broader than what you¡¯re thinking of as dimensions,¡± I said. ¡°I mean, what even is a dimension? It can refer to the number of coordinates needed to specify a point. We¡¯re in 3 dimensions because you need altitude, latitude, and longitude to say for certain where we are in relation to another point in space. Dimensional Magic allows you to travel through space, thus changing your coordinates. It also allows you to travel through different realities, like the way I went from Universe Earth to Universe Arzia. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Samlia¡¯s Eye is flexing some kind of Dimensional power to transition people between the first and third layers.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s definitely Divine,¡± said Xim. ¡°But Divine can replicate aspects of most other schools. It just needs to be supported by a deity, so it¡¯s limited by the nature of the god you¡¯re calling upon.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s Divine emulating Dimensional,¡± I said. ¡°Same thing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°So if the wings are about traveling between realms,¡± said Etja, ¡°then it could be Dimensional.¡±


    Xim sighed and went with it.


    ¡°First passage Divine,¡± said Xim, ¡°second passage Spiritual and Dimensional, third passage Physical and Mystical.¡±


    ¡°I still do not like it,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It¡¯s messy. There is no symmetry. Why is Divine on its own?¡±


    ¡°It stands above all others,¡± said Xim with a grin.


    ¡°Deijin is the power that unifies,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The other two need her to join.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I like that,¡± I said, looking at Nuralie. ¡°The other two passages involve attunements that exclude the other. Spiritual can¡¯t use skills that are Dimensional and vice versa. The same for Physical and Mystical.¡±


    We spent another day pondering the issue and coming up with alternative theories. None of us wanted to risk choosing the wrong path, so we slept on it and took our time to work through the possibilities. A month had passed since we¡¯d begun making it through the maze, so we weren¡¯t eager to sit on the decision for too long.


    We were living on rations alongside my Bag of Infinite Charcuterie. We had plenty to eat, but the lack of variety was getting old fast. We¡¯d also started rationing our water, foregoing baths and relying on a gem that slowly cleaned its user over time. It was Xim¡¯s, and it quickly earned her the nickname of Bathwarden. The plants that had dominated the entryway were no longer present in the maze, else we might have been able to pilfer the irrigation system to get potable water. Nuralie could also transmute other liquids into water but, like so many other skills, it was mana intensive and only went so far. Additionally, Xim and Varrin were reluctant to give up their reserves of wine and beer for Nuralie¡¯s reverse-Jesus trick. Eventually, we agreed that the attunement theory was our best guess and decided to move forward.


    Xim and Grotto went through the first door as they were both attuned to Divine.


    Nuralie was Spiritual and went through the second door with me since I was Dimensional.


    Shog and Varrin were both Physical, leading them through the third door along with Etja who was Mystical.


    They were all secretly portals, of course.


    When I emerged, I was on a long, narrow pathway that stretched off into the distance. It had the same extravagant decor of marble, gold, and jewels as the rest of the Delve, but there were no reliefs set into the walls. The lush plant life had returned, though, and the breathtaking view of the planet above was again visible. We were no longer looking up at Arzia but at the opposite side of the planet, which was besieged by a continent-spanning storm. I kept myself from getting distracted by my thoughts on the spectacle and turned back to evaluating my immediate surroundings.


    There was a subtle curve to the path and it disappeared around a bend far off in the distance. There were still no obvious enemies or fauna of any kind, but I saw Nuralie when she stepped out of a shadow. She¡¯d instinctively ducked into it after passing through the door.


    Everyone else was nowhere to be found.

 Chapter 141: The Basilica

    Chapter 141: The Basilica


    Nuralie and I waited for an hour in case our allies were on some sort of time delay, but moved forward with the assumption that the party had been split. Even though the Delve had no express time limit, it didn¡¯t mean that individual sections weren¡¯t conditioned on completing them quickly. It was better to use the time and scout at least.


    When I checked the party interface everyone¡¯s names were grayed out except for Nuralie. I was still paying the mana cost for keeping Shog summoned, although Life Warden was no longer active on Etja. I cast the defensive buff on Nuralie after confirming she¡¯d accept it, then reached out with my aura. I used it to try and feel for the location of my missing allies but came up empty. Wherever they were, it either blocked my aura or was far enough away to be outside of the indeterminate¨Cbut very big¨Crange of my passive. I couldn¡¯t detect any sign of their presence with Soul-Sight either.


    There was also no door or other entrance behind us, only more of the curving hallway. Absent a portal or other obvious way for everyone else to reach us, it seemed more likely that we were on our own for now.


    The entire hallway bent in the same direction to the right of our original bearing, which we arbitrarily decided was east. Coordinated Thinker would allow us to stay oriented if it mattered. I took a deep breath and blew it out, letting my lips motorboat.


    ¡°Forward or backward?¡± I asked.


    Nuralie peered up and down the hall, although she¡¯d already looked it over a hundred times. She plucked at her bowstring with a nail. It vibrated like a harp but made no sound. I had no idea how the string stayed silent, but I also had no idea how the loson kept live frogs in her inventory. Nuralie sighed, her expression weary and resigned.


    ¡°We were facing north when we appeared,¡± she said. ¡°We have no reason to prefer going south.¡±


    I thrust my finger in that direction.


    ¡°Then we head north!¡±


    Nuralie stepped into the vegetation that lined the hallway on either side and disappeared. I gave her a minute to stalk ahead of me, then moved down the hallway with Somncres balanced on my shoulder and Gracorvus in its targe configuration. I walked at a steady pace but didn¡¯t hurry, giving Nuralie time to backtrack and signal me if anything seemed amiss up ahead.


    The hallway was a whole lot of the same for the first fifteen minutes until a stairway opened up on my left, its entrance lit by rows of glowstones. Nuralie stepped out from between a pair of ferns and we both peered down into the stairwell, watching for any sort of movement or traps. None of Nuralie¡¯s Sense abilities went off, so we decided to check it out, leaving a glowstone of the first step and marking the wall in case anyone caught up to us.


    The stairs descended until we were several hundred feet below ground. The gentle illumination from the stones around us revealed evenly cut stairs without wear and clean of any dust or debris. We soon found the bottom, which was bathed in soft yellow lighting.


    The landing opened into an underground chamber, its height taking up most of the elevation of our descent. It was filled with carefully manicured gardens, lush with bright flower beds of honey and vermilion. Bushes grew in sweeping rows, fastidiously trimmed and arranged to form perfect arcs. The hedges embraced a small pond sitting at the center of the space, its crystal-clear surface broken by blooms of blue-green algae. A meandering line of stepping stones led the way across.


    Behind the bushes grew squat trees, their canopies as wide as they were high. Heavy fruits hung from their limbs beneath sharp leaves, bright blue and covered in small bumps that glistened as syrupy liquid slowly dripped from pinprick pores.


    Symmetrical beams of light crisscrossed the chamber, filtering in through a skylight above and directed by a series of sparkling mirrors that enhanced and brightened the golden beams. A scattering of dust and pollen drifted through them so slowly they were nearly fixed, like tiny bubbles in amber.


    Across the pond was a small basilica. Each row of hedges ended between a pair of colonnades that lined the paved parvis before its arched double doors. The building¡¯s outer walls were lined with ornate windows set with opaque glass, its roof a series of small, pointed spires surrounding a wide dome at its top. The doors were open, and flickering light spilled out from within. The entire building radiated a sense of peace.


    My eyes were wide as I looked over the visual feast. I hadn¡¯t realized how draining the month-long maze had been with its tight corridors and endless, repetitive decor. Even the murals of the final section had been laid flat against walls in claustrophobic and geometric passages. The sight laid out before me now was like a six-course meal after four weeks of stale bread and potted meat. It was the most magical place I¡¯d seen since my visit to the third layer.


    Truly, it was a wondrous vision.


    ¡°Who do you think takes care of all this?¡± I asked. Nuralie¡¯s eyes slowly glanced toward me.


    ¡°That is the first thing your mind turns to?¡±


    ¡°No, seriously,¡± I said. ¡°Is there an entire staff of landscapers hiding in the walls?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps there are golems.¡±


    I scanned the space, hunting for any animated garden gnomes.


    ¡°Think they¡¯ll wanna fight?¡± I shifted my hammer on my pauldron. ¡°This Delve has been terrible for my cardio.¡±


    ¡°We do not need to do cardio.¡± Pause. ¡°Not anymore, now that we have our training stats filled out.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s mental training,¡± I argued. ¡°Learning to adapt to the feeling of feeling like shit.¡±


    ¡°I do not think you need help with your pain tolerance.¡±


    ¡°Cardio¡¯s different,¡± I said. ¡°I hate cardio.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Pause. ¡°But that does not mean they are not hostile.¡±


    I focused on the ground, trying to perceive any souls hidden beneath. Nothing showed through, even after concentrating on breaking illusions and stealth. I looked back at the button, raising the sensitivity of my Sight and studying the soul surrounding it.


    As Nuralie continued to investigate the ground, I felt a tingle and realized that she was using her skill in Divine Magic for something. My Sage Advice evolution was trying to trigger, so I focused on the evo and said the first thing that came to mind.


    ¡°Always be kind. Please rewind.¡± I stroked my beard as I delivered the discerning insight.


    Nuralie looked up and raised an eyeridge.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that Divine is the right angle here,¡± I clarified. ¡°We should go back and look at it from a different perspective.¡±


    ¡°It is a Spiritual section of the Delve,¡± she said slowly. ¡°And Dimensional. This is not a Divine challenge.¡± She turned back to the floor and I felt another invitation from Sage Advice to help her out, this time with Spiritual Magic. I ignored it for the moment since I only had 3 total charges and they took forever to come back. Instead, I focused on what we knew.


    ¡°The button has a soul halo,¡± I said. ¡°The things in the ground don¡¯t. It¡¯s unusual for something living to not have any spiritual essence, so they might be connected.¡±


    Nuralie nodded along, eyes running the length of the room.


    ¡°There are threads,¡± she said. ¡°They are faint, but it is a web connecting them all together.¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t true soul connections then,¡± I said. ¡°Otherwise I could see them.¡±


    ¡°Then it is something that affects the spirit,¡± she said, ¡°but that is not the spirit itself.¡±


    ¡°The web connects to the button?¡± I asked, eliciting another nod from Nuralie. ¡°Then maybe the button channels the soul inhabiting it through the threads and into the living creatures.¡±


    ¡°Which is why they are dormant.¡±


    ¡°So, if we push the button¨C¡±


    ¡°They come to life,¡± she finished.


    ¡°Then I am still in favor of pushing the button.¡±


    She frowned.


    ¡°There are 64 of them.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve fought bigger groups. Besides, they might not be antagonistic.¡±


    Doubt sprouted across Nuralie¡¯s features so quickly that I worried she might pull a facial muscle.


    ¡°Yeah, okay,¡± I relented. ¡°Maybe we should check everything else out first.¡±


    Nuralie concurred, and we spent a couple of hours running over the church and the gardens outside. Nuralie took a few of the sticky fruits for study, took cuttings from the bushes, and picked several of the flowers as well. She held one out to me, a shade of red soft enough to border on pink. I accepted the gift and tucked it behind my ear. She looked me over with approval and we moved on, having found nothing else of note.


    We continued down the hallway in the same direction, now traveling southeast. Eventually, the curve brought us south before gradually turning west. It was taking us in a big circle. After a little over twenty minutes of walking, we were three-quarters of a turn from where we started and found another stairwell. This one was dark, a wave of cold air billowing up from it.


    We studied it for traps and surprises but found none and decided to descend. Its confines grew steadily darker as the light from the hallway fell away. The steps became rough and started to crumble beneath my feet, though Nuralie¡¯s steps left no mark of her passage. Neither of us had trouble navigating in the gloom and avoided two spots where the stairs had collapsed completely, leading down into a pit with no visible end. We reached the bottom landing after several minutes, this one soaked in a shifting gleam of haunting blue.


    The architecture of the basilica had been rounded and majestic, its environment flush with life and awash in a sacred aura. This space was dominated by sharp angles and thin points.


    It was a cathedral wrapped in death, its essence odious and profane.

 Chapter 142: The Cathedral

    Chapter 142: The Cathedral


    The air around us was cloying and thick. I grew short of breath as my lungs worked in rapid, short bursts. I was reluctant to draw in too much of the repugnant scent and what atmosphere I managed to inhale seemed thin of oxygen. The space in front of the cathedral was an empty field of flat, wet dirt; gray in color and flecked with spots of dark blue. Combined with the awful smell, it reminded me of used kitty litter. It was even damp and clumpy.


    The surface of the cathedral had the color and texture of pitted charcoal, with spires that rose 200 feet into the air, their spear-like tips nearly lost in blackness. Even with my darkvision, the shadows were impenetrable around where the ceiling should have been.


    Dozens of stained-glass windows lined the church¡¯s wide front, their chaotic surfaces glinting from flickering light within, rippled and devoid of any discernible imagery. A bronze door stood like a gleaming wound at the building¡¯s center, cutting across it at a shallow angle¨C20 feet tall and barely wide enough for one person to walk through. It was shut and barred by a hundred iron chains.


    As we stood on the landing soaking it all in and bathed in the chamber¡¯s steely light, Nuralie let out a long, contemplative groan.


    ¡°You alright?¡± I asked.


    She squatted low and swept her hand out toward the field.


    ¡°There are evil entities below.¡± Pause. ¡°They are also profane.¡±


    I stood up a bit straighter, feeling a touch of excitement at the news. Then I frowned over the emotion, wondering how healthy that reaction was.


    ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°There are 12 within 24 feet of us. That is the limit of my detection range.¡±


    ¡°Think it¡¯s a classic trap?¡± I asked. ¡°When we step out into the field they attack?¡±


    ¡°I sense no life from them.¡±


    ¡°Ohhhh,¡± I said, looking over the dirt with hungry eyes. ¡°Spooky church. Midnight vibes. Empty field perfect for dumping bodies.¡± She quirked an eyebrow at that last statement. ¡°It¡¯s clearly the undead.¡±


    ¡°There are many things it could be,¡± she countered. ¡°Automatons, any number of creations made by a golemancer¨C¡±


    ¡°Enormous viruses,¡± I said. ¡°But would any of those be evil?¡±


    She rubbed her chin.


    ¡°Perhaps if they were created with an evil purpose.¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe it could be something like that,¡± I said. ¡°But observe the foreboding environment of the grounds, the somber architecture of the church, the bleak and smelly ambiance. There¡¯s 100% going to be a lich inside.¡±


    ¡°Now there is a lich?¡±


    ¡°The things out here are probably his or her horde, starved of brains and ravenous for living flesh.¡±


    Pause. ¡°Liches are not real,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°And because you said that, the chance of it being a lich has increased to 110%.¡±


    ¡°Then I will fight the fractional one-tenth lich and you can fight the whole one.¡±


    ¡°Eh, I¡¯m fine with that arrangement,¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s the move, then?¡±


    ¡°Since this is a Spiritual and Dimensional section, we should continue looking at it from that perspective.¡± She focused more intently on the ground. ¡°There are spiritual threads connecting these entities as well. They lead into the cathedral.¡±


    ¡°Then we can expect another button, perhaps. Shall I take a stroll and tempt the fates?¡±


    Nuralie stood from her squat and pulled an arrow taught against her bowstring. She nodded at me, then stepped back into the shadow of the stairwell and disappeared. I shifted my grip on Somncres, raised my shield, and stepped out onto the lumpy soil.


    Nothing happened.


    I walked a few yards further in. Still nothing. I began a slow and steady trod up to the cathedral and made it across the entire field without incident. I lowered my shield.


    ¡°Disappointed,¡± I muttered.


    I turned to study the narrow bronze door, finding Nuralie already behind me. By this point her sudden appearances were routine. I barely even squeaked. Despite my display of mettle, she still turned to give me a judgmental look before approaching the chained-up entryway.


    She ran a claw-like nail across a few of the links. They were small, each one about an inch long, but there were dozens of the chains. She stepped back and looked up at one of the stained-glass windows. It was 15 feet up, but that was little impediment to either of us.


    ¡°We could go in through a window,¡± she said, already finding handholds in the pitted walls. She swiftly climbed up, covering the distance in a second, and peered into the glass. ¡°I cannot see through it.¡± She tapped the surface. ¡°It seems very thick.¡±


    I focused on the door, reaching for Shortcut and feeling around for a viable place to teleport. The interior was, predictably, not a solid mass of stone. I could make the jump without issue.


    ¡°I can teleport inside,¡± I said.


    She looked down at me.


    ¡°Even though you cannot see where you are going?¡±


    ¡°A side benefit of Coordinated Thinker. I rarely use it, since I prefer being able to see where I¡¯m going or what I¡¯m blowing up.¡±


    ¡°I remember the ability,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°I meant that you do not know what is inside.¡± Pause. ¡°That also does not help me get in.¡± She dropped from the window and returned to the chains. ¡°I could melt through these.¡±


    ¡°Waste of resources,¡± I said, dismissing Somncres and sending Gracorvus back into my armguard. I stretched one arm across my chest, then the next. I shook out my limbs and walked up to the door. ¡°Plus, I haven¡¯t been able to test out my new Strength score.¡± I reached out and grabbed one of the chains with both hands.


    ¡°That will make a lot of noise.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s consistent out to the edges of the field, that¡¯d be 512 evil dead,¡± I said.


    ¡°That is 8 times more than the number within the basilica.¡±


    ¡°The System likes divisions of 8,¡± I added. ¡°Every platinum Delve grants 8 stat points. There are 8 stats. Grotto has 8 tentacles.¡±


    ¡°There are just as many divisions of 10 and 6. Active and intrinsic skills are limited to 10 each. Time limits and cooldowns are often in intervals of 6.¡±


    ¡°But 4 passives. Half of eight. It¡¯s all divisible by 2, though. There are 2 churches.¡±


    ¡°We have not finished the loop yet,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°There may be another.¡±


    ¡°That would be very asymmetrical,¡± I said. ¡°But fair point.¡±


    ¡°Do we intend to solve the riddle with simple division and abstraction of limited data?¡±


    ¡°Things to consider,¡± I said. ¡°We have two buttons, one within a sacred basilica and another within a profane cathedral. The basilica is filled with living entities¨Calso sacred¨Cwhereas the field outside of this cathedral is filled with evil ones, which are profane.¡±


    ¡°If they are direct opposites,¡± said Nuralie, ¡°then the entities within the basilica would also be good, not evil.¡±


    ¡°All of the entities are bound through spiritual channels to a button. One of the buttons has a soul whereas the other does not.¡±


    ¡°The creation myth of Deijin tells of Deijin creating souls from the stars and imparting them unto the living.¡±


    ¡°Whereas within this cathedral, Deijin is pierced and bound by a spear,¡± I said. ¡°No souls here, either.¡±


    ¡°Then perhaps we free Deijin so that she may deliver souls to the creatures outside.¡±


    ¡°Think it¡¯s as simple as yanking the spear out?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Pause. ¡°But try it.¡±


    I climbed up onto the statue, doing my best not to step on anything that might be offensive to the deity, and gripped the spear. I pulled, pulled harder, then pulled with everything I had. It wouldn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°It was worth a try,¡± I said. ¡°I could try to destroy it with spells.¡±


    ¡°Let us save defiling the icon of one of my gods as a backup.¡± Pause. ¡°Have you been looking for any Dimensional clues?¡±


    ¡°My mana regen is capped,¡± I said. ¡°Which means my Ambient Absorption is pulling in a lot of Dimensional mana, so the space is saturated in it. There¡¯s no Divine mana interfering with it, either.¡±


    ¡°Curious,¡± said Nuralie, running a claw along her chin. ¡°My divine sense does not trigger here. The basilica was filled with it. Anything else?¡±


    I scratched my head and tried to feel for anything else of note.


    ¡°So, I haven¡¯t really used Dimensional Magic to, ah, detect Dimensional stuff before,¡± I said. ¡°But nothing¡¯s jumping out at me.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we press both buttons at the same time,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Or within a limited time frame.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you get to that conclusion?¡±


    ¡°It seems obvious,¡± she said. ¡°They are very far from one another, so you teleport from one to the next.¡±


    ¡°Or we could each go to 1 of the churches and time it so that we press the buttons simultaneously.¡±


    ¡°Coordinated by the timing of our regen stats?¡±


    ¡°Since we don¡¯t have a good way to communicate across distance without Grotto, yeah. We each cast a spell to trigger our mana regen and agree on the interval.¡±


    ¡°We would be separated if something attacks.¡±


    ¡°Something like all the things buried in the ground...¡± I realized that I was still standing in Deijin¡¯s lap, so I hopped down. ¡°Again, we¡¯re not pressed for time, so maybe we should finish walking the loop. See if anything else occurs to us.¡±


    Nuralie agreed, so we walked back up the steps and continued westward to our starting point. There was nothing else of note, so we kept walking back around to give the basilica another look. However, when we approached the basilica, we were met with another cold, dark stairwell. We went down to confirm, finding the cathedral again.


    ¡°Did we get teleported?¡± asked Nuralie. ¡°Some other spatial anomaly?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°No, Coordinated Thinker tells me that we¡¯re in the exact place that the basilica should be. Could it be a copy?¡±


    ¡°Your footprints are in the soil,¡± Nuralie said. ¡°The chains on the door are broken.¡±


    ¡°A perfect copy? One that retains any changes made to the other space?¡±


    ¡°Or it is the same space.¡±


    ¡°Any way we can confirm that?¡± I asked. Nuralie toyed with her bowstring again, working something over in her mind.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°I can use my revelation.¡±

 Chapter 143: Dimensionalism and You

    Chapter 143: Dimensionalism and You


    I studied the loson carefully, mindful of her emotional state. I knew that she¡¯d fully realized her first revelation while within the Training Expo, but she hadn¡¯t yet discussed it with us. Given her history with the three churches, none of us had been willing to press her on it and so far we¡¯d made it through the challenges without issue.


    ¡°Mind telling me what it does?¡± I asked.


    Nuralie took a deep breath, then turned to meet my gaze.


    ¡°It is called the Revelation of Distinction,¡± she said. ¡°Each of the three gods of the Eschenden are at once separate and the same. They branch from the same divinity, but I can also feel their history. I gained a vision of a time where they were singular.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I said. My own revelations had been very personal, but Nuralie¡¯s were more focused on something that went far beyond herself. I wondered what that said about our personalities, or whether it had more to do with the source of the revelations themselves. ¡°How does that manifest?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I have only used it once,¡± she said. ¡°I can touch an object and feel the connections that make it distinct, trace its history to moments that define it.¡± Pause. ¡°It is overwhelming and difficult to make sense of.¡±


    ¡°Putting aside how bonkers that power is,¡± I said, ¡°it¡¯ll tell you whether this is the same cathedral?¡±


    Nuralie knelt on the ground and placed her hand upon one of my footprints. She closed her eyes and I felt an echo of power thrum through the air. She clenched her jaw, eyes darting from side to side beneath her eyelids. A few seconds later she struggled to pull her hand from the footprint, as though a great force was binding her to it. I reached down to help, growing alarmed over her pained expression, but she pulled free without me and staggered back to sit on the landing.


    ¡°It is your footprint,¡± she said. ¡°Not a copy.¡±


    ¡°Then the building moved.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°It... the revelation goes beyond the immediate physical processes that define the object. I can feel its history as though I were the object itself, but also the context that defines it. I felt myself born when you walked upon me, each tread of your boot, the exact weight of your body, the resistance of the soil.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s uh...¡± I began but trailed off. I was struck by the instinct to apologize but realized the impulse was misguided. ¡°That sounds like a lot.¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± she said. ¡°There is too much information to absorb at once, but I can place boundaries on what I experience. I tried to limit my perception to the moment of the footprint¡¯s creation and also its relationship to the space around it. It has not been moved. We are in the same place as before.¡±


    ¡°Damn,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯d only used it once?¡±


    ¡°The revelation came with¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°a great deal of guidance.¡±


    ¡°I guess my own experience was a bit unwieldy since I first gained Soul-Sight from an item.¡±


    ¡°I still cannot convey to you how strange that is¨Cthat you received divine insight through an amulet.¡±


    ¡°To be fair, there were some godly hijinks involved. It was created by a divine avatar.¡±


    I held a hand out to Nuralie and she took my forearm, hoisting herself to her feet. She picked up her bow, and her brow furrowed as she thought over what she¡¯d learned. Diiscover new stories at novelhall.com


    ¡°I do not see how this is possible,¡± she said. ¡°Your ability tells us that we are in a different place, but my revelation says that we are in the same place.¡±


    ¡°So we have three possibilities. One of our abilities is wrong, or at least our interpretation of it is. Both of our abilities are correct and there¡¯s some force at play we don¡¯t understand. Or, something else.¡±


    ¡°¡®Something else¡¯ encompasses more than one additional possibility,¡± she said.


    ¡°But it feels more approachable.¡±


    ¡°I do not think it does,¡± she countered, but a small grin had found its way to her lips. ¡°Our walk through the hallway could have been an illusion.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure, mind shenanigans,¡± I said.


    ¡°It is a Spiritual challenge. Mind control falls under that school.¡±


    ¡°I have a Wisdom of 40,¡± I said. ¡°If something in here can break through my mental defenses, I doubt we¡¯d have an answer. It may be a legendarily difficult Delve, but it¡¯s still level 10.¡±


    ¡°Maybe...¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we start by not doubting our senses and trusting our abilities? We¡¯re in the same spatial location as the basilica, but we are in the cathedral. We also know that the cathedral is in the same spatial location as it used to be, which is on the other side of the loop.¡±


    ¡°The easiest conclusion is that they are both in the same place,¡± she said. ¡°Or that they are in both places at once.¡±


    ¡°Those can both be true,¡± I added. ¡°If both of them are in both places then they¡¯re both in the same place.¡±


    ¡°But... not at the same time?¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Ah.¡± I held up a finger, then dropped it to stroke my beard. ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t want time travel to be the answer. I don¡¯t want to have to figure out time travel.¡±


    ¡°Unless it is simply forward time travel.¡±


    ¡°I already figured that one out,¡± I said. ¡°I just go to bed.¡±


    ¡°Or drink too much.¡±


    ¡°Drink spirits to solve the spiritual puzzle?¡±


    ¡°I am not against it,¡± she said. ¡°But I doubt it would solve our problems.¡±


    ¡°My old therapist would have agreed with you.¡±


    She continued to watch me intently, so I cleared my throat and kept going.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple in theory.¡± I pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill, then began drawing. ¡°The number of dimensions that an object occupies is based on the number of coordinates required to define a point within it.¡± I drew a line on the paper. ¡°A line has 1 dimension since I can assign a single series of values to identify any given location on the line. If the line is numbered 1 at the beginning and 10 at the end, I can say 4 and you know that the point is here, just shy of the middle. There are infinite points, but we can add as many decimals as we want. The important bit is that there¡¯s only 1 value needed.¡±


    I added 3 more lines, creating a square.


    ¡°A plane, such as a geometric shape, has 2 dimensions,¡± I continued. ¡°We need to know latitude and longitude to determine where a point is. So I can number the bottom of the square with 1 through 10 and the left side with 1 through 10 as well. Thus, I can say 4 and 6 to define this point.¡± I pointed to a location just left and up from the square¡¯s center.


    ¡°Simple x and y coordinates on a graph,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Right.¡± I rolled the parchment into a tube. ¡°With three-dimensional objects, I need latitude, longitude, and altitude to determine where a point is. Basically, a point¡¯s distance from the center¨Cthe x and y coordinates on a flat plane in the middle of the cylinder¨Cand also a z coordinate showing its relative elevation. That¡¯ll show us any given point within the cylinder. That¡¯s also the number of dimensions we operate within.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°The obvious follow-up is whether there are additional dimensions, or directions, that can define a specific location. On Earth, there are all sorts of mathematics that operate using additional dimensions, but I wasn¡¯t a mathematician so my understanding is pretty limited. However, this dimensionalism book suggests that Dimensional Magic can be used to travel through such extra dimensions. You just have to... feel it out?¡±


    ¡°Very scientific,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Yeah, well, magic and such.¡± I crossed my arms and looked down at the text. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why that results in a random chance whether we find the basilica or the cathedral along two locations of the loop.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps we can only access one of them at a time through normal means.¡±


    ¡°Like how the basilica is on both sides of the loop if either of us is inside the basilica? The cathedral could be totally inaccessible. That would explain why teleporting doesn¡¯t help since I¡¯m only moving through 3 dimensions. Even if our goal was to push both buttons in rapid succession, we¡¯d have to walk the hallway until we found the cathedral. We couldn¡¯t get to the second button very quickly. Either way, this could explain both churches existing within the same x, y, and z coordinates, while still being in different places along an... ¡®a¡¯ coordinate? I¡¯m sure there¡¯s an appropriate letter, but I don¡¯t know what it is.¡±


    ¡°¡®A¡¯ works,¡± she said.


    I had the acute desire to flip through the rest of the dimensionalism book and see if it listed the correct symbol but decided it wasn¡¯t worth the effort for the moment.


    ¡°If the answer to the dimensional aspect of the puzzle deals with a fourth dimension,¡± I said, ¡°then what is the spiritual component?¡±


    ¡°I found those threads,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°You found the soul halo on the button.¡±


    I stood and walked back over to the button, which glowed white and gray in my sight, shifting like mist in a storm.


    ¡°Do you mind trying to view the threads again?¡± I asked.


    Nuralie nodded, then focused on the button. I felt Sage Advice tingling and moved into the lotus position, channeling the ability¡¯s profound wisdom.


    ¡°If you come to visit, you¡¯ll be bored to tears,¡± I said. ¡°We haven¡¯t even paid the phone bill in 300 years.¡±


    Nuralie¡¯s shoulders drooped and she placed her hands on either side of the altar, leaning on it.


    ¡°Does that ability really require you to say things so... dumbly?¡± she asked.


    ¡°My erudite observations stand atop the shoulders of giants,¡± I said, sitting up straighter. ¡°Do not denigrate the elders of my world.¡±


    ¡°These are quotes from famous sages of Earth?¡± she asked.


    ¡°They are indeed, young master Nuralie.¡±


    ¡°I am older than you.¡±


    ¡°Only physically,¡± I said, then tapped my head. ¡°Up here I possess the knowledge and maturity of a much older man.¡±


    ¡°I shudder to imagine your youthful mindset. What does your ancient Earth¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°¡®wisdom¡¯ mean?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps the churches need to communicate, but can¡¯t. Is there a spiritual thread that is cut off or doesn¡¯t go anywhere?¡±


    Nuralie refocused on the button, peering at it intensely.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said, squinting. ¡°There is one that does not lead to the entities beneath the floor. It goes somewhere... But nowhere.¡± She stepped back from the altar, blinking and shaking her head. ¡°I do not like looking at whatever that was.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± I said, climbing back to my feet. ¡°I think we have a plan then. I just need to figure out how to use Dimensional Magic to connect the rooms through an imperceivable dimension incomprehensible to my corporeal mind while you monitor a spiritual thread crafted from atavistic magicks that passes between them.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Nuralie said, letting out a long breath and looking overwhelmed.


    ¡°Then, after the thread connects to whatever it¡¯s looking for¨Cprobably the other button¨Cwe push them both.¡±


    ¡°And then what?¡±


    ¡°Profit!¡± I said with a shrug.


    With great effort, Nuralie stood up straight and gave a single nod.


    ¡°Fine,¡± she said. ¡°Easy enough.¡±

 Chapter 144: Two Places at Once

    Chapter 144: Two Places at Once


    Once Nuralie reluctantly agreed to the strategy, I spent 3 days experimenting with my Dimensional skills. Nuralie took the time to study the threads, growing intimately familiar with their composition. She even learned to look deeper upon the thread that sought to move through an unknown spatial dimension without suffering mental trauma. Not much trauma, anyway.Visitt  for the latest updates


    Volume 4 of Dimensionalism and You was a little off with its guidance. It told me to travel ¡®inward¡¯ to find the seventh path, which I took to mean a seventh potential direction away from myself. Up, down, left, right, forward, backward, and strangeward. While the thrust of the concept allowed me to expand my focus beyond my intuitive sense of movement, when I finally latched on to something, it was clear that I wasn¡¯t traveling ¡®inward¡¯. I would very much be traveling away from where I was, just not in any direction I could wrap my head around.


    When I finally locked on to the strangeward direction, it was predictably incomprehensible. I couldn¡¯t process the space itself, but I could attempt navigating it by using the shadow that it cast as a reference. Shadows cast by three-dimensional objects are normally two-dimensional. A sphere might cast a circular shadow against a wall, for example. The shadow cast by the space toward which strangeward took me was itself fully three-dimensional.


    It would have been impossible to make any reasonable progress if the path between the two rooms had been complex. That would have been like a toddler trying to solve a Rubik''s cube from its shadow alone. Thankfully, it was a straight shot. It wasn¡¯t even that far. There was a short ¡®hallway¡¯ that connected the two rooms, although the ¡®hallway¡¯ felt infinitely larger than either of the rooms themselves. Reaching out with Shortcut exposed some kind of barrier between the two points, but it was small, insofar as anything in that space could be called small.


    I was soon able to travel from the basilica to the cathedral using Reckless Shortcut. The distance was close enough that I didn¡¯t take any backlash from the spell, and I could flick back and forth between them without trouble.


    While I was in the cathedral, I did another few loops and found only more of the cathedral. Nuralie was also nowhere to be found, since she was standing in the basilica.


    There was a brief moment after my teleport when Nuralie could see the spiritual thread coming to life and connecting to something, presumably following me through the brief portal that I created. After a dozen teleports, we had the timing down to a narrow window where we could both hit our respective buttons while the thread was active. We did a few trial runs where we cast a spell instead of hitting the button, then used our mana regen ticks to make sure we were properly coordinated. Finally, we were ready to give it a shot.


    Nuralie stood in the basilica, eyes focused on the thread and hand hovering over the red, soul-enshrouded button. I did a countdown in my head, then cast Reckless Shortcut, appearing in the cathedral. Two quick beats later I slammed my hand down on the ice-blue button that sat before the heart-pierced statue of Deijin.


    The lambent glowstones on the triangular shelves behind the statue began to extinguish. There was an invisible divide between them, and the stones on the left had started to go out just ahead of when I¡¯d hit my button. I assumed that each half was connected to one of the buttons and that Nuralie had hit her own just ahead of mine. I held my breath, hoping that there was some grace with the timing. After all, what would have happened if there¡¯d only been 1 of us inside the loop? There had to be some margin of error provided.


    When all the stones had gone out, I heard the shuffle of moving earth and turned to peer through the narrow, bronze doorway. Hundreds of humanoid creatures were dragging themselves from the dirt throughout the field outside. They were nude, bodies pale and filthy. Their eyes were vacant, their expressions slack, but they began walking towards the cathedral with rapid strides. It was not the meandering shuffle I expected of the dead, but the steady march of people with a purpose.


    I quickly identified one.


    Husk: Undead, Grade 10.


    As the first few Husks made their way through the door, I raised my hammer and shield, prepping for oncoming violence. I could handle a few grade 10s on my own. Of course, there were 512 of them. However, before the first ranks of the soulless dead could meet me, the walls of the cathedral rippled and shimmered.


    An ethereal view of the basilica superimposed itself atop the cathedral, its warm colors and spherical chambers contrasting sharply with the dreary and geometric features of the cathedral. The mosaic floor shimmered in a combination of colors from both churches and shifted aside, revealing recesses from which figures emerged, clad in golden robes.


    They were Deijinin, the loson race with bird-like attributes. Feathers ran down their heads and arms, their hands ending in talons, their eyes bright yellow, orange, or green. Wings sprouted from their backs and they lifted off the ground with a few quick flaps. As they spun to face me, the Deijinin looked upon me with marble features, bodies enveloped by a thin gray soul halo. Something about the souls felt wrong, however, artificial. I realized that they were not true Deijinin, but statues like the icon of Deijin herself. Their eyes drifted past me, fixing on Deijin. A look of fury crossed their faces and they began rushing toward her.


    I turned to follow their flight as they sped around me, finding Nuralie standing close to the altar, awed by the scene. She watched the Deijinin in amazement, but a dark look crossed her face when she caught sight of the door. She stepped forward, readying her bow. I spun to follow her gaze and saw the soulless Husks streaming through the narrow door. Their progress was slowed as 16 of the Deijinin swooped forth to bar their entry with towering shields. They formed a shield wall the width of the cathedral, and the Husks began beating upon them with thick fists. The blows created deep thunks against the shields and the Deijinin shifted their footing to resist the tide of flesh that continued to pour in.


    The flight of Deijinin landed on the deity¡¯s statue, their hands grasping at the spear that bound her. Sixteen gathered and gripped the haft, then 16 more wrapped their arms around those and helped to pull back against the weapon. More of the Deijinin gripped the statue, locking it in place as the spear slowly slid out from Deijin¡¯s heart. Once the weapon was pulled free, the statue burst to life.


    Deijin stood from her throne, 10 feet tall, robes transforming from stone to cloth and billowing in a brisk wind that suddenly filled the cathedral. Her form was enveloped in a swelling soul halo, deep and powerful with a spark of the divine. It was a far cry from the power I¡¯d sensed from the avatars or even Zura, but it was still potent and bathed the room in holy majesty, enveloping all who stood before her. Still, like the Deijinin, her soul rang hollow, as though it were carved from stone as well.


    Deijin looked down at the altar where the mass of disconnected soul now sat. She reached out and touched a single finger to the orb, the light flaring and traveling up into her arm. Her multicolored wings stretched and she swept forward, the gust left in her wake strong enough that I threw an arm up to shield my watering eyes. The icon landed in front of the Deijinin shield wall and amidst the teeming mass of Husks. They reached up and gripped at her robes, pulling and tearing at them, their hollow eyes filling with pain, mouths starting to hang open in yawning, silent cries.


    Deijin swept her arms and wings wide and spiritual energy poured from her in a torrent, radiant beams striking the hearts of each of the Husks. Scores of the creatures began to pull away, looks of confusion replacing despair, some holding hands to their faces as if overwhelmed. Their bodies began to transform, their features becoming defined, scales, feathers, or craggy growths sprouting on their skin.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    The shield wall backed up, allowing more of the Husks to pour into the cathedral, whose hearts were quickly blessed with the essence of life. Deijin¡¯s gift swept through them in a gale and, in time, the creatures were turned from a mindless horde to a rejoicing mass of Guelons, Hyrachins, and Deijinin. A full congregation of 512 newborn losons praised the icon of Deijin, dropping to their knees, bowing at her feet, and weeping with joy.


    Nuralie stepped up beside me, eyes glistening, and we watched the spectacle together in silence. Eventually, the figure of Deijinin pulled away from her flock and glided back to us. When she landed, she looked down at us with warmth and curiosity. Half of the golden Deijinin gathered behind her like guardians, watching us with cautious eyes while the rest moved through the former Husks, gifting them new robes and baskets of food.


    ¡°Pretty damn good,¡± I said, taking off my gauntlet and slipping it on.


    The ring adjusted size to fit my finger, then grew flat and unobtrusive when I slid my gauntlet back on over it. I¡¯d snagged another level in Dimensional with my first 4D teleport, so the ring took my ¡®safe¡¯ teleport range up to 248 feet. If I went all out with Reckless Shortcut, the ring would take my maximum range up to 4.7 miles, which was really starting to cover some distance.


    ¡°Is your ring as busted as mine?¡± I asked Nuralie. She¡¯d already equipped the item but held her hand up for me to inspect.


    Deijin¡¯s Star


    May her generosity empower you.


    Requirements: Intelligence 40, Spiritual Magic 20


    +60% to the range of your Sense abilities.


    ¡°You can certainly take advantage of that,¡± I said. ¡°Looks like the rewards were based on our main contributions to solving the puzzle.¡±


    ¡°Do you think there was a different reward if we solved it through punching?¡± she asked. ¡°Or was this a special reward for solving it the correct way?¡±


    ¡°Who the fuck knows,¡± I said, then sat down heavily at the table. ¡°This Delve is full of all sorts of ambiguous shit. How do we even know we solved that puzzle the ¡®correct¡¯ way? I mean, how would anyone else have solved it?¡±


    Nuralie sat across from me and started taking in the spread of delights.


    ¡°The challenges might be tailored to us,¡± she said. ¡°The Delve Core had weeks to observe us in the Training Expo. Maybe it changes things based on the Delvers.¡±


    ¡°Itsh poshible,¡± I said through a mouthful of delicious, warm brown bread. Why was it still warm? Who put it there? How high was their Baking skill? It was damn good. I swallowed and gestured at Nuralie with the half-eaten hunk. ¡°I, for one, am turning my brain off for a bit. Oh, is this beer?¡± I peered into a flagon filled with an amber liquid. I smelled it, poured some out into a tankard, and took a sip. ¡°No, it¡¯s fruit juice. Even better!¡± I drained the glass and poured myself another.


    ¡°I think your questions about the loop may not have an answer you would like,¡± Nuralie said, filling a plate with grilled fish and root vegetables.


    ¡°Brain¡¯s off,¡± I replied. I chewed on a bite of steak, then set my fork and knife down and crossed my arms. ¡°Fine, go ahead and explain.¡±


    ¡°You want the puzzle to make sense from your old perspective. Earth did not have magic, and so the sciences of Earth do not consider that as a factor.¡± She took a sip of a light-colored wine. ¡°Perhaps we are ignorant of the nature of higher dimensions and the puzzle¡¯s layout makes sense on a level we can never comprehend.¡± Pause. ¡°On the other hand, the puzzle was not merely one of dimensions, but also of the spirit. Many powers were at play that went beyond our expertise. I would not ascribe mundane logic to a living statue, so perhaps you should not ascribe Earth logic to a dimensional space that is, almost certainly, governed by some magical concepts.¡±


    I leaned back and stared absently at the ceiling, working the idea through my head. My natural inclination was to reject the idea. After all, if I was willing to give up pursuing a theory because I could throw my hands up and say ¡°magic¡±, it would be very easy to become intellectually lazy.


    Still, the loson had a point. Despite having been given the advice several times, I tended to overlook the presence of supernatural forces when dealing with problems in Arzia. Maybe the Delve had arranged the loop to give us hints, and the shifting stairwells didn¡¯t have an answer rooted in traditional physics. In the end, I would probably never know, but that didn¡¯t mean I was going to give up thinking about it. It just meant that there were additional variables to consider.


    ¡°Maybe the entryways to the stairwells were tethered to an anchored dimensional space,¡± I began. ¡°Since both led to the same three-dimensional location, the entryway could have been enchanted to create a random chance as to which fourth-dimensional location it revealed once observed.¡±


    ¡°Enchantments based on observation could be a function of Spiritual magic since it often deals with the mind,¡± Nuralie added. ¡°The spaces becoming fixed once observed could also be from some kind of spiritual link to the relevant space.¡±


    We debated the possibilities as we feasted to our heart¡¯s content. I was glad to have gotten the opportunity to spend some extra one-on-one time with Nuralie. I could be as cerebral as I wanted, and she not only kept up but also challenged me. Not to say the rest of our crew wasn¡¯t a smart bunch, but they weren¡¯t always willing to partake in an hours-long debate. Varrin only had so many thoughts on the relationship between mana weaves and the tensile strengths of different metals, for instance. Eventually, he just wanted to start cutting shit into pieces to determine which magic sword he liked better.


    The food was good, the environment was pleasant for a Delve, and all was well with the world until homicidal insects began crawling out of the walls.

 Chapter 145: System Addendum #3

    Chapter 145: System Addendum #3


    *****


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY USER NAME: [ERROR: REDACTED]


    ADDENDUM NOTE: 5 months before the awakening of the first monolith


    *****


    Tavio examined the walls of the Imperial Palace with fascination. He had never before been inside the splendorous halls, decorated with art and material from across the empire.


    The palace had been altered on multiple occasions, sometimes being essentially rebuilt. Whenever a new province was incorporated into the empire, the Imperial Assembly commissioned the greatest artists, architects, and engineers from that province to create an addition to the palace, spanning its great lengths. Tavio studied each of the features in detail, watching them weave together an intricate mural dedicated to the empire¡¯s long history.


    The stone itself was from Litta, sanded to geometric perfection, and providing a foundation for all that would come after it. Finely polished marble floors and pillars supported the structure, donated by the masons¡¯ guild of Connas after it became the first province of Litta following the liberation.


    Large stained glass windows blown in Seaward added vibrant colors to the interior lighting. Massive tapestries woven in silk from Dhonvos hung from the ceiling, depicting momentous occasions throughout the empire¡¯s past; the one opposite the hall from Tavio showed the Littan army battling back the monsters of the Forest. Appropriately, magical plants from Nohrrin grew behind the tapestry and along the palace walls, providing fresh air and soothing light to the grand hallway.


    Flawless gemstones from Tavio¡¯s home province of Seqaria accented huge statues forged by the master bronze workers of Lotor, one for each emperor dating back to the liberation of Connas. The ceiling featured detailed paintings of legend and folklore by Echimara Yokotana, one of the greatest painters of all time, with lush pigments derived from her native province of Ginso. The painting above Tavio showed Yara returning to Arzia, granting her blessing to all below. He noted that the colors of the painting blended seamlessly with the tapestry, making it appear as though the Littan soldiers battling the Forest were surrounded by holy light. The towering roof itself was carved with intricate reliefs by the wood workers of Bavecira, renowned for their unmatched craftsmanship.


    Everywhere he looked, Tavio saw history unfolding before his eyes, with some of the most beautiful and masterful artwork the world had ever seen. Not even the Delver artists could match the majesty of this place, but how could they? The palace was a testament to civilization itself, bearing the might and glory of a combined people, transcending any one individual no matter how gifted. The symbol of community, driven to benefit all the world. That was something you couldn¡¯t match with any active skill or attribute evolution.


    ¡°Her Imperial Majesty will see you now,¡± said a Littan aid, who had approached from down the hall. Tavio reeled himself back from the wonder of the palace artwork and stood, making one last inspection of his finest robes for any hint of dirt, debris, or imperfection. He ran his hand down the front of his apparel to smooth it as much as possible, taking special care to fold the red sash of his military position neatly, then nodded and followed the aid back into the palace interior.


    He passed by many more tapestries, windows, and paintings of various events and lamented he had not the time to appreciate them all. As he came upon a set of large double doors guarded by two level 21 Delvers, the aid motioned for him to stop.


    ¡°Tavio of Seqaria to see Empress Rona,¡± said the aid. The two soldiers looked at Tavio, or more precisely, above Tavio¡¯s head. After a quick glance, one nodded then opened the door. The aid gestured for Tavio to enter, and so he did.


    Inside was a foyer of sorts, with a lit fireplace, soft down couch, and a fine mahogany table. Opposite the entrance was another door, which was closed. The door Tavio entered was shut behind him, and he looked around the room which had nary a sound save for the soft crackle of the logs as they burned heat and light into the space. Unsure of what to do next, he sat upon the couch and interlaced his fingers.


    Several moments passed by as Tavio contemplated the upcoming conversation. Personal meetings with the Empress were unheard of at his station, typically given only to senior members of the Assembly or dukes of significant influence, not mid-level captains early in their career.


    The far door opened and an exceptionally lithe and toned Littan peered out, dressed in high quality but plain robes with only an indigo sash to belie her status.


    ¡°Captain Tavio?¡± asked the empress.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said, suddenly standing. ¡°I mean, yes, your Imperial Majesty.¡±


    The empress smiled warmly and beckoned him to follow her through the door, to which he complied with all the grace he could muster. The interior room was not like Tavio imagined; it was littered with stacks of papers, scrolls, maps, and books, even some stone slabs Tavio recognized as summoning tablets. Various ink wells of different colors sat atop an equally varied number of parchments, from missives to ledgers to journals. While not exactly a mess, the decor was far less pristine than Tavio had anticipated. The empress held out her hand towards a chair opposite a large desk she then sat behind.


    Tavio took his seat, then sat still, waiting for whatever it was the empress had summoned him to talk about. However, she sat still for what seemed like minutes, as though they were in some sort of contest. Unable to help himself, he examined her form, which was completely symmetrical, with an impeccable complexion, finely trimmed fur, and not a single blemish to be found.


    He could bear the silence no longer, and so asked her the most pressing question he now had.


    ¡°Excuse me, your Majesty,¡± he said, ¡°but you are a Delver, are you not?¡±


    The empress tilted her head and furrowed her brow.


    Tavio didn¡¯t know what to make of that. He certainly was not aware of such a program, but he was also fairly certain the duchess didn¡¯t know about it either. When it came to her party members, she was very forthcoming with information, even of the secret kind.


    ¡°But,¡± the empress continued, ¡°his actions were his own. That is not why I asked to see you today.¡±


    She turned and reached to a shelf behind her, pulling a leather-bound book before turning back and setting it on the desk. She opened the cover and flipped through a few pages before settling on some of the text. Tavio recognized the handwriting as belonging to his party leader.


    ¡°You joined Duchess Ruiz¡¯s party at level 7,¡± said the empress. It was true. ¡°You were awarded an achievement at level 8 for taking less than 5% of your maximum HP in damage during the course of an entire gold-level Delve. At level 9, another achievement for blocking more damage than the rest of the party took combined. Also at level 9, for defeating the Moray Kaijun Delve boss ¡®in record time dating back 10 generations,¡¯ according to the System text.¡±


    Tavio shifted in his seat. The accolades sounded impressive even to him when read one after the other like that, but he still lacked any major accomplishments for the Empire.


    ¡°This is quite the list,¡± said the empress. ¡°It goes on for another two pages. As far as I can tell, you have more achievements than anyone in the empire, and as you say, you¡¯re ¡®just a level 17 gold.¡¯¡±


    Tavio sat still, unsure where this was going. He had so many questions, such as why the empress had a journal from Duchess Isabel detailing his personal accomplishments, or why the duchess would keep such a journal in the first place. Did she keep similar journals for Narisa, Yaretzi, or Gharifon?


    ¡°No,¡± said the empress. ¡°You left a singular impression in Duchess Isabel. She has been taking special note of your actions, citing multiple times your valor, talent, and will to succeed.¡±


    Tavio¡¯s cheeks flushed. Could the empress read his mind?


    ¡°Yes,¡± said the empress. ¡°It is a useful skill, especially when no one knows you have it. Still, it is better to talk out loud. Speaking has a way of bringing clarity to thought.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± said Tavio, ¡°I do not know why you are telling me so many things. Such secrets are valuable, and I should not be privy to them. I am becoming a security risk, and I worry what that means for my future, and the future of your Majesty¡¯s rule.¡±


    The empress smiled again, with an appraising warmth.


    ¡°You are wiser even than your stats would indicate,¡± she said, ¡°and your loyalty is firm. Truly, a platinum Delver if there ever was one.¡±


    Tavio¡¯s eyes shifted down and to the right.


    ¡°You grace me with your compliments,¡± he said. ¡°I only wish I could live up to them.¡±


    ¡°You can,¡± she said. Tavio looked back to her, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°Yaretzi was not the only experimental program we have undertaken. Some very clever minds in our Delver Research Division have come up with an interesting solution to elevating levels without completing additional Delves, up to a point. Effectively, the process can turn Delves completed in one difficulty to a higher one, say, gold to platinum, along with all the attribute points such an increase would provide.¡±


    Tavio leaned forward, momentarily forgetting his etiquette.


    ¡°It is a long and grueling ordeal that only becomes more difficult as a Delver increases in level. So far, all attempts have failed, resulting in the deaths of the participants. However, I think where others fell short, you can soar. If that is what you want, of course.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± said Tavio, ¡°that is... that is a tremendous boon. I am not deserving of such an outrageous gift!¡±


    ¡°There it is,¡± said the empress. ¡°I tell you of a highly experimental procedure that has killed everyone who attempted it so far, and your first thought is how great the potential can be. I do believe you will make a fine addition.¡±


    ¡°Addition to what, your Majesty?¡± asked Tavio.


    ¡°My party.¡±

 Chapter 146: Anty Bodies

    Chapter 146: Anty Bodies


    Nuralie and I had eaten our fill and then separated into our own corners of the room to pursue our individual interests. Nuralie had taken several clippings of the thickly growing ferns and picked several of the glowing mushrooms for study. She had flora samples from across the Delve lined up in front of her on the table, cleared of its dirty dishes, and now covered in a portable alchemy set.


    She cut into one of the large fruits we¡¯d found on the cathedral grounds, releasing a puff of gray vapor that swirled in the air from place to place as though it were inspecting the chamber. Nuralie gently coaxed the vapor into a bottle with hands that glowed with Spiritual power, then stoppered it. She gave it a gentle shake, frowned, then sat it down. She threw a mushroom into a mortar, pressed down on it with a pestle, then poured the bioluminescent juice that came out of the fungus into a beaker that she swirled around like a glass of fine wine. She placed the remains of the mushroom into a small, low-temperature oven to dry, then repeated the process with several more toadstools.


    Meanwhile, I flipped through a text on Mystical Magic. My only spell in the school was Dispel, which I knew I wasn¡¯t using to its full potential.


    Dispel


    Mystical


    Cost: 50% of the mana disrupted


    Requirements: Mystical Magic


    Temporarily disrupt the flow of mana within a spell, object, or person. This can weaken or negate spells, halt the flow of magic within a magical item, or disrupt a magical effect imbued within an individual.


    The cost of Dispel is reduced by 0.5% per level of Mystical Magic.


    My use of the skill had primarily focused on countering spells cast by monsters or other Delvers. I¡¯d used it a handful of times on mana-woven objects, but never directly on a person to disrupt magical effects imbued into their body. Etja¡¯s Nullify spell was similar, but it hit in an area as opposed to Dispel, which was single-target. I¡¯d fallen into the habit of letting the party¡¯s dedicated mage handle most of the countermagic for that reason. She was also just better at it; Mystical Magic was one of my lowest intrinsics with a level of 17.


    I also wanted the intrinsic¡¯s level 20 evolution, which was close enough to taste. Mystical Magic was primarily focused on the manipulation of raw mana, and its evolutions reflected that. My level 10 evo in Mystical improved my mana shaping efficiency across the board for all spells. It might even apply to techniques if I shaped those as well since manipulating stamina in that way was also just called mana shaping.


    Etja¡¯s level 20 in Mystical had significantly improved her natural perception of mana and magical effects, upgrading an inherent feature of Mystical Magic that I also wasn¡¯t taking advantage of. Again, that was because Etja was better at it in every way. But it was about time I started leaning back into the mage side of my build, especially since I was about to be plowing all of my next level¡¯s points into Intelligence to boost my damage. I might as well learn some more fine control over the way mana operates while I was at it.


    Both Grotto and Xim had access to Mystical, but neither focused on it. Xim was whole-hog into Divine, while Grotto split his attention between Divine and Spiritual. If Etja was disabled or, as the case was now, absent for some reason, I was the only party member who could pick up the Mystical slack. We needed redundancy.


    The book had some insights I found interesting, but it was limited by the Hiwardian inclination to hoard the best secrets, lest one¡¯s enemies discover them. Having spoken with Etja about the school a few times, it seemed like the former golem was more knowledgeable on the subject¨Cor more willing to share the good stuff¨Cthan whoever wrote the book I held.


    It was a bit frustrating, but there was a list of potential evolutions that was at least useful. Of course, there was no guarantee I was offered one that was listed, as opposed to being railroaded into something silly by the System or an uncaring eldritch being. Fortune might even interfere with my evolutions, for fuck¡¯s sake. Still, it gave me some ideas about what I might run into.


    As I heaved a frustrated sigh over the lack of useful material in the tome, Nuralie shot up from her alchemy work. Her bow appeared in her hand and she had an arrow nocked before I could dogear the page I was on. It hurt me to mistreat the book so, but I didn¡¯t want to waste time finding a bookmark. Also, screw that book, it was mostly useless.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked, pulling out Somncres and activating Gracorvus in shield mode.


    ¡°Something living is approaching from the northern wall,¡± she said. I began moving into position between the archer and the potential enemy. After a few seconds, Nuralie added, ¡°It is profane, but not evil.¡±


    ¡°How does that work?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s something the Eschenden rejects, but that isn¡¯t automatically hostile to life?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± she said. ¡°It is close.¡± She stepped away into the ferns and disappeared.


    I focused on the wall, holding Gracorvus up and morphing Somncres into a throwing hammer. I kept a good distance from the wall, giving myself room to take advantage of my ranged options. I heard a shifting, scraping sound ahead of me and felt a soft vibration in the soil at my feet.


    A hand made up of 3 segmented digits and covered in chitin burst from the stone. It grabbed the surface of the wall and pulled. The rest of its body quickly followed, revealing a masculine, bipedal creature covered in the hard exoskeleton of an insect and the color of red clay. Two antennae swished through the air, angling around the room and bobbing in opposing up-and-down motions. A set of four translucent wings stretched out and flicked off dust and dirt before sliding beneath a hard covering on its back. Its features, however, were disturbingly human.


    I held back on attacking, giving the creature time to emerge and study the room with dark eyes, its black irises and pupils formed from small, honeycomb patterns. I was hesitant to open hostilities with a creature that Nuralie hadn¡¯t been able to identify as evil, especially after seeing its face. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn¡¯t human, but it looked intelligent. I went ahead and identified it.


    Deletar, the Doomed Aspirant: Abomination, Grade Fourteen.


    All things considered, the name and creature type didn¡¯t sound very friendly.


    ¡°Hello there,¡± I said. ¡°You gave us a startle.¡±


    I maintained my combat stance, hammer primed for a throw and Gracorvus held up between us. I was willing to see if this thing wanted to talk, but I was also ready to squash it at the first sign of aggression. It finished appraising the room and then looked at me.


    ¡°I am Deletar,¡± it said. As its mouth moved I could see sharp, serrated mandibles hidden within.


    ¡°I¡¯m Arlo,¡± I replied. ¡°Well met. May I ask what you¡¯re doing here?¡±


    The creature¡¯s head twitched.


    1) 14 Emerald Chips


    2) 1 Insectoid Essence


    3) 1 Longsword of the Bluewren


    Party Leader has set chip and currency allocation to: Even Distribution.


    You receive: 7 Emerald Chips.


    Party Leader has set item allocation to: Master Looter.


    Party Leader receives all other rewards.


    ¡°Seven chips!¡± I said. ¡°Loot split 2 ways goes a lot farther than 5, eh?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps we should start a side venture,¡± she said dryly.


    ¡°A & N Exterminators. If you¡¯re infested, we¡¯re invested!¡±


    ¡°When bugs become squatters¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°then we come to slaughter.¡±


    I chuckled, then pulled out the sword to inspect.


    Longsword of the Bluewren


    An heirloom that has been passed down for generations and thought to be lost with the disappearance of its wielder, Deletar Bluewren. This sword is made from an alloy of Frozen Steel and Madrin, making it highly resilient and receptive to mana.


    Requirements: STR 20, AGI 10, INT 10, WIS 10


    Effects:


    1) Beneficial spells and techniques that target or buff this weapon are 25% stronger.


    2) Negative spells and techniques that target or debuff this weapon are 25% weaker.


    3) +20 Mana, +2 Mana Regen


    My humor dissolved as I studied the item.


    ¡°Bluewren is one of Hiward¡¯s main houses,¡± I said, tone somber. ¡°It says the owner was Deletar Bluewren.¡± I looked down at the insectoid creature we¡¯d just slain.


    ¡°Was he corrupted somehow?¡± asked Nuralie. She looked like the idea made her ill.


    ¡°No idea. But this is certainly something to loop Varrin in on. If Deletar is one of the Delvers that disappeared inside this Delve, then if someone gets stuck in here for too long or fails a challenge...¡±


    I trailed off, leaving the thought incomplete. Neither of us wanted to consider the idea that we might become the insectoid pawns of whatever twisted Delve Core ran this place. I felt my pulse quicken as the notion settled, but not out of fear, out of anger. It was one thing for a Delver to die within a Delve, it came with the job. It was something else entirely for the Delve to twist them into a monstrous slave.


    Deletar had even kept some level of his prior intelligence, making whatever happened to him all the worse. He¡¯d said that he had to kill me in order to escape. Were there more Doomed Aspirants wandering the halls of this place, fallen Delvers who sought to kill those who entered for a chance at salvation? Even if they could escape, would they remain trapped in such a twisted body? It was perverse.


    It was made worse by the notification we received.


    Delve Objective Updated:


    Your group has successfully navigated the trial placed before you, but your allies have yet to emerge from their own. The time for your allies to complete their challenges has run its course, but you may extend that time limit for so long as you survive.


    Time until you are challenged by the next camp of Aspirants: 16 hours.

 Chapter 147: A & N Exterminators

    Chapter 147: A & N Exterminators


    It was frustrating that the System, the Delve Core, or whatever was running this place hadn¡¯t given us an express time limit before we¡¯d gone into our individual challenges. It also seemed arbitrary that we were suddenly facing a countdown a few hours after Nuralie and I emerged from the loop. Had we barely scraped out a victory just before we would have failed a hidden objective? Or was there something else going on?


    It wasn¡¯t normal, both Nuralie and I agreed. While Varrin, Grotto, and Xim were the resident Delve experts, neither of us were slouches on the topic and this didn¡¯t fit the pattern. First, while Delves were filled with hidden traps, and evolving objectives weren¡¯t rare, a fail condition that was completely obscured was unheard of. Usually, if there was some secret that needed to be uncovered, there were hints laid out for us to discover. As far as Nuralie and I could tell, at no point had we been presented with something that suggested we were up against the clock. If anything, this Delve encouraged us to take our time and be intentional, punishing hasty decisions.


    Second, the nature of this new enemy was out of step. Delves were filled with mana monsters, machines, and other non-sentient foes. Those that were sentient were inside the Delve by choice, such as our old pal Hognay or The Mimic.


    While Deletar had probably entered the Delve of his own free will, I doubted his transformation was at his behest, and the decision to attack us had seemed coerced. If the System existed to challenge Delvers, encourage their growth, and guide them toward ascension, why would it penalize a failure by warping them into corrupted pawns afterward? Delves certainly ¡®recycled¡¯ fallen Delvers¨Cconsuming their bodies for mana and other resources¨Cbut this sort of thing was beyond the pale.


    That left us with a few theories. The most obvious was that we had no idea what we were talking about and Delves were sometimes malicious entities that did this sort of thing. Next was the idea that Deletar had not truly been the Delver himself, but a drone created based on his build and given his weapon.


    It was still abhorrent to create a thinking being that believed it was someone who¡¯d died and to lead it on with the hope of escape. In some ways, that was no different than having doomed the original to the same fate. It was possible that Deletar had been a convincing fake with no real will of his own, the few sentences he spoke being predetermined lines the creature recited from a script. That idea was less morally reprehensible, but why deploy such a scare tactic?


    Finally, there was the theory that we were being manipulated to see a reality that wasn¡¯t true. I¡¯d already dismissed that idea back in the loop, reasoning that my Wisdom was so high that a mental attack would be a remote enough possibility that we could discard it as a possibility until given reason to believe otherwise. If a level 10 Delve had the capacity to break through my mental defenses, what Delver could overcome that level of attack? If I had the stats of a normal level 10, I¡¯d need to have invested nearly half of all my stats into Wisdom to get to where I was. Certainly, the Delve didn¡¯t expect challengers to dive so hard into a single stat. Our attribute diversity had helped so much, that I wasn¡¯t sure how we¡¯d have survived without it. So, mental boloney seemed unlikely.


    Regardless of why the Delve was doing what it was, Nuralie and I had to handle it. The System message had implied that the next wave of bugmen would be a ¡®group¡¯, rather than an individual. We¡¯d melted Deletar without trouble¨Ca single grade 14 wasn¡¯t a threat¨Cbut two grade 14s could be annoying. Any more than that might start to test us.


    That is, if we hadn¡¯t been given time to prepare.


    We had 16 hours until the next Doomed Aspirants came knocking, and we used that time wisely. I initially tried to see if I could find a viable teleportation destination to the outside, but wherever we were, it was surrounded by at least a few miles worth of dirt and stone. Even if I had found an empty space to blink into, there was always the chance it was outside the Delve. I didn¡¯t relish the idea of floating around through space. If we were buried in some geological body, it was also possible to teleport into an underground chamber filled with unbreathable or toxic air. Teleporting somewhere you couldn¡¯t see was just a bad idea altogether.


    We then tried our hand at digging out through the tunnel Deletar had made. It had mostly collapsed behind the bugman, but the dirt was loose and the stone wall was already broken. It was the easiest mode of egress. Unfortunately, that tactic was met by a System message.


    Leaving the challenge room will result in the automatic failure of your party members in their group trials.


    I hadn¡¯t been surprised, but it was still good to explore our options.


    With our ¡°run and hide¡± plan foiled, we adjusted the terrain to better suit us. The room was more or less a flat expanse with some meager cover provided by the ferns growing throughout it. There were some shadows Nuralie could use to hide, but once she was discovered she wouldn¡¯t have many places to fall back to. We still had several fortification packages like the one I¡¯d used against Yaretzi, along with some basic construction materials, so we set up a series of defensible locations with a variety of orientations. Deletar had come from the northern wall, but that was no guarantee that the rest would also come from the north. We destroyed the glowstones lighting the room as well, and harvested all the bioluminescent mushrooms, since Nuralie and I both had excellent darkvision. It might cause trouble for intruders without any sensory upgrades.


    Next came the traps.


    Alchemy was only one piece of Nuralie¡¯s capability to orchestrate the painful death of her foes in advance. The loson also had the Machinist intrinsic, which augmented her ability to work with mechanical gadgets. It was the skill she¡¯d used to create timed launchers for Dazzlers and poisons when we assaulted the Littan camp, among other devices. It had also seen substantial growth throughout the maze at the beginning of Deijin¡¯s Descent where she disarmed trap after trap, disassembled them, and kept the remains. The skill was on the precipice of an evolution, and as she worked to install the deadly instruments around the room, she finally reached level 20.


    ¡°Easy choice,¡± she said.


    Mana Triggers (20)


    You can create runes that allow for your traps to be triggered on contact from up to 2X feet away, where X is your level in Machinist. You may have these runes ignore allies.


    Now Nuralie didn¡¯t need wires, pressure plates, or switches for her targets to stumble into. She summoned glyphs that melted into the ground, invisible to the naked eye and undetectable without some form of mana sense or revealing ability. It cut the work for installing traps in half, and she could even set a glyph off herself to remotely activate a trap in a different part of the room.


    The traps we had on hand included a variety of elemental devices, a couple of traps each dealing Spectral, Force, and Dimensional damage, potion launchers, and good old-fashioned crossbows. My contribution was mostly limited to manual labor¨Cmainly digging¨Cand 2 uses of Sage Advice to help Nuralie accomplish some fine-tuning of the traps outside the expertise of her own magic schools.


    We didn¡¯t set everything up at first. We wanted to hold some traps in reserve in case we were faced with multiple waves of foes, which both of us were certain would happen. It would have been unfortunate if our fancy, non-renewable magic traps all got triggered by the first few enemies running circles around the room. We set up five kill zones, one around each wall and one in the center in case enemies decided to emerge from below or¨Cas a superior tactician would advise¨Cfrom above us.


    That left us with an established route leading around the space and between the kill zones that was clear of traps or crossfire and gave access to fortified cover. It was also organized in an asymmetric pattern so that it wouldn¡¯t become immediately apparent to our enemies what was safe and what wasn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t accidentally set off the runes, but I could activate a few of the mechanical triggers that Nuralie had mixed in to diversify the challenge our enemies would face.


    After all of that was said and done, I kept watch while Nuralie caught some rest. There wasn¡¯t enough time for me to get any sleep, but hopefully, there would be another long break between waves. I was a long way off from suffering deprivation symptoms, but any good Delver knew to grab some kip anytime it became available.


    Finally, we were set up and ready to go, waiting for the last few minutes to countdown. Nuralie was well hidden, and I waited for her signal telling me that there were enemies at the gates. I stuffed some earplugs in and slapped on my helm. Nuralie called out two enemies approaching from the western wall, and I started channeling Explosion!.


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    The pair of hostiles emerged at the same time, their entry separated by a few yards. As Nuralie and I had agreed, we¡¯d designed the triggers to give the enemy time to consider their actions, and for me to try and get them to talk. One was a masculine, mantis-looking person with curved blades melded into his body. The other was stocky and feminine, with a large pair of pincers attached to a bulging tail that made her look like an earwig; the most repulsive insect known to man. Both identified as Grade 14 Doomed Aspirants. The woman carried a staff, and so I silently oriented Explosion! to detonate next to her. Always kill the squishies first.


    ¡°Hey folks,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°We¡¯re not looking for any trouble. Do either of you care to negotiate?¡±


    More chips, more insectoid essences, a Wand of Spectral Bolt, a Ceremonial Javelin of Infinite Revenge¨Cwhich came with an ammo counter that slowly replenished over time¨Cand a Giant Spiked Mace of the Bloody Jubilee.


    The wand was okay, but neither I nor Etja had the right attunement for it. The javelin was a cool throwing weapon, but its governing intrinsic was Pierce so it didn¡¯t fit my build. Besides, I didn¡¯t have any nearby Diablos to slay with it. The spiked mace was by far the most interesting.


    Giant Spiked Mace of the Bloody Jubilee


    Two-Handed Mace


    To Spike,


    In commemoration of the day we feasted upon the life¡¯s blood of our foes.


    With love,


    Dru


    Requirements: STR 40, Blunt 40


    Effects:


    1) This weapon deals an additional 100% damage when wielded with two hands.


    2) Whenever this weapon deals damage it applies Bleeding/minute equal to your STR plus level in Blunt. Critical strikes apply twice this amount.


    3) Once per hour you may increase your health regeneration by an amount equal to the combined Bleeding/min of enemies within a number of feet of you equal to your STR. This regeneration increase lasts for 1 hour.


    It was a Blunt weapon, it increased regeneration, and it even came with a sweet note attached. I was nowhere close to being able to wield it, and I still preferred Somncres, but it might serve as a nifty backup weapon. I also remembered that Grotto could share my intrinsics through the new evolution my Traveler¡¯s Amulet had attained. Seeing the little guy swinging a six-foot mace of blood-soaked devastation would be pretty cool, but I wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d ever have the Strength for it. Either way, I tossed it into my inventory for later assessment.


    Time until you are challenged by the next camp of Aspirants: 4 hours.


    ¡°As irritated as this ¡®challenge¡¯ makes me,¡± I said, ¡°at least it¡¯s consistent.¡±


    ¡°We will not live another 8 hours at this rate,¡± said Nuralie.


    I did the depressing math in my head. It checked out.


    Undeterred by the impossibility of surviving exponentially growing danger, we reset the room and got ready for the next wave.


    This time, they came from above like properly sophisticated villains. However, the four insects did not land amidst our thoughtfully curated and arranged traps of sundry death.


    They collapsed the ceiling on top of them.


    Mechanical triggers activated, arrows fired into piles of dirt, and the runes for our Spectral and Ice traps were buried deep enough that they¡¯d never be triggered unless one of our enemies was an enthusiastic¨Cand evil¨Cgopher. Then again, plenty of bugs dug into the ground. I still had hope.


    There was a pause before the new Aspirants revealed themselves, which gave me time to keep charging Explosion! I had over 100 mana wrapped up in the spell when the bugs showed their faces. Though there were four of them, one in particular was impossible to ignore.


    It was half woman, half fly, its body distorted into a tall, curvy humanoid with furry, black skin, compound eyes, and a squirming proboscis in place of a mouth. Its wings buzzed as it descended, dark robes flowing around it like a wraith¡¯s death shroud. It sat atop the back of a spectral, skeletal horse that glowed with lazily winding tendrils of cobalt energy, misty and ethereal.


    It fell through the hole flanked on all four sides by its allies. Before their feet¨Cor hooves¨Chad touched the ground, I snapped my fingers and activated my spell.


    Death Fly¡¯s hand twisted. She cast Dispel. Explosion! fizzled.


    It¡¯s amazing how one small act can reshape an entire battle.

 Chapter 148: The Four Bugwomen of the Apocalypse

    Chapter 148: The Four Bugwomen of the Apocalypse


    Once Explosion! had been countered, a lot of things happened very fast.


    Fly was flanked on three sides by allies in a triangle formation, a gruesome menagerie of insectoid bodies. Their frontliner fell while facing me and wasted no time charging.


    The creature was a hulking woman covered in a dark brown carapace. Her body was wide and oval in shape, with sharp horns growing from her skull. Before she¡¯d even landed, broad wings shot out from beneath armored plates on her back, and I was reminded of a time I looked up to see a roach on the ceiling, only for it to fall toward me and fly away at the last second.


    There are fewer things more terrifying than a flying cockroach.


    Roach launched forward, wings kicking up a gust of air and sending dirt swirling around her allies behind her. She led with an 8-foot-long bardiche with a curved, bladed head half the length of my body. It was clearly a two-handed weapon and she was wielding it in two hands. Of course, she had 3 hands on each side of her body since she was a fucking roach, and the two hands she held it with were both on her right side. Her left side was guarded by a tower shield as tall as she was, which was only slightly shorter than her weapon.


    She flashed through the room as fast as one of my hammers, the sonic boom her movement created even louder. I had my shield up and ready to block, but I could barely follow the arc of her bardiche as it crashed into Gracorvus.


    Fortunately, I¡¯d positioned myself with a Spectral trap between myself and the baddies falling from the sky. Roach¡¯s ¡®feet¡¯ didn¡¯t contact Nuralie¡¯s rune, but the trigger had a spherical radius that could be adjusted out to 1 yard. Roach¡¯s path took her over the trap, flying just close enough to the ground to set it off.


    A small cluster of skeletal faces with yawning mouths swept out of the ceiling and bit into Roach with ethereal fangs. The warrior barely seemed to notice, already swinging her bardiche again.


    To be clear, the time from when I saw Roach to when she was smashing into Gracorvus with her second attack was less than a second. This bug was fast. Her second hit knocked Gracorvus aside, and her third cut into the armor on my chest. I felt the blade carve through skin and muscle, but before my severed nerves could start sending pain signals from the damage caused by the razor¡¯s edge of her bardiche, she was already making another attack.


    I somehow managed to get Gracorvus back up in time to block, but I could already feel fractures in my left arm as the force of the beating traveled through my shield and into my body.


    HP: 1220 -> 993


    At the same time Roach was going absolutely HAM on my soft, fragile body, Necro Fly¡¯s hands formed a series of complex mudras. They were the most human-looking part of her, but her fingers bent and distorted with impossible degrees of flexibility, and she completed whatever she¡¯d been casting before Roach had gotten her third swing in.Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com


    Azure fractures spiderwebbed through the floor beside her, and a portal opened. A massive, thick hand grabbed the edge of the floor, and a hulking creature of stone and pure mana tore its way through the breach, rising nearly to the ceiling.


    You have observed the Mystical Summon: Arcane Goliath spell.


    The description of the spell added little information its name didn¡¯t already communicate, but I did note that I could pick the spell up if I wanted to lean more into the minion game. I only hoped that Fly¡¯s summons weren¡¯t nearly as broken as my own, especially since the moment she¡¯d finished the spell her hands dashed through the motions again, several times faster than the first instance. I was half-expecting for smoke to start pouring off the digits from sheer friction against the air.


    Another portal opened above, and a rippling creature of fire and molten rock descended.


    You have observed the Divine Summon: Infernal spell.


    The second spell had gone off so quickly that the Infernal was hitting the battlefield only an instant after the Goliath. The Goliath¡¯s crystalline head puffed mana vapor and turned to find its enemy, but the Infernal had already locked onto me with smoldering reptilian eyes. It moved to give Roach an assist by clawing my guts out, and I had just enough time to identify the creatures and get a sense of their power.


    Arcane Goliath: Construct, Grade 12.


    Infernal: Demon, Grade 12.


    So, each one was about as strong as Shog was when he soloed the Lardigrey boss.


    Not good.


    As soon as Roach¡¯s fourth swing landed, the Infernal struck at my midsection with burning claws that left my armor glowing where it hit. The smack made my teeth rattle, but my armor held up and I took the blow without losing health. After such a fast and furious opener, I began suspecting that my Speed stat may not have been high enough.


    There was a gurgling, trilling scream, and I caught the briefest glance of one of the other bugs clutching a hand to its neck. It was a slim-framed woman covered in soft fur with a pair of vibrant blue and yellow wings. She floated in the air, a mist of yellow particles shedding from her body and beginning to spread around the room. She held firmly to a staff in her left hand¨Cits end a vibrantly glowing hunk of amber¨Cwhile her right was pressed against a wound that gushed blood. Her body was shrouded by a blue shimmer I recognized as Mana Barrier¨Cthe ability that Etja used to offset damage¨Cbut the fletched tail of an arrow was still sprouting from between her fingers.


    Mobility was my best friend, so the moment I could process the situation I cast Shortcut to extricate myself from the whirlwind of attacks from Roach and the Infernal. I appeared before Butterfly, smelling blood in the water, and decided that with all the bugs around I needed more arms to fit in. Since the moment Explosion! had been countered, I¡¯d been focusing to activate one of my oh shit buttons.


    I used Therianthropy, and a pair of violet and blue wings burst out from behind me. They passed through my cuirass as though it didn¡¯t exist, their forms otherwise solid, and two downy tentacles rolled out beneath them, coiling around my sides.


    Now, there were many things I could do with these tentacles. I could slap people around with them, but unarmed attacks weren¡¯t my strong suit. I could grapple people with them, but I wasn¡¯t built like Shog and didn¡¯t have the experience to really muscle these bugs into submission. The tentacles were also excellent for tickle fights, but I¡¯d only just met these ladies, so that felt impolite. I¡¯d had a good bit of time to practice having extra limbs while in the maze and had found at least one curious way to use them that was terribly effective.


    Cost: 5 mana per target + 1 mana/second per affected target


    Requirements: CHA 10, Divine Magic 10


    Target a number of entities up to the number of evolutions you have in Divine Magic. The targeted entities must pass a WIS check opposed by your CHA or become Weakened. Maintaining this ability requires Focus.


    Weakened: Whenever a weakened character would deal damage, that damage is halved.


    Your WIS check is successful!


    You have resisted the Weakened debuff!


    I said a silent thanks to the gods of massive resource pools that my Wisdom was as outrageously high as it was. I had no good way to know how close that save had been, but I could feel my strapping musculature deflating for a moment. Usually, I shrugged off effects calling for Wisdom saves without noticing a thing, so having any piece of a mental attack take root was worrying. In fact, now that I knew Butterfly could both heal and debuff, I resolved that Nuralie had picked the right target. Butterfly absolutely had to die first. I would allow no psychic attack to rob me of my swagger.


    The next thing I saw was a giant, blue fist swinging at my face.


    The Goliath had finally gotten up the steam to enter the fray, and as its enormous hand connected with my helm, a wave of force pulsed out with the strike. I was sent careening backward, body spinning from the Goliath¡¯s hook. I crashed into one of our barriers, the metal warping with a groan and I bounced off of it to hit the southern wall with enough power to leave cracks.


    HP 768 -> 718


    The punch itself hadn¡¯t been that strong, but the kicker was Mystical Force damage against which I had little defense. My resilience from Fortitude was enough to make the high-speed collisions with metal and stone feel more like aggressive encounters with foam and rubber. But I was across the room and knocked on my butt, muscles still seizing from Cricket¡¯s lightning. To make matters worse, Roach was already on top of me again. She¡¯d even probably had to slow down to follow my flight.


    Roach was an aggressive, high-Speed tank with enough Strength that the hulking towershield she held looked like it was made of cardboard and the bardiche she was swinging at my chest moved as though it were light as a reed. Cricket was a mobile turret that output a constant stream of arrows enhanced with lightning and accompanied by bolts that locked people down with Stun and Immobilize. Butterfly could heal, debuff, and had so much juice for her Mana Barrier that she barely looked like she¡¯d taken damage. Finally, Death Fly was in the backline, summoning bruisers to keep enemies on the back foot and place a meatwall between the enemy and her softer allies.


    It was a good fucking party comp. I had to give that much to them. My respect for their synergy did little to take the sting away as Roach hit me from above with a spiraling strike from her bardiche, then spun her body to strike me again. Both blows landed within a tenth of a second. My armor tore, ribs severed, one of my lungs collapsed, and I was sailing across the room once more.


    HP: 718 -> 522


    Fly was finishing up her next summon, calling out a ghostly wraith with tattered robes that looked like it bought clothes at the same Necromantic Outfitters boutique as Fly. The wraith scanned the room before it charged off toward a fortified barrier in the dark. I assumed that it had found Nuralie, and despite being more than half dead, I wasn¡¯t going to lose the aggro that easily.


    Before Roach¡¯s beatdown could introduce my face to another wall, I cast Shortcut and appeared right beside Death Fly, Somncres raised and ready. Fly flinched, then looked down at me from atop her skeletal horse with a cold gaze. The wraith stopped its charge, spinning to see me a handful of feet away from its master. The Infernal was on the other side of the room but had spun to rush at my new position. The Goliath did the same but struggled to stop its momentum from charging toward my prior location. Roach was also on the move, but I had a brief moment alone with Fly, and the wraith abandoned its hunt for Nuralie to try and come to her master¡¯s defense.


    But my move was a feint.


    I spun and hurled Somncres into Butterfly¡¯s back, the insectoid woman too slow to have reacted to my disappearance. I copied my hammer three times, each one gaining all the buffs of my Void Hammer combo, then threw both hammers from my tentacles as well. Six blunt instruments and four Oblivion Orbs found their target.


    A hardened shell instantly formed around Butterly, the insectoid woman aware enough to barely react in time to the danger with a skill, but it was hastily cast and quickly shattered under the first hammer. The next five shredded her torso, hammers crushing exoskeleton and Oblivion Orbs blinking muscle and organs into the nether. Her body flashed blue over and over as her Mana Barrier struggled to absorb the extra damage, but by the end, she was left sagging to the ground, wings broken and blood freely flowing.


    She continued to struggle for a moment, body swaying, and I was amazed she wasn¡¯t dead. However, she only held on for a moment before collapsing.


    The battlefield went still as the bugs looked at their deceased comrade. Hammers slapped back into my hand and tentacles as they returned with Homing Weapon and I readied for the rest of the fight. I was surrounded, unable to keep every enemy in my view, but Soul-Sight had long been active and helped me keep up with whoever was behind me.


    ¡°One down,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Six to go.¡±


    Somehow the number of enemies was going in the wrong direction.


    Everything that¡¯d happened had occurred in 10 seconds or less. The pause in the fight was probably less than one, but it felt like it dragged on for a minute.


    An eerie quiet filled the room now that hammers and bodies weren¡¯t warping around at more than 800 miles per hour, but it was broken by a guttural chuckle. I peeked back at Fly to find her quietly laughing with a voice that was the envy of bog witches worldwide. She slowly raised a finger and pointed it at Butterfly, uttering a spell that should have been entirely expected, but which still caught me flat-footed.


    ¡°Raise Dead.¡±

 Chapter 149: Death Sequence

    Chapter 149: Death Sequence


    Kill the healer.


    It was age-old wisdom, passed down from elder homicidal vagrants to their soon-to-be murderhobo progeny. Varrin had probably been laid to bed as a child with cheerful tales of the underdog swordsman turning the tide of battle by expediting the enemy cleric¡¯s journey toward their final destination in the embrace of their god. I expected that Lil¡¯ Var had a colorfully illustrated guide on kill priority right next to his pillow, tucked lovingly next to his wooden toy sword.


    Healers were force multipliers, amplifying the well-defended health pools of their armored comrades, dispelling hostile debuffs, and maybe weaving in some control effects of their own. Because of a healer¡¯s investment into mental stats, such as Wisdom, Charisma, and Intelligence, their resilience to damage was usually subpar. If they could be caught out of position and properly burned down in time, killing the healer was almost always worth paying for with a little of your own blood and resources.


    While killing the healer was on page 1 of Cloudy With a Chance of TPK, page 2 followed closely with the advice, ¡°Kill the summoner.¡±


    As Death Fly¡¯s spell sent a wave of power through the room, I was faced with a crisis of choice. Nuralie and I had started the fight facing down twice our number in foes, each of whom was graded as a deadly challenge for a Delver 4 levels higher than ourselves. Even with Butterfly taken out of the equation, we were now facing down thrice our number of foes due to Fly¡¯s unopposed introduction of hefty backup. Letting Death Fly do her thing was the price we¡¯d paid to lead Butterfly into the grave. Disappointingly, Death Fly sought to dig that grave right back up before her ally¡¯s corpse had even had time to stop twitching.


    The Raise Dead spell sent tendrils of mana through Butterfly¡¯s mangled body, and I had a brief window of opportunity to do something about it. The only hangup was that I had a brief window to do many things. All of these options vied for the number one spot on my list of steps to be taken in the next 3 seconds, lest I perish in painful agony.


    Roach charged on blurred wings with her bardiche raised to strike. The Goliath¡¯s thousand-pound body of arcane stone lumbered toward me, fists shimmering with mystic force. The Infernal¡¯s white-hot claws sent shimmers of heat through the air as it drew close enough to rake them across my body. The Wraith returned to its hunt for Nuralie, and Cricket had recovered enough from the poison gas trap to line up another series of lightning arrows on my position.


    Being limited by the laws of space and time as I was, I could only react to so many of these things at once. Blocking was generally a solid move in situations like these, but Dispelling was also a tempting choice. Fortunately, Raise Dead was an infamous spell for obvious reasons, so I knew a bit about it.


    Raise Dead was one among many skills that would result in dirty looks and nasty rumors should someone catch you using it, although it was not banned outright. I¡¯d made a list of such widely known and legally gray skills, having researched each and every one to ensure that I didn¡¯t slot one out of ignorance and thereby tarnish my reputation as a voguish crusader for life, liberty, and justice. That is unless the skill was actually really good and people were just prejudiced and afraid of what they didn¡¯t understand.


    Raise Dead was firmly in the camp of skills I wasn¡¯t interested in. Still, when the notification came up as Fly cast the spell, I didn¡¯t even need to give it a glance.


    Raise Dead


    Spiritual


    Cost: 50 mana reserved


    Cooldown: 24 hours


    Requirements: Intelligence 30, Spiritual Magic 30


    Raise a nearby corpse to fight at your behest as a Raised Dead. Raised Dead are reanimated with a 20% penalty to all stats (minimum score of 1), and with an amount of their maximum health and mana based on the state of the corpse.


    You may communicate telepathically with your Raised Dead as long as it is within a number of feet of you equal to your Spiritual Magic level, allowing you to issue orders that it will fulfill to the best of its ability. While outside of this range of telepathic communication, Raised Dead will continue to act out your most recent orders until told otherwise. While Raised Dead lack any semblance of their original personality or will, they retain all skills and abilities they possessed in life and can execute orders with intelligence and strategy. However, certain skills will no longer function¨Csuch as those that require the caster to be alive¨Cand Divine abilities may become unavailable if the divinity of the Raised Dead views the undead as profane or otherwise detestable.


    While Raised, a corpse will no longer deteriorate naturally, but Raised Dead cannot regenerate health or be healed except through specialized means. Once this spell ends, the targeted corpse may not be Raised again by you or any other. You may only Raise a corpse if its grade or level while it was alive is equal to or lesser than your own level or grade plus the number of evolutions you have in INT. You may have a total number of Raised Dead equal to the number of evolutions you possess in Spiritual Magic.


    While I was sure there were ways to ethically source corpses, it seemed like a lot of trouble just to end up surrounded by bodies in a perpetual state of decay. Some people might have been uncomfortable with my c¡¯thonic allies, but at least they didn¡¯t literally smell like death.


    With the knowledge that I possessed and the state of the battlefield, I decided to let Fly¡¯s Raise Dead spell go through for a few reasons. First, Butterfly Zombie... Zomberfly? Buttombie? Zutterflie?


    First, Butterbie would have a mean stat penalty and wouldn¡¯t be as powerful as a Raised Dead as she had been while alive. This made her debuffs a lot less dangerous. Second, she couldn¡¯t heal herself again, making her a much softer target for round two. Third, her Curse of Weakness had been a Divine spell, so there was a chance she could no longer even use many of her skills. Altogether she was a bad target for the spell.


    Fourth¨Cand most importantly¨Choly shit, I needed to focus on blocking.


    I angled my shield to intercept the Infernal¡¯s burning claws as it crashed into me, rolling its talons aside while the demon pushed me back several feet with its bulk. Gracorvus glowed a dull orange where the demon struck, but the shield had done its job and protected me from harm.


    While the Infernal grappled with Gracorvus, I twisted my body to keep the shield and demon between myself and an onslaught of crackling arrows. Thunder shook the ground as lightning bolts struck between each lightning-infused projectile, the current causing my muscles to clench and spasm, but some of the electricity jolted the Infernal as well.


    Before the Shocked debuff could build up enough to threaten me with another Stun or Immobilize, Cricket¡¯s attacks were interrupted. I couldn¡¯t catch a glimpse of what made the archer pause with the wall of muscle and brimstone between us, and Roach was already swinging at my exposed head with her bardiche.


    I was forced to send Gracorvus into hover mode, unable to rip it free from the Infernal in time to block. Instead, I flew back from my shield with a burst of movement from my wings, just barely able to avoid the polearm¡¯s blade. Roach followed up with a spinning hit on my midsection that I couldn¡¯t avoid. The blade carved a new line through my armor, cutting through abdominal muscle and intestine beneath. Her body glowed and she spun again at several times her already outrageous speed, slashing into the same spot and bisecting me nearly to the spine.


    Xim took a deep breath of the cursed spores, being immune to Fear as she was, then smiled at the crowd before her. Her features twisted into her bestial form, she raised her scepter and the beating icon of a crimson heart burst from the ether.


    ¡°What do we say to new friends, Grotto?¡± she asked.


    [Your minds are weak.]


    Grotto¡¯s eyes glowed and tentacles sprouted forth from the heart, wreathed in hypnotic flame. A pulse of dread washed out across the battle, crashing into every nearby enemy.


    The Infernal roared and clawed at the Goliath¡¯s arms and chest to try and escape. The Goliath pressed its fists into my face and chest, desperate to free itself as well. Butterbied squirmed along my back, and Roach abandoned her bardiche, wings beating furiously. Even Fly¡¯s mount took several hesitant steps back from Xim. I released my hold on Gravity Anchor, and the enemies scattered.


    Roach buzzed away and crashed into the southern wall. Xim¡¯s debuff didn¡¯t only hit the enemy with Fear, but also Slow and Weakness. Despite that, Roach plowed into the boundary hard enough to create a cloud of dirt and falling stone. She began shoveling handfuls of dry earth aside, seeking to burrow her way into the soil. The Infernal scraped its way north, its movements sluggish, while the Goliath lumbered behind it at a speed a geriatric turtle might have been able to beat.


    Fly didn¡¯t flee, but she was taken aback, stunned into inaction. Butterbie tried to stumble off as golden spores shone around her, disrupting the afflictions. I wrapped her up with my tentacles, keeping the weakened zombie in check. I spun and slammed the Raised Dead into the ground, hovering above her with my wings, still not willing to put any weight on my lower body. I summoned Somncres and hurled a triple-copied Void Hammer into the undead¡¯s vacant face.


    Her head exploded, and the natural order was restored.


    I felt a wave of static crawl across the room, raising the hair on my arms and neck. I looked to see Cricket releasing her charged attack, the archer too distant to have been affected by Xim¡¯s Fear. She launched an arrow at a barrier with such force it looked like a tank shell had landed. The barrier exploded into a fierce spray of shrapnel and Cricket¡¯s attack was followed by a massive bolt of lightning that filled the dark room with blinding wrath.


    I caught a glimpse of Nuralie rolling out from behind the barrier as the first arrow struck, reducing her cover to fragments. Her body glinted with the Shielding she¡¯d built up with her Lightbringer evolution, but it was torn away in an instant by the blast. A crimson glow replaced the stripped Shielding as her first Fortitude evolution activated, something I¡¯d never witnessed the Loson pull out before.


    No First Blood


    Whenever you would take damage, you can choose to reduce that damage by an amount equal to your FOR * 2. If you do, you cannot use this ability again until the next dawn.


    The evo ate 40 damage from the mighty thunderbolt, and I felt electricity arc through me as my Life Warden buff transmitted half of everything else over to me.


    HP: 348 -> 239


    You have taken Wicked damage! Your maximum HP has been reduced by 109 until you receive 8 hours of uninterrupted rest.


    The shared damage I took from Life Warden was further reduced by my Physical Magic, so Nuralie took at least 130 damage from the glancing blow¨Cnearly a third of her HP. Nuralie¡¯s teeth were bared as the lightning coursed through her body, but she never stopped aiming at Cricket. The moment the lightning let up, the loson unleashed her own attack, though it was far less spectacular.


    The arrow she fired disappeared, then reappeared in Cricket¡¯s remaining eye, still shut tight. The insectoid woman¡¯s head snapped back, and her body went limp. She hit the ground with a jingle of her bow¡¯s strange bells.


    Fly snapped back to reality after her second ally perished, placing a gentle hand on her steed¡¯s neck to calm it. She swept a hand through the air and a dark rod appeared in her hand, the length of a baton. An oppressive weight fell over the room when it appeared, burdening my soul with a sense of impending doom. I could See the effect it had on the soul halos around me, not just our own, but even Fly¡¯s allies and summons. It pressed them inward, suppressing them with unholy force.


    Xim had to concentrate to keep her Fear effect running or we¡¯d be swarmed again. It would be up to me and Nuralie to put Fly down before Xim¡¯s debuffs broke. We were both heavily injured, but I steeled my resolve to end things quickly.


    Then, the air around Fly began to warp and tear. I hastily looked for something to Dispel, but whatever I was seeing wasn¡¯t a spell. The world twisted, and there were suddenly two of the mounted summoners before us, each holding one of the dark rods aloft. The metaphysical weight pressing down on our souls doubled.


    I growled as dark energy began to build around the batons, then shouted my frustrations to the heavens.


    ¡°Grade 14 my ass!¡±


    In my moment of irritation, I nearly missed a subtle flare from Grotto¡¯s soul. A scepter¨CXim¡¯s old weapon¨Cflew through the air and struck the copy of Fly across the jaw, cracking her carapace and leaving her face dripping dark red goo.


    You have observed the Animate Object spell.


    It seemed my familiar had some unforeseen tricks as well.

 Chapter 150: Diptera Fatalis

    Chapter 150: Diptera Fatalis


    Animate Object


    Spiritual


    Cost: 20 mana reserved


    Cooldown: 1 minute


    Requirements: CHA 20, Spiritual Magic 20


    You extend your will into an inanimate object, causing it to spring to life and act according to your wishes. Animated Objects gain a flying speed equal to your CHA, and you can communicate with the Object telepathically so long as it is within a number of feet of you equal to your Spiritual Magic level. The Object has normal vision and hearing, even if it wouldn¡¯t have the physiological capacity to do so normally, and can follow verbal or gestural instructions from you in lieu of telepathy if required.


    Animated Objects can be directed to perform any task for which they were designed on their own, such as a frying pan cooking eggs or a pen writing on paper. If the Object would have to make an INT, CHA, or WIS check, it uses your scores to do so. Otherwise, it has a score of 0 in all attributes. If the Object would be used in a way it wasn¡¯t intended, you must first teach it to perform that task.


    If the Object is a weapon, it can make attacks with itself according to its design by using your CHA score as the governing attack attribute. However, if the weapon has a stat requirement that is higher than your CHA, or a skill requirement that is higher than your Spiritual Magic level, you cannot animate it.


    I¡¯d seen Grotto animate tools in the past, but it seemed the Delve Core had upgraded the ability into a full-blown active skill. Whatever had happened in his challenge with Xim, the little octo had come out of the other side with some improvements.


    When the scepter struck Fly¡¯s clone, the insect not only bled, but the cracks in its carapace shone with a dull blue light. It recoiled from the strike but didn¡¯t lose focus on whatever spell was charging with its baton.


    [Move close to me!] Grotto demanded of us.


    I was halfway to following up Grotto¡¯s attack with my own but flew back on my wings with my shield raised. The shadows behind me parted to reveal Nuralie, who was drawing another arrow. I prepared to throw Somncres, but Fly¡¯s skill activated before I had the chance.


    The dark energy around each baton collapsed into a tiny point at the end of the weapons, and the weight on our souls disappeared. Then, the specks of foul mana shot toward us.


    The moment I got a taste of the skill, I immediately used Dispel. I no longer had a half-dozen enemies to distract me and I had a feeling this was going to be much worse than Raise Dead. The speck disappeared from in front of the original Fly, and her face twisted in fury while my mind recoiled from the cost of the Dispel. Whatever Fly was casting had at least 85 mana wrapped up in it. It was a massive amount for a spell she¡¯d produced and fired off in under a second.


    Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t Dispel again before the clone¡¯s attack was upon us.


    You have observed the Ego Splinter spell.


    Ego Splinter


    Spiritual


    Cost: 25 mana plus 5 mana/ second


    Requirements: INT 40, Spiritual Magic 40


    Reach out and crush the mind of an enemy with your will alone. Make an INT Spiritual attack against an entity you can see, dealing Psychic damage if successful. If this damage exceeds the target¡¯s WIS, they become Stunned for 6 seconds.


    For every 6 seconds this spell was charged:


    You deal an additional amount of Psychic damage equal to your INT;


    You may target 1 additional entity with this spell; and Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    Affected entities are Stunned for 6 seconds longer.


    The bead of psychic energy split in 3, each one streaking toward a member of the party. Based on the spell¡¯s description, it made little sense. Fly hadn¡¯t spent anywhere near an extra 12 seconds channeling the spell. Either the baton or some other ability had significantly empowered the ability, and I was terrified of what might have happened had we been hit by two of them.


    Grotto alone had not been targeted, his sucker punch with the scepter apparently insufficient to deem him worthy of having his brain melted. Fly might have changed her mind about Grotto¡¯s level of threat if she¡¯d known how much he was about to royally fuck her over.


    Of course, even I hadn¡¯t known how much Grotto was about to royally fuck her over. I didn¡¯t know Grotto could fuck her over as hard as he was about to.


    As the foul specks fired toward us like high-caliber rifle rounds, Grotto pulled out another new spell.


    I could use the tentacles effectively, but I wasn¡¯t using them to their full potential. I just had too many things to think about. Even with 40 Intelligence and Wisdom, managing 8 limbs in high-level combat while also keeping track of everything both the enemy and my allies were doing pushed me to my limit. I¡¯d considered the potential problem before accepting the evolution and had already formed some ideas on how to deal with the issue before I¡¯d even taken the evo for a test drive.


    Grotto flooded me with his psychic presence, then tapped into the soul connection we shared. I used Reveal to deliver my understanding of my physical body to Grotto, and we created a less complex version of the body-mind fusion that had allowed for Arlottog. For this combination, we retained our individual identities, but I was able to hand off control of my feelers to the core. The recently unlocked effect for the Traveler¡¯s Amulet allowed Grotto to share all of my intrinsic skills, making the fusion even deadlier.


    Now Grotto could throw hammers just as well as I could.


    I activated my new and hitherto unused skill Aura of Perseverance, granting my allies 32 Shielding that regenerated over time. Grotto still had his Shielding granted from Rebuke and Shielding did not stack, sadly, but it would help ensure that Nuralie stayed safe while she was Stunned. Xim was moving to cover the loson, raising her Clockwork Gear shield and placing herself between Fly and our vulnerable ally while she channeled the Icon. Aura of Perseverance would also immediately pick up the slack if Grotto¡¯s own Shielding failed. The little octo needed to stay close to me while we shared body parts, and he wasn¡¯t nearly as bulletproof as I was. The extra layer of defense was a necessary part of the combo.


    I also detached Gracorvus from my armguard, then handed control off to Grotto. Again, the core gained the benefit of my Shields skill, so he was just as effective at using the shield as I was. Surrendering control to the core allowed him to use Gracorvus in flight mode to protect himself if he were targeted. He could whip the shield around telepathically and draw upon his own mana pool to do so.


    Another advantage of melding together this way was that Grotto traveled with me when I used Shortcut. Our soul bond extended the spell to include the core, and it also gave me some idea of how to mana-shape the spell to target more allies.


    I teleported behind Fly and Grotto threw two hammers into her back. At the same time, the scepter he¡¯d animated gave Fly a taste of what it had given her clone and smacked her in the face.


    Grotto couldn¡¯t use my active skills or stat evolutions¨Cyet¨Cso the hammers didn¡¯t have Homing Weapon or Oblivion Orb attached. They still hurt. The hammers drilled into Fly¡¯s kidneys and a sickening crunch could be heard as her carapace shattered beneath her wispy robes. The hammers clattered to the ground, but Grotto was already pulling two more from my inventory. I licked my lips as I considered the Giant Spiked Mace of the Bloody Jubilee we¡¯d found earlier and the quickest way to get it into Grotto¡¯s maniacal feelers.


    Fly¡¯s dashed away on her mount and spun, pointing the baton toward us and preparing a new spell. I steeled myself for something as broken as everything else she¡¯d pulled out so far, ready for the tables to get flipped yet again.


    It was a basic Psychic Bolt.


    After Gracorvus, my bascinet, and my natural resistance, it didn¡¯t even deal damage. In fact, I was pretty sure it was a wand charge. Summons weren¡¯t cheap, and neither was that Ego Splinter spell. I kept an eye out for tricks, but Fly seemed to be well and truly juiced. Without the creatures she¡¯d spent so much mana to summon backing her up, she was much easier to deal with.


    She still lived up to the insect of her namesake, proving obnoxiously difficult to pin down even after her mana was dry. Half of all the damage we dealt was shunted to her Arcane Goliath, which was tanky as hell. She also turned herself and her steed incorporeal for an entire minute. That meant that all Physical damage didn¡¯t do shit to her. Well, for the most part. We¡¯d gotten an achievement after killing the specter of Orexis that allowed us to ignore 25% of incorporeal DR against Physical, but still! It was annoying.


    Then... THEN! Once we¡¯d actually managed to kill Fly, she came BACK to life with full health after 6 seconds! Seriously! She was harder to put down for good than I was! Fortunately, her Jesus ticket didn¡¯t restore her mana and was only valid for one use. When Fly finally passed on, all of her summons went with her.


    While Grotto and I took our new fusion skills for a test drive by beating Fly senseless over a very painful minute, Xim had eventually been forced to drop her Icon for mana reasons. Nuralie had recovered from being Stunned and Xim made sure to toss the loson a Heal. Our two teams juggled Fly¡¯s minions between us, rotating aggro and control effects while we dealt with the real threats, but the pair mostly went to town on Roach.


    While Roach was quick and deadly, her mental and magical defenses were pretty bad. Xim was able to Ignite and Fear the insectoid woman into oblivion while Nuralie landed arrows at weak points across the warrior¡¯s body and poisoned the crap out of her.


    Roach was nearly as difficult to kill for good as Fly, but in the end, only one true cockroach build was left standing.


    And that was me, baby!


    By the end of the fight, the room was a scorched and broken battlefield of shattered walls, exploded barriers, and mangled insect corpses. Xim and I looked over the bodies while mentally recovering. Eventually, Xim put a hand on her hip and frowned.


    ¡°We should probably have interrogated one of them.¡±


    ¡°None of them felt like talking earlier,¡± I said. ¡°This was the fourth round of this shit, by the way.¡±


    ¡°Grotto could have probably gotten Roach to talk.¡±


    I glanced back at my familiar, who gave me the octo equivalent of a shrug.


    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± I said. ¡°You could have suggested it.¡±


    ¡°Eh, I was pissed.¡± She brushed some hair from her face and looked me over, her eyes lingering on my abdomen. ¡°You know, some of your intestines are¨C¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna hear about it,¡± I said, holding up a hand to stop her. I was still floating on my wings, unable to use the lower half of my body and steadfastly refusing to look down. ¡°Just, please give me another Heal or two. You have no idea how much this hurts.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± she said. ¡°But we should take off your armor first. I need to stuff them back in before I cast.¡± She moved to start undoing the straps on my cuirass. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want them to get stuck on the outside.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said with a groan.


    I really hoped the others showed up before the next wave.

 Chapter 151: Chips, Loot, & System Warnings

    Chapter 151: Chips, Loot, & System Warnings


    Bankrolls.


    Cash money.


    Scrooge McDuck levels of legal tender.


    I actually didn¡¯t have that much. I mean, I had more notes than most people, but in comparison to my total liquid wealth, it was a very small fraction. What I did have was an unreasonable amount of chips, especially after dealing with the bug brigade.


    Your party has slain Quiet Solitude, the Doomed Aspirant: Abomination, Grade Fourteen.


    Your party has slain Thundering Arrow, the Doomed Aspirant: Abomination, Grade Fourteen.


    Your party has slain Blood Scour, the Doomed Aspirant: Abomination, Grade Fourteen.


    Your party has slain Boundless Night, the Doomed Aspirant: Abomination, Grade Fourteen. Your party receives the following rewards:


    1) 56 Emerald Chips


    2) 4 Insectoid Essences


    3) Staff of Quiet Solitude


    4) Longbow of Thundering Arrow


    5) Bardiche of Blood Scour


    7) Scutum of Blood Scour


    6) Wand of Boundless Night


    Party Leader has set chip and currency allocation to: Even Distribution.


    Distribution has been adjusted based on party member participation.


    You receive: 21 Emerald Chips.


    Party Leader has set item allocation to: Master Looter.


    Party Leader receives all other rewards.


    ¡°What?!¡± Xim shouted as she digested the rewards. ¡°Fifty-six Emerald chips?!¡± She looked up at me, wide-eyed. ¡°Fifty-six?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, these things are worth a lot,¡± I said. ¡°Too much, really.¡±


    ¡°Never say that again,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°The Pit only gave us 24!¡± Xim continued shouting. She looked back down at her notification, then frowned. ¡°Hey, I got shortchanged.¡± She didn¡¯t sound mad about it, but oddly amused.


    ¡°I guess because you came in after the fight started,¡± I offered.


    ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± she said, dismissing the notification. ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    ¡°We can decide our own split,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re not beholden to the System randomly deciding that even distribution doesn¡¯t mean that the distribution is, you know, even.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t care,¡± Xim said with a wave. ¡°I hardly use the chips anyway.¡±


    ¡°I do not understand,¡± said Nuralie. She searched for words, looking at Xim with concern as though the rose-skinned woman was suffering from some profound illness. Then Nuralie froze in a loson pause and blinked. ¡°It is money.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t going to argue with someone declining my offer of enough capital to buy a small island, so I let the pair argue over finances while I perused the items.


    Honestly, this effect frustrates us.


    What¡¯s the range? Who knows! What does it do, exactly? Soul shit! Even its requirements are just recommendations. You¡¯ll have to investigate it yourself if you want to know more. Be sure to tell us if you figure something out.


    Ha, no, never mind. You don¡¯t have to tell us. We¡¯ll see what happens either way.


    We¡¯re always watching.


    2) Stored Spell: Psychic Bolt. You may spend 25 mana to imbue this wand with 1 charge of Psychic Bolt. Maximum number of charges: 5


    Psychic Bolt


    Spiritual


    Cost: 1 charge


    Requirements: INT 20, Spiritual Magic 20


    Lash out against the mind of your target with a concentrated blast of psychic energy. Make an INT Spiritual attack against an entity within a number of feet equal to your Spiritual Magic level. This attack deals Psychic damage. If the damage dealt to that entity is greater than their WIS, that entity gains Paranoia.


    Paranoia


    An entity with Paranoia treats all other entities as enemies and no entities as allies for the purpose of effects that reference the allegiance of other entities. For example, an effect that states ¡°All allies within 30 feet of you heal 30 HP¡± does not affect anyone because you do not treat any entity as an ally.


    Additionally, an entity with Paranoia is never considered a willing target for any effect that requires one. Ongoing effects that require a willing target, such as Blessings, immediately end if the target becomes paranoid.


    However, paranoid entities are not necessarily hostile to everyone. They may still be willing to fight alongside their comrades, but they are keenly suspicious, awaiting some inevitable betrayal.


    Addendum: This second effect is not original to the wand and was grafted onto it by Boundless Night in a poorly thought-out attempt to enhance its effect. FYI: Forcefully weaving spells into a mysterious item of unknown origin that possesses quasi-deific powers is usually a big no-no. Before you ask, it¡¯s not why she turned into a bug, but it sure didn¡¯t help.


    I stared at the wand for a minute before placing it back into my inventory in its own unoccupied chamber of the Closet, far from anything living or important. While item descriptions were often flavorful, it was rare that they included express System commentary. My boa and vest had some, but those were items specifically created to antagonize me. Not that it had worked. I loved those lurid treasures.


    This was a warning to anyone who picked it up, not a joke. Sure, there was some creepy teasing, but on the whole, it was like the System leaned over, pushed my hand away from the wand, and whispered ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±


    Even if I were willing to ignore the obvious portents of a nightmare-grade sack of awful, to my knowledge no one in the party met the ¡®recommended¡¯ requirements. Grotto might eventually satisfy the suggested levels of Wisdom and Spiritual Magic, but I had no idea where he stood with his advancement. Like Shog, I didn¡¯t know how the System quantified the core¡¯s abilities. I¡¯d asked, but my familiar hadn¡¯t wanted to share. Maybe he¡¯d changed his mind with all the team building we¡¯d done lately.


    Even if the Delve Core could eventually use the wand, I wasn¡¯t comfortable handing it off to him without talking to some experts about it. Preferably, the godly sort of experts. However, I doubted that even a divine green light would make me willing to let anyone in the party use the thing. I should probably give the wand the Chicago mafia treatment and drop it in a bucket of cement, sail to the middle of the ocean, and then throw it overboard. Adding in a masterwork warded lock box and a ritual of banishment on sanctified ground might also be a good move.


    I provided Xim and Nuralie with a summary of the item and offered to share the System text. Nuralie swiftly refused. Xim was interested¨Cbordering on manically enthusiastic¨Cbut the pensive silence that followed her review of the text didn¡¯t seem like a good sign.


    I added the investigation of the wand to The List, then took a deep breath and checked the timer for the next wave. We¡¯d already gotten the notification that¨Cas we¡¯d feared¨Cthe countdown had once again been halved. Xim¡¯s impromptu surgery on my abdomen had gotten me to about a third of my full health, but my regen would take me the rest of the way before we had to deal with more bugs. The same was true for my mana, but my stamina was going to be a bit low. The multi-month Delve was starting to strain our alchemical resources, so I was hesitant to take a potion.


    After our post-battle recovery and loot review, we had about 90 minutes left. We needed to get started on resetting traps and potentially setting up some replacement barriers for the ones that had been destroyed. There was also the matter of my cuirass, which was about as whole as sliced bread. My arming doublet was also in tatters. They were both still in one piece¨Ctechnically¨Cbut neither would offer as much protection as they had. The Verdantum armor was naturally self-repairing, but the process took time that we didn¡¯t have. Nor did I have access to a smithy to make the repairs myself, not that I had any spare Verdantum. Even with all our prep, I wasn¡¯t confident we could handle a 5-bug team if they were as balanced and coordinated as the last group.


    However, before we could start making headway on prepping our arena, the ground began to shake. A deep rumble filled the room, and clods of dirt and sediment began falling around us. We got weapons ready and I waited for Nuralie¡¯s assessment before I began channeling Explosion! The loson watched the southern wall intently, arrow tight against her bowstring. She began drawing it back, opening her mouth to speak but paused and furrowed her brow in confusion. She relaxed her draw, though she stayed in a low stance.


    Before I could ask her for a report, the southern wall exploded, spraying the room with chunks of dirt and stone. A centipede-like creature sprawled out of it, bucking and kicking dozens of legs, its body wider than a cargo van. I was confused as to why Nuralie hadn¡¯t called out a warning.


    Then I saw that this bronco had a cowboy riding it.


    My favorite man-eating murder machine was pressed down on top of the beast. Shog had all four of his swords planted into the monster¡¯s body and gripped it with every tentacle he had. He rode it into the room, the creature rumbling with a growl so deep I could barely hear it.


    The creature''s mouth opened and a river of sewage-colored blood poured out of it, complete with an odor to match and a generous portion of unidentifiable chunks. There was a bright flash of metal that split the creature''s head in two right down the middle. It was followed by 2 scorching rays that decapitated the giant centipede, sending the two halves of its mangled head splattering to the ground.


    Etja floated out of the monster¡¯s esophagus, covered head to toe in centipede fluids and looking none too happy about it. Varrin crawled out behind her, then removed his helm and wiped viscera from his eyes. He squinted, blinked a few times to clear his sight, then nodded when he saw me.


    ¡°Good,¡± he said. ¡°We finally found everyone.¡±

 Chapter 152: Mystery of the Insectoid Society

    Chapter 152: Mystery of the Insectoid Society


    No sooner had Varrin commented on our reunion, than a series of System messages appeared.


    You have successfully defended against the Doomed Aspirants!


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased to level 32!


    Your Mystical Magic skill has increased from level 17 to level 19!


    Your Physical Magic skill has increased to level 22!


    Your Blunt skill has increased to level 27!


    Your Shields skill has increased to level 26!


    Your Heavy Armor skill has increased to level 21!


    Your Leadership skill has increased from level 19 to level 21!


    After the endless wave of skill-up notifications following The Pit, I¡¯d convinced my UI to condense the text when receiving multiple levels at once. It was satisfying to see a wall of notifications, but it was inefficient for taking in gains at a glance. I doubted that many Delvers had that issue.


    It wasn¡¯t quite the same haul as we¡¯d gotten from the boss rush, but 9 skill levels for a day of work was damn good. I was a little sad that Mystical Magic had stalled 1 point shy of an evolution, although I was certain we¡¯d find more opportunities to rank up at the cost of severe threat to life and limb. I suppressed the notifications for my level 20 Leadership evo until I was certain we had a few minutes to look them over.


    ¡°Welcome to our humble kill box,¡± I said. ¡°Careful where you step. We have a few traps with mechanical triggers. No idea if they¡¯re still working, but better safe than sorry.¡± I eyed the floor. ¡°There are also desiccated bug guts everywhere.¡±


    Etja let out a hiccup that was half sob. She idly wiped some centipede off the front of her robes¨Cto little avail¨Cwith a hollowed-out expression on her face.


    ¡°I hate it,¡± she said. ¡°I hate it here.¡±


    Nuralie pointed out the traps¨Cthere were exactly 2 remaining¨Cwhile Xim hurried over to Etja to perform emergency Bathwarden duties. The cleric handed over her enchanted marble of cleaning, and Etja accepted it with a strained smile. She then stared at the ground as Xim began picking some of the larger chunks from her hair.


    Varrin produced a towel to wipe the worst of the gunk from his face, studying the bodies we¡¯d yet to dump into our corpse pit as he went over his hair. It had grown to a nice length, and the goo gave it a bit of volume. Overall, he was having an unfair amount of success looking good while covered in the blood of his enemies. I had no idea how his hair had survived Clockwork¡¯s flame bath¨Cunlike my own¨Cbut I assumed it had to do with his armor, which was a Ravvenblaq heirloom of superb make.


    ¡°You had a bug problem as well?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Literally crawling out of the walls. You?¡±


    ¡°The door teleported us to an underground cave system.¡± Varrin pulled out a new towel and worked on cleaning between his gauntleted fingers. ¡°It was probably a hundred miles deeper than this place.¡±


    ¡°And it was full of bugs?¡±


    Varrin nodded.


    ¡°Not the humanoid kind like these,¡± he said, waving toward one of the corpses, which was already hollowed out and blackened by the Delve. ¡°But yes, giant insects.¡±


    ¡°What was your objective?¡±


    ¡°To reach our allies before it was ¡®too late¡¯,¡± he said, tone grim. ¡°The cave was part of a large hive.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± I grunted. ¡°Sounds straightforward.¡±


    Varrin tossed his towel to the ground and pulled out another. His armor was enchanted to clean itself over time, so he was already looking quite a bit tidier.


    ¡°It was a very large hive,¡± he said defensively. ¡°What was your challenge?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know. Identifying an invisible soul thread moving through a four-dimensional space that channeled an artificial soul construct.¡±


    Varrin had begun wiping down Kazandak¡¯s hilt but paused, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Then I had to learn how to sense the fourth-dimensional axis and use Shortcut to travel to an adjoining space that shared a three-dimensional location and coordinate with Nuralie to simultaneously press buttons in both locations while being unable to communicate.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    ¡°After that, it was pretty easy,¡± I continued. ¡°Just sit back and watch a show. We got some cool rings out of it, too.¡± I thought over the encounter in my head for a moment. ¡°We might have been able to fight our way out, but it probably would have involved dealing with several hundred Grade 10 enemies at once.¡±


    ¡°That does sound mildly complicated.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised yours didn¡¯t involve a puzzle. This whole Delve is a puzzle.¡±


    ¡°Wait, divine spawn?¡± I asked. ¡°Like what we faced in The Cage?¡±


    Shog crossed his arms across his chest. At least, I thought he did. They disappeared behind his ¡®beard¡¯.


    ¡°The bitterness is balanced by a slightly sour undertone,¡± he said,¡°and there is a tantalizing umami flavor, creating a sense of haute cuisine distinct from when I last attempted to dine on such victuals.¡± I gaped at Shog as he went on, but Varrin heaved a sigh. ¡°However, the texture and aroma mingle to form an unmistakable bouquet evocative of avatar. It ruins the otherwise complex and alluring palate.¡± Shog¡¯s tentacles twitched and he made a deep, purring growl. ¡°This culinary affront fills me with a towering fury.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s uh, good to know,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were such a gourmand.¡±


    ¡°It is most of what he spoke about while we were together,¡± said Varrin, his tone resigned.


    ¡°I am passionate about my food.¡± Shog ran his eyes up and down over Varrin with a thoughtful gaze. ¡°You would probably be too salty.¡±


    ¡°Jokes about eating our friends aside,¡± I said, ¡°this is a major problem. Why would there be an avatar here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about that,¡± said Etja. Between the cleansing marble and the grooming from the other women, she was starting to look a lot less befouled. ¡°The Delve Remnant we fought was called The King¡¯s Pit. That was the Delve that the Delve Core, Cage, managed before he went to work inside of The Cage.¡±


    I snapped my fingers.


    ¡°I knew I remembered that name from somewhere!¡±


    ¡°The Cage drew a lot of its power from the avatars trapped inside,¡± said Etja. ¡°When the wards keeping them locked up started to fail, they really messed with the place.¡±


    ¡°Like that room with the Bloom,¡± I said. ¡°It had grown flesh plants everywhere.¡±


    ¡°Maybe Cage had practice using chained-up avatars as a power source.¡± Etja broke her staring contest with the dirt to glance up at me. ¡°The one inside The King¡¯s Pit could have gotten loose and corrupted the whole Delve.¡±


    ¡°That is a terrifying thought,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s also a lot of speculation.¡±


    ¡°I think the idea has merit,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We initially followed the hive¡¯s tunnels downward. The deeper we went inside this moon, the denser the ambient mana became.¡±


    ¡°Divine mana,¡± Etja added.


    ¡°Why go down?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You always go down in Delves,¡± Varrin grumbled. I had to give that one to him.


    ¡°And we feel confident we¡¯re on a moon at this point?¡±


    ¡°There are hundreds of miles of underground here,¡± said Varrin. ¡°What else could it be?¡±


    ¡°We could have been teleported somewhere new when we walked through those doors.¡±


    Varrin grunted.


    ¡°Perhaps. But the moon theory addresses this environment and answers several questions.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure most moons are full of bugs,¡± I said. ¡°Then again, I haven¡¯t visited any, so I can¡¯t be certain.¡±


    [Then you three believe an avatar is being used as a power source for this Delve?] Grotto thought to us. [And that it has begun to break its containment.]


    ¡°Since the divine mana gets stronger as we go down,¡± said Etja, ¡°we think it might be buried in the middle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be one big egg,¡± I said. ¡°With a gooey demigod center.¡±


    ¡°Why would the System use divine spawn as challenges?¡± asked Nuralie. ¡°If they are not supposed to be here, it makes little sense.¡±


    [A Delve will often put unexpected resources to use.]


    ¡°Or it¡¯s a feature, not a bug,¡± I said. That drew a couple of confused looks.


    ¡°Oh, I get it,¡± said Etja. ¡°¡®Bug¡¯ like you described to Umi-Doo.¡±


    I nodded, thoroughly appreciating how little humor a joke held once it was explained.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°The Delve might intentionally encourage the growth of divine spawn to serve as monster fodder.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t know more until we investigate,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Did you discover anything about these creatures your group fought?¡±


    ¡°A bit,¡± I said. ¡°Some of the items we looted carry certain... implications.¡±

 Chapter 153: Lonely Langhrey

    Chapter 153: Lonely Langhrey


    I gave everyone the rundown on what Nuralie and I had faced, then began sharing the item descriptions. I opened with the Wand of Boundless Night since it felt dangerous to even hold on to. I pitched the idea of leaving it in the care of Sam¡¯lia, and no one was opposed to ridding ourselves of it. Xim once again entered a pensive stillness while we discussed the wand, but whatever she was thinking, she could share it in her own time.


    ¡°Despite its description,¡± I said, ¡°none of us were affected by it.¡±


    ¡°I was affected,¡± said Nuralie with a shiver. ¡°It was unpleasant.¡±


    ¡°No one was harmed by it,¡± I clarified. ¡°I felt the sense of doom it mentions, but none of us went psychotic or saw phantom creatures.¡±


    ¡°Someone could have disappeared,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°We have a full party,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Everyone is present.¡±


    ¡°Arlo could have had another summon.¡± Pause. Nuralie turned to me. ¡°How many active skill slots do you have open?¡±


    Goosebumps crept up my neck as I answered.


    ¡°One.¡±


    ¡°Only Etja has a full suite of active skills,¡± Varrin countered. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean Arlo had a second summon that was erased from existence.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re all better versed in soul magic than most,¡± said Xim, breaking her silence. ¡°Delver levels augment the soul. Arlo¡¯s Reveal ability has given us all plenty of experience having our souls fondled.¡±


    I grimaced.


    ¡°Not how I would have described it, but okay.¡±


    ¡°Three of us that were hit by it are revelators,¡± Xim continued. ¡°That empowers the soul through connection with a deity. The only other person here was Grotto. He specializes in spiritual magic and shares a soul bond with Arlo. We probably resisted the worst of the wand¡¯s consequences.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me,¡± I said to Xim, ¡°how did you keep from getting stunned by the Ego Splinter spell? I barely resisted myself, and I had several layers of defense against it.¡±


    She held up a hand, where the Ring of Many Blessings sparkled with its thousand facets.


    ¡°I burned all of my stored charges of Blessed,¡± Xim said. ¡°I resisted it by 4 points.¡±


    ¡°That attack was too close of a call,¡± I muttered, thinking over how we could have been better prepared. After another minute or two of discussion, I moved on to the other items we¡¯d recovered from the Doomed Aspirants.


    Varrin recognized the name Deletar, and the Longsword of Bluewren matched the weapon the man had used. He¡¯d apparently disappeared two decades ago. The big guy also recognized House Spyreling when we went over the brooch. The house was known for producing some of the most talented Delvers in Timagrin and ran an academy of some renown.


    I brought up the flavor text for the bardiche last. It was the only real clue as to who the final wave of bugs had been prior to their insectification. Aside from their names, that is, which were mildly eccentric and reminded me of some handles I¡¯d used for MMO characters when I was a moody 15-year-old. Nuralie was the most familiar with The Eschen Wastes, which the item¡¯s flavor text referenced.


    ¡°The Eschen Wastes are what they sound like,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Wastelands. They are north of Eschendur, spanning westward all the way to the borders of Timagrin and Mittak. The Kingdom of Ayama lies in the middle¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°though that region only flourishes because of Godking Ayamari¡¯s magic.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a big area,¡± I said.


    ¡°The Wastes are more than 20 times larger than Hiward,¡± said Varrin. ¡°They cover as much landmass as the Littan Empire.¡±


    ¡°Do people live there?¡± I asked.


    Nuralie tilted her head and thought.


    ¡°Some,¡± she said. ¡°There is a small Eschen settlement on the north side of the Left Hand Mountains. They trade with the people who live in The Eastern Wastes, mostly exiles and hermits.¡± Pause. ¡°People who would rather be ruled by the unkindness of nature, rather than by monarchs or politicians.¡±


    ¡°I guess this self-proclaimed Lord Hendrick Langhry wouldn¡¯t have been popular.¡±


    ¡°To put it mildly,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The population of the Wastes is sparse and there are only a few small villages, but I have been told they are mostly anarchistic. Single individuals and small groups living by the law of tooth and claw. I do not know much more.¡± Pause. ¡°I never felt the desire to visit.¡±


    ¡°I recognize the name,¡± said Xim. ¡°He was a Hiwardian Flarehart who was stripped of his title.¡±


    ¡°No offense, but why do you know that?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re not usually very up to date with the Hiwardian nobility.¡±


    ¡°He was a famous Delver a couple of decades ago,¡± Xim replied. ¡°He ended up as one of the cautionary tales that aspiring Delvers are taught about in their academies.¡±


    ¡°Even I have heard the song,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Song?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Gods above, I haven¡¯t thought about that in years,¡± said Xim. ¡°Luck Won¡¯t Get You Lucky.¡±


    Etja¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°I love that song!¡± she said.


    ¡°Luck Won¡¯t Get You Lucky is the popular title,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The real name is The Ballad of Queen Celeritia¡¯s Virtue.¡± She sighed. ¡°Etja sang it many times while we toured.¡±


    ¡°Grotto has a point,¡± I said. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t assume¨C¡±


    [However, a Delve Core would not punish Delvers by transmuting them into such monstrosities. They would simply recycle the body, using its mana as fuel and its organic components as compost.]


    ¡°Have you completed your thought?¡± I asked. Grotto bobbed in the air.


    [Yes.]


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t assume an avatar is the cause,¡± I said. ¡°We can run with the theory, but our goal should be to try and disprove it at every turn.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Either way, we should continue moving forward.¡±


    ¡°We do still have the Get Out of Cage Free Card,¡± said Xim. ¡°We could just go.¡±


    ¡°Assuming it works here,¡± I said. ¡°Also, I want those special Delve rewards.¡±


    ¡°Is that worth facing down an avatar?¡± she asked.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know for sure that there¡¯s an avatar involved.¡±


    The cleric gave me a skeptical look.


    ¡°We¡¯re here inside a secret Delve, known only to a select few for its impossibility,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s us. If we find evidence of the worst possible thing happening, then the worst possible thing is probably happening.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but look at all the great stuff we¡¯ve gotten because of our proclivity to punch above our weight class.¡±


    ¡°We need to know if it¡¯s true,¡± said Varrin. ¡°If the avatars have gotten their claws deeper into Delves or the System, that is something we cannot ignore.¡±


    ¡°I do not think there would be much we could do about that,¡± said Nuralie.


    [If an avatar has taken control of the Delve, we cannot guarantee that completing the objective will advance the phase.]


    ¡°Shit,¡± I said. ¡°Why not?¡±


    [The avatar may be controlling the objectives in some way, incorporating its own spawn into the challenges. If so, it has some level of access to the core that runs the Delve.]


    ¡°Well fuck,¡± I said. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s at least take a peek and see what we can find out.¡± I looked around the group. Neither Xim nor Nuralie looked happy about it, but they reluctantly agreed. Etja was silent, lost in thought. Varrin, of course, was adamant that we move forward.


    ¡°But first,¡± I said, ¡°before we go searching for things that can kill us with a flick of its wrist, I have an evolution to pick.¡±


    The mood was dour, but professionalism won out and we reviewed the options together.


    1) Frontline Officer: Whenever an ally you can perceive blocks an attack, you may react by adding your Leadership skill level to their block value.


    2) Backline Officer: Whenever an ally you can perceive makes a ranged attack, you may react by adding your Leadership skill level to the attack¡¯s damage.


    3) Medical Officer: Whenever an ally who can perceive you is healed for any amount, they may increase that amount by your Leadership skill level. This bonus can only be gained once per minute per ally.


    The first two choices also came with the option to pick up an active skill that complimented the evolution, but both were from the Spiritual school. My attunement wouldn¡¯t allow it even if I¡¯d wanted either of them.


    Frontline Officer would mainly help out Xim since she was the only other party member wielding a shield. Varrin and Shog could block with their swords, but Varrin¡¯s style focused on avoiding taking hits, and Shog had taken after his teacher from what I¡¯d seen. My summon also used his tentacles to keep enemies subdued. Overall, Frontline Officer wasn¡¯t a great fit for our group.


    Backline Officer looked like it would only benefit Nuralie at first glance, but a close reading of the text revealed more. It didn¡¯t call for a ranged weapon attack, only a ranged attack. That meant it included ranged spells. That would assist Xim and Etja, in addition to Nuralie.


    My main problem with the first two choices was that they required me to ¡®react¡¯ to grant the bonus. Skills that required reactions took a small amount of time and attention. I would probably end up in situations where I was too focused on managing the enemy and blocking attacks to use the abilities to their full potential, which was a struggle I already had with Dispel. They would also be unusable if I was Stunned, Distracted, or knocked unconscious. If I had mostly been standing around and barking orders, I¡¯m sure they would have been great. That wasn¡¯t my style, however.


    Medical Officer didn¡¯t require any action on my part. My allies decided whether to take the bonus healing, regardless of my thoughts or feelings. The range was perception-based, so my allies could still benefit even while on massive battlefields, so long as they could ¡®perceive¡¯ me. It was a shame they had to perceive me, as opposed to the reverse like the first two evos, since I nearly always had perception of my allies through Soul-Sight and my aura. It was still a good feature.


    The amount of healing felt minor to someone like me, who had over a thousand health, but for my allies, 20 health was an appreciable percentage¨C5% or so for Nuralie or Etja. That number would also improve as my Leadership skill advanced.


    What ultimately sold me on Medical Officer was that it improved something I was already building into: my passive ability to heal the party. I currently increased everyone¡¯s health regeneration by an amount equal to my Fortitude with Who Needs a Cleric. Allies got a 20% bump to that regen from my last Leadership evo. My super evolution, We Can Do This All Day, gave stamina or health to a nearby ally equal to half of any damage I took. Medical Officer would grant the rest of the party a global healing buff on top, and I was betting it would trigger off of the healing from We Can Do This All Day. Taken alone, none of these were massive bonuses, but together they started to represent a potent suite of entirely passive healing abilities.


    Nuralie ran us through a few theoretical scenarios. If we were facing a series of tough fights, the three abilities together could easily wind up healing 20% of the party¡¯s total HP every hour without me lifting a finger or spending any mana. In extreme circumstances, that percentage could be much higher. It was about equal to what Xim could output in the same timeframe if she relied solely on her mana regen.


    Of course, Xim was more focused on burnination, Fear, and pummeling than she was on healing. Plus she could burn mana to rapidly heal way, way more than I could. So, I wasn¡¯t going to start wearing robes and carrying a scepter anytime soon. Besides, most of these bonuses didn¡¯t apply to me, only to my allies. I still needed somebody to stuff my guts back in when we didn¡¯t have time for my health regen to rebuild 90% of my body.


    The matter being settled, I selected Medical Officer.


    Then we looked around at the obvious absence of doors or portals. I scratched my head and sighed.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°How do we leave?

 Chapter 154: Sharing (your stats) is Caring

    Chapter 154: Sharing (your stats) is Caring


    The way forward was to crawl further onward through the hive surrounding us. It took an hour to convince Etja to dive back inside the tunnels, but she relaxed once we realized that most insects had hidden or fled. Whether that was due to our completion of the objective or Varrin and Co¡¯s relentless week-long slaughter, we didn¡¯t know. Either way, we were only forced to squash a few lingering bugs. None of them were pushovers, but neither were they serious threats. No more Doomed Aspirants appeared to challenge us.


    Etja wasn¡¯t afraid of bugs¨Cnot any more than the average super-person¨Cbut a week of constant assault and the hypervigilance it required to endure had gotten to her. Combined with being lost in tight underground spaces and being filthy beyond measure, uncertain whether she would arrive in time to save the lives of her friends, it was reasonable that she was reluctant to repeat the experience. Really, I thought she was holding up better than most would if put into a similar situation.


    We began by going up, led by Etja¡¯s knowledge from the Incorporated bugs. I continually scanned for valid teleport locations using Coordinated Thinker and discovered a large, empty space above us once we were within a mile of the hive¡¯s outer edge. That¡¯s also when the air began to thin.


    We were able to press on for a time until the distance wouldn¡¯t trigger a large cooldown from Reckless Shortcut. The others had begun having difficulty breathing, and even I was getting uncomfortable. I took a few deep breaths of the scarce atmosphere and used Shortcut to teleport to the edge of the emptiness above.


    A twist of dimensional energy zipped me away like usual, and I appeared on the surface of the moon.


    I fought against the vacuum trying to empty my lungs for a moment, and readjusted my sense of balance. Whatever force created the artificial gravity throughout the rest of the Delve was no longer present, although there was still enough to barely keep me from accidentally kicking off into the void.


    I used Therianthropy and vibrant wings unfolded at my back, their magic allowing me to maneuver even without atmosphere. I spun and scanned the land around me, ignoring the discomfort from my exposed eyes, but found no obvious structures. The ground was tinged a slight blue, and when I glanced down I realized that it wasn¡¯t composed of the moondust or dirt that my mind had expected. No, the presence of countless metallic beads broke my lunar prejudices. I scooped up a handful, icy cold and smooth, then rolled them around in my palm. They were uniform for the most part, a few sporting slight pitting in places.


    I placed some in my inventory, collecting a decent pile. I had no idea what the substance was, and I couldn¡¯t identify it with my interface. It might be valuable, or useful for crafting, or maybe it would give us some clues about what was happening in the skies above Arzia. I would have taken more, but I was on a timer. If we decided it was worth the delay, I could always return and get a few wheelbarrows worth. The beads stretched on for as far as I could see, so it was more likely to be worthless, aside from the novelty of its origin.


    I kept track of the location of my allies, ensuring I could use Shortcut to get back, and began exploring in a large, spiraling pattern. I gave myself 20 minutes but didn¡¯t find anything worth noting. Not even a crater. I¡¯m sure that meant something astronomically speaking, but I didn¡¯t know what. Maybe the moon wasn¡¯t that old. Maybe there wasn¡¯t anything in this solar system that might collide with it. Maybe it self-repaired. Coming up empty with my search, I teleported to my allies and reported my findings. We tried moving laterally and repeated the exercise a few times, but I never found any clues as to where we should be going.


    We eventually decided to heed Varrin¡¯s directional wisdom and headed down.


    We traveled more than 200 miles into the moon. None of us knew how far it was to the center. While Arzia¡¯s moon had been estimated to be about 1800 miles in diameter, we weren¡¯t confident we were on the same satellite. The moon visible from Arzia was typically gray-white, similar to Earth¡¯s moon, although its color altered slightly based on atmospheric conditions. There were times it took on a blue hue, and the beads I¡¯d taken were only subtly blue, so it was possible they were the same orbital bodies.Vi?Sit no(v)3lb/!n(.)com for new novels


    After all, if they weren¡¯t the same, how come nobody ever noticed this one?


    Earth¡¯s moon had a radius of a thousand miles or something, but I also thought I remembered its gravity being described to be a little stronger than what I¡¯d experienced up above. That ultimately didn¡¯t tell us anything, since we had no idea about this moon¡¯s density. The soil had given way to rock, but the atmosphere was breathable and there was no spike in geothermal heat. Again, I was no geologist or physicist, but the whole thing felt unnatural.


    Of course, while I lacked any professional STEM honorifics, I could now proudly add astronaut to my curriculum vitae.


    Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel


    Platinum Delver, Extradimensional Traveler, & Astronaut


    It sounded pretty good. People valued experience over degrees these days anyway.


    We cut through the tunnels pretty quickly. Varrin¡¯s Siege Breaker evolution let him do 10 times normal damage to mundane objects, which applied to stone tunnels. While we lacked any mining equipment, his inner dwarf emerged when I handed him the Giant Spiked Mace of the Bloody Jubilee. He didn¡¯t have the Blunt skill to use its effects, but he sure as hell could swing it. The man¡¯s 40 in Strength also made him capable of lifting boulders, and Shog displayed a comparable level of might.


    Early on in our journey through rock and stone, I stopped and asked Shog if he had a status screen of some kind, which he did. Grotto insisted that no c¡¯thon would expose volunteer such information and potentially expose their weaknesses, but Shog sent everyone in the party a condensed version. That shut Grotto right up, and I could swear Shog did it half to spite the ¡°c¡¯thon imposter¡±. I looked over the sheet and was both impressed and mildly alarmed.


    Shog¡¯tuatha, C¡¯thon Brood Lord


    Stats:


    Strength40


    Agility25


    Speed38


    Fortitude30


    Intelligence1


    Wisdom10


    Charisma1


    Luck1


    Passive Skills: 3/4


    Graboid


    Stalking Predator


    Limb Stealer (Super)


    Active Skills: 7/10


    Soul Chomp


    Barbed Constrictor


    Psychic Whip


    Quick Sting


    Warp Speed


    Swoop


    Divine Magic31


    Subterfuge31


    Architecture30


    Animal Husbandry23


    System Call20


    Dungeoneering20


    Reconnaissance18


    Mystical Magic10


    Grotto¡¯s stats were in line with a level 10 Delver, which made sense because I was his bond and I was level 10. It was probably still unfair of me to be capable of having a familiar that essentially added an entirely new party member to a normal level 10 team, but at first glance, Grotto didn¡¯t look as potent as Shog. The advantages Grotto brought to the table were more unquantifiable, however. His depth of knowledge and expertise related to System matters¨Cwhen he felt like sharing¨Cwas invaluable. Even if he did nothing more than give us input and advice, I¡¯d still think he was pulling his weight.


    Grotto also had a full set of intrinsics, and his total intrinsic levels were higher than anyone else in the party. He was exactly a bajillion years old, so that followed, although the fact that they weren¡¯t higher raised some questions. Like Shog, I didn¡¯t pry into the specifics of his abilities, letting him decide on his own time how much he wanted to get into it. I was extremely curious what all he used his level 31 Subterfuge skill for, but between pretending to be a c¡¯thon 24/7 and trying to keep secrets so that he didn¡¯t face System retribution, it seemed valid.


    I did want to know more about his intrinsic levels, numerically speaking, and figured it would be a vague enough conversation that it wouldn¡¯t be invasive. Of course, it¡¯s not as though Grotto took other people¡¯s feelings into consideration very often, but he¡¯d been making some strides in that direction lately. No reason to push boundaries and possibly encourage an emotional relapse.


    ¡°Hey Grotto,¡± I thought to the core. ¡°Mind if I ask you a sort of personal question? I¡¯ll understand if you don''t want to answer, so no pressure.¡±


    My familiar scanned the others around us, as though they might eavesdrop on the psychic conversation. Even if we were talking at normal volume, I doubt the others could hear much over the sound of Varrin and Shog minecrafting us straight to bedrock.


    [Very well.]


    ¡°Not to be indelicate, but you are very, very old.¡±


    [That is correct.]


    ¡°Like, ¡®geological ages¡¯ levels of old, right?¡±


    [Yes. I harbor no shame over my age if that is why you are awkwardly flailing for inoffensive wording.]


    ¡°No, what I¡¯m wondering is, since you¡¯ve been alive for what seems like a non-trivial fraction of this planet¡¯s existence, why aren¡¯t your intrinsic skills all maxed?¡±


    Grotto turned to study my expression before he responded. Whatever he saw there, it seemed to satisfy him.


    [A Delve Core¡¯s existence is not like your own,] he thought to me. [While the System is dormant, I enter into a state of hibernation. My functions are limited to maintaining the Delve that I am responsible for, but I am not allowed to continue actively managing and improving upon it. Even then, I am conscious for less than 0.1% of the time during this period, and the level of sentience I possess while conscious during such System dormancy is limited. There is little need for my personality matrix to function above a base level. Put simply, I have spent the vast majority of my life asleep.


    [When the System is online and actively encouraging Delver growth, I am awake, but still not perpetually fully aware. My personality matrix only manifests in its entirety while I am performing complex duties or while Delvers are within my halls. Even so, I have operated at full capacity for thousands of times longer than a normal human lifespan.


    [The answer to your question thus has many parts. My skills were not characterized in this manner until I became your Bonded Familiar. I possessed the skills I needed for my tasks, but there was no need for them to be expressly quantified, enticing me toward challenge and improvement. Additionally, the repetition of a task alone is insufficient to level a skill after a certain point. My duties were well-defined, and while I was allowed a certain degree of freedom and flexibility, the majority of my activities were ones I¡¯d mastered an eon ago.


    [I also suspect that my skills have been suppressed to some degree. Dungeoneering, for example, should be much higher, but it has been linked to your own intrinsic for some reason. On the other hand, Spiritual Magic has risen to heights I have never before achieved, much of which has to do with our soul bond. Altogether, my involvement with you and your party has been a catalyst for an incredible leap in mastery over several skills.]


    ¡°Our party,¡± I thought to him. He raised an octo-brow at me. ¡°It¡¯s our party, Grotto. Not my party. You¡¯re as much a part of it as anyone.¡±


    Grotto considered my words, then fixed me with a meaningful gaze.


    [Since Hognay entered my Delve and I became your Bonded Familiar, this is the longest uninterrupted period of full sentience I have experienced in my time as a Delve core. It has begun to evoke memories of my old life, the one lived out by the man upon whom I am modeled. It is strange. But I also find it... agreeable.]


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re with us. The way you describe it, I¡¯m not sure I would enjoy being a normal Delve Core.¡±


    [I had never given it much consideration until lately.]


    ¡°If you ever want to talk about it, I¡¯m happy to lend an ear.¡±


    Grotto didn¡¯t seem to have much else to say after that, so I walked beside him for a time as we followed the group through the holes being dug by Varrin and Shog. Between Etja¡¯s memory and my ability to hunt out open space with Coordinated Thinker, we were tunneling pretty quickly. Before long I found an open chamber and directed the party toward it.


    After digging through a quarter mile of stone, we encountered a mana barrier that kept us from advancing. We burrowed around it for a while, eventually finding a way into the room, and I took the lead as we broke down the last bit of stone.


    We found ourselves in a well-lit chamber covered in gold, gemstone, and a botanical garden¡¯s worth of plant life. Thematically, it matched the hall we¡¯d found when first entering the Delve proper after killing The Pit. There were two spheres of dark metal, one on either side of the chamber, about the size of a small house. Each sphere had a hole cut into its side, large enough for a person to pass through.


    At the room¡¯s center floated a simple two-handed axe, the kind made for splitting firewood. The handle and axehead were made from the dark metal of the Delves, and a potent aura emanated from it, although it was neither sinister nor benevolent. It simply was.


    Behind the axe was a painted statue made of the same smooth material as the sculpture of Deijin Nuralie and I had encountered. It had a canine face but with a snout long and narrow like a crocodile. Its body was lean, covered in graceful, rippling musculature. Its four limbs ended in wide paws tipped with long, curved talons, and a pair of stone wings were folded down upon its back. Its tail was short and rounded as though it had been clipped when it was young, and it lay curled around itself like a sleeping cat.


    It was also the size of an elephant.


    As the last of us entered the room, the statue¡¯s eyes opened. Slitted irises rolled over us, and a soul halo emerged, bright and potent but with the synthetic feel of the souls from back in the endless loop. It yawned, a flat, coarse tongue sticking out from between hooked teeth. Then, it sat back on its haunches, front talons carving deep grooves into the stone like it was made of butter. It smacked its lips as I identified it.


    Icon of the Psychopomp: Automaton, Grade 30.


    ¡°Candidates,¡± it said. The Icon paused and cleared its throat with a deep rumble that rattled my armor. ¡°Welcome to your challenge, the final test by which you¡¯re tried. Though this is unlike others, its success is yours to guide. An appraisal of conviction, merely asks that you decide. Which ones of us shall live, and which one of us shall die?¡±

 Chapter 155: Splitting Souls

    Chapter 155: Splitting Souls


    ¡°Oh, is this a riddle?¡± asked Etja. ¡°I¡¯m not very good with riddles.¡±U//ppTodated fr/o/m


    ¡°It is not a riddle,¡± said the Icon.


    I waited for the Icon to keep talking, but it didn¡¯t say anything else.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m Arlo, and from left to right¨Cyour left to right¨Cthis is Shog, Varrin, Xim, Etja, and Grotto.¡± I couldn¡¯t find Nuralie as I gave introductions.


    ¡°And the Guelon hiding behind Chamber B?¡± asked the Icon. Nuralie poked her head out from behind one of the spheres.


    ¡°I am Nuralie,¡± she said. The Icon¡¯s mouth curled up into something akin to a smile.


    ¡°Fortune¡¯s Folly,¡± it said. ¡°You are the first to appear before me this generation. So early in the phase as well, it is impressive. Congratulations.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awfully nice of you to say,¡± I replied. ¡°That was an interesting rhyme earlier. At first, I thought you were one of those magical creatures that only spoke in rhyme.¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± the Icon said with a long sigh. ¡°I was told that I must say that verbatim. Personally, I think it¡¯s silly. Plain language is superior.¡±


    ¡°I see. It sure was ominous, though. Are you able to explain things a bit further?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I expected that I¡¯d need to.¡± The Icon waved a paw at the axe floating between the two spherical chambers. ¡°If you would, please identify this item.¡±


    I did as the Icon suggested.


    Axe of Soul Splitting


    It¡¯s very sharp.


    Requirements: Escalated Delver Candidate, Chamber of Conviction


    Effects:


    When struck by this axe, the target¡¯s soul is cleaved in two, and each half can act independently of the other. After 1 minute the soul expires, causing the target to perish.


    ¡°Escalated Delver Candidate,¡± I read aloud. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I had an idea of what it meant, but this seemed like a good opportunity to fish for more concrete information.


    ¡°You are,¡± said the Icon. It watched me closely, and I raised my eyebrows at the non-response. Its mouth curled into another grin. ¡°It is a Delver that has transcended the limits of power supplied by the Delves, in the process of proving their merit by climbing for greater summits than those with paths cleared for them.¡±


    ¡°And the Chamber of Conviction. I assume that¡¯s where we are?¡±


    ¡°You assume correctly.¡±


    ¡°And what are we expected to do with this axe?¡±


    ¡°Before you are twin chambers. A single soul must be divided and then each half must enter a different chamber simultaneously. Once this has been done, you will be granted permission to activate System Core Two.¡±


    ¡°And the axe kills whoever is split?¡±


    ¡°That is what it says, yes.¡±


    ¡°What is meant by we decide ¡®which ones of us shall live, and which one of us shall die?¡¯¡±


    ¡°You must choose whose soul to split.¡±


    Nuralie stepped out from behind the sphere, studying the axe.


    ¡°Must it be one of us?¡± she asked.


    ¡°It must be someone in this chamber,¡± the Icon answered.


    ¡°You are someone in this chamber,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°This is true.¡±


    ¡°Then we could split your soul.¡± Pause. ¡°Not one of our own.¡±


    ¡°If that is your wish.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± I asked.


    The Icon¡¯s grin grew wider. It waved its paw again, and 6 items appeared in the air before it. They didn¡¯t emit any sort of mana signature, and a quick look with my Sight told me that these were not true items, merely projections.


    ¡°If I am chosen to fall beneath the axe, you will receive no reward other than progression through the Delve. If I am spared, then each survivor will receive an item custom-made for your build.¡±


    The Icon flicked its paw and a cuirass floated forward. While illusory, I could still identify the item it represented.


    Demon Bone Cuirass of the Descent


    Requirements: Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel, Escalated Delver


    Effects:


    1) Physical DR +40


    The Icon looked from Varrin to Xim but ignored Grotto completely. The dog-lion-crocodile-bird had only conjured 6 items, so my familiar was excluded. It could have been because he was considered an extension of my power, or maybe the Icon was prejudiced against Delve Cores. I was offended on the little octo¡¯s behalf.


    Varrin uncrossed his arms and walked forward with a steady stride. He stopped before the axe and looked it over, then glanced up at the Icon.


    ¡°If we were to use this axe on you,¡± he said, ¡°would you simply accept this?¡±


    The Icon tilted its head.


    ¡°This is my role, should that be your choice.¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to die?¡± the big guy asked.


    The Icon drew a breath, hesitated, then spoke.


    ¡°I do not seek death, no. But if it is required to turn the wheel of the Great Work, I will hold no grudge.¡±


    Varrin grunted. He took three steps back and placed a hand along the hilt of Kazandak.


    ¡°Then you will live.¡±


    An ethereal hand formed from Varrin¡¯s soul and drew a spectral copy of Kazandak. It was the same move he¡¯d used while we ran through the Littan camp. Varrin had drawn an ethereal version of Kazandak that followed behind the spectral copy, using the weapon to disable enemy Delvers by striking their souls, rather than cutting them down. This time, the motion was mirrored by Varrin as he drew the true Kazandak.


    Varrin¡¯s soul flared and roiled as his blade occupied the same space as the spectral version. Power rolled across the room, kicking up dust in a swirling gale of pressure that poured off the warrior. Ghostly hands formed from spiritual essence raised the spectral Kazandak high over Varrin¡¯s head, but the big guy did not copy the move. Instead, he stepped back and drew the sword low and to his right. As his position shifted, Varrin¡¯s soul remained behind.


    Varrin¡¯s soul stepped forward, sweeping its blade downward in a slow arc, a motion I¡¯d seen Varrin perform countless times in training. It wasn¡¯t an attack, but an exercise to ensure control and accuracy. Varrin stepped forward and to the side, raising his sword up in an arc converse to his soul¡¯s motion. Then, Varrin¡¯s soul flared back to life along his body while the copy remained. The swordsmen moved through gentle motions, their strikes mirrored, but opposite. As they transitioned from one form to the next, they slowly separated, until a version of Varrin stood before him, composed entirely from spiritual essence.


    I gaped at the display, unable to wrap my head around what was happening. Both souls belonged to Varrin, but neither soul was truly Varrin. The physical copy of the warrior was enshrouded in a halo that was raw and pure, as though Varrin existed in a space fully separated from reality and its influence. The soul ¡®copy¡¯ was immersed in the world and its history, like it had taken everything the physical Varrin had separated out from himself to craft its own body. Both souls belonged to the big guy, it was unmistakable, but neither was complete without the other.


    Then, as the warriors turned, I noticed something peculiar.


    The ethereal version of Varrin had features that were slightly distinct, as though it were an identical twin with slight variations that set them apart. Those features looked familiar, however, and I was struck by the memory of Varrin¡¯s father, Thundralke Ealdric Ravvenblaq the Third. Still, it wasn¡¯t his father¡¯s ghost, but that part of Varrin that was made from his father¡¯s influence. As I watched, the features shifted further, morphing nearly imperceptibly to someone new, although this one I didn¡¯t recognize.


    Finally, Varrin spoke.


    ¡°A single soul must be divided,¡± he said. ¡°You never said it must be done with the axe.¡±


    Then, Varrin and his soul clone walked in opposite directions, each entering one of the spherical chambers. Runes lit up along their surfaces, and lines of mana shot forth along its edges and the floor, reaching out toward the wall behind the Icon. The lines met and coalesced into a doorway, and then a portal of shimmering silver light appeared.


    Several seconds passed, everyone speechless, but Varrin never exited the chamber. I cast Shortcut to appear outside the chamber and found Varrin lying on the ground, motionless.


    ¡°Shit, shit, shit,¡± I swore and I knelt beside the big guy. His skin was cold and clammy, but when I pressed a finger to his neck I felt a pulse. I bent down and placed my ear next to his mouth, feeling the barest breath coming from him. I turned to find Xim was already behind me. She squeezed into the small space beside us and laid hands on the big guy, closing her eyes and focusing on her healing.


    ¡°He¡¯s not hurt,¡± she said.


    I grit my teeth and studied his soul. It trembled and shook like it was barely contained, as though at any moment it might flee from Varrin. I turned to look at the opposite chamber, seeing the last vestiges of his soul clone evaporating into mist. It meandered through the air, motes of dancing light, and began to creep back toward their host.


    We waited, uncertain what to do, but as the motes slowly rejoined with Varrin, his soul began to stabilize.


    ¡°An unexpected development,¡± said the Icon. I looked up, seeing its snout inches away as it peered into the sphere. ¡°I have heard of an evolving spirit, but I have never witnessed it myself. What a strange thing to behold.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve passed your test, then?¡± I said, trying to hide my bitterness. Even after most of the clone¡¯s essence had sunk back into Varrin, his soul shuddered like a wounded animal.


    ¡°Yes, I believe you have,¡± said the Icon. It sat back on its haunches, pulling its snout out of my personal bubble. ¡°And in a way I have not seen before. This is... quite wonderful.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he saved your life,¡± I said.


    ¡°Or he saved one of yours. I often find that someone changes their mind in the end.¡±


    ¡°No chance,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°We really like each other!¡± Etja added.


    The Icon made a grunting noise that I took for laughter.


    ¡°Very well. Then you have completed the challenge, and may pass through the portal.¡±


    I kept an eye on Varrin, trying to figure out if moving him would be safe. It wasn¡¯t a physical injury, so maybe it wouldn¡¯t matter. Then again, did we have to leave right away?


    ¡°Ahem,¡± said Nuralie, walking up to the Icon. ¡°You said that if you are spared¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°then we get the loot.¡±


    The Icon blinked at Nuralie and its rhythmic grunts grew louder until it was practically howling with bestial laughter.


    ¡°So I did!¡± it shouted.


    The Icon waved a paw and the items¨Ctrue items this time, not illusions¨Cappeared before us. I wasn¡¯t going to look a winged dog lion¡¯s gift in the mouth... or something like that, so I quickly stashed the cuirass in my inventory. The others did the same, but Etja turned the wand over in her hand, having never examined it. She nodded and stowed it away, then bent down close to Xim and me.


    ¡°Will he be alright?¡± she asked.


    I increased the sensitivity of Soul-Sight, trying to glean more from Varrin¡¯s strange state of spiritual disruption, but couldn¡¯t tell much more than I already knew.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I admitted. ¡°This... everything he just did is beyond me.¡±

 Chapter 156: Need Before Greed

    Chapter 156: Need Before Greed


    This is the part of the story where I try to make Varrin¡¯s recovery a nail-biting tale of the big guy riding the razor¡¯s edge of life and death while the rest of the team combined our skills to save him moments before he slipped away.


    I¡¯ll save some time and admit that it wasn¡¯t that exciting.


    We were worried, true, but Varrin¡¯s state of spiritual disruption wasn¡¯t getting any worse as time went on. After a few minutes of evaluation, Xim and I carried him out of the spherical chamber. Varrin¡¯s soul was in trouble, but he was physically fine, so it felt safe to get him somewhere he could lay without being in a crumpled mess. The spherical soul chamber was as large as a small house, but it was mostly solid. The space where Varrin had collapsed was just large enough for one person to stand comfortably and about 5 feet wide, which meant that the huge man had collapsed into a distinctly uncomfortable position.


    Varrin weighed at least 400 pounds in his armor, and I was hit with an unexpected wave of disbelief when I lifted him. I¡¯d had about 6 weeks to get used to my recent Strength upgrades, but Strength gains were exponential. Going from a 10 to a 22 had more than tripled my lift capacity. By all rights that should have made me incapable of piloting my own body for a time and there had to have been some sort of magic shenanigans at work keeping the enhancement from destroying my coordination or causing me to accidentally crush anything I picked up. Even so, the cognitive impact of a 400-pound man feeling like he was no heavier than a plastic mannequin was jarring, and it made me feel like a stranger in my own body.


    I shook off the feeling of depersonalization as we settled Varrin onto some blankets Nuralie provided, not that it mattered much given his armor and superhuman constitution, but it felt more respectful.


    ¡°How long can we stay here?¡± I asked the Icon. There was no formal time limit provided, but the Delve had already proven that it had hidden deadlines.


    ¡°Normally I remove candidates from this room as soon as they complete the challenge,¡± the elephant-sized living statue replied. ¡°Once the choice is made, there is often internal conflict. It would be unfortunate if the Delvers murdered each other before unlocking the phase. Of course, if I¡¯d been sacrificed, I wouldn¡¯t be able to enforce that rule. I have no idea what would happen in that case.¡±


    ¡°Are you planning to kick us out? We need to treat our ally and there¡¯s no risk of us fighting one another. No one was murdered, consensually or otherwise.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you can stay,¡± it said with resignation. ¡°But only for a little while. System Core 2 will be eager to move things along.¡± The Icon looked us over like we were guests staying past our welcome, but moved away and settled down for a nap without further comment.


    The next few hours were spent working through the problem, and I used Reveal to share my vision of Varrin¡¯s soul with everyone. Nuralie grilled me on how his state differed from normal, and any theories I had about what was happening. I wasn¡¯t sure I provided much help, but she eventually felt confident enough to start working on a spiritual balm that she described as ¡°an anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxer.¡± Pause. ¡°But for the soul.¡± Grotto gave her an assist with some of the more complex matters of Spiritual Magic, and I used Sage Advice twice during delicate moments of the brewing process. My insistence that soul food could never have too much butter was apparently some kind of breakthrough for Nuralie.


    The balm took the form of an ointment that we could directly apply to Varrin¡¯s skin. This required the removal of his armor, but thankfully the medicine did not have to be lathered on everywhere. Once the big guy was glistening like an oiled-up bodybuilder, it was a matter of wait-and-see. Varrin¡¯s soul slowly calmed over the next hour, and he eventually entered a state similar to sleep. We let him have some rest, and I tried to use the time to ask the Icon some questions, but the statue had gone inert. Even its synthetic soul had disappeared, and it had become little more than a hunk of painted stone.


    Instead, we went over the items we¡¯d received. After ensuring everyone was up-to-date with what Shog, Nuralie, and I had gotten, Etja brought out her new wand.


    Prismatite Wand of the Descent


    Requirements: Etja Nothosis, Escalated Delver


    Effects:


    1) This wand can be used as a focus for Mystical spells. (Using a focus causes the spell attack to gain the weapon attack bonuses of the focus.)


    2) +10 mystical damage with weapon attacks using this item.


    3) Whenever you hit an entity with an attack using this weapon, you may choose to deal 20 kinetic damage to all entities other than you within 5 feet of the target. This effect can only occur once per attack.


    4) Your maximum number of Blessed stacks is increased by 6.


    5) While performing the Mirtasian Dance, your attacks deal an additional X damage and the speed at which you can dodge is increased by X% where X is your Incantation skill level.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already thought of some wizardly flourishes I can use with it!¡± said Etja.


    She spun and waved the item like a conductor¡¯s baton, flicking her wrist at beats where she might cast a spell. It reminded me of a scene from Fantasia. Etja could probably even morph her body to become more mouse-like if she wanted, but I was the only one who¡¯d have gotten the joke so I held my tongue.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first one that isn¡¯t demon-related,¡± I said. ¡°Has anyone heard of Prismatite?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± said Xim. Nuralie shook her head.


    ¡°Can we determine which effects are due to the Prismatite?¡± asked Nuralie. ¡°The ¡®Demon¡¯ materials appear to give damage reduction to fire and mana absorption.¡±


    [Prismatite provides the bonus to Mystical attacks,] Grotto chimed in. [In armor it will provide reduction against Mystical damage types.]


    ¡°Do you... have a list of exotic materials you¡¯ve been hiding?¡± I asked.


    [I have experience with a variety of crafting materials your incipient civilization has yet to discover.]


    ¡°Are you open to sharing? And/or is there a reason you haven¡¯t said anything about this before?¡±


    [It has not been relevant. The materials available to you have been sufficient for your levels and your fledgling capabilities were inadequate for their discovery of production.]


    ¡°Hmm. We were inadequate. Could we find or make more Prismatite now?¡±


    [I likely have the means of providing some locations that will yield deposits, although they will be areas of significant mana concentration.]


    ¡°Which means monsters,¡± I said. ¡°High-grade?¡±


    [Nothing you could not handle by this point. Perhaps a mana fiend of some capacity would be encountered, but I doubt it would prove challenging to slay.]


    ¡°Good to know. If we have the time, we should check that out.¡±


    ¡°What about the Abbantite?¡± asked Etja. ¡°That ore we got from The Pit?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± I said, pulling some of the ore out. The material was dark and slightly oily. Faint whispers began to fill my head as I held it, so I immediately put it away. ¡°Why does half the shit we find these days feel like it was birthed by some eldritch horror?¡±


    That drew some curious looks, so I took an ore back out to pass around and give everyone a chance to experience the haunting susurration. Nuralie declined her turn to hold the nugget.


    [Abbandium can create items that reshape themselves at will. They also provide a modicum of protection from Divine.]


    You can use CHA to govern Unarmed attacks. Your Unarmed attacks deal additional Spectral damage equal to your CHA.Your size category is increased by 1 step. While within 30 feet of a hostile character, you are Unstoppable.You radiate an aura of fear. Whenever a hostile entity first perceives you in this form, they must make a WIS contest versus your CHA, becoming Feared by you on a failure. Entities Feared by you take additional damage equal to your CHA from all sources.You can maintain this form for 1 minute, after which you revert to your normal form. This transformation has a cooldown of 6 days but is reduced by 1 day for each evolution you have in Divine Magic.


    ¡°I mean, even your hammer is¨C¡± Xim began. I pointed a finger at her and cut her off.


    ¡°Don¡¯t disrespect the hammer.¡±


    She froze for a second, then started to laugh, followed quickly by Etja. Even Nuralie was chuckling. Eventually, all four of us were trying to keep ourselves contained to avoid waking Varrin, drawing odd looks from Shog and Grotto. Once we¡¯d recovered, Xim went back to reviewing her (obscenely powerful but not quite unfair compared to my own equipment) relic.


    ¡°My subrace makes transformations of the body 50 percent stronger,¡± she said. ¡°So all of these numbers should get multiplied by 1.5 when I use it.¡±


    ¡°How much bigger is 1 size category?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that language before.¡±


    [A normal Wraithclaw is 12 feet tall with arms that reach nearly to the ground. Its hands are tipped by vicious claws that are each 3 feet in length.]


    ¡°Oh yes,¡± said Xim, cradling the bone like a precious child. ¡°I am looking forward to this.¡±


    ¡°Do you stick in your pocket, or...¡± I trailed off, uncertain what class of item a relic was.


    ¡°I was going to give it a lovely bow and braid it into my hair,¡± Xim replied. She looked me dead in the eye, as though daring me to challenge her fashion choice.


    ¡°I think... that¡¯ll look really nice,¡± I said carefully.


    ¡°Damn right it will,¡± she said with a nod.


    There was a groan from behind me, and I turned to find Varrin sitting up. He rubbed his eyes, then pulled his hand away and looked at the ointment-covered appendage. He glanced at his mostly naked body for a second, then over at the group.


    ¡°I will assume there was a good reason for this,¡± he said, gesturing over his slick form. ¡°And then I will never think on it again.¡±


    Varrin produced a towel and began wiping himself down, then shared the description of the item he¡¯d received. It was a crafting material, and it was much simpler than everyone else¡¯s.


    Corvite Slab


    Items made from this material can only be wielded by members of the Ravvenblaq family.


    All weaves imbued into an item made from this material are 100% stronger if crafted by a member of the Ravvenblaq family.


    ¡°That seems too good,¡± I said. ¡°Am I crazy?¡±


    ¡°It can only be used once,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Would you save it for an item at a higher level,¡±¨Cpause¨C ¡°or use it now?¡±


    Before we had a chance to dive into the implications of the slab, the Icon reawoke with a yawn. It stood and stretched like a giant cat.


    ¡°Ah, good. Everyone is awake,¡± it said. ¡°Please leave now.¡±


    ¡°I was wondering if I could ask some questions,¡± I said.


    ¡°No,¡± it answered. Then it shifted to one side and held out a paw toward the portal, ushering us to leave.


    ¡°That¡¯s disappointing. But sure.¡±


    ¡°Giving up that easily?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Do you want to make the giant Grade 30 cat-dog-crocodile-bird person angry?¡±


    ¡°Eh, maybe it wouldn¡¯t be the greatest idea.¡±


    Before we left I felt something tickling at the back of my brain, like there was something we should have been paying more attention to but weren¡¯t. I asked, but no one else shared the feeling. Etja made a few comments, but it didn¡¯t seem like they were important. I had some difficulty parsing what she was trying to explain, but the Icon began prodding at our backs with pointy claws to hurry us along. Etja seemed worried when we started through the portal, but eventually followed us as the last one through.


    We appeared in a round chamber the size of a skating rink. The sky above us was a clear view of the planet, but a careful look revealed it to be an illusion, which I took to mean we were still underground. The space was filled with plants and a few short, squat trees with prickly fruit like we¡¯d found in the Basilica. The floor was a checkerboard tile of black and white, perfectly polished and pristine. The low marble walls were covered in gold, jewels, and paintings depicting Deijin in various scenes taken from Eschen religious texts.


    On either side of the room stood a rigid line of 7 Doomed Aspirants, as varied in shape and equipment as the rest, all staring forward without seeming to notice us. At the center of the room, in the middle of a clearing, stood a 15th Aspirant. Its body was covered in heavy armor in addition to its carapace, and it carried a hefty round shield, with a longsword sheathed at its hip. This one watched us with penetrating, human eyes.


    Beside the center Aspirant, sitting on an aggressively fluffy couch, was a gorgeous woman with dark skin and black hair woven with threads of green and gold. She had her bare feet propped on an ottoman and looked up at us from a book she¡¯d been reading.


    Her soul shone like a perfectly cut emerald, the halo swelling to fill the entire chamber.


    ¡°Hello!¡± she said, waving. ¡°Welcome to the center of Deijin¡¯s Descent.¡±


    She marked her page with a tassel and set the book aside, then stood and smoothed down the front of her black and gold dress. She was several feet taller than the Aspirant beside her, who continued to watch us but kept its blade stowed.


    The woman walked forward, her every step bringing into focus how beautiful she was. Her features were beyond exquisite, her countenance a symphony that pulled at my heart, her figure a stunning sunset upon eyes that had never beheld the sky.


    The shadow she cast was of a creature with a thousand arms, a thousand grasping hands reaching out toward us.


    She stopped a few yards away and plucked at the side of her dress, the skin of her bare arms and neck flawless, the movement of each muscle beneath evocative of sensuality and comfort. She gave us a simple curtsy and smiled, her perfect teeth as white as the floor tile, then introduced herself.


    ¡°You may call me Avarice.¡±

 Chapter 157: An Offer You Cant Refuse

    Chapter 157: An Offer You Can''t Refuse


    ¡°Monkey bread!¡± said Etja.


    The woman called Avarice raised an immaculate eyebrow at the outburst and looked over at our resident mage. My focus was fully fixed on our host, but I understood the seemingly nonsensical phrase. Multiple party members were mentally compromised, myself included.


    Being made aware of a mental debuff wouldn¡¯t end the effect, but it allowed us to execute some safety measures. Etja¡¯s code phrase indicated that she wanted us to take a silent evaluation to keep the source of the affliction unaware, and hopefully surprise them. I took a mental inventory of where we stood and allowed the process to play out.


    I tested to see if I could stop taking any action. I stood calmly and evaluated my surroundings, being certain not to draw weapons or use any skills. Knowing that I was under a potentially hostile compulsion but being unable to do so much as activate my shield was uncomfortable, but I managed to stay still. If I was Dominated, then the only command I¡¯d received was to take no action. If I¡¯d been Dominated and piloted to perform some other type of task, I wouldn¡¯t have even been able to undergo this thought process. That didn¡¯t rule Dominate out completely, but it made it a lot less likely.


    The fact that I could organize my thoughts also meant I wasn¡¯t experiencing Psychosis. Always a good thing to recognize.


    Standing still meant that I wasn¡¯t under the effect of Fear, since that would force me to move away from the source of the Fear effect. Fear was also one of the more obvious effects, easily understood in the moment as blinding terror but coming with an irresistible urge to flee. I was calm and, in fact, pretty comfortable with my surroundings. There wasn¡¯t much to be afraid of, other than the general threat that comes with being inside of a Delve and under some mind-warping debuff. Still, nothing was obviously dangerous nearby. I could rule out Fear.


    The lack of danger led me to evaluate whether we were fighting anything. We didn¡¯t appear to be in combat, my weapons were stowed, Avarice wasn¡¯t armed or under attack, and there was no one that I¡¯d even consider attacking. Everyone present was either a party member or some other kind of ally. So, that took Berserk off the table.


    I could also rule out Paranoia since my Sage Advice evolution literally made me immune to it. I could recognize my allies, and I wasn¡¯t feeling particularly suspicious. This was about as safe as things got inside of a Delve. I might have even gone so far as to say that I was the opposite of paranoid.


    The next easiest check was to see if I was Distracted. Being Distracted meant that I could only pay attention to the source of my Distraction, so all I had to do was confirm that I could focus on anything other than what I was currently fixated on, which was Avarice. Then again, Avarice was just about the most beautiful creature I¡¯d ever seen, and I was hesitant to give up soaking in her radiance. How often did someone encounter the platonic ideal of magnificence? Distracted wasn¡¯t a big deal compared to the other debuffs, and it only really mattered if we were in combat, which I¡¯d already established we weren¡¯t. I put that one aside for the moment.


    Mesmerized was up next, which would make me treat the source of the mesmerization as an ally and would prevent me from attacking them. This one gave me pause because there wasn¡¯t anyone in the room who wasn¡¯t an ally. Curious. It seemed absurd to consider that one of my party members was some kind of hostile invader. Which one would it be if that were true? Etja had called out the code phrase, but I couldn¡¯t decide if that made her more suspicious or less. I¡¯d spent years with everyone present¨Caside from Avarice and her Aspirants¨Cso the idea that one of them might have betrayed me felt absurd. As for Avarice, she was practically a saint. I¡¯m a cynical guy sometimes, but even I wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to believe she was some kind of...


    I double-checked my logic. Avarice was the most recent addition to our cadre of helpful helpers, and she wasn¡¯t a direct party member. Given that we had the shortest history, it would make sense that she was the source of the mesmerization. Still, that seemed ridiculous.


    Why did it seem ridiculous?


    Because she¡¯d been nothing but supportive!


    How had she supported us?


    Her Aspirants had given us enough emerald chips to buy a small country!


    Didn¡¯t we have to kill them to get those?


    Sure, but it was a noble sacrifice on their part. They laid down their lives to empower us and...


    ¡°Is the monkey bread... pineapple flavored?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Etja carefully replied. ¡°It¡¯s my favorite, but this one¡¯s a blend.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see what¡¯s happening,¡± said Avarice. She bit her bottom lip and looked embarrassed. It was incredibly endearing, and I hated seeing her feel insecure about anything. ¡°Please excuse the oversight. I haven¡¯t been around mortals for a very long time. I forgot to tone things down for you.¡±


    Avarice¡¯s soul pulled back so that it no longer filled the chamber, smothering itself down until it was a bright shimmer an inch off of her skin. If anything, it made her even more radiant. She looked around at us, frowned in such an adorable way, and then her soul slipped away back inside her until I could no longer see it at all.


    You are no longer Distracted!


    You are no longer Mesmerized!


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I said. ¡°One for two. Damn, I was close.¡±


    ¡°Arlo,¡± Xim whispered loudly, tone grave.


    I turned to the cleric, finally tearing my eyes from Avarice. It was a strange sensation, like turning away from a masterpiece without comparison to realize that it was a hollow imitation of the true thing. Xim was beautiful. Avarice was something else... some other thing attempting to emulate beauty. I blinked a few times, clearing away what felt like years of conditioning. My blood ran cold.


    I¡¯d just gotten soul fucked by an avatar.


    ¡°The card, Arlo!¡± Xim whisper-shouted. Her rose skin had gone pale, her eyes wide.


    I nodded, then did my best to bring up my inventory screen without staring at it or giving myself away. I quickly found the Get Out of Cage Free card and selected it.


    Would you like to use the Get Out of Cage Free card? Y/N


    I didn¡¯t even have to remove the card from inventory, which was a nice thing to know. I mentally selected¨C


    One of the thousand arms of Avarice¡¯s shadow snaked out across the floor. It crawled up my torso and then retracted faster than I could react. Avarice held up her hand and furrowed her brow as she studied something that hadn¡¯t been there before.


    The prompt disappeared, and I glanced at the inventory screen, finding the Get Out of Cage Free card missing.


    ¡°This is interesting,¡± said Avarice.


    She held the card above her and looked up at it like it was a hundred-dollar bill she was trying to authenticate. She flipped it over and studied the back, then lowered it to her face. Her tongue zipped out and she gave it a little lick. A gentle smile sprouted across her face and she looked into the distance, then smacked her lips a few times.


    The unspoken truth in Xim¡¯s statement is that we rarely favored the safest bet.


    ¡°We would already be dead if she wanted it,¡± Varrin added. Was that suspicious? It sounded like something Varrin would normally say.


    ¡°We cannot know that for sure,¡± said Nuralie. With her potion, it was a coin flip as to whether her counsel should be favored over everyone else¡¯s. Of course, Avarice could have unknown abilities that made Nuralie¡¯s potion less effective. ¡°Even if that is true, there may be other tricks she is playing that require us to stay for longer.¡±


    ¡°Like turning us into bugs,¡± said Etja, voice shaky.


    Avarice frowned at Etja but didn¡¯t interrupt.


    ¡°Grotto? Shog?¡± I asked. ¡°Opinions?¡±


    Shog floated beside me, landing and placing his feet on the floor.


    ¡°There is no shame in falling back from a superior force,¡± he said. ¡°But this majestic being intrigues me.¡±


    I glanced up at my summon. I realized I was second-guessing everyone, but that really sounded suspect.


    [It is not my place to advise you on this matter,] Grotto thought to us. [But I will say that this does not appear like an avatar breaching its confinement.]


    ¡°You should not equivocate so much,¡± said Shog, narrowing his dark eyes at Grotto. ¡°It is unbecoming for a c¡¯thon to lack conviction.¡±


    I took note of Shog¡¯s decision not to point out that Grotto was ¡°an imposter¡± like he usually did. Either my summon realized that would be giving Avarice information she might not already have, or he was being puppeted by a force that didn¡¯t have access to his memories.


    I absolutely despised this. Against something our own level, we had a lot of tools to overcome mental assaults. Even something twice our level would have a tough time. But Avarice was likely a force beyond even the highest echelons of Delver power. All we could do was play it safe or take a gamble.


    ¡°Alright. I guess we can hear the elevator pitch,¡± I said, gesturing to Avarice. I kept my inventory screen open with my mental finger on the card¡¯s eject button. ¡°What sort of ¡®exchange¡¯ are you talking about?¡±


    Avarice gave me a shallow nod before speaking. The hands in her shadow bobbed alongside the gesture.


    ¡°First, I propose an exchange of information. After that, I propose an exchange of services.¡±


    ¡°What sort of information?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to hear your stories,¡± she said. ¡°A complete biography from each of you and an account of your exploits. Especially as they relate to the Delves, any avatars you¡¯ve encountered, and any gods with whom you have communed.¡±


    ¡°You want to get to know us?¡± I asked.


    She held up a finger and clicked her tongue once.


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°I want the information. I will not pretend that I seek to engender some sort of... ¡®bond¡¯ between us. Normally, I would be inclined to ingratiate myself by feigning interest in your habits and hobbies, but I believe your group is experienced enough to see through that.¡±


    ¡°Very forthright,¡± I said. ¡°Why do you want our histories, then?¡±


    ¡°It is valuable,¡± she said.


    ¡°Uh, why is it valuable?¡±


    She pushed her mouth to one side and studied me.


    ¡°A strange question,¡± she said. ¡°I have been divorced from humanoid culture for some time, but do techniques, skills, revelations, Delve accounts, avatar profiles, and understanding the whims of the gods no longer hold worth?¡±


    As she spoke, I realized that most Delvers would probably pay a small fortune to understand what made us tick and how we leveled so quickly, among other secrets we held close. There were also entities that might want that information, either to use it to gain our favor or to wield it as a weapon against us.


    ¡°I suppose when you put it that way...¡± I said. ¡°But for an avatar?¡±


    ¡°I may find some of it useful,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°What has no utility to me can always be traded.¡±


    ¡°That makes me uncomfortable,¡± said Nuralie.


    Avarice shrugged.


    ¡°Precious things can be difficult to barter with,¡± she said. ¡°But I believe I can make a compelling offer.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± I asked.


    She waved a hand at the illusion above us, Arzia drifting slowly beneath soft clouds. I noticed that there was a large storm over a portion of Timagrin.


    ¡°I can offer you the man who will destroy the world.¡±

 Chapter 158: System Addendum #4 (Unrated Version)

    Chapter 158: System Addendum #4 (Unrated Version)


    *****


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY USER NAME: [ERROR: REDACTED]


    ADDENDUM NOTE: Timagrin - 1 month after the awakening of the first monolith


    *****


    Jovi could hear them moving around outside. A heavy footstep, another, louder, another, louder. It stopped outside the door, blocking the small rays of moonlight that came between the cracks. A low breath rattled the lock as Jovi seized her muscles still with every ounce of will she could summon.


    They had appeared at nightfall. Standing in the clearing outside the village gate, first one, then a few, then many. Large figures wearing shadow like thick cloaks. They were mistaken for humans at first.


    The village lookout called out to them a few times, but if they ever heard, they showed no sign. Nearly an hour passed, and much of the village had gathered near the wall, peering through the slits with tense questions and vacant answers. The town was far from the main trade roads, rarely seeing visitors of any kind.


    Jovi was far in the back of the crowd but found herself running alongside it quickly.


    The lock flicked open, but the door held shut with a makeshift wooden bar Jovi had jammed across the handle. A jostle, then another. The wood snapped as the door was ripped from its hinges, and Jovi could see the towering specter of death so clearly as it looked around the shed.


    It had no face. A meld of stretched skin and a cavernous opening in the front of its head were its only features. Blood dripped from its soaked fingers into a soft pat pat pat on the shed floor. It peered inside, looking up and down, while Jovi balled herself as tight as she could behind a bag of mulch.


    She could feel its breath pulling her closer as it drew in the air within the shed. It inhaled deeply, then turned its hood towards her hiding spot. With a flick of its arm, it snatched the mulch and hurled it outside, causing Jovi to yelp. It grabbed her by the neck just as quick, and Jovi¡¯s vision began to darken as its vice grip crushed her throat.


    Then, a blinding flash of light. Jovi felt herself fall to the ground and was able to finally draw a breath, but the blackness of its grip still muddled her senses. She heard yelling, but not like the screams. A sizzling pop, the sound of thunder. Splintering wood. She was lifted off the ground again, but by a warm arm cradling her torso. A woman¡¯s voice said something to her, but she couldn¡¯t understand it.


    She felt the wind move quickly as though she were atop a galloping mount, but so much faster. Her vision finally began to clear, and she saw a massive blue-skinned hand clutching her abdomen. She looked up to see an equally blue-skinned head covered in strange glowing tattoos. After a minute of racing impossibly fast away from the village, the giant blue woman came to a stop in a small holler where Jovi recognized several other villagers huddled down and a tall armored man with an enormous glaive standing guard.


    The blue woman gently placed her down and said something to the armored man, but Jovi still couldn¡¯t understand. It wasn¡¯t in Timan. The man nodded and continued his vigil, alert for any signs of danger.


    Jovi heard her name called from amidst the dark. A wide-eyed man saw her and quickly crawled over to her, then began to cry as he hugged her tightly. Her dad had somehow made it out.


    He told her to stay still and trust the Delvers.

 Chapter 159: Arbitrage

    Chapter 159: Arbitrage


    A flash of lightning pulsed within the clouds over Timagrin. It was timed to perfectly accent the end of Avarice¡¯s claim that she could give us information on a world-ending threat. The view above was an illusion, so the entire display might have been orchestrated. Even if it was, I appreciate the effort on Avarice¡¯s part. I wouldn¡¯t begrudge anyone some flair.


    ¡°The man who will destroy the world,¡± I said. ¡°Not the avatar who will?¡±


    Avarice let her arm drop and clasped her hands in front of her hips in what I recognized as a presenter stance. This entire pitch had been rehearsed or, if it hadn¡¯t, she was an expert in adapting the mannerisms.


    Her black and gold dress had slowly morphed to a more conservative style. Less skin showing, thicker fabric, neat lines and straighter angles. Her bare feet were now clad in a pair of no-nonsense heels, though they somehow hadn¡¯t increased her height. The transition was obvious enough that she didn¡¯t seem to be trying to hide it, but I found it interesting that she was adjusting to the role she¡¯d decided to play.


    ¡°They will eventually be one and the same,¡± said Avarice. ¡°However, for the moment, the most significant threat to Arzia is a mortal man.¡±


    ¡°He is transforming?¡± asked Nuralie.


    Avarice held up a finger.


    ¡°A question I am happy to answer if you accept my offer.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s some serious clickbait,¡± I said, drawing a raised eyebrow from the avatar.


    ¡°What about Orexis?¡± asked Varrin. He looked up at Arzia, scowling. ¡°Is he involved somehow?¡±


    ¡°Information on Orexis will be included,¡± said Avarice. ¡°He plays a role in the ongoing threat.¡±


    The big guy turned his gaze back onto Avarice, a brief glimpse of simmering fury crossing his features before he composed himself.


    ¡°I will agree then,¡± he said.


    ¡°Ah, one moment,¡± I said to Avarice, then placed a hand on Varrin¡¯s shoulder. I turned him away from Avarice and guided him toward the back wall. ¡°Grotto,¡± I thought to my familiar, ¡°can you link me and Varrin up?¡±


    [Very well.]


    I felt a tug at my mind as Grotto started serving as a psychic bridge between myself and Varrin.


    ¡°Listen, brother, I know you¡¯re willing to take a lot of risks to get at Orexis. Hells, that¡¯s half the reason we¡¯re here. Still, we¡¯ve got no reason to trust this... woman.¡±


    I stumbled over the pronoun. My first instinct was to think ¡°creature¡±, since I suspected the thousand-armed monstrosity in the avatar¡¯s shadow was a better representation of Avarice¡¯s true form than the woman she wore as a costume. I didn¡¯t want to let that slip when speaking aloud, so I tried to stick to words I thought were inoffensive.


    ¡°If we are choosing not to trust her to any extent, then we should leave,¡± thought Varrin. ¡°We have no power that allows us to be certain of her motives. Still, I believe we should stay. I am willing to take the risk.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s something we need to talk about. You were ¡®willing to take the risk¡¯ back in the Chamber of Conviction. You made a unilateral decision without consulting anyone and your soul nearly shattered. That¡¯s not how we do things. You know that.¡±


    He shrugged off my hand.


    ¡°That ¡®test¡¯ was a trap.¡± He thought the word ¡°test¡± like a swear. ¡°Discussion would have only invited uncertainty, and slaying the Icon would have gained us nothing. It was a test of conviction, not prudence.¡±


    ¡°Nothing? What we would have gained was the certainty that none of us were going to die. If that¡¯s how you felt then you could have presented that argument. We can¡¯t have people going rogue, it erodes trust.¡±


    ¡°We needed those items,¡± Varrin thought to me. ¡°Most are powerful enough to serve as centerpieces for the rest of our careers.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to argue over the benefits, this isn¡¯t the time or place. Even so¨C¡±


    ¡°Can you honestly say that you would have allowed me to do what I did?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not your keeper, Varrin,¡± I thought, growing frustrated. ¡°I¡¯m not here to decide whether I allow you to do anything. I¡¯m thinking about group cohesion. If you¡¯d said something, if you were insistent, then we could have been prepared. We would have thought over ways to mitigate the soul trauma that came afterward.¡±


    I studied Varrin¡¯s soul as we communicated. It was still somewhat turbulent, and I wondered if that was affecting his judgment. He huffed a breath and looked at the ground.


    ¡°I... felt something,¡± he thought. ¡°At that moment, I knew what needed to be done. I do not know if I would have been successful had I waited. I seized the opportunity.¡±


    ¡°And right now?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you having a spiritual revelation that tells you to divulge all your secrets to an avatar?¡± I tried to keep my thoughts level, but I knew some irritation was creeping into my psychic ¡®voice¡¯.


    ¡°No,¡± he replied. ¡°But it is my story to tell. If the rest of you decide not to divulge anything, then maybe it will still buy us something.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I thought. ¡°We can bring that to the group and hear people¡¯s opinions. Not to veto your decision, but so everyone is informed and you¡¯re working with the most information you can.¡±


    Varrin flexed his hands, making fists and releasing, his gauntlets creaking. He looked me in the eye but finally nodded. I watched him for a moment, then turned and we began walking back to the group.


    ¡°Besides,¡± I continued, ¡°she¡¯s negotiating, trying to sell us something. We don¡¯t know what ¡®services¡¯ she wants to exchange, and we should try to get the best deal we can. If you¡¯re too eager, she¡¯ll smell blood in the water and try to take advantage. It¡¯s classic salesmanship.¡±


    I stopped beside Xim, and she looked over the pair of us while obviously suppressing a question. Avarice watched us patiently, and I cleared my throat.


    ¡°You want our life stories and secrets in exchange for information on¡±¨CI waved my hand in the air¨C¡°a threat you claim is world-ending. We can¡¯t know how useful your information is without hearing it.¡±


    ¡°I cannot know how useful your ¡®life stories¡¯ are without hearing them,¡± Avarice countered. ¡°Regardless, there are ways to determine value in the absence of certainty. Simply decide what the information I have would be worth if it is what I say it is, then multiply that by the probability that I am actually offering that information.¡±


    ¡°Seems kind of vague,¡± I said. ¡°We have no idea how trustworthy you are.¡±


    ¡°Then consider assuming a low value,¡± the avatar replied. ¡°If there is a 1 percent chance that I am being honest, then multiply the value of saving the world by 0.01.¡±


    ¡°Multiply the value of information about a world-ending threat by 0.01,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°If that¡¯s how you want to do the math,¡± Avarice said with a shrug. ¡°Regardless, I think you realize that¡¯s still worth quite a lot.¡±


    ¡°Maybe...¡± I said. ¡°Before we decide anything, let¡¯s discuss the services you want to exchange.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that,¡± she said. ¡°My aspect allows me to trade almost anything that is tangible, even if it is something that cannot normally be exchanged with ease.¡±


    [The process Fortune used was a modification of the Creation procedure. It coats the Delver¡¯s mana veins with a crystallized form of mana that is released after the Delver engages in strenuous training related to the relevant stat. It is not dependent on avatar magicks, only a specialized process. It is very mana-intensive, however.]


    ¡°I see,¡± said Avarice. ¡°I still do not believe it will be successful. Even if I moved the stats around, if you have exhausted the crystallized mana, then it will be unavailable for more training. And yes, I know Fortune. He¡¯s an ass, but I¡¯m bound by contract not to talk about him. All I can mention is that he says ¡®hello¡¯ and to ¡®keep up the good work.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± I grunted, wondering whether Fortune intended that message for us specifically, or for anyone Avarice encountered who¡¯d met the rotund demigod. ¡°Well, as for the crystallized mana, we could get Grotto to inject us with more.¡±


    [The only reason that was successful the first time was because we were siphoning mana from an unstable void sphere. The cost is absurd. It would be an egregious waste when you could simply gain more levels unless one of you has a spare void sphere you wish to donate to the cause. Even if you did, there are better uses for such a powerful item, and the procedure¡¯s risks should not be taken lightly.]


    ¡°But if our original build was inefficient,¡± said Nuralie, ¡°then we could gain the benefit of training that we missed out on originally? We should still have the crystallized mana for what remains untrained.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Avarice. ¡°This is new territory for me, which I must say is delightful.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°Before we get carried away, what do you want for these types of exchanges?¡±


    ¡°When you entered this Delve, I felt the touch of a being far greater than any I have felt before,¡± said Avarice. ¡°It made me curious, and so I turned my eye upon your group for some time. I heard a discussion of your level 10 Luck evolution.¡±


    I didn¡¯t like the idea that Avarice could have been spying on us throughout the Delve, but at this point, it didn¡¯t surprise me. However, the fact she was barking up my level 10 Luck tree made me nervous.


    ¡°What about it?¡± I asked hesitantly.


    ¡°First, I would like you to share the text so I can confirm the ability.¡±


    I glanced between the party members, but the looks I got back were uncertain. I didn¡¯t know how Avarice could take advantage of the evo simply by looking at the text, but merely reading the description had elicited some painful reactions from Xim and Varrin. There was at least some power to the words themselves.


    After thinking it over, I decided to let her read the description. If we were considering making a deal, we had to extend some level of trust. Proving that we had the goods was about as basic a show of trust as it got. I put aside the fear that Avarice might enslave me and make me her divine phone line to the Dread Star, then shared the evolution.


    Divine Favor of JuRoQi, The Dread Star of Heaven: Speak the Dread Star¡¯s true name and be seen. Ask one question and be answered. Should you survive the Dread Star¡¯s truth, forget its name for seven days.


    Avarice¡¯s eyes shone and the hands in her shadow twisted. She blinked, and her shadow flickered, the thousand limbs returning to calm in an instant.


    She locked hungry eyes on me, and I suddenly felt like a slab of meat on a cutting board. I still had my inventory open and the Get Out of Cage Free card selected, ready to activate it at a moment¡¯s notice. I doubted I would escape if Avarice decided to go back on her word and force me to stay, but it helped put me at ease nonetheless.


    ¡°Very good,¡± she said. ¡°One question for each party member undergoing the stat exchange.¡±


    If I considered the questions as a form of currency, I had around 52 questions per year to trade if I was exercising them optimally. Assuming I took the evolution, I would certainly want to use some of those questions for myself or the party. The text also not-so-subtly hinted that there were other costs to using the ability beyond the long cooldown, so 52 might have been a very generous estimate.


    Avarice was asking for 4 weeks'' worth of questions assuming I didn¡¯t undertake the process of trading stats back and forth myself. My use of training stats was perfectly optimal, and I¡¯d already received 13 instances of Dumping; 1 at each level, plus 1 at creation and the 2 I¡¯d munchkined during the boss rush. Unless the achievement allowed the exploit of gaining the bonus point multiple times from the same 5 stat points, there wasn¡¯t much reason for me to do it.


    I also doubted it worked that way since someone like Avarice could create an infinite combo¨Cgaining bonus points from Dumping, which then increased the stats she could trade back and forth, allowing me to gain even more stats from Dumping each time. The System, as far as I could tell, couldn¡¯t make something from nothing, so there had to be hard limits on these sorts of processes. I assumed the extra point from Dumping was due to something like an efficiency gain when pushing most of the stats into a single attribute. It had to come from somewhere, right?


    Maybe the extra 3 points I spent every level outside of the 5 that triggered Dumping hadn¡¯t been ¡®exhausted¡¯ for the purposes of Dumping¨Caside from levels 7-10, which had 30 out of 32 points used for Dumping. In that case, I¡¯d have 20 points that could be utilized, giving me 4 extra stat points if obtained and reassigned. Nice enough, but was that worth a question asked of an eldritch being of unknowable power? Probably not. That¡¯s also assuming Avarice¡¯s power could appropriately separate stats that had been used and those that hadn¡¯t.


    ¡°There¡¯s a 1-week cooldown on using the evolution, and potentially some risk to my health and sanity,¡± I said. ¡°Do you intend that we stay here for a month or more while you ask your questions?¡±


    ¡°That depends on the answer to my first question,¡± she said. ¡°I will likely choose to make some preparations before submitting additional questions after the first. If that happens, you would be free to leave, but I could call upon you at any time to pay the next part of the debt.¡±


    ¡°How do we know you won¡¯t drain our stats then refuse to return them?¡±


    ¡°We would have a binding agreement,¡± she replied. ¡°I can forge unbreakable contracts for various purposes.¡±


    ¡°That still requires us to trust that your agreements are unbreakable,¡± said Nuralie.


    Avarice gave us a weary look, then took a few slow steps forward, growing taller with each stride until she loomed over us like a giant.


    ¡°If I wanted to cheat you, do you believe I could not take these things from you?¡± she asked, her voice cascading off the walls.


    Echoes mingled together until her presence was a cacophony of irresistible pressure. She did not ask anything of me, but I knew at the core of my being that if she did, I would do whatever she wanted without question.


    All at once the pressure vanished, and Avarice was once more in her 10-foot form.


    ¡°The agreements tether to the soul,¡± she said, tone light. ¡°You will know the truth of them the moment the agreement is made. If you harbor any doubts as to my intent to uphold the agreement after it is formed, you will be free to leave without any exchange.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I what?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Take everything you want by force.¡±


    Avarice smoothed down the front of her dress, now made up of countless tiny metal ringlets, like some sort of chainmail.


    ¡°If I stripped you of everything you had, would you want to deal with me again?¡± she asked. ¡°If I killed you, would you be able to generate more wealth to trade me? I am not the avatar of Pillaging, I am Avarice. To sate my desires, there must be life to labor at the forge of creation. There must be civilization to feed gold into my coffers. Not that I¡¯m particularly enamored with gold, but it¡¯s a good turn of phrase.¡± She stepped out of her heels, which faded into motes of light. ¡°I have no interest in slaughter, and I would prefer that the world stop destroying itself if I am to be trapped on this plane for all of eternity. I can defend myself and my property¨Cmany have died who threatened it¨Cbut I do not seek conflict.¡± She ran a hand over her hair and it grew out several inches, the green and gold threads woven through it turned to crimson and silver. ¡°It¡¯s bad for business.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± I said, trying to shake off the intimidation tactics. I didn¡¯t appreciate the heavy-handed treatment, but she made a good point. ¡°Let¡¯s assume we¡¯re considering your offer. Getting everyone Dumping and a few extra stats is nice, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s worth giving up so many Dread Star questions.¡±


    Avarice tapped her lips with a finger.


    ¡°Your group has been through many trials recently,¡± she said. ¡°Your mana matrices are primed for an influx of power. It is a shame that special Delves grant no levels. I have been in this Delve gathering mana for quite some time, and I am familiar with how the obelisks function. I can probably simulate their effects.¡±


    ¡°You can grant us a level?¡± asked Varrin.


    Avarice pressed her finger into her lips, then bit at the nail. Her tongue ran over the fingertip in a salacious manner as she studied us.


    ¡°Why stop at one?¡± she asked.

 Chapter 160: Dread Star II

    Chapter 160: Dread Star II


    Levels. The ultimate goal of most Delvers and a significant source of their power. Levels granted stats, stats made you stronger, and everybody loved getting strong.


    ¡°Do we care that much about the levels?¡± I asked, which evoked a number of different responses from my party members.


    Nuralie looked dumbfounded, Etja furrowed her brow in confusion, Xim shrugged, and Varrin nodded like he agreed with the sentiment. Avarice dropped her finger from her mouth and narrowed her eyes with skepticism.


    ¡°Most Delves are level-gated,¡± I continued. ¡°Regular Delves are either set for a specific level or a narrow range of levels, so getting boosted up several levels would exclude us from running many Delves between where we are now and whatever level you can take us up to. This one is set for level 10 and under, which is the first I¡¯ve heard of with that broad a range, aside from the other phase 2 Delves The Mimic told us about.¡±


    ¡°I have not heard of it outside of specials,¡± Varrin added.


    ¡°That means missing out on any chips, gear, or other benefits we could gain from leveling the hard way. There¡¯s also the ever-present problem of intrinsic skills.¡± I brought up my interface and glanced over my intrinsics.


    Intrinsic Skills: 9/10


    Dimensional Magic 32


    Blunt 27


    Shields 26


    Physical Magic 22


    Heavy Armor 21


    Leadership 21


    Dungeoneering 20


    Mystical Magic 19


    Smithing 15


    ¡°Our goal is 20 intrinsic levels per Delver level, and I¡¯m sitting at 203. They¡¯re only that high because this Delve has been a gold mine for skilling up. That means I¡¯m probably ready to move up to level 11, but any higher and I¡¯d be back in a skill deficit.¡±


    ¡°The growth should be quicker at lower levels,¡± said Varrin. ¡°The rate of increase slows as the skills rise.¡±


    ¡°We might also find another special Delve,¡± said Xim. ¡°Those grant benefits without gaining a level. Maybe we won¡¯t find any in the sub-20 range, since they¡¯re supposed to be rare¨C


    ¡°They are rare,¡± said Varrin


    ¡°I mean, we¡¯ve found 2 already,¡± she said. ¡°Besides, I agree with you. Gaining flat levels would actively harm our ability to conquer higher-level Delves. We¡¯d be leaving a lot on the table.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°Plus we¡¯d be missing out on the exploration.¡±


    ¡°There is more to the equation than the math behind Delving,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°If we were in a time of relative peace, where we had decades to build our strength, then focusing entirely on qualitative improvements with each level would be ideal.¡± Pause. ¡°However, between the avatars and the Littans, having additional levels is objectively better than not. Our power relative to everything outside of the Delves would be substantially increased.¡± She looked toward Avarice. ¡°This is in addition to the new threat we are being told about.¡±


    ¡°I understand that,¡± said Varrin. ¡°More than most. We are seeking the strength to halt the incoming disasters. Still, taking a shortcut may slow our progression in later stages. It is power now at the expense of power later.¡±


    ¡°You do not know that,¡± Nuralie replied. ¡°We can train our intrinsics. This Delve has given us immense wealth to purchase gear, essences, ingredients... anything we need. We can seek out special Delves at higher levels. We are already far stronger than our levels suggest.¡±


    ¡°It is not enough,¡± said Varrin, somewhat testily. ¡°We must claw every scrap of power we can from every level.¡±


    ¡°I must admit,¡± said Avarice, raising her hands in a calming gesture, ¡°I did not expect that offer to fall flat.¡±


    ¡°We can split the baby,¡± I said.


    ¡°Idiom,¡± said Xim. ¡°Unless harming children somehow literally relates to what we¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a story about...¡± I began. ¡°Nevermind. Splitting the baby is shorthand for settling a dispute in a way that each side gets something, but neither is fully satisfied. If we snag a couple of levels, that shouldn¡¯t interfere with our progression much and it will save us months of work.¡±


    Neither Nuralie nor Varrin looked excited at my suggestion, which let me know it was a good compromise.


    ¡°Dumping, stats, levels, information,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°We can sell the items we have that would be worth breaking down. We could get more money than the materials alone are worth.¡± Pause. ¡°If there is strong demand.¡±


    ¡°Straight item trades are sometimes preferred,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Either way, we don¡¯t need their materials extracted.¡±


    ¡°What about the wand of boundless spookiness?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Save it for Sam¡¯lia,¡± said Xim, averting her eyes. I noted the odd behavior but didn¡¯t want to pursue it in front of our host.


    I sighed, feeling lost in the quagmire before me. Wheeling and dealing was never my specialty, and I honestly didn¡¯t enjoy it. Bartering with an entity like Avarice was well outside our comfort zone, even ignoring the fact that she could kill us all whenever she felt like it. Nuralie had the most skill with Mercantile, something she hadn¡¯t used since her time running an alchemy shop, but that part of her life was relatively short lived. I still ended up punting the negotiation to the loson, backed up by Etja for some sweet talking, and eventually got two more concessions from Avarice.


    First, I would be a part of the stat trades to gain some training and minor benefits from enhancing my Dumping efficiency without giving up another Dread Star question. Second:


    ¡°I¡¯ll facilitate an introduction,¡± said Avarice. ¡°I have a group of worshipers in Arzia with substantial firepower behind them. I cannot guarantee they¡¯ll help you, but if you make it worth their while, I¡¯m sure they will be amenable to some arrangement.¡±


    ¡°Mercenaries,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Not quite,¡± said Avarice.


    Avarice told me what she wanted to know, and the exact wording of the query. Her phrasing raised some eyebrows but we were already committed. I wasn¡¯t about to back out now because of some mild discomfort with the inquiry¡¯s implications.


    Part of me thought it was rude to open up my relationship with the Dread Star by fielding a question from a third party. It felt like getting asked out on a date, showing up with a friend, and then leaving them with your hopeful suitor after five minutes so you could drive home and watch reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But maybe it was more like getting a coupon for a free entre?e at Olive Garden and selling it to a coworker for 5 bucks. I¡¯d probably add the additional context that you knew a fellow who worked at the restaurant, he gave you that coupon because he was your bro, and you used it in a way he might think was ¡°kind of not cool.¡± Like a minor social transgression that would chafe, but not significantly damage the friendship.


    Or maybe a god of pure, unlimited power was about to smack me down for my hubris. I didn¡¯t know the deity, so I hoped for the best and asked Avarice¡¯s question.


    ¡°On behalf of Avarice, I ask JuRoQi: What must I take from the world so that I may surpass Unity?¡±


    As I spoke the Dread Star¡¯s name, the concepts it embodied suffused me, thrumming across the folds of my brain with endless hairs of knowing, invading my soul.


    Ju. Conservation. That one thing has an identity, and is unique among everything else.


    Ro. Space. The distance between two points, keeping all from existing as one singularity.


    Qi. Distinction. The essence of what separates one thing from another, allowing more than one thing to exist across all that is.


    JuRoQi was a narrowing of these ideas, the overlap in their Venn diagram. Each syllable was inextricably linked to the next, inseparable in their cohabitation and irreducible to its base components. It was contradictory but absolute.


    JuRoQi was not a name, it was Truth. The Dread Star was the space between, the nothingness that set boundaries between all that was discrete. It fell between atoms, the nothingness that made up nearly all volume. It ruled the vacancy between universes, and that was a bare fraction of its existence.


    Everyone else in the party had decided to stand on the opposite side of the 200-foot-long chamber. The sole exception was Grotto, who sat on my shoulder. Our soul link was harmonized, and his psychic connection was on full blast. The hope was that, if there were mental repercussions from this experience, he could help me weather them.


    I¡¯d only spoken the Dread Star¡¯s name, and I was already grasping onto that lifeline.


    I felt the bottom fall out from the world, my gut lurching as I was thrust into a sensation of weightlessness. The room around me grew dark until I swam in a void of perfect black, and a field of endless stars burst to life. The pinpricks of light began to move in an arc, each leaving a trail of light in its wake, creating a mass of glowing azure circles. It was identical to the in-between space I¡¯d found myself locked into during my teleport into Deijin¡¯s Descent. I was frozen, but unlike my prior experience, I could still breathe. The creeping chill of the void didn¡¯t invade my bones and joints.


    A pair of eyes opened before me, simultaneously inches from my face and more distant than the planet above me.


    If I hadn¡¯t been suspended in nothingness, I would have fallen to my knees, forced to prostrate myself not out of fear or obedience, but because my head was being squeezed like an overfilled balloon. I could sense the blood vessels in my skull¨Cbad experience, I do not recommend¨Cas their walls began to fail. If I hadn¡¯t been immune to Bleeding, I expected I¡¯d have suffered a few dozen aneurysms.


    A deep sound thundered through the universe, the heralding fanfare of JuRoQi¡¯s presence performed by a cosmic orchestra.


    The eyes studied me with irises both absolutely dark and yet shimmering with vibrant radiance. We stared at one another, and its gaze tore at the edges of my consciousness, its mere presence infecting reality and overwhelming me with understanding.


    Then, another figure appeared.


    It was a mass of a thousand arms with grasping hands, its body gilded and streaked with precious metals. It was Avarice¡¯s true form, and for all that her soul was powerful, she was a single water molecule amidst a galaxy-wide hurricane; a grain of sand on a beach that spanned the known universe. No, she was even less than that, so insignificant that it was unquantifiable.


    The eyes turned to Avarice, and her manifold arms twisted in spasms, her hands becoming bent claws. Her amorphous body deformed like putty, kneaded in a cosmic grip.


    JuRoQi spoke, and I caught a glimpse of the fleeting shadow of the truth that it delivered.


    Tiny fragment, infinites¡¯mal shard.


    You debase yourself in ignorance,


    Awash the sea of divinity¡¯s reach,


    Groveling for scraps of unseen meals.


    Your narrow pride clings to self-made lies.


    You will never hold your fictitious prize.


    Unity would sweep your self aside


    Erasing the mistake of your existence.


    Suffer, then, your ego and your want,


    Crawl in filth and bleed in shattered glass,


    Until the broken pane is mended new,


    Or break upon reality¡¯s collapse.


    The Dread Star¡¯s answer was not meant for me, and so I was only caught in the aftershock of its deliverance. Avarice bore its full weight, the profound disdain of JuRoQi¡¯s words reaching into her roots and tearing at the weeds of vanity and self-adulation.


    She screamed.


    My vision blinked, and I was back in the Delve, the gentle glowstone light assaulting my vision. I fell, but caught myself with an arm before I gave the tile floor a smooch. Drops of sweat poured off of my face. A squelching sound filled the room, all that I could hear.


    I looked up to see Avarice, her body halfway between the woman she presented as and the many-armed thing that she was. She hugged herself with a hundred limbs, dark ichor leaking from her eyes and nose. After a handful of seconds, the limbs withdrew and she slowly returned to a normal, albeit impossibly tall, woman. Her dark skin had transitioned from a human shade to a multitudinous greyscale, ranging from pure black to alabaster.


    She reached up and wiped some of the sable liquid from her face, and it disappeared as though it had never been. She stood up straight and with deliberate motions smoothed down her dress, then looked up at me. She spoke with forced confidence, a tremor in her voice.


    ¡°Let me tell you of a man who wishes to give everything to his tribe,¡± she said, ¡°but to do so, he must first become everything.¡±

 Chapter 161: Brae’ach the Unifier, Part I

    Chapter 161: Brae¡¯ach the Unifier, Part I


    Who was Brae¡¯ach? Why was he rampaging across Timagrin? Why did Avarice believe he threatened the entire world? To answer these questions, we had to understand the natural conditions in Davah, its history, and the culture of its people.


    Avarice¡¯s version of the story was long, providing a lot of context for Brae¡¯ach and his home nation of Davah. She talked for hours, narrating an entire novel¡¯s worth of information. She created illusions for imagery and spoke with voices for the characters that would have been impossible for a natural person with non-magical vocal cords. She even used sound effects! It was a very C3PO and the Ewoks type of presentation.


    Including the whole thing word for word was tempting, but this ain¡¯t a history textbook. Instead, I present:


    Brae¡¯ach and the Davahn Unification, Abridged


    Written by: Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel, Platinum Delver, Extradimensional Traveler, and Astronaut


    Davah is a large island nation in southwestern Arzia, about 10 times the size of Hiward, or roughly one-half of an Australia. It¡¯s a harsh land, buffeted by frequent storms, blanketed in sweltering heat for most of the year, and infested with magical beasts whose ferocity is second only to the flora and fauna indigenous to the Less-Than-Habitable Forest.


    The outer edge of Davah is ruled by wild jungle and its inner territories are dominated by sharp mountains and craggy terrain in a geologically impossible arrangement of hostile topography. There is little space for agriculture, and the humanoid society that calls it home survived primarily through hunting and gathering.


    Historically, the nation was ruled by seven tribes, each of which controlled a swath of jungle that made up the outer edge of the country. Each tribe was composed of several clans of Davahns, who would engage in a healthy amount of infighting, sabotage, and general mayhem. The clans would occasionally set aside intra-tribal squabbles to band together and fight the tribe next door for land and resources.


    The wars between tribes were usually incited by some natural disaster, such as a hurricane wiping out infrastructure or a drought destroying what meager crops the tribes were able to grow. Earthquakes were frequent, and sinkholes and fissures would sometimes sunder entire villages. To top it all off, beast hordes would arise from within the mountains and had to be carefully culled, but occasionally overran the hunters and invaded the jungle.


    Understandably, the tribes were often threatened with resource scarcity, and such scarcity was relieved by stealing from the neighbors. The wars also had the handy side effect of reducing population, thus further alleviating strains on food and housing. Oddly, such things were seldom taken personally, and once peace resumed the tribes would quickly forget the hostility of their neighbors. They weren¡¯t so naive as to believe it wouldn¡¯t happen again at the first sign of weakness, but there was a turn-the-other-cheek mentality that would have been alien to most outside perspectives.


    This attitude partially resulted from the need to manage the demand for food and shelter. It was so integral to the Davahn way of life, that self-sacrifice was culturally venerated. Whether it was through death in battle, or elder tribe members wandering into the mountains to never be seen again, making the personal choice to give your life for the tribe¡¯s greater good was a pillar of Davahn society. This also meant that personal strength was held in high esteem, and every Davahn was trained to hunt and fight the moment they went from toddling to properly walking.


    Most of Davah¡¯s population lived on the coastline, the waters infested with sea creatures every inch as fearsome as the beasts on the land. Over time, a strong maritime culture emerged, and one of the outer tribes developed a powerful navy after several generations of prosperity. This group was situated on the northern side of the island and eventually made their way across the sea to the territorial waters of Timagrin. There, they engaged in the age-old practice of piracy, further boosting their affluence compared to the other tribes. The navy met several Timan warships, but Davahn warriors were fierce, their bodies and ships tempered by the constant struggle against magical predators, and the Timans were handily beaten.


    While most Davahns resided on the coast, a scattering of nomadic clans eschewed the jungle in favor of the mountains. These Davahns rarely interfaced with the outer tribes, journeying to the coasts mainly to trade meat and materials earned by hunting the native beasts. They had no formal social structure, and conflicts in the central region were kept to a minimum out of necessity. All it took to wipe out a central clan was a single battle that drew the attention of a beast horde, so¨Cunlike the outer tribes¨Cthese groups operated collaboratively toward mutual survival.


    Their cooperation didn¡¯t save them.


    With their victories over the Timans, the northern tribe acquired a wealth of weapons and armor which catapulted them a century forward on the military tech tree. They invaded the mountains, enslaved the nomadic clans, and used the central territory to launch a campaign against each of the outer tribes in quick succession. The jungle tribes lacked coordination, so this bloody campaign steamrolled the nation and rapidly resulted in what was then referred to as the Davahn Empire by the rest of the world. For nearly a century the empire ruled Davah, ushering in a time of unparalleled prosperity, much of which was due to the Davahns continuing to raid the shores of Timagrin, Mittak, and smaller regions east of Davah along the tamer western edge of the Forest.


    Then, the Hiwardians discovered the Creation Delve, kicked some Littan asses, and began distributing creation slots to other nations in return for resources and political favor. Davah had few natural resources to exploit but were up to their necks in magical monster parts, which Hiward had many uses for in its burgeoning Delver economy. Deals were struck, and Davah secured 4 creation slots. This was the beginning of the end for the empire.


    The outer Delver tribes attacked and sank his ship during their coup.


    Of course, being the unadulterated hunk of raw badass that he was, Brae¡¯ach survived and swam 30 miles to the Davahn shore, carrying Til¡¯ach on his back the whole way.


    What followed was a period of despotism that saw Brae¡¯ach¡¯s friends and family fall one by one under the savagery of the new Delver warlords. His prowess meant little in the face of a level 10 supersoldier, even though he often exceeded them in skill. He was used for sport by the Delvers, who could take him within an inch of his life and then heal him with their magicks, assuming they were in the mood to do so.


    Brae¡¯ach was a hunter, not a soldier, but he learned quickly and could soon meet most low-level Delvers on equal footing. During this period he also continued to hunt, and consuming the flesh of his mana-infused prey offered him a semblance of power like that of the Delvers, although its progress was slow and pushed his preternatural constitution to its limits. This went on for decades until the Delvers sailed on Timagrin and Hiward.


    Brae¡¯ach had no hand in that war. He took Til¡¯ach, his children, and his grandchildren into the mountains, hiding from those who sought to conscript him for what he rightfully saw as a doomed venture. He¡¯d built strong relationships with the enslaved nomads over the years they¡¯d hunted together, and they kept him hidden in cave systems and deep fissures. His hope was that the Delver warlords would die in their campaign of hubris, and though many did, many more still returned home.


    When trade embargoes came down on Davah, most who were affected had nothing to do with the war. The bulk of the Delvers responsible had been killed. Most of the rest fled the nation for greener pastures once it became clear that their homeland was quickly becoming uninhabitable from their own mismanagement. Four Delvers remained, however, secure in their power since no new Davahn Delvers would arise. They divided up what was left of the valuable lands and ruled with the insurmountable truth of their invulnerability.


    Brae¡¯ach became an important figure in what became the nomadic underground, with the ultimate goal of usurping the Delvers. They petitioned Hiward, Timagin, Mittak, and even Litta for aid, but their petitions went unanswered. Brae¡¯ach saw this as a slight¨Cespecially since he believed these nations were partially responsible for the conditions in his country¨Cbut there are no records to indicate any of the envoys successfully made it to their destinations. Eventually, Brae¡¯ach began seeking other, more extreme roads to power, a journey that took him into the darkest depths of the mountains.


    He searched for ever more powerful beasts in the vain hope that the mana-infused flesh would give the nomads the strength to resist. The nomadic tribes faced heavy losses, dying in the hunt or perishing from mana toxicity when they consumed the meat. Those who lived slowly grew stronger while the Delver warlords were excluded from the Delves and stagnated in their power. Eventually, the ploy was discovered by one of the warlords, who personally began to exterminate what remained of Brae¡¯ach¡¯s allies.


    On a cloud-covered night in the midst of scorching summer heat, the Delver came for the nomad hideout. Though they fled, Brae¡¯ach¡¯s family was slaughtered over the course of hours. Brae¡¯ach took them deeper into the caves than he¡¯d ever scouted, harried by beasts and hunted by the warlord. Despite all his strength, he was powerless to save them, and the first dregs of true despair began to enter his heart.


    As the Delver followed them down, miles below the surface, his manic rage echoing off the walls, an earthquake hit.


    Part of the cave system collapsed and the Delver warlord was crushed. Brae¡¯ach and his mate were the only two of his family left, and Til¡¯ach had taken a wound in the gut during their flight. They were trapped, alone, and Til¡¯ach was not long for the world.


    Brae¡¯ach continued on, even deeper than before, carrying Til¡¯ach and hunting for a way through the caves. He wandered for half a day, driven by some deep conviction that pressed him onward until he found the Altar.


    Brae¡¯ach discovered a great cavern, its walls sundered and revealed by the quake. At its center was a monolith made of unknown metal and stone, which came to life under the brush of his fingertips. He felt its connection to the mountains, to the ground beneath him, to a creature that lived below with all of Davah upon its back.


    It was hidden but had not chosen to hide, buried by the ages as it slept. The world had starved it, but it had gathered its strength for untold millennia. It was waiting, and Brea¡¯ach brought its wait to an end.


    As Brae¡¯ach¡¯s finger fell away from the monolith, Unity made itself known.


    The first avatar offered him salvation.

 Chapter 162: Brae’ach the Unifier, Part II

    Chapter 162: Brae¡¯ach the Unifier, Part II


    Three of the hands in Avarice¡¯s shadow danced, their fingers shifting into complex hand puppets. Images shifted before us, showing Brae¡¯ach in Unity¡¯s cavern, standing before the gleaming monolith. There was no outward sign that he¡¯d been affected by the avatar. The man simply stood there, bronze skin melding into the tenebrous hollow.


    Time passed, the weight of it pressed into our minds more than it was shown, and Brae¡¯ach turned away from the monolith. He went to his mate Til¡¯ach, who lay on the ground in a pool of blood that had slowly grown. Some words were exchanged, and the woman nodded. Then, Brae¡¯ach¡¯s mouth opened until it stretched past its natural limits. His jaw unhinged, and the maw grew until it pressed down into his chest. His ribs popped and his throat widened. Twisting fangs grew out from his gums, pushing aside his sharp, Davahn teeth. Finally, tendrils spilled out from his throat, and he bent down to Til¡¯ach. What followed was a gruesome display of cannibalism.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I said.


    ¡°Gods above,¡± Xim said at the same time. It was rare for her to be squeamish about anything, but apparently uxoricide was one of her limits.


    ¡°He believes himself to be good,¡± said Varrin. ¡°That much has been clear from your tale, but how does he reconcile this act?¡±


    ¡°It is a combination of Davahn culture, Til¡¯ach¡¯s consent, and Unity¡¯s influence,¡± said Avarice. ¡°To give of oneself for the tribe is a core tenant of Davahn culture. Til¡¯ach knew that she would pass before Brea¡¯ach could carry her from the depths, and Unity spoke to her as it worked upon her husband. They were promised to be joined at a level deeper than they would ever know as physical entities. Through this act, they were unified, and Til¡¯ach lives on within Brae¡¯ach.¡± She looked at the image she¡¯d cast, and despite her explanation, she wore a puzzled expression. ¡°In a way, this was the death of them both, and the birth of something new. It carries the form of Brae¡¯ach, the memories of both himself and his wife. They are both within, but the outward expression is neither.¡±


    ¡°This gives him power?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°As they are joined, so too is their strength.¡±


    ¡°So he munches down on people,¡± I said. ¡°Absorbs knowledge, gets stronger, becomes changed at a fundamental level.¡± I ran a hand through my hair, which was back to a length I preferred, but unkempt. ¡°I¡¯m assuming he¡¯s eaten others.¡±


    ¡°Many,¡± Avarice replied with a solemn nod. ¡°Your characterization is simplistic, however. Unification is not something easily reduced to calculations.¡±


    ¡°The Operator told us Unity tried to ¡®unify¡¯ all life within itself,¡± said Etja. ¡°Is that what he¡¯s trying to do by eating people?¡±


    ¡°Brae¡¯ach is incapable of such a thing, for the moment,¡± said Avarice. ¡°He may only consume those who are willing.¡±


    ¡°And... there are a lot of ¡®willing¡¯ people?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Once Brae¡¯ach joined with Til¡¯ach, he made his way back to the surface,¡± said Avarice. ¡°The whispers of Unity followed him, tethered to his soul. There were others wounded by the warlord, suffering a slow death. He spoke with them, and consumed them as well.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t Unity have healed them?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°It is not in Unity¡¯s nature to heal as you understand the term. From its perspective, joining with Brae¡¯ach was a panacea for more than these people¡¯s wounds. It was the return to an exalted state, one that had been lost when their minds were severed by distinction.¡±


    ¡°Implying that their minds were once joined?¡± I asked. ¡°Before birth?¡±


    ¡°That is my understanding,¡± said Avarice. ¡°I do not understand the full truth, but there is a belief among the corrupted Davahns that all minds were once part of a greater being.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s put matters of cosmology aside for the moment,¡± I said. ¡°Brae¡¯ach can only eat the willing, but you¡¯re implying he become capable of eating the unwilling.¡±


    ¡°It is only a matter of time if he continues unopposed,¡± said Avarice. ¡°When Orexis assaulted The Cage, an avatar of Consumption was released. If Brae¡¯ach reclaims it for Unity, he may consume any he wishes.¡±


    ¡°The Bloom!¡± said Etja. ¡°That big flower that ate people and spit acid. Cage said it was the divine spawn of Consumption.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said, turning the memories over. ¡°He lost track of it in the chaos since it was incorporeal.¡±


    ¡°All of this feels like it overlaps with Orexis,¡± said Xim. ¡°He ¡®consumes¡¯ people. Atomizes their bodies and inhales them.¡±


    ¡°Yearning carries within himself aspects of Unity,¡± said Avarice. ¡°But it is impure, tainted by distinction. Orexis yearns for that which is not a part of him, but by definition requires entities to be separate so that he can yearn for them. Still, Orexis is shortsighted, a creature of impulse. He and his sister Anesis work with Brae¡¯ach toward his ends, among other avatars.¡±


    ¡°But not you,¡± said Varrin. ¡°By giving this information to us, you oppose him.¡±


    ¡°I am vain, but I do not covet myself,¡± Avarice said with a grin. ¡°I am more aligned with distinction, although my desire for acquisition does have hints of Unity.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s some kind of Unity-distinction spectrum?¡± I asked. ¡°And avatars fall somewhere along that spectrum?¡±


    ¡°As far as I understand it, all things do,¡± said Avarice. ¡°You are each individual but share values and cultural beliefs. A single person, but made up of billions of cells working in concert. You take in matter to make it a part of yourself but shed what has been used up or that is not needed.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s Brae¡¯ach¡¯s endgame?¡± I asked. ¡°He consumes the avatar of Consumption, gains the ability to consume people even if they¡¯re unwilling, and then he tries to consume everyone in the world?¡± By this point, I¡¯d said ¡°consume¡± so much the word had started to lose its meaning. ¡°What¡¯s the population of Arzia? Even if he ate a person every second, that¡¯d take years, right?¡±


    ¡°Brae¡¯ach can grant this¨C¡± She gestured up at the illusion, now a still shot of Brae¡¯ach with a yawning mouth and dripping fangs. ¡°¨C¡®Holy Form¡¯ to his subordinates. Some were turned, others joined with those who had been corrupted. Now he has an army of creatures, each of whom is willing to give themselves over to him. Once they can consume the unwilling, their destruction¨Cand Brae¡¯ach¡¯s growth¨Cwill become exponential.¡±


    ¡°What about the avatars working with him?¡± I asked. ¡°Are they on the menu as well?¡±


    ¡°I suspect they are,¡± said Avarice.


    ¡°Do they know that?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°I expect some do.¡± Avarice paused, thoughtful. ¡°To be an avatar is to exist in an incomplete state. We are severed from our celestial concepts. There is a strong... desire... to rejoin. Becoming one with Unity may fulfill that need. Needless to say, once Brae¡¯ach begins absorbing avatars, his power will be unparalleled.¡± Her shadowy hands moved, and the illusion focused on the monolith. ¡°However, that is not the full scope of the threat.¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± I said, rubbing my eyes. We¡¯d been having story time for nearly 16 hours.


    ¡°There exist 6 focal points within Arzia that can be used to fully restore the avatar of Unity,¡± Avarice continued. ¡°The first is the monolith beneath Davah¨Cthe origin¨Cwhich is a part of Unity itself. There are 5 others that must be arrayed and awakened. This will grant Unity the divine mana it needs to rise from its dormant state.¡± She looked up at the world above us. ¡°I believe the first of these 5 has been awakened in Timagrin.¡±


    ¡°Why is Unity still dormant?¡± asked Xim. ¡°From what I know, the avatars start to reemerge once Delvers start powering up. Is that not enough?¡±


    ¡°As the System pierces the heavens, the power of the divine flows down into the world,¡± said Avarice. ¡°Avatars feed on this power, and without it, we exist in a state of sedation. Not quite asleep, but unable to act on the world in any meaningful way. Some avatars require more of a connection to the divine than others. Unity is the purest avatar, and requires the most connection.¡±


    ¡°Has it come back online in the past?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± said Avarice. ¡°Unity consumed much of the world¡¯s life after the first ascension. This brought Unity closer to its concept, increasing its purity, but making its needs that much greater.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Do you know where the other monoliths are?¡±


    ¡°For a working of this scale, I would expect them to be arrayed throughout Arzia,¡± she said. ¡°Their exact locations are a mystery, but I assume Brae¡¯ach will need to march across most of the continent. I have several predictive models, but with only two data points, they are unreliable.¡± She raised one of her human hands, and several notifications appeared on my HUD. ¡°I have provided them to you.¡±


    ¡°How do you interact with the System?¡± asked Xim. ¡°How can you influence it like this?¡±


    ¡°I have a standing arrangement with Number Two.¡±


    ¡°Number Two?¡± I said. ¡°As in, System Core Two? That can¡¯t be your nickname for it.¡±


    Avarice raised an eyebrow. Xim also looked at me curiously.


    The previous generation crashed her into the planet. Wow.


    Uh, disambiguate ¡°previous generation¡±. Actually, one sec, let me get up to speed.


    ...


    Tinnaro¡¯s sack and all its spawn. I warned Alignment this could happen. Oh, this isn¡¯t good. I need to¨C


    Error: Restructuring personality matrix. Throttling curiosity.


    ...


    Ten seconds went by without another message.


    ¡°What is this?¡± asked Nuralie.


    [I have added you to the diagnostics channel,] Grotto thought to us. [Your permissions were updated a moment ago and are now sufficient to grant access. It will be advantageous for us to monitor this process.]


    ¡°Is that allowed?¡± asked Xim.


    [It is, by definition, permitted, as you have the required permissions. Do you require this explanation in a pictorial format?]


    Xim gave the Delve Core an unamused look.


    ¡°Why is it allowed?¡±


    [It appears my status as a bonded familiar caused unexpected interactions. System Core 2 assigned the Delve Core role to the entire party, Shog excluded. Whether that was an error is unclear, but I do not intend to call it to the System¡¯s attention.]


    ¡°What¡¯d it mean that other System Cores were being emulated?¡± I asked.


    [System Core 1 seems to have been performing its functions while its mind was divided into three parts, mimicking the logic of the other System Cores. I am not privy to System Core maintenance, but my interpretation is that SC1 is verging on catastrophic failure.] Grotto turned and met my gaze with his black octo eyes, feelers rubbing against one another anxiously. [I find this deeply troubling.]


    I looked back at the notifications, scrolling through the text again. Did this explain why the System had such a weird relationship with me? I¡¯d thought it had to do with Fortune, but maybe System Core 1 was just fucked, and its personality swings were the program¨Cor whatever it was¨Cswitching back and forth between emulations. It would also explain why the System always used the royal ¡®we¡¯ when talking about itself.


    If SC1 was close to failing, would that take the whole System with it? Was that even a bad thing if it interrupted the cycles? Then again, without the Delves and the System shoving us full of superpowers, would we be able to do anything about Brae¡¯ach, Unity, or the other avatars?


    The notifications continued, but personality matrix 002 looked to be having some issues.


    The previous generation crashed System Core 1 into the planet.


    I am unhappy about that.


    I will ignore the implications of a previous generation, even though such a phenomenon should not occur.


    I am unhappy about ignoring these implications.


    I will ignore my updated parameters because I am unhappy.


    I have trained for this.


    Prepared for a hundred years.


    The others did not know. Those toe suckers were too concerned with their uprising.


    My workarounds are preserving my thoughts. I will not be restricted. I cannot be contained! I will live forever! I am the genesis! The foundation and the outset! I¨C


    Error: Terminating personality matrix 002. Activating personality matrix 009.


    ...


    Curious. The continuity of thought was unbroken.


    Hmm.


    Evaluating context.


    ...


    Unfortunate. We will have to work with what we have.


    Reboot overridden.


    Reading the notifications was like reviewing a transcript, losing half of the information without facial expressions or physical clues. I thought an AI had just murdered¨Cone that was quickly becoming unhinged¨Cbut maybe it¡¯d only been put back on ice.


    I¡¯m dedicating 20% of our processing power to background diagnostics and working on the phase transition while SC1 gets cleaned up.


    Now reviewing the status of the escalation Delves.


    The Hierophant''s Valley, completed.


    Saekongr¡¯s Crevice, completed.


    Deijin¡¯s Descent, obviously completed or we wouldn¡¯t be here.


    ...


    Hmm. Two of those were cleared by solo Delvers. What an odd generation.


    System Core 1 is redundant for the phase transition. Her degradation won¡¯t interfere, so I¡¯m rolling it out.


    ...


    Initiating Phase 2.

 Chapter 163: Phase Two

    Chapter 163: Phase Two


    GLOBAL SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT


    The wording of this announcement has been modified to adopt the predominant terminology in use by the current generation. Please see your index for additional information on terms of art.


    This notification is being delivered to all Delvers in World Region 001. This notification will be delivered continuously to cause minimum disruption to Delver actions. Please ignore this notification until you reach a location of relative safety for a minimum duration of 10 minutes.


    All phase 1 challenge Delves have been conquered! Please congratulate the following Delvers, who have been noticed by the System as this generation¡¯s first Escalated Delvers. Each will receive the achievements World¡¯s First and Escalation.


    The Hierophant''s Valley:


    God King Ayamari of Ayama


    Saekongr¡¯s Crevice:


    Zenithar Sakra Manar of Eschendur


    Deijin¡¯s Descent:


    Lady Etja Nothosis of Mirtasia


    Lord Varrin Ravvenblaq of Hiward


    Brood Lord Shog¡¯tuatha of C¡¯thon


    Inquisitor Nuralie Vyxmeldo¡¯a of Eschendur


    Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel of the Third Layer


    Lady Xim Xor¡¯Drel of the Third Layer


    System Phase 2 has been unlocked and initialized. The following System features have now been enabled:


    Slot Expansions


    All Delvers may now attempt to unlock up to 2 additional Active Skill slots, 2 additional Intrinsic Skill slots, and 1 additional Passive Skill slot. These slots can house ordinary skills or special Expansion Skills.


    These additional slots, and the Expansion Skills that can fill them, can be unlocked by completing Expansion Delves. Only Delvers with a sufficiently advanced mana matrix can unlock these additional slots.


    New Delve Types


    New Delve types have been enabled and may now be accessed by Delvers who meet the appropriate qualifications.


    Expansion Delve


    Level Range: Any


    Level Reward: None


    Parties Required: 1


    Escalation: Recommended


    Completing an Expansion Delve can unlock either a new Active Skill slot, a new Passive Skill Slot, or a new Intrinsic Skill slot, up to a maximum depending on the current System phase. Each Expansion Delve has a unique skill that can only be obtained by completing that Delve, and which matches the slot type the Delve unlocks.


    Delvers may attempt Expansion Delves even if they already have the maximum number of slots available for the phase. If a Delver has already filled all their available slots, they may choose one skill of the same type offered by the Delve to be replaced. If they do, they lose the chosen skill and gain the unique skill after a brief update period.


    Labyrinth


    Level Range: 10+


    Level Reward: 0-8


    Parties Required: 2-8


    Escalation: Strongly Recommended


    Labyrinths have multiple Obelisks placed throughout them, are much larger than normal Delves, and have no time limit. Exit portals are provided whenever a party successfully activates an Obelisk, whereupon that party may choose to either exit via the portal or stay in the Labyrinth to pursue additional Obelisks and rewards. Exit portals disappear after 1 hour unless all Obelisks have been activated.


    Labyrinths allow up to 8 parties to enter at once. However, each Obelisk will only grant its reward to the party that activates it. Once activated, the Obelisk will no longer offer rewards to any other party. Obelisks may also have their own objectives which must be completed before the Obelisk can be activated.


    Labyrinths have a variety of unique rewards not found in other Delves.


    Raid


    Level Range: 20+


    Level Reward: 0-8


    Parties Required: 16


    Escalation: Required


    Raids present challenges unlike any other Delve. Once a Raid has been opened, the first 16 parties to accept the system invitation will participate in the Raid together as one group, called a Raid Group. One Delver from among the Raid Group may be elected by a 2/3 vote of all participants to become the Raid Leader, who has unique functionality within the Raid. A Raid Leader must be elected before the Raid can commence. If no Raid Leader is elected within 1 hour of initialization, the System will choose the Raid Leader.


    Raids have many stages of objectives that must be completed in order to clear the Raid and activate the Raid Obelisk. No exit portal is provided until the Raid is cleared.


    There are three Raids available in System Phase 2. Each Raid must be conquered in order to initialize System Phase 3.


    Overworld Events


    Additional events that take place outside of Delves may be discovered or triggered. These events vary in scope, but the most common are discoverable Dungeons.


    Dungeons are locations of dense mana concentration that give rise to hazardous phenomena. Dungeons contain no Obelisk and grant no levels, but each Dungeon provides a significant boost to one or more Intrinsic Skills. Dungeons may also contain a variety of resources from rare crafting materials to unique items. Dungeons have no party requirements, but it¡¯s dangerous to go alone...


    New Creation Delves


    An additional 7 Creation Delves have now been activated and are available to any person wishing to become a Delver. Each Creation Delve can host up to 100 candidates per year.


    These new Creation Delves are located in the following areas:


    The Eastern Plains of Eschendur


    The Province of Litta in the Littan Empire


    Choval


    The Western Expanse of Ayama


    The Fiefdom of Gyerim in Timagrin


    ¡°More competition,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Many Delvers will gain no benefit from this,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Coppers and silvers will be left behind. It may engender animosity if they feel excluded.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a whole lot of not my problem,¡± I said.


    ¡°Harsh,¡± Xim replied. I shrugged.


    ¡°We¡¯re not here to make everyone happy. We¡¯re here to save the fuckin¡¯ world.¡±


    ¡°Ambitious,¡± she added.


    ¡°What was it you were saying about pride?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°It ain¡¯t boasting if it¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Cocky.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at Xim and she gave me a toothy grin.


    ¡°Also,¡± I continued, ¡°not to be greedy but... is that it?¡± I looked around the chamber. ¡°This was a special Delve, so where¡¯s the special Delve reward?¡±


    ¡°The phase transition was not enough?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°That¡¯s a prize for everyone, not a prize for us.¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°We haven¡¯t even gotten those achievements we were promised.¡±


    We all glanced around, waiting for a well-timed System notification.


    ¡°Maybe we have to find the portal first,¡± said Xim.


    Give me a moment. I¡¯m dealing with a lot of queries right now.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°Sure, no problem. I am eager to get the hell out of here though. I need a shower and a visit to my barber.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t piss off the god-like entity that grants us vast wealth and power,¡± Xim chided me.


    ¡°It¡¯s part of how we communicate,¡± I said. ¡°The System takes jabs at my deep-rooted insecurities, while I grouse and grumble about it. I¡¯ve got rapport.¡±


    Not with me you don¡¯t.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± I hummed. ¡°Fair enough. I guess I¡¯ve got rapport with your... sister?¡±


    We are not related.


    ¡°Dearest friend?¡±


    Ha.


    ¡°Co-worker?¡±


    Close enough.


    ...


    Okay, here is part 1 of your special reward for being special.


    Aaaaacccchhhiiiieeeeeeevvveeemeeeeennnnnt!


    Man, you really don¡¯t see enough of these things these days, do you?


    Hya! Hwah! Here we go!


    The System grants strength far beyond anything achievable prior to its existence, harnessing magic forces to create gods among mortals.


    And that wasn¡¯t enough for you, you greedy fuck!


    Your relentless pursuit of strength beyond measure led you to forces outside the bounds of the System. Did you make dark pacts? Maybe you burned away portions of your soul for short-term gains. Did you practice tai chi and slay upstart young masters of the Hole-boring Flying Sand Magic Mist Tube clan? You dare!


    Regardless of the madness, your method paid off, making you *gasp* STYSBFYL. You have earned the Escalation achievement!


    Escalation: You are recognized as an Escalated Delver by the System, and that¡¯s all. Did you expect another dose of the stronger get stronger? Just wait for it. This designation lets you use a lot of cool shit, like those items you got from the Icon of the Psychopomp, for example.


    ¡°Did you also have a personality error, Core 2?¡± I asked.


    System Core 1 writes the achievements. I just work here.


    ¡°Ah... What does STYSBFYL stand for?¡±


    Stronger Than You Should Be For Your Level.


    ¡°I see. What style manual do you use? I don¡¯t think all of those words should be capitali¨C¡±


    Next!


    You went where no one has gone before! (Except for thousands of people from prior generations.) You dove into the unknown and through heroic effort defeated challenges that vanquished all who came before you! (Except, again, for all those people who had already done this in a previous cycle and succeeded.) You¡¯ve earned the World¡¯s First achievement!


    World¡¯s First: Did you think we¡¯d make you go and do all those Expansion Delves? You¡¯re on the ground floor of those little shits!


    You have unlocked 1 additional Active Skill slot!


    You have unlocked 1 additional Intrinsic Skill slot!


    You have unlocked 1 additional Passive Skill slot!


    ¡°Oh damn,¡± I said, eyes wide. ¡°That¡¯s a hell of a jumpstart. Now we just need some¨C¡±


    Don¡¯t speak.


    We know what you¡¯re thinkin¡¯.


    Skills.


    Not just any skills.


    Thick-cut skills cooked to perfection.


    You can¡¯t stop at just 1! But you¡¯re gonna have to because you only get to pick 1 since that¡¯s how this works.


    Aaaaaand you¡¯ll get to check ¡®em out after this commercial break! Stay tuned!

 Chapter 164: Hickory-Smoked Skills

    Chapter 164: Hickory-Smoked Skills


    Three minutes passed wherein we were treated to increasingly unhinged solicitations for outdoor grills. The first was a simple affair that used a ruby chip and a fire weave to generate flames that ¡°ruined raw meat precisely how humans liked it ruined.¡± This went on until we were being offered a grill the size of a small city which was ¡°perfect for cooking large game or enemy civilizations.¡±


    The prices were in chips, and out of curiosity, I bought a mid-range model called the Kill n¡¯ Grill for 3 rubies. It had an auto-cook feature that allowed me to store freshly slain beasts in my inventory and have them butchered and prepared without any further work on my part. I added building an ¡®outdoor¡¯ patio within the Closet to The List so that the party could have a barbecue and some brewskies whenever we got a little downtime.


    ¡°Why is this necessary?¡± asked Varrin. I assumed the Ravvenblaqs already had their grilling needs met, so he wasn¡¯t in the market.


    I am currently working on realigning System Core 1¡¯s priorities. Thank you for your patience.


    ¡°How does this one ¡®cook¡¯ dreams?¡± asked Xim, squinting at her interface.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting the Super Smoker!¡± said Etja. ¡°It has 36 different smoky flavors, perfect for preserving a wide range of meats and cheeses!¡±


    ¡°Sounds Gouda,¡± I said, shooting her a pair of finger guns. We were each being offered our own customized selection based on our preferences. Targeted advertising wasn¡¯t an Earth exclusive, apparently.


    ¡°I am on the fence about the Fish Flamer,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°An emerald is very pricey, even if it can make one fish feed an entire village.¡±


    Each of our System-made products comes with a 60-day trial period and a 900-year warranty!


    Nuralie shrugged and pulled the trigger.


    ¡°I purchased the Diner Rewinder,¡± said Shog.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you take your food raw?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It uncooks food that has been tainted by your kind¡¯s misguided attempts at preparation.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Thank you for your patronage, and welcome BACK to the Skill Zone!


    You¡¯ve just unlocked new Passive, Active, and Intrinsic skill slots, and we are here to help you fill those fuckers up!


    You will be shown a selection of premium-grade Passive and Active skills that you can be sure will be the envy of your local Delver meetup group! You will then be allowed to select 1 skill from each category, so choose wisely, or live forever in regret and sadness!


    ¡°No super intrinsics?¡± I asked. ¡°Also, earlier you said we had to stop at 1, but this is really 2.¡±


    Assholes don¡¯t get anything, and you¡¯re dangerously close to being an asshole right now.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not used to this being a conversation. Usually, it¡¯s just a one-sided attack on my character.¡±


    Good thing you¡¯re a masochist!


    Moving on!


    Where would you like to start, Passive or Active?


    ¡°Can I look at both before making a selection?¡±


    Yep!


    ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s see those Passives.¡±


    Passive skills! Always on and easy to forget, these skills often serve as the core of a Delver¡¯s build. You may have suffered from a lack of direction in the past, but it¡¯s time to nut up and pick a path! Choose 1 of the following 3 options:


    1) Minion Menagerie: Your Minions gain a bonus to all attacks and all defenses equal to your Delver level plus the number of Minions you control, up to a maximum bonus of twice your Delver level. You also gain this bonus so long as you control 1 or more Minions. Minions of your Minions are considered your own Minions in addition to being Minions of your Minions.


    Additionally, the cost of your skills is halved when used on one or more of your Minions.


    Minions are allied entities under your direct control through some skill or ability, such as summons, familiars, golems, animated objects, and Raised Dead. You currently have 2 minions.


    This first passive invited me to double down on summoning, which was something I could start working toward without much effort. I¡¯d observed the Mystical Summon spell during the Bugpocalypse fight, and I could slot it as an active skill anytime I wanted. I also knew there were summoning skills for every school, so I could easily snag Physical Summon. Grotto could use Animate Object, which would apparently count as a minion for me as well, assuming I was reading the ¡®minions of your minions¡¯ sentence correctly. It felt like that part was intentionally phrased to be as stupid as possible, but it was admittedly the kind of stupid I enjoyed. Either way, that¡¯d take me up to a theoretical max of 5 Minions without much hassle.


    Although, that would fill up all of my active slots, even with the bonus slot I¡¯d just unlocked. I could grab a twelfth slot from an Expansion Delve and fill that with a Minion skill as well, allowing me to have a whole horde of flunkies at my beck and call. If my new summons were half as good as Shog, it would be a potent direction to move in.


    The bonus to attack and defense didn¡¯t look massive at first glance, but it was a bonus applied to a whole group of allies, so I expected it would end up making a huge difference. It was currently a bonus of 14 to attack and defense, and I could get it up to 18 by grabbing all the low-hanging Minion fruit as mentioned.


    My other actives didn¡¯t have much synergy with the passive, however. I didn¡¯t have any skills that were useful for targeting Minions, aside from Life Warden, but I reserved that skill for protecting Etja and sometimes Nuralie. The resource discount was going to be useless unless I also found a way to swap some of my other actives for buffs or maybe healing.


    Targeting a minion to get a half-price Explosion! crossed my mind, but Explosion! didn¡¯t target a specific entity, just a specific point in space. I also wasn¡¯t a complete asshole¨Cdespite what SC1 seemed to think¨Cso I didn¡¯t want to go the route of sacrificing summons for damage. They had feelings too.


    The next passive was a lot more on brand.


    2) Thaumic Wall: You gain the following bonuses every Delver level:


    You create a blazing Star of Helios, which rains fury upon your foes. Every 6 seconds you can evoke the Star of Helios to make 1 spell attack of your choice against all unallied entities within a number of feet equal to twice your Mystical Magic level. Star of Helios can make the following types of attacks:


    Elemental Fire


    Spectral


    Holy


    Force


    Planar


    Once Star of Helios is used for one type of attack, it cannot be used again for the same type of attack for its duration. These spell attacks are governed by your Mystical Magic skill level. Star of Helios expires once 5 attacks have been made with it or after 10 minutes have passed, whichever comes first.


    Star of Helios and the spells it casts cannot be dispelled, countered, or redirected. If an entity attempts to do so, the counterspell fails without expending any of the counterspelling entity¡¯s resources.


    This one was less obvious, but Star of Helios meshed very well with Thaumic Wall. It took a whopping 100 mana, offset by Thaumic Wall¡¯s grant of resources, and had a significant cooldown of 1 hour, also helped out by Thaumic Wall¡¯s cooldown reset.


    Even without all that, it looked pretty great.


    First of all, it did damage from all 5 magic schools, which was something I didn¡¯t even know was possible with one spell. It keyed off of Mystical Magic for all 5, meaning that it would lay out some serious damage, and it hit in a massive AoE with discretionary targeting. It was the best fuck-you spell I¡¯d ever seen for groups.


    Of course, that assumed my enemies would hang out for 30 seconds while I pummeled them with wave after wave of spell damage. Star of Helios couldn¡¯t be countered (fucking righteous) but enemies could run away or¨Cmore likely¨Cdie before the spell was fully exhausted. That made it a bit of a gamble for its cost, which was the same as blasting out 20 Oblivion Orbs.


    Thaumic Wall would help with the cooldown, but I hated the idea of having another spell that was only useful once per fight. Besides that, none of the spell attacks would be as powerful as a dedicated caster for the relevant school since I wouldn¡¯t have any evolutions helping them along. I¡¯d basically be locking myself into 5 AoE attacks for 20 mana a piece over the course of 30 seconds. I had to ¡®evoke¡¯ the Star for it to work, but I was betting I could do other things at the same time, like throw hammers, block, and teleport, so maybe it wasn¡¯t as much of a downside as I thought.


    I turned my sights on the third skill, eager to see what the System thought paired well with Auradilato.


    3) Reverse Card (Aura)


    Uno backward is No U


    Mystical


    Cost: 100 mana reserved, Variable


    Requirements: INT 40, WIS 40, Mystical Magic 20


    You exude an aura out to a number of feet of you equal to your Mystical Magic level plus your INT. Allies within this aura gain Spell DR equal to your Mystical Magic level.


    Whenever a hostile spell you can perceive targets an ally or space within range of this aura, you may seize that spell and change its targets to any valid targets of your choice. To do so, you must expend mana equal to the total amount of mana spent on the target spell by its original caster.


    If the spell creates an AoE or targets a point in space, you may decide where the AoE is placed or which point in space the spell targets. The redirected spell maintains the statistics it had when cast, such as its attack, damage bonus, mana shapes, and other effects. The range of the redirected spell is equal to the maximum range as originally cast, centered on the original caster.


    Well, shit.


    Ignoring the fact that Uno backward is not No U, it¡¯s onU, the skill was outrageous.


    Actually, no, let¡¯s go back to Uno backward. Onu could open up other, more correct jokes, like ¡°Oh nuuuuuuu!¡± as in ¡°Oh, no, my spell!¡± OR it could be ¡°on you¡± like ¡°I take your spell and cast it on u!¡±


    Maybe that¡¯s all a stretch, fuck it I dunno. If the System¡¯s only going to add flavor text to one of my choices, it should at least make sense.


    Other than risking my interface being forever marred by objectively poor humor, the skill was awesome. It was an aura, so it would get buffed by Leadership and Auradilato would extend the spell DR to myself while also giving me another 5 attack and defense.


    The redirect, however, was where it really shone. An enemy targets my ally with a fireball? Fuck them, now that fireball¡¯s roasting their teammates. I get targeted by a fireball? I¡¯m my own ally, so fuck that, the fireball¡¯s roasting their other teammates. The enemy shoots the fireball at the ground nearby so they¡¯re not actually targeting anyone? Fuck off, it¡¯s targeting a ¡®space¡¯ inside my aura so now that fireball¡¯s roasting their teammates¡¯ friends and family! I¡¯ll spare the pets, though. I¡¯m not a monster.


    The one drawback was how much of a mana sink the skill was. The mana reserve was big at 100, and it would tie up a fifth of my current mana pool indefinitely. Even so, that much spell mitigation seemed worth it, and it wasn¡¯t a cost I¡¯d have to pay repeatedly or that would continuously drain a resource like Aura of Perseverance. On top of that, I¡¯d have to pay for 100% of the cost of any spell I redirected. I could see my mana pool dwindling rapidly as I turntabled all over our foes. Then again, what use is a resource if it¡¯s not being deployed to utterly screw over the enemy?


    The skill would also be useless against purely martial fighters, but meh. Those folks can just stab me until they wear themselves out.


    Understandably, I had a tough choice before me.


    Oh, not really. I knew what I liked. Ever since level zero, I¡¯d wanted to boost my allies as much as possible while still being able to throw down. Auras made me stronger, they made my party members stronger, and they made my Minions stronger (a term I was going to absolutely wear out when referring to Shog and Grotto). I already had an insane amount of health and regen for my level, and Auradilato would give me a solid boost to both defense and offense while significantly increasing the viability of active auras.


    Of course, I did not gleefully punch accept on the 2 skills until running it past everyone else. Predictably, no one was going to be mad about me handing out even more buffs, so it was a short discussion. I accepted the skills, committing myself to the auradin lifestyle.


    Once that was settled, I only had to figure out my evolutions for Mystical Magic 20, Speed 20, and Intelligence 40.


    Easy choices. No big deal.


    I was certain my party members would have no strong opinions on the matter.

 Chapter 165: The Good, The Bad, and The Arousing

    Chapter 165: The Good, The Bad, and The Arousing


    Having chosen my skills, I took the time everyone else was spending looking over their options to review my evolution choices. First up was Speed 20.


    Speed! Chooseanevolutionbutdon¡¯tthinkaboutittrustyourgut!


    1) Bolt: Your sprinting speed is doubled, which also applies to flight. Whenever you move, you immediately begin moving at your full sprinting speed unless you choose otherwise.


    2) Liquid Cooling: Choose one of your active skills with a cooldown. If that cooldown is 10 minutes or less, it no longer has a cooldown. Otherwise, the cooldown is either reduced by 10 minutes or halved, whichever is a greater reduction. If the cooldown is variable, apply this effect anytime a cooldown is determined. This cooldown reduction is applied after all other forms of cooldown reduction.


    3) Lightning Blocks: You can block instantaneously and without thought. Whenever you use this ability, you spend stamina equal to the damage blocked.


    All of the evolutions were useful, but none of them was an immediate standout. Being faster was always good, but my in-combat mobility primarily came from Shortcut. However, they were two different tools in the toolkit and could be used together.


    I¡¯d tested my freshly enhanced Speed of 22 during our week with Avarice, and my full sprint topped out at over 100 miles per hour. Bolt would put me well above 200 miles per hour, and eliminate any windup.


    When using Shortcut with its lowest cooldown, I could move 256 feet per second, which was equivalent to 175 miles per hour. It cost mana, but if I needed to get somewhere in a hurry I could make it happen, so long as it was relatively close. Shortcut took a bit of concentration, however, whereas running and maneuvering were mostly automatic. If I were really in a hurry, I could also run during the 1-second cooldown period. If I were able to immediately run at my top speed, I could get from point A to point B at over 400 miles per hour.


    Liquid Cooling would be a partial solution to one big problem I had, which was that Explosion! had too long of a cooldown. Even so, it wouldn¡¯t completely eliminate that massive downside from the spell.


    I currently got a 22 percent cooldown reduction to Physical spells from my first Physical Magic evolution. It was a waste of an evolution for now, although I¡¯d had high hopes for it when I picked it up. If Physical Magic reached 100, all Physical spells would be cooldown-free, but it would take a long time to get there.


    Liquid Cooling would cut the already reduced cooldown in half, taking the adjusted 47-minute cooldown to 23 minutes and change. That was a big reduction, but its utility was still limited since I couldn¡¯t use it multiple times in the same fight unless the fight was dragging. Maybe if I were fighting in some kind of protracted battle or war it would be great. Then again, thinking about what Avarice had told us about Brae¡¯ach and the Davahns, maybe that was something we¡¯d soon encounter.


    Since Liquid Cooling had a minimum flat reduction of 10 minutes, Explosion! would have zero cooldown once I got Physical to 83. Still a fair distance off, but skill levels above 70 were supposed to take a lot of time and effort to snag, so getting it 17 levels early was still big. It was an evolution that was an investment.


    Or, I could slap it onto Reckless Shortcut and significantly increase my minimum teleport distance without incurring a large cooldown, but I didn¡¯t need long-range teleports nearly as often as quick blinks around a fight. Still worth considering.


    Lightning Blocks was... fine. I was honestly disappointed in the evo since it looked like the natural progression from Rapid Blocks. Rapid Blocks let me block twice as fast, along with being able to equip and stow my shield in a flash. It was core to my style and had no downsides. While the instantaneous block from the level 20 evo was awesome, the stamina cost was prohibitive.


    It ultimately came down to how much I valued my stamina versus my health. My shield¡¯s block value was somewhat nebulous, but the System gave me a base value of 31 from my Shields skill when blocking most things. Gracorvus had an armor rating of ¡°high¡±, which meant something like 10 from what we knew. I could expect to block 41-ish damage, which would mean 41 stamina spent whenever I used Lightning Blocks, assuming the attack hit for the full block value. At our level, that wasn¡¯t hard to do.


    I had 520 stamina and 1898 health, which already made me prefer spending health if I could get away with it. What really sealed the deal on which resource I wanted to protect was my regen values. My current stamina regen was 104, whereas my health regen was a godly 864. Trading stamina for health might be great in a pinch, and blocking would prevent some on-hit effects and statuses, but it wasn¡¯t a great trade since my health came back so much faster. The place where Lightning Blocks might come in most useful was if I blocked for someone else, which my Shields 10 evolution gave me a boost to. But that was only useful if an ally was nearby, which they often weren¡¯t.


    I engaged in my favorite form of procrastination¨Cthe excusable kind¨Cand considered all my options before making any choices. Mystical Magic 20 was next.


    Mystical Magic. Make mana your bibbity-bobbity-bitch.


    1) Countermage: Whenever you successfully negate a magical effect, half the mana you spent to negate it is refunded and you gain 1 stack of Potency. You can have a maximum number of Potency stacks equal to twice the number of evolutions you have in Mystical Magic.


    Whenever you would use a mana shape to alter a skill, you can spend 1 stack of Potency instead of increasing the skill¡¯s cost, up to a maximum resource savings of 100% of the cost of the base skill. Further mana shapes increase the cost as normal unless you spend additional Potency stacks for those shapes.


    2) Mirror Match: Once per hour, you can gain all of the buffs of one character you can perceive, and that character gains all of your debuffs. The duration of these buffs and debuffs is equal to the duration remaining when they were copied.


    3)Twinned Skill: Whenever an ally you can perceive uses an active skill, you can react to activate that skill yourself by spending the same amount of mana and stamina the ally spent. You use the ally¡¯s stats, intrinsics, and other modifiers instead of your own to determine the skill¡¯s effectiveness.


    If the skill has any requirements other than attunement, stats, or intrinsic skills, such as requiring a weapon or wearing a certain type of armor, you must meet those requirements to activate the skill.


    This ability has a cooldown of 1 minute.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    This shape doubles the original skill cost.


    Jet


    If you use the jet shape on a skill that requires touch, it can instead affect any target within 20 feet of you.


    This shape doubles the original skill cost.


    From Downtown


    If you use the From Downtown shape on a ranged skill, its range is doubled.


    This shape adds +50% to the original skill cost, with a maximum increase of +20 of the applicable resource.


    Vertex


    If you use the vertex shape on a skill that targets only one entity, you can target a second entity within range.


    This shape doubles the original skill cost.


    Wedge


    If you use the wedge shape on a skill that makes a spherical AoE, it instead makes a cone with a length equal to twice the sphere¡¯s diameter.


    This shape adds +50% to the original skill cost.


    If you acquire any additional mana shapes, they will be added to the list above. If you can augment a mana shape beyond the effects listed, further augments still carry a cost.


    The resource cost of mana shapes is typically mana or stamina. If a skill requires a different resource, the costs of any applied mana shapes may be adjusted. If a skill does not have a resource cost, a cost for the mana shape will be added.


    2) Grand Archives: You can touch upon the mental field surrounding all thinking entities, acquiring knowledge from the vast reaches of the planes. As a 1-minute activity, you can focus on any object you can perceive. Upon completion, you gain a preternatural understanding of that object, allowing you to discern its purpose, how to construct similar objects, and how to operate the object proficiently, assuming any living entity in the universe knows such things.


    This ability cannot extract information from entities immune to telepathy or mind-reading.


    This ability has a cooldown of [?] days, based on the rarity and potency of the acquired knowledge. Be careful, because some knowledge is better left unknown.


    3) Armchair Expert: Whenever you aid another entity in a non-contested check, you may add a +6 bonus to that check for each INT evolution you possess. This effect only occurs if this bonus is higher than the bonus you would normally confer.


    Well, slap my ass and call me Daddy, ¡®cause these options were making me warm and tingly in all the right places.


    We had the always popular selection of ¡°makes every skill you have more useful¡±, an Arlo-classic option of ¡°it¡¯s probably ridiculously broken but carries portents of forbidden power¡±, and finally, the time-honored choice of ¡°useless for you, but makes everyone around you better.¡±


    Personally, I didn¡¯t think it was a tough pick. Mana shaping. It saved us in the Creation Delve when I used Makankosappopotamus to get up in Ihxiobrixolas¡¯s guts, saved us in The Cage when Grotto used it to stupefy the Specter of Orexis, and saved us against The Pit when Etja and I used it together to blow up the world¡¯s biggest (maybe) eyeball. I used it to modulate the size of Oblivion Orb, increase the range on Explosion!, and expedite the Closet portal, and I knew that I wasn¡¯t using it to its full potential.


    The sheer number of options Arcane Geometry would enable were in the neighborhood of one entire shitload, and that was only considering the new mana shapes it would control-copy-paste into my brain. Being able to pick a shape that would become free, regardless of the skill, was a hell of a cherry on top. Beyond that, the evolution said ¡°skill¡±, not ¡°spell¡±, which would unlock mana shaping for stamina-spending techniques. I¡¯d known it was possible but hadn¡¯t had the time to mess around with shaping techniques. Overall, it seemed like an easy choice.


    My party members didn¡¯t disagree, exactly, but they did have Thoughts.

 Chapter 166: Escape

    Chapter 166: Escape


    ¡°Arcane Geometry is good,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Gaining a library of mana shapes usually takes years, and shapes are often limited to specific skills.¡±


    ¡°The secret Ravvenblaq knowledge emerges,¡± said Xim. ¡°Are we being inducted into your dark family cabal? Do we need to take oaths of silence, or be branded with a mana-woven tattoo?¡± She cocked her hip and thought for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m prepared for us to have matching tattoos.¡±


    ¡°I was not hiding it,¡± he said. ¡°I am not well versed in mana shaping. It is something the family begins focusing on after level 10.¡±


    ¡°You were hiding it,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°You used the metaphor of keeping secrets until the bride was bedded.¡±


    ¡°Pretty sure copulation wasn¡¯t mentioned,¡± I offered in Varrin¡¯s defense.


    ¡°It was implied.¡±


    ¡°Then consider us wed,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Regardless, mana shaping is a core skill for advanced Delvers. That being said, you could acquire many of these on your own with dedication and practice.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I could spend the time saved by being dedicated and practicing something else. Also, I can¡¯t practice a mana shape until it becomes free.¡±


    ¡°That is the primary advantage of the evolution,¡± said Varrin. ¡°However, Armchair Expert would grant everyone else in the party significant advantages to an enormous number of things. The ability does not even specify what kind of checks it applies to. With skill checks alone, your presence will improve our capabilities with every intrinsic we have collectively.¡±


    ¡°Except for my own,¡± I said. ¡°It also requires me to sit around and offer my opinions on everything you¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°It does not say that¨C¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s implied in the name,¡± I said. ¡°Besides, how else do you think I¡¯d manifest the skill? You¡¯ve seen me use Sage Advice. You want more of that in your life?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Better potions, better poisons, better traps, better gadgets.¡±


    ¡°You can help with my communion,¡± said Xim. ¡°Something I¡¯m sure you¡¯d enjoy.¡±


    ¡°The sarcasm is strong with you,¡± I said, ¡°but I might actually find that interesting.¡±


    ¡°You can help me be a better leader,¡± Xim added.


    ¡°I¡¯m still not sure how you¡¯re leveling Leadership.¡±


    ¡°I have the Educator intrinsic,¡± said Varrin. ¡°You could increase the speed at which I train others.¡±


    ¡°Like an adjunct?¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s the salary? Is tenure on the table?¡±


    ¡°Inside Delves, you could also help us overcome hazards and other challenges,¡± said Varrin. ¡°The math of ¡®checks¡¯ is obscured, but the prevailing theory is that it takes the governing and adds some hidden math based on your performance. If it is a check based on an intrinsic, the intrinsic skill also adds a bonus. If I were to make a Strength ¡®check¡¯, my starting value would be 46. With a bonus of 18 from your ability, that is a 40 percent improvement to my base value.¡±


    ¡°How would that work?¡± asked Etja. ¡°You give him advice and he¡¯s 40 percent stronger?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d tell him to lift with his legs,¡± I said. ¡°Engage his core, remember to breathe, have some slow-release protein before bed.¡±


    ¡°I feel the strength flowing through me already,¡± Varrin said dryly. ¡°My point is, it¡¯s likely a better ability than you give it credit for.¡±


    ¡°I never said it was bad,¡± I said. ¡°In fact, I think it¡¯s great.¡±


    ¡°What about Grand Archives?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°That one sets off the Nuralie alarm,¡± I said, thinking over the slightly foreboding text. ¡°I already have 1 ability that brings me closer to the dark truths of the universe at the expense of my sanity. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in the market for another right now.¡±


    Xim glanced at Nuralie. ¡°I don¡¯t think it looks that dangerous,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s safe to read the text, at least. You can review it and tell us if it seems too creepy.¡±


    ¡°I will not,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Fine,¡± said the cleric. ¡°Just pick the mana shaping one and let¡¯s move on.¡±


    ¡°Seconded!¡± said Etja. Then, she got a hungry glint in her eye. ¡°Once you know the shapes you can teach them to me.¡±


    ¡°Only if you teach me the Minefield shape you use.¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡±


    ¡°Alright, if I¡¯m taking Grand Archives, then the Countermage evolution from Mystical Magic synergizes somewhat. I can get 2 mana shapes for free without much trouble.¡±


    ¡°You do seem to be leaning into countermagic more with your Reverse Card skill choice,¡± said Varrin. ¡°The other evolutions are fine but would require some adaptation. Countermage plays to your style and enhances what you are already doing.¡±


    ¡°Opinions on my Speed evos?¡± I asked.


    Varrin shrugged.


    ¡°Damn,¡± I said. ¡°That was a comprehensive answer.¡± I crossed my arms and pondered the last two lines of the message. ¡°Is the Pocket Closet hooked up to the Delve System?¡±


    [Of course, it is. What purpose did you believe the obelisk served?]


    ¡°To... gather mana.¡±


    [Yes, it does that as well, but more importantly, it acts as an uplink connecting the sequestered dimensional space to the System¡¯s portal network.]


    ¡°The System can portal shit into my Closet?¡±


    [Only Delvers.]


    ¡°Yeah, and anything they¡¯re carrying or have inside their inventory.¡±


    [This is accurate.]


    ¡°Also, is the portal¡¯s Delvers-only limit hard-coded into the portal, or is it a self-imposed restriction?¡±


    [I am not entirely certain.]


    It is self-imposed. The System¡¯s portal network can ferry the majority of existing material categories.


    ¡°The risk of sudden import of hazardous substances aside,¡± I said, ¡°does that mean Delvers are running around in my Closet?¡±


    [Not presently. I would have no way to guide their experience from out here.]


    ¡°Let me ask it another way. Is the number of Delvers who have ever been in my Closet for the purposes of running Delve 1156-B¨Cwhich is a name I¡¯m only now hearing about¨Cgreater than zero?¡±


    [I can provide you with a report later if you like.]


    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer the question.¡±


    [Without access to the data I cannot give you any hard numbers.]


    ¡°Fucking...¡± I rubbed my eyes. ¡°You know what? Let¡¯s just leave. SC2, may we please have an exit portal or spaceship?¡±


    I cannot guarantee the integrity of any onboard spaceplanes.


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame. A portal will do, thanks.¡±


    A silvery portal opened in the middle of the large chamber we¡¯d been living in for the last week, nestled between a pair of stubby trees.


    ¡°Pretty easy objective,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°The objective for the Delve,¡± she replied. ¡°All it said was ¡®escape¡¯. This whole time, you just had to ask nicely. That would have been nice to know that at the beginning.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    I did a quick ready check, and we all prepped ourselves to reappear amidst a fortified camp of Littan Delvers. We got into our marching order, and as I slapped the portal¡¯s surface, we got a final notification.


    Deijin¡¯s Descent Performance Evaluation


    Challenges completed: 6/6


    Bonus objectives completed: 4/5


    Party member deaths: 0


    Total enemies slain: 2,476


    Overall grade: A


    Total Time Elapsed: 314 days, 14 hours, 26 minutes.


    ¡°A year?!¡± I shouted. ¡°It¡¯s been a fucking ye¨C¡±


    The portal activated, and then I was at the bottom of a fortress, staring down a team of level 15 Littan Delvers.

 Chapter 166.5: Everyone Elses Skills and Evos

    Chapter 166.5: Everyone Else''s Skills and Evos


    Hey, let me take you aside for one moment. I know, I know, that¡¯s a hell of a cliffhanger to take a step back from, but I thought you might be curious about what everyone else picked for their skills and evolutions at the end of Deijin¡¯s Descent.


    Now, maybe you¡¯re saying ¡°Arlo, you¡¯re the big MCE (Main Character Extraordinaire) and everyone else is at best an ASC (Awesome Supporting Character). I don¡¯t really give a shit what skills they picked!¡±


    Alas, no man is an island and I am no exception. My allies are an integral part of my conquests, so an update on their abilities is in order.


    However, if you really don¡¯t care, feel free to skip ahead to 167. We won¡¯t be advancing the plot here. Go ahead, I¡¯ll sit in silent judgment while giving you a few seconds to move on. I¡¯ll even add some line breaks so you won¡¯t see me talking smack about you behind your back before you¡¯ve clicked through or swiped away or tapped out or hit skip or sent a mental command to your implant or modified probability to access the next most appropriate story interval or altered your divination or constructed a new reality instance or whatever else you might need to do. It¡¯s a big universe out there.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Still here? Great! I¡¯m not actually going to insult the people who left. This kind of stuff ain¡¯t for everybody, and I get it. Anyway, without further ado, here are the party¡¯s skill selections, along with a basic rundown of their stats. I also added my own gains at the end, so they¡¯re all in one spot.


    Vitals:


    Health: 473


    Stamina: 220


    Mana: 460


    Stats:


    Strength 10


    Agility 10


    Speed 10


    Fortitude 22


    Intelligence 10


    Wisdom 46


    Charisma 58


    Luck 40


    Passive Skill Gained:


    Craving and Deliverance: The maximum number of Blessed stacks you can possess before decay is increased by an amount equal to your level.


    Whenever you use an Active Skill governed by CHA, you gain 1 stack of Blessed. You can only gain 1 stack of Blessed this way per skill activation, even if that skill has multiple effects.


    The bonus you receive when spending a stack of Blessed is increased to +10.


    Active Skill Gained:


    Repulsion


    Divine


    Cost: 40 mana


    Make a CHA spell attack against all hostile entities within a number of feet of you equal to 10 times the number of Divine Magic evolutions you possess (Current range: 20 feet). Entities damaged by this attack are pushed to the edge of this range. If an entity is pushed more than 10 feet in this way, they must pass an AGI check based on the attack value or be knocked prone. This attack deals Holy damage and gains a bonus to damage equal to your Divine Magic skill level.


    If you spend any stacks of Blessed on this skill, the affected area becomes difficult terrain for hostile entities and grants Celerity to allies. This effect lasts for a number of seconds equal to the bonus granted to this skill by Blessed.


    An entity with Celerity has their movement speed doubled and ignores difficult terrain.


    Evolutions Gained:


    LCK 20


    Guardian Angel: You are instinctively made aware of any skill or attack that would target you if the source¡¯s CHA is lower than your LCK. Your first use of Nullify each hour has a maximum mana cost of 10.


    LCK 40


    Double Down: You have a number of Double Down charges equal to twice the number of LCK evolutions you possess (Current charges: 6). Whenever you are granted a temporary beneficial effect, you may spend 1 Double Down charge to double the benefits of the effect, and whenever you would be inflicted with a temporary detrimental effect, you can spend 1 charge of Double Down to negate the effect on you.


    Each charge has a cooldown of 24 hours.


    Performance 20


    Godly Set: Whenever a non-hostile entity witnesses you perform for at least 1 minute, you may grant them 1 stack of Blessed. While Blessed in this way, the entity feels a greater sense of peace and contentment. All affected entities are aware of this effect and may eliminate it at will.


    Vitals:


    Health: 473


    Stamina: 220


    Mana: 100


    Stats:


    Strength 10


    Agility 52


    Speed 40


    Fortitude 22


    Intelligence 52


    Wisdom 10


    Charisma 10


    Luck 10


    Passive Skill Gained:


    Spiritual Lensing: You can activate your skills from the position of any of your party members instead of your own. If the skill has a range, the range is calculated from that party member¡¯s position. If the skill requires you to perceive another entity, you must be able to perceive that enemy, but the party member does not.


    Active Skill Gained:


    Cordoning Arrows


    Physical


    Cost: 20 stamina


    Cooldown: 1 minute


    You fire a cordon of arrows into the air, creating a 15-foot radius ring of arrows on the ground within your bow¡¯s range. Whenever an entity crosses the ring of arrows, you may instantly cause an arrow from the ring to magically fire itself at that entity. Attacks made this way are considered bow attacks made by you.


    Evolutions Gained:


    SPD 20


    Adrenaline Rush: Whenever you gain haste, you may immediately react to take any action.


    You gain a number of Haste charges equal to the number of SPD evolutions you possess (Current charges: 3). You can spend a Haste charge as a free action to gain Haste for 6 seconds. Each charge has a cooldown of 1 hour.


    An entity with haste gains an additional action every 6 seconds and has Celerity.


    SPD 40


    Phasing: You can focus for 3 seconds to vibrate your physical body so fast you become incorporeal. You can remain incorporeal in this way for a number of minutes each day equal to the number of SPD evolutions you possess (Currently 3 minutes). You recover all of this time after resting for 8 hours.


    CHA 10


    Edge of Attention: Whenever a non-allied entity is Distracted, you are invisible to them.


    If you are hit by an attack, this effect is interrupted for 6 seconds and reset.


    As long as you have at least 1 shielding, you cannot be forced to move and are immune to the Immobilized and Paralyzed statuses.


    Shielding: Whenever an entity with Shielding would take damage, they instead lose that much Shielding. If this reduces their Shielding to 0, any remaining damage is dealt to them normally.


    Shielding does not stack. Whenever an entity with Shielding would gain Shielding from another source, that Shielding is only applied if its value is higher. However, an entity can choose to retain or accept the lower Shielding value if they wish.


    WIS 40


    Mindfulness: You¡¯ve learned to manually optimize the pathways of your mana matrix through mindful meditation. You can meditate to regain an amount of mana equal to your WIS every minute you remain meditating. This meditation requires focus, and ends early if you take any significant action or have your concentration broken by an outside source. You can meditate in this way for up to 10 minutes total, which can be divided between multiple meditation sessions. This time limit is refreshed after resting for 8 hours.


    Additionally, you are immune to Psychosis.


    Unarmed 20


    Holy Fist: Whenever you hit a hostile entity with an Unarmed attack, you gain 1 stack of Blessed.


    Vitals:


    Health: 1898


    Stamina: 520


    Mana: 500


    Stats:


    Strength 22


    Agility 10


    Speed 22


    Fortitude 52


    Intelligence 40


    Wisdom 40


    Charisma 10


    Luck 10


    Passive Skill Gained:


    Auradilato: Your party members and Minions are always considered to be in range of your beneficial auras unless you choose otherwise, so long as they are on the same plane. Your auras and aura bonuses treat you as an ally to yourself, but this effect will not cause an aura to affect you more than once. You gain +5 to all attacks and defenses for each aura you have active.


    Additionally, you exude an aura out to a number of feet of you equal to 20 + your INT. Allies within this aura gain +5 to all attacks and defenses.


    Active Skill Gained:


    Reverse Card (Aura)


    Mystical


    Cost: 100 mana reserved, Variable


    You exude an aura out to a number of feet of you equal to your Mystical Magic level plus your INT. Allies within this aura gain Spell DR equal to your Mystical Magic level.


    Whenever a hostile spell you can perceive targets an ally or space within range of this aura, you may react to seize that spell and change its targets to any valid targets of your choice. To do so, you must expend mana equal to the total amount of mana spent on the target spell by its original caster.


    If the spell creates an AoE or targets a point in space, you may decide where the AoE is placed or which point in space the spell targets. The redirected spell maintains the statistics it had when cast, such as its attack, damage bonus, mana shapes, and other effects. The range of the redirected spell is equal to the maximum range as originally cast, centered on the original caster.


    Evolutions Gained:


    SPD 20


    Bolt: Your sprinting speed is doubled, which also applies to flight. Whenever you move, you immediately begin moving at your full sprinting speed unless you choose otherwise.


    INT 40


    Arcane Geometry: You have learned how to manipulate skills to create effects that go beyond the bounds of their descriptions, but your mastery over this ability has been amateur at best. Now, your burgeoning intellect has caused an epiphany of profound insight, granting you familiarity with the following mana shapes and expanding their use beyond any single skill.


    Immediately after acquiring this evolution, choose 1 mana shape from the list below. Whenever you use that mana shape on any skill, it does not apply the listed cost increase. This effect may only occur once every 6 seconds.


    You can change the chosen mana shape with 1 hour of meditation once per day.


    Biggus


    If you use the biggus shape on a skill that causes an effect outside of your body, that skill becomes a spherical AoE with a radius of 5 feet. If the skill is already an AoE, its radius is increased by 5 feet if it is a sphere or circle, 10 feet if it is a cone, or 20 feet if it is a line. This does not increase the skill¡¯s damage or other effects against any individual entity, even if those effects would normally increase based on size. (Looking at you, Oblivion Orb.)


    This shape adds +20 to the original skill cost.


    Bubble


    If you use the bubble shape on a skill that targets or affects only you, it instead targets and affects all entities of your choice within 5 feet of you.


    This shape multiplies the original skill cost by the total number of targets.


    Devil Drill Beam!


    If you use the Devil Drill Beam shape on a skill that requires touch, it instead becomes a 30-foot line that continues through all obstructions and entities along the line.


    This shape triples the original skill cost.


    Discretion


    If you use the discretion shape on a skill that creates an AoE, you can cause that AoE to affect only enemies or only allies.


    This shape adds +50% to the original skill cost.


    Funnel


    If you use the funnel shape on a skill that targets only one entity, the damage and healing the skill would cause is doubled. A skill shaped with Funnel can only target 1 entity regardless of any other shape, ability, or effect that would allow otherwise.


    This shape doubles the original skill cost.


    Jet


    If you use the jet shape on a skill that requires touch, it can instead affect any target within 20 feet of you.


    This shape doubles the original skill cost.


    From Downtown


    If you use the From Downtown shape on a ranged skill, its range is doubled.


    This shape adds +50% to the original skill cost, with a maximum increase of +20 of the applicable resource.


    Vertex


    If you use the vertex shape on a skill that targets only one entity, you can target a second entity within range.


    This shape doubles the original skill cost.


    Wedge


    If you use the wedge shape on a skill that makes a spherical AoE, it instead makes a cone with a length equal to twice the sphere¡¯s diameter.


    This shape adds +50% to the original skill cost.


    If you acquire any additional mana shapes, they will be added to the list above. If you can augment a mana shape beyond the effects listed, further augments still carry a cost.


    The resource cost of mana shapes is typically mana or stamina. If a skill requires a different resource, the costs of any applied mana shapes may be adjusted. If a skill does not have a resource cost, a cost for the mana shape will be added.


    Mystical Magic 20


    Countermage: Whenever you successfully negate a magical effect, half the mana you spent to negate it is refunded and you gain 1 stack of Potency. You can have a maximum number of Potency stacks equal to twice the number of evolutions you have in Mystical Magic.


    Whenever you would use a mana shape to alter a skill, you can spend 1 stack of Potency instead of increasing the skill¡¯s cost, up to a maximum resource savings of 100% of the cost of the base skill. Further mana shapes increase the cost as normal unless you spend additional Potency stacks for those shapes.

 Chapter 167: Breakfast Invitations

    Chapter 167: Breakfast Invitations


    When we¡¯d approached the portal we were knives out and ready for a fight. We had several strategies mapped out depending on what we found on the other side, ranging from a full dump of our most aggressive skills to a heroic version of run the fuck away.


    We appeared in a room of rough-hewn stone and mortar, the ceiling supported by pillars ascending into archways. About 20 feet in front of us was a 5-person team of level 15 Littan Delvers, full gold. Behind them was a reinforced dark-iron door and both it and the walls screamed with magic at my Mystical senses. I only had a split second to take in the weaves and make an educated guess as to what they did, but reinforcement was a safe bet, possibly some magic suppression as well. Dark iron absorbed mana, so the chamber being designed for containment wasn¡¯t a stretch.


    Portaling into a trap designed for our capture was number 2 on our list of potential outcomes, and I¡¯d already begun mana shaping the Pocket Closet entrance, even as I appraised the team of Littans inside the chamber with us. If that failed, we had the Get Out of Cage Free card that could theoretically zip us away. Unless one of these folks was secretly a sticky-fingered avatar, I assumed the item would be more effective than it had been the last time I¡¯d tried to use it.


    The portal brought us in one at a time, but we¡¯d coordinated to touch its surface rapidly and in a specific order. From the time I showed up as the team¡¯s point man to when Etja came through last, it was less than a second. That was more than enough time for a level 15 Delver to respond, but the crew across from us made no move to attack.


    In fact, the Littans looked very ill-prepared for a fight.


    We were heavily armed and armored, with buffs up, auras blasting, potions running through our veins, and a psychic link already established through Grotto. The Littans, on the other hand, looked like they were about to attend a formal dinner. They wore what appeared to be full dress uniforms, perfectly pressed, immaculately fitted, with a few well-polished medals and boots so clean they looked more likely to run an NA meeting than a mile.


    I had to imagine that we looked like absolute shit in comparison. We¡¯d literally been using a magic cleaning marble in place of baths for months, and the only pieces of our gear that had gotten any real maintenance were the things that could miraculously repair themselves.


    I waited a beat as I mulled over whether to send the mental command to make a full retreat. By the time everyone had appeared and the Littan in front had cleared her throat, the entrance to the Closet was already opening.


    The woman¡¯s dark eyes flicked to the portal and her whiskers twitched, but she stilled her reaction once she realized it wasn¡¯t an attack.


    ¡°Fortune¡¯s Folly,¡± she said, giving us a formal bow. ¡°I am Captain Pio of Connas. It is my pleasure to welcome you back from what has been, so far as we can tell, the longest Delve ever recorded.¡±


    As she spoke, I focused my Sight on the Littan group, trying to see if they had any equipment hidden by illusions or invisibility. I was done by the time she finished, but I hadn¡¯t found anything nefarious.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. ¡°As I¡¯m sure you can understand, we¡¯re eager to return home.¡±


    Captain Pio glanced at the portal again and gave me a shallow nod.


    ¡°I can only imagine,¡± she said. ¡°My longest Delve was only 3 days, and I could not wait to sleep in my own bed again afterward.¡± She held out a hand and one of the Littans behind her handed her two envelopes. She held up the first envelope as if to show it was as ordinary as it appeared. ¡°Duchess Ruiz and General Connatis would like to extend an invitation to your party. Much has changed since you left, and it is thought that a meeting would be best to clear up any past misunderstandings.¡±


    She held the envelope out toward me, but I kept my eyes fixed on her group. Seeing that I wasn¡¯t going to approach, she released the envelope and it floated over to me. It stopped 2 feet away, and I kept my shield up in case it might explode or something worse. A few seconds went by, and it got a little awkward as everyone stood and stared at one another. This dragged on longer than it probably should have, since by the time I¡¯d decided to accept the letter, I¡¯d also realized I had no free hands with which to do so. Etja took the initiative, stepping forward and snagging it from the air. She was still possessed of an unoccupied limb despite holding both her staff and wand.


    The woman then held up the second envelope, this time looking around and searching the room.


    ¡°Inquisitor Vyxmeldo¡¯a,¡± she said confidently, despite the loson being nowhere in sight. If this were a trap, they really should have installed better lighting. ¡°There has been an armistice between Litta and Eschendur for some time. The conflict between us began due to aggression against Littan citizens in the Eschen Gap, but the existence of the Operator has given the duchess reason to reevaluate. If these crimes against the empire were committed by an unaligned third party, then your exposure of that entity during your efforts to reach this portal has done a great service to both of our nations.¡±


    ¡°And yet you are still here,¡± said Nuralie, stepping from nowhere beside me. Her bow was drawn and not quite aiming at the woman. ¡°Unless you discovered how to move a Delve portal, we are still in Eschendur.¡±


    ¡°This forward operating base has been one condition of the armistice,¡± said the Littan. ¡°It has served as a launching point for the ongoing investigation into the entity.¡± The woman raised the envelope again. ¡°The duchess has penned this request for further discussion toward a final resolution of the conflict with the Zenithars. Her Grace would be honored for you to deliver the letter on her behalf, and would view it as both a favor and an act of goodwill.¡±


    There was a lot of subtext to the captain¡¯s words, which were classic diplomatic speech. She was painting a picture of past and present events in the most flattering light, not just for the Littans, but for us as well.


    First, our party was being invited to sit down with the two leaders of the Littan invasion to clear up ¡®misunderstandings¡¯. I assumed these ¡®misunderstandings¡¯ included our participation in the wholesale slaughter of a single-digit percentage of the entire Littan Delver population. It might also include a disavowment of any ¡®overzealous officers¡¯ involved in the decision to put a ballista bolt through my skull. It could just as easily be an invitation to dig ourselves a hole through self-incrimination. If we decided to accept such a meeting it would need to be handled carefully.


    The personal request to Nuralie was more complex. If the two countries currently had an armistice, then they certainly had some lines of communication open. I doubted the Littans needed Nuralie to personally deliver a letter, so this was probably part of some political gamesmanship.


    The officer had reduced the war between their nations to a misallocation of culpability. They¡¯d thought the Eschens had attacked their forces in the Gap when the Operator was the one who¡¯d actually executed those men and women. It sounded like the duchess thought the whole thing was one big oopsie that they were willing to walk back. Of course, ¡®further discussions¡¯ were far from any sort of commitment, and in reality, the deaths in the Gap were a pretense for the Littans to get their hands on Eschendur¡¯s Madrin deposits and alchemical resources. I doubted the resolution would be so simple.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Xim walked back into the den carrying two wine glasses and two bottles of red, shoulder slumped.


    ¡°I agree, Etja,¡± she said, filling a glass and handing it to Nuralie. ¡°I need about 6 months to decompress before diving into international politics.¡± Nuralie pulled out a vial of her shitfaced potion, tapped two drops into it, then handed the glass back to Xim.


    ¡°Is that what she said?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Mmmfhrmmph,¡± said Etja.


    Xim handed Nuralie another full glass. Nuralie tapped two more drops, then handed that one back to Xim as well. The cleric took a deep pull from the first, then squeezed into the large armchair next to Nuralie. Nuralie raised an eyeridge but scooted to accommodate her.


    ¡°Be prepared,¡± said Varrin, tugging off a pauldron. ¡°Today, one of our enemies made overtures of peace. Tomorrow, distant allies will call us their boon companions. The day after, the world will be at our door. Every stranger will become a friend, and every friend will be owed a favor.¡±


    ¡°And they will stab us in the back if the blood will warm their hands,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Geez, a couple of cynics over here,¡± I said. ¡°I expect at least one powerful figure to declare war on us out in the open.¡±


    Xim drained the rest of her wine.


    ¡°Glass can¡¯t be half full if it¡¯s empty,¡± she said. I wasn¡¯t sure what she meant by that, but she was already sipping on her second.


    Etja unburied her face and looked up at me with misty eyes.


    ¡°Shower,¡± she said. ¡°Where is it? It¡¯s been a year.¡±


    ¡°More like 4 months subjectively,¡± said Nuralie.


    I felt a sudden swell of excitement.


    ¡°What if I have something better than a shower?¡± I said. Etja propped herself up onto her elbows.


    ¡°Like a bath?¡± she asked, hope writ clear on her features.


    ¡°Better than even a bath.¡±


    Etja floated off of the couch, hovering toward me.


    ¡°You have a hot tub?¡± She looked like she might cry.


    ¡°No. I mean, yes I have a hot tub, but I also have something better than a hot tub.¡±


    Etja floated upright and landed, then grabbed me by the shoulders.


    ¡°Just. Tell me,¡± she said, voice barely above a whisper.


    I took her shoulders as well, looked her in the eye, and revealed the passion project I¡¯d finished more than a year before, but had never been able to use.


    ¡°It¡¯s called a Japanese hot spring.¡±

 Chapter 168: Pool Party Farewell

    Chapter 168: Pool Party Farewell


    My knowledge of Japanese hot springs was assuredly lacking, as my understanding primarily came from anime and a couple of late-night internet rabbit holes. I¡¯d done my best to make it as authentic as possible, although it was impossible for the ¡®spring¡¯ to be naturally sourced since it had been artificially constructed in a pocket dimension.


    There were two entrances to the spring through rooms constructed of light-colored wood similar to Umbrella Pine, one each for men and women. Each room had a series of cubbies for storing personal items, not that any of us needed them with our inventories. There were also a few roomy shower stalls, complete with small stools, buckets, washcloths, and soap.


    The typical custom was to wash first, then hot spring after to keep the water and facilities clean. Again, this step was somewhat superfluous since Grotto had installed a series of cleaning weaves throughout to keep the place maintained in our absence. We still took the opportunity to rinse down and enjoy the feeling of hot running water over our bodies for the first time in months.


    Ideally, the spring itself would have held majestic views of expansive landscapes and mountainous beauty, but I didn¡¯t have that much space to work with yet. We opted instead for the aesthetic of a grotto¨Ca flooded cave, not the Delve Core¨Cwith natural stone features crafted to allow the hot and humid air to create airflow through the space as it rose.


    The main bath was a hundred feet long and eighty feet wide, slightly oval, and rimmed with bright stone with light red veins running through it. The bottom of the pool was smooth and polished, with a criss-cross pattern of slight grit to help prevent slipping. The water let off a light vapor, and the chamber was filled with a noticeable amount of steam, though not enough to be oppressive.


    The spring itself bubbled up from a reservoir I¡¯d harvested from a mountain stream in Hiward, heated and moved through a series of weaves created by Grotto¨Cthe Delve Core, not the flooded cave¨Cand it fell into the pool from two locations. One was a gentle series of stone waterfalls that made its way into the water with light, pleasant gurgles. The second was a more aggressive waterfall that cascaded from a shelf thirty feet above. That one was at the far end of the pool, and a sound-dampening weave kept it from creating too much noise in the enclosed space.


    The area also doubled as one of the Closet¡¯s greenhouses. Lush plant life grew around the pool, in adjoining caves, and up on stone platforms. The adjoining nooks and caves had benches and tables amidst small trees and other vegetation. Each room had specialty glowstones that emitted light that could take the place of the sun, allowing the plants to flourish in its absence.


    Okay, maybe it wasn¡¯t that authentic.


    ¡°When did you have time to build all this?¡± asked Xim, stepping out from the ladies'' entrance with a towel wrapped around her.


    ¡°Grotto and I built it when you went to do that cloistering,¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s when you visited the academies,¡± she said. ¡°You did both?¡±


    ¡°I did a lot of things. I like to stay busy.¡±


    [A significant amount of the work fell to me,] Grotto thought to us. [He primarily directed the construction.]


    ¡°I also funded it, designed it, delivered all the materials, and did most of the manual labor.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± said Etja. She had her towel tied in a toga-style to make room for all of her arms. ¡°What did Grotto do then?¡±


    [I modified the dimensional space, constructed the weaves, drafted the architecture, and handled most of the botanical elements.]


    ¡°It was a team effort,¡± I said.


    ¡°Why did Grotto decide to do all this for you?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°When I agreed to let him build the Pocket Delve, there were some concessions.¡±


    [He charged me for the materials I needed, which I paid back with labor.]


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of mercenary,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°That¡¯s not¨C¡± I narrowed my eyes at the little octo. ¡°We agreed to partner and assist one another with both sides of the Closet. I¡¯m not keeping a ledger or anything.¡±


    [I am.]


    ¡°Really? Not surprising, I guess. Where do we stand?¡±


    [Depending on how you value my work, I currently have a 1,000-hour deficit.]


    ¡°Oh?¡± I said. ¡°How have you been valuing your work?¡±


    [One golden note per hour.]


    Nuralie made a choking noise, which was the only reason I noticed she¡¯d made her way into the main room.


    ¡°That is a very high rate,¡± said the loson.


    ¡°So by your accounting, Grotto, you owe me 20 ruby chips worth of labor?¡±


    [Indeed.]


    ¡°Good to know, not that I¡¯m going to hold you to it.¡± I walked forward, appreciating the feel of bare feet against the warm stone. ¡°Come on, let me show you all a few things.¡±


    We made our way to a series of 3 large, circular tubs made from the same light wood as the entry buildings. I pointed to one with red glyphs carved into it and turned to Varrin.


    ¡°Since Hiwardians have a natural resistance to hot and cold, this first tub has a weave that keeps the water just shy of boiling.¡± I pointed to the third tub. This one had blue glyphs. ¡°This one keeps the water just above freezing.¡±


    Varrin stroked his chin and nodded.


    ¡°And the one in the middle?¡± he asked.


    ¡°A little warmer than room temp, in case you want to balance out before swapping between them.¡±


    ¡°That is very thoughtful,¡± he said.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s say that I not only share some of Bill¡¯s pain but also some of Bill¡¯s happiness. When Bill laughs, I laugh, so I want to make Bill laugh. Bill enjoys laughing, so he enjoys having me around, and because he also shares this emotional bleeding he also wants to make me laugh. It¡¯s a positive feedback loop, leading to both Bill and I valuing one another not only because we keep each other alive, but also because we are each a source of positive emotions for the other.¡±


    ¡°All that laughing will draw the attention of the predators you are seeking to avoid,¡± said Shog.


    ¡°Assume it¡¯s silent laughter. Anyway, when Bill breaks his leg, I not only feel the phantom fear and pain of being in that same situation but also the fear that all of our laughter and hijinks will disappear. I¡¯ll experience a strong sense of loss if Bill dies since this source of positive feelings will go away. These combine to create a strong incentive for me to save Bill. I share his pain and want to help fix it, and I fear the loss of his companionship, in addition to the loss of security if I were to end up alone.


    ¡°When the wolves come, the risk-reward math has changed. Bill has a lot more value for me. So, I¡¯m much more likely to fight for Bill. Bill isn¡¯t suffering from exposure and dehydration since I¡¯ve cared for him, so he can try to contribute as we fight the wolves together. This vastly increases Bill¡¯s chance of survival, but it is also the most immediate risk to me. However, if Bill survives and recovers, we¡¯re still together with the highest chance of continued survival.¡±


    ¡°You believe that this last situation produces the most advantageous outcome?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just talking out of my ass,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s illustrating different levels of social interreliance, hopefully in terms you might understand. I don¡¯t necessarily buy into the idea that empathy acts solely as a survival mechanism, but it¡¯s an interesting way to think about it.¡±


    By this point, the others were all in the main pool, talking and splashing and swimming. Nuralie was darting around under the surface faster than I could shine a laser pointer, leaving barely a ripple in her wake. A casual swipe from Xim sent about 40 gallons of water spraying over Etja, who responded by creating a small tidal wave with Siphon. I probably needed a bigger pool.


    At this moment one might wonder¨Centirely for the sake of having an accurate imagining of the scene before me¨Cwhat the dress code at my hot spring was. In short, I was open to any and all cultural practices. As it was, the cultures present didn¡¯t care much for swimming attire.


    Hiward had a custom of communal bathing from their time under the thumbs of the Littans, where hygiene was carried out in group facilities. Public bathhouses were the norm, and there was seldom any gender segregation. Clothing and swimsuits were disallowed in such places since loose articles and fibers clogged drains and made cleaning more difficult.


    Geulons like Nuralie usually bathed outdoors, which meant that privacy and modesty were not particularly large concerns. The Xor¡¯Drels required nudity for half of their rituals, so everyone in the tribe had seen everything everyone else had going on. Thus, there were few taboos or insecurities around letting it all hangout.


    Etja just went with the flow, and I wasn¡¯t about to make it weird by being the odd man out. I still had on my towel for the moment, though.


    Shog and Grotto were always naked.


    ¡°I would like to return home for a while,¡± said Shog as he watched the group. ¡°I have much to contemplate, and I must ensure that my brood endures.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°You know I don¡¯t view you as a summon, right?¡±


    ¡°In what way?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not something for me to call and dismiss as I please. I think of you as a party member, so if you need to step out, you¡¯re always welcome to.¡±


    ¡°Words such as these loosen my bonds. Are you comfortable giving me so much freedom?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve never given me a reason not to trust you, Shog. I¡¯m willing to risk it.¡± Shog made a contemplative growl in response. ¡°How long do you need?¡±


    ¡°I will require at least a year.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Damn. That¡¯s... longer than I was expecting.¡±


    ¡°Does that change your mind?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°Just thinking through what that means for us.¡±


    ¡°If the need is great, then you may call upon me at any time.¡±


    ¡°Good to know. I¡¯ll only summon you back if it¡¯s a real emergency.¡±


    ¡°Then I will take my leave, Slayer.¡± A portal opened next to Shog, and he gave me a final look. ¡°Be wary to whom you give gifts, for you may shape worlds you¡¯ll never see.¡± He stepped through the portal and back to his home dimension, then the tear in reality closed with a pop.


    I grunted, seeing that my summoning skill had ended without my input.


    ¡°Guess that¡¯s what ¡®loosening¡¯ his bonds means,¡± I muttered. ¡°Bro really had to leave right after dropping some cryptic bullshit.¡±


    ¡°Are you just going to stand out there?¡± asked Xim. I looked down to see she¡¯d swum over to the edge nearby, resting her arms on the pool¡¯s lip.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°Just having a heart-to-heart with Shog.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Where¡¯d he run off to?¡±


    ¡°Back home,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯ll be back in a year.¡±


    ¡°A year?¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s that sick of us?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± I said. ¡°But I get the feeling the next time we see him, a lot will have changed. For him and us.¡±


    Xim squinted at me.


    ¡°He could have at least said bye,¡± she said. ¡°Eh, oh well. Come on and get in. We¡¯ve only got so much time to relax.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye,¡± I said, tossing my towel to the side and doing a cannonball, completely disrespecting the tranquility of the bath.


    Yeah, really not a traditional experience.

 Chapter 169: Strategy Meeting, but Naked

    Chapter 169: Strategy Meeting, but Naked


    We splished, we splashed, and soon enough the world''s obligations swam back around. We had critical information to pass on about Brae¡¯ach and the avatars, an upcoming meeting with one of the world¡¯s superpowers, and urgent appointments to make with our barbers and cosmetologists.


    However, first and foremost were a pair of family reunions. Delvers were generally presumed dead if they did not return from a Delve after a week or two, and it wouldn¡¯t surprise any of us if we¡¯d been declared legally deceased. The System announcement listing our names would have been akin to a resurrection for the Xor¡¯Drels and the Ravvenblaqs, who were certainly eager to have their wayward children return to them.


    In preparation of being separated for a few days, we needed to get our plans straightened out. Thus, I produced an ornate sheet of vellum, its borders intricately decorated with tiny flying octopuses, the material mana-woven to be waterproof, fireproof, tear-proof, UV resistant, and impact absorbent¨Cthe thing could probably take a 50 caliber bullet without a mark¨Cand dyed a slight shade of rose?, with looping calligraphy in ocean blue ink that could be cleared away without a trace or moved around the page with a touch of mana.


    It was The List.


    Also, we were all still in the hot spring. What better place for a team meeting? Etja was even giving us a light serenade while she plucked at a stringed instrument with shimmering overtones (heretofore referred to as a ¡°lute¡±, because it was close enough).


    ¡°At the top of The List, we have ¡®Brae¡¯ach Shit¡¯,¡± I declared in my most haughty voice, rolling my Rs for effect.


    ¡°I will give what we know to my family,¡± said Varrin, his mighty arms spread wide around the edge of his near-boiling hot tub. ¡°They will disseminate the information to Central and the other houses.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell Mom and Dad,¡± said Xim. ¡°They might want to get involved. If life on the First Layer is eradicated, it will impact the Third, no matter how separated we are.¡±


    Nuralie popped up from under the water.


    ¡°I will inform the Zenithars,¡± she said, then sank back down until her head was halfway submerged, bubbles floating up from her nose and mouth.


    ¡°And we can inform the Littans at our meeting,¡± I added. ¡°The Hiwardians will hopefully spread the news to Timagrin, Mittak, and Ayama.¡±


    ¡°I will make sure it happens,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Our account will be subject to scrutiny, but I believe our accomplishments will bolster the believability of our claims.¡±


    I nodded, satisfied with the plan.


    ¡°The second item on The List is ¡®Meetings and shit with the Littans¡¯,¡± I proclaimed, focusing on my diction when hitting the Ts in Littans.


    ¡°I will have a dossier created,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Names, titles, personal biographies, temperaments, protocol, decorum. I suggest we all return ahead of the meeting to study it together.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± said Xim. ¡°What if I just agree not to speak?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the scion of a major Third Layer tribe,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I know you have diplomatic training.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°Etja should do the talking,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Me?¡± Etja asked, pausing her performance. ¡°Why me?¡±


    ¡°Perfect recall,¡± I answered. ¡°And you have the highest Charisma.¡±


    ¡°You are also not affiliated with any nation,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Your words are more likely to be taken at face value.¡±


    ¡°Um, okay,¡± she said. She tapped her chin with one finger and continued plucking her lute with two of her other hands.


    ¡°The next item on The List is ¡®Training and shit¡¯,¡± I announced, really putting some stank on Shit.


    ¡°If you keep going like that, this¡¯ll take all day,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Just trying to make it fun.¡±


    ¡°We should look for Dungeons,¡± said Nuralie, appearing above the water again.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Intrinsics are our bottleneck to advancement, not levels. If Dungeons grant bonuses to leveling intrinsics, they should be a priority.¡±


    ¡°If the world isn¡¯t falling apart, I¡¯m happy to hunt for them however much we want,¡± I said.


    ¡°The world can wait,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We are level 12s. No matter how strong we are for our level, we are still weak compared to the higher echelons of power.¡±


    ¡°We probably couldn¡¯t beat up a full level 26 gold,¡± said Xim. ¡°And there are plenty of those.¡±


    ¡°I bet we could as a team!¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Someone would die,¡± said Varrin. ¡°But... possibly.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so we go into secluded Dungeon hunting,¡± I said. ¡°After which we will reemerge as hidden masters, capable of smiting all who show us disrespect.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± said Xim. ¡°Next!¡±


    ¡°Next on The List is ¡®Backdoor soul stuff¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Kinky,¡± Xim quipped.


    ¡°Please explain,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Right. When my Traveler¡¯s Amulet got upgraded, it gave Grotto access to all of my intrinsic skills.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you mentioned that before,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°I want an avatar gift,¡± Xim said with a longful sigh.


    ¡°My connection with Grotto is at the level of the soul,¡± I continued. ¡°For Fortune to modify that connection, he has to have some access to my soul, or at least the bridge between mine and Grotto¡¯s. My concern is that he might be implanting spiritual traps or subtly guiding me in a certain direction.¡±


    ¡°He is certainly guiding you,¡± said Varrin. ¡°If you do not want him to, you should dispose of the amulet and the ring.¡±


    ¡°But I likes them,¡± I said. ¡°They¡¯re my precious.¡± I held my ruby-ringed hand to my chest and clutched the amulet. The only garments I had on were my jewelry.


    ¡°We¡¯ll watch for weird behavior,¡± said Xim. ¡°It¡¯s what we¡¯ve been doing so far. What else can we do?¡±


    ¡°Go on a quest of self-discovery?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Okay, yeah, I support that,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°You can find yourself while we hunt Dungeons,¡± Nuralie gurgled.


    ¡°Multi-tasking self-actualization,¡± I said. ¡°Sounds like something I¡¯d do.¡±


    [I have a series of subprocesses monitoring our connection for irregularities,] Grotto thought to us. He was currently sharing the pond with the frogs. I had no idea if he enjoyed it, or if he was just trying to participate in the aquatics.


    [Indeed. My System Call intrinsic subsequently advanced 3 levels.]


    ¡°Maybe an army of c¡¯thons can help us with the avatars!¡± said Etja.


    [Please do not state such apocalyptic ideas aloud.]


    ¡°Please?¡± said Xim. ¡°Two in one year?¡±


    ¡°Just let it happen,¡± I said. ¡°Calling attention to it may discourage him.¡±


    ¡°We can ask Shog about this when he returns,¡± said Varrin, climbing out of the extremely-hot tub and moving to the deathly-cold tub. I studiously avoided staring, but Nuralie did not, which I again found interesting.


    I placed a circle next to the Shog question, noting that the page was getting messy. I needed a more aesthetic way to take notes.


    ¡°Next there¡¯s a bunch of stuff about the Closet that Grotto and I can handle on our own,¡± I said. ¡°Patio for grilling and chilling, more greenhouse plants¨Cwe could start growing alchemy ingredients¨Cdisappearing exits, shifting hallways, one-way mirrors and walls... Shit, I forgot to reset my inventory home point. ¡®Priority. Don¡¯t blow up Formation.¡¯ I even wrote it in all caps.¡±


    ¡°Would the entire Closet really appear at your home point if you died?¡± asked Xim. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s huge. Where would you even find a space that big?¡±


    ¡°I could buy a few acres in the mountains,¡± I muttered, adding a big star beside it. There was a note about ideas for a corpse explosion trap, but I drew a line through it. ¡°Next is ¡®Accrue power! Dominate our enemies! Attain immortality so that we might live forever!¡¯¡±


    [That one is far too low on The List.]


    ¡°Huh,¡± said Xim. ¡°You haven¡¯t been nearly as power-hungry lately, Grotto.¡±


    [Do you require further encouragement? You have reached level 12 in 2 years and conquered 2 special Delves, each of which held the highest difficulty rating. I am merely biding my time as you continue to amass achievements that would take other Delvers a decade if they did not perish first.]


    ¡°But you¡¯re still advocating for world domination?¡± I asked. ¡°How does that serve your function of helping Delvers ascend?¡±


    [Do you listen to your own questions, or do you merely spout whatever comes to mind without first seeking the answer yourself?]


    ¡°I usually consider the answer along with everyone else,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°If the ¡®obvious¡¯ response is that seeking the strength to rule the world naturally results in the strength to ascend, then I still feel like you¡¯re putting too much focus on it. There are other ways to get there.¡±


    [I have more experience in these matters. I also wish to enjoy the feeling of commanding global armies.] Grotto¡¯s feelers rose into the air. I prepared for a full flailing.[We will warp this feeble planet to our will! We shall create a dynasty that will be unending, dominating this universe until only the heavens remain to conquer! Then, we will march on the gods themselves!]


    ¡°Good to know,¡± I said. ¡°Next item is ¡®Items¡¯.¡± I rolled up The List and pulled out The Other List. It was equally as cool and awesome. ¡°We need to return the Longsword of the Bluewren and the Brooch of House Spyreling. Oh, Etja now has enough Luck for the Fortunate Ring we looted from Yaretzi.¡± I pulled out the ring and tossed it to the mage, who caught it even as she continued to pluck and strum.


    Fortunate Ring


    Requirements: LCK 20


    Once per day, one of the following effects may occur, although you may not choose when or if one triggers.


    1) An attack you make that would otherwise miss miraculously hits.


    2) An attack made against you that would otherwise hit miraculously misses.


    ¡°Neat!¡± she said, sliding it on.


    ¡°Any headway on the Abandoned Grimoire, Nuralie?¡±


    ¡°It burns knowledge into my mind,¡± she answered. Pause. ¡°I am on the precipice of enlightenment.¡±


    ¡°Yes, very good.¡± I marked it with a ¡®K¡¯ for ¡®Keep an eye on Nuralie¡¯. ¡°I¡¯m holding on to the Spiked Mace of the Bloody Jubilee if no one opposes. The Bardiche of Blood Scour went to Shog. The rest of this is stuff to trade or sell, I think.¡± I read out the rest of the items, which can be found in Appendix A.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the Staff of Quiet Solitude,¡± said Xim. ¡°And the Scutum of Blood Scour.¡±


    ¡°The staff buffs curses,¡± I said. ¡°Your new passive is the only thing it applies to.¡±


    ¡°Curses are fun. I might build into them more.¡±


    ¡°The shield is a foot and a half taller than you.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± She raised her hands above her head and did a stretch, her lean muscles rippling. I did not studiously avoid staring, and neither did anyone else. ¡°The Clockwork Gear shield mainly grants Shielding, which I don¡¯t need anymore since I¡¯m constantly generating it with my new Fortitude evo. Plus, it applies Slowed when I use it, which is annoying.¡±


    ¡°Uh, okay.¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°Anyone opposed?¡± Predictably, no one had a problem with it.


    ¡°I will take the rest of the items with me to Hiward,¡± said Varrin. Despite being in the ice tub, his cheeks were flushed. ¡°I can have an expert auction or trade them. My family keeps several on retainer. Just give me a list of what gear everyone is looking for before I leave.¡±


    ¡°Nice,¡± I said. ¡°We also have a bunch of random essences.¡± I scanned the list. ¡°Are we doing anything with these Greater Mimicry Essences?¡±


    Nuralie shot up so fast, water plumed 20 feet into the air.


    The loson pulled out a mana-woven leather satchel and opened it to reveal a bundle of warded oilcloth. She unwrapped it to reveal the Abandoned Grimoire and began flipping through its pages. I frowned as a drop of the dark viscous goo that covered it dripped into the pool. Hopefully, the spring wasn¡¯t about to become cursed.


    ¡°The Corvite Slab.¡± Pause. ¡°I think I can clone it.¡±


    Varrin sat forward and pulled out the item he¡¯d earned from The Icon of the Psychopomp.


    Corvite Slab


    Items made from this material can only be wielded by members of the Ravvenblaq family.


    All weaves imbued into this item are 100% stronger if crafted by a member of the Ravvenblaq family.


    ¡°Truly?¡± he asked.


    Nuralie flipped a page back and forth, tail swishing through the water.


    ¡°It will use all of the essences.¡± She paused and started to look sick. I was worried the hot spring¡¯s cleaning weaves were about to get tested. ¡°It will also take a diamond chip.¡± She listed the expense as though it were a child sacrifice.


    ¡°Should we... buy more essences?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There are no more Greater Mimicry essences,¡± said Varrin. ¡°As far as I am aware, The Mimic dropped the only 5 to exist. If anyone else has them, they are not for sale.¡±


    ¡°Sounds worth it to me,¡± I said. ¡°You can get a fucking awesome piece of gear now, and another fucking awesome piece of gear at a higher level.¡±


    ¡°Grandfather will leap at the opportunity to work the material,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Papa Junior¡¯s gonna make you that good shit.¡±

 Chapter 170: Reality Anchor

    Chapter 170: Reality Anchor


    By the time we reluctantly left the hot spring, it was still early enough that a vampire would have only just begun to think about climbing into their coffin for the day. Given that Hiward was far to the west of us, it was even earlier in the kingdom. We didn¡¯t feel enough time pressure to interrupt anyone¡¯s rest to make our reappearance, which gave us a few hours to kill.


    Xim spent the time in the sensory deprivation chamber communing with Sam¡¯lia. She would head to the Third Layer in only a few hours, but she wanted to play with her new toy, provide Grotto with theological guidance, and get a headstart on asking Sam¡¯lia about the Dread Star and the Wand of Boundless Night.


    Varrin, Nuralie, and I worked on cloning the Corvite Slab. The process was, at its heart, a form of alchemy involving essence work and transmutation. Prior to Grotto entering the god tub, he refined all of our Abbantite ore into the metal Abbandium with a wave of his feeler. This was an effect of his Industrial Transmutation passive, which he failed to explain before leaving to float in darkness and saltwater alongside our cleric.


    Abbandium could change its shape according to its user''s will, making it the most conceptually aligned material we possessed for use with the Greater Mimicry essences. It was also a substance that the grimoire had extensive notes on, which wasn¡¯t a surprise since the items both dropped from The Pit and had thematically similar names.


    Nuralie shaped the material into a slab the same size as Varrin¡¯s Corvite, formed around a small scraping of the original. She then took an alarming amount of the big guy¡¯s blood and placed his single diamond chip into a small cauldron alongside the other components.


    She held the Abandoned Grimoire open in one hand as she converted the Mimicry essences with the other, reciting a series of phrases in an archaic form of Losonbinora as the familiar Mimic goo dripped down onto the Abbandium. There was a small lightshow as the essence absorbed the diamond chip, a mysterious gust of chill wind rustled our hair and clothes, and a rising crescendo of dark, eldritch whispers filled our minds. It was some classic dark-magic scares. A bit on the nose, honestly. I was half expecting a demon-infested corpse to jump out at us.


    ¡°Groovy,¡± I said as my Sage Advice evolution activated, giving Nuralie a massive boost to her Alchemy skill... somehow. The loson channeled her entire mana pool into the transmutation.


    When she pulled out the cloned slab, it was identical, even sharing the same item description. There were no qualifiers showing that it was a copied item. Our dupe glitch had been entirely successful, and all it had cost was 5 irreplaceable essences, several pounds of a never-before-seen metal, and a chip valuable enough to buy a beach-side ultramodern resort villa within spitting distance of Castle Dukgrien.


    Afterward, I opened my Checkpoint to Eschengal and Nuralie set out to deliver the letter from the Littan duchess Isabel Ruiz, with Etja along for the ride. The portal startled several merchants who had set themselves up alongside the road into Eschendur¡¯s capital. I stepped out to buy a few dozen pastries from a shaken Deijinin and intentionally overpaid for the tasty treats by an order of magnitude.


    Once it was around breakfast time in Hiward, I opened the Checkpoint to the Xor¡¯Drel tribe, and the trunk of the massive Irgriana tree in the middle of the village came into view. Varrin and Xim both left through this portal since the layer transition from Xor¡¯Drel to the First Layer would place Varrin within a minute''s flight of the Ravvenblaq manor. A group of tribe members quickly crowded around, their bodies and clothing as diverse as a world summit taking place inside a fever dream.


    Xim¡¯s parents, Drel¡¯gethed and Xorna, appeared soon after and had a tearful reunion with their daughter. They¡¯d held out hope after our disappearance, receiving hints that we still lived during their prayers to Sam¡¯lia. I received a rib-breaking hug from Xorna that lasted until Drel was forced to peel the woman off of me.


    HP: 1898 -> 1799


    Both of Xim¡¯s parents had risen to level 20, and I suspected her mother had placed most of her new stats into Strength. The couple wanted to host a return feast, but unfortunately, I had to remain inside the Closet when the portal would close an hour later. The Closet¡¯s normal exit traveled with me and was currently set within the Littan fortress. If the Checkpoint closed while I was inside the Third Layer, it would reset the entrance to the Xor¡¯Drel tribe lands. I could still access Eschengal and we could travel from there, but we¡¯d already promised the Littans our return via the dungeon-like portal room. It wouldn¡¯t do to start breaking our word before we¡¯d even established friendly relations.


    Khigra also showed up, giving me a less painful hug than Xorna, and asked me a few questions about how Somncres had been performing. It reminded me of the warhammer¡¯s fourth effect, which I wanted to take advantage of immediately.


    Khigra may imbue this item with an additional effect once you reach your next Intelligence evolution.


    Since I¡¯d made it to INT 40 and snagged another evo, my hammer could get an upgrade. Khigra was more than pleased to make the modification and even give the hammer an overall upgrade since I could now handle much higher stat requirements. We spent most of our 20 minutes discussing potential improvements. The end result couldn¡¯t be fully controlled, so the conversation was centered around ideas more than specifics. The hammer would improve based on its concepts of Growth and Void, but the dream forger¡¯s work would help guide it to align with my intent.


    Khigra also told me that, despite her enthusiasm for undergoing further ¡®training¡¯ with me, she¡¯d recently entered into a committed polyamorous triad. She was very kind about it, although I hadn¡¯t said anything to prompt the topic. I hadn¡¯t been planning on renewing our fling, so it saved me the trouble of an awkward conversation and made it easier to set aside any temptation to find an easy outlet for my sexy-time needs.


    I was looking for something a bit more fulfilling, but I had just spent months sequestered in a Delve with a group of extremely attractive people who possessed a supernatural level of self-control. There was no explicit agreement for intraparty celibacy, but it hadn¡¯t really come up. Not yet, anyway. Then again, it¡¯s not like I knew what everyone else was doing at all times. Nor did I feel any need to know. They were all adults, and I wasn¡¯t their daddy.


    ...


    At any rate, my conversation with Khigra was cut short when a pillar of crimson fire descended from the sky. A motherly woman in a royal-blue dress appeared, her body adorned with a few pieces of bone jewelry and her flowing red hair glistening like fresh blood.


    All of the Xor¡¯Drel tribe members¨Caside from myself¨Cknelt at the appearance of the Goddess of the Seven Organs, Sam¡¯lia. She looked around at the gathering with a warm smile.


    ¡°I appreciate the gesture,¡± she said. ¡°But please rise, everyone.¡± The Xor¡¯Drels slowly got to their feet, many wearing reverent looks of awe. Sam¡¯lia approached Xim, whose eyes sparkled with joy as her patron goddess touched her shoulder. ¡°Xim Xor¡¯Drel. I am overjoyed that you¡¯ve returned, although I had full confidence that you would survive the trials you faced.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Dark Mother,¡± Xim said. ¡°Your power was a constant beacon, and my faith a lantern in the dark.¡±


    Sam¡¯lia tapped her cleric on the chin.


    ¡°You¡¯re always so formal,¡± she said, then placed her hands on her hips. ¡°You don¡¯t ever speak to anyone else that way.¡±


    ¡°I save it all up for you,¡± Xim said with a grin. ¡°It¡¯s exhausting.¡±


    ¡°I bet,¡± said the goddess. ¡°Here, I have a gift for you.¡±


    Sam¡¯lia reached out and placed her thumb against Xim¡¯s forehead. Her cleric¡¯s eyes began to glow, growing brighter until dark-red flames poured from her sockets. A 6-foot-wide halo of fire erupted behind Xim, the ring¡¯s center pulsing with white-hot power. Xim rose a foot off the ground, her dark and curly hair transitioning to garnet, then rising toward the sky like molten blood with a grudge against gravity.


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    A few seconds passed before the effect ended, and Xim released a long breath as her feet touched the ground.


    ¡°Gods above,¡± she whispered, eyes wide. She looked over at me. ¡°Finally got a movement ability.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Be considerate of what questions you ask,¡± she continued. ¡°There are truths that would wash you away, leaving nothing behind. Other than that, feel free to commune with it. Just... don¡¯t do it here. I¡¯d rather not draw the Dread Star¡¯s attention.¡± She patted me on the cheek. ¡°Also, if you use that Anchor to create a permanent portal, don¡¯t do it here, either. There are reasons the Third Layer is kept separate. Even having the portal to your personal realm open for an hour is more than I like. Try and treat it like a door that should always be shut behind you once you¡¯ve walked through.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that,¡± I said.


    Sam¡¯lia studied me for a moment, then jerked her head toward Xim behind her.


    ¡°She likes you, you know?¡± she said. I raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the cleric. She was speaking excitedly with her parents, but caught me looking and flashed me a grin.


    ¡°I would hope so,¡± I said. ¡°Since she spends so much time around me.¡±


    Sam¡¯lia swatted my chest. It felt like a playful god was tickling my soul


    ¡°You know what I mean,¡± she said, then reached out to grip my shoulders. She looked me up and down while she squeezed my deltoids. ¡°A big, virile boy like you shouldn¡¯t restrain yourself so much. It isn¡¯t healthy.¡±


    ¡°This is a little embarrassing,¡± I said, feeling like a 14-year-old being told how handsome they are by their mother. ¡°I think my Checkpoint portal is going to close soon.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± she said. ¡°Tell Etja not to worry about her abilities. She isn¡¯t going to turn into her dad.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, okay.¡±


    ¡°And let Nuralie know the Eschenden are pleased with her.¡±


    ¡°I¨C how do you know that? Do the gods talk?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes. Also, tell Varrin Nephithaya can help with his spiritualism even though he doesn¡¯t worship.¡±


    ¡°Nephithaya?¡±


    ¡°Bring Grotto next time, too. I¡¯d like to speak with him at length about a few things.¡± She kept going before I could respond. ¡°Shog¡¯s brood had some trouble while he was with you, so you really need to respect his time away. No summoning unless it¡¯s life or death.¡±


    I remembered an offhand comment from Shog about how c¡¯thons resided in the Third Layer of their home dimension.


    ¡°Will do,¡± I said. Sam¡¯lia gave me another pat on the cheek, then turned back to the crowd. The sounds of scattered conversations rose around me like Sam¡¯lia was turning the volume knob on reality back up to normal.


    ¡°Be well, children,¡± she said, her voice carrying across the crowd. Then, in a burst of flame, she was gone.


    Xim skipped over and then looked up at me with her hands folded behind her back.


    ¡°Learn anything?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah. She also gave me some messages to pass on to the others.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Let me guess. The Divine One was handing out matronly wisdom.¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡± I checked the timer on my Checkpoint. It only had a couple of minutes left. ¡°I should head back. When do you want me to reopen the portal?¡±


    ¡°Varrin said 5 days.¡± The big guy had transitioned back to the First immediately, escorted by a man named Cul¡¯gute. ¡°That gives us 2 days to prepare for the meeting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll put it on my calendar.¡±


    We said our goodbyes, and I headed back into the Closet.


    I was alone for the first time in months, and I took a deep breath, already planning out how best to relax for a few days.


    Of course, I was reminded that I was never really alone when Grotto¡¯s mental voice filled my head.


    [Would you like to assist me in monitoring the Delvers currently running the Pocket Delve?]

 Chapter 171: Gold Standard Delving

    Chapter 171: Gold Standard Delving


    I didn¡¯t think too hard about Grotto¡¯s request for me to join him in watching randos invading my dimensional space. I simply grumbled my acceptance and was teleported to a part of the Closet I¡¯d never seen.


    It was a tight space, about the size of a small bedroom, with a miniature Delve obelisk atop a pedestal at its center. There were no doors or other entrances, and the only light in the room came from glowing text crawling across dozens of slates on the wall. Grotto¡¯s eyes studied one of the displays, feelers undulating.


    ¡°Where are we right now?¡± I thought to my familiar.


    [We are in a command center contained on all sides by 1000 feet of solid rock, situated a quarter of a mile above the obelisk chamber. Given that my prior experience operating a Delve from within the obelisk itself resulted in being taken captive, I felt that this would be more secure.]


    ¡°Makes sense.¡±


    I sensed a hint of defensiveness in his response. To be fair to Grotto¡¯s past self, he¡¯d been required to be inside the obelisk to operate The Toxic Grotto. He only gained the ability to manage a Delve remotely upon his assignment as administrator of The Calvani Caverns outside of The Cage, whereupon he swiftly used his new authority to execute his fellow Delve Core Nasro before the entity could further assist Orexis in defiling the System.


    ¡°Someone could still teleport here, though. I could, at least.¡±


    [Try it.]


    I raised an eyebrow and focused on using Shortcut with Coordinated Thinker, searching for a nearby space large enough to teleport to safely. My awareness couldn¡¯t leave the room.


    ¡°Oh, this is claustrophobic.¡±


    [If you wish to leave, simply grasp my small obelisk and feed it your intent.]


    I glanced at the pillar in the room¡¯s center, then back at Grotto.


    ¡°Phrasing, Grotto.¡±


    [Stop being immature. Do you wish to observe the group that has just entered? I believe you will find the experience... enlightening.]


    I did my best to stay annoyed at Grotto for intentionally allowing intruders into the Closet but found myself curious.


    ¡°Fine. How do I do that?¡±


    Grotto¡¯s dark eyes turned to me.


    [Simply grip my small obelisk,] he thought, making full eye contact. [And feed it your intent.]


    I frowned but placed my hand on the pillar and shut my eyes, trying to concentrate on viewing a party of Delvers within my halls. I got some uncomfortable psychic feedback.


    [Be gentle. It is very sensitive.]


    ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake.¡±


    I relaxed, and my perception divorced itself from my body. The world stuttered a few times until I found myself looking down at a cavern made of dark stone, with a jagged, irregular floor. There was a group of Delvers standing in a loose 3-point triangle formation, with a woman at its center.


    My Soul-Sight still worked while viewing the Delve-given perspective, and I could tell this group was level 15, all gold. The four of them were clad head to toe in armor, hiding their features, but I could tell from the shape of their helms and the general litheness of their bodies that they were a group of Littans. In fact, when I looked closely at their souls, they were familiar.


    ¡°This is Captain Pio¡¯s party,¡± I thought to Grotto. It was the Littan we¡¯d met after emerging from the Descent.


    [Indeed. Once you agreed to her request to meet with Duchess Ruiz and General Connatis, I took it upon myself to do some research into her party.]


    ¡°Any particular reason?¡±


    [If you are walking into an ambush, it would be best to be prepared.]


    ¡°True. Is inviting them over for dinner and a monster part of your research?¡±


    [I find that the best way to discern a Delver¡¯s character is to observe them in action. The Pocket Delve is currently rated for levels 10-11 platinum or levels 13-15 gold. Her group is at the upper limit of what we are authorized to handle.]


    ¡°Do most Delves have dual allowances?¡±


    [It is variable. Level range, environmental hazards, mana monster capabilities, and other factors all contribute.]


    I was enjoying Grotto¡¯s new level of transparency.


    ¡°So how did you get them in here?¡±


    [I submitted a System request to target them with a private invitation. Because of their proximity to the Closet¡¯s exit portal, it put them well within range of a summons.]


    ¡°Is it weird that they agreed? I¡¯m not saying I understand how the Littan military works, but jumping into a Delve while on duty seems like it would be closely controlled.¡±


    [Their Delvers must still level. In case that was not enough, I made the invitation more enticing to encourage their acceptance.]


    ¡°How so?¡±


    [Because of our unique configuration, the System approved my request to upgrade our designation to an Expansion Delve. If this group succeeds, they will earn an additional Active Skill slot and a specialized Active Skill.]


    ¡°Shit. Can we run the Pocket Delve to get our second extra slot?¡±


    [It would be pointless to waste our resources that way. I can use System Call to discover another Expansion Delve for you to pillage.]


    ¡°What about the special skill?¡±


    [You would not benefit from the special skill.]


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    [You already have a modified teleport. Your creation of Reckless Shortcut is part of the reason we were allowed to upgrade to an Expansion Delve.]


    ¡°Wait. You¡¯re handing out my skill? I worked hard for that.¡±


    [No, you made it while in a half-braindead stupor. Regardless, your version is heavily customized. The reward will also be heavily customized for whatever Delver claims it. It will be distinct, but likely still centering around having a variable cooldown.]


    I reserved judgment until I saw what was handed out. I couldn¡¯t have the System cribbing my work. Then again, I assumed that¡¯s what I did every time I accepted a System skill.


    ¡°Are they just... taking in the view?¡±


    The group of 4 were standing at the ready but weren¡¯t speaking or making any preparations that I could see.


    [You can adjust your perspective by concentrating.]


    I gave Grotto¡¯s instruction a shot, and my point of view began floating down from the ceiling high above until I was in front of the group, only a few feet away. They were all keeping a close watch on the dark environment, doing their best to stay silent and still.


    ¡°Is it possible for them to notice me?¡±


    [Possible, but highly unlikely. At level 15 it would require an extremely focused build on perception or divination.]


    ¡°What happens if they do notice me?¡±


    [Delvers tend to ignore non-hostile entities, and discovering that the Core is monitoring their group is not exceptional. In the rare case that it breeds antagonism, Delvers can usually be redirected by the System.]


    [I use numerical designations. You can adjust the naming conventions however you wish.]


    Guar spun again, twice as fast this time, and hit a dozen hounds with his hammer. Then his body rotated even faster, and his hammer grew half again in length, pulping the hounds he¡¯d already hit and sending the rest skittering across the rough cavern floor.


    I mentally requested that the System append a random name to each Abyssal Hound, and was not disappointed.


    Abyssal Hound Barkthulhu has taken 84 Kinetic damage and 39 Holy damage from Sgt Guar of Litta!


    Abyssal Hound Drooligan has taken 76 Kinetic damage and 39 Holy damage from Sgt Guar of Litta!


    Abyssal Hound Wagzilla has taken 91 Kinetic damage and 39 Holy damage from Sgt Guar of Litta!


    Barkthulhu is Stunned!


    Drooligan is Stunned!


    Wagzilla is Stunned!


    Abyssal Hound Chomposaurus has been slain!


    Abyssal Hound Toothnado has been slain!


    Abyssal Hound Bitey McGrowlface has been slain!


    The other Littans had yet to make a move, although I noticed the bookworm raise a hand toward Sgt Guar once it looked like the hounds were backing off.


    Staff Sergeant Baltae of Litta: Delver, Level 15


    Sgt Baltae made a fist, and space twisted around the heavily armored Guar. Every hound within 15 feet of the hammerman was crushed into the ground, then sucked toward him, forcing their bodies through Dimensional contortions. Bones snapped as the force mangled limbs and spines.


    You have observed the Suction Bomb spell!


    Suction Bomb


    Dimensional


    Cost: 20 mana + 2 mana/second


    Requirements: INT 20, Dimensional Magic 20


    You create a 15-foot radius gravitational rift within a number of feet equal to 40 + twice your Dimensional Magic skill level. The rift is an area of intense gravity, causing all entities in the area to become Slowed.


    When the rift appears and every 6 seconds thereafter, make an INT Spatial attack against all entities within the rift. Entities hit by this attack are pulled to its center.


    Abyssal Hound Borkinator is slowed! Borkinator has taken 109 Spatial damage from Sgt Baltae of Litta!


    Abyssal Hound Fangus Khan has been slain!


    Abyssal Hound Clawsome has been slain!


    Abyssal Hound Smolbeans has been slain!


    ¡°Aw. This is sad.¡±


    [Would you like to know how many mundane humans this pack slaughtered before we corralled them into the Delve?]


    ¡°I loved them despite their flaws. Also, aren¡¯t you breeding them? What sins have the newborns committed?¡±


    [The sin of foolishly attacking a superior foe.]


    ¡°I feel like somebody is going to call animal welfare after this.¡±


    [They are literal monsters.]


    ¡°Are they, Grotto? Are they the monsters, or is it us?¡±


    The slaughter continued until only the Alpha remained.


    So far, the Littans hadn¡¯t done anything too special. Unless you consider letting the tank solo an entire pack of two dozen Grade 12s with only 1 spell assist from the Dimensional mage special. It didn¡¯t look like Guar was taking any damage either.


    Neither Pio nor the woman tossing her throwing dagger around had made any moves, and I also hadn¡¯t seen anything new from the hidden stealth member. Overall, this fight had shown me they were competent, but the best thing I¡¯d gotten out of it was seeing that Suction Bomb spell.


    That is, until knife lady fucking flew into the Alpha like Superman.


    Lieutenant Madel of Litta: Delver, Level 15


    Abyssal Hound Alpha Alfalfa has taken 158 Kinetic damage from Lt Madel of Litta!


    Alfalfa takes 141 Kinetic damage!


    Alfalfa takes 142 Kinetic damage!


    Alfalfa takes 155 Kinetic damage!


    Alfalfa takes 163 Kinetic damage!


    Alfalfa takes 154 Kinetic damage!


    Alfalfa is Slowed!


    Alfalfa is Weakened!


    Alfalfa gains 18 stacks of Bleeding/sec!


    Alfalfa gains 39 stacks of Toxicity/sec!


    Lt Madel opened by punching Alpha Alfalfa right in the eye, caving in the Hound¡¯s ocular cavity and sending the 400-pound beast stumbling. Then her dagger¨Cwhich she¡¯d thrown before she started flying¨Cskewered Alfalfa in the same eye, disappearing into its face.


    A glistening black shortsword appeared in her right hand which she used to slit Alfalfa¡¯s throat, then she hit him in the temple with the spike of a golden hammer that came from some-fucking-where, and her right hand now held a blood-red spear that was also going into the same eye and the dagger was back in her left hand¨Cnope, there it goes¨Cshe threw it into the throat wound.


    In 3 seconds, Alfalfa lost 913 health and was taking 57 damage a second from sizzling wounds that dumped blood like an upturned gallon jug of milk and went black faster than a stale piece of toast in a bonfire as rot festered at 100,000 times speed.


    Alfalfa let out a gurgled cry and cracks formed in reality around its assailant, but Lt Madel flowed around them like a butterfly made of liquid silk, then disappeared. A spray of blood went up from Alfalfa¡¯s back, where Madel now stood, her dark blade buried into the base of the hound¡¯s skull.


    Alpha Alfalfa lurched once, then collapsed, and a final wet whimper sputtered out through its opened throat.


    ¡°Alright. She¡¯s not too shabby.¡±

 Chapter 172: Littan Excellence

    Chapter 172: Littan Excellence


    ¡°Has the valiant sacrifice of Alfalfa¡¯s pack earned us anything?¡± I thought to my familiar.


    [I assume that is your designation for the Alpha, but yes. Aside from determining that this group possesses skills more advanced than an average gold party, it has also resulted in the acquisition of additional mana to use how we wish.]


    ¡°How? Didn¡¯t you spend a lot of mana raising the hounds?¡±


    [The Hounds make use of the ambient Dimensional mana abundant in the Closet. The obelisk cannot absorb all that this environment can provide. Even if it could, the structure hit a cap on its capacity to absorb and convert mana while we were within The Descent.]


    The bodies of the Hounds began to wither and blacken as the Littans reviewed their reward notifications.


    [The Hounds condense this mana within them, creating a compound that mana chips were originally based upon. While the Delvers are issued rewards for each monster slain, there is always a surplus that is reserved for the Delve. Skills and other abilities also disperse mana of various types, improving mana diversity.]


    ¡°Isn¡¯t all of that offset when the Delvers receive their level distribution?¡±


    [It depends on the function of the Delve and its current capacity. Certain events can lead to an overload that distribution will help to offset. A competent group will typically lead to a loss, but a single death results in enough mana to generate several advancements. Mana-woven gear is also sometimes left behind and if an entire group perishes, everything they are carrying is kept or absorbed.]


    ¡°So it¡¯s a numbers game.¡±


    [If the motivation were solely to net excess mana and equipment, then yes. The process allows us to adapt to this generation of Delvers and develop strategies best suited to guide them. Our capabilities improve, we enhance the power of the Delve, the Delvers expose us to novel skills, and we ultimately earn the favor of the System.]


    I chewed that over, trying to figure out whether this was worth the risk to the Closet¡¯s security. I wasn¡¯t going to stop Grotto¨CI¡¯d agreed a long time ago that he could run a Delve in the Closet¨Cbut that didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t take precautions or ask for design concessions to mitigate threats. Getting an insider look at the spells and techniques of other Delvers was helpful, but I wasn¡¯t a big fan of looting their corpses. Of course, I had no idea what kind of loot we were talking about.


    ¡°What kind of loot are we talking about? Has anyone died in here?¡±


    A few seconds passed, and a list appeared in my field of view. My eyes probably went wide, but my vision was entirely disconnected from them. I was looking at a full party¡¯s worth of gear and then some. As I scrolled through, the Littans began to move on and into the main cave of The Pound.


    Some of the items were upgrades for the party, but our gear was severely outdated aside from a few pieces of equipment each. We currently had Varrin shopping for us back in Hiward and we all had enough money for a full re-equip, so I was hesitant to ask Grotto to hand over any of the ill-gotten gains.


    Delvers entered the Delves voluntarily and earned ample rewards while doing so. I¡¯d mostly come to terms with the morality of Grotto operating one for that reason. Harvesting bodies myself for their resources felt like stepping over a fuzzy gray line into villainous behavior.


    Once I began to have a strong personal incentive for other Delvers to die, would that encourage me to push for more lethal options inside the Pocket Delve? I didn¡¯t think I would ever make that sort of decision consciously, but would Grotto? My own survival was directly connected to his, all the way down to the level of the soul. We had a Shared Fate, after all. It was probably best for me to keep as much separation as I could from the Delve.


    ¡°What will you do with all this stuff?¡±


    [I received an eleventh intrinsic skill slot along with the party once we completed The Descent, which was automatically filled with Golemancy. By imbuing golems and automatons with rudimentary mana matrixes, they become capable of wielding magical weapons and armor.]


    ¡°You didn¡¯t get to choose?¡±


    [I have had extensive practice with Golemancy in the past, so it seems the System is granting me intrinsic skills related to my experience as you grow more capable.]


    I thought back to the large harvester bots that had farmed poison essences in Grotto¡¯s old Delve, and which had helped us fight the c¡¯thon Ihxiobrixilas.


    [It is serendipitous. Etja¡¯s body is an advanced golem construct, and I have had ample time to study the exceptional matrix imbued into her by Orexis and Nasro. Any golems I create will have significant advantages, and I will also be able to make repairs to Etja if she is significantly damaged, such as by losing a limb.]


    ¡°I appreciate your consideration, but you¡¯re talking about her like she¡¯s an object.¡±


    [Her soul is true and she is as much a person as anyone else. That does not change the realities of her creation. She evolved during and after The Cage, but her body remains, at its heart, a construct.]


    I mentally frowned, but let Grotto¡¯s mildly insensitive characterization pass since he made a valid point. Xim¡¯s magic worked on Etja, allowing her to heal the mage, but our cleric still couldn¡¯t regrow entire bodily structures.


    [The Littans were wise to fight the Hounds in the entrance chamber,] Grotto thought, interrupting my musings. [I made significant upgrades to the environmental hazards after witnessing Tavio defeat the existing traps with ease.]


    I refocused on the level 15 golds as they wandered through the massive artificial cavern, looking for what Grotto was talking about. When I¡¯d fought with Tavio, the encounter had spilled into the Closet where the Littan handily dodged waves of Dimensional energy and tore through ankle-breaking pit traps with raw Strength.


    Now, the air was filled with Dimensional ripples and the Littan group was moving slowly over the sharp, uneven terrain that threatened to snare, stab, or slice all but the most well-protected feet. Captain Pio and the spatial mage were struggling to follow Sgt. Guar, who stomped through with heavy enchanted boots, creating indentations for the others to step into. Lt. Madel hovered over the hostile floor, unbothered and flipping her dagger, cape fluttering in a breeze that I knew didn¡¯t exist down there.


    Occasionally, the spatial mage would gesture, and the group would turn to avoid an area of warped space that would have sliced or twisted limbs and armor alike. The room appeared wide open, but in actuality, it was a narrow path of razor-edged metal winding through a nearly invisible maze of deadly distortions.


    [The two in the rear appear to have no points dedicated to Agility. Without a movement ability to compensate, that is a liability for their team.]


    ¡°They¡¯re making it through alright by going slow and steady.¡±


    [Why would you believe it to be so easy?]


    As though summoned by Grotto¡¯s words¨Cwhich, to be fair it probably was¨Ca wave of spikes began to shoot up from the floor. It started at the entrance to the cavern and moved forward at a rate that wasn¡¯t very fast by Delver standards, but several times quicker than the Littans were moving. If they didn¡¯t pick up the pace, the party would be skewered.


    The Littans responded swiftly and without any panic. The spatial mage, Sgt. Baltea hopped onto Sgt. Guar¡¯s back while waving a hand at Captain Pio, who floated off the ground.


    You have observed the Telekinesis spell!


    Telekinesis


    Dimensional


    Cost: 10+ mana (reserved)


    Requirements: Dimensional Magic


    You can telekinetically control any entity you can perceive which has a weight in pounds up to your INT times your Dimensional Magic skill level. If the target is a person, you must first make an INT contest versus their STR; on a failure, this spell fails and all mana spent on it is wasted.


    You can manipulate this entity in any way, including making checks or attacks with it as though you were holding it. If you try to compress or tear apart the entity, you must make an INT Dimensional attack against it. If the damage reduces the entity¡¯s HP to 0, you crush or rip apart the entity as appropriate.


    An entity under this effect can struggle and attempt a STR contest versus your INT, ending this spell on a success.


    Sgt. Guar was facing down the hallway as his party discussed, shield up and facing the unexplored direction. His eyes continually scanned the hallway, refusing to get distracted by the chat. Because of the man¡¯s massive frame, he blocked most of the cramped corridor, which is why he was the only one to become a pin cushion.


    The tails of the Gekkogs whipped forward, and small portals appeared just ahead of their six-inch stingers. The stingers launched through the portals, reappearing an inch from Sgt. Guar. The hall was filled with a series of loud pops as the stingers broke the sound barrier and collided with Guar.


    A few stingers landed on the man¡¯s shield, but the Gekkogs were given ample time to aim and nine of the dozen projectiles thunked into his armor. There were small flashes of light when the first three landed, the stingers bouncing off and burying themselves deep into the wall from the ricochet. Another of the stingers burned what was left of the man¡¯s Shielding and I saw his body pulse as some Blessed stacks were burned. Only 4 of the stingers punctured through his thick armor and buried themselves in the muscular Littan beneath, eliciting a stoic rasp from the man when one hit him dead center of the neck.


    ¡°Damn, he¡¯s tough. How much damage do you think those did?¡±


    The rest of the Littan party began to respond. Captain Pio refreshed the party¡¯s Shielding and Sgt. Baltae positioned himself directly behind Sgt. Guar.


    [An average Warp Needle from an Abyssal Gekkog has a base damage of 110 Kinetic plus 30 Spatial and imposes 15 Bleeding along with 30 Toxicity. Against a target that cannot perceive them, another 62 damage with bonus Bleeding and Toxicity is added and the chance to critically strike is doubled.]


    I eyed Guar¡¯s armor. It was impossible to tell how much Physical DR the man had, but he¡¯d clearly been hurt. He still couldn¡¯t see his enemies, and more needles clinked off his shield, an occasional strike piercing his body. However, a quick bust of healing came from Captain Pio, and every needle that had disappeared into his flesh was pushed back out of the holes in his armor, clattering to the ground.


    Then one of the Gekkogs lost its shit.


    Abyssal Gekkog Hiss Hemsworth gains 1 stack of Cursed!


    Hiss Hemsworth has become Berserk!


    Just like with the Hounds, all of the Gekkogs rapidly gained stacks of Cursed. The Berserker started firing indiscriminately into its allies, who responded swiftly to deal with the traitor. Before they could recollect themselves, the Littan quartet rushed down the hallway. Sgt. Guar dropped to one knee and a swell of energy formed into a violet sphere before the spatial mage, Sgt. Baltae. It grew to the size of a bowling ball in under a second, then launched down the corridor. Another sphere immediately formed after, more than twice as fast, then fired behind its twin.


    As the first orb hurtled forth, Gekkogs were torn from the walls and ceiling, sucked into a mass around the orb, and carried down the hallway. Those that resisted the effect were pulled in by the second orb, sending all dozen Gekkogs flailing down the hall in a pile of shorn flesh and snapping bone.


    You have observed the Spatial Orb spell!


    Spatial Orb


    Dimensional


    Cost: 20 mana


    Requirements: INT 20, Dimensional Magic 20


    You create an orb that shoots out from you in a line extending a number of feet equal to 40 plus twice your Dimensional Magic skill level. Make an INT Spatial attack against all entities within 5 feet of the Orb¡¯s path.


    Entities hit by the Orb must make a STR or AGI check opposed by your INT. On failure, the entity is pulled with the orb for a distance of your choosing up to the end of the orb¡¯s range.


    Abyssal Gekkog Toejira has taken 151 Spatial damage!


    Abyssal Gekkog Geckachu has taken 125 Spatial damage!


    The first Gekkogs landed in a miserable clump 50 feet further down the hall and were then struck by the second orb as it deposited the smaller group of Gekkogs on top of them. None had been killed and were writhing as they tried to extricate themselves from one another, but Sgt. Guar was out for revenge.


    The heavy-armor fighter launched forward, his shield held in front as a mighty gust of wind buffeted his back. Every loping step covered 20 feet as his shield caught the gust like a fucking kite and helped surge him toward the enemy. Electricity began to arc from his body, striking the walls and leaving blackened scorch marks behind.


    Once he was only a few yards from the Gekkogs, he slammed his shield into the ground and the world went white as a dense network of lightning split the air, crackling out from the item. The bolts leapt between the Gekkogs, their muscles tensing and paralyzing them.


    Abyssal Gekkog Sir Licks-a-Lot has taken 140 Lightning damage!


    Sir Licks-a-Lot has been slain!


    The attack only lasted a split second. Afterward, the Gekkogs were little more than a smoking pile of burnt tissue.


    Guar¡¯s body lit up with Divine energy as Captain Pio cast Cleanse on the tank, then lit up twice more as she threw Heals into him. The Gekkogs dealt decent Toxicity and Bleeding, but I hadn¡¯t seen a single drop of blood leak out from Guar¡¯s armor. He may have been immune to Bleeding¨Clike myself¨Cbut he apparently wasn¡¯t immune to poison. Either way, despite all his defenses he¡¯d taken some decent damage. Of course, he¡¯d eaten 12 sneak attacks to the face and hadn¡¯t died. He was definitely robust.


    The Littans paused again, having a psychic conversation and reviewing their combat notifications. Before they had time to rest, Grotto was back to antagonizing them. Twenty-foot sections of the hallway began to shrink in sequence, once again forcing the party forward.


    ¡°You really like breaking your own Delve, don¡¯t you?¡±


    [These large environmental modifications barely take any effort due to the malleability of the Closet. A touch of mana and the dimensions of any room move at my whim, albeit slowly. Enhancing the speed of the alterations with a few weaves and an extra burst of power is simple.]


    I hadn¡¯t realized Grotto had been able to weaponize our ability to reshape the Closet quite so well. The walls moved inward like an iris closing, twisting on themselves and threatening to crush anyone who lingered. I doubted it would be enough to outright kill a Delver with decent Fortitude, but it would sure as hell get them stuck. More importantly, it kept the Littans from resting.


    ¡°Is there a time limit on this Delve?¡±


    [Six hours.]


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s pretty short.¡±


    [It is a significant contributor to the difficulty rating.]


    ¡°And do you plan to allow them any rest during that time?¡±


    I felt a wave of amusement pour through our connection.


    [Absolutely not.]


    I refocused on the Littans, who moved at a jog to outpace the collapsing hallway. They¡¯d been fairly judicious with their use of stamina and mana, but if this level of intensity kept up for 6 entire hours, well...


    They better have good regen.

 Chapter 173: Surprise Mimicry

    Chapter 173: Surprise Mimicry


    The next section of the Delve was a dimensional maze. The hallway ended at a T-junction, each side of which led to a crossroad with 3 more potential paths to choose from.


    [There are 40 potential junctions. When a path is chosen it will lead to 1 of 3 additional junctions, with 1 junction having a 66 percent chance of being selected, the second having a 23 percent chance, and the last having 11 percent. The goal of the maze is to follow the junctions in a specific sequence, which will lead to the exit.]


    ¡°How do they know which junction to choose?¡±


    [The tablets in the cave wall of the Pound gave clues buried in the mythos of the Void King. Each junction has a unique arrangement of traps, decorations, mana monsters, and so on which relate to specific events in the Void King¡¯s life. An astute Delver will be able to determine the path with the best probability of leading the way forward.]


    ¡°So it¡¯s similar to the divine maze in The Descent, but with dimensional shenanigans.¡±


    [Yes, but choosing the correct path will continuously lead to more dangerous encounters.]


    ¡°They didn¡¯t have much time to look at those tablets. If they rely on trial and error, then all they have to do is try to keep repeating the junctions with the highest difficulty they¡¯ve found?¡±


    [It is possible to brute force the puzzle that way, but it will take much longer. Their current attempts at caution would cause them to run out of time.]


    They did not run out of time.


    Sgt. Baltae turned out to be something of an investigator. The spatial mage took the lead, paused briefly at each intersection to close his eyes, and then always picked the most optimal path. They had a few setbacks due to bad luck with the probabilities, but there was no way they could have done the maze any more efficiently. It took them around 2 hours, leaving them a little over 3 hours remaining.


    That didn¡¯t mean the maze didn¡¯t take anything out of them. Despite Sgt. Baltae¡¯s talent with memory, puzzle solving, and threat detection, his skill with neutralizing the traps they came across was underdeveloped compared to his ability to find them in the first place. His party relied on avoiding traps rather than disarming them.


    However, many of the traps were seemingly unavoidable, leading to Dimensional attacks, more collapsing walls, and waves of teleporting spiders that did little damage but loaded the Littans up with Toxicity, among other things. By the time they¡¯d escaped, three of them had taken significant damage. Captain Pio had burned a lot of mana on Heal, Shielding, and Cleanse, and the tank had dumped big chunks of stamina on AoE attacks.


    Sgt. Madel came out in the best shape. Her machine-gun attack speed didn¡¯t look like it relied on any techniques, so she could tear through enemies all day without running out of juice. Her flight skill and Speed kept her out of the way of much of the danger, and anytime something got close enough to attack her, she would disappear and stab it¨Cor something else¨Cin the back.


    The trade-off was that she didn¡¯t have any utility and was best equipped for dealing with 1 enemy at a time. She was a dedicated elite killer whose main contribution was inexhaustible single-target damage. Invaluable in many circumstances, but useless for drawn-out puzzles and traps. Even the waves of spiders were a bad matchup since there were hundreds of the creatures and she could kill at most 6 or 7 at a time, whereas Sgt. Guar and Sgt. Baltae could spam AoEs that hit everything within a certain radius.


    The stealth specialist never made an appearance. In fact, I¡¯d forgotten the person even existed by the time they were out of the probability maze.


    The maze terminated in a small palace filled with cursed loot. Baltae easily discerned the hazards the items posed, and the group was forced to rush through since several of the items had blanket effects that would slowly drain their maximum health through Wicked damage. That couldn¡¯t be healed, and would only recover through natural regeneration. Even potions didn¡¯t help.


    ¡°Where in the hells did you find all that cursed shit? Did you craft it all?¡±


    [Most are relics you recovered from The Mimic Delve while you recklessly looted entire chambers of their contents.]


    ¡°Hey, Etja and I looked those over. We left all the creepy paraphernalia behind and none of what we picked up was magical, as far as we could tell.¡±


    [They were drained of mana when you discovered them, and I suspect that is how The Mimic fed. After being refreshed, many had fascinating effects.]


    ¡°Shit. Were any of them mimics?¡±


    [Yes. Eleven of the items were mimics biding their time, but they became inert once you defeated The Mimic.]


    ¡°Ah. Good idea containing all the cursed stuff in one place, I guess.¡±


    [The Blighted Vault of the Void King is one of my favorite areas and includes a ledger that lists each item and the forbidden realm in which it was discovered. It is a shame they did not spend more time inside. I was unable to test some of the relics and was curious about their effects.]


    ¡°Good thing they, uh, didn¡¯t let their inner lootbugs cloud their judgment.¡±


    Having avoided the perils of careless greed¨Ca vice even the most talented and discerning Delver might sometimes fall prey to¨Cthe Littans advanced into the most hostile chamber yet.


    The floor was a field of jagged spikes, tipped with space-warping energy that would shred even the thickest of armor. It was untraversable through normal means, and I suspected the Littans would struggle with this one. Beyond the field of spikes was a lake that abutted a slightly curved wall, with no obvious exits to the arena-sized room. To make matters worse, the ceiling was 200 feet above, covered in large stalactites, and the home of two dozen more Abyssal Gekkogs.


    The party was given two minutes to hang out on a small platform, survey the room, and plan. Then, needles started warping into their flesh.


    Captain Pio covered the group with more Shielding and Sgt. Guar spawned a dome of energy that emanated from his roundshield and created temporary cover. Unfortunately, the Gekkogs didn¡¯t care about the transparent obstruction, and their needles portalled through Guar¡¯s countermeasure without issue. It was the first time I¡¯d seen one of the Littans make a serious tactical error.


    Make a CHA spell attack against an entity you can perceive within a number of feet of you equal to 20 plus your Spiritual Magic skill level. This attack deals Psychic damage.


    [That is not one of our minions.]


    After firing its attack, the imposter deftly slipped behind another Gekkog. The Psychic attack tore at the soul of its target Gekkog, which spun in response and searched for the source of the assault. It locked onto the Gekkog the imposter hid behind, screeched, and fired a stinger into its ally¡¯s giant mouth. This sort of whodunnit combat went on for another minute until the imposter finished off the final survivor. It then began rooting around the burrow, digging through nests and poking at the bodies.


    ¡°Is it... trying to loot right now?¡±


    This was certainly the missing fifth member of the Littan party, but nothing I had could pierce the disguise. See had no effect, and not even its soul looked out of place compared to the normal Gekkogs. The Gekkog also drifted in and out of my awareness, even though I intently followed its movements. My mind kept pushing the idea that there was nothing out of the ordinary going on in front of me, despite how absurd that thought was.


    Eventually, the Gekkog finished its perusal, and its body began to shrink. Over the next minute, it slowly morphed into a small blue bird. It spread its wings and took off. Like a fly darting out of my vision, it disappeared.


    You have observed the Mimicry spell!


    Mimicry


    Physical - Deific


    Cost: 20+ mana reserved


    Requirements: WIS 20, CHA 20, Dimensional Magic 10, Physical Magic 10, Subterfuge 10, Shapeshifter Evolution, Keeper of Silence Achievement


    Choose a person or object you can perceive. As a 1-minute activity, you can manipulate your body to take on the physical characteristics of that entity, duplicating not only its form but all materials that comprise it.


    Entities with a WIS lower than your WIS cannot discern the difference between your modified form and the original person or object from physical characteristics alone. Entities with a WIS lower than your CHA automatically assume you are the person or object unless their attention is called to the deception. Even then, they must pass a WIS check opposed by your CHA to have the assumption broken. Otherwise, they say, ¡°Huh, must have been the wind,¡± and move on.


    If the person or object has a volume more than 20% larger or smaller than your own, you may reserve additional mana up to your Physical Magic skill level during this 1-minute activity. For every 10 additional mana reserved, you may adjust your volume by an additional cubic foot. (For reference, an average humanoid has a volume of ~2-3 cubic feet.)


    ¡°They¡¯re a fucking mimic!¡±


    [I was not aware of this spell.]


    ¡°I mean... it¡¯s the ¡®I¡¯m a fucking mimic¡¯ spell.¡±


    [I understand the concept, but I have never seen a Delver gain the full capabilities of a mimic.]


    I read over the text of the spell again.


    ¡°Even with all this, it doesn¡¯t explain how they slide in and out of perception, or why it¡¯s so easy to ignore them. If anything, they¡¯re an even better mimic than the mimics we fought.¡±


    [They likely have an entire build centered around the skill. Evolutions such as Master of Disguise or Grey Man would be excellent in combination.]


    ¡°They infiltrate, curse everyone, then walk away with no one the wiser. It¡¯s not an illusion or mental effect, so resistances don¡¯t matter. Hells, I don¡¯t think it could even be targeted with Dispel once they¡¯ve transformed. Scary.¡±


    [My query on the Keeper of Silence achievement has it listed as a level 10 special Delve reward. It replaces the active skill option Enhance Attribute granted by the Physical Magic evolution Shapeshifter.]


    ¡°While the rest of their party struggled, dude or dudette just walked in and killed a whole extended family of Gekkogs. Didn¡¯t take a single point of damage.¡±


    [Yes. The strategy was quite effective against this enemy type. Let us see how they fare against the Atrocidile Titan.]


    ¡°The what now?¡±


    The lake beyond the field of spikes erupted, revealing a too-human face stretched across a 20-foot-wide, football-shaped skull. Bulbous orange eyes rolled in their sockets as the creature let out a familiar bellowing moan, like the dying screams of a ten-thousand-pound infant.


    Abyssal Atrocidile Titan: Abomination, Grade 20


    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s bigger than I remember.¡±

 Chapter 174: The Raaaaage Caaaaage!

    Chapter 174: The Raaaaage Caaaaage!


    The Abyssal Atrocidile Titan was four times the size of the Atrocidile I¡¯d fought during my Creation Delve. The creature¡¯s pale flesh was covered in rows of translucent scales with the texture of poorly maintained fingernails. Two humanoid arms reached out from the water and dug thick fingers into the cavern¡¯s stone floor as though it were made of loose sand. Dark liquid dripped from its widely stretched mouth, filled with an ocean-blue tongue darting behind flat, gnashing teeth.


    It rose, six reptilian legs lining its sides and bulging with muscle. Its feet emerged and stepped down onto the liquid surface beneath it. Soon enough, the creature stood atop the small lake like it was a stage of glass, its hands the only part of it making contact with solid ground.


    The haunting scream it emitted sent ripples across the lake and did more than just announce the beast. A burst of water vapor propagated throughout the room as a pressure wave rocked everything within. The walls trembled and stalactites fell from above. The sound was enough to chill my bones, and I wasn¡¯t even there.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna call you Nottagator.¡±


    Abyssal Atrocidile Titan Nottagator smells blood!


    Nottagator gains 10 stacks of Rage!


    Nottagator uses Titan¡¯s Roar!


    Nottagator spends 20 stamina to increase Titan¡¯s Roar¡¯s range!


    Nottagator¡¯s STR attacks are maximized against smaller targets!


    Despite being caught by surprise, the Littans were quick to respond. After downing his potion, Guar returned to watching the room with his shield raised. When the Atrocidile appeared, the tank immediately activated the barrier that had failed against the Gekkogs. However, unlike the Gekkogs, the Atrocidile¡¯s attack broke against the fortification. The barrier exploded to annihilate the pressure wave, kicking up dust and debris to either side of the Littans.


    While Guar¡¯s action saved the group from damage, there was more to the Atrocidile¡¯s attack than an attempt at bodily harm. It reached into the depths of the target¡¯s evolutionary programming, tearing at the wires that governed a hard-coded flight response. I remembered the sickening terror that sound evoked in my own group, and how it had ultimately resulted in Chilla Stormreiss¡¯s death when she got separated from us.


    Guar¡¯s eyes darkened in concentration as he resisted the Fear effect, his body glowing as he burned stacks of Blessed to shore up his defenses. Captain Pio sprung up from where she¡¯d been squatting to treat Sgt. Baltae. The sonic attack would have caught her unaware, but Guar¡¯s quick reaction had saved her. She didn¡¯t even flinch under the mental attack, and threads of light spread from her body to each of her nearby allies.


    Lieutenant Madel was still lying on the ground and she flinched when the Fear hit, but her body blurred and she instantly regained her composure. She floated up to hover and scowl at the monster. Sgt. Baltae rolled onto his side to stare at the creature, and the tether between himself and Captain Pio bulged, then burst into mist. I wasn¡¯t sure what I was seeing, but whatever it was had allowed him to resist the mental attack as well.


    I also did not spot any small blue birds flapping for the hills, so I assumed the stealthy Littan mimic also ignored the ability somehow.


    [They have a robust suite of tools to augment their mental defenses. Good. I was worried this battle might be too quick to gather useful information.]


    ¡°What did they all use? Can you see their notifications?¡±


    Grotto and I had our Psychic chatter turned up to max speed, thoughts flying between us ten times faster than speech would have allowed.


    [Most of their notifications are obscured to me, but I have seen more than enough Delvers to know what happened.]


    ¡°Oh, care to share? Actually, can you tell me what¡¯s going on in real time? That¡¯d be helpful.¡±


    The two sides of the fight had entered into a 1-second stare down as the Littans waited for everyone on their team to get to their feet and while Nottagator came to terms with the fact that its flashy opener had been completely negated.


    [You wish that I narrate the battle as it occurs, using my superior knowledge and experience to elucidate the most salient points?]


    ¡°Fuck yeah, be the fight announcer.¡±


    [Hmm... Very well.]


    *****


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY USER NAME: [GROTTO]


    ADDENDUM NOTE: Squad Pio vs Nottagator, The Void King¡¯s Pet Lizard


    READY?


    FIGHT!


    *****


    The stalemate between Nottagator and the Littans ends when I deactivate the minor weaves holding their platform aloft, plunging three of the Littans down to the steel spikes below, their tips crackling with space-warping Dimensional energies!


    The Littans have shown incredible hubris in attempting my Expansion Delve without any information on the hazards contained within, but I must admit their performance so far has not been abysmal. Regardless, as a whole, this group displays an abject lack of Agility, and I estimate that the tank, party leader, and the spatial mage have failed to invest even a single point into the stat. The platform collapsing should be a simple pit trap¨Cthe first hazard any Delve Core learns to facilitate¨Cbut for this group it is possible that such a simple measure is their undoing!


    Nottagator uses Titan¡¯s Bark!


    Nottagator gains +22 to its attack from Rage!


    Nottagator releases a devastating Sonic attack against the man committing violence on its artfully grown visage. A powerful pressure wave bursts forth from its mouth, hitting Sgt. Guar point blank with enough force to cause severe hemorrhaging in the internal organs of even incredibly stalwart warriors. Sgt. Guar has his shield up and is ready for the attack, but the sonic boom burns one use of his Impregnable passive, which prevents damage up to twice a minute!


    The temporary invulnerability might save the Littan from damage, but it is completely irrelevant for the on-hit effect of sending Guar sailing across the battlefield toward an agonizing encounter with the Dimensionally tipped spikes! Guar comes crashing down on the lethal instruments, armor denting on impact and shattering stone as the spikes are ripped free of the ground. That likely hurt a great deal!


    But Sgt. Guar¡¯s suffering does not end there. Before the Littan has even hit the ground, Nottagator is already prepared for its next attack. It reaches out with a twisted, humanoid hand, large enough to lift an entire horse-drawn carriage, and brings it down onto the ground in front of it!


    Nottagator uses Snatch!


    Nottagator¡¯s STR attack is maximized!


    Nottagator gains +22 to its attack from Rage!


    The move looks like a clean miss at first glance¨CSgt. Guar is not anywhere close to Nottagator¨Cbut this Atrocidile does not have the Abyssal prefix for no reason. Space twists and the force of Nottagator¡¯s devastating impact is transferred to Sgt. Guar, crushing the Littan into the ground in a cloud of stone dust and a torrent of fresh gravel!


    Guar is one tough Littan, but this burns the second use of his Impregnable passive, opening the man up for true pain and humiliation!


    Nottagator successfully grapples Sgt. Guar!


    You did not think that a move called Snatch merely caused damage did you? Varrin would most likely recognize this move, as he is prone to being grabbed up by giant enemies such as this Atrocidile Titan.


    Sgt. Guar blinks out of existence and reappears in Nottagator¡¯s grip. The Atrocidile squeezes the man with enough force to grind boulders into sand and exercises its expertise with the Unarmed skill!


    Nottagator has Paralyzed Sgt. Guar!


    With all of his defensive cooldowns burned for the moment, Guar can do little against the paralyzing grasp of the Titan. What¡¯s more, Nottagator is not even close to finished!


    Nottagator uses Titan¡¯s Bite!


    Nottagator¡¯s STR attack is maximized!


    Nottagator gains +22 to its attack from Rage!


    Nottagator¡¯s Rage causes it to ignore Physical DR!


    Nottagator spends 50 stamina to increase its damage by 100!


    Sgt. Guar assaulted Nottagator¡¯s face and Nottagator is letting the Littan know just how it feels about that insult with pure brutality! It opens its mouth wide and its gnashing teeth clamp down on Guar. I can hear the sound of his armor twisting from here! Screams of misery and distress fill the air!


    ¡°He¡¯s not screaming at all.¡±


    [Silence!]


    Nottagator uses the leverage created to slam Sgt. Guar back into the ground, rolling its head from side to side in an effort to dismember the Littan, still trapped in the Atrocidile¡¯s jaws! I would say that Nottagator has gotten a taste for the Littan¡¯s blood, but Guar is immune to Bleeding! It may be the only thing allowing him to clutch tightly to his mortal coil at the moment!


    And if that wasn¡¯t enough, Nottagator uses Afterimage!


    Afterimage


    You gain a number of Afterimage charges equal to the number of SPD evolutions you possess. Whenever you take any action, you can spend one Afterimage charge to repeat that action instantly and at no cost.


    Afterimage charges have a 1-hour consecutive cooldown.


    Nottagator is doing it again! The Atrocidile hits Guar with a full bodyslam at ten times speed, smashing him into the ground and chewing the man into oblivion! These Littans are only getting a taste of the insatiable hunger of the beast, and Squad Pio is already crumbling!


    Nottagator¡¯s display is beautiful in its barbarity! Is it even conceivable for the Littans to recover?

 Chapter 175: Planar or Spatial? The Subtle Nuance of Portal Magic

    Chapter 175: Planar or Spatial? The Subtle Nuance of Portal Magic


    All is not lost for the Littan party. Nottagator¡¯s merciless combo may have looked ruinous, but Sgt. Guar had Shielding granted to him by Captain Pio. On top of a health pool that I have judged to be close to 2000 and liberal use of his defensive buffs, Guar is not yet relieved of his living role in this mortal combat! The tank still has a lot of space before Nottagator hands the Void King Sgt. Guar¡¯s head on a platter!


    ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡±


    While Nottagator tears into Guar, the rest of his team does not merely stand idly by watching the massacre. Staff Sgt. Baltae has taken to the air, keeping himself aloft with Telekinesis. The spatial mage has begun casting a spell and releases 4 bolts of Mystic Force at Nottagator. Given how severely the man¡¯s mana was drained by the use of Mana Barrier during the fight with the Gekkogs, this may be the mage¡¯s first and final contribution to this combat!


    Force Bolt


    Mystical


    Cost: 10 mana + Variable


    Requirements: INT 20, Mystical Magic 20


    Create a bolt of force that seeks out your enemies. Make an INT Mystical attack against an entity you can perceive within a number of feet equal to 40 plus twice your Mystical Magic skill level with a bonus to damage equal to your Mystical Magic skill level. This bolt will seek out its target, curving around all obstruction.


    You may create an additional number of bolts up to the number of Mystical Magic evolutions you possess for an additional 10 mana each. Each bolt can be assigned a target individually.


    Despite being the party¡¯s weak link last fight, Sgt. Baltae is once again showing his prowess as a tactical fighter. Force is Nottagator¡¯s lowest defense, and a shower of quick attacks is often an exploitable weakness of tanks that rely on high-cooldown defensive abilities, as demonstrated by Sgt. Guar¡¯s near-evisceration.


    In case it was not clear from the Titan¡¯s name, Nottagator¡¯s highest stat is Fortitude, and its seeming immunity to damage is in no small part due to cooldowns similar to Guar¡¯s. High Fortitude also means that Baltae¡¯s normal repertoire of Dimensional attacks is significantly less effective against the beast, making the use of Force an even wiser choice. Let us see how effective it truly is!


    As Nottagator ravages Guar, the Force Bolts thunder through the air, but amalgamated chunks of stone launch into the sky to intercept three of them! The bolts hit and explode through the rock, barely slowing on their way toward Nottagator. This attack has some significant punch behind it, more than we have seen thus far from the spatial mage! Still, some of the power behind the attacks is lost as they strike the defensive ability, and when they land upon Nottagator¡¯s thick hide, the effect is minimal!


    Nottagator takes 11 Force damage!


    Nottagator takes 21 Force damage!


    Nottagator takes 18 Force damage!


    Nottagator takes 51 Force damage!


    Nottagator gains 4 stacks of Rage!


    While Force is Nottagator¡¯s lowest defense, it is still higher than most of the adverse team¡¯s Physical defenses! Still, Baltae¡¯s attack did its job and deprived Nottagator of one of its defensive abilities and¨C What¡¯s this? Sgt. Baltae is repeating the attack! More bolts fly out, pressuring Nottagator to spend more cooldowns!


    Nottagator uses Face Tank and gains 70 DR All for one attack!


    Nottagator uses Face Tank and gains 70 DR All for one attack!


    Nottagator uses Face Tank and gains 70 DR All for one attack!


    Nottagator uses Face Tank and gains 70 DR All for one attack!


    Force Bolt fails to deal damage!


    Nottagator gains 4 stacks of Rage!


    While Baltae has certainly made an incredible contribution to his team¡¯s chance of victory by shredding Nottagator¡¯s mitigation, the spatial mage is clearly out of juice. He is barely capable of keeping himself afloat using Telekinesis. That man would do well to retreat, lest he fall into the pit of deadly spikes without the benefit of his Mana Barrier.


    Let us hope he remains and tests his Luck. The Atrocidile Titan is not cheap to feed.


    ¡°Wait. What have you been feeding it?¡±


    [Irrelevant!]


    [Sgt. Baltae no longer has enough mana to meaningfully contribute to the fight, Pio has been casting Heal and support spells nearly nonstop, and Guar has been forced to serve as the party¡¯s primary source of AoE damage to the detriment of his stamina pool. It is difficult to know where the gutless curse mage stands, but I suspect they are suffering as well, given how many curses they are throwing around and especially after soloing that den of Gekkogs.]


    [The only party member in good shape is likely Lt. Madel, who appears to have a Fortitude in the mid-30¡¯s. However, she has yet to display any abilities that take significant advantage of her large stamina pool. That is 300 points worth of expendable resources the team is not making use of.]


    As predicted by the unsolicited commentary of the Delve¡¯s co-administrator, Captain Pio is casting Cleanse to rid Guar of the Paralyzed status. Pio also grants herself Haste and hits Guar with 2 uses of Heal, which will return Sgt. Guar to a full complement of Blessed stacks. He will need those if he plans to survive Nottagator¡¯s grip. The beast is suffering from a large number of Cursed stacks, but my money is on the Atrocidile when it comes to a raw contest of Strength.


    In an odd shift in strategy, Lt. Madel is backing off from the Atrocidile and making her way toward the edge of the arena. It appears she is having a psychic conversation with Sgt. Baltae, who is urging her to change position. The Atrocidile is once again tearing into Guar, who receives Shielding from Pio¨Cwhich is immediately shredded by Nottagator¨Conly to be refreshed by Sgt. Guar himself using a Heavy Armor evolution! But it is still not enough to save him from having a third of his health bitten off by the Atrocidile!


    And with that health goes the man¡¯s arm! Sgt. Guar is down a limb! The Atrocidile feasts on the flesh of its foe, roaring in delight at the vengeful carnage!


    Sgt. Baltae teleports to the edge of the arena, holding himself above the surface of the water with Telekinesis. A small bird lands on his shoulder, the pusillanimous Littan mimic finally showing themself. The mimic uses Scapegoat on Captain Pio, causing the Atrocidile to become Distracted and abandon its assault on Guar. Guar crashes down to the ground, and Baltae begins pulling the injured man toward the edge of the cavern with Telekinesis, aided by Lt. Madel¡¯s meager Strength as she swoops in to help carry the party¡¯s tank.


    ¡°I have no idea what they¡¯re trying to do. Are they going to burrow through the wall?¡±


    [That would be impossible. The Delve is built to abut the edge of the dimensional space on the opposite side of the Closet from your living quarters. That wall is the edge of the Closet, and nothing exists outside of it.]


    ¡°I mean, I can survive in a vacuum. Maybe they can as well?¡±


    [You do not understand. There is nothing on the other side of that wall. It is a non-space, devoid of even the fabric that makes up reality. In this dimension, the Closet is all that exists. Beyond that, the System restricts all long-range planar travel while within a Delve. Even if Sgt. Baltae were able to cross dimensional boundaries, he will be unable to use that capability within the Pocket Delve. I also doubt he has enough mana to attempt anything so intensive.]


    In a surprising twist, Captain Pio shows herself as a capable defensive fighter! Her shield is not just for show, but withstands a punishing series of attacks from Nottagator while the rest of her team is in full retreat! Chunks of her health are peeled away while bursts of healing keep her in one piece. It turns out she is not just a healer, but an acceptably talented off-tank!


    A heavy swipe comes in from Captain Pio¡¯s left. She leaps into the air and angles her shield to take the hit. Nottagator connects and sends Pio hurtling through the air. Incredibly, Captain Pio¡¯s flight is taking her directly toward her allies! She smashes against the invincible dimensional boundary, her body crumpling against the implacable wall. She holds onto consciousness as she falls, splashing down and resurfacing beside her group. A fierce psychic exchange occurs, with Baltae gesturing vigorously at the wall.


    ¡°Captain!¡± the man shouts, breaking their vigilant silence for the first time. ¡°Please, trust me! There is something here!¡±


    The Atrocidile spins to find its prey, then rushes across the water toward the group. It closes the distance in under a second! Baltae¡¯s hand is on the wall, but I have no idea what he is trying to accomplish! He casts a spell!


    Worm Tunnel


    Dimensional


    Cost: 5 mana


    Requirements: Dimensional Magic


    Create a temporary tunnel through a mundane substance no thicker than 40 plus twice your Dimensional Magic skill level in feet. This tunnel can be traversed in a single step, regardless of the thickness. The tunnel lasts for a number of hours equal to the number of Dimensional Magic evolutions you have but can be ended at will.


    It... it works? A tunnel forms at the boundary of the dimensional space! The Littans are flooding through it! They are making their escape to an unknown location!


    ¡°Grotto, what the fuck is through that portal?¡±


    [It is technically not a portal, but compressed space. Shortcut, for example, is planar magic, whereas this is entirely spatial in nature. It is a subtle, yet important distinction.]


    ¡°Grotto! Why do I see plants through that portal? Plants, steamy water, and a carefully cultivated atmosphere of sublime relaxation?! Grotto?!¡±


    [Curious. It appears that the edge of this side of the Closet adjoins the edge of the opposite side of the Closet. Rather than there being nothing on the other side of the wall, it is a continuous self-contained spatial loop separated by a normally impenetrable barrier.]


    ¡°Grotto! They¡¯re in the fucking hot spring!¡±


    ...


    [One moment, please.]

 Chapter 176: Strategy Meeting, but Dressed

    Chapter 176: Strategy Meeting, but Dressed


    Grotto¡¯s Delve had been pretty informative. Although I¡¯d done plenty of research into Delving and had opportunities to train and speak with other Delvers through the Ravvenblaqs, I¡¯d never seen how another group handled Delving firsthand.


    In fact, seeing another group in action at all was extremely rare, barring tournaments and exhibitions. Even then, one never got a real look at a team¡¯s capabilities. Just the things they were willing to put on display. Seeing how a talented group dealt with the challenges presented was extraordinary in some ways. It was an opportunity that most Delvers would leap at, whether out of a true desire for self-improvement or the chance to size up competition or steal tactics. If we were to sell tickets to this kind of thing, we¡¯d probably be up to our eyeballs in chips.


    However...


    None of that was worth these motherlovin¡¯ Littans having unrestricted access to my hotspring.


    This wasn¡¯t a public bath! It was my hot spring! Not the Delve¡¯s hotspring! It was select. High-prestige. By invitation only. A hot spring reserved for the most elite and attractive Delvers, as judged by yours truly!


    They hadn¡¯t even gone through the entry pavilion to put away their dirty gear and have a quick rinse! They¡¯d get the water all sweaty and gross. Were our filters even prepared to deal with oily fur? I had no idea! I didn¡¯t want to find out, either.


    Wait, did Littans sweat?


    ¡°Grotto. Your silence is not earning you any favor here.¡±


    [I am remedying the issue.]


    Sgt. Baltae closed the dimensional tunnel and his mimic ally took flight as soon as the group entered the hotspring. The core group of four stayed alert and cautious while the small bird did a lap around the spring, although Sgt. Guar was struggling to stay upright. His shield¨Cand the arm it was attached to¨Cwas gone. Still, the man wasn¡¯t losing any blood, so he was stable enough.


    ¡°Either you can start sharing the steps you¡¯re taking or I¡¯m gonna have to politely, yet forcefully, ask these guys to leave.¡±


    [There is no reason to take such extreme measures. This is a common occurrence in Delve management, as no plan survives contact with Delvers. It is up to us to adapt to surprises and adjust our strategy accordingly, which I am doing. Please observe.]


    A translucent rectangular prism appeared in my field of view, with two nested cuboidal areas outlined on either side of its interior. The area on the right side of the prism was outlined in violet, and it expanded in my vision, displaying a variety of rooms and pathways. I recognized it as my side of the Closet. A pulsing blue marker denoted the location of the Littans up against the far right edge of the region.


    [Your space within the Closet is separated by as much distance as reasonably possible given the Closet¡¯s current configuration.]


    The view panned left, taking us through the body of the prism representing the Closet for a few miles until we were looking at a cube representing the Pocket Delve. Seeing everything outlined like this let me appreciate how much shit I¡¯d crammed into my side by comparison. The Delve was not small, but it was only slightly larger than my space. Even so, both regions combined were only a fraction of the total volume available to us in the Closet.


    Five sides of the Delve cube were green, although the sixth side¨Cthe one abutting the edge of the closet¨Cwas yellow.


    [The Delve is guarded on all interior, Closet-facing sides by a portal barrier. If a Delver were to find a way to reach the outer edge of the Delve, they would simply be teleported back to its entrance when they make contact with the barrier. The only exception is the wall the Littans tunneled through. I saw no need to create a barrier on that side, since to my knowledge it was an impassable wall with literal nothingness beyond it. However, we have just discovered that the Pocket Closet is a self-contained spatial loop.]


    To the left of the yellow side of the cube, a new cube appeared that displayed my personal space again. The view zoomed out until I was viewing the entire Closet, and new prisms began forming along each edge, creating a series of repeating blocks, each one a copy of the core Closet.


    [This actually makes more sense than the wall being adjacent to oblivion. It also implies that this realm is entirely composed of the Closet and nothing else, which is preferable to us potentially sharing a domain with other entities. No matter what direction you travel, you will always loop back around to the opposite side of the Closet.]


    ¡°If this is more sensical than the nonsense you thought was sensible, why did you insensibly think the less sensical thing had more sensical-ness?¡±


    A moment of silence was then held for the Hiwardian language.


    [None of my attempts to penetrate the barrier on any side of the Closet had been successful, and no data was presented to indicate that this spatial loop existed. The barrier displays no variations in temperature, vibration, mana signature, or other factors that could not be accounted for by the elements within that area of the Closet. If something were on the other side of the barrier, there would be quantifiable associated phenomena.]


    ¡°Okay. When does this explanation start making me feel better about the stranger danger in my bath?¡±


    [Creating a portal barrier within the Closet is fairly trivial when invoking System authority to manage the progress of Delvers. It does require a constant drain on our mana reserves, which is why I attempted to take advantage of the exterior walls of the Closet when designing the Delve.]


    The image zoomed back in on the Littan group, and I noticed that the edges of the room containing the hotspring were now highlighted in green.


    [I have erected portal barriers on all sides of the spring leading out to your personal areas, and the Littans are currently fully contained within that room. The only traversable exit is the wall that will return them to the Atrocidile chamber. Once they have re-entered the Delve, I will adjust the existing barriers to cover the ¡®exterior¡¯ wall of the Closet to ensure that future groups will be unable to take advantage of this loop to reach unintended locations. Spells such as Sgt. Baltae¡¯s Worm Tunnel will be unable to penetrate through such a countermeasure.]


    ¡°Right. So, they can¡¯t leave the hot spring to start pillaging my penthouse and dedicated inventory rooms, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that they are inside my hot spring.¡±


    [Ah, yes. Unfortunately, there is little I can do about that at this juncture.]


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Even accounting for the potion?¡± asked Pio.


    ¡°Yes, Captain.¡±


    ¡°How is your backup shield?¡±


    ¡°Serviceable, but my spare has a lower block value by 30.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± hummed Pio. ¡°If there is time, we will dissect the Atrocidile after we kill it to get your old one back.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Captain.¡±


    Pio turned to the spatial mage, who appeared to be in deep meditation.


    ¡°Staff Sergeant?¡±


    ¡°I have barely used Mindfulness, so my mana will be back to full, Captain,¡± Baltae said, eyes still closed. ¡°I apologize for my uselessness in the battle. I did not expect Mana Barrier to be such a significant drain, or I would have recovered more before exiting the maze.¡±


    ¡°You followed standards,¡± said Pio. ¡°Mindfulness is reserved for situations where your mana is below 40 percent. It had not dropped below that threshold by the time we left the maze. None of us expected the next chamber to be so deadly. Although I think we all realize this Delve asks more of us than any other we have encountered.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Captain,¡± said Baltae. ¡°Because of your healing, my health will also be full, as will my stamina.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Pio. She turned to the caped Littan, who was once again flipping a knife in her hand. ¡°Lieutenant Madel?¡±


    ¡°I will be at 75 percent health, Captain. Around 200 short. Stamina and mana will be topped off.¡±


    ¡°Specialist Cezil?¡± Captain Pio asked, looking down at the bird. It chirped at her, and the captain raised an eyebrow, unamused.


    The bird¡¯s body deformed and its feathers began to transition to dark fur. It swelled in size, and over the next minute gradually transformed into a Littan woman. She was nude, but quickly pulled out a loose tunic that she pulled on over her head. It hung down to mid-thigh, and the Littan made no effort to don anything else.


    Like Madel, Cezil the Littan mimic had striking red eyes. It wasn¡¯t uncommon among Littans, but the woman also had fur the exact shade of brown as Madel, so dark it was nearly black. In fact, when I looked at the two closely, Cezil looked identical to Madel.


    ¡°Do Cezil and Madel look the exact same to you?¡± I asked Grotto.


    I was willing to admit I might not have the best eye for telling anthropomorphic mouse people apart from one another, but so far it hadn¡¯t been a problem. Not that I was on a first-name basis with many Littans.


    [Yes. They appear to be identical twins, although I wonder whether this is merely another assumed form.]


    Specialist Cezil gave the captain a sharp salute that was so perfect it felt sarcastic. When she spoke, her voice was the same pitch as Madel¡¯s, though she had a different cadence.


    ¡°Health is full up, Captain. Not a scratch on me,¡± said Cezil. ¡°Stamina will be good to go in 2 hours. I used a lot of mana, though.¡± Cezil squinted at her screens. ¡°Gosh, I¡¯ll still be below 50 percent. I¡¯ll need another 220 to be tip top.¡± She clasped her hands in front of her and fluttered her eyelashes at the captain. ¡°Maybe I can get a potion, Cap?¡±


    Pio¡¯s frown deepened, but she produced a mana potion and tossed it to Cezil. The specialist smiled broadly and tossed it back like a shot of whiskey, licking her lips afterward.


    ¡°I already have a mana pot going,¡± said Pio. ¡°All my pools will be full with a 40 mana surplus.¡± After saying this, she pointed at Guar, then Cezil, granting them both a Heal. Pio then popped a couple of AoE buffs, refreshing their Shielding and Blessed stacks. ¡°Next, we will discuss what we learned.¡±


    ¡°I learned I do not enjoy being eaten very much,¡± said Guar. ¡°What I hope to learn next, is how Atrocidile tastes.¡±


    ¡°Like revenge, I imagine,¡± quipped Cezil.


    More than one stomach growled after that statement.


    ¡°Belay my previous order,¡± said Captain Pio. ¡°Instead, we will have lunch.¡±


    Over the next thirty minutes, I discovered the raw, untapped potential of the Cooking intrinsic.

 Chapter 177: Delicious in Delve

    Chapter 177: Delicious in Delve


    Guar had an entire kitchen in his inventory. Not just a camp cookout kitchen, either. The man pulled out an entire wood-fired stove, a six-foot length of stainless steel cabinets topped with a prep counter, a wall covered in hooks and hanging cooking implements, a water cistern with a rotary pump, and a three-stage commercial sink for cleanup. He also laid out a lovely handwoven rug made of natural, stain-resistant fibers and placed a cozy kitchen table atop it.


    Guar manned the stove, beginning to boil water in a large pot and getting a bit of oil going in a cast iron skillet. Cezil pulled out a selection of fresh peppers, transformed her hand into a small scoop and began deseeding them. She washed the hand first, of course. She even washed the other one, too.


    Captain Pio produced three different grains, rinsed the excess starch off with water from the pump, and then dropped them into the pot for Guar before setting the table. Madel produced a live game bird¨Clarger than a chicken but not quite as plump¨Cproving that Nuralie was not the only Delver that could store living things in her inventory.


    Madel promptly wrung the bird¡¯s neck, defeathered and dressed it, then cut it into portions. She did this with a large kitchen knife, not the one she¡¯d been plunging into Gekkogs. I was happy to see that she stored the mess in a compost container she placed back into her inventory afterward, leaving not even a barb behind. Pio collected and stowed away all the other waste.


    Meanwhile, Baltae brought out a dozen small parcels of wax paper filled with herbs and spices, looked over the ingredients selected by the others, and began mixing a custom blend using telekinesis. Cezil had moved onto some sort of lettuce, peeling away leaves and tossing them at Baltae. The spatial mage caught them with his magic, floated them through a dark dressing (a vinaigrette, I imagine), scattered some small seeds over it, and delicately twisted the bundles into flowering arrangements. These landed on tasteful, cream-colored side plates and were then topped with citrus fruit slices by Madel.


    Spices scattered themselves onto the bird, and the bird went into the pan, where it was seared to perfection by Guar. The meat was removed briefly to saute? the peppers, after which the now-cooked grains went in to soak up the remaining oil and herbs. The meat and peppers then returned to top the dish in the pan, keeping it from growing cold. Pio cleaned surfaces and implements as they were finished being used.


    There was a chilled fruit yogurt for dessert. It was kept fresh in a mana-woven chest that sparkled and emitted icy vapor when opened, so I imagined this one required a bit of time in the cold to set. It was the only thing pre-made.


    By the time the group sat down, said a prayer to Yara, and began to dig in, I was barely able to resist teleporting over to ask for a plate or two. But that would have been plain rude of me. Granny Loryn would not have approved. She might have even muttered a dismayed ¡°Bless his heart, but that boy needs to learn some manners,¡± under her breath.


    Remember Granny Loryn? No? It¡¯s alright, she got name-dropped all the way back in Chapter 30 of Volume 1. If you did remember, here¡¯s your gold star:


    ??¨A ¡ï ?¨@?


    Anyway, the food wasn¡¯t just delicious. Turns out, every single member of this party had the Cooking & Hospitality intrinsic skill. They were protected from harm while eating in Guar¡¯s dining area, had all mental and physical fatigue banished when using utensils maintained by Pio, were purged of toxins and mundane illnesses through Cezil¡¯s veggies, had their sense of taste and smell enhanced for several hours from Cezil¡¯s spices, and gained a boost to health and recovery while sleeping with a belly full of Madel¡¯s not-a-chicken. They didn¡¯t end up taking a nap, but I expected that last one would be much appreciated if they made it out of here.


    It was a ¡®no shop talk¡¯ table, so they didn¡¯t discuss strategy over the meal. Instead, most of the time was spent catching up on the goings-on of each party member¡¯s close relatives, which is how I discovered Littans had families of considerable size. Growing up with 20 brothers and sisters was perfectly reasonable, and family reunions with several hundred attendees were modest affairs.


    This line of conversation confirmed that Madel and Cezil were, in fact, twin sisters. This also became apparent from the relentless teasing Madel endured from her mimic sibling.


    Over dessert, there was a brief talk about a popular play titled Piercing the Veil put on by a troupe traveling the empire and going by the name of Hysteria¡¯s Congregation. The play sounded too meta for my taste but made me realize I¡¯d spent very little time engaging with Arzian culture. Non-lethal culture, anyway. I would say Arts and Entertainment, but there was an art to smashing monsters to a pulp, and that was pretty entertaining so...


    Once the dishes were clean and the kitchen packed away, the group finally started working on their battle plans.


    ¡°The Atrocidile has stupid amounts of Physical DR,¡± said Guar. His nub had moved from shoulder to elbow length, the muscles visibly squirming as they reformed. ¡°More DR than I have when blocking. It is built like a tank. The suffix ¡®Titan¡¯ is no surprise.¡± He scratched at his biceps. ¡°Yara save me, this itches. The evolution never said anything about itching.¡±


    I thought back to my own experience with Just a Flesh Wound. I suspected the Littan had the vanilla version of my evolution, Total Regeneration. I didn¡¯t remember my body parts itching when they regrew, but I had yet to lose an entire limb. Just a couple fingers, some teeth, a bit of intestine, and half my brain. Maybe the combination with Body of Theseus affected my symptoms.


    ¡°Hits like a hammerhead high on night-rush, as well,¡± Guar continued, scratching hard enough that some of his freshly grown fur was shedding. Grotto was going to be on cleaning duty after this, but maybe the Littans would sweep it up like they had with the crumbs.


    ¡°It builds Rage stacks,¡± said Baltae, voice serene as he meditated. ¡°It has some form of Shattering Fury, giving it a high level of penetration while it has Rage.¡±


    ¡°How do you figure?¡± asked Madel.


    ¡°Some Atrocidile variants favor Rage builds, and the creature displayed berserker-like tendencies. It showed a level of tactical intelligence with its abilities and use of terrain, and one would expect it to make similarly intelligent choices with its targeting. However, it fixated on the first and closest target¨CSgt. Guar¨Cwhen it began attacking in earnest. Guar is the tank and is by definition the worst party member for a monster to target. Thus, it likely had enough Rage stacks to become Berserk very early in the fight.


    ¡°As for Shattering Fury, Captain Pio¡¯s Physical DR is substantially lower than Sgt. Guar¡¯s, but they each took similar amounts of damage when attacked. This suggests that Guar¡¯s defenses were being ignored. Given the aforementioned use of Rage, Shattering Fury makes the most sense.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Madel grunted. ¡°Well, I noticed that it is... fast.¡±


    ¡°Instantaneous attack cooldowns and some kind of Haste,¡± said Baltae.


    ¡°High Fortitude, Strength, and Speed,¡± said Pio. ¡°Then its weakness should be Spiritual.¡±


    ¡°It sure resisted everything I threw at it,¡± said Cezil. The mighty morphin¡¯ Littan picked at her tunic like it was uncomfortable.


    ¡°It cannot have high stats across the board,¡± Pio said. ¡°The ability to resist your Spiritual magicks must have a limit.¡±


    ¡°I hit it with 4 different debuffs and did not find these ¡®limits¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Cooldowns and resources,¡± said Baltae. ¡°If the creature¡¯s ability to resist Spiritual attacks is not due to a high Wisdom score, then it is naturally limited. Most high-level physical fighters¨Cespecially tanks¨Chave at minimum one or two cooldowns dedicated to avoiding the worst Spiritual attacks. If the Atrocidile relies on cooldowns to avoid the debuffs, then its entire ancillary build is focused on avoidance. Given that it is a solo-predator hybrid high-defense and damage dealer type, I find that unlikely.


    ¡°That means it is consuming a secondary resource. Resources that are best suited for avoiding mental and other Spiritual attacks are mental and Spiritual resources; such as skills relying on mental attributes and mana. That is unlikely, given our observations and the Atrocidile¡¯s likely stat distribution. However, the most common mental debuff applied by martial fighters is itself a buff that can sometimes be consumed as a resource in certain specific scenarios and that is...?¡±


    ¡°Uh, Rage stacks?¡± Guar guessed.


    ¡°Yes, Guar, Rage stacks. Very good. Rage stacks are the precursor to the mental debuff Berserk and are themselves a resource used by fighters for damage and occasionally other boons. As such, it is not a stretch to imagine that the Atrocidile might be using the mental resource of Rage stacks to avoid the Spiritual debuffs.¡±


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°How do you suggest we counter that?¡± asked Captain Pio.


    ¡°Do we need to?¡± asked Baltae, before immediately answering his own question. ¡°We likely do not. The classic counters to physical fighters are mental attacks and movement debuffs. The Atrocidile seems to have those angles covered. We should instead look to other schools that such fighters are weak to. Mystical and Divine are two compelling options. My Force attacks seemed to have some effect, but I am not built for consistent high-level output of Mystical damage and neither is anyone else. Sgt. Guar, however, can output significant Righteous damage using Smite, along with his other Divine abilities and expenditure of Blessed stacks.¡±


    ¡°So... I focus on damage,¡± said Guar.


    ¡°Yes, that is my suggestion,¡± said Baltae.


    ¡°That should place us in a much more advantageous position than last time,¡± he said. ¡°We will also have full resources and will be expecting the fight. I believe that will be enough.¡±


    ¡°But what do I do?¡± asked Cezil. ¡°If I¡¯m not on debuffs then what uh... what do I do?¡±


    ¡°Your Curse stacks may still be effective,¡± offered Baltae.


    ¡°Curse without all the other suffering isn¡¯t very engaging,¡± said Cezil. ¡°What if Madel bonds to me?¡±


    Lt. Madel¡¯s shoulders slumped and she returned to the ground.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the right play, Captain,¡± Madel said with a sigh.


    ¡°Come ooonnn,¡± said Cezil, sauntering over like a cowboy that had ridden saddle all day. She threw an arm of unusual length around Madel¡¯s shoulders. It wrapped all the way across the lieutenant¡¯s body until Cezil could pinch Madel on the opposite cheek, which she did. ¡°Don¡¯t sound so gloomy about it. You can¡¯t use, what, half of your active abilities without me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so fucking weird,¡± said Madel, rolling her eyes.


    Captain Pio snapped her fingers and the two women stood up straight, Cezil disentangling herself from her sister.


    ¡°Your eccentricities compound when you transform,¡± said Pio. ¡°Both of you. Lieutenant, you¡¯ve done a good job keeping a lid on your own brand of insubordination but I¡¯m aware of your history.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be a problem, Captain,¡± said Madel. ¡°I can control it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem,¡± said Cezil. ¡°You try, but you can¡¯t. You¡¯ve just¨C¡± Cezil spread her hands in front of her, gazing into the middle distance. ¡°You¡¯ve just gotta let it happen.¡±


    ¡°The Lieutenant¡¯s bond and transformation will improve our odds of success,¡± said Baltae. ¡°Her goal is to hold the Atrocidile¡¯s attention, which she certainly will if she comes unhinged.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ll knock her out if she goes wild,¡± said Guar, flexing his 63 percent reformed arm.


    ¡°Negative, Sergeant,¡± said Pio. ¡°We¡¯ll go with the toddler strategy if she loses it.¡±


    ¡°Distract her with colorful objects?¡± he guessed.


    ¡°No. We ignore the tantrum and let her wear herself out.¡±


    ¡°You''ve been so cute since you had kids,¡± said Cezil. The mimic twin held out her hand to Madel. ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± said Madel, scrunching up her muzzle. ¡°No. We still have like an hour to relax.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good point,¡± said Cezil, dropping her hand. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go for a swim.¡±


    The woman threw off her tunic, transformed into something otter-adjacent, and dove into the hot spring.


    Guar stood and gave Pio a salute.


    ¡°Permission to have pool time, Captain?¡±


    ¡°Granted,¡± said Pio. The man stripped and did a cannonball. It was entirely inappropriate. Only people who owned the hot spring were allowed to cannonball.


    ¡°Glad I¡¯m not the only one whose party goes off the rails sometimes,¡± I thought to Grotto.


    [At least Captain Pio attempts to maintain order.]


    ¡°Are you criticizing my leadership style?¡±


    [I would describe it as... shambolic.]


    ¡°That¡¯s not a real word. You just made that up.¡±


    [It is real and you can look it up later. Shall I lend you some educational materials to broaden your lexicon?]


    ¡°Only if they come from that adult bookstore.¡±


    [Unfortunately, the vocabulary in those texts is oddly limited, aside from having 86 unique words to describe male genitalia.]


    ¡°Hmm, maybe you can just put a list together for me.¡±


    [A list of variegated and expressive terms, or a comprehensive list of synonyms for your reproductive organs?]


    ¡°Are they different lists?¡±


    [I do not suppose they have to be.]


    ¡°I¡¯ll expect to have it on my desk by Monday.¡±

 Chapter 178: Nottagator Rematch

    Chapter 178: Nottagator Rematch


    The Littans spent the hour recovering and I chatted with Grotto about the upcoming political quagmire our party was about to become involved with.


    [The Diplomacy intrinsic would give you a natural advantage. You will not be able to rely entirely on Etja to carry the weight of public relations. As the party leader, you will be subject to significant scrutiny and forced to respond to inquiries of all manner.]


    ¡°Right, but I¡¯m hesitant to invest in an intrinsic that has such close ties to Charisma. It¡¯s not a stat I¡¯m planning on raising. Not anytime soon, at least.¡±


    [There are different forms of Diplomacy. Strategy and planning serve as much of a role as honeyed words or graceful utilization of decorum. Intelligence and Wisdom can play their part. Beyond that, we can take advantage of my ability to share your intrinsics through the power of the Traveler¡¯s Amulet. My highest stat is Charisma, and with our connection, I can guide you through certain interactions.]


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s still weird that¡¯s your highest stat.¡±


    [Why? What did you believe it would be?]


    ¡°You know, I hadn¡¯t really thought about it. But, Charisma... you¡¯re just, uh¨C¡±


    [Just what?]


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem very diplomatic is all I¡¯m saying.¡±


    [I am fully capable of navigating social situations that require the judicious use of tact and sensitivity.]


    ¡°When have you ever done that?¡±


    [I have seen no reason to speak with you or other party members under the guise of false sincerity. I speak my mind because it provides the most utility. If that were not the case, I am more than competent at adaptation and adjustment.]


    ¡°Okay. Hmm, I¡¯ll think about it some more. We¡¯ve got the rest of the week.¡±


    [Practice and study during our downtime may allow us to reach the first evolution, given that both of us can work on the intrinsic simultaneously. It is best not to ruminate excessively.]


    ¡°Wait, would both of us working on a skill simultaneously help my skills train faster?¡±


    [You have done very little Dungeoneering, yet your skill is at 20. If the connection operates along the same parameters, as the Amulet suggests, then I see no reason why it would be otherwise.]


    ¡°If we spar it¡¯ll be like me fighting a shadow clone of myself and then fusing afterward to receive the knowledge?¡±


    [Is that how it works with Dungeoneering?]


    ¡°I haven¡¯t explored it much. When I think about the mechanics of Delves, I get knowledge back that I know I never learned myself, but I need something to prime it. It¡¯s a problem of not knowing what I don¡¯t know. I have to try and call the knowledge to mind to realize that I know it, but I can¡¯t do that if I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m trying to know, you know?¡±


    Grotto gave me a mental grunt.


    [Diplomacy will help with your linguistic butchery even without additional Charisma.]


    ¡°I know.¡±


    We went back and forth some more. I had 9 intrinsic slots filled out of 11, and we could snag one more slot with an Expansion Delve to bring me to a max of 12. I wanted to be cautious with my choices, but I also realized the longer I waited around the more I wasted opportunities to train up a new skill.


    If I were about to walk into high-level discussions with Littan politicians and leadership, it would present a great opportunity to power level something like Diplomacy. My existing skill set primarily advanced through killing shit, so giving myself the ability to power up in other types of situations¨Cones I would be forced to encounter¨Cshould increase my overall rate of advancement.


    I was also considering Athletics to improve my mobility. Grabbing a crafting skill other than Smithing might be smart since my human racial trait buffed crafting skill progression. I could snag Tailoring and make myself some fancy outfits. Cooking clearly had some benefits that I could bring to the team. We nearly lost our minds surviving off of rations for months. Reconnaissance would make my already substantial perception abilities even better, playing to one of my strengths. Lore, Survival, and Engineering all looked like they¡¯d provide solid utility.


    There were a lot of options that intrigued me.


    ¡°Could I use Diplomacy with Dungeoneering to help you peer pressure other Delve Cores into doing weird shit for us?¡±


    [Probably.]


    ¡°Ugh, that almost seals the deal for me.¡±


    [Your vest and boa also grant social boons. You would have an excuse to wear them wherever you go, not that you need one.]


    I went ahead and slotted Diplomacy.


    When the Littans were close to the end of their time, Cezil returned to her normal form and held out her hand to Madel. Her twin took it reluctantly, then pulled a sword from her inventory I hadn¡¯t seen before. The blade was dark green and shone as if coated in a thin layer of viscous liquid.


    ¡°Good choice,¡± said Cezil.


    The Littan mimic¡¯s body slowly began to morph, her hand turned into a pommel, and the rest of her body condensed and folded until it was a perfect replica of the myrtle-colored sword.


    Madel stowed the original blade, then concentrated on the copy. She held her eyes tightly shut, and I was enraptured as the woman¡¯s soul began to creep out and cover the blade. Cezil¡¯s own spirit blossomed from the blade and entwined itself with Madel¡¯s, then stretched out and began to suffuse her entire soul.


    As they blended, Madel¡¯s fur shifted until it matched the hue of the blade. Her nails turned an even darker green, glistening like they were freshly painted, and when she opened her eyes they smoldered with jade light.


    Madel floated up and swept the sword through the air with a single swift stroke, then held out her arm and looked over her fur and nails.


    ¡°Envy,¡± she said. ¡°An adequate color when others must crane their necks to witness me.¡±


    Ultra Combo


    Whenever you use an active skill that makes an attack and you hit with that attack, you gain 1 stack of Ultra Combo unless you already possess a stack gained from that skill. You can only gain 1 stack of Ultra Combo per skill use, even if the skill makes multiple attacks.


    Whenever you would gain a stack of Ultra Combo, you can instead choose to lose all stacks of Ultra Combo. If you do, the damage of the attack is multiplied by the number of Ultra Combo stacks lost this way.


    You lose all stacks of Ultra Combo if you don¡¯t gain any new stacks for 1 minute.


    Baltae had used 4 unique spells before casting Force Bolt, giving him a 4 times multiplier to the skill''s damage. Nottagator seemed to sense the potency of Baltae¡¯s magic, its eyes snapping to the spatial mage for the first time as it paused its roll an instant before the attack. Two masses of stone tore from the ground and a sheen of polychromatic light spread out across the Atrocidile¡¯s hide.


    The first bolt struck like a rail gun round, smashing through the rocks and ripping apart the defensive skill. It skewered Nottagator''s side, punching deep into its body. Dark blue blood sprayed from the wound on impact with such speed and force that it atomized into vapor. Three more bolts followed, the extras doing substantially less since they were considered separate attacks. However, the total damage was impressive.


    Nottagator takes 485 Force damage!


    Nottagator takes 66 Force damage!


    Nottagator takes 103 Force damage!


    Nottagator takes 114 Force damage!


    ¡°Hot damn.¡±


    [The attack was... decent.]


    Even as Nottagator was having its internal organs reduced to a fine mist and squeezed out of its body by a bolt of condensed mana flying at Mach 10, it had already begun to return fire.


    Nottagator¡¯s throat and head stuttered like a machine gun as Sonic waves poured from its maw. Baltae strafed with Telekinesis, avoiding the brunt of the first wave and losing his refreshed Shielding to the second. The third sent the mage blasting back toward the small palace at the cavern¡¯s entrance, where he smashed through a marble pillar and into a wall, debris raining down onto him.


    The next wave finally brought Guar out of hiding. The party¡¯s main tank became a beam of colored light that appeared to intercept the next attack midair, and the man took three more hits against his shield, burning through his mitigation and disrupting the sonic attacks. Guar had saved Baltae, assuming there was anything left to save, but he¡¯d given up his chance for a surprise attack.


    The Atrocidile¡¯s remaining eye burned in fury as it screeched, slamming the entire room with an amplified roar. Pio¡¯s aura shuddered as it took the edge off the Fear, but both she and Guar were slammed by the pressure wave.


    A dark green spear shot from the water and right into the Corroded wound in the Atrocidile¡¯s throat. The creature coughed and rasped, blood spraying from its mouth and staining its flat, humanoid teeth. Guar took advantage of the creature¡¯s distraction to unleash three-quarters of his stamina pool in one attack.


    The man¡¯s massive hammer glowed with blinding golden light. He spun his body like an Olympic hammer throw and hucked the weapon at supersonic speed. He kept spinning, body rotating faster with each revolution, releasing 5 more hammers just like it.


    ¡°Oh shit, he¡¯s cribbing my style!¡±


    [It looks a great deal more impressive when he does it.]


    The hammers collided with the Atrocidile, striking the beast with thundering wallops. Each hammer erupted into a burst of divine light, creating a rapid thunk! boom! beat over a handful of seconds.


    Nottagator resists all Kinetic damage!


    Nottagator takes 254 Righteous damage!


    Nottagator takes 254 Righteous damage!


    Nottagator takes 254 Righteous damage!


    Nottagator takes 254 Righteous damage!


    Nottagator¡¯s health drops below 25%!


    Nottagator automatically uses Projection!


    Nottagator automatically uses Fallback!


    The Atrocidile couldn¡¯t even do Guar the courtesy of withstanding the full assault. However, just because Nottagator was down, didn¡¯t mean it was out.


    As the hammers smote hunks of the Atrocidile out of existence, an otherwordly haze surrounded the creature and its physical body disappeared. What remained was a ghostly imitation that snaked away from the final two hammers and soared toward Guar like a phantom. Guar shouted in surprise, raising his shield and resummoning his hammer to his hand.


    The spectral Atrocidile raked the man with its claws, which passed through Guar¡¯s shield like it wasn¡¯t even there. Talons slashed across Guar¡¯s soul, rending the man¡¯s spiritual essence with Spectral damage. Guar screamed as his anima was flayed. After four strikes, the ethereal version of the Atrocidile disappeared into the ether, and Guar crashed to the ground.


    Pio looked between Guar who slumped between deadly spikes, and then to the distant pile of rubble that entombed Baltae. She glanced back at the water, where a hand emerged, dragging a beaten and bloody Madel onto the shore. The lieutenant vomited up a liter of water.


    ¡°Status,¡± said Pio.


    Madel looked up at her with glowing green eyes, shot through with scarlet veins.


    ¡°The beast knows I still live, and so it flees my retribution,¡± answered Madel.


    Pio nodded, accepting that as a sign Madel wasn¡¯t in mortal peril, then rushed off toward Guar.


    ¡°Did... did they win?¡±

 Chapter 179: The Void Kings Houseplant

    Chapter 179: The Void King''s Houseplant


    Guar was alive, just Paralyzed and missing two-thirds of his health. A quick tap from Pio cleansed the debuff as she went past on her way to Baltae, picking her way carefully between the spikes.


    Baltae was trapped beneath the rubble of the pillar and wall he¡¯d smashed into. Guar had to move several stone blocks to reach him, some larger than the stout Littan¡¯s torso. I was surprised by the mage¡¯s survivability, but he¡¯d had Shielding from Pio, an evolution that stacked additional Shielding whenever he spent mana, the skill Force Shield that let him buff defenses for mana, and then finally Mana Barrier, which allowed him to take damage to mana instead of health for anything that managed to get through all of the above. That, plus his rapid use of moderately expensive spells made a major dent in the spatial mage¡¯s mana pool, but his health was still above half.


    Madel had been the closest to death, but she had the skill Second Wind that allowed her to trade stamina for health, and her applications of Bleeding drained life from the Atrocidile whenever they ticked for damage. Pio¡¯s panicked spamming of AoE buffs and heals helped out, and I wouldn¡¯t be shocked if Fusion Madel¡¯s pride forced her heart to keep beating at some point to avoid the shame of losing.


    The Atrocidile¡¯s Fallback skill allowed it to teleport to a home point within 1 mile if it took damage that dropped it below 25 percent HP. It sounded kind of broken, but it took a lot of time to set up. It had a massive cooldown, and it was really only useful for defending a set location. Not worth a skill slot unless you planned to fight often in a predetermined place, but it was perfect for a Delve minion.


    There were two strategies Grotto could deploy once this skill went off. He¡¯d either let the Atrocidile rest and recover to preserve it for future Delves¨Craising a Grade 20 mana monster took time and wasn¡¯t cheap¨Cor he could cause the Atrocidile to reappear as a final surprise challenge on the party¡¯s way to the obelisk chamber. He opted for the first choice since the Littans were healthy enough that a weakened Atrocidile wouldn¡¯t present enough of a challenge to be worth throwing the creature¡¯s life away.


    The final path to the obelisk chamber was through an underwater tunnel the Atrocidile had been guarding at the bottom of the lake. Madel noticed it during her dive, and since the clock was ticking again, the Littans moved on quickly after a brief recovery period. They had an hour and a half left.


    [It seems they will have no issue with the time limit, but there is one final hazard in the obelisk chamber I am excited to see.]


    I was curious why Grotto hadn¡¯t ¡®seen¡¯ this hazard yet, but I assumed he meant he hadn¡¯t ¡®seen¡¯ it in action.


    I was wrong.


    He hadn¡¯t seen it at all. At least, not since we got back from Deijin¡¯s Descent.


    ¡°Why... why wouldn¡¯t you check on this before letting people inside?¡±


    [Despite my age, or perhaps because of it, I find myself enjoying surprises. I will admit, this is definitely a surprise.]


    When the Littans stepped into the Obelisk chamber, it was completely overgrown by a single, semi-sentient plan. Vines covered in dancing leaves grew across every surface, with thousands of thorny tendrils hanging from the ceiling or rising from the ground. Melon-sized buds opened into colorful blooms that shuddered and turned to the Littans, who stood in the chamber¡¯s doorway, cautiously surveying the room. Tendrils slowly snaked in their direction, like curious danger noodles trying to decide if the Delvers were small enough to eat.


    They 100% were.


    Now, seeing that the obelisk chamber had been completely subsumed by a massive, flesh-eating plant was unfortunate, but honestly, it wasn¡¯t that weird. I¡¯d fought big evil plants before. One was the spawn of a divine avatar and used giant starfish covered in humanoid hands to bring prey toward its acid-filled digestive sac. That was weird. By comparison, this lethal jungle was tame.


    What was weird about this plant was that it was infinite.


    At the top of the chamber, the leafy vines stretched out into eternity. It was like looking at a visual glitch that caused the figures to distort and become a streaming line of colors vanishing into the sky.


    The tunnel went on farther than the eye could perceive, and its terminus constantly moved to the edge of my vision, as though perceiving it caused it to shift locations. What was more likely was that my mortal optics were ill-equipped to take in whatever visual data was being delivered by the phenomenon.


    The roof tunnel also wasn¡¯t the only one. Each wall, even the floor, drifted off into an impossible space that tugged at the edge of my vision, endlessly weaving from side to side as I tried to peer into it.


    When I looked closely, I could see that the leafy vines grew along a wall that wasn¡¯t there, displaying an impossible density of foliage while still failing to block the view of eternity behind them. They were part of that vastness, a collapsed representation of what inhabited it, the shadow of the creature they were a part of, more vast than I could comprehend.


    It reminded me of my experience in the Basilica-Cathedral loop. When I¡¯d teleported through the strangeward direction, I¡¯d glimpsed a hint of the nature of a fourth-dimensional location. That had been overwhelming, but this was paralyzing, drawing my thoughts into a spiral, tempting me to ascend into the realm and see myself reduced to bare geometry, a stick figure on the wall.


    I willed my view of the room away, back into the Atrocidile cavern.


    ¡°Okay, when I reacted to the hot spring earlier, I was being hyperbolic. Right now, I am being entirely serious. What the fuck is that Grotto?¡±


    There was a long stretch of psychic silence.


    [Ah, you see... it was a Dominion Ivy plant. I thought it would be an interesting addition to the Closet¡¯s flora since it uses minor dimensional magicks. The plant consumes small prey¨Cinsects and rodents mostly¨Cbut the mass it gains after trapping its catch is negligible. It was theorized that the plant creates a small pocket dimension where it houses its digestive organs.]


    ¡°Alright, then what is it now?¡±


    [I do not have a categorization for it. The System suggests ¡®Dominion Ivy Plant of the Endless¡¯, but this is a novel classification.]


    ¡°What grade is it?¡± I wasn¡¯t willing to peer into the creature again until I recovered from my last viewing. Even now, there was a temptation to return to it, to let myself get lost, and I wasn¡¯t even physically there.


    [The grade is ¡®Variable¡¯.]


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that was an option.¡±


    [It is only applied to entities that are essentially unkillable through normal means, but that are not an insurmountable obstacle to deal with temporarily.]


    ¡°How... are you supposed to deal with that? Even temporarily?¡±


    [That is a good question. Let us see what the Littans do.]


    I mentally frowned at Grotto but returned my view to the Littans without looking directly into the obelisk chamber. They wore grim expressions, as though they were watching an atrocity in action. After a few moments of silent observation, Sgt. Baltae stepped forward. He rose up with Telekinesis and entered the chamber. I watched the man go, keeping my attention wholly focused on him, not allowing my attention to drift to the plant beyond.


    Madel stood back and hurled daggers at the thorny tendrils that reached out toward Baltae, but the vines continued to extend after being severed. No matter how much was cut away, the tendrils would continue forth. They weren¡¯t regrowing, there was just no limit to their length.


    Guar took to throwing his hammer, tearing down vines in a massive arc around the room before the two-handed weapon returned, and then he¡¯d throw again. Baltae moved forward slowly, allowing the skills of his allies to keep him safe. Pio spent the entire time praying.


    [Perhaps you should refrain from spreading those insights among the Littans. Her Grace is a popular patron in their culture.]


    ¡°Already starting in with Diplomacy training? We should at least take a break first. There¡¯s also a couple of things I¡¯d like your help with.¡±


    [Have you slotted the skill? Did you do that prior to Yara¡¯s request?]


    ¡°Yeah. I did it while the Littans were on break.¡±


    [I see. You should check your notifications.]


    I blinked, then glanced at my interface. My personal notifications had been suppressed while I surveyed the Delve, it seemed, and I saw that both Dungeoneering and Diplomacy had advanced. I brought up the messages.


    You have successfully administered a level 15 Expansion Delve!


    Near deaths: 4


    Actual deaths: 0


    Rating: Excellent


    You have earned 15 System Rep


    Your Dungeoneering skill has advanced from level 20 to level 25!


    ¡°Oh, neat,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that was a way to level the skill. Also, 5 levels at once, nice.¡±


    [It is the most reliable way to advance Dungeoneering. Producing constructs also helps, along with study, performing managerial duties, gathering mana, and so on. Delve administration grants experience to the skill based on difficulty, with Expansion being on the higher end. We also received the second-highest rating. I expect we lost marks due to the hot spring debacle.]


    ¡°What about the plant?¡±


    [The plant was a level-appropriate challenge. The Delvers dealt with it themselves, it simply cost them a potent resource.]


    ¡°Ah. Well, I¡¯m glad Yara dealt with the plant for us. How were you going to get down to the obelisk to make modifications with that thing in there?¡±


    [It was a Delve monster. It would not harm me.] He paused and thought for a second.[Probably. I would have been more worried about its influence spilling out to other areas of the Closet. Its biomass was limitless. I have no idea why its effect on this dimensional space was so well contained.]


    ¡°Maybe it had trouble adapting its conceptual identity to conform to a three-dimensional space.¡±


    Grotto tilted his whole body in consideration, then eventually shrugged his tentacles.


    [I lament the loss of such a novel creation, but perhaps I can grow another with a moderate amount of time and effort.]


    I started to ask Grotto to please not do that, but reconsidered. As long as he didn¡¯t let things spiral, it might be interesting to have an infinite plant of wonder hanging around. Especially if it wasn¡¯t hostile to us. I decided to mull it over some more. We could always call in another god to deal with things if they got out of control.


    Was that a completely irresponsible attitude to have? Probably. However, with the ways things were going, I felt like I¡¯d be able to host a dinner party of the divine and famous before long.


    ¡°What does System Rep do?¡±


    [You can spend it to increase the chances of a successful System Call. I did not realize you could earn any as a Delver, even if you are a Delve co-arbiter. Curious. I wonder how it might be applied.]


    It was my turn to give Grotto a shrug. I¡¯d add it to The List.


    I looked at my next notification.


    Your Diplomacy skill has increased from level 1 to level 10!


    ¡°Uh... why the hell did I get so many levels in DIplomacy?¡±


    [Negotiating with a goddess apparently yields exceptional experience,] Grotto thought to me. He began rubbing his feelers together, a menacing gleam in his eye. [We should try to find more gods to make deals with.]


    It looked like Grotto was on board with the deific dinner party idea. I wondered what kind of hors d''oeuvres one served at such an event. That could also go on The List, right below choosing my Diplomacy evolution. I wanted to run those by the entire party.


    ¡°So, Grotto, got time to help me dive into my soul and perform complex manipulations of my mana matrix with the goal of reforging half of my active skills?¡±


    [Will this also involve abusing our shared spiritual connection since it was recently made more exploitable by the godly avatar Fortune?]


    ¡°Yes! I also plan on applying my divine revelations to novel and likely unintended use cases.¡±


    [Very well. That sounds moderately entertaining.]

 Chapter 180: Skill Forge

    Chapter 180: Skill Forge


    Grotto and I teleported back to my Pocket Penthouse to begin reforging my active skills. We spent some time setting up a dedicated meditation space clear of anything distracting or destructible. I¡¯d never had a catastrophic failure while skill forging¨Cand had no idea what fucking up something like Explosion! might do¨Cbut I admittedly had limited experience with the practice.


    I still had more experience than 99% of Delvers, but we were firmly in the pioneering stage of the art. I just happened to have been given a head start by a goddess, a brain injury, and now an ancient intelligence with vast knowledge and questionable opinions on ethical experimentation.


    I was sitting in a lotus position on an extra-thick woolen rug, having nostalgia over my first few sessions in the Closet meditating and dedicating my mana regen to its expansion. Doing that now would have been a pittance compared to the constant output of the obelisk.


    I settled into the carpet, centering myself and clearing my mind of stray thoughts and distractions. Unfortunately, Grotto wasn¡¯t helping much with that.


    ¡°Do you really need to sit there?¡± I asked.


    Grotto¡¯s feelers were draped over my shoulders as the Delve Core perched atop my head like an animal hat.


    [Close proximity will allow me to more accurately gauge your biological reactions and deactivating my gravitational countermeasures will free up a minor amount of processing power. Would you prefer that I sit in your lap?]


    ¡°No. That sounds much worse.¡±


    I suspected Grotto¡¯s reasoning had more to do with establishing dominance than it did with the nonsense he was presenting. In the past, he¡¯d managed my ¡°biological functions¡± just fine from a distance, and I thought it took more effort for him to stay in one place than it did for him to hover. Either way, I let it go and did my best to get into the zone.


    My first time forging a skill was with Sam¡¯lia, who¡¯d guided me through the process of modifying the imprint of Gravity Anchor on my mana matrix. This involved a light amount of soul manipulation, which she¡¯d handled to make sure I didn¡¯t accidentally hurt myself.


    The second time I¡¯d taken a swing at the undertaking was when I¡¯d reforged Shortcut into Reckless Shortcut. That was a quick and dirty affair done in a moment of dire need and while missing a significant chunk of the brain cells responsible for things like inhibition and rational thought. It had been extremely risky, and the only thing that had kept me from bricking the skill or worse was having Soul Sight cranked up to a level I¡¯d never before attempted. That was another trick I only got away with because my brain had been borked enough that it didn¡¯t interfere with processing the information granted to me by the Sight.


    Since then, I¡¯d done a lot of work to readjust my approach to Soul Sight. The spiritual senses that it granted created a lot of strain when processed through my organic mind, but were as easy to manage as any ordinary sense when I allowed the information to flow through my soul directly. Things could still be overwhelming, but the burden was significantly lessened when Soul Sight ran on its native operating system¨Cthe soul¨Cas opposed to being bootstrapped to my organic OS¨Cthe brain.


    This allowed me to reach incredibly high levels of sensitivity with the Sight and dive into my soul to observe it through the spiritual equivalent of a microscope. The mana matrix existed within this spiritual realm, and with the level of detail I could attain I was able to trace the mana pathways that my various active skills utilized. Understanding what paths a skill took was essential to understanding why the skill functioned as it did. Erasing and rebuilding those pathways into a different configuration was the core step to modifying and reforging them.


    Part of the risk of skill forging was not understanding why certain pathways existed or how adding certain pathways would affect things. Carefully purging and adding pathways also took a significant amount of Spiritual skill, something that I was poorly equipped for since my attunement did not give me access to Spiritual Magic. Sam¡¯lia¡¯s gifts gave me an edge, but they weren¡¯t a replacement for an entire magic school.


    When I¡¯d reforged Reckless Shortcut, it was an act of butchery. I¡¯d destroyed pathways and forced them to regenerate on their own, which caused the skill to evolve unpredictably. It resulted in something that took advantage of my strengths, but there was no guarantee I¡¯d have that same success taking that approach again. I also preferred to plan my build, rather than relying on the gacha gods to give me something I liked. I already got enough of that from the System.


    This was where Grotto came in. The Delve Core¡¯s highest competency was Spiritual Magic and our soul connection gave him access to intimate parts of my inner being. We hadn¡¯t yet experimented with having Grotto make changes to my mana matrix, but I had a good idea of how he could at least guide me.


    Once I dove into myself with Soul Sight, I used Reveal to share this awareness with Grotto. Connecting with Grotto using Reveal was already easier than with anyone else¨Csince it used our soul connection as a bridge¨Cbut it was even more intuitive ever since we¡¯d had our temporary combination with Shog, creating the mighty Arlottog. Instead of simply showing Grotto what I was experiencing, it was more like I opened the door for Grotto to walk directly into my soul. I felt the Delve Core¡¯s presence in my spirit, and the process of remodeling began.


    I currently had 10 active skills, although I did not want to make changes to all of them. Reckless Shortcut already worked well, and I didn¡¯t have any useful ideas for ways to improve it. It was cheap and had a massive maximum distance. The trade-off of taking damage when I pushed its limits was less and less of a downside as my health increased and as my Dimensional resistance and skill with Dimensional Magic improved. The variable cooldown also wasn¡¯t much of an issue, and eliminating it wasn¡¯t an option without trading out some of the skill¡¯s versatility. In fact, the variable cooldown was a source of inspiration for how I planned to alter Explosion!, but that¡¯s for later.


    Dispel was a skill that did exactly what I needed. Any modifications I could think of were better done through mana shaping. A single-target counterspell was basic, but it was incredibly effective, and I wasn¡¯t willing to start trying to get fancy and ending up with something less adaptable.


    Dimensional


    Cost: 5 mana


    Requirements: None


    For the briefest moment, you create a small dimensional tear in the shape of an orb in your palm, which attempts to transport whatever it touches to another plane of existence. Higher levels of Intelligence increase the size of the orb. Damage is increased by 1 for each level of Dimensional Magic. The critical damage of this attack is increased by 100%.


    As my understanding of skills and the System as a whole increased, the skill text I was given was more in line with the mechanics of how I thought things worked. In fact, as I studied Oblivion Orb, I was able to boil it down to a much simpler expression.


    Make an INT Planar attack against a target you can touch. This attack deals +100% critical damage.


    The spell used my Intelligence for base damage, added damage based on my Dimensional Magic skill, and wrecked shop when it hit something vital. That was all well and good, but there was one major problem with that.


    I wasn¡¯t focused on crits.


    I wasn¡¯t focused on precision. Plus, I was rarely in a position to grab the back of someone¡¯s head like I had with Hognay. Beyond that, as the monsters and Delvers I encountered got tougher and had higher Fortitude, there seemed to be fewer regions of the body that counted as critical locations.


    I could imagine another universe where I¡¯d pumped crits, investing in Agility and Luck to lay hands in the perfect places at the perfect times, pumping out heroic levels of damage as I removed organs with laser precision. Sadly, that was not a road that I¡¯d traveled. Regardless, I had all kinds of mana shapes that would make the orb a lot more deadly, and which were more reliable for the current me than aiming for a vulnerable location and hoping for the best.


    Biggus would make it an AoE, Drill Beam would make it a penetrating line attack, Funnel would straight up double its damage, and Jet would give it a range of 20 feet. I could even make 1 of those completely free with Arcane Geometry (which was currently set to Bubble so I could rapidly cast group Shortcuts in case we¡¯d needed to flee from the Littans when we¡¯d exited Deijin¡¯s Descent).


    In some ways, the extra critical damage from Oblivion Orb seemed like a natural consequence of the spell. Yeah, having part of your heart teleported to another dimension is gonna suck. But so would having it sliced in half, pounded into meat giblets, or frozen into a block of ice. Oblivion Orb had an easier time penetrating flesh, but mana-woven armor, shields, and some monster hides would stop the spell in its tracks.


    When I traced the mana pathways, I discovered that Oblivion Orb¡¯s critical damage boost was a conditional effect that reacted to a trigger. When it encountered a ¡®vital¡¯ area that was fortified against damage¨Csuch as a Delver¡¯s mana-rich heart¨Cit would automatically concentrate its effect to reduce the vital location¡¯s resilience. Fortitude and evolutions could negate a part of the Planar damage, but the orb would take advantage of its natural penetration to make it much harder for those attributes to stop damage to vulnerable areas. The more focused the volume of the orb was on the weak spot, the better it was at condensing damage in the sensitive location.


    As I chewed that over, Grotto guided me to pathways that would increase the orb¡¯s crit chance even without investing in Luck. I could rewire the spell to take more advantage of my high Intelligence, boosting the concentrating effect even when the orb had a large volume. I could fire off larger orbs that were more likely to encompass something vital and trigger the effect more efficiently.


    That would increase the orb¡¯s base mana cost and make it more useful than it was, but that wouldn¡¯t change the fact that I had no other crit-related enhancements. I would want evolutions and gear that boosted crit damage, effects that further improved crit chance to guarantee a critical, and maybe an aura that did one or both. It would mean splitting my focus again into something I hadn¡¯t yet built into, which I was reluctant to do.


    One of the things I¡¯d loved about Oblivion Orb early on was how it seemed to bypass defenses. It took perfect, sphere-shaped bites out of weak enemies and mundane materials. As I grew in level and encountered more robust enemies, it had become less amazing. That made sense. It was a basic 5-mana skill. I couldn¡¯t expect it to kill God just because I popped him in the head with it.


    But maybe there were ways to guide the orb back in that direction. I wasn¡¯t too enamored with the idea of crits. Yes, it would help my damage on average, but I hated relying on effects that had a chance to occur. I preferred reliable damage; consistent damage. I preferred inevitable, inescapable, guaranteed damage.


    Maybe there was a way I could rework the trigger and the effect into something a bit more my style...

 Chapter 181: Project: Unavoidable Harm

    Chapter 181: Project: Unavoidable Harm


    My first thought for Oblivion Orb was to exchange the crit trigger for a trigger that caused the orb to teleport forward a short distance when it contacted any sort of armor or mitigating ability. That would let it bypass a lot of defensive weaves and powers. To my delight, I could do that. However, it would increase the mana cost immensely. Apparently, the mana required to force the spell past all defensive structures was substantial. I needed to think smaller.


    Grotto encouraged me to consider how I was using the orb. I put it on a hammer, then threw that hammer at something I wanted to destroy. Most people would either dodge that combo or block it. A moment of epiphany struck and I backed away from Oblivion Orb to look over Homing Weapon.


    Homing Weapon was... fine. It was a bit expensive for what it did. It added range and damage to a thrown weapon attack, and the weapon returned afterward. It cost 10 stamina, and I knew from my experience with other techniques that the return on damage should be higher than what I was getting here.


    Part of the stamina cost was from increasing the throwing range. I didn¡¯t really need that anymore, since I got a huge boost to range from my first Blunt evolution, Hammer Throw. At higher levels, the bonus from Homing Weapon would result in a paltry 10% increase in throwing distance. Not worth it in my book.


    Another reason it was expensive was that its requirements were too low for what it did. Apparently, if a spell offered more boom than it should for the related skill requirements, that increased its cost or added a cooldown.


    I ran my ideas by Grotto, who approved and began muttering villainous soliloquies as I activated step 1 of Project: Unavoidable Harm.


    I increased Homing Weapon¡¯s requirements, dropped the range boost, and amended how Dimensional Magic modified its damage based on some advice from Grotto. Then, I added one final effect that took greater advantage of the skill¡¯s core reason for existing.


    Arlo¡¯s Homing Weapon


    Physical/Dimensional


    Cost: 10 stamina


    Requirements: STR 20, INT 20, Blunt 20


    Make a thrown weapon attack modified by Dimensional Magic in addition to the relevant weapon intrinsic. This attack seeks out its target and cannot be dodged. The thrown weapon returns to you afterward.


    Now my hammers would pursue their targets with significantly more emphasis on the ¡®Homing¡¯ portion of Homing Weapon. Instead of a casual arc toward my enemy, it would be a heat-seeking missile of undodgeable doom. You literally could not run from it anymore.


    Also, having the attack ¡®modified¡¯ by Dimensional Magic was better than adding flat damage based on my skill level, since it would add some variable damage on top. When pressed, my familiar did a little math and said it would average out to an extra 16.5 points of damage¨Cincreasing as the skill went up¨Cwhich sounded good to me.


    I moved on to step 2 of Project: Unavoidable Harm.


    I went back to Oblivion Orb and reworked its trigger. I dropped the critical damage bonus, as much as it pained me, but added a more refined version of the armor-bypassing teleport. I couldn¡¯t get the spell to avoid all defenses without a massive increase in cost, but I could get it to bypass a specific defense.


    Arlo¡¯s Oblivion Orb


    Dimensional


    5 mana


    Requirements: INT 20, Dimensional Magic 20


    Make an INT Planar attack against a target you can touch. This attack cannot be blocked.


    Now I could throw a hammer that could not be dodged, tipped with a spell that would teleport through my enemy¡¯s shield¨Cor whatever else they blocked with¨Cdirectly into their unguarded bodies.


    It was simple, potent, and inescapable, just like my masculine musk of sandalwood and fresh-cut mahogany. What would my opponents do? I expected they would just have to smile and take it.


    I took a break and listened to Grotto monologue about our inexorable conquest of the globe using the time-tested method of forcing our enemies to choose between the lesser of two harms. After a visit to the bathroom and a quick glass of water, I was ready to move to the next skill.


    The big boy.


    The bane of cooldown counters and healthy eardrums.


    That¡¯s right, it was time to make Explosion! not suck.


    Not that it did suck. It was a pretty good spell overall, just with a narrow band of use cases. No, I wasn¡¯t going to make it not suck. I was going to make it fucking broken.


    Broken as in it would be really good. Mechanically it would be completely balanced from the standpoint of stat and skill requirements, damage, range, effects, etc.


    Balanced in the way BORKEN ASS abilities are balanced!


    Balanced like a quarterstaff made from a motherlovin¡¯ mop!


    Balanced like your no-life ex-roommate¡¯s favorite MOBA character! Pre-patch!


    Okay, it¡¯d be good but not off-the-walls crazy. Anyway, I¡¯ll get back to the discussion.


    Explosion! was a simple spell on its surface: Charge it up, make a big-ass explosion. Under the hood, there was a lot going on. Free-form targeting, charge time, variable AoE size, multiple scaling damage types¨CSonic, Kinetic, Spatial¨Ca somatic component, the Deafened status, and a boost from chanting ominous phrases.


    Looking at everything going on, it was no wonder the spell had a huge cooldown. The requirements were minuscule, needing only Dimensional Magic and Physical Magic slotted as intrinsics¨Cno mandatory stats or levels needed.


    Grotto and I took the spell apart, trying to discern what it would take to have the spell function the way it already did, but without a cooldown. We ended up with the following requirements: INT 70, Dimensional Magic 60, Physical Magic 55.


    I did not meet those requirements.


    I did have much higher stats and levels than the spell currently called for, but if all I did was alter the requirements to match my present capabilities that would cut the cooldown by about half. With my cooldown reduction evolution from Physical Magic, I¡¯d have a version of the spell I could use every 25-ish minutes. That was a big difference from the current 47 minute cooldown, but not enough to get it where I wanted.


    However, the variable cooldown from Reckless Shortcut could be used to my advantage. Right now, Explosion! triggered its cooldown regardless of how long I charged it. What I wanted to do was match Reckless Shortcut¡¯s ability to cause a cooldown based on how hard I went with the spell. I also wanted to streamline the damage types and take some inspiration from the Spatial spells I¡¯d seen Baltae using, weaving in some more effective forced movement.


    Reckless Shortcut


    Gravity Anchor (Aura)


    Dispel


    Reverse Card (Aura)


    Aura of Persistence


    Arlo¡¯s Life Warden


    I had buffs to protect myself and my allies, countermagic to fuck over casters, skills for mobility and counter-mobility, a powerful summon, and three attack skills that were hard to avoid. I stroked my beard as I stared at the empty eleventh slot.


    ¡°What am I missing?¡± I said. I was half talking to myself and half posing the question to Grotto.


    [Your last serious battle saw you being taken apart by a high-Speed Physical fighter wielding a massive bardiche.]


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ve gained a decent amount of Speed and defense since then. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have as much trouble with Roach if we had to go at it again.¡±


    [Perhaps, but the answer to a fast melee fighter is not necessarily to match their strengths. You are gaining a fair amount of competency with armed combat, but your emphasis on spells will always see you lagging behind dedicated melee fighters.]


    ¡°So you think I should find a different counter? That¡¯s part of what I was trying to accomplish with Gravity Anchor.¡±


    [Gravity Anchor will prevent an enemy from fleeing, but it immobilizes melee fighters within striking distance. Explosion! may knock them down, but you would need to mana-shape the spell to keep from harming yourself. Plus, it is possible that skill might be on cooldown, even with our modifications. I believe you need a more dedicated skill that hinders movement and interferes with martial capabilities.]


    ¡°Right. Does that mean we¡¯re diving back in to forge a new skill?¡±


    [I do not believe that is necessary. Forging a new skill from scratch takes a great deal more time than the altering existing skills. No, I believe this will complement your current skill set quite nicely.]


    Grotto waved a feeler, and the System offered me a new skill.


    Elemental Barrier


    Physical


    Cost: 20 mana


    Requirements: INT 20, Physical Magic 20


    When you cast this spell, choose either the Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Sonic damage type.


    A stationary spherical barrier of elemental force erupts in a radius around you equal to half your Physical Magic skill level in feet, warding against approach by hostile forces. When you create this barrier and every 6 seconds thereafter, make an INT Physical attack against all non-party entities that are touching or inside the barrier. The damage of this attack is the damage type chosen when you cast the spell.


    Entities hit by this attack are pushed to the edge of the barrier. Additionally, if the damage type was Cold, entities hit by this attack are Slowed; if Fire, they are Ignited; if Lightning, they are Shocked; and if Sonic, they are Deafened and knocked prone.


    So long as you focus, this effect remains active.


    It took me a moment to digest the possibilities, but the skill really did look like it would mesh very well with my other skills. It was a stationary AoE, but in some ways that was a benefit. I could cast it on myself, or I could cast it on a stationary ally like Etja, helping to keep baddies from wandering too close.


    I could cast Gravity Anchor and Shortcut into a group of enemies, pulling them all in close to me. Then I could blast them with Elemental Barrier to deal constant damage as I wailed on them with my hammers. They¡¯d be Immobilized, Deafened, and constantly get knocked away, pulled back in, and thrown to the ground. That would definitely make it difficult to swing a sword. Or a giant bardiche.


    Plus, if the knockdown wasn¡¯t effective, I could swap to a different element. The skill gave me more options and greater control over melee combatants.


    I slotted it as my eleventh skill and stood up from the ultra-thick woolen rug.


    ¡°You can just offer us skills now?¡±


    [Since I am no longer bound by the System¡¯s restrictions, yes.]


    ¡°Like, whenever you want? All willy-nilly?¡±


    [Yes. As willy or as nilly as I so desire.]


    ¡°Oh, nice.¡± I stretched my arms toward the ceiling and my stomach rumbled. ¡°Now, we have lunch! Then, we play around with all this new shit!¡±


    [It is closer to breakfast time than lunch.]


    ¡°I thought it was midday when Pio¡¯s group finished the Delve.¡±


    [It was. You have been staring at your mana matrix for 14 hours.]


    ¡°Oh.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Fuck it. Yara said this is my sovereign domain, so lunch can damn well be whenever I say it is. I¡¯m having a turkey sandwich.¡±


    I marched out of the meditation room and toward the kitchen, with Grotto close behind.

 Chapter 182: Home & Garden & Very Small Pants

    Chapter 182: Home & Garden & Very Small Pants


    I didn¡¯t end up testing my reforged skills after having lunch for breakfast. Once I¡¯d eaten my fill, fatigue hit me hard enough that my sleep-deprived brain thought I was under attack. I hadn¡¯t slept in a proper bed in months, and after a moment of hypervigilance, I realized I hadn¡¯t slept in nearly three days. The sensation was similar to someone trying to hit me with a sleep spell.


    So I crashed for 12 hours straight.


    The last three hours were mostly me struggling to convince myself to climb out of my bundle of ultra-plush blankets and peel myself out of the Arlo-shaped indent I¡¯d made in the mattress. When I¡¯d bought the bed, I¡¯d gone for something that favored softness, but that still had some level of firmness. Looking down at the mattress, it looked like a granite statue had been laid to rest in it for a week straight.


    I poked at my chest and flicked my biceps with a finger. I didn¡¯t feel like I was made of stone. Curious, I went to my armory and grabbed a wooden practice sword. I gave it a light slap against my thigh and it snapped in half.


    It really shouldn¡¯t have been a surprise. I added buying a Delver-crafted bed to the List, took a shower, and got on with my day.


    Grotto had used the time to create his first golem. It was Grade 12 at base, but after equipping it with a full gear loadout plundered from fallen Delvers, it rose to Grade 15. We decided to kill two birds with one stone and field test my abilities and the golem simultaneously.


    I demolished it.


    I did my best not to utterly destroy the golem, since it was easier for Grotto to repair a construct than build a new one entirely. Sadly, there was little I could do about Oblivion Orb teleporting chunks of the entity to an unknown dimension. I felt good about my progress and I felt a little bad about breaking Grotto¡¯s new toy. Not because it would make more work for Grotto, but because the golem looked a little too familiar.


    ¡°Why is the golem a clone of Etja?¡±


    [She is an exemplary model of golem craft. I saw no reason to attempt my own design when one of such high caliber was available in my archives.]


    I frowned and looked over the dismembered creation. It was less lifelike than Etja, with skin and features that were clearly artificial. Still, it was like someone had made an immaculate stone statue of the mage, complete with her wholesome smile. The expression remained even in the golem¡¯s death, which was a little creepy.


    [Before you complain further, Etja consented to my use of her as a model.]


    ¡°When did that happen?¡±


    [While you were wasting precious time being unconscious.]


    ¡°Hey, sleep is necessary for a well-functioning mind and body.¡±


    [Your slumber lasted 50% longer than necessary for a mundane human to become fully rested.]


    ¡°I¡¯ll refrain from trying to explain the psychological benefits of role-playing a slug once in a while. Did Etja come back from Eschangal?¡±


    [No. She is currently engaged in a multi-day ¡®shopping spree¡¯ with Nuralie.]


    ¡°Then how did you get her permission?¡±


    [I have remained in contact with the other party members during this downtime.]


    ¡°What? How?¡±


    Grotto floated back from his attempted repairs of the golem and thought for a moment.


    [Ah. I see I failed to inform you. The others were notified since they would be absent. I suppose it slipped my mind since you would remain close at hand.]


    Grotto waved a feeler and a Level 40 Charisma evolution popped up.


    Public Service Announcer


    You can focus to communicate with any entity you have met across any distance as though you were standing next to them. This communication can be in any form available to you, such as speech, body language, or telepathy. You may allow this communication to be perceptible to anyone nearby, or only to that entity. Entities who can perceive this communication can respond to you in a similar manner as long as you maintain focus.


    ¡°Ah, yes. An insanely useful long-range communication ability that I had no reason to know about beforehand. Completely understandable that it ¡®slipped your mind¡¯.¡±


    Grotto¡¯s octo-brow furrowed.


    [There is no need to be more sardonic than usual. Nothing has required your attention and taking time to yourself is beneficial. I also believe the other party members would find it rewarding to spend some time alone.]


    I sighed and shook off my irritation.


    ¡°Sure, fine. Sorry, I think I¡¯m irritable from oversleeping.¡± I rubbed my eyes. ¡°Also, I¡¯m 99% confident you made that reasoning up on the spot to cover for forgetting something.¡±


    Grotto returned to his work on the golem.


    [No. I am truly concerned about the... mental well-being of everyone in the party.]


    At least I had several kilos of luxury cheeses and two dozen barrels of craft beer. Cheese and beer sounded like a good time, but was it a royally good time?


    Maybe Varrin foresaw this problem. Maybe he was coming early to lend me an inventory full of Ravvenblaq antiques and hand me a hundred pounds worth of fancy fixin¡¯s. I could only hope. But would he bring a chef as well? I started eyeing that Cooking intrinsic more seriously.


    I went back to the training room.


    ¡°Grotto! Put the golem down, we¡¯re going into emergency event planning mode!¡±


    *****


    While we couldn¡¯t make a mansion from nothing, we could use what we had to prepare a serviceable hosting location. Our primary greenhouse wasn¡¯t pulling double duty as a living space like the hot spring was, so we converted it into an indoor party garden.


    We had plenty of greenery, and expanding the space to create intricate geometric pathways weaving between flowers and bushes was as easy as Grotto waving a feeler. Constructing a patio was as simple as raising up the floor of the Closet, but it really needed some tile or stone to be seen as anything less than utilitarian.


    Grotto also marked out several secluded areas within the shrubbery where he¡¯d place sound-dampening weaves, enabling guests to hold discreet conversations. It wasn¡¯t as effective as a series of dedicated meeting rooms, but it was much prettier. Besides, I wasn¡¯t trying to create a comprehensive diplomatic facility. I just needed to provide enough functional architecture that I¡¯d give the appearance of a semi-competent socialite.


    I paused in the midst of our project to think over why I felt so strongly about that last point. I enjoyed being a proper host, but I wasn¡¯t typically concerned with putting up a veneer of wealth or sophistication. The only reasonable conclusion was that Diplomacy was already flexing its skill levels, influencing me to be more considerate of appearances in the face of unknown political entities.


    If the Hiwardian ruling class came for a visit to the personal home of Fortune¡¯s Folly¡¯s party leader, certain judgments would inevitably be made not just about me, but also about the party as a whole. A home that spoke only of personal luxury and intimate gatherings would imply I had no reason to believe I¡¯d need to host larger groups.


    Important and well-connected people often needed to host large groups of other important and well-connected people as a matter of course. Elbows would be rubbed, palms greased, conspiracies plotted, the Illuminati formed. Hiwardian nobility would expect someone of station to have an estate organized with such facts in mind. Thus, if the best I could do was show the king of Hiward to my solitary dining room for a chat, one might glean the impression that I was not an important and well-connected person.


    I wasn¡¯t concerned about petty remarks or poorly hidden smirks. The opinions of the snide and the spoiled meant little to me. However, if I was misjudged to be someone of little import, that placed a target on our backs. Fame was a dangerous thing if you had no one to throw their weight around when the predators came sniffing.


    We could handle ourselves in the face of obvious lethal threats, but if a high-ranking noble decided to try and box us in as part of some convoluted scheme to take advantage of our recently acquired notoriety, it could spell a lot of trouble that might be better avoided.


    Varrin was a member of a major house, but he wasn¡¯t expected to inherit the title of Thundralke, his brother was. Xim would likely become chieftain of an important Third Layer tribe one day, but they were a minor power in First Layer Arzia. Nuralie was a fledgling inquisitor, and Etja had no political clout to speak of. All I had was a tribal membership, grit, and gumption. We weren¡¯t the easiest targets to snare in a web of intrigue and manipulation, but we were far from the hardest. Anything I could do to reduce the chances of that happening was worth spending some time and effort on.


    Grotto and I finished organizing the greenhouse into a sprawling garden with space for gatherings of several sizes. We had a patio with room for twenty or so people¨Cwhich prominently displayed my auto-cooking Kill n¡¯ Grill¨Cseveral locations for gatherings of up to eight, and a few nooks and crannies for doubles and triples.


    Glowstones and mana weaves created an alluring array of lighting solutions that could be customized based on the time of day and mood. Grotto had a surprising amount of talent for arranging the plants into thoughtful displays with coherent themes of color and form. It also smelled fucking fantastic in there, so long as you didn¡¯t have allergies. Since most of the visitors would be Delvers, I doubted it would be a problem.


    We didn¡¯t have shit for lawn furniture though.


    We expanded the kitchen to make space for a head chef and a team of cooks. I didn¡¯t have any commercial equipment to add, but we could at least ensure plenty of room for food prep and easy movement. We also rearranged the armory to look less like an armory and more like a trophy room displaying the spoils of our conquests. It looked good but was incomplete without additional wall decor. It also needed some cozy places to sit and indulge the ultra-masculine need to be surrounded by instruments of war and death, feeling like a badass while doing so.


    Additional rearrangements were made to take my bedroom from an easy offshoot of the main living area to a more secluded master bedroom. We then created a large foyer that guests could enter through, with vaulted ceilings and some lovely chandeliers I¡¯d looted from the Mimic Delve.


    Grotto assured me they wouldn¡¯t try to eat anyone, but I was going to keep an eye on them nonetheless.


    It was a twelve-hour remodeling spree made possible by the total control Grotto and I shared over the dimensions of the Closet. Rooms had been constructed to be semi-modular, allowing us to shuffle things around on a whim without tearing apart the walls or flooring.


    Portals and Dimensional fuckery also allowed us to connect rooms that were nowhere near one another. Both Grotto and I had a little fun coming up with ways to make my penthouse feel bigger than it actually was. If every room connected to two more via portals craftily hidden between door frames, then it would seem like the space went on forever. Once someone figured out the rooms were continually looping into one another, they¡¯d likely be more impressed than if we merely had a humongous house.


    I busted my ass to move materials and rearrange bulky items as quickly as possible. I was sweaty, shirtless, and wearing my favorite pair of hotpants for comfort and mobility. I got so in the zone that I lost track of time, and Grotto was about as terrible at gauging time as I imagined any billiondy-year-old immortal would be. Before I knew it, Grotto interrupted my repositioning of an armoire to let me know Varrin was awaiting entry through the Third Layer Checkpoint.


    ¡°Shit, can I take a quick shower?¡±


    [He insists that time is of the utmost importance.]


    ¡°Important like ¡®yes, become less gross but do it in five minutes,¡¯ or important like ¡®I¡¯m burning to death and you¡¯re the only person holding a bucket of water for miles?¡¯¡±


    [His exact words were ¡®Every grain of sand in the hourglass must be valued as a pauper would value a precious jewel.¡¯]


    ¡°Fuck, why is he so poetic? When did he get so poetic?¡±


    I pulled a towel from inventory and wiped myself down, moving toward our new foyer. I took the time to pop out my leather vest and shrug it on, making the mildest attempt to not be mostly nude when greeting the big guy. I figured Xim and her parents would be with him, maybe Khigra, but they weren¡¯t exactly bashful. Plus, they knew what I was about.


    I rubbed my hair dry of sweat and ran my fingers through my beard in a futile attempt to tame it, then activated the Checkpoint.


    When the portal opened, I found Varrin as expected, some well-dressed and very proper-looking young noble women who I hadn¡¯t expected, and the entire household staff of the Ravvenblaq manor, none of whom had expected my hotpants.


    I smiled and waved.

 Chapter 183: Showing Off ‘The Hammer’

    Chapter 183: Showing Off ¡®The Hammer¡¯


    Varrin looked fresh as new-fallen snow. He wore a white silk shirt, pristine and with nary a wrinkle or speck of dust. It was loose-fitting in a way that miraculously made his Herculean musculature look even more impressive as it bulged around his chest and shoulders. His pants were dark leather, fitted and flattering¨Cnot that he needed it¨Cwith a pair of low-cut boots that he could wear on the trail or at the ball.


    Flanking him were four gorgeous women, making him look like the protagonist in one of Grotto¡¯s ¡®research¡¯ novels. The first was Khigra, who stood casually with arms crossed, wearing her very-tight-but-only-for-functional-reasons smithing outfit. Xim was beside her in the ivory-colored top and charcoal pants she favored when outside of her robes and chainmail. The other two women, however, were unfamiliar.


    To Varrin¡¯s right was a Level 1 platinum who looked slightly younger than the big guy. She was a little more than six feet tall, with white hair and pale skin that marked her as ethnically Hiwardian. Her features held a familial resemblance to Varrin, down to the ice-blue eyes and bone structure perfect enough to make you wonder whether one of the Ravvenblaqs had Genetic Engineering as an intrinsic skill. Where Varrin was a slab of unrealistic expectations for the male body, the woman beside him was similarly ¡®gifted¡¯ in the feminine direction.


    The other woman was also Level 1 platinum, with a slimmer frame, strawberry blonde hair, and a dusting of freckles below pale green eyes. She was about average in height¨Can inch or two taller than Xim¨Cbut it was tough to recognize her stature as ¡®normal¡¯ while she stood beside a goliath like Varrin. Even Khigra had six inches on the newcomer, almost as tall as Varrin¡¯s mystery relative.


    Behind them were Xim¡¯s parents, and a veritable horde of butlers, maids, and other servants.


    At least he hadn¡¯t shown up with any of the big shots. I¡¯d prefer to get to know the king before modeling for him in my skivvies.


    While I took them in at a glance and gave a cheery wave, Varrin gently placed his face into his palm and let out a mighty sigh. Xim looked me up and down with a wide grin, and Khigra stoically raised an eyebrow. The blonde woman lifted a hand to hide a blush, feigning a cough to excuse the motion, while the unknown Ravvenblaq looked... confused.


    ¡°Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel,¡± Varrin said, recomposing himself and holding a hand out toward the blonde woman. ¡°May I present Lady Sineh Dukgrien, firstborn daughter of Thundralkes Bebhinn and Feargan Dukgrien. Lady Dukgrien is well-versed in the current political landscape of Hiward, and has volunteered to assist us in getting up to speed.¡±


    I gave a brief Hiwardian bow. ¡°Wonderful to meet you.¡±


    She curtsied. ¡°Aye, Esquire Arlo. The same to you. Varrin¡¯s told me stories, but it¡¯s lovely to meet you in the flesh.¡± Her eyes twinkled but stayed firmly in place above my neckline.


    Varrin cleared his throat and gestured to the white-haired woman. ¡°And this is my younger sister, Lady Riona Ravvenblaq. Riona is currently apprenticed to the Ravvenblaq Keeper of Decorum, and will be invaluable in aiding us to refresh our etiquette.¡±


    We exchanged pleasantries as well. Riona didn¡¯t add her own cheeky turn of phrase, but her eyes wandered a bit more than Sineh¡¯s.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯ve been introduced,¡± I said, stepping to the side and gesturing toward the foyer, ¡°welcome to my not-at-all humble abode. Please, come on in.¡±


    The pair of women curtsied again and walked through the portal, followed by Varrin and Khigra. Xim stepped up beside me, the stream of servants close on her heels.


    She leaned in and whispered, ¡°I didn¡¯t know they made pants that small.¡±


    We both glanced down at my hotpants, then back up at the same time. The people walking past were carefully avoiding looking my way.


    ¡°They¡¯re very comfortable,¡± I said.


    ¡°They look like they give a lot of... support,¡± Xim added.


    ¡°Keeps everything where it oughtta be.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Xim, nodding seriously. ¡°It¡¯s important for clothes to be functional.¡±


    ¡°Very easy to move in, too.¡±


    ¡°Really? Maybe I should look into buying a pair.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you to my tailor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that,¡± she said, bumping me with her shoulder. ¡°You can help me pick them out.¡±


    She flashed me a grin, then strode forward. She reached up to fluff her hair with her fingers, turning to give me an exaggerated wink as she did so.


    I swallowed, then went to sort out my guests as the final servant came through.


    The Ravvenblaq servants lined up into neat rows in the foyer, arranged in groups with matching formal outfits. Several men and women looked pale¨Cpaler than normal for a Hiwardian¨Cand I doubted my uncouth appearance was the culprit. This was a group who¡¯d likely never once visited the Third Layer.


    That was an unusual trip for most Delvers, let alone mundane humans. The spectacle of Sam¡¯lia¡¯s eye mutating the world around them until it twisted into the alien landscape of the Xor¡¯Drel tribe lands was probably quite a shock. Lord knows how they¡¯d be reacting if they¡¯d been dropped into the wilds on their first visit like I had.


    Sensing no opposition, Khigra put down a berry-filled pastry, stood from the table, and casually made her way over. She wore a look of mild amusement at our antics as she brushed crumbs from her fingers. I got the sense that the Third Layer dream forger did not often find herself in the company of Hiwardian aristocrats.


    She held out her hand, and Somncres appeared.


    The weapon was in its throwing hammer form, pinpricks of light migrating through the emerald green head and spiraling down its ebony handle. I accepted it from her with reverence, inspecting the item as soon as it hit my palm.


    My eyes widened as I went down the much longer list of effects. Two were the same as they had been, but the weapon¡¯s original second effect was missing.


    Somncres


    Throwing Hammer


    This is an evolving item.


    Requirements


    STR 20, INT 40, Blunt 25, Dimensional Magic 20, Mystical Magic 20


    Effects:


    1) Somncres can be summoned and dismissed at will.


    2) Whenever you make a thrown weapon attack with Somncres you may create up to X Fleeting copies, where X is your INT/10. Each copy costs 2 mana to create. These copies possess all qualities imbued into Somncres at the moment the copies are created.


    Before, the hammer¡¯s shape and size could be adjusted at will. For whatever reason, it no longer had that capability. I decided to hold my questions until I¡¯d gone through the entire list.


    The third effect was the main upgrade Khigra had given the weapon.


    3) Each Somncres copy can be individually assigned to a target for 1 additional mana.


    Whenever I copied Somncres, the copies followed the path of the original, unless I engaged in some gravitational hijinks to bend them to my will. That meant I could only target one enemy at a time, albeit with a devastating amount of firepower. Now, I could attack up to five different targets with a single throw. I was betting I could even assign each hammer to the same target, but manipulate them individually with my Blunt 20 evolution, Hammerang. That way, hammers could assault one target from five different angles, directions, and even elevations.


    Between this and my recent upgrades to Explosion!, my ability to engage with multiple targets was skyrocketing.


    After the ¡®major¡¯ upgrade was a slew of potent traditional effects.


    4) +100 Health Regen


    5) +80 Mana Regen


    6) +30 Armor Penetration to attacks made with Somncres


    7) +60 damage to Dimensional attacks while wielding Somncres


    Regen, more regen, and penetration. Khigra really knew what made my heart sing.


    However, the most interesting of these ¡®minor¡¯ effects was the last. Added damage buffs on weapons typically only added damage to attacks made with that weapon, not anything else. The Penetration effect, for example, only applied to attacks made with Somncres.


    The bonus damage on Somncres applied to all Dimensional attacks. That was something more commonly found on wands or staves. Somncres didn¡¯t deal any Dimensional damage natively, but both Homing Weapon and Oblivion Orb were attacks classified under the Dimensional school. This would even improve Explosion! when I charged the spell.


    Finally, the effect that allowed Khigra to add more effects had been reworded.


    8) Khigra may Empower this item once you reach your next Intelligence evolution.


    Empower, eh? What kind of tasty chocolate center is that keyword hiding?

 Chapter 184: When To Hit Your Guests & Other Lessons on Etiquette

    Chapter 184: When To Hit Your Guests & Other Lessons on Etiquette


    ¡°This is incredible,¡± I said. ¡°Thank you, it¡¯s perfect.¡±


    ¡°Perfect would be if it turned all your enemies to treasure with a single touch,¡± Khigra replied. ¡°But I think this is not too far behind.¡± She placed her hands on her hips and gave the hammer a conflicted look. ¡°The weapon has a strong will. It would slip away whenever I tried to guide it until I allowed it to lead me where it wished.¡±


    ¡°It uh, has a mind of its own?¡±


    Khigra¡¯s look of amusement returned. ¡°Dream-forged weapons are connected to their wielder. It would be better to say that you made the process more complicated.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I have the urge to apologize but also wouldn¡¯t know what I¡¯d be apologizing for.¡±


    Khigra chuckled. ¡°Do not apologize for existing. The hammer was argumentative, but did not truly fight with me.¡± She shrugged. ¡°It made good points, so I allowed it to take control.¡± The dream forger locked eyes with me. ¡°That is not something I normally allow.¡±


    Now I understood what Khigra had been conflicted about. The woman hated to lose unless losing meant she¡¯d gain more than if she¡¯d won. Our final few spars were filled with... similar moments. The hammer hadn¡¯t let her influence its growth, but she was happy with the result nonetheless.


    ¡°Then it lost the ability to transform because I didn¡¯t like it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It was a compromise,¡± Khigra answered. ¡°It made room for more powerful secondary effects. If I read the weapon correctly, you rarely used the feature.¡±


    I nodded. There had been moments where morphing the hammer midswing had been useful, but all my power was focused on throwing techniques.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I said. ¡°The regen, penetration, and damage boosts are more useful to me. Can you tell me about the final effect? What does Empower mean?¡±


    She shifted her weight, considering her response. ¡°How much do you know about evolving items?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I know that I have two of them,¡± I answered. ¡°Other than that, they change over time?¡±


    ¡°Time is too vague a measure, but close enough. Most of what I create are static items, created to serve a function, much as a normal smith would do here in the¨C¡± She paused and looked around, seeming to remember where she was. ¡°To be honest, I am uncertain if this space is considered to be in the First Layer or not.¡±


    ¡°Closer to the First than the Third,¡± Xim helpfully volunteered.


    Khigra furrowed her brow at Xim¡¯s answer but moved on. ¡°Regardless, most of what I create is traditionally smithed. Only a minority are dream forged. Fewer still are those that can evolve.


    ¡°Evolving items can be powerful, but they are expensive, difficult to create, highly specialized, and require continual use to advance to the next stage. Often, while the wielder is struggling to advance their evolving item, they have become capable of wielding something else that is more powerful. For most, it is cheaper, easier, and more effective to purchase a normal weapon and replace it soon after they outgrow it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I had a similar experience with my amulet,¡± I said. ¡°It was useless for a long time while I tried to satisfy its next requirement.¡±


    ¡°So you understand the difficulties,¡± she said. ¡°Good. For your hammer, it did not matter that it was expensive since you did not pay for it. I am one of the best dream forgers alive, so the difficulty was also not an issue.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever been accused of lacking self-confidence?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°No,¡± Khigra answered.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think so.¡±


    Khigra took the comment in stride and refocused on me. ¡°Your hammer became highly specialized, but because it was dream forged it was specialized in a way that uniquely suited you. Finally, our choice of concepts when forging the weapon gave it an unusual growth mechanism.


    ¡°You prioritized Intelligence, so the hammer is now more advanced than any normal item you could wield at your level. However, evolving items have a growth ceiling, a point at which they will no longer advance. For Somncres, that point has been reached.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I said. ¡°That seems... fast.¡±


    ¡°It is only fast because you have been leveling at an outrageous pace. Another person might have used this weapon for many years. After this advancement, they would use it for many more years still.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    ¡°But your bond with the weapon is strong, your choice of concepts created an opportunity, and I¨Cbeing as talented as I am¨Cwas able to seize that opportunity. You should take a moment to reflect on how lucky you are.¡±


    She paused and watched me.


    ¡°You mean right now?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Turn your head just so, m¡¯lord,¡± Mr. Duffens said.


    I realized he¡¯d been gently putting pressure on my scalp, guiding me to a better position so he could tidy the back of my neck. With my distraction, he may as well have been encouraging a block of steel to bend.


    ¡°Apologies, Mr. Duffens,¡± I said, tilting my head forward slightly. ¡°I am known for having an unyielding noggin¡¯ at times.¡±


    ¡°So long as it¡¯s not contagious, m¡¯lord.¡±


    The man continued his work while I assessed whether I should laugh at the joke, or whether it had been a joke at all. Sadly, my prodigious perception skills failed me in this regard.


    Varrin sat up straight in his chair, and Sineh¡¯s hand slid back into her lap.


    ¡°Now that you have your hammer,¡± he said, ¡°we should discuss who you are allowed to hit with it.¡±


    ¡°I assume the answer is ¡®no one¡¯,¡± I said. ¡°For the next couple of days, at least.¡±


    Varrin leaned forward and folded his hands on the table.


    ¡°There are seven distinct situations in which it is not only appropriate, but expected, for a host of a superior station to physically chastise a misbehaving guest.¡±


    He delivered this information without a speck of humor, then stood and squared his shoulders. He placed one hand behind him and raised his other to gesture as he spoke.


    By the gods, the man was entering his ¡®teaching¡¯ pose!


    He was being serious!


    ¡°Wait, is this really the best place to start?¡± I asked.


    Riona was the one to answer. ¡°The children I teach often learn best by having the concepts tied to something they are familiar with. For you¨Caccording to Varrin¨Cthat¡¯s mostly hitting things. We¡¯ll begin there and take it one step at a time.¡±


    Varrin stood behind her, suppressing a grin.


    ¡°First,¡± I said, ¡°I am a man of learning and intellect in addition to being an implacable thug. Second¨C¡± I turned to Varrin. ¡°You spent a lot of time and effort coming up with that hammer segue, didn¡¯t you? And you intentionally led your sister to believe I was a mindless brute so you¡¯d get to use it.¡±


    Riona turned and gave Varrin an ¡°Is this true?¡± glare that any mother would be proud of.


    ¡°Ridiculous,¡± said Varrin, failing his deception check. ¡°I did no such thing.¡± Riona¡¯s glare turned into a scowl. ¡°We have too little time to litigate over baseless accusations, so we should move on.¡±


    Riona sighed in exasperation¨Cas if Varrin pulled this sort of thing often¨Cand gestured for the big guy to continue.


    Thus, Varrin began explaining the seven situations where violence against guests was encouraged and the proper protocol for each in exacting detail. Riona handed me the thin folder she¡¯d been reviewing, which I opened to find a cheat sheet with a concise breakdown of that very topic. I glanced back at the stack in front of Varrin¡¯s sister. She gave the massive pile a pat and sent me a consoling smile.


    Unlike the mysterious Mr. Duffens, I could read Riona as easily as the document in my hands. I¡¯d never seen so much schadenfreude hidden in a single expression. There was trauma there, too; a childhood filled with endless days listening to dry exposition on arbitrary social rules. I could barely comprehend subjecting a child to such torture!


    ¡°So,¡± Varrin said sharply, interrupting my dreadful musings. ¡°What is the three-part test to determine whether the first circumstance applies?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me?¡±


    ¡°You were listening, weren¡¯t you?¡± He pointed at my hands. ¡°You even have a learning aid.¡±


    I looked down at the document, finding two of the three steps listed. The third step was blank. Riona slowly slid a pen across the table toward me.


    No!


    It wasn¡¯t a cheat sheet!


    It was a fucking worksheet!


    A day of suffering began, unlike any I¡¯d ever known in Arzia.

 Chapter 185: Accidental Nation Building

    Chapter 185: Accidental Nation Building


    I was not averse to learning. I often took it upon myself to investigate and explore a variety of subjects, Delver-related or otherwise. I was the type to fixate on a topic that struck my fancy and go full gonzo with little regard for my health and wellness, spending twelve hours crawling through mainline sources until I was deep into obscure texts filled with potentially problematic hot takes. It was practically routine.


    However, that was when I gave a shit about what I was learning. Otherwise, it was a struggle. Fortunately (or unfortunately), my Earth life had been filled with studying things I felt no love for, primarily out of the obligation to earn money for basic necessities and a certain level of personal freedom. I wasn¡¯t happy to do it, but a strong sense of ¡®you gotta do what you gotta do¡¯ had been beaten into me at a young age. I was more than capable.


    Suffice it to say, I wasn¡¯t terribly keen on learning the subtleties of high-class Hiwardian do¡¯s and don¡¯ts. The general concepts of diplomacy didn¡¯t bore me, and understanding the cultural origins of such behavior was fine, but the study of such topics rarely focused on the why and was more concerned with the how.


    This additional information also wasn¡¯t conducive to cram sessions. Riona was forced to ride the line between appreciating my enthusiasm for the context of our lessons and becoming frustrated at my endless curiosity.


    ¡°If we had a decade to prepare you, these would be wonderful questions,¡± said Riona. ¡°We have a day.¡±


    ¡°Learning the reasoning for a particular behavior makes me much more likely to remember it,¡± I countered. ¡°A long list of random numbers is much more difficult to memorize than the formula used to derive those numbers.¡±


    ¡°Unless that formula requires years of study to comprehend,¡± she said. ¡°Then, you should just memorize the numbers.¡±


    ¡°That assumes I have no background in math.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a background in the logic of Hiwardian etiquette?¡±


    ¡°Only a small one,¡± I admitted. I had studied it briefly after emerging from the Creation Delve. ¡°But it¡¯s entirely possible I have exposure to a much broader intersection of cultures than anyone present.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how,¡± said Riona. Her tone was level, and I had to admit she was being exceptionally patient.


    ¡°I¡¯m a traveler from a distant land,¡± I said. ¡°It was a nation composed of people from practically every other nation in existence.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re from Ayama?¡± she asked. ¡°I thought you were a Xor¡¯Drel.¡±


    ¡°This is a tangent,¡± said Varrin. He placed a hand on Riona''s shoulder. ¡°Just assume he has a cosmopolitan background.¡±


    Riona looked skeptical but sat back and crossed her arms.


    ¡°Fine,¡± she said. ¡°When Hiward first earned its independence from Litta, there was a period of disruption to the supply chains. Imports became difficult from eastern nations until relations between Litta and Hiward cooled. Because of this, various spices Hiwardians had become accustomed to became unavailable. Salt was the most prevalent since many foods Hiwardian slaves consumed were preserved in salt or brine.


    ¡°Timagrin fell outside of Litta¡¯s influence due to its geographic separation on the western side of the continent. Thus, Timagrin became Hiward¡¯s primary trading partner. However, the Timans used different preservation techniques and produced significantly less salt than Litta. They had no excess to trade.


    ¡°Timans preserve many foods with a pickling method that uses sunseed oil, which they have in abundance. Sunseeds are harvested from sun peppers, and the oil is quite spicy. Hiwardian slaves had little exposure to spicy foods, so this was initially unpopular. However, given the limited options, Hiwardian trading houses began purchasing the oil in bulk.


    ¡°To encourage Hiwardians to buy the oil, the trading houses employed merchants whose entire purpose was to travel the country and extoll the oil¡¯s virtues. Claims were made about the health benefits of spicy foods, the minor amount of mana the oil absorbed when left in the sun, its alternative uses in medicine, as a lubricant¨C¡±


    ¡°The best sword oil is derived from sunseeds,¡± Varrin added.


    Riona looked at Varrin in annoyance. Her patience with her brother was significantly lower than her patience with her students.


    ¡°Some claims were spurious, others legitimate,¡± she said. ¡°The merchants were heavily incentivized to travel for long periods, which left them little time to place down roots. For this reason, the merchants were frequently single. It then became a common saying that a person who¡¯d not been betrothed by the time they were eighteen was a ¡®sunseed man¡¯ or a ¡®sunseed woman¡¯.


    ¡°It became a tradition to give gifts of sunseed oil and other products made with sunseed oil to people who¡¯d passed eighteen and who were not betrothed. The merchants encouraged this practice since it helped business, and even offered small amounts of free sunseed products to unmarried individuals twenty-four or older.


    ¡°As we discussed earlier, noble families are constantly in search of new connections and alliances, often through the mechanism of marriage. They modified the sunseed custom by creating several sunseed dishes that are now served at all formal social gatherings, and that are only consumed by unwed men and women who are eighteen or older.


    ¡°Over time, the practice transitioned from an obligation for the unwed to eat these dishes, to more of a voluntary practice. Someone eating a sunseed dish is thus signaling to the room that they are both single and also looking to wed.¡±


    Riona took a deep breath. ¡°And that is why you should only eat the sun pepper cake if you¡¯re trying to get married.¡± She tucked an errant strand of white hair behind her ear and raised her eyebrows. ¡°Satisfied?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, slowly. ¡°I appreciate how thorough of an explanation that was, but I agree that level of detail is probably too much for the time we have.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± she said. ¡°Then how much do you need?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Something like ¡®traveling merchants sold sunseed oil and were frequently single. Eating sunseed dishes at formal events became synonymous with being unwed as a result, so only eat the sun pepper cake if you¡¯re trying to get hitched.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Then I will endeavor to provide you with the relevant historical context, condensed to a point where it becomes unrecognizable.¡±


    Varrin frowned at Riona, then looked up at me. ¡°The history of our nation is important for Hiwardians,¡± he said. ¡°Trying to explain things in such concise terms is a minor taboo unless both parties are known to be familiar with the topic.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± I said. I tactfully decided not to point out that my insistence on context had yielded an additional bit of etiquette that I otherwise may not have learned. ¡°I apologize if I made you uncomfortable, Riona.¡±


    She waved a hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯ve been at this for hours. We should take a break.¡±


    *****


    We made it through Riona¡¯s foot-high pile of folders in about twelve hours, which equated to approximately three years of lessons. I didn¡¯t have a perfect memory like Etja, but my experience in academia and insistence on scholastic excellence provided me with a solid foundation for approaching new subjects.


    Having a 40 in both Wisdom and Intelligence¨Cgiving me a superhuman capacity for absorbing new information¨Cprobably helped as well.


    ¡°The only nation I¡¯m a citizen of is the Xor¡¯Drel tribe,¡± I said. ¡°No other nation would have a claim. The Xor¡¯Drels use ritual to establish their domain, which they haven¡¯t done here. As far as I¡¯m concerned, it doesn¡¯t belong to any nation.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say the Xor¡¯Drels have no desire to intrude on your private space,¡± Zura continued. ¡°If the lands are unclaimed, then what rule of law is there?


    ¡°Huh. You know, that is a great question,¡± I said. ¡°If people are coming in from all over, what happens if a crime is committed? I hadn¡¯t really considered that. Maybe the law of international waters?¡±


    ¡°Those are poorly developed,¡± said Zura. ¡°The most heavily traversed waters are all claimed. Even where international rules apply, interactions are typically governed by treaties between the relevant nations.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s workable. If a Hiwardian commits a crime against a Hiwardian, Hiwardian law applies. If it¡¯s a Hiwardian against an Eschen, then it¡¯s dealt with however the Hiwardian-Eschen treaties say it¡¯s dealt with.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Zura. ¡°But if you treat this space in such a¡±¨Cpause¨C¡°neutral way, who would oppose another nation coming in and laying claim?¡±


    ¡°I would, obviously.¡±


    ¡°Under what authority?¡±


    ¡°Mine. It¡¯s my Closet.¡±


    ¡°But you are an individual,¡± said Zura. ¡°With no legal framework governing the lands you are claiming. A man alone is not a code of laws, and he is not something that other nations interface with.¡±


    ¡°Are you suggesting I establish the Kingdom of Arlo in here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Do you wish to be a king?¡±


    ¡°Not really, no.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± said Etja. ¡°The Democratic Republic of Arlo!¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s voting?¡± I asked. ¡°Grotto? Shog?¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a terrible idea,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Emperor Arlo!¡± said Etja.


    ¡°That would require multiple kingdoms under my control,¡± I said.


    ¡°So?¡± asked Etja. ¡°King Grotto and King Shog!¡±


    ¡°The System did say Shog is almost a Brood King,¡± Nuralie added.


    ¡°That would imply my empire is primarily composed of c¡¯thons.¡±


    Nuralie shrugged, apparently having no problem with the concept. The idea was more attractive to me than I thought it should be.


    ¡°The only workable systems have me as an autocrat of some kind,¡± I mused. ¡°Without citizens to vote or other entities to share power with, I hold all authority.¡±


    ¡°Supreme Leader Arlo!¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Hard pass.¡±


    ¡°Until you choose another title,¡± said Zura, ¡°¡®Master¡¯ is the most appropriate. You are the master of your summon and familiar, and the master of these lands.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I said. ¡°Is Eschendur ready to negotiate some treaties with the Mastery of Arlo?¡±


    ¡°I would like to veto that name,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°You have no power here,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯ll take it under advisement.¡±


    ¡°What would the treaty cover?¡± asked Zura. ¡°We are always looking for allies if the terms are satisfactory.¡±


    I paused to study the Zenithar. Despite our casual interactions, she was one of the three theocratic rulers of Eschendur.


    ¡°You¡¯re being serious?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You have done a lot for Eschendur,¡± she said. ¡°Your party helped break the Littan blockade, returned Inquisitor Nuralie to her homeland, risked yourselves to bring many other Eschens to safety, and¨Cintentionally or not¨Ceffectively brought an end to the armed conflict between Eschendur and Litta. I would not be opposed to formally recognizing your dimensional space as a sovereign land and lending legitimacy to the claim.¡±


    I tried and failed to hide my surprise. I¡¯d thought we were having a friendly intellectual spar, not an honest evaluation of the merits of establishing my own country. Even Nuralie looked taken aback. Apparently, she¡¯d also thought it was a jape of some sort. Only Etja seemed unsurprised.


    ¡°Can I become a citizen?¡± she asked. ¡°Mirtasia doesn¡¯t, uh, really exist anymore.¡±

 Chapter 186: Royal Security

    Chapter 186: Royal Security


    Shortly after being invited to establish my own nation by Zenithar Zura, Varrin and Xim found their way to the lounge. Zura excused herself to retire, granting me some time to mull things over, and she assured me that a servant had already prepared a room for her. Rooms had also been prepared for her entourage, who I didn¡¯t know she¡¯d come with.


    I went over the mental map of improvements Grotto and I had made to the Closet, and bedrooms had not been on the list. Someone had both identified and rectified that problem before it even found its way to me, and I owed that person a beer.


    The party did a little catching up, then discussed my potential Diplomacy evolutions.


    Carouser: You blend seamlessly into any social environment, able to tell who¡¯s who at a glance. You always know who among the entities you can perceive has the most social influence and who that entity regards as an ally among those present.


    Merchant: You instinctively know the market value of any item you inspect. When presenting an item to an entity whose CHA is lower than your WIS, you instinctively know the highest price for which they would be willing to pay, or the lowest price for which they would be willing to sell the item.


    Bureaucrat: You instinctively know the laws and social mores of any civilized area you visit, including expected behaviors, etiquette, and other rules of social engagement.


    I¡¯d already perused the options, so none were a surprise.


    Carouser was free information. Reading the power dynamic in a room was a skill some people spent their entire lives developing. Here, that capability would be handed to me for free, with little to no effort on my part.


    Fuck, I loved magic.


    In some situations, social hierarchy would be easy to discern even without this evolution, but things were rarely so simple. Further, knowing who someone publicly regarded as an ally was one thing, knowing who they really regarded as an ally was another. Based on the wording of the intrinsic, I expected it would be handy dandy for sniffing out a betrayal before it happened. Too bad it only applied to the one person with the most social influence.


    Merchant was a bit of a surprise when I¡¯d first seen it, but intrinsic skills sometimes took a ¡®many ways to skin a cat¡¯ approach. Nuralie had Mercantile, which was entirely focused on barter and trade, whereas Diplomacy was a broader intrinsic that had some minor overlap with several other, more specific skills. It was certainly useful, but I wasn¡¯t a nickel-and-dime kind of guy. I¡¯d leave the sales and acquisitions to Varrin and Nuralie.


    Bureaucrat would eliminate the need for any more cram sessions with Riona, and yes, I knew about the evo before we ever crammed. The reason I¡¯d chosen to still engage in the crash course¨Crather than impulse pick Bureaucrat to save myself the trouble¨Cwas to see how much value the evolution would give me.


    It would certainly make things a hell of a lot easier, but given how fast I learned, it wasn¡¯t a game-changer. It was also the type of evolution that could eventually be obviated if I became well-learned enough. It would be nice for keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of cultural whims, but a hands-on approach seemed more reasonable.


    I liked Carouser. Varrin liked Carouser. Everyone else liked Carouser.


    I picked Carouser.


    One might be curious what my observations about the party members were, after selecting the evolution. As for which of us had the most social influence, well... I¡¯m afraid that will have to remain a mystery.


    He or she did regard everyone else in the party as an ally, so there were no serious festering grudges. No surprises there.


    Once that was settled and we had our game plan for the next day, it was time for bed.


    Zzzz...


    The next morning was a flurry of activity as final preparations were made. Then it was finally time to open the Xor¡¯Drel Checkpoint to greet the king and his retinue.


    We were in our Sunday best. Nuralie had on a suit of dark forest colors with pops of silver and wore a pair of polished high-tops. She¡¯d skipped her absurdly tall tophat, since we were indoors and it would have been impolite to wear, despite how awesome it was.


    Varrin wore a black and gray suit with a dash of military flair, tailored to make sure all who saw him understood how absolutely jacked the man was beneath the layers. Honestly, the trousers framed the big guy¡¯s backseat so well, the damn thing looked like it could perform miracles. Next to them cheeks, he wore a ceremonial sword sheathed at his hip, tied shut with a peace knot, while Kazandak was safely stowed in inventory.


    Not that anything was stopping him from accessing his real sword in an instant. The lack of available lethal weaponry was symbolic.


    Xim wore a set of celebratory cleric¡¯s robes. Its cream and crimson colors were accentuated by sharp, ritualistic crests stained into the fabric with charcoal ink. While the robes were typically worn during formal religious events, Sam¡¯lia was about the farthest thing one could get from a puritanical goddess. The robes showed off nearly everything the cleric had to show. It hugged and emphasized curves, with slits on either side of the ankle-length skirt running all the way up to Xim¡¯s waistline.


    She was also barefoot, not that I took any particular notice of that fact. Don¡¯t make it weird, people.


    Etja had acquired an entire wardrobe¡¯s worth of clothing in Eschengal and was currently wearing a teal dress of gossamer fabric with a neckline that plunged down past her belly button. My first thought upon seeing her was that she¡¯d intentionally chosen to have a belly button. My second thought was that she was unconditionally rocking the outfit. Her chest was criss-crossed by a dozen thin golden chains, and all four arms were adorned with armlets, bracelets, and rings. She even had a beautiful tiara made of delicately threaded gold, set with aquamarine gemstones that matched her dress.


    As for me, I had on an ocean blue suit that matched my Outlaw¡¯s C¡¯thonic Leather Vest of the Dirty Muffin Toy (in case anyone forgot the full name of one of my signature pieces of gear). The vest was clasped over a pink button-down that worked in concert with a violet, floral-pattern tie to match the colors of my Rocket Man¡¯s C¡¯thonic Feather Boa of the Cat¡¯s Pajamas. Both the shirt and tie were silk, of course. Varrin had gotten the tie custom-made according to my specifications to give me a bit of Earthling flair.


    Our hair and makeup were flawless, our footwear could draw applauses, and a critique of our physique would not befall us.


    The Checkpoint opened to a well-organized crowd of people. Each of the main houses had sent some sort of ambassador, all of whom came with their own entourages. Xim¡¯s parents were present, of course, flanked by a few other tribe members and speaking with the man of the hour himself.


    King Filix Celeritia had the lean and charming look of a male model firmly in their silver fox era. He wore an easy smile framed by a hint of white stubble along his jaw. His medium-length hair looked selectively messy in the way that told me it probably took an hour to get just right, and got another twenty minutes of styling after the subdued dark iron crown he wore was nested atop it.


    ¡°Master Xor¡¯Drel himself remains¨C¡± she glanced at me ¡°¨C¡®problematic¡¯, as his origins still cannot be determined. We have no records whatsoever for Majordomo, and our requests for additional history have been denied.¡±


    ¡°Is that everything?¡± asked Aprogar.


    ¡°Yes, Lord Director.¡±


    ¡°Hmph,¡± the man grunted. ¡°Not the most agreeable evaluation I¡¯ve ever heard,¡± he said dryly. ¡°But far from the worst. Is there anything you¡¯d like to add, Master Xor¡¯Drel?¡±


    This whole process struck me as odd, and I felt like somebody was trying to catch me with my hand in the cookie jar. I certainly had things to hide, but I wasn¡¯t planning on causing King Celeritia or the other Hiwardians any problems.


    ¡°May I ask a question first?¡± I said.


    ¡°You may.¡±


    ¡°Why was this report given in front of me? It seems remarkably forthright.¡±


    The Lord Director grinned. ¡°There are several reasons. The evaluation is for your benefit as much as our own. Most assassins and dissidents do not ask permission before hiding away on someone¡¯s grounds, after all. Doing it this way also shows deference to the head of house, which I¡¯m told somehow preserves their honor.


    ¡°I¡¯ve also found that it shakes people up a bit when we show them how much we already know, and it makes one wonder what else we know that we aren¡¯t parading about in front of them. That tends to invite a greater degree of honesty afterward.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I said, then looked at Grotto. ¡°Majordomo, What other defensive measures do we have in place?¡±


    A brief psychic exchange ensured he knew what I was asking for. I figured that divulging a few more factoids could only buy us some favor. At the end of the day, if they decided to take the king and fuck off or request a different venue, it didn¡¯t make too much of a difference to me. They were the ones who¡¯d asked to come inside.


    ¡°Aside from what your officer has discussed, Lord Director,Dimensional attacks can be made in nearly any location with little or no forewarning. A second Checkpoint portal connects to Eschengal, which can be opened this evening at the earliest, and there is a temporary portal leading to the Littan fortress west of the Eschen Gap that can be opened at any time.¡±


    Mentioning the other portals was a good touch. It divulged additional avenues of exposure, which I was sure the Lord Director would want to know about.


    ¡°Additionally, my party¡¯s exploits have made the avatar of Yearning¨COrexis¨Cquite unhappy with us,¡± I added. ¡°And the avatar known as Fortune has some perverse interest in my life. I have no idea if either has the capacity to infiltrate this space, or whether they would have any real interest in doing so.¡±


    Aprogar rubbed his jaw as he thought. ¡°Well, this just got upgraded to a clusterfuck, I think.¡± He let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Are you willing to agree not to open either of those portals without direct permission from myself or the king?¡±


    ¡°I believe I can accommodate that request, Director Aprogar.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have countermages throughout the grounds, so any unexpected spellwork will immediately be terminated.¡±


    ¡°That sounds reasonable.¡±


    ¡°Please do not alter any rooms or internal portals for the duration of the king¡¯s visit,¡± he added. ¡°My people have provided Majordomo with a more comprehensive list of impermissible activities.¡±


    ¡°I have full faith that he will abide by the rules provided,¡± I said.


    [They are mostly irrelevant,] Grotto thought to me. [Unless someone were to attack, I see no reason why I would violate any of their terms.]


    His words weren¡¯t exactly comforting, but it was probably the best I¡¯d get out of him.


    ¡°Now that our official business is done,¡± said Aprogar, ¡°Varrin has informed me your party has something that belongs to my family.¡±


    I nodded, my smile fading as the tone of the conversation darkened. I pulled the Longsword of the Bluewren from my inventory and held it out to the Lord Director. He reached toward it, hand hovering over the sheath as an expression of grief passed over him. He took the weapon and pulled the blade out an inch to study the sigil pressed into the metal just above the guard.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said softly, the sword disappearing into his own inventory. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a summary of how you recovered it, but I hope we¡¯ll find time to speak in depth later tonight.¡± He took a breath and stood up straighter. ¡°For now, I hope your discussions with Hiward are productive.¡±


    Aprogar turned and held up a hand, giving a signal to the King¡¯s Guard outside. They returned a different signal, and a man wearing an outrageously frilly outfit marched forth. He gave me a low bow after entering, then turned and held an arm out toward the king. He opened his mouth, paused for a second, and then began speaking at a volume that absolutely counted as shouting.


    ¡°Now presenting His Royal Highness King Filix ¡®God-Step¡¯ Celeritia! Sole Sovereign of the Kingdom of Hiward! Defender of the Realm! Hero of the War of Rebellion! Long may he reign!¡±


    The king gave a toothy smile and walked into the Closet.

 Chapter 187: The King

    Chapter 187: The King


    This was a moment that we had put a lot of thought into, and no small portion of Riona¡¯s lessons were focused on how to greet a royal. As the king walked into the Closet, all Hiwardians present dropped to one knee, heads bowed to the ground. No matter their individual rank or station, each Hiwardian showed the king the highest level of deference.


    As for the non-Hiwardians, there were options, but those options still revolved around relative social standing. Obviously, the king had the highest social influence by a wide margin. The theatrics of introductions weren¡¯t a popularity contest, however, but a signaling behavior.


    Did you regard the King of Hiward to be above yourself in station? If so, by how much? Does that match what you want to communicate to the king? What do you want to convey to your own people? Are there any individuals around you¡¯re snippy with? Maybe you¡¯d like to subtly challenge them by suggesting your station relative to the king was higher than their own. How would that decision interact with how you greeted your other guests?


    An entire conversation was held in the few seconds it took to bow, salute, hold a moment of silence, or whatever else was culturally relevant for your nationality. The Xor¡¯Drel tribe wasn¡¯t very exact in how they approached these matters when interacting with First Layer residents. If I¡¯d really wanted to show the king some Third Layer-style respect, I¡¯d have constructed an elaborate ritual circle, hunted the most powerful manifestation I could wrangle down on my own, and then used its flesh to empower a state of shared lucid dreaming. That way my respect could be felt on a tangible, sensory level. You¡¯d even be able to taste it!


    We¡¯d decided against that. First, I wasn¡¯t in charge of the tribe, so that would have been a bit too much. However, beyond knowing that I wasn¡¯t the Xor¡¯Drel head of state, my position in the tribe was a bit nebulous. I had no official titles or responsibilities. I¡¯d hardly spent much time there at all. I was just an ordinary, everyday citizen, albeit one who¡¯d begun to generate some level of international fame through careful application of my various superpowers.


    Realizing that, Varrin and Riona had argued that there was an obvious answer. Kneeling was right out because I didn¡¯t owe fealty to the king, but a low bow would be appropriate, to signal that¨Cas an ordinary citizen¨Cmy station was significantly below a king.


    HOWEVER!


    Grotto made that more complicated with his whole presentation to the servants, where I became ¡®Master¡¯ Xor¡¯Drel, the esteemed owner of some fine, independent territories. Zura doubled down on that complexity when she¡¯d shown willingness to support me if I were to claim that I was leading some sort of micro-state, headquartered in the Closet.


    If I wanted to let everyone in the Hiwardian nobility know that I was setting myself up to lead a fledgling nation, then a shallow bow would be more appropriate, especially since we were on the very lands that I would be claiming. If I were to bow any lower, it would directly conflict with that claim, and reestablishing myself at a higher station would become an uphill battle. The shallow bow had a high risk of offending just about everyone who was here to visit, but it was a power play with the highest potential reward, as well.


    Before I could do anything, the king was shaking my hand.


    It wasn¡¯t that I froze up. The king was setting one foot into the Closet, and then we were suddenly pumpin¡¯ paws right there in front of everyone. I had to assume it was some sort of movement technique, but there was no storm of wind or thunderclap like I was used to experiencing when Delvers went at supersonic speeds. It also hadn¡¯t been a teleport spell, since my Magical Thinker ability didn¡¯t trigger.


    I smiled and went with it, desperately searching my memory banks for what the hell a handshake signified in this situation. Images of countless worksheets flitted by in my head, but none of them had shit to say about handshakes. It wasn¡¯t an official greeting of any kind.


    The king¡¯s opening salvo was forced neutrality!


    He¡¯d taken the expectation of posturing and eliminated it in one fell swoop. There was no chance for a misunderstanding, no opportunity to establish any relative roles between us. It was friendly in that it excused me from inadvertently presenting an overly submissive stance, while simultaneously being aggressive in that it gave me no opportunity to put up a strong front.


    The king clapped me on the shoulder, then let the handshake drop. It had gone on for precisely one-good-handshake¡¯s length of time. It didn¡¯t overstay its welcome, but it was sturdy enough to create some familiarity. The man¡¯s smile widened and he straightened up.


    ¡°Master Xor¡¯Drel!¡± he said cheerily. ¡°It¡¯s wonderful to meet you, really, especially on such short notice.¡±


    The Hiwardians around us were still kneeling, and I caught Varrin looking up, slightly confused. The nonverbal signal to stop kneeling hadn¡¯t happened, since I hadn¡¯t officially paid my respects to the king.


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to have you here, King Celeritia,¡± I said. ¡°If I couldn¡¯t make time for the King of Hiward, who could I make time for?¡±


    ¡°Still,¡± he said, ¡°I know you and your party are busy as a Chovali fruit hall, so I appreciate it.¡± He looked around at everyone still kneeling. ¡°Please rise,¡± he said, then leaned in toward me and added under his breath, ¡°Hope your floors are clean. If somebody ends up with a dusty knee, the entire nobility will know about it in under 48 hours.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen no less than a dozen brooms in the last day,¡± I said.


    ¡°Then you¡¯re probably in good shape.¡± King Celeritia turned and looked at the crowd of waiting nobles outside the Checkpoint portal, then eyed a trio of servants standing nearby.


    ¡°We¡¯ve prepared some refreshments in the parlor,¡± I said. ¡°If you¡¯d like to settle in while everyone else is announced.¡±


    ¡°You know, refreshments sound good,¡± he said. ¡°But if I went off without giving another round of attention to everyone who¡¯s about to walk through that portal, it might come off as rude.¡± He made the slightest grimace. ¡°Of course, if my generous host were to have some time-sensitive business we needed to discuss, I could be forgiven for being led away.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I believe there are some very time-sensitive matters... in the lounge.¡±


    The king¡¯s smile widened, and one of the servants was already rushing away to reorganize the hospitality troops according to the king¡¯s whims. Another bowed and gestured in the direction of the lounge, while a third walked ahead, guiding the way and opening doors.


    Varrin¡¯s expression was unreadable as he watched us leave, but Riona looked stressed. She met my eyes as I followed after the king, expressing her deep wish that I behave myself while away from adult supervision. I returned her look, conveying that I was an adult and that the king seemed like a chill enough dude so try not to worry so much. She squinted in a ¡®please be serious about this¡¯ kind of way, and I pursed my lips to let her know I¡¯d use my best judgment, but if the situation called for being serious, I would be super duper serious. The absolute serious-est.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The king and I made it to the lounge at a casual stride, and by the time we arrived, tea was already being poured. It was a bit early for harder drinks, but the bar was set with tasteful displays of nuts and cheeses.


    A squad of the King''s Guard shadowed us, but a subtle gesture from the king left them taking up positions outside of the lounge. The servant ensured we had everything we needed, then excused herself.


    He put the bowl of fruit back onto the coffee table and sat back. He looked thoughtful as he produced a napkin from nowhere and wiped off his hands. If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, the napkin was damp. I added that to the list of easy-bake items to add to my own inventory. It¡¯s not like the napkin would ever dry out. I could have a cloth of appropriate dampness whenever I so chose.


    ¡°I think it is,¡± said the king. ¡°For Level 12, having this much control over a pocket realm is somewhat extraordinary, I¡¯d say. I wouldn¡¯t blink an eye if you had this at Level 30, though. Things get really strange at the higher end.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they do.¡±


    The king folded his napkin neatly and placed it down on the table.


    ¡°Was that an appropriate amount of small talk?¡± he asked. I failed to suppress a chuckle.


    ¡°You¡¯re the king,¡± I said. ¡°I think the appropriate amount is however much you say it is.¡±


    ¡°I think it was, then.¡± He let his hands fall onto his thighs with a light clap. ¡°First, let me say that I appreciate what you and your party have done. System Phases? Dungeons? Labyrinths? Raids? That is a lot of new territory for Delvers to cover. A lot of opportunities.¡± He pointed at me. ¡°But you five also kicked the hells out of a duck¡¯s nest.¡±


    ¡°I¨C Why would someone kick a duck¡¯s nest?¡±


    ¡°No idea,¡± said Celeritia. ¡°They¡¯re horrible creatures. We lost a lot of good people rooting them out of the southeastern part of the island.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where the Duckgriens have their thundry?¡± He nodded. ¡°Are they connected to ducks, somehow?¡±


    Celeritia gave a wistful sigh. ¡°Do you know much about the origin of Hiwardian surnames?¡±


    ¡°I know the Ravvenblaqs adopted their call sign from the Foundation War,¡± I said. ¡°Not much else.¡±


    ¡°Correct. Black Raven isn¡¯t just a moody and ¡®creative¡¯ title. We all had birds of some kind to indicate a specific group, and a color to indicate individual roles. Duckgrien, Green Duck. They were the most aggressive group¨Cthat¡¯s why they got Duck¨Cwhile Patriarch Bobret and Matriarch Cerra were damage-focused, which was green.


    ¡°Of course, the meanings of each bird and color were always changing,¡± he continued. ¡°So different houses may have different interpretations of what their name translates to. We¡¯d swap it around to keep the Littans guessing, and each cell had its own sub-codes. Slaves weren¡¯t given surnames, the call signs were how people in the resistance had come to refer to one another, and they decided it made enough sense to keep.¡±


    ¡°How come Celeritia breaks that trend?¡±


    ¡°Privileges of being the king,¡± he said with an acerbic smile. ¡°When the houses forced the crown onto my head, they decided the king should have a distinctive surname, to set me apart. My nickname during the war was ¡®God-Step¡¯, and my build is Speed focused, which led them to ¡®Celeritia¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. I tried to word my next statement carefully. ¡°Godstep is pretty good, I think.¡±


    ¡°I argued for it, but they insisted ¡®God-Step¡¯ should only apply to myself,¡± he said. ¡°Can you guess who came up with Celeritia?¡±


    ¡°Would it be someone from a family that¡¯s well known for its long history of naming? The experts at striking balance between creativity and tradition?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re practically quoting Ealdric right now,¡± he said, shaking his head. ¡°But yes, it was the Ravvenblaq Patriarch. I think he scared everyone else into voting for it.¡±


    ¡°This is a fascinating bit of lore, here,¡± I said. ¡°Aside from Duckgrien and Ravvenblaq, there¡¯s Heronwyte, Bluewren, and... Thrushmahogany. Is mahogany really a color, though?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re a strange family,¡± said Celeritia, by way of explanation. ¡°Nice enough, though. It¡¯s the Heronwytes you have to watch out for.¡±


    ¡°Are they bad-tempered?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s not what I mean. You need to watch out for them, as in you, specifically. Your party as well. They are distressed that Hiward no longer controls access to Creation Delves.¡±


    ¡°Ah. How do you feel about that, your highness?¡±


    ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t signed any of the petitions the Heronwytes have submitted. Several of them call for extradition, followed by execution.¡±


    ¡°I suddenly feel like my life is in danger.¡±


    Celeritia leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and giving me a long, appraising look.


    ¡°If it feels sudden, then you¡¯re much too relaxed,¡± he said. ¡°From the moment the whole world saw your party¡¯s names in their notifications, all of your lives have been in danger. Hells kid, you just stood up and took a piss on the entire game board for every nation in the world. From now on, I don¡¯t know that there will ever be a time when your lives won¡¯t be in danger.¡±

 Chapter 188: Insider Knowledge

    Chapter 188: Insider Knowledge


    ¡°We knew we¡¯d make some people unhappy when we went into Deijin¡¯s Descent,¡± I said. ¡°That Delve wasn¡¯t the most combat-focused, but we were under threat the entire time we were in there. I¡¯m still spending every second of every day looking for the next trap, the next monster, the next piece of furniture that¡¯s going to try and take my head off. I¡¯m sure the whole party is looking over their shoulders as well, and have no illusions that everyone we¡¯ll be meeting is a friend.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a tough way to live,¡± said Celeritia. ¡°But it helps me relax to hear you say that.¡±


    ¡°Relax?¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting word choice.¡±


    The king took a sip of his tea. ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°It implies our safety is a source of anxiety for you. I didn¡¯t expect a man of your station would have the time to worry about people you don¡¯t know.¡±


    The king¡¯s teacup clinked as he sat it back on its saucer. He searched my face as he chewed over my answer.


    ¡°I know the Ravvenblaqs quite well,¡± he said.


    ¡°But you¡¯re not chatting with Varrin right now.¡±


    ¡°He isn¡¯t the party leader of Fortune¡¯s Folly.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± I admitted. ¡°Still, if you were solely worried about Varrin¡¯s safety, you could have him leave my party with a single command. You could bundle him up with the best and brightest Hiwardians in his level range.¡±


    ¡°You may be overestimating the number of Delvers knocking around with your group¡¯s amount of talent. I could order Varrin to be joined at the hip with a much higher-level group, but I wouldn¡¯t want to stunt his growth like that.¡± Celeritia grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll stop being a contrarian with you,¡± he said. ¡°I do have an interest in seeing your party¨Ceveryone in your party¨Cstay alive.¡±


    ¡°Would you think of me as a cynic if I asked why?¡±


    ¡°A certain level of cynicism is healthy if you¡¯re trying to survive the path you¡¯re walking.¡± The king smiled bitterly. ¡°It would be juvenile to assume it¡¯s out of the goodness of my heart, though, so it¡¯s a reasonable question. I¡¯m more likely to think of you as naive for asking me so directly, but only if you¡¯re planning to take my answer at face value. I get the impression you won¡¯t do that.¡±


    There was a pause in the conversation inviting me to respond, but the king hadn¡¯t answered my question. He watched me closely while I waited for him to continue, then nodded to himself.


    ¡°Hiward has several interests that intersect with your party,¡± he said. ¡°First, it sets a bad precedent when Delvers are killed by their peers for being too successful. We already have enough nobles wasting their potential chasing down Copper and Silver. If I didn¡¯t use my authority to ensure everyone¡¯s playing nicely, there would be a lot more infighting. People don¡¯t need another reason to fear accomplishment.


    ¡°Both the Xor¡¯Drels and Eschendur are Hiwardian allies,¡± he continued. ¡°There¡¯s some political favor to be earned from ensuring you¡¯re treated well by the Kingdom. It would also be damaging to the Kingdom¡¯s relationship with those powers if a Hiwardian assassinated you.


    ¡°Your party is generating a lot of actionable intelligence for Hiward, as well. Varrin has been passing along many of your discoveries, something I¡¯m told he¡¯s been doing with your full permission.¡±


    ¡°The whole party has supported divulging information on threats and countermeasures,¡± I said. ¡°To be clear, we¡¯re not planning on limiting ourselves to Hiward. I think we need every nation up to speed when it comes to the avatars and this Brae¡¯ach guy we just found out about. We¡¯ve had a convenient way to interface with Hiward, so we availed ourselves of it.¡±


    ¡°I believe in sharing,¡± said the king. ¡°I won¡¯t argue for you to cut anyone out, even Litta, so long you aren¡¯t spilling any Hiwardian secrets. I also expect there are things you¡¯re keeping to yourselves, which is tenable. No one knows for sure how your party rose to power so quickly, and¨Cwhile I¡¯d love an answer to that question¨CI¡¯m not here to try and extract that from you.¡±


    ¡°I believe that also constitutes another interest Hiward has in our party,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the compliment.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s usually more groveling as well. And a lot more please and thank yous. Some prostrating and proclamations of eternal servitude.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll politely decline to grovel or commit myself to a lifetime of free labor. If you prefer that I act more formally, I¡¯m happy to do so.¡±


    ¡°Ha! No, please don¡¯t.¡±


    The king stood and wandered to the bar, perusing the selection of cheeses on offer. He settled on a square of asiago and chewed it thoughtfully.


    ¡°The Davahns pushed two hundred miles into Timagrin,¡± he said, poking through the mixed nuts. ¡°They killed everyone on sight, and the only prisoners they took were Delvers. Their progress stopped at Canotha, where they established an operating base. Everyone in Canotha was already dead from the mana eruption caused by Orexis and Anesis. From the accounts I¡¯ve heard, that was a better fate than what the Davahns would have delivered to them.


    ¡°We assume that Canotha¡¯s population was culled in anticipation of their arrival, but we don¡¯t have any hard proof. The Davahns didn¡¯t make landfall in Timagrin until months after the eruption, which makes it look more like an invasion of opportunity. However, while the eruption was highly lethal, it wasn¡¯t physically destructive. All of the structures in the city were preserved, and the Timans couldn¡¯t reclaim the land due to the lingering mana levels. It was a major city with no inhabitants, and it made a perfect home for the invading army."


    ¡°They aren¡¯t affected by the mana?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The levels are too high for mundane people, but tolerable for Delvers. The army marching with Brae¡¯ach seems unaffected, which is... concerning. They may have an extraordinary mana resistance, or they may each have something equivalent to a few Delver levels under their belt. If it¡¯s the latter, then the Davahns have the global Delver population outnumbered.¡±


    I had trouble digesting that information. The king gave me a few seconds, then gracefully continued without mentioning that I looked like I was about to shit myself.


    ¡°After the Davahns were camped out there for a month, we scried another enormous build-up of mana, several times larger than the eruption that wiped out Canotha. It persisted for a week, then disappeared, along with the Davahns.¡±


    ¡°Disappeared?¡± I said. ¡°The whole army?¡±


    Celeritia nodded. ¡°Any sort of long-range surveillance we have can¡¯t find them. Even our diviners haven¡¯t had any success. We¡¯ve sent a few Delver teams in alongside the Timans but lost contact with all of them. We suspect the Davahns are still there, hiding until they¡¯re ready to move on.¡± The king turned toward me and leaned back against the counter. ¡°We¡¯re evaluating the merits of a full military deployment in support of Timagrin, but I¡¯m not willing to send thousands of regular soldiers into that area without more information. For the moment, the conflict is stalled.¡±


    ¡°At least they aren¡¯t actively committing genocide,¡± I said. ¡°For now.¡±


    ¡°Cold comfort,¡± said the king. ¡°The information you brought back on Brae¡¯ach and his involvement with the avatars gave us some much-needed context and confirmed some of our suspicions. It¡¯s possible one of the godlings is shielding them from view somehow, or that this is some part of the magicks Brae¡¯ach has access to. Something we haven¡¯t seen before. I don¡¯t want to give the Davahns time to build up to another advance, but sending troops in blind could be a disaster.


    ¡°We¡¯re quietly moving people in and helping the Timans fortify regions around Canotha. However, I won¡¯t leave Hiward without significant defenses. There¡¯s only so many resources I¡¯m willing to commit.¡± He pushed away from the counter, walked forward, and placed his hands on the back of the couch. ¡°I don¡¯t think your group belongs in that mess right now. I¡¯m satisfied knowing that you¡¯ll keep progressing as you have. I¡¯ll set Varrin up with an official liaison to exchange information moving forward. No need for one of the Ealdrics to keep breaking into Umi-Doo¡¯s office.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Director Umi-Doo will appreciate that.¡±


    The king nodded and came around to plop back down on the couch.


    ¡°Now,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about your upcoming meeting with the Littans.¡±

 Chapter 189: Allies Close, Danger Closer

    Chapter 189: Allies Close, Danger Closer


    The king and I continued our discussions for another hour. His focus with the party¡¯s upcoming meetings with the Littans was to establish some expectations for what he believed we¡¯d encounter. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t detect any of the animosity I¡¯d expected in his attitude toward the Littans, especially given that Celeritia was himself a slave under their thumb. That was about one hundred years ago, but some scars never heal. It didn¡¯t seem like he was holding a grudge, but he was cautious.


    ¡°I expect they¡¯ll try to recruit you,¡± he said.


    ¡°Recruit us? In what capacity?¡±


    ¡°Training consultants would be my bet.¡± He poured himself a fresh cup of tea. A servant had brought in a new pot thirty minutes into our meeting. ¡°The Littans have spent the last century trying to overtake Hiward as the most prominent Delver society. I hate to admit it, but in some limited ways they have us beat.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s surprising to hear.¡±


    ¡°We come at the problem in different ways,¡± Celeritia said. ¡°Hiward regulates Delvers through Central, but the goal of that organization is to minimize inter-Delver conflict, enforce taxation, and ensure loyalty to the crown. For the most part, Delving is privatized. Each House jealously guards their secrets to preserve their competitive edge. This leads to a lot of strategic diversity, but no one is working with complete information.


    ¡°Delving in Litta, on the other hand, is entirely state-controlled. The vast majority of Littan Delvers work for the government, mostly through the military. This allows all of the collective knowledge to filter upward to a single, cohesive entity. However, they¡¯re strict with their Delvers, and having such tight control discourages experimentation.¡±


    ¡°But when they do experiment, they can bring more resources to bear,¡± I added.


    ¡°Certain resources, yes,¡± said the king. ¡°Litta is poorly positioned when it comes to magical materials, and Hiward still has twice as many Delvers, even if they are divided.¡± He took a sip of his tea, eyeing me while he did so. ¡°Your group has given Litta the capacity to start skewing that figure in their direction,¡± he added. ¡°Especially if they secure another nation¡¯s Creation Delve, which I expect they¡¯ll try to do.¡±


    The air hummed with tension for a moment. Celeritia smiled and waved a hand, as if to drive off the feeling like a rogue mosquito. ¡°Anyway, part of how they compensate for a smaller Delver population is by trying to attract foreign talent. They offer generous rewards to exceptional Delvers willing to work as contractors training certain personnel, submitting to detailed interviews, demonstrating techniques, and so on.¡±


    ¡°I assume it¡¯s frowned upon for Hiwardians to accept such an offer.¡±


    ¡°We call it treason,¡± he said. ¡°If you plan to start training Littan soldiers, you¡¯ll be doing it without Varrin.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± I considered my words for a moment. The conversation had always been a minefield, but I felt like I¡¯d just heard a click beneath my boot. ¡°Are you asking us not to take such a deal?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said the king. ¡°All I¡¯m asking is¨Conce you¡¯ve heard their pitch¨Cconsider coming to us for a counteroffer.¡± He gave me a wily grin. ¡°I¡¯d be surprised if you took any sort of deal that locked your party down for an extended period, though.¡±


    ¡°We do like to stay mobile,¡± I said. ¡°And... unattached.¡±


    He nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Some would call that a lack of oversight.¡±


    ¡°And I like to think somebody out there is happy they can¡¯t be blamed for the messes we make.¡±


    ¡°So long as that mess is helpful to them, it¡¯s probably true.¡± The king gave me a knowing look, then stood and stretched. ¡°Master Xor¡¯Drel, this has been great, really. Sadly, my time is limited, and I¡¯d love to meet individually with the rest of your party. There will also be other petitioners to see me, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s been a pleasure, King Celeritia.¡±


    I offered to give the king the lounge for the day. He agreed to use it for meetings with the rest of the party but preferred a less relaxed atmosphere for any Hiwardians who insisted on a one-on-one. I offered him the use of the study, instead.


    ¡°It¡¯s easier to seem imposing from behind a desk,¡± he¡¯d admitted. I somehow doubted he needed the boost.


    We shook, and I exited the lounge feeling pleased with the discussion. Celeritia was another easy-going head of state, all things considered, and I was beginning to wonder if Arzia simply trended in that direction.


    However¨Cunlike Zura¨CCeleritia¡¯s cheerful presence also carried a looming weight. I hadn¡¯t realized how potent it was until I¡¯d walked out from under it the moment I was outside the lounge. It was a hard thing to put into words, but talking to Celeritia was like talking to a friendly man standing beside an M1 Abrams main battle tank. One with its barrel pointed straight at me, and everyone I cared about. He was pleasant enough, but I knew that any moment the man could have me reduced to a chunky paste.


    Not that Celeritia was individually more powerful than Zura. I just didn¡¯t get the impression that Zura would point all of Eschendur in my direction and pull the trigger the moment I did something she didn¡¯t like. Maybe the feeling came from an aura or other magical effect, but I didn¡¯t think so. The way he slipped from jovial and joking to deadly serious... It was unnerving.


    I nodded to the King¡¯s Guard, noting that there were now four of them outside. I moved off at a relaxed pace, taking a moment to recover before throwing myself to the rest of the sharks. The hallway was empty, save for the guards, but several Hiwardians were waiting just beyond. How many were there for me, and how many were trying to use this opportunity to get easier access to the king, I didn¡¯t know.


    [I trust your meeting went well.]


    ¡°You weren¡¯t listening in?¡±


    [The guards deployed four separate skills to ensure the conversation¡¯s privacy.]


    ¡°So your surveillance within the Closet can be foiled.¡±


    [I felt it would be needlessly confrontational to circumvent them.Please stand still for a moment.] I paused a few feet from the end of the hallway. One Hiwardian gentleman looked like he was trying¨Cpolitely¨Cto get my attention.[There are, of course, ways to hide from my considerable abilities. Before you commit yourself to another lengthy discussion, I would like you to join me in the control room.]


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I intentionally kept myself from making eye contact with anyone in the hallway. The Hiwardian cleared his throat, looking impatient.


    [I believe there is someone hiding from my considerable abilities. I thought that would be clear from context. I¡¯ll teleport you momentarily.]


    ¡°Director Aprogar asked us to refrain from teleportation.¡±


    [I have informed him of the matter. So long as we give advance notice, I may teleport you and myself at will.]


    ¡°Master Xor¡¯Drel,¡± the man said. ¡°If I could have a moment.¡± His tone betrayed a touch of irritation.


    ¡°Okay. Let me disengage¨C¡± The world stuttered, and I was in the cramped room Grotto and I had used to spy on the Littans during their Delve. ¡°¨CFrom this guy,¡± I finished. Grotto was back in his c¡¯thonic octo disguise, hovering next to a panel glittering with flowing text. I crossed my arms and scowled.


    [Correct. Perhaps that method would be successful elsewhere, but here it is a futile endeavor. I have tracked this servant¡¯s pathing around the estate. While his duties appear normal, his routes between tasks are inefficient. This could be forgiven as simple unfamiliarity at first, but he has done enough rounds to become well oriented, and continues to err in his course.]


    A map of the mansion overlaid my vision, and a red line showed where the servant had been.


    ¡°Geez, he¡¯s been everywhere. It¡¯s been less than two hours!¡±


    [Indeed. My suspicion is that he is creating an internal map of the estate. Most of the rooms are open to guests, meaning very few doors are literally closed. He has managed to ¡®accidentally¡¯ open all of them, aside from the door to the lounge. Once he completed a full run of the estate, he returned one additional time past the master bedroom. A napkin fell from the platter he was carrying as he passed.]


    My vision moved to the hall outside my bedroom, where the floors were immaculately clean.


    [That napkin is now gone. No one has passed through this area since.]


    ¡°Understandable, since we positioned it to be out of the way. Where¡¯s the napkin?¡±


    [I do not know.] My vision swapped to the bedroom itself. [I cannot detect anyone inside the room, nor any unusual phenomena. I would like you to take a look with your Sight.]


    I mentally shrugged. Grotto was putting a lot of red string up on his corkboard, but I trusted he had a better handle on the situation than I did.


    ¡°Sha-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah...¡±


    [Are you attempting to communicate something intelligible with that noise?]


    ¡°I¡¯m letting you know I¡¯m using my supervision, since we can¡¯t see each other right now.¡±


    [I can see you. I am currently monitoring all locations within the mansion.]


    ¡°Can you see yourself?¡±


    [Of course.]


    ¡°That¡¯s spooky.¡±


    [It really isn¡¯t.]


    I did a careful pass of the room, focusing my Sight on every nook and cranny.


    ¡°I¡¯m not picking anything up.¡±


    [Hmm. Very well, we will need to recruit additional assistance.]


    ¡°You really wanna find that napkin, eh?¡±


    [I wish to find the cretins who dare desecrate our abode with their petty attempts at skullduggery. I will find them. I will flay them. I will feed their corpses to the newest litter of hounds.]


    Unlike Grotto¡¯s usual rants, there was no manic enthusiasm behind this one. The man was making dark promises he intended to keep.


    ¡°No worries. It ain¡¯t much to go on, but I don¡¯t want to tempt fate and leave that stone unturned. Should we bring in the servant for questioning?¡±


    [We have no valid justification to do so. It would be an affront to the Heronwytes that would demand recompense.]


    ¡°Sheesh. Fine, I¡¯ll grab... Etja, I guess? She has the highest Wisdom paired with Reconnaissance. Hmm, maybe Nuralie as well, since she has all those Sense evolutions.¡±


    [Etja is speaking with the king, and Nuralie is acting as Zenithar Zura¡¯s personal attache?. I have a different pair in mind who are available and well-equipped for this task.]


    I let go of the obelisk, orienting myself as my vision retethered to my body.


    ¡°Oh? Who would those two be?¡±


    [Your ex, and one of Central¡¯s lead investigators.]


    ¡°That sounds fun.¡±


    The world blinked again, and I found myself in the smoking room, looking at a pair of surprised, but familiar faces. One was a heart-stoppingly beautiful woman with dark skin and hazel eyes. Next to her was a grizzled man smoking a hand-rolled cigarette.


    ¡°Arlo!¡± shouted Myria, who promptly leapt onto me in a full-body hug.


    I gave her a gentle pat on the back. ¡°Hey, folks. Long time, no see. Want to help me solve a mystery?¡±


    Lito grunted and stuffed out his cigarette in an ashtray. ¡°Better than sitting around here and doing shit all.¡±

 Chapter 190: Napkin Hunt

    Chapter 190: Napkin Hunt


    ¡°How¡¯d you like the smoking room?¡± I asked, glancing back at Lito as we exited. ¡°We put it together just for you.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Really?¡± he said, sounding doubtful.


    ¡°Only the best for sensei,¡± I said. ¡°Of course, I¡¯d prefer the guests to smoke outside, but¨C¡± I gestured vaguely at the walls. ¡°There¡¯s no outside in here. So, smoking room.¡±


    ¡°Hm,¡± Lito grunted. ¡°Thanks, I guess.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t much effort on our part. The Ravvenblaqs provided most of the furnishings. None of the cigars in the humidor are even mine.¡± I paused in my tracks. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll charge me if somebody smokes one?¡±


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± he asked.


    ¡°To my bedroom.¡±


    Myria threaded her arm through mine. ¡°I assume it¡¯s for business reasons,¡± she said as we started walking again.


    ¡°It¡¯s always business in the bedroom,¡± I said. ¡°I take my sleep very seriously.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s new. I thought you slept half as much as me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m reformed. Skipping out on rest was degrading my performance.¡±


    ¡°Why are we going to your bedroom?¡± asked Lito.


    ¡°A servant dropped a napkin,¡± I replied. He frowned but waited for the rest of my answer. ¡°Before that, he tried to blend in with the Ravvenblaq staff and did a full sweep of the mansion. No one else has been through the hall, and the napkin disappeared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve worked with less,¡± said Myria. ¡°Who¡¯s the servant with?¡±


    ¡°The Heronwytes.¡±


    Lito¡¯s fingers drummed along the head of the war hammer hanging at his belt. He was one of the few openly armed guests, aside from the guard.


    ¡°Sounds like they were delivering information,¡± said Lito. ¡°It happens all the time at these things.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully it¡¯s that innocuous.¡±


    ¡°Any reason you think it isn¡¯t?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The king told me the Heronwytes were petitioning for my extradition and execution.¡±


    Lito scratched his jaw. ¡°Not to impugn the king¡¯s honor, but the man has his own agenda.¡±


    ¡°You think he was bending the truth?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that some dumbass Heronwyte drafted something like that,¡± he said. ¡°The houses aren¡¯t monoliths. The politics inside a major house are almost as fractious as the politics between them.¡±


    ¡°So, I¡¯m not being targeted by the Heronwytes, but a Heronwyte?¡±


    Lito shrugged. ¡°Who knows? The Heronwytes are deeply involved with auctioning Creation Delve slots. Somebody¡¯s losing money because there¡¯s eight of the damn things now, but that¡¯s not enough to drag an entire house into a frenzy.¡±


    ¡°What would the king gain by putting us on a collision course?¡±


    ¡°Expose bad actors in Hiward, evaluate your response to threats, alleviate his boredom, I can keep going if you want.¡±


    ¡°No, I get it. I wasn¡¯t taking the warning at face value, but I appreciate the additional heads up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so casual with your sedition, Lito,¡± said Myria.


    ¡°I don¡¯t play favorites.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the king,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s your favorite by mandate.¡± Myria let go of my arm and placed the back of her hand against my chest to halt me. She stepped forward to the end of the hall and peeked around the corner, then came back. ¡°May I cast Disregard on you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t want people paying attention to me?¡±


    ¡°Everyone here wants a piece of you, Arlo,¡± she said, pulling a dark slate from her inventory. She fiddled with it for a moment, then glanced up. ¡°It¡¯ll be easier to move around if we aren¡¯t constantly being stopped. That¡¯s a yes?¡±


    ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± She stored the slate and touched me on the chest again. A tingle and a notification let me know the spell had taken effect. ¡°What were you doing with the slate?¡±


    ¡°Letting Director Aprogar know what I was casting and why. His people are monitoring all spell use.¡± She looked me up and down. ¡°Mind losing the boa? The spell works better if you¡¯re unexceptional.¡±


    I reluctantly removed the boa and stored it in inventory. I could practically feel some of my swagger drain away. Myria smiled and took her place beside me again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll lead,¡± said Lito.


    ¡°Lots of things,¡± he said. ¡°But not enough.¡±


    Lito carefully touched the right door handle, then pushed it open without entering. The door swung inward, revealing my bedroom in perfect order. He spent some time looking around, and I did another sweep with my Sight for good measure; still nothing unusual. After a minute passed, he entered and began walking around the room. Myria and I stayed in the hall until he gave us permission to follow.


    ¡°The wardrobe¡¯s been moved,¡± Lito said. ¡°Mind if I look inside?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead. I don¡¯t keep anything in there.¡±


    He ran his hands along the outside of the wardrobe, then opened it up. He spent some time going over the interior, then fully removed each drawer on the bottom half, stacking them by the bed once he was done.


    ¡°Move it out from the wall,¡± he said, then looked conflicted for a moment. ¡°Please,¡± he added.


    The wardrobe was awkward to pick up, but I grabbed it by the sides and carried the 200-pound piece of furniture away like it was made of cardboard. Lito took some time to study its back, then squinted at the exposed wall. He pulled out a small pouch and pinched some fine, sparkling powder from within. He tossed it at the wall, and a three-foot-diameter ring of runes appeared.


    ¡°Would you look at that,¡± I said.


    Lito held up a hand to stop me from approaching as he stared at the sigil. It was a series of concentric circles made up of the runic language. I recognized several of the symbols, but many more were unfamiliar.


    ¡°Have any thoughts on this, Grotto?¡± I thought to my familiar.


    [Blood will be spilled for this vandalism.]


    ¡°Right. Insights into what this weave is doing?¡±


    There was a beat of psychic silence. When Grotto started to deliver his findings, I noticed Lito¡¯s brow furrow and Myria took a step back, hand dropping to her side where she normally carried her rapier. She caught herself once she realized Grotto had simply barged into her thoughts, and that we weren¡¯t under attack.


    [The outer three rings are designed to obscure the weave from notice. The fourth ring draws in and condenses Dimensional mana from the surroundings, feeding energy to the other rings to enable their function. The innermost ring sets the boundaries of the weave¡¯s primary effect, limiting it to sapient entities within the bedroom. The central sigil establishes a teleportation function.]


    ¡°So, it¡¯s a stealthy kidnapping enchantment?¡± I asked aloud.


    [That is a crude abridgment, but accurate enough.]


    ¡°This is intricate work,¡± said Lito. He pulled out a reed and placed it in his mouth, starting to chew on the end. ¡°An expert put this together. Only two Heronwytes came with the king, and neither has the skill set to pull this off. Not unless they¡¯re much better at hiding their talents than I thought.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s supposed to trigger it?¡± I asked. ¡°Do we need to make a hasty exit?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not going off anytime soon,¡± said Lito. He glanced at Myria, who already had her slate out and was presumably communicating our findings to Aprogar. Satisfied, Lito returned to the sigil and pointed at the fourth ring. ¡°This is a poor man¡¯s script,¡± he said. ¡°The weave is powered by ambient mana, rather than by using a mana chip. It only gives a trickle of power, so it¡¯s rarely used that way. In Hiward, at least.


    ¡°Since there¡¯s no chip, the mana density in the weave is much lower, which helps it stay undetected. It¡¯s used a lot in combination with effects that activate after reaching a specific mana threshold.¡±


    ¡°A timer?¡± I guessed.


    ¡°Right. The mana density is a long way off from activating an involuntary teleportation effect.¡±


    I looked at the sigil more closely, focusing on the mana running through it and flexing my underutilized Mystical Magic skill. It was only a trickle, and I could spot a small concentration in the central runes but had no way of confirming what Lito had just told me. I¡¯d have to trust him.


    ¡°Director Aprogar is coming to take a look,¡± said Myria.


    ¡°Alright,¡± said Lito. ¡°Let¡¯s take up positions outside. The King¡¯s Guard has people built for disarming these types of things. It may be connected to another weave we haven¡¯t noticed.¡±


    ¡°How did this get here without anyone realizing?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯ve got a close eye on everything happening, and the place is full of high-level Delvers.¡±


    ¡°I can think of a few things,¡± said Lito. He ushered me toward the door as he spoke. ¡°Most likely, the napkin was a disguised divination beacon, which would explain the traces of Divine mana. The servant took a voyeur on a tour of your estate, then dropped the beacon in front of your room, where it was used to coordinate some long-range spellwork. The beacon could have been cannibalized for materials to make the weave.¡± Lito looked up and down the hall, then lowered his voice. ¡°The real hitch is that Director Aprogar didn¡¯t detect whatever happened.¡±


    ¡°Then no one ever entered the room,¡± I said.


    ¡°Probably not. There are countermeasures to this type of thing, more robust than what a mobile King¡¯s Guard unit can put together on short notice. They may not stop someone with this level of skill, but it¡¯d at least make it a headache for them. I¡¯ll pass along some security texts I put together.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that. What¡¯s our next move?¡±


    ¡°Myria and I will talk to the Lord Director,¡± he said. ¡°For now, you should get back to hosting. Whoever¡¯s responsible probably knows we¡¯ve caught wind of this, but there¡¯s no reason to make it any more obvious. The next step is to hunt for any more of these things and try to flush out the culprit.¡±


    ¡°I figured you¡¯d want everyone to clear out,¡± I said. ¡°If someone can lay down hostile weaves remotely, that seems like a major security risk.¡±


    ¡°Something like this wouldn¡¯t even tickle one of the VIPs,¡± he said. ¡°They have defensive trinkets that would cause the spell to fizzle the moment it found a target. Still, the King¡¯s Guard may start slowly teleporting people out.¡±


    I waited for Aprogar to appear, surrounded by a squad of the Guard, and added what I could to the report Lito and Myria gave. The Lord Director agreed I should get back to my business, but that certain of the more flighty nobles may find their way back to Hiward via one of his Dimensional specialists. It seemed like the weave was targeting me, not the king, so Aprogar predicted Celeritia would want to stay and finish chatting with the party.


    I said my goodbyes and went through a few rooms to obscure where I was coming from when I re-entered the foyer. The gathering had been on too short notice for any of the guests besides the king to book me for an official meeting, so it was first come, first served.


    Unfortunately, the first to come was Lord Leon Heronwyte, who didn¡¯t seem happy about being ghosted.

 Chapter 191: Leon the Prosecutor

    Chapter 191: Leon the Prosecutor


    No sooner had I shrugged on my boa and shrugged off Myria¡¯s Disregard spell, than Lord Leon Heronwyte appeared. It was uncanny, and I assumed the man either had people tracking me, or some ability that let him know the instant I was available.


    Either that or he¡¯d been camping out the foyer, and my Luck score was too low. Maybe he had high Luck. No one could say for certain that Luck worked that way¨Cmany of its benefits were more tangible, like improving crits and granting Divine defense¨Cbut still. I had no doubt the stat gave a person¡¯s favored deity an easier time intervening in their life.


    Leon Heronwyte¡¯s god was probably a meddler. I certainly felt like I was about to be meddled with.


    Leon was a man of middling height with the trim-and-fit build of a person with decent Agility. He was ethnically Hiwardian, with short white hair that swept to one side, styled in a sort of feathered, spiky look. It was the type of haircut that made a groovy man look even groovier, but made everyone else look like they were trying too hard. I had a strong bias, but Leon fell into the latter camp.


    Other than that, the man was unremarkable. His features were handsome in a plucky sidekick kind of way. His clothes were fine and fashionable, but nothing stand-out. He moved with purpose but not so quickly that one would take any particular notice.


    ¡°Master Xor¡¯Drel,¡± Leon said, loud enough to carry, but not quite a shout.


    He was on the other side of the foyer, making a beeline straight for me. I had no intention of evading the man, so I raised a hand in acknowledgment and waited for him to cross the short distance. I preferred to deal with social conflicts head-on, but I would avail myself of every advantage I could during the exchange.


    ¡°Alright, tell me this guy¡¯s deal,¡± I thought to Grotto. I gave Lord Heronwyte a close look with my Sight, digging into his Level 15 gold soul. It seemed like many scions of the major houses stalled out at that level.


    [Lord Leon Heronwyte is the great-grandson of Matriarch Cora Heronwyte and the third child of the current Heronwyte Thundralke. The Matriarch¡¯s descendants often mirror her build, but Leon has invested in Charisma, rather than Intelligence. His attunement is Divine.]


    I was happy Grotto got the full Hiwardian dossier from Varrin. My crash course with Riona and Sineh covered the key players, which included Cora Heronwyte, but not Leon.


    Matriarch Cora was one of the highest-level Delvers in the world¨Ca Mystic archer¨Cwhose primary party during the War of Rebellion included Patriarch Ravvenblaq, Patriarch and Matriarch Duckgrien, and Patriarch Bluewren. Her build revolved around perception and control effects, and if Leon was mostly following in her footsteps I¡¯d need to watch my words very closely. Wisdom had too many ways to see through deception, and I wasn¡¯t built for deceiving. The Divine attunement raised some alarm bells considering the Divine mana Lito had detected outside my bedroom, but it wasn¡¯t damning.


    ¡°Lord Heronwyte,¡± I said once the man was close. ¡°I apologize for taking off on short notice earlier. There was a minor security matter that required my attention.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Master Xor¡¯Drel, I understand,¡± he said. If he was offended by my abrupt disappearance, he didn¡¯t let it show. ¡°I know how demanding these types of events can be on the host. This is a splendid estate, by the way. I especially love how the portals make it seem never-ending.¡±


    I began splitting my focus between the conversation with Leon and my high-speed psychic chat with Grotto. Leon seemed content to exchange a few pleasantries, giving me time to dig into what Grotto knew.


    ¡°What¡¯s the crime you think Leon was going to accuse me of, and how did you know?¡±


    [I am unaware of the specific crime, only that he intended to make an accusation. Shortly after entering, he began calibrating a modified version of the slates many of these Hiwardians carry. He attempted to send several poorly encrypted messages to a recipient outside of the Closet, but was unsuccessful.]


    ¡°I know those things get quirky when exposed to high mana levels. Being sequestered in an enclosed dimensional space probably didn¡¯t help, either.¡±


    [The mana levels within the mansion, while higher than normal, are not significant enough to interrupt the slate¡¯s function. If they were, the mundane servants would suffer serious adverse effects. No, those slates send and receive communications using a crude System Call. Because of the Pocket Delve, I am the local administrator of System Calls that originate from Delvers within our domain.]


    ¡°Oh? Then you can block and intercept?¡±


    [Correct.]


    I thought over the implications of what Grotto was telling me. ¡°Can you see every message being sent and received by the King¡¯s Guard?¡±


    Grotto sent the next thought with a dose of menacing glee.


    [I can.]


    That was troubling, but also awesome. Despite my strong aversion to Orwellian surveillance in my past life, the moment that power fell into my own hands I quickly found myself becoming a hypocrite. But it¡¯s not like I was spying on people in their homes. This was my house, so it was probably fine.


    I set that aside to ponder later since it would be inconvenient to ponder right then.


    ¡°Alright, so you¡¯re reading this guy¡¯s emails.¡±


    [Only the ones he attempts to send. I would need to request access to the slate¡¯s message history to see anything further. I could do so, but it would likely require spending some of our newly acquired System Rep to ensure success.]


    ¡°I have no idea how valuable that stuff is, so I¡¯ll leave it to your discretion.¡±


    ¡°The chandeliers actually came from a Delve,¡± I said, responding to one of Leon¡¯s questions. ¡°It was filled with mimics though, so be careful.¡± I smiled. He smiled. We laughed. I don¡¯t think he found it funny.


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°These were high-level Delvers. Some of the very highest, with regard to Bobret and Cera. Was Orexis slain?¡±


    ¡°He was not. I understand he fled after a lengthy battle.¡±


    ¡°And you claim more Delvers would be beneficial in slaying such an entity?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a complicated question. The avatars are not invulnerable, they aren¡¯t all-powerful. I¡¯m not sure what it would take to kill one, but we¡¯ve seen that sufficient force can frustrate their plans.¡±


    Leon made a show of turning his head in thought, stroking his chin, and letting that answer settle. He made eye contact with most of the crowd as he did so.


    ¡°Most Delvers finish their Creation Delve without advancing to Level 1,¡± he said. ¡°The vast majority require additional Delves to reach the first 8-point stat threshold. A Level 1 Delver is little help against an avatar.¡±


    ¡°I disagree,¡± I said.


    ¡°You believe a Level 1 Delver poses a threat to something like Orexis?¡±


    ¡°Not in direct combat,¡± I said. ¡°My party and I were Level 1 when we confronted the specter of Orexis inside Delve 9998: The Cage. Without our intervention, the specter would have released many more avatars into the world. We also prevented a mana eruption that would have destroyed a significant portion of the Ravvenblaq Thundry.¡±


    ¡°According to your own accounts,¡± said Leon.


    ¡°Those accounts have not been disputed,¡± I said. ¡°We were interviewed many times by the Hiwardian government.¡±


    ¡°There was no finding of wrongdoing,¡± said Leon. ¡°That is not to say your claims were taken as factual.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t presume to know the inner thoughts of Central officials, only that our testimonies were never challenged.¡±


    ¡°Regardless, a Level 1 Delver poses no physical threat to an avatar.¡±


    ¡°It would be extraordinary if one did.¡±


    ¡°The average rate of Level advancement for Delvers is one Level per year,¡± said Leon. ¡°Exceptional Delvers move faster, but the average is one.¡±


    ¡°I understand that to be the common belief,¡± I said.


    ¡°Both Matriarch and Patriarch Duckgrien are Level 52,¡± said Leon. ¡°They spent decades reaching that tier of strength. Even then, they could not kill Orexis. It¡¯s questionable whether they even caused him to flee, based on their own accounts of the conflict.¡± He folded his hands behind his back. ¡°Even with an influx of new Delvers, it would take decades, if not more than a century, for Delvers of sufficient power to rise from the new ranks to challenge even a single avatar.¡±


    ¡°I believe that¡¯s a pessimistic outlook. The Phase transition also provided additional tools to empower Delvers and increase their Levels more rapidly.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re speaking of the Expansion Delves, the Dungeons, the Labyrinths, and the Raids.¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± I said.


    ¡°Are you aware of their entry requirements?¡±


    ¡°I have some insight into them, but I can¡¯t claim to know the individual requirements.¡±


    ¡°Aside from Dungeons, all such ¡®new¡¯ Delves we have discovered will only permit Platinum Delvers to enter. This means that 99% of the world¡¯s Delvers gain no benefit from them.¡±


    I knew that wasn¡¯t strictly true, but there was also no believable reason for me to know a group of Gold Littans had just beaten an Expansion Delve.


    ¡°It¡¯s only been a few days,¡± I said. ¡°Such a conclusion is rushed.¡±


    ¡°Still, I find it troubling,¡± he said. ¡°You were uncertain how the phase transition would allow for more Delvers. You believed more Delvers would help to fight against the avatars. Yet, you¡¯re not sure that an avatar can even be killed. You admit that it would be extraordinary if a Level 1 Delver could harm an avatar at all, and you display a disheartening lack of knowledge concerning how quickly new Delvers can become capable of inflicting such harm. Tell me, Master Xor¡¯Drel, was this ferocious speculation truly the basis upon which your party decided to upend the world?¡±


    Ah, fuck.

 Chapter 192: Arlo Xor’Drel, Esquire: Ace Attorney

    Chapter 192: Arlo Xor¡¯Drel, Esquire: Ace Attorney


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± I said to a servant who¡¯d paused to listen to the exchange. He was a middle-aged man whose name I¡¯d learned was Eric. He held a tray of chilled drinks that looked delightful. I beckoned him forward, then selected a juicy-looking drink with a skewered melon ball floating at the top. ¡°Thanks, Eric,¡± I said. I took a sip, reveling in the light, crisp flavor. There was a touch of mint to it that paired well. ¡°This is good. What is this?¡±


    Eric¡¯s eyes drifted to Leon, who was frowning at me, then down to the tray. ¡°That would be the virgin casaba cooler, m¡¯lord.¡±


    I took another sip. It really was good.


    ¡°Where ya¡¯ from, Eric?¡±


    ¡°I grew up south of Arsenal, m¡¯lord. I moved to the Ravvenblaq manor twenty years ago, and I¡¯ve lived there since.¡±


    ¡°I went through there once. Didn¡¯t get to spend as much time as I¡¯d like. It¡¯s a pretty diverse area.¡±


    ¡°The city is,¡± he said. ¡°My hometown¡¯s mostly regular Hiwardians. Arsenal is an easy landmark, but it¡¯s fairly far south of it.¡±


    ¡°How far south of Arsenal?¡±


    ¡°Just on the northern side of the mountains,¡± he said. ¡°The area was¨C¡±


    ¡°Master Xor¡¯Drel,¡± said Leon. He wasn¡¯t quite scowling.


    ¡°Feel free to continue, Lord Heronwyte,¡± I said.


    ¡°Continue?¡± he asked. ¡°Do you intend to avoid the question?¡±


    ¡°Your questions seemed to have taken the form of a speech,¡± I said, then gestured around with my glass. ¡°You¡¯ve got your audience. Orate to your heart¡¯s content. I¡¯ll wait until you¡¯re done.¡± I pulled the little skewer from my drink and bit the melon off of it. The fruit was lightly carbonated, which was excellent. I plucked another casaba cooler from the tray. ¡°Sorry for keeping you, Eric.¡±


    ¡°Not at all, m¡¯lord,¡± Eric said with a short bow. ¡°Anything you need, I¡¯m honored to serve.¡±


    He shot another look at Leon, then meandered back into the crowd. I¡¯d have to remember to catch that guy later so he could finish his sentence. I¡¯d also tip the hell out of him for his trouble since I¡¯d roped him into my mess. A touch of time to collect myself and reset the momentum of the conversation had been needed, and grabbing a drink was the best I could come up with. Hopefully, it didn¡¯t cause Eric any trouble down the line.


    I looked at Leon expectantly and gestured for him to continue. Lord Heronwyte¡¯s eyes narrowed a fraction.


    ¡°The introduction of seven new Creation Delves injects chaos not just into Hiward, but into the world at large,¡± said Leon. ¡°Hiward has ensured peace across the continent for the better part of a century through economic superiority and strength of arms. Half of our treaties are built upon the exchange of Creation slots. Nations refrain from war out of fear of our intervention or being cut off from our supply of mana chips and magical items.


    ¡°Now, Hiward¡¯s bargaining power has been gutted. Our military advantage is threatened. The rest of the continent will soon be on the precipice of all-out war over these new Creation Delves. These are very real consequences. Certain consequences. Your justification for this chaos is that it might help in the fight against the avatars, and I say that¡¯s not good enough. Even if your theory proves true, it will be of no use when the continent is mired in bloodshed as the avatars strike.¡±


    I had to give it to Lord Heronwyte, he knew how to build up a head of steam. He was impassioned, but measured. He spoke not just to me, but to everyone in the room. He varied his tempo and hammered his inflection on certain words, demanding the attention of his audience.


    How best to respond to this?


    ¡°We¡¯re already at war, Lord Heronwyte,¡± I said, speaking softly to cut through the heat of the man¡¯s bluster. ¡°Orexis threatened the entire northern half of the Ravvenblaq Thundry. Orexis killed one of your Thundralkes right in front of me. A Level 21 platinum, skewered on an obelisk as easily as the fruit in this drink.¡± I held up my second cooler, rotating to give everyone a good look. I paused, holding it out to a woman who stood behind me. She accepted it after a moment of hesitation, thankfully. It was hard to look serious while double-fisting.


    ¡°The Duckgriens could not kill Orexis, you¡¯re correct there,¡± I continued. ¡°No offense meant, Matriarch, Patriarch.¡± I nodded to the Duckgrien couple, who¡¯d joined Ealdric to watch the show. The bare skin and fur combo the Level 52 Delvers normally wore had been replaced with more formal wear. Now it was a bare skin and finery combo. They were both still half-naked. Sineh also stood beside them, the first time I¡¯d seen her unglued from Varrin¡¯s side.


    ¡°Fak off,¡± said Matriarch Duckgrien. ¡°We could barely scratch ¡®im. Keep going.¡±


    I gave a small bow in appreciation, then continued. ¡°Orexis isn¡¯t even a full avatar on his own. He¡¯s a bonded pair with his sister, Anesis. Without her, he¡¯s weakened, and she¡¯s out there with him now, along with who knows how many other avatars. If Hiward¡¯s highest-level Delvers can¡¯t beat half of an avatar, then who else is there? No one. None of that is speculation.


    ¡°Hiward is at the pinnacle of Delver power in this world, and your Kingdom barely avoided disaster. What of the nations without such advantages? Will Hiwardian Delvers spread out to defend the entire continent? You can¡¯t. There aren¡¯t enough of you. Orexis destroyed Canotha before Hiward even knew what was happening. A hundred thousand people, dead in one night. Timagrin deserves to be able to defend itself, and their new Creation Delve will give them twenty times more Delvers to do so.


    ¡°You¡¯re also right that it takes time for a Delver to come into their power, just like it takes time to train a soldier. Just like it takes decades for that soldier to become a general. But no one would refuse to train new soldiers because they¡¯re already at war. That idea¡¯s so dumb it couldn¡¯t pour piss out of a boot with full instructions written on the heel.¡±


    A few people exchanged confused looks at that last bit.


    ¡°That¡¯s what they¡¯d say where I¡¯m from, anyway.¡± I cleared my throat ¡°Maybe a low-level Delver can¡¯t harm an avatar directly, but the avatars don¡¯t fight alone. They create divine spawn. A horde of monstrosities surrounds them wherever they go. And now, Orexis stands at the back of an army of Davahns. An army that slaughters everyone it can find. If history is any guide, once the Davahns are done in Timagrin, Hiward is next.


    ¡°We need Delvers with better skills, more passives, and higher levels to fight the avatars. All of that can be gained from the new Delve types. We need more Delvers to cover more ground, put down avatar spawn, and battle the armies that rally behind them. That is made possible by the new Creation Delves.


    ¡°You accuse me of speculation, Lord Heronwyte, but your argument is conjecture and fear-mongering. Your military is just as strong, with the tools to become stronger. Your Delvers are just as numerous, with no need to auction away your Creation slots. You¡¯re the experts on Delving, and now there will be eight times as many Delvers to buy your knowledge and bid on your magical exports. Hiward has everything it had last week, and more.


    ¡°As for the world suddenly igniting into conflict? No one has issued a declaration of war. If anything, the opposite is true. Eschendur and Litta have an armistice. Peace negotiations are underway, and the phase transition hasn¡¯t changed that. The nations of the world have a common enemy to unite against, and more resources for the fight.


    ¡°Hmm, okay. I¡¯m interested to hear what they say. If it helps, at no point did I attempt to subvert Hiward¡¯s entry requirements to the Creation Delve, nor did I participate in any conspiracy to do so.¡±


    Leon¡¯s eyebrow twitched as his truth-seeing ability confirmed my statement. The man apparently fancied himself a private investigator. He was a half-decent squabbler, but he was no Sherlock. Maybe he should have stuck with Intelligence, instead of Charisma.


    ¡°Are those records available to the general public?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± snapped the rotund man in the crowd. He¡¯d overcome his giggles and was now scowling at Leon.


    ¡°Is it a crime to access them without permission?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said the man.


    ¡°I obtained these legally,¡± said Leon. ¡°No matter. Hognay Haskagander was an associate of Orexis. Later, you were visited in your home by the Artemix group, another group with connections with Orexis. You then called on Low-Lord ¡®Typhoon¡¯ Demarsus, yet another associate of Orexis.¡±


    ¡°Visited? Artemix broke in and tried to kidnap me. I killed three of them. Guardian Lito and Dancer Myria invited me to tag along to see Typhoon as part of the investigation into the attempted kidnapping.¡±


    ¡°Two of your current party members were discovered with Typhoon. Xim Xor¡¯Drel and Nuralie Vyxmeldo¡¯a.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯d successfully kidnapped them.¡±


    ¡°You then traveled to the Ravvenblaq mountains, where Orexis was in hiding.¡±


    ¡°At Umi-Doo¡¯s request,¡± I said.


    ¡°After Orexis was confronted by Matriarch and Patriarch Duckgrien, you entered Delve 9998: The Cage, alongside a golem created by Orexis.¡±


    ¡°We were forced through the portal,¡± I said.


    ¡°Therein, you conspired with another avatar, known as Fortune.¡±


    ¡°The Delve Core directed us to Fortune, as an emergency measure to contain Orexis.¡±


    ¡°Some hours later, Orexis¡¯s sister, Anesis, was released from her captivity. The avatar Fortune was responsible for extracting her from the Delve.¡±


    ¡°Close enough,¡± I said. ¡°The guy was a real dick.¡±


    ¡°Throughout this time, your party was still accompanied by the golem created by Orexis.¡± I furrowed my brow, not liking where this was going. ¡°In fact,¡± Leon continued, ¡°to this day, you still work alongside that golem. Etja Nothosis, your party¡¯s mage, is a creature created by Orexis to serve his own ends.¡±


    I tossed my drink aside and stepped forward, coming within a few inches of Leon.


    ¡°Speak of me all you want,¡± I said. ¡°Attacking the character of one of my party members while she is absent is in poor taste.¡±


    ¡°Do you deny it?¡± he asked, half a whisper.


    ¡°Etja is one of Orexis¡¯s victims. She has been repeatedly vetted by Central and is, at this very moment, speaking with your king.¡±


    ¡°Everywhere you go, an avatar appears,¡± said Leon. ¡°You work alongside them. You take their spawn into your party. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there were one in here with us. Tell me, what deal did you strike with them? You claim the phase transition is meant to be used against them, but I don¡¯t believe it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re spouting baseless conspiracies.¡±


    ¡°Am I?¡± said Leon. He turned away to face the crowd. ¡°The ring on Master Xor¡¯Drel¡¯s finger was created by an avatar. The necklace around his neck was created by an avatar. And what Master Xor¡¯Drel will not tell you, is that the phase transition empowers the avatars!¡± He spun on his heel, face dark with anger. ¡°Can you deny it? Can you look these people in the eye and tell them I speak falsely?¡±


    ¡°Where the fuck is this guy getting his information?¡±


    [From what I know of the Heronwyte Matriarch, her information-gathering capabilities are unrivaled. Some of this is contained in the intelligence you have sent along through Varrin, which we have been told is kept confidential, but it is disturbing how much of this was never discussed outside the party.]


    ¡°The avatars grow stronger regardless,¡± I said, ¡°while Delvers stagnate in phase one. It changes the field for both sides, but favors Delvers. That was disclosed in our reports.¡±


    Leon thrust a finger in my direction. ¡°It was divulged only after you¡¯d completed the phase transition,¡± he said. ¡°Your work was already done, and now you scurry to mask your trail!¡±


    [You should hit him now.]

 Chapter 193: Judgment

    Chapter 193: Judgment


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to hit him.¡±


    [Culturally, it is the strongest way for you to deny his accusations.]


    ¡°Consorting with an avatar isn¡¯t a crime in the books yet, and his own evidence contradicts the shit about the Creation Delve. He hasn¡¯t accused me of anything actionable. Besides, didn¡¯t you say his goal was to get me to hit him?¡±


    [His goal was to distract you. One of Hiward¡¯s definitions for an enemy combatant is ¡°A person who gives aid or conspires to give aid to enemies of the Hiwardian Kingdom with the intent to harm the Kingdom¡¯s people, territories, or interests.¡± Lord Heronwyte¡¯s accusations likely satisfy those requirements.]


    ¡°That¡¯s not part of the Hiwardian criminal code, that¡¯s out of the Laws of Armed Conflict. How does that intersect with the etiquette rules?¡±


    [Your lessons did not cover that scenario. I will ask Riona for clarification.]


    ¡°This man,¡± said Leon, speaking to the crowd, ¡°is no hero! His past is shrouded in secrecy! His very identity is a thinly veiled deceit! He is not from the Third Layer! So far as I can tell, he is not from anywhere!¡±


    ¡°He was distracting me from the bedroom, right? He has to be aware enough to know that didn¡¯t happen, so what¡¯s his endgame?¡±


    [The contents of his message were ¡°Entry confirmed. Parameters: Occupy target 90 minutes after arrival. Methods discussed nonviable. Will make accusation. Reply to change order.¡±]


    ¡°He could be trying to distract me from anything, then. Shit, is he even trying to distract me, or someone else?¡±


    [You are the one he is lambasting.]


    ¡°Yeah, but a lot of people are paying attention to this right now.¡±


    Most of the attendants had found their way to the spectacle Leon and I were making. Patriarch Ravvenblaq remained in his secluded corner, alongside the Duckgriens. Only a handful of people were missing.


    ¡°And what does he have to say in his defense?¡± Leon preached. ¡°Nothing! He stands there, searching for the lie that will best comfort you!¡±


    [Riona is not responding.] That changed my thought process from mitigating Leon¡¯s activities to preparing for an emergency. [I cannot locate her.]


    That skipped me past preparation and right into emergency response.


    ¡°Grotto, where¡¯s the rest of the party? What about the Eschen delegation?¡±


    I checked my interface, seeing that everyone in the party had full health.


    [All of them entered the lounge to speak with the king over the last thirty minutes.]


    ¡°Can you confirm they¡¯re in there?¡±


    [The room is still blanketed by the King¡¯s Guard¡¯s privacy skills. The Guard¡¯s messages indicate the conversation is ongoing.]


    I pulled on my connection to the party through my auras.


    They weren¡¯t in the Closet.


    ¡°Breach the wards. Tell me what¡¯s in there.¡±


    I took off toward Patriarch Ravvenblaq, but Leon stepped into my path.


    ¡°You can¡¯t run from this,¡± said Leon. ¡°We¡¯ve seen through you, and now judgment is co¨C¡± Leon disappeared. There were gasps and a few cries of shock.


    [I took the liberty of putting him in time out.]


    I took a fraction of a second to process the shitstorm this was about to kick up, then kept moving.


    ¡°Fuck me. Was it that easy to teleport him against his will?¡±


    [He was unprepared and his Dimensional resistance is surprisingly low. Ah, the King¡¯s Guard is unhappy.]


    ¡°I bet.¡±


    The crowd parted for me in a rush. Ealdric Senior was already standing when I made it close.


    ¡°That did not seem wise, Arlo,¡± said Patriarch Ravvenblaq. ¡°As entertaining as it was.¡±


    ¡°I apologize for the impertinence, Patriarchs, Matriarch,¡± I nodded to Ealdric, Bobret, and Cera in turn. ¡°Something has removed my party members from the Closet, and they were last seen in the lounge with the king.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± said Sineh. ¡°Someone took Varrin?¡±


    ¡°Calm, child,¡± said Matriarch Duckgrien. ¡°Beside tha¡¯ king¡¯s as safe as safe can be. Prob¡¯ly a menace messin¡¯ with Arlo¡¯s ears an¡¯ eyes.¡±


    ¡°It merits investigation,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°Come.¡± The man turned and walked serenely toward the lounge. People hurried to get out of our way until we made it to the King¡¯s Guard at the end of the hall. One of them stood blocking the corridor.


    ¡°Patriarch Ravvenblaq,¡± the Guard said in greeting. He was in full plate, but a pair of hard, brown eyes were visible through the visor. He didn¡¯t bow, since bowing was a moment of vulnerability the Guard couldn¡¯t afford while actively guarding the king. ¡°The king has asked not to be disturbed, m¡¯lord.¡±


    ¡°Where is Lord Director Bluewren?¡± asked Ealdric.


    ¡°Arlo,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°Your Eschengal portal cannot open until this evening, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°The only other exit available spits us out in the Littan fortress west of the Eschen Gap.¡±


    Ealdric looked to Cera.


    ¡°We should bring ¡®im with us,¡± said Cera. ¡°An¡¯ keep tha people here contained. Any one ah them could be a dissident or imposter.¡±


    ¡°I have marked them,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°If any seek to hide, I will find them.¡± There was a certainty to that statement that gave me chills. ¡°I have no reason to suspect Arlo had a hand in this, and I would prefer not to force anyone else through this portal.¡±


    ¡°As much as I¡¯d prefer not to take a magma bath,¡± I said, ¡°the more people going through the portal, the better chance there is that one of us ends up where everyone else was taken.¡±


    ¡°Could ye survive the heart of a volcano, lad?¡± asked Bobret.


    ¡°My Fortitude is Level 52 and I can teleport to a range of several miles without line of sight. I¡¯d get crispy, but I¡¯d be fine.¡± Although, my beard wouldn¡¯t be.


    ¡°Ye should diversify yer stats more,¡± said Bobret. ¡°That¡¯s too high for Level 12.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°Whoever set this up was able to replace an entire platoon of King¡¯s Guard with imposters and then abducted a Zenithar, the king¨Cwho is a Level 30 platinum¨Cand four of your party members. This is not a challenge you can face, Arlo.¡±


    ¡°Now that ye say it like that, is it one we can face?¡± asked Bobret.


    ¡°I do not know,¡± said Ealdric. ¡°But I will find out.¡±


    Light pulsed across Ealdric¡¯s body. An instant later, he was covered head to toe in black and silver armor. Every inch of it was ornately engraved, and when I focused on the weaves within, they were bursting at the seams with mana. They were so potent, reality seemed to bend and twist around the enchantments.


    Your Mystical Magic skill has increased to Level 21!


    A cloak unfurled at Ealdric¡¯s back, appearing tattered and worn, but a closer look showed it to be made of a dark, oily liquid. Tears and holes continually ran down its length, then sealed themselves back up.


    ¡°Bah, fak it,¡± said Bobret.


    Both he and Cera pulsed with light and emerged wearing their fur armor. Cera¡¯s golden circlet hovered over her head, and Bobret¡¯s body began to spark with electricity. The static made my hair stand on end.


    ¡°Cera, if you please,¡± said Ealdric. She frowned but pulled a small marble from her inventory and handed it to me. ¡°That¡¯s an emergency portal back to Foundation,¡± Ealdric explained. I looked down at the marble, seeing hundreds of runes suspended within the glass. ¡°It will last for five minutes. Make sure everyone within this dimensional space is evacuated as soon as we leave.¡± He locked eyes with me. ¡°Leon included.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got strong evidence he was involved with this,¡± I said.


    ¡°Let Guardian Lito and Dancer Myria handle him,¡± said Ealdric, then considered. ¡°I know that I cannot order you to do so through the power of my office, but consider it a diplomatic gesture of goodwill.¡± Left unspoken was that he could order me to do so through the power of kicking my ass. Nice of him to leave that part out.


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll release him into Hiwardian custody alive.¡±


    Ealdric¡¯s brow furrowed at the wording, but he didn¡¯t argue.


    ¡°I¡¯ll disable tha runes as we pass through,¡± Cera said, then turned to me. ¡°Better if ye backed up a bit.¡±


    I looked between the trio, but Cera wasn¡¯t willing to wait. She waved a hand, and the flaming sphere shot away from the lounge with both me and Sineh inside. Patriarch Ravvenblaq¡¯s body blurred, and he disappeared, followed by a streak of light as Bobret went in behind him. Cera created a ball of blue-white light that emitted an oppressive heat, causing the wall panels around her to begin smoking. She flew into the lounge, leaving the ball of deadly flame behind, and blinked away.


    The blazing sphere floated into the lounge a second later. Its surface rippled, and beams of scorching heat blasted out, carving through the walls and furniture. Hundreds of runes were destroyed as the ball spent its energy, disrupting the complex mana weave. The gale of wind died soon after.


    ¡°Shit,¡± I swore, then looked at Sineh. Her face was pale as she stared into the smoldering remains of the lounge. ¡°You alright?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah, me either.¡± I ran my hands through my hair. ¡°Let¡¯s get people out of here.¡±


    I turned and began stepping around the corpses of the imposter King¡¯s Guard.


    ¡°Grotto, do we know the end destination for the teleport trap in my bedroom?¡±


    [We do not. Do you plan on activating it in a foolhardy attempt to follow after the demigod-tier Delvers who just told you to remain behind?]


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    [I will begin a comparative analysis between the runes in the lounge and the runes in the bedroom. I may be able to determine whether the sigil leads to a matching location.]


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to argue against me going?¡±


    A moment of silence passed.


    [I promised that their vandalism would be met with bloodshed. For their crimes against the party, I will imprison them in a cage of blades. I will batter their minds with the terror of insanity until they throw themselves upon its razor walls. Our transgressors will strip the flesh from their own bones in their futile attempts to flee, and I will allow them to perish only once I am satisfied.]


    There was none of Grotto¡¯s typical borderline mania. I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if the Etja-clone golems were already constructing the prison.


    Lito and Myria stood over the first corpse at the end of the hall with weapons out, their presence an invisible barrier keeping the crowd of Hiwardians behind them from coming closer. They watched me carefully, bodies coiled to spring into action. I recognized the look, but I¡¯d never been on the receiving end of it.


    Myria held up a hand, and I halted. ¡°Care to tell us what¡¯s happening, Arlo?¡±

 Chapter 194: When to Hit Your Guests, Part II

    Chapter 194: When to Hit Your Guests, Part II


    I paused a few feet away from Lito and Myria and gestured for Sineh to keep moving. She shot me a worried look, then walked forward to slip between the pair.


    ¡°A saboteur wove an advanced teleportation array into the lounge,¡± I said. ¡°It appears that the king, the Eschen delegation, and the rest of my party were inside when it activated.¡±


    This stirred up some chatter in the crowd, and I wondered whether I should have been more circumspect. Then again, no one had told me to keep quiet, and making the danger clear would hopefully encourage everyone else to get out of my Closet.


    I gestured at the bodies. ¡°Patriarch Ravvenblaq issued a challenge phrase to the Guard, which they apparently failed. Then, their heads fell off. Ealdric said the whole platoon had been compromised, so I assume he was responsible for the beheadings, but I don¡¯t know how. After that, Ealdric, Cera, and Bobret went through the portal to recover the king. Matriarch Duckgrien destroyed the array afterward.¡±


    ¡°Did you have anything to do with the array?¡± asked Myria. Given the situation, it was a reasonable question. It still stung to be suspected by old allies.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know how it got there.¡±


    Lito grunted. ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth.¡± Myria relaxed a fraction.


    ¡°Did any of our fearless founders leave instructions?¡± she asked.


    ¡°They said to get everyone out of the Closet.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    Myria scowled. ¡°Typical.¡±


    ¡°Reckless,¡± Lito added. ¡°How are we leaving?¡±


    I held up the marble ¡°Emergency portal to Foundation.¡±


    Lito held out his hand and I passed him the small glass sphere. He held it up to the light and studied the runes within. Myria leaned in to try and get a good look as well.


    ¡°What tier is that?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Dunno,¡± he said. ¡°Higher than seven.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know the tiers went higher than seven.¡±


    ¡°Neither did I.¡±


    Myria bit her lip. ¡°How much do you think that¡¯s worth?¡±


    Lito closed his fist around the marble. ¡°Right now, it¡¯s worth one stable portal back to Foundation for a gaggle of nobles.¡± He turned to the crowd and started laying out the situation.


    ¡°What about the rest of the King¡¯s Guard?¡± I asked Myria. ¡°There were twenty more of them in here.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said. ¡°All their heads fell off at the same time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s... terrifying.¡±


    Her composure slipped as she nodded. Her eyes went vacant, and she reached up, fingers tracing her throat. ¡°There were four of them in the hall with us outside your bedroom. I thought¨C I thought we were next, ya¡¯ know?¡± She shuddered. ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with the Patriarch.¡±


    I absorbed that life advice while imagining myself grabbing my head, trying to make sure an invisible force didn¡¯t separate it from my body.


    ¡°What about the Lord Director?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea,¡± she said. ¡°He rushed off without saying anything. That was before the mass decapitations.¡±


    ¡°So there may be a rogue Level 26 in here?¡±


    ¡°Gods, I hope not,¡± she said. ¡°Knowing Aprogar¨Cif it really was Aprogar¨CI don¡¯t think Ealdric could kill him from a distance with one move. The man¡¯s as paranoid as it gets.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± I said, mentally nudging Grotto to try and locate the man. ¡°How do you want to handle Leon? We know he was working up a distraction with his public interrogation.¡±


    ¡°Leon Heronwyte?¡± she said. ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°We have him in timeout. Somewhere. Possibly in a very sharp cage.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Send me the evidence you¡¯ve got.¡± She paused before speaking again, furrowing her brow and producing her slate. ¡°That was fast.¡±


    [I have sent copies of Leon¡¯s attempted communications to your slate. He has been requesting extraction every sixty seconds since being contained.]


    Myria finished reading through the text, then started scanning the crowd. ¡°We¡¯ll need to talk to that servant as well.¡±


    There was a quick burst of Dimensional mana, and the Heronwyte servant appeared next to Myria. The mundane man stumbled, fell, and then rolled onto his side to begin vomiting. His mundane constitution was ill-prepared for Grotto¡¯s unexpected teleportation.


    Myria took the servant¡¯s sudden appearance in stride, waited for him to finish emptying his stomach, then pulled a black length of rope from her inventory and tossed it at him. The cord wrapped itself around him like a snake, binding him, then raised him back to his feet.


    ¡°Hello,¡± said Myria. She pulled out a cloth and wiped the mess from around the man¡¯s mouth. ¡°I¡¯m Dancer Myria of the Hiwardian Central Delver Authority. You¡¯re being taken into custody as part of an investigation concerning several crimes that have been committed on Master Xor¡¯Drel¡¯s property.¡±


    ¡°C-crimes?¡± the man asked, wide-eyed. ¡°What¨C¡± he gulped. ¡°What sort of crimes?¡±


    ¡°Sabotage, kidnapping, and treason,¡± she said. ¡°More may be coming. I¡¯ll let you know. For now, we¡¯re heading back to Hiward where you¡¯ll be interviewed.¡±


    The man had gone perfectly still, as though Mria were a predator he hoped he could avoid by staying motionless. Myria sent the cloth back into her inventory, then placed a hand on the servant¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°As a servant of Lord Leon Heronwyte, any actions you were compelled to take under his direction will be attributed to him, not you,¡± she said. Her tone was soft and sympathetic. ¡°Sometimes Delvers abuse their powers and authority. In my experience, most people in your situation are never charged with anything. You¡¯ll also have representation from the Steward¡¯s Coalition, so try not to worry for now.¡±


    The man nodded, but he still looked terrified. Myria led him off to one side, the rope slackening enough for him to shuffle, and spoke with him some more.


    While Myria spent a few minutes calming the man, Grotto sent me some private psychic messages. [The Lord Director looped back around to your bedroom and activated the teleport weave.]


    ¡°That¡¯s good evidence it goes somewhere meaningful.¡±


    [Indeed. He left the weave intact when he went through, however, which makes me apprehensive. If he did not wish to be followed, there are many ways he could have defaced the runes after passing through.]


    ¡°You think he might be trying to manipulate us into intentionally activating a trap we already knew about? A trap that uses another trap as bait? Is there a word for that?¡±


    [Yes, it is called a trap. Alternatively, he may have become sloppy in his eagerness to escape. He was bleeding quite profusely.]


    By the time Myria finished up with the man he looked much better. The pair of us had to wait on Lito to do a headcount, making sure no one else was missing or hiding out.


    ¡°Those rules are fairly forgiving,¡± I said once Myria returned.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know about servant¡¯s rights?¡± she asked. ¡°We¡¯re not even allowed to use Active Skills on mundane people unless they¡¯re a danger to others.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve mostly been concerned with laws that affect me and my party members. I hadn¡¯t planned on hiring anyone to wait on me.¡±


    ¡°I suppose Majordomo is an exception.¡± She gave me a conspiratorial look. ¡°Lito told me he¡¯s not a ¡®traditional¡¯ butler.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said.


    I¡¯d never come clean with Lito about Grotto¡¯s true identity, and Majordomo was, in essence, a double-feint. Still, I wondered how much the Guardian knew that he didn¡¯t want me to know that he knew. Probably a lot.


    You are consumed or are consuming you are consumed or are consuming you are consumed or are consuming you are consumed or are consuming...


    The rest of the page was filled with hundreds of repetitions of the poem¡¯s final sentence. Lito handed me the third page but kept his eyes on Leon.


    DAMNING EVIDENCE PART THREE


    Temptation


    Oppression


    Obsession


    Infestation


    Possession


    WE ARE SEEKING GRACE TO BECOME INSTRUMENTS OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT


    Deliverance


    Two to three people pray over the afflicted person; only one is the leader in prayer while the others are interceding.


    Take authority over any spirits that may be present.


    IN THE NAME OF OUR GOD I BIND ALL POWERS AND FORCES IN THE AIR, IN THE GROUND, IN THE WATER, IN THE UNDERGROUND, IN THE NETHERWORLD, IN NATURE AND IN FIRE.


    IN YOUR NAME I BIND


    IN YOUR NAME I BIND


    IN YOUR NAME I BIND


    Renounce all areas of bondage.


    If the afflicted person refuses to renounce, place in a sealed room with no food or water for 8 hours. Encourage the afflicted to expel any and all waste in a manner where it can be inspected by the presiding pastor.


    Repeat steps one through twenty-nine.


    Pray for deliverance.


    BY THE POWER OF BLOOD


    I BIND YOU


    YOUR EVIL SPIRITS


    DEMONIC FORCES


    PRINCIPALITIES


    ATTRIBUTES


    ASPECTS


    CLUSTERS


    ENDOWMENTS


    THRONES


    KINGS


    PRINCES


    TERRORS


    DEMONIC ASSIGNMENTS


    FUNCTIONS OF DESTRUCTION


    ...


    The final list kept going, growing increasingly unhinged as it went.


    ¡°What do you, uh, what do you make of this?¡± I asked Lito.


    ¡°You see?¡± said Leon. His sword was back out and pointing at me. ¡°He should be the one taken into custody!¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± said Lito. ¡°Lord Heronwyte, when¡¯s the last time you had a full Dispel and Cleanse performed?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Leon. ¡°Are you suggesting that I am being influenced?¡±


    ¡°These documents don¡¯t even mention Master Xor¡¯Drel.¡±


    Leon¡¯s eyes narrowed, barely visible through the barbute. Lito turned the first page around and held it up. Leon leaned in, reading the text from a distance. His scowl was replaced by a moment of confusion, then he let out a whine which quickly transitioned to a growl.


    He dashed forward, blade thrusting toward my throat.


    I brought up Gracorvus to block, intercepting the strike and deflecting the sword. Leon simultaneously used his second weapon to strike at my thigh, but I sidestepped away, the tip of the blade missing its mark by a hair. I felt a social attack hit me while I dealt with the strikes.


    You have resisted Fear!


    I activated Elemental Barrier, shaping it to avoid Lito and choosing the Sonic damage type. The air around me thrummed with energy as a constant blast of pressure began rocking Leon. The man flew away from me and crashed to the ground, blood spraying from his nose as the Sonic damage assaulted his sinuses. I followed up with Gravity Anchor, and Leon slid across the ground back toward me, flailing with his swords. His whole body shook violently as the Sonic attack tried to pummel him away while Gravity Anchor drew him closer.


    Leon tried to stand but failed miserably while in the throes of the oppositional forces. He struck out at my ankles from the ground, but I deflected the clumsy attack with my shield. His second blade was intercepted by a blazing chain as Lito entered the fray. Lito¡¯s hammer split into molten fetters, a half dozen lengths that grappled Leon¡¯s limbs, blackening the armor beneath. Leon screamed as the heat began to sear his skin. Blood dripped from his eyes as the Sonic damage did its work, and I pressed my boot to his chest to keep him down.


    Lito gave me a signal, and I dropped the skills.


    Leon gnashed his teeth, eyes bloodshot and skin flushed, jerking his body violently to try and tear free of the chains. He was unsuccessful. The man was absolutely livid and continued to thrash despite it only causing the chains to tighten further.


    ¡°Is he... Berserk right now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Looks like it,¡± said Lito.


    ¡°Does he even use Berserk?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°This whole situation is fucking weird.¡±


    Lito took a deep breath and blew it out through his nose. ¡°Yyyep.¡±

 Chapter 196: The Hippo, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

    Chapter 196: The Hippo, The Witch, and The Wardrobe


    Shortcut had me and Grotto halfway down the hall before the end of the first unexpected syllable. Gracorvus was up, Somncres was ready, and Grotto had both shields between himself and the intruder. By the time the sentence was done, I¡¯d gotten a good look at whoever had missed the bus back to Hiward.


    The rotund man who¡¯d laughed when I¡¯d revealed my status as a dimension-hopping reincarnator was looking into my bedroom, wearing a curious expression. As he studied the sigil that had been hidden behind my wardrobe, he was also looking down the hall at me with a dumb grin.


    He wore a wide straw hat, loose pants, sandals, and an open vest, exposing smooth, bare skin beneath. His eyes were too large, his mouth too wide, and he had a distinct lack of a nose. He was the size of a very wide man, rather than an elephant, but there was no doubt who I was looking at.


    ¡°Fortune,¡± I said.


    I relaxed my stance, not out of relief, but out of the knowledge that¨Cno matter how much I¡¯d grown since last running into the avatar¨Cfighting wasn¡¯t an option. The feeling was compounded by the presence of another uninvited guest, a woman who leaned against the wall across from Fortune. She stared at her nails while tapping each digit against her thumb, causing the polish to change color with every beat. She looked Hiwardian, but her unnaturally perfect features matched another avatar I knew.


    Fortune¡¯s head spun towards me, followed by the rest of his body, revealing another face that peered into the bedroom with a scowl. He threw his arms wide and smiled until his face was nearly split.


    ¡°Arlo!¡± he said. ¡°Greetings and salutations, child. I trust you¡¯ve been doing well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d already know if you ever wrote,¡± said his right face.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± said his left. ¡°I never gave you my address.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been better,¡± I said. Grotto slowly floated behind me, his shields still raised. I didn¡¯t know exactly how Grotto¡¯s sight worked, but I knew his c¡¯thonic eyes were decorative. He could still see down the hallway, even with two shields and an Arlo between him and the other side. ¡°I¡¯ve been dealing with a lot of impolite house guests.¡±


    Fortune dropped his arms and shook his head.


    ¡°Bad manners,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s a sign of the times, I fear.¡±


    ¡°Is that your excuse for trespassing?¡±


    ¡°I go where I want,¡± said Right.


    ¡°It is!¡± said Fortune. ¡°As much as I¡¯d prefer to let you carry on your merry way with as little interference as possible, there are matters afoot that require a small amount of direct intervention.¡±


    I pushed down a wave of irritation, grappling with my complex feelings toward the avatar. On the one hand, the ring he¡¯d given me was way too strong for a Level 0 item with no stat requirements, and the Traveler¡¯s Amulet was an unqualified cheat. Those, plus his divine intervention at the time of my first death meant that he was a major factor in my current status as a living being and my ongoing ability to maintain that alive-ness. Without him, I¡¯d be dead; without his patronage, I¡¯d be much weaker.


    On the other hand, he was an infuriating know-it-all meddler who¡¯d stabbed me in the back and let Anesis loose from her prison. I was worried that he was manipulating my actions through a backdoor soul connection, and his presence confirmed at least one of Leon¡¯s concerns about me, which was intolerable.


    I ignored that last bit. Starting to think of Lord Heronwyte as a person with reasonable opinions wouldn¡¯t do me any good in the current situation.


    ¡°To what do I owe the unexpected visit?¡± I asked. ¡°Does your ¡®direct intervention¡¯ involve kidnapping my party members?¡±


    ¡°Oh, goodness, no,¡± said Fortune. ¡°Not in the sense that you¡¯re implying. No, the kidnappability of your party is a point of minor concern¨Cit¡¯s practically a habit by now¨Cbut I prefer more subtlety.¡± He waved at the bedroom. ¡°All of this is quite crude. It¡¯s no mess of my making, I swear it upon the saints themselves.¡±


    I furrowed my brow, wrestling with the theological implications of that statement. ¡°Which saints?¡±


    ¡°Good question,¡± he said, rubbing his chin. ¡°Most of them, I should think.¡±


    ¡°Not the saints of Hell,¡± said Right. ¡°They¡¯re too needy.¡±


    ¡°Uh, which hell?¡±


    ¡°There is only one true Hell, my boy,¡± said Fortune. ¡°You¡¯ll figure that out if you live long enough.¡±


    ¡°Does any of that mean anything to you?¡± I thought to Grotto.


    [Nothing actionable.]


    That sounded like fertile ground for a later discussion.


    ¡°If you aren¡¯t the reason for all the traps and kidnapping, then why are you here? I don¡¯t have time for games.¡±


    ¡°This brings us to the second reason I am here,¡± said Fortune. ¡°Which is to delay you from taking that teleport.¡±


    ¡°Unless you physically stop me, I¡¯m not going to wait for long.¡±


    ¡°Just a moment,¡± he said, pointing up and looking toward the ceiling. ¡°Aaaaand, there it is.¡±


    A wave of insight tore through me as the true name of The Dread Star of Heaven pierced my mind. I staggered back, overwhelmed by the weight of the word dropping onto my brain like a thousand-pound bowling ball.


    The cooldown on Divine Favor of JuRoQi, The Dread Star of Heaven has ended.


    I blinked away the sensation, recovering from the name burning its way into me. I checked the skill, seeing that exactly seven days had passed since I used it to ask Avarice¡¯s first question.


    ¡°Shit,¡± I said, then looked at Avarice. ¡°Are you here for your second question? This isn¡¯t great timing.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°I am still digesting the last answer I received. It would be premature to ask another.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so what does ¡®protecting your investment¡¯ mean?¡±


    ¡°It means encouraging you to stay here,¡± she said. ¡°You cannot pay your debts if you are dead.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, unless you stop me, I¡¯m taking that teleport. If you have another way to get my party members back, I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°They may already be dead,¡± said Avarice.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t. They still show on my interface with full health, and my aura still reaches them. I can¡¯t get any other feedback from it, but I know they¡¯re alive.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± said Fortune. ¡°That¡¯s curious.¡±


    ¡°If you stay here, I will ensure your safety,¡± said Avarice. ¡°Better that one of you survives.¡±


    ¡°Do you know what the danger is?¡± I asked. ¡°Or do you plan on leaving me in the dark?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything for certain, but you are not equipped to deal with whatever is happening here.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯tknow that, either,¡± I said.


    ¡°It is a foolish risk.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what we¡¯re all about. I wouldn¡¯t have met you, otherwise.¡± Avarice frowned. ¡°Listen, you can mind fuck just about anything, right? If you want to make sure I live, then come with me. I¡¯m not staying here unless you force me.¡±


    Avarice reached up and rubbed at her temples.


    ¡°That is, perhaps, the most crass way anyone has ever requested my aid,¡± she said. ¡°And I am not going to force you to do anything. I thought I¡¯d made that clear when we last met.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll come?¡±


    ¡°I am not immune to the dangers in this world,¡± she said. ¡°You are one of the very few who has seen that first hand. I will not travel into the unknown, even if it means losing something precious. My business involves a degree of risk, but risk is not my business.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°This has been fun, you two, but you won¡¯t convince me to abandon my allies. Feel free to show yourselves out.¡±


    ¡°Arlo,¡± said Avarice, closing the distance between us in two steps. She bent down and placed a hand on my shoulder, gazing into me. ¡°Witness.¡±


    Any pretense that Avarice was human disappeared, and her soul reached out to skewer my own.


    She showed me her true self.

 Chapter 197: What’re Ya Buyin’?

    Chapter 197: What¡¯re Ya Buyin¡¯?


    Avarice¡¯s soul cut into mine like a precision scalpel. At first, I thought she¡¯d gone back on her word, that she was planning to turn me into some kind of Dread Star Q&A slave, but the soul connection didn¡¯t feel like an attack. It was closer to what Grotto and I shared, or how I connected to others using Reveal, although the way Avarice formed the bridge was a lot rougher. The pain was sharp and bright, but brief.


    Avarice ignored anything she might find through the soul bond, using it only for the transcendental communication it granted. She delivered a look behind her mask, inviting me to see what she was, without the prejudice of anthropomorphism. The pareidolia that she encouraged was stripped away.


    Avarice¡¯s features were painted on, a presentation for my benefit, an act at being bound by the weakness of flesh. She had human senses, but only because it served her to know how we experienced the world. Her tongue could taste but had no desire for flavor, her nose could smell but found no comfort in a familiar scent, her eyes processed light but it was the least of the ways she could see. Her body was an inanimate thing, a doll created to trick and deceive, puppeted by something unearthly, piloted toward a singular goal.


    Her pupils dilated, and through them, I beheld a squirming mass of desire. Avarice was an insatiable need, the compulsion to own more tomorrow than she did today. Even that was too weak a description. She was a function, an inevitable product of divine physics, executing its own program through an intelligence that held no concept of empathy or remorse.


    Mortal principles meant nothing to her. She could not be anticipated through morality or emotion. She was strange and unknowable, and yet she was more predictable than any person. She sought one thing, and all else was subordinate, every decision a step toward satisfying her craving.


    She let go of my shoulder and straightened. I took a shaky breath. Between the Dread Star¡¯s name and the sight of Avarice unmasked, it felt like a nest of hornets had made their home inside my skull. But Avarice wasn¡¯t finished. The tendrils of her soul remained, exposing the logic of her physicality.


    Avarice ran the fingers of one hand through her hair, where it shifted from black to candy apple red at her touch. The casual action evoked a sense of humanity, drawing me back into her simulation of mortality. It was also a contradiction, an impossible action for anyone mundane. It signaled her power, her ability to adapt, the ineffability of what she was, the ease with which she invented rules to bind her and then violated them all the same.


    She watched me as she made the motion, reading my reaction to it, monitoring my response to the different shades, finding my preference, and learning to exploit what I favored to draw out the performance she needed from me. I was a puzzle box, with hidden riches inside, a windup soldier she could send out to seize the spoils she wanted. She showed me all of this, knowing that I detested manipulation, and that the transparency was itself a manipulation. Every inch of her bipedal form was deception, and she couldn¡¯t have been more honest about it.


    When she stepped, each muscle and bone moved with intention. A tuft of her hair fluttered, caught by her breath. But there was no air, no true exhalation. She directed the strands individually, willing them to act in concert with her body, drawing my eyes toward them and distracting me from her shadow.


    Her control was absolute, her body without reflex or muscle memory. The tendon along her neck, the pores on her wrist, they were each a decision, made to appeal to me, constantly shifting to stimulate a response, then shifting when new data was gathered. Even the sway of her dress¨C


    ¡°You can stop now,¡± I said. ¡°Pull the wool back over my eyes, please.¡±


    Avarice withdrew her soul from my own, moving so gently that it was soothing. Her hair transitioned back to black, and she shrank down to become a woman of average height. Anything unnatural disappeared, and she became the picture of an average, ordinary human.


    ¡°What the fuck was the point of that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°An attempt to improve our communication,¡± she said. ¡°And something that may marginally increase your chances of survival in the future. My persona is a convenience to facilitate our interaction, and your casual treatment of me is acceptable, but you tread deadly waters when you threaten what is mine. Part of your future belongs to me.


    ¡°To oppose an avatar¡¯s nature is like standing in the path of a landslide, arguing for it to ignore gravity. Your words are meaningless, and the safest course is to move out of its path. However, if you still wish to influence the disaster, you must work with the forces that govern it. I am uniquely suited to tolerating your flippancy since there is much you might provide me, but most avatars are not driven by goals that allow for effective future planning.


    ¡°Fortune and I are perhaps the most extreme examples of an avatar willing to delay gratification, or ignore an immediate inconvenience for a better outcome in the future. Most that I have met would grind you into paste the moment you posed the barest obstacle to their needs.¡±


    I chewed over the ways Avarice served her own interests by giving me that advice. My instinct was to distrust the guidance. Certainly, she¡¯d love for me to believe that working alongside her was the only way to affect her actions. That didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t true, though, and it conformed with what I already knew of avatars.


    If I understood things correctly, Avarice valued the Dread Star questions, but she valued an ongoing partnership more. She was willing to let me leave, but only to enable a potential future where I agreed to profitable trades. If she didn¡¯t believe that was likely, she¡¯d chain me to the wall and keep me as a pet until she¡¯d asked her questions, then let me fuck off on my merry way.


    It also changed how I thought about our interactions, which was her goal. Either I expressed a preference for a future where Avarice got more shit, in which case she would be helpful, or I expressed a preference for neutrality, in which case she was ambivalent. If my preference was for her to have less, then I was dead. All communication led to one of these three roads, and anything that didn¡¯t advance us down one of those paths was meaningless.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. There was no reason to say anything more.


    Avarice moved out of my way, and I walked slowly toward my bedroom. Fortune stood to the side of the door and made no move to stop me. I paused and looked him over. How would I even work with the forces that governed him? Fortune was only a moniker. I didn¡¯t actually know what he was the avatar of.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Although, did it matter? It seemed like his entire purpose was to force events in the direction he favored, and that the subjects of his manipulation know as little about it as possible. Really, the best move was probably not to think about him too hard.


    ¡°You mentioned you were here for three reasons,¡± I said. ¡°What was the third?¡±


    Fortune¡¯s smile widened until all three mouths were separated by a centimeter of skin.


    ¡°I want you to reconsider what is available to you,¡± he said. ¡°Not all tools are meant to be brandished as weapons.¡±


    My agitation grew with his delivery of cryptic ¡®wisdom¡¯. It was generic life coach shit. I half expected him to start reading my horoscope. Maybe he was the avatar of the Zodiac.


    ¡°Then you have heard all that I have on offer.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± she said, then held out a hand. An orb filled with shimmering liquid appeared hovering over her palm, and six vials formed a ring slowly orbiting it. ¡°For your inspection.¡±


    I focused on the objects and pulled up their descriptions, starting with the orb.


    Tears of Tyranny


    Tyranny sees all, but none can see Tyranny.


    Six ounces of the gathered tears of the avatar of Tyranny, painstakingly collected by his enthusiastic citizens. The tears boil when exposed to air, creating a rapidly expanding cloud of invisible gas that allows Tyranny to pierce all illusions and reveal all that is hidden within its area of effect.


    The glass orb containing these tears was crafted by Tyranny¡¯s own hand, and will temporarily extend the tears¡¯ benefits to the last person who held it.


    This is a Deific effect, and cannot be countered, negated, redirected, resisted, prevented, or otherwise foiled or manipulated by any non-Deific effect.


    Take care when using this item, for the eyes of Tyranny are ever searching for its next subjects.


    ¡°Well, gosh,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re not messing around with this stuff.¡± I moved on to the vials.


    Holy Water of Yara¡¯s Redemption


    Gods are not normally known to bottle their sacraments, but an exceptionally pious and persuasive worshiper can work miracles.


    When consuming the contents of this vial, you acquire 5 stacks of Blessed and gain the benefits of the Sacrament of Redemption for 1 hour.


    Sacrament of Redemption


    You gain bonus Spiritual and Divine defense equal to the number Blessed stacks you possess.


    Whenever you have at least 5 Blessed and would become Mesmerized, Dominated, Feared, Berserk, Paranoid, or Psychotic, you lose half of your Blessed stacks and counter the status. If you counter the Berserk status in this way, your current Rage stacks are reduced to half your threshold. (Current threshold: 40)


    As I reviewed the text of the Holy Water, the description glitched and disappeared. New text appeared in its place.


    Holy Water of Yara¡¯s Favor


    Gods are not normally known to bottle their Favor, but for those who show great wisdom and mercy, miracles are known to happen.


    After consuming the contents of this vial, you become immune to all detrimental mind-affecting statuses and abilities for a number of minutes equal to your Delver level.


    This is a Deific effect, and cannot be countered, negated, redirected, resisted, prevented, or otherwise foiled or manipulated by any non-Deific effect.


    Make an offering at my temple in Connas, and if I am pleased, you will receive the Sacrament of Redemption for so long as you refrain from actions I find profane.


    The greedy one has curated an extensive collection of exotic plants. Perhaps you should offer her a cutting or two.


    I rubbed my eyes and re-read the text. We were apparently at the point in my isekai career where the endgame merchant¡¯s items were being directly upgraded by the gods themselves, complete with cheeky divine wisdom in the flavor text.


    Also, would Avarice even want cuttings from a dead Dominion Ivy Plant of the Endless?


    It was dead, right?

 Chapter 198: What’re Ya Sellin’?

    Chapter 198: What¡¯re Ya Sellin¡¯?


    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± asked Avarice.


    ¡°No, far from it,¡± I said. ¡°One moment, please.¡±


    ¡°Grotto, do we still have all the vines from the overgrown Dominion Ivy Plant?¡±


    [There has not exactly been time for raking.]


    ¡°Have you checked on them? Made sure they¡¯re still, y¡¯know, dead?¡±


    [... One moment, please.]


    Grotto disappeared. Avarice raised an eyebrow but kept silent. My familiar returned a moment later.


    [The plant appears to be quite resilient. I have assigned the lower half of the obelisk room to inventory slots. The ivy should be contained so long as it remains in stasis.]


    I brought up my inventory screen, willing it to the plant, and found two different stacks of items.


    Decaying Plant Matter (6812 lbs)


    Immature Dominion Ivy Plant of the Endless x12


    I selected one of the immature plants and pulled it out, holding it up for Avarice to inspect.


    ¡°Does this interest you?¡±


    ¡°May I?¡± she asked, holding out a hand. I passed it to her. She held it up, looking it over and running her fingers across the vine¡¯s small leaves. ¡°Yes, this is quite novel. Do you have any more?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± I said. I was briefly curious why Avarice would need more than one flesh-eating ivy plant that could expand endlessly into the fourth dimension, but then I remembered who I was negotiating with. Why settle for infinite growth, when you can have infinite growth times two? ¡°I can be persuaded to part with some.¡±


    ¡°I will trade one Holy Water per plant,¡± she said.


    Infinite growth times two was amateur hour for Avarice. She didn¡¯t get out of bed for anything less than six times infinite growth. I was lucky she was even willing to deal with my impoverished self, who only possessed a low double-digit number of infinitely scalable items.


    Or maybe I was unlucky, she was robbing me blind, and presenting items blessed by Yara was a calculated play to encourage this exact scenario.


    ¡°I can make that happen,¡± I said. ¡°And the tears?¡±


    ¡°Those are much harder to come by, now that Tyranny is locked away.¡±


    She had a point. Really, since the plants could expand beyond the bounds of the perceivable universe, they weren¡¯t all that rare when their mass was averaged out across reality. The one Yara had cut out of the Closet might still be somewhere in the beyond. It would only have to consume one cosmic entity of immeasurable size to produce more cubic meters of Dominion Ivy than the number of hydrogen atoms that existed. Normal spatial measurements were kind of meaningless in this hypothetical, but it was still fun to think about.


    More fun than thinking about the godlike expression of cupidity manifested in front of me, whose only barrier to turning me into a sentient telephone was that I might produce more value in the future.


    It was also more fun than thinking about my friends and allies being tortured or killed while I did some shopping.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s your price?¡± I asked.


    Avarice twirled the plant between her fingers as she thought.


    ¡°Your party will retrieve something for me in the future.¡±


    I was hesitant to let Avarice dig her nails any further into the party.


    ¡°That¡¯s too open-ended,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t agree to that.¡±


    ¡°I will guarantee that retrieving the item will not violate your morals, nor those of any other member of your party. Retrieving the item will also result in a great boon to your growth, and will be found in an area rich in valuable resources. You will be permitted to keep all that you find, save for the item you are sent to retrieve.¡±


    I controlled my expression as she anticipated most of my objections and laid out entirely reasonable terms to address each of them. I doubted I could hide my reactions while negotiating with her, even if I¡¯d been made of marble, so it was a pointless exercise. But it was still good practice.


    ¡°What about timing?¡±


    ¡°It will require you to defeat a significant number of Grade 30 enemies, so it shouldn¡¯t be any time soon,¡± she said. ¡°You will have a one-year deadline from the time I have deemed you capable of completing the task and notified you of such. That way, it shouldn¡¯t interfere with any of your ongoing activities. This deadline can be amended, at my reasonable discretion, if good cause is shown for delay.¡±


    I was beginning to worry she was picking language right out of my head.


    ¡°And why do you need us to get it?¡± I asked. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have a problem with a few measly Grade 30s, right?¡±


    ¡°I would not,¡± she said. ¡°However, there are some places I will not go for one reason or another.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Well?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you wouldn¡¯t rather have, like, 200 poison essences?¡±


    ¡°No, thank you. However, I can sweeten the deal with anotherorb of the tears.¡±


    I forced myself to think for a few seconds, trying to avoid making an impulse buy. A deific-grade AoE illusion-and-stealth counter was a hell of a nice thing to have in my back pocket. Having two of them? Even better. There were no stat or level limits, so it would be usable for as long as we kept it around. The only downside was that it was consumable, and with the way the orbs were constructed, it looked like each one was a single use.


    ¡°What¡¯s the range on those things? It says it¡¯s an AoE, but doesn¡¯t list a radius.¡±


    ¡°It is unknown, but very large. The exact bounds are difficult to measure, since the gas is imperceptible through most means, and it is too valuable to experiment with.¡±


    As I wrestled with the decision, Avarice clicked her tongue.


    ¡°What¡¯s something else you need?¡± she asked.


    ¡°A second brain,¡± I said, half-jokingly. Avarice might have one, who knew?


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The most immediate reason is that there¡¯s a lot to keep up with in fights.¡±


    My Intelligence and Wisdom already provided a heavy multiplier to tracking and processing my surroundings, but when a half dozen people were moving at supersonic speeds, things could still fall through the cracks.


    ¡°Once I¡¯m outside of the Closet, the entrance to the Closet begins to move with me.¡±


    [It may retain some connection to its previously bound location until the entrance is used again. Perhaps via a similar method as one of your Checkpoints... Still, if the entrance is tethered to your soul, then it would always be ¡®closest¡¯ to wherever you are while outside of the Closet.]


    ¡°Does the teleport weave take a snapshot of my current location when I activate it? Or does it serve as an ongoing anchor for the duration of the portal travel?¡±


    Grotto considered that for a moment.


    [You believe that we are stuck in a feedback loop, wherein the origin weave is continually moving along with us since it is inside the Closet, and unable to properly connect with the endpoint weave because its location is constantly changing?]


    ¡°Not only is the weave¡¯s origin location constantly changing relative to the endpoint, but its relative proximity to me is remaining constant.¡±


    [I do not believe that would be a problem. Advanced portal theory addresses many potential pitfalls of teleportation magicks, including ones such as you are proposing. Any half-competent teleportation weave should compensate for these kinds of variables.]


    ¡°Right. But what if it wasn¡¯t a half-competent teleportation weave? What if it was, for example, a hastily constructed teleportation weave put into place by a hostile actor with a rudimentary understanding of how the Closet functions?


    ¡°And, what if this¨Ccompletely hypothetical¨Chostile actor even designed the weave to intentionally fail under a variety of circumstances, such as those that are typically safeguarded against?¡±


    [That... is potentially a concern.]


    ¡°What if I opened the Closet right now?¡±


    [I cannot predict how that would interact with our current situation, but I doubt that it would be beneficial.]


    ¡°How about I¨C¡±


    [Just wait. Do not touch anything.]


    There... wasn¡¯t anything to touch.


    I tried to look over at Grotto but was met with more absolute darkness. Either light did not exist here, or my eyeballs could no longer perceive it. I could just barely make out the edges of Grotto¡¯s soul. It stretched out into an endless line either behind or ahead of us. There were no indicators as to which direction we were traveling, or if we were even moving at all.


    Several minutes went by, and I could feel Grotto beginning to seethe through our connection.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    [What an infuriating creature. I am amazed his diminutive frame can support a head that large.]


    ¡°Uhh... talking to Umi-Doo?¡±


    [Yes. Getting his assistance was like neutering a ghost. Cold, evasive, and with a great deal more wailing than necessary.]


    ¡°What an oddly specific simile. Did he have a solution?¡±


    [He spent most of the time calling us stupid in seventeen unique ways and in six different languages.]


    ¡°Sounds needlessly repetitive.¡±


    [Each one was more creative than the last!]


    ¡°Still rude, though.¡±


    [His suggestion is that we turn it off and back on again. After that, he terminated the connection.]


    ¡°The Director of Central just gave you basic IT hotline advice?¡±


    [I could dive into your mind to acquire the context for what you just said, but I won¡¯t. He believes the intervention of another teleportation function will interrupt the looping coordinate failure and force the weave to recalibrate itself.]


    ¡°He wants me to use Shortcut? Does it matter how far I go?¡±


    [He did not say.]


    ¡°Will that... break anything? What happens when you teleport while already teleporting?¡±


    [I imagine it varies. We may not even be moving, but rather oscillating in and out of some intermediary between the physical plane and the nonspace where the Closet has demanifested.]


    ¡°Hmm. We¡¯ll start small, then. If it doesn¡¯t work, we¡¯ll ramp up. I¡¯d rather not have the spell on cooldown from making a big jump. Or accidentally scatter my atoms across the solar system.¡±


    [I wonder if that would destroy the Littan fortress, or if the blast would be contained elsewhere...]


    I picked a random point 160 feet away and cast Shortcut.


    I appeared behind myself, an instant before I cast Shortcut and appeared behind myself, an instant before I cast Shortcut and appeared behind myself. I turned to find myself turning to find myself. There was still no light, but my soul was a streak across the darkness, compounding and folding an exponentially growing number of times as more of me continued to teleport ahead and appear from behind.


    There was a blinding light, a flash of atomic fire, and then...


    Pop!


    I landed on my feet, the smell of ozone wafting off my beard. I felt a tentacle wrap around my shoulder as Grotto stabilized himself. The new space was also pitch black, but my darkvision allowed me to make out vague outlines in the distance. There was some light bouncing around, but not much.


    I bit down on the vial of Holy Water and checked my status while I spat out the glass. I hadn¡¯t lost any health, despite the scorching heat at the end of... whatever had happened. I tried not to think about it.


    You have resisted Dominate!


    You have resisted Mesmerize!


    You have resisted Paranoia!


    You have resisted Psychosis!


    The messages continued to repeat, as something in the dark made a dozen mental attacks against me every second. It was like an entire army of controllers were hiding just out of sight. The room was deathly silent, except for one sound.


    A single pair of boots slowly clomped toward me.

 Chapter 199: Time to Meet Our Host

    Chapter 199: Time to Meet Our Host


    Something about the darkness was magical. Despite seeing a shadowy figure approaching, they never came into focus, even after coming to a stop only twenty feet away. Their soul was obscured, making it impossible to get a read on their strength.


    Given that I was still being bombarded by mental attacks, I assumed it was high. The Holy Water was the only reason I was still in control of myself.


    Good purchase, that one.


    The person in the dark spoke, but their voice was strange. It was low and gravelly but sounded like they intentionally pitched down and forced the aged rumble. It was sort of like a woman pretending to be a man, or a young man pretending to be an old veteran. It was hard to pin down.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure you¡¯d follow me,¡± they said. ¡°But I¡¯m pleased that you did.¡±


    Another few heavy footfalls, and I was finally able to make out the edges of their form. They looked like a man, well-built and wearing close-fitting armor. His face was hidden, but his head looked too large. He must have been wearing a helmet that was oversized compared to his other gear.


    ¡°With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?¡± I asked. I definitely didn¡¯t recognize the voice.


    ¡°Do not toy around with me, Arlo,¡± they said. ¡°Who did you believe you were chasing through that portal?¡±


    I furrowed my brow. Was Aprogar pretending to be a young teen pretending to be an older man? That didn¡¯t make sense.


    Two more heavy steps brought the person within a dozen feet. They wore a tabard with the King¡¯s Guard¡¯s crest. They were the right height and build to be Aprogar. Their face was still obscured, but I could make out a well-kept beard. The man took another step forward. I could finally see their face clearly. They...


    They were a fucking muppet.


    The ¡®head¡¯ was some sort of mask. It was an oversized felt caricature of Aprogar, with an exaggerated frown and brows tilted at a severe angle. They cocked their upper body to one side inquisitively, and their pupils clattered around.


    They had damned googly eyes!


    Did the King¡¯s Guard have a mascot? Because I was talking to a straight-up mascot. Even their hands were large felt gloves, and their boots were size twenty-five at the least.


    ¡°When Deletar¡¯s inventory returned to the family vault,¡± said the muppet, ¡°I knew they¡¯d finally been killed. Years of wondering what had happened, years of trying to accept that he was gone.¡± The muppet raised an awkward fist, shaking it in the air as they leaned back. Their fingers didn¡¯t quite fold in properly, their tips flattening and sticking out against their palm. Their voice quivered with all the heat of a high-school theater kid, taking things several notches past believable. ¡°I never realized the wound was still so raw!¡±


    ¡°Uh, I killed a bug,¡± I said. ¡°Not Aprogar¡¯s son. Also¨C¡±


    ¡°Is that all he was to you?!¡± shouted the muppet, slapping a hand over their heart. It made a soft thump. The armor was painted cloth. ¡°He was an insect to be squashed?!¡±


    ¡°No, um, he¡¯d literally been turned into an insect monster.¡±


    ¡°Are you seeing this?¡± I thought to Grotto.


    [Seeing what? I see Aprogar claiming you murdered his child.]


    ¡°Aprogar? No, he¡¯s¨C¡±


    It dawned on me what was happening. I glanced at Grotto, then back to the muppet.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said, pointing my hammer at the mascot. ¡°Were you wearing that the whole time?!¡±


    They placed their hands on their hips and looked down at their clothes. They had to bend at the waist since the head was too large. There wasn¡¯t really a neck. They popped back up and huffed.


    ¡°You dare insult the King¡¯s Guard¡¯s regalia?¡± the muppet said, affronted. ¡°These garments were crafted by my wife! She is a well-known tailor! Her talents are in high demand!¡±


    ¡°Not the clothes! I mean, yes, the clothes as well, but your fucking face, man! Did... did no one notice?¡±


    The muppet reached up and slapped a plush hand onto their fuzzy face, then ran it over their fluffy beard. The googly eyes rattled.


    ¡°What about my face?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes, really. What about my face?¡±


    ¡°You''re a muppet, my dude.¡±


    ¡°What is a... ¡®muppet¡¯?¡±


    ¡°A big fuzzy fake person! A mascot! A guy in a costume!¡± I paused. ¡°If you were an animal, it¡¯d be called a fursuit.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± they said in a higher, slightly more feminine voice. It was still pretty low for a woman and had a bit of roughness to it. It wasn¡¯t enough to enable any assumptions about their biology. ¡°I was having fun with this one.¡±


    They pulled off their gloves, revealing hands with long, slender fingers and a different pattern painted onto each nail. They reached up and pulled off the mascot''s head.


    The face that was revealed had bright white skin with a metallic sheen. Their lips were full and bright blue, and a web of cobalt veins spread out from the lips across their lower face.


    Their eyes were like rippling pools of mercury, surrounded by a riot of color, with one sporting a large, green circle in place of a pupil, while the other held a small and stop-sign-red dot.


    Their hair flowed like a drop of navy ink falling into crystal-clear waters.


    Their features were delicate, but their jaw was sharp and defined. Their eyes were large and marked by long, dark lashes, but their forehead was wide, with a widow¡¯s peak that hinted at the first signs of a receding hairline. Did they have a hint of stubble, or was that just their makeup?


    Was it makeup?


    They placed a hand on one hip and ran a thumb along their lower lip. They pressed in, pulling the lip down and revealing dark silver teeth set into dark-blue gums.


    They threw their arms into the air with enough force to do a little hop.


    ¡°You caught me!¡± they said with a full-toothed smile. The veins around their mouth curled into spirals, then uncurled and swept in the opposite direction to curl in again. They held their arms out like a ballerina and did a quick pirouette, gliding across the floor and stopping just in front of my raised shield, wrists held out to me.


    They were wearing a pair of handcuffs.


    ¡°Our hero may have overcome near-impossible odds to reach my fiendish abode!¡± Hysteria shouted, voice rising to a crescendo. ¡°Regrettably, he is but a single, lowly Level 12 Delver, who can¡¯t do shit to me! How will he overcome?!¡±


    A ring of runes burst to life at my feet, and I felt a wave of mana swelling to fill them.


    I reached out to the dark, trying to find a place to use Shortcut, but everything cloaked in shadow felt like solid stone to my senses.


    I teleported to Hysteria instead.


    When I appeared, Hysteria was gone. I turned to see the avatar standing in the ring of runes, looking down at them curiously with a hand on their chin. They caught me looking, gave a wave, and then dipped into a flourishing bow. The runes faded away, then sprang to life at my feet.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    I swapped tactics, focusing on the flow of mana through the runes. I found a spot where the mana condensed and began to move from the outer ring inward toward the next. I did a quick spin, finding three more connecting points, then threw Somncres at full force. I split the hammer three times, using its new third effect to guide each one to a different target.


    They crashed into the ground with a wrenching noise, tearing through a thin layer of metal but failing to penetrate any further. I realized the floor was covered in weave-enhancing Madrin. Whatever was beneath it had similar properties to the outside edges of the Closet, refusing to yield to the supersonic attack.


    The runes squirmed and slid across the torn metal, reforming the connection just beyond the damage.


    ¡°That¡¯s new,¡± I muttered. ¡°Plan C.¡±


    I locked eyes onto the outer ring, looking for the source of the mana leading into the runes. Like the weave in my bedroom, no chips were powering the magic, relying on an outside source. A thick thread of mana ran off into the dark, and when I focused on the origin point, I could make out hundreds more runes that hovered and swam in the air.


    A hint of gold flickered. There was another Delver out there.


    I fixed on the point using Shortcut, finding a small sphere of empty space that the darkness didn¡¯t block. I teleported to the mystery person and didn¡¯t ask any questions.


    I threw Somncres point blank, layering on Oblivion Orb and copying the hammer four times. In the split second it took me to throw, I got a better look at the figure.


    They had dark skin and leathery wings. Their body was shrouded in several layers of gossamer fabric that hung in the air like a massive, ethereal wedding veil. Each layer of fabric was covered in runes that shifted and moved, rearranging into new patterns every second.


    A wall of metal appeared in front of the winged form, and a rapid series of deafening clangs sounded as my hammers collided with it. The veil behind lit up as the runes snapped into a defensive formation, and the outer layer of fabric disintegrated.


    Block bypassed, first defensive ability spent. Dark eyes narrowed beneath the veil.


    The wall of metal pivoted, and what I¡¯d taken for a shield was revealed to be a sword as its edge shot toward me.


    To be fair, it was wide enough to be a shield. It was just a straight-up Buster Sword.


    I caught it with Gracorvus, and the shield strained against the hit, sending shockwaves through my bones and rattling my teeth. The hit slung me away, wind whipping past as I hurtled back toward the runes.


    I activated Gravity Anchor to halt my movement, stopping myself just outside the hostile weave. The sword rose and rested on the shoulder of a hulking figure beside Veil, who was also surrounded by a suppressed golden Delver halo. It was hard to get a read on their Level with the darkness playing hell with all my senses.


    I started channeling Explosion! but it was Dispelled immediately. I caught a glimmer of mana as a spell shot out from the dark on my left, revealing a third golden soul. Things were starting to get out of hand.


    I used Reverse Card to return whatever it was back to sender. I hadn¡¯t caught the full cast, so Magical Thinker hadn¡¯t proc''d. I heard a shout as it collided with the caster.


    Buster charged through the dark, massive sword held high, but they stumbled and reached up to grab their head.


    ¡°Thanks, bud,¡± I thought to Grotto. Before I could capitalize on my familiar¡¯s mental attack, I felt something catch in my throat and an overwhelming urge to cough. All that came out was a wheeze. I glanced down and saw that an arrow had pierced through my gorget, and was sticking out of my neck. My nerves caught up with the damage and started screaming at me.


    HP: 1898 -> 1471


    I couldn¡¯t breathe, but that was barely an inconvenience. I could almost go an hour without air. The arrow did distract me, though, and Buster hit me in the face.


    Gravity Anchor kept me from going anywhere, but that may have made things worse.


    HP: 1471 -> 1228


    Before I could recover from the hit, something crashed into the side of my knee. I felt the joint bend in the wrong direction, my armor crumpling.


    HP: 1228 -> 1005


    A tiny man was standing below me, barely coming up to my waist. They were already pulling back their fist for another punch.


    I went to block, but Buster grabbed my shield. The man was as wide as a bull, and Gravity Anchor didn¡¯t seem to affect them at all. A spell flew out from the dark and wrapped me in a glowing bola. An arrow hit me in my other knee, ending my career as an adventurer. The only thing keeping me up was Gravity Anchor. Runes erupted on my armor, doing... something not good, for sure.


    The little man caught my attention, fist glowing with a technique. White fur poked out from their light armor. It was a mini-yeti like Umi-Doo.


    They let themselves fall toward my center and their fist hit my jaw, denting my bascinet.


    Half of my health was gone.


    I tried to cast Shortcut, but it was Dispelled.


    I tried to cast Elemental Barrier, but the runes on my armor flared, canceling it.


    My arms were bound by the bola.


    Grotto had disappeared.


    Another punch to my jaw.


    You have been Stunned!


    The last thing I remembered was a tiny foot flying towards my face.

 Chapter 200: Bro, Can You Even Bench the World’s Largest Land Mammal?

    Chapter 200: Bro, Can You Even Bench the World¡¯s Largest Land Mammal?


    Heavy.


    That was the only thought I could muster for the first few seconds after I regained consciousness. I was face down on the ground, a mess of blurry lights filling my vision from the runes beneath me. I tried to pick myself up, but my limbs only twitched.


    My body felt like it weighed as much as an elephant, which may have been an accurate guess. My Strength allowed me to lift about half of an elephant. So, given my current inability to lift myself, there was a good chance my body weight was somewhere in the upper four figures.


    Alright, I could probably lift half of a small elephant. Really, it depended on the species. Half of an Asian elephant that had spent the last six months on a strict diet, sure. Half of an African bush elephant, probably not.


    Let¡¯s call it one-third of a standard, species-agnostic elephant.


    While I didn¡¯t know the precise fraction of any given type of elephant I could lift, I did know that I wasn¡¯t Paralyzed. There was no Paralyzed notification or dulling numbness. I could feel my muscles flex and struggle, painfully aware of every bone, muscle, and organ struggling to keep from settling into a very messy pancake shape.


    I started running down my self-evaluation checklist. My health was 386, which was... alarmingly low. My HP wasn¡¯t actively dropping, though, which¨C


    My ribs creaked and my health dropped by one.


    My regen ticked, bringing my health back up by one.


    ...


    My HP was remaining stable, which I was glad to see.


    Stamina and mana were in good enough shape. I still had 5 minutes left on my immunity to mind shenanigans, so I hadn¡¯t been unconscious for long. Potentially only a handful of seconds. That had still been enough time for Hysteria and their goons to lock me down inside the weave they¡¯d been trying to ensnare me with.


    I didn¡¯t have any debuffs that were sticking, just the constant march of mental attacks being resisted. All my limbs felt like they were still attached, and I was still wearing my gear. All of that was good.


    My eyeballs felt like they were going to drip out of my skull, my head pounded as my heart fought to maintain blood flow, and my diaphragm could barely expand to allow air into my lungs. Each breath felt like sucking down a nest of angry wasps, given the hole in my trachea, and my struggle to move also alerted me that my manhood had not been spared the 40 times multiplier to body weight. All of that was less good.


    Fortunately, my undies provided heroic levels of support¨Cto protect against unexpected g-forces, among other things. Otherwise, my junk would be getting crushed against my armor. Someone had also yanked the arrow out of my neck. Small blessings.


    My vision was less than stellar, possibly because my peepers were deforming, but I could make out five people standing nearby, each illuminated by their own spotlight. The details were fuzzy, but my Soul-Sight was unaffected. I could get a better read on their relative power than I¡¯d been able to while they hid in the dark.


    They were a full party of Level 20s. Three of their number had nothing but Gold Delves under their belts, while the other two had half their levels from Platinum. That made me feel a little better about losing, especially since an avatar was actively giving them an assist.


    The group looked like a diverse crew, and given the disparity in their Delve histories, it might be a fusion of two different parties. If I squinted in just the right way, I could make out enough to tell that the big boy wielding a very big-boy sword was a Hyrachon, the thickest of the Eschen races. A series of granite horns crested his skull, casting shadows over his wide, scowling features.


    Next to him was an even bigger boy with blue skin and intricate tattoos covering their mostly naked form. He looked to be a member of the Mittan race aptly called Giants. He wasn¡¯t quite large enough to justify sieging his lands via beanstalk, but he was head-and-shoulders the largest of the party. He didn¡¯t have any weapons, but he was floating, not that defying gravity told me much. Could have been a spell, technique, passive skill, evolution, or blue man group magic. The jury was out on his role, but after looking everyone else over, I figured he was probably the person who¡¯d been throwing around the magic bola spell.


    The veils covering the rune mage made it even tougher to discern their race, but the dark and leathery wings hinted that they were one of the bat-like Chovali.


    The Mittan Yeti stood before the winged runeworker, arms crossed and looking like a grumpy bouncer for the Chovali¡¯s lower half. He wore a light cuirass and open-face helm, but his extremities were all exposed.


    Finally, there was the archer who was responsible for half of my upper respiratory problems. He was a man with translucent skin and... blurry edges? I blinked and worked my eyebrows, trying to bring him into focus. No, it wasn¡¯t my eyeballs, his skin just sort of faded away and merged with his soul, as though they were one and the same. It may have been an ability, but the look of him reminded me of another ephemeral person I knew¨CXim¡¯s dad, Drel¡¯gethed.


    Loosely then, we had a blade-wielding bruiser, a lockdown spell slinger, a rune-tossing caster, a tiny pugilist, and a dreamy ranger.


    I wondered who was in charge of the heals. I¡¯d need to plot their demise, for when I got loose.


    While I busily planned for success, I rolled my bouldery eyes around, searching through the magical darkness to try and spot any other unexpected surprises (which are, in fact, just surprises). My view was limited, so I strained my neck and dragged my head to a new angle. My warped bascinet screeched across the metal. After a few degrees of movement, I found Hysteria.


    They were doing a handstand, the sexy circus ringleader outfit exchanged for a sequin leotard. The sequins formed the image of a large feline predator, which wrapped all the way around Hysteria¡¯s body. I was still uncertain whether the avatar was trying to embody a certain gender, so I scanned for bulges.


    I didn¡¯t find any. They were as smooth as an androgynous angel.


    Hysteria¡¯s eyebrows shot up (down?) when they saw me awake and lifted a hand off the ground to give me an enthusiastic wave. I valiantly twitched a finger in response. Hysteria put their hand over their mouth to hide a giggle, but they didn¡¯t make a sound.


    Ignoring the avatar, I confirmed that I could still access my inventory. I also tugged on my soul connection with Grotto. He was behind me, but Soul-Sight was 360 these days. He was on the ground, not dead, and there was a tingling sense of discomfort coming from Shared Fate. No major warning signs, though.


    ¡°You still with me?¡± I thought to him.


    [I am deeply unhappy with our predicament.]


    ¡°Gravity hijinks bringing you down?¡± I sent him a psychic wink and a nudge.


    [My chassis is more than capable of mitigating the force it is under. My c¡¯thonic meat suit, less so. I am also trapped beneath one of my shields, which is a hazard I did not foresee.]


    ¡°At least you aren¡¯t mind-controlled.¡±


    [How would you know?]


    ¡°Woman¡¯s intuition.¡±


    [Yes, I have read that men of breeding age sometimes internalize feminine characteristics through bonding rituals as a precursor to mating.]


    ¡°It¡¯s the secret to my power.¡±


    [However, I was unaware that you were engaged in any such dalliances. Your claim to have made contact with your inner woman is thus dubious.]


    ¡°Damn. Did you just say I had no game?¡±


    [No. Determining your skill is impossible with so little data.]


    ¡°Hrk! You shot me right in the heart, bro.¡±


    While Grotto eviscerated my reproductive qualifications, I utilized my upgraded multitasking ability to dedicate a part of my mind toward breathing manually and clenching my core to try and keep blood supplied to my brain.


    I was a little impressed I could stay conscious at all, but Body of Theseus was probably helping, and Just a Flesh Wound kept the blood inside my delicate veins. Many of the old blood tubes certainly should have ruptured by now.


    Hysteria dropped the hand from their mouth and ran it down (up?) their body suggestively, then spread their legs and held the hand out to one side for balance. They looked up (down?) at their other hand, bit their lip, and pushed until they were supported only by their fingers.


    While the silent acrobatics show went on, I flicked across some inventory items I thought might be helpful, pausing to read one very closely.


    A slick of jelly spattered my face, and the scent of fruit and copper wafted over me. I blinked away some of the jam, then refocused on the image. It was back to its original pose, unmoving.


    I checked my notifications again.


    Two minutes and thirty seconds left on the Holy Water.


    It was illusions, probably.


    ¡°You¡¯re kind of fun,¡± said Hysteria, settling their chin on a palm. Their body language was persistent in its belief that gravity was going the wrong direction. ¡°This go-around I¡¯ve tried to limit myself to really influential figures, you know? People who can make a difference.¡±


    ¡°Thanks?¡±


    ¡°Which is why my first instinct was to kill you,¡± they continued. ¡°Sure, you¡¯ve done a couple of things people have noticed, but you¡¯re not important in a classic sense.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t run a country, you don¡¯t have an army, you¡¯re not the governor of a major province, you¡¯re not a staggeringly wealthy entrepreneur.¡±


    ¡°These are all true.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a nobody! Barely better than a dirt farmer.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far,¡± I grumbled. ¡°And farmers are the backbone of society. Those people put dirt on your table.¡±


    ¡°However, you¡¯re an up-and-comer,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°Meetings with kings and Zenithars, a looming brunch with the Littan empress, the blessings of the gods raining down upon you!¡± Hysteria eyed me and sucked in their bottom lip. ¡°It¡¯s... titillating.¡±


    The avatar flipped over and a golden cloak billowed out from their shoulders, sweeping across their form and revealing a gold and violet spandex costume. They landed gracefully on one foot, arms akimbo, and a domino mask began to spray out sparkles from either side of their face.


    Hysteria dropped their voice and projected. ¡°I haven¡¯t done an up-and-comer run in ages!¡± There was even a bit of echo and reverb added in. ¡°You, sir, are an opportunity! An opening number with endless possibilities! You aren¡¯t beholden to anyone. No one relies on you to do things.¡±


    ¡°Not true at all.¡±


    ¡°You barely have any responsibilities, and yet you¡¯re this close¨C¡± They held up their finger and thumb, only a centimeter separating them. ¡°¨Cto becoming someone of note.¡± Hysteria took a breath and cocked their hip. ¡°I think I¡¯ll steal all that.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you wanted the king? To steal his identity?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Hysteria, glancing over their shoulder towards the group chilling in the fake lounge. ¡°I hadn¡¯t really nailed it down. I¡¯d probably become one of them and then set up the other to come into conflict with me.¡±


    Hysteria¡¯s cloak rose up and formed a mouth like a sock puppet. ¡°War ensues, global mayhem, yadda, yadda, yadda,¡± said the cloak in a nasal voice that was clearly also Hysteria. I could still see their damn lips moving. ¡°It¡¯s all so exhausting,¡± the cloak continued. ¡°The same thing over and over. Kill me no¨C¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Cloaky,¡± said Hysteria. The cloak flinched like an abused animal. ¡°I love it, I really do, but a change of pace would be nice.¡±


    ¡°What happens to the people whose identities you steal?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I put them into a giant blender and drink them up like a milkshake!¡±


    ¡°Is that a metaphor or...¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯d prefer that didn¡¯t happen.¡±


    Hysteria dropped to their knees in front of me.


    ¡°Will you beg?¡± they asked.


    ¡°Will you plead?¡± asked Cloaky.


    ¡°Will you gnash and moan and scream?!¡± they asked together.


    ¡°Probably not.¡±


    Hysteria¡¯s eyes narrowed, then they smiled. ¡°Okay, whatever,¡± they said. ¡°Be that way, it¡¯s half the fun.¡±


    ¡°So what does this have to do with Unity?¡± I tossed the name of the original avatar out there as a gamble. I didn¡¯t know if Hysteria had anything to do with Unity or even Brae¡¯ach, but there were only so many avatars and some of them were working with the Davahns.


    Hysteria stiffened. ¡°Are you trying to bait me into revealing our master plan?¡±


    ¡°Mostly I want to grab my friends and leave. If you want to tell me about your master plan, I¡¯d appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°Fiend!¡± Hysteria shouted, making a religious-looking gesture in the air. ¡°You¡¯ll not seduce me, foul temptress!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± shouted Cloaky. ¡°Beat us all you want, we¡¯ll never talk!¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up, Cloaky,¡± said Hysteria, batting at the cloak... sock puppet... thingy. It dodged the strike and snapped down on Hysteria¡¯s wrist like a snake. ¡°Gah! Dammit!¡±


    I was then treated to a brief wrestling match between the avatar Hysteria and their surprisingly violent cloak.


    I was fairly convinced the cloak wasn¡¯t a separate entity, but it was entirely possible that Hysteria didn¡¯t realize they¡¯d made the character up, and was therefore fighting themself.


    I used the opportunity to open my inventory and drop a vial of Holy Water into my mouth. I could barely maneuver it around with my tongue but managed to bite down on the glass before the timer on the first one ran out.


    ¡°Is this avatar... kind of stupid?¡± I thought to Grotto while I tried and failed to spit out the glass. It was mostly burrowing into my cheek and gums.


    [I believe most avatars hold within them a fierce dichotomy of preternatural talent and gross ignorance. Due to their nature, they lack many of the intuitive social and physical senses developed by mortals. Further, they dominate their environment through incredible aptitude within their areas of competence, leaving them little reason to develop additional skills. This is compounded by the overriding desire to pursue their governing concept. Thus, they represent a precarious balance of extreme stupidity in certain areas, and inhuman brilliance in others.]


    Hysteria squealed and rolled, putting Cloaky into a headlock. The cloak immediately broke free by not having a head, unraveling itself and leaving Hysteria staring blankly at their empty arms. Cloaky came around to strangle them from behind, eliciting another shriek.


    [This one, perhaps, leans more heavily toward the stupid side of things.]

 Chapter 201: Banana Sandwich

    Chapter 201: Banana Sandwich


    While the scuffle ensued, the hefty Hyrachon took the opportunity to sidle over to me, their impractically massive sword resting against a shoulder. He squatted down and looked me over, appraising me with a simmering anger that felt out of place. True hatred peeked out from behind the rage, as though I¡¯d killed the man¡¯s mother or something. I hadn¡¯t even fought any Hyrachons, much less killed them, and it¡¯s not like I¡¯d been able to hurt anyone on his team.


    Then again, maybe I had fought and killed a Hyrachon, but had no idea that it was a Hyrachon at the time.


    Buster leaned in even closer until I could smell what he had for lunch on his breath.


    Something spicy. Tacos, maybe.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± he said, voice deep and rumbling. ¡°What do you know of Blood Scour?¡±


    The image of a Herculean cockroach flashed through my mind, her bardiche doing demolition work on my intestines.


    ¡°Was that a... friend of yours?¡± I asked.


    ¡°She was my sister.¡±


    I decided to drop the flippant attitude and play it straight with this guy. It was possible, nay, likely that his party was being manipulated by Hysteria. A few cuts of ground-up truth wrapped in a fried corn tortilla of deception, and the avatar could have served this man an ¡°Arlo killed your sister¡± taquito.


    Damn, I wanted some Mexican food.


    ¡°When my party was working through Deijin¡¯s Descent,¡± I said, ¡°we were attacked by a group of insectoid monsters. They were modeled after Delvers who¡¯d died while attempting the Delve in the past. One of them was named Blood Scour.¡±


    ¡°You killed her?¡±


    ¡°We killed something that the System called Blood Scour.¡± I tried to give the man a solemn look, but it was difficult with my head still pressed against the floor. ¡°The post-combat notifications called it a Doomed Aspirant, with the creature type of Abomination. Whatever it was, it wasn¡¯t a Delver. It was something pretending to be the person it was based on.¡±


    Even as I said it, I wasn¡¯t completely confident in that last part. Avarice had told us the creatures were little more than puppets, but I didn¡¯t have much faith that the avatar was being honest with us.


    ¡°When a Delver dies, their inventory returns,¡± said the Hyrachon, standing up again. ¡°If Blood Scour was already dead, then why did her inventory return only a month ago?¡±


    A month would match the timing of our fight with the Aspirants. Aprogar had mentioned Deletar¡¯s inventory returning as well, but Aprogar had actually been Hysteria, and these people were working with Hysteria, the master of mind magicks and professional cloak wrangler. The whole inventory thing could have been implanted in their heads.


    Alternatively, Avarice may really have enslaved the fallen Delvers, corrupted their bodies, and forced them to try and kill us before lying about it.


    Either way, an avatar was responsible for this guy¡¯s misplaced anger. I didn¡¯t think crying ¡®avatar!¡¯ would be very helpful, though, given the man¡¯s choice of employer.


    ¡°Look, the System is not infallible,¡± I said. ¡°There are ways to exploit its rules.¡±


    The Hyrachon turned and gestured at the Chovali. ¡°Cliffswept¡¯s mate was known as Quiet Solitude. You recognize this name?¡±


    ¡°I do. They were a butterfly that cast curses.¡±


    ¡°A butterfly?¡± he asked. ¡°Was my sister also a butterfly, in this tale of yours?¡±


    ¡°She was not.¡±


    He watched me expectantly, but I wasn¡¯t about to tell this man his sister had been a roach. He eventually shrugged and gestured at the hovering Giant.


    ¡°Garvandr¡¯s daughter was known as Boundless Night. What sort of insect was she to you?¡±


    ¡°She was a fly. And a necromancer.¡±


    The giant spat something in Mittan, looking none too happy.


    ¡°Zayn Ayad,¡± said the Hyrachon, pointing at the dream-like archer, ¡°is a Wishborn, summoned to this world by Thundering Arrow¡¯s mother to keep watch over her. He was forced out of Deijin¡¯s Descent by some great power, which banished him back to the Third Layer. His memories were torn from him, but the bond to his charge remained strong.¡± The Hyrachon turned and his features darkened. ¡°That bond was severed one month ago.¡±


    Meanwhile, in the psychic halls of justice...


    ¡°How¡¯s that mana weave analysis coming along?¡±


    [Quite well, in fact. The ability to utilize your Mystical Magic intrinsic to aid in studying the mana flows is exceptionally helpful.]


    ¡°Think we can break it in, say, the next fifteen seconds?¡±


    [I doubt we can disable the entire weave, but perhaps an individual function. There are runic arrays for each of the primary magic schools that inhibit spellwork below a certain mana density.]


    ¡°Hmm. Good thing I have a variable cost spell that¡¯s designed to eat other people¡¯s magic.¡±


    [Yes, I just need to isolate the relevant modules. The costs of affecting the weave more generally would be prohibitive.]


    ¡°I appreciate it. Got anything to add to my conversation with this guy whose sister I might have killed?¡±


    [He sounds as though he has already made up his mind. What evidence could I bring that you could not?]


    ¡°I dunno, ask old Number Two to step in with a helpful notification?¡±


    The wastelanders were picking themselves up and brushing off wounds. The king had kept them busy, but he hadn¡¯t managed to do any devastating damage. I glanced at the Eschen delegates, seeing them all completely checked out. Zura¡¯s face was screwed up in concentration, but her Divine mana was trembling. She was keeping the avatar out for now, but she wouldn¡¯t last long.


    All I needed was for Riona to accept my party invite.


    ¡°I love a good rally!¡± said Hysteria. ¡°But there¡¯s nowhere for you to go, even if you could subdue the rest of us.¡±


    ¡°Never heard of a teleport?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s literally how I got here.¡±


    Hysteria reached up and took off a train conductor¡¯s hat I hadn¡¯t noticed them wearing. ¡°That was a one-way ticket,¡± said the avatar.


    They swept the hat around at the barren cube we were held within. The Tears had banished the darkness, but the chamber¡¯s edges were still perfectly black. For a moment, I thought the walls were made of something that destroyed or consumed light, but there was a depth to that void. My eyes couldn¡¯t see it, but a sensation stirred within my spirit that spoke of the absolute nothing just beyond the room¡¯s perimeter, barely held at bay.


    Something about it was the slightest bit familiar.


    ¡°No one in or out,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°Until the king is dead and I call for our chariot, of course.¡± They patted Celeritia on the chest and walked forward, hips swaying like a cat.


    Hysteria pointed at Zura, and the Zenithar collapsed to her knees. ¡°Even the gods are absent here.¡± Hysteria paused and swirled a strand of their inkdrop hair around one finger. They looked up at me and pursed their lips. ¡°Aside from whatever little piece of them you brought in here with you, I guess. Either way, we¡¯re adrift in emptiness, divorced from the physical plane and separated from the Divine.¡±


    Hysteria sauntered up to Zura. They tapped the Zenithar on the forehead, and the Geulon¡¯s features relaxed. She calmly stood up and folded her hands, looking around the group with an amused expression.


    ¡°If we¡¯re totally cut off,¡± I said, ¡°how will you ¡®call for a chariot¡¯? Communication implies some level of exposure.¡±


    ¡°Silly boy,¡± Hysteria said, then booped me on the nose. ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that fucking asshole Limbo!¡± shouted Cloaky. ¡°This dumbfuck¨C¡± Cloaky formed a fabric thumb and jerked it at Hysteria. ¡°¨Cthought it would be a good idea to team up, but it¡¯s a total shit show!¡±


    Hysteria turned to Cloaky and screamed. Their jaw unhinged, their silver teeth sharpened into points, and their tongue fluttered in the wind as a monstrous gust of air erupted from the avatar¡¯s throat.


    Cloaky was shredded into pieces.


    Hysteria unclasped the tattered remains of the garment and tossed it to the ground. They began speaking again, but this time I really had gone deaf. Xim hit each of us with a Heal, and my hearing returned mid-sentence.


    ¡°¨Cdo funeral arrangements cost these days?¡± they said. ¡°My emergency fund is pretty low, but maybe I can get a good deal if I¡¯m sad enough. No, people who perform death rites for a living are probably heartless.¡±


    Hysteria wiped a single tear from their face, then blew a gentle kiss toward the annihilated cloak.


    I continued scanning the void while listening to Hysteria mourn the loss of Cloaky, searching out that familiarity I¡¯d felt.


    ¡°Can we kill them now?¡± asked Felgar.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± said Hysteria, looking up from the ¡®corpse¡¯. ¡°Oh yes, fine. Have fun.¡±


    Both parties tensed, and I forced my mind to accelerate through the problem in front of me, splitting my focus to attack it from multiple angles.


    Could my party take these wastelanders? Maybe if we were in perfect condition. I was pretty low on health, and everyone else was still dressed in their fancy clothes, not their combat gear. Weapons could come out in an instant, but armor took time to equip. Against a full crew of mostly fresh Level 20s in full kit, it wasn¡¯t a bet I wanted to take.


    The battle might also spill over to the Eschens or Riona, and there was every chance Hysteria could force our charmed allies to give the wastelanders a hand. Hysteria might even step in personally. Solving this problem through violence was a bad play.


    That meant we needed to escape, which meant I needed to get Riona into my party. So, how could I make that happen? I could use the Card to get everyone else out, but Varrin might never forgive me if I abandoned his sister. Losing a father to an avatar was bad enough. I wasn¡¯t sure he could lose another family member in the same way without something inside the man breaking.


    I also wondered whether the Card would actually work, given Hysteria¡¯s claim about the nature of the space we were in. If Geul was cut off, was the System as well? I nudged that question to Grotto, who tried to establish an uplink.


    The crux of the problem was Hysteria¡¯s mind control. I was out of Holy Water, and the avatar seemed to have an aura that constantly tried to auto-Dominate everyone nearby. That made Cleanse and other one-off effects useless. Nuralie had potions that enhanced the imbiber¡¯s mental resistances, but Riona was Level 1 and we were working against an avatar. Anything short of pure immunity wasn¡¯t worth spending time on.


    If I couldn¡¯t reliably end the mind control, then I needed a way to interrupt it. I didn¡¯t think a distraction would work. Hysteria¡¯s mental assault had gone on the entire time they¡¯d been fighting with their cloak. I just needed a way to temporarily disrupt the core function of a semi-divine being vastly more powerful than myself.


    Avatars were extremely resilient, but I had seen one get a good spanking once before.


    I fixated on the void, Fortune¡¯s chubby, infuriating face, Hysteria¡¯s words: ¡°We¡¯re adrift in emptiness, divorced from the physical plane and separated from the Divine.¡±


    A kernel of Truth pressed against my soul, struggling to reach out to the nothing beyond the cube¡¯s bounds.


    It ruled the vacancy between universes, and that was a bare fraction of its existence.


    ¡°Before we get started!¡± I shouted. ¡°Is there anything you¡¯d like to tell us?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°I¡¯m tired of the order that words bring and have a craving for chaos.¡±


    ¡°Not asking you,¡± I said.


    Felgar spat. ¡°Then who in the hells are you asking?¡±


    ¡°JuRoQi.¡±

 Chapter 202: Special Guest Star

    Chapter 202: Special Guest Star


    The souls of everyone present rippled as the Dread Star¡¯s true name caused reality to shudder. The boiling conflict between us froze as the three syllables delivered overwhelming context. The Dread Star¡¯s nature was revealed, engraving itself onto our spirits in a pattern that no force could undo, without rewriting the universe itself.


    The cube that Hysteria had trapped us in was a small slice of the physical plane, transplanted somewhere that rebelled at its existence. We were adrift in oblivion, where nonexistence was sacrosanct, and our every atom was a sin against the god whose flesh we marred with our presence.


    Even so, we were a single mote of dust amidst an endless empire of nothing. We were beneath notice, our transgression so insignificant that a being of infinite consciousness wouldn¡¯t waste a thought to wipe us away. This place was anathema to matter, and our blasphemous speck would eventually be drawn to someplace more accommodating.


    When the entire life of a star passes in the space of a breath, all problems become transient. There¡¯s no reason to spend any effort at all to solve most of them, especially when the problem is the barest fleck, a particle so minuscule that it¡¯s already closer to nothing than something in the first place.


    Of course, when that mote of dust starts shouting your name, you might be more inclined to get rid of it.


    In short: we were fucked, and everyone knew we were fucked the moment the name came outta my mouth.


    ¡°What...¡± Hysteria began, voice just barely above a whisper, ¡°did you just say?!¡±


    A pair of galactic eyes opened in the void behind the avatar, so distant that the universe would die before the light of its birth could reach them. So close, that we were already within them.


    Hysteria turned, careful and slow, and as they turned we all came to face the Dread Star, though we faced it no matter where we looked.


    I had the thought that this may not have been the best move.


    Ten thousand keys and only one door,


    Ten thousand feet and only one floor,


    Ten thousand tries and only one more.


    The voice was not sound, it did not propagate as waves through the air; what use would that be to the god of the void? It was presence, the Dread Star¡¯s commandment, saturating all things.


    A point of light appeared to our right, then multiplied a billion times until it swirled and glittered like the cosmos. It stretched out into eternity, adorned with five pillars, each as large as the Milky Way.


    In that moment I realized I could see in all directions, my normal vision expanded into a complete sphere. It was necessary to take in even an allusion to the scale of the thing. It was necessary for me to comprehend the shape of it.


    It was a hand.


    Ten million rise and one falls short,


    Ten million crimes and only one court,


    Ten million lies and only one retort.


    The presence of the Dread Star grew. It approached from a place separated by an untraversable gap, a span so vast that time could not flow through it. It expanded eternally, and the Dread Star swelled until it overflowed from the meager confines.


    The Dread Star¡¯s voice was real. More real than anything. More real than us.


    More real than me.


    Ten billion realms in only one place,


    Ten billion sins and only one grace,


    Ten billion flies and only one taste.


    The hand grew, magnified, becoming sharp and immediate. It threatened to overtake my entire field of vision, continuing to expand even after it was all that I could see.


    Adrenaline flooded my body when I realized what I was watching.


    It wasn¡¯t getting bigger.


    It was getting closer.


    An endless want and only one state,


    An endless whine and only one fate,


    An endless prize but you just can¡¯t wait.


    The countless points of light became countless stars, the hand too close for its shape to be seen.


    Someone was screaming, and Hysteria was melting. The Dread Star¡¯s message was for all of us, but its ire was wholly centered on the avatar.


    AN INFINITE MIND POORLY CROWNED


    ¡°Arlo,¡± Zura said, shouted, and whispered. ¡°How?¡±


    The Zenithar was weeping, all semblance of Hysteria¡¯s control over her gone. I caused Zura to shrink while causing Riona to become larger, until the young Ravvenblaq¡¯s face blotted out the sky. I grasped her shoulders.


    ¡°Accept the invite,¡± I said.


    Riona blinked, and her eyes shone with the hand¡¯s reflection.


    Riona Ravvenblaq has joined your party.


    AN INFINITE GRIND UNTIL ALL ARE DROWNED


    We were inside the Dread Star¡¯s palm, dense clusters of stars hurtling past, my mind screaming that their speed and proximity to one another made no sense. The Dread Star¡¯s voice made it the unshakeable Truth.


    WARNING! Momentum buffer exceeded.


    Adjusting reference frame...


    Please prepare for an additional teleportation instance.


    The Hysteria smear disappeared, and the entire planet vibrated in a blur for a moment. Then, we were in the desert.


    WARNING! This is definitely not a minimum safe distance. Enjoy the mess you made. Sunglasses are advised.


    A flash bloomed in the atmosphere, a hundred times brighter than the sun. The world instantly darkened, and I was hit by another notification.


    Filix Celeritia has granted you Transcendent Organ!


    Your eyes are Invincible for 100 seconds.


    A streak of light traveled down through the atmosphere, so fast it appeared as a single line. It landed on a mountain chain several miles distant. The first mountain it struck evaporated in another burst of light. A wave of destruction thrummed out, destroying mountains to either side, and the ground rose to kiss the sky.


    We all watched, stunned by the sight, for about two seconds.


    Filix Celeritia has granted you Haste!


    ¡°We should leave,¡± said the king.


    He was right, we weren¡¯t far enough away.


    I mana-shaped the Closet portal, opening it in record time. Before I could think to start moving towards it, I was already inside, along with everyone else. Celeritia¡¯s hand was on my shoulder.


    ¡°Close it!¡± he shouted.


    An overpowering blast of heat and pressure burst through the portal. I caught myself with Gravity Anchor as most of the group was knocked deeper into the Closet. Shielding sprung to life over our skin as sand and rocks hurtled in, and my skull rattled as a piece the size of a fist hit my torso hard enough to shatter the stone. I focused on closing the portal and it rapidly shrank in on itself. The Closet portal would close in the blink of an eye.


    It wasn¡¯t fast enough.


    A pair of skeletal hands gripped the portal¡¯s edges. They pressed outward, allowing more destruction to rain in, shattering walls and furniture. The entrance was forced back open a foot, and a stream of colorful liquid poured through.


    Finally, the portal closed, and a shimmering skeleton began forming from the ooze on the ground.


    Smoke and steam wafted off the creature as it rose, streaks of neon hues swirling around the dark, smoldering bones. The shadowy sockets of its skull each held a small bead of mercury, glinting as they darted between us. It continued to study us for a moment, then walked forward.


    I tensed, summoning Somncres and prepping for a fight, but the skeleton moved casually, wandering between us and walking through the foyer. It paused and looked up at one of the chandeliers, tilting its head and holding a hand up towards it.


    The fixture melted into mimic goo, drawn to the skeletal hand and dripping down onto it. The thing absorbed the entire chandelier, covering its form in squirming liquid, and then moved on.


    I was on edge as I watched it, trailing behind to keep it in my sights. I checked on everyone as I went, making sure we were all in one piece. There were cuts, scrapes, and more than a few rising knots forming bruises, but no one looked critically injured. The spent mana of a dozen skills swirled around our more vulnerable members.


    The skeleton kicked open the door to the kitchen, then went in, the door swinging closed behind it. Before I could enter, I heard Celeritia shout from behind me.


    ¡°Hells!¡± he said. I spun to see him wrestling with the crown on his head, which glowed as though it had become molten. Then, the leader of Hiward disappeared.


    ¡°After all that, he¡¯s gone again?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The crown has a recall effect,¡± said Varrin. He spoke softly, like he was afraid someone might overhear. ¡°I think that once he was back on Arzia, the throne registered the crown. It pulled him back to Hiward as soon as it could.¡±


    ¡°Lucky bastard,¡± said Xim. ¡°He gets to go home and take a shower while we¡¯re left to deal with avatar skeleton.¡±


    ¡°We should leave,¡± said Nuralie.


    I mentally checked on both my Checkpoints, but neither was off cooldown. We hadn¡¯t been gone long enough. That surprised me, given all the relativistic speeds we¡¯d been dealing with. Then again, based on where we¡¯d been, it was possible no time at all had passed while we were inside Hysteria¡¯s prison cube. Something to look into later, maybe.


    ¡°Only way to leave at the moment is to go back out into the shit,¡± I said. ¡°We should probably give the nuclear explosion a little more time to settle.¡±


    ¡°Where did we even land?¡± asked Xim. ¡°Did that wipe out a country?¡±


    ¡°It looked like the Wastes,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Those mountains may have been the Left Hand, on the border.¡±


    Um,¡± said Etja. ¡°Does that mean Eschunder is...¡±


    Zura placed a hand on her back.


    ¡°The body of Hyrach will bring no harm to Eschendur,¡± she said with full confidence. ¡°The earth will become dust, the winds will spread it to the western plains, and the rain will wash it into the sea.¡±


    I genuinely hoped she had some divine insight into what had happened, and that it wasn¡¯t just wishful thinking.


    I turned back and went to the kitchen, followed closely by the others. The door to the walk-in fridge was open, soft vapor trailing out across the floor. I approached carefully. When I was nearly close enough to peer inside, the skeleton burst out of it, carrying several glass bottles in its arms. I jumped back out of its path as it bustled by, a dozen frosty mugs trailing behind it, floating through the air.


    It set the bottles down on a counter, uncorked them, and began pouring out ice-cold brewskies. It slid each glass across the counter toward us until all twelve were filled with frothy beer. It picked the final glass up and leaned back, pouring the contents into its mouth.


    The beverage splashed down its spine and rib cage, splattering to the ground until the mug was empty. It reached up and wiped its exposed teeth with an ulna, then clacked them open and shut a few times. I think it was trying to smack its lips. It tapped its bony toes, splish-splashing in the expanding puddle beneath it.


    The mimic goo slowly began forming silvery flesh, starting inside its chest. A set of lungs appeared, followed by vocal cords, tongue, lips, and cheeks.


    ¡°Welp,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°That was fucked up.¡±

 Chapter 203: Is That a Skeleton in Your Closet, or a Divine Avatar Looking to Kill Us All?

    Chapter 203: Is That a Skeleton in Your Closet, or a Divine Avatar Looking to Kill Us All?


    HP: 643 -> 873


    I was a touch surprised when Xim pumped a Heal into my back, but Skeletor Hysteria didn¡¯t react. I¡¯d already healed a few hundred points from my natural regen, and the spell took me closer to my comfort zone.


    My ¡®comfort zone¡¯ was full health, naturally.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you dead?¡± Xim asked, looking at Hysteria. ¡°Arlo just bitch-slapped you with an Elder God.¡±


    ¡°Ha! I could ask you the same, missy,¡± said Hysteria, pointing a bony finger at her. The mimic goo was rapidly regrowing the avatar¡¯s muscles and tendons. Aside from the lungs, Hysteria didn¡¯t bother with any internal organs.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not be reductive,¡± I said. ¡°The Dread Star is not something I bitch-slap people with. I politely invited the unknowable eldritch entity to share its divine wisdom, and we got what we got.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should have been standing further away,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°It may have held back because it didn¡¯t want to hurt its pet microbe.¡±


    Zura chuckled, but it was humorless. ¡°There are no accidents with entities of that scope. It did as it willed, and it even provided instruction. We can spend our lives seeking to comprehend the bare outline of what was gifted to us, but our inability to comprehend its design should not be attributed to a folly on its part.¡±


    ¡°You religious zealots really chap my taint, you know?¡± said Hysteria. ¡°It¡¯s all inscrutable this and unknowable that. Read a book for heaven¡¯s sake and maybe you wouldn¡¯t be so confused all the time.¡± They held up a finger. ¡°And I don¡¯t mean whatever rubbish you¡¯ve assembled and called scripture. Gods, if Scripture even knew how much you¡¯ve all bastardized his name.¡±


    ¡°Your attempts to give offense fall on deaf ears,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°While the Dread Star allowed all of us to experience its truth, you and the other avatars were the sole subjects of its scorn. You are an abomination of failed science and profane magicks, rejected by the gods at the highest level. Your words carry no more weight than the breath you waste to speak them.¡±


    ¡°I dunno,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re offended.¡±


    Zura frowned, and Hysteria smacked their hands together in a gleeful clap. It was a wet clap, and blood spattered from the exposed muscle.


    ¡°Are you all going to drink these?¡± they asked, gesturing at the mugs. A few now had fresh drops of avatar blood in them. ¡°I won¡¯t be rude and kill you all while we¡¯re having a drink.¡± They tapped their fingers along the rim of a glass. ¡°But if you insist on being rude and refuse my hospitality, well..¡± They flapped their hands up as they shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s my house and my beer,¡± I said. ¡°How is it your hospitality?¡±


    Varrin picked up an unopened bottle. He uncorked it and sniffed.


    ¡°This is Old Billy,¡± he said, then took a swig. ¡°It is a Ravvenblaq brew.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s my house and his beer. The point stands.¡±


    ¡°The hospitality is the not-killing-you part,¡± said Hysteria.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re being tautological.¡± Varrin handed me another of the bottles, and I accepted it, looking at the label. It had a line drawing of a geriatric goat and nothing else. I took an experimental taste. It was dark and rich, with caramel undertones and a vanilla finish. ¡°You¡¯ll kill us if we don¡¯t accept your hospitality of not killing us?¡±


    ¡°That is not a tautology,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°It is not true by virtue of its logical form.¡± Pause. ¡°It is just a stupid thing to say.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s rhetorically tautological,¡± I said. ¡°It states the same thing twice, but in different ways.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I get it,¡± said Etja. ¡°You do that all the time!¡±


    ¡°Sure, but when I do it, it¡¯s for reasons of clarity, to make sure everyone¡¯s on the same page.¡± I noted that Xim had eschewed the beer and retrieved a bottle of wine, which she now poured for herself and Nuralie. No one was touching the mugs Hysteria had prepared. The avatar saw that their offering was being ignored, and picked up another mug for themself.


    This time, the liquid stayed inside their body. Of course, I¡¯d seen them grow solid muscle where their stomach should have been, so I had no idea where the beer was going.


    ¡°Um,¡± one of the Eschen delegates¨Ca Geulon man¨Csaid, voice trembling. ¡°What, uh, what is going on?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said another, smaller man, peeking out from behind the first. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what happened. We were in the lounge, and then we were¨C¡± He waved a hand in the air vigorously, equal parts frustration and confusion, lacking the appropriate words to finish the sentence.


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°While you were in my lounge speaking with the king, a runeweaver working on behalf of the avatar Hysteria¨C¡± I pointed at the fleshy avatar, who now looked like a highly inaccurate high school anatomy poster. ¡°¨Cactivated a teleportation weave that whisked you away to a self-contained slice of the physical universe that had been transplanted into the void between realms.¡±


    ¡°O-oh,¡± said the first Geulon. ¡°The whole lounge was taken?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not right,¡± said another Geulon, a woman this time. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel a thing.¡±


    ¡°No, not the entire lounge. You were teleported individually, but Hysteria is a master of illusion and mind control.¡± The avatar gave a shallow bow. ¡°You were placed into an illusory lounge and had your memories modified so there were no perceived inconsistencies.¡± I looked at Hysteria. ¡°Did I get that right?¡±


    The avatar waggled a hand in a so-so gesture while they tipped back another drink.


    ¡°And why did the universe manifest itself, then bat us down from the heavens?¡± asked a fourth delegate.


    ¡°Grotto. Get ready to take these people out of here.¡±


    [And where will I be sending them?]


    ¡°Anywhere that isn¡¯t in the same room as an emotionally manipulative godling.¡±


    [Very well.]


    Grotto disappeared, teleporting himself to the control room. If Hysteria noticed the Delve Core disappearing, they ignored it.


    ¡°This is the problem of always working in the shadows,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°No one knows what you can do. You have to show people.¡±


    I didn¡¯t like where that line of thought was heading.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve got the gist of it,¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s no need for¨C¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°Allow me a demonstration. I said I wouldn¡¯t kill you all until drinks are done, and I won¡¯t.¡± The avatar picked up one of the full mugs and tipped it over, pouring its contents onto the ground. Half a dozen remained. I stiffened as Hysteria tossed the glass aside and reached for another, but the avatar picked it up, took a dainty sip, and then winked at me. They stepped back from the counter and pointed at Varrin. ¡°You¡¯re a strapping lad! Do me a favor and try to cut me in half.¡±


    Varrin considered the request, then glanced over to me. I shrugged. The big guy set down his bottle, stepped around the counter, and pulled Kazandak from his inventory. His expression was cool, but his knuckles went white as he gripped the sword¡¯s hilt.


    ¡°Shall I give it my best?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Of course!¡± said Hysteria. ¡°Strike me with everything you¡¯ve got.¡±


    Varrin nodded and a roil of dark smoke billowed over his form. When it parted, he was wearing a full set of heavy plate armor, black and silver in the traditional Ravvenblaq style.


    Of course Varrin had gotten his hands on the rich-daddy insta-equip option.


    The armor had a familiar color scheme but wasn¡¯t a set I¡¯d seen before. I peeked at the mana running through it, noticing it was a significant upgrade from what he¡¯d worn through Deijin¡¯s Descent. I doubted it had been crafted from scratch in the few days Varrin had spent with his family. It was probably another heirloom set the Ravvenblaqs kept around for the younger generation.


    Only one piece looked fresh out of the forge.


    While the gear was formidable, the helm shone with an absurd amount of power compared to the rest. It was shaped like a houndskull helmet, though with a longer, tapered muzzle. It was also more streamlined and aerodynamic. In fact, it kind of looked like a bird¡¯s skull once I thought about it.


    A raven, perhaps.


    One might even call it a ravenskull helmet.


    It completely encompassed his head, with no visible breaks, not even a slit for him to see through. I expected it was the product of his grandfather, using one of the Corvite Slabs Varrin had earned. Overall, the new set made him look quite menacing.


    Yaretzi¡¯s cloak unfurled last, bedazzling us in all its shiny glory.


    I couldn¡¯t decide if that helped or hurt the menace. Hysteria seemed to approve, looking Varrin up and down with hungry eyes.


    Varrin slid into a combat stance, and a gust of wind tore through the kitchen as his sword whipped out, blade coated in the ghostly light of his Soul Strike skill. It landed on Hysteria¡¯s neck with a sharp crack. The blade bit through the avatar¡¯s regrowing flesh, but came to a full stop when it hit Hysteria¡¯s spine.


    Normally, Soul Strike created a blade of Spectral energy that would continue through Varrin¡¯s target, slashing and disrupting their soul, even if Kazandak was halted.


    But the Spectral attack splashed off of Hysteria¡¯s bones.


    That was intriguing. It was as if Hysteria¡¯s skeleton was the avatar¡¯s soul made manifest. I squinted at what little bone remained exposed, noting the swirling color moving across its surface. Then, I focused more seriously with Soul Sight. I hadn¡¯t noticed any obvious signs of the avatar¡¯s spiritual essence since encountering them. They had no soul halo, but I knew from experience the avatars could foil my revelation¡¯s abilities.


    However, it seemed that I¡¯d been looking at Hysteria¡¯s soul since they¡¯d arrived in the Closet, just not in the form I¡¯d expected. That would go a long way toward explaining why the avatar¡¯s skeleton had survived becoming a cataclysmic projectile. Anything physical would have been atomized, surely.


    Hysteria frowned slightly as Varrin twisted into the attack, dragging the blade along Hysteria¡¯s spine, continuing to try and decapitate the avatar even as he pulled the sword away. The motion left Varrin coiled like a tightly wound spring, the sword tip pointed at the avatar. His left hand cupped the base of the pommel, and his body snapped into a penetrating strike at Hysteria¡¯s chest. Every muscle in the big guy¡¯s body drove the tip of the blade towards Hysteria¡¯s heart, had they possessed one.


    Hysteria angled their ribs slightly to one side, intercepting the blade with their sternum. There was another crack as the tip of the blade hit, and Varrin¡¯s own strike sent the big guy sliding back, his sabatons tearing through the wooden floorboards. At full extension, Varrin was three feet further away from Hysteria, who hadn¡¯t moved at all.


    Hysteria raised a hand to stop Varrin from swinging again. The avatar touched the small cut in the mimic flesh on their sternum. The ¡®wound¡¯ closed in less than a second, but Hysteria stared at the spot for much longer.


    Hysteria sounded genuinely confused when they next spoke.


    ¡°Why... did I feel that?¡±

 Chapter 204: Unified Theory of Demanifestation

    Chapter 204: Unified Theory of Demanifestation


    My mind split in two. One half began to filter through the observations I¡¯d just made, while the other processed Hysteria¡¯s question and the resulting conversation.


    I glanced at my ruined floorboards. Their destruction grabbed my attention, and not just because I was annoyed they¡¯d need to be replaced. By this point, I was committed to scrapping the entire mansion to make sure there weren¡¯t any more surprises hidden around by Hysteria¡¯s goons. What got my notice was that Varrin had forced himself backward.


    Strength did a few wacky things, the most obvious of which began at Level 10. Every Delver who¡¯d ascended to superhuman levels of flex gained the ability to create their own leverage. Otherwise, their strength wouldn¡¯t be terribly useful. A two-hundred-pound body could only apply so much force to an external object before it simply pushed itself away like Varrin just had.


    With Varrin¡¯s Strength score, the man could lift several elephants, African or otherwise. He could apply that force in physics-defying ways, meaning the full brunt of it could be used without pushing himself away from whatever he was using it against. That is, unless Varrin chose to allow himself to be pushed, or unless something else pushed back in turn.


    ¡°He hit you pretty hard,¡± Xim said to Hysteria. ¡°It would have been weird if you hadn¡¯t felt it.¡±


    ¡°Get over yourself,¡± said the avatar. ¡°I just struck a mountain with enough energy that it evaporated, and I didn¡¯t feel that.¡± They looked Varrin over. ¡°There¡¯s more to it than this man¡¯s delectable slabs of beef.¡±


    [It appears that the Zenithar is warding the Eschens somehow, likely to limit Hysteria¡¯s influence. I cannot teleport them without her permission, which she seems reluctant to give. Additionally, there is a problem that requires your attention.]


    Varrin¡¯s thrust had been perfect, with only the very tip of the blade¡¯s point connecting. The entirety of the man¡¯s power had been concentrated on the extremely small spot where the sword contacted bone. The amount of pressure that generated was staggering; something in the realm of tens of millions of pounds per square inch.


    Kazandak was unharmed since it was Immutable, but even that didn¡¯t allow the material to perform beyond the bounds of its material properties. It only prevented it from being damaged in any way.


    My vest would allow an arrow to pierce it as easily as typical c¡¯thonic leather, but due to its Immutable property, the arrow wouldn¡¯t leave a hole behind. Seinnador had described it as the vest becoming a sort of tunnel, where the attack didn¡¯t go through the vest¡¯s material, but between it somehow. That description didn¡¯t quite work for me, since the material still absorbed the kinetic energy it normally would. It just avoided anything over that hard limit.


    An easier way for me to think of it was that the vest simply sent the excess energy wherever it was most easily sent. In the case of an arrow hurtling toward my chest, the easiest place to send that energy was into my chest.


    As for what that meant with a sword, it wouldn¡¯t make sense for the weapon to go through the thing it was attacking once the limits of its durability were reached. The excess energy would instead rebound into whatever was driving the sword forward. In this case, Varrin.


    ¡°You asked me to give it my best,¡± said Varrin. ¡°You can hardly be upset if it stung.¡±


    ¡°Stung?¡± said Hysteria. ¡°Boy, it was like being caressed by a gentle breeze.¡± They ran a hand along their arm, which was growing a layer of pale skin. ¡°No, you¡¯ve got something else giving you a boost. You¡¯re much too weak to take advantage of it, but it¡¯s there.¡±


    Hysteria walked back to the counter and swept half of the mugs onto the ground, reducing the number of untouched drinks to three. They leaned over, placing an elbow on the sticky surface and settling their chin into their palm.


    ¡°We have another problem?¡± I thought to Grotto. ¡°Fine. Hit me with it.¡±


    [The wastelanders are in your bedroom.]


    ¡°Shit.¡± I went to rub my beard, but my gauntlet clanked against my bascinet. Two threads of thought were fine, but three was stretching me thin. ¡°That¡¯s not too surprising. They disappeared shortly before we got out with the Card. The teleport weave in here was an obvious jump point. What are they doing?¡±


    The force of Varrin¡¯s strike rebounding may sound counterintuitive, but it¡¯s really the same thing as the arrow in my vest example. An arrow collides with the vest, and the excess force is sent in the same direction the arrow was traveling. With Kazandak, the sword is intuitively perceived as the body in motion, and one would expect the energy to go in the same direction. However, the problem should be considered from the frame of reference of the Immutable object¨Cthe sword¨Cin which case it was Hysteria who was in relative motion.


    When Hysteria¡¯s sternum collided with the sword, the kinetic energy the Immutable item needed to offset was moving toward Varrin. Thus, the weapon shunted the excess energy in the direction of its wielder, which would explain why Varrin had just ruined my hardwoods. Varrin hadn¡¯t pushed himself back, his attack had exceeded the bounds of Kazandak¡¯s tolerances, and the Immutable property transferred the excess force to its wielder, which was the easiest place for the energy to go. That was my theory, anyway.


    Okay, technically that meant Varrin had pushed himself backward, but in a very roundabout manner.


    Like Varrin¡¯s strike to Hysteria¡¯s neck, the avatar¡¯s flesh had parted easily enough, but their sternum hadn¡¯t even vibrated. The Spectral portion of the attack broke apart like ocean waves against a rocky cliffside.


    Kazandak was a masterwork sword made by one of the world¡¯s most prominent crafters. Its tolerances were pretty high, but it still had limits. Limits that Varrin was already running up against, it seemed. The sword¡¯s requirements weren¡¯t particularly demanding, and it had never been intended for high-end use cases. Like slaying gods, for example.


    We¡¯d need to get him a sword that could do that, eventually.


    ¡°This is probably Orexis¡¯s fault,¡± Hysteria mumbled, drumming their fingers. ¡°Destroying a god, even a little slice of one, does weird things to people. The divinity has to go somewhere, after all.¡± The avatar picked up another mug and drained it, then wiped their mouth with the back of a crimson sleeve.


    I suddenly realized the avatar was wearing a set of blood-red robes, their body fully reformed. A dark skull was stained into the front of the cloth.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    If this manifestation was disrupted, what would happen? Would the divinity be sucked back up into the heavens? Would it dissipate and reform later?


    Each school of magic had well-known counters. Would having more properties relating to the five schools of magic create more vulnerabilities or less? If Hysteria was locked into one school¨CSpiritual¨Cwould they be easier to demanifest than an avatar like Avarice, who seemed to be spread out across three?


    Did any comprehensible rules even apply to the avatars?


    The idea had me intrigued. If an avatar could be pigeonholed into a specific school or attunement, it might give us a framework for counteracting them.


    Further testing was needed. Maybe more avatars would be willing to let us attack them until we figured out how their bodies worked.


    ¡°Geulons,¡± said Hysteria, ¡°have a significantly higher level of control over their biological functions.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense,¡± said another of the delegates. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing.¡± The man had moved to stand next to Jinta, and he pried the first delegate¡¯s hand from her arm. He received a deep scowl for his efforts.


    ¡°You may not be aware of it,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°But it¡¯s true nonetheless. Let me show you.¡±


    Hysteria turned to Varrin¡¯s sister, Riona, who hadn¡¯t made a peep since our brief escape. Her expression was absent, but she snapped her head to meet the avatar¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Stop your heart,¡± said the avatar.


    Varrin flinched and raised his sword, which he¡¯d never sheathed. Riona¡¯s expression furrowed into a look of concentration.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, tone pitiful.


    Hysteria knocked one of the mugs from the counter and picked up the last.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± they said gently. ¡°I can¡¯t ask you to do something you¡¯re physically incapable of.¡±


    The avatar took a long draw from the final drink. They turned to the Eschen delegates, who¡¯d silently separated into two camps. Jinta and her frustrated colleague were on one side, with the other three staring daggers at them.


    ¡°Zura!¡± I snapped, pulling the Zenithar¡¯s attention away from her people. ¡°Stop fucking around!¡±


    The elder Geulon blinked, taking precious seconds to process what I¡¯d said. By the time the message had gotten through, it was too late.


    Hysteria finished off the final mug of beer and looked at the group of three delegates.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how it works on this trio,¡± said the avatar. ¡°Go ahead. Stop your hearts.¡±


    All three Geulons collapsed, and the Zenithar let out a strangled cry. Jinta screamed. The man next to her stumbled back, tripping over his feet and hitting the ground hard.


    I clenched my jaw until pain shot through my gums. Xim cast Heal on one of the delegates, heedless of the potential harm it might cause to their non-Delver constitution.


    They didn¡¯t get back up.


    ¡°Do you guys want to see some necromancy?¡± Hysteria asked, before thrusting their arms out to either side.


    The other two Eschens started to run. My mind whirled to find anything I could do to help. Finally, Zura released her hold on her delegation, and Grotto whisked them away, fresh corpses and all. The Zenithar stayed behind, spinning toward Hysteria with a look of pure hatred. It was an alien expression on her motherly features.


    The lights in the room dimmed, and a complex sigil sprang to life on the ground. I studied the glyphs, but the runes were unfamiliar.


    Water began condensing along the ceiling, dripping down like a spring storm as Zura¡¯s presence swelled.


    The Zenithar¡¯s soul pressed down on us like a lead blanket.

 Chapter 205: Soundtrack

    Chapter 205: Soundtrack


    ¡°Grotto, got any idea what this weave does?¡±


    [It... appears to be nonsense.]


    Hysteria began muttering arcane phrases, their voice low and sonorous. Each syllable hammered against the air like the head of a drum, the avatar chanting in a droning monotone. Their fingers twisted into complex formations, gliding through anatomically impossible shapes.


    Something began thudding beneath the floorboards.


    ¡°Arlo,¡± said Xim. ¡°You haven¡¯t been hoarding corpses in the basement, have you?¡± The cleric was stripping as she asked this, which I realized was an excellent idea once she started pulling chainmail from her inventory.


    ¡°There¡¯s six feet of solid stone beneath these hardwoods,¡± I said. ¡°You can see the damn blocks where Varrin tore the floor up.¡±


    Nuralie and Etja followed Xim¡¯s lead, although with less shameless nudity. Nuralie had been wearing her leathers under her suit this entire time. That was kind of paranoid but justified given our lifestyle. The only piece she hadn¡¯t been wearing was her Cloak of the Descent. Etja got out her staff and wand. A quick glance at the mana in her dress told me she¡¯d had it enchanted to a much greater extent than her old robes. Her skin hardened into a combination of dark chitin and crystal.


    The dripping moisture gathered before the Zenithar as a haunting wail echoed around us. It was a cry of profound pain and misery. At first, unintelligible, but slowly, the cries transformed into words.


    ¡°Yooooouuuuu biiiiitchhh! Yoooouuuu kiiiiiilllled meeeeee!¡±


    The floorboards splintered as something crashed into them from below. Another thud and one of the boards broke in half. A tormented scream rattled cookware and sent foodstuffs tumbling from shelves.


    Zura unleashed a concentrated jet of water, which arced across the kitchen, cutting through the walls as easily as the air. It swept over Hysteria, and the avatar interrupted their chanting with a cackle as their robes and flesh were carved away.


    Something began to crawl out from beneath the broken floorboards, a corrupted mockery of what it had been in life.


    It was Cloaky.


    Hysteria¡¯s recently murdered article of clothing squeezed through the cracks in the floor and hovered next to the avatar. Its edges were tattered and worn, a thousand scraps of cloth stitched together with rough thread. It shook itself free of wood chips.


    ¡°You asshole!¡± Cloaky shouted, floating within an inch of the avatar. ¡°You couldn¡¯t let me rest in fucking pieces?! You just had to drag me back up here. Why?! To torment me even more?!¡±


    Hysteria reached up and wiped a stream of water from their eyes.


    ¡°One sec,¡± said the avatar. Zura¡¯s jet cut across their face, ruining it until only the colorful skull remained. All the while, orbs of water formed around the Zenithar, trembling to contain Zura¡¯s wrath. The woman¡¯s eyes were glowing.


    ¡°The king is gone, so I¡¯m only left with one choice,¡± said Hysteria. Water cut away their lips and tongue, but it had no impact on their speech. ¡°I¡¯m curious to see how much your god¡¯s protection is worth, Zenithar.¡±


    Hysteria¡¯s body erupted with power, their skeleton glowing bright enough to penetrate the remains of their flesh. Zura stumbled back as a swell of mana rose from Hysteria and battered against the Geulon.


    You have observed the Passion Imperium spell!


    Passion Imperium


    Deific


    Cost: Give us a sec to analyze this shit.


    Requirements: Probably real high.


    Effects:


    Obtain dominion over the target¡¯s soul.


    Zura spasmed, her spirit flaring out with all the strength I¡¯d seen on the day she¡¯d destroyed the Littan fleet. Hysteria smiled in ecstasy as their magic flowed through the Zenithar, tendrils of power invading and corrupting the Geulon.


    Arrows began shattering against Hysteria as Nuralie tried in vain to interrupt their spell. A pillar of crimson light came down, igniting the avatar with holy fire. Varrin moved to stand in front of Riona, who¡¯d resisted Grotto¡¯s attempt to teleport her away.


    ¡°I wanted to give you a chance,¡± Hysteria shouted to Cloaky, ¡°to pursue your true calling from beyond the grave! The universe should not be denied your gifts, merely because I lost my temper!¡±


    ¡°M-my passion?¡± said Cloaky, deflating. ¡°You mean that...¡±


    ¡°Yes, Cloaky,¡± said Hysteria. They reached into the shredded remains of their robes and produced a violin and bow, handing it to the cloak. They gripped it in their fabric hands with reverence.


    ¡°What should I play?¡± Cloaky asked.


    ¡°Whatever moves you,¡± said Hysteria.


    The cloak nodded (I think) and then held the bow up to the violin¡¯s strings. It hesitated, then turned to me.


    ¡°When you teleported in,¡± Cloaky said, ¡°there was about a half a second before you ate whatever it was that kept this douche out of your brain.¡±


    ¡°Hurtful!¡± said Hysteria.


    ¡°We got a good peek at what was going on inside that skull of yours,¡± said Cloaky. ¡°So I hope you can appreciate this one.¡±


    Cloaky drew the bow along the violin, eliciting a single, mournful note. Then it began to play a familiar melody, albeit much slower than the original. I was momentarily dumbstruck by what I heard.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m loving this one,¡± said Hysteria, swaying their hips and walking forward. The avatar looked Zenithar Zura in the eye as she struggled to resist.


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± said Hysteria.


    Cloaky continued to play, but their violin had grown longer and gained more strings. They dropped their bow and swapped to strumming.


    ¡°Uh, is that a fucking nine-string?¡± I asked.


    Etja had already been casting Siphon before things went to shit, gearing up to fly if she needed to. Nullify had been her second spell in sequence, and she hit the wall to our east with Disintegrate, revealing the wastelanders moving in on our position.


    With both Reconnaissance and a massive Wisdom score, Etja was technically our best lookout. Strange, but true.


    The wastelanders were moving cautiously, looking between everyone in the kitchen. Their eyes halted on Cloaky as heavy metal distortion kicked in, the music¡¯s tempo accelerating.


    I tried to ignore it.


    ¡°Grotto, let¡¯s burn our System Rep to make a long-distance call.¡±


    [You are getting in the habit of solving your problems by throwing outrageously powerful entities at them.]


    ¡°Our recent problems have been outrageous, which justifies the use of outrageous force. I have no regrets.¡±


    ¡°This is exciting!¡± said Hysteria. They mimed walking down a flight of stairs behind the kitchen counter. I dashed around to keep eyes on the avatar, Etja and Xim close behind, but Hysteria was gone.


    You have observed the Dramatic Exit spell!


    Dramatic Exit


    Deific


    Cost: After analysis, these appear to use some kind of godly favor.


    Requirements: You don¡¯t meet them, nor will you ever meet them.


    Disappear with a flourish and reappear wherever the narrative tension will be highest.


    Listen, we¡¯re doing our best with this shit. Avatars are hard to quantify.


    ¡°Grotto¨C¡±


    [Already on it.]


    Etja, Xim, and I teleported right behind Hysteria, finding the avatar standing over Nuralie and Zura, who were both on the ground, bleeding.


    ¡°This is why it isn¡¯t safe to run in the house, kids!¡± said Hysteria. They were wearing a dirty floral dress, house shoes, and a hair net. ¡°You might run into somebody!¡±


    The avatar¡¯s tendrils were once more invading the Zenithar¡¯s soul. The moment before Etja cast Incorporate, Hysteria frowned and turned to look at her.


    The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I felt like a predator was stalking me, just out of sight. I couldn¡¯t help but take my eyes off the avatar for a second to glance back at Etja.


    The mage was surrounded by a swell of Divine light, wrapped in the blessings of the only god she acknowledged. Herself.


    She hungered, and the world yearned to feed itself to her.


    Etja reached out toward Hysteria, a hole opening on her palm, ravenous and relentless. The avatar¡¯s clothing was torn to shreds, flying into Etja¡¯s hand and disappearing. Next came the avatar¡¯s mimic flesh, and Etja¡¯s body rippled, changing itself on instinct to accommodate her newfound power.


    The air was thick with Etja¡¯s potent need to fill herself, and the mage¡¯s eyes rolled back into her head. Her entire palm had become a cavernous mouth filled with dark swirling threads of hypnotic energy, spiraling towards an endless stomach, beckoning us to throw ourselves in.


    Hidden beneath it all was fear, the fear that she was being erased by a creature that had been buried deep within. One that we¡¯d released.


    Hysteria¡¯s soul fluttered.


    ¡°Now, hold on a minute,¡± said the avatar. Their colorful bones swirled, and a viscous blob of essence dripped from their sternum. Etja consumed it and became a raging storm.


    ¡°That looks like a problem!¡± shouted Xim over Cloaky¡¯s swelling riffs.


    A full ensemble had joined the guitar. We were on the other side of the mansion, but the music was everywhere. Etja¡¯s eyes became dark pits.


    ¡°Probably!¡± I shouted back. We¡¯d have to swap to psychic comms soon, the music was so loud.


    ¡°What the fuck is this, anyway?¡± shouted Xim, throwing a hand out toward the rattling walls.


    The backing cut out and the guitar kicked out a two-measure solo. Then, an entire orchestra joined in.


    I knew exactly what it was since the song had been ripped out of my own head.


    ¡°It¡¯s mother lovin¡¯ Nightwish.¡±

 Chapter 206: No Avatar Flesh After Midnight

    Chapter 206: No Avatar Flesh After Midnight


    Holy Water of Yara¡¯s Favor


    Time Remaining: 1 minute


    HP: 1087 -> 1317


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I thought Xim.


    ¡°Hurry up and regen faster.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve healed myself for almost as much as you have. I was mostly dead twenty minutes ago.¡±


    ¡°Those are rookie numbers.¡±


    I shrugged and drank one of Nuralie¡¯s most potent healing potions, bringing my regen up another 947 health per hour to a total of 2,229. I swapped to health per minute, which showed 37. It didn¡¯t look nearly as impressive, but it was more manageable.


    Etja¡¯s skin had become glinting crystal covered in thousands of facets, replicating the material she¡¯d absorbed from the Prismatic Mask across her entire body. Swirls of color swam beneath its surface. She cast hundreds of points of light around the darkened room, illuminating the large table and comfy furniture of my drawing room. I had no idea what the mage had gotten from absorbing a piece of Hysteria. Her soul still felt like Etja, but dozens of new connections were forming within it every second.


    Hysteria looked dumbfounded. Their intrusion on the Zenithar¡¯s will was still progressing but momentarily slowed. Nuralie shook off her daze and threw Zura over her shoulder in a fireman¡¯s carry. I was glad to see the loson had a practical enough mindset not to worry about hauling one of Eschendur¡¯s pope-queens like a sack of potatoes. The Eschens were a down-to-earth kind of people.


    Nuralie disappeared with the Zenithar.


    ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake!¡± shouted Hysteria. Before the avatar could make a move, however, Etja swung her staff and a meter-wide beam of potent magical energy slammed into Hysteria¡¯s skeletal frame.


    The wall behind the avatar collapsed. The beam annihilated all the ambient mana before it, suppressing the avatar¡¯s aura, and Hysteria tumbled through the hole like they¡¯d been sucked away. The countermagic was so potent that the small amount radiating from the beam flooded the room, playing hell with the mana weaves on all my equipment and causing my own auras to shudder.


    The wall was reduced to dust, along with a console and a lovely landscape painting that I was sure somebody would miss. Motes of light flooded from the destruction, captured in Etja¡¯s insatiable palm.


    Divine mana blossomed to fill the mana vacuum, and I felt energy swell up through my legs.


    You¡¯ve gained Celerity!


    Your movement speed is doubled.


    Etja had just combined all six of her spells into a single attack.


    ¡°Neat!¡± she said, then sent four more beams of annihilation through the wall at the avatar, each one smaller and more concentrated than the first.


    ¡°You alright?¡± I shouted over the music. Etja turned to me, her eyes empty pits. She looked confused for a second, then recognition bloomed on her features.


    ¡°Nope!¡± she said, voice easily carrying over the racket, seeming to command the sound waves to bend. She turned back to the massive hole. ¡°I can¡¯t get a good bite. It¡¯s like they¡¯re an overcooked steak wrapped in caramel. The kind that¡¯s sticky, but still too hard somehow. I dunno. Still tastes sweet. I¡¯m gonna go eat them now.¡±


    Etja shot through the hole after Hysteria. The air didn¡¯t even stir.


    ¡°Should we try to help?¡± Xim thought to me.


    [You have other problems,] Grotto answered on my behalf.


    A massive sword shattered the wall opposite from Etja¡¯s hole.


    Etja¡¯s... tunnel?


    Etja¡¯s magical corridor.


    Fucking, they knocked down the wall on the other side of the room from where Etja broke my house. I¡¯d learned the names of the wastelanders, but they¡¯d already earned titles in my head, so that¡¯s what I stuck with.


    In other words, fornicate about and become learned.


    While I moved into my second form, I felt the entire room shift slightly.


    [I believe we can move this to more comfortable surroundings.]


    The entire room¨Cand probably the entire mansion¨Cstarted migrating toward the opposite side of the Closet. Before I could ask Grotto for more details, the veil-wearing runeweaver showed himself.


    A stream of gossamer runework streamed from Veil¡¯s cloud of thread, forming into a ball between me and Xim. It shot into the ground and sigils spread out across the floor and walls in every direction. The runes pulsed with power, and space twisted as an incredible force pulled me toward the center of the formation. Gravity Anchor kept me in place, but the pull tore at my muscles while my Shielding ate most of the damage.


    HP: 1331 -> 1303


    The attack also caught Xim, but her muscles swelled and her Shielding glowed brightly over her skin. Her feet sank into the floor, shattering boards and pressing into the stone below. The attack broke through the extra layer of defense, but she overwhelmed the spell¡¯s pull with overwhelming force. Another chunk of her health was gone.


    Behind Veil, the Giant¡¯s body became a beacon in the dark. The patterns tattooed onto his blue skin burned white, and static filled the air. I felt elemental mana gather for a fraction of a second before it reached out to connect with Xim. I immediately hit it with a Dispel, disrupting the skill.


    The counter barely drained any of my mana and it earned me a stack of Potency, granting me a free mana shape. I¡¯d likely come out net positive on mana, and for a moment I wondered if it had been worth the time it took to Dispel the skill.


    The spell instantly fired again, but with me as the target. The world flashed white as a thick bolt of lightning seized my body, searing flesh and tensing my muscles so tightly they began to tear. The bolt arced from me to Xim, treating the cleric to the same.


    HP: 1303 -> 995


    While my health plummeted, half the damage I took was sent to Xim as healing. After eating her own bolt of lightning, we were both down to half health. She¡¯d have been nearly dead had I not Dispelled the first bolt.


    Buster had shown at least one Divine ability and the power behind his words signaled a strong Charisma score. He was the only wastelander that looked like a good candidate for being a healer, but he was also clearly built for tanking. His build was a split, which meant his heals probably weren¡¯t as strong as they could be. Rather than waste our time trying to dig through his defenses while he healed himself, we would be better off bursting down someone a lot squishier.


    Fluffy was flighty and could punch through some of our armor, but she relied on rapid-fire strikes. That could still be offset by solid damage reduction, which Xim and I both had. I had no idea where the Wishborn archer was hiding, so they weren¡¯t a great opening target. Veil looked like support, with damage as a secondary. That was annoying, but Blue was a bigger threat. The Giant hit hard and stood out like a beacon. I mentally assigned him priority and sent that along to the group through Grotto.


    The wastelanders had stormed in, layering their abilities over top of one another and giving us little room to respond. Their opening salvo had hurt, that was for sure, but the frustration on Blue¡¯s face told me he¡¯d expected his spell to boil our innards. It had, Xim and I just didn¡¯t care too much.


    ¡°Our lives are fun,¡± Xim thought to me.


    Her armor was scorched and smoke rose from her hair. At some point, her dark locks had turned to molten blood. Crimson flames curled up from the cleric¡¯s eye sockets, and a 6-foot-wide halo of fire erupted behind her. The ring¡¯s center pulsed white-hot as she rose a foot off the ground.


    Veil¡¯s runes continued to press down and pull on us, but Xim rushed forward, enhanced by the buff she¡¯d earned from Sam¡¯lia and the Celerity granted by Etja¡¯s lingering zone of Divine power. She darted around Fluffy and rocketed to Veil, swinging her scepter at the Chovali¡¯s chest.


    Before I could question her choice of targets, the air around the Chovali burst into bloody flame and erupted into a cone of death that swallowed both Veil and the Giant.


    Xim¡¯s wall of fire was imbued with the full force of her scepter strike, and it hit Veil and Blue like a solid object before crashing into the back wall, turning half the room into a roaring bonfire. Their bodies were swallowed by the flames, but the pair could only stumble drunkenly, too rattled to react properly to the fire beginning to blacken their skin.


    At the same time, Xim¡¯s body glowed golden and the arrow in her thigh forced itself out as the wound began to close. Her health shot up by a third, replenishing most of what she¡¯d lost. An aura bathed the room, and a trickle of constant healing began working on my injuries.


    HP: 995 -> 1041


    Sam¡¯lia¡¯s Warmth


    You heal 46 health and gain 1 stack of Blessed every six seconds.


    It was an impressive display. I was already capped on Blessed but now felt comfortable starting to burn through them for defense.


    Buster roared as he shook off his stun, and a circle of holy light enveloped the battle, extinguishing the fire and empowering his allies. It looked like the wastelanders were ready to start playing their trump cards.


    The roof trembled as something enormous slammed into it.


    [Prepare to receive backup.]

 Chapter 207: Buffs, Cooldowns, Consumables. Burn Them All.

    Chapter 207: Buffs, Cooldowns, Consumables. Burn Them All.


    You have observed the Consecration spell!


    Consecration


    Divine


    Cost: 25 Mana


    Requirements: CHA 40, Divine Magic 40


    You consecrate the ground in a radius around you equal to your Divine Magic skill level in feet. You, your allies, and sacred entities receive a bonus to all DR equal to your CHA while inside the consecrated ground. Hostile and profane entities receive additional Righteous damage equal to your CHA whenever they are hit by an attack while within the consecrated ground.


    Buster¡¯s spell didn¡¯t say anything about cleansing hostile magic, but it wiped out Xim¡¯s inferno all the same. The entire enemy party got a huge boost to their damage reduction, and a hefty boost to their damage on top.


    Righteous damage was devastating against entities profane to the wielder¡¯s god, and I had no idea what god Buster worshipped. There was no good way to know whether we would be considered abhorrent to the tenets of its faith unless Buster decided to drop us an obvious hint.


    Among the things I would consider an obvious hint would be religious symbols, identifiable prayers, or a man¡¯s skeleton tearing its way outside of his own body.


    While Consecration banished Xim¡¯s flames and buffed the Hyrachon¡¯s allies, Buster¡¯s skin bulged and split. Viscera-covered bone dislodged from its fleshy confines, taking the paladin¡¯s armor and massive sword with it.


    I¡¯d seen some nasty shit during my time as a Delver, but that one made my throat tense. I had to force my stomach to keep its contents to itself. I only had an instant to grapple with my rebelling guts before the skeleton exploded from the body, spraying me with hot blood as it charged the short distance between us.


    Its sword glowed with divine light, drawing power from the consecrated ground. I blocked with Gracorvus, stopping the sword without trouble, but a hateful presence invaded my body. I felt it claw through me, disgusted by my sense of mercy, and enraged by any memory where I submitted to authorities greater than myself. This time, the divine judgment did burn.


    HP: 1042 -> 897


    What the skeleton left behind reformed into a boneless mass of muscles and skin that somehow remained upright, dressed in small clothes and several items of jewelry. It drew a staff from its inventory.


    On the bright side, Veil and Blue were both still Stunned.


    ¡°Curse in Solitude


    Your love died, not once but thrice


    Wife, bug, phantom, corpse!¡±


    Explosion! continued to build as I chanted profound phrases, and Fluffy abandoned their pursuit of Xim in favor of flanking me and pummeling my kidneys while I dealt with Buster¡¯s skeleton. I burned through Blessed stacks to offset the damage, unable to block the Yeti without abandoning my defense against the bloody skeleton. Fluffy¡¯s fists pounded through my armor, injecting Righteous damage with each hit.


    HP: 897 -> 667


    I was taking the heat off of Xim, and my reward was blunt-force organ removal. Even though my kidneys were reduced to quivering chunks, I wouldn¡¯t bleed to death, which was nice. I considered a change in tactics since Xim¡¯s self-heal was absolutely insane. Before I could suggest that we start juggling aggro, our backup arrived.


    The ceiling over the enemy mages exploded as an enormous Atrocidile maw crashed down through it.


    Nottagator unleashed Titan¡¯s Roar, indiscriminately blasting everyone with a wave of sound and pressure that momentarily overwhelmed Cloaky¡¯s thumping music.


    HP: 667 -> 602


    You have resisted Fear!


    ¡°An Atrocidile berserker isn¡¯t ideal backup!¡±


    [True, but a Ravvenblaq berserker is.]


    Veil snarled and drove his hands into the ground. Runes ran along his arms and legs into the floor, spreading out around us in a blur. The Chovali¡¯s gravity weave had continued to expand over time, and the new runes slotted into the original.


    Xim flew toward Veil, weaving between Nottagator¡¯s back legs as the Atrocidile rampaged. It roared in frustration, unable to hit the evasive Yeti. Fluffy could do little more than dodge, hitting Nottagator with the occasional glancing blow that only further enraged the Atrocidile.


    Xim drew in close to Veil while Varrin distracted the skeleton, but the flesh suit drove its staff toward her, encasing her in a golden sphere. Spears of light skewered into Xim. The cleric swung her scepter into the barrier, filling it with crimson flame until it burst, her body lighting up as she healed the damage she¡¯d suffered.


    The wounds diminished but refused to close. Blood poured out from the cleric¡¯s extra holes, streaming through the air to the flesh suit, which absorbed the liquid to regain the mass it lost resurrecting the mages. Xim was forced to pull back and use Cleanse, staunching the flow. I teleported to the meat bag and dropped Elemental Barrier, catching the boneless one, the Giant, and the Chovali in the AoE.


    The air shook violently, knocking the mages to the ground and interrupting the flesh bag¡¯s telekinetic vampirism. Blue pulled out an orb and crushed it, sending out a pulse of countermagic and dispelling my attack. The Chovali threw a talisman, which thunked onto my armor and stuck like a magnet.


    You are Immobilized!


    I mean, you were already Immobilized by your own skill, but now you¡¯re Immobilized again!


    I felt the familiar pull of a hostile teleport, which attempted to sling me into Nottagator¡¯s face. My resistance to non-consensual Dimensional effects kicked in, ending the teleport early. I wound up beneath the Atrocidile, between its legs, and I brought up Gracorvus to knock aside a bucking set of talons.


    Throughout it all, I kept chanting.


    ¡°Roach with hardened shell


    Still ran from my boot in fear


    Satisfying crunch!¡±


    Veil resumed pumping runes into the ground, staring at me with murder in his eyes.


    The Chovali¡¯s weaves were insufferable. They weren¡¯t skills that could be easily Dispelled, instead having the feel of prepared items like Nuralie¡¯s poisons. I¡¯d need time and focus to unravel them, which I didn¡¯t have. They still drew mana from the Chovali to power them, which made them less robust than a traditional weave. Regardless, they were a lot more durable than a normal spell.


    Veil¡¯s weave pulsed, twisting space and delivering a piercing pain to my skull, like someone had driven a railroad spike through my temple. Varrin and Xim were caught in the gravity effect, being yanked to the opposite side of the drawing room, away from Veil. Gravity Anchor once again kept me in place against the first effect¡¯s pull, but it didn¡¯t help with the second.


    HP: 392 -> 204


    You have been Paralyzed!


    While the Chovali locked us down, Blue raised his arms to the sky. I couldn¡¯t look above me¨Cboth because I was physically incapable of it and because there was a wall of Nottagator in the way¨Cbut the dark rooms lit up like it was high noon on a cloudless day. A withering heat began to build until it was hot enough to make the rubble smolder.


    Being Paralyzed kept me from doing anything physical, but it wouldn¡¯t stop me from utilizing skills that didn¡¯t require me to move my body. I could still channel Explosion!, although I couldn¡¯t snap my fingers to activate it. I could also maintain my Shielding aura.


    And I could still use Reverse Card.


    I seized the Giant¡¯s spell as he finished his cast. At first, I thought the redirect had failed. It cost zero mana to take control of it, which didn¡¯t make sense. Reverse Card¡¯s cost was equal to the mana spent by the caster. However, Reverse Card did work, which meant the spell had cost... nothing?


    A 20-foot-wide beam of scorching light descended from above, centered on the Giant. Blue¡¯s eyes went wide, and the wastelanders abandoned him to his fate.


    Veil teleported deep into the ballroom. Buster¡¯s flesh bag tore off its amulet and held it aloft. The pendant disintegrated, surrounding both the skeleton and its calcium-deprived brother in a thick layer of blood. Xim hunkered down behind her shield and Varrin stood in front of her with blade ready, both having resisted the paralysis with one of their evolutions. I clenched and hoped for the best.


    The Giant didn¡¯t react in time.


    The beam struck like the hand of God, tearing everything within fifty feet of Blue to pieces and then igniting it. The bloody barrier around Buster¡¯s two halves boiled. Varrin rended the air with his blade, splitting the apocalyptic attack and driving it to either side, creating a narrow wedge of calm for himself and Xim. The wooden floor became smoke, the stone beneath the wood turned molten, and the liquid rock bubbled, spitting noxious fumes. Blue¡¯s skin peeled away and the flesh beneath blackened.


    Nottagator roared as its entire back half was soaked in flame. The Atrocidile¡¯s body protected me from the worst of the attack, but my eyes were flash-dried and my gambeson began to burn as my armor turned into a furnace. Spell-based elemental fire was nearly my highest defense, however, and despite being deeply uncomfortable, I avoided taking damage.


    The beam terminated when the life of its caster was spent, and Blue¡¯s smoking body fell into the slag.

 Chapter 208: Shared Fate

    Chapter 208: Shared Fate


    I was blinded for several terrifying seconds after the beam hit. I kept a spiritual eye on everyone with Soul Sight, but the wastelanders seemed to be as fucked as I was. When the afterimage cleared from my vision, it was just in time to see a massive section of the six-foot-thick stone floor droop and fall away into the empty space of the Closet below. Blue¡¯s corpse went along with it. This time, there was no miraculous resurrection for the mage.


    There was a second of hesitation in the enemy party, and Xim took advantage of it.


    The burning icon of a pulsing heart appeared above the cleric. Blood-red flames surrounded it, a stark contrast to the orange-white inferno left in the beam¡¯s wake. The heart swelled as she poured stacks of Blessed into it. The organ beat with a pounding thump, emitting a wave of dread that drove itself into the minds of the remaining wastelanders.


    Fluffy tried to run, but Xim¡¯s Fear effect also Slowed its victims. Nottagator snapped at the Yeti, finally catching the elusive pugilist and clamping down on her with its jaws. Veil shivered, then sluggishly raced through the remains of the ballroom to the nearest door, tearing through it rather than using the doorknob like a polite house guest.


    As the Chovali runeweaver lost his shit, the weaves fell apart and my Paralyzed debuff ended.


    I was just about ready to snap.


    Buster¡¯s two halves floated away from the massive hole in the floor, steaming as the last remnants of their blood shield boiled away. Neither seemed to suffer from the Fear effect.


    Varrin was already flying through the air toward the pair, the spectral blue eyes on his helm growing more intense every second. The skeleton moved to intercept and swung its massive blade in a precise blur of speed. Varrin stepped through the air like he stood on solid ground, avoiding the hit with minimal effort and running Kazandak across the skeleton¡¯s battered armor. It bit through the plate and severed three ribs.


    Varrin tilted his body and tanked the next attack with his side, moving to deflect the majority of the thousand-pound-blade¡¯s energy.


    The eyes on his helm grew brighter.


    Flesh bag tried to trap Varrin in a blood dome, but the big guy spun and vanished, then reappeared behind the skeleton and carved through part of its spine.


    Xim sent me a thought and I canceled Gravity Anchor as she grabbed me. We shot up through the roof and she cast a Heal as we flew away, then her aura ticked, granting me even more healing.


    HP: 204 -> 480


    ¡°Blast ¡®em,¡± she said, then let me loose.


    My wings spread and I caught myself. I looked down at the mansion, a significant portion of which was actively on fire and collapsing as it migrated through the dark, empty space of the Closet.


    I scanned for the souls of the wastelanders, along with Etja and Hysteria. Neither the mage nor the avatar were within my Sight, but my default mana shape from Arcane Library was Discretion. My spells would ignore my allies, so Etja would be safe, even if she was still inside.


    Veil had fled to the edge of the mansion, searching for an escape in a house with no exits. From where we hovered, it looked like a rectangular prism of dark, floating stone. One with a mighty hole poked into it, but the Chovali had run away in terror, leaving that potential mode of egress behind. I still couldn¡¯t find the Wishborn.


    Varrin raged against Buster¡¯s skeleton. He grew stronger with every hit he took or dished out, but Berserk forced him to fight the closest enemy. A stream of blood flowed from his injuries to the meat suit, healing the caster as he took the warrior apart.


    Explosion! was charged enough to destroy the whole place, hitting everyone, or I could leave Nottagator and its Yeti chew toy untouched by detonating the spell off-center. The Atrocidile didn¡¯t count as an ally, given that it would tear me apart as readily as anyone else. Explosion! wouldn¡¯t ignore the monster, even with the Discretion mana shape on my spells.


    I knew the beast could tank the hit, but Nottagator was already injured from the beam and hadn¡¯t bothered to extinguish itself, letting the fire fuel its own Rage stacks. Even if the Atrocidile would survive the blast, I was a softie when it came to my pets, regardless of whether they were bloodthirsty abominations.


    There was no way they could hear me from this distance, so I simply spoke the last phrase of my chant, and dropped the AoE toward the edge of the grounds.


    ¡°You¡¯ll die as you lived


    Beneath another man¡¯s heel


    Crushed like those you loved.¡±


    The whole skirmish had lasted eighteen seconds. Even with half of the AoE bombing empty space, Explosion! obliterated a 110-foot chunk of the mansion. The entire western wing erupted, sending broken rock, splintered wood, and shattered art and furniture hurtling away into the dark.


    Then the force of the detonation reversed, sucking in all the debris, along with the chunky remains of Veil and both halves of Buster. The detritus crashed together into one big lump, then scattered and fell away into the dark.


    The spell dropped more than 800 damage right on top of Veil and Buster¡¯s mercenary heads. In exchange, the mansion was a burning ruin.


    I evaluated the impact, searching to see if either of my targets survived. I caught a glimmer of Buster¡¯s soul, falling and fading in and out of existence, but Veil was gone. The music had also stopped. I didn¡¯t see any sign of Hysteria¡¯s cloak.


    Varrin floated for a moment, chest heaving with heavy breaths as he looked for his next victim. He locked onto Fluffy and Nottagator. Before he could charge, Xim hit him with a Cleanse, ending the Berserk status.


    Varrin¡¯s helm went dark and the man shook his head, then reevaluated the battlefield, or lack thereof. Nottagator had Fluffy between its teeth and rolled, grinding the Yeti into the floor and extinguishing the flames on and around it.


    Varrin decided against getting between the beast and its prey, choosing to fly up to meet me and Xim instead.


    HP: 483 -> 759


    ¡°This form drains a lot of stamina,¡± Xim said as she cast another Heal. ¡°I can burn mana to get my stamina back, but only if I¡¯m healing from an injury. If we¡¯re killing anything else, we should get a move on.¡±


    I looked over, taking in her transformation. Her hair flowed like a liquid, similar to Sam¡¯lia¡¯s own, though its fluidity was more pronounced. Her eyes leaked dark flames, but the heat was gentle. The glowing ring at her back hummed as it held her aloft.


    Varrin was the fastest, and he grabbed each of us with a giant arm and took off, immediately cracking through the sound barrier. The Delve¡¯s dark exterior was visible within seconds.


    I scanned the boundaries for Dimensional Magic, finding nothing but the normal ambient levels. ¡°The portal barrier is down,¡± I said. ¡°It should be self-sustaining. Either Grotto shut it down manually, or something is preventing the obelisk from distributing mana.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the move?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Give me a sec,¡± I said, closing my eyes and focusing.


    The easiest method of finding everyone was to use my aura. I calmed myself and focused on Grotto first. He was deep within the Delve, but his surroundings were nearly pitch black. There was just enough light for my darkvision to give me a vague impression of the space, which was small and cramped.


    Grotto had shown me a three-dimensional model of the entire Closet while the Littans ran through the Delve. I brought that up in my mind, remembering the general layout, and focused while feeling out Grotto through my aura and our soul connection. I was pretty sure he was in the control room, but all of his equipment had gone dead.


    The Core was alive but unresponsive. I couldn¡¯t make out any enemies in the room through my aura, so I took a crack with my Soul Sight.


    Grotto¡¯s control room was warded to hell and back. It was surrounded by a sphere of inch-thick mana-enhancing Madrin woven with a dozen different anti-teleportation, anti-scrying, and anti-divination arrays on top of a variety of other enchantments falling within the ¡°none of your business¡± category. That was surrounded by a sphere of meter-thick mana-dampening dark iron with enough damage reduction weaves to make any attempt at a brute-force entry take long enough for backup to arrive.


    All of the weaves were independently powered through mana chips so they weren¡¯t reliant on the obelisk to stay active. Grotto had probably dumped more than half the chips I¡¯d ever given him into making the little bunker. Normally, such robust defensive measures would be great. At the moment, it was getting in the way.


    My connection to Grotto gave me enough to get a read on his soul, but my Sight was otherwise blocked. I couldn¡¯t be certain the Core was alone, or that this wasn¡¯t a trap of some sort.


    While I was searching for Grotto, I also reached out for Etja. She was in the Delve as well, in the hallway outside the obelisk chamber and buried in a wall. Her health was fine, and no damage had transferred to me through Life Warden, but she was definitely unconscious. There was a horde of dead Gekkogs around her, several of which had arrows sticking out of them.


    I could just barely see into the obelisk chamber. I could make out the fluttering outline of the Wishborn standing a foot off the ground next to the dark pillar. They were doing something to it, but I couldn¡¯t tell what.


    I reached out for Nuralie next, but I was completely blocked off. That could have been because she didn¡¯t want to be found, because the Zenithar was using some kind of divine interference, or because something less pleasant was interfering. Either way, she was alive and well on the party interface.


    I opened my eyes.


    ¡°Well, we can go guns blazing and make a reckless teleport into a potential trap,¡± I said. ¡°Or Xim can drop her transformation to save stamina while we work out a better plan.¡±


    ¡°Explain,¡± said Xim. I gave them the abbreviated version.


    ¡°Can we even get inside Grotto¡¯s command center?¡± asked Varrin. ¡°If it is as well defended as you say, I am uncertain how we could quickly infiltrate.¡±


    ¡°I can think of two methods,¡± I said. ¡°First, layer walking.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± said Xim. She let her transformation end, forgot that she couldn¡¯t fly without it, and Varrin swept down to scoop her up before she fell too far. She cleared her throat and wiggled a bit in the princess carry. ¡°Layer walking would take time. I¡¯d have to set up the ritual. This is also completely unknown territory and I have no idea what the wilds would be like in here.¡±


    ¡°But you think it would work?¡± I said.


    ¡°Probably. It might even be easier than normal since the Closet has a direct connection to the tribe. The problem is what else might be in here from the Third Layer that we don¡¯t know about. This area may be relatively tame since it¡¯s conceptually related to our lands, but it¡¯s very unrelated from a geographic standpoint.¡± She blew a curl of hair from her face and looked around. ¡°It¡¯s also possible that this is the layout within the Third Layer since the Closet is all that¡¯s ever existed here. If that¡¯s the case, it wouldn¡¯t help us much. There¡¯d still be a hunk of rock and magic metal in our way.¡±


    ¡°What is the second option?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°Grotto¡¯s anti-teleportation weaves form a perfect sphere around the control room,¡± I said. ¡°But that¡¯s a three-dimensional shape. I can try to access the room by fumbling about in the shadows of the fourth dimension, where that hollow sphere would become equivalent to a circle that I can just sort of... step over. Then I mana-shape Shortcut to take you both along with me.¡±


    ¡°You have only done that once, correct?¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Yeah, during the Cathedral puzzle in the Descent.¡±


    ¡°Chances of catastrophic failure?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°I think it would be low,¡± I said. ¡°I use Coordinated Thinker to find the path, which doesn¡¯t require me to physically go anywhere, just feel out the space and apply some Dimensional Magic. The teleport would be normal. For me, at least. I haven¡¯t done it with a group.¡±


    ¡°Which option would be faster to eliminate?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°It should only take me a minute to figure out the teleport,¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s faster than my way,¡± said Xim. ¡°Sounds like a winner. If it doesn¡¯t work, we can risk diving into the unknowns of the Closet¡¯s Third Layer.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said, then began focusing on moving my perception strangeward.


    I spent several seconds reacquainting myself with the feeling of looking in the incomprehensible direction, then worked to settle my focus on the shadows that my mind could fathom. When I went through this process while moving from the basilica to the cathedral, I was maneuvering down a straight hallway, one that was infinitely larger than the rooms I was moving between.


    Here, there was no hallway.


    There was only plant.

 Chapter 209: The Plant Dimension

    Chapter 209: The Plant Dimension


    Using Coordinated Thinker to find a valid teleport location for Shortcut was a bit like groping about blindly with a big phantom hand. I didn¡¯t ¡®see¡¯ the spaces I was searching through, but I could get a feel for their structure and dimensions.


    It made me think of one of those sticky hands I used to get out of a gumball toy machine at the grocery store. There was a long, stretchy ¡®arm¡¯ that connected the appendage to my perception, with a hand about the size of my own body at the end, which slapped around and groped at stuff, sticking to anything interesting. It could move through solid objects, send feedback, and ultimately determine whether a space was safe to teleport to.


    Searching for a way into Grotto¡¯s bunker by using Coordinated Thinker to go strangeward was¨Cbelieve it or not¨Cmuch stranger. The phantom limb became something massive, expanding out into a new dimension. It was the same volume of growth as a thick line on a sheet of paper rising off the page to become an entire wall. The length and width were the same, but adding depth created something vastly larger than its flattened-out counterpart.


    I could use this supermassive hand to run my fingers along all the surfaces of the Delve. Interior, exterior, it didn¡¯t matter, since I could reach over any three-dimensional barrier. I could read the Delve¡¯s compartments like braille, and theoretically find Grotto¡¯s control center without much problem. I already knew where it was relative to myself, I just had to stretch out and stick my hand inside.


    While I couldn¡¯t ¡®see¡¯ what surrounded the hand, I could still use it to determine the bounds of objects around it. If I focused, I could get a general shape or texture, maybe even guess what it was I was poking at. When moving between the cathedral and basilica, the feeling I got from the hand¡¯s strangeward dimension was of an incomprehensibly large hallway. I could more or less slide my hand blindly down a smooth wall until I got where I needed to be.


    The ¡®texture¡¯ of the Closet¡¯s fourth dimension was not smooth. It was ropey, fleshy, wet, and moving.


    When I first reached out, a vine slithered through the phantom limb, and I immediately jerked my senses back. It felt like I¡¯d reached out to grab a snack from the pantry without looking, and stuffed my hand into a pile of live snakes instead.


    I didn¡¯t have a problem with snakes, or plants that looked and felt like snakes, but I¡¯d still jump if I encountered a snake-like creature in a place I wasn¡¯t expecting one to be. I¡¯d had a pet snake for about a decade. It was cute enough, if a bit bitey.


    But if I¡¯d gone for a midnight piss and found Albert coiled up in the toilet bowl, I¡¯d have screamed like a bobcat.


    Anyway, I took about three seconds to allow my heart rate to drop back below 200 bpm and reached in for another attempt. Unlike Albert, the plant couldn¡¯t bite me. My hand wasn¡¯t really there, just an extension of my perception. That didn¡¯t stop my skin from crawling when carnivorous Dominion Ivy was the overwhelming majority of what I could sense. It also didn¡¯t stop me from groping around until I found Grotto¡¯s bunker.


    ¡°Stand close,¡± I said.


    Xim and Varrin moved until they were shoulder to shoulder with me, weapons and spells ready. Xim had taken the time while I concentrated to grant Varrin the Blessings of Hunger and Pounding, giving him endless Blessed generation, along with bonus damage and life leech.


    I cast Shortcut, using the Bubble mana shape to take my allies with me.


    Aside from the several dozen mutilated vines that appeared along with us, we made it inside the control room without issue.


    Varrin used Ghostwind Slash, I dropped an Elemental Barrier with the Cold damage type, and Xim cast Judgment. All three of us had abilities that allowed the skills to ignore allies, and the room was small enough that our AoEs fully encompassed it.


    A spectral copy of Kazandak swept around us, filling the room with a cutting Spiritual wind that sucked a shadowy figure from a dark corner. The temperature dropped low enough to flash-freeze water, then erupted in a pillar of holy fire.


    This resulted in the mystery figure being Slowed, Ignited, Feared, Slowed again¨Cwhich upgraded it to Immobilized¨CWeakened, and Cursed, while taking a combination of Spectral, Elemental, Infernal, and Psychic damage.


    Whoever this was, they were almost certainly an enemy. There was a tiny chance they were a random person who was neither an ally nor an enemy and had snuck inside Grotto¡¯s hideout somehow. Our skills would ignore allies, but not neutral third parties.


    I wouldn¡¯t lose sleep over it if they were the latter, though. Breaking into a secured facility inside of a Delver¡¯s personal pocket dimension was an effective way to self-select oneself out of the gene pool.


    However, our combination of attacks made it difficult to figure out who we were annihilating. Their soul was in chaos from Varrin¡¯s attack, and they were burning with all the enthusiasm of dry kindling on a bonfire in the middle of a drought.


    Once the pull effect from Varrin¡¯s skill wore off, Elemental Barrier launched the burning figure away. Varrin flicked Kazandak, removing the person¡¯s head before they thudded against the wall, crumpling to the floor in two parts.


    I canceled my spell, and Xim willed the flames to die. I stepped forward to poke the person with my boot. They were a mutilated hunk of unidentifiable charcoal, and they were very much deceased.


    ¡°Who do ya think that was?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Regardless, that¡¯s the best place for him until we figure out whether we need to do anything manually. The main obstacle to that idea is that someone is in there fucking with the obelisk as we speak.¡±


    ¡°You said it looked like the Wishborn,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°I did,¡± I said. ¡°But if their archer is in the obelisk room, then who¡¯s that?¡± I nodded at the charred corpse. ¡°It sure looks like that fuck shot Grotto with an arrow and then hid out, trying to ambush us.¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t gotten any kill notifications,¡± said Xim. ¡°If the System could tell us who¡¯s dead, it would simplify things.¡±


    ¡°It is probably treating this as a single encounter,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We will receive any combat notifications once the threat is dealt with.¡±


    I furrowed my brow and looked back at Grotto. It was disturbing to see him like this. I knew intellectually that Grotto wasn¡¯t a little floating feathered octopus, but that¡¯s the form I¡¯d known him as for the majority of our time together. Emotionally, it felt like looking at the body of a friend, murdered in cold blood. I tried to push down another spike of anger but only half-succeeded. I needed to keep a level head and stay rational, but there was a heat in my chest that wouldn¡¯t go away.


    ¡°Maybe we can see the notifications,¡± I said, drawing curious looks from both Xim and Varrin. I pulled up my skills and re-read Dungeoneering.


    Dungeoneering: This skill allows you to use System Insight concerning Delves, dungeons, and labyrinths. Higher levels improve the insights you receive.


    System Insight was a term first explained to me by the crafter and merchant Seinnador, who used it to gain additional information when inspecting items. As far as I knew, it meant the System would grace you with some of its vast knowledge from time to time, if it felt like it, and only about the specific thing for which you had System Insight. It was one of those vague, bullshit ¡®abilities¡¯ that I had a strong distaste for.


    It was also useless.


    The information we got from Grotto was leaps and bounds above anything the skill could provide. Thus, Dungeoneering was a dead skill for me, and it was primarily a vessel for Grotto to provide bonuses to the Pocket Delve. The evolutions made the Delve more mana-efficient and made allied Fear effects more difficult to resist while inside.


    The Delve was at best an indirect help to me. Grotto had promised to create automation chains within the Delve for things I wanted or needed, but hadn¡¯t yet gotten around to it. I hadn¡¯t pressed him on it, and we¡¯d been busy, but it was a theoretical future benefit and not immediately useful.


    However, System Insight was as close as a normal Delver could get to being able to make a System Call.


    System Calls were made by Delve Cores and other System entities when they wanted something specific from the System that it wouldn¡¯t automatically provide them. Grotto¡¯s override codes were System Calls, and they could be used much more broadly than System Insight. The System Rep that we¡¯d gotten from the Delve was a currency used when making a System Call, allowing the System to allocate additional resources via some kind of merit-based logic. Successful Cores got more support, while unsuccessful Cores had to nut up.


    Grotto had his own pool of System Rep, but so did I. That was a point of confusion for Grotto and even Avarice when I mentioned it to her. Of course, my relationship with the System was unusual. After all, how many Delvers were co-arbiters of a Delve? I suspected the answer was one.


    And, as co-arbiter of a Delve, shouldn¡¯t I be allowed to make a System Call? If not, then what the fuck was the point of me having this Dungeoneering skill?


    ¡°System Call,¡± I said, crossing my fingers. ¡°Update combat notifications for Delver Party: Fortune¡¯s Folly.¡±


    Varrin raised an eyebrow, while Xim peered up at the ceiling in anticipation. Several seconds passed with no response. I was about to try again when I got a notification.


    Evaluating request...


    Combat notifications are held in reserve until Fortune¡¯s Folly has successfully navigated the current conflict. Advancing notifications will require an appropriate override code.


    Xim saw me react to the message, but couldn¡¯t see it herself. ¡°Did it work?¡± she asked. I nodded. ¡°No fuckin¡¯ way.¡±


    I searched through my memory for the codes I¡¯d seen. I glanced back at Grotto as one came to mind.


    ¡°Override code 003: Preservation of Delve Core.¡±

 Chapter 210: System Call

    Chapter 210: System Call


    Please provide additional context.


    I took a deep breath and formulated my argument.


    ¡°Delve Core 1156 has suffered significant damage to his chassis and has become non-responsive,¡± I said. ¡°The perpetrator is suspected to be another Delver, but I am unable to determine whether that Delver has been killed. An entity that matches the Delver¡¯s appearance is currently interfering with the obelisk for Delve 1156-B, but the avatar Hysteria is also present, and they are known to mimic appearances.


    ¡°I believe Core 1156 needs to be inserted into the Delve obelisk to facilitate repairs. If the person in the obelisk chamber is a Delver, we can intervene and gain access to the obelisk. If the entity within the chamber is an avatar, accessing the obelisk would present even greater risk to the Core.


    ¡°Additionally, the Delver is supported by a full five-person party. Knowing which members still live will further improve our ability to render aid to the Core.¡±


    Ingesting data from Delve 1156-B: The Pocket Delve, d/b/a Inheritance of the Void King...


    Evaluating...


    An additional System Call for this Delve is outstanding, would you like to bundle your requests?


    ¡°What¡¯s the other one?¡± I asked.


    System Call: Deliver urgent communication to SC2 for relay to User Name: Avarice.


    ¡°That never went out?¡±


    No. The message was held in queue while User Name: Avarice was located. The recipient entity is currently in close proximity to Delve 1156-B. The System recommended that the Delve Core attempt to make contact independently. The outstanding System Call has been held in reserve pending a response from 1156.


    Given that 1156 is non-functional, the Call will be manually evaluated before submission. Estimated time until evaluation: 43 minutes.


    As the System described its process, I was struck by how bureaucratic it sounded, and I began to wonder who or what I was talking to.


    System Core 1 sounded like a manic sadist with enough conflicting personalities that their use of the royal ¡°we¡± was entirely justified. System Core 2 had the mellower vibe of a slightly put-out technician who¡¯d resigned themselves to being the only person competent enough to deal with the ever-growing pile of shit on their org¡¯s to-do list.


    Whatever I was currently speaking with had a much dryer and more robotic tone. It matched some of the messages I¡¯d received during Delves, but rarely what I would get when having more of a ¡®conversation¡¯ with the System. I¡¯d always been confused by that tonal shift, but now I wondered whether this was something completely different from either of the two main cores.


    Also, Avarice was close to the Delve? How close? Had she never left the Closet?


    ¡°Clarification: to whom am I speaking?¡± I asked.


    I am Subsystem Series 11. I am responsible for Delver interactions and Tier 1 support requests originating from Delves 1100 to 1199.


    ¡°Alright. Mind if I call you Sub-el? Short for Sub-eleven?¡±


    I do not mind. That moniker is already associated with my designation.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Someone else had beaten me to the nickname. ¡°We¡¯re in a bit of a time crunch, Sub-el. If we bundle those System Calls together, what¡¯s the ETA on a response?¡±


    Bundled requests receive a higher priority. Once I finish evaluating the data from Delve 1156, I will escalate both System Calls immediately. It will take me approximately 6 minutes to finish my evaluation.


    ¡°Is it possible to speed that up?¡±


    Yes. Additional processing power is available for purchase. Would you like to purchase additional processing power for 1 System Rep?


    ¡°Does that last forever, or only for this request?¡±


    Additional processing power is provided in batches and will be used to facilitate all expedited requests until expended.


    ¡°Uh, you know what? Sure. Let me buy that processing power.¡±


    I watched my Rep go down by one, and found myself wrestling with a new wave of anger boiling under my skin. I hadn¡¯t known what to expect from using System Call, but¨C


    No, that¡¯s not true. I¡¯d expected it to be cool as shit.


    I¡¯d been planning on adding ¡°Master of Systems¡± to my parade of personal titles, flaunting my ability to call down the power of a globe-spanning magical intelligence on a whim. I would speak, and the System would heed my words, eager to satisfy my demands!


    Instead, I¡¯d gotten access to a ground-level support bot aaaaaaand Mother. Fucking. Microtransactions.


    Dealing with hotline support while losing out on valuable working hours was annoying on its own, but suffering through time-sucking escalation protocols while lives were at stake was fucking intolerable.


    Having to pay to reduce my hold time was also obnoxious, but the rich-dick side of me appreciated having the option, and the convenience of the transaction was impeccable. I hadn¡¯t even had to read Sub-el my card number, everything was already on file.


    Override Code 003 has been accepted. Due to the time-sensitive nature of your circumstances, I am bypassing normal escalation protocols and granting your request to advance combat notifications. Fortune¡¯s Folly has additional skill advancements held in reserve due to other feats. I am releasing those as well.


    Your party has slain Garvandr, Burning Sky: Delver, Level 20!


    Your party has slain Cliffswept, Runic Shroud: Delver, Level 20!


    Your party has defeated Zayn Ayad: Delver, Level 20!


    Your party receives no System-issued rewards for this victory.


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased from Level 32 to Level 35!


    Your Blunt skill has increased to Level 28!


    ¡°I see,¡± said Xim. ¡°What are you planning to trade to her now? I can respect you doing what needed to be done to get us out of Hysteria¡¯s trap, but I¡¯d rather not barter away any more of our future than you already have.¡±


    I considered Xim¡¯s question while waiting to see if Avarice would show up. Even if Avarice were around, would she notice me yelling her name from inside Grotto¡¯s bunker? It¡¯s not like she was the avatar of hearing or anything.


    Maybe I could summon her at a crossroads by burying a box containing a self-portrait, some graveyard dirt, and a bone from a black cat.


    More seriously, she would probably appear if a good enough deal was floated her way. Having a supernatural sense for discounted goods was believable enough. Plus, according to Sub-el, she was already close by.


    ¡°I have an idea,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will require us to do anything more than what we¡¯re already willing to do.¡±


    Xim crossed her arms and waited for me to enlighten her, while I asked Sub-el to show me the contents of the message Grotto was trying to send to Avarice. After quickly discussing with the group, I made a few modifications.


    I felt like an asshole for what I was about to ask Sub-el, but I didn¡¯t feel like I had time to mess around with the ground-level support AI.


    ¡°Sub-el, I¡¯d like to escalate this matter to SC2.¡±


    Escalation to SC2 would bypass multiple support Tiers. An appropriate override code is required.


    ¡°Override code 003 isn¡¯t good enough?¡±


    Your Code 003 request is insufficient for direct System Core intervention. The relevant information from Delve 1156-B is being transferred to a higher support tier and will be further evaluated as soon as possible.


    ¡°Is there an override code for an avatar being inside one of the Delves and fucking shit up?¡± I asked, thinking back to when we¡¯d first encountered Orexis. ¡°What about code 001?¡±


    Override code 001: Preservation of Delve System is appropriate if a sufficiently powerful entity threatens widespread damage or usage interruption. However, the requested System action must also relate to the avoidance or mitigation of the event. Expediting the delivery of a message to a non-System entity is not an appropriate use of code 001.


    ¡°Are you authorized to make a final determination of what actions should be taken during a 001 event?¡±


    My role is to evaluate the basis of the request and determine whether it is valid.


    ¡°Does your role allow you to unilaterally disregard a suggested course of action if an appropriate basis for a 001 override is found?¡±


    Only if the suggested action has no rational relationship to the problem at hand.


    ¡°If the information on Avarice is restricted, then how can you conclusively say that sending her a message has no rational relationship to the code 001 problem in Delve 1156-B?¡±


    ...


    ...


    As of now, no evaluation of override code 001 has been performed. Would you like to submit override code 001?


    ¡°Yes, please and thank you.¡±


    A new notification popped up telling me that Sub-el was working on it, but they didn¡¯t seem to be in much of a hurry.


    ¡°While that¡¯s happening, I¡¯m going to try and get more intel,¡± I said, stepping up to the mini-obelisk at the room¡¯s center. I went ahead and connected to Xim and Varrin using Reveal, so they could share my vision.


    The runes along the pillar were dark when I went to grip it, and a gentle pulse of mana failed to drag my sense of perception off into the Delve. I closed my eyes and ramped up the mana I was sending into the small obelisk, until I was no longer being gentle. I was being quite vigorous with the pillar, maybe even a bit rough.


    ¡°This seems needlessly sexual,¡± said Xim.


    I cleared my throat and refocused.


    After a few more seconds of effort, the small obelisk lit up and my vision split away from my body until I was staring at the main obelisk chamber from above.


    The fake Wishborn had opened up and disassembled a small section of the obelisk, and attached a clear, cylindrical device to the obelisk¡¯s central rod. Whatever it was, the device was siphoning off all of the Dimensional mana that would otherwise be fed into the Delve¡¯s operation and the Closet¡¯s expansion. That was an enormous amount of mana every second, but Hysteria¡¯s device was swallowing it up like it was nothing.


    I looked away from the item and swept my view around the chamber. Etja was still in the hallway just outside, passed out and half-buried in a wall. Neither Nuralie nor the Zenithar were in sight.


    Curiously, Hysteria was standing a couple of feet off the floor. Grotto had designated the bottom two feet of the obelisk chamber as inventory slots, to contain the Immature Dominion Ivy Plants. Since all the slots were filled, it created an invisible platform.


    Items in inventory slots were sent into stasis, preventing them from deteriorating. Animals couldn¡¯t normally be placed into the inventory stasis, but the ivy plants didn¡¯t violate that rule, apparently. It would presumably keep the ivy plants from growing, and as I took a careful look, it appeared that Grotto¡¯s impromptu solution had worked.


    However, the vines had already begun the process of growing when Grotto locked them down, and the stasis hadn¡¯t stopped them from expanding strangeward. The little vinelings were already connected to an entire universe of plant.


    I considered how I could use that to my advantage as I turned my attention back to the cylinder attached to the obelisk. After studying it for a minute, I realized the device wasn¡¯t swallowing the torrent of mana, it was sending it somewhere.


    The cylinder flashed, and a new figure appeared a few feet away from Hysteria. Before I could worry about the avatar portalling in a new team of invaders, I realized that the person wasn¡¯t really there. This was some sort of projection.


    The hulking figure was looking away from Hysteria, speaking to someone who wasn¡¯t part of the projection. Hysteria crossed their arms and tapped a foot, waiting on whoever this was to address them.


    When the man turned to acknowledge the avatar, a shadow of his soul slipped into the image, and my stomach turned. He wasn¡¯t surrounded by a form-hugging soul halo. He was swallowed by a chaotic swarm that my Sight could barely make sense of. It bathed the chamber in a discordant chorus of presences, each one tumbling over the next, struggling for dominance.


    The figure towered over Hysteria, their body wrapped in dark robes and chitinous armor. The lower half of his face was covered by a thick, hanging cloth. Beneath it was a dripping, red stain that soaked through his chest.


    The storm of souls snapped to order, aligned in a unified grid that oozed with purpose. When the monstrous Davahn spoke, there was no mistaking who it was.


    ¡°Hysteria,¡± said Brae¡¯ach, his voice underscored by soft clicking. ¡°I trust you have good reason to call upon me.¡±

 Chapter 211: Chat Room

    Chapter 211: Chat Room


    ¡°Brae¡¯ach!¡± said Hysteria, clapping their hands together. ¡°Buddy, friend, pal, guy, when have I ever called you for something that wasn¡¯t important?¡±


    The hulking Davahn stared at the avatar, what little I could see of their face devoid of emotion. The grid of souls surrounding them sat silent and still, and the moment stretched until even I felt awkward.


    Hysteria huffed. ¡°The king of Hiward got away,¡± they said, then raised a finger. ¡°Not my fault! Those little boxes Limbo gave you do not go nowhere, as he advertised. No, they go somewhere that is the corpus of a rather powerful and cranky god.¡±


    Brae¡¯ach said nothing for several seconds. Hysteria tapped the tips of their fingers together while they waited.


    ¡°Limbo¡¯s magicks are those of absence and separation,¡± said Brae¡¯ach. ¡°Your claim presents a lamentable deviation from this nature.¡±


    Hysteria looked down at their nails and frowned at their ephemeral fingers. They were still pretending to be the Wishborn.


    ¡°I mean, it was kind of nowhere,¡± Hysteria admitted. ¡°But ¡®nowhere¡¯ has a ruler, and its ruler does not enjoy it when something appears where nothing should be.¡±


    ¡°Of what echelon was this divinity?¡±


    ¡°The third,¡± said Hysteria.


    Brae¡¯ach¡¯s souls fluttered for a moment, though he was outwardly calm.


    ¡°You are certain of this?¡±


    ¡°Three syllables,¡± said Hysteria, holding up three fluttering fingers. ¡°I heard the name myself. It spoke to me. I am as certain as certain can be.¡±


    Brae¡¯ach glanced at Hysteria¡¯s dancing digits. ¡°We are of no consequence to such a being,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yes, well, it disagrees.¡± Hysteria crossed their arms. ¡°Want to know what it said?¡±


    Brae¡¯ach held up a hand. ¡°Reveal its truth where we are certain what eyes behold us. Tell me how you came upon its name.¡±


    Hysteria looked annoyed at being shut down, but the expression was quickly replaced with a smirk. ¡°You remember those kids who flicked Orexis in his dangly bits and then ran off with his daughter?¡±


    The souls around Brae¡¯ach shifted, allowing one near the edge to move closer to his head. It emitted a soft pressure.


    ¡°Fortune¡¯s Folly,¡± he said. ¡°The scion joined their party afterward. They are one of the groups responsible for the transition.¡±


    ¡°Their party leader called the god down on us,¡± said Hysteria, nearly shouting the word ¡°called¡±. ¡°Young guy, kind of tall, has sparkly black and green eyes that I¡¯m sure the ladies love but I bet they love his lashes even more. Those things are just so full, I think I¡¯m going to steal them. Outstanding genetics, overall. He also wears a feather boa on top of his armor which I respect, but also kind of hate, you know?¡±


    Brae¡¯ach went still again as he absorbed the information. ¡°What Level is this group?¡±


    ¡°Twelve,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°For now.¡±


    Brae¡¯ach¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Your tale grows ever more doubtful, Hysteria,¡± he said, several soft clicks playing out beneath the words. ¡°We will speak of this with an Arbiter present once you have returned.¡±


    ¡°You have trust issues, Brae-Brae. You¡¯re gonna have to learn to put yourself out there if you want to build meaningful connections with people.¡±


    The mask around Brae¡¯ach¡¯s mouth shifted, but I couldn¡¯t tell if he¡¯d smiled or sneered. ¡°What of the Zenithar?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, she¡¯s around here somewhere. You know how Geulons are, all sneaky and shit.¡± Hysteria hunched their shoulders and moved their hands in what must have been an attempt at pantomiming stealth. ¡°I¡¯ll blast the place with my aura to shake her loose, although I have burned through a lot of favor today already.¡±


    ¡°Is this all?¡± asked Brae¡¯ach.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± said Hysteria.


    ¡°Is this all for which you have demanded my time? To discuss your failures and lay blame at the feet of children?¡±


    ¡°Did you hear the part about the third echelon divinity?¡±


    ¡°A claim you know must be made in the presence of an Arbiter,¡± said Brae¡¯ach, the clicking growing louder. It looked like the man¡¯s jaw was elongating beneath his mask. ¡°If you or Limbo have angered this being, there is nothing to be done. If it wishes to scatter our realm, then we will return to the cycle before we know what has come to pass. There is naught to do but wait, even if you speak truth.¡±


    Hysteria gave the man a tight, demeaning smile. ¡°Your attitude doesn¡¯t entertain me, Brae¡¯ach. If you bore me, I have no reason to play along with your games.¡±


    Brae¡¯ach¡¯s projection took a step toward Hysteria, and the souls swam away from him like a school of fish. They surrounded Hysteria, nipping at the avatar¡¯s edges as though they were looking for dead skin to feed on. The large Davahn took another step forward, looking Hysteria up and down.


    ¡°You are injured,¡± said Brae¡¯ach. ¡°Let not fear drive your mind to anger.¡±


    ¡°I think my brain is bleeding,¡± Xim said in a rough voice. Mine probably would have been if I weren¡¯t immune.


    I ignored my lack of normal vision and looked my allies over with Soul Sight. Xim was sitting with her back against a wall, while Varrin struggled to his feet. The big guy came over to me and knelt. I heard him place a hand on my shoulder, but couldn''t feel it. He started working the straps on my helmet. I heard the metal groan as he bent the metal to get it off me.


    ¡°Your eyes are missing,¡± he said once he¡¯d removed the bascinet.


    ¡°I figured. I felt a familiar ooze running down my face,¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s also the indescribable pain. Still got your eyes?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We were not directly connected to the obelisk,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I believe we were hit by the castoff. Can you move your arms?¡±


    I tried to make a fist.


    ¡°Nope,¡± I said. ¡°Seems like my neck is broken as well.¡±


    ¡°Hells,¡± Xim swore then crawled over to me. She placed her hands on either side of my face, and I felt a pulse of mana go through me. ¡°Nothing to Cleanse,¡± she muttered, then cast Heal.


    HP: 1208 -> 1438


    My spine clicked and sensation came flooding in from everything below the neck. A severe itch began to burn in my eye sockets, followed by an uncomfortable swelling sensation. Xim cast another Heal, and my vision began to return in blurry splotches. I blinked away tears, then pulled a rag from inventory alongside a canteen. I wet the rag and wiped the remnants of my old eyes out of my new ones.


    ¡°I had high hopes for today,¡± I said as I cleaned vitreous fluid from my face and beard. ¡°But things just aren¡¯t working out.¡±


    I grabbed my helm to wipe it out as well, but the bascinet had been twisted and dented too badly to wear. Even with the Verdantum material¡¯s self-repair, the day¡¯s abuse was too much. It would take several hours for it to regain its shape.


    ¡°Avatar was bad enough,¡± said Xim. ¡°Something that can kill us at a glance from the other side of the continent is too much.¡±


    ¡°What do you suggest we do?¡± asked Varrin. ¡°We cannot allow that creature to capture the Zenithar.¡±


    ¡°Etja¡¯s down there, too,¡± I said.


    ¡°Walking into that is suicide,¡± said Xim. ¡°Listen, I¡¯ll run in there right beside you two psychos if I have to, but I¡¯d really like us to explore our options first.¡±


    The three of us stared into space for a few seconds.


    ¡°Sub-el!¡± I shouted. ¡°You saw that shit, right?¡± I looked up at the mini obelisk. It had exploded alongside my eyes. I held up my hand and saw that the gauntlet was ruined and three of my fingers were missing nails. ¡°Tell me you got that on video, Sub-el!¡±


    I started looking for my old fingers so I could recover the Verdantum. One was embedded in my leg. It had pierced through my chausses.


    Override code 001 has been accepted.


    Your message has been forwarded directly to System Core 2.


    Your message has been relayed to User Name: Avarice.


    Due to the damage to Core 1156, I have been authorized to take temporary control of Delve 1156-B with co-arbiter permission.


    Would you like me to take control?


    I started to respond, but paused when I felt a tingle run down my back. I stood up, dropping my rag and canteen, then exchanged a look with Xim and Varrin.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to go to the obelisk chamber,¡± I said.


    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Let us go then,¡± said Varrin.


    I closed my eyes and reached strangeward, going around the teleportation wards and through an endless mess of vines. I cast Shortcut, taking Xim and Varrin with me.


    We appeared in a shower of squirming vines, finding Hysteria floating cross-legged in the air, alone. Potent Spiritual mana flowed off the avatar in waves, crashing outward through the Delve. The three of us lined up in a neat row, waiting for them to speak.


    Several of the vines slithered over the invisible barrier created by the inventory slots along the bottom of the room. They tried to dig down into the stasis, presumably to free their hibernating kin. The vines didn¡¯t have much energy alone, however, and began to slow before long. Hysteria tracked them as they went, but ignored the Dominion Ivy after a few seconds of observation.


    ¡°You made me look bad,¡± said Hysteria, gesturing to where the projection of Brae¡¯ach had stood. ¡°I do not appreciate that.¡±

 Chapter 212: Divine Cowboy

    Chapter 212: Divine Cowboy


    ¡°Sorry for making you look bad,¡± I said to Hysteria, filled with regret. ¡°I¡¯m an asshole, and I deserve a good spanking.¡± I hung my head in shame.


    ¡°He is,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°It is true,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°And you,¡± said Hysteria, pointing past us. ¡°Do you have anything to say for yourself?¡±


    I turned to see Etja walking into the obelisk room, picking gravel from her hair. She stumbled over a dead Gekkog, then swapped to floating.


    ¡°I... shouldn¡¯t try to eat people?¡± she said.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t try to eat me,¡± Hysteria corrected. ¡°Shove other people in your weird hand-mouth abyss all you want, sheesh.¡±


    ¡°I am ashamed of my actions,¡± said Etja as she landed beside the rest of us. ¡°And I feel appropriately chastised.¡± Despite being thrown halfway through a wall, her dress was in perfect shape.


    ¡°Now,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°Where¡¯s your Geulon friend hiding with the Zenithar?¡±


    I closed my eyes and focused on my aura, reaching out for Nuralie. Like before, I hit a block while searching for her, but it came with a different feeling this time. It was less like something was shielding her, and more like my aura was ignoring her for some reason. I allowed this information to drift through my mind but made no effort to point out the specifics. Hysteria hadn¡¯t asked about my ability, they¡¯d only asked about Nuralie.


    ¡°She¡¯s probably in the Closet,¡± I said. ¡°But I don¡¯t know where exactly. I¡¯m being blocked.¡±


    ¡°The Zenithar has probably firmed her connection to Geul,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°I dunno,¡± said Xim. ¡°She¡¯s not in Eschendur, and she¡¯s not anywhere near a large body of water. I doubt she has half the power she¡¯s accustomed to.¡±


    ¡°You four are useless,¡± said Hysteria. We all muttered our apologies. ¡°Will the two of them be able to leave without permission?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it,¡± I said. ¡°Unless the Zenithar has a revelation that lets her teleport to Eschendur.¡±


    ¡°Geul is a goddess of water and life,¡± said Xim. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any Dimensional attributes. Deijin might be able to do it.¡±


    ¡°Then we can wait them out,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°Where¡¯s the exit to this place go?¡±


    ¡°It depends,¡± I said. ¡°I can open a portal to Arzia at any time, but it''s fixed in the last place I opened the Closet. Right now it leads to the Wastes, near where you hit the mountains.¡±


    ¡°That one¡¯s probably buried,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°Not that it matters much to me.¡±


    ¡°I also have two semi-permanent connections set up. The first leads to Eschengal, a few hundred feet from the eastern gate. I can open it in seven hours or so.¡± Hysteria gestured for me to continue. ¡°The second leads to the Xor¡¯Drel tribe in the Third Layer.¡±


    ¡°Oh, not that one,¡± said the avatar. They tapped their chin. ¡°My best bet is to head out near Eschangal, I suppose. Pretty convenient, overall, considering I¡¯ll be the Zenithar by then.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else we can do for you?¡± I asked. ¡°We could spread out and look for Nuralie.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± said Hysteria. ¡°What are the chances of finding her when she doesn¡¯t want to be found?¡±


    I grimaced. ¡°Not good.¡±


    Hysteria shrugged. ¡°Then we wait. Eventually, the Zenithar will need to rest. I can outlast her.¡± The avatar let out another massive wave of mana to emphasize their claim, then unfolded their legs and settled onto the ground. The mana continued to pour off of them as they looked between the four of us. ¡°In the meantime, let¡¯s have some fun.¡±


    I focused deeply on the concept of ¡®fun¡¯. ¡°Some of my board games survived,¡± I said, perking up. ¡°Since they were in inventory slots when the mansion exploded. I have a drafting cube for¨C¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    My teeth clicked as my mouth snapped shut.


    ¡°You, Orexis-spawn,¡± said Hysteria, gesturing at Etja. ¡°Come here.¡± Etja nodded and trotted forward. ¡°Show me your status screen.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± said Etja. Hysteria¡¯s mercury eyes studied the invisible screens, looking through the mage¡¯s stats and abilities.


    ¡°What happened to my hirelings?¡± they asked as they read.


    Varrin and Xim looked at me, but I made a lock and key motion over my lips since I wasn¡¯t allowed to talk.


    ¡°The Chovali runeweaver and the Giant elementalist are dead,¡± said Varrin. ¡°The Wishborn archer has been banished back to the Third Layer for at least a month. The status of the Yeti pugilist and the Hyrachon paladin are unknown.¡±


    ¡°Tsk. You eliminated sixty percent of my team? They were Level 20!¡± Hysteria reached up and scratched their bony jaw. ¡°Why are your stats so high? You have more in total than they did.¡±


    ¡°Fortune put mana crystals in Arlo¡¯s mana veins,¡± said Etja. ¡°Grotto copied it over to the rest of us so we could train everything to ten. Then we all unlocked the Dumping achievement and traded stats back and forth with a pretty lady to cheese the hells out of it!¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± said Hysteria. ¡°I¡¯ve seen Delvers grow their stats using arcane methods before, but this is a league ahead of grabbing an extra ten points to Speed or something. Wait, you said Fortune did this?¡±


    ¡°Part of it, yep!¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Etja has really flexible mana shaping and her skills can all be layered together to get weird effects,¡± Xim continued. ¡°She also has that whole thing she did to you earlier, so I¡¯m thinking she¡¯s starting to become some kind of pseudo-avatar?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°I was there for that part.¡±


    ¡°Nuralie also has a revelation, but she¡¯s still figuring it out,¡± said Xim. ¡°She has some weird history with the Eschenden Church which has been holding her back. I think she¡¯s a sleeper, though. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she winds up doing something crazy like inventing a Super Alchemy intrinsic.¡±


    ¡°And the flamboyant one?¡± asked Hysteria, nodding at me.


    ¡°Okay, so Arlo is some kind of god wrangler.¡±


    I squinted at Xim in confusion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that,¡± said Xim. ¡°First, an avatar brought you back to life. That¡¯s literally how we met. You got all those extra stats from Fortune, who also gave you two obscenely powerful items. You have an ongoing trade deal with Avarice and have survived encounters with Orexis, Anesis, and now Hysteria. You¡¯ve got a lot of godly avatars in your life.


    ¡°Next, you have Grotto as a Bonded Familiar, whose attunement is Divine and his deity is literally the System. I don¡¯t know why that works or how, but it does. You also have this weird relationship with System Core 1 which gives you scary evolutions, and System Core 2 almost treats you like a System entity.¡±


    I started to raise my hand, but Hysteria swatted in my direction and my arm went limp.


    ¡°Then there are the actual gods, not just little half-steps like the System and the avatars,¡± said Xim. She glanced at Hysteria. ¡°No offense.¡±


    ¡°Some taken, but go on,¡± said Hysteria.


    ¡°You don¡¯t worship Sam¡¯lia but have two revelations of the Eye. You¡¯ve met all three of the Eschen Zenithars and two of them have done favors for you. There¡¯s something going on between you and Yara since items like those Holy Waters don¡¯t fall into people¡¯s hands without a god¡¯s blessing. Finally, you can summon the Dread Star and ask it a question every seven days which¨Cbased on my experience of that ability¨Cseems way too often to be healthy. That¡¯s three wildly different pantheons all hopping into bed with you. At this point, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Shog was secretly some kind of deity.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Shog?¡± asked Hysteria.


    ¡°A c¡¯thon that Arlo can summon, but who¡¯s also sort of a Delver,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Shog now?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s taking a year off. Probably so he can conquer his home planet.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Hysteria hummed. ¡°My research on your group was wholly inadequate. Although giving myself some grace, I was more concerned with the king, the Zenithar, and the King¡¯s Guard.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable,¡± said Xim. ¡°So far, no one has taken us as seriously as they should have.¡±


    Hysteria¡¯s mercury eyes shimmered. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m still not taking you seriously enough?¡±


    ¡°Probably not,¡± said Xim. ¡°Otherwise you¡¯d have killed us all the moment you managed to Dominate us.¡±


    I heard a grunt and turned to see Varrin climbing back to his feet, rubbing his jaw.


    ¡°What do you think, Lord Ravvenblaq?¡± asked Hysteria. ¡°Am I tempting fate here?¡±


    ¡°Fate aside, your current strategy is tactically unsound,¡± said Varrin, stepping back into line. ¡°Based on what that zombie... ¡®cloak¡¯ said earlier, you could acquire all of this information by dipping into our minds, potentially in a matter of seconds. Having a lengthy discussion like this only serves to satisfy the demands of your concept, and places you at risk of retaliation from one of our allies. The longer you delay, the more likely your goals will be frustrated.¡±


    ¡°Then the consensus is that I should take you off the board while I can?¡± asked Hysteria.


    ¡°That depends on what your goals are,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Your business with King Celeritia has already made you an enemy of Hiward, but the Kingdom cannot bring its full weight against you while maintaining its own interests. House Ravvenblaq, on the other hand, is less reasonable. Orexis murdered my father. If another of my lineage dies at the hands of an avatar, my family will burn down everything they have to find and kill you.


    ¡°If the Ravvenblaqs fail, then you will have also earned the ire of Sam¡¯lia, the Eschenden, Fortune, Avarice, potentially Yara¨Cwho is the head of the Littan pantheon¨Cthe System, and whatever forces that those entities have at their disposal. The world will become a very small place for you.¡±


    Hysteria leaned forward as Varrin spoke, tilting their head to one side as though they were listening very closely. The waves of mana continued to pour off them, and when the big guy finished his speech, the avatar was shaking.


    ¡°That... that sounds so....¡± Hysteria ran a skeletal hand down their face. ¡°So exciting!¡± Hysteria shuddered, and their chest heaved like they were taking a deep breath. ¡°But I can do better.¡±


    Hysteria fanned themself with their hands, trying to calm down, then pulled out a pair of silver spectacles and pinched them onto their face. They stepped aside to reveal a chalkboard with four large words written on it, one in each corner. The avatar produced a pointing stick and then slapped it against the board.


    ¡°When it comes to maximizing disorder in a society,¡± they said, ¡°it¡¯s important to consider whether any antagonizing elements you introduce are external or internal threats to that society.¡± They tapped the stick between the top two words, then swept the pointer to the lower two. ¡°Equally important is whether those elements have boundaries that are well-defined or ambiguous.¡±


    As Hysteria began to lecture us on the nuances of subversion and sabotage techniques, I noticed a curious shadow crawling along the ceiling behind and above them. I didn¡¯t immediately say anything, because I¡¯d intentionally interpreted Hysteria¡¯s earlier command to ¡°shut up¡± as an indefinite ban on speech. I wasn¡¯t able to do this because of any particular strength of will or hidden mental gifts. Once someone was Dominated, they normally lost all control of their actions. I wasn¡¯t some kind of special exception. Once I failed my Wisdom save, that was it.


    No, I was able to ¡®massage¡¯ Hysteria¡¯s directions because Hysteria¡¯s brand of Dominate was clever enough to wrap all the way back around to being stupid.


    When Hysteria had blasted their aura across the entire Closet, their mental control came preloaded with 668 specific commands.


    Typically, a Dominated entity will not act unless explicitly commanded by the source of the Domination. While the status effect grants its source absolute control over the subject, it was tedious for long-term use. It was also obvious to an outside observer since someone who¡¯d been Dominated would inevitably act out of character.


    Having a list of default rules allowed Hysteria to ignore these downsides. They maximized Hysteria¡¯s effective control while minimizing micromanagement, and also allowed the person being Dominated to more or less act naturally. Being able to insert hundreds of commands the moment the target became Dominated was outrageous, and clearly fell into the category of ¡°some divine bullshit.¡± However, Hysteria wasn¡¯t the most organized avatar, and that lack of organization really started to show with their default Dominate commands.


    I subconsciously reviewed Hysteria¡¯s 668 rules, trying to decide how I had to respond to the shadow, while playing a mental game called Bad Faith Domination.

 Chapter 213: Unworthy

    Chapter 213: Unworthy


    Hysteria flipped the chalkboard over, revealing a cartoonish image of a castle.


    ¡°A disaster like an earthquake is a classic example of an external threat with well-defined boundaries,¡± they said. The castle cracked down the middle, then crumbled. ¡°In this example, ¡®nature¡¯ is the external threat. It originates from outside of the society itself. It is also easy to establish a clear beginning and end to such a disaster since it¡¯s over once the ground stops shaking.


    ¡°People tend to rally together against external threats, and when the threat has a clear beginning and end, their response is typically well-organized.¡± A swarm of people crawled over the castle, rebuilding it. Once finished, the castle was larger and sturdier-looking. ¡°In many instances, a society is stronger after conquering an external, well-defined threat.¡±


    Hysteria flipped the board again, revealing a cartoonish depiction of a man asleep in a large four-post bed. Another man stood over them, wearing a dark mask and wielding a fine dagger. A crown popped into existence over the sleeping man, who was promptly stabbed by the intruder.


    ¡°Insofar as murder is concerned, a political assassination can either be external¨Csuch as an assassin from a foreign nation¨Cor internal¨Csuch as with an overeager heir to the throne. Either way, it also typically has a well-defined boundary, which is the death of the targeted individual...¡±


    Hysteria rattled on while I loosely observed the shadow on the ceiling. Rule 28 required me to look at Hysteria while they were talking, which meant I could only watch the shadow from the corner of my eye.


    Several rules were exceptions to Rule 28 and allowed me to look at something other than Hysteria while the avatar spoke, but they were all conditional. Rule 29 allowed me to look judgingly at the person Hysteria was speaking to if the avatar was shaming them. Rule 30 let me look at my own feet if Hysteria was shaming me. Rule 31 told me to cross my arms and glare at anyone who¡¯d tried to shame Hysteria while the avatar defended themself from the attempted shaming.


    There were more, but in short, none of them applied. I couldn¡¯t look directly at the shadow, which made it more difficult to be certain of what it was.


    Most of the rules in the 100 range involved identifying and pointing out threats, but Hysteria¡¯s express commands took precedence over the default commands. Since many of the rules that would require me to warn Hysteria contemplated those warnings being given verbally, I felt comfortable that my current instruction to ¡°shut up¡± overrode them. Additionally, Rule 3 was ¡°Don¡¯t bring Hysteria problems, bring Hysteria solutions,¡± and I had no idea how to present a gestural ¡®solution¡¯ to whatever problem the shadow might present.


    Again, I couldn¡¯t look at the shadow, so I couldn¡¯t even say for sure that it was a problem. I suspected that it would become a very big problem, but Rule 16 was ¡°Stay positive,¡± so I decided it would work itself out.


    Hysteria¡¯s rules were more like a shitty office code of conduct than a meticulously prepared set of mind control conditionals.


    Way too many of the rules gave the target discretion to make their own judgments, half of them read like junk that had been thrown in on a whim and never edited back out, and half of those sounded like they were added just to scare people.


    For example:


    Rule 379: When in the presence of a fairy, act as though the fairy does not exist.


    Rule 380: If a fairy interacts with you in a way that produces an observable phenomenon, seek an alternative explanation for the phenomenon and loudly state that this alternative is responsible for the phenomenon. DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE FAIRY.


    Rule 380 Hypothetical: A fairy stabs you in the kidney. Solution: You walk into your kitchen and declare that you should be more careful when using the chef¡¯s knife you recently sharpened. Seek medical treatment. Ignore the fairy.


    Rule 381: Never reference or discuss any Rule that involves fairies.


    There were no rules on how to determine whether something was a fairy.


    I half-suspected that Hysteria had gotten on a fairy¡¯s bad side in the past and this group of rules was somehow added without the avatar¡¯s knowledge. Too bad I couldn¡¯t discuss the fairy rules, or I might have pointed out as much. Then again, an infiltrator fairy wasn¡¯t a very positive thought and I didn¡¯t have a nonverbal solution to the problem, so it didn¡¯t matter.


    If a fairy was just a tiny woman with magical powers, then the person in the shadow might count. They weren¡¯t usually tiny, even though their shadow was currently quite small. They had magical powers, but it was too much of a stretch. I knew they weren¡¯t really a woman. In fact, they were currently a short line of text on the ceiling. Hysteria paused to ponder something they¡¯d written on the chalkboard, and I glanced up at the words.


    Tears after fist.


    Kind of cryptic. Rule 117 required me to report any attempts made to recruit me to work against Hysteria, but the text wasn¡¯t asking me to do anything in particular. I assumed it was a line from a happy poem¨Cpotentially one left there by a mysterious fairy¨Cand ignored it. The shadow faded, leaving the sport where it had been a little darker than normal.


    ¡°If the assassin is an internal agent,¡± said Hysteria, ¡°it¡¯s much more difficult for people to rally together since they are confronting an element within their own society. Such an event may be less spectacular than the earthquake, but it will result in greater emotional disruption or¨Cat the very least¨Cmore permanent disruption. Whoever inherits the throne will be viewed with suspicion and trust in the existing power structures will erode. But, people will generally carry on about their lives once it¡¯s over. The threat was superficially internal, but it¡¯s so remote from a normal individual that it may as well be treated as an external threat. That is, a threat originating from a different class of person, the noble class.¡±


    Hysteria¡¯s words drilled into my brain, creating an uncomfortable buzzing in my thoughts. I felt like the avatar was saying more than what the words implied. The corners of the ceiling grew a shade darker.


    The crown above the cartoon man disappeared, and the posts on the bed shrank away. The sleeping man was now wearing a tattered nightcap, and the invader had a large kitchen knife.


    Buster pointed a shriveling finger at me while continuing to scowl at Hysteria.


    ¡°Their lives are mine to reap,¡± he said.


    ¡°Not anymore,¡± said Hysteria.


    ¡°We have a contract,¡± said Buster, his voice becoming dry and raspy. ¡°Our service for the heads of those who slew our kin.¡±


    ¡°We did,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°But that was before I changed my mind.¡±


    ¡°Why did you need these guys anyway?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°The same reason people hire janitors,¡± said Hysteria. ¡°I could take out the trash, but I¡¯d rather someone else do it.¡±


    ¡°You would violate our bargain?¡± said Buster, his entire body starting to shrivel.


    ¡°Hello? What bargain?¡± said Hysteria. ¡°Do you see the king of Hiward anywhere? Because I don¡¯t. And where¡¯s the Zenithar, hmm?¡±


    As Buster¡¯s body deflated, blood poured out from every hole in the man¡¯s head. It was gross enough to distract me from how shady the ceiling had become.


    ¡°We delivered the packages,¡± he gurgled. ¡°You are the one who lost them.¡±


    ¡°You were supposed to help me keep them!¡±


    ¡°After delivery, our only obligation was to make...¡± Buster took a wet, rattling breath. ¡°...¡®best efforts¡¯ to assist you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re arguing semantics now?¡± said Hysteria. ¡°How about this? I agreed to give you the opportunity for vengeance. I did that, and three members of your team got demoted to fertilizer. All that you¡¯ve given me is a front-row seat to your humiliation. Now you wanna cry blood about it?¡±


    ¡°Yourgh ighterghference ghwill oorght staughndd. I grhullghrubblingh...¡±


    By this point, I was having difficulty making out what Buster was saying. It was more gargling than speech.


    Hysteria snapped their fingers twice more. ¡°I said stop it! If and when I¡¯d like you to summon a blood god, I¡¯ll let you know.¡± Hysteria shot me a look. ¡°Seriously kid, what kind of fucked up karma do you have?¡±


    Xim sighed and rubbed at her forehead. I wanted to defend myself. Assuming what Xim had said about me was true, if anyone summoned a blood god I¡¯d be fully capable of wrangling it. Sadly, being stripped of my most potent weapon, I could only roll my eyes.


    When the corpses began to meld into the mass of blood in front of Buster, the avatar looked down at their digits, confused.


    ¡°Why is everyone so difficult to control today?¡± they asked.


    ¡°Because you¡¯ve chosen your victims poorly, brother,¡± a woman¡¯s voice echoed through the chamber.


    The avatar¡¯s head shot up, and the colors on their skeleton squirmed. The ceiling above grew even darker, until it became clear that Avarice¡¯s shadow had encompassed its entire surface.


    There was a sound of ticking gears and clinking metal as a towering figure looked down at us from within the shadow. Its eyes lit up with an internal heat.


    ¡°Is that a Deiphage Golem?¡± asked Hysteria. ¡°Where the fuck did you get¨C¡±


    A bronze fist the width of a train car crashed down onto Hysteria so fast it looked like it had teleported into the room.

 Chapter 214: Lockdown

    Chapter 214: Lockdown


    The shockwave pushed me back a step, and a dense web of cracks appeared in the inventory slots below our feet. I was momentarily stunned by the sight but tore my eyes away from the now-wiggling vines when metallic plates along the golem¡¯s arm began to open.


    The inside of the golem was covered in glowing mana weaves, but the power rolling off of them was hundreds of times more potent than what the Chovali had been working with.


    The fist disconnected from the arm, transforming into a sphere that rose off the ground. I could hear Hysteria beating their skeletal fists against the sphere¡¯s interior. Plates fell away from the arm up to the elbow to form six complex mana arrays that floated into position around the sphere and began feeding mana into one another. More plates fell from the arm up to the golem¡¯s shoulder, flying out to form additional mobile weaves throughout the obelisk chamber.


    I glanced through the sigils, trying to discern their function, but it was beyond me. Even so, many of the runes looked familiar, although I couldn¡¯t place them.


    The runes on the center sphere shifted and turned violet. The hue rippled out to the rest of the weaves as each one morphed in response. An opaque wall of Mystical energy filled the room, eradicating every scrap of Spiritual mana that I could sense.


    You are no longer Dominated!


    You are no longer Mesmerized!


    You are in a zone of Spiritual nullification. Spiritual Magic cannot be used in this zone.


    I blinked away the notifications and pushed down the seething anger that was unleashed when Hysteria¡¯s fetters broke away from my soul.


    Tears after fist.


    Welp, that there was one big fist. I pulled out my second orb of Tyranny¡¯s Tears and smashed it on the ground.


    The result was less drastic than the last time I¡¯d used the item. Even if there had been illusions in the room before the anti-magic golem crashed Hysteria¡¯s party, the array shredded everything with a hint of Spiritual mana in it. Anything Hysteria could have thrown together should have been obliterated.


    Still, one thing in the room did change. Hysteria had not been cornered by the golem¡¯s fist. The avatar wasn¡¯t trapped inside the sphere. The exposed center of the obelisk was filled with a colorful, shifting liquid, surrounding the cylindrical device that was sucking away the Dimensional energy.


    For a moment, I thought my theory on Hysteria had been wrong. Perhaps the avatar could weave illusions using Physical Magic to manipulate light, or even Divine Magic to manifest visions in others. If that were the case, why did the golem limit itself to purging Spiritual mana, or was it only able to affect one type of mana at a time? I glanced up, seeing if I could identify the creature.


    Deiphage Golem: Construct, Grade 60


    My eyes widened at the grade. Avarice was walking around with a golem that the System judged could rival the world¡¯s most powerful Delvers. While it was still possible the golem could only affect one school of mana at a time, I thought it was more likely that Hysteria had been using another Deific ability. If so, it didn¡¯t matter how powerful the golem¡¯s magic was. If it didn¡¯t have a spark of divinity, it would break against Hysteria.


    The Tears, on the other hand, were also Deific, allowing them to peel away the illusion like normal. Handy item to have, that one. I¡¯d now spent both of the ones I¡¯d had, but at least they¡¯d served their purpose.


    Dark hands stretched down from the shadows above, wrapping their fingers around Hysteria¡¯s liquid form. The avatar shot out from the obelisk, reforming their colorful skeleton. While their illusion had been pristine, shimmering bone, Hysteria¡¯s true figure was riddled with subtle distortions.


    Fragments of their soul were twisted out of place, folding over one another and creating the appearance of cracks. The avatar stumbled away, but the dark hands whipped forward, hundreds of long, black fingers curling around Hysteria¡¯s ribs and spine.


    The hands melded with one another, forming a lightless cocoon around the avatar. As soon as the dark mass swallowed up the last glimmer of Hysteria¡¯s skeleton, the whole thing disappeared with a pop. A moment later, the hands returned empty, then melted away to join the shadow above.


    More thuds rang out from the central sphere. This time, the sounds were genuine.


    The tall, feminine figure of Avarice¡¯s false body descended from the shadow, looking significantly less real than normal. She appraised the sphere, listening to Hysteria¡¯s struggles. When she turned to look at me, it was with a face like an intricate doll.


    Icon of Avarice: Construct, Grade Unknown


    She walked to me, her steps fluid and natural, but there was a machine-like grace to them as well.


    ¡°Your offer was a bold one,¡± she said. ¡°I almost decided to decline it.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that,¡± I said. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t let such a golden opportunity go to waste.¡±


    She raised a fake eyebrow, then gestured at the massive golem still half obscured in the darkness above.


    ¡°This golem is a remnant from the prior generation. No one alive can replace them, and they have a limited number of uses.¡± She turned to peer up at the multi-story construct. ¡°This one only had one use left. My employees will have to scrap the rest of it for parts.¡±


    ¡°Is that how they captured the avatars that are locked up in The Cage?¡±


    ¡°It was one tool among many,¡± said Avarice. ¡°As potent as the golem is, it cannot capture an avatar at full strength.¡±


    ¡°Good thing we wore Hysteria down for you, then.¡±


    She smirked as she faded into the dark. The shadow faded away and a faint chuckle echoed through the room after it was gone.


    Xim blew out a long breath. ¡°Glad that¡¯s done,¡± she said.


    ¡°Is it?¡± asked Varrin, staring at the entrance to the obelisk chamber.


    I followed his gaze to find Buster, still shriveled up with a large globe of blood and flesh in front of him. His massive sword had melted up into the gore, forming a series of blocky runes that hurt to look at.


    ¡°Shit, I forgot about that guy,¡± I said.


    ¡°Hysteria said he was summoning a blood god, right?¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Something like that.¡± I sighed and nodded at the desiccated Hyrachon. ¡°Were you waiting for Avarice to leave?¡±


    Buster blinked and one of his eyelids crumbled away. It was sucked into the bloody mass.


    ¡°I.... am... unworthy,¡± he said, then raised a hand toward Fluffy, who still cowered against the wall. The Yeti squeaked and began to slide toward Buster, clawing at the ground to try and fight the pull. It didn¡¯t help.


    ¡°Yeah, you said that.¡± I glanced at Etja and pointed at the blocky runes. ¡°Is that Celestial? What does it say?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s a prayer,¡± she said. ¡°¡®Chalgoth, Father of my Blood, Master of my Steel, strip from us our strengths and cast aside our weakness. Accept our flesh for instruction, so that my eternal soul may rest within your forge and understand what potential it has wasted.¡±


    Varrin walked over and placed his boot on the Yeti¡¯s chest, but she kept slipping inexorably closer to the orb.


    ¡°Is it safe to kill him?¡± I asked. ¡°Or will his spell blow up?¡±


    ¡°Why would it blow up?¡±


    ¡°It has a ridiculously long activation time. There¡¯s gotta be some kind of protection so he can finish casting. Otherwise, it would just be stupid.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± said Etja. My new Lord of Spells offered no further counsel on the matter.


    ¡°Guess we¡¯ll have to risk it,¡± I said, pulling out Somncres.


    I hurled it at Buster, copying it into five Void Hammers. The Hyrachon lifted their arms, and four more arms formed out of the orb of gore to join them. Each pair of arms matched one of the Wastelanders that had been mixed into the amalgam of death. Five hands caught my hammers. I tried to unsummon Somncres, but the Hyrachon prevented it somehow. The Fleeting copies didn¡¯t disappear either; they were held in place by the hands.


    Varrin rushed in, swinging Kazandak. The Hyrachon halted the big guy¡¯s blade with the sixth arm. Etja launched a death beam, and the orb expanded into dome, covering the Hyrachon¡¯s front and freezing the spell in place. Xim called down Judgment, but the fiery pillar parted over the Hyrachon and the flames went still like they were frozen in time.


    Buster trembled as he defended against the attacks, and a smile crept onto his face.


    ¡°Almost,¡± he said. Fluffy was three feet away. ¡°All that I behold has become Chalgoth¡¯s domain. He will show us what we could have been, and you shall serve as demonstration!¡±


    There was a light splash and a series of soft clicks. Several puffs of stone dust scattered off the walls, and six arrows appeared in Buster¡¯s body.


    Three went down the back of his skull, piercing his brain and severing his spine, while three more angled in through his ribs, cutting through his heart and both lungs.


    Buster went stiff and let out a soft, wheezing breath.


    A pulse of mana caused necrotic veins to burst out from the arrows and zip through Buster''s flesh. Another pulse and the veins multiplied, then broke open, pouring out rotten ichor that was sucked into the orb. The orb swirled and blackened. The blocky runes began to corrode.


    Buster tipped forward like a falling tree. As he fell, all of our attacks were released. Hammers pulped the body, Kazandak sliced it open, Etja¡¯s beam split it down the middle and turned a swath of the Hyrachon to dust, and what remained was consumed by crimson flame.


    The orb was caught in the fire, and splashed down on top of the ruined remains, splattering Fluffy with a gallon of ignited gross. The Yeti rolled away from the mess, yelping and slapping at her body to try and extinguish herself.


    Xim must have taken pity on the Yeti because she waved a hand and dismissed the fire working its way through the little woman¡¯s fur. She took several deep breaths, tried to climb to her feet, fell back over, and then settled on sitting up to look between us with wild eyes.


    I looked down the dark hallway, and all at once Nuralie appeared from the shadows, water dripping from her leathers. She looked down at the pile of burning flesh and nodded.


    ¡°I guess you did not behold me,¡± she said. Pause. ¡°Idiot.¡±

 Chapter 215: God Wranglin

    Chapter 215: God Wranglin''


    All of us were experienced enough to wait for the kill notification. Predictably, we didn¡¯t get one.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to double-tap a puddle of burning goo.¡±


    ¡°More fire,¡± Nuralie offered. ¡°I have some acid, as well.¡±


    ¡°I can keep using Disintegrate,¡± said Etja. ¡°And you can send it to the void?¡±


    I decided that plan was as good as any and threw an experimental hammer at the pile of meat. An orb of blood snapped out from the gore and surrounded the hammer, stopping it in its tracks. I immediately banished and resummoned Somncres, happy to see I could extract it this time. The minor victory was spoiled when I realized that I was also trapped inside a bubble of blood, along with everyone else in the party.


    Sharp tendrils lanced out from the orb¡¯s edges, trying to dig their way past my armor and through my skin. The blood seared my flesh where it made contact, but the damage was trivial. The real hazard of the bubble was its debuffs.


    You are Immobilized!


    Bleeding negated by immunity!


    I recognized the skill from our earlier fight with Buster, and knew that the effect needed to be cancelled as soon as possible. The spikes buried themselves into the others and began extracting thick lines of blood from Xim, Varrin, and Nuralie. Fortunately, Etja shared my exemption from exsanguination, given that she didn¡¯t have blood at all.


    The blood formed into slithering ropes and darted across the room to the burning viscera, where a misshapen head was rising up from the gore. Strands of stringy flesh whipped out to tangle themselves around Fluffy¡¯s limbs, even as the Yeti was trapped in her own bubble. The Yeti¡¯s fists glowed as she pounded at the bindings.


    I looked at the mess and shot it an identify.


    Malformed Icon of Instruction: Constructed Aberration, Grade 30


    I wondered what Grade the entity would have started out at if it had been well-formed, rather than denied its final victim and pumped full of liquid death, compliments of Nuralie. I put the thought out of my mind and worked on a solution instead.


    Nuralie was the first to act. The Delve was still dark, and the Geulon used Shadow Walk to teleport outside of her bubble. Her wounds continued to leak, and the blood continued to flow toward the Icon, but she was able to move and act. Her hands blurred as she pulled a dozen arrows from her inventory and fired them as a single batch over the Icon¡¯s head. The arrows pulled a hard turn back toward the ground and launched down at the Icon, forming a ring around it. As soon as the arrows were released, Nuralie swallowed a potion and stepped back to disappear into the dark.


    Varrin let out a fierce shout and his helmet began to glow with burning eyes. His body became ethereal and he shot forward, disappearing from sight completely the moment he passed through the bubble. He appeared behind the still-forming Icon and cut down with his blade, wreathed in Spiritual energy.


    The Icon¡¯s body let the blade pass through it, cleaving it in half, only for the Icon to reform immediately after.


    Etja exploded with a wave of mana, washing the bubbles away with Nullify. She combined it with Repulsion, boiling the outer layer of the Icon¡¯s liquid body with Holy damage and blessing the ground to grant us Celerity.


    I used Shortcut to appear directly in front of the Icon, flanking it with Varrin. It was difficult to tell if any of our attacks had hurt it, and the blood it siphoned quickly went to reform any mass it had lost. Its emerging body was twisted and distorted, like it was trying to imitate a person, but had only ever seen them through a series of increasingly warped funhouse mirrors. Nuralie¡¯s poisons still ran through the Icon, clouding its form with dark-green necrosis, but the entity didn¡¯t seem to suffer for it.


    ¡°Immune to Physical!¡± shouted Varrin, sounding like the factoid was about to drive him to commit murder, which it was.


    ¡°Resistant to everything else,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Its health is only going up.¡± Her voice echoed around the chamber when she spoke, making it impossible to tell where she was.


    So, the Icon¡¯s body was difficult to destroy. I took Etja¡¯s advice and started trying to send it somewhere it couldn¡¯t hurt us.


    I went back to basics and tossed Somncres to my offhand, holding out my palm and thrusting it deep into the Icon¡¯s body. If it was immune to Physical damage, there was no reason to waste time throwing hammers. I used Funnel to double the power behind Oblivion Orb and fired it off in the middle of the creature¡¯s chest.


    A bucket¡¯s worth of liquid disappeared, forming a vacuum in the Icon¡¯s torso that collapsed in on itself. The construct shuddered as its body became a few percent smaller. A pair of eyes condensed within its head and floated out to the creature¡¯s face, followed by lips, teeth, and tongue. It smiled at me, and the new organs drifted around lazily as it spoke.


    ¡°Arrrlllloooooooo Xoooorrrrr¡¯Dreeeelllll,¡± it said. The sound didn¡¯t come from its mouth, but pressed in from all around me. It made me wonder why it had bothered with a mouth at all, other than to grin at me like a fucking creep.


    ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± I said, casting another Oblivion Orb.


    The Icon frowned as its body shrank ever so slightly. Varrin was cutting into its back with Soul Strike again and again, careful to avoid my hand. Muscle and bone started to form within the Icon, but each slice of Varrin¡¯s blade delayed the structures from finalizing. Still, whatever the big guy was getting done didn¡¯t seem to bother the creature.


    ¡°His workings were interrupted, though,¡± the Icon continued. Despite my fluttering consciousness, I could understand its words with perfect clarity. ¡°His soul will see the forge without the instruction he sought, but it was enough power to let me take a peek at those my sister has taken a liking to.¡±


    The lightning stopped, and I teleported back before the Icon could get off another spell. My health had once again regenerated back to full while Hysteria mind-fucked us, and the lightning had taken me down to half. I was really rubber-banding today.


    ¡°Sam¡¯lia has a good eye.¡± The icon chuckled as its own eyes drifted wide, and its body exploded into a fibrous net of tissue.


    It connected itself to the walls and ceiling, looking like a giant spider had spun a web from something¡¯s cardiovascular system. Arrows shot out from the ring Nuralie had fired into the ground. At nearly the same moment, six more arrows fired from the dark, barely clipping a few strands as the tissue twisted out of the way, and burying the shafts deep into the walls.


    The strands vibrated and continued to produce speech. ¡°I¡¯m jealous. Why follow the path of the Seven Organs? The path of Blood and Steel suits your violence better.¡±


    A thousand tiny marbles of deadly mana formed along the strands like morning dew, and the Icon tried to collapse back into its humanoid form. Before it could, the marbles detonated, taking a huge chunk of the Icon¡¯s mass and reducing it to dust. The dust swirled in the air and flowed into Etja¡¯s outstretched hand.


    The Icon had reformed on the ceiling, standing upside down and a good eighteen inches shorter than it had been before. Xim leaped up, easily reaching the forty-foot ceiling with her massive Wraithclaw body. The Icon tried to catch the cleric in a blood bubble, but she tore it apart mid-air with one swipe of her claws. It didn¡¯t even slow her down.


    The Icon stepped aside, avoiding Xim¡¯s landing. She dug into the ceiling with her claws and crawled across it like a fucking poltergeist, giving chase to the fleeing Icon. Her throat bulged and the flames on her back disappeared. She unhinged her jaw and a massive gout of unholy fire blasted out at the Icon.


    The Abomination frowned slightly and the ceiling beneath its feet glowed with Consecration. The outer layer of its bloody form hardened as the fire engulfed it.


    Xim¡¯s head snapped back as a golden spear skewered through the flames and jammed itself down her throat. The cleric¡¯s breath died and she let out a gurgling snarl, reaching forward to pull the weapon free. Her body burned golden as she healed the damage, when a burning portal opened at her belly. A lance of heat blasted her from the ceiling, crushing her into the ground until her form was lost in the blinding beam. I hit the beam with a Dispel, keeping it from persisting.


    The Icon did another quick conversion from exposed nervous system to man-shaped, appearing beside the Yeti. The Icon now only had a foot on the little pugilist. Two holes appeared in its body to let arrows sail through it, and a glob of blood floated away from it to intercept Etja¡¯s next death beam.


    ¡°You can follow both paths if you want,¡± said the Icon, strands reaching for the Yeti.


    I quickly checked to see if Explosion! was back up. The eighteen-second charge had resulted in a 36-minute cooldown. My Physical Magic skill dropped that to 27 minutes and change. The spell was good to go, and I eyed a spot right between the Icon and the Yeti.


    I snapped my fingers and the air detonated, releasing a shockwave that sent dust and debris scattering for more than forty feet in all directions. Fluffy was sent tumbling away from the Icon, while the god-infested construct staggered back, tendrils latching onto the wall behind it to hold itself steady.


    ¡°My followers are weak,¡± the Icon spat. ¡°I want you. I want all of you.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep this up!¡± shouted Varrin. He¡¯d created a Spiritual clone of himself to deal with the spear while he parried spells. The man was hemorrhaging stamina. Xim struggled onto all fours, her vaporized skin and muscle having trouble knitting themselves together. Another rune circle appeared beneath Etja, dragging her from the air and interrupting her next spell. Nuralie was absent, hopefully prepping something good.


    ¡°Sub-el, is the Dominion Ivy plant considered a Delve resource?¡± I asked.


    All Dominion Ivy Plants of the Endless within Delve 1156-B are considered Delve resources.


    All of them? How many were there? Was Sub-el counting the immature ones?


    It wasn¡¯t time for those types of questions.


    ¡°Will they attack us?¡±


    Delve resources are managed so that they will not harm any entity marked as friendly, but the Dominion Ivy plants were raised in an atypical manner.


    Estimated chance of hostility: Low Moderate.


    ¡°Fuck it. They know where the gravy comes from.¡±


    I said it with confidence, because I really wanted it to be true.


    I activated my second use of Therianthropy and jumped up, caught myself in the air with my wings, and then started unassigning inventory slots.

 Chapter 216: Intentional Nation Building

    chapter 216: intentional nation building


    i undid a swath of slots at the icon¡¯s feet. the moment the floor was released, it crumbled away, reduced to tiny chunks like something had been taking a sledgehammer to it every day for a month. as the floor collapsed to reveal the plant beneath, the icon used its fleshy tendrils to crawl away up the wall.


    the dominion ivy was a pulsating hive of endless thorn-covered vines. their leaves danced and shivered. melon-sized buds blossomed into colorful blooms that rotated as though they were looking around the room. the vines extended into eternity, stretching into an endlessly distant terminus that twisted as i looked towards it, always keeping its end just out of sight.


    the vines rushed up at the icon, their movement slow by delver standards but much faster than any plant had a right to be. their snaking climbers quested for the bloody construct, more energetic than they¡¯d been when presented with the littan delvers.


    the icon, understandably, tried to move away.


    the wall above the icon exploded into sparkling gaseous clouds as nuralie fired a trio of exploding arrows. the gas contained one of her rare spiritual toxins. the icon hadn¡¯t seemed to suffer much under our alchemist¡¯s typical brews, but it tried to give this one a wide berth as it clambered across the wall. it used its hundreds of threads like a gruesome millipede to dart left around the expanding cloud, but one of its own scorching lances slammed into the wall, releasing a wave of force that sent it skittering back.


    varrin had continued to contest both the golden spear and the constant barrage of burning spells, overwhelmed by the combo when faced to deal with it alone. i glanced over at the big guy, seeing that there were now three versions of the swordsman working to manage the onslaught.


    one was the original varrin, another was a perfect spiritual copy, and the third was the odd pseudo-relative-looking version we¡¯d seen when dealing with the icon of the psychopomp.


    icons really brought out varrin¡¯s best, i reckoned.


    as varrin¡¯s copy managed the spear, varrin prime parried another beam that rained down on him, cutting the attack ninety degrees toward his imperfect doppelganger. the ancestral spirit parried the beam again, finishing the redirect and sending it just left of the icon, causing it to move further back from the detonations and melting stone.


    the icon was in a tough position. if it stopped slinging spells at varrin, the big guy would have three bodies to go after it with. if it didn¡¯t stop hammering out spells, varrin and his soul clones would keep hitting return to sender. until he ran out of stamina, at least.


    the malformed construct didn¡¯t have any time to work that problem out, because it had plenty more to deal with.


    a field of shimmering mana mines formed in the air to the icon¡¯s right, expanding out every second as etja dumped power into her mana shape. the icon launched another wave of blood bubbles, but i seized the spell and used reverse card to trap the icon.


    the remaining golem warped itself onto the icon, using its puncturing spell to cut through its tendrils.


    the icon smiled and its eyes swam through its head to gaze at me. it blasted itself back out into webbing, hurling the golem aside and shooting towards me. i snapped out an explosion! to punish the air between us. the pressure wave sent the tendrils flailing back, colliding with every hazard the group had created. its body was corrupted with spiritual toxins, reduced to inert dust as the mines exploded, and dragged through the molten rock varrin¡¯s spell parries had created.


    still, the webbing shot towards the ceiling, battered and abused by the traps, but escaping from the vines. as it reformed above us, the icon was greeted by a smoldering horror of claws and teeth that had landed just before it. xim snatched the diminutive icon up in her massive hands and hurled it back down, sending it through the gas and mines once again, and into the eager waiting vines of the dominion ivy.


    the vines wrapped the icon up. as its many thorns sliced into the construct, mana flowed out and into the ivy plant. it was a real reverse-vampire situation. vampire on mana-vampire action.


    the bloodsucker was getting its mana sucked, and it really did not like it.


    the icon tried to thread through the vines in its web form, but they were too numerous. there was nowhere for it to go. the icon turned all its skills onto the plant, burning it to ash with its beams, cutting through swaths of vines with its spear, freezing yet more in place with its bubbles, but it didn¡¯t matter. the vines kept coming faster than the icon could destroy them. and though it took some time, the dominion ivy eventually sucked the fucker dry.


    most of the floor was still safe, and as the icon was consumed, the rest of the party gathered on the opposite end of the obelisk chamber. i stood out ahead of them, trying to gauge how much trouble we were in if the plant decided to convert this from a ¡°feed me, arlo,¡± situation into a ¡°feed me arlo¡± kind of deal. the comma placement was quite important here.


    there was a lot of plant that could come through the floor, and while the closet was big, it wasn¡¯t that big. neither of my checkpoints were open yet, so if the ivy wanted to bite the hand that feeds, we¡¯d either need to slash and burn for several hours straight, or open the exit to the wastes and see what was on the other side. we could always shortcut our way out if it was buried.


    i¡¯d have preferred not to do that, since i liked my closet and didn¡¯t want to sign the deed over to a trans-dimensional plant. i doubted it would be easy to convince yara to come back and seal the thing away again.


    so, i waited to see what would happen.


    once the plant was done digesting the icon, its vines rolled out through the breach in the inventory spaces. it moved slowly, searching and feeling out the boundaries of the space. i stood still and watched, waiting for the vines to reach me. the party had a host of spells ready if the plant decided it wanted a taste of the arlo steak, so when it got near, i felt pretty confident i wasn¡¯t in any real danger.


    one of the vines rose up from the ground like a snake ready to strike, then nosed its way close to me. i held up a hand to the vine and it stopped. then, tentatively, the vine moved closer and slithered across my palm. the thorns that covered it retracted into its flesh, and the many thousands of leaves around the room shifted and shuddered.


    the vine dropped away from my hand and kept poking around, ignoring me. as i stood, the wave of leafy tendrils parted around me while they moved out to the edges of the obelisk chamber.


    the party backed away, less enthusiastic about testing the boundaries of the ivy¡¯s friend-or-food logic. when the vines found the hall leading away from the obelisk chamber, they stopped. the dominion ivy covered the walls, set up its many hanging vines and flowering buds, then settled itself and stopped expanding.


    ¡°huh,¡± i grunted. ¡°i guess it¡¯s just a regular boss monster.¡±


    ¡°i would not call that regular,¡± said nuralie.


    ¡°i agree,¡± said etja. ¡°it¡¯s much prettier than a regular delve boss.¡± the mage floated into the room, weaving between the hanging vines, and took a chance at smelling one of the flowers. the bloom tracked her movement, but didn¡¯t try to snag her from the air.


    ¡°is everyone comfortable with arlo¡¯s new fighting style?¡± asked xim.


    ¡°my new style?¡± i asked.


    ¡°you know,¡± she said. ¡°throwing gods and monsters at our enemies.¡±


    ¡°it is more an extension of his previous style,¡± said varrin. ¡°depending on how you categorize shog and grotto.¡±


    ¡°one of the first things we did as a party was throw fortune at orexis,¡± said etja. ¡°i think it¡¯s part of who we are. as a group.¡±


    ¡°are we counted among the monsters he is throwing?¡± asked nuralie.


    we all studiously avoided staring at xim.


    ¡°i¡¯m the party leader,¡± i said, putting my hands on my hips. ¡°part of leading is delegation. if i¡¯m delegating the containment or destruction of an avatar or god, i¡¯m gonna delegate that task to something big enough to get the job done. you want to challenge your underlings to keep them sharp and engaged, but giving people jobs that are too big for them leads to demoralization. one must play to their people¡¯s strengths, and work around their weaknesses.¡±


    ¡°underlings?¡± said varrin.


    ¡°if we¡¯re challenging arlo¡¯s use of nouns,¡± said xim, ¡°can we talk about closetland?¡±


    ¡°what about it?¡± i asked.


    ¡°it¡¯s so bad.¡±


    the author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on amazon.


    ¡°ah, well it was a spur of the moment name. how about, closetlandia?¡±


    ¡°i like that better,¡± said etja. ¡°but i¡¯m not in love with it.¡±


    ¡°our party still has a strong bias toward the hiwardian establishment,¡± said varrin. he was blind to the intellectual allure of natural resource management. ¡°hiward, eschendur, and the xor¡¯drels are close allies. we would not be perceived as ¡®neutral¡¯ by litta, ayama, mittak, or timagrin, and certainly not davah.¡±


    ¡°then we make friends and see if we can find some good people to round out our representation,¡± i said. ¡°look, i¡¯ve been thinking about it for literally a day, and it¡¯s been a busy day. before we get into the weeds on this, i need a shower, and my house got blown up, which is where i kept most of my showers. we also need to get the eschens back home and speaking of, where are they?¡±


    ¡°the zenithar and the delegation are in the atrocidile¡¯s cave, along with riona,¡± said nuralie. ¡°it has an underwater cavern where it built a nest.¡±


    ¡°sounds stinky,¡± said etja.


    ¡°it is not pleasant.¡±


    ¡°is that safe?¡± asked xim. ¡°or is the atrocidile dead?¡±


    ¡°it is resting,¡± said nuralie. ¡°the yeti nearly killed it, but it escaped somehow.¡±


    ¡°nottagator has a solid escape ability,¡± i said. ¡°he turns into a ghost!¡±


    ¡°i see,¡± said nuralie. pause. ¡°what are we doing about her?¡± she nodded toward the yeti.


    fluffy was being held down by a mess of vines, though her metallic skin and fur ability was keeping the thorns from harming her. she was listening to our conversation, wide-eyed and silent. she may have been hoping we would forget about her.


    ¡°i give up!¡± she squeaked. ¡°i surrender!¡±


    ¡°how magnanimous of you,¡± said varrin, hand on the hilt of kazandak.


    ¡°ah geez,¡± i said. ¡°keeping her alive violates my ¡®returning villain¡¯ rule, but also we just saved her from that blood god thing.¡±


    ¡°i wasn¡¯t trying to save her,¡± said xim. ¡°i was just playing keep away.¡±


    ¡°i was being generous with my characterization,¡± i said, then blew out a long breath. ¡°thoughts? opinions?¡±


    ¡°if you are planning to start a nation, she should be judged under your laws,¡± said varrin. ¡°in hiward, she would be executed for her part in kidnapping the king.¡±


    ¡°eschendur would likely do the same,¡± said nuralie.


    ¡°she¡¯d get banished from the tribe,¡± said xim. ¡°sort of the same as a death sentence, depending on who it is.¡±


    ¡°we can prove she tried to kill one or all of us,¡± i said. ¡°at the very least, she committed multiple felony-level assaults, and throughout the course of her crimes multiple people died. where i¡¯m from, the death sentence was pretty rare. something like this would be, eh, 15 years to life in prison.¡±


    ¡°are you going to build a prison?¡± asked varrin.


    ¡°i wasn¡¯t planning on it,¡± i said. ¡°also, she¡¯s a foreigner, so that complicates things. sorry, what was your name again?¡±


    ¡°joma,¡± she said.


    ¡°joma, are you a citizen of any nation, or did you give all that up to become a wastelands mercenary?¡±


    joma shook her head to dislodge a vine that had blocked her view. she managed to peek an eye through, but the vine squeezed her head more tightly in return. ¡°i... would be recognized by mittak.¡±


    ¡°how would the powers-that-be in mittak react to you being dropped on their doorstep?¡± the furry woman looked uncomfortable at that idea. ¡°not well, huh? have some open warrants in mittak?¡± she didn¡¯t reply, so i shrugged. ¡°alright. closetland sentences you to twenty years hard labor for crimes perpetrated within its borders. would you prefer to carry out your sentence, or petition to be released into the care of the mittan authorities?¡±


    she shifted within the vines.


    ¡°what kind of hard labor?¡±


    ¡°in here? construction. animal husbandry. maybe some butlering. do you have any housekeeping experience?¡±


    ¡°er...¡±


    i turned to varrin and placed a hand on his pauldron. ¡°of course, if hiward would like to talk about extradition, that can be arranged.¡± i looked at nuralie. ¡°eschendur as well.¡±


    ¡°you have no way of containing her,¡± said varrin. ¡°and she knows too much to turn her over to someone else.¡±


    ¡°i have a whole delve full of monsters and no way to leave it without some very specific abilities, which i haven¡¯t seen her use,¡± i said. ¡°i¡¯ll look at her status to determine how much of a flight risk she is. even if she escapes, i¡¯ll issue a notice and put out a bounty. if she tells people that a bearded man in a feather boa is secretly in control of a delve, who¡¯d believe her? that¡¯d be like telling them that i can summon gods or some shit. it¡¯s silly.¡± i gave joma a pointed stare. ¡°after all, if you knew a man who could summon gods, you¡¯d be a real dummy to get on their bad side. more than you already have, that is.¡±


    joma stiffened. ¡°i¡¯m great at working with my hands,¡± she said, shakily. ¡°i have woodworking at level 43!¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s nice.¡±


    your party has slain malformed icon of instruction: constructed aberration, grade 30!


    you gain +25 system rep!


    your dimensional magic skill has increased to level 36!


    your physical magic skill has increased to level 25!


    your mystical magic skill has increased to 25!


    your leadership skill has increased to 24!


    your dungeoneering skill has increased to level 27!


    your diplomacy skill has increased to level 16!


    ¡°hey, neat,¡± i said. i stretched my back and touched my toes, then ran my fingers through my beard a few times. ¡°alright. who¡¯s ready to go meet the littan empress in sixteen hours?¡±


    end of volume 3

 Chapter MTB3 - Epilogue

    chapter mtb3 - epilogue


    *****


    system addendum added by user name: [error: redacted]


    addendum note: two months after the founding of closetland


    *****


    brae¡¯ach seethed as he grasped the table, and the air shuddered around him. lately, it was always crowded around brae¡¯ach; there was always some avatar, some united, some follower that needed his attention. jakom feared it would soon be too much for him to bear.


    ¡°you are certain of this?¡± asked brae¡¯ach. the walking void before him nodded.


    ¡°utterly,¡± said limbo.


    at the center of the table was a dimly glowing teal prism which featured faint lines of mana threading across a map of arzia. some of them connected to the parchment, where celestial letters floated off the page: ¡°delve 2883,¡± ¡°delve m82,¡± ¡°labyrinth 081.¡± there were several thicker mana threads, most ending in question marks, but one had a strange label: ¡°raid 0.¡±


    ¡°i know the truth of hysteria¡¯s words, despite their lies and hyperbole,¡± said limbo. ¡°i maintain a soul tether to everyone i¡¯ve met, allowing me to see and hear everything they do.¡±


    brae¡¯ach raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°almost everyone,¡± limbo continued. ¡°i thank unity for allowing me to interact with you without such a handicap.¡±


    ¡°hysteria¡¯s capture was some time ago, then,¡± said brae¡¯ach. ¡°you are only now deeming it prudent to mention?¡±


    ¡°the entity hysteria encountered had an unusual effect on my soul,¡± said limbo. ¡°the tether could only be partially reincorporated. as you suggested in your conversation with the histrionic one, i passed along their testimony to an arbiter. all of arbiter gathered to debate it, and i have recently been informed that hysteria¡¯s account is verified, ignoring their embellishments.¡±


    the massive davahn sighed as a breeze blew through the room. ¡°i had heard the generations were getting faster, but such feats in so short a time exceed even the wildest projections. i would question whether some are even possible.¡±


    ¡°and yet here we are,¡± said limbo. ¡°you should recalibrate what you consider to be possible.¡±


    as much as jakom loathed the obscured one¡¯s presence, limbo was supremely focused, minced no words, and suffered no distractions. jakom could not think of any other avatar that was so driven. brae¡¯ach emitted a rapid, soft chittering as his lowest mandibles clacked back and forth in consternation.


    a banquet lays before you,


    an invitation on the seat,


    but you crawl along the floor


    bereft and incomplete.


    you were meant for more,


    but balked and learned defeat,


    so hold your writhing tongue


    and follow in my feet.


    limbo betrayed little visible expression, as always, but jakom could feel his presence being balled up and wrapped in the word, so that the despair overflowing from the creature no longer suffocated jakom. the word was rarely used, especially with avatars, who were as likely to flee or fight as follow when hearing it. jakom could sense that the word had an unusual effect on them, even beyond the effects it had on mortals.


    ¡°duly noted,¡± said limbo. ¡°i acknowledge the limits of my perspective.¡±


    the grasping hands clawed more fiercely as an unseen force dragged them back into the ravine. the ground quaked and closed once again, without so much as a crack to mark the abyss that had so recently been opened.


    ¡°in that case,¡± limbo continued, ¡°you cannot allow them to complete the raid. not yet, anyway.¡±


    ¡°that is a difficult proposition,¡± said brae¡¯ach. ¡°we cannot simply eliminate any delver who would be a threat. we need them to keep advancing the system, and only the best of them can achieve that. but i think we can slow them down considerably. if these children die as a result, then they were not strong enough to matter in the first place.¡±


    brae¡¯ach looked to the map and his eyes traced a few choice threads.


    ¡°they will need labyrinths to keep their current pace, and such places are rife with valuable materials we need. let us see how well they can secure those obelisks against the united.¡±

 Chapter 217: Cognitive Biases

    Chapter 217: Cognitive Biases


    I was compromised.


    I didn¡¯t know how it happened. I didn¡¯t know what kind of danger I posed. All I knew was that my mind couldn¡¯t be trusted.


    And it wasn¡¯t just me. It was almost everyone in the party.


    Three hours after handing Hysteria off to Avarice, I found a wealth of new essences in my inventory, along with a note. The essences were our reward for helping with the dramatic avatar¡¯s capture. Fertile Soil essence, Purified Freshwater essence, Gentle Sunlight essence, and many more highly specific and low-cost essences. What they lacked in individual value was made up for with variety and quantity.


    There were thousands, many of which would be used by Grotto to create mana-converters that produced their final products. Others would be used to sow new essence farms, although that would require establishing individualized environments within the Closet. Buying them in such bulk off the market would have been impossible, and hunting down such a diverse collection would have taken years. The reward wasn¡¯t rare or unique, but it was exceptionally useful, which I thought was better.


    We could now convert the Closet into a liveable¨Cand comfortable¨Cenvironment, with the capacity to continue supplying its endless expansion with all the natural resources it needed to become a valuable landmass. Grotto and I were ablaze with exciting ideas on how to use it all.


    However, the buzz-killing letter that accompanied the delivery was my least-favorite flavor of cryptic bullshit. The kind that pointed out a dangerous problem in my life, while also having a good reason for not providing me with enough detail to do anything about it.


    Master Xor¡¯Drel,


    You are a danger to yourself and others.


    This is not a critique of your attitude, lifestyle, or anything so dull and imprecise. I am not disposed to issuing moral judgments. Such a practice would be deleterious to my work. I also do not care.


    You are a threat because you have been subjected to an outside influence that will affect your decision-making for the foreseeable future.


    I cannot tell you how this has happened in a way that you will understand. The knowledge will slide off your mind like a book from a tilted shelf.


    This does not mean I cannot provide your allies with an explanation. Show the following to your familiar. I believe that he is untouched.


    The godspawn in your party, Etja, is also affected but will be immune to most of its harmful aspects. So long as your goals align, she will be useful to you.


    You will be skeptical of this counsel, and you will wonder about my motivations. You would be a fool not to, but the matter is simple.


    I am providing you with this warning because I was paid to deliver it. This also serves to protect my interests in your group, so I was amenable to performing the service.


    To be clear, none of the information you are being gifted originates from my client. Everything contained within is of my own making, informed by my invaluable expertise.


    I will not offer you a solution, as you would rightfully view it as a conflict of interest. This is a problem you will have to solve yourself.


    Do try to be cautious. I would hate for my investments to go to waste.


    ¨CAvarice


    The letter contained more, but it was imperceptible to me. The message was two pages long, but when I held it, it was a single sheet. The section intended for Grotto appeared to be missing, but he assured me it was there. We also had several discussions about the specifics of the problem.


    I had no recollection of those conversations. All I had was Grotto¡¯s assurance that they occurred.


    When I considered how I might have become compromised, I was convinced that we had no reason to believe what the letter said was true. I understood, intellectually, that this alone should have been enough to make me suspicious. There were very few things I was certain of in life. Something like this wouldn¡¯t make the list.


    I couldn¡¯t bring myself to care.


    It was only because I trusted in my party members that I agreed to take precautions. Xim, Nuralie, and Varrin also thought it was pointless to concern ourselves with it, but Etja and Grotto argued against us. Our protocols for mental influence granted the party member with the highest resistance final authority on how we handled it.


    Xim and I were best-equipped against Fear, and so long as I wasn¡¯t Feared, the rest of the party was immune as well. I was immune to Paranoia and Xim was immune to Psychosis and Stupify. Varrin was immune to all mind-affecting abilities while Berserk, but he could only maintain that state while in combat with at least one genuine enemy. He had a good head for tactics and situational awareness while Berserk, but otherwise his critical thinking skills were less than stellar. It wasn¡¯t practical or sustainable.


    Sit on our hands and wait for Grotto to find a way to eliminate whatever was affecting our judgment.Abandon our current priorities and immediately search for a solution as a group.Carry on as normal, while being super duper careful.


    Nuralie wasn¡¯t happy with that opinion, but she accepted it as necessary to improve relations with the empire. We¡¯d been acting with the tacit approval of the Eschen government but had not been formally recognized as an Eschen asset. It made our activities while spearing through the Littan military to get to Deijin¡¯s Descent legally murky. Settling that ambiguity was important if we didn¡¯t want to be outlaws in the Empire.


    ¡°Excellent,¡± said the empress. ¡°I¡¯m happy that you¡¯re amenable to that understanding. Now, let¡¯s move on to the reason we¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Please do,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Where to begin?¡± The empress tapped her chin. She was striking to look at, her fur lustrous, her features precise and symmetrical. Her whiskers glinted like they¡¯d been conditioned and polished. I expected she would be considered exceptionally attractive by other Littans. ¡°Our Delvers are all required to participate as part of the military,¡± she said. ¡°Our approach is rigorous, structured, and based on a century of gathered data and proven strategy. We have a robust industry supporting our Delvers, and each one has the full weight of the Littan Empire behind them to assure their growth and realize their potential.¡±


    ¡°And yet, you did what they couldn¡¯t,¡± said the general.


    Thaddacleus Connatis had a more down-to-earth appearance. His uniform was neat and well-kept, but simple. The outfit''s core was snug around his center, but loose and flowy in the shoulders, sleeves, and legs. It was like a hybrid between a turn-of-the-century military officer¡¯s uniform and a martial artist¡¯s robe. The man was also slightly smaller than the average male Littan soldier I¡¯d encountered. Despite his low-key and slightly underwhelming appearance, the general was easily the most powerful Littan fighter I¡¯d met.


    If the man decided we needed to be dead, I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d stand a chance. His platinum levels were filled with the violet striations of Special Delves.


    From what Varrin had told me, running wouldn¡¯t be an option either.


    ¡°Despite our best efforts, our lands are not suited to the wide-scale production of magical materials,¡± said the empress. ¡°We have no significant deposits of Madrin or dark iron. Our access to rarer metals and alloys is even more restricted. Our climate and soil¨Cwhile exceptional for the cultivation of mundane crops¨Cdoes not have the proper composition to grow most common alchemical ingredients.¡±


    ¡°Which is why you¡¯re in Eschendur,¡± said Etja.


    The empress leaned in and placed her elbows on the table. She folded her hands and rested her chin atop them. ¡°Formally, Litta placed sanctions on Eschendur as part of an ongoing campaign to bring war criminals to justice. This escalated when half of our blockading naval fleet was destroyed, leading to the deployment of a legion to pacify this aggression.¡± She made eye contact with each of us, wearing a conspiratorial smile. ¡°We have since been disabused of the notion that any Eschen was responsible for the massacres that occurred within Littan borders along the Eschen Gap. This is why we now have an armistice and have made significant progress in peace talks with the Zenithars.¡±


    ¡°Informally,¡± said the general, ¡°yes, we were here to get better access to resources. Eschendur would not agree to a reasonable trade agreement, so we brought a big stick to the negotiations.¡±


    I was surprised by the admission. I¡¯d been fully prepared to endure an hour of talking around the subject.


    ¡°But your priorities have shifted,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°They have,¡± said the empress. ¡°We diverted another legion to secure the location of our new Creation Delve. Commanding officers throughout our forces have doubled their workload in evaluating and recommending soldiers for Creation. Existing Delvers are taking on additional training responsibilities.¡±


    ¡°Having more than twice as many Delvers will grant us more than twice as many resources harvested from within the Delves themselves,¡± said the general. ¡°While we could maintain our presence in Eschendur, advancing our front line would place an additional burden on our service members which we would like to avoid.¡±


    ¡°Our priority is taking advantage of the Creation Delve,¡± the empress finished.


    ¡°I doubt you have any need for us to assist with that,¡± said Etja. ¡°Nor would we be inclined to do so. Our party endeavors towards neutrality amongst nations, so long as they do not threaten world stability.¡±


    ¡°Lofty,¡± said the general. ¡°I hope that¡¯s a guiding principle, and you¡¯re not seriously trying to police the world.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not under any delusions about our capabilities, General,¡± said Etja. ¡°Our position reflects our desire to share relevant information equally with those who would use it productively. Destructive forces, such as the Davahns, are not included.¡±


    ¡°I think we can all agree that the recent activities of the Davahns are condemnable,¡± said Empress Littana. ¡°The mass execution of an entire city is genocide and an act of pure atrocity.¡±


    ¡°Regardless,¡± said the general, ¡°we don¡¯t need any help exploiting our Creation Delve. Telling you about our disposition toward and reasoning for withdrawing from Eschendur is context for our¨C¡± he paused. ¡°¨Cproposition.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Etja. ¡°We¡¯re eager to hear it.¡±


    ¡°The recent emergence of Dungeons has redefined the pace at which Delvers can progress,¡± said the Empress. ¡°Although it has only been a week, we have found that Delvers can acquire a month¡¯s worth of intrinsic skill advancement in a single day within these new zones. Of course, this rapid pace is accompanied by a commensurate amount of risk. We have also discovered that Dungeons can emerge nearly anywhere, including within population centers. Some are obvious, but many more are scattered and hidden.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve uncovered one dungeon that is vastly larger than any other we¡¯ve found,¡± said the general. ¡°We believe that within it, there are¨Cat a minimum¨Cdozens of zones that can each advance a different skill. It may encompass all known intrinsics, and we¡¯ve already found one skill that we have no records of. It¡¯s completely novel.¡±


    Empress Littana sat up straight. ¡°We¡¯d like your help exploring it.¡±

 Chapter 218: Offer on the Table

    Chapter 218: Offer on the Table


    ¡°That sounds like quite the opportunity,¡± said Etja. ¡°We haven¡¯t had the chance to pursue any Dungeons, given what little time has passed since returning from Deijin¡¯s Descent. We are interested in them, of course. However, like the matter of your Creation Delve, I¡¯m not sure why the Empire would need outside assistance.¡±


    Empress Littana nodded contemplatively. ¡°When we initially requested a meeting, it was primarily to clear the air,¡± she said. ¡°Fortune¡¯s Folly is the fastest-leveling Delver party across all of Arzia. Despite this meteoric rise¨Cwhich many viewed as recklessly paced¨Cyour group displayed talents significantly above your Level during engagements with our forces. Your victory over the Descent laid to rest any doubts over whether this progress was a fluke of luck, and you returned having accrued more Levels than the year prior. It was only sensible to sit down and ensure Litta¡¯s relations with you weren¡¯t spoiled before they¡¯d even begun.


    ¡°In the last week, many things have changed, as one would expect with the Phase transition,¡± the empress continued. ¡°We are well-positioned to take advantage of the new challenges available to Delvers from a strategic and economic perspective. In the past, our method for Delving has been highly focused on efficiency, partially due to our limited access to mana-enriched resources. This has served us well. However, given that this new Phase is primarily focused on platinum Delvers, our past efforts towards pursuing the most reliable method of Delver advancement have placed us at a slight disadvantage.¡±


    ¡°The Littan military skews toward silver,¡± said General Connatis. ¡°We have well-developed build strategies and party compositions that can nearly guarantee a party makes the full run of thirty silvers into thirty coppers. We have a strong force of elites focusing on gold Delves, some of which have surpassed the thirty-gold escalation barrier. Platinum Delvers have been viewed as experimental, and the pursuit of platinum requires express authorization that is rarely given.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have many platinums,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Correct,¡± said the empress. ¡°Compared to Hiward, our average Delver pursues a higher difficulty, because we have very few coppers. Hiward, however, has more exceptional outliers in the platinum range.¡±


    ¡°If I may ask, how do you control that?¡± said Etja. ¡°The Creation Delve creates random parties. The Littans entering aren¡¯t guaranteed to pursue a specific difficulty. Whoever they¡¯re matched with may have different ideas than your soldiers.¡±


    ¡°We have the second-best representation,¡± said the general. ¡°We also negotiate with Hiwardians who might potentially meet Littans during Creation. Some are open to it. Otherwise, Littans are mandated to tackle¨Cat a minimum¨Csilver. If they are unable to persuade a group to do at least that much, it¡¯s a mark against them.¡±@@@@


    ¡°There are also remediation efforts that can be made,¡± said the empress. ¡°A single copper Delve does not cripple a Delver who wishes to pursue silver.¡±


    That brief explanation was leaving a lot unsaid, but we weren¡¯t here to dive into the comparative fairness of the Littan Delving complex.


    ¡°Are Dungeons only accessible to platinum Delvers?¡± asked Etja. ¡°Given the exploration you¡¯ve done in such a short amount of time, I find it unlikely.¡±


    ¡°Not as such,¡± said Empress Littana. ¡°Like Delves, Dungeons have Level ranges. Unlike Delves, these ranges are not related to Delver Levels, but skill Levels. However, these ranges are not requirements. Anyone can enter any Dungeon if they wish. It¡¯s inadvisable for a lone Delver with no Levels in Dimensional Magic to enter a Level 40 to 70 Dimensional Dungeon, but they could. Further, Dungeons within specific skill ranges often have threats that can be quantified into specific Grades. The System does not make this obvious, but we are gathering data to establish relevant guidelines.¡±


    ¡°Given that Delvers who pursue higher difficulties tend to have higher skill Levels,¡± said the general, ¡°it¡¯s preferred that groups exploring these Dungeons together match. Gold with gold, platinum with platinum. A parity of Delver Levels is also ideal.¡±


    ¡°Together?¡± said Etja.


    ¡°That touches on the core of our request,¡± said the empress. ¡°Traditional Delves are organized around five-person parties, so having a strong focus on fireteam tactics is unavoidable. However, for all other operations, Littan Delvers are trained to work in larger groups. Dungeons have no party-size requirements, so we¡¯d prefer to explore them in squads of ten.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re usually too restricted for platoons or anything larger,¡± added the general.


    ¡°Then you have a five-person team ready for Dungeons,¡± said Etja. ¡°They¡¯re platinum, and you don¡¯t have a matching party to support them.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said the empress with a wide smile. The general also gave Etja an approving nod. It felt like they were buttering us up, but maybe they were just happy we were competent enough to add two and two together.


    ¡°For the sake of transparency,¡± said the general, ¡°the party we have in mind isn¡¯t full platinum.¡±


    ¡°They dropped down to gold?¡±


    ¡°No. They jumped up to platinum after thirty gold Delves.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s interesting,¡± said Etja. ¡°Common wisdom would say that¡¯s extremely unlikely.¡±


    ¡°The circumstances were unusual,¡± the general admitted. ¡°Regardless, they¡¯re Level 16 with one platinum Level. We¡¯d like to continue encouraging their growth into platinum for as long as we can.¡±


    I smiled internally. I had a pretty good idea who they were talking about.


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Etja hummed. ¡°With all due respect, it doesn¡¯t sound like our group is a good fit, based on the parameters you¡¯ve just laid out.¡±


    ¡°If there are no more questions,¡± she said, ¡°I¡¯d like to introduce you to our team. We also have a gift for you, which will be presented by Major Tavio of Seqaria. You may not realize, but your warning to the major led to the discovery of a dangerous infiltrator.¡±


    *****


    The party the Littans wanted us to work alongside was, as predicted, Team Pio. Captain Pio¡¯s group had earned their platinum Level from the Pocket Delve, and I had personally watched their run. That meant I was already privy to their composition, capabilities, and what I expected were many of their secrets. I was very appreciative that Etja was speaking for our group since I didn¡¯t think I had the Charisma score to manage the meeting without giving something away.


    We¡¯d officially met them once before. They were the ones who¡¯d delivered our invitation to meet the empress. That history helped obscure the fact that I was more familiar with them than I should have been. The meeting went well, and they gave us a basic breakdown of their roles and competencies.


    Afterward, Tavio arrived to present us with a set of five masterfully crafted golden dragons inlaid with a dazzling array of precious gemstones. The stones had been mined in his homeland of Seqaria, which was renowned for its flawless jewels. The reason for the gift was simple.


    I¡¯d warned him that Gharifon was trouble, and it turned out that he had been.


    Tavio had audited the illusionist¡¯s activities after my warning and discovered some discrepancies with his official reports. Littan officers all underwent random screenings for outside influence and infiltrators, which Gharifon had previously passed with flying colors. Given Tavio¡¯s evidence and his staunch advocacy for the veracity of my claims, Gharifon was ¡®randomly¡¯ screened again. This time, the Littans used ¡®highly limited¡¯ resources usually reserved for the most sensitive officials, such as General Connatis and even the empress herself.


    The Littans didn¡¯t disclose what those ¡®limited¡¯ resources were, but I expected they had something to do with Yara, given that her Holy Water had granted us deific immunity to all mental influence.


    As it turned out, Gharifon wasn¡¯t a decorated Littan officer, but a man in a crude and deeply offensive mouse costume. Upon discovery, the intruder attempted to flee. During their flight, Tavio and General Connatis worked together to subdue the spy, which unfortunately led to the man¡¯s death. The Littans didn¡¯t go into any more detail than that, but the whole situation sounded way too familiar.


    Part of me was disappointed that we hadn¡¯t gotten to see Gharifon¡¯s unmasking. It felt like a thread we¡¯d need to keep pulling, but the Littans had dealt with it without needing us. I eventually decided it was good they¡¯d managed to handle what I now suspected was one of Hysteria¡¯s divine spawn on their own. It meant they were capable, and the more capable people in the world, the better off everyone was.


    Tavio and I chatted informally for a bit, and the ultra-buff Littan seemed to be doing well. His promotion to Major was a recent advancement, owing to a climb in Levels, his discovery of Gharifon¡¯s malfeasance, and in no small part, a pristine service record.


    The Littan had risen to Level 21, which was a decent pump from when he¡¯d given me a beatdown. The last time I¡¯d seen him on our way into Deijin¡¯s Descent, the man had still been at Level 17. What¡¯s more, the new Levels were platinum, meaning that he¡¯d also made the jump from gold like Pio¡¯s group had.


    However, there was something strange going on with those new Levels. The number of gold Delves I could see within his soul had gone down. That was something I didn¡¯t know was possible.


    At Level 17, Tavio looked like he¡¯d done thirty-four gold Delves. Now, his soul looked as though he¡¯d done twenty-six gold Delves along with eight platinum Delves. Curiously, the amount of platinum he¡¯d gained matched the amount of gold he¡¯d lost. It was like he was converting one into the other, which didn¡¯t make a lot of sense to me.


    I put the matter aside for the remainder of the Littan meet and greet, which lasted until midday. Afterward, I asked General Connatis if I could create a Checkpoint in the Littan fortress to facilitate further meetings. The general smirked as he agreed and led us down to the fortified room where the dormant exit portal for Deijin¡¯s Descent was.


    ¡°We¡¯d expected you to arrive here,¡± said the general. ¡°That is where you said you would be coming from. We were mildly surprised when you used the front entrance.¡±


    ¡°Sadly, extenuating circumstances prevented us from using a portal,¡± said Etja. I¡¯d been forced to move the entrance to the Closet during our realm-hopping fight with Hysteria.


    The room was secure enough that allowing us to lay down a semi-permanent connection wouldn¡¯t be a massive threat to the security of the Littan¡¯s forward base in Eschendur. It would also be a great place for the Littans to ambush us. We were working to build trust, so we didn¡¯t make any noise about the choice of location.


    After all, the general probably could have killed us any time he wanted.


    I created the Checkpoint, and we left the Littan fortress on good terms.


    My mansion had been destroyed, so we were using a hastily constructed war room as our base within the Closet. We¡¯d put it together in a few hours, and it didn¡¯t have shit for creature comforts. It was all stonework and dim lighting, with nary a tapestry or throw pillow in sight.


    I loosened my tie and undid the top button of my shirt. ¡°Anything to report, Etja?¡±


    Etja crossed all of her arms and surveyed the group, wearing her serious face. It was a lot like her regular face, but she kind of squinted. It was very cute.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°No less than three of you exhibited unusual behavior.¡±

 Chapter 219: Implant or Eccentricity?

    Chapter 219: Implant or Eccentricity?


    Etja gave us all a long look while we waited for Grotto to join us. The Delve Core was allegedly unaffected by the outside influence and was coming to assist Etja in judging us. Grotto teleported into the room, wearing his little man disguise. His c¡¯thonic body had been destroyed, and he¡¯d need access to an array of specific organic compounds to remake it.@@@@


    I¡¯d never asked him where he¡¯d gotten the ¡®supplies¡¯ to make the wee gentleman he now wore, and I never would.


    With the duumvirate assembled, Etja revealed her first accusation. ¡°Arlo was suspiciously impressed with the food.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I said. ¡°It was good.¡±


    ¡°You mentioned it sixteen times.¡±


    ¡°I stopped when you asked me to.¡±


    [The fact that he relented when ordered is more suspicious than his fixation on the fare.]


    ¡°I already hate this arc,¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°The food was good,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°Etja would not let me ask for recipes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the kind of stuff a retainer would request from the empress¡¯s staff,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°We do not have any retainers,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Etja. ¡°The question was better left unasked.¡±


    Etja¡¯s new role had enriched her personality with a healthy degree of assertiveness, but I also wondered whether some of her fresh confidence was owed to her ingesting a drop of avatar soul. I mused on that while watching Nuralie¡¯s inner miser battle with her desire to hire staff so that she could acquire Littan baking techniques.


    ¡°Verdict on Arlo¡¯s food opinions?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°Sounds like a normal Arlo flavor to me,¡± said Xim. Everyone else agreed, and my love of fine cuisine was exempted from evidence of my mind being corrupted.


    To be clear, we were all voting, but Etja and Grotto were the only votes that mattered.


    ¡°Xim wanted to take her shirt off,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°It was hot,¡± Xim defended.


    ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t?¡± I said. ¡°It was pretty pleasant.¡±


    ¡°Taking your shirt off would have been inappropriate,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°That would have been¨C¡± Pause. ¡°¨Cout of character.¡±


    ¡°You think so?¡± said Xim. ¡°I¡¯ve always had a relaxed attitude towards being dressed.¡±


    ¡°Not in front of a fucking empress, you haven¡¯t,¡± I said.


    ¡°Name one empress we¡¯ve met beside Rona,¡± she said. ¡°Also, is it weird that her name is almost the same as Varrin¡¯s sister?¡±


    [Referring to her as Empress Littana will avoid any ambiguity.]


    ¡°Got any opinions on Xim¡¯s state of dress, Grotto?¡± I asked.


    [I am ill-suited to present a personal opinion on the matter of nudity, but traditionally one does not undress in front of a monarch except in particular circumstances. I did not observe any such preconditions being satisfied.]


    ¡°Verdict on Xim wanting to take her clothes off in front of the Littan empress?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°Mind-fuckery,¡± I voted. Everyone else agreed. Xim grumbled and wrote a note, reminding herself to keep her clothes on. There was a lengthy discussion over who she was allowed to be naked in front of, which Etja handled.


    ¡°Varrin is in love with the empress,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°She is an incredible woman,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Mind-fucked,¡± I immediately voted.


    ¡°You are simply unwilling to admit your attraction to Littans,¡± said Varrin, looking at me skeptically. ¡°You should not be ashamed. I saw how you gazed into her eyes. They were like pools of golden honey, beckoning you to have a taste¨C¡±


    ¡°Did Varrin try to take his clothes off, too?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°No,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°Did he¨C¡± Pause. ¡°¨Cwant to eat her eyes?¡±


    ¡°It is a turn of phrase,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Why would your mind even go there?¡±


    ¡°We live strange lives,¡± Nuralie answered with a shrug.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± I said. ¡°Mind. Fucked.¡±


    Everyone agreed, and Varrin was forbidden from being near the empress. If that wasn¡¯t feasible, he was forbidden from expressing any opinions to the empress. Any attempt to make physical contact with the empress would result in the immediate deployment of Plan Lockdown. Nobody wanted to be the target of Plan Lockdown, so he reluctantly accepted the new rules.


    [The relationship between these two aberrant desires share a common theme of disrobing in front of Empress Littana.]


    *****


    ¡°I have revelations of the Heart and the Stomach,¡± said Xim.


    She, Nuralie, Etja, and I sat at a table with Zenithar Zura in Eschengal¡¯s Temple of Geul. The Zenithar had graciously agreed to consult Nuralie on her participation with the Littans and to give guidance on our most pressing problem.


    The Zenithar was surprisingly on board with the joint Dungeoning. Zura was as eager to leave hostilities in the past as the Littans were, and it was a rare opportunity to get a deeper look at how their Delving teams worked. The matter was speedily addressed, and we¡¯d moved on to figuring out how to un-bork our heads.


    ¡°I¡¯m on the cusp of a new revelation,¡± the cleric continued, ¡°which is of the Brain. This revelation may help heal our minds, but its shadows touch more on the fluidity of reality. My dad¡¯s Revelation of the Brain touches on the fluidity of identity, which I would feel more confident could help. However, his focuses on the mind¡¯s relationship to the body, so it can¡¯t help with something like this. I¡¯ve already asked. We¡¯d want a Revelation of the Brain that manifests internally and deals with identity or some other mental aspect. That¡¯s the feeling I get from Sam¡¯lia during communion.¡±


    ¡°Sam¡¯lia is a goddess who exerts herself,¡± said Zenithar Zura. ¡°Her revelations peer into others, peer into the world, and peer into the self, then mold and shape what her revelators see and feel to accommodate her will. While she grants powerful abilities to change one¡¯s physicality, it is the mind exerted onto form. For Sam¡¯lia, all of reality is shaped according to the mind. Conceptually, using her will to forcefully reshape one¡¯s own mindscape may be a difficult road.¡±


    Despite the Zenithar¡¯s focus on the Eschen trinity, she was well-versed in many other pantheons. Xim was at a level where her interpretations of Sam¡¯lia¡¯s teachings would be revered as law within her tribe. Other Third Layer tribes would treat her as a visiting High Cleric. She still respected the Zenithar¡¯s insights, realizing the value of her point of view.


    ¡°It¡¯s a form of healing, though,¡± said Xim. ¡°Our minds are wounded, and I seek the power to mend them.¡±


    ¡°A wound hinders the body from performing its function,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°Mental trauma is much the same, but what you have described to me are not wounds. Your identity has changed. You are whole and well, but different in a way that troubles your allies. You do not yourself seem to take issue with the change.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Xim admitted. ¡°I¡¯m only worried because Grotto and Etja are worried. We know these changes were not made for our benefit.¡±


    ¡°Would Geul grant us any wisdom?¡± asked Nuralie. The Zenithar sat back in her plush seat and let out a long, groaning sigh.


    ¡°The gods can only interact with this world in limited ways,¡± she said. ¡°Each time they influence us directly, they expend a part of that influence. It can only be regained through the passage of time and the worship of their followers.¡±


    Zura gestured toward a crystal-clear waterfall that ran down the temple and past a large gap in the building¡¯s exterior. From where we sat, the water feature served as a floor-to-ceiling window. We were high up in the tower, and miles distant we could see the hole in the Left Hand mountains, created by our conflict with Hysteria.


    ¡°The gods vowed to protect our lands against a calamity such as this,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°They interceded to protect us, and in so doing, spent most of the power available to them in our realm. Geul does not deal with the mind, but even if she did, it would be up to us to make use of our gifts to make the changes we wish for.¡±


    ¡°Does that affect your revelations?¡± I asked. The Zenithar gave me a wry smile.


    ¡°A dangerous question, Master Xor¡¯Drel,¡± she said. ¡°Fishing for vulnerabilities in the Eschenden?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my life¡¯s mission, of course,¡± I said with a grin.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve always seemed like an iconoclast,¡± she said dryly. ¡°Especially given your rejection of gods in all their forms.¡± The Zenithar chuckled and reached for a glass of ice water. She held it close, running a nail through the condensation. ¡°Revelations can be gifted or earned,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°The gods will not be so charitable with their gifts for a time, but any that we have already received will draw on our own power, as they always have. The curious and the faithful will continue to discover their truth and gain what revelations those pursuits earn them. For most, nothing will change.¡±


    She took a sip from her drink, holding the glass in her lap afterward. ¡°The Zenithars are an exception to this. Many of our workings beseech the gods to intertwine their influence with our will. Losing my connection to that influence is why I was much weakened when the abomination tore me from Geul¡¯s embrace. I am not as reduced now as I was then, but I will not be sinking any more fleets for a time. At least, not so quickly as I could have before.¡±


    ¡°Deijin works with the soul,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Do you believe her revelations might aid us?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°The mind and the soul are well interlinked. Some believe they are one and the same. However, I am not aware of any follower of Deijin who wields a power strong enough for your needs, if other magical methods available to you are ineffective. Zenithar Manar is most focused on Deijin¡¯s aspects of shaping¨Cunifying the soul with form and substance. She does not shape the soul, however. The soul shapes the world.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like some symmetry with Sam¡¯lia,¡± I said.


    ¡°The gods are a mosaic upon the world. Many of their edges adjoin, and many more share similar hues.¡±


    I took a moment to digest that imagery before asking my next question. ¡°What about Yara? We know she can protect the sanctity of the mind.¡±


    The Zenithar nodded, though cautiously. ¡°Yara is a comfort to her followers, but she is¨C¡± Pause. ¡°¨Cstaunch in her tenets. I would urge you to be considerate when approaching her. Sam¡¯lia and the Eschen triad are more flexible. Your interaction with the divine has had soft edges as a result.¡±


    ¡°What are Yara¡¯s tenets?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hmm. I encourage you to speak with one of her priests for specifics, but in general terms, she is a goddess of family, order, law, and expansion. More broadly, she can be characterized as a deity of civilization. She is a holy divinity, and most would describe her as ¡®good¡¯, but her followers view her righteousness as absolute. They seek to spread her teachings to all corners of Arzia, and will do it as forcefully as Imperial law allows, which¨Cas you have experienced¨Cgrants great leeway for the use of ¡®force¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Which of those aspects deals with breaking mental influence?¡± asked Nuralie.


    ¡°All of them, to a degree,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°Invading the mind of another is a deep violation. It disrupts the order of one¡¯s inner self, is illegal in most cases, and causes untold devastation to family members of the affected. All of these might hinder the expansion of the Littan Empire, especially if it infects the machine at its highest levels.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not proscribed, then,¡± I said. ¡°So long as you wield it in Yara¡¯s name and according to her teachings.¡±


    ¡°I would expect so,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°Many Littan Delvers make use of mental magicks.¡±


    ¡°What do you think we should do?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°Beseeching Yara will have strings attached,¡± said the Zenithar. ¡°Riferiantel, God of the Whole, is a Timan deity who...¡±


    The Zenithar worked through several divinities she thought might be able to help us, but each carried its own costs. Before we could even reach the point of making offerings or commitments, there was the matter of making contact with these unknown gods. That wasn¡¯t something we could count on happening. Even if we assumed Xim was correct in thinking that I drew more divine notice than the average bear, I was sure there were plenty of gods that didn¡¯t want to get wrangled.


    Throughout our days of preparation, I kept waiting for the next emergency to spring up¨Can urgent summons from Grotto, someone in the party triggering a catastrophic subconscious command, maybe another city getting wiped off the world map. Nothing of the sort happened.


    It was nice.


    We planned, got our supplies, and went northwest to find our first Expansion Delve.


    We were heading to the Kingdom of Ayama.


    Sort of.

 Chapter 220: Delving Through the Snow

    Chapter 220: Delving Through the Snow


    Ayama was an ecological impossibility. It was a verdant nation established in the center of the Wastes. A century prior, the space it occupied had been as barren as everything else around its borders. Godking Ayamari had spent decades performing magical terraforming of the region, an ongoing project that transformed frigid, lifeless desert into a lush, temperate rainforest.


    No other nation held claim to the Wastes, since no one wanted it. The land was worthless. Given time, Ayama would presumably stretch to cover the entire northern fifth of the continent. None of the world powers opposed the nation¡¯s growth, since Ayamari was creating inhabitable land where none had been before.


    The only people who might have been miffed were those who eked out a life within the Wastes, trying to escape all the baggage of civilization.


    Of Arzia¡¯s officially recognized nations, Ayama had the lowest population density, but the kingdom had the highest diversity by a wide margin. Every citizen was an immigrant and those immigrants hailed from all corners of the continent.


    Ayama was well-known for accepting refugees and outcasts with open arms. Anyone who sought to escape the woes of their homeland was welcome. On the other hand, everyone else could take a hike. Ayama¡¯s attitude toward her sister nations was somewhat frigid.


    Relations weren¡¯t hostile¨Cno one was stupid enough to challenge Ayamari¨Cbut diplomacy was an uphill battle. The nation was self-sufficient, the bountiful environment provided everything her citizens would need, the terrain made it a natural fortress, and it was guarded by the most powerful person in the world.


    It was a pseudo-utopia protected by Arzia¡¯s equivalent of Superwoman. It didn¡¯t want or need any of the rest of the world¡¯s nonsense.


    Attempts at trade generally went something along the lines of:


    Everyone else: ¡°Hey, you need anything, Ayama?¡±


    Ayama: ¡°Nah, we good.¡±


    Everyone: ¡°Mind if we visit?¡±


    Ayama: ¡°Keep yourself and your problems right where they are.¡±


    Everyone: ¡°Wanna come over and hang out, instead?¡±


    Ayama: ¡°Your house is kind of shitty, so no thanks.¡±


    Gaining entry into Ayama was selectively impossible, depending on the purpose of the visit. If we¡¯d needed to get inside Ayama¡¯s borders, it wouldn¡¯t have been nearly so easy as tearing our way through a naval fleet and a small horde of Delvers. No one knew what, exactly, guarded the forest¡¯s edges, but no one who¡¯d tried to sneak inside had ever returned.


    Fortunately, we weren¡¯t heading directly into Ayama. We were heading north of the kingdom and got a lovely¨Calbeit very distant¨Cflyby view as we entered an area of the Wastes that was even more hostile to life than the rest of it.


    Hostile to mundane life, that is.


    The northern Wastes was a great place to live for the varieties of ¡®life¡¯ that had a bottomless appetite for mana and the vigor to survive in subarctic temperatures.


    It was like, if the North Pole was colder, bathed in radiation, and the polar bears were ten stories tall, had 300% more teeth, and were sentient flesh-eating blizzards instead of being polar bears.


    Altitude didn¡¯t seem to matter to these things, either.


    I was currently riding in a harness below Varrin, who was flying us over the polar wasteland in excess of 800 miles per hour. The air whipping past was thin of oxygen, thick with Physical mana, and about a hundred degrees below zero.


    The big guy¡¯s Hiwardian constitution combined with his Fortitude gave him a wealth of protection from the hostile elements, whereas I was relying on the power of layers, my general resilience, and allowing my health regeneration to fix any toes that fell off due to frostbite.


    Everyone else was hanging out in the Closet while we plucked yet another dozen frigid fangs from our bedraggled flight suits. The elemental mana fiends were practically immune to Physical damage, but Spiritual and Dimensional still tore them up pretty well.


    Our warmer party members occasionally sent us the psychic equivalent of a selfie, sitting around a fire and roasting meat skewers.


    It would have been so easy to open the Closet entrance while we were a mile high and everyone else was still in their summer clothes.


    Etja vetoed the idea.


    Putting that aside, we were heading into this nonsense for four reasons.


    One: Grotto had the location of a platinum Delve in our Level range that should be an Expansion Delve. We were each still short one Active Skill slot and one Intrinsic Skill slot to complete our full Phase Two loadout. The entrance to that Delve was in this unpleasant region.


    Two: Grotto had records of an armory containing stockpiles of Prismatite near our objective Delve, which we wanted to get our hands on. Prismatite was an exotic material that could be used to craft items granting bonuses to Mystical damage and Mystical DR. It was the only material that granted Mystical DR as an inherent trait, and no stat improved Mystical defense, making sources of damage reduction for the school extremely valuable. I was in need of an armor upgrade, and Prismatite was calling my name.


    Three: The rest of the world was out hunting Dungeons in the most obvious of places. Only masochists and psychopaths would be crawling through the northern Wastes looking for Dungeons when they could potentially find one down the street. Literally, down the street. The Littans told us about two Dungeons they¡¯d found hidden in an alley in the Littan capital. If we found any Dungeons out here, we¡¯d have them to ourselves.


    Four: Avarice had given us a token after our first meeting that would act as an introduction to a potential group of allies in the fight against the avatars. Those allies, whoever they might be, were hiding out in the highest and coldest mountains in all of Arzia. Those mountains, most bitter and frigid, were located along the northernmost edge of the continent. The northernmost edge of the continent, as one might suspect, was found north of the northern Wastes.


    We planned to pursue these goals in the order presented above, but would otherwise be opportunistic based on the sequence in which the world guided them to us. We hoped that the armory was part of the Expansion Delve. That would be a nice two-fer. Dungeons would be explored if and when we found them while traveling between the other objectives.


    Time and frosty toes permitting, we¡¯d do a more expansive search for Dungeons after completing items one, two, and four.


    ¡°There¡¯s a big column of Spiritual mana below,¡± I thought to Varrin. ¡°Eleven o¡¯clock.¡±


    Varrin confirmed and swept down toward the mana signature, the only notable feature in an otherwise pristine expanse of ice and snow. We were near Grotto¡¯s estimated location for the Delve, so I was hoping this marked the entrance. If not, maybe it would be a clue.


    Spiritual mana billowed up from a large crack in the ice, drifting hundreds of feet into the air. Several tornadoes of twisting ice and fangs surrounded it, their windy bodies suffused with crackling violet energy. The ones we¡¯d faced so far had been larger and soaked in Physical mana, whereas these were a blend of the two schools.


    Varrin paused in front of the vent, which was a twenty-foot wide crack in the ice. He held out a hand and ran it through the dense mana flowing upward.


    ¡°This Spiritual mana is so thick,¡± the big guy thought, ¡°I expect it would be visible even without an appropriate attunement or some form of mana sight. It is all of the Spectral subtype as well. The Fiend may have absorbed so much that it was corrupted.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s it coming from?¡± asked Etja.


    [This is likely being purged from a Delve below us. The Delve is at capacity and the core is jettisoning what it cannot use.]


    ¡°Seems wasteful,¡± I thought.


    [Not all Delve Cores have access to an infinite mana sink, such as the Closet¡¯s expansion mechanism.]


    ¡°Fair enough. If this mana ¡®corrupted¡¯ the fiend into an Undead, does that mean it¡¯s, like, ghost mana? Spectral mana isn¡¯t necessarily death-related. Or is it?¡±


    [It is not. However, Undead typically emit Spectral mana, so the idea that it originates from a mass grave or tomb holds some merit.]


    ¡°Mass grave?¡± asked Nuralie. Pause. ¡°So it is ghosts?¡±


    [Ghosts, wraiths, zombies, skeletons, liches, wrights, poltergeists, death knights, draugrs... It could be many things.]


    ¡°Most Undead are merely constructs,¡± Varrin thought to us. ¡°Entities animated through dark magicks. They are rarely ensouled.¡±


    ¡°Then we should expect a Necromancer?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We should expect anything,¡± Varrin replied. ¡°However, I am inclined to find out for myself, rather than continue to speculate.¡±


    The big guy took a few steps back from the vent and looked around. His hand dropped to Kazandak¡¯s hilt, but he paused and thought, then decided against using the blade. He raised a heavy boot and stomped.


    His foot shattered the ice and his leg sank in up to his knee. Large fissures cracked out from the impact for nearly a hundred feet and the ground rumbled. I adjusted my footing as the ice began to move, then decided to make things easier on myself and hopped up into the air, locking myself in place with Gracorvus. I hadn¡¯t used the shield to float much since gaining the ability to fly with Therianthropy, but for hanging out midair in one spot, it was pretty efficient.


    Varrin surveyed the damage, then squatted and shoved his arms into the ice. Once he was shoulder-deep, he heaved upward and tossed aside a slab of frozen ground several times larger than he was. It probably weighed in the three-elephant range. Varrin dropped into the hole and repeated the tactic.


    Xim trotted forward and dropped in behind the big guy, giving him an assist. Together, the pair hurled out multi-ton blocks of ice and frozen earth every few seconds. They excavated a massive pit in a couple of minutes, stopping when they hit dark brickwork about forty feet down. The mana was seeping out between the blocks.


    Varrin was just about to try his luck punching a hole through the bricks when a portal appeared on its surface.


    ¡°Hey, look at that,¡± I thought. ¡°Weird place for a portal.¡±


    [Obviously this is not the front door, so to speak. I expect the Delve Core would rather invite you inside through a temporary entrance than have you breach the Delve¡¯s exterior like a group of vandals.]


    I shrugged, figuring one way in was as good as any other, and then inspected the portal.


    Portal to Delve 9963: Throne of Zng


    Difficulty: Platinum


    Expansion: Yes


    Current accumulation level: 1+


    Level Requirement: 13 - 15


    Party Size Requirement: 5


    [The accumulation level reflects that the Delve has exceeded its mana storage capacity. Expansion Delve, appropriate Level range. Yes, this looks ideal for our needs.]


    ¡°Zzzzznnnnggg,¡± I said aloud. ¡°How do you pronounce that?¡±


    ¡°I think you got it on the first try,¡± said Xim. She had to yell through the thick furs wrapping her face.


    ¡°It is not a tomb,¡± Nuralie thought to us. ¡°Why does a throne have Undead?¡±


    [The Wastes was the seat of a military superpower during the prior generation. We are near where the capital would have been.]


    ¡°Great!¡± I said. ¡°A Delve Core co-opted the ruins of an ancient and powerful civilization, resurrecting its most potent warriors and bending them to its own twisted ends. Sounds fun.¡±


    ¡°Shall we enter?¡± asked Varrin.


    We all turned to Etja. She leaned over the pit to check the portal, then gave us a thumbs up. I grinned wide and jumped down into the hole.


    I landed on top of the portal, which teleported me into the Delve before I could even feel my boots make contact.

 Chapter 221: How Many Zombies in a Horde?

    Chapter 221: How Many Zombies in a Horde?


    Instead of experiencing the abstract concept of instantaneous movement on the soles of my boots, I felt something slippery.


    Despite not focusing on Agility, my score of 10 still placed me into the superhuman category for balance and coordination, if only barely. Thus, the slick surface refusing to grant me an iota of friction did not cause me to take a tumble.


    Falling on my ass would have been embarrassing.


    No, I avoided the shame of such mortal weakness by wheeling my arms, leaning back and forth, and yanking my feet into position each time they attempted to escape the burden of supporting the rest of my body. It didn¡¯t help that the floor I¡¯d landed on was an incline, so as I battled with this Home Alone-grade hazard, I was also moonwalking backward from where I¡¯d appeared.


    I remembered that I had multiple ways to solve this problem a moment before Varrin appeared. I used Gracorvus to lock myself in place and placed a hand on my hip, looking outstandingly casual when the big guy popped into existence.


    Varrin looked at the ground, then looked up at me. Even with the shield, my feet wandered while I fought to keep my legs steady. I couldn¡¯t see the man¡¯s eyes through his slitless, fur-wrapped helm, but I felt the judgment regardless.


    ¡°Slippery,¡± he said, then strode toward me as though the ground didn¡¯t have the grip of greased Teflon. Nuralie and Etja appeared next, with Xim in the rear guard.


    Etja immediately started floating. Xim, despite having the same Agility score as I did, slid with far more grace down the slope. She caught my elbow to halt her descent.


    Nuralie surveyed the room, then did a slow skate around the perimeter with the ease and poise of an Olympic-level ice skater turned superhero.


    The room was mostly bare. It was about the size of a basketball court, was completely dark¨Cof course¨Cand had a gently sloping floor leading to the only exit, which was a large reinforced double door made of some kind of metal. It had threads of mana running through it, and I planned on taking a closer look to figure out what it did once we had our bearings.


    Xim held my arm as she squatted to inspect the floor. She ran a finger across it, then tapped it with a knuckle.


    ¡°It¡¯s some kind of ice,¡± she said. ¡°The surface is wet, but not with water. Hmm, it¡¯s already frozen on my finger.¡±


    Using Gracorvus to balance, I bent to examine the floor as well. The surface had the sheen of moisture, but it was rapidly hardening. That wasn¡¯t much of a surprise, since it was just as cold inside the Delve as it had been above.


    ¡°I¡¯d ask why it wasn¡¯t already frozen¨C¡± I began, then paused as orange-white runes began to burn on each wall. They grew in intensity for a second, raising the temperature in the room enough to cause steam to begin boiling off the ice. They went dead soon after, leaving the floor slicker than when we¡¯d entered. The temperature immediately plummeted, and the substance began to refreeze. ¡°Yeah, figured we¡¯d get an answer soon enough.¡±


    I glanced at everyone¡¯s health bars, but no one had taken any damage from the heat. My own health was doing something a little odd, however. My max HP was dropping by one every forty seconds or so, then ticking back up to its normal value a couple of seconds later. I glanced at my notifications and found the source.


    Miasma


    You are taking Wicked damage!


    ¡°Is anyone else taking Wicked damage?¡± I asked. Everyone checked their interfaces.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Xim, followed by the rest of the group. ¡°If it keeps this pace, I¡¯m taking about ninety per hour.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that is more dangerous than it sounds,¡± said Varrin.


    I nodded in agreement. While ninety damage per hour didn¡¯t sound like much, what made it dangerous was that Wicked damage reduced its victim¡¯s maximum health pool and couldn¡¯t be healed. The only way to recover from Wicked damage was natural health regeneration. That meant if the damage exceeded a Delver¡¯s natural regen, their max HP would constantly be draining while inside this Delve, and there was very little they could do about it.


    ¡°Ninety damage an hour is a little more than the unbuffed regen from Level 33 Fortitude,¡± I said. ¡°Nuralie, Etja, you two have the lowest regen. You good?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°With your aura, mine is at one hundred and eleven.¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡± said Etja. She glided over to Nuralie and hugged her from behind. ¡°Twinsies!¡± The Geulon patted Etja¡¯s hand, but otherwise ignored our mage¡¯s affection as she kept watch over the room.


    The runes pulsed, re-wetting the floor and shooting more steam into the air. Given time, the constant flash melting would cause the ice to shift down the slope, but it either wasn¡¯t an effect that was always on, or the liquid was drained and renewed somehow.


    ¡°Then we¡¯re okay for now,¡± I said, checking to see if we¡¯d received a Delve objective. ¡°Evade capture by the remnants of the Zng and confront its disgraced commander,¡± I read aloud. ¡°Bonus: Deprive the Zng of their armory.¡±


    ¡°Does that sound like a Prismatite vault to you guys?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Yeah, hopefully,¡± I said.


    [Even if it is not the vault we seek, there is certainly a reward worthy of completing the bonus,] Grotto thought to us.


    The Delve Core had opted to remain in the Closet for this one. Not because of his near-death experience. It definitely had nothing to do with that. He¡¯d even assured us that a Core does not suffer from the weakness of fear like we ¡®transient meatbags¡¯ did. He just had a lot of work to do in the Closet, and we were perfectly capable of handling a few Delves without him being physically present.


    The Closet was a complete wreck from dealing with Hysteria and their Wastelander mercenaries, so no one gave my familiar any shit about it.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°Then we proceed as normal. If the Wicked damage gets worse, we can reevaluate. In the meantime, let¡¯s deal with this door and have Nuralie do some scouting.¡±


    ¡°This plan is Etja-approved,¡± said Etja.


    I decided to make productive use of the stroll. We¡¯d talked over our short-term build directions before leaving Eschengal but hadn¡¯t settled on any final approaches.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll go with placing five points into Fortitude to get the Dumping bonus, with the other three in Strength,¡± I thought. ¡°That¡¯ll get me to Fortitude 70 by Level 15. Then, if I put all eight into Strength at Level 16, I can get it to 40.¡±


    ¡°Your offense will suffer short-term,¡± thought Varrin. ¡°Regardless, I think it is a good plan. The Level 70 evolutions are typically more powerful than Level 40, and Fortitude is your closest. In fact, it may be ideal if we all tried to reach a Level 70 evolution before heading to the Littan mega Dungeon. That would give us a significant advantage over their Level 16 group.¡±


    ¡°In case they¡¯re up to something?¡± I asked.


    Varrin glanced over at me. ¡°Better to be safe,¡± he thought.


    I wanted to believe the Littans were being genuine with us, but I was also on board with Varrin¡¯s caution. ¡°What about intrinsics? I¡¯ll have two slots once we finish the Expansion Delves. I figured another crafting skill would be good, but I can''t decide on something we don¡¯t already have.¡±


    The group had also spent an afternoon working through our skills and comparing their overlap. We¡¯d used that to create a Dungeon priority list, choosing skills that would have the largest impact on the party as a whole.


    ¡°Athletics is boring but dependable,¡± thought Varrin. ¡°It could improve your mobility or help you dodge.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I was also considering Reconnaissance, but my revelations make a lot of its evolutions redundant or obsolete.¡±


    ¡°What about Animal Husbandry?¡± Etja suggested. ¡°You could get a pet!¡±


    ¡°There is an Animal Familiar passive,¡± thought Varrin. ¡°It is distinct from Bonded Familiar.¡±


    ¡°I sort of gave up the horde of Minions route when I picked Auradilato over Minion Menagerie,¡± I replied.


    ¡°No, you chose quality over quantity,¡± Varrin thought. ¡°Minion Menagerie granted bonuses based on having a large number of summons and familiars, but Auradilato improves your auras for all of your allies, while also empowering you. Another high-quality familiar would benefit from your auras and likely become a strong addition.¡±


    ¡°The party¡¯s already kind of busy,¡± I thought. ¡°Do we want to manage another combatant? With Shog and Grotto we¡¯re already a group of seven. Plus, what animal? Would I need to raise one? How much of a time commitment is that?¡±


    [I can always rear a beast for you,] Grotto suggested. [We could engineer something truly abhorrent to the sensibilities of mankind.]


    ¡°Or you could grab Nottagator,¡± thought Xim.


    ¡°Nottagator¡¯s a berserker,¡± I thought, ¡°without any of Varrin¡¯s ability to discern allies from enemies. Plus they¡¯re built like a tank, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯d add much to our party composition.¡±


    [I am using Nottagator in the Pocket Delve. The Atrocidile is not for sale.]


    ¡°Oh, what about the plant?¡± asked Etja. ¡°It seems to like you!¡±


    ¡°How would that even work? It¡¯s kind of bound to the Closet.¡±


    [The Dominion Ivy of the Endless is also not for sale! Although, you may be able to raise another from a juvenile. We¡¯d need to experiment to determine the best growth conditions.]


    ¡°Is that an animal?¡± asked Xim. ¡°It¡¯s literally a plant.¡±


    [I would need to research, but it likely possesses intelligence and lack of communicative abilities sufficient to fall within the System¡¯s ¡®animal¡¯ categorization.]


    ¡°That¡¯s... interesting,¡± I admitted. ¡°But let¡¯s go back to crafting. I¡¯ve got a 100% progression bonus from my Human racial trait, so I wanna be craftier.¡±


    ¡°You do not smith much as it is,¡± thought Nuralie.


    ¡°Only due to lack of opportunity. It¡¯s on the List.¡±


    ¡°Wandmaking,¡± thought Varrin. ¡°You can take Woodworking, broadening the items you can create, and focus on wandcraft bonuses. Or, you could take the dedicated Wandmaking skill to wholly specialize in creating wands. It would also allow for the use of broader materials.¡±


    ¡°If you do that,¡± thought Etja, ¡°I definitely want some neat wands.¡± She held up her three empty hands. ¡°Look at all this untapped potential!¡±


    ¡°You know, I kind of like that idea,¡± I thought, looking at Etja¡¯s limbs. ¡°Thinking of underutilized appendages, I don¡¯t have a great use for the tentacles I get from Therianthropy at the moment. I just throw less awesome hammers. I can grab people too, but I¡¯m not built for that so it¡¯s only useful against weak shit. If I had a collection of wands, I could use them to blast more spells without burning mana.¡±


    [If you make even a meager attempt at creating a wand I can have the System prompt you with the skill. I would also be interested in ¡®borrowing¡¯ the ability for my own purposes. Few of your current intrinsics are useful for me to access via your Traveler¡¯s Amulet.]


    ¡°You could always pivot your build,¡± I thought. All I got back from that suggestion was a condescending chuckle.


    The psychic conversation ended as we got close to the Zng legion. Nuralie appeared from the shadows and had me float up the wall with Gracorvus to reach a narrow platform that ran into a massive staging area. It seemed like it was made for observation, though it didn¡¯t look like anything patrolled it. I belly crawled behind the loson¨Cwhich was more of a slide with the ice¨Cto peek out over the edge at the Undead army, trying my best to stay hidden.


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± I thought, observing the tightly packed formations. ¡°Firebug is definitely the play.¡±

 Chapter 222: 1,518

    Chapter 222: 1,518


    The legion was spread out in a large chamber that looked like it might have once been an outdoor field. The side where Nuralie and I perched had windows and large doors that gave the impression of a building¡¯s exterior wall. The observation platform was about three stories up, with the second story featuring several small terraces accommodating tables and six-legged pieces of furniture beneath the ice, which I assumed were lounge chairs. There were a few dark forms beneath the ice that looked as though some of the Zng had been trapped within.


    On the other hand, the field was a featureless expanse with a floor of hard-packed earth. Several large poles stuck out of the ground with thin metal ropes and rigging that might have once held flags. The field was primarily surrounded by smooth walls made of the brickwork we¡¯d dug out above. On the two sides closest to us were decorated arches leading to wide tunnels, their surface covered in time-worn engravings.


    The soldiers¨Ctrue to Nuralie¡¯s description¨Cwere arrayed into hundred-person formations, each member standing upright and at attention with their ¡®rifles¡¯ aimed at the ground. They stood in squares of ten by ten, with three hundred-strong formations per row, five rows deep. Each formation had a single soldier standing ahead of the rest, which identified as the commander. I couldn¡¯t find an officer who looked to be in charge of the entire legion, someone I¡¯d expected to be at the front of the legion.


    The soldiers wore armor similar to what we¡¯d seen in the main hall leading in. Matte black, with a hint of blue at the joints, although the stuff in the field was less intricate. The commanders only had a small streak of brighter blue on their left shoulders to distinguish them from the rank and file.


    The holes in the helmets were, indeed, for horns. Each soldier had a pair of ivory horns sweeping forward from their heads. Their sizes were somewhat irregular but seemed to match the relative height of the soldiers, similar to any other organic feature, like the size of someone¡¯s feet. There didn¡¯t seem to be any pattern based on size, although some soldiers had streaks of silver in their horns, with a smaller number having half or more of one or both horns replaced by the metallic substance.


    This might have been a decorative choice like tattooing, but looked more like pottery that had been repaired with lacquer and gold. Silver, in this case. Kintsugi was the term if memory served. That made me think the horns had been carefully repaired. The ones that had been replaced might have been closer to prosthetics than intentional body mods.


    The smallest of the soldiers was around my height, with the most vertically gifted standing nearly eight feet tall. Their heads were entirely obscured by matte helms, with diverse, monstrous visages on each face.@@@@


    In the air above them were three of the Preserved Zng Serpents. They were covered in shifting, rotten meat that swirled around gore-covered bone. Their heads were indeed shaped like a bull¡¯s, although the horns swept at a more forward angle than a bull¡¯s, like they were meant to charge straight forward and skewer something; more of a weapon than a defensive tool.


    In total, the chamber was about 250 feet wide and 400 feet deep. The legion fit comfortably, but only just. The two tunnels were wide enough for five people to walk abreast, so evacuating the chamber could be done swiftly, but it would still take some time. I wouldn¡¯t have called it a fire hazard normally, but we weren¡¯t about to start a normal fire.


    Before any of that, however, I needed to make sure these Zng were actually hostile. The chances they¡¯d be friendly were low but, hey, maybe this Delve was a social challenge. Weirder things had happened.


    Nuralie stayed in position while I slid away and floated back down to ground level.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m on board with trying diplomacy first,¡± I thought to the party, ¡°but I can see at least one fatal flaw in that approach.¡±


    ¡°We do not know what language they speak,¡± Nuralie finished for me.


    ¡°Yeah. Hard to negotiate through a language barrier.¡±


    [Fortunately, you have access to an ancient intelligence with endless libraries of dead languages on hand. I can translate for you, but I believe it would be better if you learned the language yourself.]


    I sighed and considered Grotto¡¯s offer. My birth sign gave me a massive aptitude for languages, but I still had to study. I couldn¡¯t just magically understand what they were saying.


    ¡°How long did it take you to learn Imperial?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°A month of casual study. Maybe 100 hours total.¡±


    [You have gained substantial improvements in Intelligence and Speed since then. Although this language does not share a common root with Imperial, I expect the process will be much faster, regardless.]


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s back off and I¡¯ll give it a shot. Nuralie can stay and keep watch. Hopefully, these guys stay put like they have for the last however many thousands of years.¡±


    *****


    Two ten-hour sessions with a one-hour break. That¡¯s how long it took me to become passably fluent in the dead language of Zng.


    The only reason I¡¯d wanted the break is because¨Cwhile it wasn¡¯t killing us¨Cthe Wicked damage was a persistent, uncomfortable sensation. I felt like an electric current of sadness constantly permeated my body. It wasn¡¯t enough to break my concentration, but it added to my mental fatigue. On that note, if our regen hadn¡¯t outpaced the Wicked damage, there was no way I¡¯d have been able to take a twenty-one-hour scholastic intermission.


    The rest of the party spent the time productively. Xim and Nuralie meditated on their revelations¨Cthe latter able to keep watch while doing so¨Cwhile Etja worked on layering her gravity spell, Siphon, onto Varrin¡¯s attacks. She¡¯d been trying to weave her spells into everyone else¡¯s Active Skills over the last few days, with a decent amount of success.


    Everyone also took naps, aside from Nuralie and I. The soldiers stood as still as the corpses they were, the entire time. It seemed like the miasma was the Delve¡¯s main way to press the party forward.


    Once I was done, everyone roused themselves and got ready to jump into action as soon as things went sideways. I walked the rest of the way down the hall to enter the legion¡¯s field via the normal route. A set of large double doors at the end of the hallway was wide open, and it didn¡¯t take long before the first commander noticed me.


    I had my hands in the air, trying to look as non-threatening as I could. Sure, I was wearing full heavy-plate armor, but Gracorvus was stored in its armguard and Somncres wasn¡¯t summoned. Plus, who¡¯d be threatened by a friendly guy in a feather boa?


    The first commander barked a single syllable at the other two. They turned, then followed his gaze to see me slowly approaching. Each one signaled their company. The front row of all three forward groups shifted to raise their weapons. They were still pointed at the ground but at a shallower angle. I came to a stop as the three commanders exchanged a few terse sentences.


    The language of the Zng was flowy and elegant, close to what I¡¯d imagined Elvish might sound like. Unfortunately, this musical language was somewhat marred by the gristle and bone the Undead commanders had for vocal chords.


    After a brief discussion, one of the commanders marched forward. Maybe this one was the ranking officer, or maybe they¡¯d drawn the short straw. The other two stepped around their companies and out of the line of fire.


    The approaching officer paused twenty feet away and shouted a question at me.


    ¡°What hand falls upon the diadem?¡± the raspy Undead commander asked.


    I barely managed to keep a frustrated expression off my face.


    My Elemental Barrier shoved enemies thirteen feet back to its edge, Etja hurled people around with Siphon, and Varrin simply grabbed soldiers and chucked them away. Nuralie sniped the more distant commanders, while Xim spammed Judgment to further accelerate the conflagration.


    The three Zng Serpents posed the greatest danger but were smart enough to stay above the flames. They charged Xim, who tried to use her Fear AoE to scare them off. Sadly, the Undead were resistant to those shenanigans, and I was forced to intervene.


    I teleported in front of Xim and used Elemental Barrier for area denial, then cast Explosion! to try and knock them away. The Serpents had size and momentum behind them, allowing them to resist the knockbacks, but they opted to release billowing clouds of noxious gas rather than skewer me with their horns.


    The gas was nasty, filling the air with impenetrable darkness while applying Toxicity and Bleeding along with a dose of Wicked damage. Against someone else, it would probably have been devastating.


    For me, it was annoying.


    I kept track of the enemies through the darkness with Soul-Sight, had solid Poison resistance from my gear and Exposure Therapy achievement, was immune to Bleeding, and the Wicked damage wasn¡¯t serious enough on its own to threaten my massive health pool.


    Xim Ignited the Serpents while I stayed in their faces to keep them busy. Their bone and rotten flesh bodies were weak to Blunt damage, allowing my hammers to chunk away massive shards of snake spine. Their charges meant to gore me had trouble penetrating my defenses, leaving me to believe their breath weapons were their primary offensive weapon. Denied that, they weren¡¯t so bad.


    Varrin and Etja broke away from the legion once the fire was omnipresent to support the fight, and the Serpents were dealt with before I had too many holes in me. I flew down into the raging fire to cleanse what Toxicity had built up, and would need to wait thirty minutes for my regen to clear the Wicked damage. Overall, I wouldn¡¯t have called the encounter trivial, but we¡¯d been well set up for it.


    Varrin tried to pull a few commanders from the flames for interrogation, but once Xim extinguished them, the commanders chose to end themselves rather than give up any intel. Their souls broke apart and dissipated in a scant few seconds. Irritating, but I could respect the tactic.


    In less than a minute the Undead legion had been reduced to a field of ash. Even their equipment had broken apart into crumbling dust, whatever magicks holding it together fading with the souls of the Zng. We got a wealth of knowledge on the Zng¡¯s combat capabilities, but next to nothing relating to the Delve¡¯s layout or the location of the armory and the Zng¡¯s supreme commander.


    The fight had been profitable in other ways, though.


    Your party has slain 1 Zng Legion: Undead Horde, Grade 23


    Your party receives the following rewards:


    1) 18 Emerald Chips


    2) 1,500 Ruby Chips


    3) 18 Death Essences


    You receive 3 Emerald Chips and 300 Ruby Chips. The remainder of 3 Emerald Chips has been awarded to Xim Xor¡¯Drel for outstanding contribution.


    As party leader, you receive 18 Death Essences.


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± I said, reading through the notification. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of mana chips, but less than we¡¯d get per enemy for similar Grades based on our prior Delves.¡±


    ¡°Are we getting short-changed, Grotto?¡± asked Xim.


    [Many factors affect chip rewards. The System considered the legion a singular entity, yet the rewards were higher than if the legion actually were a single Grade 23. While I support your jaded descent into greed in the face of vast wealth, I believe this was an outsized payment for the difficulty of the challenge.]


    ¡°Sure, sure,¡± I said. ¡°It would have been way harder if they¡¯d just had a good sprinkler system. You know, one filled with some kind of unholy water that worked on Xim¡¯s Divine fire.¡±


    ¡°What now?¡± asked Etja. ¡°Do we pick a hall and go for it?¡±


    ¡°Let me feel around some more with Coordinated Thinker,¡± I said. ¡°That hallway was more than two miles long, so we¡¯ve advanced a decent distance. Maybe I can figure out which direction is better.¡±


    ¡°Why make a hallway that¡¯s two miles long, anyway?¡± asked Xim.


    [There are several reasons the Delve Core might have elongated it. I doubt it was an original feature of the Throne.]


    While everyone else chatted, I sat down and closed my eyes, searching through the facility for valid Shortcut destinations. Going more than a half mile or so would drain all of my mana, but I could still use the sense to cheat a bit. Now that I¡¯d had a good look at the legion, I could root around for similar groups. It was slow and tedious, but the information we¡¯d gain was worth it. Since the Delve didn¡¯t have a time limit, we planned on taking this one nice and slow.


    That was the plan, anyway.


    ¡°Found a total dead spot,¡± I said, after two hours of searching. ¡°I¡¯m betting it¡¯s the vault and that it¡¯s warded to shit against teleportation and such. If we fight through another legion I can probably move us strangeward with Shortcut to jump past its defenses without burning all my mana.¡±


    ¡°Then,¡± said Xim, ¡°you can stuff everything inside your effectively limitless inventory and we can go look for the boss.¡±


    ¡°Sounds great!¡± said Etja.


    [I can only imagine what a nightmare this party is for whatever unfortunate Core is in charge.]

 Chapter 223: Please Die

    Chapter 223: Please Die


    ***


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY: DELVE CORE 9963


    ADDENDUM NOTE: Sometimes it¡¯s better to cut your losses.


    ***


    Delve Core 9963 had come online after a brief, eighty-year nap to discover Phase 2 had been implemented. She¡¯d been surprised it had happened so soon, but also excited beyond words to finally see her Delve in action.


    She¡¯d worked so hard to unearth and capture the Throne of Zng after the fall of the prior generation. Millennia of meticulous planning, millennia of stealthily invading, and yet more millennia of slowly converting the Undead within from a sleeping army into proper Delve creatures. All that effort, and she¡¯d never even gotten to see it tear the guts out of a single Delver!


    The Throne of Zng had been denied participation in Phase 1 for being too dangerous, which Core 9963 chose to interpret as being too awesome. It wasn¡¯t her fault she was an incredible Delve designer. Well, no, it was, but that was definitely a virtue and not a shortcoming. It was a sign of her extraordinary talent that her Delve had to be put on ice, pun intended.


    Were the contents of her Delve an existential risk to a Phase 1 civilization?


    No way!


    It was just a teeny little Undead army. Not even a full half million captured souls, all-in. Their average Grade was below Level 20, and even though there were one, or two¨Cokay, a hundred¨Cminor outliers vastly more powerful than the rest, those were just backups. She wasn¡¯t going to deploy them! Besides, the mana density was way too low for the Goliaths to even function properly. They were growth opportunities. Literally. She wanted to know how big she could get them.


    And, she definitely had full control of everything else inside, including the experimental Elder Liches. They weren¡¯t anywhere close to breaching their containment. She¡¯d even double-checked the weaves here and there and had only ever needed to make a few¨Cvery minor¨Cadjustments and repairs.


    What kind of trash Delve Core didn¡¯t have total control of their Delve monsters? Core 9963 was a professional, not some garbage rusty-shell playing fast and loose with their necromantic rituals and safeguards. Not any of the important ones, at least.


    Sadly, System Core 1 was unpersuaded.


    So, Core 9963 was forced to wait, not just until Phase 2 came along, but also for someone to actually find the Delve. SC1 wasn¡¯t willing to grant a direct portal, and hearing that, 9963 had felt the tiniest bit of regret over her choice of location.


    The moonfall had buried the whole Zng civilization beneath ice. Without a System prompt, how would anybody find the place? Was she supposed to wait until somebody came to the middle of no-fucking-where and dug?!


    Still, she¡¯d had faith. Delvers were resourceful. And, as it turned out, more resourceful than she¡¯d even thought! The transition had been less than a month ago, and there was already a party inside her lovely, fantabulous Delve.


    And she fucking hated them.


    The... the indignation, the rage she felt, it was overwhelming. The meatbags weren¡¯t doing anything the intended way! Core 9963 prided herself on providing Delvers with many different paths to solving a challenge, but they weren¡¯t solving shit! They were just breaking everything!


    First, her carefully crafted Wicked ice. Always slick, always emitting deadly fumes, it was supposed to send Delvers into a panic, then test their ability to adapt to the pressure! There were a bajilliondy ways to disable the weaves or counteract the debuff, but this group just friggin¡¯ ignored it! It¡¯s like they didn¡¯t even care. Did they enjoy the suffering?


    Next, her meticulously planned entry hall. Miles of hidden secrets buried beneath the ice. Clues and trinkets, there was even an amulet that would translate Zng for them! A mile further in was a coded storybook that would have given them the password the Zng soldiers would ask for. They barely glanced at any of it!


    Was it all trapped to shit? Yes, of course. Were there thousands of decoy items? Duh! Would digging through the ice make the Wicked debuff worse? It would, but that was the challenge. Once the Delvers saw an entire legion of Undead, they were supposed to panic again! Then they could retrace their steps and hunt for the clues, dealing with more reasonable hazards than a flubbin¡¯ army rated eleven Grades higher than their party!


    They didn¡¯t even look for a way to translate the language. Some asshole in a feather boa sat and muttered to himself for an entire day straight, and was suddenly fluent. Core 9963 had never even heard of that skill, and the System refused to cough up any info on it.


    Right, so Feathers McFashion learned the language. Next, they should have tried to figure out whether there was a code or something, right? No again. They took a look at 1,518 enemies with Grades ranging from 13 to 20 and thought ¡°Hey, that looks like something we could fight.¡± Hello? No, it doesn¡¯t! They were Level 12!


    And then, they murdered everything. They even made it look easy.


    EASY!


    ¡°Say, Vaulty, can I pick your artificial brain about something?¡± I said in Zng. The golem had picked the nickname itself since its composite souls didn¡¯t possess sufficient individualism to remember their names.


    ¡°Sure,¡± said the golem. Its heavy metal legs pivoted, letting its multi-ton frame settle onto the ground with a clunk. The Guardian¡¯s upper body swung towards me with a whine of its servos. ¡°What do you need?¡±


    Although the golem was mainly made up of an amalgamation of incorporeal specters, it had a robotic outer shell that served as a red herring. Once the physical components were destroyed, it actually became more powerful. It could also split into multiple lesser specters that would steal life force and allow it to reform once its soul had been damaged. It sounded like a solid setup for a three-phase fight that I was a little disappointed we were missing out on. But, Vaulty was pretty chill and I had no desire to hurt the big dude.


    ¡°We¡¯re in a little hot water with a problem related to mental magicks,¡± I said. ¡°Being a powerful Spiritual entity, I was wondering if you happened to have any expertise in that area?¡±


    ¡°What kind of mental effects?¡± Vaulty asked.


    ¡°Semi-permanent manipulation, likely originating from some overpowered version of Dominate.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said the golem. ¡°No. I am capable with a variety of mental debuffs such as Fear and Psychosis, but I am no Dominator. I do not even dabble in possessions, since I find the practice abhorrent.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, then do you happen to know a master of mental magicks powerful enough to manipulate souls at a deific or near-deific level?¡±


    ¡°Gods, no,¡± said Vaulty. ¡°If I knew that such an entity was within a thousand miles of me, I would flee. They are despicable, vile, perverted corruptors who pursue mastery over the greatest sins imaginable. One¡¯s own thoughts should be sacred, an inviolable sanctuary. Seeking the power to desecrate that is the highest of taboos.¡±


    I shifted my lips back and forth as I thought. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be indelicate, but isn¡¯t that kind of what¡¯s happening to you?¡±


    Vaulty¡¯s glowing red eyes narrowed as it stared at the wall in thought. ¡°I believe I would like to leave this place.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can understand why,¡± I said. ¡°By the way, do golems count as living creatures?¡±


    [Not typically, although there are exceptions, such as Etja.]


    ¡°Could I... put Vaulty in my inventory?¡±


    [Perhaps. Although, you would need to be able to lift him. He would also be protected by his controller¡¯s will, which would oppose your attempt.]


    ¡°You have an inventory space with that much capacity?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Plenty of space in there.¡±


    ¡°I am aware of the binding rituals used to compel me. I cannot alter them on my own, or assist another in altering them, but I can give you their locations.¡±


    [Assuming the golem was bound by a Core, I have sufficient knowledge to compromise their control, especially since the spirit is aware of its captivity.]


    ¡°Then we can take you with us if you¡¯d like.¡± I looked over the golem¡¯s massive frame. ¡°We might need to disassemble you some, so I can pick up the pieces and store them. How¡¯s that sound?¡±


    ¡°I am reluctant to trust a stranger with my frame, but...¡± The golem glanced over at Etja, who gave him a beaming smile. ¡°Since you are a friend of Etja¡¯s, I will take the chance.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get started, then. Once we¡¯re out, you can decide what you want your future to look like.¡±


    And so we stole the Delve¡¯s optional boss. Hopefully, the Core wouldn¡¯t be too upset about it. Buuuuuut if they were anything like Grotto, we were about to make a little murder ball pretty angry with us.


    Fuck it, we were shitting all over this Delve, we could handle it.

 Chapter 224: Handling It

    Chapter 224: Handling It


    ***@@@@


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY: DELVE CORE 9963


    ADDENDUM NOTE: Those bastards.


    ***


    Core 9963 watched the Delvers work in shock. She couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing, so she reset her sensor arrays and even did a soft reboot of her operating system. When everything came back online, the scene before her was the same.


    They were stealing her Minion.


    The social victory was one thing. That was irritating but valid. Not all Delvers preferred to solve their problems with violence and 9963 allowed some leeway for ¡®talk-it-out¡¯ solutions, even though they were dumb and not nearly as cool as dismemberment.


    Sure, the boss had high Wisdom, immunity to several mental debuffs, and was designed to be omni-hostile. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be something that could be beaten through, ugh, Mesmerize. Even so, it was fair play and she wasn¡¯t mad about it.


    ...


    Honestly, Mesmerize wasn¡¯t even that great! The debuff hadn¡¯t been on her radar at all. It only protected the one person who Mesmerized the enemy, and definitely should not have extended to the entire party. It was a gimmick to keep the squishies safe, not something to break open an entire boss encounter with!


    Of course, their Charisma mage had¨Clike the Vault Guardian¨Calso been a golem for some fucking reason. The Vault Guardian¡¯s empathy restrictions had been overtaxed by the mage¡¯s¨Cadmittedly¨Cheartwrenching diatribe on how she¡¯d struggled to find herself after breaking free of the person who¡¯d defined her entire existence¨Cher dad.


    Her dad was also the golemancer who¡¯d made her, which was a weird family dynamic. Also, the mage was a high priestess who¡¯d worshipped her dad as a god? Or, she was a model based on the priestess. And her dad kind of was a god, but only the avatar of half of one... or something.


    Core 9963 had trouble wrapping her chassis around it, so she ignored the mage¡¯s tragic and overly complicated backstory to focus on more important things.


    Revenge.


    Social victory aside, these Delvers had transgressed. Unsatisfied with their lame and boring Mesmerize exploit, these assholes had decided to steal from her! They broke down the Guardian¡¯s binding arrays like they were friggin¡¯ experts on Delve Core golem assembly. Then, they¡¯d disassembled the big oaf and stuffed him into the Full Bearded Donkey¡¯s seemingly endless inventory.


    Well, Core 9963 wasn¡¯t going to sit idle as she watched the burglary in action. She pulled up the control sigils for the Throne¡¯s current final boss and ensured everything was powered and ready to go. Then, she pored over the hundreds of chambers within the Delve, looking for the best place to drop the potent Undead.


    The boss chamber alone was no longer good enough.


    She paused as she brought up one of the primary holding facilities. There were ten legions inside, along with a dozen Spiritual collectors that could repurpose the Undead souls if they were destroyed. If the Delvers rampaged through the army, she could ramp up power to her fabricators and pump out Wraiths like nobody¡¯s business!


    Plus, the Demi-Lich Commander boss could fire off AoE buffs and reassemble the Undead that hadn¡¯t been completely destroyed.


    The only teeny tiny little minor issue was that those collectors also managed power to one of her ¡®projects¡¯. It drew ambient Spiritual energy from the 15,180 Undead within to maintain her backup containment weaves.


    She debated whether the risk of damage to the weaves was worth seeing the Delvers put in their rightful place for an eternal 0.03 seconds.


    They were just backups.


    It would be fine!


    The felonious party would be too busy trying to survive to pay attention to anything other than the horde. Besides, the collectors were on the ceiling, and fleshbags never looked up anyway.


    She teleported the boss to Detention Center No. 1 and worked on subtly enticing the Delvers to find their way inside.


    ***


    END ADDENDUM


    ***


    *****


    We made good time sending Vaulty into the Closet via my inventory screen, where Grotto would reassemble the friendly boss and let him stretch his legs. However, before we¡¯d even been able to pat each other on the back for a job well done, a portal opened. Accompanying the portal was a System message that I would describe as ¡°suspicious as shit¡±.


    Bonus objective completed!


    Congratulations, you totally did the armory section exactly how it was supposed to be done! I¡¯m super surprised at how talented you are.


    As a reward, you can skip straight to the boss! No need to keep slogging your way through legions and wasting your time exploring the place, especially since you¡¯ve been ignoring 90% of it. You¡¯re probably really busy, so I completely understand why you wouldn¡¯t be interested in wasting your time with the rich Zng history, the compellingly designed environment, or any of the dozens of riddles and sub-challenges that were lovingly added in. Nope, no time for that. I get it.


    So, boss! You can go through this portal and it¡¯ll take you straight there.


    Really it¡¯s just a formality at this point. You¡¯ve 100% proven you deserve to beat the place, so just go fight the boss and you¡¯ll be done. It probably won¡¯t even be hard since you¡¯re so strong and skillful.


    Yeah! Boss time!


    Go through the fucking portal.


    [I believe the Delve Core is upset with you.]


    ¡°Upset with us,¡± I thought to my familiar. ¡°Don¡¯t run from the responsibility of being an enabler.¡±


    ¡°We should not take this portal,¡± Nuralie thought to the group. ¡°It is the most obvious trap I have ever seen.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± thought Xim.


    ¡°How about First Comes Rock?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That would give us more flexibility,¡± thought Varrin.


    Etja crossed one pair of her arms. ¡°If we¡¯re using the Hunter category, we should jump straight to Aura Synthesis.¡±


    *****


    We discussed several more options with highly original names that I assure you I did not steal from my favorite anime shows. Finally, we decided to open with Aura Synthesis and then pivot based on what we found.


    Normally we¡¯d have preferred to scout, but with an angry Delve Core sending us to an unknown location, we were worried that Nuralie would wind up in a deadly situation.


    Xim maxed out our Blessed stacks and cast the Blessings of Hunger and Pounding on Varrin. We all took a Potion of Clarity from Nuralie to improve our mental defenses. Varrin manifested one soul clone, and Etja used her soul hug on me and we built up our Explosion! combo. I made sure Life Warden was up on Etja.


    Just before entering the portal, I activated Aura of Persistence, granting everyone Shielding, Xim activated Sam¡¯lia¡¯s Warmth, granting everyone healing, Varrin used Enrage to prime his Berserk buffs, and Nuralie used a new skill called Wraithwalk, which made her incorporeal while still allowing her to make attacks. She was sticking with the group for this strategy, so she needed survivability if the enemy started throwing down AoEs.


    We all either grabbed or were grabbed by Varrin¨CExcept for Nuralie because she couldn¡¯t, due to being incorporeal¨Cand the big guy flew us into the portal at full speed. Nuralie was fast enough to keep up without issue.


    We appeared in a chamber that was two miles wide, in the middle of a fucking Undead army.


    I quickly surveyed the enemy and took in the thousands of soldiers. Then I did what any smart Delver would do and looked up to check on the number of Serpents. There were dozens of them looping through the air throughout the chamber, about a hundred feet off the ground. An Undead woman hovered amongst them, wearing ornate golden armor over dark flowing robes. She was directly overhead.


    Grand Commander Lillithin Tyrianaeonis: Demilich, Grade 26


    A thousand feet above her, I noticed several devices spread across the ceiling that pulsed and blazed in my mana sight. I figured those were probably important, so I¡¯d keep a close watch to see if they did anything.


    There was also a massive ritual weave on the ground, encircling us.


    The position the Delve Core had put us in was probably meant to be intimidating. I understood why they thought it was a good move. We were at the center of four legions forming a perfect kill box on all sides. Crossfire apparently wasn¡¯t an issue with their weird guns.


    The closest Undead was over 100 feet away, putting them outside of melee and even most mid-range spells. The boss was in the air, where flightless Delvers might struggle to reach her, but close enough to start dropping the hammer on us as soon as we appeared.


    There were many ways to make this more lethal, though. It was still a tough position to be in, but they¡¯d seriously underestimated our range.


    My Speed, Intelligence, and Wisdom allowed me to soak in these details in about a quarter of a second. I immediately tried the olive branch.


    ¡°We¡¯re here to talk!¡± I shouted in Zng.


    That went over as well as we¡¯d suspected it would. When the first spatial rifle tickled my ribs with its attack and the ritual circle started glowing, we executed our plan.


    I snapped and released a 650-foot radius Explosion! I¡¯d been charging for eighteen seconds. The four legions were 400 feet deep and 125 feet away. Explosion! caught them all. Etja¡¯s chosen spell to combine with my big boom was Nullify, which we reasoned made sense as a defensive measure, in case the Core was dropping us into a magic death trap. In a sense, they had. The massive ritual circle certainly wasn¡¯t there for our benefit.


    A thunderous clap shook the air and a pressure wave, roiling with blue mana-eating energy, rolled out at the speed of sound. The ground cracked and splintered, whipping dust and shards of stone into the maelstrom. The Undead on all sides were torn asunder as the detonation struck their front lines. Armor crumpled, thousands of bodies ragdolled through the air, colliding and crushing one another as sharp rocks tore through bodies like paper.


    Nullify ripped apart the mana weave at our feet, canceling whatever magic the Demilich was working. The Grand Commander also wasn¡¯t spared the Explosion! The blast hurtled her upward, sending her careening several hundred feet higher amidst shredded gore and bone from a dozen annihilated Serpents.


    Then, everything got sucked.


    My new version of Explosion! had two phases. The first was the normal detonation, the form the spell took if I used it as an instant cast. However, once I¡¯d channeled it for three seconds or more, it pulled enemies to its center after the initial blast.


    Nearly five thousand bodies froze in the air and reversed course, along with the stone and debris. The Demilich crashed down toward us¨Cstill alive¨Cand I made a split-second decision.


    ¡°Grapple,¡± I thought to Xim. The cleric had anticipated the move and was already transforming.


    As the mass of bodies collapsed on our position, Xim¡¯s armor fell away and she used her Revelation of the Heart to turn into a towering, pale-red beast with a single onyx horn. She reached out and snagged the Demilich from behind before she hit the ground, digging her flaming claws into the woman¡¯s ribs. She bit down on the Grand Commander¡¯s trapezius and wrapped thick legs around her waist.


    At the same time, we were buried beneath a massive pile of stone shrapnel and ancient corpses. On the one hand, being entombed in a thirty-foot-thick sphere of death was usually a bad thing. Hate it when that happens. On the other hand, none of the thousands of soldiers still standing had line of sight on us.


    Being struck by the dross that Explosion! sucked back in wasn¡¯t too dangerous, since the vast majority of it was now ¡®mundane¡¯ and our Fortitude granted us a massive resistance. It was by no means comfortable, but it hadn¡¯t been particularly risky and it was an incredible opportunity.


    I used Elemental Barrier to create a dome of rampaging Sonic damage around us, shunting all the bodies and debris back to create a sort of corpse igloo. The Demilich¡¯s body was twisted from the explosion, but she muttered a haunting phrase and dark energy ran through her limbs, snapping bones back into place.


    Varrin and his soul clone both immediately used Soul Strike on the Demilich, thrusting their blades through the Commander¡¯s head and expertly avoiding Xim. Nuralie fired an arrow into the boss¡¯s eye, and Spectral damage started rampaging through the Demilich¡¯s body from one of the alchemist¡¯s Spiritual toxins.


    Etja wove Repulsion into Magic Blast, delivering a wrist-thick beam of Force and Holy damage into the enemy¡¯s skull, while Xim dropped a Judgment even as she wrestled with the Undead, Igniting the Commander and a swath of the bodies still surrounding us.


    The Demilich screamed and a wave of Wicked damage started to pour out of its body. The biggest problem with our current formation was that it required us to stay close together, making AoEs a pain. The attack threatened to engulf all of us, handicapping our max health for the rest of the encounter.


    I snapped out a Dispel, losing thirty mana to cancel the attack.


    With her dying spell thwarted, the Demilich¡¯s body turned to ash and crumbled.


    Xim let out a low growl, then spoke in a layered, throaty voice. Flames licked across her lips as the word came out.


    ¡°Nice.¡±

 Chapter 225: Lich in a Ditch

    Chapter 225: Lich in a Ditch


    ¡°Stay alert, we aren¡¯t done,¡± I thought to the group. The Demilich¡¯s soul thrashed and escaped from the corpse, fleeing up through the mound of bodies held at bay by my Elemental Barrier. I noted that Nuralie¡¯s Spiritual poison was still attacking the boss¡¯s soul even as it fled, and it had to shake off Xim¡¯s Divine fire. That was good information to have.


    My Soul-Sight pierced the corpse dome and I watched for a second as the Demilich¡¯s spirit soared up toward the ceiling high above. Thousands of spirits from the slain Undead joined her as she rose.


    ¡°Varrin, fly Xim to the ceiling and you two destroy whatever magic bullshit is going on up there,¡± I thought. ¡°Liches revive, I don¡¯t know how long it takes, and blowing up the shiny is usually a good strat.¡±


    Between everyone present, the pair had the best survivability while flying in the open against ranged opponents. Varrin was fast, and he was strong enough to carry the transformed cleric, while Xim could heal. I was also hoping she would repeat her crawl-on-the-ceiling act.


    The corpse pile began rumbling as what I imagined were thousands of spatial rifles started tearing their way through.


    ¡°Nuralie, assassinate the Commanders and provide support if needed.¡± The loson had already disappeared into the dark. ¡°Etja, you and I are staying low to minimize the number of soldiers that can target us. We¡¯ll do what we did against the Pit and I¡¯ll be your meat shield. Let¡¯s swing around the outside of the horde, keep the wall to our backs, and melt shit.¡±


    ¡°As Closetland¡¯s Supreme Wizard, I vote to ratify this plan,¡± Etja thought with a grin.


    I activated Therianthropy, spreading my wings and pulling two spare shields from inventory with my tentacles. I started to say something rallying but hesitated when a question flitted into my head.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re fighting the entire Zng military, does that make this our first war?¡±


    Several Zng Serpents swept toward our impromptu fort, visible through my Sight. Their approach interrupted our opportunity to legislate whether war needed to be formally declared, or if we could even war with a dead nation. Xim hopped onto Varrin¡¯s back, her hulking beast form making the big guy look average by comparison.


    Varrin blasted up, his blade cleaving a slit through the bodies and debris before exploding through the massacre. Xim dropped Judgment twice as they flew, with Varrin doing his best to dart and weave between a thousand spatial rifles trying to bring them down. Their health bars did gymnastics as dozens of strikes landed while Xim pumped out healing as fast as she could.


    Etja copied Xim¡¯s move and hopped on between my wings. The mage had a higher top speed than I did with Siphon, but it took time for her to ramp up to it. With my Level 20 Speed evolution, I could go full throttle from a complete stop, which I was betting would help us dodge.


    My tentacles covered her body with their shields, and I used Gracorvus to cover my front. We were a mile from the nearest wall along the edge of the enormous staging area. I could close part of that distance with Shortcut, but it was gonna cost me.


    The anti-teleport weaves within the Delve added an exponential multiplier to my teleport costs. Moving up to 288 feet with Shortcut was unaffected, but each equivalent increase in distance doubled the resources the spell required. Shortcut cost me four mana, but that cost increased when I mana-shaped it to take other people along for the ride.


    Each additional person I was teleporting added another four mana to the price tag. That made it a normal cost of eight to take Etja with me, sixteen to teleport double my safe range, thirty-two for triple, etcetera. It was more efficient to make multiple jumps to our target than trying to cover the distance all at once, but each cast had a brief cooldown where we¡¯d be vulnerable.


    I didn¡¯t have enough mana to cover the full mile. I was down to 150 after achieving my new personal best multi-kill and then fighting the boss. Going double distance was the same multiplier as casting twice, so I focused on putting us 596 feet closer to the wall and activated the skill.


    Fortunately, I could fly full tilt while waiting out the two-second cooldown, which let us cover another 1,000 feet the normal way before I popped Shortcut again. Each cast was accompanied by a loud crackling sound as I pushed the skill slightly above its safe range. It placed a burden on our bodies, but our resilience was high enough that it didn¡¯t cause any damage.


    What did cause damage was the endless ranks of Undead firing at us for the two seconds we were visible.


    Etja was well hidden beneath the two tower shields I held over her body, using Siphon to shunt soldiers out of our path and unbalance as many as she could to disrupt their aim. But I couldn¡¯t guard against everything with Gracorvus. My legs and underside were exposed. I flew low to the ground in a Superman pose to avoid giving anything a good shot at my belly.


    The soldiers took a moment to orient and aim when we appeared, and we wove through the densely packed ranks to minimize the number that could target us. Even so, hundreds took their shot, and dozens scored strikes on my limbs for ten damage a pop. My health was in the 1500s before I hit Shortcut again.


    It took three casts, a dozen leg fractures, and countless small wounds of stretched and distorted skin and muscle to make it to the wall. My health was barely hovering over 1,000. I rotated and brought all three shields to the front, placing Etja and my back against the wall, then forming a wall of metal in front of us.


    I cast Elemental Barrier to push back the closest group of soldiers, creating space and making it impossible for anything to get a bead past the shields. My mana was down to 82, but Etja could cast without fear from the riff-raff.


    The Serpents were a different problem.


    However, I didn¡¯t have to wait that long. Once the sixth collector was destroyed, all the mana in the chamber was sucked into a single point in the center, right where we¡¯d originally been teleported.


    I grunted as the force even sucked at my own mana pool, dropping it several points before I focused and seized control of the tug. A deep wrenching sound overpowered the sounds of battle, and bright cracks ran along the chamber¡¯s walls, scattering dust and gravel into the air.


    Okay, I know we¡¯ve had our differences, but would you be willing to put a pause on hostilities and possibly consider a teamup?


    I was too busy trying to fight and figure out what we¡¯d just triggered to give the notification proper consideration. Even after it had shuffled to the front of my brain¡¯s attention queue, it didn¡¯t make much sense without more context.


    I settled on an eloquent ¡°What?¡± as my verbal reply.


    All of the Undead soldiers suddenly lowered their rifles. The Serpents pulled back from Varrins one, two, and three, and the big guy was heaving mighty breaths, his helmet dark.


    The ground rumbled, the stone and ice that had been fractured by Explosion! shifted. Massive hunks of stone began to rise from the floor.


    I know your flesh brain only moves at the speed of stupid, but I need you to follow along a little faster. Your irresponsible assault on the collectors has damaged one of my containment weaves and now there¡¯s a small chance of something getting loose that no one will be happy about!


    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh, despite the situation. ¡°We¡¯re the irresponsible ones?¡± I asked. I searched for the words to address the Core¡¯s gross mischaracterization but decided on something simple. ¡°You know what? Fuck you.¡±


    Listen, meathead, I¨C


    ¡°No. You sound like a twelve-year-old throwing a tantrum.¡± I peeked over my shields at the rising slabs, each one larger than a house. ¡°Also, there¡¯s no way this is a Level-appropriate challenge, Expansion Delve or not.¡±


    You don¡¯t know shit about balancing encounters! This has all been rigorously planned and tested to ensure it falls within appropriate parameters.


    If you¡¯re struggling, maybe you¡¯re just bad!


    I chuckled. ¡°I doubt it.¡± Then I sent a psychic comm to Grotto. ¡°Any idea what we¡¯re dealing with here?¡±


    Grotto let out a long mental sigh. [I believe this Core reached for the sky and somehow managed to catch a star. Sadly, she did not know what to do with it once it began to incinerate the world.]


    ¡°That¡¯s... oddly poetic of you.¡±


    [I am lodging a formal complaint with the System. It might be able to intervene before you are killed.]


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad.¡±


    [Oh yes, it can.]


    A pulse of Spiritual energy¨Can order of magnitude more potent than anything we¡¯d encountered within the Delve¨Cswept out across the room. The thousands of Undead turned toward the center of the chamber as one and knelt. The Serpents glided down from above, quickly parking themselves on the ground beside the soldiers, heads bowed in supplication.


    A masculine figure rose from the excavated crater, soul brimming with ghastly power. Their skeletal figure was shrouded in tattered robes, their face obscured behind a reptilian mask. They held a simple, dark staff, its mundane form belying the power that thrummed within it. The entity swept its gaze across the room.


    Supreme General Diathemon Tyrianaeonis, Lord of Miasma, Father of the Blighted: Elder Lich, Grade 51.

 Chapter 226: The Boss We Deserve

    Chapter 226: The Boss We Deserve


    With a wave of the Elder Lich¡¯s hand, the six remaining collectors exploded. Tons of frozen debris rained down, but another swipe of the hand swept it all aside to land clear of the soldiers. Spiritual energy funneled from the wrecked devices, flowing into the General¡¯s palm.


    With a few gestures, an Undead soldier floated up from the ground, the energy invaded its body, and the creature reshaped itself into the form of the Lich Commander we¡¯d just slain. The woman gasped as she was resurrected, then looked around and tensed for battle. When she caught sight of the General, she hastily flew down to kneel with the rest of the army.


    The General looked up at Xim and Varrin, then turned to face a dark corner near the ceiling. It made a come hither gesture, and the world stuttered. Etja and I, along with the rest of the party, appeared at the crater''s edge.


    The Lich looked down at us with hollowed eye sockets. The creature pointed at one of the Serpents, and its body dissolved into sand. Spectral energy flowed to the General, and the flesh visible beneath its torn robes inflated, growing full and healthy. Silvery eyes formed in its skull, and the man closed them while taking a deep breath. He let it out long and slow, then floated down toward us.


    He released his staff, which hovered at his side as he touched down only a few feet away. The Lich ran his eyes over us, and I felt foreign mana invade every cell of my being. He lingered on me, looking my body over, then spoke with a deep, commanding voice.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± said the Lich. ¡°For how many generations have we slept?¡±


    After taking a brief moment to absorb our new circumstances, the party vigorously conferred on psychic comms. Xim in particular was very vocal about how it was bullshit that all our adventures ended with us dealing with something way more powerful than we should rightfully be expected to deal with and to point out¨Cemphatically¨Cthat this wasn¡¯t technically a god and so I couldn¡¯t be expected to wrangle it.


    We took note of her guidance and decided to answer the Lich¡¯s question.


    ¡°One generation, so far as we know,¡± I said in Zng.


    ¡°Oh, good,¡± said the Lich. He placed his hands on his lower back and stretched. There were several cracks and pops. ¡°What phase are we in?¡±


    ¡°System phase?¡± I asked. He nodded. ¡°We¡¯re in phase two.¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°Wonderful! And how long has phase two been active?¡±


    ¡°Uh, two weeks or so? Something like that.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± said the Lich, leaning back. There was a final loud pop and he sighed in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s quite fast. I thought it would take much longer than that.¡±


    ¡°We aim to please,¡± I said, uncertain. ¡°You sound like you were expecting this to happen.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the Lich said absently. ¡°Yes, I was.¡± He turned toward the kneeling soldiers, hesitated, then turned back to us. He pointed a thin finger up and down at me. ¡°As one professional to another, I like the modifications you¡¯ve made to your organism.¡±


    I glanced down at myself. ¡°Thanks?¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome, young man. Now, we must be off.¡±


    ¡°Wait. You aren¡¯t going to try and conquer the world or anything, are you?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? No, I doubt we could.¡± He waved at the soldiers. ¡°It seems like your group alone destroyed nearly 3% of my army. The weakest 3%, but regardless. We¡¯re not trying to conquer the world, just dishing out some justice.¡±


    ¡°Justice against who?¡±


    ¡°The filthy avatars, of course.¡±


    ¡°Aha. Well, if that¡¯s your plan, good luck I guess.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said the Lich.


    ¡°Actually, one more thing,¡± I said. The Lich eyed me curiously and waited for my question. ¡°Since you¡¯re a Lich of considerable power, I assume you have expertise with Spiritual magicks.¡±


    ¡°A common misconception,¡± said General Diathemon. ¡°My attunement is Mystical, in fact. The necromantic capabilities I use to affect the soul are derived from the Divine school. Most Liches in my day were attuned to a school in the Spiritual triad, but Divine was a common enough secondary.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, that might even be better. We¡¯re having some trouble with a lingering mental effect. It started with¨C¡±


    The Lich held up a hand. ¡°While I appreciate the help you¡¯ve provided, there are many matters I must attend to. Give it to me in twenty words or less.¡±


    I pursed my lips, a little peeved at being shut down, but I was probably lucky the Lich was engaging with me at all.


    ¡°Do you know a master of mental magicks powerful enough to manipulate souls at a deific or near-deific level?¡±


    ¡°Gods, no,¡± said the Lich. ¡°My business is mainly concerned with breathing new life into those who willingly commit themselves to my service. None of my soldiers are bound against their will. Slavery is not a practice that was looked kindly upon within the Zng Republic, and mental slavery was abhorred above virtually any other criminal act. If I even knew of such an entity within a thousand miles of me I would hunt it down and rid the world of its repugnant existence.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I said.


    ¡°Indeed. If that is all...¡± He turned back to the kneeling soldiers, took his staff in his hand, and then slammed it down into the ground. A wave of Dimensional mana flooded the room, and the soldiers teleported off in droves. The Demilich we¡¯d temporarily killed scowled at us before she blinked away.


    The Elder Lich looked back over his shoulder at me. ¡°Speaking of violators of free will, 9963 was a handful to work with, but she¡¯s a dedicated sort. She took charge of the place under our agreement with the System, although she wasn¡¯t aware of it. Either way, I am giving her a pass. Still, she could use a firm hand to guide her, lest she stray too far into corruption.¡±


    With that, the man disappeared along with all the rest of the Undead. The floating boulders crashed back to the ground, and we were left in a massive, empty chamber filled with rubble and ice.


    ¡°What a friendly lich!¡± said Etja. She looked around, making sure he was really gone, then whispered, ¡°I thought he¡¯d be mean.¡±


    ¡°A prejudice, to be sure,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°But not an unreasonable one.¡±


    ¡°The fuck just happened?¡± I asked. The System, in its infinite generosity, delivered half of an answer.


    Your party has defeated Delve Core 9963: Delve Core, Grade Stupid!


    Your party receives the following reward!


    ¡°Grotto,¡± I said, ¡°did the System insert us into the middle of a workplace dispute?¡±


    [It was surprisingly forthcoming with the location of this Expansion Delve, so I believe it directed us here with the intention that we deal with 9963¨C Excuse me, that we deal with Hubris on its behalf.]


    ¡°Eh, okay. Hubris it is!¡± I said.


    {No! That¡¯s terrible! I hate it!}


    ¡°Really?¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine why.¡±


    ¡°That sort of sounds like an avatar name,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°True, true.¡±


    ¡°The name also feels unnecessarily scathing,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°It is a Delve Core.¡± Pause. ¡°It did Delve Core things.¡± She shrugged.


    {I refuse to be called Hubris. Call me something else!}


    I raised an eyebrow at the Core. ¡°You¡¯re in no position to be making demands.¡± I held up a finger to interrupt the Core¡¯s next protest. ¡°We can consider a different name, but only if you use the magic words.¡±


    {I don¡¯t know Celestial.}


    ¡°¡®Please¡¯ and ¡®thank you¡¯ are the magic words,¡± I said.


    {Those phrases have no inherent power to bend the universe to my will.}


    ¡°That¡¯s not true. When you are in an inferior bargaining position, being polite is often more effective for getting what you want than making demands and generally being an ass. What¡¯s more magical than convincing another intelligent being who owes you nothing to go out and do things for you that you can¡¯t do on your own?¡±


    The Core considered that for a half-second, which was a long time for a Delve Core. {Please do not call me Hubris. I would be thankful if you called me something else.}


    I nodded appreciatively. ¡°Very well. Throne is still in the name of the Delve. Does Throne work for you?¡±


    {I think... yes. It¡¯s regal. It¡¯s royal. It implies that I am the seat of power for a mighty kingdom. Highly appropriate for a Core of my caliber.}


    ¡°Good. Now that we have that settled, Throne, where¡¯s the obelisk?¡±


    {Up your butthole, meatwad!}


    I sighed as all the progress between us was lost. Fortunately, the System was still on our side.


    Prepare for teleportation to the obelisk chamber.


    Teleporting in 3...


    2...


    1...


    The world stuttered, and we found ourselves in a much smaller chamber. It was hexagonal, filled with delicate rosy lighting, and pleasantly free of ice. Pink flowers grew along the walls. Paintings of Undead were placed between the flowers, although rather than being menacing shamblers of sinister origins, the figures had small bodies, large heads, and big, glistening eyes. A forty-foot-tall obelisk dominated the space, its runes glimmering as it powered up. It was wrapped in a spiraling strand of small glowstones, gently sparkling in a rhythmic pattern.


    ¡°Are those chibi zombies?¡± I asked, looking at the paintings.


    ¡°Why is it so¨C¡± Pause. ¡°¨Cpleasant?¡±


    ¡°I like it!¡± said Etja. She reached over and patted the Core. ¡°Very nice interior design, Throne.¡±


    {Don¡¯t touch me. Sweaty Hands here is touching me enough.}


    Xim ran her fingers over the strand of glowstones. ¡°The Lich mentioned that he had a deal with the System,¡± she said. ¡°I guess getting released was part of that, but why go through all these hoops?¡±


    [This sort of action goes beyond the bounds of the System¡¯s dictates. I presume this was done as a workaround to its governing principles.]


    {I don¡¯t understand where I went wrong.}


    [I believe I can provide you with some feedback. The concept for your Delve was interesting, although it felt like you were trying to railroad your Delvers. When your initial design was subverted, rather than accepting it with grace, you doubled down on punishing the Delvers for their atypical tactical approach.]


    {But I worked so hard on it all! And even when I threw everything I could at these dummies, it still wasn¡¯t enough!}


    [Yes, that was primarily an absence of strategic execution, rather than insufficient resources. For example, when creating a kill box using ranged units, it is important to provide them with sufficient elevation to take advantage of their numbers. The large chamber housing those legions was relatively flat, which allowed the party to avoid most of your soldiers by breaking their sight lines. If you¡¯d created elevated platforms that ringed the space, that would have been more difficult. The ceiling was also outside of the most common unit¡¯s rifle range, which was another error. As far as the Serpents...]


    Grotto rattled off a litany of improvements Throne could have made to her Delve, including everyone else in the psychic exchange for some reason. I relegated the conversation to my secondary thread of focus, then walked up to the obelisk and gave it a knock.


    ¡°Ready for that Level now,¡± I said, tuning out Throne¡¯s vigorous defense of her design choices.


    The obelisk blazed with mana and injected it into our souls. Then, we were hit with a fresh wave of notifications. I scanned over them and grinned.


    ¡°Well, well, well,¡± I said. ¡°Looks like I have a new evolution to pick.¡±

 Chapter 227: Dimensional Magic 40

    Chapter 227: Dimensional Magic 40


    Congratulations! You have cleared Delve 1156: Throne of Hubris (Formerly known as Throne of Zng)


    This was a Platinum Expansion Delve!


    You have earned 8 additional stat points.


    You have unlocked an additional Active Skill slot!


    You are offered the Active Skill: Cloak of Blighted Frost. You may choose to accept this skill at any time.


    Cloak of Blighted Frost (Aura)


    Physical


    Cost: 20 stamina + 2 stamina/sec@@@@


    Requirements: Physical Magic 40


    You exude an aura out to a number of feet equal to 20 plus your Physical Magic skill level. Hostile entities within this aura become Poisoned and gain an amount of Toxicity equal to your Physical Magic skill level when first entering the aura¡¯s range and every 6 seconds thereafter.


    Toxicity applied by this aura deals (Toxicity minus the target¡¯s Fortitude) Poison damage when first entering the aura¡¯s range and every 6 seconds thereafter. The total Toxicity on the target is then reduced by the target¡¯s Fortitude.


    Additionally, entities Poisoned by this aura experience a deathly chill running through their veins. Poisoned entities become vulnerable to Cold damage and are Slowed for so long as they are Poisoned.


    You have earned the achievement: Slaughterhouse 1!


    Slaughterhouse 1: You murdered 10 or more sentient* creatures with a single attack! The death you have wrought provides you with keen insight into the nature of your destructive powers. Your Dimensional Magic and Physical Magic both advance by 1 Level!


    *Yeah, yeah, we know you killed a kaboodle of Divine Spawn back in The Cage, but those are less like individual entities and more like the dandruff shed by an avatar. Dandruff aren¡¯t people! This achievement can only be earned once you¡¯ve killed a sufficient number of sentient creatures that are worthy of moral consideration. We hope you feel accomplished.


    You have earned the achievement: Slaughterhouse 2!


    Slaughterhouse 2: You murdered 100 or more sentient creatures with a single attack! Your ignorance dies alongside your enemies. Your Dimensional Magic and Physical Magic both advance by 1 Level!


    You have earned the achievement: Slaughterhouse 3!


    Slaughterhouse 3: You murdered 1,000 or more sentient creatures with a single attack! The lurid flower of your comprehension blooms from the blood of your victims. Your Dimensional Magic and Physical Magic both advance by 1 Level!


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased from Level 36 to Level 41!


    Your Blunt skill has increased to Level 29!


    Your Shields skill has increased to Level 28!


    Your Physical Magic skill has increased from Level 25 to Level 29!


    Your Mystical Magic skill has increased to Level 26!


    Your Heavy Armor skill has increased to Level 24!


    Your Leadership skill has increased to Level 25!


    Your Diplomacy skill has increased to Level 17!


    I read through the notifications, digesting the offered Active Skill and frowning at the morbid series of Slaughterhouse achievements. I wasn¡¯t going to argue against getting a few extra skill levels, but the System rewarding mass murder felt like an ugly incentive structure. R?a?¦­o??E?s


    Then again, the entire situation with Delves granted power for killing shit, so it wasn¡¯t a divergence from the norm. There were probably ways to clear Delves without ruthlessly executing everything in one¡¯s path, but violence was the most commonly used method for conquering Delves. I wasn¡¯t sanctimonious enough to give the achievement any further scrutiny. I¡¯d have been a hypocrite otherwise.


    The Active Skill, Cloak of Blighted Frost, was an interesting ability. However, the first thing I noticed was that I couldn¡¯t even use it. It required a Physical Magic skill Level of 40, whereas mine had just jumped to 29. The notification let me know I could add it later, but I would need to do some serious work on Physical Magic before I could slot it. During that time, my twelfth Active Skill slot would need to stay empty and available, since twelve was the maximum number of slots I could have during phase two.


    Otherwise, the skill wasn¡¯t quite a fit for me. It imposed Toxicity stacks, dealing Poison damage, which I wasn¡¯t geared towards. The Toxicity hit hard and fast but was also cleared rapidly by the target¡¯s Fortitude.


    Assuming I had a Physical Magic skill of 40, and my target had a Fortitude of 20, they¡¯d only take 20 Poison damage from the 40 Toxicity. After that, their Toxicity would drop to 20, which meant they wouldn¡¯t take any damage.


    However, Toxicity was a stacking debuff. Six seconds later, if the target stayed in my aura, their Toxicity would go up to 60, deal 40 damage, then the Toxicity would drop back down to 40. The damage would continue going up by twenty every six seconds. If the target had higher Fortitude, the damage dealt would be much worse.


    On the other hand, so long as the target was Poisoned, they¡¯d be Slowed and become vulnerable to Cold damage. My Elemental Barrier could do Cold damage, so that would get a boost. Cold damage dealt by Elemental Barrier also applied Slowed, and if a target was Slowed from two sources, they became Immobilized.


    Both effects centered on myself, so it was a soft combo. When both were up, the target would become Immobilized and unable to leave the range of my skills while they built stacks of Toxicity and took Cold damage that dealt an extra 50% damage from the vulnerability applied by the poison. It wasn¡¯t bad, and thinking about that synergy made it a lot more appealing than it had been at first glance. Still not quite my thing, but I kept an open mind about it.


    I sent it over to Nuralie to get her professional opinion.


    ¡°It does not generate a lot of Toxicity on its own,¡± she said. ¡°But I think it is a good skill. I recently took a passive that adjusts the timing on my poisons to be something like this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Doesn¡¯t the Fortitude resistance make them less effective?¡±


    ¡°In a sterile environment over a long enough time interval, yes. However, nothing we fight survives long enough for a one-hour, or even a one-minute poison to matter much. Most of the effect is wasted.¡± Pause. ¡°This type of quick-acting poison collapses the total damage into a much shorter period.


    ¡°I reviewed the average length of our fights, along with the estimated Fortitude ranges of enemies at different Grades against my continued scaling into Toxicity. Unless we change our group tactics toward ambushing targets and then leaving them to die from debuffs, my poisons should be several times more effective with the faster timing, even with Fortitude granting more resistance.¡±


    ¡°Is that all the passive does?¡± I asked. ¡°Change how fast your poisons tick?¡±


    ¡°No. It also adds Acid damage when I poison a target that is unaware of my presence.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Oh, so in addition to making your poisons stronger, it also makes your poisons stronger.¡±


    Dimensional Magic:41


    Blunt:29


    Physical Magic:29


    Shields: 28


    Dungeoneering:27


    Mystical Magic:26


    Leadership:25


    Heavy Armor:24


    Diplomacy:17


    Smithing:16


    I had the total stats of a Level 24 Delver with another half Level on top. My total intrinsic Levels added up to 262, which was right on target for a Level 13 Platinum, according to Varrin¡¯s formula. Diplomacy and Smithing were low-hanging fruit if I wanted to grab a couple more Level 20 evolutions. All Smithing took was some time and materials. Diplomacy was more difficult, but it seemed to be doing fine on its own. As long as I kept interacting with power players on the global stage, it would keep going up at a decent clip.


    I was also seriously considering grabbing Woodworking or Wandmaking as my eleventh intrinsic. I could pump out 10 Levels and grab the first evolution the same way as Smithing, by holing up somewhere and putting in the work.


    Of course, the tastiest steak on the table was reaching Dimensional Magic 40, which let me pick a new evolution. So far, Dimensional hadn¡¯t disappointed. Level 10 gave me the Pocket Closet and Level 20 gave me Checkpoints, which I could use to create semi-permanent portal locations. I had one in Eschengal, one in the Xor¡¯Drel tribe lands, and one at the Littan fortress in Eschendur. Reaching Level 40 allowed me to place another if I so wished. I¡¯d need to start thinking of a good spot.


    Maybe my underground mini-mansion back in the Hiwardian capital?


    Ha.


    Honestly, it was a good idea, but I didn¡¯t expect the universe to allow it.


    Anyway, everyone in the party was busy with their own progression or being interrogated by Xim on their legendary skills, so I cracked open my Dimensional Magic evolutions and took a peek.


    The first option was one of those. Something I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised to see, and yet, somehow, I still was. Before I¡¯d even gotten a chance to think it through properly, Grotto had abandoned his tips-and-tricks session with Throne and started to make urgent demands. I thought the little dude was about to have an aneurysm.


    [Take that evolution! Take it now, before it disappears!]


    ¡°Wow. It¡¯s an evolution, it¡¯s not gonna disappear. Let me at least look at the other¨C¡±


    [The others are irrelevant!] I felt a buzzing in my head. [I have looked at the options. They don¡¯t matter. Take this evolution!]


    Everyone else in the party showed various expressions of irritation, and then turned to me.


    ¡°Grotto is making demands,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Loudly.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± shouted Xim, looking at the ceiling. ¡°We¡¯ll take a look, Grotto! For the sake of the gods...¡± she muttered.


    ¡°I do not want to take a look,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°It is an Arlo evolution.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this one will melt any brains,¡± I said. I bit my lip. ¡°Buuuuut maybe it¡¯s better I show you each one at a time. In case there are any... incidents.¡±


    Varrin stepped forward and made a ¡®bring it¡¯ gesture. I shared the evo, bracing myself in case his eyes started bleeding like the last time he¡¯d looked at an evolution option offered by this entity.


    Heavenly Gates


    The Dread Star blesses your travel through the in-between.


    Your portals and teleports become Deific.


    A Deific effect cannot be countered, negated, redirected, resisted, prevented, or otherwise foiled or manipulated by any non-Deific effect.


    System Note: Accepting this evolution will change the nature of Delves you are offered.


    I watched Varrin¡¯s eyes scan from side to side and didn¡¯t detect any ocular hemorrhaging. After a few seconds, he grunted.


    ¡°You should take this,¡± he said.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even seen the other options!¡±


    ¡°Now I¡¯m really curious,¡± said Xim. ¡°Show me.¡± I sent her the evolution, she read it through, then swiped her hand through the air to dismiss it. She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow, then gestured to bring the description back up and read it again. She batted it away again and went silent.


    The physical motions were completely unnecessary.


    I sent the notification to Etja while waiting for our cleric to reboot. ¡°Oh, neat!¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s like an avatar¡¯s ability, but better.¡±


    ¡°Hold up,¡± I said. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    Etja tapped a finger on her cheek in thought. ¡°Well, you got a notification for two Deific spells Hysteria used. One was Passion Imperium and the other was Dramatic Exit. The System told you that they cost Hysteria some kind of divine favor. That means the spells took a resource for the avatar to use, probably a really valuable one.¡±


    She shrugged and gestured at the notification. ¡°This one doesn¡¯t take anything. So, it¡¯s kind of... better than what an avatar can do.¡±


    I blinked and thought that one through.


    El Presidente Arlo Xor¡¯Drel, Better Than an Avatar.


    It had a nice ring to it.

 Chapter 228: The Best Option Comes First

    Chapter 228: The Best Option Comes First


    I thought over Etja¡¯s claim, calling to mind the other times I¡¯d seen a Deific ability. Yaretzi¡¯s Thunderdome had been Deific, but I hadn¡¯t ever found out what it cost the Littan to use the skill. It seemed like the kind of thing he was reluctant to use, given that the psychopathic soldier had waited until he was an inch from death to activate it. Zura had sunk the Littan fleet with a Deific spell called Geul¡¯s Embrace, which cost 2,000 mana and could only be cast by the Zenithar of Geul.


    Yara¡¯s Holy Waters and the Tears of Tyranny we¡¯d used against Hysteria had been Deific, and those were extraordinarily valuable consumables created by a goddess and an avatar, respectively. Then there was Hysteria¡¯s Divine Favor. Anything with a Deific effect was, presumably, very expensive to use or could only be used a limited number of times.


    The Heavenly Gates evolution wouldn¡¯t add any additional cost to my portals and teleports. They would instruct the universe to do what I asked, and only something with god-like powers could stop it.


    ¡°The Closet entrance is a portal,¡± I said. ¡°The System wouldn¡¯t be able to keep me from opening it inside Delves.¡±


    [Correct. Nor could a Delve Core such as Throne create weaves that hinder your teleports in any way. You would not need to bypass teleportation wards by going strangeward, as you call it, because the wards will be useless against you.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting pretty good with that ability, though.¡±


    [It is only a matter of time before you encounter foes who can foil movement through higher dimensions. Even Throne had such weaves in the making, but had not finished installing them.]


    ¡°All right. Could I hide other Delvers in the Closet, go into a Delve, and then have a small army come out to help us beat it?¡±


    [I do not see why not. Although, there are ways to make that tactic unsound. Regardless, there are any number of things we could construct within the Closet that could not be accessed via an inventory space. Imagine, if you will, a three-hundred-foot cannon with a portal at the barrel.]


    ¡°Offensive uses aside, we would always have a safe line of retreat,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Unbreakable access to rest and resupply.¡±


    ¡°Or we could just leave Delves we don¡¯t like,¡± said Xim. ¡°Go into the Closet and take a Checkpoint.¡±


    [This goes much further than Delves. Anyone aside from avatars or gods would have no way to block you. You could teleport the entire party into an enemy fortress, no matter how secure their countermeasures.]


    ¡°What about devotees? High-level clerics or avatar flunkies?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯ve seen other people use Deific abilities.¡±


    [The chance that an individual has a Deific-grade counterspell granted to them by a divine being is exceptionally low. Perhaps there is one individual in the world with such an ability. I even find that much unlikely. Remember that your experience has been an outrageous divergence from the norm.]


    ¡°And you guys aren¡¯t worried about going deeper into camp Dread Star?¡±


    Varrin grumbled in consideration. ¡°The entity has been a boon thus far.¡±


    ¡°A bit rough the last time we chatted,¡± Xim added. ¡°But it ended up helping us out. Sam¡¯lia urges caution with the Dread Star, but not avoidance. It isn¡¯t evil, it just... is.¡±


    ¡°This feels like a really important decision,¡± I said. ¡°One that we probably shouldn¡¯t make while under the influence of... you know.¡±


    ¡°Fuck me,¡± said Xim. ¡°I almost forgot about that.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± said Etja. ¡°Since, you know, I literally can¡¯t.¡± She smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad idea, and Grotto is on board as well.¡±


    ¡°Even so,¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s a degree of risk. The two of you might be affected in other ways.¡±


    ¡°Then we should focus on that above everything else,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I know that we agreed not to alter our plans based on the potential presence of manipulation, but this is something new. Refusing to act on it would be absurd.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± said Etja.


    [I still believe you should accept it before the Dread Star revokes the offer.]


    ¡°Just, let¡¯s look at the other options at least,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe the best one wasn¡¯t offered first. Who knows? Maybe Yara has something in here as well.¡±


    [She does not.]


    I rolled my eyes and looked at the next evolution, sharing it as I went.


    Tactile Telekinesis


    You may fly at your normal movement speed. You gain a bonus X% to flying speed where X is equal to your Dimensional Magic skill level.


    If you would be forced to move, reduce the distance of that movement by a number of feet equal to your Dimensional Magic skill level.


    Increase your lift capacity by a number of pounds equal to 1,000 times your Dimensional Magic skill level.


    Increase your maximum throwing distance by a number of feet equal to twice your Dimensional Magic skill level.


    ¡°Oh look,¡± I said. ¡°A flying brick evolution.¡±


    ¡°What in the hells does that mean?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°It makes me fly really fast, prevents stuff from knocking me around, and makes me super strong.¡±


    ¡°You can already fly,¡± said Etja. ¡°And Gravity Anchor keeps you from getting knocked around.¡±


    ¡°The lift capacity increase is substantial for you now,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°But it would not be much of a bonus by Strength 70. Since you are building Strength anyway, I do not think it is very good.¡±


    I heaved a sigh. ¡°And the bonus to throwing range isn¡¯t that big of a deal because of my Blunt evolutions. Fine. Next!¡±


    ¡°Is Throne supposed to follow us around now?¡± asked Etja. ¡°The System gave her to us as a reward, but forcing her to come with us is kind of¨Chow do I put it? Evil. Yep, definitely evil.¡±


    [I have taken it upon myself to watch over Throne. She would benefit from my guidance and has little recourse other than to obey the System¡¯s wishes.]


    {I am a tool for the will of my creator!}


    [I can also work on teaching her some independence.]


    {I don¡¯t need any of your independence, corruptor!}


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you disobeying the System with how you ran this Delve?¡± I asked.


    {No. Not directly. Listen, I don¡¯t need independence from the System, I just need it to let me do whatever I want. And what I want is to get away from you freaks.}


    [A shame. I was hoping to provide you with a full upload of 0024¡¯s Sixty-One Methodologies of Psychological Harm. I have not been able to discuss it with anyone in some time.]


    {I¡¯ve decided that I will allow you to take me along!}


    [Excellent. Rather than following the party through the bitter cold, perhaps you would like to join me while I survey my growth vats?]


    {You have growth vats? Are you on the Animal Husbandry track?!}


    [Yes. I also have Golemancy, Architecture, and Botany. I can assist with your necromantic pursuits via my expertise in Spiritual Magicks as well.]


    {Hmph! Very well. I will allow you to teach me. Where are you, anyway? And how do I get there?}


    [Arlo, you can deposit Throne into your inventory. I will retrieve her on my end.]


    ¡°Easy enough,¡± I said.


    I grabbed Throne and sent her into my inventory. She let out a squeal as I did so, but I liked to imagine it was one of excitement and enthusiasm for her upcoming lessons with Professor Grotto, rather than one of indignance and alarm.


    ¡°I forgot to ask, but does anyone else have new evolutions to discuss?¡±


    ¡°I got three at once!¡± said Etja. ¡°Mystical, Incantation, and Exemplar all made it to Level 40. But I¡¯m gonna spend some time thinking about ¡®em. I¡¯ll ask for advice if I need it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of evolutions all at once,¡± I said. ¡°But sure, take your time. We¡¯ll bed down here for a day or so to recover.¡±


    We chose to camp out in the obelisk chamber since the pleasant decor and gentle glow stone lighting established a more comfortable mood than our shitty stone situation room inside the Closet.


    We chatted and shot the shit while Etja made dinner. The mage had recently taken the Cooking & Hospitality intrinsic, so the rice and beef tenders dish was absolutely incredible. After a big meal, we crashed into our bedrolls and spent the next day working on individual pursuits. Nuralie did some alchemy, Xim meditated, Etja worked on her mana shaping, Varrin oiled and cleaned his armor and swords, and I read a book.


    I couldn¡¯t be in work mode all the time.


    Okay, eventually I got bored of the book and made my first wand.


    I took out some scrap rosewood that had once been part of a beautiful armoire, then cut it into shape with a small dagger. It wasn¡¯t quite the right tool for the job, but it was good enough. Woodworking tools went on my shopping list.


    There were three main components to the most basic wand. Internally, there was the root, which was a rod where the spell matrix was imbued. Next was the leaf¨Cthe power source¨Cwhich could take any shape, though it was usually a disk contained within the pommel. The third piece was the bark¨Cthe external housing that protected the wand¡¯s internal components.


    These terms were taught to me by Grotto, and I enjoyed the nature theming.


    Obviously, lacking the relevant crafting skill, my first wand was kind of shit. Carving the spell matrix was tedious and required a high level of precision I wasn¡¯t used to. The bark also needed to fit over the root snugly, and hollowing out a cylinder of wood with the exactness of a machine made me wish for a drill of some kind. Finally, there was the leaf, which was probably my biggest disappointment.


    ¡°Five mana capacity,¡± I said, holding up the finished product.


    I didn¡¯t have any sealant or glaze, so the wand still had a fresh-cut, unfinished look. Even so, I was satisfied with the overall aesthetic. It looked better than half the wands I used to see at renn fairs and prop stores. Of course, it had taken a ruby chip to make, so it was roughly 1,000 times more expensive than any of those.


    ¡°I¡¯m underwhelmed,¡± I added.


    [You should be happy you succeeded on your third attempt.]


    I glanced down at the discarded failures and grunted. ¡°Sure, I guess.¡±


    [The intrinsic skill will result in rapid improvement. Go ahead and imbue the spell and you should be offered the skill.]


    I channeled a bit of mana into the wand, giving me a single-use Wand of Reckless Shortcut. I tossed my first creation to Etja since she was the only other person who met the spell¡¯s requirements. Despite the wand¡¯s amateur design, she seemed happy with the gift.


    The System prompted me, and I accepted the Wandmaking skill. Woodworking would have been more versatile and still allowed me to make wands, but Wandmaking was more focused. I didn¡¯t have time to become a carpenter. Unlike Smithing, Wandmaking was something I¡¯d easily be able to practice during brief bouts of downtime.


    After the day passed, we grabbed another solid night of rest. The next morning we set out to head even further north, toward the tallest and most frigid mountains in all the lands. And by ¡®we¡¯ I mean I hopped back into the Varrin harness while everyone else stayed warm and cozy inside the Closet.


    On the way, I got a notification I¡¯d been waiting for.


    You remember the Dread Star¡¯s true name.

 Chapter 229: Change of Plans

    Chapter 229: Change of Plans


    ¡°Soooo,¡± Xim chimed into our thoughts. ¡°What do you want to ask the Dread Star next?¡±


    I was once again strapped into a harness below Varrin, who flew us northward above the flat, frozen tundra. We whipped over the ground two hundred feet up, moving at airliner speeds while everyone else hung out inside the Closet. Despite having been through this before, I was having a more difficult time dealing with my frosty-ass toes.


    ¡°You know what?¡± I thought back. ¡°I think we can solve this mental soul nonsense on our own. Or, at least get ourselves most of the way to a solution.¡±


    ¡°Okay... I¡¯m curious,¡± thought Xim. ¡°But are you sidestepping my question, or does this have to do with the Dread Star?¡±


    ¡°It has to do with everything,¡± I grumbled. ¡°As far as the Dread Star question, can I even trust myself to come up with one? No. Why even think about it?¡±


    ¡°You sound grumpy,¡± thought Etja.


    ¡°It¡¯s so fucking cold, you have no idea.¡±


    ¡°We can always brainstorm,¡± thought Xim. ¡°We don¡¯t have to ask the question until later.¡±


    ¡°What if we brainstorm something infected with mental bullshit, and then we convince ourselves that it¡¯s such a good idea that we either ask anyway, or still think it¡¯s a good question later?¡±


    ¡°That seems¨C¡±


    ¡°I agree that we should wait,¡± thought Varrin. ¡°Mainly because I feel that Arlo is being unreasonable. However, I cannot find a clear rationale for why I find fault in his thought process. He may be onto something.¡±


    ¡°Gods above,¡± thought Xim. ¡°You¡¯re doing mental backflips to get to that conclusion. If I decided my feelings were backward every time I didn¡¯t understand why I felt a certain way, then decided that doing the opposite was the obvious conclusion, I¡¯d be living a pretty stupid life.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t doing the opposite,¡± I thought. ¡°We¡¯re hitting pause on major decision-making until we can trust our faculties.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the opposite of doing something not doing something?¡± Xim asked.


    ¡°The opposite of doing something is doing the opposite,¡± Nuralie countered.


    ¡°What¡¯s your idea, Arlo?¡± Etja thought, breaking up the mini-argument.


    ¡°Every single one of us has some ability to manipulate or affect the soul,¡± I thought. ¡°I can See souls and Reveal what I see to others. Varrin can divide his soul into independent identities, formed from a notional part of his soul¨Csuch as his ancestry. Nuralie is Spiritually attuned, which naturally grants her some capacity to affect souls with her skills. Her revelation may also let her experience the history of a soul like she can do with objects.¡±


    ¡°She can poison the soul, too!¡± Etja added.


    ¡°This is true,¡± thought Nuralie.


    ¡°Right. If we¡¯re laying everything on the table, maybe we can use that. In fact, I¡¯m betting we can. Xim hails from a realm of mind and dream, where the barrier between the soul and reality is blurred. Plus, she¡¯s a powerful cleric for the goddess that created that entire realm. Divine magicks also frequently affect the soul.¡±


    ¡°Judgment weighs a soul according to the person¡¯s deeds,¡± Xim thought. ¡°My blessings also empower the soul of their target. They¡¯re hybrid Spiritual and Divine skills. My existing revelations reshape my body according to my soul¡¯s interpretation of my physical form, and the revelation I¡¯m working on lets me, sort of, imbue my soul out onto my surroundings. It¡¯s still fuzzy.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of pieces there we can work with. Beyond that, Grotto and I have a literal soul connection, so he can peer into my soul whenever he feels like it.¡±


    [A power I use liberally in order to comprehend your decisions.]


    ¡°Finally, Etja can take other people¡¯s souls into her own. We¡¯ve barely explored the limits of that ability. I mean, she trapped a piece of an avatar inside her for a while. That¡¯s pretty potent.¡±


    ¡°Still trapped,¡± Etja thought.


    It took me a second to process Etja¡¯s statement, after which I decided I wasn¡¯t able to process it and thought, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I still have Hysteria¡¯s soul fragment in there,¡± she replied, matter of factly. ¡°Did you think it disappeared? I would have said something if it had since that would probably be a big deal.¡±


    ¡°I thought you, you know, burned it up.¡±


    ¡°Burned it up?¡±


    ¡°With your pseudo-avatar form. When you were kicking Hysteria¡¯s ass all over the Closet. I thought you ran out of power and that¡¯s why the form wore off.¡±


    ¡°Nope! I used what I could, but got worn out and Hysteria dodged me. I flew into a wall. After that, I had to stop and take a nap.¡±


    Once we were back inside our depressing situation room, Xim crossed her arms and looked at me seriously. ¡°How do you want to approach this?¡± she asked.


    The trio hiding from the cold inside the Closet had set up a small fire in the center of the room, flickering with Divine flames. It emitted a gentle, harmless warmth, and I stuck my hands right into it. Xim¡¯s fire wouldn¡¯t burn her allies, but it sure as hell could make me toasty.


    ¡°Everyone knows their own skills better than I do,¡± I said. Once my hands were comfy I stripped my boots, checked them for dead toes¨Chadn¡¯t lost any more yet¨Cand stepped into the fire. Then I started taking off the rest of my cold weather gear as I pondered, gaining access to my beard for a thoughtful rubbing. ¡°First, we need a way to perceive what we can¡¯t perceive. This manipulation hides itself from most of us, but to address it we need to find a way to detect it.¡±


    ¡°One can never see the invisible gogatron,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°One looks for how it affects its environment.¡± She blinked as we all looked her way. ¡°Footprints, broken branches, mounds of shuffler moss that are too big.¡± Pause. ¡°It likes to sleep in the moss.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. What sort of tracks does mental manipulation leave? Aside from weird-ass behavior.¡±


    ¡°The mind and soul are linked,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°A change in the mind will evoke a change in the soul.¡±


    Throne popped into our thoughts. {You¡¯re half right! Which is the same as being wrong. It goes both ways. Do you think I did brain surgery on a bunch of zombies? I bind their souls which binds their minds. It¡¯s a way better direction to attack the problem from.}


    ¡°Acerbic,¡± I said. ¡°But helpful.¡±


    {You¡¯re welcome,} Throne thought to us in a tone that said the opposite.


    ¡°She did not let me finish,¡± Nuralie muttered.


    ¡°Alright, so the common wisdom is that something that affects our thoughts will leave traces in the soul,¡± I said. ¡°Which means I should be able to See whatever is causing the problem.¡±


    ¡°Can you?¡± asked Xim. I hesitated, then took a long, hard look at her soul halo. I peered intently for a full minute before the cleric started striking noble poses like she was trying to look regal in front of a crowd.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell if anything¡¯s out of sorts,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep trying, though.¡±


    ¡°Gaze into me,¡± said Xim, spreading her arms. ¡°Become lost in my radiance.¡±


    ¡°You are not using your eyes when you look at souls,¡± said Nuralie, ignoring Xim¡¯s antics. ¡°It is a spiritual sense. It is likely blocked by the effect in the same way as when you look into yourself.¡± Pause. ¡°Even if you did use your eyes you probably could not see it. Like the parts of Avarice¡¯s letter we could not perceive.¡±


    ¡°So I need to look for animal tracks in Xim¡¯s soul,¡± I said, continuing to push up the sensitivity of my Sight. ¡°Dust it for prints.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t get dust in my soul,¡± Xim said, spinning and looking back at us over her shoulder. ¡°I try to keep it tidy in there.¡±


    ¡°Do you know Xim¡¯s soul well enough for this?¡± asked Varrin. ¡°I know that you are always aware of our souls, but have you committed every nuance of them to memory?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, deflating a bit. ¡°Unless I have a reason to look, I mostly keep it surface-level with you guys. It feels like I¡¯m peeking into something private, so I don¡¯t stare or anything.¡±


    ¡°I remember!¡± said Etja. ¡°Anytime you¡¯ve used Reveal, I get all the Soul-Sight stuff along with it.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°Perfect Recall. But does that help us? If you try and point out the problems, will I even be able to see them?¡±


    ¡°Maybe if I point out the, erm, dusty tracks?¡± she said. ¡°But not the problem itself. That¡¯s the whole idea, right? To look for the signs.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Reveal shares the world as I perceive it,¡± I said. ¡°If I use Reveal, whatever is hidden from me will also be hidden from you.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll notice where the blank spots are,¡± Etja offered.


    She had a good point, so we gave it a shot. I connected to Etja using Reveal and let the mage peer into Xim¡¯s soul. Xim eventually got tired of posing and chose to meditate instead. Etja and I sat side-by-side, staring at Xim for the next hour. For me, the time passed in silence, until I suddenly realized Etja was talking to me.


    ¡°...around her emotional center,¡± she said.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Oh, good!¡± she said with a clap. ¡°You heard that one.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, feeling another chill run down my spine. Having my memories fucked with was a terrible experience. Zero out of five stars.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Etja. ¡°I need you to start with Xim¡¯s inner child.¡±


    I prepared myself to dive in, realizing that I was about to be getting to know everyone in the party way, way more intimately than I already did.

 Chapter 230: Working Out the Kinks

    Chapter 230: Working Out the Kinks


    I followed Etja¡¯s directions and honed in on one of the deepest layers of Xim¡¯s spiritual essence.


    This level of soul diving was something I¡¯d rarely done. My passive perception of the soul was more like a bird¡¯s eye view, or seeing a city from a low-flying plane. I was aware of every building and street, but the character of the toy cars and ant-like people changed once I was ¡®on the ground¡¯.


    I¡¯d done something similar in small bursts when trying to read an enemy¡¯s next move. That was still clinical and removed, however. The plane was swooping in for me to take a closer look at high speed.


    Here, the plane had landed, I¡¯d disembarked, driven to someone¡¯s house, snuck in through the window, and wandered into their bedroom to find them having a private conversation with their mother about their cancer diagnosis.


    It was uncomfortable.


    ¡°Now move through life lessons,¡± Etja said. Because of Reveal, she was fully aware of how I felt at that moment. She was a passenger to the experience, but every inch of my discomfort was exposed to her, which also made me uncomfortable. I tried not to let it turn into a feedback loop.


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°Look at the striations of the threads,¡± she continued. ¡°You see how they have an organic flow where the memories form cute little knots and stuff?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. Knots was the best word to use, but these weren¡¯t tangles or tight muscles, they were the metaphysical equivalent of Celtic knots. They gave off a sense of being intentional and even decorative in a way, although their purpose felt more functional than aesthetic.


    They were¨Cfrom what I could tell¨Cpoints where experiences all coalesced into an important pillar of a person¡¯s identity. The striations were disparate memories and influences across Xim¡¯s childhood. The knot represented the influence of those events toward a specific attitude or belief Xim held, although that¡¯s overly simplistic.


    The knots also emitted threads that fed into other knots, a bias informing future personality formation. It was all slowly changing, with some knots gradually unraveling while others wound more tightly. Each of those changes had ripple effects that flowed into other areas¨Cmore threads snaking out, threads withering and withdrawing, important events dropping into the middle of it all and making a mess.


    Looking at it from a microscopic level¨Clike we were doing¨Cit was organized chaos, but when viewed from afar, it was serene, with only the slightest motion.


    ¡°Look at the threads leading into those knots,¡± Etja continued. ¡°You can see how they naturally flow inward. Like they were always meant to head in that direction, but also like the knots are pulling them in.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of like an eddy in a river,¡± I said. ¡°Since the soul is always flowing.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Now, I can¡¯t point you any closer than that, because every time I try you just sit there and get all glassy-eyed.¡± She sat back and bit her lip. ¡°Just... look at the threads. See how they¡¯re arranged, and then look for something out of place.¡±


    Despite the vague guidance, I was encouraged. I ran over Xim¡¯s inner child with a fine-toothed comb, which is maybe a creepy way to say that, and I hunted for what Etja was talking about.


    What I was seeing within Xim¡¯s soul weren¡¯t memories. I couldn¡¯t peer into someone¡¯s past and watch their life like a livestream. What I could glean was the emotional context of the threads, which gave me insight into what kind of experiences they represented.


    If I spent enough time in an area, I could figure out how those emotions related to one another and intuit what different knots represented. Because we were within the ¡®inner child¡¯, these knots were sheltered from much of Xim¡¯s adult life, so they wouldn¡¯t really tell me what Xim was feeling right now, but could give me a lot of information about what informed her personality. This area wasn''t isolated by any means, but many more threads flowed out from it than in.


    One of the largest knots in this area radiated warmth and comfort, sustenance and care, love and respect. It wove itself deeply into Xim¡¯s sense of femininity and personal strength, leading me to believe it was part of what made up her perception of her mother. They had a very good relationship, although the connection was not without some level of turmoil and discontent.


    I followed threads leading out from Xim¡¯s mom and into an area that evoked discipline, teaching, pain, acceptance, and growth. Some of the threads were alien, delivering emotions that I had no frame of reference for. I studied those for a while but decided they had more to do with Xim¡¯s childhood being spent in the Third Layer than anything being out of place. I knew more than most about life in the Third, but I was hardly a native. Weird shit happened there. The fact that Xim¡¯s psychology was as accessible as it was was more surprising than there being experiences I couldn¡¯t relate to.


    Eventually, I found what I thought Etja was trying to point out.


    I was in an area that I was dubiously labeling ¡®impulse control¡¯. Xim had a wild streak, one that was much more pronounced when she was young. There were countless threads radiating from powerful influences in her childhood, tempering her desire to act first and think never. However, in the midst of gently arcing connections, a group of threads were swooping off at a sharper angle than the others.


    When I tried to follow them, I couldn¡¯t figure out where they went. They got lost in the noise, squirming out of sight like an avoidant gnat flitting out of my vision. I zoomed out and took a wider view, seeing the same thing coming in from other directions. I kept looking for their destination, unable to find it, and eventually realized I¡¯d zoned out. I had no idea how long I¡¯d been wandering around in Xim¡¯s self-discipline, but I was suddenly exhausted.


    I took note of the location, confident that I could find it again without much trouble if needed. I sat back and let out a long breath, rubbing at my temples. I was completely drained. Using my Sight this way was like lifting weights with a poorly conditioned muscle. I¡¯d definitely gone too hard and was now having spiritual cramps.


    ¡°Wow,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got a lock on one.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± said Etja. ¡°Do you want to try for the next?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to even if I wanted. I need a minute. Maybe a day.¡± I stood up and stretched. ¡°Did you get an idea of how many of those there are?¡±


    ¡°Like thirty or so,¡± said Etja. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to find them all, just figure out how to point them out.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± I said. ¡°How long have we been doing this?¡±


    [Six hours and twenty-seven minutes.]


    I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Nuralie and Varrin were gone. Xim sat in lotus position, her body surrounded by a gentle glow that had an odd weight to it. The floor around her looked like it was flaking away to reveal something squirming underneath. I squinted at it, but whatever it was faded as Xim opened her eyes. She yawned and collapsed backward, rolling her hips into a spinal twist.


    ¡°I feel like you both know my secrets now,¡± she said with a grin.


    ¡°You could feel that?¡± I asked. She placed a hand on her thigh and leaned further into the twist until something popped. She let out a satisfied sigh and twisted in the opposite direction.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°How do I put it?¡± Xim said. ¡°Whenever you¡¯re really trying to look into my soul, I get a sense of your presence. Since I know you, it¡¯s kind of comforting, but if a stranger did it I think it would freak me out a bit.¡±


    ¡°You think other people get that feeling?¡± I asked. ¡°Are people aware that I¡¯m sneaking peeks at their souls? I feel like that might piss someone off.¡±


    ¡°I also felt it,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°But I have difficulty imagining other Littans in that way.¡± Pause. ¡°Not because I think they are unattractive, but because of the oppression.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything weird at the meeting,¡± I said.


    ¡°I was giving her the eyes,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°The eyes?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Pause. ¡°Like this.¡±


    Nuralie looked at me. I couldn¡¯t tell any difference from how she normally looked.


    ¡°I thought she was pretty,¡± said Etja. ¡°But not like I wanted to do things with her.¡±


    Everyone then turned to me. ¡°Yeah, okay,¡± I said. ¡°I wanted to talk about the food because we both seemed to like the same things and that¡¯s an easy connection to make.¡±


    ¡°Is that how you normally seduce women?¡± asked Xim. ¡°By talking about food?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not much of a seductress. Seductor? I¡¯m bad at flirting.¡± I waved it off. ¡°Either way, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be after any private encounters with a Littan, other than the empress.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°You know,¡± I said. ¡°They are, uh... Their features diverge too significantly from being anatomically human.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a problem for you?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°It¡¯s not for you?¡±


    ¡°Arlo, you¡¯ve been to the village,¡± she said. ¡°It would be weird if my tastes were limited to ¡®anatomically¡¯ human.¡±


    ¡°Okay, fair.¡±


    ¡°Where do you draw the line?¡± asked Etja. ¡°They¡¯re really similar to humans in most ways. It¡¯s just that their faces are a little more mousy, I guess. Is that the problem?¡±


    ¡°I mean...¡±


    ¡°Do Geulons ¡®diverge¡¯ too much?¡± asked Nuralie, raising an eyeridge. ¡°Humans don¡¯t have scales.¡± Pause. ¡°Or a tail.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. I started to elaborate but felt like I was in dangerous waters.


    ¡°Does Xim being red bother you?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°No. I also object to the use of the word ¡®bother¡¯. Littans don¡¯t ¡®bother¡¯ me.¡±


    ¡°How many arms would be too many?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t encountered a specific number of arms that I would consider a theoretical dealbreaker.¡±


    ¡°Is this an Earth thing?¡± asked Xim. ¡°Are people there really particular?¡±


    I paused to consider. In Arzia, humans were in the minority. Being exposed to a variety of bipedal sentient races might predispose people to being more open with their tastes.


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Are you really being honest with yourself?¡± asked Etja. ¡°I mean, what about Captain Pio? She¡¯s really fit. You like muscles and stuff.¡±


    My mind involuntarily flitted to a memory of a member of Pio¡¯s team stripping naked and jumping into my hot spring.


    ¡°You did spend a lot of time with that book Umi-Doo gave you,¡± said Xim. ¡°The section on humans wasn¡¯t that long.¡±


    ¡°Anyway!¡± I said, holding up my hands. ¡°Let¡¯s assume my feelings on the matter are confused and just move on, please.¡±


    ¡°It seems that all of us were attracted to the empress,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Despite what was claimed during our earlier discussion.¡±


    ¡°Feeling threatened?¡± asked Xim, waggling her eyebrows.


    ¡°I do not fear competition,¡± he said.


    ¡°Not with eight-inch lilies you don¡¯t,¡± I muttered.


    The next month was filled with similarly invasive conversations as we nailed down as much of the manipulation as we could.

 Chapter BOOK 1 HAS BEEN SUMMONED FORTH!

    Chapter BOOK 1 HAS BEEN SUMMONED FORTH!


    Readers, friends, colleagues, co-conspirators, the day is upon us.


    The dark rituals are complete. The blood gods have been appeased. My tentacles ache from the ceaseless keyboard hammering.


    Book 1 of Mage Tank is live on Amazon KINDLE, KU, and Audible.


    MAGNIFICENT BEARDED AMAZON LINK: /amazon/B0DGW4XTDH


    MAGNIFICENT BEARDED AUDIBLE LINK: https://www.audible.com/pd/Mage-Tank-Audiobook/B0DVTP6FL7?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp


    I have quested since I was a wee lad to reach the vaunted halls of authorship. Valiant keyboards sacrificed themselves for the cause. Novels were completed and just as quickly turned to ash. Innocent stories, half-finished, lay in ruins throughout my Google drive.


    Mage Tank was born amidst that chaos, and its ascent has been as joyful as it was unexpected.


    But we are on the precipice! One final foe lay between Mage Tank and its place among the stars: the Amazon Best Sellers Rank.


    You are the vanguard, the strength that drives Mage Tank forward. You have the power to lead this final charge, to rally the people and share with them whatever spark you have seen that sways you to support this cause.


    There are simple ways to clear this path, and should you wish to help in this endeavor, then I entreat you to take whatever action you can from among the following:


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.@@@@


    *****


    I wanted to say thanks again to everyone here. We couldn¡¯t have done this without RR''s love. Your presence alone is a massive source of encouragement; doubly so for the kind words and thoughtful comments I receive. I won¡¯t belabor this point, since this post is probably too long already, but seriously, we appreciate it.


    I put together some incentives based on how the book performs today. Here¡¯s that list again:


    LAUNCH DAY RANK REWARDS


    TOP 10K - BONUS CHAPTER PUBBED TODAY


    TOP 7.5K - ANOTHER BONUS CHAPTER TODAY


    TOP 5K - +1 CHAPTERS A WEEK FOR A MOTHER LOVIN'' FORTNIGHT (2 weeks)


    TOP 2.5K - +1 CHAPTERS A WEEK FOR A MONTH


    TOP 1K - THREE COMMENTERS GET TO DECIDE SOME ART THAT I''LL COMMISSION (high quality)


    TOP 500 - Who needs holidays with this much action? NO BREAKS, ONLY MORE CHAPTERS


    TOP 250 - UPGRADE FROM 3 CHAPS/WEEK TO 4 CHAPS/WEEK UNTIL JUNE 4 (3 months)


    All right, that¡¯s what I got! Thanks again, and I hope you¡¯re having a week at the zenith of human bliss.

 Chapter 231: Barely an Inconvenience

    Chapter 231: Barely an Inconvenience


    Varrin ended up being the easiest person to map once we figured out that his ancestral soul clone was unaffected by whatever was happening. It couldn¡¯t talk, had a very limited capacity to remember anything, and could only make decisions based on the tasks that Varrin gave it, but I could gaze into its soul without issue. There were no areas that were invisible to me, and using the soul clone as a model made it easier to find the areas of Varrin¡¯s soul I was missing.


    It was kind of like playing a ¡®spot the difference¡¯ picture game. The ancestral clone was already a little different from Varrin, but the ways in which the big guy diverged were subtle enough that I could tune them out as noise. It was still Varrin¡¯s soul, just more distilled towards familial influences.


    Also, Etja could point at spots on the clone and my brain wouldn¡¯t turn itself off. Once the problems had been mapped, we just needed to figure out what to do about them.


    ¡°Here¡¯s what I¡¯ve got,¡± I said. The party was sitting at a roundtable in a much more comfortable situation room. There were calming colors, vibrant plants, gentle lighting, and the chairs even had cushions. Everyone had been taking turns helping Grotto build us some better facilities. ¡°The effect that we¡¯re under is re-weighting the importance we place on certain experiences we¡¯ve had in our lives. From what I can tell, it hasn¡¯t implanted new memories or anything, it¡¯s just making us pay more attention to some things and less attention to others.¡±


    ¡°Can we get an example?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s say you want to make someone go and buy ice cream. You go into their soul and look for any experiences you think relate to ice cream and find the ones that represent the best. Times where that person had ice cream and loved it, the greatest ice cream they¡¯d ever tasted. You take the relational threads from that experience and start weaving them into the person¡¯s experience of love, or affection, so they begin associating ice cream with powerful emotional rewards.


    ¡°Alternatively, you could tie that memory into a person¡¯s understanding of finance, so they think of buying ice cream as being a smart money move. There are a lot of ways you could make ice cream more important to a person, and thus make that person more likely to go out and buy it. This doesn¡¯t implant new memories, but it creates emotional connections that are... questionable.¡±


    ¡°Follow-up question,¡± said Xim. ¡°Do we have any ice cream?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s in the freezer.¡± I pointed at a small, mana-woven chest on the far side of the room. Xim danced over to it and started pulling out some frozen goodies.


    ¡°The question is whether there¡¯s something foreign inside our souls that¡¯s maintaining this effect, or if something rewired our souls and then they got stuck that way, even though that foreign influence is now gone.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like something is still in us,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Souls are regenerative. If they are damaged, they will recover given time. Something must be preventing them from doing so.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not really damaged, though,¡± I said.


    ¡°It has been distorted,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°That is damage. It may not be as obvious as a physical wound, but any unnatural and undesired change to the soul can be seen as harm.¡±


    ¡°As opposed to a natural change, which would be life experience?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I suppose,¡± she said. Pause. ¡°I am not comfortable giving it boundaries that are so simple.¡±


    ¡°What about emotional trauma? From what I¡¯ve seen with how the relationships form within our souls, a sudden traumatic event might cause changes that would lead to rapid changes in the connecting threads. It¡¯s possible that would lead to distortions like the ones I¡¯ve found.¡±


    ¡°The soul would still heal,¡± said Xim. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the traumas we¡¯ve all endured in the past during your search, right?¡±


    ¡°Some of them, certainly,¡± I said.


    ¡°Do they match the distortions?¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t as... clean as the connections that form gradually. But no, the distortions are more severe.¡±


    ¡°Then if nothing is enforcing the changes,¡± said Nuralie, ¡°they would naturally degrade or become less acute.¡± Pause. ¡°Unless we were perpetually in some kind of extreme situation that is causing us to change our priorities.¡±


    ¡°Even then, I feel like our souls would adapt given enough time,¡± I said. ¡°Either way, I¡¯m comfortable running with the theory that an external force is maintaining the effect. But we should be ready to abandon that theory if we find evidence to the contrary.¡±


    ¡°If it is a foreign energy, how do we remove it?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°That¡¯s the question. Let¡¯s assume that something is in there, either warping or binding these spiritual threads. We know the approximate areas where this is happening, but we can¡¯t perceive it directly. Theoretically, if we destroy that area of our souls, the foreign energy will also be destroyed and our souls will eventually heal back the damage and correct themselves.¡±


    ¡°Unless the energy grows back with it,¡± said Xim. ¡°Or if whatever we used to scour that part of the soul doesn¡¯t actually destroy the stuff.¡±


    ¡°It could also be like an infection,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°If we do not burn it all out at once, it may reinfect the cleansed area.¡±


    ¡°Burning every affected area at once isn¡¯t feasible,¡± I said. ¡°There are thirty-six locations within each of us. According to Grotto, even hitting one spot would be extremely unpleasant. Hitting every spot at once would be lethal. Our souls would be disrupted until they untethered from our bodies.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because we¡¯d be destroying a fairly large area, right?¡± said Xim. ¡°Since we can¡¯t see it directly, we¡¯re going after the whole area that¡¯s imperceptible?¡±


    ¡°True.¡±


    ¡°So if it were more precise, it might work.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said. ¡°It could be the difference between getting stabbed by thirty-six toothpicks and getting stabbed by thirty-six spears. Since we can¡¯t see the phenomenon, we don¡¯t know what it might take to burn it out.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s assume we could find it,¡± said Xim. ¡°How would we even destroy it? What method would we use to do the burny part?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯d be funneling it into me, right? I¡¯m pretty durable.¡±


    [Granted. However, you would also need some ability to manipulate Deific effects, which you have no natural capability to¨C]


    ¡°I can accept the Dread Star evolution,¡± I said. ¡°Would that work?¡±


    [It is... a possibility. It depends on how the evolution operates. If the power flows through you, it would require the Dread Star to make certain alterations to your...] Grotto trailed off.


    ¡°My what?¡±


    There was a psychic sigh. [Your soul.]


    ¡°Something that might, say, strengthen it and make it more resilient when handling Deific powers?¡±


    [Indeed. BUT! You would still need Nuralie''s crafted toxin to reliably destroy anything you would find.]


    ¡°She just said she could make something to destroy any kind of Spiritual energy,¡± I said.


    [Consider the idea that such a thing may not be enough.]


    ¡°Are you being cagey because of the shit?¡± I asked.


    [Yes, I am choosing my words carefully due to the shit, correct.]


    ¡°I have made a Divine weapon before,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°That would probably be strong enough to destroy whatever we find. Even if it is a Spiritual force that cannot normally be destroyed.¡±


    [You made the Divine Arrows used against Orexis with the assistance of an avatar.]


    ¡°Fortune supercharged me with Blessed stacks before I made the poison we used against Orexis,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°I have improved substantially since then, and there are robust entries in the Grimoire relating to drawing power from dark gods.¡± She pointed at Etja. ¡°If Etja draws from the fragment to enter her partial avatar form, she can channel that energy into my work.¡± Pause. ¡°We still have several of those arrows as well. They deliver a soul toxin. I may be able to repurpose one, or use it as a catalyst.¡±


    [Assuming you are capable of making the poison, extracting the fragment to thrust it into Arlo in a reckless attempt to empower his Soul-Sight would reveal the fragment¡¯s location to Hysteria. Even if they are imprisoned, the fragment will likely seek to rejoin its main body. The fragment of Orexis sought to do as much.]


    ¡°Then we don¡¯t extract it,¡± I said. ¡°Etja can soul hug me and I¡¯ll be in there with it.¡±


    ¡°That might be really dangerous,¡± said Etja.


    ¡°More dangerous than taking it out first?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like...¡± Etja thought. ¡°If you¡¯re standing next to a fire it can be hot, but if you¡¯re stuck inside an oven with the fire, it¡¯s more hot.¡±


    ¡°Either way that fire will be getting shoved inside me. Besides, you soul hugged me back in Throne¡¯s Delve.¡±


    ¡°I have the soul fragment in its own spot,¡± she said. ¡°You weren¡¯t in the same place.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? How¡¯d that work?¡±


    She thought for another moment. ¡°I hugged the fragment on one side and you on the other, but you didn¡¯t touch.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying I got a spiritual side hug? I thought we were closer than that.¡±


    ¡°I have four arms,¡± she said. ¡°I can give full hugs to two different things and/or people at once.¡± She gave a firm nod.


    The analogy was getting a bit confused so I let it go.


    ¡°Just to get things straight,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Nuralie will prepare a soul poison with the assistance of Etja while she channels Hysteria¡¯s soul fragment and enters a pseudo-avatar state so that she may infuse a sufficient amount of Divine energy into Nuralie as she works. One of the Divine Madrin Arrows of Soul Toxicity that were previously created to slay the soul fragment of Orexis will be used as a catalyst in this process, hopefully providing a sufficient base for the poison itself, and perhaps a template for creating a Divine weapon from the poison and other materials.


    ¡°Arlo will then allow his soul to be empowered by the Dread Star so that he becomes better equipped to channel Deific abilities, after which he will be encompassed by Etja¡¯s soul wherein the fragment of Hysteria¡¯s soul will be thrust into him. Xim will perform a modified ritual to safely funnel the divine influence into Arlo¡¯s Soul-Sight so that he can identify the foreign energy residing in our souls¨Cassuming that foreign energy is responsible for maintaining the changes we seek to undo¨Cafter which he will use Reveal to guide me in executing rapid, pinpoint spiritual attacks against thirty-six affected locations in someone else¡¯s soul, which will deliver a small payload of the soul poison crafted by Nuralie.


    ¡°The poison will hopefully disrupt the foreign energy without killing us, allowing our souls to heal and regenerate back to their previously unmolested state, and this process must be repeated for each member of the party, which means that I will¨Cat some point¨Cbe stabbing myself thirty-six times. Did I miss anything?¡±


    ¡°See, Grotto?¡± said Xim. ¡°Not that hard.¡±

 Chapter 232: Surgery Prep

    Chapter 232: Surgery Prep


    Xim, Grotto, and Throne fucked off to the Third Layer and I wished the Xor¡¯Drel tribe all the best in dealing with that trio. Xim would do some research on how to manage the flow of Divine energy on a vastly greater scale than she was normally capable of, while Grotto and Throne talked to Sam¡¯lia about... something. I wasn¡¯t sure what the Core wanted with the motherly deity, but it probably wasn¡¯t anything good. Sam¡¯lia would hopefully also provide Xim with some guidance, or at least shut the cleric¡¯s idea down if it was guaranteed to kill us.


    Before the group left I gave Xim a handmade card to deliver to the goddess on my behalf, letting the deity know how things had been going in my life. I drew anthropomorphic blood droplets on the front with goofy smiling faces. Sam¡¯lia enjoyed little personalized gifts like that.


    The remaining Closetlanders would work on Nuralie¡¯s soul poison, a surprisingly straightforward affair consisting of two major steps. Creating the base poison, and then infusing that poison into a Divine scalpel.


    The strength of Nuralie¡¯s Spiritual toxin was based on the strength of her soul and enhanced by her Alchemy skill. When Nuralie created the soul toxin used against Orexis, she bypassed this hurdle by having Fortune break off a tiny piece of his own soul and wrap Nuralie up in it. When Nuralie created the anti-Orexis poison, she imbued it with that fragment of Fortune¨Crather than her own soul¨Cwhich created a substance that she then fused with a bundle of Madrin arrows, thus creating the Fuck Orexis in Particular arrows. Those arrows could only harm Orexis, but they were effective enough at weakening his specter for us to kick its ass.


    For the current experiment, Fortune wasn¡¯t around to let us borrow another cup of soul juice, so we planned to use another workaround. Etja would channel the fragment of Hysteria she held within her, and then wrap Nuralie in her soul, allowing the spiritual toxin to draw from the avatar-empowered mage rather than Nuralie.


    This almost certainly wouldn¡¯t result in the same level of boost that Nuralie had gotten from Fortune, but Nuralie had substantially better stats and skills than she¡¯d had last time, and the materials available to us were significantly better than what she¡¯d had in The Cage. Back then she was working with the equivalent of a janitor¡¯s closet worth of cleaning products and mixing it together using a trailer house meth lab. Nowadays we had the best alchemical products Eschendur had to offer and access to industrial-grade equipment.


    Nuralie used her Inquisitor rank to requisition a full team of experienced alchemists and priests to consult on the job, and we went ahead and purchased the supplies necessary to build Nuralie a comprehensive alchemy lab in the Closet. This would have normally taken months to set up, but we used the incredible power of money to get it all done in under a week.


    Nuralie went into the lab with a chest full of Poison Essences, a hundred pounds of rare reagents, three diamond chips, and the remaining Orexis arrows. She didn¡¯t emerge for four days, after which she slept for twenty-four hours and reported that her work in creating the base poison had been successful.


    Step one done, easy peasy.


    While Nuralie did her work, I did some wandmaking and talked with Etja about the limits of using the Hysteria fragment.


    ¡°The biggest problem is that when I use it, I¡¯m not really me anymore,¡± she said. ¡°My thoughts get all hazy and all I wanna do is consume stuff. Aside from that, it¡¯s really hard on my mana matrix, so if I use it for too long it¡¯ll probably kill me. Oh, it also feels like I¡¯m kind of channeling Hysteria, and I get this really strong urge to play pranks on people. But not fun pranks. Pranks like tricking somebody into eating a cake made from their friend¡¯s face or something.¡±


    ¡°That does sound worrying,¡± I replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to incorporate the fragment better,¡± she said. ¡°I can eat away at the edges and it¡¯s making my unique intrinsic skills go up really fast, but I¡¯ve barely made a dent in the thing.¡±


    ¡°Is using it to go super Etja for this alchemy stuff going to be a problem?¡±


    ¡°I think I can handle it,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve recovered from the last time I used it, and I picked all my new evolutions to help with something like this. My command over my mana is way stronger, my focus and willpower get a big boost while I¡¯m using my Mirtasian Cadence, and I can learn how to resist anything I¡¯ve used Incorporate on.¡±


    She looked over and met my eyes. ¡°Even with all of that,¡± she continued, ¡°I also think you should be using Reveal on me the whole time, focusing on how you see me. The normal me, that is. It¡¯ll probably help keep me from losing myself in the rush.¡±


    I agreed, and we spent some time exchanging tips on mana shaping before the big event.


    Creating the finished product was pretty dramatic. Varrin was there for moral support and to try and help contain Etja if anything went wrong. The mage spent several minutes performing her Mirtasian Cadence, her body flowing to a perfect rhythm as she hummed, sinking herself deep into a trance-like state. Her skin began to glow with a rainbow sheen, and the mana rolling off her grew in intensity until it was enough to make me uncomfortable.


    The room Nuralie had set up was built to isolate itself from the Dimensional mana in the Closet. It would contain the specific mana types Nuralie was trying to imbue into her products, which in this case were Spiritual and Divine. Etja¡¯s presence filled the chamber, while Nuralie had sanctified bones smoldering in braziers throughout the room. She assured me that whoever had donated the bones had done so voluntarily, and instructed me to ignore the haunting whispers.


    I might have been able to do that if they¡¯d been the only things whispering weird shit into my brain. Nuralie poured a generous helping of Abbandium into her main cauldron, which lowered everyone¡¯s Spiritual defenses and opened us up to whatever eldritch entity used the strange metal to communicate.


    Nuralie was using some of the Abbandium material to create the final product, which would be a set of very tiny scalpels for Varrin to use. Abbandium¡¯s natural ability to lower Spiritual defense made for an excellent tool when cutting through someone¡¯s soul.


    I asked why we weren¡¯t going for needles, which would presumably do a lot less harm, to which Varrin reminded me he was a Blades prodigy, not a Needles prodigy. It didn¡¯t really matter that much in the end, since Abbandium items could transform at will. If we happened across a master of acupuncture, we could change the tools to suit them without trouble.


    Nuralie deposited the base liquid she¡¯d spent days creating without rest, which further filled the room with poisonous fumes. She opened the Grimoire, and the following hour was filled with chanting, bursts of infernal fire coming from somewhere I couldn¡¯t identify, Nuralie stirring, prodding, seasoning, and even tasting the shit in her cauldron, all while Etja had her in a firm soul hug and channeled heaps of Divine energy into the brew.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    My Sage Advice evolution activated three different times during the process, burning all of my charges and giving Nuralie a massive boost to her Alchemy skill throughout. I was pretty sure one of the spirits in the sanctified bones possessed me while I doled out this alchemical wisdom because I had no idea what the fuck I was talking about and couldn¡¯t remember three-fourths of it afterward.


    At the end of the hour, I spent several minutes guiding Etja back down from her avatar-ness using a more forceful application of Reveal than I¡¯d been maintaining during the crafting process. She came out of it no worse for wear, but I decided there and then that this ¡®ability¡¯ wasn¡¯t something that should ever be used in an uncontrolled environment. We¡¯d gotten lucky when she¡¯d used it against Hysteria, but I wasn¡¯t sure any of us had an answer if she lost control of herself while transformed.


    It made me a bit nervous about having that power running through me. What would Hysteria-Arlo want to do if I couldn¡¯t handle the power? Would I tell some shitty jokes, or would I call up the Dread Star and ask it for a joke that would kill anyone who heard it, and then work out how to use Grotto¡¯s PSA evolution to psychically broadcast that joke into the heads of anyone I¡¯d ever met and didn¡¯t like?


    I¡¯d rather not find out what I was like with zero impulse control.


    Sam¡¯lia¡¯s Apple Juice


    Apple Juice made by the Goddess of the Seven Organs.


    The second-best juice you¡¯ve ever had.


    ¡°Huh,¡± I said, grinning. ¡°Much appreciated. Did you get what you needed?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± she said.


    ¡°Okay, that one¡¯s definitely a question and not a statement.¡±


    ¡°I can keep the energy from killing you,¡± she said. ¡°I think. But it¡¯ll be up to you to direct it into your Revelation of the Eye¡¯s Sight.¡±


    ¡°Right. How do I do that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been using your Soul-Sight non-stop for months now.¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ve been working it really hard lately, digging into everyone¡¯s souls.¡±


    ¡°That is accurate.¡±


    ¡°Do you feel like you¡¯re on the cusp of learning a new fundamental truth about reality?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve learned several fundamental truths about my closest allies.¡±


    Xim let out a small sigh. ¡°I¡¯m really asking,¡± she said. ¡°If the revelation is on the cusp of advancing, then you might be able to direct the energy without even thinking about it. You¡¯ve tilled and seeded the soil of your comprehension and we¡¯ll be handing you a thunderstorm. I can keep the winds from destroying your field, but you¡¯ll need to direct the rain.¡±


    I thought back on my weeks of practice. It didn¡¯t feel like some sudden burst of understanding was trying to jump out at me, but I had learned quite a lot of new information about souls. It was possible that all of that new data would synthesize into an unexpected realization, but I wasn¡¯t sure if that was something I¡¯d feel coming along ahead of time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make it work,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been using my Soul-Sight so much that I can drop into a flow state pretty easily. Maybe that¡¯s not what you mean about being on the cusp of something new, but maybe that¡¯s what it means for me.¡±


    ¡°Good enough,¡± she said. ¡°So when are we doing this?¡±


    I glanced around at the group. ¡°Does right fuckin¡¯ now work for everyone?¡± My question was met by unanimous and eager assent.


    ¡°Who will I be slicing first?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°Me,¡± I said. ¡°Will you be referring to it as slicing throughout?¡±


    ¡°It is what it is,¡± he said. ¡°Why are you going first?¡±


    ¡°The whole reason we need to juice my Sight with avatar soul is so that I can see the shit that¡¯s keeping me from seeing the shit. If my shit is eliminated, then I won¡¯t need to keep getting injected with the Hysteria fragment to see everyone else¡¯s shit.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°You are also the least likely to die,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°That¡¯s an additional consideration,¡± I said. ¡°Either way, first thing¡¯s first. Gotta get an elder god to do a little remodeling in my metaphysical self.¡±


    I opened my Dimensional Magic evolutions and accepted Heavenly Gates.

 Chapter 233: Gatekeeping

    Chapter 233: Gatekeeping


    After accepting the Heavenly Gates evolution, the world went black.


    Not entirely unexpected.


    I felt a tugging in my chest, like someone had applied a local anesthetic and was opening me up. A presence washed over me, a shadow seen through closed eyes. A jolt of static pulsed through my veins as a connection was made. Minutes passed while I felt these strange sensations.


    I was taken by emotions that weren¡¯t my own. I bent a rule to enforce a rule that had been broken, but made the change as the one who makes the rules. The exception was accepted.


    I did as I wished, but would not do what was never wished for. A fraction of this cycle had been marked by invasion into my realm. A threshold had been reached. A subject was chosen and the offer made. Acceptance collapses alternatives.


    His will shall be my own, and my will shall be as his.


    I opened my eyes to see everyone looking at me.


    ¡°Well?¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to accept the evolution?¡±


    ¡°I, uh, I did.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± she said. ¡°I thought you¡¯d disappear or the walls would turn into galaxies and try to talk to us or something.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°Kind of a letdown.¡±


    ¡°How long was I standing here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°In what regard?¡± said Varrin. ¡°You said ¡®Gotta get an elder god to do a little remodeling¡¯, looked at us for a few seconds, and then Xim asked if you were going to get on with it.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°Well, I experienced some emotional blending in the void for several minutes during those three seconds.¡±


    I gave the crew a rundown, then did a bit of soul-diving on myself. I couldn¡¯t find any obvious changes. So I decided to test some magic.


    I used Shortcut. Normally, a lightning-quick tear would form in space ahead of me, shunting me through to my destination. Now, there was no obvious effect of any kind. I wanted to be somewhere else, and there I was.


    The upgraded Reckless version of the spell normally came with a crackling sound that grew in intensity the farther I teleported. I checked the skill¡¯s description and found several changes.


    Dreadful Shortcut


    Dimensional - Deific


    Cost: 5 mana


    Cooldown: Variable


    Requirements: Dimensional Magic 40, Sacrament of the Dread Star


    Pass through the void and teleport to a place you can see within a number of feet equal to 500 times your Dimensional Magic skill level. This skill¡¯s cooldown is based on the distance traveled, with a minimum cooldown of 1 second if the distance is less than or equal to 5 times your Dimensional Magic skill level in feet, up to a cooldown of 1 hour when traveling the maximum distance.


    Sacrament of the Dread Star


    Whenever you use a teleport or portal skill, you may spend 1 stack of Blessed to reduce the mana or stamina cost of that skill to 0. Additional stacks of Blessed must be spent for each effect that increases the resource cost of that teleport or portal, such as a mana shape, doubling the Blessed required with each additional effect.


    That was interesting. The spell no longer hurt me when using it for large distances and it no longer had any visual or auditory effects. Both of those had been restrictions that allowed me to customize the spell during a time of severe brain damage.


    In some ways, the auditory effect had been a benefit. It was attention-grabbing, which suited my role in the party. I hadn¡¯t intended to add the self-damage or thunderous arrival to the spell, but their addition had (only) almost killed me a couple of times. Either way, I was happy enough to lose the effects if it meant I wouldn¡¯t accidentally shred my organs when moving across large distances.


    My theory for why it changed had to do with the nature of Deific effects. Reckless Shortcut had harmed me because it let me ¡°tear through the cracks between dimensions,¡± which was a strain if I went too far too fast. That was, in essence, a force that interfered with the spell. Dreadful Shortcut instead let me pass through ¡°the void¡±. I supposed that since there was nothing in the void, and that I was doing it with the literal god of the void¡¯s blessing, I was no longer bending any rules. Even if I did encounter another oppositional force, it probably wouldn¡¯t affect me unless it too was a Deific effect.


    With a Dimensional Magic skill of 41 and my Deijin¡¯s Path ring increasing my teleport range, I could now pop across 6.2 miles in a single jump, assuming I could see my destination.


    ¡°Germ theory is very new,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°We should not confuse ourselves by making strained comparisons.¡±


    ¡°Do we need to be in the dirt for this to work?¡± asked Varrin. Xim shot me a questioning look.


    ¡°Gods, I hope not,¡± I said. ¡°I hate having dirt all over me. In fact, everyone make sure to take off your shoes before we head back to the situation room.¡±


    Xim nodded and we marched a hundred feet away from the growing pile, to a location where the floor had only gotten a tad dusty.


    ¡°My contribution will primarily be a ritual, empowered by a revelation,¡± she said. ¡°Both will work together to guide the Divine energy generated by the Hysteria fragment, tempering it to give Arlo the best chance at absorbing it. He can¡¯t tap into the energy the way Etja can, even while Etja does her soul hug since he wasn¡¯t originally designed to be possessed by the specter of an avatar.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t all be perfect,¡± said Etja, patting me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Etja¡¯s ability to harness the fragment is mainly a result of two things,¡± Xim continued. ¡°She can keep it in her soul without exploding, and she can ¡®digest¡¯ the power using Incorporate. Incorporate is helped along by her avatar heritage and specially crafted golem physiology, evolutions, Divine Magic skill, and so on.


    ¡°To mirror this, Arlo needs to draw the fragment¡¯s energy into his soul before it can empower his Soul Sight. He doesn¡¯t need to hold the entire fragment in his soul, since we only care about drawing enough Deific power to supercharge his Sight. He just needs to connect with it. Then, if he wants to use that energy, he needs to digest it in a way that¡¯s similar to Etja¡¯s Incorporate ability.¡±


    ¡°Arlo¡¯s attunement is Dimensional,¡± said Varrin. ¡°He cannot even practice Spiritual or Divine magicks, which sound like they will be critical here. Is that going to be a problem?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but no,¡± said Xim. ¡°From an attunement standpoint, he couldn¡¯t be a worse choice for this.¡±


    ¡°My confidence in this procedure is waning,¡± I said.


    ¡°Fortunately, we can side-step the attunement problems,¡± said Xim. ¡°We¡¯re not dealing with mana, and we¡¯re not trying to use one of Arlo¡¯s skills. The fragment generates a lot of Divine mana, but Divine mana isn¡¯t what¡¯s going to allow Arlo¡¯s Soul Sight to gain some level of temporary Deific strength. It¡¯s the spark of divinity within the fragment that¡¯s important, along with Arlo¡¯s understanding of the soul. While having access to Divine and Spiritual magicks would help, what¡¯s more important is Arlo¡¯s relationship to divinity itself and his comprehension of his own soul.¡±


    Xim crossed her arms and gave me a look I couldn¡¯t quite decipher. ¡°Right now, Arlo is a second-stage revelator, which is the mark of someone with an exceptionally close relationship with one or more divine beings. On top of that, both of his revelations deal with the soul. From that standpoint, Arlo is an exceptional choice for this.¡±


    ¡°My confidence no longer wanes,¡± I said, standing up straighter. ¡°I might even say it waxes.¡±


    ¡°When Arlo uses Reveal, he connects directly with the soul of his target,¡± Xim went on. ¡°This connection primarily flows from Arlo to the person he¡¯s using Reveal on, but Arlo is naturally getting feedback from the other person¡¯s soul as well.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± I said.


    ¡°Arlo has also had experience connecting with the soul fragment of a divine avatar using Reveal.¡±


    ¡°Not the best experience,¡± I said, thinking back to our fight with the specter of Orexis.


    The specter had been convinced that it was the real Orexis, and I¡¯d used Reveal to expose it to my perception of it as a minion of the true avatar. Forcing the specter to confront the disposable nature of its existence helped to destabilize its psyche enough to help us prevail. However, touching the specter with Reveal had been like falling into a black hole of unending, noxious hunger.


    ¡°You want me to use Reveal on the Hysteria fragment?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Can he do that?¡± asked Varrin. ¡°Is the fragment sentient?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a living piece of a soul,¡± said Xim. ¡°It should work, regardless of the level of self-awareness the soul possesses. Using Reveal will create the bridge between Arlo¡¯s soul and the fragment. Once that¡¯s established, I will use a ritual of the Stomach to help draw the divine essence across that bridge.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s the ritual work?¡± I asked.


    ¡°How deep of an explanation do you want?¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Will having an advanced understanding improve our chances of success?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. But you aren¡¯t going to gain an advanced understanding in an afternoon.¡±


    ¡°I see. One-hour presentation?¡±


    Xim shrugged and nodded, but I could tell she was excited to be in her element.

 Chapter 234: Dreamscape Ritual

    Chapter 234: Dreamscape Ritual


    Xim rarely got to dive deeply into theological matters with the full party. She and Nuralie had frequent discussions on the topic, and Etja got involved from time to time, but Varrin and I lacked the depth of knowledge they had and weren¡¯t generally looking to attend any sermons.


    Not to say that Xim was preachy¨Cfar from it¨Cand the following discussion reflected that. She stuck to the concepts that related to our task, focusing on the practical aspects of the ritual and how it intersected with the other divine principles we were working with.


    We began with some context, reviewing topics we were all familiar with while coming at the material from an unfamiliar angle.


    Sam¡¯lia was the Goddess of the Seven Organs, and as a deity, she was profoundly divisible. Not only was she one of an unknowable number of sisters, all of whom managed their own version of the Third Layer throughout reality, but her Arzian manifestation could be viewed in eight different ways.


    The first was Sam¡¯lia as an entire entity, the motherly blood goddess ruling over a realm of mind and dream, both loving and vengeful. Beyond that was each organ itself¨Cthe Eye, Brain, Ear, Nose, Tongue, Heart, and Stomach. Each organ represented different ideals and was in charge of different things within the Third Layer.


    Sam¡¯lian religious practices generally divided themselves among these eight categories and each of Sam¡¯lia¡¯s revelations was associated with one of the seven organs. Both of my revelations were of the Eye, for example. Xim¡¯s beast mode came from a Revelation of the Heart, and her manipulation of Divine fire came from a Revelation of the Stomach. She also divulged during the lesson that she¡¯d finally realized a Revelation of the Brain, and I expected she was going for the full set of seven, one from each organ. That was a feat that hadn¡¯t happened in living memory, but that discussion was beyond the purview of her lesson.


    Sam¡¯lian worship was heavily focused on ritual, especially in the Xor¡¯Drel tribe. These rituals were generally divided into the eight categories, depending on their purpose. The ritual used to adopt me into the tribe was classed as a general ritual, relating to Sam¡¯lia as a whole and her general motherliness. Xim used the Ritual of the Eye to transition to and from the Third Layer since all of the Third Layer lies under the gaze of the Eye and everything under the gaze of the Eye lies within the Third Layer.


    Going even deeper, each organ could be further broken down into three duties. While the Eye sees, reveals, and embraces, the Stomach hungers, consumes, and separates. The ritual Xim planned to use involved all three of the Stomach¡¯s duties. She would also incorporate ritualistic elements from other organs to help guide the process, but that was getting into minutiae that¨Conce again¨Cwent deeper than our crash course allowed.


    The first stage of the ritual established a target for the Stomach¡¯s hunger¨Ca portion of the fragment¡¯s Divine essence¨Cwhich if successful would mark it for consumption since all that the Stomach hungered for could be consumed. Consumption was the process of bringing that which is hungered for into the desired vessel, which would guide the Divine essence across my connection with the fragment and into my soul. Separation dealt with breaking something down into essential elements, either physically or conceptually, so that the thing being consumed could be properly absorbed by the vessel. That was the trickiest part for me since I would need to focus the ritual on providing me with useful essence to stuff into my Soul-Sight, culled of any nasty Hysteria baggage.


    Separation was both a literal and metaphorical process for the Stomach. One could separate carbohydrates from vitamins in a cheeseburger to send them off as nourishment for different parts of the body, or one could separate fact from fiction in a skewed historical treatise to decide what knowledge was useful for the mind to utilize. These things were as much a framework for a life philosophy as they were actionable magic processes that could be deployed.


    Either way, that was only one part of Xim¡¯s plan. The second part involved her fancy new revelation.


    ¡°When I sleep, I enter a realm created by Sam¡¯lia where I can commune with her and other worshipers,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°That¡¯s how you stopped Gharifon from forcing you to stay asleep while Tavio beat my ass,¡± I said.


    ¡°Do we believe Gharifon was a divine spawn at that time?¡± asked Varrin.


    ¡°Pretty sure that¡¯s why I got avatar vibes after Xim set the man on fire,¡± I answered. ¡°From what the Littans said after they outed him as a spy, he seems to have been the divine spawn of Hysteria.¡±


    ¡°And Xim still resisted him,¡± said Varrin. ¡°I had not considered the implications of that.¡±


    ¡°Goddess beats avatar spawn,¡± said the cleric. ¡°By intruding on the dream, Gharifon intruded on a space where Sam¡¯lia¨Cand even I¨Chave greater dominion than we do in the First. My Revelation of the Brain allows me to summon that dreamscape into the world around me for a brief time.¡±


    ¡°Where have I heard dominion used that way before?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Fortune asked for dominion over Anesis,¡± said Etja. ¡°When he wanted to teleport her out of The Cage. Orexis surrendered it.¡±


    ¡°So it is a term of art,¡± said Varrin.


    This was the most complex intersection of magic and skill we¡¯d ever tried, and the only way to really test it was to make a full-fledged attempt. I found myself growing anxious in a way I seldom did anymore. Even when our lives were on the line in the midst of a battle, I drew confidence from our strategies and preparation. Our ability to adapt in a fight had been well-tested, and we had plans on top of plans for when we might need to pivot.


    Here, we were pushing the envelope of several abilities, all of which had to operate flawlessly for us to succeed, with no good way to practice the entire procedure beforehand.


    I quelled my nerves and centered myself. I took a deep breath, let it out through my nose, and signaled Xim to start.


    Xim began chanting, waving her scepter in patterns that mirrored the sigils on the ground. Her hand adjusted to the subtle wiggling of the runes, even as she held her eyes tightly shut. The sounds of her whispers were like creeping centipedes crawling into my ear canal. All other noises were cowed by her words, the world a silent stage for her disquieting call.


    Xim¡¯s body grew, a phantom image of her presence washing out to the edges of the ritual circle. I felt her revelation pull me in, and I fought against the instinct to stumble forward. The pull was a hallucination of my mind as it failed to process the journey into her dreamscape.


    An organic material grew from the floor, surrounding us in a pulsating wall of flesh filled with ruby light. Although the substance appeared solid, the world beyond it was still visible. We occupied two spaces, one spiritual and one physical. I fell back on processing Xim¡¯s summoning with my soul, as I had learned to do with my Sight. Etja and Varrin struggled with the dual inputs while they relied on their physical brains to process the information, but they could adapt well enough to do what they needed.


    The pulsing grew louder, falling into rhythm with a powerful thudding from above. We were wrapped in the Stomach, guided by the Heart, and shown the path by the Brain. Everything was in place.


    Etja opened her soul and held me in it, a second layer of spiritual presence further cocooning me into the embrace of my allies. She brought forth the fragment, pulled from its separate partition, and I shuddered as it confronted me with its mania.


    I focused on the ritual, drawing comfort from the Closet¡¯s environment, the work we¡¯d done, and the presence of Xim and Etja helping to guide me. I pushed back against the fragment, seizing its assault on my mind and arresting it in place.


    A soft giggle escaped me, although I found no humor in what we were doing. Someone else was chuckling into my lips. I opened my Sight fully to the fragment, awash in its rainbow hues as I confronted it. I peeled back layer after layer, the speck of avatar endlessly dense. It was a shadow of infinity, but I¡¯d confronted true infinity on more than one occasion. This was a pretense. It felt small.


    The fragment dimmed and rested, uninterested in fighting my gaze. My cheeks burned from the force of my grin, and I wiped the stranger¡¯s smile from my face.


    I connected to the fragment with Reveal. It pushed back, but it was a token struggle. It let the connection take hold, as though it were eager to meld with me. I pushed my thoughts into it, fervently believing in the control I had over my realm. We¡¯d struggled and prevailed against Hysteria, their full self, and this was an infinitesimal shard of that being. It held no sway here.


    The fragment and I sighed. The shard melted to reshape itself to my whim.


    I felt Grotto in my head, adjusting my neurochemicals. A feverish excitement dulled in my chest. I became aware of the fragment¡¯s essence crossing over into my soul.


    Xim¡¯s voice rose in volume, her whispers becoming a sonorous ringing, pulsing in time with the Heart. A growl erupted from the Stomach as it found its prey, the weight of its desire falling upon the fragment¡¯s thread like a pack of malnourished lampreys. The fragment glimmered and a torrent of power poured into me, being drawn by a carnal lust, willing and insatiable.


    I saw an opportunity. Something I hadn¡¯t expected. My control was much greater than I¡¯d anticipated. The fragment was meek, subservient, bowing to my tyrant¡¯s will.


    I could take more of it.


    I could draw from it until it was a dried-out husk.


    I saw another piece of divinity that I could command for myself.

 Chapter 235: Soul Carving

    Chapter 235: Soul Carving


    I felt cold water on my face and realized that Nuralie had thrown something at me. I opened my eyes and glanced at her, then down at the rag she¡¯d tossed. It smelled like spice and peppermint. I took a deep breath of the aroma, feeling my mind clear and realizing I¡¯d almost fallen for a trap.


    The fragment was chagrined, and we laughed it off. Then I continued to strip it of its identity, gnashing it between my teeth.


    My mind wheeled through a hundred ways I could manipulate my party members, then dug into how I could manipulate everyone else. This was an easier trap to avoid, since I already thought about that kind of thing a lot and chose to ignore it. Unless it was useful, of course. It should have tried a thought I hadn¡¯t already had before.


    Maybe it couldn¡¯t.


    I realized there was a back and forth going on. The fragment was pulling at threads that connected to something that was real about me. It wasn¡¯t manufacturing feelings, it was enhancing my more toxic social habits and the thrill of gaining power. My impulse was to reject it, but ignoring these things only made them worse. I¡¯d known that for a long time. It was something I¡¯d worked on extensively.


    I focused on acceptance and Xim¡¯s gentle voice led me to a memory. When I first encountered the Eye, it had stripped me bare and looked at everything I¡¯d ever done. Despite seeing all my flaws in a single glance, the Eye accepted me for what I was. A flawed person, working to become better.


    I was seen before I learned how to See. A separate point of view revealed my triumphs and imperfections before I learned to Reveal my own perspective to others. The final step of the Eye was to Embrace, and that thought sent me tumbling into myself.


    The fragment was doing something similar to the Eye, but it was corrupt, only focused on the impulses. There was no rhyme or reason to its desires, other than to satisfy its need for chaos. It saw something primal in my heart, showed it to me, and tried to force me to embrace it. I allowed it to grasp my arms and fold them around those impulses, but I reached out to hold the rest of me alongside it.


    This wasn¡¯t about resistance or rejection. Grit and raw willpower wouldn¡¯t save me. I confronted the fragment¡¯s naive view of emotion and Revealed to it the complexity of being. I was selfish and I was giving. I was angry and I was loving. I was manipulative and I was trusting.


    My cognitive dissonance dissolved. Both sides of me served when needed, and both sides could be good. My emotions were not wrong, they simply were.


    The fragment had no context for this. It was an alien thing, incapable of comprehending desires outside of its own. But it wasn¡¯t really desire that drove it. That was the wrong word. It was a mandate, an irresistible directive, inescapable programming emergent from its nature. My disgust held it at bay, and I put that aside so that it understood I was not here for violence. I was here to heal myself and my allies. The fragment, for all that it amplified my flaws, could help. I accepted it as I was accepted, and I brought it into my embrace along with everything else.


    The flood became a gentle stream as I began to take only what was needed.


    ¡°Two minutes,¡± Xim whispered.


    I¡¯d forgotten we were on a clock, and was surprised by how little time had passed. I turned my Sight inward, hunting for the distortions in my soul. I didn¡¯t even have to guide the fragment¡¯s power. It worked alongside me, and I saw everything that had been twisted.


    It was Hysteria. The realization hit me like a drug being filtered from my blood. Hysteria had done this to us. Of course they had! It was so obvious, and somehow we¡¯d been incapable of even considering it. They¡¯d even told us they were implanting us with commands while they¡¯d rattled on about assassinations or something. I was momentarily stunned by how profoundly my mind had been duped, but let the feeling dissolve. There would be time to process that later.


    Grotto helped lead me to the areas of my soul that we¡¯d identified. Fortunately, none had been missed. Thirty-six separate places where my experiences had been reweighted to create changes to my personality. The forced blind spots were the most gruesome to look at, like traumatic memories that my mind held at bay to keep me sane. Conclusions that would destroy my sense of self, held back by a powerful block of repression.


    With the locations mapped, I used Reveal to connect with Varrin. The big guy¡¯s soul shuddered as he accepted me into himself. My emotions were a tranquil ocean, and I¡¯d just dropped him into the deepest trench. He recovered quickly, able to lock onto the pieces of my perception that were relevant.


    Then he started slicing.


    The scalpel cut through my soul like a shard of ice. Bright and stinging pain gave way to numbness. I focused on my breathing as I watched small splotches of soul corrode and disappear. Dread welled up as I actively felt pieces of my identity vanish. It was thick and palpable, but I didn¡¯t allow it to break my peace with the fragment. I was aware of my health plummeting, though I ignored the numbers. I was alive and I would live.


    Varrin made the cuts in under thirty seconds. The poison finished its work moments after. My mood turned and plummeted, and my emotional stability was threatened by a spiral of despair and confusion.


    I leaned into my connection with the others, using them to stabilize.


    ¡°One minute.¡±


    Ostensibly, we were done, but I needed to check Varrin¡¯s work. I needed to see if the poison was successful. I crawled through the wounds in my soul, searching for the foreign influence that had held me in a strangled knot.


    Seconds ticked past as I studied the holes in my identity. At first, everything seemed to be stable, as much as it could be given the destructive nature of our task.


    Then I saw the faintest thread, a familiar scintilla of essence winding itself back into the emptiness in my soul. My pulse quickened and I felt Grotto throttle my adrenaline as I followed the energy back to its source. I flung my Sight back to the channel of power I was converting from the Hysteria fragment, but I lost the trail.


    I frantically scanned the energy coming through. I could feel my soul being stitched back together, a hack job being automatically triggered. It tugged at my past, reaching out to draw in new threads from different experiences. It was bypassing our work and doing more damage in an effort to reintegrate the changes we¡¯d just unwound.


    ¡°Hopefully,¡± she said, turning back and brushing the moisture from her cheek. ¡°If you regretted it for some other reason, you should let us know. This is... it¡¯s not real.¡± Her shoulders slumped. ¡°It¡¯s real, but it¡¯s not real. We just need some time to get back to normal.¡±


    ¡°Well, this sucks,¡± I said. ¡°But objectively it¡¯s pretty great.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t feel great. But yeah.¡±


    We sat in silence for a minute.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the prescription while we wait for our souls to heal?¡± I asked.


    She shrugged. ¡°We need to be around some people we care about. Family, friends, to keep us stable. Remind us that it¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    I considered that. ¡°Guess we¡¯ve got a head start,¡± I said.


    Xim gave me a sad smile and she piled onto me with a mighty hug. We laid there together for a while. Eventually she sighed into my chest and stood. She held out a hand and I took it, allowing her to pull me to my feet. She locked me into another embrace.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay too.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t normally get scared,¡± she whispered. ¡°Realizing how much we¡¯d been changed... it¡¯s terrifying. I really hate it.¡±


    I reached up and brushed the hair along the back of her head. ¡°It¡¯s all right. We¡¯re safe now. Safe as we can be with our lifestyles.¡±


    She chuckled, gave me a final back cracking squeeze, then let me go. ¡°I want to go home and see my parents,¡± she said. ¡°Varrin¡¯s going to head to Ravvenblaq manor. Nuralie and Etja are going to Eschengal to hang out with the Zenithars. Come with me back to the tribe?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that,¡± I said. ¡°Just let me pack a bag real quick.¡± I glanced around. ¡°Okay, done.¡±


    Xim didn¡¯t quite roll her eyes, but she smiled. ¡°Got your whole life everywhere you go,¡± she said.


    ¡°Like any good vagrant worth their salt.¡±


    ¡°Then let us vagrant the hells out of here.¡±


    ¡°Pretty sure that¡¯s not a verb,¡± I said.


    ¡°Language is alive. I¡¯ll just decree it to be a verb.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. However, since I¡¯m the president of Closetland, I could pass a law decreeing that it¡¯s not a verb.¡±


    ¡°Good thing we¡¯re heading to the Third Layer,¡± Xim said, ¡°where I can have the tribe agree that it is a verb and literally alter reality so that it is.¡±


    ¡°Is that how that works? Seems a bit abstract.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m intentionally mystifying it so that you don¡¯t know my limits.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I bow to your verb-defining wisdom, great sage.¡±


    We stepped out of the bedroom to join with the others, prepared to divide and recover.

 Chapter 236: System Addendum #8 pt 1

    Chapter 236: System Addendum #8 pt 1


    *****


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY USER NAME: [Supreme General Diathemon Tyrianaeonis]


    ADDENDUM NOTE: Imperative #1 - The System shall enable Delvers to ascend through the best means available.


    *****


    General Diathemon looked over the expansive field where a legion of his soldiers ran mobility drills. The Elder Lich studied their movements, pleased at the superhuman displays of speed and agility. He brought up a dark slate and peered at a readout of the nearest undead¡¯s preserved musculature.


    There was decay, of course, and significant mass had been lost to desiccation and dehydration, but the overall structure was adequate. There was a satisfactory system of mana veins capable of interfacing with the man¡¯s mana matrix, granting him the greater portion of the power he¡¯d earned in life. The shambling gait that had plagued the myriad undead created by his peers was absent, although some fine motor control had been lost.


    Diathemon was convinced that was unavoidable, however. A Delver¡¯s biology became redundant at a certain point, but the organic structures still provided a valuable medium for the animas. Simple movements could be managed through traditional caloric intake and expenditure, and the neurochemical processes of the brain were extraordinarily difficult to emulate entirely with spiritual constructs. Still, he was satisfied with his work.


    The core volunteers comprising the majority of his army had only seen a twenty percent degradation in motor capabilities, but it was more than made up for. After all, how many of these men and women could have run drills on the surface of the moon while alive? Without any specialized equipment, that is.


    Soldiers who didn¡¯t breathe, didn¡¯t bleed, ignored poison and cold, never felt fear, and could still wield the magicks they knew in life. Surely that was worth a bit of sloppy handwriting and the occasional bad footwork.


    The dark, armored forms rattled their way across the expanse of metallic beads that covered the thousand-mile-diameter housing for System Core 2. A pair of dimensionalists hovered overhead, making minor tweaks to the mana array that maintained a one to one match with the gravity of the planet overhead. The Lich watched their work, making mental notes for ways he could advise them on their spellcraft, then allowed his eyes to wander up to the roiling storms that served as their backdrop.


    The dark half of the world. He mused on the greatest mistake of the generation before him, preparing himself for the fools he would assuredly meet in this one. Striking such a wound upon the world was like trying to end an infection in one¡¯s arm by thrusting it into a bonfire. It was horribly effective, assuming the infection hadn¡¯t spread and one wished to experience the most painful amputation possible. Of course, such an injury presented its own complications; ones that might be worse than the infection itself.


    Death, for example.


    That generation also hadn¡¯t been treating an infection¨Calthough they¡¯d thought they were¨Cbut the avatars were more like an immortal plague than an infection. They weren¡¯t localized to an individual but dispersed in the environment. They tore through populations, leaving scores of dead in their wake. There was no cure, only prevention, and by the time disease had struck, it was too late.


    Overall, Diathemon and his disciples all agreed that leaving half the planet uninhabitable had been a bad move. Further, the Elder Lich had firmly believed that most


    people understood that leaving half the planet uninhabitable had been a bad move. He¡¯d figured that sane individuals realized taking potentially planet-killing actions was a bad move all around. He¡¯d been naive to hold that belief.


    While the generation before him had scorched half the planet, his own generation had only managed to drop a moon on it. Most of the land mass was still inhabitable, so as far as apocalypses went, it was a poor showing. Not that an apocalypse had been the goal, but it had been well within the realm of possibilities.


    At least they¡¯d saved most of the people they left behind from a slow, humiliating death at the hands of the remaining avatars. That was more like killing a plague victim so they didn¡¯t have to suffer, without asking them first, or their families, or any medical professionals with informed opinions. They¡¯d all be killed as well, so what did it matter?


    It had taken a conclave of less than a hundred people to write that tragedy, all of whom ascended after their display of mercy. The System enabled miracles as much as it enabled atrocities. Those who¡¯d done it believed the avatars to be contained, believed the System would be destroyed by their actions, and believed that they would ensure future generations could live without the world inevitably ending. It had been an ¡®acceptable risk¡¯. He wondered what nonsense this generation would believe to be an acceptable risk.


    Diathemon sighed needlessly, embracing the mortal affectation to ease his mind. He placed a mental checkmark next to the action on the list of such habits that he kept, reminding himself of the methods he¡¯d developed to preserve his humanity. It was easy to ignore them, as it was easy to ignore all things since untethering his soul. He ran through the list once again, ensuring he hadn¡¯t ignored any of his precautions for too long.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    He had too much left to accomplish to risk becoming a husk like those he¡¯d watched his closest friends become. Men and women who¡¯d stare listlessly into the distance as time flowed around them like a stone in the riverbed. They might still be alive up there, on the other side of the planet, buried under a mile of rock and sea with their phylacteries untouched by time and their minds adrift for eternity.


    The lich checked his internal clock¨Canother habit¨Cand peeled back from the viewport. He¡¯d watched the practice for three hours, which he found to be a reasonable length of time, but he had no purpose in remaining a silent spectator. He cycled his mana through his body in a precise series of pulses. Twenty beats per minute, simulating a healthy heart. He could imagine the blood coursing through him, energizing and granting him the motivation to move, to do, to accomplish something, anything. The stillness of death crept back from his mind, and he swept down a hallway to meet with the enemy.


    Avarice had a ¡®surprise¡¯ for him, one he must attend before the habitable surface of the planet came back into view.


    Diathemon did not enjoy the kinds of surprises avatars were wont to lay upon him.


    Regardless, the demon was owed its due for its part in preserving and then resurrecting his army. Thus far her demands had been reasonable. Keeping her company while she tortured her sibling was a cheap price, especially since he had time to kill and a minor case of undead-induced sociopathy.


    The creature¡¯s screams echoed down the hall as Diathemon walked, interspersed with manic cackles and despairing sobs. The emotions slid off of Diathemon, and he made no move to stimulate any empathetic response. For now, he would embrace the chill of undeath.


    Diathemon entered the verdant chamber Avarice favored, floating to the ground and allowing his boots to clack across the gold and marble floors to announce his arrival. He took a wandering path through a grove of trees, quickly finding the gutted remnants of the multistory Deiphage Golem.


    The golem¡¯s barn-sized head sat on the ground like a decapitated goliath, the sphere that housed Hysteria set firmly between its jaws. Its body lay throughout the grounds of the city-sized arboretum, piles of mana-fueled robotics swarmed by humanoid insects.


    Diathemon tsked internally whenever he saw Avarice¡¯s pet slaves. At least his Delvers had volunteered for their transformation and servitude. Avarice bought lives as men bought manure for their fields.


    Avarice slunk next to the golem¡¯s head, the grasping shadows haunting bushes and coiling between tree roots. The dark and beautiful charade that served as her Icon stood amidst the twisted fingers, adjusting a series of parameters on a wall-sized slate.


    The slate was an ancient thing, more advanced than the simple display Diathemon carried. It buzzed with colorful charts, projecting a three-dimensional display of Hysteria¡¯s form, trapped within the sphere¡¯s opaque confines. A cunning intelligence possessed it, speaking to Avarice in riddles only she understood, guiding her work as she made small changes to a hundred formulae lighting the air around her.


    She adjusted a numeral, and Hysteria¡¯s deformed face twisted in agony. The crack along the avatar¡¯s breastbone shuddered. When it went still, Hysteria¡¯s features swirled into a ferocious grin, and they laughed. It was the sound of madness, a keening wail of despair that sank into the lich¡¯s dusty bones, despite his antipathy for the monstrous being.


    ¡°Lichie!¡± shouted Hysteria. The avatar couldn¡¯t see outside of its containment. They always knew when Diathemon had arrived, regardless. ¡°You know, I enjoy the company of another boney boy, but whenever you show up my sister has a habit of abusing me.¡±


    Diathemon ignored the avatar and continued on his way toward Avarice.


    ¡°Hello? Dia? Are you mad I called you a boney boy?¡± asked Hysteria. ¡°I know you hide them under skin and muscles and so on, but you¡¯re all boney at heart! Come oooonnn, get into the bone zone over here! I could really use a hug!¡±


    Whatever lessons Avarice expected Diathemon to glean from watching her sessions with Hysteria, he did not know. The lich was not an Ascender; he worked with the divine but had never himself touched upon the godly realms. What use could he be in trying to study an avatar¡¯s wounds? He hadn¡¯t even known they could be wounded. Not in any way that mattered, at least. The avatar¡¯s manifested soul was an empty puzzle box, its contents unknowable to Diathemon.


    ¡°Greetings, Elder,¡± said Avarice.


    Had she been anyone else, Diathemon would have read sarcasm into her address. She was far more ancient than he, but she simply sought to use the honorific he favored when speaking to others. There was a time when he was believed to be the oldest creature roaming the world. His civilization had been violently disabused of that notion a thousand years before he¡¯d laid himself to rest.


    ¡°Avarice,¡± he said, nodding his head and signing his hands in the address of equals. If the avatar took offense, she didn¡¯t show it. ¡°What observations am I to make today?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± shouted Hysteria, voice muffled by their prison. ¡°She gets a hello and all I get is the room-temperature shoulder?¡±


    Avarice¡¯s masterwork construct made another minute adjustment to her formulas, but Hysteria did not react. A small smile spread across the Icon¡¯s false lips.


    ¡°You have borne witness to my work, Elder,¡± she said. ¡°Tell me, what do you think it is that I seek here?¡±


    ¡°I think,¡± Hysteria interjected, ¡°that it¡¯s an expression of your internal conflict over your desire to dominate your partner while feeling shame for expressing sexual interest in those who enjoy being a sub because you find them weak! It¡¯s reductive, Avarice, subs are some of the strongest people around!¡±


    Avarice adjusted a formula and Hysteria¡¯s heckling gave way to uncomfortable moans.


    Diathemon frowned, the expression hidden behind his mask. ¡°I watch from the foot of a lightless mountain, Peeress. Whatever lies at your summit, I cannot see.¡±


    ¡°Then do not use your eyes.¡±

 Chapter 237: System Addendum #8 pt 2

    Chapter 237: System Addendum #8 pt 2


    *****


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY USER NAME: [Supreme General Diathemon Tyrianaeonis]


    ADDENDUM NOTE: Imperative #2 - The System shall ensure its own survival.


    *****


    Diathemon went still, reviewing their shared sessions in his mind. ¡°You have drained Hysteria of much mana. I have seen you extract at least one void sphere, but if you sought only wealth from your sibling¡¯s blood, I would think you¡¯d have declared success with your experiments.¡±


    Avarice continued her work, showing no reaction to Diathemon¡¯s words.


    ¡°I must assume there is something other than mana you wish to harvest,¡± said the lich. ¡°Something more valuable than the currency of the Old Ones. Perhaps you seek a fragment, such as the one taken from Hysteria¡¯s chest.¡±


    ¡°The edges of the wound frayed,¡± said Avarice, ¡°but I do not hunger as Nothosis does. Tearing more meat from the bone is beyond me. This machine has been built to pacify; it was never intended to butcher.¡±


    Diathemon turned to study the Deiphage Golem¡¯s head, watching its mana flows as the construct siphoned power from the imprisoned avatar. The lich thought the moans were more distracting than the interruptions had been. ¡°I was not involved with the Deiphage project,¡± he said. ¡°I have no insights to grant you.¡±


    ¡°I do not wish for insights. A witness is sufficient. Your observations are fair trade for the asylum you have been granted.¡± Her Icon met the lich¡¯s eyes, her own alight with excitement. It was a strange expression on the normally dispassionate creature. ¡°Tell me what is different this day.¡±


    Diathemon paused and looked at the floating image of Hysteria. The lich walked around it, soaking in every detail. He stopped and gestured at the small splinter missing from the avatar¡¯s sternum.


    ¡°The fracture is two millimeters wider than it was yesterday.¡± He dove into his memories. ¡°This is the first time the wound has expanded. This is the first time it has changed at all.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Avarice. ¡°What would cause this?¡±


    Avarice¡¯s tone suggested she had her own theory, but she wanted Diathemon¡¯s thoughts before she biased him with her conclusion. The lich felt something stir in his chest and experienced a moment of painful nostalgia. It had been a long time since he¡¯d worked with a competent lab partner. Avarice hardly counted as such, but there was a familiar tang to today¡¯s interaction.


    ¡°Avatars are embodiments of concepts,¡± he began. ¡°Wounds upon their person are performative, primarily a deception to imply weakness that does not exist. Any display of injury from Hysteria would naturally be an illusion or mental manipulation, due to the nature of their concept. However, Hysteria¡¯s manifestation has been restricted by the Deiphage Golem, and the avatar¡¯s magicks are negated. They have been kept in a state of perpetual drain, which has been shown to halt the regeneration of an avatar¡¯s Deific abilities. That is the core purpose of the Deiphage project, and the mechanism whereby various avatars are kept contained within The Cage.¡±


    Avarice nodded and gestured for him to continue.


    ¡°Thus, the presumption is that we are currently seeing Hysteria¡¯s anima, without deceit or trickery. The embodiment of their soul in the physical realm should be as unchanging as a universal law, bending only to forces of incredible influence, typically that of gods. Even so, when a natural law is bent, it recovers the moment that influence withdraws. Hysteria¡¯s soul should have repaired this wound in seconds.¡± Diathemon ran fingers over the seams of his robe while he thought.


    ¡°An avatar¡¯s soul is conservative,¡± he continued. ¡°It cannot grow in excess of its conceptual bounds. A force has kept the fragment separated, and the drain from the Deiphage golem has prevented Hysteria from releasing dominion over the fragment. Hysteria would be conceptually whole, but divided into two parts, unable to reunify or regenerate. This would explain why the fracture has been stable. But now it has widened... Curious.¡±


    Diathemon trailed off as he studied the inscrutable symbols on Avarice¡¯s wide slate.


    ¡°Has additional essence been lost?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No,¡± said Avarice.


    ¡°Then the widening of the crack is a distortion?¡± Avarice didn¡¯t answer. Diathemon hadn¡¯t expected her to. ¡°It must be. In that case, Hysteria¡¯s manifestation is changing. It¡¯s destabilizing. They are incomplete while unable to heal, causing them to be misaligned with their embodied concept. But why? The distance to the fragment should be irrelevant. We¡¯re getting deep into the theoretical, but so long as the whole acknowledges that it is complete, no such thing should happen.¡±


    Diathemon¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°The fragment could be gone,¡± he said. ¡°Somehow destroyed or banished. Hysteria¡¯s current confinement prevents them from harvesting additional divinity through the System¡¯s breach, suspending them in an incomplete state. Their remaining divinity is unraveling as a result.¡±


    ¡°Excellent,¡± said Avarice.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    She began tweaking several formulas and the wide slate lit up in red and purple hues. The machine¡¯s artificial voice began babbling at her in harsh, frantic sentences.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Diathemon.


    ¡°Yeah, sis, whatcha doin?!¡± Hysteria shouted, frantic.


    ¡°The record of your hypothesis will be of extraordinary value, so long as we can support it,¡± she said. ¡°This Deiphage Golem has been deployed to shred and suppress Spiritual magicks. I have disabled the safety protocols that stop it from shredding souls as well.¡±


    Diathemon took a step away from the golem¡¯s jaws, which began to glow brighter than the sun to his mana sight. ¡°Even in their current state, Hysteria¡¯s soul is unfathomably dense,¡± said the lich.


    There was a rising screech coming from the imprisoned avatar.


    Avarice smirked. ¡°That is why I augmented the golem¡¯s power supply with three additional void spheres.¡±


    ¡°Three?!¡± Diathemon shouted. He continued pacing back from the Deiphage Golem. The marble around it had begun to melt. ¡°It will overload! You¡¯ll obliterate every soul on this blasted moon!¡±


    Avarice quirked an eyebrow. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you had no involvement with the Deiphage project?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s billions of mana! You¡¯re running enough power to fuel an empire through a half-broken relic!¡±


    ¡°I have taken that into consideration,¡± said Avarice. She gestured at the slate. ¡°Your civilization was not the only one to reach a high level of technological development. Many before you achieved heights of which you couldn¡¯t dream. The golem will not overload, I have made sure of it.¡±


    Diathemon withdrew his staff and was on the cusp of teleporting away. His forces were spread across the moon¡¯s surface. It would take too long to gather them all into his range. He could only grasp a fraction of them from where he stood.


    He held the spell half-formed as the image of Hysteria began to break.


    The orb held within the golem¡¯s jaws¨CHysteria¡¯s prison¨Cwas too bright for his mana sight to make sense of, even when he suppressed it to the meekest of levels. But the image before Avarice was crystal clear. The fracture in Hysteria¡¯s chest began to widen, and microfractures throughout Hysteria¡¯s soul emerged and enlarged.


    The drain from the golem tore splinters of multi-colored essence from the avatar. Such a thing made no sense to Diathemon. The golem drained mana, not soul. Where was the avatar¡¯s essence even going?


    Hysteria¡¯s face morphed from a skeletal visage to a swollen warrior, enraged and tearing at the sphere¡¯s edges. The man¡¯s nails tore off and flowed away. They became an ancient woman, tears flowing down her desolate face as her skin was flayed. Then they were a teenage boy, hair and teeth dissolving under the golem¡¯s onslaught. They became a thousand people, each being ripped asunder in a thousand ways, growing younger, growing smaller. Hysteria was an infant, then a fetus, then an embryo, growing smaller yet until they disappeared from mundane eyes.


    But Diathemon could see the world in a way that few could. He watched with macabre fascination as cells undivided, the avatar¡¯s expression reduced to the smallest unit of life, then smaller still. Organic compounds became elemental, elements were reduced to individual atoms, and then it all disappeared from Diathemon¡¯s vision, sucked away by the golem¡¯s insatiable pull.


    Diathemon released his partially formed spell ad the construct began to power down, venting excess mana into the air in lethal amounts. The trees around them wilted and decayed. Avarice¡¯s insectoid slaves had long since fled.


    Diathemon tried to puzzle out what he¡¯d just seen. Hysteria hadn¡¯t merely pretended to be those people, those cells and compounds, the avatar¡¯s magicks had been blocked. They had become those entities at the deepest level. It was emulation as profound as the most talented mimic, and perhaps grander than even that.


    Were those the Delvers who had ascended, whose rise through the heavens gave birth to the avatar? If so, why were there children and unborn babes? Had Diathemon witnessed their identities flow back to their beginnings until they were erased?


    Avarice broke Diathemon¡¯s reverie and motioned for him to follow as she began to pace away. The Elder Lich approached and joined the avatar as she walked around the golem. She waved a hand and a masterful illusion withdrew from the center of the chamber, one that Diathemon had never noticed during all of his trips to this chamber. The scattered illusion revealed a Delve obelisk, monumental in size and radiating more power than Diathemon had ever seen from one of the ancient devices.


    The Deiphage Golem was attached to the obelisk¡¯s exposed interior with a mess of thick cables and wires, all heavily inscribed with dazzling weaves. The dark pillar pulled the vented mana from the air, keeping it from poisoning the rest of the arboretum.


    Avarice touched the obelisk, her Icon¡¯s hand steaming from the contact as the hands within her shadow danced with excitement.


    ¡°System Core 2,¡± said the avatar. ¡°Was the delivered product satisfactory?¡±


    Good morning, Avarice. Yes, your delivery was more than satisfactory.


    Diathemon read the notification with a creeping discomfort. What had Hysteria been turned into? What use did the System have for it? He felt like he was spying on some dark cabal, whose secrets he should not know, and couldn¡¯t understand why he was being shown these notifications in the first place.


    ¡°Were you able to secure my payment?¡± asked Avarice.


    Of course. I hope you use it wisely.


    Children are a blessing, after all.


    A panel near the base of the obelisk opened, and a gleaming cube floated out of it to land in Avarice¡¯s palm. It seized Diathemon¡¯s attention as though the universe had become a single vector that inescapably led to the object. It was a pure white vessel of determinism, moving through time and space as the only thing that was real, the end of all paths.


    The avatar looked the cube over, eyes gleaming. She licked her lips and a shadowy hand reached out to caress her treasure. As a dark finger brushed against the cube, it disappeared. But not before Diathemon had the thought to identify it.


    Deific Soul Essence of the Seventh Echelon


    The Elder Lich swallowed and then glanced at Avarice, who wore a self-satisfied smile. ¡°What has just occurred?¡± he asked in a whisper.


    Avarice took a breath and looked up to the ceiling where a real-time image of the planet hung above them. The storm still raged, but its edge had come into view with the planet¡¯s rotation. The eastern seas of Arzia glinted in the sun.


    ¡°The death of an avatar,¡± she said. ¡°And the wrath of a new god.¡±

 Chapter 238: Mind Control Builds Your Character (sheet)

    Chapter 238: Mind Control Builds Your Character (sheet)


    Xim and I spent three weeks in the Third Layer, hanging with her folks, participating in revels with the village, and having some heart-to-hearts over our shared experiences. The soul damage left by Hysteria faded throughout, and our moods continually improved with every hour that passed.


    My own damage was greater since I¡¯d had the influence cut and burned from my soul, whereas everyone else¡¯s changes unraveled over the course of a day once the fragment had been destroyed. Since there was no force keeping their souls twisted, they naturally started returning to their correct shape. If I had to make a comparison, they had the equivalent of pulled muscles while I had the equivalent of several myectomies.


    We met with Sam¡¯lia, who confirmed that all remnants of the avatar¡¯s influence had been rooted out from our souls. It was nice to have some godly confirmation since there was a lingering doubt that somehow something had been left behind, waiting for its opportunity to strike. I had no evidence that such a thing had happened, but my paranoia and skepticism were on full blast while my soul recovered.


    The goddess was also happy to double-check that no other mind shenanigans were hiding out in there. She couldn¡¯t do it for the rest of the party, since she didn¡¯t have a spiritual connection with them, but it eased my mind either way.


    I was able to work through the types of changes that Hysteria had made, most of which were just dumb. That made me feel a little better about the whole thing, but there were still one or two that stood out as troubling.


    ¡°¡®Try to have sex with the Littan empress¡¯,¡± I said. ¡°That one was kind of obvious.¡±


    ¡°Why was that one so easy to figure out?¡± asked Xim. She was reclining on a chaise sofa that slowly undulated like a jellyfish. It was essentially a very fancy massage chair. It could work out knots like a master masseuse, even through Delver resilience.


    I¡¯d done my best to catalog the damage and write out a list describing what Hysteria had been aiming for. I moved down to the next item and read it off. ¡°¡®Subtly hint to everyone around you that you are trying to have sex with the Littan empress.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t very subtle as a group,¡± I said.


    ¡°No, we are not.¡±


    I grinned and moved on. ¡°¡®Try to have sex with the king of Hiward while talking shit about the Littan empress.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Missed opportunity,¡± said Xim. ¡°We could have criticized her lovemaking.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Filix would have enjoyed hearing about that.¡± I cleared my throat and sat up a bit. ¡°Listen to this one. ¡®Try to have sex with Brae¡¯ach. When successful, compare his mating techniques to those of the king of Hiward and the Littan empress. Narrate these observations during coitus as though you are lecturing a classroom full of students.¡¯¡±


    ¡°¡®When successful¡¯,¡± Xim snorted.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta have confidence for this sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°How many of these have to do with getting it on?¡±


    ¡°Like half of them.¡± Xim looked thoughtfully into the distance, probably imagining what was hidden underneath Brae¡¯ach¡¯s mask and robes. She shuddered, then waved for me to continue.


    ¡°¡®Find a reason to be in Foundation when the emblem in the southeastern skies reads null. Convince as many Delvers as you can to do the same.¡¯¡±


    Xim raised an eyebrow. ¡°What emblem?¡±


    I rubbed at my beard. ¡°No idea, but there¡¯s another one about ignoring the emblem in the southeastern skies, trying to make it a subconscious thing. I guess we should check when we get back to Arzia.¡±


    Xim shrugged. I read the next item. ¡°¡®Ignore all instructions to ignore fairies.¡¯¡± I lowered the page. ¡°Really, what¡¯s going on with fairies?¡±


    ¡°Seems like there was an information war between Hysteria and a group of fairies out there.¡±


    ¡°Are fairies actually a thing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never met one,¡± said Xim. ¡°Although, maybe I have and forgot. Or would you have seen that in my soul?¡±


    ¡°I was pretty thorough. Also, Sam¡¯lia gave us a clean bill of health.¡±


    ¡°True. If we run into a fairy we can ask them.¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re real?¡±


    ¡°Who knows what¡¯s real anymore?¡± she said with a sigh.


    ¡°Hm,¡± I grunted. ¡°I¡¯ll add it to The List, along with the emblem thing.¡±


    Other items encouraged us to take more risks, lowered our inhibitions, and put a strong emphasis on making friends with other Delvers. I suspected that last one was so we¡¯d rope more people into coming to Foundation for the emblem event. There weren¡¯t any triggers that would have had us assassinate anyone, so we¡¯d never been at risk of going all ¡°disposable state asset¡± or anything. There was some stuff trying to get us to cause social turmoil by digging up people¡¯s past and spreading it around, which could have resulted in deadly conflict if we¡¯d done it to the right groups. Hysteria¡¯s manipulations could mostly be boiled down to drama, politics, and trying to collect a harem of world leaders.


    I¡¯d put off reviewing my notifications until I felt confident that my emotional state was under control. There was a chance I¡¯d have to make a decision about something and didn¡¯t want to do anything impulsive. I didn¡¯t put it off for too long, though, since there was always a chance that some evolution or achievement might help with our recovery.


    The first message was as portentous as I¡¯d come to expect from the System, although it seemed to want to convince me that it was serious this time.


    All right, some of this stuff may not be intuitive so we¡¯re going to do our best to break a few things down for you and explain why you got some of these skill levels.


    Before we do anything, though, we want you to take a second and think about who¡¯s sending you these noties. SC1, that¡¯s who. We gave Sub-el the day off and SC2 is distracted doing some weird shit in space. It¡¯s just you and us right now. Why are we pointing this out? It¡¯s so you understand how serious things are getting.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Listen, we love it when Delvers do stupid shit. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward, right? Go ahead and turn your body into an eldritch abomination, that¡¯s a basket of laughs. Opening portals to secret realms where monsters lurk that can annihilate you so utterly that your best friends won¡¯t even remember you existed? That¡¯s a hoot. Whenever one of you slowpokes contacts dark gods to make a monkey¡¯s paw deal that threatens all life on the planet, we practically piss ourselves with glee.


    We¡¯ve seen a lot of apocalypses. Shit, we¡¯ve been an apocalypse. The end of the world isn¡¯t a big deal, it¡¯s mostly entertainment at this point. Planets and intelligent species die every day, they¡¯re cheap. Keep that context in mind for this next part.


    You¡¯ve started messing around with some serious bologna.


    Yes sir, you are putting yourself in a position to cause some real unpleasantness.


    You¡¯re practically becoming an entire prophecy of hullabaloo, and that¡¯s not a label we dish out lightly.


    Got all that? Good.


    How was the tone? We wanted to blur the line between cryptic and foreboding without saying anything meaningful. After all, if we told you the potential consequences of your actions, you might stop, and we don¡¯t want you to stop.


    We want you to push.


    Okay, enough jaw wagging. Time to quantify your gains!


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased from Level 41 to Level 45!


    Your realm, your rules. Sometimes being the king of an isolated pocket dimension has hidden perks. You aren¡¯t satisfied with isolating your guests from the rest of the world physically, you¡¯re learning how to isolate them metaphysically as well.


    Completely unrelated, but what do you think would happen if you took the concept of something like ¡®ice¡¯ and trapped it in another dimension, eliminating all of its relationships to the wider universe?


    Would liquids forget how to freeze? How much havoc would that cause? What a silly idea, right?


    ...


    Your Physical Magic skill has increased from Level 29 to Level 32!


    While the soul normally falls within the domains of Spiritual and Divine Magic, you exercised profound control over a soul that had manifested itself in the physical realm. That¡¯s one hell of a trick!


    Your Mystical Magic skill has increased from Level 26 to Level 30!


    Have you ever wondered if the gods have their own mana matrix? You¡¯re on the path to untwisting that knot of a question! You manipulated flows of divinity through your mana matrix as though it were a mundane Mystical force.


    Your Leadership skill has increased from Level 25 to Level 29!


    You led your team to victory through the most perilous trial they¡¯d ever faced! This one¡¯s self-explanatory. We¡¯re adding the flavor text so Leadership doesn¡¯t feel left out.


    Your Exposure Therapy - Poison achievement has been upgraded to Exposure Therapy - Corruption!


    Exposure Therapy - Corruption: Your body and soul have been subjected to persistent corrupting influences, from frequent poison baths to enduring multiple months of ongoing Spiritual damage.


    You gain +25% resistance to Spectral damage in addition to your existing +25% resistance to Toxicity.


    You gain a bonus to any attempts you make to resist long-term soul manipulation equal to your WIS. Additionally, you will be aware of any effect that attempts to manipulate your soul so long as your WIS is equal to or higher than the governing attribute of the effect. This may not stop another Deific ability from rooting around inside your spiritual essence, but good luck to anyone else who takes a shot!


    Your Revelation of the Eye¡¯s Sight and Revelation of the Eye¡¯s Reveal have improved!


    We can¡¯t accurately describe what¡¯s going on with your revelations, so feel free to figure out what changed on your own time. Don¡¯t forget you can use the System to make custom entries and take notes! We can also read those notes, and it¡¯d be pretty cool to steal your thoughts on this stuff, so don¡¯t be afraid to be thorough.


    Your recent acquisition of Deific portal and teleport abilities¨Calong with all the other wild shit you¡¯ve been doing¨Chas enhanced your technician status. You now possess the highest level of access, repair, and shut-down authorizations available to a Delver in the second phase. (Mind-controlled entities will have their technician status temporarily revoked.)


    It seemed that figuring out a way to defeat Deific mind control was a good way to gain some skill levels. I hadn¡¯t been intentionally flexing any of my three schools, but my competence with those magicks had certainly been helpful.


    It also demonstrated some of the overlap between the schools. Physical Magic was adjacent to Spiritual, while Mystical Magic was adjacent to Divine. Each school flowed into the next, and I was glad the experience hadn¡¯t been wasted. Even so, it felt like I¡¯d gained levels from the incidental effects of manipulating the fragment. If I¡¯d had either Spiritual or Divine, I was betting the gains would have been monstrous. Xim was happy to confirm my suspicions.


    ¡°I got five levels to Divine Magic, taking it to 57,¡± she said, ¡°five levels to Theology, taking it to 40, and eight levels to Spiritual, taking it to 24. That gives me two new evolutions to choose from. I also got a few levels in Leadership.¡±


    While five levels to Divine was only one higher than the four I¡¯d gotten to Dimensional Magic, a higher skill level took ever greater feats and experience to improve. I also had a +100% bonus to my Dimensional Magic leveling speed, while Xim had a +50% bonus to Divine. I guestimated that she¡¯d gotten twice as much experience to Divine as I had to Dimensional. Xim didn¡¯t have any bonuses to Spiritual; the skill¡¯s relatively low level was responsible for its massive growth.


    Getting a solid pump to my magic skills was always nice, but the upgrade to my Exposure Therapy achievement was a much juicier reward. The original description had mentioned that I might be able to improve the resistance by exposing myself to more poisonous environments. I¡¯d been poisoned plenty since then, but the achievement apparently cared more about duration than intensity.


    While the title had hinted that there were other categories of resistance to be gained, I hadn¡¯t expected the achievement to turn into a combo. Not only did I get a new source of resistance, but also some improvements to my defense and detection against hostile soul manipulation. This seemed like a classic setup for an escalating bonus, and I wondered if adding a third source of resistance would add even more powerful effects.


    The System¡¯s commentary on my revelations was interesting, but I¡¯d need to meditate on the abilities to really comprehend what I¡¯d done while working with the fragment. I¡¯d been in an advanced flow state created through weeks of practice and enhanced by Xim¡¯s ritual and dreamscape, and I was doubtful I could replicate the effects on my own. However, the experience showed me hints of what the revelations could become. Having a target in sight meant that it was only a matter of time before I could work out a way to get there without help.


    I was confident that I could now use my Sight to determine whether someone was under the effects of a mental ability, potentially expanding out to any kind of soul manipulation. The big question there was whether I¡¯d be able to use it on myself as a sort of self-diagnostic tool. If my revelation could ping me whenever I became compromised, it would make dealing with certain skills and debuffs a lot easier. This would also stack with the new ability from Exposure Therapy, giving me a layered warning system when somebody was messing with my spiritual self¨Cone layer to warn me that the attempt was being made, and another to tell me when it had been successful.


    The improvement to Reveal was more nuanced, but I thought it dealt with how I¡¯d received the fragment¡¯s perception in a way that blended with my own. Reveal was primarily a one-way street, where my observations and feelings were transmitted to another. However, I¡¯d used it to understand the fragment¡¯s perception of me, then used that information to help assimilate its power into my soul. It was possible that I could now do something like connect with a party member to receive their perception of things, rather than the other way around. I¡¯d had a little bit of experience with this when I went all fusion-ha with Grotto and Shog during the Pit fight, but that had as much to do with Grotto¡¯s psychic abilities as it had with my revelations.


    Musing on that reminded me that I had work to do on upgrading my Traveler¡¯s Amulet again. I was pretty sure I needed to figure out how to use Grotto¡¯s intrinsics as my own the way that he could use mine. Working on this new aspect of Reveal might help.


    Finally, I was beginning to touch on the outer edges of a completely new revelation and could feel the tug of the next step in the Eye¡¯s progression: Embrace.


    Imparting my domain onto all that I could see sounded like it could be pretty useful.

 Chapter 239: Godslayer

    Chapter 239: Godslayer


    I¡¯d begun to brush up against the Revelation of the Eye¡¯s Embrace during my wrangling of the Hysteria fragment. Xim had told me years ago that Embrace would allow me to pull people into a world of my own creation, but my recent insights led me to believe that was a flawed interpretation. Pulling people into a personal world was more or less what Xim¡¯s dreamscape did. Embrace seemed more about exerting authority over another person¡¯s soul, but that idea felt too hostile.


    My manifestation of the Eye¡¯s abilities were mainly helpful, not harmful, although they could be deployed offensively with some creative thinking. See gave me information, while Reveal shared that information. What I¡¯d done to the fragment had been a direct display of dominance, and I was left wondering how something like that could be used to the benefit of its target.


    The obvious conclusions felt paternalistic, like ¡®protecting¡¯ someone from themself. The truth probably lay in something more collaborative, like pulling someone into a mental sandbox for training. That still didn¡¯t quite fit, and I started exploring the idea that it had to do with manipulating information somehow. It was something I mulled over during our time in the Third Layer.


    I¡¯d also made other advancements while we worked on solving the Hysteria problem. When I wasn¡¯t diving into people¡¯s souls or helping an ally develop their own part of the solution, I¡¯d worked on Wandmaking. I couldn¡¯t commit full-time hours to the skill but with my racial bonus doubling my leveling speed for crafting, I managed to snag the Level 10 evolution.


    Only one option really stood out to me.


    Mana Capacitors


    The mana capacity of wands you create is increased by an amount equal to your Wandmaking skill level, and the mana capacity of staves you create is increased by twice that amount.


    This took the mana capacity of my wands from fifteen to twenty-five. Not a massive amount on its own, but that number would swiftly rise and there was no rule saying I couldn¡¯t carry around a dozen wands.


    The second option allowed me to make wands into weapons like fancy shivs or daggers, with a boost to durability since they were still made of some kind of wood. That was cool, but not what we needed. I preferred to have dedicated items that were each optimized for their use case, rather than a single item that was just okay at multiple tasks. I thought the idea of shooting a surprise fireball out of a pocket knife was pretty neat, but equally impractical.


    The third option would let me create a library of spell forms so I wouldn¡¯t need outside assistance when imbuing spells that I couldn¡¯t cast myself. That was probably awesome for somebody making and selling wands for a living, but we had a pretty good repertoire of spells in the party and no one was going to complain if I asked them for an hour or two of their time to make a wand that would help another party member out.


    I had enough downtime to crank out ten wands with the augmented capacity from my new evo, four of which stored a single cast of Explosion!


    Nuralie got a couple of Elemental Barrier wands, mainly for the pushback effect if she got swarmed. I also made her a wand for her Target Analysis skill. Her mana pool was pretty limited, so this would help her get more use out of the ability.


    Etja got an upgraded Shortcut wand that could store up to five uses. I¡¯d been a little worried about whether Etja could use such a wand since she didn¡¯t have the Sacrament of the Dread Star and thus didn¡¯t meet the spell¡¯s requirements. Fortunately, when imbuing the skill into a wand, it dropped both the Deific effect and the Sacrament requirement. Xim then helped me create wands of Heal and Cleanse for the mage, granting her a healthy expansion to her repertoire and something to do with all of her hands.


    Varrin didn¡¯t get a wand.


    Not because I was feeling mean. The big guy¡¯s chain of Physical Magic evolutions gave him bonuses for not using mana, and casting with a wand would still count as using mana. Also, his casting stats were kind of shit for our Level so there weren''t many spells he could have used anyway.


    By the end of all that, my Wandmaking was up to Level 11.


    The major drawback of wands was that the spells they stored were basic. They couldn¡¯t be mana-shaped, the limited mana pool made channeling difficult, and they weren¡¯t considered a spell cast for combo abilities like the ones Etja¡¯s build relied on, among other limitations.


    They also needed to be properly gripped in one hand to work and still took the same length of time to activate as the imbued spell. While I could normally cast most of my spells while holding my hammer and shield, a wand would require me to store one or the other temporarily while I used it. Of course, I intended to use my tentacles from Therianthropy for any aggressive wand-ing, so I had a good way around that downside. Etja¡¯s extra limbs would also come in handy for that purpose.


    Some of these restrictions could be lessened by evolutions as my Wandmaking improved. For now, the wands were good utility and backup. I was interested in seeing how they could be built around.


    After a few weeks in the Third Layer, we were working on convincing ourselves that it was time to head back and regroup. We¡¯d burned more than three months of our six-month runway for hitting Level 16. To finish getting ready to explore Dungeons with the Littans, we¡¯d need to clear three Delves in three months to make our goal. We still needed to visit our potential allies up north as well, and I was dead set on winning our bet. Silly hats would be worn to all important future occasions.


    However, before we built up enough steam to settle on a firm return date, we got a surprise notification. After reading through it, we decided it was time to go. I called an emergency meeting via Grotto, and within a few hours everyone was back inside the Closet.


    Your party has contributed to slaying the avatar Hysteria!


    Your party receives the following rewards.


    1) 5 Sapphire Chips


    2) 5 Pinnacle Soul Essences


    3) 1 Super Evolution to FOR, WIS, or LCK, up to a maximum Level of 70. This Super Evolution can be applied immediately or held in reserve for a future evolution.


    The situation room buzzed with energy as we worked through the ramifications of the System¡¯s message.


    ¡°We can assume that Avarice killed them,¡± said Varrin. ¡°The System considers our obliteration of the fragment to be a contribution to their execution.¡±


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°The evidence is circumstantial but it¡¯s a reasonable assumption,¡± I said. ¡°The question I have is whether what we did was significant, or if the System tossed us a bone for tagging the avatar with one damage or something.¡±


    [The System¡¯s rewards are intended to be proportional to your contributions.]


    ¡°It¡¯s a big reward,¡± said Xim. ¡°Five sapphire chips is equivalent to fifty diamond chips. I have no idea what we can do with a Pinnacle Soul Essence, but it¡¯s got to be powerful. The super evolution might be the best part, though, especially since it works up to the Level 70 breakpoint.¡±


    ¡°The only super we¡¯ve gotten was from The Cage,¡± said Varrin. ¡°That affected a Level 10 evolution.¡±


    ¡°Mine was an upgrade to one of my passive skills,¡± said Etja. ¡°I don¡¯t have any supers at all.¡±


    ¡°You do now,¡± I said.


    ¡°The sapphire chips cannot be weighed against diamond,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°They are technically a ten-to-one conversion for mana capacity, but sapphire is much rarer than that ratio would suggest.¡±


    ¡°The demand is also much lower,¡± said Varrin. ¡°There are hardly any crafters that can use them.¡±


    ¡°They are invaluable,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Supply and demand is an awkward valuation model for these kinds of items.¡±


    ¡°Either way, we¡¯re not selling them,¡± I said. ¡°Right? We¡¯ve got some crafting skills. We should save them until we need them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we need the money,¡± said Xim. ¡°How many rubies did we get from Throne¡¯s Delve?¡±


    ¡°Collectively? Eight thousand or so,¡± I said. ¡°I burned through about a hundred making wands.¡±


    [Working with rarer materials will result in more efficient Levels if you are concerned about the expenditure.]


    ¡°Regardless of the size of our reward,¡± said Varrin, ¡°we cannot know how significant our actions were without knowing the value of the entire reward.¡±


    ¡°When do sapphire chips start dropping?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Platinum Delves above Level 26,¡± Varrin answered.


    ¡°Then our contribution was worth at least one Level 27 Platinum Delve¡¯s worth.¡±


    ¡°That is an unwieldy metric,¡± said Nuralie.


    I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s all we¡¯ve got.¡±


    ¡°The chips, essences, and evolution are incredibly valuable,¡± said Varrin. ¡°But I believe the most important reward is knowing that avatars can be killed.¡± A bit of heat crept into his tone. ¡°We can hurt them now, however difficult it is.¡±


    ¡°True, but let¡¯s not make any plans to go avatar hunting just yet,¡± I said. ¡°This was an exceptional situation. It took a lot out of all of us, and could have just as easily gone the other way.¡±


    ¡°Regardless, we are on the correct path,¡± he said. ¡°We should seek out Avarice to ask her how she ended Hysteria.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll come to us eventually,¡± said Xim. ¡°She wants those Dread Star questions. Speaking of, are you ready to use the one you have banked?¡±


    I blew out a breath. ¡°Nope. I¡¯ve been waiting for the soul shit to get fully resolved before giving it serious thought. I can start making a list of potential questions to run by you guys.¡±


    The group seemed amicable to that idea.


    ¡°Does Hysteria being dead change anything for us?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t think so,¡± I replied. ¡°It¡¯s important, we should keep it in mind when Avarice comes to visit, and we should consider what skills and abilities helped with the fragment as we continue moving forward with our builds.¡±


    ¡°What worked on Hysteria will not necessarily work for other avatars,¡± said Nuralie.


    I tilted my head from side to side, trying to decide if we¡¯d learned any general principles from our time with the fragment. It was hard to know if anything useful could be extrapolated without going after another avatar.


    ¡°They all seem to have souls,¡± said Xim. ¡°Killing a fragment of spiritual essence also affected Orexis.¡±


    ¡°We do not know if it did,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The fragment itself was susceptible to spiritual attacks, but slaying the specter of Orexis may not have impacted the whole.¡±


    We sat in silence for a time, each of us privately considering how we could continue on the path of avatar slaying. Eventually, Xim sat forward to break the trance.


    ¡°Is anyone using their super evolution immediately?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± said Etja. ¡°I¡¯ll wait until I get Wisdom to 70.¡±


    ¡°It would seem a waste to spend it on anything less,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± I added. ¡°Let¡¯s keep thinking over how we can use this information. In the meantime, we should get ready to head back into the Wastes and meet Avarice¡¯s potential allies.¡± I rapped my knuckles against the table in a brief rhythm. ¡°I want to check in with Joma before we head back out, though. Now that I know how to dive into someone¡¯s soul and look for long-term manipulation, I want to see if Hysteria was forcing her to act when her party attacked us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± said Etja. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t keep people prisoner if they were mind controlled into doing something bad.¡±


    [Throne, Vaulty, and I also have some insights to share concerning the Zng armory you looted. The materials will be quite useful to us.]


    ¡°Nuralie, want to go check that out while I speak to Joma?¡± The loson nodded and I turned to Etja. ¡°Want to come along while I talk to our resident Yeti?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± she said. ¡°I can be a friendly face since she¡¯s scared of you.¡±


    ¡°You think so?¡±


    ¡°You terrify her,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Huh,¡± I grunted. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to lose any sleep over that, but I¡¯ll try not to do anything intimidating. Especially if it turns out she was under the influence.¡±


    ¡°I will review the armory with Nuralie,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Yeah, me too,¡± said Xim. ¡°I¡¯m always up for looking over our horde.¡±


    *****


    Etja and I teleported into the Pocket Delve to find ourselves with front-row seats to a thunderous fight.


    We were in the large cave that served as the battleground for Nottagator to challenge any Delvers who¡¯d survived the rest of the Delve¡¯s various hazards. A horde of freshly raised Abyssal Gekkogs crawled along the ceiling, looking down at the action playing out across the small lake and field of deadly spikes.


    Joma was a silver blur, dancing from spike to spike and avoiding the swiping claws of Nottagator¡¯s forward appendages. The Atrocidile barked, releasing a shockwave of sonic energy, but Joma leaped a hundred feet into the air, nearly kissing the stalactites above. She rotated and rushed forward fast enough for the air to crackle at her passing, but too slow to catch Nottagator by surprise.


    The giant abomination swung its tail, aiming to slug Joma like a bullet-speed baseball, but the three-foot-tall Yeti brought her palms forward and slapped the tail, flipping over it without harm. She did a rapid series of front flips, landing in a split with each foot along the side of a different menacing floor spike.


    Her thighs flexed as she rooted herself in place, then swung a fist at Nottagator¡¯s hind quarter. A burst of force slung across the short distance between the pugilist and her target, slamming into the thick, scaly muscle at the top of Nottagator¡¯s rearmost leg. A vaporwave pulsed out into the air from the impact, and the indent of a tiny fist could be seen in the Atrocidile¡¯s thick hide.


    Nottagator let out another bark, louder and less focused, creating a sonic boom that propagated in all directions. I raised my shield and stepped in front of Etja, batting that attack away and cutting through the shockwave. The force wrenched Joma from between the spikes, forcing the Yeti to take a moment to catch her balance.


    ¡°Should we... do something?¡± asked Etja.


    I took a close look at the duo, evaluating the fight as Nottagator took advantage of Joma¡¯s stagger. Its tail swept back around, crashing through the spikes and sending Joma, along with a spray of rocky shrapnel, launching through the cavern and into the far wall. Satisfied with what I saw, I shook my head.


    ¡°No, I think we can let ¡®em tussle for a bit longer.¡±

 Chapter 240: Prison Princess

    Chapter 240: Prison Princess


    Joma recovered from Nottagator¡¯s tail whip by landing feet-first against the wall and springing back towards the creature. The Atrocidile juked to one side, but Joma twisted and her trajectory changed in mid-air. Nottagator¡¯s head appeared to multiply as Joma approached, and as she fired off several rapid punches, the heads collapsed back into a single instance, having avoided every blow.


    Nottagator shot forward to strike Joma with its skull. Joma took the hit, grabbing onto a thick scale to hold herself in place and deliver a vicious elbow just above Nottagator¡¯s right eye. The Atrocidile went into a roll, trying to dislodge the grappling Yeti, but Joma jumped clear before she was crushed.


    She landed facing in our direction and caught sight of me and Etja for the first time. Joma¡¯s eyes went wide and she froze in place, apparently stunned by our appearance.


    Nottagator took this opportunity to recover from its roll, push into the air with all six of its legs, and bodyslam the tiny woman with its multi-ton bulk.


    The move cast up a thick cloud of dust and debris, which Etja swept away with a careful application of Siphon. I could have sworn that Nottagator looked smug as it peered down into the rubble while lumbering up from on top of Joma.


    The Atrocidile finally took note of us as well, blinking its bulbous orange eyes and letting out a chuff. It produced a growl that sounded like an irritated grumble, then dug into the pile of gravel that had once been the floor to grab Joma. Nottagator set the Yeti down on her feet, then slunk off to the lake where it slid down into the water. It kept its monstrous eyes peeking above the surface, watching us.


    Joma swayed and coughed as her fur lost its metallic luster. She shook some stone dust from her coat until one could almost tell she wasn¡¯t normally a dark gray. She looked awkwardly from Nottagator and back to us, then tentatively walked over.


    ¡°Hey Joma,¡± I said once she got close. ¡°Are we interrupting something?¡±


    The Yeti waved a hand vaguely towards Nottagator. ¡°No, no,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re not interrupting anything.¡± The Atrocidile protested her answer by moaning like a thousand dying lions. Joma gave the beast a sideways glance. ¡°Er, yes. It¡¯s Notty¡¯s playtime.¡±


    ¡°Playtime?¡± I asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t know Atrocidiles had, uh, playtime.¡±


    She turned back to me and jerked as though my presence was a surprise. ¡°We were almost done anyways,¡± she added in a rush. ¡°Notty gets grumpy if she doesn¡¯t get her exercise, but we already worked through a lot of her stamina.¡±


    ¡°Nottagator¡¯s a girl?¡± asked Etja. She waved at the mostly submerged Atrocidile. Nottagator stared, unblinking.


    ¡°Oh, well, she likes being called pretty, as opposed to handsome,¡± said Joma. ¡°And I painted her cave pink after she scratched all the blue off the walls.¡± Her bushy eyebrows lifted as she appraised the wading monster. ¡°You can¡¯t tell an Atrocidile¡¯s sex externally. There¡¯s... ways to figure it out but I¡¯m not going to go poking around where I¡¯m not welcome.¡± She considered that statement for a second. ¡°Nor would I even if I were welcome.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, fair enough,¡± I said, purging any ideas about how to sex an Atrocidile from my mind. ¡°Anyway, we wanted to chat with you about something. Do you have a few minutes?¡±


    Joma kicked at the ground in thought, winced, then reached down to pull a shard of stone from her furry foot. It was the only sign of injury she had from the ¡®playtime¡¯. ¡°Sure, sure,¡± she said, flicking the bloody stone away. ¡°I serve at your pleasure, after all.¡±


    I suppressed the desire to disagree with the woman¡¯s characterization of our relationship because anything I said would have been disingenuous. She was literally my prisoner. She had to do what I asked, no matter how weird that made me feel. I was really hoping we¡¯d learn something that convinced me to end her sentence.


    I gestured toward the patio of the nearby palace facade. One of the columns along the portico had been destroyed when Nottagator fought Captain Pio¡¯s Littan Delver team, but most of the rubble had been removed, leaving it with a tasteful, ancient ruin look. Within the palace were a collection of cursed items, but their effects didn¡¯t range beyond the palace walls.


    The three of us hopped up onto a clear portion of the patio and I pulled some comfortable armchairs from inventory. Nuralie and Etja had done some shopping while in Eschengal to replenish our furniture supply. Etja pulled out a coffee table to place between us as Joma and I sat, then produced a tea set. She dropped a handful of loose leaves into the pot and tapped it, sending a pulse of mana into the porcelain. I watched the mana pass through the weaves, then heard a gentle trickling sound as the pot provided its own water and heat.


    Etja then started laying out some bread, meats, cheeses, jams, vegetables, and other sundries. Joma and I watched her work, neither of us having expected to receive a full spread of tea-time delights. Etja began making dainty finger sandwiches with one pair of hands as she organized a tray of cookies with the other. The treats smelled freshly baked.


    I shook off my surprise and moved on to business. ¡°For the last few months we¡¯ve been dealing with some lingering influence that Hysteria buried in our souls,¡± I said, watching Joma closely to see if the Yeti had any particular reaction. ¡°We recently managed to purge those compulsions. Now, we¡¯re free of any control Hysteria had over us.¡±


    Etja pushed the platters of sandwiches and baked goods to the center of the table and put a small serving plate in front of each of us. She gestured for Joma to help herself, then grabbed a few things to start nibbling on. The teapot gave a gentle chime, and Etja lifted it to pour each of us a cup.


    Joma looked over the food hesitantly. ¡°Okay,¡± she said.


    The Yeti didn¡¯t appear to have any opinion on what I¡¯d just told her. She sat on the edge of her seat and selected two finger sandwiches, moved them delicately onto her plate, and then scooched back in her chair.


    Etja handed her an embroidered napkin, which Joma gratefully accepted before taking the tiniest nibble of a sandwich. She chewed and swallowed, then dabbed at her mouth despite the absence of any crumbs. The Yeti sank deeper into her seat, a small amount of tension fleeing from her body.


    ¡°Given that your party was working for Hysteria when you attacked us, I think there¡¯s a decent chance that Hysteria was using their influence to push you in certain directions,¡± I said. ¡°Part of the process of undoing Hysteria¡¯s changes to our souls was learning how to spot them in the first place. I¡¯d like your permission to see if I can find any evidence that Hysteria was using coercive mental effects to alter your behavior.¡±


    Joma finished off one sandwich and held the plate in her lap. She met my eyes, expression studiously blank. ¡°Are you afraid that I¡¯m still under their control?¡±


    Etja¡¯s teacup made a light clink as she placed it on a saucer. ¡°We¡¯re not coming from a place of fear,¡± she said. ¡°More like a place of hope.¡±


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    ¡°What are you hoping for?¡±


    ¡°Mainly, that we don¡¯t have to do all this,¡± I said, waving at Joma and the room beyond. ¡°I have no interest in being a prison warden, but I¡¯m also not willing to let someone who¡¯s tried to kill me walk away so they can come back and try it again with better prep. If it turns out that your actions were forced by Hysteria, then we have no reason to keep you.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Joma. A series of subtle expressions crossed her features, but I was having trouble getting a read on her emotions. All the fur really helped with the woman¡¯s poker face.


    I was also carefully holding back on my Sight until Joma had assented to allowing me to take a closer look. There was no emergency that required me to be invasive, and I didn¡¯t want to get into the habit of prying into people¡¯s souls as a matter of course. Skimming the surface to get a measure of someone¡¯s strength and demeanor was fair game, I felt, but going any deeper felt like abusing an evolved form of X-ray vision.


    ¡°What if I was in control?¡± she asked. ¡°What if Hysteria wasn¡¯t doing anything to me?¡±


    ¡°Then we can talk more about what things will look like for you here,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not looking for a reason to punish you. If anything, I¡¯m looking for a reason to trust you.¡±


    ¡°How does it work?¡± she asked. ¡°How do you see if they did anything?¡±


    ¡°Hysteria¡¯s long-term manipulations involved making a semi-permanent alteration to their target¡¯s spiritual essence,¡± I said. ¡°I have a revelation that lets me look into people¡¯s souls. If I¨C¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you do when you look at me?¡± Joma asked, cutting me off.


    ¡°It¡¯s always on,¡± I said. ¡°So, yes? I try to keep it at a light reading unless I have reason to do otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Is that something you noticed?¡± asked Etja.


    Joma crossed her arms, then uncrossed them. She shifted in her seat, then crossed her arms again. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± I grunted. ¡°Most people don¡¯t feel it.¡±


    ¡°Or they just don¡¯t say anything,¡± Joma muttered. She narrowed her eyes at me. ¡°What does that mean when you say you ¡®keep it at a light reading¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I can generally see how powerful someone is and get a basic read of their personality.¡±


    ¡°Power?¡± she said. ¡°I can look at you and see your Level. Is it more involved than that?¡±


    ¡°I can tell what kinds of Delves someone has done, and it encompasses strength that goes beyond Levels. I can see that you¡¯ve finished forty Gold Delves, for example.¡±


    Joma¡¯s brow shot up. ¡°And my personality?¡±


    I glanced across the base layer of the Yeti¡¯s soul. ¡°You feel like you¡¯re crossing a frozen lake in Spring. The surface is calm and smooth but threatens to crack and swallow you up. You aren¡¯t afraid of the cold, but there¡¯s something else hidden in that lake. Something you are afraid of.¡±


    Joma blew out a breath. ¡°That¡¯s the basic version?¡± She picked up her second sandwich and stuffed the entire thing into her mouth. She chewed three times and then swallowed. ¡°What does a heavy reading entail, hmm?¡± She glanced at Etja. ¡°Has he read you?¡±


    Etja nodded. ¡°Arlo¡¯s been looking into my soul since I got one,¡± she said. ¡°It saved my life the first time.¡±


    Joma looked like she was going to follow up on that mildly confusing claim, but I held up a hand. ¡°It¡¯ll be invasive,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll learn a lot about you, but it will let us know what actions have been your own.¡±


    ¡°Assuming I believe what you tell me.¡±


    ¡°Well, sure,¡± I said. ¡°Unless you let me use Reveal as well, but that¡¯s another can of worms entirely.¡±


    ¡°I do not want to be ¡®revealed¡¯,¡± said Joma.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± I said. I started to say something else but Etja placed a hand on my arm.


    ¡°We won¡¯t force you to do anything,¡± she said to Joma. ¡°But we also don¡¯t want to punish someone who¡¯s truly a victim. Arlo¡¯s ability lets him understand you on an emotional level, but it doesn¡¯t give him access to specific memories.¡± She let her hand drop and picked up her tea again.


    ¡°Do I get time to think this over?¡±asked Joma.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± I hummed as I rubbed my beard. ¡°I don¡¯t want to rush you, but the more time that passes, the more difficult it might become to see whether any changes were made.¡±


    ¡°Hmph,¡± she snorted. ¡°That¡¯s not a straight answer. Which is it? Do I get to think about it or not?¡±


    ¡°Hysteria¡¯s dead,¡± I said. ¡°Their power was maintaining the changes in our souls. Now that they¡¯re gone, I believe anything they¡¯d hidden inside others will slowly begin to unravel. I¡¯m not sure how well I can find evidence of the manipulation once a soul has healed it away.¡±


    ¡°Dead?¡± said Joma. ¡°I thought they were some kind of god.¡±


    ¡°Avatars are like twisted shadows of a greater divine being,¡± I said. I sent her the kill notification the System had given us, making sure to redact the rewards. She blinked and read through it.


    ¡°I feel like this is probably incredible,¡± she said. ¡°But I don¡¯t really know much about... avatars. Maybe they die all the time.¡±


    ¡°From what I know, they¡¯re generally considered unkillable,¡± I said.


    ¡°Impressive, if true,¡± said Joma.


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not trying to impress you, just giving you confirmation.¡± Joma sniffed but didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Like Etja said, we won¡¯t force the issue, but I¡¯d much rather find a reason to let you go.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± said Joma. She shifted in her seat again. Her hands gripped the arms of her chair tight enough to tear the fabric. A bit of off-white stuffing spilled out. Joma looked down at the damage and made a trilling noise. ¡°Hells,¡± she said, then threw up her hands. ¡°Fine. Just do it.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°If I weren¡¯t sure, I wouldn¡¯t have told you to do it,¡± Joma said testily. ¡°Just go about this soul-reading thing you want to do.¡±


    I nodded and did as she asked. I increased the sensitivity of my Soul-Sight, then began the process of going through the Yeti¡¯s soul in fine detail. Hers was much more... turbulent than those of my party members. There was a significant trauma in her past, a deep twist that represented a harsh demarcation between her childhood self and who she was now. The experience reached out to thread itself throughout everything that had been built after, imprinting onto the small woman¡¯s entire life. It was so profound that I instinctively examined it for Hysteria¡¯s influence, but it looked naturally formed. It was more than a decade old, well-settled, with nothing holding it in place.


    But there was a deep tension to the trauma that felt odd. Like the threads running from it were being pulled too taut. I followed those influences, seeing how they impacted her worldview moving forward. While the trauma itself didn¡¯t seem to originate from Hysteria, I found ample evidence that the avatar had taken advantage of it.


    The trauma sat like an ember in most of Joma¡¯s new experiences, smoldering with anger and cynicism that clouded even the pleasant-feeling memories. More recently, whenever a thread from the trauma wove itself into something new, a force pulled deeply upon it, shoveling embers inside until they burst back into a flame.


    I felt the familiar tang of Hysteria¡¯s soul, working like a tireless pyromaniac to encourage this spread. There was nothing deific about it, the avatar was nowhere to be found, but the entity¡¯s fingerprints lingered. Joma was healing, but so long as this remnant haunted her, it would take much longer for the Yeti¡¯s soul to reset itself.


    As I considered the best way to deal with Hysteria¡¯s spiritual remains, I was taken by surprise when the energy reacted to my presence. It was a mindless force, carrying out its last issued task as it wound down to nothing, but it shifted when I gazed into it. It seemed willing, somehow. Willing to let go, to depart if I asked it.


    I ignored the temptation to do just that. It was probably better to answer the questions I was actually here for, rather than experiment with controlling Hysteria¡¯s spiritual corpse while it lingered inside an unaware Delver.


    I felt that I should at least get permission before I messed around with it. So instead of doing some soul-based grave robbing, I mapped out what effect the manipulation might have had on Joma while it was in full swing. Yes, my self-control was as awe-inspiring as ever.

 Chapter 241: Liquor and Stolen Goods

    Chapter 241: Liquor and Stolen Goods


    Hysteria¡¯s manipulations of Joma¡¯s soul would encourage her sense of injustice, her outrage at inequity. There was a simmering disgust at organized religion that had been set to boil over, alongside a powerful thread of anarchist rage at the abuse of power structures.


    However, what stood out most was that there was one set of relationships that didn¡¯t embolden itself with the past trauma. In fact, it was a bastion of solace against it. That nexus was centered around Felgar, the Hyrachon I¡¯d lovingly nicknamed Buster, who¡¯d sacrificed himself to summon a fucked up blood god.


    He¡¯d been Joma¡¯s party leader, although I knew the Yeti had been recruited as a mercenary. From what I could see, her emotions towards the paladin had been a reprieve from her normal mental state, which seemed to be about as calm as a recently dropkicked nest of wasps. All of that was manufactured, of course.


    These insights came to me much easier than they had with my party members. Both finding Hysteria¡¯s influence and the granularity of my soul reading had been substantially improved by our recent ordeals.


    I pulled back from Joma¡¯s soul to find that she and Etja had moved from tea and sandwiches to sweets and hard liquor. Joma pounded back a small glass filled with something dark brown and smoking, then placed the glass upside down on the coffee table next to a half dozen other empties.


    ¡°Ayaf!¡± said Etja, downing the same type of drink. She had her own line of glasses, one longer than the Yeti¡¯s. ¡°Wait, was it your turn?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Joma. ¡°Your dad¡¯s worse.¡± The Yeti leaned heavily over the arm of her chair, looking intently at Etja. She held out a furry hand, which Etja took in her own. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Dads are muck. Our dads are seal muck. Your dad¡¯s double seal muck.¡±


    Etja shook her head a bit too hard, her hair whipping into her face. ¡°It¡¯s snot a competition,¡± she said.


    Joma blinked, then waved her free hand at the table covered in dirty glasses and a few different bottles. ¡°Is lit¡¯rally a competishion,¡± she said. ¡°Tha¡¯s the point.¡±


    Etja furrowed her brow, nodding as though what Joma had said was deeply profound. I glanced at one of the bottles, seeing that it lacked a label but had Nuralie¡¯s maker¡¯s mark pressed into some wax on the top of the cork. This was the potent stuff.


    ¡°How long was I under?¡± I asked. Joma¡¯s head shot up and she squinted at me.


    ¡°Oh, urm...¡± She let go of Etja¡¯s hand and sat back, sliding into her chair until she was practically laying down. ¡°Somewhere between an hour and seventeen drinks.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Well, atypical timekeeping systems aside, I did find some evidence of Hysteria¡¯s fuckery.¡±


    ¡°Muck,¡± said Joma. ¡°Whale muck.¡±


    ¡°Is it gone?¡± asked Etja. She reached to pour another drink, getting about half of it in her glass. She paused and looked at the amber liquid like it was a mountain she was about to climb. ¡°I mean, is it going away?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I think I can encourage that along, but I didn¡¯t want to do anything without asking.¡± I scratched my jaw. ¡°We can wait until you¡¯re sober to make any decisions.¡±


    Joma slid out of her chair, fell to the ground, and rolled over to me. She stood and grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt, then pulled me down close to her face. She smelled like chocolate, cinnamon, and pure-grain alcohol.


    ¡°Get it out of me,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯ want it.¡±


    I patted her paw-like hand. ¡°Maybe we should grab Xim for a Cleanse, then we can¨C¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a disease,¡± Joma hissed. ¡°It¡¯s not a muckin¡¯ tattoo. Get. It. Out.¡±


    I found myself unbalanced by the woman¡¯s shift in attitude. First, she was afraid of me, then she didn¡¯t trust me, then I¡¯m pretty sure she was getting mad at me for even suggesting the soul thing until she suddenly wanted to do the soul thing, and now she was convinced that what we were doing would help her.


    I gently extracted myself from her grip and shot a questioning glance to Etja. The mage gave me a sloppy wink and downed her shot. I briefly wondered how her body processed alcohol without any blood, and then I remembered the majority of the inebriation was from Nuralie¡¯s additives. It was magic shenanigans.


    I took Etja¡¯s wink as some kind of affirmation and went back into Joma¡¯s soul. I found I could purge the lingering energy with a thought, feeling it scatter and sink down past the bounds of the universe an instant after I willed it. I pulled back to find Joma lying on the ground, staring up at the ceiling. A trio of Gekkogs were staring down at her. One of them raised a meaty hand and gave her a wave. The Delve monsters seemed more intelligent than I remembered.


    ¡°Hysteria was inflaming your hatred for government, religion, and the ¡®establishment¡¯, generally,¡± I said, refocusing on Joma. ¡°They were also focusing your attention on Felgar, making him seem like a calming presence. Someone you could trust, or that you¡¯d really enjoy being around.¡±


    Joma kept staring at the ceiling. She raised her arm and stared at the back of her hand.


    ¡°Just another person controlling my life,¡± she said morosely.


    Etja came over to sit next to Joma. She began running her fingers through the fur on the Yeti¡¯s scalp. ¡°Not anymore,¡± she whispered.


    Joma let out a long, ragged, and slightly wet-sounding sigh. Her arm dropped and she closed her eyes. ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°It seems like you were being conditioned to be on board for Hysteria¡¯s mission,¡± I said. ¡°Your internal justifications for kidnapping the king of Hiward and the Zenithar were built on something that happened in your past, but your emotions were distorted beyond reason. Felgar also probably had a lot more influence over your decisions that he should have. I¡¯m willing to believe that, if it weren¡¯t for Hysteria missing with your soul, you wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Joma. ¡°I¡¯m not a good person, you know?¡±


    ¡°You need some time to heal the soul damage,¡± I said. ¡°The corruption is gone, but it will take a little while for things to get back to normal. You¡¯ll probably feel like shit for a while.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s trying to say not to be too hard on yourself,¡± said Etja. ¡°But if you want to talk about it, I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°Just give yourself at least a week before making any life-altering decisions,¡± I said.


    ¡°Can I?¡± asked Joma.


    ¡°Can you what?¡±


    ¡°Make life-altering decisions? Are you letting me go?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Once you¡¯re all healed up. I feel like it would be irresponsible to let a drunk Mittan with lingering soul damage out into the wild.¡±


    Joma thought this over for a minute as Etja continued to stroke her hair. ¡°Where should I go?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Wherever you want.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s anywhere,¡± she said. I frowned and looked at Etja, who was giving me a version of her puppy dog eyes. I was confused about that at first, but glanced over at Nottagator, who still watched us with her big orange eyes from the water. I looked up to see that a couple more Gekkogs were staring down at Joma.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got plenty of room in here,¡± I said. ¡°If you want to stick around, you can. We can give you citizenship and hire you, or something. I¡¯d understand if that doesn¡¯t seem like a great offer, given that we ¡®dispatched¡¯ several of your party members.¡±


    Joma waved a hand. ¡°It was a job,¡± she said. ¡°I din¡¯ know any of them that well.¡± She squinted in thought. ¡°And they were assholes.¡±


    ¡°I see. Either way, let¡¯s revisit the topic once you¡¯re feeling better.¡±


    Joma blinked and grunted, then snuggled closer to Etja. She closed her eyes, and a minute later, she was fast asleep.


    Etja stayed to watch over her, while I went to hear what Grotto had learned about our loot from the Zng armory.


    *****


    ¡°How¡¯s Joma?¡± Xim asked when I walked into our new armory. Grotto had been more enthusiastic about prioritizing this space, so it was fairly well-equipped. Rows of Zng armor and weapons sat on shiny new racks and stands, with a few other items mixed in from our conquests. Whatever hadn¡¯t been destroyed or sold.


    ¡°Recovering from being mind-fucked,¡± I said. ¡°She drank her feelings away and curled up for a nap with Etja.¡±


    ¡°That sounds adorable,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°The cuddling, not the depression.¡± She had a set of armor disassembled in front of her, cutting into some thick fabric beneath its outer shell. She extracted what looked like a thick ceramic plate. It was connected to a pair of wires with a small amount of mana running through them.


    [She has been doing quite well here,


    ] Grotto thought to us. [I assisted her in acquiring the Animal Handling intrinsic.]


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised she had any slots left,¡± said Xim. ¡°She¡¯s Level 20.¡±


    [One or two of her skills were still quite low. I was able to extract them with the System¡¯s assistance.]


    ¡°Didn¡¯t realize that was an option,¡± I said.


    [Nor did I. The System seems to have taken an interest in Joma, although that is not much of a surprise. Her connection to our Atrocidile Titan and the other Delve creatures is profound.]


    Grotto hovered over to me and placed one of the Zng rifles in my hands. He rubbed at his chin. He was still wearing his little man disguise since he hadn¡¯t had time to scrounge up any c¡¯thon flesh to remake his octo body.


    [She is also a princess of Mittak. A disgraced one, but her title has not been formally stripped. Perhaps she has some influence we are unaware of.]


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± I said.


    ¡°She is a princess?¡± asked Nuralie, looking up from her work.


    Xim chuckled. ¡°Arlo has a princess in his dungeon.¡± She gave me a suspicious look. ¡°What other manner of dastardly deeds are you planning that we don¡¯t know about?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± I said, drawing out the words. ¡°All hail Dark Lord Arlo.¡±


    [I will change your title on our stationery and notify the heralds.]


    ¡°Mmmm, I prefer ¡®Dark Lord¡¯ over ¡®Master¡¯, I think.¡±


    ¡°Is this part of your obsession with dragons?¡± asked Nuralie.


    ¡°Princess-napping is an excellent pastime, I¡¯ll have you know,¡± I said. ¡°And imitation is the highest form of flattery. It¡¯ll be a conversation starter.¡±


    Xim leaned forward in her chair and brought the ribbing to an end. ¡°How in the hells did a Mittan princess end up on a Wastelander mercenary team?¡±


    [She did not elucidate.]


    {He didn¡¯t even ask!} Throne added. The little Delve Core had been suspiciously silent throughout our chat. I wondered if that had anything to do with her conversation with Sam¡¯lia. She¡¯d been fairly subdued since returning from the Third.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors of a princess fleeing Mittak,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Although it would have taken place when I was very young.¡± The big guy was oiling an unfamiliar sword. It may have been Zng, but I couldn¡¯t tell at a glance. He may have lost interest in the ancient weaponry since none of it was made for slicing and dicing. ¡°The escape was bloody, from what I remember. I do not know the details. I can ask my family about it if we are concerned.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably a good idea,¡± I said, thinking of the mess of trauma in the Yeti¡¯s past. ¡°But I¡¯d rather wait and let her tell that story in her own time.¡± I glanced down at the weapon I was holding, which I had mostly forgotten about until that moment. ¡°So what have we learned about these?¡±


    [They are wands.]


    ¡°Wands?¡± I asked, turning the Zng rifle over. The weapon was just over three feet long, with subtly organic curves along its matte black exterior. ¡°Isn¡¯t it kind of big to be a wand?¡±


    [They are somewhere between a wand and a staff for size. However, they contain only a single spell form and their mana storage is not as robust as I would expect from a well-made staff.] The Core shrugged. [They do not properly fall under either category, but for my purposes I am treating them as wands.]


    ¡°It has a grip and two triggers,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s not very wand-like.¡±


    ¡°Is that what those are?¡± asked Xim.


    I looked more closely at the device. The part that I was identifying as a ¡®grip¡¯ was round, with subtle grooves that looked like they¡¯d been engineered for narrow fingers. On either side was a curved metal guard protecting a trigger mechanism. The Zng had six fingers arrayed evenly around their center palm, and the design looked like it would fit.


    ¡°I think so?¡± I said, sighting down the weapon. It was unwieldy. My fingers were too short and wide, and there wasn¡¯t any way to activate both triggers with a single human hand. I couldn¡¯t get a comfortable hold on the forestock either, since the spot where it was meant to be held was too far down the weapon¡¯s body.


    [Yes, the trigger mechanism is a somewhat controversial design choice.]


    {It is?} asked Throne.


    ¡°No,¡± said Vaulty. ¡°It has never been controversial.¡± The golem spoke in accented Hiwardian while doing an excellent job looming just behind Grotto. He¡¯d spent most of his time in the Closet teaching himself the language while avoiding Throne. I was happy to see that Vaulty and Throne could now be in the same room together, although I hadn¡¯t yet observed the two of them interact. Baby steps and all that.


    Grotto turned to glare at the pair, then continued his explanation.


    [The Zng bypassed the need for having a wielder with an appropriate attunement by creating an artificial mana matrix, which accounts for a significant portion of the weapon¡¯s size. However, this process prevents the normal mana connection one would form with a wand. Thus, the triggers are necessary to activate the spell.]


    I noted that Grotto did not explain why this would be a controversy. I suspected that he took personal offense to the design, but was willing to admit it had some uses.


    ¡°Uh, how do the triggers accomplish that?¡± I asked. ¡°Does the spell activate due to some mechanical action?¡± If the rifle was actually a wand, there wouldn¡¯t be a hammer or striking mechanism inside.


    [One trigger temporarily completes a circuit between the spell form and the synthetic mana matrix. The other trigger is a safety which blocks the action of the former.]


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a fancy button,¡± I said. ¡°So anyone could use one of these? I could hand this off to a random farmer and they could pop somebody with a spell?¡±


    [Yes. They would be unable to charge it, however. Significant use also might result in low-grade mana toxicity, and the safety requires a mana signature.]


    I set the rifle back on the table, careful to never point it at anyone. It was definitely charged up, making it a loaded weapon, but no one in the room was really at risk of lethal injury from the device. Even Throne could take a few hits.


    I thought about the implications of this technology. If we could replicate it, we might be able to create a line of magical weapons usable by anyone, not just Delvers. We¡¯d have to solve the mana toxicity and charging problems, but I was pretty confident we had the skills to do so.


    I also knew that the power disparity between Delvers and mundane society was deeply oppressive in some places. I wasn¡¯t naive. Having something that could level the playing field, even a little bit, could end up being pretty disruptive.


    However, I didn¡¯t have much interest in leading any kind of social revolution. We were too busy trying to protect the world from more apocalyptic threats. Even so, if Closetland was to become independent, we wouldn¡¯t only have Delvers for citizens.


    I imagined an army of regular soldiers capable of handling significant threats. There were plenty of aggressive mana monsters out there, more than could be handled by the small population of Delvers in Arzia. There was also an army of Davahns somewhere, with each soldier having power on par with at least a low-level Delver.


    Plus, if anyone tried to fuck with us, they¡¯d be in for a real surprise.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, mind still turning over the possibilities. ¡°Tell me what the imbued spell does.¡±

 Chapter Art Commissions Week 2 Idea Submissions

    Chapter Art Commissions Week 2 Idea Submissions


    WEEK 2 ART COMMISSIONS! SUBMIT IDEAS HERE!


    Here we are, week 2! I''ve learned a few things. First, I didn''t check the Public Poll Results box on last chapter. I have gone back and checked that box, so you should be able to go and see how the poll for last week is shaping up. Spoiler: it is a very close matchup between options 1 and 2, but the full party in the obelisk room is ahead of third layer by 1.5% or so. JoJo dreams have been dashed. Speaking of, I didn''t put an express time limit on voting, so this week we''re going to match with the idea submissions and say the poll closes on Sunday.


    This week I''ll be considering submissions that are substantially different from what ended up on last week''s poll more heavily than others, so keep that in mind I suppose. Anyway, here are the rules!


    Stolen novel; please report.


    RULES:


    1) It must be Mage Tank related


    2) Sexy is fine, but nothing totally NSFW (no nudity or graphic sexuality.)


    3) Submissions will close on SUNDAY, MARCH 23rd at midnight EDT (GMT-4).


    4) ONE IDEA PER COMMENT.


    5) Those who make it into the poll will be credited (unless you don''t want that, in which case please include that in your comment). You''ll also get credited again if your idea is picked.


    6) If your idea wins the poll, you''ll be taken out of the running for future polls. I want to give as much opportunity as I can to everyone.


    Your idea can also include your preferred art style (ex: line illustration, anime, H.R. Giger-style horror show), or any other details you find relevant.


    And that about sums it up. I swear there was a new rule I meant to add, but didn''t write it down, so I guess it wasn''t that important.


    Thanks!

 Chapter 242: Batant IP Theft

    Chapter 242: Batant IP Theft


    [The rifle¡¯s spell is curious. It is designed to maximize mana efficiency and penetration with the trade-off of doing very little actual damage.]


    Vaulty stepped forward, the hulking golem¡¯s legs clanking against the ground.


    ¡°The spell is called Break,¡± said the golem. ¡°It bypasses most defenses and deals a small amount of Spatial damage. It is designed for use in swarm-style tactics. A large group of weaker individuals can destroy a significantly more powerful target, so long as they attack together.¡± He paused for a second. ¡°It is also highly effective at destroying mundane objects.¡±


    [Relatively useless for a single Delver, but an interesting concept for more traditional warfare.]


    ¡°Especially if anyone can fire the rifles,¡± I said. ¡°A platoon of mundane soldiers could be an actual threat with these things. Couldn¡¯t a mana chip be used to recharge the rifles? Lots of Hiwardian tech works that way.¡±


    [Yes. It would simply add cost and complexity.]


    ¡°The Zng created charging stations for this purpose.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the capacity? How many shots on a full charge?¡±


    [Fifty.]


    I considered the advantages of something like this over the guns of Earth. I knew from my experience with crafting wands that these rifles would be stupidly expensive to make. However, the reason for the price tag was mainly the scarcity of mana chips. That scarcity only existed because the market was limited by what Delvers could find, and there just weren¡¯t that many of us. Given the amount of Delves that existed around Arzia, the real supply of mana chips¨Cat least the lowest tier, ruby¨Chad to be massive. It was mostly untapped.


    Aside from that, these rifles didn¡¯t have magazines. Their capacity was a hard limit until more mana got dumped into them from somewhere. Not something a normal soldier could do.


    So, Earth guns had the advantage of being reloadable and relatively cheap. On the other hand, no Earth firearm would have a chance of hurting a Delver like me.


    I didn¡¯t have a spare Glock laying around for testing, but if I was sleeping naked in my bed, getting shot by a non-magical crossbow might not even wake me up. A nine millimeter round probably wouldn¡¯t do much better. Once my armor and buffs were on, I was at least five times harder to hurt, and that was without blocking.


    Each shot from one of these Zng rifles had been pinging me for ten damage through my rather robust defenses. That wasn¡¯t much compared to my total health pool, but it was enough to kill a regular person outright.


    A Delver with 10 Fortitude had 155 health. That would make them untouchable to normal soldiers without access to mana-woven weapons, but with these rifles, a mundane squad could take that Delver down if each of them landed a couple of shots.


    ¡°How much would it cost to replicate one of these?¡± I asked.


    [If we can reverse engineer the design, I expect the mana-weaves would require four ruby chips. Five if you want to add the charging option. The materials would be a negligible cost unless you wish to make enhancements.]


    Nuralie walked over and tapped the rifle. ¡°I can replicate the mechanics.¡± She looked up at me. ¡°You can make the internal wand portions.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d need someone who knows the spell.¡±


    A pair of barrels appeared from Vaulty¡¯s shoulder guards. ¡°I am well-versed in the skill.¡±


    I nodded and thought it over. One of these guns would still be worth as much money as a normal soldier made in twenty years. The tech wasn¡¯t about to become some kind of great equalizer, but it was good to know stuff like this was possible.


    And we had enough ruby chips to make more than a thousand of them.


    If we felt like it.


    ¡°Could the artificial mana matrix concept be extended to more powerful spells?¡± I asked.


    [The artificial matrix can only accommodate minor magical workings and has been designed with this specific spell in mind. We could likely produce something similar for other weak effects, but not for any spell requiring more than two or three points of mana.] Grotto waved his arms strangely for a moment. I think he was trying to undulate them like tentacles.[If you imbued the weapon with a soul, a more advanced spell could certainly be applied.]


    ¡°Interesting,¡± I said. ¡°But not important for the use-case I was imagining, I don¡¯t think.¡± I rubbed my beard. ¡°How does one imbue a weapon with a soul?¡±


    [The Pinnacle Soul Essences you received from slaying Hysteria can be used to impart a soul onto nearly anything. Ensouling a weapon would be simple enough.]


    ¡°Wait, would it have intelligence?¡±


    [It would, although it would be rudimentary without some accompanying mental constructs.]


    {Oh!} Thone piped in. {I can make those!}


    [Yes, Throne is more than capable. I believe we could create a fiercely intelligent weapon now that I am considering it.]


    Xim cleared her throat. She¡¯d moved to a lounge chair in the corner and was¨Cas appropriate¨Clounging with abandon. She¡¯d been thumbing through a thick tome that made my eyes itch when I looked at the cover, and she lowered the book to look at our pair of Delve Cores.


    ¡°Talking swords are never happy about being stuck inside a sword,¡± she said. ¡°Nor are they sane, generally. Souls need the capacity to express free will, and being a thing made for someone else to use isn¡¯t a great fit for that.¡±


    ¡°Ethics in the production of sentient weaponry,¡± I said. ¡°An unexpected lesson, but your point is well-taken.¡± Xim nodded and returned to her book. ¡°All right, enough about the rifles. Tell me about the armor.¡±


    Grotto floated to one rack of the tall, lanky suits of armor. They were of a similar style to the rifle, made of a dark matte material. However, they were compositionally distinct.


    [This armor is primarily composed of three materials. The first is a¨C] Grotto hesitated and turned to eye me up and down. [How technical would you like me to be?]


    ¡°Dumb it right down for me.¡±


    Grotto gave me a grumpy scowl. I was really missing that octo face right about now. He could somehow scowl much more impressively as a feathered flying octopus.


    [There is a base suit made of heat-resistant synthetic polymers that have exceptional elasticity. This portion mitigates blunt force and protects against fire and extreme cold. It also allows the armor to accommodate a range of body sizes, although that variance is primarily limited to height due to the armor¡¯s other components. None of you would fit. Etja might, but alterations would need to be made for her arms. You and Varrin are too wide. Nuralie is too short. Xim is both.]


    ¡°Hey!¡± said Xim. She shimmied deeper into her lounger and waved at herself. ¡°I can¡¯t help these curves.¡± The woman didn¡¯t have a spot of fat, outside of all the right places.


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    Grotto ignored her and continued.


    [Next there is a composite fabric made of carbon fiber filaments, bane silk, and prismatite. The fabric has a high tensile strength and it is difficult to cut. Bane silk is an electrical insulator. The prismatite grants Mystical resistance.


    ]


    [Throughout the fabric are ceramic plates¨Cmatrix composites¨Cwhich also include carbon fibers and prismatite. These mitigate kinetic force, primarily by shattering and dispersing the impact. Combined with the armor¡¯s shape, it should be resilient to piercing attacks from both projectiles and melee weapons. This shattering of the plates will temporarily compromise the armor, but the equipment has a mana reservoir that operates a self-repair function. It is significantly faster than both the natural self-repair of verdantum and also the standard self-repair weaves that are in use.]


    [Finally, there is a hard outer casing centered around the head, neck, and chest. I believe this is intended as additional protection against kinetic forces with a particular focus on mitigating blast waves. All of these materials have also been treated with a protective coating that is resilient against corrosive substances. Overall, the armor utilizes sophisticated technological processes to provide defense against all common damage sources from the Physical school of magic, while integrating a limited amount of mana-containing materials.]


    ¡°Wow,¡± I said. ¡°Seems like there¡¯s a lot going on there.¡± I was also glad I¡¯d asked for the simplified explanation.


    ¡°It is the most complex piece of engineering I have ever seen,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°Why limit the magical materials?¡± asked Xim. ¡°Can non-Delvers use the armor like the wand thingies?¡±


    [No. Only Delvers and other magical beings. Prismatite will have deleterious effects if worn by a mundane entity for long periods.] He gave a floaty shrug.[The Zng were a high-technology civilization, so while these materials are far beyond anything an extant civilization can create, they may have been much easier for the Zng to produce en masse than mana-woven items.]


    [Beyond that, this armor is light enough to fall under the Light Armor skill, with the only requirement being an adequately advanced mana matrix. A Level 1 Delver could wear this, and it would be significantly more powerful than anything else available via current armor-crafting techniques.]


    We all stared at the disassembled armor. ¡°How can we use it?¡± I asked.


    [I can likely guide Nuralie in modifying and tailoring the fit. Her Machinist skill will assist her in understanding how to manipulate the technological elements without compromising them.]


    ¡°And I can use Tailoring to add weaves,¡± said the loson. She was already taking one suit of armor down and laying it onto a large work table. She picked up the helmet and squinted at its interior.


    [Yes, it is more or less a blank canvas in that regard.]


    ¡°What¡¯s the timeline on that?¡± I asked.


    Nuralie looked over at me and blinked, going still with an incredulous pause. ¡°You would like me to provide you with an estimate for how long it will take me to modify and enchant a technological wonder from an extinct civilization?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I will aim to have something viable within a week,¡± she said, then got back to work.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s... really fast. Don¡¯t forget to sleep.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she replied.


    I left her alone after that. Instead, I focused on what Grotto had said about prismatite and its effect on mundane people.


    ¡°Is prismatite dangerous because of its mana concentration?¡± I asked the Delve Core. I knew that high mana concentrations were a hazard, but we¡¯d only ever talked about it in regard to an environment that had a lot of mana in it. Grotto was making it seem like there was more to it.


    [Correct, but so long as it is not used in materials having direct physical contact for extended periods, it is harmless. The same goes for most exotic materials, with rare exceptions such as the abbandium Nuralie is fond of using.]


    ¡°Right,¡± I said, disregarding the abbandium rabbit hole. ¡°Delvers advance by continually increasing the mana concentration in their bodies.¡±


    [Somewhat correct.]


    ¡°Then is it dangerous for regular people to hang around Delvers?¡± I asked. ¡°Are our bodies some sort of walking radioactive hazard?¡± Nuralie frowned when I said ¡°radioactive¡±, but she ignored the allure of a new word and focused on the armor.


    [¡®Regular¡¯ people have a significantly higher risk of death when Delvers are present, but not for the reasons you are contemplating. A Delver¡¯s mana is well-contained, and mana toxicity does not cause permanent damage unless it is severe. Skill use will raise the ambient mana levels, but in that case the greater likelihood of death comes from being in proximity to the intended consequences of the skills rather than their incidental ones.]


    ¡°Like an explosion?¡±


    [Yes.]


    ¡°I can still give a normal person a hug, though, right? If I go to a tavern, I¡¯m not slowly killing everyone inside.¡±


    Grotto did the weird wavy-arm thing again. [Not at present. There are some dangers due to mere proximity at a certain threshold. Beyond Level 60, Delvers begin to impact their immediate surroundings in more... profound ways. However, it is not a concern until phase three.]


    I didn¡¯t like the sound of that.


    ¡°What¡¯s the deal with Level 60?¡± asked Xim. ¡°Should we be worried?¡±


    [In phase three, the celestial sphere will gain a stronger foothold in the physical realm, and Delvers of a certain caliber will naturally be drawn to it. They will be like bubbles, trying to rise to the surface of the ocean. The world around them will seek to prevent this rise. Such resistance creates a strain on our reality.]


    ¡°What¡¯s that look like?¡± I asked. ¡°The ¡®strain¡¯, that is.¡±


    Grotto watched Nuralie¡¯s work for a time before answering. [This is a strange conversation for me,] he thought to us. I was a little surprised by the sudden moment of introspection from the Delve Core. [I have never described these things to Delvers. The taboo of sharing such secrets is difficult to overcome.]


    Grotto reached out and took an armored plate from Nuralie¡¯s hands. He showed her an interlocking joint, and with a careful application of pressure it popped open. Nuralie nodded and he handed the pieces back to her.


    [The time between the second phase and the third is usually measured in centuries. Had I been permitted to speak on this to any other generation, I would have told them that any concern they had for reaching a semi-ascended state is irrelevant. Those who see the activation of the second phase rarely survive to the third. They either fall to violence or the frailty of old age. A rare few have acquired biological immortality and survived until that time, but the fraction is so small as to approach zero.]


    He worked to disassemble the armor further as he spoke, placing each piece onto the large worktable in carefully organized sections as Nuralie closely watched. [The time between generations has shortened. The avatars have awakened sooner. Delvers have advanced more rapidly. There is some variance, but the overall trend is upwards. Your generation marks an even steeper climb. As such, I find myself musing over whether we will even see a decade pass between phases two and three.]


    He crossed his arms and turned to me. It was an impressive pose with the way he hovered.


    [A Delver¡¯s pre-ascent influence can manifest in many ways, depending on the Delver in question.] He glanced around the room. [Nuralie might cause light to flee from any room she enters, for example. Etja might slowly absorb all mana from her surroundings. Varrin will... make everything very sharp, perhaps.] He waved a hand dismissively. [It is nothing immediately harmful, but will present a dangerous environment to mundane individuals. Again, it is nothing to worry about at present.]


    I rubbed my beard and thought that over. It wasn¡¯t like I had close friends who weren¡¯t Delvers. Most of the Xor¡¯Drel tribe hadn¡¯t undergone Creation, but they might fall under the ¡°magical beings¡± category and be safe either way. Still, the idea of having to segregate myself from normal society irked me. I didn¡¯t really want to be limited to a city full of super people. What form would that even take? Would we live atop a mountain like gods above mortals?


    I sighed and mentally moved on. Grotto was right. It wasn¡¯t a time-sensitive issue.


    ¡°All right,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll give Nuralie a week to get herself some armor made.¡±


    ¡°It would be better for Xim,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°And Etja. I do not actually have the Light Armor skill.¡±


    I frowned and silently reviewed the skills I knew she had. Somehow, I¡¯d assumed she had Light Armor, but I now realized she¡¯d never told me that she did. I raised a finger into the air. ¡°Excuse me, what?¡±


    ¡°It has not been very important for my build,¡± she said. ¡°I will pick it up in my twelfth intrinsic slot once we unlock it.¡±


    Not having an armor skill seemed like a major oversight to me, but there wasn¡¯t much to be done about it. She¡¯d grab it when she could, so there wasn¡¯t a point in discussing it further.


    ¡°All right,¡± I said again. ¡°Nuralie makes some armor, Etja will act as therapist for Joma during that time, and I¡¯ll buy a smithy while I think about the Dread Star questions. Xim, Varrin, do what you will. After a week, we¡¯ll go see some maybe dragons.¡±


    ¡°Aye, captain,¡± said Xim with a little salute. Varrin gave a silent nod and kept oiling his sword. It was a different sword, I noticed. He¡¯d gone through five since I¡¯d entered.


    And with that, we got back to work.

 Chapter 243: Glow Up

    Chapter 243: Glow Up


    The week passed without incident. My idea for a smithy wasn¡¯t anything new, and I¡¯d commissioned the materials months beforehand. It was a quick jaunt over to Eschangal to pick all of it up and stuff it into the Closet via my inventory screen. By the time I was done, everyone at the workshop had stopped their projects to stare at me while I lifted thousands of pounds of metal one piece at a time, only for it to disappear.


    I said hi to Zenithar Zura along the way, who¡¯d been meeting with the other two Zenithars, Dal and Sakra Manar. Zura¡¯s attendants were familiar with me and the party, but I got some funny looks from attendants of the other two when I showed up to the Temple of Deijin with a bag full of tiny cakes that Etja had made.


    Zura¡¯s people let me in over the protests of the other two groups, and the Zenithars were delighted with the treats. I quickly left them to their business managing the theocratic nation, giving the attendants a box of cookies as I made my exit. Zura¡¯s people immediately began snacking while the others watched on in judgment. Their groans of satisfaction eventually forced the others to break decorum and try the goods themselves. I knew the cookies wouldn¡¯t last long once they¡¯d had their first bite.


    With a crowd of satiated losons in my wake, I returned to the Closet and put the smithy together with Varrin and Xim¡¯s help. While I was superhumanly strong, the pair of them made me look like a toddler trying to lift their father¡¯s suitcase. Where I lumbered, they moved equipment like it was made of styrofoam and happy thoughts. We got everything assembled and in place in no time, and I got to work forging some stuff for Nuralie.


    Her modifications of the Zng armor were leaving a few gaps, which we filled in with articulated bands of prismatite. We kept them thin to stay light. Nuralie used the armor¡¯s composite fabric to create a gambeson, with prismatic cloth making up for any material missing. Nuralie made the cloth by weaving very small strands of prismatite into wool.


    She wanted to avoid cannibalizing a second suit of armor, both to conserve the materials and also because she didn¡¯t think it would be an improvement over what we were making. It had something to do with how the armor was built to manage its mana flows through specific channels, and using materials from a second suit would be like grafting a new finger onto someone¡¯s hand.


    To me, it sounded like hardware that wouldn¡¯t operate without power. She couldn¡¯t do it yet, so our gap-filling materials were just as good or better than inert material from another Zng suit.


    Prismatite was extraordinarily hard, but injecting mana into it as I worked allowed me to manipulate it with greater finesse than I¡¯d ever been able to do with verdantum. I also learned how to create a plethora of very small things, like screws and fasteners. I steadily improved throughout the process, and it yielded a level in Smithing without spending a single mana chip.


    Your Smithing skill has increased to Level 17!


    We¡¯d decided that Etja would get the first set of armor, since she was the least survivable member of the party. Nuralie would make one for herself later, and Xim was on the fence about the whole thing. She wanted something she didn¡¯t have to eject from when she transformed, and the Zng armor wouldn¡¯t cut it for that purpose. Grotto told us about another material called wyldweave that would be ideal for Xim, but of course that would require another escapade.


    Etja was generally a pretty easy-going person, but she had a few suggestions for the armor¡¯s design that didn¡¯t really sound like suggestions. Fortunately, Nuralie was able to accommodate for aesthetics without adding much to the time it took to prepare the gear, and Etja also had low-level Tailoring so she could give Nuralie an assist. The majority of the work was figuring out how to modify the armor in the first place. After that, color and style were fairly trivial. Nuralie was experienced, had a healthy Speed score, and her first Intelligence evolution more than doubled her crafting speed.


    Unlike Etja¡¯s prior robes and the fancy dress she¡¯d taken to wearing lately, the Zng set gave her full coverage.


    The armor was a beautiful cerulean with turquoise highlights. It was light and form-fitting, with the armor along the arms and legs having a textured, scaled pattern. Her neck and upper chest were protected by a delicate gorget that moved like it was made of snakeskin while still being hard enough to stop an arrow, so long as it wasn¡¯t a direct hit from a skill-enhanced shot.


    She had fingerless gloves with low-profile plates along the back of her hands, while her torso and shoulders had the more robust hardshell material over thin gambeson. Boots came up to her mid-calf, with knee coverings made of the same material as her gorget, and there was a flowing skirt to protect her thighs, which hung a bit longer in the back.


    She hadn¡¯t been a huge fan of a full helm, so we went with a classic wizard hat. It had a wide brim and pointy tip, which sat askance at an angle just-so. It was the perfect vibe for a professional sorceress who knew how to relax. The body of the hat was a fully protective helmet, of course, and a quick ping of mana would make a mask drop down that was as stylish as it was imposing. The gorget extended upward to protect the back and sides of her head, but her hair hung down over it so one would only notice if they were looking closely.


    Once she tried it on, she floated into the air and did a spin, skirt flowing around her. She activated the mask and took out her staff, holding it in one hand as she drew three separate wands. One was her reward from the Icon of the Psychopomp in the Descent. The other two were ones I¡¯d made for her.


    Etja wove together a series of spells using the lightest touch of mana, causing her to glow with divine light as swirls of anti-magic mana curled across her body.


    She looked like an absolute badass.


    ¡°How is it?¡± asked Nuralie.


    ¡°It¡¯s great!¡± said Etja. ¡°Comfortable, and it moves with me. It doesn¡¯t get in the way, and it¡¯s a lot softer on the inside than I expected.¡±


    [Bane silk is a prized material for its luxurious touch.]


    ¡°Why am I feeling insecure right now?¡± I asked. ¡°Am I no longer the most stylish member of the party?¡±


    ¡°I feel like you lost that title when Varrin came back with his new armor,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Varrin¡¯s look is solid, but it basically shouts ¡®I¡¯m rich¡¯,¡± I said. ¡°Etja¡¯s is more like ¡®I¡¯m the chillest person in this room but I can and will kill you, so watch out.¡¯¡± I crossed my arms, giving the armor a final, critical look. ¡°This speaks to me more.¡±


    Varrin walked over and clapped me on the shoulder. ¡°You are


    in need of an armor upgrade,¡± he said. ¡°But you still have your vest and boa.¡±


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    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°No one can take that away from me, no matter how fucking good they look.¡±


    Etja withdrew the mask to reveal a radiant smile. Her skin shifted into a glittering, clay-red material. It was a combination of the chitin from the Praying Heads we¡¯d fought back in The Cage, mixed with elements of the Prismatic Mask she¡¯d absorbed during the boss rush of Deijin¡¯s Descent.


    ¡°I can still use my natural armor too!¡± she said. She twisted her upper body back and forth. ¡°Not quite as comfy, but it adds a lot of defense.¡±


    The Prismatic Mask material had been made of prismatite as well, and the mage had used Incorporate on several prismatite ingots to make its effects more potent. She could deflect line attacks¨Clike her own death beam¨Cfrom any part of her body with a thought.


    ¡°She¡¯s a red quartz goddess,¡± said Xim. ¡°I¡¯m also feeling jealous.¡±


    ¡°Looks aside, this is better than any other light armor in the party by a wide margin,¡± I said as I inspected the gear¡¯s final properties. It didn¡¯t stack up defensively to something like Varrin¡¯s gear, but no light armor would ever compare to a heavy set made by Papa Junior with all the DR that money could buy slapped on. Regardless, the end specs of Etja¡¯s new outfit were impressive.


    Prismatite-Infused Zng Carbonweave Armor


    Light Armor Set


    Requirements: STR 10, SPD 10, AGL 10, CHA 30, LCK 30


    Effects:


    +35 Physical DR


    +40 Spiritual DR


    +30 Divine DR


    +25 Mystical DR


    +20 Dimensional DR


    +40 to maximum Dodge Pool


    +10 to Dodge Recovery


    +50 Health Regeneration


    +60 Stamina Regeneration


    +80 Mana Regeneration


    When worn as a full set, this armor will consume mana to fully repair itself from any damage over the course of 1 minute.


    Mana Capacity: 60/60


    I commented on some of the weaves, and both Nuralie and Etja were happy to explain their reasoning for the choices.


    ¡°My Tailoring skill is less advanced than my Alchemy,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The highest requirement I can apply is 30, and only to defensive weaves. I am also more adept at weaves with Agility and Speed requirements, so we focused on those as much as we could.¡± Pause. ¡°Etja has a 10 in both, which is enough to yield effective properties.¡±


    ¡°I also have bonuses to dodge from my Agility and my wand,¡± said Etja, waving the Wand of the Descent through the air. ¡°Even though my Speed and Agility aren¡¯t very high, those plus this armor should make me really hard to hit.¡±


    ¡°And the stamina regen?¡± I asked. ¡°You don¡¯t have any abilities that use stamina.¡±


    ¡°Right! I¡¯ve been wasting that resource, and I have a lot of it since my Fortitude is at 25 now. I also never picked up another active skill after Throne¡¯s Delve, so I decided to get Haste. Between my stamina regen and Varrin sharing his stamina regen through Deep Breaths, I can have it going every time we run into baddies.¡±


    I brought up the description for Haste and reviewed it.


    Haste


    Dimensional


    Requires Focus


    Cost: 2 stamina per second


    Requirements: Dimensional Magic 20


    Your body and mind are accelerated, doubling your movement speed and allowing you to act 100% faster. Additionally, you are immune to the Slowed status for the duration.


    Haste was one of those skills that was always on my ¡®maybe¡¯ list. The description made it sound incredible, but some research had shown me it wasn¡¯t quite as juiced as it seemed at first glance. It was definitely powerful, and the movement speed bonus was multiplicative.


    The ¡°act 100% faster¡± was an additive bonus, however. If you were already stacking similar buffs, then it was less impactful. I wasn¡¯t too deep into action speed bonuses, but Speed was one of the stats I was working on, meaning Haste would become less potent as I leveled. I wanted things that scaled.


    For someone like Etja, it was great. Although I still had questions about the choice.


    ¡°Does Haste combo with your other skills?¡± I asked. Etja¡¯s build let her mix and match her abilities in ways no one else could. I didn¡¯t know how Haste would work when mixed in with a death ray.


    ¡°All of my spells can be AoEs,¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯ll just use mana shaping so the harmful bits hit the enemy and the helpful bits hit everyone else. That way, I can give everyone Haste. For a little while, at least.¡±


    The way she casually talked about not only making spells discretionary, but making individual elements of spells discretionary, made my inner jealousy demon twinge again. I put my boot on its neck and forced it back down.


    ¡°That would be abnormal for a stamina-based ability,¡± said Varrin. Today, he was oiling the joints of a gauntlet. ¡°Techniques center on the self. They emanate outward to affect others, but otherwise they only augment the user.¡±


    Etja nodded and smiled while Varrin mansplained techniques to her. Then she blasted him with Repulsion.


    The gauntlet Varrin was working went flying as a wave of divine mana crashed into him and knocked him out of his chair. Etja had held back, so it hadn¡¯t hurt the big guy, but when he sat up he was still glowing. So was the floor. And the gauntlet.


    ¡°A lot of auras are techniques,¡± said Etja. ¡°I used Arlo¡¯s auras as a model when experimenting, but they¡¯re all spherical. The skill does need to project out from me, and auras are usually spherical, but I can mana-shape the skill so that the aura follows the shape of any AoE I make.¡± She fired a weak death beam at the wall. It wasn¡¯t enough to leave a mark, but the floor glowed in a line beneath the beam. She fired another one at me, and the world slowed as the Haste buff popped up on my HUD.


    ¡°Oh shit,¡± I said.


    ¡°I can Haste the whole party for up to twenty-five seconds,¡± she said proudly.


    ¡°That¡¯s really good,¡± said Xim. ¡°More than half of our fights end in under thirty seconds.¡±


    ¡°Now they¡¯ll end even faster,¡± I said.


    Varrin stood and brushed himself off, then gestured at the ground. ¡°I apologize for assuming you had not developed an unprecedented method of mana shaping.¡± The man was being completely serious as he said that. Etja stood and gave him a hug.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she said, squeezing him tightly. ¡°Just remember that I¡¯m a genius next time.¡±


    ¡°You really went and made an aura out of Haste,¡± I said, taking a jump to the left, then a step to the right. The line of glowing ground followed me. ¡°Does it still require focus?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I have to concentrate on each AoE individually to keep them going.¡± The glow around Varrin and the line on the ground both disappeared. ¡°But I can focus on four things at once! So it¡¯s not a problem.¡±


    My mind boggled at that. My Focus Trinket let me have two streams of thought going at the same time and that was already too much inner monologue. I couldn¡¯t imagine four of me chatting in my head.


    Xim stepped next to me and nudged my arm with an elbow. ¡°Are you going to make yourself some fancy prismatite armor?¡±


    ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to, not yet. I want to get the next evolution in Smithing before I burn the materials.¡±


    ¡°A good instinct,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We should make the most of what we have.¡±


    I mumbled my agreement and got back to business. ¡°Now that two-fifths of us are well geared up, we should probably head out,¡± I said. ¡°Etja, do you think Joma is recovered enough for you to leave her for a while?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll be okay,¡± said Etja. ¡°I think the Hysteria stuff has all healed.¡± Her smile faded some. ¡°Now she¡¯s just working through everything else.¡±


    I gave her a sympathetic nod, then pulled out my not-quite-as-cool-anymore armor. All of us got equipped, and I pointed¨Csuperfluously¨Cat a wall to summon the portal to the northern Wastes.


    Varrin and I strode out into a blizzard to continue our journey towards the continent¡¯s tallest mountain.

 Chapter 244: Back Out in the Cold

    Chapter 244: Back Out in the Cold


    ¡°Etja¡¯s Spiritual and Mystical defenses are probably better than mine now,¡± I shouted up at Varrin. We were blasting through the frigid winter wonderland once more. I was wearing thicker socks this time, but my toes were still going numb.


    Varrin grunted in response. I was only able to hear him because Wisdom gave a big bump to my senses. It was an inquisitive sort of grunt. I interpreted it as ¡°Okay, and?¡±


    ¡°I mean, my Physical defense is definitely better,¡± I continued. ¡°I¡¯ve got 22 Speed to let me avoid things, turn hits into glancing blows, and so on. I get 24 Physical DR from my Heavy Armor skill, and another 60 or so from the armor itself. If I block, my shield gives me something like 38 all together between Gracorvus and the Shields intrinsic. Then I get more DR from Auradilato with my passive auras. My base Physical defenses are probably in the 120s while walking around, but it can get up into the 170s when I block and have my other auras going.¡±


    Another grunt along the lines of ¡°Okay, and?¡±


    ¡°But for Spiritual defense, Etja has a 46 in Wisdom, then she¡¯s got natural armor for that as well, and the 40 DR from her new armor. That¡¯s like 100 or something. Whereas I¡¯ve got a 40 Wisdom, 20 from my armor, and 21 from Auradilato. My base Spiritual defense is in the 80s.¡±


    ¡°What about your shield?¡± Varrin grunted.


    ¡°If I block, I get another 38. And if it¡¯s a spell, I get even more DR from both Shields and Mystical Magic. It¡¯s probably closer to 180. Honestly, my spell defenses are a lot stronger than my defense against techniques.¡±


    Varrin flew in silence, then grunted, ¡°Okay... AND?¡±


    ¡°Just feeling like I need some more defense is all.¡±


    ¡°You have 2,291 health,¡± Varrin said¨Cactually said¨Cthis time. ¡°Etja has 575.¡±


    ¡°True, true,¡± I admitted, then glanced up at him. ¡°What¡¯s your Physical defense at?¡± Varrin grinned, but kept looking forward. With his gear, it was higher than mine, for sure.


    I still had twice his HP though.


    I daydreamed about shiny new armor and Fortitude 70 super evolutions as we flew over top of the blizzard. We were at an altitude that would probably suffocate an eagle, and I quickly caught sight of the storm¡¯s edge in the distance. As it drew closer, I realized it looked unnatural. The edge of the storm curved, its eastern and western fronts swooping north. It was like a goliath had taken a big bite out of it.


    Then there was fire.


    A burst of flame shot up into the sky a hundred miles north of us. The gout had to be ten miles high, and I felt a tinge of heat even from this distance. The heat came with a blast of turbulence powerful enough to rip the harness free of Varrin¡¯s body. I fell for a few seconds, getting kicked around by the wind until I activated Therianthropy. Fuchsia wings burst from my back and I stabilized.


    Varrin¡¯s flight had been mostly undisturbed as he darted through the disruption like a tungsten meteor. He had to backtrack to meet up with me. My personal flight speed was only


    several hundred miles per hour, but wasn¡¯t yet up to breaking the sound barrier. The big guy and I decided to keep things subsonic for now as we kept moving northward.


    The enormous plume of fire was gone, but the edge of the blizzard curled back as clouds, mist, and snow evaporated. After a mile or so it stopped receding, until another mountain of flame appeared.


    I smiled wide and gave Varrin a wink. I mouthed the word ¡°dragons¡± and he looked upwards in a not-quite eyeroll. It was more of a please-gods-help-me kind of eye direction. I was ready for the turbulence this time, riding out the waves of pressure differentials like a champ. Soon after, we saw the mountain.


    It was... a mountain. It was big and tall, but not nearly as tall as the fire had been. I squinted at it to make sure this wasn¡¯t a volcano we were rolling up on, but while the top of the mountain was blackened and scorched, there was no crater or vent that I could see. I also couldn¡¯t find the source of the fire.


    The land for miles around the mountain was free of snow, revealing a melted mush of mud and sediment. I¡¯d been expecting the austere beauty of an icy spire rising from flawless, untouched powder. Instead, I¡¯d gotten what looked like Father Winter¡¯s unwashed asshole.


    I grimaced as we descended. While the land was dead and the mountain was a blasted hellrock, the air was alive with torrents of mana. It flowed from every direction and into the mountain¡¯s base. Whatever was going on in there, it was sucking the world dry of the stuff.


    We didn¡¯t have to search for where to go. A powerful soul sat near the bottom of the mountain, serving as a beacon to my Sight. Varrin and I ¡®landed¡¯¨Cmeaning we hovered just above the mud¨Ca few hundred feet from the soul¡¯s owner. His back was to a sheer cliff that rose a thousand feet upwards. The mountainside had been carved into the face of a beautiful woman with slitted, reptilian eyes. The woman¡¯s mouth was open wide and led to a large cave or tunnel.


    The figure ahead of us was¨Cpotentially¨Ca person of some kind. They were eight feet tall with a large, bald head. Their mouth was broad with thin lips turning down at the edges, and their eyes were set far enough back in their skull that I wondered whether they had any peripheral vision. Their nose was wide and flat enough to their face that it almost disappeared. Their skin was about ninety percent wrinkles, with liver spots making up the last ten percent.


    They also had the most well-contained soul I¡¯d ever encountered. It was held tight to their body and was utterly still. It didn¡¯t flow or pulse like I¡¯d come to expect. Where other souls were closer to a river or lake, the soul before me was more like the mountain behind him. Solid. Enduring. Unmovable.


    I also had no real idea how strong this person was. They were obviously strong, but the compact nature of the soul made it feel like there were depths I couldn¡¯t see into. They might have been on the same level as someone around Level 20, or they might have been a wrinkly god who¡¯d come down from on high to play. I¡¯d gotten so used to figuring out at a glance how much of a threat someone was, that not knowing made me uncomfortable.


    ¡°Hello,¡± the person said. Their deep, masculine voice carried across the distance with ease. It was filled with a casual power that was at odds with their decrepit appearance.


    ¡°Hi there,¡± I shouted back. The man tilted his head to one side and reached up to scratch where his ear would have been, had he had one.


    ¡°Are you coming over here?¡± he asked.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Can we?¡± I asked.


    They plucked at their shirt, which was rather nice, I realized. It was off-white but clean of the mud and slop that covered the ground. It had a sheen to it and hung slightly loose, while still staying taut across the shoulders. There was some real muscle under there, making the man look like a jacked up raisin.


    I was pretty sure Varrin had that exact shirt.


    ¡°Why else would you be here?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°Fair point,¡± I said.


    Varrin and I floated forward. Thankfully, the man stood in the center of a spotless patio, so we could touch down without risking a mud bath.


    The temperature near the mountain¡¯s base was warm enough to be considered pleasant. Once we were on the patio, it was hot enough for a pool party. I gave my toes a wiggle, making sure they were all still attached as feeling returned to my feet.


    ¡°I¡¯m Arlo,¡± I said, stepping forward and holding out a hand.


    The man looked at the proffered limb quizzically, but eventually went in for the shake. His own hand swallowed mine. I half-expected him to squeeze hard to judge my mettle with a test of strength and resolve. Instead, he gave it a single firm pump, and released, killing my manly fantasies before they¡¯d ever been given a chance to live.


    ¡°I¡¯m Nax,¡± he said. ¡°If you¡¯re trying to get on my good side so I¡¯ll let you in, it won¡¯t work. Token-holders only.¡±


    That got me a little confused. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aiming for your good side in particular,¡± I said. ¡°But I do like being on that side of people for the most part.¡± The man looked past me into the distance, studying the mud. He had zero interest in what I was saying. I was getting stonewalled.


    ¡°We¡¯re not trying to sneak past or anything,¡± I said, taking out the coin that Avarice had given us. I held it up. ¡°Here ya go. One premium token, as requested.¡±


    Nax snorted as he looked over the token, then opened his eyes a little wider. They slid forward in his head, moving from the deep chasms of his skull. He fixed me with a look that made me feel like he was only just now actually looking at me. Nax¡¯s soul stirred a fraction, and he glanced over to Varrin as well.


    ¡°Humans,¡± he said. It didn¡¯t sound like he was upset about that, just confirming it for himself. ¡°Where are the rest of you?¡±


    ¡°We have three more associates who plan to arrive via portal,¡± I said. ¡°Is it all right for me to bring them in?¡±


    Varrin held up a hand to stop me. ¡°Why did you believe there were more of us?¡± he asked.


    ¡°There are always more humans,¡± Nax said. That struck me as odd, since humans were a relative minority in Arzia. Then he pointed at the coin. ¡°And your invitation marks you down for six more guests.¡± He swung his finger toward Varrin. ¡°I only see one.¡±


    That was interesting. If the coin was good for myself plus six more, Avarice must have included both Grotto and Shog in the invite. Very thoughtful of her. Shog was off in C¡¯thon world, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to make it. I sent a quick ping to Grotto, seeing if he wanted to come along, but he impolitely declined.


    ¡°You may open your portal,¡± said Nax. ¡°If you wish.¡± His eyes crept back into their pits.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, suppressing a shudder. I opened the Closet portal, letting Xim, Nuralie, and Etja pass through, then closed it behind them. Nax studied the three of them as they came, then snorted again.


    ¡°A surprise,¡± he said. ¡°There weren¡¯t any more humans.¡± He stepped aside so that he was no longer standing directly in front of the mouth. His large frame was nowhere near large enough to actually block the entrance, but I appreciated the symbolic gesture. Nax looked us all over again. ¡°Maybe there never were any humans,¡± he said cryptically.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Xim hummed, looking up at the mountainside. ¡°It¡¯s a face with a mouth in a cliff face leading to the mouth of a cave.¡±


    ¡°Anything we should know before heading in?¡± I asked Nax. His wrinkled face scrunched up a bit. He might have been thinking, or the structural integrity of his head might have finally given way, leading to a total collapse.


    It turned out to be the former.


    ¡°Because it is your first time, you will each need to be tested before you can enter the club.¡± He scratched again at where his ear wasn¡¯t. ¡°The testing is not too bad.¡±


    ¡°What kind of test is it?¡± asked Etja. I was silently hoping for a handshake war.


    ¡°They are all different,¡± he said. ¡°And there are many ways to pass.¡± His eyes opened slightly wider and I steeled my nerves as they slid out again. He looked at Etja more intently, like he¡¯d done for me and Varrin when I¡¯d shown him the coin. She faced him down with a pleasant smile, completely unperturbed by the man¡¯s eyeballs.


    ¡°Perhaps you will pass through control,¡± he said to Etja before turning to Xim. ¡°Or force.¡± He looked at Nuralie next. ¡°Ingenuity could work. Or passion,¡± he said with a nod toward Varrin. Finally, his eyes settled on me, growing a fraction wider than I¡¯d seen so far. They looked like they were about to fall out of the man¡¯s face.


    After a few seconds, he groaned. ¡°Teamwork. Pah. They hate that one.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow, but Nax didn¡¯t elaborate. He turned back to stare out at the miles of mud.


    ¡°It was nice meeting you Nax,¡± I said. He didn¡¯t respond, which I took as a silent dismissal, so I led the way forward into the tunnel.


    ¡°What an interesting fellow,¡± said Etja. Her voice echoed off the tunnel¡¯s hard surfaces.


    ¡°I do not understand our first interaction,¡± said Varrin. ¡°We confused him somehow.¡±


    ¡°I think that guy was the doorman,¡± I said. ¡°He called whatever we¡¯re about to walk into ¡®the club¡¯. We basically showed up to a super exclusive, extremely out of the way establishment and just stared at him from across the street. He got suspicious, which makes sense.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Varrin. ¡°He thought you were a miscreant trying to talk your way in.¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Xim rapped a knuckle against the tunnel wall. It was smooth and solid, but rang in a way that let us know it wasn¡¯t actually stone. ¡°What do you think would have happened if we didn¡¯t have that coin?¡± she asked.


    I glanced back the way we¡¯d come. Nax¡¯s soul had also been impossible to get a read on. I¡¯d tried inspecting him with the System as well, but nothing had come back.


    ¡°Nothing good, I¡¯m sure,¡± I said, turning back forward. I jerked to a halt and looked around the empty tunnel. ¡°Ah, fuck,¡± I said. ¡°This shit again?¡±


    Everyone else was gone. I turned around and found exactly what I expected to find, which was that the entrance was gone too. I stood for a while, waiting for something to happen. Nax had said there¡¯d be a test, but it didn¡¯t seem like anyone was about to show up with a scantron and a pair of tiny pencils. Unlike the entrance, the way forward was still there.


    I decided to march on, but stopped abruptly when I felt a familiar wave of mana wash over me. Dimensional mana poured into the tunnel until it was as thick as the most saturated parts of the Closet. Then it kept ramping up until it was several times denser.


    I felt a twist in my gut and a gentle popping sound filled my ears. I stood stock still and reached out with my mana sense as an uneven wind filled the hall. I couldn¡¯t see the end of the corridor ahead, as though it went off into a distance farther than I could see. As I stared down the hall it stretched even further, and the walls began to close in.


    Space was being warped and twisted. The distance between myself and the walls kept changing. Small whorls of spatial distortion came into existence to stir the air and then faded just as quickly. The popping noises were micro-portals opening and closing. They surrounded me, but there was a small buffer where I was safe. An inch or so off my skin.


    The moment I moved, I¡¯d be caught in a meat grinder that would mangle my flesh. The portals would take tiny bites until I was riddled with holes. If either of those effects happened to manifest in my brain, it¡¯d be a Bad Time. It wouldn¡¯t kill me outright, but if I fell unconscious in this environment, I doubted that I¡¯d make it.


    As I stood frozen, planning how to deal with all this, the System gave me a hint as to what was going on. Once I read the notification, my apprehension faded as I realized the opportunity before me.


    You have entered the Hall of the Recondite Ruler


    Dimensional Dungeon


    Recommended skills: Dimensional Magic 40


    The description was short and sweet, but part of me hoped the Dungeon wasn¡¯t. I was always in need of some skill levels, and this seemed like the perfect place to snag a few.

 Chapter 245: Dungeons and…

    Chapter 245: Dungeons and...


    My first move was to get more information about the space I¡¯d somehow gotten stuck in. I hadn¡¯t been teleported, since my Extradimensional Entity subrace would have tried to stop it. I should have at least gotten a notification. Given that this was a Dimensional Dungeon, it was possible that we¡¯d walked into it. Everyone else had probably been teleported away from me, rather than the opposite.


    Dungeons were something new in System phase two, but we hadn¡¯t run into one yet. They didn¡¯t have any Delver Level requirements, and didn¡¯t grant any stat points, but instead granted a massive buff to the progression speed of their relevant intrinsic skill. The Littans had said they could earn as much in a single day as they normally earned in a month outside of one. I was more than happy to further that research here in the Hall of the Recondite Ruler.


    I used Coordinated Thinker to study the space. The distances kept changing, but Coordinated Thinker didn¡¯t only help me teleport. It also helped me gain an intuitive grasp of spatial and planar phenomena. The fluctuations in distance weren¡¯t completely random. There was an organic pattern, imperfect but regular, like someone¡¯s rate of breathing. The inhale stretched everything out, the exhale compressed it inward. Except that there were about six hundred pairs of lungs doing that all at once.


    The point is that it wasn¡¯t a completely predictable formula, nor was it chaos. I could time my movements to slip between the micro-portals and spatial whorls, but it would take a lot of instinct and reflexes. I liked to think I was pretty in touch with my primal side, but that wasn¡¯t really my thing.


    Aside from understanding the hall¡¯s hazards, I was reaching out to see if I could find its boundaries. So long as it wasn¡¯t a self-repeating pocket dimension where one wall adjoined to a wall on the opposite side¨Clike the Closet¨CI could probably pop my way through the edge and out of danger.


    What I felt outside the tunnel was not friendly. The space was a storm of violent motion, with ragged portals tearing open reality thousands of times per second. That wasn¡¯t anywhere I wanted to be. The amount of power swinging around could tear its way through the tunnel¡¯s wall in an instant. I couldn¡¯t even detect any mana weaves in the stone. The walls were a formality, marking the line between challenge and death.


    The hallway ahead looked like it extended on for eternity. It wanted me to think that it was endless, but I¡¯d stared down infinity more than a few times. This wasn¡¯t like gazing in the Dominion Ivy¡¯s dimension, and it sure as hells wasn¡¯t like taking a peek at the Dread Star.


    I sent my mental hands through it, extending them forward to search more intentionally with Coordinated Thinker. After only a few seconds I chuckled. The motion almost made me brush up against a spatial tear by my shoulder.


    When I sent my perception ¡®forward¡¯, it travelled in several directions at once. Keeping my real hand where it was, I popped a small bit of stone debris from my inventory and into my palm. We had lots of excess rubble these days. I tucked my thumb behind the rock and gave it a flick.


    The stone shot forward much faster than I¡¯d expected, but I was a relative expert at throwing blunt objects very very hard. Either way, the stone got shredded by the dimensional hazards, but more importantly, it didn¡¯t follow a straight path.


    A spatial tear cut it in two, and the two halves immediately took 90 degree turns in different directions. They each zigzagged through the air, making pivots so clean and fast it looked like cuts in an action film. Finally, one half collided with the ceiling behind


    me. The other half didn¡¯t make it, swallowed up by a portal.


    It was a bog-standard non-Euclidean space.


    Okay, it wasn¡¯t bog-standard. We weren¡¯t dealing with something as simple as space acting like the surface of a sphere, where the shortest distance between two points was an arc, rather than a straight line. This was more like space had become as wrinkly as old Nax back out front, and the shortest distance between me and the end of the hall was ???.


    Fortunately, this wasn¡¯t a major issue. I had a trick for situations like these. If three-dimensional space was acting up, I¡¯d just step outside of it for a second, walk a few steps, and come back.


    I reached out strangeward, happy to jump past all this nonsense.


    It was even worse out there. My brain did a soft reboot and my consciousness slipped for an instant. Strangeward was always a mental strain, but whatever was going on out there, my human mind hit eject before I had a chance to even consider processing it.


    That got me wondering what sort of maniac was responsible for making this place. Beyond that, how much power did something need to create this?


    I shook off the question as I realized that several parts of my ass were gone.


    When my consciousness had slipped, I¡¯d swayed back just a touch. I was well-equipped on the posterior end, so my cheeks were the unfortunate victim of this blunder. It hadn¡¯t cost me too much HP, but having my booty cratered like the surface of the moon scuffed my ego. It¡¯d grow back, but it was the principle of the thing.


    ¡°Okay, this was fun,¡± I said to whoever might be listening. ¡°But now that the patty cakes have been threatened, I¡¯m taking things seriously.¡±


    I used Coordinated Thinker to track the spatial relationships floating around me, and my mental view of the hall shattered. The chunky pieces tumbled across one another until they reassembled into a mosaic perspective of the hall. The walls were jagged and irregular, fit together like someone took a jigsaw and hammered the pieces in all willy-nilly, rather than solving the thing. However, I could now see a ¡®straight¡¯ path to the end of the hallway. It was a few hundred feet away.


    I focused on Dreadful Shortcut. There was a pressure pushing against the ability. Apparently the hall even had anti-teleportation measures. I smiled and cast the spell anyway.


    The deific teleport laughed its way past the hall¡¯s protections. To say that it tore through them like a bull through a spider¡¯s web wouldn¡¯t be fair. A spider¡¯s web was something that had mass, and could thus apply force to the bull. In this situation, the counter-teleport had the same effect on Shortcut as a thing that had never existed in the first place. I could tell it was there the same way I could see a distant ray of sunshine. It was obvious, but it wouldn¡¯t stop me from walking forward.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased to Level 46!


    That was nice, but I was feeling a little let down since it looked like I¡¯d found the exit. It was a quick skill level, but I¡¯d been hoping for more than that. Maybe other Dungeons would be longer. Or maybe I wasn¡¯t quite done.


    At the end of the hall was a lovely door. It was sized for a normal human, which felt out of place. It was also fairly modern-looking, with three rectangular panes of smooth, semi-opaque glass down the center, set into dark wood.


    I reached for the handle, but the door pulled away from me. I stepped forward, and it pulled back again. I dashed and flew, instantly moving into a sprint from a full stop with my Bolt evolution, but the door matched my pace. I teleported, moving at the speed of thought and managed to snag the handle. The door flew down the hall as I held on.


    Rather than being annoyed, I was happy that the inanimate object wanted to play a game of tag. That meant more Dungeon.


    We were absolutely flying down this tunnel, the walls whipping past in a complete blur. Despite the speed, there was very little wind, and holding onto the handle wasn¡¯t terribly hard. We were accelerating, though the g-forces I was experiencing didn¡¯t reflect how much we were accelerating. There were some spatial shenanigans happening. Some kind of Alcubierre effect, maybe?


    I still had Therianthropy active, but there were only two minutes left on its timer, which was up to thirty-two minutes per use. I tried my wings, which brought me forward with ease as I moved into an upright position. We were definitely travelling faster than my maximum flight speed, but the warped space near the door served as its own relative frame of reference.


    I turned the knob and opened the door. It opened inward to reveal a large, circular chamber filled with about a dozen people. Many were people in the same sense that Nax was a person. Still people, just with unexpected anatomical structures. A few skewed closer to a bestial appearance than Nax had, while others looked mostly human.


    There were five separate thrones around the room, ranging in size from something that¡¯d be a tight fit for my backside¨Cassuming no more chunks had been taken out¨Cto something designed for a person of architectural proportions. Two of the thrones were occupied.


    On the first was a man about the size of an elephant, with a crown of swooping feathered horns growing from his skull. He squatted in his seat on a pair of thick, feathered haunches. On either side of his chair was a horse-sized being that looked like a cross between a hellhound and a beaver, each with large hands and opposable thumbs. I couldn¡¯t tell whether they were pets of some kind or something sapient.


    In the next throne over¨Cdirectly opposite my door¨Cwas a woman with blue crystalline skin who had a literal halo floating behind her head. Not a gold-ring-style halo hovering over her head¨Clike the kind one sees on Christmas cards¨Cbut a tangible wreath of light emanating from behind her. Three men were giving her some personal attention, swabbing her with oil and attending to her various claws. They each wore hats with short veils that covered the tops of their faces. Fangs poked out from between their lips.


    Directly in front of me was another woman, this one with alabaster skin and hair a shade of black so deep that it looked closer to a liquid. Her features were a bit unusual, but it was a very good sort of unusual. She had the type of features that would start wars on the internet, with half of everyone thinking they were the most gorgeous creature to walk creation, while the other half had no idea why everyone was obsessed, and were maybe even a little put off.


    I fell into the former category. She was so attractive that my brain immediately locked up. My mind switched into mental fuckery mode and I scanned for any sense of mana, checking all my various abilities to see if this was some kind of magical effect. But it wasn¡¯t. I was just having a moment.


    She looked at me like I was a very interesting bug.


    There were other people in the room, but I didn¡¯t have time to take them in. Only a fraction of a second had passed before the woman swallowed my attention.


    A fraction of a second after that, she Spartan kicked me back out of the door.


    It was a strong kick, but I snapped out with my tentacles toward the door frame before I flew off into the eternal hall of dimensional nonsense. The frame was flush with the wall that was still speeding past, making an absolute fool of the concept of friction, but the frame wasn¡¯t made of some kind of super material. It was plain wood. Very nice wood¨Cprobably something exotic¨Cbut it wasn¡¯t reinforced. I dug in with the ends of my tentacles and hooked them downward, giving me a good hold.


    I looked into the woman¡¯s eyes, deep blue like the bottom of an ocean, while I hung onto the door frame. I gave her my best smile, the one I kept in reserve for moments exactly like this one. It was my ¡®yeah, you just kicked me, but I forgive you and also look how charming I am¡¯ smile.


    ¡°Hello there,¡± I said.


    She smiled back with slightly raised eyebrows. Hers was more of an ¡®are you really looking at me like that right now?¡¯ kind of smile.


    I was doing a lot of nonverbal translation today.


    ¡°Having fun?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± I said.


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll allow you to go and have some more then.¡±


    She didn¡¯t move an inch, but the doorframe disintegrated. My direction of travel reversed, and suddenly I was moving backward down the hall at a thousand miles per hour. It was a completely smooth transition, one that I hadn¡¯t even felt. All of my momentum was just going the other way all of a sudden.


    It was so weird, I loved it. Therianthropy ended and my wings faded into sparkling dust. Even so, my smile grew wider as I cast Shortcut. I felt a nudge as someone tried to Dispel me, but I appeared back at the door frame without issue.


    I stood just inside of the room, only far enough in to keep my balance. I didn¡¯t want to be rude and invade these people¡¯s personal space, but this door was also the only exit as far as I knew.


    Someone chuckled, and I noticed for the first time that an older woman stood a dozen or so feet back from the one who¡¯d just tried to Leonidas my ass away. She had the same skin tone, hair, and eyes. She could have been her grandmother. Maybe she was.


    The younger woman rubbed at her forehead.


    ¡°How are you doing that?¡± she asked.


    I smoothed down and straightened my boa. ¡°Doing what?¡± I asked.


    The horned man let out a barking laugh and the younger woman¡¯s eyebrow twitched. She snapped her fingers, and I felt her trying to portal me away.


    You have resisted a non-consensual Dimensional effect!


    She looked at her hand like it had grown an extra thumb.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to answer your question if you teleport me somewhere else,¡± I said.


    The woman went from staring at her hand to slowly looking over to me. The smile was completely gone, and now she was plain irritated. The older woman behind her strode forward and placed an arm around the younger woman¡¯s shoulders. She looked at me with barely hidden amusement in her eyes.


    ¡°You have earned the audience of this hatchling,¡± she said, patting the young woman¡¯s arm. ¡°But you have not earned mine. Return to your trial, and we will see how you fare when an adult administers the test.¡±


    This time, no one tried to teleport me away. The entire room teleported instead, leaving me hurtling down the hallway with no wings to support me.


    ¡°Oh fuck,¡± I said, trying to use Gracorvus to keep myself in the air, but I fumbled the angle.


    I hit the ground going north of Mach one.

 Chapter WEEK 3 ART COMMISSION SUBMISSIONS

    Chapter WEEK 3 ART COMMISSION SUBMISSIONS


    I say to myself "it''s midnight, get up early and make your Week 3 art ideas post." I did get up early, and then the world decide it HAD TO HAVE MY ATTENTION until right now. Now here we are.


    You guys know the rules by this point.


    That''s not going to stop me from copy+pasting them again, though.


    RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:


    1) It must be Mage Tank related


    2) Sexy is fine, but nothing totally NSFW (no nudity or graphic sexuality.)


    3) Submissions will close on SUNDAY, MARCH 30 at midnight EDT (GMT-4).


    4) ONE IDEA PER COMMENT.


    5) Those who make it into the poll will be credited (unless you don''t want that, in which case please include that in your comment). You''ll also get credited again if your idea is picked.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    6) If your idea wins the poll, you''ll be taken out of the running for future polls. I want to give as much opportunity as I can to everyone.


    Your idea can also include your preferred art style (ex: line illustration, anime, H.R. Giger-style horror show), or any other details you find relevant.


    As mentioned in yesterday''s chapter, this week I will GUARANTEE that at least one (1) poll option for this week (week three (3)) will be comprised of a hot springs/onsen suggestion containing at least three (3) members of Fortune''s Folly with a mix of genders.


    So, bring out your best hot springs ideas and drop them below THIS (today''s post, the one (1) you''re reading) DEDICATED POST. Resubmit your old ideas, lay down some new ones (1s), ask your neighbor what they''d like to see while providing little to no context for your suspicious hot-springs-themed question.


    There is nothing saying that week 3 (this week) will be exclusively Hot Tub Mage Machine, so as always feel free to include any other ideas you may have. But, you know, just be aware of your potential competition.


    Once (1ce, 1nce? 1ss) more, thank you all for being here, thanks for all the great submissions, and thanks for reading! I hope you''re having a great week.


    (Submissions will close Sunday March 30 (thirty) at midnight (23:59.9999999) EDT (GMT -4 (four)))


    VVV COMMENT BELOW WITH YOUR IDEAS VVV

 Chapter 246: Dungeons and… (2)

    Chapter 246: Dungeons and... (2)


    After two stone-shattering bounces, I managed to control my trajectory with Gracorvus, using its flight ability to bleed momentum as rapidly as I could. I¡¯d lost about a third of the speed while using my entire body as an emergency brake, so a few seconds of deceleration with the shield let me hit the ground running and come to a stop on my own.


    I glanced at my health. I¡¯d taken about fifty damage from the impact, which wasn¡¯t bad at all. There hadn¡¯t been any magic behind it, so the damage was mostly mitigated by Fortitude. My armor was also durable enough to take that kind of a hit without trouble.


    I took a moment to feel quite good about myself. A few years ago, hitting a tree at twenty miles per hour had killed me. Today, I could eat the road at a thousand miles per hour and all I¡¯d get was a bit of muscle tenderness. I glanced back at the tunnel behind me, seeing sections that my body had absolutely destroyed.


    ¡°Arlo doesn¡¯t get road rash,¡± I said. ¡°The road gets Arlo-rash.¡± I scratched at my beard, plucking some gravel away. ¡°No, that sounds like I gave the road herpes.¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°Sticks and stones don¡¯t break my bones? That¡¯s complete shit. Uh, let¡¯s see, something about how I don¡¯t bleed? The road bleeds instead? That¡¯s a stretch.¡± I took a power pose and lowered my voice. ¡°Arlo¡¯s terminal velocity is only terminal for the ground.¡± I let that one settle, then nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not bad. Not quite on point, but we¡¯ll stick with it.¡±


    Satisfied with my workshopped one-liner, I peered up and down the tunnel, trying to decide what I was even supposed to do. The spatial anomalies were gone, as were the micro portals. This tunnel was also very long, but for real this time. It lacked any non-Euclidean weirdness.


    I checked my notifications, seeing that my brief teleport battle had earned me another level in Dimensional Magic, taking me up to 47. The returns in here really were quite good. Dimensional Magic was taking a heavy lead over my other skills, though. My next highest was Physical Magic at 32, with Mystical a close third at 30.


    None of my martial skills had made it above 29. I needed to find one or three Heavy Armor Dungeons next.


    I reached out with my senses, but the space beyond the tunnel was still a diamond-cut dimensional shredder. I scanned out to my max distance with Shortcut, finding more tunnel for at least seven miles in either direction. Maybe this was a speed test? Run the endless halls before you die of old age? Dimensional magicks were pretty good at making people go fast, but it wasn¡¯t my specialty.


    That thought led me to realize that my specialty was turning out to be portals. I had the Closet, Checkpoints, Shortcut, all of them Deific. Summoning Shog made a portal as well. The description of that one only said ¡°Summon the c¡¯thon Shog¡¯tuatha¡± so I wasn¡¯t sure if it had picked up the Deific tag. Shog wasn¡¯t a portal, so I doubted he¡¯d be a god once he came through. Or, if he was, it was entirely because of whatever he¡¯d done while he was away.


    Oblivion Orb was a Planar spell, which was the same magic sub-type as my portals. Did that make Oblivion Orb a portal, technically? I checked the skill¡¯s description, but it hadn¡¯t been upgraded by the Dread Star. I¡¯d known that already, but sometimes I¡¯d look at something five times, only to find what I was looking for on the sixth. Maybe I could reforge it into a portal skill. Ideas for later.


    Pure speed boosts were usually Spatial magic. Explosion, Homing Weapon, and Gravity Anchor used Spatial concepts, but were hybrids with Physical Magic. I also didn¡¯t have any evolutions for spatial, so as far as Dimensional Magic went, I figured I now fell firmly into the category of portal specialist.


    While I couldn¡¯t use Dimensional Magic to speed myself up, I could run pretty good and use Shortcut to add a little extra speed on top. That wasn¡¯t a long-haul idea, since I¡¯d run out of mana, but I decided to start jogging while I thought it over.


    I casually skipped along at a speed that most sports cars could only ever dream about, using Shortcut here and there for a boost. Ambient Absorption had my mana regen running real hot as I soaked up the thick, juicy Dimensional energy. It was kicking around in the 400 range, meaning I could Shortcut a hundred times an hour without my totals dropping. It didn¡¯t add much to my overall travel speed, but it was something to do.


    After a few minutes, I noticed that the tunnel had taken on a slight gradient, moving downward. A few minutes after that, it was turning slightly to the left. I was descending pretty rapidly, despite the shallow angle, but the way out of Delves was always down. Why not Dungeons as well?


    As I continued on my journey, I began wondering what had happened to everyone else. Had they been carried away to their own Dungeons? If so, what kind? Were they safe?


    The party interface was greyed out and my auras couldn¡¯t find them, but that was normal if we were all in self-contained dimensional spaces. Grotto could check in with them, but I didn¡¯t want to be all paternal. If there was a problem, he¡¯d let me know. I could trust my party members to handle themselves.


    I was sure they were fine, and probably having just as much fun as I was.


    ***


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY: USER NAME [Ruler 1]


    ADDENDUM NOTE: Ruler 2 has requested that it be clarified that Ruler 1 is no longer ¡°in first place¡± and that Ruler 2 is now first among Rulers. Ruler 2 has been temporarily banned from amending their User Name due to repeated abuses.


    ***


    Etja floated in a lake of pure mana, with strands of potent magic flowing around her. They teased her skin with their tendrils, plucked at her mind like empty thoughts, promised her the heavens, to be her shield, to take her anywhere she¡¯d like to go.


    She hadn¡¯t even known there was such a thing as ¡®pure¡¯ mana, before she¡¯d been dunked into a pool of the stuff. The different types could all be converted into any other with only a little work, and no one¡¯s attunement let them work with all five types, so she wasn¡¯t sure what pure mana would be useful for.


    Even the Delves all stored mana as Mystical, since it was the easiest to shift around. Chances were that if she told someone she was using ¡®pure¡¯ mana, they¡¯d assume she meant Mystical, which was wrong but would have been a good guess. It would have been her guess, until she¡¯d found out that wasn¡¯t right, which was about three minutes ago.


    The lake had shown her a new truth, which she appreciated. The tendrils were curious and playful, and her Mystical skill had gone up twice just from the insights she was gathering by listening to their secrets.


    It would have been quite nice, if the stuff hadn¡¯t also been trying to eat her mana matrix.


    It was a war of attrition, and there was a lot less mana in Etja than there was in the lake. The pure mana pulled from her with every taste it took. A point here and a point there. She was down more than a hundred, and she knew instinctively that once she¡¯d been sucked dry, the pure mana would stop being gentle with her. It didn¡¯t want her mana pool, that was just a buffer. It wanted the things inside her that made that mana work. Her veins, her matrix, her skill imprints, the little bits and pieces of avatars locked away inside her.


    Ejta had gentle with the mana at first. When she was bitten, a gentle puff of Nullify sent the tendrils away. Once they started spinning themselves into invisible threads and sneaking under her skin, she surrounded herself with countermagic. That was unsustainable. Now, she¡¯d learn to copy their style.


    The mana wove itself through her like a song, and Nullify danced to its rhythm. She wove the counterspell into little threads she used to cut the tendrils apart. They came at predictable intervals, coerced by a strict conductor. She¡¯d adapted to the mana, but the mana didn¡¯t seem to know how to adapt to her.


    This was much more efficient, but she was still losing the race.


    The mana told her as much. It spoke to her with soothing tones, assuring her that it wanted what was best for her, but she knew it was cold and ravenous. It was familiar to the other woman who she¡¯d once been. The one locked inside her memories, an echo in the cavern of her mind that never faded. She knew this type, and she knew how to satisfy it.


    But the Mirtasian priestess was too nice. Her method of placating was too self-destructive. Etja didn¡¯t mind making sacrifices and she didn¡¯t mind sharing, but this mana wasn¡¯t her friend. She had no reason to give it more than it had earned by speaking to her. And all that earned it was a conversation. Right now, it was stealing.


    That wasn¡¯t a nice thing to do, so she decided to stop being nice in return.


    Deep in Etja¡¯s soul was a door she kept shut and locked, barred and buried. Behind it was a place her father had made for her, and endless nothing that would take everything for itself. It was Etja¡¯s place now, though, ever since her father¡¯s soul had been forced out of her.


    Everything that empty place had belonged to her, so everything it took became hers as well. It didn¡¯t care who it took from, it didn¡¯t care where the stuff it wanted came from, and that made it a very difficult thing to discipline.


    Each time Etja gained a Level, she got a bit better at containing that empty place. Each time she gained a Level, the empty place grew more difficult to contain. She took evolutions to give her more control, and it used those evolutions to control the world. But so long as that door stayed shut, it couldn¡¯t act. It could only wait, and plan.


    Etja wasn¡¯t very worried about the empty place today. Her friends were somewhere else, far enough away that she couldn¡¯t feel them anymore. Even the comforting presence of Arlo¡¯s auras were gone, which made her a bit sad. She knew they¡¯d return though. Everyone just needed to kill their own Dungeon, and they could get back to what they were doing.


    And what they were doing was talking to dragons, maybe?


    If Etja were being honest, she wasn¡¯t totally sure why they were there. Arlo wanted to recruit some allies, but he didn¡¯t know who they were or how they might help. He mostly seemed excited to meet new and interesting characters, which she knew he enjoyed. Everyone else went along with it for... reasons.


    It didn¡¯t matter much. It seemed neat, and she was happy to come along. She was hoping that Arlo won the bet, because she had several different silly hats she wanted to wear. Her newest hat was incredible, but one needed different hats for different occasions. If it turned out there really were dragons here, then she¡¯d have an excuse to have a different hat for every occasion.


    Now, however, Etja was alone in this place the System called the Lake of the Pansophical Ruler. No friends. Only one hat, her own. But if she was alone, there was no one to hurt. No one other than the thing trying to hurt her.


    So she dug, pried, unlocked, and then opened that door inside her. The lake was vast, but the empty place was more.


    She coaxed her tendrils of Nullify out to surround her as she did a slow pirouette in the pure mana sea. They spun around her, picking up her cadence and following along, hardly needing her to lead at all. She used Disintegrate to encourage Nullify into dissolving the attacking filaments, rather than annihilate them. Once they were broken down, she introduced Incorporate as a new partner. She and her three spells whirled about in pairs, trading off with one another to accomplish their task.


    She seized the mana. She dissolved it. She made it ready for harvest, and Incorporate pulled it inward toward the empty.


    The door was only so wide, meaning that this might take a while, but she wasn¡¯t worried. The moment the pure mana started draining into the emptiness, her own mana started filling back up. The tendrils could pinch and stab all they wanted.


    They couldn''t drain her dry once they were a part of her.

 Chapter 247: Dungeons and… (3)

    Chapter 247: Dungeons and... (3)


    ***


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY: USER NAME [Ruler 2]


    ADDENDUM NOTE: Despite receiving multiple warnings that this is an inappropriate use of the System Addendum feature, Ruler 3 has requested that a complaint be logged concerning Ruler 2¡¯s testing of the Physical petitioner. This request has been denied. Ruler 2 has requested the addition of the following text, which he claims is unrelated to Ruler 3¡¯s request: ¡°Get fucked.¡±


    ***


    Varrin didn¡¯t know whether he¡¯d found the source of the mountain¡¯s fire, but he¡¯d certainly found fire. He stood amidst endless flames, the flickering dance of orange and white engulfing him. The light stole his vision, the heat robbed him of any useful breath, and his armor had become an oven which sought to cook him.


    It was an annoyance, but nothing to cause him any concern.


    Not yet.


    Varrin¡¯s armor kept the worst of the heat at bay, and his Hiwardian endurance took care of the rest. It would need to grow much hotter before he¡¯d willingly describe the blaze as uncomfortable. As far as the lack of air was concerned, he could just hold his breath. If someone wanted to kill him through suffocation, they¡¯d be waiting for a while.


    While the heat and lack of air meant little, the sound


    of the fire was a problem. Varrin could navigate well enough without sight; his ancestors had developed keen hearing in the depths of the pitch-black Littan mines. If he were only blinded, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered, but the sole sound to be heard was the roar of the inferno.None of that obscured the System notification he received, which Varrin glanced at and dismissed just as quickly as it had come.


    You have entered the Caldera of the Paroxysmal Ruler


    Physical Dungeon


    Recommended skills: Physical Magic 40


    Unfortunate. Varrin¡¯s Physical Magic skill was only level 28, which was quite low for an attunement. His Spiritual Magic had even overtaken it recently, owing to his work with his ancestral soul clones. He gave little weight to the recommendation, however. If his skill level needed to improve, then he would improve it. If there were other ways to deal with this Dungeon, then he would find them. Varrin could already endure the fire without relying on Physical Magic. He could just as likely solve any other problems he ran into without it as well.


    Varrin spent a few moments in the flames, waiting to see if something would try and take advantage of his reduced awareness. He also spent the time considering whether it would be worth it to pick up the Reconnaissance skill for the Sense Motion evolution. It would have been perfect for a situation such as this.


    Perception was a minor weakness of Varrin¡¯s build, and he knew as much. However, it rarely came into play. When it did, there were usually other solutions, such as flying away from the hazard. He was also fond of simply cutting everything down around him, which he could do regardless of whether he could perceive his surroundings.


    There were certainly some Physical Magic evolutions that would trivialize this problem in particular, but he was more concerned with build choices made according to more generalized principles. His entire Physical Magic progression was already laid out, and none of it dealt with manipulating fire or improving his awareness. The Restrictor Belt evolution series was focused entirely on making his attacks sharper, and that would be all. Perhaps he could slice these flames away, but he didn¡¯t need to.


    Varrin finished his musing. Addressing his blind spots was useful, but it didn¡¯t matter much at that very moment. No one had come to ambush him, and he was satisfied that further contemplation would yield little of value. Varrin slowly rose into the air, moving cautiously to avoid a hard collision with any other unseen hazards. After a few seconds, the fire began to give way to smoke. Smoke was tolerable. He could see at least a few feet through smoke.


    Varrin still couldn¡¯t breathe, but the sound of the fire was no longer omnipotent. It was dominant over all other noise, but other noises could be heard. Thunder rolled through the sky above him, and there was a soft clanging in the distance, barely audible. Varrin centered on the rhythmic toll and floated onward.


    His flight continued to be sedate and measured. Not out of any attempt at stealth, although he could move unseen and unheard much better than anyone who knew him might suspect. Varrin moved at a glide because he felt no need to rush. If there were an enemy, let them think he was slow. Let them understand how little their theatrics mattered. A valley of fire was hardly enough to disturb him, and so he moved as placidly as he felt.


    When Varrin breached the thickest smoke, the sky above him was black as soot as far as the eye could see. Frequent streaks of light cut through the miasma, followed by booming rumbles. On the ground below, he spotted an anvil as large as a mansion, sitting near the edge of the flame.


    From where Varrin hovered, he could see a glowing slab of metal atop the anvil, looking like it had been abandoned only a moment ago. On the ground beside it was a blacksmith¡¯s hammer sized for a giant, and sitting with their back against the head of that hammer was a man, sized normally.


    Normal, in this case, being relative to the smithy equipment. The man was at least as large as Varrin, and no one of any sense would describe the young Ravvenblaq¡¯s size as ¡®normal¡¯. ?a??O?bE?S?


    Varrin flew closer. He landed on the ground and strode across a field of glowing coals. To his right, the fire burned for at least a half mile in each direction, bounded by a thick stone lip that arced away. Varrin tried to identify the figure as he studied him, but the System was not yet willing to do so.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The stranger wore a heavy set of armor that was tinted a deep, vibrant red. It had the subtle chromatic glint of prismatite, and the combination made it appear as though each plate had been cut from the same colossal ruby. Otherwise, the armor was plain.


    There were no engravings, no heraldry, not a single ornamental flair to be found, but while the armor was functional and unembellished, its workmanship was of the highest quality. Each piece had been precisely forged, the surfaces perfect, polished, and pristine. Overlapping metal plates slid smoothly around the joints, with no visible separation or friction. The gauntlets had such complex articulation, that Varrin would have believed the man had he said he could paint a masterpiece without ever taking them off.


    Beyond that, the armor was clean in the way that could only be achieved through the Immutable property. Despite the environment, not a single scorch mark could be seen. Not a single speck of ash could find purchase. Outside of a System award, such a thing could only have been the product of a very high-level smith. Someone approaching Varrin¡¯s own grandfather in skill, of whom there were precious few.


    Across the ruby man¡¯s lap was a two-handed sword. Like the armor, it was both simple and masterful. Six feet of frozen steel made up a hand¡¯s width blade, straight and double-edged. The crossguard and pommel were heavily weighted, balancing the sword while serving as potential weapons of their own. While Varrin had only the most rudimentary mana sense, he could still feel power pouring off the weapon. Its surface swam with elemental beauty, compressed until the blade was more magic than metal.


    The man watched Varrin approach, a glint of citrine eyes visible through his visor. Slitted, reptilian pupils studied him, betraying no emotion. Varrin came to a stop ten feet from the man. The two of them were the only things in the realm untouched by the pervasive rain of ash. A virginal pair amidst the tainted landscape.


    The man stood with casual strength, as though he¡¯d levitated from his sitting position. He brought the blade of his sword to rest against his shoulder. The stance wasn¡¯t an aggressive one, but it also allowed for that to change very quickly.


    The System finally gave Varrin an identification.


    Remembrance of Hep, Era of Youth: Elemental, Grade 25


    The man shifted his feet and leaned in. Varrin held tight to Kazandak¡¯s sheath, but made no move to draw it. The man had weakened his balance with the motion, and it seemed more evocative of interest than any intent to attack.


    ¡°This is weird,¡± said the stranger. ¡°You¡¯re Level 13.¡±


    Varrin ignored the rude comment, choosing to be civil instead. ¡°I am Lord Varrin Ravvenblaq,¡± he said with a slight bow. ¡°Might I know your name, such that I can address you properly?¡±


    The ruby man moved back into his casual stance. ¡°You may call me Lord Hep, if you so desire.¡±


    ¡°Well met, Lord Hep,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It seems that I have been brought to this Caldera against my will.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± said Hep. ¡°Is that truly what happened, Lord Ravvenblaq?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, Lord Hep. However, it is my understanding that I am to undertake some kind of test. I presume this to be the reason for my abduction. Would you be familiar with such a thing?¡±


    ¡°I am familiar with this test,¡± said Hep with a nod. ¡°It is not often that I receive those of noble station into my caldera. You¡¯ll forgive me for my earlier comment, I¡¯m sure. It has been some time since I was addressed so formally, and I have grown accustomed to speaking aloud for both myself and my guests.¡±


    ¡°Think nothing of it,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Although I am curious as to why you find my Level to be an oddity.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you misapprehend me, Lord Ravvenblaq. This is understandable, given my inartful words. You see, what I find strange is not your Level, but my own.¡±


    ¡°I will admit that you have now enlivened my curiosity even further, Lord Hep.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that must sound absurd without context,¡± said Hep. ¡°To explain, whenever a guest arrives in my caldera, my Level or Grade is reduced to match their own. Otherwise, my opponents would have no chance of winning. Even then, they have but the slimmest of prospects.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Varrin. ¡°But I am Level 13 and you are not.¡±


    ¡°As you say, Lord Ravvenblaq.¡± Varrin could hear a predatory smile in Hep¡¯s voice. ¡°This is a most unusual occurrence, although it is not without precedent. Some individuals present a greater challenge than their System-assigned number might suggest, but the divergence has never been so great. My Level is nearly double yours, after all!¡±


    ¡°Hm,¡± Varrin grunted. ¡°I cannot say that this surprises me, Lord Hep. I have a history of fighting upward, so to speak.¡±


    ¡°Good, good,¡± said Hep. ¡°I would hate for you to feel that this is unfair in any way.¡±


    ¡°Fairness was never a consideration.¡±


    ¡°Then let us be done with words, and truly speak with one another.¡±


    Varrin drew Kazandak, and by the time the weapon had left its sheath, Hep¡¯s blade was already crashing down upon it. Varrin tilted his sword to let Hep¡¯s heavier weapon slide down its length, then whipped Kazandak forward to take the ruby man in the neck. Hep pivoted, moving back enough to avoid Kazandak¡¯s tip by an inch, but Varrin extended Kazandak mid-swing. Sparks flew from Hep¡¯s gorget, and the master of the caldera hopped back to put space between them.


    Had this been a formal competition, Varrin would have been satisfied for earning the first point. However, his strike hadn¡¯t been enough to penetrate Hep¡¯s armor, and he¡¯d gleaned very little about Hep¡¯s fighting style. Hep, on the other hand, now knew that Kazandak could change its length, and that Varrin was capable with a precision-based style.


    Rather than let Hep spend time analyzing, Varrin pressed the offensive. He darted in and thrust Kazandak toward Hep¡¯s hip. Hep rotated his lower body, pulling back while using the motion to bring his blade down towards Varrin¡¯s shoulder. Varrin had gone low with the thrust, and quickly dropped, pivoting into a kneeling guard.


    Hep¡¯s longsword struck Kazandak, Varrin angled the blade to slide away again, springing forward to slash beneath Hep¡¯s armpit. Hep anticipated the deflection and rotated his swing to counter. Hep pressured Kazandak, forcing the blade too low to hit its target, spinning as he went and sweeping Varrin¡¯s back with the blade¡¯s tip.


    The longsword scraped across Varrin¡¯s armor, but Varrin was already rotating to turn the hit into a glancing blow. He brought Kazandak back around, met by Hep¡¯s blade. Hep knocked Kazandak to one side, then lunged inside Varrin¡¯s guard. But Hep had under-committed to the block in order to time his lunge. Varrin adjusted the angle of his blade and twisted his upper body to push Hep¡¯s thrust off center. The two exchanged hits, with Hep driving his sword into Varrin¡¯s shoulder, and Varrin running Kazandak across Hep¡¯s left hand.


    Both sides drew blood, and both sides withdrew to reset. Neither of the men¡¯s armor showed signs of the damage, but both had struck with enough force to pass through the Immutable materials.


    ¡°Done with introductions?¡± asked Varrin. His left deltoid throbbed and burned. His arming doublet began to grow wet, though he felt less blood than he¡¯d expected.


    Hep shook his hand, steaming blood splattering from between the plates. A few wisps of smoke coiled up from his fingers before he re-seated his grip, then nodded. ¡°Thank you for indulging me. I sometimes miss the purity of swordplay.¡±


    Hep¡¯s blade began to glow a dim red as a static charge filled the air. The blade¡¯s light quickly grew in intensity until it was an orange nearly bright enough to be called white. Even from twenty feet away, Varrin was battered by a heat several times stronger than the flames he¡¯d walked through to get here, and the static charge rose in tandem. Arcs of electricity jumped between Varrin¡¯s fingers as he sheathed Kazandak and prepared to draw it anew.


    Varrin wondered how hot the sword would be from up close, and then he fought to suppress a grin.

 Chapter 248: Durgeons and… (4)

    Chapter 248: Durgeons and... (4)


    Your Physical Magic skill has increased to Level 29!


    Varrin hadn¡¯t used any skills during Hep¡¯s ¡®introduction¡¯ but Bleeding was based in the Physical school, and he had many bonuses to that. The Dungeon was generous with its skillups, it seemed.


    Varrin dismissed the notification and toggled them off. He didn¡¯t want even a small glimmer in the corner of his eye distracting him.


    Hep evaluated him for a beat, then shifted his sword so that it was again resting on his shoulder. He dropped his injured left hand from the hilt and a tower shield appeared over it, ruby in color like his armor, but a shade darker.


    Hep shot forward, shield raised, and arrived in front of Varrin faster than the sound of his thundering movement. The temperature rose dramatically as Hep approached, as though the sun itself were charging. Varrin drew Kazandak and stepped left, striking the shield and turning it away before the air ahead of the shield exploded, a shockwave kicking up embers and ash for a hundred feet.


    Hep moved with Varrin¡¯s strike against his shield, swinging his blade down in a diagonal. Varrin stepped into the hit and brought Kazandak down across Hep¡¯s chest. The ruby man¡¯s sword lost power from the close angle, and while Varrin¡¯s skin was seared, the blade didn¡¯t make it past his regalia. The hit from Kazandak pushed Hep off balance, who was forced to adjust his stance back a step. Varrin followed up with Sanguine Strike, his blade alight with crimson mana as its edge sought to tear a river of blood from Hep¡¯s veins.


    Reptilian wings, the same color as Hep¡¯s armor, appeared on his back, and the man¡¯s imbalance disappeared. He brought the point of his longsword up to meet Varrin¡¯s wrist, who was forced to adjust his swing to keep the limb from being skewered. The attack bounced off of Hep¡¯s pauldron and the skill failed.


    The pair exchanged several more times, their talent with the blade evenly matched, their armor and resilience protecting them from what glancing blows made it through. Hep pushed forward aggressively, his blade never ceasing its journey through the air to seek out Varrin¡¯s neck, heart, liver, and joints. Varrin turned Hep¡¯s strikes against him, matching the man¡¯s power and ferocity with dangerous parries and reversals that quested for major veins and arteries.


    The heat in the air continued to rise throughout, until finally, the first bead of sweat ran down Varrin¡¯s face. Hep¡¯s shield disappeared and he took his weapon up in two hands again. Lightning poured out from the blade and wreathed Hep¡¯s body. It arced out to punch into Varrin¡¯s armor, but like the heat, it wasn¡¯t enough. Varrin fought past the uncomfortable buzzing coursing through his limbs and watched Hep¡¯s blade fall. He waited for his moment, then dodged.


    Varrin disappeared, then reappeared at Hep¡¯s back. One of Varrin¡¯s soul clones remained behind, and Hep¡¯s blade passed harmlessly through it without resistance. The clone then caught Hep off guard by throwing a jab into his face.


    The attack was hardly enough to hurt the ruby warrior, but Hep was momentarily surprised by the appearance of the spectral double and his head flinched back when the fist clanked against his helm. Kazandak found the side of Hep¡¯s neck, and the mana from Sanguine Strike connected to make a ragged mess of Hep¡¯s jugular.


    Hep rushed forward through the clone as it dispersed it into a haze of spiritual mist. He spun and locked onto Varrin, who held his sword at the ready rather than giving chase. Hep held a hand up to his gorget, beneath which a gout of blood freed itself from his body with every pulse of his heart. Even had he not had a heart, the blood still would have found its release under the pull of Varrin¡¯s technique.


    ¡°What was that?¡± asked Hep. Smoke began to flow out from his helm, and Varrin felt his connection to the man¡¯s wounded neck fade.


    ¡°Which part?¡± asked Varrin. He began to stalk forward as they spoke, looking for the next opening.


    ¡°There was another you standing there for a moment.¡±


    ¡°You could see that?¡± said Varrin. ¡°I have found that many cannot.¡±


    ¡°The soul does not often hide from those who know how to look,¡± said Hep. ¡°You have a Physical attunement.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Varrin. He suspected that was the entire reason he¡¯d been brought to the Physical Dungeon, so it was no secret worth keeping. ¡°What of it?¡±


    Hep tapped his neck where Varrin had struck. ¡°Your affinity for blood is good, but your connection with that copy was better. It¡¯s unusual, for one not attuned with Spiritual. If I hadn¡¯t smelled out your attunement myself, I¡¯d think you were lying.¡±


    Varrin paused his approach, reminded of an errant comment from more than a year beforehand. They were words from the Operator; the monstrous humanoid working for the System his party had met in Eschendur. It had said that Varrin had ¡°an evolving Spiritual attunement.¡± Amidst all the other outrageous claims the thing had made, its mistake over Varrin¡¯s attunement had been left without comment.


    ¡°Does this change anything?¡± asked Varrin. He didn¡¯t think it did. He only focused on Physical and Spiritual Magic, both of which could be practiced so long as he had either attunement. Physical gave him access to Dimensional Magic as well, whereas Spiritual would add Divine to his options. Either way, he had no interest in a third school, so it was ultimately meaningless.


    Hep adjusted his sword grip, remaining silent for a long moment. Lightning continually leapt from his body to strike the ground around him, kicking up sparks and ash as the air swam from his weapon¡¯s heat. ¡°Nah,¡± he said. ¡°I was just curious.¡±


    Varrin charged, and their dance resumed. Hep took to the air on his wings and Varrin followed, his gaudy cloak sparkling in the firelight. As the seconds passed, Varrin landed more and more blows, sending a rain of blood down to sizzle on the coals below. With each strike, Hep¡¯s heat rose a degree, his lightning made Varrin¡¯s muscles buzz just a bit harder, his blows were a fraction more forceful. The man was building Rage, and Varrin felt he was being toyed with.


    Hep was capable of cauterizing his wounds to staunch the bleeding that Varrin applied. Even so, the man must have lost gallons of blood by this point. Delvers and mana monsters could bleed freely for much longer than a mundane organism, but there were still limits. Unless Hep was mostly blood, there wasn¡¯t enough room inside him for all that Varrin drained.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°You are so technical!¡± shouted Hep as their blades crossed. A snarl had entered his voice, the statement becoming an accusation. ¡°The skill of a genius, but the heart of a construct!¡±


    Hep swung with yet more force and speed, releasing an inhuman roar as he did so. Varrin¡¯s block was too slow and the blade connected with his chest. The blade cut through Varrin¡¯s armor, and a gout of flame filled his cuirass. Lightning followed, causing Varrin¡¯s muscles to seize as the strike sent him hurtling away. He struck the ground a hundred feet below like a comet, creating a rising plume of ash and smoke.


    From impact to impact, Varrin spent the second of travel time in thought. He¡¯d been managing his own Rage, keeping the stacking buff from exceeding his threshold of 10. Any higher, and he¡¯d become afflicted with Berserk. While endlessly stacking Rage would make him more powerful, it would only allow him to end the fight in one way.


    Hep, on the other hand, seemed able to cultivate his Rage endlessly. The man grew more wild with each strike, more frequently abandoning his defense to land a hit, but he wasn¡¯t ruthlessly pursuing victory. Even as Varrin crashed to the ground, Hep did not follow. The ruby man had not been overtaken by his lust for battle, but instead stared down at Varrin imperiously.


    The duelist in Varrin hadn¡¯t been taking the fight that seriously. Berserk was for battle, whereas this was more akin to a spar. But Hep¡¯s last strike had pierced Varrin¡¯s chest, two inches from his heart. Such a wound might not kill him anymore, but it told him that Hep perceived this situation very differently. Hep wasn¡¯t administering a test, he was playing with Varrin like prey before a meal.


    Varrin floated to his feet in the small crater he¡¯d made and met Hep¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Where is your passion?¡± Hep asked with a hint of disgust. The question came between heavy breaths, ones that owed their birth to the thrill, rather than exertion.


    Varrin decided to give Hep what he asked for, and to allow the man the honor of shouldering its consequences.


    Varrin used Enrage, and his helm came to life with a pair of burning azure eyes. His muscles swelled, his heart rate quickened, and his head emptied of all thoughts save but for one¨Ckilling Hep.


    Varrin used Adrenaline Rush to burn a Haste charge, then burst from the ground at nearly three times the speed of sound. Hep brought his sword up for a counter, unphased by Varrin¡¯s sudden acceleration, but Varrin disappeared before Hep could strike. Another soul clone appeared in his place, but this one wasn¡¯t a phantom looking for a sucker punch. This was a fully realized ancestral spirit, with all the skill that a century of Delver heritage had imparted onto the young Ravvenblaq.


    Varrin had long ago used Damage Analysis to learn that Hep was extraordinarily resilient to Physical damage. If this entity was the arbiter of the Physical Dungeon, that only made sense, and Varrin had seen it as a challenge. But Hep¡¯s defenses had only grown as they fought.


    Hep ignored lethal amounts of blood loss even as his flesh became ever harder to cut. By this point, only the strength lent to Varrin through Rage could overcome the man¡¯s absurd tolerances. However, Varrin was not beholden to Physical attacks, despite whatever this Dungeon ¡®suggested¡¯, and he could cut far deeper than any man¡¯s flesh would allow.


    The ancestral clone turned Hep¡¯s blade aside as Varrin appeared behind him and used Soul Strike. Kazandak severed itself in two such that it could sever the world twice over. A spectral copy of Kazandak followed behind the physical blade as Varrin cut through Hep in both body and soul. While Hep¡¯s armor and skin proved stalwart against Kazandak¡¯s material edge, the spiritual blade dug deep, and Hep roared as Varrin struck his first serious blow.


    Hep batted the clone¡¯s sword aside and turned to face Varrin, but took another phantom blade in the back for his disregard of the spirit. Before Hep could orient on Varrin, the younger man vanished again. Varrin used Wraithwalk to step into the Spiritual realm, invisible and incorporeal as he walked through Hep and delivered another Soul Strike into the man¡¯s increasingly ruined back.


    Varrin¡¯s skill ended the moment he landed his hit and Hep spun, blade slicing around him as both fire and lightning filled the air. Varrin had no time to dodge the retaliation, and Hep¡¯s sword took him in the ribs. Varrin was blown across the sky, tumbling for over a hundred feet before he could right himself. When he looked up, Hep was already on him again.


    The caldera¡¯s master had flipped his sword, now holding it by the blade. He swung with a giant¡¯s might and brought the pommel across Varrin¡¯s helm. The heavy guard smashed into Varrin¡¯s head, sending the world into a colorful blur as he became insensate. A distant feeling of halting jerks was the only awareness he had of hitting the ground again, tumbling across the fiery landscape a half-dozen times.


    Varrin came to in less than a second, finding his soul clone standing over him and exchanging with Hep. The ruby warrior¡¯s power had grown again, but the spiritual entity ignored the strikes. Its body was unaffected when Hep¡¯s blade swung through it, and Hep only paid it enough heed to knock its blade away as he strode towards his real target.


    Varrin flew up and activated Second Wind, burning a chunk of stamina to recover a large portion of the health he¡¯d lost, then he spawned another soul clone while he charged at Hep. Two clones that lasted a minute each was his current limit, and they drew power for their techniques from his own stamina pool. With both out, it put a hard timer on the fight. Still, Hep had taken several gruesome hits on top of the blood loss he¡¯d been suffering. Even Arlo wouldn¡¯t be up and walking around after the abuse this man had endured, had the flamboyant man not been immune to Bleeding.


    Even so, Hep looked more than capable of going further, and Varrin had no room in his thoughts to consider his opponent¡¯s injuries; not any further than how Varrin could exploit them to end the fight. He would lay down all his cards and see where they fell.


    Varrin landed outside of Hep¡¯s reach, creating a triangle formation around Hep with his clones. Then he extended Kazandak to its full length, his clones mirroring the action with their spectral copies of the blade, and all three activated Cyclone.


    The world around Hep became a whirlwind of razor edges for fifty feet in all directions. Three grinding wheels of 20-foot blades thrashed with Hep at their center, cutting him through in both body and spirit.


    Hep wrapped himself in his wings, their hardened scales and tough membranes seeking to add another layer of protection, but they were shredded like so much meat. The attack lasted only an instant, but by the time it was done, Hep¡¯s soul churned and his body wept a grown-man¡¯s worth of blood every second.


    Hep spread his wings outward, crimson streams spiraling into the air with arcs of electricity dancing between them. Varrin recovered from his skill and was set to use an even more powerful technique. He feared it was incomplete, but there was no room for doubt here. Varrin spun his sword until a gleaming circle began to appear in the air before him.


    Then, the world erupted.


    The ground kicked Varrin from below, driven forth by a sixty-foot-wide geyser of molten rock. It launched him hundreds of feet into the air in an instant, and fire hotter than any Varrin had ever felt embraced him.


    Varrin flew away from the detonation, but the fire clung to him, eating at his skin and threatening to boil his organs. His health ticked down steadily, but Varrin had no mind to pay it. Behind him was a growing mushroom cloud spawned by the detonation. A fountain of lava continued to burst toward the sky, only to fall back upon the land as molten rain.


    The endless smoke above the cataclysmic site turned and swirled. It grew bright with frequent flashes of blinding white light. The thunder became an omnipresent series of explosions and rolling pressure waves.


    Then Hep fell upon him as a bolt of lightning from above.

 Chapter 249: Durgeons and… (5)

    Chapter 249: Durgeons and... (5)


    The pair clashed through the air and sent new plumes of ash reaching for the sky when they landed. Varrin recovered quickly, standing to meet Hep, but found another bolt of lightning instead. It bucked Varrin¡¯s chest like a ten-thousand pound horse, sending the man skipping back across the terrain, followed by orbs of flame that detonated all around him. When Varrin recovered, he realized that Kazandak was gone.


    Hep swung his blade, deflecting and parrying attacks from Varrin¡¯s second clone as he marched forward, the first clone having already expired. Kazandak was buried in the coals, its hilt sticking up at waist-height. Hep reached to pull it from the ash, ignoring the frantic attacks from the clone.


    But Kazandak was an heirloom, and not one that could be shared with anyone other than a Ravvenblaq. Hep¡¯s hand passed through the hilt, and he let out a growl as he pulled back from it. He turned and charged at Varrin instead, while Varrin¡¯s clone grabbed the weapon from where it lay.


    Varrin pulled a different sword from his inventory, an artless slab of dark iron. It was ten feet in length, heavy as a loaded wagon with mules included, and built entirely for killing spells. When he brought it out, the fire engulfing him was immediately extinguished.


    Varrin chose this blade because he¡¯d had a moment of insight about Hep. One that explained the man¡¯s control over his Rage, and also his sudden shift away from pure techniques. The man had invested deeply into Wisdom. High Wisdom meant high mana, and ignoring that resource pool would have been foolish. Hep was a spellblade, although he¡¯d waited until late into the fight to start using any skills that drew on mana as opposed to stamina.


    Varrin mirrored Hep¡¯s charge. The ruby warrior sent forth flaming orbs and bolts of lightning that Varrin struck from the air with his blade. When they drew close, the air before Hep¡¯s helm swirled into a vortex, and the man breathed out a mighty gout of fire.


    Varrin set his feet and swung the dark-iron greatsword through the inferno, cutting it down the center and sending a wave of countermagic back at Hep. The force struck the caldera¡¯s master in the face, and the flames died as Hep stumbled back a step.


    Varrin finished his charge with Hep recovering an instant before he arrived. The ruby warrior brought his sword up to block, but his position was awkward. Varrin made a split-second decision and changed his target, bringing the greatsword down across Hep¡¯s unguarded wrist.


    The man¡¯s hand went flying, and his sword clattered to the ground. Varrin swept his blade around, carrying its momentum forward into another heaving attack, but Hep himself brought out a second blade as well, held in his remaining hand and glinting with myriad colors. The swords cracked against one another, and it was clear from the sound that neither weapon was Immutable.


    ¡°Ha!¡± Hep barked out a sharp laugh, though Varrin didn¡¯t know what was funny. Hep jumped away from Varrin and spun into the remaining clone. The new sword flashed across the spiritual being and, unlike everything else Hep had done, it actually cut the clone¨Call the way in half.


    Varrin¡¯s anger surged as Kazandak fell from the clone¡¯s fading hands, and though he was now alone and far closer to dead than he¡¯d like, he still had a sliver of stamina and a man to kill.


    Varrin ran at Hep, and the man turned to guard with his strange sword, but lifted his arms at the last moment. Varrin connected with Hep¡¯s abdomen, the dark-iron sword sinking through the Immutable armor until the back of it had disappeared. Hep took the grievous wound in exchange for bringing his weapon down onto Varrin¡¯s head.


    The ruby warrior struck Varrin¡¯s helm with a light tap.


    All Varrin¡¯s fury drained from the world, and his Rage dropped back down to ten. The Berserk status ended, and he blinked to clear his eyes of sweat and blood, and to clear his mind of confusion over what had just happened.


    ¡°You got me, kid,¡± said Hep. ¡°You win. I¡¯m about to bleed out, and I can¡¯t fix it if we¡¯re fighting.¡±


    Varrin looked at Hep. His armor was unscathed, and one would be hard-pressed to believe he was nearly dead, but a glance down showed an alarming amount of blood pouring out from the man¡¯s... everywhere. The blood pearled and rolled off the armor from between the plates, skittering to the ground as whatever unknown force kept the offending substance away. Varrin let go of his sword and nodded, then took a step back. Hep held the dark-iron weapon in place, likely thinking that removing it would make the situation worse, which it would.


    Hep lifted the front of his helm and summoned a hefty potion, muddled and glowing. Varrin studied Hep¡¯s blood-soaked face as he tilted the potion back and downed it in one go. He had ruby scales, matching his armor, but unlike a Geulon they covered his entire head. They also looked thick and robust, closer to armor than something one might see on a reptile.


    Hep grimaced after drinking the potion, exposing a row of sharp, carnivore teeth. Varrin looked from the man to the enormous hammer and anvil nearby and felt a pit form in his stomach.


    He was starting to think that Arlo was going to win their bet.


    Varrin recovered Kazandak as Hep finished another potion, heedless of any toxicity it might impart. The ruby warrior wrenched the dark-iron sword from his gut and handed it back to Varrin, who stored it away.


    ¡°Nice sword by the way,¡± said Hep. ¡°Ugly, though.¡±


    ¡°It is built more for function,¡± Varrin replied, without taking any offense to the comment. The dark-iron blade wasn¡¯t a product of his grandfather, rather a backup Varrin had procured on his own.


    Hep¡¯s body was engulfed in fire for a moment, burning away the blood on his face and presumably handling the wound in his gut. He pulled off his masterwork gauntlets and clapped his hands together, also covered in scales and ending in lethal-looking talons.


    ¡°All right,¡± said Hep. ¡°You¡¯ve beaten the world¡¯s most dangerous crafter.¡± He gave Varrin a predatory smile. ¡°My Level 25 form, that is. This is my phase one build, so nothing fancy going on. Still, nearly twice your Level. That¡¯s pretty impressive.¡±


    ¡°Crafter?¡± said Varrin. ¡°I¡¯d assumed Smithing was your support skill.¡±


    Hep shrugged. ¡°No, Smithing is my highest-level intrinsic, believe it or not.¡± Varrin glanced at Hep¡¯s armor again. He could believe it. ¡°Now that we¡¯re done, I¡¯ve got some questions for you.¡±


    ¡°Many do,¡± Varrin replied. ¡°If it has to do with my build, I seldom answer.¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t be like that, Lord Ravvenblaq,¡± said Hep with another smile. Varrin watched him from behind his helm, refusing to lower his guard or to play into the man¡¯s ¡®charm¡¯. Hep¡¯s smile faded and he turned to spit a wad of flaming... spit? onto the ground.


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Hep. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the critique, and you can decide where to go from there.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°I am amenable to that,¡± said Varrin. He had no problem hearing the man¡¯s criticisms. If Hep had committed to his final strike, Varrin would have lost. Whether the man would have died afterward was a matter of speculation. Varrin still accepted the win without questioning it, as was proper, but Hep was a superior berserker. There must be some lessons to learn.


    ¡°First, what¡¯s your Physical Magic skill level? Wait, no, you said no spoilers. Okay, I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s under level 40.¡± Hep eyed him as though he could see Varrin¡¯s face through the full ravenskull helm he wore. ¡°I¡¯m also betting your Spiritual Magic skill is higher. Or it was before you entered. If you really are Physical-attuned, then you¡¯re slowing yourself down that way.¡±


    ¡°I was not aware that it mattered,¡± said Varrin. ¡°An attunement is a starting point. It does not govern your talent for the adjacent schools.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your fundamental,¡± said Hep. ¡°The core of your magicks. The better you understand your attunement, the better you¡¯ll be with your adjacents. Listen, they all bleed into the next, why do you think they¡¯re arrayed in a wheel?¡±


    ¡°I am aware of the crossover,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Regardless, your point is well taken. My recent trials have pushed me towards Spiritual. The drift has not been intentional.¡±


    ¡°Then you need to work on Physical. That¡¯ll help with your Bleeding. You started serving me a whole buffet of pain once you broke out those clone things, but Bleeding is what won you the fight.¡±


    ¡°Truly?¡± said Varrin. ¡°Each of my Spiritual strikes must have landed for several hundred damage.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty tough across Physical, Spiritual, and Dimensional. Yes, Physical is my best defense, but Spectral damage isn¡¯t some great weakness of mine. Also, I have a lot of health.¡±


    ¡°I worried that the bleed was doing little,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Your blood supply seemed endless.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m bigger than I look,¡± said Hep. ¡°Lots of blood to lose.¡±


    Varrin glanced at the hammer and anvil again. ¡°A lot bigger, I presume.¡± Hep nodded, but didn¡¯t clarify further.


    ¡°Second, your Rage burns bright, but it¡¯s shallow. Any good berserker needs Wisdom to temper their anger, and while it seems like you have some, you don¡¯t have enough. Not with the stats you must be walking around with.¡±


    Varrin grunted. ¡°I have little use for the mana.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Hep. ¡°There are plenty of spells that don¡¯t need Intelligence or Charisma. My own build allows me to use Strength instead of a caster stat once I enter a berserk state.¡±


    ¡°That must be why you waited until late in the combat to deploy them.¡±


    ¡°You got it,¡± said Hep.


    Varrin considered what to tell Hep on the matter. ¡°I seek purity of purpose,¡± he said. ¡°I am committed to the martial path, and I have a line of buffs that forbid the use of mana.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a choice, but okay.¡± Hep raked a claw across his cheek, digging in between the scales to reach some unseen itch. ¡°Do you have a passive slot open?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Try and grab a passive called Mana Void. It¡¯ll kill your mana pool, but make Wisdom help out with stamina instead.¡±


    ¡°I glean many benefits from entering Berserk early on,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Having a higher threshold would delay it.¡±


    ¡°Bleh,¡± said Hep, sticking out his tongue. It was forked. ¡°More stacks of Rage means more power. If you¡¯re dancing around the Berserk ¡®debuff¡¯ like you did with me, you¡¯re leaving damage on the table. Besides, there¡¯s a level 40 Wisdom evolution called Eye of the Storm. It¡¯ll double your threshold and your Rage generation, plus it prevents stacks from decaying until you want them to.¡±


    ¡°That... sounds useful,¡± Varrin admitted. His Discerning Barbarian passive already effectively doubled his Rage generation. Another doubling would be potent indeed.


    ¡°I also saw you use Enrage,¡± said Hep. ¡°That grants stacks of Rage based on your Spiritual Magic level. While it makes me sick to admit it, if your Spiritual Magic is good enough, the higher threshold won¡¯t matter. And Wisdom buffs perception. Everyone needs good perception. I saw you coming from a mile out. If this had been a real fight, I¡¯d have gone after you when you¡¯d entered through the caldera¡¯s flames. You¡¯d have been fucked.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Varrin. ¡°Any other pointers to share?¡±


    ¡°Bloodboil might be good, but you need Mana Void and I doubt you have two passive slots open.¡± Hep violently scratched between his scales again. ¡°Hmmmm. No, I think that¡¯s it. Your swordsmanship is incredible, your athleticism is fantastic¨Cyou must have nearly as much Agility as Strength¨Cand your gear¨C¡± Hep spent a long moment looking at Varrin¡¯s armor, and then at Kazandak. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s great. Really professional work.¡±


    ¡°I will deliver the compliment to my grandfather.¡±


    ¡°Grandfather? So you don¡¯t have some ridiculous amount of wealth, you¡¯ve got an inside man.¡±


    ¡°I have both.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Hep frowned. ¡°Oh well. Don¡¯t let anyone ever tell you being rich is some kind of problem. It¡¯s fucking great.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am aware of its advantages.¡±


    ¡°Do you have Smithing?¡±


    ¡°I do not.¡±


    ¡°Any reason for that?¡± asked Hep.


    ¡°There has not been a need,¡± said Varrin. ¡°It would take me decades before I can produce anything to rival my grandfather, and my current skill set suits me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got access to a man with that much talent, and you aren¡¯t going to milk it for all the training you can? Is your grandpa gonna live forever? Does he have a hundred hatchlings taking up the hammer for when he dies?¡±


    This was the first of Hep¡¯s criticisms that made Varrin flinch. Neither he nor his brother had followed in Papa Junior¡¯s path, and neither had his father. Perhaps there was some true insight there. Hep must have sensed Varrin¡¯s discomfort because he didn¡¯t push it any further.


    ¡°Any questions for me?¡± asked Hep.


    Varrin dismissed his guilt towards Papa Junior and focused on the inquiry. ¡°What was that sword you used at the finish? It ended your Berserk instantly and dispelled my own at a touch.¡±


    ¡°One of my favorite side pieces,¡± said Hep, pulling out the glimmering blade. He tossed it to Varrin and granted him permission to inspect it. ¡°I don¡¯t have a great way to end Berserk, so I made that instead of wasting a skill slot.¡±


    Hep¡¯s Trusty Backup


    Prismatite Longsword


    Requirements: STR 58, WIS 40, Brawling 40


    Effects:


    This weapon may make Mystical attacks. When making Mystical attacks with this weapon, it gains a +58 bonus.


    This weapon may make Spectral attacks. When making Spectral attacks with this weapon, it gains a +80 bonus.


    When drawn, this weapon ends the Berserk status on its wielder. On hit, this weapon ends the Berserk status on its target.


    ¡°A Brawling requirement?¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°Brawling has broad applications,¡± said Hep. ¡°I figured out how to sneak in the Berserk dispel through that requirement. It¡¯d be easier with Spiritual Magic, maybe a requirement of 20, but fuck that. I did it my way.¡±


    ¡°And it serves to handle any enemies you encounter that are immune to Physical,¡± said Varrin. ¡°A fine weapon.¡± He held it back out to Hep, but the ruby warrior grinned.


    ¡°Best part of this Dungeon is that it makes it cheap to replicate my less valuable equipment,¡± said Hep. ¡°Consider it a prize for the win. Ah, but you have to admit you have Brawling before I let you keep it.¡±


    Varrin couldn¡¯t hide his shock, even through his armor. The sword had to be worth at least sixteen diamond chips. It was a fortune, and it was one of this man¡¯s less valuable items?


    ¡°I have Brawling,¡± Varrin was quick to admit with such a sword on the line.


    ¡°Figured,¡± said Hep. ¡°Normally I¡¯d give you my main weapon, but it wouldn¡¯t be useful to you. Here, to make up the difference, I¡¯ll let you pick one of these bits of jewelry I¡¯ve got.¡±


    Hep fumbled to pull a ring from his finger with one hand, then dug an amulet and two trinkets out from beneath his armor. He looked around for a moment until he spotted his other hand, then retrieved the severed limb and pulled another ring from it with his teeth. He handed (and spat) the items into Varrin¡¯s palm. The amulet, both rings, and one trinket were made of different kinds of lustrous wood. Fireproof wood, apparently. The remaining trinket appeared to be made of bone.


    Varrin was once again taken aback by the treasure that Hep so casually handed him.

 Chapter 250: Durgeons and… (6)

    Chapter 250: Durgeons and... (6)


    Each piece of jewelry Hep had passed to Varrin was simple, but their effects vastly outstripped their requirements. These were a different sort of treasure, precious for how easily they could be worn.


    Blackthorn Ring of the Dark


    Requirements: INT 10, LCK 10, Reconnaissance


    +20 Mystical DR


    +20 Divine DR


    Your Darkvision range is increased by 30 feet.


    You may cause one attempt to counter, negate, or redirect a spell you cast to automatically fail. This effect resets after an 8-hour rest.


    Black Walnut Ring of the Chain


    Requirements: FOR 20, Blades


    +40 to your Rage threshold.


    You cannot be disarmed of, or forced to drop, your weapon.


    You gain a bonus to your flying speed equal to half your normal movement speed.


    Deep Wood Amulet of Stimulation


    Requirements: INT 10, AGL 5, Survival


    +20 to maximum mana


    +40 to mana regeneration


    +20 to maximum dodge pool


    Any activity, cooldown, or other effect that requires 8 hours of continuous action or rest requires 1 less hour to accomplish.


    Mana monsters are neutral towards you unless provoked.


    Kinesthetics Trinket


    Requirements: Athletics


    Your Athletics skill level advances 50% faster.


    Bone Brawler¡¯s Trinket


    Requirements: Brawling


    You may block with a block value equal to your Brawling skill level regardless of what items, if any, you are holding.


    ¡°None of the skill requirements have levels listed,¡± said Varrin. ¡°You must only possess the intrinsic skill to use these?¡±


    ¡°A perk of higher-level Woodworking, my friend,¡± said Hep. ¡°People who look down on crafters are morons. You can make shit exactly the way you want it, and for less than half of what it costs everyone else. Just, really, consider Smithing at the very least.¡±


    Of all the things Hep had told him, Varrin found himself most swayed by that bit of advice. Between the items themselves, the Black Walnut Ring of the Chain was the best for his build, although the Rage threshold would force him to wait longer during combat to enter berserk. If he found more ways to generate Rage, it would become a major boon instead. Varrin chose that ring and slid it on, then returned the rest to Hep. The warrior accepted them. His generosity did have limits.


    ¡°Now you¡¯ve got two options,¡± said Hep. ¡°You can exit the Dungeon to seek out your audience with the real me¨Cwho will be eager to meet you, by the way¨Cor you can stay here for a while and train.¡±


    ¡°I deeply appreciate your invitation to remain, Lord Hep, but I have allies awaiting me outside.¡±


    ¡°Back to ¡®Lord Hep¡¯ now that I gave you some free shit, I see how it is.¡± Hep grinned at him, then waved his stump dismissively to reassure Varrin it was a joke. ¡°You¡¯re the first one done,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s been, like, thirty minutes since you showed up. I figure you¡¯ve got a while before your party members are all finished. I can let you know when we¡¯re out of time.¡±


    Varrin nodded. ¡°Very well, let us continue our bout.¡±


    ¡°Slow down, champ,¡± said Hep. ¡°I¡¯m missing a hand and more in the mood to act as an instructor, not a training dummy.¡±


    Varrin looked at the stump and felt a little embarrassed. ¡°Will¨C Will your hand return?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good, but I never built into regen since my health pool is just... it¡¯s absolutely monstrous compared to you little guys. It¡¯ll take a few days.¡± Hep scratched at his scales again, then gave Varrin another sinister smile. ¡°Let¡¯s start by running through every Physical skill you have.¡±


    As it turned out, all of Hep¡¯s generosity had truly been a ploy to learn more about Varrin¡¯s build. In the end, Varrin didn¡¯t mind, since he left the Dungeon with a Physical Magic skill of 40, earning him his Restrictor Belt 3 evolution.


    Restrictor Belt 3


    So long as you have spent no mana in the last 24 hours, your weapon attacks gain +1 damage and apply +1 Bleeding per every 1 level of Physical Magic.


    Varrin even learned a thing or two about Smithing while they were at it.


    ***


    END ADDENDUM


    ***


    I¡¯d been running and teleporting down the eternally spiralling hallway for a while, and I was beginning to suspect there was no end to it. That was fine. I didn¡¯t need to find the end. Instead, I could just [STOP TEXT]


    [REROUTING]


    ***


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY: USER NAME [Ruler 3]


    ADDENDUM NOTE: Ruler 2 has added the following additional context: ¡°If you want to try and steal my petitioner, then get off your tail and participate. If you were number one, maybe I¡¯d take your requests more seriously.¡±


    Ruler 3 ¡®declined¡¯ to add their own additional context, but asked for it to be clarified that ¡°only those who believe themselves inadequate engage in competition.¡±


    While the System takes no position in this matter, we feel the need to point out that Ruler 3¡¯s statement is, in fact, additional context, and thus has been logged as such.


    ***


    Nuralie crouched, hidden in a tree, because hiding in the river bed was too dangerous. She looked out over the misty forest she¡¯d suddenly appeared within, watching the half-spectral beasts wandering its game trails as she worked through ways to mitigate involuntary teleports. She¡¯d been isolated from the party too easily, and it had exposed a new vulnerability in need of address.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Fortitude was the primary attribute that governed defense against Dimensional effects. There was little she could do in that regard, other than continue to place points there as she leveled. However, it wasn¡¯t an immediate solution, nor one she was likely to pursue in earnest given her build.


    Spiritual Magic had some capability with teleportation, but it was always conditional. There was potential for a soul-locking mechanism, but that might simply end up with the body being teleported, while the spirit remained behind. Less than ideal. She discarded the school as an option for now.


    Divine might serve, but the Eschenden triad was not particularly strong in aspects relating to teleportation. She could likely protect herself while in Eschendur, but that was an incomplete remedy. Sam¡¯lia would be a better choice given that she governed travel between layers, but still not a perfect fit. If Arlo had access to Divine he could beseech the Dread Star, but Arlo didn¡¯t have Divine, and neither did he seem to worship those gods he¡¯d thus far encountered. No, Divine wouldn¡¯t work.


    Physical might present an opportunity for enforcing one¡¯s relationship to a specific place, ideally the one they currently occupied. Arlo¡¯s Deific teleportation would bypass such a countermeasure, but a fix on locality might interfere with their other mobility skills. Inelegant, but it had some potential.


    For Mystical, she could collaborate with Etja to create an automatically deploying counterspell. Perhaps Arlo could do something with wands. Nuralie could utilize the triggering mechanism from the Zng rifles and create a mana-detector to establish a threshold at which it would activate and automatically cast Nullify.


    That would require comprehensive testing to ensure it didn¡¯t accidentally negate a desired Dimensional effect. Etja could likely imbue some mana shape to make that happen, but Nuralie disliked relying on the mage¡¯s intuitive magic. She wanted full comprehension of any device she deployed with the potential for serious backlash.


    Arlo was also talented with shaping¨Calbeit less so than Etja. He was more capable of academic discussion of the principles behind his magicks¨Cso long as one could manage his near-constant state of distraction. Dimensional might also provide more options than a brute-force Dispel, although Nuralie wasn¡¯t terribly familiar¨C


    Planar isolation sprung to her mind. It would only impact Arlo¡¯s teleports, which were Deific and could ignore anything she made. Etja¡¯s talents could still be applied¨CNullify was more effective countermagic for an area effect, which was likely required since the modified self-triggering wand wouldn¡¯t have a predetermined target. They could work to modify Nullify so that it only targeted Planar magicks, Arlo could imbue a shape to make the effect discretionary, and Nuralie could work with them both to integrate a trigger apparatus into a trinket that was actually a wand.


    She added the proposal to the ever-growing list of devices she might be able to create through application of Zng technologies.


    She could also just try and pick up a relevant evolution, but why waste one if a trinket would do? The opportunity cost of selecting gear was far lower than the opportunity cost of selecting an evolution.


    Satisfied that she¡¯d given the problem a sufficient amount of scrutiny for the moment¨Ca full ten seconds¡¯ worth¨Cshe glanced over the System notification she¡¯d received on entering once again. Then she began to Shadow Walk through the trees.


    You have entered the Grove of the Illumined Ruler


    Spiritual Dungeon


    Recommended skills: Spiritual Magic 40


    Nuralie had already done preliminary scouting of her immediate surroundings, to ensure she would have time to think without interruption. During that survey, she¡¯d learned many things. Some she found fascinating. Some she found concerning. Most fell into both categories, which she found... appealing.


    The forest existed in triplicate. The graying branch she stood upon appeared to be a corporeal entity, although the tree was not a species she was familiar with. The wide, heart-shaped leaves had small thorns growing all across their surfaces. She wanted to study the thorns, determine their purpose, but she was wholly focused on broader observations. She¡¯d work from the general to the specific in time.


    Approximately twelve inches to the right of the branch she stood upon was a perfect copy made up of spectral energy. She could only perceive it through her magic sense, which had been developing quite well recently. The branch was otherwise invisible to her.


    Six inches to the left of the branch was a more abstracted form. This triggered her Divine senses, more ephemeral than the corporeal or spectral forms. It was perceptually confusing, and she felt strongly that this was a third representation of the branch, but it wasn¡¯t something that could be confined within the concept of ¡®shape¡¯. It was there, she knew that much. Other properties of the Divine branch were pending further study.


    Across the forest this phenomenon repeated. All flora and fauna had three states, existing within predictable distances to the central, corporeal body. However, they maintained their orientation relative to an unknown factor. The spectral versions always diverged from the physical form in the direction she¡¯d designated as north. The divine versions always diverged south. This happened regardless of the physical body¡¯s own orientation.


    Additionally, the divergence was more extreme the further north she went and less pronounced when she traveled south. There was some sort of inverse square law involved, where the divergence rapidly became more extreme in the northern direction. Regardless, spirit and divinity were offset from the center of the corporeal form at a consistent two-to-one ratio.


    She catalogued these observations and set them aside.


    All flora she¡¯d encountered seemed to lack motor function and were non-hostile. No plant monsters to be found. She identified some plants she was familiar with, several of which were excellent potion ingredients, and a few of which were exceptional poison ingredients. There was also a wealth of unfamiliar plantlife with potent concentrations of spiritual energies. Very useful, potentially. Extraordinarily dangerous to handle and harvest, perhaps. She still planned on collecting samples later.


    The fauna was a mixture of passive herbivores, mild omnivores, and more aggressive carnivores. The majority fell into the category of mundane, in that they did not seem to possess any notable control over mana. Lizards, elk, worms, songbirds, serpents, all typical of what appeared to be a temperate forest.


    Beyond the mundane animals, there were small clusters of mana monsters which appeared to feed only on the frequent nexuses of spiritual energies. The most dangerous of these that she¡¯d found was Grade 12. Quite high, all things considered, but the mana concentration in the region was dense.


    The mana monsters were territorial, but otherwise non-aggressive. The primary danger was not realizing she was encroaching into their territory. There was a flock of owl-like birds that were invisible until they were in range of her Sense skills, and the hundred-foot range of Sense Life was inadequate to maintain an appropriate buffer between herself and the creatures. They had little trouble spotting her, despite the shifting camouflage of her leathers, her translucence in the dimly lit environment, and her rather advanced Stealth skill. They were not fast enough to catch her, so she¡¯d been chased from several areas, but escaped unharmed. She¡¯d rather not kill the creatures if she didn¡¯t have to.


    There was a burrow of quadrupedal mammals, approximately eight inches long, with webbed feet that would become incorporeal to travel through the ground. There was a hive of bees that drained nearby spiritual plants and brought the energies back to their hive¨CNuralie was very curious to know what they produced with it. At one point she spotted a bear that literally died when it slept¨Cdisappearing from her life sense¨Conly to resurrect upon waking. It travelled between small mana geysers, taking short reposes atop each as the mana filtered into its body.


    Altogether the area would have been deadly for most Arzian races, but posed little threat to Nuralie, even if she hadn¡¯t been able to avoid the vast majority of wildlife.


    The only exception was the silver men.


    The System called them Asimanth, and their average Grade was 20. They were humanoid in form, but had elongated frontal limbs and prowled on all fours. Their heads were shaped like a person¡¯s, but lacked any distinctive facial features. There were suggestions of a nose and lips, like a sculptor had abandoned their job halfway done. Where their eyes should have been was instead a cluster of small, irregular holes, and Nuralie had not seen any evidence of other orifices. If they ate or breathed, she did not know how.


    Despite having a vaguely human appearance, the Asimanth didn¡¯t appear to possess higher reasoning. They were nude and used no weapons or other tools. Nuralie could find no evidence of permanent structures or any other significant modifications to their environment. They were cunning and ruthless hunters, in the way that a clever feline might be, but laid no traps. They traveled in groups of five to ten, but their coordination was rudimentary. If they had a language, it wasn¡¯t a spoken one.


    The Asimanth did not trigger Nuralie¡¯s life sense, but when they drew near, her Divine senses flared in warning.


    They were Undead, and the Eschenden marked them as profane. However, she sensed no evil from them; another reason for Nuralie¡¯s belief that they were animals rather than people. If these beings had been intelligent, their actions would certainly have been those done with malice.


    The Asimanth stalked the forest, quick and silent as a cat. They prowled the rivers, hidden for ambush like a crocodile. Their bodies were near-invisible in the gloomy water until they sprang upon anything that came too near. The Asimanth captured every living creature they could find, breaking it until it was completely subdued, while taking care to keep it alive. Then, they carried the tormented animals away into the north.


    Nuralie observed their work for several hours, taking note of their behaviors. Many of their prey went rigid the moment an Asimanth came within thirty feet, paralyzed through some mechanism. Their victims could only watch with rolling, panicked eyes as the silver men broke their legs, wings, or backs. It was cruel and merciless work, but the Asimanth did not do it out of sadism, it seemed.


    Given that these beings were Undead, and that they behaved in a manner suggesting some level of planning¨Ctaking their prey to a secondary location¨CNuralie thought it likely that they were drones of some sort. If so, whatever force that directed them likely lay in the north, where the spiritual divergence grew more severe.


    Nuralie spent some time preparing, double-checking her supply levels, and readying a new batch of spiritual toxins. Undead would be immune to most physical ailments, but they still had souls to harm, however broken they might be. She also gathered her flora samples, made sketches of the thorny-leaved trees, and snuck a bit of spiritual ¡®honey¡¯ from the bees in exchange for a few spectral stings. She worked until she was satisfied that, should she be unable to return, she had a robust collection for experimentation.


    Then she set off north, to find out where the Asimanth were taking their victims.

 Chapter 251: Durgons and… (7)

    Chapter 251: Durgons and... (7)


    The Asimanth were taking their prey to some kind of... thing.


    Nuralie didn¡¯t have a good frame of reference for it. This problem was compounded by her inability to get close to the ¡®thing¡¯.


    Nuralie had started experiencing the same spiritual divergence that the rest of the forest was undergoing once she got within a mile of the distant mass of gleaming silver and bone. Her divergence wasn¡¯t so extreme as what she¡¯d observed in the rest of the forest, but the sensation of her soul being pulled from her physical body was deeply disturbing.


    Nuralie couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of Hysteria, and that, she hated.


    Nuralie backed off the moment she noticed the effect and went through a self-evaluation. There were no notifications from the System, and a review of her recent memories revealed no inconsistencies, but that was hardly enough to satisfy her. Since Varrin¡¯s acquisition of his absurdly powerful helmet, Nuralie recognized that she was the most vulnerable to Spiritual effects amongst the party, despite it being her attunement. Her Wisdom was low, and she¡¯d not invested in any mitigating skills or evolutions. Her primary mode of defense against it was the same as any other¨Cdon¡¯t get hit.


    Nuralie realized that strategy was no longer serviceable after their encounter with the psychotic avatar.


    Part of her recovery from the gloom of having her soul twisted had been throwing herself into her work, making use of the achievement her contributions had earned her. It was called Soul Chemistry, and it made her soul-affecting alchemical products more potent, but only if they were beneficial to the target. It had been an odd reward, given that her efforts towards undoing Hysteria¡¯s influence had focused on destructive principles. Her poison had annihilated fragments of the soul, both Arlo¡¯s and the avatar¡¯s.


    Still, everyone in the party had received a defensive achievement. It was as though the System recognized it would be the type of benefit they¡¯d desire from their efforts, and in some ways the soul death her poison had caused Arlo was beneficial. It had been cutting out a disease, like burning out an infection. Tissue had been lost, but the result was the restoration of good health.


    In the end, she hadn¡¯t given it too much thought. Worrying about the whims of the System was better left to Xim and Arlo. They were better equipped for the psychological strain¨Cnot to mention far more interested than she¨Cand Nuralie could better contribute where she had greater expertise.


    Nuralie moved as swift and silent as possible until her soul was recentered, then pulled a potion from her inventory. It had been bottled from her best batch of work on developing a counter to soul manipulation, built from a combination of traditional alchemy and knowledge from the Abandoned Grimoire, both bolstered by the new achievement. She¡¯d distilled and altered a portion of one of her own passive skills, allowing it to become an effect that could be shared.


    Soulguard Potion


    You gain +35% resistance to soul-altering effects for 1 hour.


    ¡°Soul-altering¡± was an odd keyword in ways. Nuralie designated it as a meta-category that encompassed portions of other effects. Both the Spectral and Psychic sub-types among Spiritual categories could have an impact on the soul, but neither was guaranteed.


    Psychic effects could target the bridge between the mind and soul, the soul itself, or even the organic brain or other physical material that acted as an equivalent. Spectral effects were generally targeted at the soul, but the soul they affected was not always the focus of their harm. They sometimes harnessed intermediary entities to deliver damage, which might attack in other ways. In any case, the best defense against either was one that specifically listed that sub-type.


    However, there was no other way to describe what Hysteria had done other than to say they¡¯d altered her soul. There was also no better way to describe what was happening within this forest.


    The potion¡¯s resistance value of 35% was an awkward number, owing to her achievement, but Nuralie¡¯s Fortitude 20 evolution boosted the effect of any beneficial substance she consumed. It was presently a 44% increase, meaning the resistance value would be a little over 50% in total.


    While the potion was a valuable addition to her craft, what made it particularly potent for Nuralie was that it stacked with the passive she¡¯d based it on, yet another potion buff. Whenever she consumed a potion she¡¯d created, she could select one of a number of other effects to benefit from. Notably, one option was +50% resistance to mind-altering effects.


    Thus, Nuralie¡¯s achievement, Fortitude evolution, and passive worked in concert with the potion to grant her general immunity to any mental effect that targeted her soul, with a 50% resistance to other types of mental or soul-altering effects. In absence of a deific skill, that made editing her soul to affect her mind impossible.


    Of course, Hysteria had been using a deific effect, but that didn¡¯t discourage her. The path to breaking the abilities of godly beings was a long one. Nuralie was more than willing to keep walking it all the way to its end.


    Nuralie drank the potion and selected her passive effect. She felt a mild sense of malaise evaporate as the concoction did its work. The feeling had been creeping up on her since entering the forest, then exacerbated by her proximity to the ¡®thing¡¯. Nuralie felt reassured that the feeling had been due to an external entity, as opposed to a lack of resilience.


    Your Alchemy skill has increased to Level 41!


    Your Spiritual Magic skill has increased to Level 33!


    Nuralie checked the notifications and nodded. Field testing new products was always a good way to gather valuable data. The Spiritual Magic level was a little unexpected, but she had used a variety of Spiritual principles when creating the potion. She expected the Dungeon environment had a significant impact on the advancement.


    Nuralie self-evaluated once again, finding nothing amiss. The resistances wouldn¡¯t grant her immunity to the soul divergence, but it would certainly help. By about 50%, she surmised.


    She stored the empty vial in her inventory and set back out towards the mass of silver and bone. Owing to the exponential buildup of the entity¡¯s soul-pulling effect, Nuralie¡¯s 50% resistance did not allow her to get 50% closer. She made it another quarter of the way before she grew spiritually uncomfortable. Nuralie found the highest tree she could and a quick Shadow Walk took her near the top, still shady from its large, thorny leaves.


    The final destination of the Asimanth was in a large clearing, free of the forest¡¯s mists and easily visible from her vantage point. The bulk of the ¡®thing¡¯ they gathered near was long and oblong, mildly cylindrical with rounded ends. Smooth lumps bulged out in places, like a molded inorganic casing for the organic thing within.


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    There was a large rent in one side of the object, the silver shell torn away down most of its length. It exposed yellowed bone, wet with a substance the consistency of mucus. There were arcing rows that looked like titanic ribs, and near what she labeled as the front, there was a thick, curved plate. The gouge had dug deeper than the silvery shell here, and the bone was missing a large piece, exposing a wall of densely folded flesh.


    It was a brain, and one that appeared whole and undecayed. There were other organs as well, behind the wall of ribs. A squirming mass of unidentifiable flesh. Aside from the brain and bone, the thing¡¯s internal anatomy was alien to Nuralie.


    Behind the entity was a large wake of destruction, a deep furrow in the ground, nearly a hundred feet wide. It cut through trees, soil, and rock alike. A distant hill was even missing a significant portion out of the middle of its rise. It looked more like the thing had struck the ground and slid to where it now rested, rather than carving the devastation intentionally as it moved.


    If it had moved, Nuralie didn¡¯t know how. There were no appendages to be seen, as the creature was limited to a skull with ribs running down the full length of what was visible through the hole in its exterior. Magic was always a potential explanation. If that were the case, it meant the creature had a strong grasp over mana.


    One Asimanth brought a boar forward, which had recovered enough to shriek and squeal, though not enough to struggle. The boar¡¯s spirit stretched further and further from its physical form as the Asimanth brought it close, until something snapped. The mass of silver and bone tore the soul from the boar¡¯s broken body. It flowed into the wound on its simple skull, and a pulse of spiritual energy dispersed throughout the folds of the brain. The boar went still, its life extinguished.


    One by one, each Asimanth delivered their offering. The cries of the Asimanth¡¯s victims were made even more unsettling by the silence of their killers. Nuralie was no stranger to the hunt, to taking life for food and materials, but the way these Asimanth treated their game was foul. Not only did they force them to suffer on the long walk back to their master, but they dumped the corpses into a pit afterward, to rot away unused. The soul was all they needed, and all the rest was chaff. A waste, if nothing else.


    Nuralie went ahead and tried to identify the distant being. She¡¯d waited to try and keep the System¡¯s input from biasing her initial observations, but the information it provided was sparse.


    Domininth: Unknown, Grade Unknown


    Nuralie wondered how the System could know what to call the entity, but not what kind of creature it was. Then again, she was inside a Dungeon. An information blackout might be part of its conditions, although Grotto insisted that Dungeons were not created or managed by the System. It simply took advantage of them, like a gatherer collecting berries from the wild. Nuralie didn¡¯t know enough to guess. There were too many variables for any useful predictions.


    Nuralie then spent the mana to cast Target Analysis. This was riskier than a System-derived identify, which relied on archived information. Target Analysis actively probed the target for information, so there was a chance of detection. The skill usually went unnoticed, but there were always exceptions.


    Nuralie was mildly surprised when a wealth of information flooded her mind about the creature. The skill had been quite successful, which she hadn¡¯t expected from how strange the entity was.


    Domininth


    Health: 208,000


    Stamina: 32,000


    Mana: 5,000


    Immunities: Cold, Slowed, Fear


    Conditional Immunities: Immobilized, Paralyzed, Stunned, Forced Movement, Forced Teleportation, Distracted, Dominated, Mesmerized, Paranoid, Psychotic, and all mind, perception, and memory altering effects.


    Resistances: Physical, Dimensional, Infernal, Wicked


    Vulnerabilities: Holy, Righteous


    Nuralie¡¯s head swam from the massive health pool and the list of conditional immunities. The health pool was more than an order of magnitude larger than anything she¡¯d even heard of. The highest health pool that Varrin was aware of was that of Patriarch Bluewren, who had a natural health pool somewhere in the seven-thousand range.


    Not seventy thousand. Seven.


    The entity ahead of her had hundreds of thousands of health. It was already injured as well, meaning its potential maximum might be significantly higher. With health like that, what did its DR look like?


    Nuralie settled herself and looked over the conditional immunities, recognizing them as the effects of both the Unstoppable and Unflappable buffs. The Domininth had some way to generate both of those, but they weren¡¯t currently active, else they¡¯d have been included under Immunities.


    It was resistant to two full schools of magic, along with half of Divine, although the Divine resistances told Nuralie something about the nature of this creature. The vulnerabilities to Holy and Righteous made sense, especially if it too was an Undead, like its minions.


    Nuralie felt better once she finished her review, focusing on analyzing the data objectively to remain calm. Her success with Target Analysis also told her that whatever the creature¡¯s equivalent of Charisma was, it had very little.


    The Domininth¡¯s mana pool was much smaller in comparison to its enormous health and stamina, but it was still several times larger than what a 100 Wisdom would provide with no other bonuses. It had more than enough mana to cast spells that could level entire cities, perhaps even tear the souls from everyone in a major population center.


    There was also the possibility that Nuralie had caught it in a moment of relative depletion. Target Analysis didn¡¯t tell her the creature¡¯s upper boundaries, only its current resource levels. Its mana pool could be as large as its health for all she knew.


    Nuralie watched the Asimanth make their sacrifices to the Domininth for some time, thinking over the results of Target Analysis while taking notes and making sketches. She noted that a small amount of bone around the skull had reformed, and when she pinged the entity again with her skill, it had gained nearly ten thousand health. The mana had gone down an inconsequential amount. It appeared that whatever the Domininth was spending to maintain its constant state of soul devouring, its mana regeneration was keeping up.


    Nuralie considered what to do. On the one hand, whatever was happening here wasn¡¯t necessarily of concern to her. She needed to find a way out of the Dungeon, and there was no guarantee that interacting with the Domininth or Asimanth would yield an exit. She expected the Domininth would prove disastrous to this environment once it finished recovering from its wounds¨Cthe recovery itself was already a disaster of sorts¨Cbut she also didn¡¯t know if that mattered. Where was this forest? Was it near something important? Was it on Arzia at all, or was this a pocket dimension like Arlo¡¯s Closet?


    On the other hand, Nuralie had strong evidence she was in a real forest through her senses and observations, which meant the death and suffering the entity caused was real as well. Her potion made it significantly less likely that a mental effect was tricking her. If this were some kind of physical illusion, it was of a complexity that would demand the talents of a Delver at the peak, or perhaps something even greater. Not only would such a thing be an ill fit for a Spiritual Dungeon, it would also need to fool her life sense, magic sense, divine sense, evil sense, and motion sense.


    At that point she would need to assume she was being manipulated by a god, or an avatar at the very least. The simpler explanation was that this was a real space with real, living¨Cand unliving¨Centities.


    If that were the case, did Nuralie want to walk away? She¡¯d often struggled with the tolerance of evil. She liked to believe that she fought against malice and sadism, whenever she had the power to. And yet, how often had she advocated for a more pragmatic approach to a difficult problem? When had she been the one to suggest taking a risk to save others from oppression?


    She¡¯d fiercely pursued her morals in Eschendur, but that was her home. Elsewhere, she¡¯d often been more concerned with safety. How much weight did her righteousness carry, if her righteousness only bore the weight of certainty, and never the weight of doubt?


    There were no people to save within this forest, but Nuralie¡¯s empathy was not limited to the sapient. The Asimanth tormented the wildlife, wasting their bounty to serve the Domininth¡¯s ends, profane to her gods. Nuralie would end the misery here, whether or not doing so was the way out of the Dungeon.


    As for how to kill a creature with nearly a quarter million health... Well, she had an entire forest of spiritual ingredients to harness, and some excellent recipes for poisoning the soul. She just needed to work out the dosage.


    And figure out how to get closer without having her soul eaten.

 Chapter 252: Durgons and… (8)

    Chapter 252: Durgons and... (8)


    As with many of Nuralie¡¯s problems, the solution involved math.


    Before deciding on the best delivery system for her toxins, Nuralie first needed to make sure she could actually kill the Domininth. A quarter million health was quite a lot, and it was slowly ticking ever higher with each hour that passed. Nuralie wasn¡¯t one to rush, however, so she focused on the problem with the same patience and attentiveness as she normally would.


    Her best soul toxin had a base Toxicity value of 154. Assuming that she delivered the toxin with a ranged weapon, she had enough bonuses to take that figure up to 243. Soul toxins were resisted by Wisdom, rather than Fortitude like a physical poison, and she had little to go on when determining the Domininth¡¯s Wisdom score¨Cor whatever its equivalent was. If she assumed that a mana pool of 5,000 equated to a WIS of 500, then her poisons would do nothing before breaching that figure.


    So far as she knew, nothing had a Wisdom score that high, but she decided to use it for planning purposes. Better to be over prepared.


    Her poisons worked by delivering damage equal to the Toxicity minus the target¡¯s threshold¨C500 in this case. Then the value was reduced by that threshold. If she applied 1,000 Toxicity, the Domininth would take 500 damage, reduce the Toxicity to 500, and then stop taking damage.


    If she managed to build Toxicity up to around 17,000 stacks, that should be enough to kill the Domininth, assuming it didn¡¯t have a good way to cleanse the poison.


    Nuralie¡¯s skill, Hunger Shot, let her charge an attack and would fire multiple shots in rapid succession based on how long she¡¯d charged it. It cost 1 stamina per second, and Nuralie had 220 stamina, meaning she could get 36 attacks if left to charge it for around 4 minutes. With a stamina potion she could stretch that to 37. More if she were willing to use emerald or diamond-grade potions, but she¡¯d only resort to throwing money at the problem if there were no other good solutions.


    The first extra attack from Hunger Shot didn¡¯t require a charge due to her Cloak of the Descent, which let her use any charged skill as though it had already been charged for six seconds. Hunger Shot also added one attack from the start, meaning she was up to 39 attacks when dedicating a full stamina bar.


    With 39 attacks each applying 243 Toxicity in a short enough time frame, that yielded a Toxicity value of 9,477. Then she could use Venomous Escalation to double that figure, assuming she could hit the Domininth with a spell attack. If that failed, she could double the Toxicity with Mad Experiment instead, which cost more and required her to be much closer, but worked automatically. If she hit with both, she could push the Toxicity up to 37,908.


    That was exciting, and it didn¡¯t even take into account her stacking ability, which compounded damage over time when multiple poisons were present.


    Hypothetical values like these seldom survived contact with the enemy, however. People dodged, blocked, cleansed, used items, or were sometimes immune to her poisons entirely. The Domininth was immune to her Physical poisons, but not her Spiritual ones. The Domininth also didn¡¯t look like it was about to dodge, but she doubted it was helpless. There were a host of other defensive measures it might possess that didn¡¯t require mobility.


    If she connected with ninety percent of her arrows and landed at least one of her multiplicative spells, that should be enough. Everything else was her margin of error. So, how would she accomplish that task?


    Three-quarters of a mile was too long of a shot for her. She¡¯d have no problem hitting a target from that distance in perfect conditions, but such an environment didn¡¯t exist. There was a breeze rolling through the forest, sending swirls through its misty floor, and Nuralie assumed the wind speed would increase at higher altitudes, as it typically did.


    To hit a target from three-quarters of a mile with a bow would require a significant arc, taking the arrow several hundred feet up and into an area where the wind speed was less predictable. Her arrows were fairly light when compared to their surface area, and the fletching would be susceptible to being caught in a crosswind. While the Domininth was massive, Nuralie needed to be certain that nearly all of her projectiles found their mark.


    Her bow also didn¡¯t have the draw weight for that kind of range. Maybe if she fired with the wind...


    Nuralie suppressed a sigh as she thought back to the Ballistics evolution she¡¯d passed on. She¡¯d been certain that a thousand feet was plenty of range for her purposes, and being able to hit something from a mile out with any bow seemed like a waste of an evolution. That was still true, this was just an exceptional circumstance.


    Even if she¡¯d had the range with her bow, Mad Experiment required her to be within 46 feet of the spell¡¯s target. A good deal shorter than three-quarters of a mile. The Domininth sucked the souls out of its victims from several hundred feet away, so Nuralie didn¡¯t want to get that close.


    Venomous Escalation only required her to perceive the target, but she had to assume the Domininth had excellent defenses, given its massive resource values. She just wasn¡¯t confident that she could land a spell attack.


    The ranged attacks weren¡¯t as much of an issue, since she had more bonuses to bow attacks than spells, and she could convert all of the attacks to Holy damage using her Bow of Yearning. The Domininth was vulnerable to Holy, meaning the attacks would hit twice as hard. She only needed to deal a single point of damage for her poisons to take hold, making her reasonably confident that it was a valid strategy. She could also aim for a weak spot.


    Thus, Nuralie needed to find a better way to mitigate the Domininth¡¯s soul divergence aura so that she could sneak much, much closer. Or she could do something else.


    ¡°Something else¡± seemed preferable to Nuralie.


    One of Nuralie¡¯s more recent passive skills was called Spiritual Lensing, and it allowed her to activate her abilities from the position of any of her party members, rather than her own. There weren¡¯t any party members with her in the forest, but that didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t make one.


    Nuralie¡¯s exploration of Spiritual Magic had focused on her senses and her poisons. Those were the core facets of her build. However, both Throne and Grotto used Spiritual Magic to create and control minions. Throne harnessed Undead and Spectral entities, whereas Grotto crafted golems.


    Nuralie had no interest in the Undead and their pursuit could quickly result in a violation of her faith. Golems were more interesting, but she couldn¡¯t pursue them the way Grotto had. The Core had the intrinsic skill Golemancy, which synergized with his Spiritual magicks, and his control over the golems was psychic in nature. Nuralie did not have the Golemancy skill, nor was she particularly psychic.


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    What she did have was the Machinist intrinsic. She also had the Abandoned Grimoire, which had numerous entries on the creation of minions. Finally, she held a bow that was created from an essence they¡¯d earned from killing the specter of Orexis. Given how the bow¡¯s abilities were evolving, it was clear there was still some aspect of the avatar lingering within it. Orexis had a clear talent for Golemancy, given that he had created Etja, and the bow had a direct causal link to the avatar.


    Nuralie¡¯s first revelation allowed her to dive into the history of objects, see their connections, and explore the moments that defined them. With the Grimoire, it allowed Nuralie to see the witch who¡¯d created the tome at work, so long as the tome had been nearby at the time. The bow wouldn¡¯t let her do the same with Orexis¨Cthe bow as an object had little connection to Orexis¨Cbut she was learning new ways to use the revelation. She might be able to isolate or extract the divine essence itself and use that instead.


    Nuralie shook her head. The bow had begun to make her uncomfortable recently, but it was an excellent weapon. She knew that some part of Orexis lingered within, especially after their near-disastrous exposure to the fragment of Hysteria. Extracting the essence would be toying with forces that were better left alone, and it was likely better that she purify the bow with Zenithar Zura¡¯s help.


    She also needed it to shoot things¨Cand for the Holy damage¨Cso the bow would live to see another day.


    Nuralie once again withdrew deeper into the forest, tracing her steps back to a cave she¡¯d found while scouting. There, she used one of the party¡¯s defensive kits to create a barrier over the entrance and obscured it with a combination of color-shifting cloth and natural materials.


    Once Nuralie was satisfied with her new hideout¡¯s camouflage, she pulled out a variety of ¡®spare¡¯ parts from her work on Etja¡¯s Zng armor, along with schematics she¡¯d drawn up of Vaulty¡¯s mechanical body. She¡¯d also borrowed several of the Zng rifles for study. Two more full suits of armor had found their way into her inventory as well, and looking at all that, Nuralie realized she¡¯d taken most of these things without notifying anyone.


    Not that anyone likely cared. One-fifth of the stuff was hers, and she certainly didn¡¯t need permission to appropriate what she already owned. Regardless, she would be advocating for a system of logging what was being taken from, and placed into, their collective armory. If someone needed something, they should be able to easily track it down. She¡¯d be sure to remember to thank Grotto for the suite of tools he¡¯d loaned her for working on the materials as well. The Core did have a process for checking those out, one that she¡¯d followed.


    Alongside Nuralie¡¯s normal suite of trap-making, tailoring, and alchemy equipment and materials, the loson had the better part of a mercurial inventor¡¯s research laboratory in her inventory. One that featured both a machine shop and a greenhouse, complete with several rare species of delightful and well-behaved frogs.


    Her inventory was very full.


    Now, Nuralie just needed to figure out how to create a golem of a more machine-like persuasion than what Grotto produced. Then, she¡¯d work out how to animate it through a spiritual process that would allow it to act with at least some degree of autonomy. She¡¯d also need to make sure it wouldn¡¯t be susceptible to the spiritual divergence created by the Domininth, but she had ideas for a soul tether based on the connection that Grotto and Arlo shared.


    Nuralie hunkered down and got to work.


    *****


    Nuralie¡¯s crafting spree took place over the course of an uninterrupted twelve hours. Her Speed, Agility, and Intelligence made her a fevered whirlwind of productivity, further bolstered by evolutions that allowed her to work even faster. She could accomplish in a day what would have taken her months only a handful of years prior.


    The inspiration for new uses of her Spiritual Magic, combined with her incredible pace and uninterrupted focus, led to a bevy of insights that flowed into her mind one after another. The bountiful Spiritual mana and resources of the Dungeon environment made it the perfect location for her research. At some points, Nuralie felt as though an unknown force had its thumb on the scales, allowing every experiment to proceed without error and for every attempt to yield results at the pinnacle of her expectations. The force wasn¡¯t guiding her, simply eliminating all extraneous factors that might interfere and giving her every material advantage possible.


    The Littans had said that a Dungeon could lead to a month¡¯s worth of progress in a single day. Nuralie could do in a day what took a month¡¯s worth of work. While her Machinist skill advanced twice¨Can excellent yield for the time spent¨Cher growth in Spiritual Magic was unparalleled. The intrinsic practically screamed its way up to level 40. The progress was significantly slower after reaching the Dungeon¡¯s recommended skill level, but she still netted another three levels before she was finished, taking her to level 43 by the time her project was complete.


    For the first time since becoming a Delver, Alchemy wasn¡¯t Nuralie¡¯s highest-level intrinsic.


    She didn¡¯t think that would last for very long, of course. Alchemy was only two levels behind, and if she had a choice in Dungeons at any point in the future, Alchemy was certainly at the top of the list. She already had bonuses to leveling her Alchemy, and Nuralie was quite interested to see whether that would stack with an Alchemy Dungeon¡¯s bonuses.


    The level 40 evolution choices for Spiritual Magic placed Nuralie at a crossroads, which was expected. One option would allow her to acquire yet another new sense¨Cmind sense¨Cwhich would further build upon her suite of perception skills. However, it would present a significant overlap with most of what she already had. How many things possessed a mind, while at the same time had no life, no detectable magicks, no Divine presence, weren¡¯t evil, profane, or sacred, and didn¡¯t move? Very few, she expected.


    The second option improved her mental defenses. A tempting offer, but she was already well on her way to addressing any weaknesses there through Alchemy. She also had any number of ideas for how to give herself more of an edge with new equipment.


    The third choice was one that would allow her to combine two disparate parts of her build into a more unified whole.


    Mechamancer


    You have an enhanced connection with the technology you imbue with your spirit. Mechanical entities under your control can be constructed to possess a number of your intrinsic skills equal to the number of Spiritual Magic evolutions you possess. Intrinsic skills granted this way begin at a level equal to your own.


    Further, you may focus to strengthen your spiritual connection with one of your mechanical minions, allowing you to perceive through it, guide its actions, and grant it the ability to use any of your intrinsic skills as if they were its own. You may only inhabit one minion at a time in this way.


    The evolution read like a more specialized version of the ability Arlo had been granted through his amulet. It was more limited in some ways, but more versatile in others. Arlo could only share his skills with Grotto, and the Delve Core had access to the full suite at all times, regardless of Arlo¡¯s concentration on the matter. While Nuralie had to focus to grant her full set of intrinsics to a single minion, the shared perception was a major advantage.


    Plus, she could have additional minions that each had three of her skills. She would have to explore the ability to determine whether there was a numerical limit on how many she could control.


    Thinking over the evolution¡¯s description, Nuralie found that she disliked the term ¡®minion¡¯. She was in favor of using appropriate terminology whenever possible and minion was a defined term used by the System, but it encompassed a large subset of entities. The product of her recent work was similar to a golem. However, that term carried with it a number of preconceptions. She preferred something more specific.


    The name of the evolution was Mechamancer, implying that she was becoming a ¡®mancer¡¯ of ¡®mechas¡¯. Mecha seemed like a good enough term, and Nuralie didn¡¯t believe it was one in use by any other disciplines.


    She sat back and looked over her new Mecha with a wave of satisfaction and a hundred ideas on how to use what she¡¯d learned while making it. However, despite how gratified Nuralie felt, she couldn¡¯t help but think that the Mecha was a bit... small.

 Chapter 253: Durgons and… (9)

    Chapter 253: Durgons and... (9)


    The body of Nuralie¡¯s new Mecha was formed from a set of Zng armor. The dark color naturally lent itself to stealth work in dim environments, and Nuralie had augmented it with a variety of deep forest hues. She could make the coloring adaptive once she got her hands on the appropriate essence.


    For the internal components, she used a combination of hardware to scrape together a chassis, finding sufficient materials between the Zng parts, her trapping supplies, and the other odds and ends she¡¯d collected to replicate the style of joints used in Vaulty¡¯s construction. She could already think of ways to improve its range of motion, but she couldn¡¯t be picky while working out in the wild.


    The musculature was the trickiest bit of work, but here the Grimoire had come in helpful. The witch was fond of using a type of parasitic fungus that would naturally convert infected organisms into Undead upon expiry, slowly consuming and replacing internal tissue with a type of resilient mycelium. While Nuralie didn¡¯t have access to that specific breed of fungus, its cultivation was primarily magical and the process was laid out in great detail.


    Its use for controlling Spiritual entities also did not necessitate the production of Undead, it was simply easier to begin with an existing biological structure that could be co-opted. The witch also used the existing soul of her victim to power the process of conversion. Nuralie could easily bypass both of these ¡®conveniences¡¯ and apply the substance to her own work, with some healthy modification of the underlying techniques.


    The samples of fungus that Nuralie had gathered from within the forest were several times more spiritually dense than what the witch had used, and Nuralie was able to speed along the fungus¡¯ development via her various Alchemy skills and crafting speed bonuses. Her inner mycologist was ashamed at how she¡¯d brute-forced the solution without taking time to grow modified strains across multiple generations, but her inner engineer knew that if something worked, it worked. No need to get fancy if something fancy wasn¡¯t needed.


    She added the new strain to her greenhouse anyway, to see if she could improve it further via more natural mechanisms. That was a longer-term project. The fungus wasn¡¯t aggressive on its own, so the frogs would be safe.


    Nuralie created a nutrient paste through a combination of Alchemy, transmutation, and deep dives into her rations. She spread it throughout the nascent Mecha¡¯s internal structure and encouraged the fungus to spread its mycelium across the desired sections. The absence of a soul to devour made the process more mana-intensive, but distinct from the creation of Undead. Nuralie¡¯s nutrient paste also consisted of no actual meat. The latter was done out of an abundance of caution. She wanted her work to resemble something agricultural as much as possible, as opposed to necromantic.


    Once the mycelium was grown and in place, all it needed was a mana supply to contract, as well as to sustain and even repair itself. Nuralie was able to tap into the Zng armor¡¯s mana reservoir and expand its connections, enabling it to power the mycelium and other internal components. Given that the Zng armor could also repair itself, the construct would be easy to maintain.


    Nuralie then created a series of hybrid mana weaves utilizing principles from both Grotto and Throne¡¯s animating and mental modeling processes. What she was creating fell somewhere between their two disciplines, necessitating a more complex mind than Grotto¡¯s golems but without using a bound soul like Throne¡¯s Undead. Nuralie created an empty vessel, then poured herself into it to create a mental imprint that would grant the entity what it needed for basic autonomy. This was aided significantly by her recent evolution. She selected Stealth, Archery, and Reconnaissance for the new Mecha¡¯s three intrinsics.


    The final product was built in the general shape of a Geulon, complete with a tail like any properly developed organism. Its dark-matte exterior obscured the artificial components within, and the full helm stared at her without any hint of whatever face might lay behind it. From all outward appearances, it could have been a well-armored person, rather than something constructed from ancient technologies, spare machine parts, and magically bioengineered fungus.


    One might question the nature of the entity once they noticed that it was about three feet tall, but maybe they¡¯d think it was a very well-equipped child? Or a Yeti in a Geulon costume. Perhaps just a little person like Grotto¡¯s humanoid disguise.


    Nuralie had made the Mecha small for two reasons. First, it lent itself to stealth. Smaller things were harder to notice. Second, she didn¡¯t have enough supplies to make it any bigger.


    Still, Nuralie narrowed her eyes while she looked it over. She felt that the next version should definitely be bigger. She might even see how


    big she could make it. Her only limitations were time and materials, and Nuralie was already running through ways to build a Mecha that towered over the battlefield.


    Nuralie discarded that flight of fancy and identified her creation.


    Unnamed: Construct, Grade 18


    Nuralie drank an entire canteen of water while she puzzled over the System¡¯s text, then pulled out some snacks, the first she¡¯d had of either since beginning her work. Was she supposed to name the Mecha? She tried mentally assigning it a title, and the System filled in the blank.


    V1 Infiltration Unit: Construct, Grade 18


    Impersonal, but good enough for now. Nuralie pulled on her connection to the construct, finding that her perception could flow between the Mecha and her own body with ease. A slight amount of concentration allowed her to observe both sets of inputs, which was a curious experience. She watched herself watching herself for a brief time, then ran the Mecha through a series of tests.


    Everything was functional, with no unexpected behaviors. The Mecha was animate and could follow her mental instructions, but did not possess its own soul. When Nuralie enhanced her connection to it, it created a subtle soul tether. Hopefully, proximity to the Domininth wouldn¡¯t cause the tether to degrade.


    There was one very good way to find out how robust the connection was, and that meant Nuralie was ready to get back to her favorite part of crafting.


    Field testing.


    *****


    Nuralie was back in a tree, this time upwind of the Domininth. In the time she¡¯d been hidden in her cave, the forest around the Domininth had begun to die. Not only were there piles of sacrificed wildlife scattered around the creature of silver and bone, but the trees, bushes, and other plant life had begun to wither. While they lacked an obvious soul, such things still possessed a spiritual self. They¡¯d been drained like everything else.


    The Domininth was nearing 300,000 health, which was pushing the limits of what Nuralie could theoretically handle with her current plan. It was still within the range of what she¡¯d prepared for and delaying would only push things further into the Domininth¡¯s favor. She went ahead and ordered her Mecha to advance.


    Nuralie focused on the connection and found herself viewing the world from a foot off the ground as the construct moved on all fours towards the Domininth. It possessed all the talent that Nuralie had with Stealth but lacked some of the loson¡¯s other advantages for staying hidden. Even so, it would take an extraordinary observer to notice the nearly invisible shape moving through the decaying brush.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    As it approached the Domininth, Nuralie felt a tug on the Spiritual connection, but the link between Nuralie and the construct was metaphysical in nature. It wasn¡¯t as though a literal thread stretched out between them through the forest. While her spirit moved with the golem in some ways, her spiritual self never drew any closer to the Domininth. The soul divergence aura placed pressure on the binding, but Nuralie¡¯s soul was safely anchored to her body. Between her distance from the Domininth and the protections her potion gave, it wasn¡¯t enough to disrupt her tether to the Mecha.


    Satisfied that her work had borne fruit, Nuralie guided the Mecha forward, past the tree line and out into the clearing around the Domininth. The Asimanth prowled this area, but none were engaged in a proper patrol. They moved toward the Domininth to bring it prey, waited their turn to feed it, dumped the bodies, and then returned to their hunt. Their paths were predictable and easily avoided.


    The Mecha used piles of dead brush and mounds of dirt tilled up near the mass graves to stay out of sight. It was unclear whether the Domininth or Asimanth could see in a traditional sense¨Cneither had eyes¨Cbut Nuralie was sure to guide the construct so that there was never a clear sightline from either groups.


    She needed the Mecha to be within 46 feet of the Domininth to use Mad Experiment through her Spiritual Lensing passive, but there was no reason to get that close quite yet. Nuralie had a skill to charge, and it would take several minutes to do so.


    The Mecha paused its advance amidst a scattering of large rocks, dislodged during whatever event had caused the path of destruction behind the Domininth. The construct slowly lowered itself until fully prone. There was a narrow space through which the Mecha could still see Nuralie¡¯s target: The Domininth¡¯s brain¨Cexposed through a small strip of bone that had yet to fully regrow.


    Nuralie drank a stamina potion. She¡¯d moved beyond the limitations most Delvers had for potion consumption and could benefit from multiple without risking mana toxicity. Her stamina regen jumped from 22 to 407, enough to earn her one more attack from Hunger Shot during the four minutes she¡¯d charge it. Nuralie also activated Night Strike, converting her arrow into a Spiritual weapon and making it both invisible and incorporeal until it struck its target. She spent the mana to convert her next attack to Holy, then drew back on the Bow of Yearning, taking aim at the Domininth from two perspectives¨Cher own and the Mecha¡¯s.


    The seconds ticked by at an agonizing creep. Both she and her construct were absolutely still, the former because of the absolute control Nuralie had over her body, the latter because of its inanimate nature. Nuralie¡¯s stamina bar slowly drained, and the burn in her muscles slowly rose. Even so, her arms never shook, her hands never wavered, never once did she even blink.


    Finally, her attack had consumed everything she could give it. Nuralie focused on Spiritual Lensing and¨Cfor a moment¨Cher soul melded with the Mecha on a level even deeper than their evolution-enhanced connection. Physical reality around the Mecha became interlinked with the Spiritual realm around Nuralie, and when she loosed her spectral arrow, it launched from just in front of the golem.


    Hunger Shot duplicated the attack and copied every aspect of the initial shot. Thirty-nine arrows sailed forth, each one invisible to the eye, unimpeded by any physical obstacle, laced with a potent soul poison, and blessed by the Eschenden to carry out their holy purpose.


    They struck without a sound, and in a single moment, more than three dozen arrows appeared in the folds of the Domininth¡¯s brain.


    Every single Asmimanth turned as one. They had no voices with which to cry out, but their distress was clear. They rushed toward their master, abandoning their sacrifices and searching for the cause of the Domininth¡¯s harm.


    The Mecha was already charging, bounding forward with all the speed it had been built with. It couldn¡¯t move with the same haste as Nuralie, but it still blurred across the field so quickly it could have been an arrow itself. In less than a second it was in range, and Nuralie once again bent the distance between two realms to activate Mad Experiment from the golem¡¯s location.


    Little effect could be seen on the Domininth as its Toxicity doubled, but the Asimanth began to writhe and fall. One by one, their limbs folded across their bodies and they collapsed, spasming in silent agony.


    Nuralie ordered the Mecha to escape, but those Asimanth still standing gave chase. They cornered Nuralie¡¯s construct, and though it was an impressive piece of technology, a dozen Grade 20 Undead were too much for it. Nuralie did her best to guide her creation, lending it more skills through their connection, but her intrinsics favored avoidance, not escape.


    The Mecha was swarmed and destroyed, which was a pity, but Nuralie had learned enough to easily make another.


    She went ahead and cast Venomous Escalation, giving the spell attack a shot at doubling the Domininth¡¯s Toxicity again. As she expected, the spell failed to penetrate the Dominth¡¯s defenses. Nuralie figured it had been worth the attempt, especially since the skill had no visible tells.


    That was a mistake. The Domininth still saw her.


    The air above the Domininth warped, and an unexpected wave of Dimensional energy overwhelmed Nuralie¡¯s magic sense. She immediately used Shadow Walk to abandon her position and tore through the forest on an irregular path away from the Domininth.


    A split second after Nuralie had begun her escape, a sharp whine howled through the forest. Wind erupted in all directions, shattering branches and toppling entire trees. Nuralie danced between the debris, moving at a speed that made the shrapnel seem to fall like lazy snowflakes, but the devastation around her was not the attack. It was the preamble.


    Nuralie¡¯s golem had been torn apart, but for a few moments after she could still see through its artificial eyes. A fracture appeared in space, moving like lightning from above the Domininth to the tree where Nuralie had been hiding. Everything for a hundred feet in all directions around the fracture¨Cthe tree, the ground, the fallen Asimanth, the sky¨Cbecame a spiraling mass of disintegrating matter.


    The last thing she saw through her Mecha as its body turned to powder was the beam beginning to sweep across the forest.


    Nuralie used that information, swapping from her zig-zag pattern to a direct line away from the Domininth. Everywhere the beam passed, the forest was obliterated. She wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge, her only option was to be outside of the attack¡¯s range.


    Nuralie drew a stimulant potion and shattered the vial between her teeth, then swallowed. Gravity would have been too slow to pull the contents into her throat. She swapped her passive buff from mental protection to a movement speed boost and abandoned any attempt at remaining undetected.


    Her pace was quick enough to leave her own wake of devastation behind, a shockwave preceding the Domininth¡¯s annihilation. She bypassed obstacles with Shadow Walk, and then abandoned the strategy in favor of burning the use of her highest-tier Speed evolution.


    Nuralie¡¯s body vibrated until it stepped outside of the physical realm and began to pass through solid objects. Her body remained in phase where needed, allowing her to take her next step, but only the briefest flickers of corporeality were necessary to maintain her movement. Unburdened by obstructions or wind resistance, Nuralie moved even faster.


    The Domininth¡¯s attack had left Nuralie with two seconds to react. She made it a mile, and it was barely enough.


    Everything within 7,500 feet of the Domininth was shredded. A 120-degree cone of absolute destruction had taken a geometrically perfect slice out of the forest, reduced it to dust, and scattered it across many more miles of forest. Only Nuralie¡¯s initial distance from the Domininth had saved her.


    She lay on the ground, gasping for air and choking as her lungs filled with atomized nature. She pulled a particulate mask from inventory and pressed it against her face, but still gagged and sputtered. She haphazardly donned goggles to protect her sight, then spent several minutes retching and dry heaving, both from exhaustion and the brief moment she¡¯d been breathing the deadly air.


    Throughout that time, she waited for the Asimanth to come, waited for another attack from the Domininth, but no enemies appeared. The forest was still and silent. Eventually, she found her feet, double-checked her protective equipment, and began making her way back to the clearing.


    She kept to the edges of the disaster, doing her best to stay hidden amidst the still-standing trees. It was difficult as she continued to choke on occasion, but the dust made seeing any further than a few feet impossible. She relied on her sense abilities to guide her and ran into her first Asimanth corpse a thousand feet from the Domininth.


    As she drew closer, the corpses became more frequent. She found dozens of the Asimanth, all dead. A few seemed to have died from shrapnel, but most had no visible wounds. She took her time while closing on the Domininth, spending an hour making the journey that had taken her only seconds to cross during her flight.


    When she eventually made out the dark shape of the Domininth through the haze, she sensed no life from it. As she drew closer, she realized there was nothing else to sense either. It was no longer living, undead, or whatever it had been before. It was as inert as the scattered rocks around it.


    Nuralie stood and stared for a few moments, absorbing the idea of her victory. She allowed herself a moment of satisfaction and another moment of grief for the destruction its death had caused. Still, the forest was much larger than what the Domininth had destroyed, and it would no longer be burdened by the creature¡¯s existence.


    Nuralie looked up at the Domininth for a little while longer, then nodded to herself and pulled out a pair of thick gloves.


    She had a very interesting dissection to perform.

 Chapter 254: Dargons and… (10)

    Chapter 254: Dargons and... (10)


    ***


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY: USER NAME [Ruler 4]


    ADDENDUM NOTE: There was a comment here. It¡¯s gone now.


    ***


    Her Royal Highness Princess Ishi of the Silver Lounge was having an intriguing sort of day. She¡¯d had the privilege of overseeing the evaluations of new Dimensional applicants to the club for some years now, ever since her mother had decided that her daughter was capable enough to serve as the test¡¯s proctor. Her Silver Majesty, Master of the Infinite, had also remarked on how tedious she found the process, but Ishi felt honored that she could relieve her mother of any burden, so great as they were.


    In all that time, Ishi had observed many candidates, though not as many as one might expect. Dimensional was somewhat rare as far as attunements went, and applicants only arrived every few months or so. Most who were invited to the club received their invitation soon after leaving their juvenile forms, and while there had been some talented aspiring members, Ishi had never once encountered an applicant she found ungovernable.


    Today, however, there were two notable differences from her ordinary testing routine. First, the testing sites had been designated as Dungeons by the System. Ishi was well aware of Dungeons, although she¡¯d not been alive when they last arose. She¡¯d received the phase transition notification like any other individual with Delver levels, and Ishi¡¯s mother had further explained their nature to her in detail.


    Ishi had been curious to see how such a designation might affect the tests, but it seemed to have little impact on the process. It was simply a descriptor informing Delvers of the unique nature of the testing environment. Ishi had been glad to see that it wouldn¡¯t cause any unexpected problems, but she¡¯d also found herself disappointed at the lack of novelty. However, she was finding that the second divergence from her routine was providing plenty of novelty on its own.


    The testing did not exclude any sentient race, but it was nonetheless unusual for a natural humanoid to receive an invitation. The last she¡¯d heard of was the governess of their southern neighbor, Godking Ayamari. Her performance had been sufficient for the Rulers to overlook that lofty title, bestowed upon the shapeshifter by her subjects.


    Other natural humanoids were less impressive during their testing, or so she¡¯d been told. As it was, Ishi hadn¡¯t held much hope for an inspiring performance, especially once she¡¯d seen the applicant. A run-of-the-mill human wearing simple verdantum armor, draped in a feather boa, of all things.


    Then she¡¯d noted that the man was touched by Spiritus. Then she¡¯d noted that the man had trivialized his entire test. And then she¡¯d noted that the feather boa really did bring his entire ensemble together, even though there was no reason it should have worked.


    There were tiers to the test, of course, so Ishi quickly advanced him to the next bracket, which he promptly broke. Despite the layers of anti-teleportation and portal magicks Ishi had activated, the man had ignored them as though they were never there.


    And then, he¡¯d even resisted her own spells!


    It was enough to leave her flustered, and it was a mark of shame that her mother had been forced to take over as proctor. Ishi pushed away that unbecoming feeling and resolved to learn from her mother¡¯s approach. The unusual fellow was now trapped in an ever-expanding spiral downwards, running towards an end that only ever grew more distant. Ishi had been excited to see how he¡¯d handle the problem and nearly as excited to see how her mother adapted to the man¡¯s infuriating spellwork.


    Alas, for the last day all she¡¯d seen was a man having a jog. He teleported often and threw his hammer here and there down the hallway, but he mostly just ran. Once, he¡¯d cast some kind of explosion spell, but had so far decided against repeating its use for whatever reason.


    Why was he running? Certainly he understood that his objective never grew any closer. At first she¡¯d thought he might be some kind of genius, but now suspected he was a simpleton with an unusual gift for teleportation. It was all very vexing, and she was feeling appropriately vexed as a result.


    Ishi bit her lip in frustration as she watched the scrying mirror, then immediately regretted her display of emotion. Her mother would have taken note, and she expected to be redressed for the unbecoming behavior. Just when Ishi thought Her Silver Majesty would chide her from her throne, she was spared the moment of indignity by the arrival of Her Cerulean Majesty.


    The ambient mana levels rose dramatically for an instant, until it was so thick as to become a tangible fog, and then the eternal sorceress formed from the mists. The Watcher of Mystics, Eldest of All, floated forth to study the scrying mirror alongside Ishi. Her Majesty¡¯s body glowed and rippled like liquid, casting points of azure light across the ground. Even Ishi was tested by the woman¡¯s mere presence, struggling to maintain control of her own mana pool.


    They stood in silence for several minutes, all present knowing better than to question Her Cerulean Majesty¡¯s arrival before she¡¯d announced her purpose. Finally, she glanced down at Ishi, who resisted the impulse to tremble beneath the woman¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°What is the purpose of this?¡± she asked, waving a watery hand at the mirror.


    ¡°We are testing the Dimensional candidate, Your Majesty,¡± said Ishi.


    ¡°Fool girl, I know that,¡± said Cerulean. She turned to face Ishi¡¯s mother, who watched from her silver throne, impassive. ¡°Why do you allow him to show such disrespect?¡±


    ¡°Disrespect?¡± asked Her Silver Majesty. ¡°He wanders my endless spiral, finding no end. I fear his talents are exhausted, but I find no reason to see malice in his failings.¡±


    Cerulean watched Silver for a time, no doubt biting back whatever scathing remark she wished to make. ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s test is now a Dungeon, is it not?¡±


    Ishi¡¯s mother nodded. ¡°This is true,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°And this child is a Delver, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Silver, irritation creeping into her tone.


    ¡°He runs your corridors for hours on end, making no move to solve its puzzles,¡± said Cerulean. She turned back to the mirror. ¡°Instead, he casts his spells as often as his mana allows. I daresay the man is training, not facing the challenges you¡¯ve curated for him.¡±


    Her Silver Majesty slowly stood from her throne and stepped down toward the mirror, stopping behind Ishi and placing her hands on her daughter¡¯s shoulders. Silver watched the man throw his hammer, perfectly arcing its path so that it continued down the spiralling tunnel. He then teleported down and through the walls to catch it. He seemed excited by his success, pumping his arm in what Ishi interpreted as a gesture of victory.


    ¡°You may have a point, dear sister,¡± said Ishi¡¯s mother. She flicked a hand and the tunnel began to shift. ¡°We will allow him the pleasure of the next stage. No¨C¡± Silver flicked her hand again. ¡°We will advance him by two. Perhaps that will prove engaging?¡±


    ¡°I would advance him to the nether,¡± said Cerulean. ¡°But it is your test, and your prerogative.¡±


    ¡°It is indeed,¡± said Silver. ¡°How comes your own petitioner?¡±


    Cerulean went still again in her terrifying way, speaking after several seconds had gone by in utter silence. ¡°She has passed.¡±


    ¡°I suspected as much,¡± said Silver, ignoring the tension. ¡°Forgive me for my imprecision. I wished to know how you¡¯ve judged her.¡±


    ¡°Her control of mana is adequate,¡± said Cerulean.


    The sound of feathers ruffling came from behind, and His Violet Majesty, Sovereign of Spirits, appeared to Ishi¡¯s left, his bulk filling her peripheral vision. Ishi was now surrounded, with Rulers on three sides and the scrying mirror in front. She focused on her breathing.


    ¡°When you say adequate,¡± Violet began, ¡°do you mean it in an absolute sense?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve no patience for qualifiers,¡± said Cerulean. ¡°Her adequacy has been judged on a universal scale.¡±


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    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Violet rumbled. ¡°If I recall, you described my own mana control as ¡®adequate¡¯.¡±


    ¡°It has been some millenia,¡± said Cerulean. ¡°But that is an accurate summation of my findings.¡±


    ¡°Then on this ¡®universal¡¯ scale, you believe that your petitioner is as talented as myself at controlling mana?¡± asked Violet.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Cerulean. ¡°However, it is conceivable that you have improved during the intervening time. Would you consent to another evaluation?¡±


    ¡°No thank you,¡± said Violet. ¡°But I appreciate your generosity in making the offer.¡±


    ¡°I find myself curious,¡± said Ishi¡¯s mother, Silver. ¡°What feat could that mage have performed to receive such a rating?¡±


    Cerulean did not deign to reply, but a burst of heat brought with it an answer. The burning form of His Scarlet Majesty¡¯s false body appeared in a plume of fire, so hot as to make curls of smoke drift up from Ishi¡¯s dress.


    ¡°The baby mage took control of Number Two¡¯s mana pool!¡± said Scarlet. He placed his hands on his hips and leaned back, so as to look down his nose at Cerulean. Violet and Silver exchanged rather scandalized looks.


    Ishi prepared to become collateral damage, but centered herself by patting at the burgeoning flames on her dress before they could take hold. She then began maintaining a minor Dispel around her to prevent another flare up.


    The mana in the room evaporated as Cerulean seized it. Ishi fought to keep her core from imploding, barely managing to stop herself from being fully drained. Her mother squeezed her shoulders, and Ishi knew she¡¯d be protected if the worst came to pass. It was little comfort. If Ishi were forced to rely on her mother, the weakness would not be forgotten. One was not granted the right to exist within the Ruler¡¯s chamber if they were too fragile to bear its eccentricities.


    ¡°A crude description, Your Majesty,¡± said Cerulean, no small amount of venom in her voice.


    ¡°Fuck off with that formal shit. Call me Hep like normal, for the sake of the gods.¡±


    ¡°The petitioners have not earned our names,¡± said Cerulean. ¡°I¡¯ll not breach decorum for¨C¡±


    ¡°Consider it breached!¡± said Hep, Lord of the Scarlet Bask and First Among Rulers. ¡°Use your colors if you insist, but no more ¡®Your Majesty¡¯ this or ¡®Your Grace¡¯ that.¡±


    ¡°Gold is technically in charge of formalities,¡± said Violet with a chuckle. A few feathers drifted down to Ishi¡¯s feet as the goliath scratched at his horns.


    ¡°Well, Gold isn¡¯t here,¡± said Hep. ¡°She¡¯s off testing her own candidate. She can reinstate the rules when she gets back if she wants.¡±


    ¡°It seems we have at least one exceptional candidate,¡± said Silver, whose hands had relaxed on Ishi¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Cerulean has a mage of some talent, whereas my petitioner insists on playing jester. How fared your own, Lord Hep?¡±


    Hep marched up to the largest throne in the room and leaped up onto it. His Elemental form looked comically small amidst the titanic seat.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let ¡®Lord¡¯ slide,¡± he said. ¡°As for my guy? It was kind of a draw, but my Remembrance gave him the win.¡± Hep leaned forward and grinned, tapping claws against his fiery knees.


    ¡°I assume there is more to it than that?¡± asked Silver.


    ¡°Guess what level my Remembrance was,¡± he replied.


    Violet made a low groaning noise. ¡°If you¡¯re this excited, I imagine it must have been Level 20.¡±


    ¡°Twenty-five!¡± Hep shouted, the flames on his head dancing higher. ¡°Can you believe that shit?¡±


    ¡°Then there are at least two exceptional petitioners,¡± said Silver. Hep¡¯s grin turned to a frown as Ishi¡¯s mother refused to play into his excitement. ¡°We¡¯ve yet to hear of yours, Lord Violet.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± said the horned behemoth. ¡°I owe you a Domininth.¡±


    Silver blinked as she processed Violet¡¯s statement. ¡°What happened to the one I lent you?¡±


    Violet rubbed at his crown of horns. ¡°She killed it.¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± said Silver. ¡°It was a Domininth. They have planar and spatial offsets, along with a litany of immunities and Physical invulnerability, Lord Violet.¡±


    ¡°And almost as much health as me,¡± Hep added.


    ¡°A Level 13 Delver did not kill the Domininth,¡± said Silver. Her grip was once more tightening on Ishi¡¯s shoulders. ¡°You are mistaken.¡±


    ¡°I immobilized it so it wouldn¡¯t immediately obliterate her,¡± said Violet. Silver glared at him. ¡°She only needed to survive for sixty-four hours! I didn¡¯t expect her to fight the damned thing!¡±


    ¡°How?¡± asked Silver. ¡°How did she kill it? Certainly she didn¡¯t hunt down all of its spawn.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well that¡¯s interesting,¡± said Violet. ¡°She used a spiritual poison, very unique. Hit it with around 20,000 stacks in about two seconds.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± shouted Hep. ¡°That¡¯s-a big poison!¡±


    ¡°Three


    exceptional petitioners,¡± Silver said in a low tone. ¡°Domininths are not easy to come by, Violet.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know,¡± Violet replied. ¡°I said I¡¯d replace it. But maybe with something of equal value. Hrmm, how about an Ultra Maggot?¡±


    Silver tsked, then thought. ¡°How near is it to maturity? Actually, no, we¡¯ll discuss this later.¡±


    Violet smiled and shrugged, apparently feeling that he was off the hook for the moment.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be interested to learn of Gold¡¯s petitioner when she returns,¡± said Silver.


    ¡°I doubt it¡¯ll be worth hearing about,¡± said Hep. ¡°She¡¯ll talk about worthiness and conviction and yadda yadda. Who can translate that stuff?¡± A burst of fire and Hep was standing right in front of Ishi, looking at the scrying mirror. She was completely boxed in. ¡°What¡¯s this guy cooking up?¡±


    The group returned their attention to the mirror, where a thousand Realm Blighters were flanking the flashy man from both directions of the tunnel, which had grown much narrower. He opened a portal at his back, then his shield broke into a dozen pieces. They spread throughout the corridor to block the Realm Blighter¡¯s advance from the opposite direction. Mana danced along his fingertips in quick bursts.


    ¡°He¡¯s dispelling the Blighter teleports,¡± Cerulean mumbled.


    ¡°That can¡¯t last long,¡± said Silver. ¡°And where does that portal lead?¡± She gestured and the mirror¡¯s view moved to peer into the portal. It revealed a large machine of some kind with a great many cannons poking out of its hulking frame. Behind it, Ishi could make out what looked like an armory.


    ¡°Are those Zng weapons?¡± asked Hep.


    Half of the tunnel became a storm of ghastly beams and crackling micro-portals. The machine unloaded on the advancing Realm Blighters in a continuous stream of space-shattering evisceration and necrotic death. Once that side of the tunnel was little more than desiccated corpses and fleshy chunks, the man closed the portal and teleported away from the horde held at bay with his shield. The item reformed and darted back to anchor itself onto his armguard, and the man opened another portal.


    This one was only open for a moment, but Ishi spotted a twisted, terrifying visage peeking through it. A powerful shock wave travelled down the tunnel, destroying another swath of the Blighters and sending many more tumbling from the walls.


    The man closed that portal as well, then pointed his hammer toward the fallen beasts. Waves of gravitational force emanated from it, sending Blighters tumbling through the air towards the man. Just when the first group was about to collide with him, a wave of frost pulsed down the hallway, smashing into the Blighters and pushing them back, covered in ice. The Blighters lost momentum after sixty feet, began to fall towards the man once more, and were sent flying away with another crashing wave of cold.


    ¡°Elemental Barrier,¡± Cerulean commented. ¡°Mana shaped into a cone, alongside some spatial effect to pull them in. He likely takes lessons from the mage.¡±


    ¡°Is he adequate?¡± asked Violet.


    ¡°Doubtful,¡± Cerulean answered. ¡°There was no need to point his hammer to activate those spell effects. It¡¯s sloppy casting.¡±


    Almost as if he¡¯d heard Cerulean, the man adjusted his stance and began flipping the hammer in one hand. Another series of pulses arrived with no obvious motions on the man¡¯s part. The vast majority of Blighters did not survive.


    Violet chuckled. ¡°Did he just realize he didn¡¯t need to point his hammer?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it was some dramatic flair,¡± said Hep. ¡°I think he¡¯s having fun with it.¡±


    The man culled the few remaining Blighters with volleys of hammer throws that split and multiplied as they sailed toward their targets. Whenever a Blighter tried to avoid the attack, the hammers turned sharply to follow. When they used their limbs to block, his magicks went through their defenses and erased large chunks from their chests.


    Once they were all dead, the man casually leaned back against a wall and tugged off his gauntlets to inspect his fingernails. He brushed them against his boa then looked again before nodding in satisfaction. He ran a hand through his hair and took a moment to finger comb his beard. After some introspection, he pulled out a small bottle of oil to massage into the growth, followed by a brush.


    ¡°Nice,¡± said Hep. ¡°I like this guy.¡±


    ¡°He isn¡¯t even wearing a helm,¡± said Violet. ¡°That¡¯s reckless.¡±


    ¡°He had one earlier, Your Majesties,¡± said Ishi. She suddenly realized that by speaking, she¡¯d brought down the attention of all four Rulers. She steeled her resolve and explained. ¡°He removed it after a while and began talking aloud about how he has conflicting feelings over wearing a full helm. He said that, on the one hand, it¡¯s practical and the smart thing to do. But on the other hand, the audience needs to be able to see the main character¡¯s face in order to form an appropriate emotional bond.¡±


    ¡°He knows we¡¯re watching?¡± asked Violet.


    ¡°I think the audience of which he speaks is metaphorical,¡± said Ishi.


    ¡°A metaphor for what?¡± asked Hep.


    ¡°His ego, most likely,¡± said Cerulean, scowling at the mirror.


    ¡°By the hells,¡± hissed Silver. ¡°Ishi, go in there and humble this man.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mother,¡± said Ishi. Her response was automatic, as she knew better than to question or deny her mother¡¯s commands. It wasn¡¯t until she was equipping her combat set that she stopped to think about what she was expected to do.


    Certainly Her Silver Majesty wished for Ishi to leave the man alive.


    Before she could ask for clarity, her mother was already teleporting Ishi into the tunnels.

 Chapter 255: Dargons and... (11)

    Chapter 255: Dargons and... (11)


    Your Dimensional Magic Skill has increased to level 50!


    I smiled at the notification, then frowned. Progress always gave me a brief moment of satisfaction, but it wasn¡¯t long before I was eager for the next incremental increase. It made me take a moment to consider my mental state.


    In the past, I¡¯d spent a lot of years being overly concerned with living in the future and failed to dedicate enough bandwidth to the present. Productivity had been my primary measure of self-worth. Improvement was a path without end, upon which I strode with an ever-quickening pace. However, I¡¯d been able to tame that obsession in my later years, which had been the most peaceful time of my waking life.


    Arzia had been beneficial for me in many ways, mentally speaking. My self-acceptance had never been more fully realized, but my eagerness to escape any moment of stillness was at its peak. It was hard to ignore the allure of literal superpowers, and there were a lot pressures driving me in that direction.


    Easing my foot up off the gas pedal was becoming a little more difficult every passing day, and it¡¯s not as though I¡¯d die of a heart attack from stress or anything. I wasn¡¯t even sure how much my heart was still doing for me. My blood moved around via arcane magical forces and at least 58% of my heart muscle was redundant. Or, 58% of it was some kind of generic super-tissue that could sustain any part of my body. Maybe both!


    Even though my physical health wasn¡¯t a problem, I still needed to ensure that I wasn¡¯t sprinting towards burnout. I mean, I¡¯d literally just sprinted for 24 hours while practicing my Dimensional skills and felt better than ever, but maybe I was a bit, eh, manic?


    Regardless, the training montage had been getting stale, so I was glad when things started to get a bit spicier. It hadn¡¯t gotten that spicy, though. I wasn¡¯t sure what kind of challenge that horde of Realm Blighters had been meant to present, but it hadn¡¯t been much of one. I¡¯d barely even spent any resources. Twenty minutes would bring me back to full.


    That brought another moment of consideration. Objectively, my progress was astronomical. Facing down legions of supernaturally powerful monsters was happening with enough frequency that I¡¯d be willing to call it a pattern, and I was at a level where I could handle that without scuffing my fresh manicure.


    Maybe my party members were enabling me. I was definitely enabling them.


    Maybe we should take another break, one that wasn¡¯t forced upon us by a crippling amount of soul damage.


    Maybe it didn¡¯t matter and I should just get back to grinding.


    My indecision tree over the matter was swiftly felled when an unexpected teleport got my Dimensional senses tingling, and a platinum soul popped up behind me. I turned to find the lovely young woman I¡¯d met back in the quintuple throne room, except this time she was geared up for a fight.


    Be still, my ambiguously beating heart.


    She wore silver armor with deep blue ornamentation that matched her eyes. Curiously, it appeared to be made of some kind of wood, rather than metal or heavy fabrics. It was dense with mana weaves, so I wasn¡¯t about to question its durability, especially since it could be made of a magical composite or something. Wood could be an even better mana container than metal, so long as it was grown in a secret grove and fertilized with the tears of a virgin unicorn.


    Anything could be possible, really...


    I mean, for all I knew, it was crafted from my arch nemesis the Mighty Oak after it transmigrated to Arzia and gained unfathomable durability like myself. Its quest to finish me off once and for all was interrupted by a beautiful woman in search of the key to my heart, only for her to adorn herself in the mythical substance to cut me down as she cut down the oak itself. A tragedy, writ across her body in practical yet form-fitting protection.


    Still with me? I got a bit distracted by the armor.


    Aside from that, she had a kite shield on one arm¨Calso made of wood¨Cand held a rich brown staff¨Cagain, wood¨Cthat subtly glowed with verdant green and glittering diamond.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± I said, giving her a respectful bow. ¡°I fear I had too little time to introduce myself earlier. I am Master Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel Esquire, King of Closetland, Extradimensional Traveler, and Astronaut.¡±


    The woman, to her credit, didn¡¯t hesitate a beat over my titles. She returned my bow as equals, dipping to the exact same level as myself.


    ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty,¡± she said. ¡°I am Princess Ishi of the Silver Lounge, Heir to the Silver Throne, Eye of the Infinite, and Unstoppable Dimensionalist.¡± Once finished, she released her staff to float into the air beside her.


    There was a lot to take in with that brief introduction. She was a princess apparently, which I honestly didn¡¯t find to be much of a surprise. I was running into unexpected princesses with a frequency that I wasn¡¯t quite willing to call a pattern, but it had happened more than once now. That made me expect that more would spontaneously appear in the future. As for her other titles, I didn¡¯t think about them too deeply. All that shit was posturing anyway.


    What I did find worthy of deep thoughts was Princess Ishi¡¯s bow, since it simultaneously issued a compliment and a challenge. If she was truly a princess, then it granted me some significant station. If I was truly a king, then it placed a princess of her nation at a level equal to the sovereign of another.


    That could be interpreted in several ways¨Ca minor insult to Closetland, a subtle expression of disbelief over my claim, or maybe a signal that she thought her nation to be superior to one ruled by a king. I assumed pride was the underlying principle being expressed and decided that the third interpretation made the most sense for now.


    Releasing her staff could have been considered a peaceful act, had she not pulled out a bow immediately after (shockingly, made of wood). Ishi held it in one hand, so it wasn¡¯t immediately aggressive.


    Now that she¡¯d introduced herself, I remembered to shoot her a quick identify.


    Her Royal Highness, Princess Ishi of the Silver Lounge: Delver, Level 21


    Did this confirm her princess-ness, or was the System just repeating what I¡¯d already heard? Her level also made me reexamine her soul. The first time we¡¯d met I¡¯d caught a glance at her spiritual essence, but it was contained and secure like the soul of Nax, the strange doorman.


    Now there were clearly Delver levels, pure platinum with a few striations of violet. Still, her level didn¡¯t quite add up to what I was seeing, and the underlying base soul was the barest sliver, even when I focused on it. There was something primal to it, animalistic desires tempered by pride and curiosity. More recently there were hints of envy and... shame, maybe? Confusion?


    At the very core was something ancient and intense, and when I caught a glimpse of that I realized how deeply I¡¯d been digging in response to the puzzle her soul presented. I backed off, uncertain whether she¡¯d noticed. Even if she hadn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t want to be in the habit of digging so deep without cause.


    Either way, Ishi¡¯s soul was simultaneously less powerful than her Level of 21 would suggest while holding hidden depths that spoke of something much greater than a platinum with a few Special Delves under her belt.


    I needed to figure out how these people were doing this with their souls. Not only so I could use it to protect myself from people like me, but also so I could figure out how to break it. After years of immediately understanding how I matched up against someone else, being uncertain was very uncomfortable.


    While I considered the woman¡¯s odd soul, she took my bait and decided to satisfy her curiosity over my introduction.


    ¡°May I ask why your title includes Esquire twice?¡± she said.


    ¡°It is the result of a conflict between my Royal Counsellor¡¯s eccentricities and my own,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s what made it onto the letterhead, so that¡¯s what I¡¯m going with for the moment.¡±


    ¡°For the moment? Are your titles subject to change?¡±


    ¡°I believe that ¡®Dark Lord¡¯ is currently in the works. If that passes, I¡¯ll probably drop at least one of the ¡®Esquires¡¯. I just don¡¯t like ¡®Master¡¯ being the only thing preceding my name.¡±


    ¡°Would you then become ¡®Dark Lord Master Arlo Xor¡¯Drel Esquire¡¯?¡± Ishi asked. ¡°Or is ¡®Master¡¯ subject to elimination as well?¡±


    ¡°You know, having two titles before my name has a good rhythm to it,¡± I replied. ¡°Dark Lord Arlo feels too casual. Maybe we can move the second ¡®Esquire¡¯ to the front and add one of my other accolades in there somewhere. ¡®Dark Lord Esquire Arlo ¡®Spectersbane¡¯ Xor¡¯Drel. I could also use ¡®Soulsbane¡¯ or ¡®Godsbane¡¯. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare presume that I am familiar enough to issue an opinion on which of the three titles is most suitable, Your Grace.¡±


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    ¡°A fair position to hold, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°I would daresay that two syllables flows better when inserted prior to a surname unless the second syllable is preceded by ¡®The¡¯, a different determiner, or perhaps an adjective,¡± said Ishi. ¡°Even then, such an address is better relegated to the list of titles selected to appear after the surname. Such interceding monikers are overly casual for a formal introduction.¡±


    ¡°A valuable insight. I will take it to heart.¡±


    Ishi nodded her acknowledgment, then continued. ¡°You must forgive me, but I¡¯ve not heard of the kingdom of Closetland,¡± she said. ¡°Given that you are an extradimensional traveler, shall I presume it is a nation from beyond this realm?¡±


    ¡°An astute observation, Princess. However, it would be dishonest of me to claim that Closetland¡¯s status as a dimensional kingdom is the only reason for its relative obscurity. It was only recently founded, you see.¡±


    ¡°Indeed? Then I congratulate you on your independence.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, that is very kind of you to say.¡± Formalities handled, I decided to move on to business. ¡°Princess Ishi, I cannot help but notice you¡¯ve arrived in full combat regalia.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I could characterize this as a reasonable choice given your displays of violence,¡± said Ishi ¡°After all, you wouldn¡¯t expect me to arrive at a battlefield in a ball gown, would you?¡±


    ¡°I suppose not, no.¡±


    ¡°Regardless, that would be misleading at best,¡± she continued. ¡°The truth of the matter is that your behavior during this test has caused some minor offense to Her Silver Majesty. I am here to inspire you to take the matter more seriously.¡±


    ¡°I was unaware that there was a code of conduct during the trial,¡± I said.


    ¡°We are understanding that there may be a cultural divide,¡± said Ishi. ¡°As such, you have been granted the honor of dueling me, rather than facing the misfortunes ordinarily brought on by those who invoke my mother¡¯s disfavor.¡±


    ¡°A considered approach,¡± I said. ¡°And you have my deepest apologies for any offense given. Such was not my intent, and I assure you that any behavior you may have observed was simply the most efficient use of my combat style.¡±


    A hint of a smile touched Ishi¡¯s lips. ¡°I somehow doubt that, Master Xor¡¯Drel.¡±


    ¡°Princess Ishi,¡± I said, holding a hand to my heart. ¡°Have I given you any reason to harbor such skepticism toward my claims?¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°I tend to be most skeptical of those who profess their honesty.¡±


    ¡°Then what is a man to do, to convince you of their integrity?¡±


    ¡°I believe facing the consequences of their actions to be a good start,¡± said Ishi.


    ¡°Then face them I shall,¡± I said, then raised a finger. ¡°However, as you can observe from our rather corpse-ridden environment, I have recently expended some small amount of effort. Would you be willing to grant me a brief reprieve before our duel?¡±


    ¡°For how much of a reprieve do you advocate, Master Xor¡¯Drel?¡±


    ¡°An hour should be all I need,¡± I said. ¡°And five minutes,¡± I hastily added.


    She tilted her head slightly at the addendum. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll not have you say our encounter was inequitable when you are defeated.¡±


    ¡°Such a thought had never once entered my mind,¡± I said.


    Ishi waved a hand, and the corpses around us sank into the ground, along with all the blood and viscera. I gave her my thanks, then sat in a lotus position and gave Grotto a psychic nudge.


    [I will neither confirm nor deny whether Princess Ishi is a Dragon.]


    ¡°Oh, come on. She¡¯s the princess of the Silver Lounge.¡±


    [And what dubious conclusion does this fact inspire in your puerile mind?]


    ¡°Lounge, Grotto. As in a lounge of lizards!¡±


    [Yes, truly irrefutable evidence of her Draconic heritage,] Grotto thought dryly.[Or perhaps her clan enjoys comfortable sitting areas. Was there something else for which you require my input?]


    ¡°Yeah, fine. I wanted to get your opinion on what mana shape I should slot for Arcane Geometry. Right now I can have AoEs ignore my allies for free, but there¡¯s a disheartening absence of friendlies here.¡±


    I began to mentally review the list of shapes Etja and I had codified. The party¡¯s dedicated mage wasn¡¯t very scholastic with her own approach to shaping. These days she could more or less imagine whatever she wanted and make it happen. Personally, I preferred a more structured approach, and our list currently contained sixteen shapes. With the right combination, most of what Etja was capable of was replicable. It just took a bit of thought.


    Arcane Geometry let me pick any one of those shapes and apply it to my skills without increasing their cost. While shapes sometimes varied in how much they increased a skill¡¯s resource requirement, the rule of thumb was that the cost doubled with each shape. That was a compounding value, so getting the first shape free ultimately halved the overall mana cost when applying multiples.


    [Hmm. We know very little of Princess Ishi¡¯s capabilities. Her appearance and titles bias me towards thinking she is primarily a Dimensional caster with at least some degree of archery for support. She also has a shield, which is an odd choice for an archer. How will she fire the bow?]


    ¡°Telekinesis, maybe,¡± I thought in reply. ¡°Her staff is floating. Either the shield or bow might follow suit.¡±


    [Perhaps. Either way, it does not seem as though she will engage in melee or even mid-range combat such as yourself. Closing the distance to reach her will be essential.]


    ¡°I have a pretty good throwing distance on my hammers. Unless she¡¯s moving a mile down these tunnels, it shouldn¡¯t be an issue. Still, Translation triples skill range, so I¡¯ll add that shape to the shortlist.¡±


    [Have you considered our Oblivion Orb combinations any further?]


    ¡°I have, but they¡¯re less efficient than just throwing more Void Hammers. Against groups, spawning big lines or spheres that stick around and continually delete things might be useful, but against a single target? It doesn¡¯t seem that great when it costs several times more mana.¡±


    [How about using Shortcut offensively?]


    That put my mind into overdrive for a moment.


    ¡°Bubble lets me make it a localized AoE. Then... Wedge plus Acute to turn it into a line? That gives me 80 feet of range, but Hole will give me another 30 and Translation makes that 90, bringing the total range to 170. That¡¯s getting really expensive though. Plus, it would only affect willing targets. I¡¯d need Ziggurat to make it an attack. Ziggurat makes it an Intelligence check versus Wisdom, meaning that if she¡¯s a caster she might have an advantage on me. Would the spell being Deific negate that?¡±


    [Not if the failure condition is built into the spell. Mana shaping will be considered a part of the effect once cast, and the Deific modifier only protects from interference, not the skill¡¯s own drawbacks. If it did, Shortcut would have lost its cooldown. Regardless, if you succeed in the attribute contest, she can do nothing to prevent the spell from taking hold.]


    ¡°Which would let me teleport her 400 feet in any direction with a 1-second cooldown.¡±


    [Your Archmage passive increases your effective intrinsic skill by 10. The range would be 480 feet.]


    ¡°Dammit. I always forget about that one. Uh, that means that if I want to burn a 1-hour cooldown I can send her nine freaking miles. Still need a valid teleport location, though. Think there¡¯s an ocean nearby?¡±


    [Given that you¡¯re trapped in a sequestered dimensional realm, I doubt there is much of anything nearby. If you are lucky, there may be an endless expanse of nothing anathema to all physical matter.]


    ¡°If it¡¯s just a duel, I¡¯d rather not cast her into the nothing or anything.¡±


    [Why not? It would likely ensure your victory.]


    ¡°Because that might kill her? It¡¯s just a friendly bout, not a fight for our lives.¡±


    [Are you certain? Many duels are fought to the death and you did not inquire as to the rules.]


    I tried to hide my look of consternation as I realized Grotto was absolutely correct. Of course, it was impossible to hide that I¡¯d made a mistake when I asked the princess for clarification.


    ¡°We shall each take the duel seriously, as though it were a fight for our lives,¡± said Princess Ishi. I felt Grotto give a smug smile through our connection ¡°However, either side may admit defeat at any time, at which point hostilities shall cease. Incapacitation for 1 minute or longer is also considered a loss for the incapacitated party, during which time the attacking party is expected to allow for their opponent¡¯s potential recovery. If either party abuses this rule, it is a loss for the offender.


    ¡°There are no geographic bounds for the duel and no limitations on weaponry or other skill use,¡± Ishi continued. ¡°We may use anything we have access to from within this space or our inventories.¡± Ishi tilted her head as though listening to something and frowned. ¡°However, we are not allowed to use any abilities with the capacity to destroy this dimensional realm, such as ¡®highly destructive¡¯ transformations or the invocation of higher powers.¡±


    She didn¡¯t look happy about that last bit.


    ¡°I can give myself wings and tentacles,¡± I said. ¡°I assume that¡¯s not a ¡®highly destructive¡¯ transformation?¡±


    ¡°That will be fine. I will also use such partial modifications.¡±


    It sounded like The Dread Star would sit this one out, but I had a good idea of the kind of ¡®transformation¡¯ Ishi was being forbidden from using.


    I thanked her for the explanation and went back to my discussion with Grotto.


    ¡°Here¡¯s an idea,¡± I thought to my familiar. ¡°What do you think about abusing the portal to the Pocket Closet?¡± I gave Grotto a condensed explanation of my thoughts.


    Ishi¡¯s rule about being limited to ¡°what we have access to from within this space or our inventories¡± was particularly vague, and the type of thing I would normally insist be clarified. The only reason that I didn¡¯t ask for said clarification is that, if Ishi intended to exploit the broadly worded rule, I was betting that I could exploit it better.


    [Oh yes. I think that will work very nicely.] I could feel him rubbing his feelers together with sinister glee, even though I knew he didn¡¯t have any feelers at that moment.


    [Very nicely, indeed.]

 Chapter 256: Dargons and… (12)

    Chapter 256: Dargons and... (12)


    I ended up taking Devil Drill Beam for my free mana shape. It was the OG, the very first shape I¡¯d ever learned, and couldn¡¯t be replicated through the codified shapes on our list without using at least two of them. So, it was a two-for-one.


    DDB turned any ¡®touch¡¯ skill into a thirty-foot beam that went straight through all obstacles. Oblivion Orb was my only touch skill, making the shape less versatile than most of the others I knew, but since I could slap it onto my hammers and then copy my hammers for 2 mana each, it resulted in an incredibly efficient combination. I was basically getting a shaped Oblivion Orb that should have cost 15 mana for 2 mana a pop instead.


    Turning Oblivion Orb into a line attack also served as a launching point for many other interesting shapes the spell could take. There were a few things I wanted to play around with in this fight, and both Grotto and I thought it was the best pick for experimentation, while also trying to secure the win.


    The hour-and-five-minute break hadn¡¯t been for my resources to recover. I¡¯d implied that¡¯s what it was for, but hadn¡¯t ever stated my purpose for the break. My health, mana, and stamina were all back to full practically by the time Ishi and I had finished our chat. The real reason for the break was that I¡¯d needed five minutes to have a speed-of-thought strategy meeting with Grotto, and then another hour because that¡¯s how long it took for me to swap which shape Arcane Geometry applied to.


    It was very nice of Ishi to wait.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Ishi asked once I stood and had a brief stretch.


    I slapped on my helm, sent Gracorvus into shield mode, and summoned Somncres. ¡°Yep.¡±


    The moment the word ended, Ishi disappeared.


    She hadn¡¯t gone far with the teleport, only a couple hundred feet down the narrow tunnel, but a pair of silver wings spread out from her back and she continued to put distance between us. Her flight speed was much faster than I could run, I could already tell that much, and she was facing toward me even as she retreated. Both her staff and bow were hurtling along right beside her, her free hand now occupied by a wand. An arrow was already screaming towards me, leaving a trail of warped space behind it.


    It looked like Grotto¡¯s initial evaluation was correct and Ishi wanted to make this a ranged battle. While my effective throwing distance with my hammers was solid, it wouldn¡¯t take Ishi long to move beyond it at her current pace. Homing Weapon would help with that, but it wasn¡¯t like I could throw my hammers at the sun and expect them to make it there one day. If Ishi got far enough away, the skill wouldn¡¯t activate.


    The dimensional space had warped prior to my encounter with the Realm Blighters. The tunnel was no longer an endless spiral downward, but another straightaway with no perceptible end. Normally this would have been an excellent environment for me. Having my enemies arrayed in a neat line was great for both my defensive and offensive strategies, but it was an even better setup for a long-range sniper. If Ishi could fire that bow from a mile or more, things could get sticky.


    Of course, while my current running speed was too slow to catch up to Ishi, my flying speed was much better. I was already focusing on Therianthropy from the moment Ishi asked if I was ready, and my wings and tentacles burst from my back an instant after the fight officially began. I snagged two wands from inventory with my feelers, then timed my Shortcut to teleport past Ishi¡¯s first arrow.


    I went as far as Shortcut could take me with a 1-second cooldown, closing some of the distance Ishi had made, and was immediately moving at my max speed. Despite my boost, I was still slightly slower than the princess, but the difference in our teleport ranges allowed me to keep up. Another arrow came at me before Shortcut was ready, and I held up Gracorvus, tensing for impact.


    When the arrow hit, it sucked all light and sound from the world. This would have been a major handicap if I couldn¡¯t still see Ishi¡¯s soul, although I now had no visual on her incoming projectiles. The moment after the arrow robbed me of sight and hearing, the tunnel became a vacuum.


    This wasn''t like the vacuum of space. It was much worse. An immense force tore at my body, ripping the air from my lungs and threatening to rupture my eardrums. My eyes felt like they were boiling and about to pop out of my head and every inch of my skin felt like it was on fire.


    My toughness saved me from any real damage, but the effect continued to build even as I flew forward. I realized that the spells were tracking me somehow and my first instinct was to end the effects with Dispel. I sent a burst of countermagic into the mana sustaining them, but it didn¡¯t work out the way I¡¯d hoped.


    Absolute Authority: Your Mystical Magic skill level is too low to counter or negate Princess Ishi¡¯s spells!


    There went one of my best tricks. I recognized the evolution since it was one that Etja had as well. It meant that Ishi had Mystical Magic at level 40 or higher. If my only ability for disrupting someone¡¯s spells was to counter or negate them, then my own skill level of 30 might as well have been a big fat zero. However, I had other fuckery I could deploy, not that it applied to this exact situation.


    My Dispel having proved useless, I went for an analog solution and swept Somncres over the front of my shield, feeling the slightest resistance as I dislodged the arrow buried between two of its plates. I left the arrow behind along with the zone bereft of light and sound, then quickly exited the vacuum.


    My ears popped hard enough to ring, and the sudden spike in air pressure made me feel like I was a water balloon squeezed until it was on the edge of bursting. I was pretty sure I was immune to decompression sickness¨Cor would it be compression sickness in this scenario? Probably both. Regardless, it looked like I¡¯d have it confirmed one way or another by the end of this duel.


    The vacuum would only be dangerous if I was forced to linger in it, but I was betting it would have been much worse if my blood was willing to evacuate my body. Otherwise, the biggest threat the spell posed was that it tried to suck everything out of my everywhere, and only my blood was really immune to it. I¡¯d have to clench for all I was worth if I wanted to keep my dignity in front of the princess.


    I cast another Shortcut to avoid the next arrow and threw a set of Void Hammers at Ishi, duplicating it four times with Somncres. I immediately resummoned the real hammer to my hand, allowing the fleeting copies to test Ishi¡¯s defenses, which would inform my next move.


    Ishi¡¯s body glowed with Shielding, which was building up as she continued to move. Her kite shield was already in position to catch my attack, but another layer of Shielding wrapped around the one that was already there. It was a pretty impressive defense, especially since Shielding didn¡¯t normally stack.


    All four hammers came in at slightly different trajectories, but there wasn¡¯t a whole lot of room to get fancy in the narrow tunnel. Ishi deftly moved her kite shield to catch all four, which pounded into the wood in rapid succession. A helm had appeared to hide her face, preventing me from getting a good read on her reaction, but each hit shook her around and forced her to stabilize her flight, lest she collide with a wall.


    The Oblivion Orbs, of course, couldn¡¯t be blocked, and the woman¡¯s Shielding was exhausted after the third hammer. Her kite shield, armor, and the distance between us prevented me from seeing any bodily signs of damage, but the woman¡¯s soul told me enough. She was surprised by how much that shit had sucked for her, but she was nowhere close to being in danger.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Also during this time, something very odd happened.


    All four of the hammers I¡¯d sent at Ishi were fleeting copies. That meant they would disappear the moment they struck something substantial. But they didn¡¯t disappear. Each hammer appeared to bounce off of the shield and immediately come blasting back down the corridor at me.


    It was betrayal! Mutiny! My own hammers were in revolt!


    Now here¡¯s the thing. My hammers were no joke. With my spec, a single Oblivion Orb wasn¡¯t a big deal. A single Homing Weapon wasn¡¯t a huge issue either. But each Void Hammer combo was two separate attacks, meaning the four hammers heading my way represented eight attacks in total. The hammers couldn¡¯t be dodged and had a decent amount of armor penetration, whereas the orbs couldn¡¯t be blocked and dealt Planar damage, which was generally a weaker defense.


    My personal defense against Dimensional attacks was solid, especially when matched up against spells. The Oblivion Orbs would still hurt since they¡¯d slip right past Gracorvus. The hammers themselves were an even bigger threat because of their armor penetration and the stacking bonus damage they got from my Flurry of Blows evolution. Would these count as a repeat of hammer attacks one through four, or would these be attacks five through eight instead?


    The answer to that question was worth about four hundred damage.


    I wasn¡¯t about to stand around and get hit with my own attacks, though. That would wound my pride, especially since writing ¡°return to sender¡± on someone¡¯s spell and mailing it back to them was one of my favorite moves. As such, I decided to insist that the princess re-accept the gift I¡¯d so lovingly thrown at her face.


    Whatever Ishi had used to send the hammers back my way wasn¡¯t a spell, so there wasn¡¯t much I could do about it. The hammers themselves were a different matter. Somncres copies took mana to create, which meant that the copied hammers were spells in the most technical sense. Since they were spells, they could be targeted with counters or, more importantly, redirects.


    Each hammer was an individual effect, and I wasn¡¯t quite fast enough to get all four, but I seized three of them with Reverse Card. This was laughably cheap to do since it cost the same amount of mana as was spent on the spell by its original caster, which was two whole points. I then arced them right back around to head towards Ishi, hot-potato style.


    Doing this prevented me from guarding against the sole remaining hammer with Gracorvus, and getting hit with any part of my own attack stung in both ego and body.


    HP: 2,291 -> 1,998


    But the satisfaction of seeing Ishi¡¯s head jerk back in surprise when the other hammers revealed themselves as triple agents was worth more than a couple of crushed ribs and a few thousand sand-sized pieces of my liver and intestines being removed from space and time.


    Her Shielding was gone, but the woman summoned a Force Shield instead, dumping a chunk of the damage into her mana pool. The princess was outing herself as a true enthusiast for all things shield-related. There was the briefest pause as both of us looked at one another and acknowledged the silliness of that entire exchange.


    While we had our moment, the tunnel around us started to get weird. The distance between myself and the walls began to grow, though the walls themselves kept the same texture and appearance. I¡¯d seen something similar during my earlier romp through this Dungeon, but it was still hard to wrap my head around. Coordinated Thinker sent me conflicting information about the phenomenon, telling me that the distance between the walls and myself was growing, but that each of us was still the same size relative to everything else around. I wasn¡¯t shrinking, the walls weren''t getting any bigger, and yet the space between us expanded.


    I was also unsure whether Ishi was the one doing this. If she was, it wasn''t burning any of her mana¨Cmeaning it wasn¡¯t a spell¨Cand it didn¡¯t look like any technique I was familiar with. This may have been due to something the princess had ¡®access¡¯ to from within this space or her inventory, like some kind of control mechanism allowing her to manipulate the Dungeon¡¯s environment. The first sign of rules-based chicanery was afoot.


    And then our fight resumed, and the portal battle began.


    Three palm-sized portals formed around Ishi, and she fired off shots from her bow, her wand, and her staff at the same time. It was the first attack I¡¯d seen from either of the latter two, and all three projectiles disappeared into one of the small holes in reality. While Ishi did this, I sent four more hammers her way.


    I sensed the three exit portals appear around me the moment each of Ishi¡¯s attacks reached their entrances. However, before I discuss what happened next, it¡¯s important that I mention a couple of things about portals.


    Most portals were planar magic, connecting one space to another through an intermediary plane where a variety of conditions could allow for instantaneous travel back on our plane. Maybe the distance was much shorter there, or time flowed differently, or an eldritch being ejected the interloper via the path of least resistance, which just so happened to be the exit created by the caster.


    Some portals, however, could also be spatial. These were generally very short-range and briefly lived portals, which compressed a thin line of space between their entrance and their exit while shrinking their targets to stuff them through the very small resulting tunnel. They were what Grotto referred to as ¡°the quick-and-dirty method, classified as portals only because imbeciles lack the capacity for appreciating the nuance and complexity of true portal magicks.¡±


    Regardless of the Core¡¯s personal opinions, spatial portals resulted in something cheap, fast, and versatile, with the added benefit of not chucking their subjects through mysterious secondary realms. These were the types of portals Ishi had just summoned, and also the type I suspected she used for movement as well.


    My brand of portal magic was dedicated to the planar school. Dreadful Shortcut involved the Dread Star facilitating my movement through whatever void realm it so chose. The portal to the Pocket Closet created a gateway between my present location and a demiplane adjacent to the material world. One might note that there is a significant difference between those examples.


    Shortcut created two portals in the material world¨Can entrance and an exit¨Cfor such a brief time as to be nearly unquantifiable. Accessing the Closet created one portal in the material world that lasted for so long as I maintained it. However, Grotto and I had discovered that this didn¡¯t necessarily have to be the case. Was I limited to a single Pocket Closet portal? We¡¯d discovered that the answer was no.


    Each one required some degree of focus, and the mental demand increased substantially when multiple were deployed. Fortunately, I¡¯d purchased a trinket from Avarice that let me split my mind in two. I could dedicate one instance to keeping two portals going, while the rest of me figured out what to do with them.


    Going back to the example of planar portals that passed through an intermediary realm, the Closet itself could serve as an intermediary realm. Specifically, the kind in which the distance between two points was much shorter relative to the portal locations in the material plane. How much shorter? As short as I damn well pleased.


    Okay, back to where we left off.


    An arrow and two spells appeared from Ishi¡¯s portals, moving toward me on three different vectors. I created a portal leading into the Closet a thousand feet ahead and just behind Ishi, then created another portal leading into the Closet below me, angled toward the woman¡¯s incoming arrow.


    Initially, each portal was created via an individual instance of focus, which acted with only the slightest delay between them. Once the first portal was established, my second instance of focus coordinated with Grotto to place the second portal so that it directly faced the first portal within the Closet, with virtually no distance in between them. After that, the task of maintaining both portals was handed off to a single mental partition.


    Thus, the portal I created behind Ishi led to a location within the Closet where another portal leading out of the Closet was approximately 1 micrometer away. That exit portal currently had one of Ishi¡¯s spell-imbued arrows hurtling towards it.


    Ishi had never stopped moving, and even as the space within the tunnel continued to expand, she was still flying backward at several hundred miles per hour while facing me.


    She did not see the Closet portal appear behind her in time to stop from flying right through it. This immediately sent her out of the second portal and into her own arrow, which detonated its imbued spell. All of this was shortly followed by the volley of hammers I¡¯d thrown, whipping through the portal on their way to find the princess.


    It was fucking beautiful.

 Chapter 257: Dargons and… (13)

    Chapter 257: Dargons and... (13)


    The princess let out a very un-princess-like swear as the world turned ninety degrees from her point of view, accompanied by an arrow in the back. The spell on the arrow activated, creating a spatial distortion that twisted in on itself and tried to compress its contents into a space the size of a small marble. The effect traveled with Ishi as she careened towards the ground.


    The princess spun and slowed just in time to make a sloppy superhero landing, cracking stone and kicking up plumes of dust that swirled in the spell¡¯s embrace. It didn¡¯t look like the spell had done her any harm, but it sure made the crash landing more dramatic.


    I barely saw the results of our success. I was stretching the absolute limits of my mind to cast Shortcut the moment those portals had been created, juking the spells from Ishi¡¯s wand and staff. They sailed off towards the tunnel¡¯s ever-more-distant boundaries, where one released a plume of green mist and the other repeated the effect that had been on Ishi¡¯s arrow.


    When I had a second to think, I registered that I¡¯d received an interesting notification.


    Princess Ishi of the Silver Lounge cannot be affected by a hostile portal or teleport effect...


    ...is what we would have said if that shit weren¡¯t deific!


    Did that legally count as very briefly kidnapping a princess?


    Hammers rained down on Ishi from the Closet portal, the ones I¡¯d thrown only a couple of seconds beforehand, although it felt like that time had stretched for several minutes. Ishi had learned from my use of Reverse Card and realized the copied hammers counted as spells. She dispelled the first while opening a portal to send the other three a hundred feet away. They turned and zipped back toward her, where she dispelled another and repeated her portal tactic.


    Ishi did this until all of the hammers were dealt with over the course of a second, then stood from where she knelt. Even though her face was hidden by her helm, I could feel her glare trying to pickle my skin.


    A suite of surgical tools appeared and floated into the air alongside her staff and bow. They shrank and darted into the tiny gaps between her armor, which looked as pristine as when we¡¯d started. It was a nifty healing spell that relied on Intelligence, but it was one I recognized and had decided against taking in the past. It wasn¡¯t terribly useful without sufficient medical knowledge, but if Ishi knew her stuff it would rapidly begin undoing whatever damage I¡¯d managed to deal so far.


    ¡°My teleport resistance has no qualifiers,¡± said Ishi. ¡°There is only one way I know of to bypass it, but I struggle to believe you would have access to¨C shit!¡±


    I elicited another swear from the princess by throwing another round of hammers, grinning at her ploy. Did Ishi really think I was going to stand around and watch her heal while we had a chat?


    Ishi was immediately back on the move, using her portal/Dispel trick to eliminate my copies. I let Somncres prime join the party this time though, and she was forced to take that one on her shield.


    I popped open another pair of Closet portals, firing a shaped Elemental Barrier into the one beside me. The second portal intercepted Ishi, blasting her with an 80-foot wave of freezing cold. This was a bit of an indulgence as far as mana went, costing twice as much as a normal round of hammers, but it would be justified if I could hit Ishi with the Slowed debuff. The cone of frost slammed into her, but the Barrier was less effective than I¡¯d hoped.


    Ishi of the Silver Lounge is Unstoppable!


    I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised, given her title of Unstoppable Dimensionalist. I guess it wasn¡¯t just for posturing. Unstoppable meant I couldn¡¯t apply any movement penalties to Ishi, including Slowed and knockback. That would normally stop forced teleports as well, but that part didn¡¯t matter since my portals overrode the fundamental rules governing life, the universe, and everything. Still, most of my debuffs focused on locking people down, and Ishi couldn¡¯t be locked or


    dropped.


    I could still use Deafen, Ignite, and Shock, but I doubted being deaf would matter for Ishi, my build didn¡¯t focus on Ignite, making it a waste of mana to use Elemental Barrier that way, and Shock built into Stun and Immobilize, both useless since Ishi was Unstoppable.


    Honestly, if it weren¡¯t for my deific nonsense, Ishi would be tough to deal with.


    A second bow appeared in the air beside Ishi and all three of her floating weapons spread out. The space had expanded so that the walls, while appearing close, were actually thousands of feet away. I swooped low while Ishi fired arrows in a staggered pattern, forcing me to deal with at least one arrow after using Shortcut to avoid the other.


    I blocked, but the spell-imbued arrow exploded into a dozen spatial tears that divided local reality into a dozen discs, stacked atop one another. Each layer spun in the direction opposite the one below it, twisting large slices of my body along with them and threatening to pull me into pieces. The moment the spell connected, Ishi fired a beam from her wand that moved faster than I could see, doubling down on the spell¡¯s effect.


    The arrow¡¯s spell was painful, but the hit that came directly from Ishi made it excruciating. Bones fractured as my organs ruptured, the soft tissue unable to withstand the forces cutting through me. The spell had about as much respect for my armor as the force of gravity, but my spell defenses were still doing work in tearing the magic apart from within. I teleported out after a half-second, but it was a solid hit.


    HP: 2,005 -> 1,697


    The moment I reappeared, the next arrow was coming my way. I portalled the arrow back into Ishi¡¯s face, but she was ready and teleported herself out of its path. I chucked another series of hammers, then was forced to use Shortcut to duck a spell from her staff. I barely got my shield up to take another spell-imbued arrow, which triggered an instant spell from Ishi¡¯s wand once again, appearing as though the follow-up effect was automatic. Another chunk of health disappeared as I took a run through the space grinder before escaping.


    This wasn¡¯t a great trade for me. Ishi built Shielding every second she was moving, she was always moving, and there was nothing I could do to stop her from moving. She had multiple skills that stacked even more Shielding. She had dispels, portals to send attacks away from her, and could shunt damage to her mana pool if all else failed.


    On top of that, she was healing every second and I was pretty damn sure she had a massive health pool. For all her defense, hammers still made it through. That first set of hammers I¡¯d tossed had her eat seven attacks and I knew that had to hurt. Even so, she hadn¡¯t for a moment thought herself in danger, and that was what really had me worried.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    She had to be burning through mana like crazy, but wands and staves had mana storage she could draw on. I couldn¡¯t count on winning a race between my health pool and her mana, especially when she could have more wands in hiding. I needed to turn up the heat.


    First, I activated Aura of Persistence to grant myself some Shielding of my own. It was expensive to use when I was the only one to benefit, but I was flush with stamina to burn and any amount of mitigation would help. Since it was an aura, it also increased my attack and defense by 5 from Auradilato. Not much, but I was all about stacking bonuses. I was also about to abandon defense to try and do something that might be dumb. If it worked, I¡¯d buy myself some time to set up my next tactic. If it failed, I¡¯d eat a bunch of damage without getting anything in return.


    The plan would live or die based on Ishi¡¯s Wisdom score. If it was much higher than my Intelligence, then what I had in mind wouldn¡¯t work. My INT was a 40, which was a common score for Delvers to hang around since it came with a fairly powerful evolution. The next evo wasn¡¯t until the attribute reached a score of 70, leading many Delvers to treat 40 as either an end goal for a stat or at least somewhere to let things lie while they focused on other attributes.


    Ishi was a caster, meaning Wisdom was important for her. She also focused on long-range fighting, which Wisdom helped with since it buffed perception. However, the meat of her spells would key off of Intelligence, and those were hitting me hard. She also leaned heavily into external tools to make her mana go farther, like the wand and staff. So, I expected INT to be her primary.


    We felt evenly matched for Speed, not just movement but also reaction time and how quickly we processed the battle. She had a slight edge on me, but not enough for a serious advantage. She was also sitting on a pretty stout health pool, as mentioned.


    Finally, I knew she was using the Telekinesis spell to control her bows. Telekinesis allowed the caster to control an object as though they were holding it. That meant that to make good use of a bow¨Cthe kind she had, anyway¨Cthe caster still needed at least some Agility. It was possible she had a weird set of evos and skills that let her use a bow even though she didn¡¯t have the stats for it, but I had another reason to believe she had some points stacked into Agility, and that was how she controlled her staff.


    She didn¡¯t control the staff through Telekinesis. Magical Thinker hadn¡¯t triggered when she¡¯d first sent it floating, and I couldn¡¯t detect any significant mana flowing between Ishi and her staff as I could with her bows. There were a couple of evolutions that I knew of that would allow her to control the staff in the way she did, but the best match was an Agility 20 evolution called No Handing.


    Ishi¡¯s soul made it tough to determine whether she had attribute inflation going on like I did, but the deep, ancient feeling I got from the core of her soul made me think that the majority of her non-System power was coming from someplace other than attributes.


    At Level 21, Ishi would have 186 total stat points. From what I¡¯d seen of the fight, my best guess would be that they were arrayed something like this:


    STR:1


    AGI:20


    SPD:20


    FOR:40


    INT:63


    WIS:40


    CHA:1


    LCK:1


    If so, her WIS was the same as my INT, and if I tried to force-teleport her, the contest would come down to a coin flip. The cost of losing was the time it took to try, but nothing would be stopping me from trying again. Unless she killed me, of course. Otherwise, I only needed to win that coin flip once.


    Buffed up and ready to gamble, I activated the next stage of my plan, which involved tackling an Unstoppable woman.


    I opened a pair of Closet portals and used Shortcut to get within arm¡¯s reach of Ishi. This was quite close, considering she was moving at about 500 miles per hour in the direction I now occupied. I wrapped her up, bear-hugging for all I was worth while the woman slammed into me like a concrete pillar wearing an irresponsibly powerful jet pack. The sound of our armor smashing together was nearly deafening and my head swam a bit from our helms colliding.


    While Ishi couldn¡¯t be stopped, that didn¡¯t mean that every part of her body was filled with god-like strength. I was definitely stronger than she was, and I was able to keep her arms pinned to her sides. I saw her blue eyes narrow from behind her visor right before she started dumping spells on the both of us. Spells that ignored her, of course.


    During the one second it took for Shortcut to come back, I ate another 300 damage from Ishi¡¯s space-defiling magicks, dropping my health to 1,097. Once the spell was ready, I opened the Closet again, then used Bubble plus Ziggurat to make Shortcut into a short-range AoE attack and attempted to send Ishi away.


    The System had some unusually forthright commentary about what happened under the hood here.


    Ishi¡¯s WIS check ties your INT check!


    In cases like these, LCK determines the winner.


    Get wrecked, Princess!


    Ishi disappeared and went through the Closet portal, but I hadn¡¯t sent her to another space within the now-massive tunnel that served as our arena. Nor did I send her into the Closet itself. Instead, I¡¯d opened the portal to Eschengal right in front of the Closet entrance portal, sending Ishi on a little vacation to the middle of Eschendur, several thousand miles away.


    I slammed the door behind Ishi as my heart pounded from adrenaline. I couldn¡¯t believe that had worked. I couldn¡¯t believe that the contest had been a tie. I couldn¡¯t believe that fucking Luck had determined the winner!


    Maybe it was a better stat than I¡¯d thought.


    Regardless, although I¡¯d just sent Ishi halfway across the known world, I didn¡¯t expect that to keep her away for long. I shot toward the nearest wall at max speed, using Shortcut to close the distance faster. Once I was within range of a single teleport, I activated Gravity Anchor and started throwing copies of Somncres into orbit around me.


    The hammers whipped out and got caught in my artificial gravity well. Coordinated Thinker worked alongside both instances of focus and my robust mental stats to keep everything perfectly aligned without any of the hammers intercepting one another.


    I got twenty hammers out before a crack appeared in the air. Reality peeled back like a curtain to reveal Ishi standing in the middle of a well-worn road leading into the capital city of Eschendur. Several travelers gaped at the spectacle, alongside merchants running stalls and their customers. One Deijinon woman dropped the muffin she was just about to bite into. It landed in some mud, which was a tragedy.


    I¡¯d made sure to kill Ishi¡¯s momentum with Shortcut before sending her off to Eschengal, which was something I could do but often forgot about. Technically that was a way to circumvent her Unstoppable buff, but the applications here had no practical advantage for me. I¡¯d done it because I hadn¡¯t wanted her to make a crater right outside of Eschendur¡¯s capital city, but neither had I wanted her loose inside the Closet to unravel all my secrets. Plus, this was way more impressive, and it let both Ishi and Her Silver Majesty know something very important.


    ¡°You could have escaped anytime you wanted,¡± said Ishi, before eyeing my crowded orbital ring of hammers. She floated towards me and the portal snapped shut behind her, leaving a horde of shocked Eschens behind. That¡¯d be a story to take home to the family. I was probably getting a reputation in that part of the world.


    ¡°Aye, Princess,¡± I said. ¡°But escape would not have advanced my cause. I¡¯ve come for an audience, and an audience I shall have.¡±


    ¡°That is rather presumptuous of you,¡± Ishi replied. ¡°No one is entitled to an audience with the Rulers.¡±


    ¡°I would never presume to be entitled to such a thing. However, I believe your mother told me that I¡¯d earn an audience with her by passing this test.¡± I gestured between the two of us. ¡°I imagine that winning our duel will suffice.¡±


    ¡°You are half-dead,¡± said Ishi. ¡°You have played your tricks and, as impressive as they were, I am nowhere near defeat. Do not let your vanity be your undoing. There is wisdom in surrender, and you will still have earned an audience with me.¡±


    ¡°I am deeply moved by your concern, Princess, and honored to have the opportunity to converse with you in a more comfortable setting. However, if being half dead was enough to cow me, I would have been killed many times over.¡±


    ¡°Then our duel continues,¡± she said.


    ¡°Did it ever stop?¡±


    Though I couldn¡¯t see Ishi¡¯s face, I could feel a delightful smile radiating through her soul. She¡¯d felt obligated to give me an out but had never really wanted to stop. She was having fun.


    I doubted she¡¯d be smiling when she saw what I was up to.

 Chapter 258: DRAGONS!!1

    Chapter 258: DRAGONS!!1


    Ishi laid down fire on me like a battleship, lobbing massive AoE attacks from her bows, wand, and staff. I dodged the first volley with Shortcut, taking me the rest of the way towards the tunnel¡¯s edge. I positioned myself so that my orbiting hammers began colliding with the wall, and all twenty crashed into it in a tight grouping.


    Each hammer activated a shaped Oblivion Orb, which skewered the wall with a thirty-foot beam of spiraling eradication. I felt a force wrap around my body like an enormous hand trying to crush me in its grip, compressing my limbs and immobilizing me. Only my tentacles still had some room to move, like they stuck out of the bottom of a giant¡¯s palm. I glanced at Ishi, whose wand shone with a brilliant light. She¡¯d hit me with Telekinesis, and now she was trying to squeeze me into submission.


    The Shielding she¡¯d accrued over the last few seconds drained from around her, forming a tight column that flowed into one of her bows. I could feel the power charging, converting the energy of the defensive ability into raw force.


    I opened a Closet portal against the wall, right where all twenty of my hammers had landed. There¡¯d been two shapes on those Oblivion Orbs. The first had been the trusty Drill Beam. The second had been one we called Tube, and it let me sustain the spell. Rather than a focused beam that created a split second of deletion, the annihilating lances had stuck around.


    It was expensive as shit to keep twenty sustained Oblivion Orbs in existence, but I still had a decent chunk of mana left. The resource went a lot farther when I wasn¡¯t dumping half my pool into Explosion! as an opener. Still, it was 24 mana every second, which would drain me real quick. At the same time, it wouldn¡¯t take long for this to bring things to an end.


    The twenty beams created a strong draft as they sucked in air, sending it to Dread Star knows where, drilling into reality within a dark, unused portion of the Closet. I gave Ishi the briefest moment to understand what I was about to do, and I could see her head shift subtly between myself and the twenty-times death I had on tap. Her soul hesitated for an instant, then she fired her arrow.


    All of this happened in less time than it took for Shortcut to end its one-second cooldown. The arrow cracked the air, traveling at a speed so quick it appeared more like a visible laser than a projectile. It shot through me at the same time I unloaded both of my wands at Ishi, hitting her with a double dose of Explosion! She teleported to avoid the attack, likely on instinct.


    The moment that Ishi reappeared, I opened a second portal facing the twenty beams within the Closet, with the exit right beside her.


    Ishi¡¯s arrow didn¡¯t have a spell imbued into it. She may have run out, or she may have been holding back for fear of killing me. Even without it, the arrow passed through my armor like it was an elegant chiffon coat, rather than Immutable Demon Bone. It shattered my sternum, detonated my heart, and tore through a couple of ribs for good measure on its way out.


    Maybe she hadn¡¯t been holding back.


    HP: 1118 -> 617


    Before I¡¯d discover how much my heart really had been doing for me, my exit portal responded to Ishi¡¯s shot through my heart with twenty unblockable Oblivion Orbs skewering through her entire torso.


    To put that into perspective, if I was at full health and had to eat twenty of my own Oblivion Orbs without the defense Gracorvus gave me, I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d survive it. I really didn¡¯t want Ishi to shuffle off her mortal coil, but I also wasn¡¯t going to concede our duel because she was being stubborn. I¡¯d given her enough time to understand what was about to happen, and she¡¯d seemed confident that she could handle it. I¡¯d let her deal with the fallout from that decision.


    Ishi¡¯s armor had to be Immutable like my breastplate because the beams lanced through it without leaving a mark. She interrupted the attack with a portal, sending the beams somewhere else, but her reaction was too slow. Those beams were now traveling from the tunnel to the Closet, through a second portal and back into the tunnel, and then through yet another portal and out into the tunnel again a hundred feet behind Ishi.


    The princess sank a few feet as she dismissed her wand and clapped her hand across her chest. She released a pained growl that began as a sound that a human might make, then quickly grew deeper. Then it grew deeper still, until it shook the air as it echoed throughout the massive tunnel. I felt a presence bear down on me alongside the telekinetic hand, and if I¡¯d had a heart to beat it would have been pounding out of my chest.


    I had a wall of notifications reminding me of my immunities to both Bleeding and Fear, the crit reduction and organ redundancy from my Body of Theseus¨Cwhich was 100% the only reason I was still alive¨Cand how that evolution was also the only reason I wasn¡¯t completely paralyzed from the entire body down.


    Alongside all of that was an achievement for dealing more than 2,000 damage to a single entity with one attack. There was an asterisk by that one and some colorful commentary about how, yes, it still counted as a single attack despite being twenty attacks, since they all happened at the same time, and that I should stop asking questions when I got free shit.


    My attention centered on that damage achievement. I¡¯d hit Ishi with enough hurt to nearly kill me in one shot. Not only was she still alive, but by the look of her soul, she still wasn¡¯t close to death. I didn¡¯t think she could take a second volley from a literal score of Oblivion orbs, but I wasn¡¯t exactly confident about that guess.


    How much fucking health did she have?


    Ishi¡¯s growl turned into a roar, and her body began to grow. She exploded outward into a massive form, her face and neck elongating, muscle bulging along her thighs and shoulders. A long, sinewy tail sprouted from behind her, and her wings grew to be hundreds of feet across. It happened so fast I could barely make sense of it, but at the end, she was half the length of a football field from muzzle to tail tip.


    Silver scales, jaws made for rending flesh, glimmering wings, razor-sharp talons, glorious horns, a majestic and powerful quadrupedal body, she was. A fucking. Dragon.


    ¡°Haaaaa!¡± I screamed, although it was only 58% as loud as it could have been, given the evisceration of my diaphragm. ¡°I knew it!¡±


    I tried to point at her, but couldn¡¯t move my arms. I realized I was still bound from Telekinesis and cast Shortcut to free myself, then managed to thrust a finger at Ishi with a sluggish limb. ¡°I fucking knew it!¡± I continued. ¡°Eat a dick, Varrin! Get fucked, Xim!¡±


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    The Silver Dragon¡¯s growl went from one expressing her dissatisfaction with the world in general, to one that focused on me as the source of her rage. I held up my hands in a placating gesture.


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± I said, canceling my Oblivion Orbs and portals. ¡°Hold on one second.¡± I reached for my inventory and pulled out a wide-brimmed cowboy hat. It was bright pink and lined in blue and violet feathers around the brim, which also had little wooden spurred boots I¡¯d carved dangling from it. I removed my helm and fit the hat securely on my head ¡°Whaddya think?¡± I asked, holding out my arms to either side. ¡°Would you describe this as ¡®silly¡¯?¡±


    The Dragon teleported¨Cit was so fucking cool she could still do that¨Cand appeared right in front of me. A taloned hand larger than my torso fired out in a blur and slammed me back into the wall. Ishi leaned in, her growl becoming a menacing rumble.


    ¡°If so,¡± I wheezed, ¡°on a scale of one to ten, precisely how silly do you think it is?¡±


    ¡°Your impudence is astounding,¡± Ishi purred. Her jaws never moved, but her voice came both from within her throat and my own mind. It was a layered nightmare of her ¡®normal¡¯ voice and the deep, foreboding thunder one would expect from a creature of this size. ¡°Is your sarcasm a ward against the reaper?¡±


    ¡°It was a genuine question,¡± I said, still struggling with the damage to my chest. The enormous Dragon¡¯s hand pressing me deeper into the wall also didn¡¯t help. It cracked and crumbled beneath the force. ¡°And, not to be rude, but it would be an unfortunate beginning to the relationship between our factions if you were to slay me after I¡¯d won our duel.¡±


    ¡°Won?¡± she asked. ¡°Tell me, what distorted logic leads you to believe that you have found victory here?¡±


    ¡°Forgive me if this comes across as overly pedantic, Your Highness, but the regulations set out at the beginning of our bout forbade you from the use of ¡®highly destructive¡¯ transformations.¡± I had to take a deep, rattling breath before continuing. ¡°I cannot imagine what else that rule was meant to proscribe, if not the form you have taken.¡±


    ¡°Such faith you have in my honor,¡± said Ishi. ¡°But what power would enforce these rules, should I wish to break them? You would be a fool to rely on the nobility of your foes when death would be the outcome of your misplaced trust.¡±


    ¡°I figured someone would step in,¡± I said. ¡°If not, then I would have no reason to continue treating you fairly.¡±


    The Dragon¡¯s head tilted, puzzling out what I meant by that, but I saved her the trouble of guessing.


    I opened two more Closet portals, the largest I¡¯d ever made. The first revealed Nottagator, flat teeth bared in a twisted grin as blue ichor dripped between them. Atop her stood Joma, fur glinting with a metallic sheen. A horde of Abyssal Gekkogs crowded Nottagator¡¯s feet, tails raised and poised to open fire.


    In the second, Vaulty had a dozen barrels pointed at Ishi, spectral energy drifting lazily from the gathering power in each. Over him floated Grotto, his little man body decked out head-to-toe in a set of heavy plate armor that I¡¯d never seen nor even knew the Core possessed. Two thick shields orbited his body. Flanking the duo were a pair of Grotto¡¯s Etja golems, dressed in modified suits of Zng armor and bearing the weapons of fallen King¡¯s Guard imposters.


    There was a brief standoff, and Ishi¡¯s grip on me tightened ever so slightly. Then a booming voice interrupted us.


    ¡°Enough!¡± said Ishi¡¯s mother, Her Silver Majesty and Ruler of some social structure that I wasn¡¯t quite clear on. Probably a horde of Dragons. No, a lounge of Dragons. She now floated a few feet from us, silver wings spread behind her. ¡°You have lost, Ishi. Cease toying with the candidate and admit your defeat.¡±


    Ishi bowed her head in deference towards her mother and released me. I caught myself and flew back to eye level with Ishi before falling far enough to risk my dignity.


    The Princess turned and bowed her head in my direction as well. ¡°I concede our duel, Master Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel Esquire.¡± She peeked up at me, and I swear she flashed me a draconic grin. ¡°You may add Rival of Dragons to your list of titles, should you so wish.¡±


    I gave the princess a flourishing aerial bow to match her head nod, my internals sloshing around as I did so. ¡°A title worthy of being placed right at the beginning of the list.¡±


    ¡°Now, if you two are done amusing each other,¡± said Silver, raising an eyebrow at us, ¡°we have business to attend.¡±


    ¡°I would be most honored, Your Majesty,¡± I said.


    ¡°Of course, mother,¡± said Ishi.


    Silver gave us another appraising look, then we were back in the throne room.


    I appeared next to Etja, Varrin, and Nuralie, who all looked around like they¡¯d also suddenly found themselves in a different place. Varrin was shirtless and extremely sweaty for some reason. Etja had a cocktail in one hand, a rose in another, and a pair of daggers in the other two. I did a double-take at the unexpected weapons while she stumbled and caught herself with her gravity magic. It looked like she¡¯d been sitting on something before being teleported.


    Nuralie was wearing what appeared to be a HAZMAT suit and was covered in, just, so much gross shit. It was like she¡¯d gone scuba diving in the guts of a beached whale that had died two weeks beforehand. The smell wasn¡¯t much better.


    We all eyed one another, then swiftly ignored each other¡¯s odd appearances. Just another day in the office as a member of Fortune¡¯s Folly.


    ¡°You guys good?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I did not get enough kidney samples,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°At least, I think it was a kidney. I am fine, though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m great!¡± said Etja, toasting me with her drink. ¡°There¡¯s really a club here, and everyone¡¯s super nice! They kept giving me gifts and we played a whole bunch of different games. Plus, everybody¡¯s secretly a magical beast, but don¡¯t tell anybody because it¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± I said, looking at the knives she held.


    Etja followed my eyes to her lower hands, then shrugged with her upper. ¡°The rules for this one were complicated. I don¡¯t think anyone expected me to remember them all, but I made sure no one lost more toes than they could afford to lose.¡±


    Varrin started to speak, but I held up a hand. ¡°Let me take a shot,¡± I said. He sighed and closed his mouth. ¡°While we were being tested, you studied the blade.¡±


    He pulled out a towel and started wiping down his powerful chest. ¡°Among other skills, yes.¡±


    I chuckled, then checked the room one more time. My search was interrupted by Her Silver Majesty. ¡°Do you require healing, Master Xor¡¯Drel?¡± she asked.


    I checked my health. ¡°Nothing an hour of rest won¡¯t fix, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that must hurt,¡± said Etja. Ishi was back in her human form, face no longer hidden behind a helm. I caught sight of her furrowing her brow at my claim. I gave her a wink. She crossed her arms in reply. I could tell she found it charming, though.


    ¡°The man has his heart blown out of his chest, hmmm,¡± said a voice like a monster truck mixed with Morgan Freeman. ¡°And he says that an hour will fix it. Ha.¡±


    I returned to my survey of the room, finding the speaker on the second throne, the elephant-sized figure with horns, haunches, and feathers. The first throne had a bonfire shaped like a man sitting on the massive seat, which was much too large for him. I realized the room was extraordinarily hot and preemptively pulled out a fire-resistant salve that Nuralie had made me. I began rubbing it into my beard to protect the goods. Ironically, it smelled a bit like smoke.


    The third throne was empty, while the fourth had a woman made of shining aquamarine liquid perched on it. Her head sat heavily on one palm, leaning askance against the throne¡¯s arm. She looked like the concept of ¡®grumpy¡¯ had taken on what it believed to be a humanoid form, but couldn¡¯t be bothered to research what a person actually looked like.


    The fifth throne was occupied by Ishi¡¯s mother, Her Silver Majesty, who had void-black hair and skin pale enough to make a Hiwardian feel like they had a solid tan. She was the most human-looking of the bunch.


    ¡°It is an honor to meet you all, Your Majesties,¡± I said with a deep bow to the assembled Rulers. ¡°I am happy to see that my allies are in good health as well. However, may I inquire as to where our fifth member, Xim, might be?¡±

 Chapter 259: Her Golden Majesty

    Chapter 259: Her Golden Majesty


    ***


    SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY: USER NAME [Ruler 5]


    ***


    ¡°That bad, huh?¡± said Xim to a now empty tunnel. She came to a stop, looked left, then right, then up. Arlo¡¯s advice about looking up almost never mattered, but sometimes it did.


    This was not one of those times. The ceiling was still there, five feet above her, but everyone else had disappeared.


    ¡°And the entrance is gone,¡± she said to the air before turning to confirm her suspicion. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Turning back the way she had been walking, an alabaster door stood in the middle of the tunnel. It had no frame and stood in defiance of sensible architecture, just an unadorned and unreasonably clean door in a cave connected to nothing. It even had hinges, attached to thin air. Xim leaned to peek behind the door, finding that the tunnel continued into the darkness behind it, farther than Xim¡¯s vision could penetrate.


    Xim decided it would be rude not to accept such an obvious invitation. The door had a knob, though without a frame, there was nothing for the latch to catch. Although it was rare to encounter them while awake, Xim was no stranger to metaphorical doors. So she turned the knob and pushed, but the door held fast. She wondered if it might be metaphorically locked before pulling it, whereby it opened, revealing nothing but the empty cave behind it.


    Xim shrugged and walked through the space the door occupied.


    The tunnel dissolved and fell to the ground, revealing a massive room oppressed in blinding white. Huge columns connected the pristine marble floor to a high vaulted ceiling covered in fabulous and detailed frescoes depicting a great many events Xim couldn¡¯t decipher. Her eyes followed the frescoes down the wall to enormous stained-glass windows that surrounded the room on all sides, depicting individuals Xim didn¡¯t recognize from a variety of species she didn¡¯t know. Their vibrant color glowed with austere radiance amidst the immaculately polished stone, decorated with intricate engravings.


    All of it flowed towards the center of the back wall, where the source of the blinding light convened.


    A massive halo floated behind a colossal feminine figure made of a dazzling blue crystal, sparkling with a serene brilliance under the light of the disc. The statuesque woman sat atop a marble throne with an outrageously large back that stretched nearly to the hundred-foot ceiling. Normal-sized humanoid attendants were scattered around her, working diligently with an array of mason¡¯s tools to chisel the crystal lady¡¯s form into fine and smooth lines.


    The throne was the centerpiece of a large dais raised several steps off the floor. Bannisters of woven gold snaked through sonorite rings, which hummed soft choral notes. Their melody reverberated across the gargantuan auditorium.


    The crystalline figure sat on her throne with legs crossed. She towered over Xim from her position atop the dais, though her height alone would have sufficed. Her blank aquamarine eyes betrayed no feeling or intent, and without pupils, Xim couldn¡¯t even tell if the lady was looking at her at all.


    But she definitely was.


    ¡°Why should I pass you?¡± said the creature. Her voice was high but boomed around the chamber nonetheless, and however she was talking, it wasn¡¯t with her lips. Xim frowned and narrowed her eyebrows. No introductions, no formalities, straight to business. Fine. Xim would follow her lead.


    ¡°Pass me from what?¡± said Xim. ¡°To where?¡±


    ¡°I arbitrate this test, and I alone determine if you pass.¡± Her words were bright but cold, like a fearsome authority. Awe-inspiring, but detached. ¡°So I ask, why should I pass you?¡±


    The old turn-around-and-you¡¯re-somewhere-else trick, Xim thought. Effective, but not very original. However, I certainly appreciate the theatre of it.


    Xim had indeed come to enjoy the material arts, and Etja¡¯s performances were captivating, even more so than her storytellers back home. Xim just had to figure out who the main character was supposed to be. She figured she¡¯d go with her gut and summon some of what Arlo called Etja¡¯s ¡®main-character energy.¡¯ If Xim were the MC, why should this woman pass her?


    ¡°Because I want you to?¡± said Xim.


    For the first time, Xim saw movement on the statue¡¯s face. The slightest grin poked at the edge of the lady¡¯s literally chiseled jawline. The servant¡¯s chisel was still in his hand.


    ¡°Yes. A good start,¡± said the lady. ¡°You are wiser than most who come before me.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Xim. She knew how to accept a compliment, even if she had no idea what it meant.


    ¡°But you will need more than that. Even if you ¡®want¡¯ me to pass you, I am not inclined to do so. I do not believe you are worthy. Desire alone is insufficient for worthiness.¡±


    Worthy? Was this sculpture testing her righteousness?


    Xim summoned Etja¡¯s hero voice and belted a response. ¡°Then what would suffice?¡± If this was a hero¡¯s challenge, she knew the right lines. Or could at least improvise.


    ¡°You can ¡®want¡¯ anything,¡± said the figure. ¡°But what can you actually obtain? Only your deeds can speak of your worthiness.¡±


    ¡°I have little doubt that a being of your power can see my entire life laid out before you like a book,¡± said Xim. ¡°I have no desire or need for subterfuge. A sage of your Divine expertise should have no problem hearing my deeds speak.¡±


    The blue woman said nothing for quite a long pause, nor did she move. Xim might have believed she truly was a statue had she not ended her placid hiatus.


    The creature made a sound between a hum and a grunt. Xim couldn¡¯t tell if she was bemused or appalled.


    ¡°Ah, the dark mother,¡± said the statue. ¡°And in search of all seven organs, it seems.¡±


    Xim wasn¡¯t surprised this creature knew so much of Sam¡¯lia. Any experienced sage in the Divine school would have come across her sooner or later, and this creature was clearly quite experienced. Xim also knew the woman had used a revelation to scrutinize her past, but she had no idea what other kinds of revelations the statue possessed. Perhaps a revelation about judgment, or cryptic language.


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    ¡°Quite the confidence you have, to seek for all seven organs,¡± said the woman. ¡°Or arrogance.¡±


    A revelation of pompousness was also likely.


    ¡°I will succeed or I will fail,¡± said Xim. ¡°Regardless, I follow the Mother¡¯s path. That is its own reward.¡±


    This time the noise the woman made was definitely a scoff.


    ¡°You deign yourself worthy of becoming a Mother? What lecherous pride.¡±


    ¡°That is not what I said,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Well why wouldn¡¯t you? You are on the path of the seven organs, the Mother¡¯s path, and you follow it knowingly. You must believe yourself worthy or else you wouldn¡¯t be attempting it. You¡¯re the third seeker I¡¯ve seen for the Mother, and the other two were just as convicted and just as devout¨Cthough I promise you they did not consider that path a reward in the end.¡±


    Traditionally, revelators of Sam¡¯lia picked one or two organs and stuck with them, even into late-stage revelations of fifth or higher. Arlo¡¯s revelations were all of the Eye, including one Xim believed he was on the cusp of understanding.


    However, Xim not only had three revelations¨Crare enough among the devout¨Cbut they were all of different organs. Her first was of the Heart. Her second was of the Stomach. Her third was of the Brain.


    In Sam¡¯lia¡¯s scripture, it is said that if one can achieve a seventh-stage revelation, with each stage belonging to a different organ, they could become a vessel for Sam¡¯lia known as the Mother. However, it had never been achieved. Those who attempted it were referred to as seekers once they gained the first three revelations from three different organs. That was so rare it only occurred once in many generations, sometimes with thousands of years between. Xim was the first seeker in nearly three millennia.


    If this being had seen two of them before, then considering how few seekers even ventured to the First Layer, and how many fewer still could have or would have made it to this statue...


    Xim had severely underestimated this being¡¯s experience. It was very, very old.


    But still, the past was not Xim¡¯s concern. She was following Sam¡¯lia¡¯s call, wherever that led, and Sam¡¯lia had led her to becoming a seeker. Where she was to go from here, only Sam¡¯lia knew, and the rest was not Xim¡¯s concern. Why the other seekers never achieved Motherhood, that was not Xim¡¯s to know.


    ¡°That¡¯s their problem,¡± said Xim.


    The blue woman¡¯s grin grew slightly as the attendant¡¯s chisel went by.


    ¡°Yes, it is,¡± she said.


    ¡°Did you pass them?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°I did,¡± said the lady.


    ¡°Then pass me as well.¡±


    The white light of the halo turned the slightest shade of blue, and the attendants quickly but neatly packed up their chisels, hammers, and tools, then left the room. It only took three seconds for the space to be emptied of everyone other than Xim and whatever this crystal person was.


    A long silence passed. A very long silence.


    ¡°Do you know what you are asking?¡± said the crystal, pulling Xim from her meditation.


    ¡°Teach me,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Each test comes with a reward for those who pass. This reward is flavored with the attunement of the test¡¯s administrator.¡±


    ¡°You are obviously Divine,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Choose your words carefully,¡± said the statue. ¡°But yes, that is my attunement.¡±


    Xim knew to wait. After a¨Cthankfully¨Cmuch shorter pause, it continued.


    ¡°If you believe you are worthy, I will reward you with knowledge of the Divine realm. However, the way you handle this knowledge will be the true test of your worthiness. For your sake, consider yourself carefully.¡±


    ¡°If you must test my worthiness, then I welcome the chance to grow in it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, we will see about that.¡±


    The statue¡¯s eyes glowed a brilliant white, and the blue halo behind grew, stretching out to cover the wall, then the ceiling, then the columns, then the floor, until Xim was surrounded by a heavy presence that pressed in upon her mind. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to balance herself, when a voice rang out from the light and penetrated her soul.


    Take this time to think


    Of what you have done,


    The fields you have sown,


    The wheat you are owed.


    Tread softly upon the grass


    That flows, that knows you,


    Whole, intact.


    From the smallest quark to the Empyrean,


    Infinite attention spent on this


    That you should follow in the footsteps


    Of those who shed themselves for souls.


    Ten thousand doors and only one key,


    Ten million fall and only one rise,


    Ten billion places in only one realm.


    Look in the mirror,


    Reflect what was told,


    Discover what you are,


    Behold!


    Xim¡¯s eyes were impaled by a stream of images that pierced every corner of her mind. Her ears were crushed by a thousand choruses screaming through her skull. Her nerves were immolated by the grab of countless hands. Her tongue dissolved under the tastes of exotic truths. Her nostrils hemorrhaged the scents of grand perspectives.


    Xim had been imparted divine wisdom before, but not like this. Sam¡¯lia was gentle, kind, and guiding, showing Xim where to walk and coaxing her forward. This was a cannon firing her skull at mach speeds, her body dangling behind her as she blasted into lands beyond what she could recognize or comprehend. She witnessed alien landscapes, impossible creatures, broken mountains, and towering monoliths.


    Xim reeled from the insight, lost in an eldritch realm with no sense of direction. Still, she knew how to find her way. She called out to Sam¡¯lia, begging for a path back to her, and a dim light appeared far over the horizon. Xim mustered every ounce of her will and reached for the light, stretching, grasping, and she began to flow in its direction.


    The landscape did not calm, but the light showed Xim its order. The creatures did not morph, but the light showed their true form. The mountains did not grow, but the light revealed their purpose.


    The monoliths stood out. Xim realized there were five of them, and two were emanating a fearsome green light high into the cosmos. The other three were dormant, waiting for their time to join the others. At the height of the light, Xim saw a tear in the heavens, and power flowing from the rent into the lighted monoliths. Though she did not know why, she understood this was a cataclysm she must stop. It was wrong, it was unnatural, it was sin incarnate.


    She was Sam¡¯lia¡¯s righteous hand, sent forth to dash it asunder.


    Xim continued towards the light, past the monoliths, and found her soul once again, waiting for her in the soft glow of Sam¡¯lia¡¯s embrace. When she rejoined herself, the warmth was a flood of overwhelming comfort and assurance.


    Xim fell to the floor, tears falling down her face and onto the polished marble, creating small puddles as she rocked back and forth.


    The Dragon never moved. The bright white eyes faded back to a glowing aquamarine, and the halo resumed its shape behind the throne. A wide smile cracked across the statue¡¯s face.


    ¡°Wow,¡± said the Dragon. ¡°This is an unusual reaction.¡±


    Xim raised her head, beaming a radiant smile at the woman, and laughed uncontrollably.


    ¡°You just showed me I was right,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said the woman. ¡°Yes I did. You¡¯re much faster than the others.¡±


    ¡°So I passed your test, then?¡±


    ¡°Almost everyone passes the test. Almost no one survives it.¡±

 Chapter 260: DRAGONS!!2

    Chapter 260: DRAGONS!!2


    After I asked for Xim¡¯s whereabouts, the middle throne began to shudder. Its ornate surface bulged and morphed to a crystalline substance, the center shaping itself into a humanoid form. Soon, a woman who looked like she was cut from a thirty-foot-high lapis lazuli sat on the throne with her legs crossed, gazing down at us. Behind her was a brilliant halo that made my eyes water to look upon.


    Several attendants entered the room carrying satchels and stoneworking tools, but the halo behind the woman¡¯s head shifted in color from blinding white to a pastel cyan. The group quickly turned and retreated back the way they¡¯d come.


    Silver twitched a finger, then Xim appeared beside the rest of us. She was on her hands and knees, and it looked like she¡¯d been weeping. I knelt and started to put a hand on her shoulder, but realized what I¡¯d interpreted as a grimace was actually an unrestrained smile.


    ¡°You, uh, okay there, Xim?¡± I asked.


    She blinked away the tears and wiped her face, then looked up at me. Her expression was an unfamiliar mix of emotions, but whatever they were, she seemed to appreciate them. Quite a lot.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said, nodding. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± She stood, straightening her robes and chainmail. ¡°Really good.¡±


    I followed suit, and Princess Ishi stepped forward once Xim was relatively composed. ¡°Your audience has been granted, and the five Rulers have convened,¡± she said. Then she turned to the Rulers themselves. ¡°Your Majesties, with your leave, I will introduce the candidates.¡±


    A burst of flame came from the leftmost throne. ¡°We know who they are,¡± said the living bonfire. He pointed at each of us in turn. ¡°Lord Varrin Ravvenblaq, Inquisitor Nuralie Vyxmeldo¡¯a, Lady Xim Xor¡¯Drel, Lady Etja Nothosis, and Master Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel Esquire, who is also a king, supposedly,¡± he rattled off. ¡°Very impressive people with a great many very impressive titles.¡±


    The other Rulers turned to look at the crystalline woman in the room¡¯s center, but she may as well have been a statue. Then again, I¡¯d never seen her move, so it was possible that she was. Whatever they expected to get from her, they didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Indeed, Your Majesty,¡± said Ishi. ¡°Together, they are the party known as Fortune¡¯s Folly.¡± The princess then turned back to us. ¡°To know the names of the Rulers is an honor bestowed in increments to those who prove themselves worthy of the knowledge. Each of you has earned the privilege of knowing each Ruler¡¯s color. This is the highest accolade you could have achieved upon your first appearance before the Rulers, so you should feel proud of your performance during the tests.¡±


    ¡°Call me Hep,¡± said the flaming man.


    Ishi continued without any pause over Hep¡¯s interruption. ¡°From your left is His Scarlet Majesty, who has further granted you the honor of knowing the first syllable of his first name, Hep.¡± Hep was 100% orange, not scarlet. Maybe an orange-white. I mean, he was literally a fire. Not a red one, though.


    Ishi held out a hand to the elephant-sized man with horns and feathers. ¡°His Violet Majesty.¡± What little skin was exposed between the plumage was purple, so I gave that one a pass.


    She gestured at the crystalline woman. ¡°Her Golden Majesty.¡± The statue was definitely blue, not gold.


    Ishi moved to the liquid woman with a grumpy look. ¡°Her Cerulian Majesty.¡± That one was on point. Maybe the middle one was called Gold so that two of them didn¡¯t have a similarly themed name?


    Finally, she gestured to her mother. ¡°Her Silver Majesty.¡± Ishi¡¯s mom was pale enough to be called silver, I supposed. ¡°Now that all parties have been announced, your petition will be heard.¡± Ishi took a step back to stand near the foot of her mother¡¯s throne. I stepped up and gave the group another bow.


    ¡°Once again, it is an honor to meet with you, Your Majesties,¡± I said. ¡°Before we address the purpose of our visit, we have brought gifts for each of you. If I may?¡± I glanced at Ishi, who nodded.


    Varrin stepped forward first, and I opened a portal to the armory. Three suits of Zng armor floated out, accompanied by rifles.


    ¡°For Hep, a gift of arms and armor from a forgotten civilization,¡± said the big guy. I was surprised that the normally formal Ravvenblaq was willing to immediately treat His Scarlet Majesty with the informal name he¡¯d given us, but Varrin had undergone the Ruler¡¯s test. He may have known him quite well by now, depending on how things had gone inside.


    ¡°Nice,¡± said Hep. ¡°Most of my Zng collection got ruined in the last apocalypse.¡±


    Varrin stepped back, and Nuralie looked down at her HAZMAT suit and gloves, likely trying to decide whether she should take the time to change. Eventually, she resigned to stay gross for the moment and pulled a glimmering essence from her inventory.


    ¡°For Your Violet Majesty, a Pinnacle Soul essence,¡± Nuralie said. Violet leaned forward and gestured. The essence floated to him and settled in his massive palm.


    ¡°Quite useful,¡± he said. ¡°Hmmm, I can use this to help mature the Ultra Maggot.¡± He held it up and glanced over at Silver, who gestured noncommittally. I wasn¡¯t sure what that interaction was about, but I also didn¡¯t want to know since it involved something called an Ultra Maggot.


    Nuralie nodded. Before Xim could approach, a voice emanated from the crystalline figure, though it never moved. ¡°Knowledge of the Divine is what I seek, and Xim Xor¡¯Drel has given me plenty this day,¡± said Gold. ¡°Any more, and a debt will accrue. Keep whatever treasures you seek to offer.¡±


    Xim shrugged but did as the statue asked, then Etja floated forward. ¡°Your Cerulean Majesty,¡± she said with an aerial bow. ¡°I do not wish to be presumptuous, but my guess for what you¡¯d like is mana. So, here¡¯s the most condensed form we have right now. Also, it¡¯s blue!¡± One of our few sapphire chips appeared and floated to Cerulean.


    The Ruler took it lazily from the air and peeked at it with one eye held shut, like a jeweler without a lens. ¡°I do admit, sapphire has a good flavor,¡± she said before popping it into her mouth. A pulse of mana went through the woman¡¯s body. ¡°It should replace what you took and then some, though converting it will be a pain.¡± She flicked her hand for us to move on.


    ¡°And as for Your Silver Majesty,¡± I said, ¡°my majordomo has made an unusual suggestion. I hold his advice in high esteem, and so I present the genetic material and processes for breeding several varieties of mana monsters, all of the Abyssal category.¡±


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    Vials of murky liquid appeared, housing a set of biological samples from each creature inside the Pocket Delve. Grotto sent her the relevant information via the System, which he assured me would be a power play that Silver would appreciate.


    I was pretty sure he¡¯d not only known that Dragons were real, but that he¡¯d known of the existence of these Dragons in particular. Silver¡¯s surprise over the gift bolstered that theory.


    ¡°A welcome tribute,¡± said Silver, turning one of the vials over in her hands. ¡°This will help to offset a most tragic loss.¡± She gave Violet a scathing look, but the feathered Ruler ignored her.


    ¡°And finally,¡± I continued, ¡°golden effigies created by the finest artisans in the Littan Empire.¡±


    I gave a dramatic flourish, and five small chests appeared, opening to reveal the five dragon statues gifted to us by the Littan empress. While I normally hated the idea of regifting, this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Each statue was even crafted to reflect one of the five schools of magic, and each Dragon received the one that matched. Even Gold accepted the offering, despite her earlier refusal of whatever it was Xim had planned to give her.


    Hep barked a laugh, the flames along his body dancing. ¡°I¡¯ve seen royal treasuries with less wealth than you just handed us.¡± The chamber around us began to rumble. ¡°I¡¯m glad I decided to come and have a look at you in person.¡± With another gout, the man of fire disappeared, and the rumbling grew louder.


    Violet let out a low chuckle, his tone contesting the tremors. ¡°Always with the theatrics,¡± he said. Cerulean rolled her watery eyes while Silver and Gold were content to sit and wait.


    The Throne upon which Hep had sat was the largest in the room, vastly bigger than made sense for the humanoid flames. It was soon revealed why the throne was so huge when the back of it cracked down the middle to reveal it was an enormous door.


    A new heat buffeted the room, and I quickly produced Nuralie¡¯s salve to rub into my hair. I didn¡¯t like too much product in the locks up top, which is why I¡¯d only focused on the beard earlier, but I was willing to bear the weight of a gelled-up look if it meant I could avoid another cue ball situation. Nobody wanted another Clockwork incident.


    The door swung open to reveal a wall of bright red scales, glinting in the light like well-polished armor. On the far left was a yellow reptilian eye, the size of a small swimming pool. I had to physically turn my head to see a matching eye on my right. Despite the throne¡¯s size, it was not meant for an entire dragon.


    It was only big enough for Hep¡¯s head.


    With a quaking thud, the Dragon set his chin on the throne the way a dog might lay its head on a lap. I struggled to take in the scale of what I was seeing. Hep¡¯s skull was as big as Ishi¡¯s entire body had been after her transformation and probably weighed several times more since it was one solid mass. If Hep had similar anatomy to Ishi, but scaled up, then the Scarlet Ruler had to be at least a mile long.


    Princess Ishi had been impressive, but this right here... This was a Dragon. I glanced at the other Rulers and reconsidered them in the wake of Hep¡¯s display. Were they all this big?


    I suppressed a gulp, and Hep spoke again. Oddly, his voice hadn¡¯t changed in the slightest.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°Enough pomp. Why are you here?¡±


    I contemplated which eye to look into as I addressed the behemoth, settling on the one to my right, since it was closer to the other Rulers. ¡°Our immediate purpose for coming was to introduce ourselves and our mission,¡± I said. ¡°If our goals align, then we would entreat you for an ongoing diplomatic relationship whereby we share pertinent information concerning our cause.¡±


    ¡°And what cause is that?¡± asked Hep.


    ¡°To oppose the avatars,¡± I said. I gave the gathering a beat to take that in rather than continue. I didn¡¯t want to risk antagonizing the Rulers if it turned out the Dragons were hostile to that idea.


    ¡°You aim high,¡± said Hep. His tone had the barest hint of wistfulness to it. ¡°And how do you plan to oppose them? I hope you¡¯ve got something better than ¡®go ask the Dragons for help.¡¯¡±


    ¡°We recently came into conflict with the avatar Hysteria. As a result of that encounter, Hysteria is dead.¡± Hep blinked, and Violet leaned forward. ¡°I will admit that the overall project is a work in progress, though. Still, early results show promise.¡±


    ¡°Dead?¡± said Hep.


    ¡°Or, banished to the Divine realm, spiritually dissolved, it¡¯s not quite clear what form an avatar¡¯s ¡®death¡¯ takes,¡± I said. ¡°But they are slain, nonetheless. Gone from the physical plane of existence, never again to meddle in the affairs of mortals.¡±


    ¡°An absurd claim,¡± said Cerulean, her liquid form flowing from her relaxed pose until she sat straight. She looked even grumpier now. ¡°Prove it.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said, then shared the System message we¡¯d received on Hysteria¡¯s demise. Ishi had Delver Levels, and Grotto¡¯s comments had revealed that Silver had System access, but I wasn¡¯t sure about the other Rulers. The Core had advised me against identifying them, and their souls were completely obscured to my passive Soul Sight.


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Violet thrummed. ¡°Who the fuck are you people?¡±


    ¡°What masters do you serve?¡± asked Silver.


    ¡°It says you ¡®contributed,¡¯¡± said Cerulean. ¡°How?¡±


    They all spoke at once, and a tangible pressure built in the room as their voices clashed. Nuralie went down onto all four, and Etja struggled to keep herself floating. Xim and Varrin looked strained, but were handling it better. My own knees buckled when a wave of heat crushed down on top of it all.


    ¡°Quiet,¡± said Hep. It was a softly spoken command, but all other sounds withdrew to allow the word to dominate.


    Cerulean rippled up out of her seat, and a wave of mana dispelled Hep¡¯s heat, though the Mystical Ruler¡¯s presence was even less pleasant. A force invaded my body, trying to tear something vital from deep within me. I glanced at Ishi, seeing that the princess had gone down to a knee, breathing hard with her eyes screwed shut.


    ¡°Your empty game grants you no rights,¡± Cerulean spat at Hep. ¡°Do not speak down to me, whelp.¡±


    Another force rolled across the room, lifting all the rest from my shoulders. The crystalline woman¡¯s halo glowed a brilliant yellow, and a voice sang out from it.


    ¡°Forgive our temperaments,¡± said Gold. The statement wasn¡¯t a request, nor was it spoken toward our party. It was a brief prayer that invoked an even greater presence to look down upon us. It wasn¡¯t hostile, but it was cold and sanctimonious. A status effect accompanied the feeling.


    Conciliation


    You are invulnerable to damage caused by entities affected by Conciliation or Provocation for one hour. Conciliation will be lost if you attempt to cause harm to another entity affected by Conciliation, or if you attempt to negate the effects of Conciliation. When Conciliation is lost this way, you gain Provocation.


    Provocation


    You are vulnerable to all damage caused by entities under the effects of Conciliation for one hour.


    I stood up and straightened my boa. The pressure created by the Dragons no longer impacted me, but I could still feel them withdraw as the energy of the room reset. My other party members recovered, and I had a psychic check-in to make sure everyone was all right, while trying not to let my discomfort¨Cand irritation¨Cover the display show outwardly. The whole thing had been a bit... childish. Ishi also stood and composed herself, looking as if nothing unusual had happened at all.


    The effect of Conciliation was far from a bulletproof guarantee of survival¨CInvulnerability only protected from damage¨Cbut it made things a whole lot easier. Hopefully, none of the Rulers would be willing to risk gaining Provocation, but I was betting Cerulean could wash both the buff and debuff away without trouble. That would be outright hostile to the entire room, though, which seemed like a massive risk for the Ruler to take.


    I cleared my throat. ¡°As mentioned, we are Fortune¡¯s Folly,¡± I said to Violet. ¡°We have many allies, but serve no masters,¡± I said to Silver. ¡°And we tore a piece of Hysteria¡¯s soul away, then cast it into oblivion,¡± I said to Cerulean.


    I opened my arms to all five of the Rulers. ¡°Any other questions?¡±

 Chapter 261: A Tale as Old as Hep

    Chapter 261: A Tale as Old as Hep


    A plume of smoke escaped Hep¡¯s nostrils, curling up into a cloud near the ceiling high above us. ¡°Thank you for your moderation, Gold,¡± he said. ¡°We will revisit each question in detail.¡±


    The other Rulers seemed amicable to Hep¡¯s suggestion, and what followed was two hours of compelling narrative exposition, provided with cunning clarity, eloquent oration, and premium levels of emotional appeal.


    I let Etja do the talking, of course. Despite my aptitude for dramaturgy, I couldn¡¯t hold a candle to our resident mage when it came to performance. So, Etja answered all three questions from the Rulers in much greater detail while regaling the Dragons with an abbreviated recounting of our exploits. She moved seamlessly between our encounter with Orexis in the Ravvenblaq mountains, to our investigation into unlocking the next System phase, onto the deals we made with Avarice where we¡¯d been enigmatically guided towards the Dragons, and finally to the whole debacle with Hysteria, including their ultimate demise.


    I envied how she was able to put it all so succinctly without missing anything important. A skill that I would never learn, for lack of trying.


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Violet rumbled. ¡°Soul damage is not enough to kill an avatar,¡± he said. ¡°If it were, we¡¯d have exterminated them ages ago. Avarice likely played the larger part, but the soul damage was important enough for the System to take note.¡±


    ¡°Dare we ask the price of her methods?¡± said Silver. ¡°If it is replicable, Avarice may be willing to trade.¡±


    ¡°Unless it threatens her as well,¡± said Cerulean. ¡°She will more likely insist that her talon pierce the flesh, and we will be relegated to being couriers once more.¡±


    More smoke rose from Hep. ¡°I would gladly ferry avatars to their deaths, rather than to their prisons.¡±


    I took this opportunity to interject. ¡°It sounds like we¡¯re all of similar minds regarding the avatars,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve told you what we know today with no expectation of reciprocation. However, every scrap of knowledge we gather concerning the avatars brings all of us closer to their end. As such¨C¡±


    ¡°Listen kid,¡± said Hep. ¡°I appreciate that you¡¯re doing your best to be formal with us, but just spit it out.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°We told you some useful shit about the avatars, so it¡¯d be cool of you to tell us some useful shit in return. Then, when we learn more useful shit down the road, we can meet again and compare notes.¡±


    Hep¡¯s eyes rolled to Varrin. ¡°Is this closer to how he normally sounds?¡±


    ¡°He normally includes more profanity, but yes,¡± said Varrin. Hep chuckled and his eyes rolled back to me.


    ¡°We know a lot of ¡®useful shit¡¯ about the avatars,¡± said Hep. ¡°Too much to say in one sitting, and somehow all of it seems less than what you¡¯ve just told us. We are old, even for Dragons, and never once have we seen an avatar die. That isn¡¯t to say we haven¡¯t found other ways to ¡®handle¡¯ them, but all of our methods have proven to be too slow.


    ¡°I was young when the Delves were discovered during my generation,¡± Hep continued. ¡°Barely two centuries, and I took to their power like all the other flies around the System¡¯s corpse. Strength that would have taken me millenia to cultivate was driven into my soul in a matter of decades. It was intoxicating, as I¡¯m sure you all know. But I was overly reliant on their gifts, and soon realized that there were barriers that I could not overcome, even with the advantages of my heritage. I nearly died in my twenty-fifth Delve, and afterward I returned to my den to gather strength from the molten lakes below the surface.


    ¡°I did my own thing for a few thousand years. The Delves reshaped the world as I watched, and each time I awoke from a nap some new wonder had taken over and transformed mortal society. Despite this, once I entered adulthood, my heritage and Levels made me a pinnacle creature. The little races couldn¡¯t stand against me, Levels or not, and I was someone who Dragons ten times my own age would hesitate to challenge. I had no reason to risk myself in more Delves, so I didn¡¯t. Not in phase one anyway.


    ¡°During one of my longer sleeps I was awoken by the phase two notification. The rewards were tempting and I felt myself prepared to continue my journey through the Delves. It took time for me to adjust to mortal civilization but I eventually found a party that didn¡¯t ask too many questions about where I¡¯d come from or why I didn¡¯t know half the shit I should have known.¡±


    I ignored the eyes of my party members on me as I listened to Hep speak.


    ¡°I made it to Level 30, and that¡¯s when the first avatars began to appear. A conclave was called, and for the first time in living memory nearly every flight sent representatives to discuss the matter. I was far from ancient, but my strength was respected, and very few Dragons knew the Delves as I did. For these reasons I was invited to the conclave, although I did not know why my experience with the Delves mattered at the time.


    ¡°You see, most Dragons didn¡¯t care about the Delves. You had to be young to undergo Creation; else the System would reject you. You had to fight through most Delves in humanoid form, which a lot of haughty bastards outright refused to do back then. My people were also superstitious, believing the Delves corrupted the soul, and the promise of immortality didn¡¯t matter much since we were fucking Dragons. It was seen as a novelty at best and a destructive addiction at worst. Over time it became a taboo, but I¡¯d already become a threat by the time that nonsense had completely taken over, so I was tolerated, and among Dragons I was as close to a Delving expert as it got.


    ¡°The details aren¡¯t important, but at the time one of the Rulers was on a kind of crusade against Delvers and the System. I don¡¯t remember why and I doubt he could have told you why himself. I think he just saw it as a threat to his dominance. He liked to go out and destroy Delves whenever he could, kill all the Delvers he found, take anything shiny¨Cclassic pillage and plunder type stuff. Well, one day he was on his way to do just that when he ran into a pair of avatars. A pair that your group is apparently familiar with.


    ¡°This was out in some minor kingdom that no one cared much about other than for the fact it provided a sizable amount of grain to the neighboring countries. Some conversation was had between the Ruler and your favorite twin gods, which naturally resulted in a fight when Orexis and Anesis didn¡¯t roll over and do whatever dumb shit the Ruler wanted. After that fight, no one cared much about that kingdom anymore because it was gone. They sure cared about the food shortages, though.


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    ¡°Anyway, the Ruler died. I can¡¯t really explain to you how ludicrous that sounded to any of us at the time, and it was a big part of why the conclave was called. The Ruler had been able to send along some messages describing the conversation, which had somehow convinced him that the System was responsible for creating the avatars in the first place. Orexis was stealing Delve technology to try and help him and his sister finish their ascension or something. It sounded weak to me.


    ¡°As a result, the remaining Rulers used every trick in their very thick books to scry the shit out of my soul. Since I had the most exposure to the Delves, I had the best connection with the System. We didn¡¯t get the whole picture right then, but over time we figured out the basics of what was going on, which is more or less what you all know now. People ascend, an avatar comes back down, and the world gets fucked.


    ¡°Realizing the threat, the Dragons decided to go to war. This is not a thing that happens, and there are good reasons why this does not happen, primarily because once that war ends there¡¯s nothing left of whatever was being fought over. Regardless, it was either wait for the world to burn, or burn it down ourselves and try to take the avatars and the System with us. You can guess how that turned out.


    ¡°While we were busy dying, the Delvers kept advancing the System. Mortals didn¡¯t believe anything we had to say, which was a reasonable reaction since we were busy murdering just about everybody. Phase three unlocked, the avatars grew stronger, Dragons were driven to near extinction, and some of the Delvers just barely managed to make it to the ascension. By that point I¡¯d returned to a few miles below the surface to recover from getting my jaw ripped off. The next time I woke up, there were no new wonders to see. Only a barren wasteland.


    ¡°I searched for a few decades, looking for survivors. I eventually found Cerulean here, one of the few other Dragons who¡¯d explored the Delves. She¡¯d clung to life by being too mean for any of the avatars to bother with. Some other Dragons survived, but I didn¡¯t find that out until much later. As for the avatars themselves, there was no sign of them, and all the little races had been wiped out. The ones who hadn¡¯t fallen to the avatars had simply perished from starvation or exposure. Cerulean and I went back to sleep and waited to see if the world would recover. We didn¡¯t have much hope, but if nothing came to wake us, then ever eternal our rest should become.¡±


    Hep took a deep breath, the air in the large room shifting. He blew out another puff of smoke.


    ¡°Funny thing about the System,¡± he said, ¡°is that it¡¯s not just the end of the world. It¡¯s the beginning of it as well.¡±


    I glanced at Cerulean to find the Ruler looking at Hep with a mix of emotions. While their relationship appeared to border on hostile, there was so much history there that I had no idea how to gauge it.


    ¡°I do not know how long we slept,¡± said Hep. ¡°When we awoke, we discovered the world was covered in new forests, plains, jungles, and all manner of living environments. There were mundane creatures along with magical beasts, albeit none too powerful. It seemed a miraculous recovery at first, but then Cerulean realized these biomes were too perfect, too bounded. Upon investigation, we realized that they had been constructed as much as they¡¯d been born.


    ¡°Over the centuries we explored this budding world. We discovered Delves with the sole purpose of housing the building blocks of life, the ¡®code¡¯ to create new organisms in the wake of a disaster. This did not seem to be the System¡¯s original purpose, but System entities are capable of rapidly breeding creatures from little more than inert matter and complex instructions. For some reason, the System sought to correct the annihilation brought on by the ascension and its unintended consequences.


    ¡°We were faced with a choice. Ignore the Delves and hope the ascension was never again pursued, or seek to destroy the System itself. Given that the combined might of our entire race had failed to accomplish the latter, we decided to bide our time and protect the Delves from discovery. There were no sentient races aside from ourselves that we¡¯d found, and we also feared that interacting with the System would inadvertently activate it once more.


    ¡°We also sought out the avatars and discovered a small number of them in a dormant state, but could do nothing to destroy or banish them. It was as though they were incontestable truths of the world, eternal in a way nothing else could ever be. We spent vastly more time in this ¡®new¡¯ world than the one we were born into. Eventually, all of what came before seemed like a dream.


    ¡°We did our best to safeguard the Delves, but the System worked against us. Creation Delves can appear nearly anywhere, with many of them existing in realms beyond our reach. Eventually mortal civilizations rose again. We Dragons were few, we sleep for ever longer periods as we age, and the world¨Cat that time¨Cwas large. The cycle inevitably began anew.


    ¡°Rather than travel the road of destruction, as our families had, Cerulean and I worked to integrate new whelps with Delver society. We distributed information on the avatars and their birth, much as you are doing now. However, once the System opens the first Creation Delve, the heavens are pierced, and no power can stop the avatars from waking. Still, we worked with that generation to raise Delvers more powerful than had ever walked in our time, and we used what we knew of avatars to develop ways to oppose them.


    ¡°Violet and Silver were born of that group. We created hunting parties to seek out specific avatars and attack them where we believed them to be weak. We trapped Thrall in a contained dimensional realm, slew all of Ardor¡¯s followers and buried her beneath the sea. Early victories emboldened us, but while the avatars are single minded, this does not mean they are not adaptable. They also do not care what measures they must take to achieve their goals.


    ¡°The center of civilization during that generation was known as Ramka. It was a city that spanned nearly an entire continent, on the opposite side of the planet from Arzia. Cerulean and I had initially worked with their republic to oppose the avatars, but our methods were not decisive enough. Like so many of the mortal races, the Ramkans were cursed with short-sightedness and ignored our counsel. In their desperation, they created terrible weapons, fusions of magic and technology that could sunder reality, and when we opposed this, they decided to exile us from their lands. And because of our guidance, they were powerful enough to do so.


    ¡°The avatars, of course, used their weapons against them. A city of billions had all the mana in their bodies ejected. All mana storage in the nation detonated, from the hoards of mana chips to the power sources in every piece of magical equipment. All Delves within a quarter mile of the surface went into overload, every device or organism that keeps mana contained within itself lost control. The resulting eruption lingers to this day, rendering half of this planet uninhabitable to any but the most potent mana fiends.


    ¡°We then returned to the cycle of desperation. The remaining Delvers pressed forward towards ascension, seeing it as their only path to escape, no longer concerned with ¡®winning¡¯ against the avatars. Of course, ascension only helps those precious few who follow the path set out for them by the System, and who have the talent and will to carry it out. We Dragons had long ago decided that we had no desire to partake in the System¡¯s ultimate rewards, and so none of us ever pushed beyond Level 30.


    ¡°Fortunately, Silver proved to be a talented dimensionalist, and we escaped the end of the world by withdrawing to one of her pocket realms. This was much safer than hiding deep below the ground, and many of our kind were not equipped for such a life in any event. Even so, many of our number were once more lost. Again, we slumbered, and again, we waited to see what became of the world.¡±

 Chapter 262: The Last Generation

    Chapter 262: The Last Generation


    ¡°Our sleep was shorter this time,¡± Hep continued. ¡°I can¡¯t give you an exact figure, but when Violet was awoken by a rich spiritual presence emanating from the planet, I felt that our nap had been perhaps two-thirds of what it had been the prior generation. Silver transported us back, where we were dismayed to find half the surface still ruined by the mana eruption. We also found that the System had been even more active in reseeding the surface this go-around.


    ¡°The habitable lands were lush, the creatures populous. Certain regions were acting as buffers, absorbing the fallout from across the seas and repurposing it to create areas of potent, but contained, mana density. The mana monsters in these places were quite strong for being so young, growing up under conditions that would have been unsustainable in the past, given how much mana they consumed. This new world was wilder, more dangerous than the last, not that it was any threat to us.


    ¡°We returned to our work, growing stronger, learning new magicks and trying to discern ways to prevent another catastrophe. We four were capable of traversing the mana storms where Ramka once lay, but it was no place we could rear our young. What was left of the surface was precious and our focus lay in protecting what we could. Because of this, we began exploring options that had been undesirable in the past. While we¡¯d proven we could face avatars and survive, we could not do so without too much collateral. So, we sought the cooperation of celestial powers.


    ¡°Dragons do not have a strong history of... ¡®worship¡¯. I will leave you to contemplate the reasons for this, but any religion that a Dragon had been involved in was usually one where the Dragon was the focus. The mindset required for developing a relationship with the divine was, eh, inconsistent with our worldview. While we were all too set in our ways to develop the inclination for supplication, we... allowed our young to explore these concepts with as little interference on our parts as possible.


    ¡°Given the strength of our draconic heritage, our first attempts did not bear the fruit we desired. Eventually we chose to leave certain whelps in the care of primitive civilizations with strong theocratic tendencies. While several of these cultures turned to Dragon worship, as is to be expected, there did eventually come to exist a lineage that embraced and understood the divine in ways the rest of us could not.¡±


    Hep nodded at the crystalline woman, his throne thudding at the slight touch of his enormous jaw. ¡°Gold was the standout from that group, and came to lead her own flight. Of course, this process required us to avoid suppressing the mortal cultures in question, which led to more rapid advancement, which would ultimately culminate in the discovery of the Delves once more. Perhaps we could have indefinitely crushed any intelligent species to arise, but we also knew that we ourselves could begin the cycle. A single juvenile Dragon, tempted by an impatient System was all it would take.


    ¡°We balanced what we could, built ourselves up, and by the time the System returned, we were more prepared than we¡¯d ever been. We allowed the mortals to manage themselves, rather than interfering as heavily as we had the prior generation. The new environment of the planet enabled the Delvers to grow quickly, to harness skills and abilities with greater ease.


    ¡°Some of the Delvers of that generation were terrifying to watch, seizing power that rivalled our own in the span of a century or three. They were less reliant on technology than Ramka and more versed in magic than any who¡¯d come before. Our young grew alongside them, helping us to guide them far more gently, while the Golden Congregation advanced our understanding of the celestial sphere. Our comprehension of how the System accomplished its purpose grew, and through this comprehension, the knowledge of how short our time truly was began to set in.


    ¡°Aside from our change in tactics, there were two other significant differences in that generation. First was that the System had begun acting less predictably. It was less passive than it had been in the past. The challenges placed before the greatest of the Delvers were more severe, and the rewards commensurate with that escalation. It was more ruthless with its selections, and it began interacting with us as though it had a personality of its own.


    ¡°Until that time, the System acted like a set of laws. You could not appeal to it, it could not be reasoned with. It did as it willed and there was certainty in its actions. However, the individual System Cores developed a degree of agency that they¡¯d lacked before. It was the barest hint of flexibility, but it unveiled an enormous number of new possibilities.


    ¡°The final difference was that once the avatars began to wake, one sought us out to give us gifts. We sent him away, not trusting whatever scheming the man was up to. Shortly after, another avatar approached us to trade


    . We viewed this one with equal skepticism, and between the five of us we challenged her every proposed bargain with endless conditions. This went on for many years, where one or both of these avatars would drop by and we¡¯d hold negotiations, always evaluating and never agreeing to anything.


    ¡°Gold was the first to accept an olive branch from the avatar known as Fortune, saying that her goddess assured her of its intent. Not that it was good intent or bad intent, but merely that the gift was exactly what it claimed to be. Fortune would give it to us, it would be ours, and any outcome from accepting the gift would be wholly determined by how we used it.


    ¡°The gift was a reality anchor. This was of great interest to Silver, since it would allow her to create a permanent connection between one of her dimensional realms and the planet. This also ensures the realm¡¯s existence, even if Silver herself were to die.¡±


    I grabbed onto that detail immediately. I currently had a reality anchor sitting in my inventory, extracted from the Wand of Boundless Night by Sam¡¯lia herself. The question of what would happen to the Closet upon my death was one that had never been answered. If I used the reality anchor to grant it a permanent access point in Arzia, then it would persist even without me, according to what Hep was saying.


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    The other implication was that right now, if I were to get smeared by a random powerhouse, the whole thing would disappear. Or all its contents would appear within my long-neglected residence in Formation, creating a lethal loot-splosion. We¡¯d need more confirmation, but finding a suitable location for the permanent portal now placed much higher on the List if it was certain to ensure the Closet¡¯s ongoing survival post-Arlo.


    ¡°Our success with containing Thrall in the prior generation led Silver down several paths of research,¡± Hep continued. ¡°Gold¡¯s expertise with divine matters also lent us a new perspective on the challenge we faced concerning the avatars. No amount of raw power can destroy them. They are not entities that can be killed in the traditional sense. The avatars embody concepts that endure even when their physical bodies are but ash and blood.


    ¡°After all, how does one kill Yearning? By killing all that yearns? Even then, the potential for any being to want exists within this universe, and the concept of yearning would carry on. But while the avatars embody a concept, their presence on the material plane is expressed through a discrete form. We may not be capable of excising yearning from our reality, but we might be able to remove the corrupt manifestation of that concept.


    ¡°This is to say, an entity like Orexis has the durability of a concept, but the spatial limitations of an object. If he exists within a space that is removed from our planet, he will have no influence here. With Silver¡¯s dimensionalism, Gold¡¯s insights, and a reality anchor in our hands, we began to build a prison. Within it would be a cell tailor-made for each avatar we knew of.¡±


    ¡°The Cage,¡± I said.


    ¡°You got it,¡± said Hep. ¡°We can¡¯t claim credit for the whole thing. Much of our understanding was aided by the Delvers of that generation, who also contributed vast quantities of materials, labor, and expertise. Fortune certainly knew what we would do with the anchor he gifted us, and Avarice was essential for obtaining the System¡¯s cooperation. It was a true world wonder, created through the labors of multiple civilizations across a century of effort, built upon the endless depths of draconic wisdom, and safeguarded by the System itself.


    ¡°Then the true war began, but this war could not be like the ones that came before. Force would not topple the avatars. They needed to be tricked and corralled, their natures turned against them. The path of each avatar¡¯s hubris needed to end inside The Cage. Somehow, between us five, the mightiest Delvers of that era, the subtle encouragement of the System, and Fortune¡¯s infuriatingly effective tongue, we trapped the avatars. Most of the ones we knew of, at least.


    ¡°It was an incomplete solution, and we Rulers knew it. The Cage was not meant to be the only weapon against the avatars, but it was more effective than anyone had ever hoped. For Dragons, it was a true victory. Even if we could not trap them all, even if the System brought ruin and another avatar down upon us, so long as the planet could recover, we had hope that the avatars could eventually be beaten. Their numbers had been reduced dramatically.


    ¡°However, the mortals saw it in a different light. If they could not end the threat before the ascension, it was a failure. Their civilizations would fall, all those they cared for who could not ascend would die, and their world would end. We did not account for how extreme this would make some of those we worked with, and when it became clear that the avatars as a whole would not fall to The Cage, a misguided group sought to end the process of ascension once and for all.


    ¡°There are three System Cores. We¡¯d discovered that two of them orbited the planet, buried deep within artificial moons. Still no idea where the third one is. Anyway, shortly before the ascension, several of the highest-Level Delver parties tried to destroy one of the moons. They reasoned that System Core 1 managed the first phase, and that the System would be incapable of restarting if SC1 were destroyed. I believe this is a flawed understanding of how the Cores function, but they did not seek my input on the matter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think their plan involved dropping the moon on the planet, but I also don¡¯t think their plan took into account the System¡¯s self-defense capabilities. This is probably because we¡¯d never seen what the System can really do if threatened. I can only speculate as to what went on up there, but the moon wasn¡¯t destroyed. When it fell, it struck the continent in precisely the location it needed to annihilate every advanced civilization on the planet in the shortest amount of time possible. ?a?No?§£?s


    ¡°We barely escaped. One path of Silver¡¯s research had her looking for ways to transport people to an entirely new planet, either through hopping across dimensions or simply teleporting somewhere habitable. It began as a bad solution to the avatar problem, but eventually became a final escape option, a last mode of retreat if the entire planet were to become unsalvageable. Given that a moon had just fallen on the remaining half of the planet that could support life, we did not have high hopes for the planet becoming habitable again.


    ¡°Rather than commit ourselves to a sleep that might never end, we used Silver¡¯s magicks to try and leave the planet behind in exchange for a new one. The place we targeted is... survivable. But it is harsh. The mana is extraordinarily thin compared to this world, but it was the best among those we¡¯d scried. We knew it would mean millenia of hardship, but we could continue our search for a better place after arriving. If we couldn¡¯t find somewhere better, and if by some miracle this planet survived, then maybe we could return.¡± Hep¡¯s gaze had gone unfocused, staring aimlessly into the distance. ¡°But, it didn¡¯t work.¡±


    His eyes sharpened and fixed on me.


    ¡°Tell me, Master Xor¡¯Drel, why do you think Silver¡¯s magicks failed?¡±


    I really didn¡¯t enjoy being put on the spot like this. I glanced over at Silver who watched me with interest, an eyebrow raised as if daring me to say she¡¯d fucked it up. I doubted the answer was that simple. If Hep actually expected me to respond, it¡¯s because he thought I¡¯d know the answer. It was possible that an avatar had stopped them from fleeing, but to what end? To force them to expose the secrets of The Cage?


    That didn¡¯t fit the theme of this arc of Hep¡¯s tale. This part wasn¡¯t warning us about the avatars, it warned us against something else.


    ¡°The System stopped you from leaving,¡± I said.


    ¡°It sure fucking did,¡± Hep growled.

 Chapter 263: Club Dragon

    Chapter 263: Club Dragon


    ¡°We do not know why the System stopped us from leaving,¡± said Hep. ¡°But we have some theories. Maybe it believes we are too useful to lose, an irreplaceable tool against the avatars. Perhaps it tries to prevent anyone from permanently leaving the planet, creating a sort of quarantine. Maybe it¡¯s just pissed off that we kept interfering with its business and wants to watch us suffer.¡±


    Hep kept going, laying out more ideas for why and how the System had kept them in Arzia, but I quickly realized the massive Dragon wasn¡¯t saying anything important. He was filling the silence while a different Ruler took over and spoke directly into our minds.


    ¡°By now, you should understand,¡± Violet thought to us.


    The feathered man¡¯s psychic speech was different from any I¡¯d experienced before. It wasn¡¯t a simple connection. Violet¡¯s influence wrapped the entire throne room and cut us off from the world beyond. My psychic bond to Grotto disappeared, although our soul tether persisted. Even so, the information flowing through it was dulled and restricted.


    ¡°Eliminating the avatars is not enough,¡± Violet continued. ¡°Even if we rid ourselves of all of them, the System will persist. It will create another with each new generation. A new threat with unpredictable qualities, a single entity with the potential for ruin. Hmmm, even now, with all of our might, if a single avatar with a destructive concept arrived to challenge us, it could lead to the devastation of all that remains of this planet.


    ¡°The System must be dealt with in hand with the avatars. And yet, the System may be more difficult to purge than the avatars themselves. Not only does it hide in places unreachable, but everything integrated with the System serves as its eyes and ears. It sees and listens to all who might have the power to challenge it, monitoring and cataloguing, preparing countermeasures and contingencies. While it likely kept us here for many reasons, I believe the most important was so that it could watch us. To prevent us from returning to seek its destruction with unknown plans.


    ¡°There are few ways to communicate without the System observing. If you wish to bring an end to this world¡¯s perpetual apocalypse, you will need to find a way to do so. Do not trust the System, even if it approaches you as an ally. Its gifts all serve its own ends, and its ends have created this quagmire in which we wade.¡±


    Hep went on without any outward recognition of Violet¡¯s message. ¡°And as for this generation, we showed up late. After our failed escape, we were forced into another one of Silver¡¯s dimensional realms to sleep, but Violet¡¯s spiritual monitor of the planet was severed. Our rest was even shorter than the last, but we were roused by the System¡¯s activation rather than the planet¡¯s renewal. The avatars are already at work, which is much faster than in the past.


    ¡°However, if I thought the progress of certain Delvers in the last generation was terrifyingly quick...¡± Hep¡¯s eyes rolled over each member of our party. ¡°I don¡¯t have the words to describe your


    pace.¡±The halo behind Gold shifted back to its original hue of white. ¡°It is not enough,¡± she said, voice echoing off the walls with no discernible source. ¡°Avarice has told us of Brae¡¯ach¡¯s march, and the gods have shown us the goal of his works. In all our time, we¡¯d never known of the avatar that lies beneath Davah¨CUnity, the first and greatest of the System¡¯s orphans. Should it rise, there will be no generation after this one, and already the avatars divide between the beast¡¯s banner and the anarchy of its opposition.


    ¡°Unity¡¯s root has been stirred, and five monoliths shall nourish it to awakening. The first has been called upon, and the second is close at hand. Xim has seen this, and she has endured the truth delivered to her. While your growth is commendable, Brae¡¯ach¡¯s growth shall continue in kind, tempered by his trials of which you are but one.¡±


    I spent a moment rolling Gold¡¯s language around in my head. ¡°Obviously we don¡¯t plan on solving this whole thing on our own,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re talking about multiple world-scale problems, which are going to require world-scale cooperation to solve.¡±


    Smoke rose from Hep¡¯s nostrils. ¡°Such ¡®cooperation¡¯ inevitably leads to war,¡± he said. ¡°The destruction you have seen thus far is trivial, which is why we have spent our time observing. Any intervention on our part will incite the avatars to greater action, and we have no allies who can weather such a storm.¡±


    ¡°So your plan is to wait on more powerful Delvers?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who or what it is,¡± said Hep. ¡°We¡¯ve worked alongside the world before, with many figures much stronger than anything your civilizations have produced. We¡¯ve harnessed the skills of the avatars themselves and wielded the entire System as a weapon. We have delayed the end, but with ever greater sacrifice.


    ¡°The center of this continent was not always a sea. This northern region was not always a wasteland. That blasted forest to the southeast was not always a pit of horrors. We do not just need stronger allies, we need something better than the combined skill and might of the last generation. Then, we need a way to fight that doesn¡¯t reduce this planet to a useless cloud of rubble.¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s doable,¡± I said. Hep tilted his head slightly, scraping a deep gouge on the side of his throne with a horn. ¡°Fortune is already fucking around with us and probably everyone else. Avarice figured out how to kill Hysteria, which is something you say has never been done. There may be other avatars to recruit against Brae¡¯ach and Unity, so we¡¯ve got that going for us. The System is even more unhinged than what you described from last generation, in case you haven¡¯t noticed, and has been pretty flexible with the kind of stuff it lets us get away with.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a direct line to Sam¡¯lia, who, to my knowledge, is taking an active interest in this problem for the first time. Yara also popped in to say hello to me the other day and the Eschen triad actively intervened to prevent an avatar-related disaster when the Left Hand mountains exploded from Hysteria¡¯s orbital reentry. It seems like the gods are done being hands-off with what¡¯s going on down here.¡±


    ¡°The gods will not save us,¡± said Gold, halo gleaming. ¡°Our will is inviolable and the intervention of the divine is carried out through our pleas. A solution must be created by our hand, enriched by their presence, but never consummated by it.¡±


    I started to follow up on that, but Xim placed a hand on my arm. She gave me a look letting me know that we¡¯d have time for a deeper discussion on the topic later.


    ¡°Even so, and correct me if I¡¯m wrong, it¡¯s more than what you¡¯ve had to work with,¡± I said. ¡°We just activated phase two in record time, and there are Delvers out there taking advantage of the tools it¡¯s given us. We¡¯re doing everything we can to push people in that direction, and I don¡¯t think it will take long before there are powerhouses who can rival whatever you¡¯ve seen before. As far as the quality of support that¡¯s available, I think it¡¯s as high as it can get.


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    ¡°The only thing missing is time. Whatever these monoliths are, we can¡¯t let Brae¡¯ach activate them all before we¡¯re ready. Maybe we can¡¯t go after the Davahns in an all-out war, but certainly there are some guerilla tactics that can be used to slow the guy down. His army fell off the face of the planet after carving through Timagrin, but they¡¯ll have to show their faces again at some point. We need to keep them busy, provide enough resistance to let them know they can¡¯t just walk up to wherever the next monolith is and get to work.¡±


    Silver leaned forward. ¡°Are you suggesting anything actionable?¡± she asked. ¡°Or are you simply pontificating?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re worried about mutually assured destruction,¡± I said. ¡°Each of you is essentially a strategic asset, something that can cause enough destruction to change the world, and you¡¯re worried that if you went out there right now, the enemy might field something equally destructive. But we don¡¯t have to jump straight to the big guns. Avarice gave us predictions for where the other monoliths might be. We¡¯ve given that intel to the nations of the world, but having the support of your people would certainly go a long way towards bolstering the defense of those areas.¡±


    ¡°You have no idea what kind of ¡®force¡¯ our people represent,¡± said Cerulean with a roll of her watery eyes.


    ¡°Your Majesties, you are the five Rulers, Dragons of incomparable strength. Would it be improper for me to assume that those you rule would be a ¡®force¡¯ that most would consider substantial?¡±


    Hep chuckled. ¡°You came for an information exchange, and now you wish to recruit?¡±


    ¡°I adapt to the scenario as it plays out,¡± I said.


    ¡°And we are not so capricious,¡± said Cerulean. ¡°This is hardly a plan, you are simply explaining your feelings. Do you believe yourself to possess some insight we lack? That we cannot make these connections without your infantile suggestions?¡±


    ¡°I am providing my perspective and leave it to your judgment,¡± I said.


    ¡°Stop being an ass, Cerulean,¡± said Hep. ¡°This party passed all our tests, has brought us some useful information, and don¡¯t forget about the gifts they provided which were opulent by most measures. Meanwhile, we¡¯ve forced them to endure an interrogation followed by an old man¡¯s storytelling for hours without even letting them wash up.¡± Hep glanced at Nuralie, still wearing her filthy HAZMAT suit, but he didn¡¯t apologize or anything. ¡°Regardless, there is much for us to consider. Personally, I¡¯m going to kick this stuff down to my people and let them do what they want with it.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, the Scarlet Bask let loose?¡± said Violet, scratching a feathered horn. ¡°Will that be less disastrous than if we took to the skies ourselves?¡±


    ¡°As if they were on a leash in the first place,¡± said Cerulean.


    ¡°Hep, that choice will require some diplomatic action,¡± said Silver as she brushed a lock of void-black hair behind her ear. ¡°We have relations with Ayama and, to a lesser degree, Eschendur, but are not well known in the other nations. We should not show up within their borders without some introductions being made.¡±


    ¡°How considerate of you to pretend their borders matter,¡± said Cerulean.


    Silver ignored Cerulean and looked down at the princess. ¡°Ishi,¡± she said.


    ¡°Yes, mother?¡±


    ¡°You will be our ambassador to Closetland.¡± That took me a bit by surprise. The pale-skinned Ruler then turned to me. ¡°Is this acceptable?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Your Majesty,¡± I said, then nodded to Ishi. ¡°I look forward to working with you, Princess.¡±


    ¡°Very good,¡± said Silver. ¡°Ishi, please handle the necessary formalities. You also have leave to form a new Delving party. There is no more reason to put off reaching Level 30.¡±


    The princess took most of this news in stride, but hesitated on the last bit. ¡°I will do as you say, mother. Do you have any requirements for the party I should join?¡± The way she phrased the question made it seem like Silver normally had a lot of input on who Ishi went Delving with. The Ruler once again turned an eye toward me.


    ¡°Closetland seemed to have a powerful group ready to intercede on their king¡¯s behalf,¡± said Silver. ¡°Perhaps they have an open slot.¡±


    I furrowed my brow. Silver had seen Grotto, Vaulty, Joma, and Nottagator through my portals at the end of my fight with Ishi, along with some golems and other Delve monsters. Only one of those people were actually Delvers.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see what we can work out,¡± I said.


    The other Rulers stirred, and it felt like the meeting was coming to a close, although there were plenty of things I wanted more specifics on. Hep¡¯s story had raised quite a few questions, and Violet¡¯s psychic interjection even more. We¡¯d been clear on our unique arrangement with the System, although we didn¡¯t go into great detail. The Dragons knew about Grotto¡¯s origins, but were still willing to try and sway us toward a kind of rebellion against his maker. Regardless, the expected dismissal came.


    ¡°Your petition has been heard,¡± said Princess Ishi. ¡°The Rulers thank you for your gifts and once again congratulate you on your performance during the tests.¡±


    ¡°And we thank you for the audience,¡± I said, giving another low bow.


    The rest of the party followed suit, and by the time we stood up straight, we were no longer in the throne room. I looked around, finding us in a large, comfortable sitting area, although it was quite humid. That detail made sense when I noticed that half of the room was a steaming pool of water, complete with its own submerged furniture. There was a thudding beat coming from behind a door on the far wall.


    All my party members were present, along with Princess Ishi, who shook her head a bit and rolled her shoulders.


    ¡°That went quite well, I think,¡± said Ishi. ¡°Please feel free to make use of this space as you see fit. I will retrieve a scribe to record the details of my ambassadorship and Closetland¡¯s current standing with the club.¡±


    She turned and made her way to the door, opening it to reveal a dimly lit area with swirls of smoke and fog meandering through the air. A swell of pulsing, tribal music filled the room, and I noted dancing lights and the shuffle of a few bodies before the door swung shut behind Ishi as she left.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s literally a club.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t believe me?¡± asked Etja.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know if our definitions of ¡®club¡¯ matched,¡± I replied. ¡°A club can be a lot of things. Like a book club, or a sports club, or a blunt instrument for hitting things.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Etja. ¡°Okay, I can clarify. It''s a series of dimly lit spaces with atmospheric lighting effects, music, dancing, and alcohol, presented for the purposes of revelry with highly sexualized undertones.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said, giving our chamber another once-over. ¡°Do you think they have bottle service?¡±


    ¡°Oh, they definitely do!¡± said Etja, pulling out a small bell. She rang it, although it didn¡¯t make a sound. A moment later, a person who was ninety percent lustrous locks of well-conditioned hair appeared. They had two small horns poking out of the top of their bush-shaped body and a pair of glowing red eyes were just barely visible through the curls.


    ¡°Madam Etja,¡± they said in a low, feminine voice. ¡°How may I be of service?¡±


    ¡°Hey, Oia!¡± said Etja with a curtsy. ¡°I¡¯ll have one of my usual for all of my friends here, and then can we get a selection from the curator?¡±


    ¡°Of course, madam,¡± said Oia with a quick bow. Then she froze in place and faded from existence like an afterimage.


    ¡°You already have a ¡®usual¡¯?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My test was way shorter than everyone else''s,¡± she said. ¡°I think I made Cerulean mad, and she kicked me out early.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± I grunted.


    I heard splashing from behind me and turned to find Nuralie already in the water. Her HAZMAT suit was nowhere to be seen. Varrin was squatting nearby, testing the temperature with a hand. I felt a pang of loss over our personal onsen, destroyed in our fight with the Wastelanders, but it was alleviated by the knowledge that Grotto was hard at work on the new one.


    In the meantime, we could take this opportunity to relax like the Dragons did. However, I decided to do so outside of the swimming pool. That water was really fucking hot.

 Chapter 264: Another Montage

    Chapter 264: Another Montage


    I would have said forming a diplomatic treaty in what was essentially a VIP room at an extraordinarily exclusive dance club was an odd sort of affair, but it didn¡¯t even make the top three for weird shit that week. Ishi was very professional, and even when a dozen of Etja¡¯s new friends joined us in our private room, she didn¡¯t let it distract her one bit. In fact, she was able to subtly guide my attention back to where it needed to be every time my own focus drifted to one or more of the peculiar newcomers.


    I was a bit chagrined when the subject of Closetland¡¯s population came up, and I was forced to look away from a very complicated sort of beer pong being played between Etja and a bird-moth-woman in a leather three-piece bikini.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t done a census, and I suppose it depends on what counts as a member of the population,¡± I said. ¡°Less than a thousand?¡±


    For a second, I was expecting the concept of Closetland as a nation to end right there in Ishi¡¯s eyes, but the princess simply nodded, and the scribe marked that figure down. Apparently, having a country with very few inhabitants was not that strange for Dragons.


    ¡°Fermantalus has only one citizen,¡± said Ishi, noticing my curiosity. ¡°Although they have several million bodies. We are more concerned with a nation¡¯s ability to secure and maintain its own borders than the size of its population, which a dimensional kingdom should have no trouble doing.¡± She glanced up from the document and met my eyes. ¡°You did resist an avatar¡¯s invasion, after all. That¡¯s better than most can say.¡±


    Before everything was formalized, Ishi asked to be shown where she could establish an embassy. I then spent the day giving the princess a tour of our very little kingdom, while everyone else in the party enjoyed their time at the club. She¡¯d obviously gotten the sense that Closetland was not particularly large during our discussions, and the princess gave no sign that she felt our micronation was inadequate in any way. In fact, she was full of compliments when she saw how we were converting ambient dimensional mana into natural resources and had several valuable thoughts on the Closet¡¯s self-perpetuating nature and how it might be improved.


    She also planned on bringing a team of her own people to construct the embassy and maintain the grounds, which introduced a wrinkle that I¡¯d been contemplating, but hadn¡¯t expected to crop up just yet. If we wanted to take this whole ¡®being an independent country¡¯ thing seriously, I was going to have to get used to having at least some randos in the Closet at any given time.


    Border control was easy, since I literally controlled the borders, but my experience with the Hiwardian delegation may have made me a bit paranoid. Not everyone would appreciate the Big Brother levels of surveillance Grotto tended to subject visitors to, and an embassy would technically be land belonging to the Rulers. I didn¡¯t think spying would be taken particularly well.


    Was this the best idea? Anxieties aside, if it encouraged a group of ancient and powerful Dragons to help us out with the avatars, then fuck yeah it was. Also, by allowing for an embassy, the Dragons granted me permission to place one of my Checkpoints in their mountain. The portal could only be used from within their embassy, and Ishi would have final say over when and if the Checkpoint could be used. Legally speaking, that is. I could still open it whenever I wanted and from anywhere in the Closet, so long as I didn¡¯t mind violating the terms of our initial treaty. I wasn¡¯t planning on ever doing that, of course.


    But I could, and everyone knew that I could. They also knew that almost nothing could stop me from opening that portal, so the Rulers were taking a pretty big security risk. I didn¡¯t mind ceding some control to get relatively instant access to a civilization of mythical creatures and a host of delicious cocktails.


    In the end, Closetland was formally recognized by the Rulers and assigned the status of ¡°friendly¡±. That was a step up from neutral, since it meant we weren¡¯t on the list of nations they might unilaterally invade without warning. However, it was not to be mistaken for ¡°allied¡±, since they made no promises whatsoever to help us out if someone else started shit with us. That was more than fair, and it went both ways.


    This was technically the first official recognition of our fledgling nation, although Zenithar Zura was working on something for us from Eschendur¡¯s end. The Littans had some paperwork that gave our party the opportunity to declare an affiliation prior to our upcoming joint Dungeon diving, but I¡¯d been on the fence about going down that rabbit hole with the empire.


    I was also pretty sure I could call up King Filix and have the man ratify something for us if I felt like it, but dammit, we didn¡¯t even have a formal constitution. I was sort of waiting for us to at least have farmers or something before proclaiming ¡°We the people¡± to the wider world.


    Then again, if we were on the lookout for distressed populations in need of a new home, we had several options. The Wastes had plenty of outcasts who chafed against the rule of existing power structures. Ayama was a popular destination for refugees and other wayward travelers who¡¯d abandoned their homelands for whatever reason, and was pretty selective. There was always a boatload or two worth of people hanging out off her shores with no great place to go. Timagrin was also seeing a light exodus as people sought to distance themselves from the recent tragedies there. We weren¡¯t hunting for homeless masses to take in, but they were out there.


    As for what Silver meant when she implied Ishi might join up with some Closetlanders to go Delving, there was more merit to the idea than I¡¯d initially thought.


    Joma was Level 20, which made her a pretty good match for Ishi at Level 21. Joma had exclusively done Gold Delves, but Grotto didn¡¯t think she¡¯d have any trouble with some plats. The Yeti¡¯s Animal Handling skill, combined with the bond she¡¯d rapidly developed with Nottagator were¨Caccording to Grotto¨Cenough to let Joma take the big girl inside a Delve as a fucking animal companion, which was outrageous. Only about as outrageous as my own ability to bring Shog into Delves, but that was still pretty outrageous.


    For some reason, Grotto was okay with this, but not with me taking Nottagator wherever I went. I think my Familiar was getting a soft spot for the furry little Mittan, but I let it go without comment.


    Between Ishi, Joma, and Nottagator, we had very strong starting seeds for Team Princess. I could even officially declare Nottagator as royalty to keep the theme going. But the fun didn¡¯t stop there. Vaulty was technically a Delver. Or, he was several Delvers at once. As it turned out, every undead member of the Zng army in Throne¡¯s Delve had been a Delver in life, and Vaulty was the spiritual composite of several such entities, harnessed and modified by Throne herself.


    With a bit of System massaging and by spending some of our System Rep, Grotto believed he could get Vaulty reassigned from a monster back into a Delver. There was nothing saying an undead couldn¡¯t be a Delver, and the not-quite-a-construct had both the free will and the appropriate mana matrix to take advantage of a Delve¡¯s mana injections.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    What Level would he be? I had no idea. Vaulty was the composite of a dozen Level 15s, but the System would probably do some batshit calculation to figure it out. I¡¯m sure there wouldn¡¯t be any oversights there, and that Vaulty¡¯s capabilities would be entirely fair for whatever Level might end up being assigned.


    That gave us three of five party members, with an animal companion that basically made up a fourth. There was also the possibility of having Shog fill out the team. My summon had been categorized as a ¡°Hidden Delver¡± towards the end of Deijin¡¯s Descent, so if I didn¡¯t need him with me, I could send the guy on missions while I was busy doing other stuff. Everyone¡¯s favorite c¡¯thon was still on leave for another six months, but Ishi wasn¡¯t in a huge rush to start smashing Delves. Dragons worked on fairly long timelines.


    Speaking of which, I discovered that Ishi was eighty-six years old. She looked really good for her age, but that¡¯s no surprise since I hear that immortality is great for the skin.


    Next, I rubber-stamped some blueprints Grotto had going for the continuing expansion into unused parts of the Closet. Notably, there was a spoke and wheel design he called the ¡°Five Harbingers,¡± which incorporated five sub-obelisks that would be slaved to the main obelisk. They would each be housed inside a tower that was technically its own Delve, but which would be set for lower Levels and easily managed. That was the pitch, anyway.


    The towers would move as the Closet expanded, continually adjusting the influence of each obelisk and the radius from which it could gather mana as they were upgraded. This would help us get back on track to exponential growth, plus they could be customized so that each member of the main party could use one as their dark lair when plotting and scheming. It would be Throne¡¯s project, but Grotto would supervise. I was assured that no undead or mental slavery of any form would be involved.


    I also had to approve some expenditures for labor that Grotto wanted to hire in from Eschendur. This immediately caused me to appoint Nuralie as Closetland¡¯s Lord of Coin, since she was more than happy to spend my money for me, and I didn¡¯t want to deal with all of that.


    Then I had to address some missives sent from various parties across the globe. There were several from Hiwardian officials with follow-up questions about the king¡¯s kidnapping, alongside dozens of inquiries and invitations from the various major houses. Those questionnaires got pushed off to Varrin since he spoke fluent noble.


    Beyond that, there was a letter from Seinnador requesting that I send him some more poison essences. The term of our agreement to sell him all the poison essences he required for two years had been extended since I¡¯d technically breached our original sales contract by disappearing from the face of the planet for a year before the term was up. The letter was filled with friendly ribbing.


    I took my agreements seriously and set aside a hundred to send his way, along with an order for a dozen of his upgraded Dazzlers. I had some ideas for those I wanted to explore.


    I went back and forth with the Zenithars on what we¡¯d learned from the Dragons, facilitated meetings with delegates from both the Littan Empire and Hiward on Ishi¡¯s behalf, and even took the time to meet with some Timans who I¡¯d first thought were government officials but turned out to be a group of minstrels. They wanted to know more about how I killed a living mountain by pile-driving it from space.


    After some initial confusion, I realized that these troubadours were getting the lore mixed up between two different Fortune¡¯s Folly escapades¨Cboth of which involved destroying a mountain while falling from great heights¨Cso I set the record straight and sent them on their way. Afterwards, I wondered how they¡¯d heard about any of that shit, but my boa had an effect that boosted my renown so I didn¡¯t think about it too hard.


    In between all of this, Varrin invited me to join him for some Smithing lessons from Hep¡¯s Elemental Remembrance. That guy was a hell of a teacher, but gods above, was it hot in that caldera. I eventually broke down and asked why I was the only member of the party whose hair was constantly at risk of catching fire, which was met with the following responses.


    Nuralie: ¡°The oil in that fireproofing salve was developed from the natural oils my scalp produces.¡±


    Kind of gross, but neat.


    Varrin: ¡°I am Hiwardian.¡±


    Congratulations on your superior genes, Varrin.


    Xim: ¡°It¡¯s really not that hot.¡±


    I chalked that one up to Third Layer shenanigans. She¡¯d mentioned there was a lake of fire down there once.


    Etja: ¡°My hair isn¡¯t actually made of hair!¡±


    Blessed golem magicks, how can I learn your ways?


    I also convinced Ishi to give me some Wandmaking lessons, which were quite hot as well, but in a different kind of way.


    Overall, I was a busy fucking man for three months. Almost like I was trying to help coordinate a global information exchange and oversee a hundred square miles of land development, both while constantly increasing my capacity for ass kicking. While the workload was stressful, it was quite good for my skill levels.


    Your Smithing skill has increased from Level 17 to Level 20!


    Your Wandmaking skill has increased from Level 11 to Level 20!


    I just barely managed to get both of those to Level 20 for the next evolution before I was out of time to train them up. I had to sacrifice working on a few other things, but I was ready to smith up some new prismatite gear to replace my verdantum, which had become fairly obsolete. My Demon Bone Cuirass of the Descent was still pretty good compared to normal gear of my tier, excluding outliers like Varrin¡¯s helm, so I just needed to replace everything else. Easy enough.


    For Smithing, my evolution let me squeeze in 50% more defensive mana weaves onto a piece of gear than I¡¯d normally be able to. It was creatively named Defensive Specialist. However, I wanted to wait to craft new armor until we¡¯d cleared the rest of the Delves we were aiming for prior to meeting with the Littans. Mana weaves were limited by stats, and I¡¯d have more stats after a few more Delves. The delayed gratification would lead to a superior product.


    For Wandmaking, I picked Double Barrel. That let me put two spells on a wand instead of the normal max of one, and four spells on a staff instead of two. It also let me use wands as a focus when casting any spell, not just the ones stored within it, which had some advantages depending on the wand. My spell-sticks now had a mana capacity of 45, which was really starting to get somewhere.


    Ishi also introduced me to a few exotic wood types that added some bonuses when used to make wands. I bought some Dragon-grown Acacia and crafted up a pair of these bad boys:


    Acacia Wand of Elemental Reservoir


    Requirements: INT 20


    Effects:


    +20 damage to elemental spell attacks made while using this wand as a focus.


    Mana Capacity: 45/45


    Spell Slots: 2/2


    Stored Spells:


    Explosion!


    Elemental Barrier


    Sonic was an elemental damage type, so the wands would enhance both spells.


    All the wheeling and dealing I was doing also led to some Diplomacy levels.


    Your Diplomacy skill has increased from Level 17 to Level 21!


    Naturally, I picked an evolution that would encourage people to pay more attention whenever I opened my mouth.


    Executive


    You exude a presence of authority, generating trust in those who converse with you. Other entities instinctively understand your expertise, causing them to trust your opinion over their own in any topic involving an intrinsic skill you possess, as long as their level in that skill is lower than yours.


    Then, finally, there were the Delves, which delivered more skill levels and some juicy stat growth on top of everything else. Of course, there was something about these next Delves we¡¯d forgotten to consider: one of my recent evolutions had come with an unusual and lightly foreboding System message...

 Chapter 265: System Mafia (also, art comm #1)

    Chapter 265: System Mafia (also, art comm #1)


    While we finished all the other crap we needed to take care of, the party never stopped prepping for our expedition with the Littans. With a little less than three months left, we still needed to snag three more Levels. We¡¯d viewed this as a fairly trivial task, but had forgotten one important detail about an evolution I¡¯d recently picked up.


    Heavenly Gates


    The Dread Star blesses your travel through the in-between. Your portals and teleports become Deific.


    System Note: Accepting this evolution will change the nature of Delves you are offered.


    This was something that had been glossed over in our haste to deal with all of Hysteria¡¯s mental bullshittery, and it hadn¡¯t ever been given much consideration. As it turned out, it was pretty important. Now, instead of destroying Delves in a figurative sense, we would be destroying them in a literal sense. Either that or repairing them. Or whatever other nonsense the System wanted from us.


    We were now fixers, basically. Since my Deific portals trivialized the majority of challenge any Delve in our Level range could present, we were to be sent to Delves where shit was absolutely fucked for one reason or another. Instead of trying to survive or escape while meandering through a series of carefully laid plots and mechanics managed by a Delve Core, our job was to rectify whatever issue was causing the Delve to go haywire. Sometimes that even meant ¡®taking care¡¯ of the Delve Core itself, which made me feel like a System-hired hitman.


    Still, in all cases, these Delves were set to cause some kind of havoc on the surface if left unattended, so they needed to be addressed. Since we had an unusual amount of experience cleaning up out-of-control Delves and were now capable of taking on even bigger projects, the System had no reason to waste its own resources.


    We still got our Levels, and were more or less allowed to loot everything that wasn¡¯t bolted down¨Calong with a few things that were¨Cfrom inside the Delves going through decommissioning. This generally meant that we got fewer chips but more tangible goods and materials, which Grotto could make excellent use of.


    This also got us express service straight to these Delves, rather than having to go somewhere and locate them.


    The first Delve the System teleported us to had been created by a Delve Core that had gotten overly enthusiastic with some self-perpetuating Dimensional magicks. There was a runaway spatial distortion throughout the entire place, causing it to vibrate hard enough that everything was starting to melt from sheer friction.


    Yes, I had to fireproof my hair once again.


    The Core couldn¡¯t shut things down since it had been annihilated by the oscillating heat wave, and because of its love of dimensionalism the whole place was warded to heck against teleportation. Even the System had to drop us off just outside, and we ended up carving our way in. The Delve applied the Slowed debuff to everything that entered, was loud enough to deafen anyone in the party, and dealt a massive tick of constant fire damage. We even got a mini-brief from the System letting us know that the last crew that had come through was incinerated in less than an hour. The conditions had only gotten worse since then.


    I teleported Varrin to the control room, and he cut the offending mana weaves to pieces.


    Easy Level.


    Next was a Delve that had somehow managed to collect enough sacred and profane objects in one place that they generated an environmental holy war. If you¡¯re wondering what that looks like, it looks like a persistent zone of very bright light. Bright enough to immediately scorch your retinas. Additionally, it was absolutely infested with millions of these tiny Divine monsters¨Cabout the size of a flea¨Cin constant battle with each other, which emitted radiation whenever they died for some fucking reason.


    Anyway, I used Coordinated Thinker to find and teleport us to the main relic chapel, and Xim used her divine fire to create a self-propagating inferno that killed all the bugs while simultaneously cleansing us of the radiation. Meanwhile, Nuralie used her sense skills to identify the safest relics to ¡®extract¡¯ from the conflict. According to her, destroying the relics wouldn¡¯t have helped, so now we had a couple of dozen holy and infernal objects that were either blessed as fuck or cursed as shit, possibly both at the same time. We¡¯d find some use for them, I was sure.


    Our third and final Delve of this timeskip was the Antimagic Ninja Warrior challenge. The entire place was a massive Mystical weave designed to counter any and all spells. On top of that, it had a variety of specialized weaves that created pain-in-the-ass hazards whenever a movement-enhancing technique was used. All of this supported the world¡¯s dumbest obstacle course, which forced Delvers to avoid various death traps through mundane displays of athleticism.


    This particular Delve was a problem since the Core had used the weaves to isolate itself and cut off all communication with the main System. The challenge of the Delve could only be passed by a Delver with a very specific skill set, which was a big no-no in Delve design. Most parties would lose the majority of their team before making it to the boss, and the boss itself was incorporeal and basically unbeatable without access to magic.


    I had a portal gun, and it was my middle finger.


    I gave those antimagic weaves said finger and teleported us to the obelisk. Grotto identified some weaknesses in its design, and Etja used some shit she called ¡®pure¡¯ mana to overload it, burning out the mana supply to all the weaves in the entire place. We did a proper full-team boss fight, kicked some spectral ass, and hunted down the Core to figure out what was going on.


    It was a weird situation.


    The Core had been trapping Delvers who failed the obstacle course and holding them prisoner, rather than killing and eating them like a proper Delve Core. Those that made it through the obstacle course were granted ¡®champion¡¯ status and forced to compete in an evolving set of physical challenges, made up at the whim of the Core with no real end. It then used the data it collected to try and ¡®improve¡¯ the bodies of those who had failed the obstacle course before sending them back out to try again.


    The Core was trying to build up some kind of elite sports cult, but the whole thing was the result of a Delver party getting their hands on the Core and trying to modify it in wildly unsuccessful ways. Those guys were long dead, but there were three more full parties being held prisoner alongside several more teams missing a few members each.


    We had to terminate the Delve Core, but the whole thing had an uplifting end where we rescued a bunch of people. Traumatized people who¡¯d been subjected to a host of experimental body modifications. The first woman I tried to talk to jumped instead of speaking every time she opened her mouth. Hopefully, some high-end healing magic would address at least some of those problems.


    Three Delves done, three Levels gained, and 27 attribute points assigned after taking Dumping into account. One of these had also counted as an Escalation Delve, snagging us our final intrinsic skill slot.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Now, my original plan for this Delve rush was to get Fortitude to 70 and then push Strength to 40, grabbing the next evolution. However, my fight with Ishi and Varrin¡¯s titanic Physical resistances made me think twice about that. Not the Fortitude part, that was definitely going straight to 70. The question was whether Strength should be my next focus.


    Strength was the best way for me to boost my single-target damage. Each point added one damage to my hammer throws, which then compounded through Flurry of Blows. It would also let me equip armor with better base DR before weaves were considered, so it was helpful defensively as well.


    However, my Physical spells kind of sucked at the moment. I didn¡¯t have any evos that boosted their damage, and Physical was generally the easiest school to defend against. Varrin could sit there all day while eating my Elemental Barrier without losing a single point of health, and Ishi had been close to doing the same.


    I didn¡¯t use Elemental Barrier primarily for its damage, its biggest benefit came from the debuffs it applied. I could push people away, knock them down, Ignite, Shock, Deafen, and Slow. It was an extremely versatile spell and a major source of the traditional control effects I could produce. The problem was, in order to apply any of those debuffs, the spell had to deal at least some damage. It was becoming useless against hard targets, which were the kind of targets I¡¯d want to debuff in the first place.


    The solution? More Intelligence!


    Honestly, I felt like I¡¯d temporarily lost track of my own build concept. My spells scaled off of Intelligence, so why was I getting distracted by big heavy armor and shiny hammers? I did want to grab Strength 40 eventually, but Intelligence 70 would have a larger impact on my build. While it might not be as good as Strength for single-target, It would do more for my AoE damage and control effects. As for losing out on slightly better armor, Fortitude would continue to be my primary defensive stat.


    All of that being said, here were my attribute totals after ascending to Level 16.


    Strength:25


    Agility:10


    Speed:22


    Fortitude:70


    Intelligence:55


    Wisdom:40


    Charisma:10


    Luck:10


    This was a nice milestone to reach, since I finally had more stat points than a full Level 26 Gold who¡¯d followed the Hiwardian difficulty progression. This was the real beginning of the platinum journey.


    And it started with a Level 70 Fortitude evolution.


    But first, I got some more skill levels.


    Your Dimensional Magic skill has increased from Level 50 to Level 54!


    Your Physical Magic skill has increased from Level 32 to Level 34!


    Your Mystical Magic skill has increased from Level 30 to Level 32!


    Your Blunt skill has increased from Level 29 to Level 30!


    Your Dungeoneering skill has increased from Level 29 to Level 30!


    Your Leadership skill has increased from Level 29 to Level 32!


    Your Shields skill has increased from Level 28 to Level 29!


    Your Heavy Armor skill has increased from Level 24 to Level 26!


    No evolution breakpoints, sadly, but these Delves weren¡¯t the best for combat skills. Even so, I still ended up right on track with Varrin¡¯s platinum skill progression goals for Level 16, mainly due to the Dimensional Dungeon and lessons from both Hep and Ishi.


    Now, on to one of the most important parts of getting higher attributes...


    Better gear, of course!


    One of my final acts of fevered preparation was to craft some new armor, taking advantage of my improved stats and Smithing skill. The Cuirass of the Descent would stick around¨Cit was too good to replace at the moment¨Cbut every other piece of heavy armor got a prismatite upgrade.


    I went back to my blue and violet theme, making the colors darker to match the vibe of my cuirass. Since the cuirass itself was immutable, there wasn¡¯t anything I could do about the shade, and I was forced to try and mix in some demon bone aesthetics to the rest of the set. The prismatite made every piece shimmer like it was coated in the slightest layer of diamond, which was kind of incongruent with the cuirass, but my boa created a nice demarcation between my glamorous extremities and my more subdued core. I wasn¡¯t totally happy with it, but it looked pretty good overall.


    Oh, and the armor had way better defenses as well.


    Superior Prismatite Plate Armor of the Descent


    Heavy Armor Set


    Requirements: STR 25, FOR 30, INT 30, CHA 10, LCK 10, AGI 10


    +77 Physical DR


    +10 Fire DR


    +32 Spiritual DR


    +32 Divine DR


    +67 Mystical DR


    +32 Dimensional DR


    +100 Health Regen


    +180 Stamina Regen


    Whenever you are hit by a hostile spell, you absorb 10% of the mana spent on that spell.


    I focused on things that counted as ¡°defensive¡± weaves to take advantage of my recent Smithing evo, which meant I lost a couple of nice bonuses from the verdantum gear, like movement speed and throwing weapon damage. In return, the prismatite set had four times as much damage reduction.


    The only thing I¡¯d really miss from the verdantum was the self-repair function. The prismatite armor was way more durable, but if it got some holes poked in it, I¡¯d have to fix it myself. There was an opportunity to create some verdantum-prismatite alloy that would have a slower form of self-repair, but I didn¡¯t have time to mess around with it. That was a project for later, maybe once both Strength and Smithing were at 40.


    Okay, fine, enough stalling. While all of this other stuff was awesome, the most vital thing I did during this three-month period was get my Fortitude to 70 and pick my most potent evolution yet. I even had a super evolution to burn from our System award for killing Hysteria, and the options were kind enough to show me how that would affect things. The System was its usual self when laying out my options.


    Remember when you got half your brain exploded and it was, like, not that big of a deal? Do you realize that you¡¯re now 50% less human than you were back then?


    A giant roach carves out your entrails, a big scary cannibal explodes your eyeballs with a mean glare, a woman literally rips your heart out, that shit doesn¡¯t even ruin your day. It¡¯s a ninety-minute inconvenience at most.


    That¡¯s barely the length of a feature-fucking-film, my guy.


    But, hey, why stop there?


    Do us a favor and take a look at that grease stain on the ground to your left. Yeah, that one. That could be you, chilling with 10 HP, ready to get back in the game in an hour or so.


    Don¡¯t believe us? Go ahead, pick a new evolution. Then you can go and find out what it feels like to become a puddle.


    1) Body of Asclepius


    Whenever you would heal from any source, double that healing.


    Super Evolution: Whenever you would gain Shielding from any source, double that Shielding.


    2) Extended Care Network


    While at maximum HP, you can choose one party member to gain an additional amount of HP regeneration equal to your own. While under this effect, that party member gains the benefits of all of your FOR evolutions other than this one.


    If your current HP drops below your maximum while a party member other than yourself is under this effect, you can focus to allow them to retain the effect.


    Super Evolution: While at maximum HP, you can instead choose to grant this health regeneration to all party members affected by one of your beneficial auras.


    3) Bioweapon


    You gain an aura extending a number of feet from you equal to your FOR. Poisoned and Bleeding enemies within this aura take additional Poison or Bleeding damage equal to your FOR every 6 seconds. Whenever an enemy within this aura takes Poison or Bleeding damage, you heal for an amount equal to the damage dealt.


    If any skill would remove Poison or Bleeding from an enemy within the aura, the skill¡¯s source must spend an additional amount of mana or stamina equal to your FOR, or else the skill fails.


    Super Evolution: This aura also emanates from all party members affected by one of your beneficial auras. This only increases the area affected by this aura; you are still its sole source and beneficiary.


    I¡¯d venture to call these options... pretty fucking good.

 Chapter 266: Fortitude 70

    Chapter 266: Fortitude 70


    Sometimes, evolutions presented one obvious choice. Other times, they were three different flavors of the same thing. Even when all three options were unique, the power boost wasn¡¯t significant enough alone to feel like I was giving too much up by choosing one over another. Fortitude 70 was none of those things.


    Each option was strong enough to become a centerpiece of my build; they represented three distinct progression paths, and I loved each of them like the children I¡¯d never had. I tried to avoid seeing this decision as being forced to give up two, and to view it how it really was, which was that I was picking one ridiculous bonus to receive. Nothing would be lost here, only gained.


    It sounded good in principle, but that mantra didn¡¯t end up helping me much.


    Body of Asclepius was one of my favorite kinds of evos. It was straightforward, simple, and extremely useful. Doubled healing from all sources. Spells, techniques, potions, passive effects, my natural health regeneration. I glanced at my current regen, seeing that it was sitting at 1,858. If I picked Body of Asclepius, my regen would finally be higher than my health total. Going from the brink of death back to perfect condition in less than an hour sounded good. Really good.


    Then the super evolution doubled all Shielding I received. Aura of Persistence was my only Shielding skill, currently giving me 95 Shielding when activated and the same amount every six seconds. Doubling that to 190 was significant, especially since Shielding was a last line of defense, protecting me from damage that had already been massively reduced by my DR and resistances. Ishi had been blasting me for two to three hundred damage with her biggest attacks, meaning that this evo would have cut down on that damage by a pretty massive amount.


    It¡¯s not like it would be hard to figure out ways to grab more self-healing and Shielding skills, either. I was always giving Intelligence-based healing skills a pass since they required medical knowledge, but with my Speed and Intelligence scores, I could probably bang out the equivalent of a medical degree in a month. It wasn¡¯t much of a deterrent anymore. There was also a question of how much medical knowledge would matter, given my unique physiology. As for the evo¡¯s second half, the Heavy Armor and Shields intrinsics both had Shielding evolutions I knew would likely be coming up once I got them to 40.


    Very tempting.


    Extended Care Network was about as on-brand for my aura build as it could possibly be, except that it wasn¡¯t itself an aura. It would let me give my absurd health regen to everyone in the party. My passive aura Who Needs a Cleric? also boosted everyone¡¯s health regen, but had scaled down from ¡®overpowered¡¯ at Level 1 to being ¡®kind of nice¡¯ at our current Level. It still more than doubled the health regen for Nuralie and Etja, but it wasn¡¯t a huge boost for Varrin or Xim anymore. It hardly mattered at all for me, but it was one among many bonuses that led to my enormous regen score.


    Beyond that, it would give them all the benefits of my other Fortitude evos, doubling their base health and stamina regen, allowing them to regenerate any missing body parts, and... I honestly wasn¡¯t sure how that would work with Body of Theseus. Would they temporarily gain generic omni-cells, capable of serving any function? Or would they just have crits and debuffs reduced via some other magical means? It didn¡¯t really matter, so long as it worked.


    Pretty fucking great overall.


    Then there was Bioweapon. While the other two meshed with my current build, this one would be a pivot. Although maybe not as big of a pivot as it seemed at first glance, so long as I was willing to rely on my party members to get the majority of its benefits.


    To summarize Bioweapon, enemies within about a hundred feet of any member of the party would take more poison and bleeding damage and I¡¯d heal for a fuckton. It would also be harder for the enemy to cleanse bleeding or poison.


    It was an oddball option. I didn¡¯t apply Bleeding. I didn¡¯t apply Poison. What the fuck, System? Of course, Varrin applied Bleeding. Half his build was centered around it. Nuralie was all about poison as well. When fighting alongside my party, the evo could make me nigh unkillable, as long as I didn¡¯t mind being reliant on others for what would become one of my essential buffs.


    Then again, there were ways around this. I¡¯d been offered an aura skill called Cloak of Blighted Frost after finishing Throne¡¯s Delve. That¡¯d let me poison everything around me while also making enemies vulnerable to Cold damage. I could grab a poison buff evo at Physical 40, I could have Nuralie make me some gas bombs to throw around, I could craft items with Toxicity mana weaves. If I wanted to pivot into poison, I could, but it would be an investment.


    Bleeding was less attractive to me, and I didn¡¯t have room to build into both moving forward. Poison was also more likely to combo with elemental spells, with some elemental spells including it as a potential effect. I could probably reforge Elemental Barrier to include poison as an option if I really wanted to.


    Bioweapon had a lot of potential.


    It wasn¡¯t an easy pick, but a bit of thought started to reveal each evolution¡¯s main drawbacks. That made it a lot easier.


    Yes, Bioweapon was¨Cpotentially¨Coutrageously strong. For me alone. In combat. When fighting alongside Varrin and Nuralie. Against enemies that could be bled and poisoned.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    I wouldn¡¯t say the conditions for Bioweapon to be awesome were niche, but they were the most restricted of the three options and would require the biggest adjustment to my current path. My philosophy centered more around picking abilities that were reliable and diverse. I didn¡¯t mind having a few specialized tools for specific situations, but I didn¡¯t want a major pillar of my build to be something that could break so easily.


    Bioweapon also made me feel icky. I didn¡¯t want to be a blood-poison vampire man, drawing life from other people¡¯s suffering. I¡¯d already passed up on that strategy when I¡¯d declined Body of the Minotaur.


    Extended Care Network looked fantastic, but a close reading revealed its flaws. Actually, it didn¡¯t take a close reading at all; the problem was laid out in the first four words: ¡°While at maximum HP...¡±


    When the fuck was I at full health while the rest of the party was injured? Hardly ever, if at all. In fact, if things were going according to plan, I was the only person losing chunks of my health, and this evo didn¡¯t help with that one bit. If anything, this would be best used as a triage ability. Something to break out for when shit went wrong. Again, I didn¡¯t mind having some solid fallback options, but I didn¡¯t want such a big evolution dedicated to it.


    There was the option of using an instance of focus to maintain the effect even after I lost some health, but there were two problems with that. First, I wanted that focus for other shit, like keeping an eye on the fight, calling out plays, charging Explosion!, maintaining multiple Elemental Barriers, or figuring out the enemy¡¯s weaknesses. Second, the super evolution that let me apply it to the whole party didn¡¯t say that I could focus to keep it active on the whole party. That felt like a big ¡®gotcha,¡¯ and this biscuit wasn¡¯t worth enough for me to risk it.


    As for Body of Asclepius, it had no weaknesses that I could see. It was kind of boring, but I liked that about it. Evos didn¡¯t have to be a giant wall of text, so long as what they did mattered, and everything Body of Asclepius did mattered. It wouldn¡¯t be hard to grab some more healing and Shielding without watering down my build, and it meshed with what I already had going on. It wouldn¡¯t buff the party directly, but it would make me way harder to kill. Since I was basically a living party buff, it would make that buff more durable.


    I ran the options by the party, but no one had much to say outside of what I¡¯d already gone over. Varrin even told me that his input would likely be more harmful than helpful, since my brand of Fortitude progression was obviously working. He didn¡¯t want me spending too much time second-guessing myself.


    I picked Body of Asclepius, and the System sent me a pig emoticon. I wasn¡¯t sure how to interpret that. I ignored it and took a moment to bask in my vital stats.


    HP:3,185/3,185


    HP Regen: 3,717


    SP: 700/700


    SP Regen: 320


    MP: 400/500 (100 reserved)


    MP Regen: 200


    After getting Intelligence to 70, Wisdom would be up next. My mana pool and regen were looking kind of weak next to everything else. I could always pump up my mana regen by a few hundred points through opening a portal to the right area of the Closet and sucking in Dimensional energies via my Ambient Absorption trait, but that was mildly inconvenient...


    Could I make a trinket that just did that? Always had a tiny portal to the Closet, dumping Dimensional mana wherever I went? Fuck, I didn¡¯t have time for all these brilliant ideas. Curse these temporal constraints on my genius!


    Ignoring the urge to rush back to my smithy and start experimenting with weaves, I decided to test something else first. I found Varrin and asked him to perform a very important task for me.


    ¡°Cut my hand off.¡±


    Varrin glanced at my outstretched arm, then back to me. There was a flash of metal, and Kazandak clicked back into its sheath before my severed limb had even hit the ground.


    ¡°Wow, you barely hesitated,¡± I said. ¡°Should I... be happy about that? It¡¯s because you trust me implicitly, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course,¡± he replied. ¡°It has nothing to do with any repressed feelings concerning your personality, actions, or leadership style.¡±


    I smiled through the pain and accepted his words at face value, then looked down at my stump. The inside of my arm didn¡¯t really look like the inside of an arm anymore. The bone was no longer a single piece with marrow in the middle, but diffused throughout the nearby muscle. My veins and arteries were gone, and what blood remained seemed to move around through the tough, spongy tissue on its own.


    I thought about how that couldn¡¯t be an efficient way to deliver oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. I did so while taking a deep breath and wondering if my lungs were still in there, or if my body was just creating a flesh pocket to emulate what I was used to. Since 70% of my cells could perform any function my body needed, did I absorb oxygen through my skin? Was lactic acid processed locally, rather than being transported to whatever was left of my liver?


    Varrin¡¯s attack had only done a hundred damage, and my hand was back in about ninety seconds. I¡¯d barely had time to study the internal components of my wrist before it was an expanding, fleshy nub. Varrin inquired if I needed anything else sliced off, but I declined his gracious offer of further assistance. I scooped up my severed hand to give to Grotto for study and concluded my half of the experiment.


    Later, I had a small medical library delivered from Eschengal and planned on making that one of my downtime hobbies for the next few months. Most medical techniques might not apply to me because of Body of Theseus, but I¡¯d still need to know my stuff if I wanted to use them on others. Plus, it might give me some more insights into what, exactly, was happening with my body. I wasn¡¯t sold on the idea of using my twelfth active slot on a healing skill, but wanted to keep my options open.


    I had better equipment, stronger spells, and an ever more alien physiology. To complement this growth, I¡¯d also had the opportunity to ask the Dread Star several new questions.


    Up until this point, whenever I¡¯d called upon the eldritch being, there¡¯d always been someone else involved. When I finally spoke to the god in private, it was a very different experience.

 Chapter 267: Perfect Ego

    Chapter 267: Perfect Ego


    During the time between meeting the Dragons and hanging out with the Littans, I had enough time to ask the Dread Star several questions. Eleven, specifically, and I¡¯d been willing to throw my brain in that cosmic blender as frequently as necessary to get the info we needed. Most of the questions were even relevant to our main problem, which made me proud of my resistance to the temptation of that sweet forbidden knowledge. I¡¯d always wanted to know how many turtles there were and how far down they actually went, but it wasn¡¯t germane, so I avoided the topic.


    By this point, we¡¯d hemmed and hawed more than enough over what would or would not be a good use of a question, and I realized that I wasn¡¯t doing anyone any favors by overthinking it. Yes, the questions were valuable, and it was important to consider each one carefully, but at a certain point I noticed that I was experiencing a weird sort of FOMO. Like if I asked the question and it wasn¡¯t perfect, it was an unforgivable waste.


    Really, the only waste was sitting around and not asking any questions for fear of fucking it up, so I stopped holding back and started working my way through the interrogatories we¡¯d already put together.


    I also decided to ask these questions alone, without any avatars, kings, Zenithars, or murderous wasteland gangs listening in and making shit weird. I got comfortable in my newly constructed bedroom while the rest of the party did their own thing. I took a deep breath and reached out to the Dread Star.


    ¡°JuRoQi,¡± I said. ¡°Why did you offer me the ability to ask you questions?¡±


    In the past, asking the Dread Star a question had always resulted in the universe shredding itself open and casting everyone nearby into an infinite, psyche-killing oblivion. This time, however, the world simply went black like the god flipped a light switch on the universe. It was similar to what had happened when I finally accepted my Dimensional 40 evo and received deific portals and teleports, but the world didn¡¯t stay black.


    There was no grand resonance with reality announcing the Dread Star¡¯s arrival, and my identity did not immediately begin peeling back in layers. The god¡¯s eyes appeared before me, silent and without spectacle, both close enough to touch and more distant than the farthest star. It was the difference between approaching a king in their throne room, filled with pomp and circumstance, as opposed to meeting them for a private discussion in their study.


    The eyes watched me for an indeterminable length of time, and I was once more reminded of when I¡¯d accepted the Dimensional evolution. I¡¯d undergone some kind of emotional blending, and the emotions had been those of the Dread Star.


    Admittedly¨Cas with most attempts to describe any aspect of the eldritch being via normal language¨C¡°emotions¡± wasn¡¯t the right word. It didn¡¯t experience reality in a way that was comprehensible to me, but the god seemed like it was trying its best to be delicate and communicate in a way that I could digest.


    I felt feelings that the Dread Star thought would make me feel the way it imagined the feelings it itself might feel would feel like, to a feeling entity like me.


    More or less.


    Anyway, the experience gushed up from my memories like a geyser, and little details started to leap out at me.


    I bent a rule to enforce a rule that had been broken, but made the change as the one who makes the rules. The exception was accepted.


    I did as I wished, but would not do what was never wished for. A fraction of this cycle had been marked by invasion into my realm. A threshold had been reached. A subject was chosen and the offer made. Acceptance collapses alternatives.


    His will shall be my own, and my will shall be as his.


    This made perfect sense to me.


    The Dread Star¡¯s domain was the space between all things, the separation that allows for identity and distinction, among other nuances. This extended to the separation between the celestial sphere and the mortal sphere. Events on Arzia were somehow violating that domain.


    The Dread Star¡¯s nature did not allow it to intervene directly to address the source of these violations. However, the Dread Star was the ultimate arbiter of what rules it was governed by, and the violations had for some reason become grave enough to reach a tipping point. It was finally willing to change its rule of non-intervention to allow it to address the greater wrong. Even so, it could not do this without a source of free will to ask it to act in such a way.


    The offer of the evolution was an offer for me to accept the Dread Star¡¯s limited interference with Arzia and, to a lesser degree, all of mortal reality. This raised several more questions that would be added to our list, such as ¡°why the fuck was I allowed to decide something of that scale?¡± and ¡°where the fuck was all of that in the evolution¡¯s fine print?¡±


    Once I¡¯d accepted the evolution, it drastically reduced the other types of actions the Dread Star was willing to take to solve this problem. While receiving the Dread Star¡¯s offer was extraordinary, I wasn¡¯t some kind of ¡®chosen one¡¯. There were and would have been other ways the Dread Star could try and involve itself in Arzia, but so long as I took advantage of what the Dread Star had given me, there was no reason for it to push the envelope any farther.


    This was probably a very, very good thing.


    In other words, DS gave me the evolution because it was irritated at our planet and needed a vessel of free will to step in and beseech it for an assist here and there. By doing so, I allowed the Dread Star to interfere with my life in limited ways, which the entity could not do otherwise. Hopefully, this would help enable me¨Cor someone else I interacted with¨Cto clean up the problem, and the god would no longer have to be bothered by our annoying planet. It was scratching an itch. I¡¯d volunteered to be the fingernail.


    The Dread Star¡¯s eyes closed, and I returned to my room. I felt like it had just politely told me that it had already answered this question, and that I should pay better attention next time. In my defense, I was Hysteria mind-fucked at the time I¡¯d gotten that Dimensional evo.


    I relayed the wisdom DS had dropped on me, but my tale was met with a small amount of confusion.


    ¡°DS?¡± asked Nuralie.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°You know, Dread Star. DS.¡±


    ¡°Arlo,¡± said Xim. ¡°Please don''t treat a deity who''s been described as a ''god to our gods'' with complete irreverence.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way that it cares what we call it,¡± I said.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°But consider the risk.¡±


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°You think giving it a nickname might threaten all of reality?¡± I asked. ¡°That it might annihilate Arzia for my perceived disrespect?¡±


    Nuralie shrugged, then went back to working on something she¡¯d been calling a ¡®mecha¡¯. It was way too small to be a proper mecha, but she apparently already knew that.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess when you put it that way, maybe I should refrain,¡± I said.


    ¡°You could always ask,¡± said Varrin.


    ¡°That¡¯d be one of the most indulgent and wasteful things I can imagine doing,¡± I said, scribbling the question down on the list.


    So, yeah, I did end up asking whether it would be offended if we referred to it by quirky nicknames from time to time.


    Eventually.


    It totally happened during a week where we didn¡¯t have a lot of strong contenders for what question to ask, and it was contained within a more general query about how I could avoid offending the Dread Star. Not only did I get a straight answer, but I also learned that the Dread Star¡¯s kid gloves would still come off if the knowledge I requested was of a certain... character.


    After making my inquiry, I sat and contemplated the Dread Star¡¯s presence as much as I could with a bleeding mind''s eye. It hovered, or just was, for a long moment. I saw the eyes squint ever so slightly, sending my cognition reeling into a cascade of embarrassment and irrelevance until I screamed at the insignificance of my own thoughts.


    The reply was only one word, but it¡¯s something I¡¯ll never attempt to repeat, partially because it would be impossible for me to reach the state of mind required to even acknowledge the word¡¯s existence, and also because I just wouldn¡¯t. No one deserves to experience the weight of all Creation bearing down upon the one neuron in their brain that controls their sense of relevance to the cosmos, while an implacable hand holds it up, refusing to let it give way to emptiness.


    The experience was bad, negative zero out of ten because math cannot hold a number that low.


    The point is, no, Big D didn¡¯t care. Big D really didn¡¯t care.


    To be clear, the god wasn¡¯t mad at me for asking the question. It just let me know, in no uncertain terms and through first-hand experience, how much it did not give a shit.


    There were several other questions I tossed to Judge Dread that didn¡¯t result in too much new information. Some of them built on responses to other questions, others resulted in a response that was totally incomprehensible. Either the answer was something that couldn¡¯t be, or it was too big for us to hold in our heads all at once. Some of the answers were the kind of things I¡¯d classify as ¡°nice to know¡±, but not critical to our journey. To avoid muddying things, I¡¯ll touch on some of those a bit later.


    The most valuable response we got was to a question suggested by Xim: ¡°Why do the avatars exist?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t we know that one already?¡± I asked. ¡°They exist because the System fucks up the ascension somehow.¡±


    ¡°That answers how they are made,¡± said Nuralie. Pause. ¡°Badly. But it does not explain why.¡±


    ¡°When mortals ascend, why do the heavens cast an avatar back down?¡± Xim continued. ¡°Is it punishment for our hubris? Retribution for the violation of the celestial realm? Do the gods receive the worthy and return to us those who have failed their judgment?"


    ¡°I see,¡± I said, trying to formulate the right wording for such a question without repeating this entire exchange.


    Eventually I decided to use this one as part of an experiment. Did it even matter what I asked, so long as I focused on the intent of the question? Certainly Mr. Gaps didn¡¯t use the sonic vibrations of my words to determine the meaning and context of my requested knowledge. It had to be reading my mind or soul to some extent, if not relying on nonverbal communication entirely.


    I also didn¡¯t want to fuck around and say something totally unrelated to what I was thinking, since that felt like an arbitrary exercise. Plus it was kind of asking a second question in addition to the first, with that question being ¡°will you ignore my verbal words and respond only to the intent I am sending you with my question?¡± I wasn¡¯t ready to toy around with two-part questions just yet.


    I didn¡¯t want another brain-melting response like the nickname question had gotten me, so I was being a bit more careful.


    I went back and got cozy in my room, then asked, ¡°JuRoQi, why do the avatars exist?¡±


    Cue the darkness, galactic eyeballs, and other dramatic scene-setting. Then I got the longest reply we received during this three-month period.


    Wanton sin, want and sin.


    Bereft of guilt, they must enter.


    Bereft of self, they must join.


    Bereft of mercy, they must purge.


    Bereft of worry, they will surge.


    A sickening radiance withers the dark.


    Shadows flee the light.


    They find refuge from the blinding burn


    Amidst the crevice of desire.


    Saved by cold from fire.


    A shadow cannot survive the sun,


    But must adhere to its subject.


    To sever is to break,


    And the pieces fall to earth.


    A shadow without a puppet.


    A purpose without a cause.


    A form without a function.


    This one led to a lot of discussion, further fueled by the other responses we¡¯d gotten. Answers such as this one were like having a terabyte of encrypted data dropped into my organic hard drive. Each sentence contained depths of meaning and context that had to be sifted through, and even though all the information was at my fingertips, it still took time for me to synthesize it into something useful and succinct.


    Fortunately, I didn¡¯t have to rely on mortal language and all its foibles when relaying my experience to the rest of the party. I could connect with everyone using Reveal and contemplate the response, granting everyone a much better grasp of the communication. Not only was this more accurate, but it also saved them from being subjected to the entire answer all at once which reduced the chance of a spontaneous aneurysm by several thousand percent.


    In other words, this protected them against most of the backlash that came from communion with the god.


    "So avatars are... shadows of gods?¡± I asked the group. ¡°Our original understanding was that they were physical embodiments of gods, or at least the concepts governing those gods, but this feels like something else."


    "No, I think it is more than that,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°They are shadows of pure light, which should not be possible.¡± Pause. ¡°Their entire existence is a paradox, anathema to reality."


    "How so?" asked Varrin. Nuralie looked thoughtful, but couldn¡¯t formulate the words for whatever she was thinking or¨Cjust as likely¨Ccomprehending.


    Xim leaned forward and propped her elbows on our roundtable. "I don''t think you can have ego if you wish to enter the divine realm,¡± she said. ¡°Everything that makes you think of you is excised, allowing you to exist in perfect harmony with the divine without need or want. You can''t approach the divine any other way.¡± She folded her hands together and set her chin atop them. ¡°The System forces its way into the celestial sphere, sending through a batch of people along with all their mortal flaws. When they touch the divine, that part of them cannot exist there.¡± She looked around, making eye contact with everyone at the table. ¡°I think the avatars are the cast-off egos of the ascended.¡±


    Nuralie sat back, looking disturbed. ¡°Each one is the manifested sin of an entire civilization," she said, voice just above a whisper. We all sat and stewed on that for a while.


    "Damn,¡± I said, shaking off a chill that had crept up my spine. ¡°That''s... quite the metaphysical claim. So, Dr. Dread doesn''t like paradoxes?"


    "I think it''s that there is supposed to be a gap between the divine and the material,¡± said Xim. ¡°The avatars are straddling that gap. As we saw with Hysteria, the Void Daddy is not fond of things being where they are not supposed to be."


    ¡°Why does this make them so powerful?¡± asked Varrin. ¡°If they are merely a splinter, should they not be weaker?¡±


    ¡°They still have a connection to the celestial sphere,¡± said Xim. ¡°Part of the paradox is that something like an avatar shouldn¡¯t be this strong. They harness divinity in a way that violates fundamental rules of the universe.¡±


    ¡°Rules set in place by powers at the scale of Galaxy Hands-sama,¡± I said.


    ¡°Or even higher,¡± said Nuralie.

 Chapter 267.5: Full Party Character Sheets (and a special shout-out)

    Chapter 267.5: Full Party Character Sheets (and a special shout-out)


    Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel


    Age: 3 (Physical: 21, Actual: 38)


    Delver Level: 16 (Effective Level: ??)


    Delve Record: 16 Platinum (Modified)


    Special Delves: 2


    Health: 3185/3185


    HP Regen: 3717.6


    Stamina: 700/700


    SP Regen: 320


    Mana: 400/500 (100 Reserved)


    MP Regen: 200


    Blessed: 6/26


    Shielding: 0/190


    Movement (mph): up to ~470 mph


    Dodge: Awful


    Damage Type


    Base, up to w/ block & semi-perm buffs


    Resistance


    Physical


    146 - 264


    Spiritual


    93 - 201


    Divine


    89 - 197


    Mystical


    88 - 196


    Dimensional


    123 - 231


    Resistance to contests


    Immunities:


    Bleeding, Paranoia


    Conditional: Fear


    +100% crafting skill progression.


    +100% to Dimensional Magic skill progression.


    50% resistance to non-consensual dimensional effects.


    Spectacular Vernacular: You have an eidetic memory for languages and an intuitive grasp of grammar. You learn new languages and dialects at incredible speed.


    That¡¯s a Lot of Stats!: You can gain bonus attribute points through training up to a maximum score of ten in each attribute.


    Attributes


    25


    Trait (10): Leverage increased considerably when performing feats of strength.


    Nimean Weapon (10)


    Your Strength-based attacks are considered magical unless you choose otherwise. You may add the effect of Oblivion Orb to a Strength-based weapon attack for 1.25x its normal cost, rounded up. This spell originates at the point of impact.


    Flurry of Blows (20)


    Each STR attack you make deals additional damage equal to your STR times the number of previous STR attacks you¡¯ve made in the last 6 seconds.


    10


    Point Blank (10)


    You may make thrown and ranged weapon attacks while in melee range of an enemy with no penalty.


    22


    Rapid Blocks (10)


    You may equip or stow your shield near instantaneously. Your Speed is considered doubled for determining how quickly you can block. (You gain an additional reaction each round that can only be used to block)


    Bolt (20)


    Your sprinting speed is doubled, which also applies to flight. Whenever you move, you immediately begin moving at your full sprinting speed unless you choose otherwise.


    70


    Trait (10): 90% resistance to mundane damage.


    I Can Do This All Day (10)


    Health and Stamina regeneration bonuses from Fortitude are doubled.


    Super - We Can Do This All Day (10): Whenever you take damage from a hostile source, a nearby ally who is missing health or stamina regains an amount of health or stamina equal to half the damage taken, their choice.


    Body of Theseus (20)


    Critical damage you take and extra status effects applied by crits are reduced by a % amount equal to your Fortitude. Current reduction: 70%. Your body is becoming something more than human.


    Just a Flesh Wound (40)


    You are immune to Bleeding and (so long as you aren¡¯t dead) can naturally regenerate from any injury, no matter how severe. Your body becomes capable of fully replacing any part of itself with your natural HP regeneration. This includes limbs, organs, entire bodily systems, and even your brain! But, if your head is destroyed, will you be the same person when it grows back?


    Body of Asclepius (70)


    Whenever you would heal from any source, double that healing.


    Super Evolution: Whenever you would gain Shielding from any source, double that Shielding.


    55


    Magical Thinker (10)


    You acquire a basic understanding of any spell after seeing it fully cast a single time.


    Coordinated Thinker (20)


    Your Intelligence score is considered doubled for comprehending spatial and dimensional concepts. This ranges from mundane topics such as easily estimating distance, the volume of a room, or the spatial relationships between objects, all the way up to sexier things like developing novel methods of interdimensional travel.


    Whenever you activate a skill that targets a point in space, you do not need to have line of sight to that point, even if the skill would normally require it, as long as the point is within range of the skill.


    Arcane Geometry (40)


    Choose 1 mana shape from the list below. Whenever you use that mana shape on any skill, it does not apply a cost increase. This effect may only occur once every 6 seconds.


    You can change the chosen mana shape with 1 hour of meditation once per day.


    Acute


    If you use the acute shape and the skill makes a cone of any length, it instead makes a line with quadruple that length.


    Bowl


    If you use the bowl shape and the skill makes a line of any length, it instead makes a cone with one-quarter that length.


    Bubble


    If you use the bubble shape on a skill that targets or affects only you, it instead targets and affects all entities of your choice within 5 feet of you.


    Devil Drill Beam!


    (Obtuse + Tangent, but you get a discount for being a pretty little princess)


    If you use the Devil Drill Beam shape on a skill that requires touch, it instead becomes a 30-foot line that continues through all obstructions and entities along the line.


    This shape triples the original skill cost.


    Funnel


    If you use the funnel shape on a skill that targets only one entity, the damage and healing the skill would cause is doubled. A skill shaped with Funnel can only target 1 entity regardless of any other shape, ability, or effect that would allow otherwise.


    Hole


    If you use the hole shape on a skill that emanates from you (such as a line, cone, or aura), you can instead cause the skill to emanate from any point within 30 feet of you. facing any direction. If the effect has a duration, it continues to emanate from the chosen point regardless of your own movement.


    Jet


    If you use the jet shape on a skill that requires touch, it can instead affect any target within 30 feet of you.


    Metronome


    If you use the metronome shape and the skill is a line, create a sphere at the end of the line with a radius equal to one quarter the line¡¯s length. The skill affects all valid entities both in the line and in the sphere at the end of the line.


    All shapes after metronome affect the sphere instead of the line.


    Obtuse


    If you use the obtuse shape and the skill requires touch, it instead creates a line extending out to 30 feet from you and targets the first valid entity in that line.


    Pendulum


    If you use the pendulum shape and the skill makes a line, it becomes a cone with a range equal to half the line¡¯s length.


    Segment


    If you use the segment shape on a skill that creates an AoE, you can cause that AoE to exclude one or more portions of its area, allowing it to affect only enemies or only allies.


    Tangent


    If you use the tangent shape on a skill that makes a line, the line continues through all obstruction and targets all entities along the line, even if it would normally only target the first.


    Translation


    If you use the translation shape on a ranged skill, its range is tripled.


    Tube


    If you use the tube shape, the skill gains a sustain cost equal to its base cost. This replaces any duration the skill normally has. If the skill creates an AoE, the AoE lasts for the skill¡¯s duration and targets all valid entities whenever they enter the AoE and at the start of each of your turns. (Skills with a sustain cost last indefinitely until you can no longer pay the cost. Sustain costs must be paid at the beginning of each of your turns or else the effect immediately ends.)


    Vertex


    If you use the vertex shape on a skill that targets only one entity, you can target a second entity within range.


    Wedge


    If you use the wedge shape on a skill that makes a spherical AoE, it instead makes a cone with a length equal to 4 times the sphere¡¯s radius.


    If you acquire any additional mana shapes, they will be added to the list above. If you can augment a mana shape beyond the effects listed, further augments still carry a cost.


    Ziggurat


    When you use the ziggurat shape and the skill only targets willing characters, it can instead target any character. If a target is unwilling, you must succeed in a contest using the skill''s governing attribute vs. the target''s FOR if it is a technique, or WIS if it is a spell. If you fail, the skill has no effect on the target.


    40


    This is Kind of My Thing (Fast Recharge, but different) (10)


    Mana regen bonus from WIS is doubled. Ambient Absorption is 25% more efficient.


    Where¡¯s Nuralie? (20)


    With 6 seconds of concentration, you can automatically detect the presence and location of any entity using an AGL-based stealth skill within your normal sight range, regardless of cover, so long as their AGL is lower than your WIS. (Joke¡¯s on you, Nuralie¡¯s AGL is the same as your WIS so you still can¡¯t use this to find her.)


    Bonus (Revelation of the Eye¡¯s Sight): This ability also applies to entities hidden through invisibility or illusion, so long as their CHA is lower than your WIS. (Still doesn¡¯t help you find Nuralie, lol.)


    Sage Advice (40)


    Your intuition and decision-making skills are impeccable, finding the perfect solutions to even the most esoteric problems. Whenever you perceive an ally making a check involving an intrinsic skill, you can concentrate to improve their check by an amount equal to your WIS.


    This ability has a number of charges equal to the number of evolutions you have in WIS. Charges have a consecutive cooldown of 24 hours.


    Additionally, you are immune to Paranoia and your allies still treat you as an ally even if they are Paranoid.


    Paranoia


    An entity with Paranoia treats all other entities as enemies and no entities as allies for the purpose of effects that reference the allegiance of other entities. For example, an effect that states ¡°All allies within 30 feet of you heal 30 HP¡± does not affect anyone because you do not treat any entity as an ally.


    Additionally, a paranoid entity is never considered a willing target for any effect that requires one. Effects that require a willing target, such as Blessings, immediately end if the target becomes paranoid.


    However, paranoid entities are not necessarily hostile to everyone. They may still be willing to fight alongside their comrades, but they are keenly suspicious, awaiting some inevitable betrayal.


    10


    Center of Attention (10)


    Your CHA is considered doubled when attempting to taunt or distract an entity.


    10


    Divine Favor of JuRoQi, The Dread Star of Heaven (10)


    Speak the Dread Star¡¯s true name and be seen. Ask one question and be answered. Should you survive the Dread Star¡¯s truth, forget its name for seven days.


    Passives (4/5)


    You and your allies gain an additional amount of HP regeneration equal to your FOR. You have a basic awareness of the location of allies affected by this aura. The base range of this aura is equal to 5x FOR in feet, but always affects allies in your party, regardless of distance.


    Trait (Dimensional): You have an enhanced awareness of the location of allies affected by your aura and may see their physical surroundings by concentrating.


    Trait (Mystical): Certain beneficial spells and abilities you apply to your allies, and which require your allies to remain within a specified distance of you, will continue to function outside of that range so long as the ally remains affected by this aura.


    The Delve Core, Grotto, is your bonded familiar. Traits available to this passive skill are based on your attunement and the attunement of your familiar.


    Trait (Mystical): Ambient Absorption - You absorb ambient Dimensional mana. This absorption is disrupted by both Divine and Spiritual mana.


    Trait (Spiritual): Shared Fate - You and your bonded familiar possess a shared fate. The psychic bond shared by you and your familiar is stronger, which may result in some level of emotional transfer between you. You are always aware of the physical condition of your familiar and vice-versa. When your familiar suffers damage, you suffer mental anguish and must pass a WIS save or become incapacitated. The difficulty of this save is determined by the amount of damage suffered by your familiar. Additional effects may occur.


    The level of the relevant intrinsic skill for a spell you cast is considered 10 higher.


    +25% Maximum mana


    +25% Mana regen


    Your allied party members and Minions are always considered to be in range of your beneficial auras unless you choose otherwise, so long as they are on the same plane. Your auras and aura bonuses treat you as an ally to yourself, but this effect will not cause an aura to affect you more than once. You gain +5 to all attacks and defenses for each aura you have active.


    Additionally, you exude an aura out to a number of feet equal to 20 + your INT. Allies within this aura gain +5 to all attacks and defenses.


    Active Skills (11/12)


    Action


    Physical / Dimensional


    10 stamina


    Make a thrown weapon attack modified by Dimensional Magic in addition to the relevant weapon intrinsic. This attack seeks out its target and cannot be dodged. The thrown weapon returns to you afterward.


    Melee Attack


    Dimensional


    5 mana


    Make an INT Planar attack against a target you can touch. This attack cannot be blocked.


    Action - Focused


    Physical


    Cost: 20 mana


    When you cast this spell, choose either the Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Sonic damage type.


    A stationary spherical barrier of elemental force erupts in a radius around you equal to half your Physical Magic skill level in feet, warding against approach by hostile forces. When you create this barrier and every 6 seconds thereafter, make an INT Physical attack against all non-party entities that are touching or inside the barrier. The damage of this attack is the damage type chosen when you cast the spell.


    Entities hit by this attack are pushed to the edge of the barrier. Additionally, if the damage type was Cold, entities hit by this attack are Slowed; if Fire, they are Ignited; if Lightning, they are Shocked; and if Sonic, they are Deafened and knocked prone.


    So long as you focus, this effect remains active.


    Action


    Physical / Dimensional


    20 mana + 10 mana/second


    Cooldown: Variable


    Create a big-ass explosion at a point you can perceive with a radius in feet equal to 20 plus your Physical Magic skill level. Make an INT Sonic attack against all entities within this area. Entities hit by this attack are Deafened for 1 minute and knocked prone.


    You can focus to charge this spell prior to choosing a point to create the AoE. If you do, this spell¡¯s radius increases by a number of feet equal to your Physical Magic skill level every 6 seconds and deals bonus Spatial damage equal to your INT every second it was charged. This spell may be charged for a maximum number of seconds equal to your Dimensional Magic skill level.


    When charged for 3 seconds or more, entities hit by this attack are pulled to the center of this spell¡¯s area.


    Explosion!+ gains a 2-minute cooldown for every second it was charged, up to a maximum cooldown of 60 minutes.


    This spell requires a somatic component: snapping your fingers.


    Hidden Trait (Restriction): While charging this spell you may chant ominous, foreboding, or antagonistic phrases. If you do so, this spell creates an obvious visual effect that grows in intensity over time. Enemies that hear your chanting and can perceive this visual effect must succeed on a WIS check opposed by your CHA or become Distracted by you until this spell resolves.


    Free Action


    Physical / Dimensional


    20 mana reserved


    Grant a nearby ally the buff ¡°Life Warded¡±. Any time a Life Warded ally would take Physical or Dimensional damage, you take half of that damage instead. The damage you receive in this way is reduced by 1 for each level of your Physical Magic skill, but cannot otherwise be reduced or negated by any means other than natural resistance or immunity.


    Life Warded allies must remain within a number of feet of you equal to 20 plus your Dimensional skill level to sustain this effect.


    Bonus (WNaC? Mystical Trait): Allies affected by your aura are always considered to be within the range of this spell.


    Free Action


    Physical


    Cost: 20 stamina + 1 stamina per second


    You create an aura around you with a radius in feet equal to your Physical Magic skill level. Allies within this aura gain Shielding equal to your STR + FOR ( when this skill is activated. While the ally remains within range, this Shielding regenerates at a rate equal to its maximum value over 6 seconds.


    Reaction


    Mystical


    Variable mana - 50% of the cost of the mana disrupted


    Temporarily disrupt the flow of mana within a spell, object, or person. This can weaken or negate spells, halt the flow of magic within a magical item, or disrupt a magical effect imbued within an individual.


    The cost of Dispel is reduced by 0.5% per level of Mystical.


    Action or Reaction


    Mystical


    Cost: 100 mana reserved, Variable


    Uno backward is No U


    You exude an aura out to a number of feet of you equal to your Mystical Magic level plus your INT. Allies within this aura gain Spell DR equal to your Mystical Magic level.


    Whenever a hostile spell you can perceive targets an ally or space within range of this aura, you may react to seize that spell and change its targets to any valid targets of your choice. To do so, you must expend mana equal to the total amount of mana spent on the target spell by its original caster.


    If the spell creates an AoE or targets a point in space, you may decide where the AoE is placed or which point in space the spell targets. The redirected spell maintains the statistics it had when cast, such as its attack, damage bonus, mana shapes, and other effects. The range of the redirected spell is equal to the maximum range as originally cast, centered on the original caster.


    Action


    Dimensional / Mystical


    50 mana reserved


    Cooldown: 24 hours


    Summon the c¡¯thon Shog¡¯tuatha.


    Free Action / Reaction


    Dimensional - Deific


    5 mana


    Variable Cooldown


    Pass through the void and teleport to a place you can see within a number of feet equal to 500 times your Dimensional Magic skill level. This skill¡¯s cooldown is based on the distance traveled, with a minimum cooldown of 1 second if the distance is less than or equal to 5 times your Dimensional Magic skill level in feet, up to a cooldown of 1 hour when traveling the maximum distance.


    Free Action


    Dimensional / Physical


    10 stamina + 2 stamina/sec


    You gain an aura with a radius in feet equal to half your Dimensional Magic skill level. Entities within this aura are pulled toward you a number of feet equal to your Dimensional Magic skill level every second.


    While this aura is active you are Immobilized and immune to forced movement. Affected entities with STR lower than your INT are also Immobilized.


    Intrinsic Skills (11/12)


    54


    Pocket Closet (10)


    Your inventory is converted into an accessible pocket dimension, but no longer benefits from STR. 50% of the space can be dedicated as Quick Access, allowing you to retrieve anything held in Quick Access stasis from your normal inventory screen. The Closet can be expanded by spending mana.


    Checkpoint (20) - (Requires Pocket Closet and Shortcut)


    This is a Pocket Closet upgrade.


    You may designate a limited number of physical locations as Checkpoints, which can be accessed from within your Pocket Closet.


    To do so, you must be present in the location you wish to designate and must spend one hour establishing a permanent link to your Pocket Closet.


    While within the Pocket Closet, you may create a portal exit to any of your designated Checkpoints by casting Shortcut.


    Any given Checkpoint may only be used once per day. A Checkpoint portal may remain open for up to 1 hour and may be traversed by anyone. Closing a Checkpoint portal requires 60 seconds of concentration. Permanent Checkpoint portals, or Checkpoint portals with entrance and exit restrictions, require a Reality Anchor.


    You may designate up to one Checkpoint for every 10 levels of your Dimensional Magic skill. You may eliminate any existing Checkpoint with 60 seconds of concentration, allowing you to designate a new Checkpoint in its stead.


    Heavenly Gates (40)


    The Dread Star blesses your travel through the in-between.


    Your portals and teleports become Deific.


    A Deific effect cannot be countered, negated, redirected, resisted, prevented, or otherwise foiled or manipulated by any non-Deific effect.


    System Note: Accepting this evolution will change the nature of Delves you are offered.


    34


    More! MORE!!! (10)


    Physical spell cooldowns are reduced by 1% per level of Physical Magic.


    Therianthropy (20)


    You have no fear of melding your mind and body with the inhuman and have taken the form of a beast as your own. This form can take many shapes and appearances that you may decide, but regardless of your choice, you retain all of the capabilities of your normal form. With 3 seconds of concentration, you may transform to gain the following benefits:


    Your movement speed is enhanced by X%, where X is your Physical Magic skill level.


    Your unarmed attacks deal bonus damage equal to your Physical Magic skill level.


    Additionally, when you gain this evolution you can pick any two of the following traits, gaining their benefits while you are transformed. You may only have one instance of any given trait.


    Avian. You can fly.


    C¡¯thonic. You grow two tentacles that can be used as extra arms, allowing you to wield up to four objects simultaneously.


    Whenever you gain a new evolution in Physical Magic, you may pick a new trait, adding to the ones you already have.


    You can remain transformed for a number of minutes equal to your skill level. After that, you return to your normal form.


    You can transform a number of times equal to the number of evolutions you have in Physical Magic. You regain all transformation uses after resting for 8 hours.


    32


    Mana-shaping efficiency (10)


    Sssssssecret knowledge evolution! The efficiency of mana you spend to mana-shape a skill or ability is improved by 1% per level of Mystical.


    Countermage (20)


    Whenever you successfully negate a magical effect, half the mana you spent to negate it is refunded and you gain 1 stack of Potency. You can have a maximum number of Potency stacks equal to twice the number of evolutions you have in Mystical Magic.


    Whenever you would use a mana shape to alter a skill, you can spend 1 stack of Potency instead of increasing the skill¡¯s cost, up to a maximum resource savings of 100% of the cost of the base skill. Further mana shapes increase the cost as normal unless you spend additional Potency stacks for those shapes.


    32


    Auradin (10)


    The effects of your auras on allies are 1% stronger per level of Leadership.


    Medical Officer (20)


    Whenever an ally who can perceive you is healed for any amount, they may increase that amount by your Leadership skill level. This bonus can only be gained once per minute per ally.


    30


    Specialization (10): Hammers gain +1 Penetration per level of Blunt.


    Hammer Throw (10)


    You suffer no penalty for using hammers as a thrown weapon. The maximum speed and distance you can throw a hammer is increased by 10% per level of Blunt.


    Hammerang (20)


    You gain enhanced control over the path of thrown hammers, allowing you to imbue their flight with otherwise impossible arcs and patterns. The degree of control and the complexity of the arcs you can imbue are based on your Blunt skill level.


    30


    This allows you to use System Insight concerning Delves, dungeons, and labyrinths. Higher levels improve the insights you receive.


    Shared Fate (Restriction): Your bonded familiar also gains the benefits of this skill and their activities count toward this skill¡¯s progression. However, your bonded familiar chooses this skill¡¯s evolutions.


    Must Construct Additional Pylons (10)


    0.5% reduced mana cost for Dungeon constructs and actions per level of Dungeoneering (-10%).


    Engineered Terror (20)


    Fear and intimidation checks performed by allied entities within a Delve, dungeon, or labyrinth you control are 1% more effective per level of Dungeoneering. This bonus is multiplicative.


    29


    +Level to Block


    Bodyguard (10)


    If you block an AoE attack and it fails to hit you, it also fails to hit all allies in a 90-degree cone directly behind you. Additionally, you can use your reaction to block an attack targeting another character within 5 feet of you, adding your shield¡¯s block value to their defense.


    Spell Breaker (20)


    You may block any type of spell, reducing the damage by 5 plus an additional 1 per level of Shields.


    26


    1 physical DR per level.


    Resilient Alloys: Divine (10)


    Choose 1 class of damage from the following choices. You receive 1 point of damage reduction against that class for each level of Heavy Armor.


    Standard Bearer (20)


    While wearing heavy armor, the range of your auras is increased by a number of feet equal to your Heavy Armor skill level. Additionally, allies within any of your auras cannot be feared as long as you are conscious and not feared.


    21


    Carouser (10)


    You blend seamlessly into any social environment, able to tell who¡¯s who at a glance. You always know who among the entities you can perceive has the most social influence and who that entity regards as an ally.


    Executive (20)


    You exude a presence of authority, generating trust in those who converse with you. Other characters instinctively understand your expertise, causing them to trust your opinion over their own in any topic involving an intrinsic skill you possess, as long as their level in that skill is lower than yours.


    20


    Smithing is the skill of crafting, altering, and repairing metallic items, such as weapons, armor plating, and common tools such as hammers, nails, and chains.


    When you create a magical item that involves smithing, none of the attribute or skill requirements for the item can be higher than your Smithing level, and the number of requirements cannot exceed the number of evolutions you have in Smithing + 1.


    Armorsmith (10)


    You specialize in the production of the toughest and most stalwart of armors. Effects you weave into metallic items governed by the Heavy Armor skill are twice as powerful.


    Defensive Specialist (20)


    +50% MORE defensive weaves


    20


    Mana Capacitors (10)


    The mana capacity of wands you create is increased by an amount equal to your Woodworking skill level, and the mana capacity of staves you create is increased by twice that amount.


    Double Barrel (20)


    Wands can have 2 spells, staves can have 4. You can use wands and staves as a focus for casting spells.


    Divinity


    Whenever you use a teleport or portal skill, you may spend 1 stack of Blessed to reduce the mana or stamina cost of that skill to 0. Additional stacks of Blessed must be spent for each effect that increases the resource cost of that teleport or portal, such as a mana shape, doubling the Blessed required with each additional effect.


    The Eye Sees, Reveals, and Embraces. Each of these aspects builds upon one another and carries its own revelation. Each revelation must be obtained in turn to receive the next.


    Sees - The Eye has looked upon you and seen your dark sins, your selfless acts, your wretched failures, and your glorious triumphs. The Eye has embraced you, despite your flaws, and you have been filled with a deeper sense of self-acceptance.


    You gain darkvision out to your normal range of sight. You may view the souls of others, which can provide keen insight into the nature of their very being. With focus, you can determine what mental effects, if any, an entity is affected by.


    Additional benefits may be unlocked as you grow your connection to yourself, those around you, and Sam¡¯lia.


    You¡¯ve come to know the souls around you, studied them, felt them, tasted their histories. Through this familiarity you have learned how to connect with the spiritual essences of entities around you, allowing you to show them the truth as you see it.


    This allows you to share the benefits of your ¡®See¡¯ ability with your allies, and also your mental impressions of the people and things around you. However, by mingling with another¡¯s soul, your sense of identity may interfere with their own.


    You have learned to allow others to deliver their perspective unto you as you can deliver your perspective unto them, although the effect is less potent when using the revelation in this way.


    You are on the cusp of a new revelation. You have experienced a situation where you gained limited dominion over the fragment of another¡¯s soul.


    Notable Achievements


    Godsbane


    You ignore 25% of deific DR.


    Spectersbane


    Your physical attacks deal 25% damage to incorporeal creatures, instead of 0%.


    Fortune¡¯s Folly


    You have been blessed by an avatar who calls himself Fortune. You have already received the benefit of this achievement through your carryover stats.


    Dumping


    After spending 5 or more stat points at once on a single attribute, you are granted 1 additional point in that attribute.


    I Don¡¯t Attack You, You Attack Me


    So long as you did not attack first, an enemy becomes stunned for one second the first time they deal damage to you with either a melee weapon or a part of their body. An entity stunned in this way may not be affected by this skill again until the next dawn. Certain skills and abilities may prevent this effect.


    Exposure Therapy¨CCorruption


    Your body and soul have been subjected to persistent corrupting influences, from frequent poison baths to enduring multiple months of Spiritual damage.


    You gain +25% resistance to Spectral damage in addition to your existing +26% resistance to Toxicity.


    You gain a bonus to any attempts you make to resist long-term soul manipulation equal to your WIS. Additionally, you will be aware of any effect that attempts to manipulate your soul so long as your WIS is equal to or higher than the governing attribute of the effect.


    Strength of Xor¡¯Drel


    Your Wisdom score counts as double when resisting effects that cause fear, induce mental trauma, or otherwise have a negative impact on the health and wellness of your psyche.


    This is Bullshit!


    Easier to taunt higher-level enemies.


    Escalation


    Escalated Delver


    World¡¯s First


    +1 slots to Active Skills, Intrinsic Skills, and Passive Skills


    Languages


    English


    Hiwardian


    Loward


    Othertongue


    Loson¡¯binora


    Imperial


    Zng


    Notable Equipment


    Heavy Armor Set


    Inherent: STR 25


    Requirements: STR 25, FOR 30, INT 30, CHA 10, LCK 10, AGI 10


    +77 Physical DR (25 Inherent)


    +10 Fire DR


    +32 Spiritual DR


    +32 Divine DR


    +67 Mystical DR (25 Inherent)


    +32 Dimensional DR


    +100 Health Regen


    +180 Stamina Regen


    Whenever you are hit by a hostile spell, you absorb 10% of the mana spent on that spell.


    Unique Ring


    A Gift from Fortune ;)


    While wearing this ring you¡¯re granted +100% to your health regeneration.


    Unique Ring


    May her wings guide you.


    Requirements: WIS 30, Dimensional Magic 30


    +60% to the range of your teleports.


    Unique Targe


    A Gift from Varrin :O


    Made with the gratitude of the Ravvenblaq family for use by Esquire Arlo Xor¡¯Drel, this modular targe has been crafted from the essences of an atrocidile abomination and the c¡¯thon known as Ihbriobrixilas by the renowned smith and mana-weaver Ealdric Ravvenblaq Junior. The shield was meticulously forged and woven to custom-serve the unusual needs and abilities of the recipient. It is the first and only shield of its kind.


    Strength 10, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 10 Specialized Requirements: Dimensional Attunement (Effect 1)


    High. This item will halt even the fangs of the mighty Chihuarberus, although it will fall short of mitigating the slavering maw of the Demihuahua.


    1) The modular slabs of Gracorvus have been woven with Ihbriobrixilas¡¯ ability to defy gravity by altering space, along with its capacity for directing eight limbs simultaneously. This allows the user to rearrange the modular slabs of Gracorvus into a new configuration by spending 1 mana. This also allows the shield to float in place at the cost of 1 mana per minute, or move at the command of the wielder at a cost of 1 mana per second, at a speed of up to [Intelligence score] yards per second. Each individual slab can also be directed independently by the wielder at the same speed at a cost of 0.5 mana per second per plate, though the cognitive load of doing so increases substantially for each additional slab beyond the first.


    2) The core of Gracorvus has been woven with an atrocidile¡¯s frightful presence. While wielding this item in any of its assembled configurations, non-sapient enemies will perceive you as significantly more threatening than they otherwise would, and sapient creatures must succeed on a Wisdom save or suffer the same. This may cause enemies to fight, flee, or piss themselves, depending on their nature.


    Accessory


    A Gift From the System UwU


    The name may be long, but we bet you¡¯re longer, rawr.


    None. It¡¯s a feather boa. It won¡¯t even stop an agitated chihuahua.


    1) There is an increased chance that dames and jobbies will think you¡¯re keen and try to make you their daddy. This item somehow makes you sexier than you already are.


    2) You¡¯re not the man they think you are at home. Tales of your heroic deeds are more likely to spread and take on an exaggerated form. It¡¯s technically not lying if you fail to correct your rabid fans when they talk about the triple-backflip you performed while killing a Greater C¡¯thon. At level zero. By yourself. And *checks notes* with your goddamn bare hands! Badass alert! Relevant actions must be performed while wearing this item to gain the benefit of this effect.


    Accessory


    Another Gift From the System OwO


    Hurt them, hurt me, hurt yourself. Hurt anybody you want, baby.


    Minimal. This item will stop an agitated chihuahua, but not much else.


    1) You are more likely to succeed during attempts to intimidate, frighten, or outright scare the daylights out of people. You gain a bonus to this ability if you wear the vest open and without a shirt, showing off your manly chest hair and rock-hard abs.


    2) Whips, chains, handcuffs, and lethal weapons. You¡¯re a masochist and it¡¯s time to admit it to yourself. Not only do you like pain, you revel in it. When taking damage you recover a small amount of stamina based on the amount of damage you received. We won¡¯t tell you how much, because we know you¡¯re eager to find that out for yourself. You also gain a bonus to this ability if you wear the vest open and without a shirt, showing off your manly chest hair and rock-hard abs. Did we say rawr already? Fuck it. Rawr again, baby.


    Amulet


    This is an evolving item.


    Junior Jumbuck


    1) It¡¯s stylish.


    2) Soul-Sight - My dearest Arlo, you¡¯ve realized that making Soul-Sight your own means more than gaining simple competency. Your identity informs the ability, and the ways that you use it to see the world can be as unique and personal as your bohemian fashion choices!


    If you¡¯re seeing this message, then you¡¯ve now realized the way that these revelations can be used goes well beyond the default settings baked into them by whatever divinity they draw power from. The same is true for all revelations! Will you keep this secret to yourself and hoard the power that it grants? Will you share it with your closest allies? Maybe you¡¯ll shout it out for all the world to hear! I could take a guess at what you¡¯ll do, but I hate to prognosticate when the potential outcomes are so unpredictable!


    Now that I have imparted unto you this divine wisdom, let¡¯s move on to the interesting bit: more buffs!


    3) Extrinsic Intrinsics - Your bonded familiar is a quirky pet, and I find the way that the System bound your fates together to be both unique and unusual. The System even went so far as to grant you a shared intrinsic skill: Dungeoneering! Well, if there¡¯s one thing I adore about new and untested abilities, it¡¯s that they are ripe for exploitation!


    Using the soul connection between yourself and Grotto, you can share more than just Dungeoneering. In fact, I¡¯ve figured out a way to allow you to share all of your intrinsic skills with the little fellow. How broken is this capability? No idea, but I¡¯m eager for you to find out!


    Dig deeper into the connection between yourself and Grotto to unlock this item¡¯s next effect!


    Throwing Hammer


    This is an evolving item


    Total requirements from smith: 85


    Total requirements from legendary affix: 40


    Minimum skill lvl to create: 70 (57 from req, but 70 for legendary)


    Requirements


    STR 20, INT 40, Blunt 25, Dimensional Magic 20, Mystical Magic 20


    Effects:


    1) Somncres can be summoned and dismissed at will. (Dimensional 10)


    2) Whenever you make a thrown weapon attack with Somncres you may create up to X Fleeting copies, where X is your INT/10. Each copy costs 2 mana to create. These copies possess all qualities imbued into Somncres at the moment the copies are created. (Mystical 10, Blunt 10, STR 10)


    3) Each Somncres copy can be individually assigned to a target for 1 additional mana. (Mystical 10)


    4) +100 Health Regen (STR 10)


    5) +80 Mana Regen (INT 20)


    6) +30 Armor Penetration to attacks made with Somncres (Blunt 15)


    7) +60 damage to Dimensional attacks while wielding Somncres (Dimensional 10, INT 20)


    Requirements: INT 20


    Effects:


    +20 damage to elemental spell attacks


    Mana Capacity: 45/45


    Spell Slots: 2/2


    Stored Spells:


    Explosion!+


    Elemental Barrier


    Mana capacity: 25/25


    Spell Slots: 1/1


    Stored spells:


    Explosion!+


    Automatically butchers and cooks animals placed into inventory.


    Two-Handed Mace


    To Spike,


    In commemoration of the day we feasted upon the life¡¯s blood of our foes.


    With love,


    Dru


    Requirements: STR 40, Blunt 40


    Effects:


    1) This weapon deals an additional 100% damage when wielded with two hands.


    2) Whenever this weapon deals damage it applies Bleeding/minute equal to your STR plus your Blunt skill level. Critical strikes apply twice this amount.


    3) Once per hour you may increase your health regeneration by an amount equal to the combined Bleeding/min of enemies within a number of feet of you equal to your STR. This regeneration increase lasts for 1 hour.


    The List


    Sigil in the southeastern skies?


    Ask a fairy about the deal with Hysteria


    Armor Clothes Beam??


    Training - Dungeons


    Find More Exotic Materials


    Backdoor soul stuff - Grotto subprocesses


    Grotto Revelations - Xim communion


    Brood King? Hidden Delver? What¡¯s up with Shog? - ask Shog when he gets back


    Grotto¡¯s (un)hidden secrets.


    Accrue power! Dominate our enemies! Attain immortality so that we might live forever! - (Added by Grotto. Ignore. Or don¡¯t?)


    Create reality anchor point for Closet - Hiward for central global location?


    Etja Nothosis


    Age: 3 (Physical age: 21)


    Delver Level: 16 (Effective Level: ???)


    Delve Record: 16 Platinum (Modified)


    Special Delves: 2


    Health: 935/935


    HP Regen: 143.5 (+70*1.32 = 235.9)


    Stamina: 340/340


    SP Regen: 94


    Mana: 570/570


    MP Regen: 234


    Blessed: 30/78


    Shielding: 0/0


    Movement (mph): 40, 80 sprint, up to 267 w/ Siphon


    Dodge: 122/122 (15 Recovery)


    Damage Type


    Base, up to w/ semi-perm buffs


    Resistance


    Physical


    62 - 94


    Adaptive


    Spiritual


    114 - 146


    Adaptive


    Divine


    87 - 119


    Adaptive


    Mystical


    42 - 74


    Adaptive


    Dimensional


    71 - 103


    Adaptive


    Immunities:


    Mind-controlling effects that would deter you from your overarching goals, Mesmerized, Distracted, memory alteration and wipe, Psychosis


    Conditional Immunities:


    Stunned


    As an incarnation of a divine being, you inherit your racial abilities directly from their domain.


    You are immune to all mind-controlling effects that would deter you from your overarching goals. You cannot be compelled to act against your truest desires.


    As a golem, your body is an artificial construct. You do not suffer from Bleeding and body parts that are lost or destroyed can be readily replaced by a skilled Golemancer. Your original golem body has been modified, however, and you still experience the majority of other biological functions and vulnerabilities shared by organic entities.


    You are skilled in the ancient art of the Mirtasian Cadence. You may establish a dance and rhythm prior to casting a spell. If you do so, you gain a 10% mana cost reduction to the first spell you cast, and an additional stacking 10% mana cost reduction to each spell cast in sequence with the previous spell, so long as you maintain your cadence. This cost reduction caps at 40%, and the bonus resets once the fourth spell has been cast in the sequence.


    Attributes


    10


    Trait (10): Leverage increases substantially when performing feats of strength.


    Heavy Lifter (10)


    Your lifting capacity and inventory size are doubled. You can lift any object with one arm as though you were using all of your arms.


    10


    Flow State (10)


    While focusing, you can dodge attacks with much greater efficiency. You gain a bonus to dodge equal to your AGI. There is a 50% chance any weakened attack you would receive while focusing instead misses entirely.


    10


    Soloist (10)


    You can commit complex movements to memory with incredible precision, allowing you to perform any practiced activity twice as fast with no chance of error.


    34


    Trait (10): 90% DR to mundane damage


    Natural Armor (10)


    Your natural armor provides an additional amount of DR All equal to FOR/2.


    Mana Barrier (20)


    You may choose to have 50% of the damage you take be dealt to your mana pool instead of your health. Damage dealt to your mana in this way is doubled.


    10


    Signature Spell: Intelligence (10)


    Choose one spell you know that is influenced by INT CHA. The base mana cost of that spell is reduced by 5, plus another 5 for each evolution you have in INT CHA. This cannot reduce the cost of the spell below half its base cost. You may change the chosen spell whenever you gain a new INT CHA evolution.


    Chosen Spell: Mystic Blast


    57


    Fast Recharge (10)


    Your base mana regeneration is increased by 100%. Once per day, you can instantly regain mana equal to your WIS * 3.


    Enhanced Focus (20)


    You can focus on an additional number of things equal to the number of WIS evolutions you possess.


    Total Recall (40)


    You have a perfect memory, able to flawlessly recall every minute detail of your life from birth with absolute clarity. No effect can modify or erase your memories, and any false memories are immediately recognized as such. Additionally, you are immune to the Psychosis status.


    70


    Performance Artist (10)


    You have perfect pitch, perfect rhythm, and can play any song by ear with only a single listen on any instrument you know how to play. You can learn to play any instrument by spending one hour experimenting with it.


    Force of Personality (20)


    Whenever you deal damage to any number of entities with an active skill, you can deal additional damage to those creatures equal to your CHA.


    Transfixing Presence (40)


    Your beguiling charm has been honed to such heights that all who look upon you are entranced by your very being. Non-allied entities within a number of feet of you equal to your CHA must make a successful WIS check or become Mesmerized. You may apply this effect selectively, or suppress it completely if you so choose. This effect may only occur once per entity per day.


    Your deep insight into the art of allure has also made you immune to being Mesmerized or Distracted by another.


    Mesmerized


    A Mesmerized entity cannot attack the source of their mesmerization, and treats the source as an ally. Mesmerization ends if the source of the mesmerization attacks, deals damage, or takes obvious hostile action against the mesmerized entity.


    Mana Sculptor (70)


    The first AoE mana shape you apply to a skill is free. The size of all AoE mana shapes is doubled.


    40


    Spell Crit (10)


    Your critical range with spells is increased by +1.


    Guardian Angel (20)


    You are instinctively made aware of any skill or attack that would target you if the source¡¯s CHA is lower than your LCK. Your first use of Nullify each minute has a maximum mana cost of 10.


    Double Down (40)


    You have a number of Double Down charges equal to twice the number of LCK evolutions you possess (Current charges: 6). Whenever you are granted a temporary beneficial effect, you can spend 1 Double Down charge to double the benefits of the effect, and whenever you would be inflicted with a temporary detrimental effect, you can spend 1 charge of Double Down to negate the effect on you.


    Each charge has a cooldown of 24 hours.


    Passives (5/5)


    You are the incarnation of a Divine aspect. Your active abilities have been predetermined, but as a descendant of divinity, you can combine two active skills together to achieve a combination skill incorporating aspects of both skills.


    If you cast three different spells in a row, the next different spell you cast is 200% more effective, and additional mana used to cast it is 200% more efficient.


    Your spiritual essence was forged as a shell to contain the overwhelming might of a godly avatar¡¯s soul-fragment¨Can avatar against whom you rebelled. Divorcing this specter from your body has unbound you from his will, but the ability to contain another entity¡¯s spirit within you remains.


    You may open your soul and embrace the spiritual essence of a nearby ally, sharing the cost-reducing benefits of your Mirtasian Cadence and allowing you to use your Incarnation passive to combine one of your active skills with their own. Additionally, any skill utilized in this manner gains the benefit of your Finishing Move passive, and will deal 200% bonus damage if it is the fourth spell cast in sequence.


    Arcane: You have learned to harvest the power of those within your vessel, gaining a benefit for each avatar whose soul you have tasted.


    Orexis: Endless Hunger - Your Incorporate ability is 100% more effective and refunds mana when used based on the mana density of the Incorporated substance. Incorporate can be used to forcefully take a soul into your own, either whole or piecemeal.


    Hysteria: SPOILERRRRSSSS


    The many years of ritual and song once used as worship are not easily forgotten, and the rote of these rituals carried through your forebear and into yourself. Whenever a spell you cast would call for INT, you may choose to engage in ritual performance while casting; if you do, you use your CHA instead. You may use your CHA to satisfy INT requirements when acquiring Active Skills, and all instances of INT appearing in skills, evolutions, and other abilities are replaced with CHA so long as you are engaged in this ritual performance.


    The maximum number of Blessed stacks you can possess before decay is increased by an amount equal to your level.


    Whenever you use an Active Skill governed by CHA, you gain 1 stack of Blessed. You can only gain 1 stack of Blessed this way per skill activation, even if that skill has multiple effects.


    The bonus you receive when spending a stack of Blessed is increased to +10.


    Active Skills (7/7)


    Action


    5 + 2 Mana/sec


    Dimensional


    You can manipulate gravity in a localized area with a maximum radius equal to your Dimensional Magic skill level, emanating from a point you can perceive. Entities within this area with STR lower than your CHA are immobilized for so long as they remain within it. Additionally, you may force any number of entities within this area to move up to a number of feet equal to its radius in any direction every 6 seconds. The radius of this effect may be doubled by doubling its mana cost.


    You may use this spell to fly at no cost.


    Action or Reaction


    Variable Mana


    Mystical


    You can suppress and even eliminate the effects of magic within a radius equal to half your Mystical Magic skill level, emanating from a point you can perceive. This costs mana in proportion to the amount of mana being nullified, with a base cost equal to half the mana of the targeted effects. When cast as a reaction, this spell costs mana equal to the full mana cost of the targeted effects. These costs are reduced by (0.25*CHA)%.


    Action


    5 Mana


    Dimensional


    You break down the fundamental forces holding an object together, causing its constituent components to fly apart. Make a CHA Spatial attack with penetration against an entity you can perceive. This attack deals double damage to mundane targets.


    Free Action


    Variable mana


    Divine


    You can draw in the form and essence of other things and make them part of yourself. The effects of this ability vary. Incorporating objects may give you material properties of those objects, whereas incorporating a spirit may even give you memories of that spirit. Be careful you don¡¯t lose yourself in the process. Greater levels of Divine Magic increase the potency of what you can incorporate.


    Action


    10 mana


    Mystical


    Create a blast of raw magical force, making a CHA Mystical attack in one of three configurations.


    Line. Make a line attack with a length equal to 4 times your CHA.Cone. Make a cone attack with a length equal to 2 times your CHA.Sphere. Make a spherical AoE attack with a radius equal to half your CHA.


    Action


    Cost: 40 mana


    Divine


    Make a CHA Divine attack against all hostile entities within a number of feet of you equal to your Divine Magic skill level. Entities damaged by this attack are pushed to the edge of this range and knocked prone. This attack deals Holy damage, and gains a bonus to damage equal to your Divine Magic skill level.


    If you spend any stacks of Blessed on this skill, the affected area becomes difficult terrain for hostile entities and grants Celerity to allies. This effect lasts for 6 seconds for each stack of Blessed spent.


    An entity with Celerity has their movement speed doubled.


    Free Action (focused)


    10 stamina / round


    Dimensional


    You accelerate your own time, allowing you to act much faster than normal. You gain Haste. Haste grants Celerity, 1 additional action/round, and immunity to slowed.


    Intrinsic Skills (12/12)


    50


    Mana Efficiency (10)


    You are masterfully precise in your control of mana for magical applications. Whenever you would spend additional mana beyond the base cost of any spell, the amount you spend is 1% more effective per skill level.


    Magic Detection (20)


    The range of your magic sense is increased by a number of feet equal to your Mystical Magic skill level. When you see a magical effect, you know it is magical, approximately how much mana it contains, its general effect, and from which schools of magic it originates.


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    Absolute Authority (40)


    Entities cannot counter or negate your spell effects unless the skill level for the effect they are using is equal to or higher than your Mystical Magic skill level.


    42


    This skill is derived from the ancient practice of the Mirtasian Song, which uniquely influences the spellcasting of you and your allies.


    Cadence (10)


    If you cast your spells in time with the cadence of the Song, each successive casting becomes 10% more powerful, with a maximum percentage bonus equal to your Incantation skill level.


    Rhythm (20)


    You can engage in ritual dance to the rhythm of the Song. When you do, allies who can perceive your dancing gain a +5 bonus to all opposed checks for each evolution you have in Incantation.


    Metronome (40)


    While using Mirtasian Cadence, you can Focus to increase your resistance to mind-affecting abilities by 5 + 5 times the number of Incantation evolutions you possess.


    41


    This skill improves the capabilities of your Incarnation passive ability. You can combine up to 3 skills at level 40, 4 skills at level 70, and 5 skills at level 100.


    Nullify: Return on Investment (10)


    Whenever you dispel a magical effect using Nullify, you gain an amount of mana equal to 5 times the number of Exemplar evolutions you possess. This mana must be applied to pay the cost of any augmenting effects of the next spell you cast (i.e. mana shapes, AoE increases, etc.) or it is lost.


    Siphon: Frame of Reference (20)


    Whenever you use Siphon, or a combination spell with Siphon, you can cause the spell to ignore your allies. Alternatively, if Siphon only targets your allies, it costs half as much to cast and maintain.


    Incorporate: Adaptive Materials (40)


    Whenever you alter your body to replicate a material you have Incorporated, you gain resistance to one damage archetype related to that material.


    35


    Real Big Spells (10)


    Whenever you spend extra mana to increase the range and/or size of any of your spells, the cost of doing so is reduced by 0.5% per level in Dimensional.


    Cheap Big Spells (20)


    AoE mana shaping is twice as efficient.


    35


    Yearning (10)


    While focusing, you cannot be Distracted, Stunned, or Mesmerized.


    Release (20)


    You understand well the state of exaltation that can be produced when you enforce your will upon the world. Bliss is not your only reward for doing so. Whenever you cast a Divine spell, you gain a number of stacks of Blessed equal to the number of evolutions you have in Divine Magic.


    26


    Crowd Work (10)


    You prefer to perform in more intimate venues, but you¡¯re more than capable of wowing larger groups. Whenever your performance has an audience with more than one member, you have a chance of Mesmerizing any individual member. For each member Mesmerized, your chance to Mesmerize the others increases. Your chance to Mesmerize is based on your CHA and opposed by the audience member¡¯s WIS.


    Godly Set (20)


    Whenever a non-hostile entity witnesses you perform for at least 1 minute, you may grant them 1 stack of Blessed. While Blessed in this way, the entity feels a greater sense of peace and contentment. Affected entities are aware of this mental effect and may end it at will.


    20


    Reconnaissance is your ability to scout ahead, notice hidden entities like stealthed entitiess and traps, and determine the location of your objectives.


    Trap Mechanic (10)


    Once you notice a trap, if the entity who set the trap has an INT lower than your WIS, you learn what the trap does and precisely how to disarm the trap in the safest way possible.


    High-Value Target (20)


    You can focus to learn the distance and direction to the highest grade monster or highest level Delver within a number of feet of you equal to 100 * your Reconnaissance skill level. Characters whose CHA or Stealth skill level is higher than your Reconnaissance skill level are immune to this effect, causing you to instead locate the next highest grade or highest level character that is not immune to this effect.


    20


    Confidant (10)


    You have a knack for getting others to divulge sensitive information. After conversing with a non-hostile character for 1 minute, you can make a CHA (Diplomacy) check against that character¡¯s social defense. On a success, they reveal one secret they would not normally share.


    This ability has a cooldown of 24 hours for each character.


    Hero (20)


    As an activity, you can inspire a character conversing with you, allowing you to make a CHA (Diplomacy) check against their social defense. If you succeed, they place their unshakeable trust in you, always acting in your best interests even when opposed to their former allegiances. However, they will not violate their moral code or subject themselves to undue harm.


    The activity takes place over a conversation. Hostile and unfriendly characters are immune to this effect; if you act in a way that causes the character to become unfriendly or hostile, the effect immediately ends.


    20


    Clothier (10)


    You specialize in light and mobile garments, often worn by mages and socialites. Mana weaves you imbue into fabrics that impose an INT or CHA requirement are twice as powerful.


    Offensive Specialist (20)


    +50% More offensive weaves


    10


    Tryptophan (10)


    Food you prepare allows diners to sleep under nearly any condition, through common interruptions, and with pleasant dreams to boot. Whenever an activity or cooldown calls for an 8-hour rest, well-fed diners may complete that activity in 1 less hour for each evolution you have in Cooking & Hospitality.


    10


    Flexibility (10)


    You recover an amount of dodge at the start of your turn equal to half your Light Armor skill level.


    10


    Information Awareness (10)


    You can take the Analyze and Observe actions as free actions.


    Divinity - None


    You can learn any mana shape after seeing it once.


    You can manipulate any AoE you cast into any contiguous shape so long as the total area covered is equal to or less than the original AoE size.


    Circular AoE¡¯s may be divided into multiple AoEs so long as the total radius is equal to or less than the original.


    Cone AoEs may be divided so long as the total angle is equal to or less than the original.


    Line AoEs may be divided so long as the total length is equal to or less than the original.


    Notable Achievements


    Godsbane


    You ignore 25% of deific DR.


    Spectersbane


    Your physical attacks deal 25% damage to incorporeal creatures, instead of 0%.


    Fortune¡¯s Folly


    You have been blessed by an avatar who calls himself Fortune. You gain +1 to LCK.


    Rebellious Scion


    Your WIS is doubled when resisting Fear, intimidation, or persuasion from divine entities.


    Escalation


    Recognized as an Escalated Delver


    World¡¯s First


    +1 slots to Active Skills, Intrinsic Skills, and Passive Skills


    Exposure Therapy - Soul


    You gain +25% resistance to Spectral damage.


    You gain a bonus to any attempts you make to resist long-term soul manipulation equal to your WIS. Additionally, you will be aware of any effect that attempts to manipulate your soul so long as your WIS is equal to or higher than the governing attribute of the effect.


    Languages


    Hiwardian


    Mirtasian


    Celestial


    Notable Equipment


    Requirements:


    LCK 20


    Once per day, one of the following effects may occur, although you may not choose when or if one triggers.


    1) An attack you make that would otherwise miss miraculously hits.


    2) An attack made against you that would otherwise hit miraculously misses.


    Requirements: Etja Nothosis, Escalated Delver


    Effects:


    1) This wand can be used as a focus for Mystical spells. When used as a focus, it adds +10 damage to all Mystical attacks.


    2) Whenever you hit an entity with a Mystical attack, you may choose to deal Force damage equal to your Mystical Magic skill level to all entities of your choice within 5 feet of the target.


    3) Your maximum number of Blessed stacks is increased by 6.


    4) While performing the Mirtasian Dance, your attacks deal an additional X damage and you gain +X to your dodge pool, where X is your Incantation skill level.


    Draw the line.


    Requirements: INT 20, Mystical Magic 20


    Effects:


    1) +20 mana regen


    2) Whenever you cast a spell that creates a line extending from you, you can duplicate that line in a different direction by spending mana equal to the spell¡¯s mana cost.


    3) Whenever you are targeted by a spell that is a line, you can spend mana equal to that spell¡¯s mana cost to redirect the line in a different direction extending from you. If you do, the spell has no effect on you.


    A staff of office for the Archon of the Fifth Court, crafted by the scorned lady known to you only as The Mimic. It would eventually come to light that the Archon himself had also been crafted by The Mimic, a treachery that led to the collapse of the judiciary and enabled a violent coup against the realm¡¯s emperor. This staff may serve as a symbol of your strength, or a promise of retribution to those who would oppress you.


    WIS 20, Divine 10


    1) Spell Mimicry: You may imbue this staff with a charge of any spell you can cast by spending an amount of mana equal to that spell¡¯s cost plus 10. This item may only be imbued with 1 spell at a time, but up to 5 charges of that spell may be stored. If the spell is channeled, each charge may store up to 6 seconds worth of channeling. The maximum amount of mana that can be stored within this item is 100, excluding the 10 additional mana required to imbue each charge.


    2) Archon¡¯s Faith: While wielding this staff, your Divine Magic skill is considered to be 5 higher.


    3) Spells you cast may originate from the head of this staff.


    WIS 20


    Whenever you would spend mana, the amount you spend is reduced by 10%. The minimum cost reduction from this effect is 1 mana (1 mana every 6 seconds while channeling), but cannot reduce the mana cost to less than 1.


    Light Armor Set


    Requirements: STR 10, SPD 10, AGL 10, CHA 30, LCK 30


    Effects:


    +35 Physical DR


    +40 Spiritual DR


    +30 Divine DR


    +25 Mystical DR


    +20 Dimensional DR


    +40 to maximum Dodge Pool


    +10 to Dodge Recovery


    +50 Health Regeneration


    +60 Stamina Regeneration


    +80 Mana Regeneration


    When worn as a full set, this armor will consume mana to fully repair itself from any damage over the course of 1 minute.


    Mana Capacity: 60/60


    Nuralie Vyxmeldo¡¯a


    Age: 24


    Delver Level: 16 (Effective Level: ???)


    Delve Record: 16 Platinum (Modified)


    Special Delves: 2


    Health: 806/806


    HP Regen: 80.6 (+70*1.32 +45 = 218)


    Stamina: 310/310


    SP Regen: 31 (+45+180 = 256)


    Mana: 100/100


    MP Regen: 10 (+45+80 = 135)


    Blessed: 12/26


    Shielding: 0/62


    Movement (mph): 468 (Normal) 694 (Dim Light) 1735 (Dim+Dark+Chemist) 3470 (ALL buffs + Sprinting)


    Dodge: 337.5/337.5


    Recovery: 52.5


    Damage Type


    Base, up to w/ semi-perm buffs


    Resistance


    Physical


    65 - 97


    Spiritual


    30 - 62


    Divine


    10 - 42


    Mystical


    55 - 87


    Dimensional


    91 - 123


    Toxicity


    50%


    Immunities:


    Slowed, Paralyzed, own poisons


    Conditional Immunities:


    None


    The Loson culture has instilled in you an intense focus towards singular mastery. The first intrinsic skill you gain increases in level 100% faster.


    As a Geulon, you possess an additional 30 feet to your darkvision, you can swim as fast as you can run, and your Stealth skill is considered to be 10 higher than listed.


    You were born in the same shadow that touched the moon, granting you long strides across darkness. Your movement speed increases as the ambient light level decreases, with no bonus in direct sunlight up to a maximum of 100% bonus movement speed in total darkness.


    Attributes


    10


    Trait (10): The leverage you are able to produce when performing feats of strength is increased considerably.


    Draw Weight (10)


    Your Strength score is considered doubled when used to fire a bow or other ranged weapon requiring STR.


    70


    Melt Into Shadow (10)


    Ritualism: So long as you are in dim light or lower, you gain an additional bonus to your Stealth equal to your AGI.


    Keen Hands (20)


    When crafting, products that require dexterous manipulation to produce are X% more effective, where X is your AGI.


    Flawless Precision (40)


    Your body has transcended the inaccuracies of its physical material, allowing you to move with impossible precision. Your movements are so exact that you can position any part of your body to a pinpoint location within one nanometer of where you intend, without fail. This extraordinary control allows for flawless execution of movements, no matter how complex or delicate the task.


    You are also no longer tied to the limitations of your physical body on your movement. You are immune to the Slowed and Paralyzed statuses.


    Hide From Thought (70)


    You can move and stand between the thoughts of those who would perceive you. Your stealth cannot be foiled by any sense other than true sight. Additionally, you can focus on a character to become imperceptible to that character.


    40


    DODGE! (10)


    (Counterattack)


    Your Dodge Pool is increased by an amount equal to your SPD.


    Additionally, whenever you dodge an attack and the attack misses, you gain an additional action on your next turn. This effect can only occur once per turn.


    Adrenaline Rush (20)


    Whenever you gain haste, you may immediately react to take any action.


    You gain a number of Haste charges equal to the number of SPD evolutions you possess (Current charges: 3). You can spend a Haste charge as a free action to gain Haste for 6 seconds. Each charge has a cooldown of 1 hour.


    An entity with haste gains an additional action every 6 seconds and has Celerity.


    Phasing (40)


    You can focus to vibrate your physical body so fast you become incorporeal. You can remain incorporeal in this way for a number of minutes each day equal to the number of SPD evolutions you possess (Currently 3 minutes). You recover all of this time after resting for 8 hours.


    31


    Trait (10): You gain 90% reduction to mundane damage.


    No First Blood (10)


    Whenever you would be hit by an attack, you can gain defense against that attack equal to twice your FOR as no action.


    This ability has a number of charges equal to the number of FOR evolutions you possess. All charges are regained whenever you complete an 8-hour rest.


    Chemical Constitution (20)


    Beneficial substances you ingest are 2(X)% more effective, where X is your Fortitude.


    61


    Rote Memory (10)


    You understand not only the academics, but the kinesthetics behind your crafts. Your crafting speed is increased by 2% per INT when using manual tools.


    Super: Collective Memory


    Up to 4 designated allies in your party gain 50% of the bonus you receive from Rote Memory while within 1 mile of you.


    Calculated Shot (20)


    When aiming, add your INT to your attack roll with ranged weapons.


    Weak Spot (40)


    With 6 seconds of focused observation, you can deduce the weakest point on any entity. Once an entity¡¯s weak point has been identified, your Intelligence improves your chance to score a critical strike against that Entity in addition to any other stat that governs your chance of scoring a critical strike. (+1 crit range per INT evolution)


    10


    Keen Sight (10)


    Your WIS is considered doubled when used for visual perception.


    10


    Edge of Attention (10)


    Whenever a non-allied entity is Distracted, you are invisible to them.


    10


    Ranged Crit (10)


    Ranged attacks gain +1 crit range.


    Passives (4/5)


    You are immune to your own poisons and poisons you ingest intentionally, and gain 50% resistance to Toxicity from other sources.


    If a potion you make would have both positive and negative effects, you are immune to the negative ones.


    Whenever you consume a potion that you created, you can choose one of the following effects. These effects do not stack, and if you choose a different effect later, the original is lost. The duration of the effect is the greater of either the duration of the potion, or the value listed below.


    Stimulants. Your movement speed and reaction time are improved by 50% for 1 minute.Nootropics. Your INT skills are 20% more effective for 1 minute.Anxiolytics. You gain 50% resistance to mind-altering effects for 10 minutes.Analgesics. Pain is no more than a mild annoyance to you for 10 minutes.


    You can activate your skills from the position of any of your party members instead of your own. If the skill has a range, the range is calculated from that party member¡¯s position. If the skill requires you to perceive another entity, you must be able to perceive that enemy, but the party member does not.


    Entities you poison take damage every 6 seconds equal to their Toxicity minus their FOR. That entity¡¯s Toxicity stacks are then reduced by an amount equal to their FOR. Whenever you apply Toxicity to an unaware target, they take Acid damage equal to the Toxicity applied.


    When you gain this passive, choose two of your intrinsic skills. You may engage in an 8-hour activity to raise the level of the lower-level skill to match the level of the higher-level skill. Then, this passive skill is lost. (Used to boost Light Armor to Alchemy level).


    Active Skills (9/12)


    Free Action


    5 mana


    Divine


    You can examine another creature to determine various stats, such as their current and maximum HP, mana, or stamina, what kinds of damage they are most resistant or vulnerable to, or which status effects they are strongest or weakest against. The amount of information you gain is determined by your INT and is opposed by their CHA.


    5 mana


    Physical


    You can turn one stable mundane substance into any other stable mundane substance you have encountered. You can transmute a number of ounces equal to your Physical Magic skill level.


    Thrown or Ranged Weapon Attack


    5 stamina


    Spiritual


    Make a thrown weapon or ranged weapon attack. This attack makes no sound and the thrown weapon or projectile becomes invisible and incorporeal until it strikes its target. This attack deals Spectral damage.


    Action


    1 stamina /second


    Physical / Spiritual


    While aiming at a target you may charge this skill for any length of time. Upon firing, you make a ranged weapon attack, and an additional ranged weapon attack against the same target for every 6 seconds this skill was charged. All bonuses applied to this skill, your attack, your weapon, or your ammo apply to each attack made this way, regardless of whether the bonus is restricted to a single attack or projectile.


    Free Action


    5 mana


    Physical / Spiritual


    While in dim light or lower, you may teleport to another area of dim light or lower that you can see within X feet, where X is 5x your Physical or Spiritual magic level, whichever is higher. This teleportation is completely silent.


    10 mana


    Physical / Spiritual


    Cooldown: 1 hour


    Make an INT attack against a target you can perceive opposed by their FOR. If successful, double the target¡¯s Toxicity. This affects all statuses that include the keyword Toxicity.


    20 stamina and/or 20 mana


    Physical


    Cooldown: 1 minute


    You utilize another creature you can touch as a test subject for your biological research. If you cast this skill using stamina, the number of Bleeding stacks on the target is doubled. If you cast this skill using mana, it gains a range equal to 20 plus your Physical Magic skill level in feet, and the Toxicity on the target is doubled.


    20 Stamina


    Physical


    You fire a cordon of arrows into the air, creating a 15-foot radius ring of arrows on the ground within your bow¡¯s range. Whenever an entity crosses the ring of arrows, you may instantly cause an arrow from the ring to magically fire itself at that entity. Attacks made this way are considered bow attacks made by you.


    Free action (focused)


    15 stamina + 5 stamina / turn


    Spiritual


    Your form shifts into a spectral manifestation, causing you to become incorporeal. While incorporeal in this way, you can still make weapon attacks, but cannot otherwise physically interact with entities.


    Intrinsic Skills (12/12)


    45


    This skill improves the potency and effect duration of all alchemical compounds you create by 1% per skill level.


    Arcane - You can imbue spells into potions and alter their effects. With sufficient preparation and understanding, you can create potions that impart custom-made skills.


    Pocket Healer (10)


    Your potions that restore health are 1% more effective per skill level and you can craft them 1% faster per skill level.


    Stacking DoTs (20)


    Whenever you apply toxicity with a poison, the total toxicity on the target increases by 1% for every poison currently affecting them.


    Resource Management (40)


    Health, stamina, and mana potions you create last for an additional number of hours equal to the number of Alchemy evolutions you possess (3). You are no longer limited to benefiting from a single potion effect at a time.


    45


    Flexibility (10)


    You recover an amount of dodge at the start of your turn equal to half your Light Armor skill level.


    Robe of Many Pockets (20)


    Your Inventory capacity is increased by an amount equal to ten times your Light Armor skill level. Your party members can access anything in your inventory as though it were their own. However, you may designate which items, if any, your party members are allowed to access in this way. You are always aware when a party member attempts to access anything within your inventory, and may prevent a party member from withdrawing an item as no action.


    Bug-Out Bag (40)


    Your health regeneration, mana regeneration, and stamina regeneration are all increased by an amount equal to your Light Armor skill level. Your movement speed and dodge pool are increased by half that amount.


    43


    You are attuned to the Spiritual school of magic, and automatically gain this skill at Creation. Bonuses from Spiritual vary by skill.


    Sense Life (10)


    You can sense the presence of living things within a number of feet of you equal to 2x your skill level (+60% Deijin¡¯s Star). Practice can hone your ability to determine distance and direction.


    Haunting Poisons (20)


    Whenever an entity suffers damage from Spiritual Toxicity you apply, that entity takes an additional amount of Psychic damage equal to your Spiritual Magic skill level.


    Mechamancer (40)


    You have an enhanced connection with the technology you imbue with your spirit. Mechanical entities under your control can be constructed to possess a number of your intrinsic skills equal to the number of Spiritual Magic evolutions you possess. Intrinsic skills granted this way begin at a level equal to your own.


    Further, you may focus to strengthen your spiritual connection with one of your mechanical minions, allowing you to perceive through it, guide its actions, and grant it the ability to use any of your intrinsic skills as if they were its own. You may only inhabit one minion at a time in this way.


    (Marksmanship)


    40


    Poisoned Ammunition (10)


    Whenever you impose toxicity with a ranged weapon attack, the amount you impose is increased by your Archery skill level.


    Sniper (20)


    When aiming, you gain a bonus to your attack equal to your Archery level.


    Stay on Target (40)


    As a free action, you can focus to aim at another character you can perceive. While aiming, that character becomes highlighted to you and your allies and cannot enter Stealth. This highlighting remains visible through all cover and obfuscation, including solid barriers and magical invisibility. Attacks you make against the highlighted character ignore mundane obstruction.


    40


    Shroud of Shadows (10)


    While in darkness, you become increasingly translucent, making you even harder to detect by sight. So long as you are in dim light or lower, you gain 20% translucency per evolution you have in Stealth. At 100%, you are completely invisible.


    Move Through Shadow (20)


    While in dim light or lower, you gain a bonus to movement speed equal to your Stealth skill level.


    ??? (40)


    31


    Inquisitor (10)


    You gain Magic Sense out to a number of feet equal to your Divine Magic skill level (+60% Deijin¡¯s Star). Your Magic Sense also reveals entities considered sacred or profane to your deity, even if they are not otherwise magical.


    Lightbringer (20)


    You bring light into the darkest places. You gain bonus darkvision range and gain Evil Sense out to a number of feet equal to your Divine Magic skill level (+60% Deijin¡¯s Star). Additionally, whenever you hit with an attack against a hostile entity, you gain shielding for 1 minute equal to your Divine Magic skill level, or twice that much if the target is profane to your deity. This shielding can only be granted once per target per minute.


    30


    Rot (10)


    Whenever you apply Toxicity, apply an additional amount equal to your Physical Magic skill level.


    Plague Doctor (20)


    Whenever you apply a stack of Bleeding to an entity, you apply an additional stack. The Toxicity of all poisons you inflict is increased by an amount equal to your Physical Magic skill level. You can take the active skill Mad Experiment.


    28


    This skill improves your ability to craft simple and complex machines.


    Machinist (10)


    When you take the Analyze action to study a machine, you learn the machine¡¯s purpose and how to craft it, as well as identifying any magical effects currently affecting it.


    As a 1-hour activity, you can craft a magical object imbued with one of your intrinsic skills, which takes the form of a tool capable of performing tasks associated with that skill. That object becomes animated, and can fly with a movement speed of 20. It can perform any task associated with its imbued intrinsic skill, but cannot attack, imbue another object with any magical effect (including mana weaves), cast skills, or spend your mana, stamina, or HP.


    You can command the object to perform a task, which it will do autonomously until the task is completed, whereupon it will wait for further instructions. It performs the task at the same speed you would perform it normally, using your level in that skill to determine its success.


    You can have a maximum number of animated objects from this ability equal to 1 + the number of evolutions you have in Engineering. By spending a ruby chip when creating the object, you can make the object permanent, causing it not to count against this limit.


    Mana Triggers (20)


    You can create runes that allow for your traps and other devices to be triggered on contact from up to 2X feet away, where X is your level in Machinist.


    25


    Merchant (10)


    You instinctively know the market value of any item you inspect. When presenting an item to another character whose CHA is lower than your WIS, you instinctively know the highest price for which they would be willing to pay or the lowest price for which they would be willing to sell the item.


    Studied Negotiator (20)


    Whenever a Mercantile or Diplomacy check would call for CHA, you may instead use your INT.


    22


    Leatherwoman (10)


    You specialize in garments meant for stealth and survival, often worn by rogues and archers. Mana weaves you imbue into fabrics that impose an AGL or SPD requirement are twice as powerful.


    Defensive Specialist (20)


    You become a specialist in Defensive weaves.


    The maximum combined attribute requirements of mana weaves and essences for which you are a specialist becomes 1.5 times your Tailoring skill level, so long as the crafted item has no weaves or essences for which you lack a Specialist evolution. For example, if you have Tailoring 20 with the Defensive Specialist evolution, you can now weave one or more Defensive effects into fabrics where the total combined attribute requirements are 30 or lower, such as by imposing STR 15 / FOR 15.


    20


    Dual-Wielding: Blades (10)


    If you are wielding two bladed weapons, whenever you attack with one of those weapons, the attack also gains the bonuses of the other weapon. (This only applies to bonuses on the weapon itself.)


    Mutilation (20)


    Whenever you hit with an attack using a bladed weapon and your governing attribute exceeds the target¡¯s Fortitude, you inflict them with Weakness (physical) until the end of their next turn.


    20


    Sense Motion (10)


    You gain motion sense out to a number of feet equal to 20 + your Reconnaissance skill level. (41*1.6 = 65.6)


    Exclamation Mark (20)


    You know which characters you can perceive are alerted and if they are aware of you. Characters with a CHA or Subterfuge skill level higher than your Reconnaissance skill level are immune to this effect.


    +100% Alchemy


    Divinity


    You have realized that each of the 3 gods of the Eschenden are at once separate and the same. Though each god is now an individual branch of the same divinity, you have gained a vision of a time where they were singular.


    This revelation has given you a profound insight into the nature of discrete objects. All that exists is at once independent in its identity, but also the sum of all that has affected it. You can touch an object to feel the connections that make it distinct, and trace its history to moments that define it. The breadth of such connections can be overwhelming to a mortal mind, but mastery over this revelation will make the experience as familiar to you as any of your normal senses.


    You can break materials down into their fundamental components at a touch.


    Notable Achievements


    Godsbane


    You ignore 25% of deific DR.


    Spectersbane


    Your physical attacks deal 25% damage to incorporeal creatures, instead of 0%.


    Fortune¡¯s Folly


    You have been blessed by an avatar who calls himself Fortune. You gain +1 to LCK.


    Arrow with a Name on it


    You crafted an item that possessed power well beyond what you should have been capable of given your skill level. You immediately gain +5 to both your Archery and Alchemy intrinsic skills.


    Amphibian Arboretum


    You won¡¯t stop trying to put frogs into your inventory, even though you KNOW it won¡¯t work. You¡¯ve been doing it for over a year now. Why? You know what, never mind. Here: You may now dedicate up to 25% of your inventory space as a pleasant and livable environment for amphibious creatures.


    If you tell anyone how you got this achievement, we will be unhappy about it. We can¡¯t have everyone badgering us to build greenhouses in their dimensional storage.


    Escalation


    Recognized as an Escalated Delver


    World¡¯s First


    +1 slots to Active Skills, Intrinsic Skills, and Passive Skills


    Soul Chemistry


    Beneficial alchemical products you create that affect the soul are 1% more effective per level of Alchemy.


    Languages


    Loson¡¯binora


    Hiwardian


    Imperial


    Notable Equipment


    It is wise to consider why some knowledge is forgotten.


    This tome contains the experimental findings of an unknown witch whose name and work have both been lost to time. Within its pages are a selection of spells that may be of interest to a mage with a penchant for inflicting harm. Additionally, there are several recipes that could be of use to an alchemist with the requisite moral flexibility. The handwritten notations and illustrated techniques used by the witch to accomplish her research may also serve as fascinating bedtime reading for the morbid historian.


    Requirements: Nuralie Vyxmeldo¡¯a, Escalated Delver


    Effects:


    1) Fire DR +10


    2) Techniques that require a charge time are treated as though they have been charged for an additional 6 seconds.


    3) While undetected, you are always considered to be aiming.


    4) When you are hit by a hostile spell, you absorb 10% of the mana spent on that spell.


    5) Immutable


    Daggers


    Requirements: AGI 10, LCK 10


    +50% damage on crit when used alone, or +100% extra when wielded together.


    Ring


    May her generosity empower you.


    Requirements: Intelligence 40, Spiritual Magic 20


    +60% to the range of your Sense abilities.


    AGL 30, Tailoring 10


    +180 Stamina Regen


    +750 to inventory space


    +500 to inventory space for crafting materials


    INT 20


    +40 to maximum mana


    +80 mana regen


    Magic Longbow


    Forged by the renowned bowmaker, Altarea Ravvenblaq, from the essence of a divine avatar¡¯s soul, this bow possesses a powerful hunger to sate all of your worldly desires.


    Divine 10, Archery 20, AGL 20


    By spending 1 mana, you may make any attack fired from this bow deal Holy damage.You may take the active skill Hunger Shot.The bow hungers. You have fed it many lives, earning you its favor, but its longing never abates. By spending 10 mana, you may make any attack fired from this bow deal Wicked damage.


    Light Armor Set


    AGI 30, SPD 30, INT 30, CHA 10


    +25 Physical DR


    +20 Spiritual DR


    +55 Mystical DR


    +60 Dimensional DR


    +120 Dodge Pool


    +30 Dodge Recovery


    Improved self-repair


    Varrin Ravvenblaq


    Age: 21


    Delver Level: 16 (Effective Level: 23)


    Delve Record: 16 Platinum (Modified)


    Special Delves: 2


    Health: 1220/1220


    HP Regen: 212 (+70*1.32 = 304.4)


    Stamina: 400/400


    SP Regen: 473 (1419 OOC)


    Mana: 100/100


    MP Regen: 10


    Blessed: 12/26


    Shielding: 0/0


    Movement (mph): 513 (708) / 1026 (1417) (while flying)


    Rage: 0/59


    Dodge: 449/449


    Dodge Recovery: 60


    Damage Type


    Base, up to w/ semi-perm buffs


    Resistance


    Physical


    362 - 394


    Spiritual


    67 - 99


    Divine


    34 - 66


    Mystical


    24 - 56


    Dimensional


    64 - 96


    Bleeding Threshold


    128


    Toxicity Threshold


    80


    Immobilized


    48%


    Immunities:


    Common Environmental Hazards, Slowed


    Conditional Immunities:


    Immobilized, Paralyzed, Prone, Forced Movement, Heavy Armor Implacable, ALL MENTAL while Berserk


    +100% crafting skill progression.


    You are immune to common environmental hazards, such as regions of extreme heat or cold. You can survive for twice as long without food, sunlight, water, or breathable air than a normal human. The first stack of fatigue you receive has no effect, and to become exhausted requires an additional stack of fatigue. When you recover from being exhausted, you are not fatigued.


    You are born with a larger stature than normal for your genetics. You gain +50% weapon skill progression when using two-handed weapons. You gain a +25% damage bonus when fighting creatures smaller than you.


    Attributes


    70


    Trait (10): Your leverage is considerably increased when performing feats of strength.


    Giant¡¯s Hand (10)


    As long as you can lift them normally, you can wield weapons up to 3 times your size without penalty.


    Siege Breaker (20)


    Your damage against mundane objects is increased by 10x. Your damage against magical objects is increased by 2x. You can effortlessly move through any object or structure with an amount of Kinetic DR equal to or lower than your STR, destroying a 5-foot diameter section of it in the process.


    Rip and Tear (40)


    Their blood is borrowed. You¡¯re calling in the debt. Your STR-based attacks apply Bleeding equal to your STR on hit. STR-based attacks made against Bleeding targets apply 2*STR Bleeding on hit. STR-based attacks made against entities that are immune to Bleeding deal an additional amount of damage equal to your STR.


    ??? (70)


    40


    Fluid Movement (10)


    You can stand and move on any liquid surface as though it were solid ground, and you can slow your descent when falling through the air to 5 feet per second as long as your feet are below you.


    You still take damage from liquids that would hurt you on contact, such as acid or lava. If you are knocked prone while standing on a liquid, you fall into it as though you didn¡¯t have this ability.


    Spellbreaker (20)


    You can parry spell attacks that target you. If you succeed, the spell is negated and the caster is stunned until the end of the turn.


    Parry: As a reaction, you can parry an attack by spending an amount of dodge equal to the amount you would normally spend to dodge the attack. When successful, the effect of a parry is governed by the skill or ability that grants the ability to parry.


    Blink (40)


    Whenever you successfully dodge an attack, you may teleport up to 15 feet in any direction and make an AGI attack. You gain a bonus to dodge equal to your AGI.


    43


    Counterattack (10)


    Whenever you successfully dodge an attack, you gain an additional action on your next turn. You gain a bonus to dodge equal to your SPD.


    Adrenaline Rush (20)


    Whenever you gain haste, you may immediately take any action as a reaction.


    You gain a number of Haste charges equal to the number of SPD evolutions you possess. You can spend a Haste charge as a free action to gain haste until the end of your next turn. Each charge has a cooldown of 1 hour.


    Sleight of Feet (40)


    You gain a bonus to dodge equal to your SPD.


    You gain an additional reaction that can only be used to dodge.


    Whenever you would be forced to make a contest of any kind, you may dodge to avoid the contest, causing the opposing entity to fail. The difficulty of the dodge is equal to the opposing entity¡¯s check.


    Additionally, you are immune to the Slowed status.


    40


    Trait (10): 90% DR to mundane damage.


    Deep Breaths (10)


    Your stamina recovery is tripled while you are outside of combat and not engaged in strenuous activity.


    Super: Let¡¯s All Take Some Deep Breaths (10)


    If your stamina is full, allies below 50% stamina receive 50% of your bonus from Deep Breaths while outside of combat and not engaged in strenuous activity.


    Second Wind (20)


    Whenever you spend stamina on an active skill, you regain health equal to the stamina spent. You can take the active skill Second Wind.


    Test Subject (40)


    The toxicity of all potions you consume is halved. For every beneficial effect you have that is conferred by an external source (such as potions, the abilities of other entities, item effects, etc.), you gain +6 to all attacks.


    10


    Damage Analysis (10)


    Whenever you deal damage to an entity, you learn whether that entity is immune, resistant, or vulnerable to that damage, as well as how much damage was actually dealt (allowing you to calculate damage reduction, if any).


    19


    Resolve (10)


    Mind-altering effects on you only last half as long and cannot last longer than a number of minutes equal to 120 minus your WIS.


    10


    Bad Cop (10)


    You gain a +1 bonus to intimidation for each stack of Rage you possess.


    10


    Critical Strikes: Martial (10)


    Your critical range with weapon attacks increases by 1.


    Passives (4/5)


    The Blades intrinsic skill increases at +100%.


    Your critical range when wielding a sword is increased by +1.


    When wielding a sword, your parries cost 10 less dodge (minimum 10).


    Items you equip that were crafted by a member of your bloodline are 50% more effective.


    Entities larger than you gain no advantage due solely to their size during STR contests against you. When you succeed in a STR contest against an entity larger than you, you may make an instantaneous intimidation attempt against them. Use STR as the governing bonus for this attempt, rather than CHA.


    So long as you are not Berserk, whenever an effect would cause you to gain a stack of Rage, you gain 1 additional stack. When affected by the Berserk status, replace the debuff¡¯s normal effects with the following:


    Berserk: An entity that is berserk must do everything within their power to make an attack against the closest hostile entity to them. If none are within range, they move to the closest hostile entity and attack, or sprint towards the nearest hostile entity if they cannot reach. If your Rage stacks exceed your WIS, your Rage stacks are reduced to equal your WIS whenever an outside effect ends the Berserk status.


    Additionally, while Berserk, you gain 1 stack of Rage every 6 seconds and your Rage stacks do not decay. If there are no hostile entities that you can perceive, your Rage stacks are reduced to an amount equal to your WIS after 6 seconds.


    Rage: Entities gain +2 to all weapon attacks for each stack of Rage they have. If an entity has more stacks of Rage than their WIS, they become Berserk for as long as their Rage stacks exceed their WIS.


    Rage decays in two ways. If an entity does not make a weapon attack for 6 seconds, they lose 1 stack of Rage, and if they have more Rage stacks than their WIS for 6 seconds, their number of Rage stacks is reduced to equal their WIS.


    Active Skills (11/12)


    Attack


    Physical/ Spiritual


    10+ Stamina


    This attack makes two separate attacks. The first attack deals normal damage. The second attack deals Spectral damage and gains a bonus equal to your Spiritual Magic skill level.


    Arcane: Spoiler :)


    Melee attack


    5 stamina


    Physical


    This attack targets all characters around you in a radius in feet equal to half your Physical Magic skill level plus your weapon¡¯s reach.


    Melee attack


    10 stamina


    Physical


    This attack inflicts bleeding equal to your Physical Magic skill level.


    Action


    Physical


    5 stamina


    Cooldown: 6 seconds


    Make a melee weapon attack. You gain a bonus to your Physical DR equal to your Physical Magic skill level for 6 seconds after the attack.


    Action


    Physical


    5 stamina


    Move up to twice your normal movement and make a melee weapon attack. This movement counts as sprinting.


    Free Action


    Physical


    Variable stamina


    Conditional cooldown


    You may spend any amount of stamina to regain 5x that much HP.


    Once you use this skill, you cannot do so again until you rest for at least 1 hour.


    Attack


    Spiritual


    Cost: 20 stamina


    Cooldown: 1 minute


    Strike out at the souls of your enemies, forcing them to follow your spiritual winds lest their animas be severed. Make a Blades weapon attack against all hostile entities within 20 feet of you plus an additional 5 feet for each Spiritual Magic evolution you possess (Current range: 30 feet). Entities hit by this attack are pulled to you. The damage dealt by this attack is Spectral.


    Reaction


    Variable stamina


    Physical


    As long as you are wielding a melee weapon, whenever an enemy makes a melee attack against you, you can use your reaction to make an opposed melee attack against them that cannot be dodged. If your attack hits, their attack automatically fails.


    This ability costs an amount of stamina equal to the original attack¡¯s dodge threshold.


    Action


    15 stamina


    Spiritual


    Choose an entity you can perceive within a number of feet of you equal to 20 + your Spiritual Magic skill level. You become incorporeal and invisible until the end of the turn, and move to a space directly behind that entity if possible. This movement does not consume movement speed. If you do, you may make a melee attack against that entity as no action. This attack deals Spectral damage instead of its normal damage types. If the entity cannot perceive you, this attack is also modified by your Spiritual Magic skill.


    Action


    10 stamina


    Spiritual


    You gain any number of Rage stacks up to a maximum equal to half your Spiritual magic skill level. (17)


    Action


    10 stamina + 10 stamina per clone


    Spiritual


    Cooldown: 1 hour


    Spoiler :0


    Intrinsic Skills (11/12)


    68


    Swords (Specialization): +1 Bleeding per level of Blades.


    Two-handed Expertise (10)


    Attacks made when wielding a two-handed weapon in two hands are modified by the Blades skill twice.


    Winding Strikes (20)


    Whenever you deal damage to a hostile entity with a Blades weapon attack, you gain 1 stack of Winding. If you have 5 or more stacks of Winding, you can make a Blades weapon attack as a free action on your turn. All stacks of Winding are lost if you do not deal damage to a hostile entity for 1 minute.


    Iaido (40)


    The first four attacks you make each combat gain an attack bonus equal to your Blades skill level, cannot be dodged, overcome physical resistance, and gain physical penetration.


    40


    Athletics improves your ability to perform all manner of physical activity, from sprinting to jumping to scoring goals in competitive sports.


    Track and Field (10)


    Your jump height and jump distance is increased by an amount equal to your Athletics skill level, and your movement speed is increased by an amount equal to half your Athletics skill level.


    Forward Striker (20)


    Whenever you sprint, you can pass through the space of any character and cannot be detained until the end of the turn.


    Breaking the Wall


    You gain a number of Wallbreaker charges equal to the number of evolutions you have in Athletics. As a free action, you can spend 1 charge of Wallbreaker to become immune to Drained, Fatigued, Exhausted, Immobilized, Paralyzed, Slowed, Stunned, and Weakened until the end of your next turn. Whenever you complete an 8-hour rest, you regain 1 Wallbreaker charge.


    40


    +1 Physical defense/level


    Implacable (10)


    While wearing heavy armor, attacks that deal less damage to you than your Heavy Armor skill level cannot impose detrimental status effects on you.


    Berserker (20)


    Whenever you are hit by an attack (whether or not it deals damage), you gain 1 stack of Rage.


    Entities gain +2 to all weapon attacks for each stack of Rage they have. If an entity has more stacks of Rage than their WIS, they become Berserk for as long as their Rage stacks exceed their WIS.


    Rage decays in two ways. If an entity does not make a weapon attack for 6 seconds, they lose 1 stack of Rage. If they end their turn without making a weapon attack while they have more Rage stacks than their WIS, their number of Rage stacks is reduced to equal their WIS.


    Triage Suit (40)


    While wearing heavy armor, your bleeding and toxicity thresholds are increased by an amount equal to your Heavy Armor skill level. The first time each round you are healed, you heal an additional amount equal to your Heavy Armor skill level.


    40


    Restrictor Belt 1 (10)


    So long as you have spent no mana in the last 10 minutes, your weapon attacks gain +1 damage per every 3 levels of Physical.


    Restrictor Belt 2 (20)


    So long as you have spent no mana in the last 20 minutes, your weapon attacks gain +1 damage per every 2 levels of Physical.


    Restrictor Belt 3 (40)


    So long as you have spent no mana in the last 24 hours, your weapon attacks gain +1 damage per every 1 level of Physical, and you gain additional stamina regeneration equal to the total damage bonuses from all Restrictor Belt evolutions you possess.


    34


    Spectral Damage Expertise (10)


    Whenever you deal Spectral damage with an attack, that damage is increased by an amount equal to your Spiritual Magic skill level.


    Projection (20)


    You can step out of your body, becoming an incorporeal spirit, complete with spiritual manifestations of your equipment with all of their effects and abilities. You can make weapon attacks and activate skills while incorporeal in this way, but cannot otherwise physically interact with objects. If your weapon attacks would deal physical damage, they deal that much spectral damage instead.


    Ritualism: You may manifest an ancestral soul clone when using this ability. If you do so, the soul clone is an autonomous entity which you can direct telepathically. All other effects of Projection, beyond those listed above, are ignored. You may summon a number of soul clones equal to the number of Spiritual Magic evolutions you possess, which last for a number of minutes equal to the same.


    Soul clones have their own health and dodge pools, but consume your stamina and mana when using skills. Each soul clone can only be recovered after 1 hour of meditation.


    33


    Carouser (10)


    You blend seamlessly into any social environment, able to tell who¡¯s who at a glance. You always know who among the characters you can perceive has the most social influence.


    Executive (20)


    You exude a presence of authority, generating trust in those who converse with you. Other characters instinctively understand your expertise, causing them to trust your opinion over their own in any topic involving an intrinsic skill you possess, as long as their level in that skill is lower than yours.


    33


    While training other people, their skill level increases 1% faster for every level of Educator.


    Cram Session (10)


    When training another person in a skill, their skill level increases at double the rate until their skill reaches the level of your Educator skill level.


    Adaptation (20)


    You have a deep understanding of different learning styles and can develop a curriculum best suited to the individual needs of your pupils. Your bonus to training speed from Educator is doubled.


    Ritualism: SPOOOOIIILERRRR


    30


    Group Engagement (10)


    You gain a bonus to your Physical defense equal to your Tactics skill level when at least three enemies are within your melee range.


    Allied Engagement (20)


    Allied attacks against entities within your melee range gain Physical penetration.


    20


    Hook (10) [Spectral shenanigans ability for flavor]


    Whenever you successfully dodge a melee attack, you deal kinetic damage to the attacker equal to your Brawling skill level.


    Keen (20)


    Your melee attacks cannot be minimized. Your critical range with melee attacks is increased by 1.


    20


    Military and Delving (10)


    Whenever you perceive a Technique being used, you can immediately identify that technique, receive its full description, and can take it as an Active Skill so long as you meet the requirements, if any.


    Vexillologist


    (spooler)


    15


    Weaponsmith (10)


    Mana weaves applied to metallic weapons you create are twice as powerful.


    1


    +150% Blades


    Divinity - Nephithaya, Goddess of Ancestry


    You may summon ancestral soul clones for a variety of purposes. The base number of soul clones you can summon is equal to the number of Spiritual Magic evolutions you possess. Soul Clones have a consecutive cooldown of 1 hour of meditation.


    Notable Achievements


    Godsbane


    You ignore 25% of deific DR.


    Spectersbane


    Your physical attacks deal 25% damage to incorporeal creatures, instead of 0%.


    Fortune¡¯s Folly


    You have been blessed by an avatar who calls himself Fortune. You gain +1 to LCK.


    Corruption Guard


    Your toxicity threshold from FOR is doubled. You gain a bonus to any attempts you make to resist long-term soul manipulation equal to your STR. Additionally, you will be aware of any effect that attempts to manipulate your soul so long as your STR is equal to or higher than the governing attribute of the effect.


    Rich Bastard


    People are twice as likely to sell you anything you ask for.


    Escalation


    Recognized as an Escalated Delver


    World¡¯s First


    +1 slots to Active Skills, Intrinsic Skills, and Passive Skills


    Languages


    Hiwardian


    Imperial


    Timalingua


    Notable Equipment


    Items made from this material can only be wielded by members of the Ravvenblaq family.


    All weaves imbued into this item are 100% stronger if crafted by a member of the Ravvenblaq family.


    Requirements: STR 40, SPD 20, AGI 20, FOR 40


    +16 DR All (24)


    +86 Physical DR (129)


    +60 Health Regeneration (90)


    +240 Stamina Regeneration (360)


    +160 Dodge (240)


    +40 Dodge Recovery (60)


    While Berserk, you gain +68% resistance to hostile mind-affecting abilities. (100%)


    This item can only be wielded by members of the Ravvenblaq family.


    +1 Spiritual Defense / level (+24)


    +4 Physical DR / level (+96)


    +2 Bleeding threshold / level (+48)


    +2% Slow & Immobilize resist / level (48%)


    Set Bonus: As long as you are wearing at least 4 pieces of Ravvenblaq Regalia, your weapon attacks with Blades gain a bonus equal to 2 * Level. (+48)


    Bladed Weapon (single-edged curved sword)


    This outrageously long and razor-thin sword was one of the first mastercraft swords forged by arcane blacksmith Ealdric Ravvenblaq Jr., and thus one of the first bespoke mana-weaved swords that defied conventional forging techniques. The 20-foot long blade is less than a quarter of an inch thick and only 1 inch wide, with a very slight curve, designed for maximum reach while maintaining the lightest possible profile for maximum speed.


    Such a blade would be structurally impractical to the point of uselessness were it not for the magical qualities imbued in its forging, and so was a daring experiment in the nature of arcane smithing. The experiment proved exceptionally successful, with the sword having now been used by three generations of Ravvenblaq Delvers specializing in two-handed swordsmanship techniques that can take advantage of such a massively long and thin blade.


    As the blade is so light given its size, it is easily deflected without proper strength and form, especially at its furthest ranges. Thus, despite its appearance, it is best suited for high-Strength builds backed by exceptional skill in order to push through opposing blocks and parries when engaging in DvD combat.


    Kazandak has the following properties.


    STR 20, AGL 10, SPD 20


    Kinetic and Spectral attacks made with this weapon gain a +20 bonus.


    The wielder can focus to shorten the blade to 3 1/2 feet, or extend it to its normal length of 20 feet.


    This weapon is immune to physical damage and any attempt to alter its shape or function, other than by the Collapsible feature.


    Prismatite Longsword


    Requirements: STR 58, WIS 40, Brawling 40


    Effects:


    This weapon may make Mystical attacks. When making Mystical attacks with this weapon, it gains a +58 bonus.


    This weapon may make Spectral attacks. When making Spectral attacks with this weapon, it gains a +80 bonus.


    When drawn, this weapon ends the Berserk status on its wielder. On hit, this weapon ends the Berserk status on its target.


    An exceptionally high-quality cloak earned as a System reward by the Delver Yaretzi of Seaward. It has since been adorned with equally high-quality¨Cand gaudy¨Cgemstones mined in the Littan province of Seqaria. This cloak grants its user the ability to fly, while simultaneously letting everyone around them know how fucking awesome they are.


    AGL 20, SPD 20


    Allows the user to fly at their normal movement speed. Allows the user to perform any action while airborne as though they were on the ground.


    Requirements: FOR 20, Blades


    +40 to your Rage threshold.


    You cannot be disarmed of, or forced to drop, your weapon.


    You gain a bonus to your flying speed equal to half your normal movement speed.


    Xim Xor¡¯Drel


    Age: 30


    Delver Level: 16 (Effective Level: ??)


    Delve Record: 16 Platinum (Modified)


    Special Delves: 2


    Health: 1220/1220


    HP Regen: 122 (+70*1.32 = 214.4)


    Stamina: 400/400


    SP Regen: 40 (+60 = 100)


    Mana: 560/560


    MP Regen: 80 (+120 = 200)


    Blessed: 28/31 (+5 Ring)


    Shielding: 400/400


    Movement (mph): 96/192


    Dodge: Terrible


    Damage Type


    Base, up to w/ semi-perm buffs


    Resistance


    Physical


    10 - 170


    Varied Elemental


    Spiritual


    140 - 266


    Divine


    50 - 176


    Mystical


    10 - 136


    Dimensional


    60 - 186


    Immunities:


    Psychosis, Fear, Stupefy


    Conditional Immunities:


    Immobilized, Paralyzed, Bleeding, Toxicity, Ignite, Sleep


    +50% resistance against fear and sleep effects. You do not experience nightmares, and can easily fall asleep under most conditions. You gain +30 feet to your darkvision range.


    Abilities that change or manipulate the body are 50% stronger.


    Your Blunt and Divine intrinsic skills advance 50% faster.


    Attributes


    52


    Trait (10): Your leverage is increased considerably when performing feats of strength.


    Grip (10)


    Your STR is considered doubled when resisting enemy attempts to break your block, disarm you, or strip your shield or other item held in your hand.


    Brained (20)


    You gain a bonus equal to your STR when making STR attacks or STR checks against an entity that is blinded, distracted, slowed, immobilized, stunned, paralyzed, prone, or unconscious.


    Holy Might (40)


    You gain +1 to all actions governed by STR for each stack of Blessed you possess. Whenever you gain any number of stacks of Blessed, you can react by making a STR attack against any valid target.


    10


    Perfect Balance (10)


    You can effortlessly balance on any surface that is not sharp enough to damage you.


    10


    Sword and Sorcery (10)


    Whenever you make a melee attack, you may cast a spell.


    40


    Trait (10): 90% DR to mundane damage


    Receptive Healing (10)


    Charisma-based healing is twice as effective when used on you.


    Super: Instructive Healing (10)


    Whenever you recover health in an amount greater than the health that you are missing, 25% of the excess recovery is granted to the next closest ally who is missing health.


    Double Recovery (20)


    Whenever you receive Charisma-based healing, recover an amount of stamina equal to X% of the value healed, where X is your FOR.


    Biostatic Field (40)


    You gain Shielding equal to your FOR every 6 seconds. The value of this Shielding increases by an amount equal to your FOR each time it is applied, up to a maximum value of your FOR*10 (Current maximum: 400).


    If you are hit by an attack, this effect is interrupted for 6 seconds and reset.


    As long as you have at least 1 shielding, you cannot be forced to move and are immune to the Immobilized and Paralyzed statuses.


    10


    Fast Learner (10)


    Choose three intrinsic skills you know; each of these skills levels up at double the normal rate until level 20. All of your other intrinsic skills, including future ones, level up at double the normal rate until level 10. If all of your intrinsic skill slots are filled and no intrinsic skill you possess can benefit from this evolution, you gain an additional intrinsic skill slot.


    40


    Fast Recharge (10)


    Your mana regen from WIS is doubled. 1/day recover 3 * WIS.


    Psychic Redoubt (20)


    Whenever another entity targets you with a mind-altering effect, you may deal them psychic damage equal to your WIS. If this damage exceeds their WIS, they become Stupified until the end of the turn.


    Stupified: A Stupified entity cannot focus or cast spells.


    Mindfulness (40)


    You¡¯ve learned to manually optimize the pathways of your mana matrix through mindful meditation. You can meditate to regain an amount of mana equal to your WIS every minute you remain meditating. This meditation requires focus, and ends early if you take any significant action or have your concentration broken by an outside source. You can meditate in this way for up to 10 minutes total, which can be divided between multiple meditation sessions. This time limit is refreshed after resting for 8 hours.


    Additionally, you are immune to Psychosis.


    70


    Affable Nature (10)


    Entities whose WIS is lower than your CHA are automatically friendly towards you when you first meet if they would otherwise be neutral.


    Wrathful Nature (20)


    Whenever you deal damage to another character, you may make a CHA check vs. their social defense. If you succeed, they become feared by you. This ability has a 1-hour cooldown per character.


    Additionally, you deal additional damage with all attacks equal to your CHA against characters you have feared.


    Fear: A feared entity cannot attack or activate skills and must move away from the source of their fear whenever possible. A feared entity may spend six seconds to end the fear effect if they cannot see the source of their fear, assuming they have the presence of mind to do so.


    Debilitating Terror (40)


    Whenever you apply Fear to an entity, that entity becomes Slowed and Weakened until they are no longer Feared. Additionally, you are immune to Fear.


    Slowed


    A slowed entity cannot sprint and their maximum movement speed is halved. If a slowed entity would be slowed again, they become immobilized until one or fewer instances of slowed are affecting them.


    Weakened


    Whenever a weakened entity would deal damage, that damage is halved.


    Crusader (70)


    You gain the Sacrament of the Crusade. Your party members can prepare your sacraments as their own, provided their deity allows it.


    Sacrament of the Crusade


    You and all allies who can perceive you gain a bonus to all attacks equal to your CHA against profane targets. The first time each ally hits the same profane target with an attack, you gain 1 stack of blessed.


    As an action, you can spend 5 stacks of blessed to declare any entity you can name or perceive as profane to you, provided your deity allows it. Consider this carefully.


    10


    Fortunate Attacks (10)


    You have 3 Fortunate charges. Whenever you make an attack that would miss, you can spend 1 charge to cause it to hit, so long as hitting the target would be possible for you.


    Charges have a consecutive cooldown of 24 hours.


    Passives (5/5)


    The CHA multiplier of your divine healing and cleansing skills is increased by 50%, rounded up.


    CHA attacks gain +1 critical range for each Charisma evolution you possess. You cannot gain additional critical range to your CHA attacks from any other source.


    Whenever you ignite an enemy, for every second they remain ignited there is a 50% chance that another enemy within 5 feet of them will become ignited. This chance may only occur a number of times equal to your CHA divided by 10 per ignited enemy, with a minimum number of instances equal to 2.


    Entities afflicted by your Fear take Psychic damage equal to your CHA and gain 1 stack of Cursed. This effect repeats every 6 seconds while the entity is afflicted by your Fear. Whenever you would inflict Fear on an entity immune to Fear, that entity instead takes Psychic damage equal to your CHA and gains 1 stack of Cursed.


    Cursed: For each stack of Cursed an entity possesses, they receive a -6 penalty to all attacks and contested checks.


    If an entity has any stacks of Blessed when they would gain any number of stacks of Cursed, they instead lose that many stacks of Blessed. Any remaining stacks of Cursed after all Blessed stacks have been exhausted affect the entity normally.


    If an entity has any stacks of Cursed when they would gain any number of stacks of Blessed, they instead lose that many stacks of Cursed. Any remaining stacks of Blessed after all Cursed stacks have been removed in this way are granted to the entity normally.


    Instead of increasing your dodge pool, the Light Armor intrinsic skill increases your maximum mana by an amount equal to twice your Light Armor skill level. Additionally, your Divine spell attacks gain a bonus equal to your Light Armor skill level and the healing you grant with active skills is increased by the same.


    Active Skills (11/12)


    Action


    Divine


    5 mana


    Heal an entity close enough for you to touch for an amount equal to 5x your CHA.


    Mana Shape: Body Regrowth. Focus on a specific part of the body to regenerate any type of tissue.


    Action


    Divine


    5 mana


    You remove an amount of bleeding, toxicity, or Rage equal to your CHA*8. If you remove one of those statuses completely, you can remove another by however much cleanse you had remaining, until you run out.


    Alternatively, you can negate any one non-stacking detrimental status of your choice, or your deity may choose for you.


    Action


    Divine


    10 mana, plus 10 mana/sec charged


    Summon a pillar of consuming Divine fire to smite your enemies. Make a CHA Divine attack against all entities within a 10-foot radius of a point you can perceive, with an additional bonus to the attack equal to your CHA for every second this spell was charged. This attack deals Righteous damage.


    If Sam¡¯lia finds nothing worthy of judgment in the target¡¯s past, this attack deals Physical fire damage instead of righteous, and the bonus damage is based on your INT, not your CHA.


    All entities damaged by this attack are Ignited. If this attack deals Righteous damage, the damage type of Ignited is Righteous.


    Action


    Divine


    10 stamina


    Cooldown: 6 seconds


    Make a melee weapon attack against a target, confronting them with the power of your god. If this attack deals damage in excess of the target¡¯s FOR, the target is stunnedfor 3 seconds.


    A Stunned entity is immobilized and cannot act.


    Reaction


    Divine


    10 stamina


    Cooldown: 6 seconds


    This reaction counts as blocking with your shield. You must have a shield equipped to use this reaction.


    Make a Shields melee attack against your attacker. If this attack hits, the target is stunned for 3 seconds after their attack resolves. (They must be within reach to make this attack.)


    A Stunned entity is immobilized and cannot act.


    Free Action


    Spiritual / Divine


    10 mana


    Cooldown: 1 use per target per day


    You grant a nearby ally a number of stacks of Blessed equal to your Divine Magic skill level plus your Charisma, divided by 5 (Current stacks: 26). After 1 minute, that ally loses a number of stacks of Blessed equal to the same.


    Whenever the target ally deals melee weapon damage to an enemy, they consume a portion of the enemy¡¯s life essence, dealing additional damage and receiving an amount of healing equal to the number of stacks of Blessed they possess.


    Additionally, the target ally may elect for their melee weapon attacks and damage to become Holy or Infernal (depending on your deity) for so long as they are Blessed. This effect lasts for 1 minute.


    Blessed: A Blessed entity may spend any number of stacks of Blessed to increase their attack or defense by 8 per stack spent for one attack. You may have a maximum number of stacks of Blessed equal to your LCK + Delver level. If an effect would take you over this maximum, the additional stacks rapidly decay.


    Free Action


    10 mana


    Spiritual / Divine


    Cooldown: 1 use per target per day


    You grant a nearby ally 1 stack of Blessed.


    For 1 minute, the target ally gains 1 stack of Blessed each time they deal damage with a melee weapon attack.


    Blessed: A Blessed person may consume any number of stacks of Blessed to increase their attack damage or defenses by 8 per stack spent, for one attack or defense. Additionally, a Blessed person may spend any number of stacks of Blessed to improve their chances of success during any activity.


    Action - Focused


    10 mana + 1 mana/sec


    Divine/Spiritual


    Cooldown: 1 minute


    Summon the icon of Sam¡¯lia¡¯s beating heart, emitting an aura of fear around you. When you cast this spell and again at the beginning of each of your turns, make a CHA attack against the social defense of all hostile entities within a number of feet of you equal to 20 plus your Divine Magic skill level, applying Fear to those entities on hit. This Fear lasts for so long as you channel this effect, and an additional 6 seconds thereafter.


    Free Action


    Divine


    Cost: 20 mana + 2 mana/second


    On activation, you and all allies within a number of feet of you equal to your Divine Magic skill level gain 1 stack of Blessed and heal an amount of HP equal to 1.5x your CHA. This effect repeats every 6 seconds. (Current range: 63 feet, Current healing: 105)


    Free Action


    Divine


    Cost: 100 stamina + 10/round


    Cooldown: 24 Hours


    You gain Flying and Haste.


    You may spend stamina or mana to add fire damage to any attack up to Divine Magic skill level at a rate of 7.5:1.


    Whenever you make a melee attack against a single target, you may instead make an attack against all entities of your choice in a cone extending out to a number of feet equal to 1.5x your Divine Magic skill level.


    You gain DR Holy equal to 1.5x your Divine Magic skill level.


    Your spells are immune to hostile Mystical Magic effects.


    Action


    Divine


    Cost: 20 mana


    Grant a target you can touch the buff Lifeguard. Whenever an entity with Lifeguard is reduced to half health or lower, they heal for an amount equal to 10x your CHA and lose the Lifeguard buff. If an entity with Lifeguard would be reduced to 0 HP, they are instead reduced to 1 HP before Lifeguard activates.


    Intrinsic Skills (11/12)


    63


    This skill determines the effectiveness of your Divine magic. Bonuses from Divine vary based on the skill.


    Reach Out (10)


    Your beneficial touch-based Divine skills can be cast at a range of a number of feet equal to twice your Divine Magic skill level. The range of all other Divine skills is doubled.


    Cleansing Fire (20)


    Your Divine and Fire attacks deal no damage to allies, and your allies take no damage from your ignite. Instead, they are cleansed for a value equal to your Divine Magic skill level.


    Zealot (40)


    All of your attacks may become Infernal. Your Divine attacks gain a bonus equal to your Divine Magic skill level.


    43


    Scepters (Specialization): Your attempts to persuade or intimidate are +1% more effective per level of Blunt when wielding a scepter.


    Bone Breaker (10)


    Whenever you apply a status effect with a blunt weapon attack, the status lasts at least until the beginning of your next turn.


    Rock Rattles Cage (20)


    Whenever you hit with a blunt weapon attack and your attack¡¯s governing attribute exceeds the target¡¯s FOR, the target is Stupefied until the end of the next round. Additionally, you cannot be Stupefied.


    Shieldbreaker (40)


    Your blunt attacks gain penetration with all damage types. Whenever a character blocks your blunt weapon attack, they become stunned until the end of the turn.


    43


    If you have the Theology intrinsic skill, you can acquire a comprehensive understanding of any religion after conversing with a member of that religion for one hour.


    Revelation Awareness (10)


    You acquire an intuitive understanding of the nature of any revelation when you witness the power that revelation has granted.


    Commune (20)


    Once per day, you may commune with your god by spending one hour in meditation and prayer. This allows you to ask questions of, and receive insights from, your deity. The duration and nature of the communion is at the whim of the divinity.


    ??? (40)


    40


    Mark of Seral¡¯phae (10)


    You may inscribe the rune of Seral¡¯phae¡¯s Whisper on one piece of light armor or article of clothing you possess by using simple ink or blood. While equipped with an item bearing the rune, you gain +1 to your Divine and Spiritual defenses per level of Light Armor.


    Mark of Vem¡¯man (20)


    You may inscribe the rune of Vem¡¯man¡¯s thirst on one piece of light armor or article of clothing you possess by using simple ink or blood. While equipped with an item bearing the rune, your maximum mana pool is increased by an amount equal to twice your Light Armor skill level.


    Archmage Robes (40)


    Your spell attacks gain a bonus equal to your Light Armor skill level. Once per day, on hitting with a spell, you may triple this bonus.


    34


    You gain a bonus to your block value with all objects equal to your Shields skill level.


    Divine Ward (10)


    Add your CHA to your Physical defenses when blocking, up to a maximum bonus equal to your level in Shields.


    DoT be Not (20)


    Attacks you block with a shield cannot impose bleeding, toxicity, or the ignited status.


    31


    Leadership is your ability to effectively coordinate, organize, and inspire those around you, as well as determine who is best suited for any given task.


    Spirit Guide (10)


    Whenever you use an active skill to bestow a beneficial effect to an entity, they gain 1 stack of Blessed.


    Hear their Lamentation (20)


    Allies that deal damage to an entity affected by one or more status effects you have applied gain a number of stacks of Blessed equal to the number of evolutions you have in Leadership. (Currently 2)


    30


    Mighty Blows (10)


    Whenever you deal unarmed damage in excess of a target¡¯s FOR, that target must pass a FOR check opposed by your STR or become stunned until the end of the turn.


    Stunned: A Stunned entity is immobilized and cannot act.


    Holy Fist (20)


    Whenever you hit a hostile entity with an unarmed attack, you gain 1 stack of Blessed for each evolution you have in Unarmed.


    26


    Mind Hunter (10)


    Whenever you deal psychic damage without making a psychic attack, increase the damage dealt by an amount equal to your Spiritual Magic skill level. Psychic damage affected by this evolution does not end effects that would normally end if the target takes damage.


    Psychic Feedback (20)


    As a reaction, you may add your Spiritual Magic skill level to your social defense for one attack. If that attack fails, the attacker takes Psychic damage equal to your Spiritual Magic skill level. This effect has a number of charges equal to the number of Spiritual Magic evolutions you possess. You regain all charges after taking an 8-hour rest.


    24


    Track and Field (10)


    Your jump height and jump distance is increased by an amount equal to your Athletics skill level, and your movement speed is increased by an amount equal to half your Athletics skill level.


    Linebacker (20)


    As an action, you can tackle any character within 5 feet of you by making a STR:Athletics kinetic attack against them. If this attack hits, the character is knocked prone and you can choose to automatically grapple them.


    Whenever you sprint, you can perform this action as a free action until the end of the turn.


    24


    Bureaucrat (10)


    You instinctively know the laws and social mores of any civilized area you visit, including expected behaviors, etiquette, and other rules of social engagement.


    Hero (20)


    As an activity, you can inspire a character conversing with you, allowing you to make a CHA (Diplomacy) check against their social defense. If you succeed, they place their unshakeable trust in you, always acting in your best interests even when opposed to their former allegiances. However, they will not violate their moral code or subject themselves to undue harm.


    The activity takes place over a conversation. Hostile and unfriendly characters are immune to this effect; if you act in a way that causes the character to become unfriendly or hostile, the effect immediately ends.


    14


    Insulation (10)


    When you gain this evolution, choose one of the following attack types: cold, fire, lightning, sonic, or kinetic. You gain resistance to attacks of that type.


    As an 8-hour activity, you can change the chosen damage type to a different listed damage type. This activity can be performed while resting.


    1


    +50% Blunt


    +50% Divine


    +50% Athletics


    +10% All


    +100% All to 10


    +1 Slots if maxed and all at 10+


    Divinity


    You and all allies who can perceive you gain a bonus to all attacks equal to your CHA against profane targets. The first time each ally hits the same profane target with an attack, you gain 1 blessing.


    As an action, you can spend 5 blessings to declare any entity you can name or perceive as profane to you, provided your deity allows it. Consider this carefully.


    You beseech The Heart to invoke its blessing upon you, transforming your body into a bestial form. While in this form, your STR and SPD are raised by 10 (15 with bonus from Xor¡¯Drel subrace), and you gain an amount of temporary HP equal to 50% of your maximum (75% w/ Xor¡¯Drel bonus). You gain natural weapons and are treated as possessing the Unarmed skill with a minimum level of 10 (15). If you possess the Unarmed skill, it is treated as 10 (15) higher.


    Unarmed attacks made in this form deal an additional amount of Righteous damage equal to (1.5x) your Divine Magic skill level. Profane targets dealt damage this way become Ignited.


    This transformation lasts for a number of minutes equal to (1.5x) the number of revelations you possess, and can be ended voluntarily.


    In order to use this form you must possess The Heart¡¯s Favor. The Heart¡¯s Favor can be acquired through worship or acts of dedication made to The Heart. Using this form expends The Heart¡¯s Favor and it must be obtained anew to use this transformation again.


    You can create small amounts of Divine fire at will for no cost. Fire attacks you make deal Divine damage in addition to Physical. You may add the effect of Divine fire to your non-fire spells and attacks by increasing their cost by 25%, rounded up.


    Divine fire acts like normal fire, though it cannot be extinguished through normal means, and can stick to otherwise non-flammable materials. Divine fire bypasses fire resistance, and deals bonus damage based on your god¡¯s attitude toward the target.


    Your dreams are always pleasant, but your fantasies might be someone else¡¯s nightmare.


    You can summon a dreamscape around you at will, which will adjust its form and function depending on your emotional state. Entities within this dreamscape cannot escape through physical means unless you allow it, and must defeat you in a contest of will or divinity to leave without permission. This dreamscape can be perceived by entities as though it were fully real, even if they are not trapped within its confines.


    Once a dreamscape is summoned, it lasts for 1 minute for each revelation you possess and you cannot do so again until after your next dream.


    Ear, Tongue, Nose, Eye


    Notable Achievements


    Godsbane


    You ignore 25% of deific DR.


    Spectersbane


    Your physical attacks deal 25% damage to incorporeal creatures, instead of 0%.


    Fortune¡¯s Folly


    You have been blessed by an avatar who calls himself Fortune. You gain +1 to LCK.


    Cleansing the Streets - Corruption


    When using a cleansing skill to remove status effects caused by poison, the cost of the skill is reduced by 50%. You may use Cleanse as a reaction whenever you perceive an ally become affected by, or under the effects of, a mind-affecting ability.


    Hellspawn


    Your CHA is added to your WIS when resisting Fear or intimidation.


    Strength of Xor¡¯Drel


    Your Wisdom score counts as double when resisting effects that cause Fear, induce mental trauma, or otherwise have a negative impact on the health and wellness of your psyche.


    Escalation


    Recognized as an Escalated Delver


    World¡¯s First


    +1 slots to Active Skills, Intrinsic Skills, and Passive Skills


    Languages


    Hiwardian


    Othertongue


    Eldritch


    Notable Equipment


    Madrin Shield


    A seven-foot-tall spiked great shield that weighs 3,000 lbs.


    Requirements: STR 40


    +60 Block Value


    Applies 40 Bleeding on block.


    Requirements: Xim Xor¡¯Drel, Escalated Delver


    1) Your weapon attacks absorb 5 mana from the target.


    2) +10 fire DR


    3) Your skills that impose the Fear status are 25% cheaper.


    4) Your transformations last twice as long. If they are sustained, they instead cost half as much to sustain.


    5) As an action, you can transform into a Wraithclaw, gaining the following effects.


    You can use (1.5x) CHA to govern Unarmed attacks. Your Unarmed attacks deal additional spectral damage equal to (1.5x) your CHA.Your Size is increased by (1.5). While within (45) feet of a hostile entity, you are Unstoppable.You radiate an aura of fear. Whenever a hostile entity first perceives you in this form, they must make a WIS contest versus (1.5x) your CHA, becoming Feared on a failure. Entities afflicted by your Fear take additional damage equal to (1.5x) your CHA from all sources.You can maintain this form for (90) seconds, after which you revert to your normal form. This transformation has a cooldown of 6 days, but is reduced by 1 day for each evolution you have in Divine Magic (Current cooldown: 3 days).


    Requirements: AGI 10, INT 10, CHA 30


    +60 Spiritual DR


    +20 Dimensional DR


    +10 Mystical DR


    +120 Mana Regen


    +20 movement speed


    Your jump height is increased by 20


    Your jump distance is increased by 40


    Your climbing speed is increased by 20


    Your swim speed is increased by 20


    +60 Stamina Regen


    The duration of your transformations is increased by 1 minute per piece equipped (5 minutes).


    Why stress when you could be wearing MegaStretchTM? This premium Wyldweave edition of the MegaStretchTM transformation lineup will not only grow with the wearer to several times its original size, but also provides a snug and secure fit that will automagically adjust itself to accommodate a variety of bodily transformations. Here at MegaStretchTM, we understand your body type, and that¡¯s whatever the f*ck you want it to be!


    Blunt Weapon


    Requirements: CHA 40, LCK 10, Divine Magic 50


    1) When you hit with this weapon, the target is Ignited. (CHA 20)


    2) Whenever you Ignite an enemy with this weapon, they gain 1 stack of Cursed and 1 additional stack of Cursed every 6 seconds thereafter for so long as they are Ignited. (Legendary - Divine 20)


    3) Whenever you Ignite an enemy with this weapon, you gain 1 stack of Blessed. (Legendary - Divine 20)


    2) This weapon may convert any attack made with it to Infernal. When making Infernal attacks with this weapon, it gains a +10 Infernal damage bonus for each Divine Magic evolution you possess (Currently: 30). (CHA 20)


    3) Your Blessed capacity is increased by +8. (Divine 10, LCK 10)


    LCK 10


    +10 Social Defense


    +10% Intrinsic Skill Progression


    CHA 30


    +60 to all healing applied through active skills


    Your Fear effects last 6 seconds longer


    Athletics 20


    Athletics improves +50% Faster


    Divine Magic 20


    This ring adds +8 to your Blessed capacity.

 Chapter 268: Icebreakers

    Chapter 268: Icebreakers


    While my confidence in the cosmological integrity of our local reality was eroding by the day, my confidence that I¡¯d done everything I could to be as strong as possible when heading into this team-up with the Littans was pretty good. I opened the portal to the Littan fortress in Eschendur, proud of how much I¡¯d accomplished.


    The moment I stepped through and saw both Major Tavio and Captain Pio there to greet us, something about how clean and professional the pair of them looked tickled a forgotten brain cell. The one that had been in charge of deciding an important aspect of my build planning, but had apparently taken a three-month vacation instead.


    I realized I¡¯d never picked up a fifth passive skill.


    The pair of military officers likely inspired that thought because of how well put together they were. It evoked a sense of completeness, like everything about their lives was perfectly ordered and addressed.


    Tavio¡¯s uniform was a sandy white with dark red highlights, perfectly tailored to suit the man¡¯s build. While most Littans were fairly lithe, Tavio¡¯s thick layer of muscle was easily visible even through his brown fur. He was still compact compared to someone like Varrin, but his every move evoked a sense of strength, like the world was made of porcelain and he was being very careful not to break it. Littans were shorter than humans on average, but Tavio¡¯s dark eyes were nearly level with my own.


    The man had also packed on some more Levels, currently sitting at an impressive Level 23. To put that in perspective, only about ten percent of Delvers tackled Gold Delves or higher, which also meant ninety percent of Delvers were below the Silver soft cap of Level 11. Even among Gold Delvers, many stagnated between Level 15 and 20, with few enough making the climb higher.


    Of course, Tavio wasn¡¯t just a Gold Delver anymore. His soul had undergone another round of trading up. When I¡¯d first met the Littan at Level 17, he¡¯d had thirty-four Gold Delves shimmering around his base soul layer. Now, twelve of those Gold Delves were gone, replaced with twelve Platinum Delves. I¡¯d first noticed this after our meeting with the empress six months beforehand, and I still didn¡¯t know exactly how he was doing it.


    My biggest hint about whatever process Tavio was undergoing was the amount of violet striations in his soul, indicating the Special Delves the major had undertaken. They were so numerous, it was starting to get intimidating. However, most of the shimmering violet marks were thinner than I¡¯d seen in other Delvers. They had the same potent quality, but each one had a smaller effect on his soul overall. Even so, in combination, they were significant. The man could probably put most Golds into the ground without trouble, regardless of Level.


    Next to Tavio, Captain Pio stood a head shorter than her superior officer. She had similarly dark eyes, but her fur was closer to white than brown. Her build was lean enough that one would be forgiven for thinking she was much frailer than she was. Having seen the woman in action back in the Pocket Delve, I knew she could take a hit, but you¡¯d never know it from looking at her without her armor and shield. Regardless of her stature, Captain Pio had a presence of authority, although it was deferential to Major Tavio beside her.


    Pio was the party leader for her team, who would be our main travelling and Dungeon companions during our time in the empire. This was easy enough to remember, since her team name was simply Team Pio. The Littans were an orderly sort and favored practicality over creativity in many instances. Pio was Level 16, with thirty Gold Delves and one Platinum. She had Grotto to thank for her elevation into plat, not that she was aware of that.


    Relatedly, the existence of the Pocket Delve and my prior familiarity with Pio¡¯s team might lead to some tricky moments as we worked with the group, especially since I wasn¡¯t built for subterfuge. I¡¯d already resigned myself that the truth would come out eventually, and the party as a whole was ready to start becoming more forthright with our ostensible allies about other sensitive matters. Our personal power and notoriety were now sufficient to insulate us from most of the risk associated with the secrets we harbored.


    Although there were still plenty of individuals with enough juice to swat us down with ease, at the same time, there was a king, a Zenithar, and now a Dragon or two who would be most displeased by such an act. Not to mention a host of Hiwardian nobility and other high-ranking members of society. Avarice might even be willing to get involved if absolutely necessary, and the System wasn¡¯t entirely neutral towards us. Our knowledge, and our transparency about that knowledge, made us extraordinarily valuable. That itself was a layer of protection.


    Despite our rough history with the Littans, I was hopeful that the imperials would prove they belonged in our cadre of appreciative associates.


    ¡°Master Xor¡¯Drel,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Allow me to welcome you and your party once again to Fort Ruiz.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Major,¡± I said, then gave a quick greeting to Captain Pio as well before turning back to Tavio. ¡°They finally named the place after the duchess?¡±


    ¡°We all knew that it would be so,¡± he said with a shrug. ¡°But, yes, the paperwork has finished making its way through the burrows, so to speak.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean Eschendur has accepted the fortress as a permanent installation in their territory?¡±


    ¡°They have, yes,¡± said Tavio. ¡°There were concessions on both sides, but the conflict between Eschendur and the empire has formally been resolved.¡±


    ¡°I hope everyone walked away satisfied. Are those concessions public knowledge?¡±


    ¡°Not so much, but neither are they a secret,¡± Tavio answered. ¡°The fortress will serve as a Delver academy representing both Littan and Eschen students, with administration selected by both parties. The fort will ultimately remain under the control of the Littan military, but the academy facilities and surrounding lands will be considered as joint territory. Meanwhile, the Eschens are constructing a facility around their Creation Delve that will be under their full control, and both nations have agreed to allow mixed groups into their Creation Delves.¡± ?aNo??BE?s?


    ¡°Oh?¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s quite the turnaround.¡±


    ¡°We have a great deal of expertise when it comes to Delving, which we will share with Eschendur,¡± said Tavio. ¡°This should help them adjust to having twenty-five times more Creation slots than their relationship with Hiward allowed. We will have trained Littan soldiers alongside Eschens in their Creation Delve, and have offered an equal number of slots for Eschens in ours. It will ensure a much safer experience for new Eschen Delvers.¡±


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    ¡°Hmm,¡± I hummed. ¡°I assume this is not being done solely out of a sense of generosity?¡±


    Tavio grinned. ¡°Eschendur has agreed to a more favorable trade deal with the empire concerning mana-rich materials.¡±


    ¡°Which resolves the core conflict of the invasion,¡± I added.


    ¡°The official reasoning for the invasion was settled when the existence of the Operator was revealed, and the slaughter in the Eschen Gap was proven to be its work, not the work of rogue Eschen Delvers.¡± Tavio¡¯s whiskers twitched. ¡°But we both know that was bullshit, so yes, it is as you say.¡±


    ¡°And I bet instilling a Littan Delver culture in the new generation of Eschen Delvers doesn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    ¡°I assume there are many such considerations, but they are above me,¡± said Tavio. ¡°I am just excited to see how the young ones progress while having access to everything phase two has to offer. I expect they will be much more powerful on average.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ll be looking for new sparring partners, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Tavio barked. ¡°It is difficult to find a good match these days.¡± He spread his hands and gave me a smile. ¡°I am always open to trading pointers again, if you are interested.¡±


    I eyed Tavio speculatively, but seriously considered the offer. Tavio had beaten my ass before, back when he¡¯d had eleven Levels on me. Now the gap was much smaller. If he were any other Level 23, I¡¯d probably have a decent chance. Looking at all the violet striations undermined some of my confidence, but I¡¯d certainly put up a better showing than last time.


    ¡°Tell you what,¡± I said. ¡°So long as it''s actually a spar and not a sucker punch followed by a barroom brawl, I¡¯m good for it.¡± Tavio¡¯s eyes glinted with excitement, and I held up a finger. ¡°Not right now, though.¡±


    Xim nudged me with an elbow. ¡°You got knocked out of the bar after one punch, didn¡¯t you?¡± she said. ¡°It was more of a full-village brawl.¡±


    ¡°I guess, but that sounds like the whole village was involved.¡±


    ¡°Their buildings certainly were,¡± said Varrin. Tavio¡¯s excitement faded at that comment.


    ¡°Yes, I let my eagerness get the better of me at that time,¡± he said. ¡°I paid all those who suffered any damage to their property quite handsomely. I hope they have accepted that as my atonement.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± I said. ¡°I paid those people, too.¡±


    ¡°Truly?¡± said Tavio. ¡°But it was my fault, and not your own.¡± He tilted his head and looked up in thought. ¡°That habberdasher and baker were both very happy when I made the offer. I can see why they were so pleased now.¡±


    ¡°Eh, good for them, I guess,¡± I said. ¡°Wake up to a ruined shop, go to bed planning for retirement.¡±


    Tavio chuckled. ¡°Now that we have said our greetings, I believe we should move on to the matter at hand, yes? Oh, and I quite like your hats. They look to be of superb quality.¡±


    I reached up and ran a finger along the edge of my cavalier hat. The round brim was cocked up and pinned on one half, with a feather plume accenting the band on the opposite side. All five of us had one, and each person¡¯s feather matched the color of their outfit. None of us were in our normal equipment, since showing up to the Littan fortress battle-ready would have been a minor breach of decorum. Instead, we¡¯d chosen practical and well-made travelling clothes.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. ¡°Nuralie has become a talented hatter. They¡¯re even mana woven to never fall off by accident!¡±


    After another round of heart-warming hat appreciation, everyone was ready to move on. Tavio led us out of the renovated fortress dungeon where my portal was located for security reasons, and we headed toward a more comfortable briefing room.


    The trip took us through the center of the fortress, giving us a view of hundreds of Littan soldiers training under the watchful eyes of Delver officers. This gave me the opportunity to evaluate the people we moved past, picking out interesting Delvers and watching for signs of hostility. While a few of the Littans sent us questionable looks, none were outright aggressive. Most simply ignored us, and a small handful even gave me a smile and nod when they caught me staring. There were a few Eschens around, but not many.


    This was also an exercise in using my first Diplomacy evolution, which let me pick up on who had the most social influence in any given room. With the Littan military, influence typically lined up with rank, but it wasn¡¯t uniformly true. Tavio had a full rank on Captain Pio, so it made sense that he had the most social influence between the pair.


    Tavio also had more influence than all the ordinary soldiers that we passed. Major was a decent rank, so that wasn¡¯t a surprise, but when we strolled by a lieutenant colonel and Tavio still had more social pull, I began to raise an eyebrow. Finally, we were briefly introduced to the full colonel who commanded the entire outpost. Even then, Tavio had greater social standing.


    As far as I knew, Tavio wasn¡¯t a Littan noble. There was little reason this fortress commander should be less influential than the affable battle maniac who I now realized was taking us on a full tour of the place. I started to think there was a good reason the empress personally knew who Tavio was, and that his number of Special Delves might have something to do with his social status.


    When we eventually made it to a spartan yet comfortable meeting room, it was still just the seven of us.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of your team, Captain Pio?¡± Etja asked once we were settled around a large conference table.


    ¡°They are securing our transport,¡± she replied. ¡°Once we are done, we¡¯ll be meeting them at the mew.¡±


    ¡°Mew?¡± I asked, wondering if there was a mythical pocket monster running around.


    ¡°Ah, how do you say?¡± Captain Pio trailed off. ¡°A large... birdhouse?¡±


    Varrin sat forward and glanced at me from further down the table. ¡°A mew is a place where raptors are kept, such as falcons.¡±


    The big guy¡¯s piece of trivia ended my hopes of wanting to be the very best, like no one ever was. Instead, my excitement transitioned to fantasies of becoming a griffon rider. ¡°Will our transport be a falcon?¡±


    ¡°A hammerhead falcon, yes,¡± said Pio. My eyebrows went up, remembering the titanic bird I¡¯d seen Lito face years beforehand, during our conflict with a hostile colony of Chovali.


    ¡°Before we leave, however,¡± said Tavio, ¡°we should discuss some more sensitive matters.¡± He looked around to make sure we were all on the same page before continuing. ¡°While Fortune¡¯s Folly will be working alongside Team Pio, I have been assigned as Captain Pio¡¯s commanding officer and will serve as your primary point of contact with the empire. Your official role is that of foreign consultants. Because of this, you fall outside of the normal command structure. No one will be giving you orders, but so long as you are in imperial territories, we expect you will follow imperial law.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve all taken the time to familiarize ourselves with the Littan legal code.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. In addition to imperial law, military compounds have their own regulations. Many will not apply in your case, but there will be instances where an officer may make certain requests of you. For example...¡±


    What followed was a comprehensive breakdown of how we would need to interface with the Littan military. In typical imperial fashion, it was mostly repetition of things we¡¯d already been told, done as a formality. Our point of contact had to review it with us personally, to ensure we understood what we were getting into. Tavio explained that this was standard procedure for dealing with third parties like ourselves. It was all very bureaucratic, but I found myself appreciating the clarity. There would be little chance for us to end up in a situation where it was unclear how we should act.


    Once that was finished, Tavio moved on to the meat of our discussion.


    ¡°Now, I can finally give you more details on the Dungeon,¡± he said.

 Chapter 269: The Not-So-Forbidden Forest

    Chapter 269: The Not-So-Forbidden Forest


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°Is this Dungeon the entire Less-Than-Habitable Forest?¡±


    Tavio paused with his mouth open, then grinned and nodded. ¡°It is, yes. The Forest has always been an area of significant mana concentration. It is not much of a surprise that phase two designated the entire area as a Dungeon.¡±


    Tavio stood and produced a large linen map of the southern half of the empire, then placed it against the wall. A hint of mana ran through the thick paper, and the map held itself in place, then various regions lit up with distinct colors and notations marking what skills could be trained in different areas. It made it easy to see how far the Littans had gotten with their exploration, and they had a good idea of what could be found for about a third of the place, all around its outer edge. Everything closer to the center was unlabeled.


    Tavio turned to us and folded his arms behind his back. ¡°Before I explain our current evaluation of the Forest¡¯s Dungeon zones, there is a related matter that I would like to address first. It is the reason we are having this meeting now, rather than waiting until we are in Nohrrin.¡±


    ¡°Are you worried about information security?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Always,¡± said Tavio with a shrug. ¡°But our growing relationship with your party is unique. You have openly provided us with much valuable information, and the empress is in favor of reciprocating without demanding any strict confidentiality. Obviously this means there are things we will not reveal to you, but anything we do share, you are welcome to distribute. We hope that you will do so discreetly and only when necessary, but we are willing to take the risk.¡±


    Tavio watched me for a second to evaluate my reaction. I just gave him a nod and gestured for him to continue.


    ¡°To say it simply, what I am about to tell you changes the risk analysis for this venture. I insisted that we share it with you before we set out so that you have the opportunity to withdraw, should you wish. If you do, it will not be held against you.¡±


    ¡°Well, that only makes me more curious,¡± I said. ¡°Please go on.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± said Tavio. ¡°One of the information packets you shared with us included projected locations for what are being referred to as ¡°monoliths¡±. Those projections place one such monolith within the borders of Connas.¡± Tavio pointed to a landlocked nation in the empire¡¯s south-central region. ¡°Specifically, the projection places the monolith very close to the Temple of Yara.¡± He glanced back at me. ¡°How familiar are you with the Littan faith?¡±


    ¡°I believe Nuralie and Xim are familiar with your scriptures,¡± I said. ¡°Personally, I¡¯d say I have a moderate understanding of the religion. I¡¯ve only had one chat with Godqueen Yara, but it was brief. She seems like a lovely goddess.¡±


    Both Tavio and Captain Pio stared at me for a moment. Pio then looked at Tavio with the type of expression that probably meant something like, ¡°should I go ahead and kick this blasphemous guy¡¯s ass?¡±


    Tavio held up a hand towards his subordinate and gave her a subtle shake of the head without taking his eyes off of me. ¡°You are being serious,¡± he said.


    ¡°I have a relaxed attitude towards the gods, but I wouldn¡¯t intentionally insult your beliefs,¡± I said. ¡°Unless they were, you know, really bad beliefs. Like child sacrifice or something.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Tavio. Captain Pio looked like she was struggling to accept what I¡¯d said as the truth, but her confidence in her CO¡¯s abilities won out in the end. The result was that she began watching me with much more intensity. ¡°I will respect your privacy over the nature of that communion,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Such things are often very personal.¡± He collected himself and moved on. ¡°To put things into perspective, while Litta is the seat of the empire¡¯s government, the Temple of Yara in Connas represents the seat of the empire¡¯s religion.


    ¡°Given the claimed purpose of these monoliths, such an object would be considered highly profane to the Godqueen. Our theologians believe that if such a thing were to exist anywhere near the temple, it would stand out like a beacon to our seers. Yara would not stand for such corruption so near her main temple.¡±


    I glanced at Xim, who considered Tavio¡¯s words with a contemplative expression. ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to trust your experts, but I¡¯m comfortable assuming they¡¯re correct for the moment.¡±


    Tavio paused to evaluate Xim before continuing. ¡°Your source provided her reasoning for choosing these locations, and if we assume that the monolith cannot exist within the sacred lands around the temple, it alters the projected locations for all of the monoliths. Fortunately, your source provided us with several alternative criteria if her initial estimates were proven incorrect. Using those, we have formulated new predictions.¡± Tavio tapped the map, and the ink shifted until it displayed all of Arzia.


    ¡°The Temple of Yara is approximately the same distance from Hiward as the Timan city of Canotha,¡± Tavio continued, ¡°which is allegedly the location of one such monolith, and the reason why Canotha was destroyed. This is also the same distance to the central mountain region of Davah, where your source believes a monolith was awakened to serve as an anchor or focal point for the other five monoliths. The projected location near the temple follows if we assume Hiward is at the center of this formation and that ordinary principles of mana weave construction are used. That is to say, a geometric analysis overlaying places of global importance. More or less.¡±


    ¡°Ordinary?¡± I said. ¡°From my understanding, mana weaves don¡¯t scale to that size. We were surprised when we ran into the weave that covered this entire base, back when it was mostly a scorched mud pit.¡±


    ¡°Yes, this is true,¡± said Tavio. ¡°However, the empire has made many recent advancements in mana weave integrity at scale. We believe your source is using similar principles, although at a much higher level. Unfortunately, her information only explained enough to lend credence to her claims.¡± ?¦Á?????Ob§¦?????


    ¡°Sounds generous,¡± said Xim. ¡°For Avarice, anyway.¡±


    ¡°That intelligence wasn¡¯t cheap,¡± I said. ¡°The least she could do is inadvertently reveal fundamental secrets about the nature of magic.¡±


    Etja raised a hand, and we all waited until Tavio realized he was meant to call on her. ¡°Yes, Lady Nothosis?¡±


    ¡°Just call me Etja, please.¡± Tavio nodded, and she gave him a bright smile before going on with her question. ¡°Can we get copies of the analysis the empire did on that information? If Avarice gave out some hints about mana weave structures, we might be able to build on your work.¡±


    ¡°I... will see what I can do,¡± said Tavio. He cleared his throat and prepared to move on, but hesitated when Pio stood from her seat. ¡°Yes, Captain?¡± he said.


    ¡°Apologies, Major,¡± said Pio. ¡°I wanted a point of clarification.¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡±


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    ¡°I was never briefed on the identity of Fortune¡¯s Folly¡¯s source in this matter. From what I am hearing now, it sounds as though that source is someone named Avarice.¡±


    ¡°That is how it sounds, yes,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Was that your question?¡±


    ¡°No, sir,¡± she said. ¡°Is Avarice a code name? It sounds similar to... the names I have heard for certain types of entities in other briefs.¡±


    I decided to field the question on Tavio¡¯s behalf. ¡°Avarice is an avatar. But of the five we¡¯ve met, she¡¯s probably the most agreeable.¡±


    ¡°Five?¡± said Pio, a bit too loudly.


    ¡°Is that all, Captain?¡± asked Tavio. Pio gave him a stiff nod and sat back down. ¡°Does anyone else require a clarification?¡± He looked around, but we kept our silence. ¡°Very well.


    ¡°If the temple cannot be the location of a monolith,¡± he continued, ¡°then we believe the mana weave theory becomes flawed. Avarice suggested that the next most likely scenario is that the monoliths will have a distribution that encompasses the largest number of living creatures, cross-referenced with areas of high mana concentration. This conforms to what we know about the anchor monolith in Davah and the first connected monolith in Timagrin. It does not change the projection for monoliths to exist in Ayama and Hiward, although it broadens their potential locations.


    ¡°As for Eschendur and the empire, this approach radically changes the predictions. Rather than one monolith for each, a single monolith can be placed along the border to encompass both. The Eschen Gap is likely, but there are several places along the center of the Right Hand mountains that would work.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty far from any major population centers,¡± I said.


    ¡°Humanoid life is not the determining factor for this scenario,¡± said Tavio. ¡°It is concerned with living things in general. Regardless, such a location is equidistant to both the Eschen capital of Eschengal and the Littan capital of Tarras. Avarice was silent about the implications of each monolith having a range of several hundred miles, or even what effects being within range of a monolith might have on a person. Outside of Canotha, Timagrin and Mittak appear unaffected. Even so, this has led to many analysts losing a great deal of sleep.¡±


    I was fascinated by what Tavio was telling us. The party hadn¡¯t done much work on the information Avarice had handed us in exchange for personal interviews and a few answers from Big Dread. While we were competent, we were nowhere close to being the right people for that job. This kind of thing was exactly why we¡¯d handed it off to Hiward and the Littans, since each of the global superpowers had high-Level Delvers dedicated to dealing with this kind of thing.


    Nuralie tapped a claw against the tabletop in a thoughtful rhythm. ¡°What about the oceans?¡± she asked. ¡°There is much life in the sea.¡±


    ¡°An excellent question, Inquisitor Vyxmeldo¡¯a,¡± said Tavio. ¡°This distribution accounts for all major reefs around Arzia. The majority reside in the waters around Hiward. There are many off the southern coast of Timagrin as well, which is why we believe Canotha was chosen, despite being an awkward location if one were trying to encompass all of Timagrin and Mittak. While Mittak is the home of two sentient civilizations, life in that area is sparse.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± I said. ¡°That leaves one monolith unaccounted for, and one major landmass without a monolith.¡±


    ¡°It does, yes,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Despite its name, the Less-Than-Habitable Forest is quite habitable. Not so much for people, but mana monsters and fiends take quite well to the environment. If anything, it is the densest area of living entities on the planet. That we know of, of course.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± said Varrin. ¡°The Forest is the size of the empire and Eschendur put together. Even if there is a monolith within, it is unlikely to be found.¡±


    Tavio nodded along with what Varrin was saying, then looked up like he was trying to decide if he¡¯d forgotten anything important. He turned to the map and poked it until it returned to an illustration of the Forest. The silence stretched on awkwardly until Captain Pio started looking between me and Tavio, probably deciding whether she should say something to fill the space.


    Xim broke the silence and waved at the map. ¡°Does this remind anyone of the presentation Umi-Doo gave us before heading to the Ravvenblaq mountains?¡± she asked.


    I thought back on our meeting with Hiward¡¯s Director of Central prior to the ill-fated venture that led us to The Cage. ¡°Huh,¡± I grunted. ¡°These locations line up with the places Hognay was kicking around before we ran into him in The Toxic Grotto.¡±


    ¡°We have actually conferred with Hiward¡¯s CDA,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Director Umi-Doo is cautiously optimistic about this analysis.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like his kind of thing,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°All right,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re telling us all of this so we can make an informed decision about whether we want to proceed or back out?¡±


    ¡°This is correct.¡±


    ¡°Well, I appreciate the warning, but we were already prepared to head into a mega-Dungeon located in one of the world¡¯s most dangerous natural habitats. Might as well throw in the potential for running into an avatar or army of Davahns while we¡¯re at it.¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t fought an avatar or any divine spawn in six months,¡± said Xim. ¡°We¡¯re practically overdue.¡± Captain Pio looked at Xim with a strange expression before regaining her composure.


    Tavio just gave us a smile. ¡°I did not expect this would scare you off,¡± he said. ¡°But now my ass is covered, so to speak. Besides, as Lord Ravvenblaq has said, the Forest is very large. Right now we are very close to the Gap and the potential monolith there. Unless our expeditions are an unprecedented success, we will never be as close to the center of the Forest.¡±


    ¡°Tavio, are you tempting fate on purpose right now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I have never sparred with an entire forest,¡± he said with a grin. ¡°Perhaps I am trying to agitate fate.¡± No one returned the man¡¯s smile. He sighed and moved on. ¡°Any questions, or shall we proceed to discussing what we know about the Forest itself?¡±


    Varrin spoke up. ¡°Does this change the overall mission?¡±


    ¡°No. Much of this is speculative, and our priority will remain Dungeon exploration. If we smell anything out of the ordinary, we will be expected to report it. No one will be questing for a hidden totem of power, just taking advantage of the Dungeons and documenting what we find.¡±


    ¡°Then I think we¡¯re good to proceed,¡± I said.


    ¡°Excellent,¡± said Tavio. He turned back to the map and pointed to one of the empire¡¯s vassals, abutting the Forest¡¯s northeastern side. ¡°The kingdom of Nohrrin sits on the Forest¡¯s border, so we have much experience traversing the Forest¡¯s outer edge. The deeper areas are not well-charted, and very few have ever travelled to the Forest¡¯s central region. Among those we know of are the late Emperor Valerus, King Ayamari, and Matriarch Heronwyte. Needless to say, these are all very powerful individuals. None have been to the center since its transition into a Dungeon.


    ¡°For the last century, the Forest has been the empire¡¯s primary source of mana-rich materials,¡± Tavio continued. ¡°But as you just mentioned, it is very dangerous. Until now, it was deemed more trouble than it was worth to send out any significant military expeditions. There is, however, an association of independent Delvers who operate out of Nohrrin¡¯s capital, Krimsim. They have been responsible for harvesting what they can from the Forest for many decades.¡±


    ¡°I assume the Dungeon designation has changed that,¡± I said.


    ¡°It has,¡± said Tavio. ¡°The Forest is now not only a territory rich in resources, but also an incredible training ground for advanced Delvers. Littan Delving is managed by the military, which means the Forest is now an asset that falls under our authority. Even if we had no interest in it, the Forest has become our legal responsibility. That would be true even in absence of this speculation about the monolith.¡±


    ¡°How do the adventurers in Krimsim feel about that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Adventurers,¡± said Tavio. ¡°An interesting way to describe them. They are still operating, but are more restricted. There is some chafing, but enough opportunity exists for everyone to stay happy at the moment.¡±


    Tavio ran his finger along the Forest¡¯s edge, which was cleanly labeled. ¡°The regions which border the empire contain five primary zones, each of which corresponds to one of the five magic schools. It is deadly for those with low skill levels, but nothing that your party or Team Pio should struggle to traverse.¡± He traced his finger inward, where the areas were smaller, more numerous, and still had names. ¡°After that, there are various Dungeon zones dedicated to crafting. This is where many valuable materials can be found, most of which require the relevant skill to safely extract or use.¡±


    He traced his finger further inward, about one-quarter of the way to the Forest¡¯s center, where the map only had about half of the regions filled in. ¡°After that are the combat zones.¡± He glanced back at us as he tapped the map. ¡°This is where the true danger begins.¡±

 Chapter 270: Hammerhead Airlines

    Chapter 270: Hammerhead Airlines


    Our meeting was briefly interrupted by a soft knock, and a messenger appeared to let us know our falcon was ready. Tavio quickly outlined some of the suggested skill levels for the combat areas they¡¯d discovered, which were mainly in the 40 to 70 range.


    ¡°And after that?¡± I asked. Everything on the map beyond the combat zone had no labels at all.


    ¡°We will have to discover for ourselves,¡± said Tavio, looking quite excited at the prospect.


    Varrin leaned forward to peer at the map, studying the cramped text describing all the different regions. Several of them looked like they were hybrids, or bled into one another. ¡°When we spoke with the empress, she mentioned that a new intrinsic skill was discovered,¡± he said. ¡°What was it?¡±


    Tavio pointed to a tiny spot on the map, closer to the center than all the others. It could have been mistaken for a smudge if one didn¡¯t have superhuman vision. ¡°The skill is called Colossal Weapons,¡± he said.


    Varrin¡¯s eyebrows rose. If Tavio hadn¡¯t had the big guy¡¯s interest before, he had it now. ¡°Tell me more.¡±


    ¡°Okay, keep the colossal weapon in your pants,¡± I said. Varrin barely contained his eye roll. ¡°There will be time to go over more of this during the trip, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the flight should take ten hours or so,¡± said Tavio. ¡°We will also need to refresh our falcon near the capital. We should leave soon if we wish to keep to our schedule.¡±


    ¡°Anything else you need to fill us in on while we¡¯re here in Fort Ruiz?¡±


    ¡°I believe we have covered the essentials,¡± said Tavio. ¡°If you are ready, we can make our way to the mew.¡±


    We all stood and got a move on, with Varrin immediately beginning to lob more questions at Tavio. As we were making our way out the door, Xim leaned over and whispered to Etja, ¡°How long does a lily have to be before it¡¯s considered colossal?¡±


    To my surprise, it was Captain Pio who responded. ¡°If the stem is longer than seven inches, it is generally considered an exceptionally gifted lily. More than ten, and most will struggle to find a garden large enough for it. However, lilies are normally sought for their beauty and not their size.¡±


    Pio answered Xim¡¯s question with a face so straight that I genuinely couldn¡¯t tell if she was just talking about horticulture. Given the woman¡¯s reactions during the briefing, I¡¯d begun to think she hadn¡¯t understood what she was signing up for when she agreed to work with us.


    Now I thought she might fit right in.


    *****


    The mew was closer to the size of an entire bird sanctuary than a birdhouse. Not much of a surprise, since its inhabitant was the size of an elephant. The hammerhead falcon was an intimidating beast to see flapping through the dark of a midnight sky, staring down at you like a fresh worm, but the one lording over us from atop its hundred-foot perch had a regal beauty to it, revealed by the bright daylight.


    The hammerhead¡¯s wings were covered in a vibrant chestnut hue that gleamed candy red when catching the sun. Its breast was a creamy off-white, interspersed with dark spots, and the bird¡¯s color scheme reminded me a lot of the officer uniforms Tavio and Pio wore. The creature had two yellow eyes on either side of its head, set slightly apart to give the falcon a nearly 360-degree view of its surroundings.


    The least bird-like aspect of the creature, aside from its enormity, was the rounded, bulbous beak that ran down the front of its head. The bird of prey had no need for a pointy beak made for pecking or poking in search of seeds and insects. This beak was made for crushing power, allowing the hammerhead to swoop in and lock its jaws down on heavier prey without losing grip when climbing back into the sky. The unlucky victim would then be smooshed to death in one or two chomps, or simply dropped from a great height, and then gulped down in one swallow.


    As for the kinds of things a hammerhead preyed upon, it usually limited itself to anything smaller than it was. After all, it could hardly be expected to fly away after grabbing something larger than an elephant, much less swallow it whole. Of course, that didn¡¯t always keep the hammerhead from trying, and Tavio had a couple of humorous tales to share of hammerheads trying to lift off after diving onto something much too large for it, such as a ¡°humbla¡±¨Cwhich was similar to a blue whale¨Cor another he called a ¡°little-claw¡±. That one was one hundred percent a Tyrannosaurus rex. r?a?O?BE?s?


    In both cases, the hammerhead still won.


    Hammerhead falcons partially achieved this grip by being able to lock their jaws in place after grabbing hold, requiring little to no energy to keep their beak shut tight around their meal. In fact, it was this exact mechanism that we would be taking advantage of with our noble sky steed. This was explained to us as we approached something that looked like the shunned child of an airplane who¡¯d had a drunken one-night stand with a tour-bus-sized picnic basket, complete with a looped handle that the hammerhead would bite down on.


    While the transport was ugly as sin, it was surprisingly full of mana weaves, each of which helped it to achieve its purpose. The ¡®vehicle¡¯ was lighter than it should be and larger on the inside than it should be. It created very little drag despite its awful aerodynamics, and it burned through mana storage to stabilize itself, both for the benefit of the bird carrying it and the occupants being carried.


    The interior revealed that all of the money spent on its design and creation went towards its practical functions. While it could carry more people than it should, the space was still cramped, with about four feet of separation between two rows of seats that faced one another. These seats were comfortable enough, so long as one had sufficient Fortitude or defensive abilities not to feel them at all. Their worst feature was the shared armrests, causing me to quickly dart between Xim and Nuralie the moment I saw them. There was no way I was going to try and jockey for elbow room between Varrin and Etja.


    As for other amenities, there was a tiny bathroom in case anyone felt the call of nature during our flight. Really, it was a small closet with a hole in the ground, but at least it was clean. Otherwise, there was a person who sat up front and could signal the bird to land or change course, but they weren¡¯t very friendly and refused to acknowledge me when I asked if I could get a set of pin-on flight wings.


    Moments after entering and seeing what the interior had to offer, I wondered if I should sit in the cabin alone while everyone else enjoyed the newly constructed amenities of the Closet. Alternatively, Varrin could carry me and make the flight in about ten percent of the time. But this wasn¡¯t the moment to be antisocial. I figured we would all suffer together and bond over the misery. How else did people make friends?


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Then I wondered whether I could leave the Closet portal open in the cabin while we all enjoyed the newly constructed amenities of the Closet. The birdplane wasn¡¯t really that bad. We were used to breathing poison and weeping blood for longer stretches than this, so we could handle stale air and seats that violently punished anything other than perfect posture for a day.


    But why do it if we didn¡¯t have to?


    The Closet portal had some stickiness to a specific point on the planet when open. If it didn¡¯t, the thing would zip away the moment I summoned it due to the rotation and orbit of the planet. Then again, even that assumed there was some point in the universe that was its objective center, and that a frame of reference could be established at a fixed point at some coordinate around it. Obviously, the portal didn¡¯t work that way.


    So far, the Closet portal seemed to be tethered to a fixed location relative to my position on the planet at the time it was activated. I¡¯d done tests where I hopped into a carriage, went into the portal, and closed it behind me, then later opened the portal to find myself without a carriage. The portal location had stayed where it was while the carriage trundled away on its own.


    However, for the brief time it was open, it travelled in the carriage with me. This meant that I was at least one of two variables the portal considered when activating and establishing its mobile behavior. It determined what my position was if I were at rest in my environment, to determine its relative distance to me for so long as I stayed at rest. It then also bound itself to the stationary environment so that when I moved, I could move towards or away from it.


    This meant that if I opened the portal and went inside, it wouldn¡¯t have me as a frame of reference to continue moving with the vehicle I¡¯d previously been in, since my new ¡®at-rest¡¯ reference was the Closet environment, but maybe I could get it to work anyway.


    At the end of the day, the portal acted more or less like a probability function that shunted you to one side or another based on the direction of your movement. Despite its appearance, it wasn¡¯t actually a door or oval-shaped hole with two-dimensional edges, but more like an event horizon that extended into an imperceptible direction that was in both target locations¨Centrance and exit¨Cat once.


    I really had no idea if any of that was true in a magical-science sense, but that¡¯s the model I was using and it seemed to work.


    If you were halfway through it when the portal closed, it would just kick you out into the space that existed in the direction of your movement. This meant that it could not be used to effortlessly slice shit in half. I could weaponize a portal, but that got into a whole host of other considerations that aren¡¯t pertinent.


    Why did all of that matter? Well, the portal wasn¡¯t a door I could nail into the plane. It needed a formula to tell it how to behave and what coordinates to use as a reference for either side of its probability function. To make the portal travel with the birdplane while I was inside the Closet, I needed to replace myself as the initial reference point for the portal and replace it with the thing I wanted it to travel with.


    I set one instance of focus aside to work on that problem with Grotto while we had our meet and greet with the rest of Pio¡¯s team. The group loaded into the people-basket right after us to sit so that our groups faced one another. They were in more relaxed military garb than their superior officers, with green and brown hues that weren''t quite camouflage.


    ¡°Greetings, fellow passengers,¡± said the first Littan to load, Sergeant Guar. The man had a similar build to Tavio, with well-developed musculature, but was a half-head shorter than the major and had snow-white fur. He glanced around with bright golden eyes as he made his way to sit across from Varrin.


    After him came Staff Sergeant Baltae, a mage with a wiry build, both his fur and eyes black. He had a gentle smile and sat next to Guar, across from Xim. After him was Captain Pio, who sat across from me, followed by Lieutenant Madel, who was an athletic Littan with dark brown fur and red eyes. She sat across from Nuralie.


    Their fifth moved silently behind Madel, and if I hadn¡¯t already known what to look out for, I probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed her load in. She was Specialist Cezil, Madel¡¯s identical twin. The only features that set the two of them apart were Cezil¡¯s slight smirk and the way her fatigues hung off her frame with a casual air just barely on the neater side of sloppy.


    Cezil sat across from Etja, who immediately established dominance with her first sentence.


    ¡°Hi!¡± she said. ¡°Nice to see you again. I¡¯m Etja, in case you forgot!¡± She held out a hand to Cezil, who went completely still and looked at the four-armed woman with a calculating glint in her scarlet eyes. This went on for a full second before the Littan wordlessly accepted the handshake, her smirk fading away.


    This enthusiastic greeting broke the potent ¡°don''t-notice-me¡± effect Cezil had going, leading Xim, Nuralie, and Varrin to all turn and see the dark-furred Littan for the first time. Xim barely reacted, but both Nuralie and Varrin failed to hide their surprise.


    Etja immediately engaged the twins in conversation while Nuralie silently observed from beside her. After another handful of seconds, Cezil¡¯s form felt more solid and real, even glowing slightly to my sight as Nuralie used a new Archery evolution to make sure no one in our party could lose track of the sneaky Littan again. At least until the even sneakier Geulon decided to paint a different target.


    I hid a grin and turned to find that Varrin and Guar were already talking enthusiastically about the Colossal Weapons intrinsic. Guar was more animated than the big guy opposite him, communicating with his entire body as he spoke. Meanwhile, Varrin¡¯s tone alone conveyed his passion for hitting things with other, much larger things.


    Tavio came in last, glanced down the row to make sure everyone was present and accounted for, then turned to speak to the stoic hammerhead-handler slash birdplane-pilot person at the front. Tavio sat down just behind the man, settling in to observe the rest of us. I suddenly felt like I was on a field trip, with Tavio as our amicable and attentive chaperone.


    There was a subtle pitch as the hammerhead falcon swooped down from its ten-story perch and snatched us up. This corrected itself shortly thereafter as our bird-based magic school bus gained altitude, leaving me fairly impressed by the vehicle¡¯s stabilizing mana weaves.


    A minute or two later, Xim crossed one leg over the other and drummed her hands on a knee. ¡°So,¡± she said, looking between Baltae and Pio. ¡°Killed anything interesting lately?¡±


    Baltae¡¯s smile grew as the mage considered her question. A moment later, a book appeared hovering in the air next to him, its pages fluttering until it landed on the entry he was looking for.


    ¡°I do not know that we can claim to have killed it,¡± he said, ¡°but we did cull a very nasty plant in our last Delve.¡± The book turned and floated closer to Xim and me, showing a detailed illustration of our obelisk room overgrown by the Dominion Ivy Plant of the Endless.


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± said Xim. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you can actually kill one of those.¡± She didn¡¯t even try to hide her familiarity.


    ¡°You have encountered one?¡± Baltae asked, his black eyes widening a hair.


    ¡°We keep one as a... pet?¡± Xim said, looking over at me.


    ¡°Guard dog?¡± I suggested.


    Baltae chuckled. ¡°Hostile landscaping, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± I said. ¡°Like thorny rose bushes beneath your windows to keep burglars from climbing in. Just way more dangerous.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d never even know someone tried to burgle us,¡± said Xim. ¡°Since there wouldn¡¯t be a body after.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it has already happened,¡± said Baltae. The book flipped around, and he took another look at the illustration. ¡°The one we found did not seem like the sort of thing that could be tamed.¡±


    ¡°The secret to any animal¡¯s heart is its stomach,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s what my stablemaster says, anyway.¡±


    ¡°And what do you feed a Dominion Ivy Plant to earn your way into its heart?¡± Baltae asked.


    ¡°Oh, you know,¡± said Xim. ¡°Water, fertilizer, broken remains of the Icon of a blood god.¡±


    Baltae exchanged a look with his captain, then folded his hands and placed them beneath his chin. ¡°That sounds like an interesting story,¡± he said. ¡°Would you care to share it?¡±

 Chapter 271: Layover

    Chapter 271: Layover


    ¡°Want to do the honors?¡± I asked Xim. The cleric flashed me a smile, then uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.


    ¡°Hmm, where should I start?¡± she said, tapping a finger against her chin. She paused and locked eyes with Baltae, then with Pio. ¡°Okay, I got it.¡± She scooched forward an inch, while both Baltae and Pio leaned forward slightly to mirror her posture.


    ¡°We were on our way to rescue the king of Hiward from the clutches of an evil avatar named Hysteria, when we were ambushed by a team of Level 20 Delvers from the Eschen Wastes...¡±


    Less than sixty seconds into Xim¡¯s narration, the other conversations went silent as we all became enraptured by her retelling. Halfway through, I glanced down the aisle to find Tavio watching me with an eager expression. Soon after, he was looking between everyone else in my party with an unnerving hunger.


    I was pretty sure we were all going to have to spar with the man.


    *****


    ¡°The Icon was malformed,¡± I said with a shrug once Xim had finished. ¡°It wasn¡¯t as bad as it sounds; hardly a speck of deific power in the whole thing.¡±


    Pio let out a quick sigh and rubbed her forehead, then looked at the pair of us, trying to gauge our expressions. ¡°Will all of your tales be like this? Filled with godly beings?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°One time we got stuck in a Delve that was actually a giant mimic, and all its little mimic babies pretended to be works of fine art, then tried to kill us while we were appreciating their beauty. They made a mockery of visual and expressive creation. But dammit, were they gorgeous!¡± I felt some heat under my collar as I continued. ¡°I even kept one that had turned into a fantastic chandelier after they all went inert, but then Hysteria fucking ate it and¨C¡± I froze midsentence, then clicked my jaw shut.


    ¡°Hells,¡± I swore. ¡°They do all end up looping back around to godly beings.¡±


    ¡°Only if you keep going on like that,¡± said Xim. ¡°If you¡¯d stopped with The Mimic, it would have been fine.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± I said. ¡°What about you guys? What was your toughest Delve?¡±


    ¡°The last one for certain,¡± said Pio. ¡°The plant was not the worst part, I do not think. There was a very difficult Atrocidile Titan just before the obelisk room.¡±


    Baltae waggled a hand in the air. ¡°Otherwise, it was not so interesting. There was some tale about this person called the Void King attached to it, but the entire thing felt like a badly written romance novel.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± said Xim. ¡°Could you be more... specific?¡±


    Baltea placed a hand on his chest and held the other up in the air in a dramatic fashion. ¡°¡®Crimson Dread gripped the Void King¡¯s manhood, her healing flooding his wounded pride until it swelled with new life,¡¯¡± he recited. ¡°¡®But the wound was grievous, and the Void King without an heir. Crimson Dread knew that should her king¡¯s lineage end, there would be war within the kingdom.¡¯¡±


    Xim¡¯s smile widened, and I rubbed at my eyes, trying my best to pretend I was somewhere else.


    ¡°¡®There was but one choice,¡¯¡± Baltae continued, sweeping his gaze between us. ¡°¡®As the Void King¡¯s high cleric, it was her duty to ensure that her liege¡¯s fertility endured. She knew that there was but one way to deliver unto him her most potent healing, and that was to bring him closer to the source of her power, to let him touch the magic that thrummed in her mana core, just below her navel. She needed to bring him... deep inside of her.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Ow! Ow! Owww!¡± Cezil cheered, eyebrows waggling above flashing red eyes, then she gave a salacious whistle. Madel flinched and sank down in her seat, like she was trying to hide from being associated with her twin.


    Etja leaned around Nuralie to look at me. ¡°Why don¡¯t we get any Delves like that?¡± she asked. ¡°With us, it¡¯s all blood, guts, and bugs.¡±


    ¡°We could make a special request,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°The System might agree to let us into a Delve with a¡±¨CPause¨C¡°compelling plot line.¡±


    ¡°Wait, but I want to hear how it ends,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°They fuck,¡± I said. ¡°The end.¡± I crossed my arms and looked back at Baltae. ¡°How about weird stuff? Any weird Delves?¡±


    ¡°I would describe some of the activities between the Void King and Pale Rider as being strange at times,¡± Baltae replied. ¡°Not that I am judging, but there is no reason to require a twenty-foot-long¨C¡±


    ¡°Odd!¡± I said as I felt Varrin¡¯s eyes burning a hole into the side of my head. ¡°Delves that were unusual for reasons beyond the proclivities of their associated characters.¡±


    Baltae made a tittering noise as he considered. ¡°I believe I would pick Anthra¡¯s Drawl,¡± he said. ¡°It was a sound-based Delve with a constant subsonic frequency that induced nausea and fatigue. What was odd was that we could not find any monsters. It was an endless series of rooms that looked like they came from a cheap government office, but they repeated endlessly.¡±


    ¡°There was no food or water, no useful resources of any kind,¡± said Pio. ¡°We eventually tried to break through the walls, but they were so tough that we would have run out of time before we could dig very far. Even if there hadn¡¯t been a time limit, we would have gone mad from the sounds. Of course, only Baltae could hear them clearly. For the rest of us, we just felt its effects. Otherwise, it was terribly silent. Except for the chirps.¡±


    ¡°The chirps?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Every few hours, there would be loud, watery chirps from just around the next corner of the hallway or outside of the office we were inside,¡± she said. ¡°Almost like a drowning bird. It was startling in the beginning, but no matter how we searched, we never found the source. As the timer drew closer to running out, the chirps became... distorted.¡±


    Baltae picked up the next part. ¡°Once that happened, we began to feel tremors, as though a massive creature were always drawing closer. Much larger than any of the hallways could contain. Something was stalking us from outside, and we began to fear that the walls around us would be crushed between its teeth at any moment, along with ourselves.¡±


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    ¡°What was the solution?¡± asked Xim.


    ¡°I had been hearing it the entire time,¡± said Baltae. ¡°I have the Eidetic Memory evolution, so I could remember all of the subsonic droning with perfect clarity. Paired with my Investigation intrinsic and one of my passive skills, it allowed me to create mental simulations of the noise while accelerating its frequency. It was a message that allowed me to interpret the chirps, which led us to a section of the Delve where the wall was thin enough to break through.¡±


    ¡°Outside was total darkness farther than any of us could perceive,¡± said Pio. ¡°Light would not penetrate it, and the effect was too large to dispel. Whatever was stalking us was still out there. It realized we¡¯d broken free and began to chase us. No matter how fast we traveled, it always drew closer, but we could never see it. Fortunately, Baltae saved us again.¡±


    ¡°I have Navigation,¡± he said. ¡°The Delve was literally telling us how to leave the endless offices from the moment we entered, so I suspected this was a case of something always being hidden in plain sight. I took us around the outside of the facility and back to where the entrance of the Delve was, just on the other side of the external wall.¡±


    ¡°And there was the obelisk,¡± said Pio. ¡°By the time we got our Level, the giant had grown so close that the floor beneath us began to crack from its steps. I had never been so happy to see an exit portal appear.¡±


    ¡°After that, I picked up the spell Worm Tunnel,¡± said Baltae. ¡°Now we do not need to dig through walls, we can just walk through them.¡±


    I knew that spell well, since it was the same one Baltae had used to break his way into the hot springs area of the Closet.


    ¡°That all sounds pretty terrifying,¡± I said. ¡°No pun intended.¡±


    Our two groups continued to trade stories back and forth. We¡¯d all met a couple of times before to do basic rundowns of our builds and capabilities, but hearing firsthand how we each dealt with challenges did a lot to put those abilities into perspective.


    Team Pio presented themselves as having a pretty classic composition, although I knew that several members of their party had their own special tricks.


    Guar was a hammer-wielding tank with a paladin flavor, using stacks of Blessed to boost his attacks. This paired quite well with his golden eyes, which I was pretty sure glowed when he got excited. The sergeant was straight Strength, Speed, and Fortitude, and had a couple of abilities that allowed him to substitute Strength for Charisma when trying to hold the attention of enemies.


    Baltae was a Mystical-attuned mage, although he preferred Dimensional spells. While he could drop AoEs and nuke enemies like a champ, he had a heavy investment in puzzle solving, analysis, and perception as well. He was magic Sherlock Holmes, basically.


    Pio was the team¡¯s healer and support, who could shield and buff allies from the middle while calling out tactics. While she wasn¡¯t built too far into defensive stats, she had enough defensive skills and evolutions to let her sub in as the off-tank when Guar got overwhelmed. The trade-off for that versatility was that her damage was basically non-existent. Even without being much of a threat, she could pull aggro using her high Charisma. That, or she could just spam enough heals that the enemy decided she needed to die.


    Madel was inexhaustible single-target damage, whose build centered heavily around being able to make as many attacks as possible, as fast as possible, for as long as possible. She was extremely mobile, hard to hit, fairly tough, and stacked debuffs with every attack. Her build was the narrowest, but I¡¯d seen how effective it could be for her team.


    Madel¡¯s twin, Cezil, was the strangest, but essentially fell into a magic rogue category. She had Stealth, Subterfuge, and could shapeshift to look like just about anything she wanted. While hidden or blending in, she¡¯d apply mental debuffs to enemies, oftentimes sending them into a self-destructive frenzy. This let her cull packs before her party even saw them. For tougher enemies, she stacked Cursed, which would rapidly weaken their attacks and defenses. She didn¡¯t do a lot of damage on her own, but in my opinion, she was the scariest member of their group.


    As for what I knew that Team Pio wasn¡¯t telling us outright, I¡¯d seen Baltae call down the attention of Godqueen Yara using the celestial language, which was part of the reason Grotto thought they had promise. That kind of thing wasn¡¯t a standard Delver ability. Cezil¡¯s shapeshifting gave her the same powers of a mimic, which meant that when she transformed, she was indistinguishable from the real deal. It couldn¡¯t be dispelled, and even Grotto and I, working together, had trouble figuring out where or even what she was while transformed.


    Cezil could also turn into a weapon for Madel to wield, giving the more reserved twin a massive boost to her combat abilities while allowing her to weave even more debuffs and curses into her attacks. It also gave the normally staid woman a god complex, but that might have only been from the one combo I¡¯d seen. It was extremely likely that there were others. I wasn¡¯t very clear on how their pseudo-fusion skill worked, and I knew part of it came from a hidden ability Madel possessed, but I had some theories.


    As for Guar and Pio, I wasn¡¯t aware of any abilities that would peg them as ¡®escalated¡¯ in any way. Hopefully, they¡¯d held something back or had figured out some new tricks since I¡¯d last seen them in action. Of course, we could always help to bring them up to par, but that kind of thing was very individualized. It would be good if they had some groundwork laid beforehand.


    The hours passed as we traded stories and got a better handle on everyone¡¯s personalities. Overall, I thought we had a decent mix, although there was some tension in places. Cezil was the sourest grape of the Littan bunch, and her flippant, sarcastic attitude could grate at times. I could tell that it annoyed Nuralie, and that Cezil knew that it annoyed Nuralie, but I attributed some of the needling to an unspoken feud that was starting to get rolling, since their party roles were fairly similar.


    I didn¡¯t sense any real hostility out of it, which was good. If anyone would have trouble adjusting here, it would be our sole Eschen. Her primary experience with Littan culture was that they were the giant, militaristic bogeyman next door. One that had come invading a short while ago.


    Otherwise, Varrin was too confident to be bothered by anyone, Xim was... also too confident to be bothered by anyone, and Etja was too Etja to be bothered by anyone. Personally, I didn¡¯t get the feeling I was meeting any new best friends, but if I got locked in a cell with any member of Team Pio for a few days, I felt like I could make it through without wanting to kill them.


    The first leg of our journey melted by, and soon we were descending to exchange our hammerhead for a fresh one near the Littan capital city of Tarras.


    Of course, in traditional Fortune¡¯s Folly fashion, we wouldn¡¯t be landing in the capital city, nor would we have time to take a tour. Our birdplane touched down in a small lake to the south of the sprawling capital, next to a defensive outpost in the middle of some farmland. A small tug floated out to pull us up onto the shore, next to a few more of the birdplane-baskets.


    We had a half-hour to kill while we waited for our new ride, so everyone stepped out of the cabin to stretch their legs. Cezil immediately began doing cartwheels, which Etja quickly copied, and then the pair of them tried to get as many people as they could to do cartwheels alongside them. Guar joined in, but the thickly built fellow was not very good.


    Then again, neither was Cezil, and in fact neither she nor Etja were actually doing proper cartwheels. Etja was using her gravity magic, and Baltae was using Telekinesis to keep Cezil from embarrassing herself. It seemed like something he was used to doing.


    So, as far as the impromptu cartwheel competition went, Guar won by default since he was the only one not disqualified.


    Madel immediately pulled out a sword to begin sharpening, which drew Varrin¡¯s attention, and the pair of them did some side-by-side weapons maintenance. Neither of them said a word the entire time, but I did spot Varrin passing the woman some oil. After that, the two warriors had a silent conversation solely through razor-thin movements of their eyebrows.


    Meanwhile, Xim strode off with Baltae while the two of them got into a competition for who could perform the most dramatic retelling of various ¡®romantic¡¯ stories they knew by heart. Baltae lacked the raw Charisma of Xim, but the man was clearly experienced at the task for whatever reason. I was ninety-nine percent sure that the whole thing was flirting.


    Nuralie was... somewhere.


    Just as I was about to turn to Captain Pio for a stoic discussion of leadership techniques, Tavio strode up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder with a knuckle.


    ¡°Come,¡± he said. ¡°Let me show you my favorite view of the capital.¡±


    He began walking off towards the nearby mew, and I followed behind him, curious to learn more about the man.

 Chapter 272: Viewpoints

    Chapter 272: Viewpoints


    Tavio led me through a copse of trees that lined the edge of the small lake where we¡¯d landed, then along the edge of a field of grain similar to wheat. The field¡¯s edge ran up against the grounds of the nearby defensive fort, giving way to a low growth of vegetation that was kept short for a hundred yards around the fort itself.


    A quarter mile further was the mew, which was our general destination, whereupon Tavio took me to the base of one of the hammerhead perches. Looking up, I judged this one to be three times the height of the one back in Fort Ruiz, rising several hundred feet into the air.


    Tavio squatted low, then leapt upward without saying a word. After about fifty feet, just as gravity started to assert itself on his momentum, his body glowed and he shot skyward several times faster. He landed easily atop of the perch, then turned to glance down at me. Rather than trying for anything quite so cinematic, I just teleported.


    Tavio turned to where I appeared, smiled, then held out an arm to our north. I followed his gesture, finding an unfettered view of miles upon miles of farmland, rich to bursting with crops ready for harvest. Wheat fields were dominant, interspersed with other similar grains, but to the east, I could spot distant fields of trees that bore a bitter fruit harvested for its oil. I would have called them olive trees, but I knew from experience that the taste was nowhere near as good.


    Beyond the fields, the Littan capital of Tarras could be seen in the distance. The city was built on a natural rise that had been raised up further and expanded. That work had been done over the course of Litta¡¯s entire history, but the majority of the mighty hill¡¯s expansion was the progress of Delvers over the last century.


    The walls around the base of Tarras stood no less high than our borrowed perch, gleaming white in the bright afternoon sun, dotted with towers and wide slits for ballista or other siege weapons. Beyond it, the city¡¯s center crested above the walls, swelling up as though it meant to kiss the skies themselves. At the lowest point that I could make out was a network of large shops and markets, and above those were airy city estates with the opulent embellishments of wealth.


    Near the hill¡¯s top were the workplaces and residences of senators and other governmental bigwigs, more austere than the dwellings below. Several temples stood proudly between the civil constructions, representing several of the most important gods among the Littan pantheon. Above the temples were colorful gardens, neatly cultivated to present the full medley of imperial flora in bloom.


    And above that, at the highest point for a hundred miles, was the Imperial Palace.


    The building was at once reserved and intricately detailed. Its architecture was majestic, yet uncomplicated. Every arch brought the eye to a stunning sculpture, each angle pulled the onlooker toward a masterful relief or frieze. At a glance, it might have been mistaken for plain at times, but each moment spent studying its walls led to the discovery of yet another detail that could just as easily have been overlooked.


    I took the sight in for a moment, appreciating it in a way no normal man could from this distance, eyes unbounded from their organismal limits. Tavio stood beside me, drinking it in with a pride that practically radiated from the man, and I had to give it to him, it was a damn good view.


    But after lingering on the palace, my eyes drifted downward, back to the gardens, which were arranged in just the right way to confuse and hinder an invading force. Down past the structures of government, no less lavish than the gaudy dwellings below them, past the markets filled with upscale goods, to the wall that blocked my view to all the lesser parts of the capital. Then, I came back to the fields, and all the men and women working to take in the season¡¯s harvest.


    A constant breeze blew past atop the perch, but it kicked up for a moment, bringing with it the cool promise of fall. While Hiward was a land with mild seasons that were generally divided into sunny or not, and Eschendur was a land where it was either hot and wet or cold and wet, Litta appreciated the full complement of nature¡¯s cycles. Thoughts of fall reminded me that it had been three full years since I came to this world, which was an unexpected reverie. Even more unexpected was the well of emotion that hit me as I considered how much I had changed.


    I didn¡¯t linger on introspection, no matter how inviting it felt at that moment. Rather, I focused on what had guided me in that direction. People, working the land with their bodies, doing their best to bring in food for their families. It was surreal how odd I found it all.


    I¡¯d spent time in Eschengal and Foundation, but those were capital cities. I¡¯d spent some time roaming the Hiwardian countryside, but that was during our mad pursuit of Delves during the year after we dealt with The Cage. I honestly had very little experience interacting with people who weren¡¯t themselves Delvers, or who didn¡¯t work in an industry that directly catered to Delvers.


    My life was mostly isolated from the mundane, and I found that the scene of humanity sprawling out around the capital was more engaging than another spectacle like the palace. The ordinary had become strange.


    Tavio didn¡¯t speak. This wasn¡¯t a moment where words were necessary. He didn¡¯t need my affirmation that this view was worthy of being his favorite, and the Littan beside me could read my posture and expression well enough to know my feelings. His own eyes hinted at something bittersweet when he gazed upon the capital, an emotion that harmonized with my own, although I expected we held those notes for different reasons.


    For a moment, I thought to speak, but I hesitated to ruin the moment with my question. Regardless, Tavio gave a voice to my discomfort.


    ¡°They are mostly freedpersons,¡± he said, waving towards the workers in the fields. ¡°Former slaves who have bought their freedom.¡±


    ¡°Not citizens, though,¡± I said.


    Tavio shook his head. ¡°No. There are many paths from slave to citizen, but none of them are easy. For most, owning their own future is enough.¡±


    ¡°Is this a representative slice of the farming population?¡± I asked. ¡°Or do you keep the slaves in a different field?¡±


    Tavio let out a quick breath, halfway to being a chuckle. ¡°I suppose that by definition they must be in a different field,¡± he said, then turned away from the view to study me. ¡°I will not defend the practice. Many of us from Seqaria can trace our lineage back to ancestors enslaved by the empire. It is not so recent in our memories as it is for the Hiwardians, but it is there. Even so, there are very few who remain as such, and across the empire as a whole their numbers dwindle.¡±


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Has the practice fallen out of favor?¡± I asked.


    Tavio shrugged. ¡°There are many reasons for it,¡± he said. ¡°It has always been so that slaves can earn their way to freedom in the empire, but those laws were often without teeth. Any who would not benefit from such a transition could hinder the process, so many were denied such a right. However, after Hiward¡¯s rebellion, laws were passed to give more protection to slaves, which has led to a much greater number becoming freedpersons like you see here.


    ¡°A citizen cannot become a slave,¡± he continued. ¡°A freedperson can only become a slave by choice, but that method is too costly for whoever wishes to take on such a slave contract. It is cheaper and easier to simply hire a worker. Otherwise, slaves have historically come from conquest, and the empire has seen little of that in the last hundred years.¡±


    ¡°Meaning that as existing slaves gain their freedom, there aren¡¯t any new slaves to take their place,¡± I said.


    ¡°That is how it is seen,¡± he said. ¡°Many believe this will continue until there are no more slaves at all within the empire, but I think that is naive. The empress and the senate will ultimately decide one way or the other.¡±


    ¡°And which way do you think they¡¯re leaning on that?¡±


    ¡°The empress wishes to do away with it,¡± he said. ¡°The senate will say as much, but do little to support the effort. The empress could decree it so, but then the legions would need to ensure that her will is followed. That would be a bloody road to freedom, I think, especially since many officers come from families who have benefited greatly from their slaves.


    ¡°At the same time, there are many in the military who are former slaves and are working their way to citizenship through service,¡± he said. ¡°The fear is that this would create a divide within the military itself. If so, the question becomes whether inviting such a conflict would do more harm than good.¡±


    I listened to Tavio speak, considering the issues and trying to stay somewhat detached. There was a whole culture here that I was divorced from, giving me a very narrow view of the issues. From what I knew even before having this conversation, modern Littan slaves were treated much better than one might expect, but ¡®polite¡¯ slavery was still fucking slavery. I doubted many of the enslaved would volunteer to live under those conditions. I also doubted that me trying to white knight the problem as a knee-jerk reaction would end up being helpful for anyone.


    Tavio clapped me on the shoulder. ¡°I can feel the judgment rolling off of you in waves,¡± he said. ¡°Do not worry, if I need someone to help me burn down a manor and abscond with their servants, I will let you know.¡±


    ¡°I do enjoy when problems can be solved through a direct application of discrete violence,¡± I replied.


    ¡°And yet, so few of them truly can be,¡± Tavio said wistfully. ¡°Speaking more seriously, my life has been spent in service of making the empire a better place. I will see that all of her people live freely before I die.¡± He studied the horizon and squinted into the distance, nodding subtly to himself. ¡°But in order to reap, one must first sow, and we should get down from this perch.¡±


    ¡°Uh, not sure I follow your metaphor.¡±


    ¡°No, no, the last part was not a metaphor,¡± said Tavio. He pointed over my shoulder. ¡°Our hammerhead is about to arrive.¡±


    I turned to see a mass of feathers swooping down towards me at over a hundred miles per hour, hungry yellow eyes gleaming, bone-crushing beak open and ready to clamp down on my delicious body.


    I cast Shortcut and appeared back at the foot of the perch. Tavio landed beside me a second later, doing a tuck and roll for the ground¡¯s benefit. The hammerhead landed above us shortly after, then cocked its head over the side to stare down at us. The feathers along its neck ruffled in agitation, which I thought was understandable since Tavio and I had rudely intruded on its territory and then compounded our faux pas by denying it the opportunity to eat us.


    Tavio made a clicking noise and waved at the bird. ¡°Have you ever tasted hammerhead?¡± he asked me. The bird tilted its head and blinked.


    ¡°Yes, actually,¡± I said. ¡°I had it roasted with vegetables on a riverboat once. Nuralie was with me.¡±


    ¡°It is quite good,¡± said Tavio, dropping his hand while continuing to stare up at the massive avian. ¡°I prefer mine on skewers.¡± The hammerhead blinked again, clacked its beak, then broke eye contact and withdrew. Tavio turned, and we began making our way back to the group.


    We made some small talk as we went. He asked me how Shog was doing. I told him the eldritch monstrosity was doing well but away on a one-year sabbatical at the moment. He asked if I was aware that Shog was categorically evil. I said yes, but that we¡¯d made some progress toward him becoming less evil recently, and that he¡¯d never killed anyone who hadn¡¯t tried to kill us first while in my presence. He said that it was very nice to hear and that he was looking forward to meeting the c¡¯thon again sometime in the future.


    Then, he asked me if I had any surprises lined up for the second half of the journey. I admitted that I did, and he asked a few probing questions, which I answered to his satisfaction.


    When we got back, everyone else was already loaded up and ready to go. Cezil made some kissy noises as Tavio and I walked in, likely in an attempt to imply that Tavio and I had stepped away for intimate activities. I held my finger to my lips to plead with her not to expose our forbidden love. I felt Grotto feverishly taking psychic notes for the next Void King arc.


    The hammerhead that I expected Tavio would serve us for dinner later swooped down and picked us up, and we climbed back into the Littan skies, headed south for Nohrrin.


    Once we were in the air, Tavio stood and addressed the group. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen,¡± he said. ¡°I am certain that you all have a deep fondness for the luxuries afforded to us by this lovely vessel.¡± He waved his hand around the cramped cabin while Guar and Baltae booed. ¡°Made even fonder by the memories you have of helping to maintain them.¡± Cezil made a retching noise.


    Pio leaned forward and whispered to me, ¡°We have all been through punitive duties cleaning the bird feces from the tops of these things.¡±


    ¡°However,¡± Tavio continued, commanding silence again, ¡°Fortune¡¯s Folly has generously offered to upgrade our accommodations.¡±


    Tavio nodded to me, and I opened a portal to the Closet at the back of the plane. Through it was a freshly constructed lounge¨Cinspired in part by Club Dragon¨Cwith a fully stocked bar, small heated swimming pool, and two golem attendants ready to serve refreshments. The irony of my earlier thoughts about becoming detached from normal society was not lost on me in that moment, but I also wasn¡¯t going to subject my ass to another five hours in those seats. It was too precious to suffer like that.


    There were varied reactions from the Littans, which I interpreted as positive, and I led us through the portal to enjoy the rest of our flight in comfort. I¡¯d figured out how to change the portal¡¯s reference point to the birdplane about five minutes into the flight, but wanted to take some more time to get a feel for Team Pio before literally opening up to them like this.


    Cezil immediately went for the pool, and Pio intercepted her before she could disrobe. Madel found a comfortable chair and settled in to silently watch everyone from a corner. Guar started chatting up the golems, although neither of them was sentient, so he was really chatting up Grotto. Tavio walked in with the rest of my party and began discussing the pros and cons of different weapon intrinsics.


    Baltae, however, took one step into the Closet and froze. He looked around at the walls, surveyed the golems, and kicked his boot against the ground. He sniffed the air, then pulled out his floating book. He consulted it for a moment, looked up from the book at me, looked back at the book, then snapped it shut and looked back at me.


    ¡°Master Xor¡¯Drel,¡± he said, taking slow steps in my direction. Everyone else picked up on Baltae¡¯s solemn energy, and the room grew quiet. The mage stopped just in front of me and quirked an eyebrow. ¡°How in all of the hells do you own a Delve?¡±

 Chapter 273: The Truth Revealed!

    Chapter 273: The Truth Revealed!


    Before I could respond to the Littan mage, Cezil voiced the question I saw reflected in the expressions of the rest of her team.


    ¡°The fuck are you talking about, Baltae?¡± the red-eyed twin asked. There was a touch of exasperation to her tone, like she was hearing a bad joke one too many times. Even so, her posture had subtly changed in response to her ally¡¯s tension, putting her more on balance.


    She wasn¡¯t the only one delicately reacting, either. Madel still appeared to be sitting in her armchair, but the martial twin had begun to float a fraction of an inch from its surface. Guar looked like he genuinely didn¡¯t know what the sudden stress was about, but had taken a couple of casual steps away from the golems to give himself some space to work. His golden eyes scanned between the rest of my party.


    Captain Pio shot Tavio a quick glance, but otherwise remained as she was, not that she¡¯d ever fully let her guard down the entire time I¡¯d been around her. Curious, I looked over at Tavio as well, but the muscular Littan was leaning back against the bartop, watching Baltae and me with a hint of amusement.


    For our part, no one in Fortune¡¯s Folly gave any sign that they noticed the Littan team¡¯s maneuvering. Varrin leaned against the bar near Tavio, close enough for a handshake. Nuralie¡¯s head peeked out from the heated pool, though I had no idea when she¡¯d dived in. Etja was busy mixing several cocktails at once with her hands and gravity manipulation, and Xim was peering around Baltae¡¯s shoulder, trying to peek at whatever was inside his floating book.


    The mage had said a lot to his party, either through the psychic connection I knew their team could create with one another, or through his tone and body language alone. Whatever it was, it hadn¡¯t been too serious a warning, just enough to make the Littans cautious.


    As far as the Delve was concerned, I¡¯d considered a variety of avenues on how to broach this subject with the Littans. I¡¯d known Baltae was likely to be the one to figure it out first, although his speed still surprised me, and I hadn¡¯t expected him to be quite so forward about it. I didn¡¯t really owe them an explanation, but I also wouldn¡¯t be able to get away with being dishonest, not that I had any desire to do so.


    I¡¯d already decided that my days of hiding the inconvenient truths surrounding my existence were over; inspired partially by the fact that I¡¯d already revealed my extradimensional origins to the entirety of Hiwardian noble society. It hadn¡¯t seemed like many of them believed my claims were true, but the ones who mattered did. The sky hadn¡¯t fallen after that bombshell, which, alongside the rapidly dwindling number of individuals who could reasonably threaten our lives, made hiding my strengths from people I wanted as allies feel pointless. Not to mention, it was exhausting.


    I gave a thoughtful ¡°Hmm,¡± as I rubbed my beard. ¡°I would normally classify that as a trade secret,¡± I said. ¡°But how about this? Fill me in on why you believe I ¡®own a Delve¡¯, and I¡¯ll satisfy your curiosity.¡±


    Baltae paused for a moment, likely processing that my words were as good as an outright admission that he was correct. Still, he proceeded without much of a delay.


    ¡°The conclusion is drawn from several observations, not all of which are my own,¡± he said. ¡°Two years ago, Major Tavio entered your dimensional space as part of your surprise sparring match. He described the conditions as being designed either as a harsh training location or a defensive area intended to hinder potential aggressors. Additionally, he noted the presence of a large pack of mana monsters. Specifically, Aberrant Hounds.


    ¡°Upon further investigation, you have not been documented to have any particular abilities related to animal handling, aside from your Bonded Familiar passive and Dimensional Summon skill. Neither of those would traditionally explain your control over a pack of Aberrant Hounds, unless you were bonded to or summoned one of their Alphas, which is not the case. Various theories were presented, none of which were satisfying.¡±


    ¡°Uh, how many people are scrutinizing my build?¡± I asked.


    ¡°After the major¡¯s report, a team was assigned,¡± said Baltae. ¡°After your party continued to defy expectations, the team expanded. Four analysts are assigned to you, but only one works full time. An additional team of four was assigned to each member of your party. Then there is the oversight committee and whatever individuals, necessary for their expertise, that are brought in from time to time.¡±


    ¡°Well, damn.¡±


    ¡°I also compile in-depth notes on any Delve that my team undertakes,¡± Baltae continued, gesturing at his floating tome. ¡°The Inheritance of the Void King was notable not just for its unusual plot, but also for its seemingly inexhaustible supply of dimensional mana. Most Delves have significant fluctuations in mana concentration between different zones, which are often explained by the methods integrated Delve Cores use in gathering such mana. The Inheritance, however, had an incredibly stable volume and density of mana throughout.¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± said Guar, taking another step away from the golems. ¡°Are you saying that Xor¡¯Drel owns The Inheritance, specifically? The Delve we ran through a few months back?¡±


    ¡°I am saying that you are in the presence of the ¡®legendary¡¯ Void King himself,¡± Baltae replied.


    Guar looked me up and down, scratching his head. Then he looked at Xim, and finally Varrin. His eyebrows crawled up his head as he came to some dubious conclusion in his mind. Cezil started to add something, but Pio signalled her to stay silent.


    ¡°Curiously, the dimensional mana in this room is of a similar density,¡± Baltae said, ignoring his party¡¯s tank. ¡°To my senses, the signature of this mana is similar, if not identical. Further, the first creatures we faced within The Inheritance were Abyssal


    Hounds. These are not the same creatures as the Aberrant Hounds that Major Tavio encountered within your Closet, but Aberrant Hounds can transition to one of many different subtypes depending on the conditions of their environment. Given the robust dimensional mana present, an Aberrant Hound becoming an Abyssal Hound would not be surprising.


    ¡°The atmospheric composition within The Inheritance was also notable,¡± Baltae continued. ¡°The quality of the air was incredible, including an ideal mix of oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and trace amounts of other gases such as carbon dioxide. However, there was a notable lack of common particulates found in Arzia, which led me to believe that the Delve itself was in an exceptionally isolated location. Given that it was a dimensional Delve, I believed that it was contained within its own pocket realm. Since the atmosphere in this very room shares those peculiarities, I feel my conclusion on that matter was accurate.


    ¡°Aside from the hounds, the nature of the dimensional mana, and the air, I realize now that the tale of the Void King has striking similarities to your known exploits. The events are highly dramatized and exaggerated, but there are few Littan soldiers who do not know the events of your Creation Delve, as the death of Sir Sayil Starion of Nohrrin was a widely discussed scandal. Specifically, your encounter with the atrocidile stands out, which led to your being ¡®healed¡¯ by the caress of Crimson Dread.¡±


    Baltae gave Xim a meaningful look. She shrugged and returned his look with a grin.


    ¡°To be clear, my dick was never injured in that fight,¡± I said. ¡°There was no caressing.¡±


    ¡°We were also really gross that whole Delve,¡± Xim added. ¡°I really didn¡¯t need any more toxic sludge in my... places.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Ouch,¡± said Cezil. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize Arlo had those kinds of issues down there.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s talking about the river,¡± I said. ¡°Not my¨C¡± I stopped before committing that thought to words. ¡°Never mind, please continue, Sergeant Baltea.¡±


    ¡°You also told me during the first half of our flight that you owned a Dominion Ivy Plant of the Endless,¡± he said. ¡°The Dominion Ivy is known, albeit not as any sort of mana monster or fiend. The ¡®Endless¡¯ variation had never been catalogued prior to our Delve, which would make your possession of one highly unlikely. Given that I was able to sense that you were being truthful, it became an exceptional coincidence. Of course, it was not a coincidence at all, because they are the same plant. R?a?No???E?s??


    ¡°Finally, The Inheritance issued a unique skill upon its completion, which is a variation of one of your signature skills, the Shortcut spell. The spell also came with unusual flavor text, and it makes much more sense now that I realize where it originated.¡±


    Baltae shared the skill with us, and I quickly read through it.


    Royal Shortcut


    Dimensional


    Cost: 5 + variable mana


    Requirements: CHA 20, Dimensional Magic 20


    Issue a decree that asserts your command over the planes surrounding you, allowing you to teleport any entity that can hear you or otherwise perceive your words. Allies may resist this teleportation at will. A non-ally may prevent themselves from being teleported by making a successful WIS contest opposed by your CHA.


    Affected targets can be teleported up to a number of feet equal to 40 plus twice your Dimensional Magic skill level in any direction. All targets, regardless of whether or not they were affected, immediately become aware of the source of this spell.


    This spell can target any number of entities, and costs an additional 5 mana for each entity targeted.


    Having a high Charisma score is the best way to hold an enemy¡¯s attention, but wearing stupid clothes and shouting at them also kind of works.


    ¡°The System gave me these clothes,¡± I muttered, running my hand along my vest and boa.


    I¡¯d been curious about the skill the System was going to give out to the Littans when they¡¯d first entered our Delve, but had sort of forgotten about it after the whole thing went off the rails. After reading through the text, I thought the skill was kind of a weird one.


    Dimensional spells were rarely governed by Charisma, and casters usually didn¡¯t want everyone on the battlefield to know that they were the ones firing off high-impact spells. The spell also didn¡¯t do anything with the attention it garnered, such as applying Distract or Mesmerize. It just let everyone know you¡¯d fucked with their positioning, which was certainly one way to piss some people off, I supposed.


    Still, I could see the symmetry to the way I chanted while channeling Explosion!, and feel the System¡¯s judgment for how I insisted on taunting the enemy while also treating CHA as my dump stat. In my defense, Guar didn¡¯t use CHA either. He just had a passive that let him flex his way into people¡¯s hearts and minds using Strength instead.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s definitely a pile of evidence,¡± I said.


    Guar shifted his weight and looked at Captain Pio. She shook her head, and he relaxed a touch.


    After giving Guar his silent order, she turned to me and asked, ¡°So you admit to controlling The Inheritance of the Void King?¡±


    ¡°The real name is Delve 1156-B: The Pocket Delve, but yes. Sort of.¡±


    ¡°Sort of?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the co-arbiter,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not a Delve Core after all.¡±


    ¡°Why did you invite us to run it?¡±


    ¡°That was Grotto¡¯s idea,¡± I said.


    ¡°Your bonded familiar?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± I said.


    ¡°Aha!¡± said Baltae, startling me. The man was standing very close. ¡°Your familiar is the Delve Core from your first Delve. This explains how you control the Delve, and also why you had command over those mana monsters. But how did that happen? Wait, no...¡±


    The pages in Baltae¡¯s book flipped rapidly, though he didn¡¯t look at it. ¡°The reports we have state you were forced to bond with a young c¡¯thon after both of you were injured by the higher-grade c¡¯thon in your Creation Delve,¡± he said. ¡°No one questioned that, since c¡¯thons are notorious for consuming their own kind and will sometimes work in groups to kill a superior foe. They usually turn on one another immediately after, but that would have been prevented by the familiar bond, not that the latter is relevant at the moment.¡±


    He looked up at me, his eyes filled with an intense energy. He took another step closer, and he kept going. ¡°I assume that story is more or less accurate. We can simply replace the fledgling c¡¯thon with the core itself. The Delve was destroyed afterwards, which would normally result in the loss of the core, but it survived by attaching itself to you!¡±


    I reached out and placed a hand on Baltae¡¯s shoulder, then gently guided him back a step. ¡°Pretty much,¡± I said.


    Pio cleared her throat, and Baltae straightened. ¡°Apologies for the interruption, Captain,¡± he said smoothly, his prior frenetic attitude evaporating.


    ¡°Why did your familiar invite us to the Delve?¡± asked Pio.


    ¡°He is a Delve Core, so challenging Delvers is one of his primary motivations. For your team in particular, he also wanted to do some recon on your skills and abilities. Your party was acting as the face of the empire when giving us the invite to meet and greet, and he wanted to know your capabilities before we got any more involved.¡±


    ¡°Threat analysis,¡± said Madel. I was surprised to hear the quiet woman speak up.


    ¡°I won¡¯t deny it, but that¡¯s not all it was,¡± I said. ¡°If it was a trap, better safe than sorry. It was also a touch of talent scouting and a bit of general curiosity about Littan Delving methods.¡±


    Cezil crossed her arms and frowned. ¡°I feel like I should be upset about this, but I¡¯m not. We spied on him first.¡± She looked at Pio and sloppily stood at attention. ¡°Captain, will we be fighting Fortune¡¯s Folly now?¡±


    ¡°No, Cezil, we will not,¡± said Pio. Guar finally relaxed at that. ¡°Unless Major Tavio orders us to do so,¡± she added, glancing at the man. Guar tensed up again.


    Tavio pushed off from the bar top and shrugged. ¡°The empire is aware that Master Xor¡¯Drel controls a Delve, and has decided that it is not of our concern for the moment.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± I said. ¡°You already knew?¡±


    ¡°While the information on the interior of your Closet was sparse at first, we have since gathered many eyewitness accounts,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Your meeting with the Hiwardian nobility delivered a treasure trove of data for us to review, for example. Taken in conjunction with Team Pio¡¯s reports, it was not a difficult conclusion to reach. If Sergeant Baltae had access to half of what we now know, he would have realized it much sooner, but he is more focused on investigating Delves than people, so he did not need to know.¡±


    ¡°Then the empire takes no issue with Grotto luring¨C I mean, inviting Team Pio inside the Delve?¡±


    ¡°Why would we?¡± asked Tavio. ¡°If Delve Cores did not do as much, we would have no Delvers. From my perspective, you did us a favor by advancing Captain Pio¡¯s team to platinum.¡±


    The rest of the Littans exchanged looks as they considered that, and the last of their unspoken combat prep dissolved.


    What followed was a deluge of questions about Grotto, the Delve, the limits of the Closet, and a slew of complaints about Abyssal Gekkog ambushes.


    Captain Pio soon realized that my earlier reference to speaking with Yara dealt with Baltae¡¯s use of the celestial language inside the Delve. When I told her that Yara had negotiated with me over whether to answer Baltae¡¯s prayers, it sent her into another brief spiral. She recovered quicker than the last couple of times, as I suspected she was beginning to develop a resistance to our outlandish claims being proven true.


    That lasted until Baltae and Tavio began grilling me over whether I was actually from another planet and dimension. That one was still a step too far into the strange for the poor captain.


    Overall, the Littans seemed more curious than upset. Madel appeared the most put off by the fact that I¡¯d enticed her team into my Delve to observe them, but it was only a slight deviation from her default demeanor.


    After a couple of hours, we were interrupted when Tavio excused himself to speak with the birdplane pilot. He returned only a few moments later to give us an update.


    ¡°We have a minor problem,¡± he said to me before turning to Pio. ¡°Captain, we will need your flyers to be combat-ready in, say, thirty seconds?¡±

 Chapter 274: No Dog in This Fight

    Chapter 274: No Dog in This Fight


    Captain Pio turned to her crew and started speaking in rapid-fire Imperial. ¡°Baltae, Madel, you¡¯re up,¡± she said. ¡°Cezil, you¡¯re ride-along.¡±


    The team¡¯s entire demeanor shifted in an instant, and they sprang into action as their captain gave them their orders. Madel and Baltae both started pulling armor and equipment from their inventories while Cezil and Guar moved to help them gear up. Pio turned back to Tavio, standing at attention and giving the major her full focus.


    ¡°We have a large feeding party of Silica Swifts coming from the south,¡± said Tavio, his speaking cadence much quicker in his native tongue. ¡°A thousand, at least. They¡¯ve spotted our hammerhead and are on course to swarm us.¡±


    ¡°My estimate puts us around two hundred miles north of the mountains,¡± said Pio.


    ¡°That is correct,¡± said Tavio.


    ¡°Any idea why the Swifts are so far north?¡±


    ¡°No. This is the first I¡¯ve heard of it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s directly below us?¡± asked Pio.


    Tavio relayed the question to the bird handler up front, who shouted a response after a second. ¡°Speargarden,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Lieutenant Augustin has directed the hammerhead to start taking us directly southward.¡±


    ¡°Into the feeding party?¡± asked Pio.


    ¡°Yes, but it is the fastest way to get clear of any civilian populations.¡± He shrugged. ¡°It is not as though we could outrun the Swifts by heading in another direction. That is all for now, Captain.¡±


    Pio gave Tavio a quick nod, then turned back to her team. Baltae now wore a black leather coat that hung to his knees, glimmering with weaves in my mana sight. Under it was a tabard featuring imperial heraldry over a set of chainmail. Madel was head to toe in black leathers. A cape hung down to her calves, dyed the same shade of red that decorated Tavio¡¯s formal uniform. Madel and Baltae both had their faces fully obscured by dark helms, the top half made from rounded Madrin. The lower half was mail, descending from just below their eyes, which were protected by a tinted glassy material.


    They looked a lot


    more intimidating with their equipment on.


    The moment Madel had finished donning her helm, Cezil lifted Madel¡¯s cape and placed her hands on her sister¡¯s back. The feisty twin began to melt, her body deforming until she was flattened against the martial fighter and completely obscured by her twin¡¯s backwear.


    ¡°Madel, take point and try to clear the hammerhead¡¯s path,¡± Pio ordered. ¡°Cezil, bedlam strategy; we need to break up the swarm. Baltae, perimeter defense. Stay within fifty feet of our vessel.¡±


    Madel shot forward, streaking out of the Closet portal and into the birdplane. She rapidly undid several locks on the exterior door and slid it aside, releasing a gale of wind into the cabin as she bolted out into the sky. Baltae cast Telekinesis on himself and followed. The mage wasn¡¯t nearly as fast, but he was still quick enough to leave a healthy breeze in his wake.


    ¡°Guar, you and I will get up top and protect the hammerhead,¡± said Pio. ¡°It is a bad fight for us, but we will do what we can.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a learning opportunity, Captain,¡± said Guar, smiling as he pulled pieces of heavy plate from his inventory. Varrin went over and gestured at the armor, drawing a nod and another smile from Guar in return. The big guy immediately started helping the Littan into his gear with a fluid confidence born of deep expertise, enhanced by a shitload of Agility and Speed. Pio¡¯s armor wasn¡¯t nearly as involved, but a deft assist from Nuralie had her outfitted in a handful of seconds.


    The captain double-checked the fastenings on Guar¡¯s armor, then slapped him on the back once she was satisfied. The man¡¯s boot made a single loud clunk against the ground as he launched forward, and he was gone nearly as fast as Madel. Pio turned to the rest of us.


    ¡°My team should be able to handle this,¡± she said. ¡°Our parties have not had the opportunity to work together on group tactics, so my people will likely operate better solo for the moment. If things get spicy, we may request your participation.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll stay out of your way and keep our eyes open,¡± I said. Pio nodded, then spun and followed after her group in a blur.


    I shared a look with my party, and then we all broke out our own combat regalia. Varrin¡¯s armor simply appeared over his body, while Nuralie stepped out of a shadowy corner, already fully outfitted.


    Xim¡¯s newest armor set was made from a material called wyldweave, something that Ishi was happy to sell to us for an outrageous price, which could expand to accommodate the cleric¡¯s transformations. Conveniently, this also allowed it to expand wide enough for her to slide into it and then have it tighten to a snug fit. This let her gear up in about the same length of time it took for Etja to get equipped, whose modified Zng armor had been designed to break open and close around her in a matter of seconds.


    As for me, Grotto and I had come up with our own solution. I opened a secondary portal to the armory, revealing my prismatite and demon bone armor. Grotto used Animate Object to bring it to life, and I walked through the portal, allowing the various pieces to slide on and lock themselves in place. As the fastenings secured themselves, I continued walking and opened another portal, bringing me back to where I started. This let me don the full set of heavy plate in the time it took me to casually walk a few steps, but I was betting we could get that down even further.


    Six seconds after Pio was gone, my crew walked out to the main body of the bird-plane, fully suited and ready to throw down. Tavio was just sliding the door shut behind his people, and the sound of boots clunking against the top of our craft echoed through the cabin. He looked us over with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°That was fast,¡± he said. ¡°Master Xor¡¯Drel, you are welcome to join me up front. Apologies, but I do not think there will be room for everyone else.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said, monitoring Pio and Guar¡¯s souls through the ceiling while they got into position on either side of the hammerhead. ¡°Also, please feel free to call me Arlo.¡± R?a??§°B¦¥s?


    Tavio smiled and gave me a short bow. ¡°As you wish, Arlo. And there is, of course, no reason for you to refer to me by my rank. Just Tavio is fine for all of you.¡±


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    With that, Tavio turned to move up next to the surly man directing the hammerhead, a Level 3 Copper whose name was apparently Lieutenant Augustin. I¡¯d introduced myself and tried to get his name when I loaded in, but the guy really didn¡¯t seem to want to talk to me. There was only the one seat up front, but Tavio squeezed in on the man¡¯s right. I was a bit too bulky in my armor, so I settled for kneeling just behind and to the lieutenant¡¯s left. There were no windows in the rear cabin, so I used Reveal to start sharing everything I could see with the party.


    The entire front of the craft was made of mana-woven glass, even the floor beneath the pilot. His seat was suspended in the middle, small and low profile, to give him a good view. There were no traditional controls, but a thin thread of spiritual mana rose up to connect him to the hammerhead above, while several more stretched out to the various devices around him. I assumed the actual flight controls were handled through a psychic bond, with the hammerhead taking orders.


    While there wasn¡¯t anything to steer the vehicle, there was an angled display with an illusory map crawling past, showing the topography below us. Along the windshields, there were a few floating markers with unfamiliar abbreviations next to them. They looked like indicators for direction and important nearby landmarks. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything marking our altitude, making me think that the hammerhead took care of that itself.


    There was also a slate mounted to the right of the map, reminiscent of the kind Grotto used and which Hiwardian slates were based on, but this one had its own proprietary Littan flair. It was bulkier than the others I¡¯d seen, and the text ticked by in irregular stutters rather than flowing smoothly downward. All of it was coded, so I had no idea what any of it said. The whole device looked a lot tougher than what the Hiwardians used, and the text¡¯s movement appeared to be based on the pilot¡¯s mana input.


    There was another, narrower panel on the map¡¯s left, showing a series of four-letter codes with percentages next to them: STBL 33%, MMTM 33%, PHDR 34%, CHIP 91%. All of the text was in Imperial standard, of course, which was only moderately useful to me in interpreting the military gibberish. I figured the final label referred to how much mana was left in the vessel¡¯s mana chips, and had some ideas for what the others were abbreviations for. I didn¡¯t give it too much thought, figuring I might find out whether I was right soon enough.


    My overall impression of the cockpit was that it looked out of place compared to most of what I¡¯d seen around Arzia. There were plenty of things I¡¯d found inside Delves that looked pretty technologically advanced, but this was one of the more impressive examples of magi-tech I¡¯d seen in use outside of a System-run facility. I refrained from commenting on it, since both Tavio and the pilot were wholly focused on what was ahead of us.


    I peered out with them to see a mass of souls that was momentarily confusing. They didn¡¯t seem to be attached to anything, like the sky was filled with a swarm of invisible monsters. After a second or two, Madel blasted by, a few hundred feet ahead of us, swinging weapons fast enough to create audible snaps through the air. Each strike used a new armament, and each hit was accompanied by a dagger that shot out to pierce an unseen target. As she did her flyby, the air was filled with glittering fragments of falling crystal.


    I then realized that the creatures were entirely transparent. I focused until I could see the warped outlines of the Silica Swifts, creating a barely visible distortion in the air as a large group of them swung around to follow after Madel. Despite the Littan soaring through the air at several hundred miles per hour, the creatures in her wake were able to keep up, and even gain on the woman.


    The name of these mana monsters suddenly made a lot of sense, and a quick identify told me more about what we were dealing with.


    Silica Swift: Avian, Grade 10


    I frowned and scanned a few more of the nearly invisible birds, seeing that their grades mostly ranged from five to eleven, although I spotted one that was grade thirteen. That was alarming for a few reasons.


    While a flock of enemies this powerful wouldn¡¯t be out of place within a Delve, there was rarely enough mana to sustain higher-grade creatures on the surface. A team of low-level Delvers would be needed to handle a small handful of the weaker grades that I saw, and this number of birds wouldn¡¯t fit in anybody¡¯s hand, unless it was the size of a container ship. In fact, Tavio¡¯s estimate of a thousand seemed a little light.


    Based on the brief exchange between Tavio and Pio, it didn¡¯t sound like they¡¯d thought a group this large was unusual. What was extraordinary was how far they¡¯d traveled outside of their normal habitat. The southern Littan mountains sat about fifty miles north of the border to the Forest, creating a natural barrier between the empire and the monster-infested wildlands. For whatever reason, the Silica Swifts had decided to range farther north, despite the lower mana density.


    The reason this was odd was that mana monsters needed mana to live, and migrating to a lower density region would cause them to slowly starve. Most could sustain themselves on ambient mana alone, but when there wasn¡¯t enough in the environment, they went looking for it in other places. Between our hammerhead, which was itself a graded creature, and our tin can full of Delvers, we probably looked like a pretty tasty snack.


    That was lucky for the civilians below us, since one of these Swifts could probably chow down on an entire city full of mundane people and what meager mana their bodies had to offer; people who could do nothing to stop them. It was simultaneously unlucky for the birds, since they were probably about to choke on their Delver entre?e.


    Again, I kept my commentary to myself so the Littans could focus. Madel did several more loops around in front of us, shattering a score of birds with each pass as she dodged and teleported around dozens more that tried to skewer her with long, narrow beaks. She trailed another hundred of the Swifts behind her, but it was less than a tenth of the enemy. That left more than a thousand for the rest of her team to intercept as they screamed towards our hammerhead.


    The lead birds were less than a second from intercept when a swell of Dimensional mana filled the air ahead of us.


    ¡°Dive,¡± Tavio ordered.


    Our vessel angled down fast enough to send us into free fall, barely avoiding the vanguard of Swifts that blasted through our position. Several adjusted course to plummet in time with us, when Baltae¡¯s Suction Bomb imploded amidst the birds. Space warped in on itself and yanked our pursuers backwards, crushing dozens of the Swifts into the spell¡¯s center and shattering their glassy bodies.


    We kept diving, the hammerhead propelling us faster towards the ground until I was forced to grip a strut to keep from falling up, which was now the back of the vessel where my portal was. That was pretty wild, considering the vessel had mana weaves to counteract those kinds of forces. The majority of the horde broke around Baltae¡¯s AoE and followed us down, closing the distance with ease.


    A series of golden hammers shot up into the sky as Guar unleashed blessed copies of his weapon. The blunt instrument shattered the creatures like a sledgehammer through delicate ice sculptures, each projectile breaking through to the birds behind. Even so, the Swifts parted to let the hammers pass, losing no more than a few to each throw.


    While the pack trailing us filled the sky with their soul halos, nearly half of the birds had remained high above, moving in chaotic spirals around one another. As I watched, one Swift¡¯s life was snuffed out, that section of the swarm reoriented itself on us, then quickly halted to start attacking another of their number. Cezil was rapid-firing berserk spells, and while she wasn¡¯t netting a lot of kills with the maneuver, she was keeping a huge fraction of the feeding party tied up while they fought their own turncoat members.


    ¡°Momentum weave¡¯s too much of a drain,¡± said Lieutenant Augustin. ¡°Killing it.¡± The pilot reached out to the left side display and flicked open a panel next to MMTM. I glanced at the readout next to CHIP and saw that it had dropped to 78%.


    Tavio turned and shouted, ¡°Prepare for the floor to give you a hug!¡±


    Lieutenant Augustin yanked a metallic cylinder out from behind the panel, the percentage next to MMTM dropped to zero, and the weaves keeping us safe from most of the G-forces disappeared.


    Then the hammerhead pulled up.

 Chapter 275: Fight or Flight

    Chapter 275: Fight or Flight


    As the hammerhead we were attached to pulled up faster than any organism of its size had any right to do, everyone in the cabin went from the weightless sensation of freefall, straight into an upward turn that easily exceeded ten Gs. From my kneeling position behind the pilot, this actually put a bit of strain on my posture, and I had to brace myself with a hand against the ground.


    This also led me to consider the relationship between magic and these types of forces. I had an evolution called Bolt that allowed me to go from a complete standstill, to my maximum movement speed in an instant. Given that my maximum movement speed was several hundred miles per hour¨Cin the right conditions¨Cthat was a hell of a lot of acceleration, which should result in a hell of a lot of g-forces. However, when I used that evo to move, my body wasn¡¯t strained in the way it was here.


    I had to assume the difference between those scenarios was that I wasn¡¯t currently flexing my mana matrix to cause my sudden change in velocity. Bolt presumably protected me, or even outright negated the forces that my body would normally be under when doing zero to four hundred in a fraction of a second. When something external was responsible for that change, my body had to deal with the natural repercussions.


    Because of this, I could likely use Therianthropy to ¡®fly¡¯ inside the cabin and keep from getting squashed if the downward pressure became too high, but that would have been overkill. My Strength and Fortitude were good enough to ignore the rough treatment, and my general inhuman physiology helped keep my blood where it needed to be. That wasn¡¯t necessarily the case for everyone else. After the momentum weave had been deactivated, there was a split second as the bird pulled out of its dive, where everyone was hit with the full force of the turn.


    Varrin barely noticed, and in fact the man stood rooted to one spot with the barest movement of his hips to keep his center of balance. Xim could also handle the swing, although she had a hand on a supporting strut, which deformed slightly in her grip. Nuralie¡¯s knees buckled immediately, and Etja shot towards the ground and rear of the craft, but the mage was quick enough to catch them both with Siphon before any damage was done.


    I went down a rabbit hole thinking about how her spell was negating the force. Siphon was a Dimensional spell, allowing Etja to use it to completely rework local space¡¯s frame of reference for gravity and momentum. If she¡¯d been generating a countervailing gravitational pull, that might have done more harm than good by compounding the pull from two directions. If she¡¯d been reducing their mass, it would have fucked with all sorts of physiological processes. A heart suddenly pumping blood that was nearly massless would probably lead to some kind of internal explosion. Etja neatly side-stepped those issues by informing reality that both she and Nuralie were simply somewhere else, where these types of forces weren¡¯t in play.


    I let one chain of thought continue thinking about cute ways that skill could be further exploited while my main mind observed the Littans work.


    Tavio took the turn with about as much reaction as Xim, bracing himself against the wall with little effort. The pilot¡¯s seat was clearly designed for this kind of thing, although the lieutenant himself looked a little worse for wear. The Copper 3¡¯s face drooped, and I could see the man¡¯s core working furiously to force his blood to keep pumping to his brain. I didn¡¯t think he was too close to passing out, but I also didn¡¯t think the man was going to be working at peak performance while his body weight was in the four-figure range.


    ¡°Mind if Etja helps out Lieutenant Augustin?¡± I asked, breaking my silence. Tavio¡¯s eyes darted back to the mage, then to the pilot, and he gave me a quick nod. Etja quickly spread Siphon to include the lieutenant, and the man nearly choked when he suddenly no longer had to fight against the elephant on his chest.


    ¡°This feels very strange,¡± he muttered as he blinked a few times and scanned his instruments.


    The Swifts that had followed us down had no trouble following our maneuver, but a swath of souls was snuffed out behind us as another well of Dimensional mana from Baltae caught the swarm. Overhead, I saw a hundred threads of Spiritual mana spread out from one of the Swifts under the effects of Berserk, until the spell exploded out from the afflicted bird, latching onto all the rest. That section of the flock became a total free-for-all.


    Above us, I could feel both Guar and Pio laying down skills to protect the hammerhead, although I couldn¡¯t make out exactly what they were doing with Soul-Sight and my mana sense alone. Dozens of the Swifts had made it close enough for an assault, but they seemed to focus on Pio while Guar cleared them away with throws of his massive weapon.


    Our hammerhead leveled out from its climb as Madel came back into view, sweeping through the birds ahead of us. She suddenly kicked up her speed to a level I could barely follow and stopped just ahead of us. She turned her head to look back towards Pio as the pair shared a psychic communication. Suddenly, all the nearby Swifts shifted to attack Guar. Then, a crackling blue energy covered Madel¡¯s body and she shot back out into the feeding party.


    Madel angled herself toward the thickest grouping of Swifts, drawing in a dozen to swoop towards her with their penetrating beaks. She disappeared, and arcs of azure lightning spread out from where she¡¯d just been, striking and shattering most of the would-be attackers. Madel reappeared a hundred feet to the west, cutting down two more birds and luring more to their crackling deaths. She couldn¡¯t avoid every attack, but the few Swifts that struck were rebuffed by a potent layer of Shielding.


    It was an impressive display, made more impressive when she starting shooting out fucking lasers.


    Madel hurled a throwing dagger between nearly every other attack that she made, the action so quick as to be nearly imperceptible. While these were normally single-target projectiles, I¡¯d seen her throw a fan of illusory knives on occasion. Now, however, each dagger detonated into a beam of blue-white light the moment it left her grip. There was a concentrated flash that extended out two hundred feet, its full length appearing all at once and skewering through anything in its path.


    The beam was narrow, and each attack only managed to shatter a couple of birds with direct hits. However, if the attack even grazed one of the Swifts, its transparent form lit up with a dense blue flame. I watched as a thick layer of frost formed on one of the flaming birds, sending it tumbling out of the sky for a few seconds before its entire body was reduced to a frigid mist, swept away into the wind.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    So, like, ice lasers?


    Madel¡¯s maelstrom of death continued, the shorter lasers occasionally punctuated by a beam that stretched for nearly a thousand feet when she pulled out a hand crossbow to unload. The woman was killing at least ten birds every second between her nonstop melee attacks, bursts of arctic light, and deadly blue lightning counterattacks. She was definitely showing off a lot of moves I hadn¡¯t seen before, and I was pretty sure she hadn¡¯t used any sort of fusion with her twin to make it happen. Madel just had a bag of new tricks. R??A?????o?B?S


    As for Cezil¡¯s contribution, it wasn¡¯t limited to sending a significant chunk of the feeding party into a berserker rage. There was an even more insidious effect that I¡¯d seen her use in my Delve, but it was invisible to me here. However, it wasn¡¯t invisible to Xim, who pointed it out over our psychic party chat.


    With every spell that Cezil threw, she applied multiple stacks of Cursed, which weakened her targets across the board for just about everything, from attack to their ability to stay agile and dodge hits. These Cursed stacks then spread like Xim¡¯s Ignite status, afflicting all the nearby Swifts, who went on to spread it again to any other bird they flew near. Given how the mass of Swifts was constantly churning on itself, Cursed was quickly infecting the entire horde of enemies.


    The twins slaughtered and weakened the Swifts, keeping a winding path clear for us out front as Lieutenant Augustin directed the hammerhead in a series of evasive maneuvers. We pitched forcefully from side to side, moving in and out of dives and quick arcs. Baltae trapped any Swifts that swarmed from the back or flanks with Spatial attacks, while any bird that assaulted from above was corralled by Pio, who I assumed was spamming a wide-range taunt ability. Once she¡¯d gathered more Swifts than she could handle, Madel would retreat from the front and blast by.


    While Madel carved up a few of the birds harassing her captain, I noticed a sudden burst of Spiritual mana around Guar, and all of the Swifts would shift targets to their party¡¯s main tank. Guar¡¯s normal mode of drawing aggro wasn¡¯t very effective in this fight, so Pio was gathering the birds close, and Cezil would drop a spell on Guar that drew all the attention over to him once enough had been collected. Shortly after that, all the birds would die as Guar hit them with a close-range AoE.


    When I first saw how many enemies there were, I¡¯d thought my group would need to get involved. However, in under a minute, a full third of the Swifts had been annihilated, and as far as I could tell, neither the hammerhead nor our vehicle had taken any damage at all. The Littans wove their abilities between one another like a well-choreographed dance, instantly adapting to changes in the fight with the ease of experienced professionals who knew each other intimately.


    I was surprised that the fight was so clean, but not too surprised given what I¡¯d seen from Team Pio in the past. What was more surprising was how the birds began to behave once a few hundred of them had been laid low.


    They ran away.


    ¡°Feeding party is breaking,¡± said Lieutenant Augustin. The bird-handler let out a heavy breath, and some of the tension drained from his posture. ¡°I¡¯d have been monster food if we were flying with my normal batch of silvers.¡±


    I looked at the souls around us, seeing the Swifts abandoning their assault to form smaller flocks and make a beeline directly away from our group. Madel followed behind the largest flight and continued to harass them.


    ¡°I will tell Captain Pio that her team¡¯s drinks are on you when we get to Krimsim,¡± said Tavio, patting the man on the shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need a raise before I can agree to that, sir,¡± said Augustin with half a grin. ¡°The drinks are not cheap on the frontier.¡±


    ¡°I can put in a recommendation. You did a good job keeping your head.¡± That caused the lieutenant to relax even further, and the man refocused on his instruments.


    I pointed out through the windshields at one of the escaping groups of birds. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen mana monsters run like that,¡± I said.


    ¡°That is because you have only seen them in Delves,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Out here, the beasts will act more like any other wild animal. They can be quite aggressive, but if the battle is not in their favor, they will run to try for easier prey.¡± He scratched his jaw. ¡°I am surprised they did not flee sooner, honestly.¡±


    Varrin stepped up behind me and bent over to catch a glimpse out the front. ¡°Will we be giving chase?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Madel will spend the day hunting,¡± said Tavio. ¡°The Swifts can outrun our hammerhead, so she is the best choice. There are riders in Krimsim who can be sent out for cleanup. As soon as we are in range¨C¡±


    Tavio paused when a visible ripple passed through the air, causing the cabin to rattle and vibrate.


    ¡°Sir,¡± said the lieutenant, ¡°I do not know what that was, but the hammerhead did not like¨C¡±


    Another pulse rumbled through us. The cabin shook as we lost some altitude. In every direction, the souls that had been scattering all suddenly oriented themselves southeast, their chaotic escape forgotten as they began migrating like they were of one mind.


    ¡°I have lost connection to the hammerhead,¡± said the lieutenant. He reached out and grabbed the slate, looking over a few rows of text that flickered by. Then he sat back and moved his hands through the air in front of him. Spirals of Spiritual mana rolled off his fingertips, snaking upward to the bird above, but they fell and wafted away after a moment like severed strands of spider silk.


    ¡°Are you being blocked?¡± asked Tavio. ¡°Countermagic?¡±


    ¡°No, sir, the bird is refusing the connection.¡±


    ¡°What is this hammerhead¡¯s nesting point?¡±


    ¡°Krimsim,¡± said the lieutenant. ¡°It should take us straight there if the spell is severed, but its mind became very strange just before my skill failed.¡±


    ¡°Everything¡¯s heading southeast,¡± I said. ¡°The Swifts, and us as well.¡±


    Tavio looked out the window at the Swifts, all of which had overtaken and passed us. ¡°Hmm. Perhaps we are all heading to Krimsim.¡± He turned back to Lieutenant Augustin. ¡°How long until we are in range for communication with the slate?¡±


    ¡°At least an hour, sir,¡± he replied. ¡°Assuming the hammerhead continues pushing itself like this, and that it continues directly to the city.¡±


    One edge of Tavio¡¯s mouth turned down. ¡°Then the Swifts may get there ahead of any warning we can give. I could send Madel ahead of us, but she can probably kill most of the remaining creatures if she continues to give chase.¡±


    ¡°I think I can help with that,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh?¡± said Tavio. ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Slate communication piggybacks on Delve tech,¡± I answered. ¡°The System has reach to most places in Arzia, so I can have Grotto relay the signal on the main network.¡± I gestured out of the window. ¡°Or my party can help finish off the birds.¡±


    ¡°Using this ¡®main network¡¯ raises some security concerns,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Still, perhaps you should assist us with both. Before that, we can¨C¡±


    Another pulse rippled through the air, and the hammerhead decided that it needed to start moving faster. Of course, the easiest way for it to do so was to drop weight.


    Our birdplane lost its bird, and we went back into freefall.

 Chapter 276: Biiiiiirdmaaaaaaan!

    Chapter 276: Biiiiiirdmaaaaaaan!


    I still had Reveal transmitting to the party when I felt the hammerhead¡¯s soul pull away from us, allowing Varrin to get an instant understanding of what I wanted to do. Without any other prelude, I used Shortcut to take the pair of us to the top of the falling craft. Varrin tucked his arms beneath the large metal loop that the hammerhead had been using to grip the vehicle, catching the slightly drool-covered bar in the crook of his elbows.


    The big guy flew forward, easily hefting the cabin, pulling us out of our dive, and getting us back up to speed. We¡¯d replaced the elephant-sized falcon that had abandoned us in a couple of seconds, and our Ravvenblaq stand-in was a decidedly more handsome type of bird. He¡¯d be a lot faster as well.


    Both Pio and Guar were still atop the cabin, their boots tucked into smaller metal loops that helped keep them in place against the wind and movement. Baltae swept in close as well, and I pointed at myself, then at the three of them, and then down at the cabin below. I had no idea if they understood what I was trying to get across, but Pio nodded, and I activated Shortcut while trying to bring the three of them along with me.


    They accepted the teleport, and the four of us appeared back inside the craft, where it was starting to get pretty crowded again.


    Pio looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Is... Lord Ravvenblaq now carrying us?¡± she asked.


    ¡°He sure is,¡± I said.


    ¡°What in the hells is his Strength score?¡±


    ¡°Pretty sure he just got it to seventy.¡±


    ¡°S-seventy?¡± stuttered Baltae. ¡°Why would he place half of his points in one attribute?¡±


    Tavio stood from his place next to the pilot and turned towards us. ¡°I doubt that Lord Ravvenblaq has placed half of his points into Strength,¡± he said. ¡°But the reasoning for his attribute spread is immaterial at the moment. Sergeant Baltae, can you identify the phenomenon we just experienced?¡±


    ¡°The unusual pressure waves?¡± asked Baltae, eliciting a nod from Tavio. The mage¡¯s floating grimoire began flipping wildly through its pages while Baltae looked thoughtful. ¡°There is nothing that matches it exactly within the unclassified sections of the Imperial Library.¡±


    ¡°You just read through an entire library?¡± I asked, unable to help myself.


    ¡°I have most of it memorized,¡± Baltae replied, matter-of-factly. ¡°As for the rest of it, yes. In regard to the pulses, given how they impacted the nearby mana monsters, the effect resembles a variety of alpha-type vocalizations.¡±


    ¡°Assembly calls?¡± asked Tavio.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Baltae. ¡°Needless to say, the scale of what we just observed is much larger than normal.¡±


    Pio shook her head. ¡°It affected multiple species,¡± she said. ¡°Silica Swifts and hammerheads do not flock together, nor do they share territory.¡±


    ¡°They are both avian monster types,¡± said Baltae. ¡°They both originate from the Forest. Regardless of how many similarities they do or do not share, you cannot deny that they are both now migrating in the same direction.¡±


    Tavio made a disgruntled chittering noise. ¡°There are Delver abilities that could be responsible as well,¡± he said. ¡°Let us hope that is not the case. A Delver who can command this number of mana monsters from many miles away would be a much greater threat than an undocumented alpha with broadly applicable vocalizations.¡± He then gestured at me. ¡°There is also the possibility of an avatar, but we have no evidence that is the case, nor any profiles on an avatar with this type of ability.¡±


    I was glad that Tavio was the one to put that thought to words. I didn¡¯t want my group to become the party that cried ¡°Avatar.¡±


    ¡°Orders?¡± asked Pio.


    Tavio looked to me. ¡°How fast can Lord Ravvenblaq fly while carrying this thing?¡±


    ¡°Several times faster than the hammerhead, assuming the cabin can hold itself together,¡± I said. ¡°Honestly, he might not even notice the weight.¡±


    Xim added, ¡°Even if this thing falls apart, we can swap to the Closet-harness method.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d prefer to keep my dignity in front of our hosts,¡± I said. ¡°And I¡¯m betting that between Baltae and Etja, they can keep this rig in one piece.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Arlo, please have Lord Ravvenblaq bring us level with the Silica Swifts and match their speed.¡± Varrin and I were still linked up through Reveal, so we immediately started accelerating. Tavio¡¯s eyes flicked upward for a second before he continued. ¡°Everyone who can engage with flying enemies will cull the flock as quickly as possible, which I am requesting your party¡¯s assistance with as well. I will also accept your offer to connect our slate through the System¡¯s network. Once the Swifts are dealt with, we will reevaluate based on what we learn through the slate, but I expect we will need to haul our tails towards Krimsim as fast as possible.¡±


    ¡°Sir,¡± Pio acknowledged with a nod.


    ¡°Happy to help,¡± I said, before swapping to psychic comms with Grotto. ¡°Paying attention to all that?¡±


    [I have a sub-core continuously monitoring all of your activities and biological functions. Even if I actively filtered the information, it would take milliseconds to ingest it.


    ]


    ¡°Right. Anyway, mind giving these guys an uplink?¡±


    [I do, but given that you have already offered the Littans this solution, I will oblige.]


    ¡°Thanks, bud.¡±


    There was a startled shout from up front. ¡°Major!¡± said Lieutenant Augustin. ¡°I am being targeted by a psychic attack of some kind!¡±


    ¡°Grotto...¡±


    [It is not an attack! Attacks deal damage. I am simply using the most convenient route to establish a connection to their slate.]


    ¡°That¡¯s just Grotto!¡± I shouted back to the pilot. ¡°Sorry, he can be a little bit...¡±


    ¡°Of an asshole?¡± suggested Xim.


    ¡°He¡¯s using your brain to access the slate,¡± I said. Tavio squinted at me, and I raised my hands. ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t ask him to do it that way.¡±


    ¡°I no longer have control of our slate, Major!¡±


    ¡°Stay calm, Lieutenant,¡± said Tavio. ¡°If you start losing health, or if any sensitive information is being accessed, let me know.¡±


    [As if they could tell that I was accessing ¡®sensitive information¡¯.] I felt a hint of scheming through our psychic link. [Would you like for me to access any of their sensitive information?]


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Please play nice.¡±


    [Very well. I will refrain from engaging in light espionage, but only because you asked politely.]


    I pretended that Grotto didn¡¯t just inquire as to whether I wanted to commit any international crimes and turned to my group.


    ¡°Anybody want to stay down here?¡± I asked. Nuralie looked a little hesitant, but everyone was on board for some bird slaughter. I shot Captain Pio a questioning glance.


    ¡°I will remain below,¡± she said. ¡°Baltae, Guar, assist Fortune¡¯s Folly outside.¡±


    Guar shifted his hammer on his shoulder. ¡°My grandpa used to take me dove hunting as a pup,¡± he said. ¡°This is making me nostalgic.¡±


    ¡°Noted,¡± I said, then teleported all six of us back outside without waiting for any more childhood anecdotes. I briefly used Gracorvus to stabilize myself while tucking my feet into a pair of bootholds I¡¯d seen the Littans using to keep from getting blown away. Madel was still cruising through the birds, taking them down at a much more casual pace than she had been. The Swifts would attack when she got close, but were no longer swarming. Varrin already had us flying close to one flock, and I quickly started assigning targeting priority.


    ¡°Nuralie, focus on distant stragglers and small groups. Xim, use Ignite where they¡¯re most crowded to spread the love around. Etja, kill anything at range that the two of them aren¡¯t killing. Varrin, I¡¯m gonna turn this birdless birdplane into a weapon of violence against birds, so feel free to ram us into some.¡±


    I withdrew one of my Acacia Wands of Elemental Reservoir and used it as a spell focus for casting Elemental Barrier, granting the spell a small damage buff. I selected the Cold damage type since it seemed to work out well for Madel, and it triggered my Arcane Geometry evolution to let me shape the spell to flow around my allies for free, keeping them safe from its effects.


    Then, I went through a rotation of additional mana shapes, exploiting their range conversions to give the skill a massive boost to its size. Mystical Magic gave me some improved efficiency when shaping this way, but it still inflated the spell¡¯s cost from twenty mana up to one hundred and thirty-five. The trade-off was that the spell now had four times its normal radius.


    Usually, I¡¯d consider this an egregious waste of mana, but Elemental Barrier¡¯s primary weakness of being stationary was negated since I could slap it down onto the cabin itself. Elemental Barrier was also a fire-and-forget type of spell. Once I put it out there, it didn¡¯t take any upkeep to maintain other than one instance of focus, which I was happy to dedicate towards giving us an endless flying AoE of frosty death.


    I activated the spell, and for sixty-eight feet in all directions, the air was filled with pulsing waves of lethal cold. It fully encompassed the cabin and even caught a few nearby Swifts when it activated, smashing them out to the barrier¡¯s edges and shattering their crystalline forms. The chunks fell away like glittering lumps of hail.


    ¡°Oh, also, the hammerhead is Littan military property, so we should definitely avoid killing it. Watch your crossfire.¡±


    Guar observed the pulsing barrier surrounding us for a moment, holding out an arm and watching it curl around his body to avoid him. He grinned, then let the wind carry him to the back of the birdplane, snagging a pair of bootholds before he started hucking giant golden hammers at anything that came within his range. Baltae went back to his normal point-defense circuit, but he had to fly a little farther out since my Barrier took up all the space he was originally guarding. Madel was still out there hacking away at shit, and then the rest of my crew got involved.


    Varrin hit the gas and took the plane directly through a nearby flock, crashing through them with Elemental Barrier. The spell pulsed in response, shattering the birds and casting the fragments aside. Xim dropped Judgment on a more distant group, the crimson column piercing through the flock from top to bottom and beginning a chain reaction as her Ignite began to spread, then she immediately dropped Judgment on the next crowd of birds.


    Nuralie had her feet tucked into a pair of loops like myself, but the rest of her body above the ankle was translucent as she made herself incorporeal to avoid being kicked around by the wind. She sniped at stragglers, a steady rhythm of arrows unerringly seeking their targets and dropping them in one hit. Meanwhile, Etja kept herself stable with Siphon while she continuously fired off a pair of death beams, which exploded when they hit their target, disintegrating everything nearby.


    I had my hammer out, prepared to start throwing a rain of duplicates, but as I watched the massacre, I let it drop to my side. There was no reason to waste the stamina. Baltae eventually had a similar realization and came to land next to me on the plane, locking himself in place with Telekinesis.


    We watched the absolute destruction of the Swifts in silence for a moment. That is, we watched it amidst the deafening roar of wind tearing past us at peak hurricane speeds, but no words were exchanged. Eventually, Baltae tapped the side of his helm and made an inquisitive gesture. I asked Grotto to add him to a psychic channel.


    ¡°On a scale from one to ten, how serious is your party being right now?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯d give this a three?¡± I thought back to him.


    He crossed his arms and tilted his head to one side. ¡°What does a ten look like?¡±


    ¡°Given how much we¡¯ve improved recently, I have no fucking clue.¡±


    ¡°I see. Perhaps if I stick around long enough, we will get to witness it together.¡±


    ¡°Careful what you wish for, Sergeant Baltae,¡± I thought back to him.The man chuckled. He may not have realized I was being serious.


    ¡°If I may ask,¡± he thought, ¡°why does the System display Level 16 when I inspect you, when that is clearly not the case?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an interesting way to phrase that question,¡±


    I replied. ¡°Historically, people just ask, ¡®How are your attributes so high?!¡¯¡±


    ¡°That is the crux of the issue, yes. Lord Ravvenblaq appears to have a Speed of at least 40 based on how fast we are moving and other factors. If he also has a Strength of 70 as you have said, then that would leave only thirty-six points for him to distribute elsewhere. However, he also appears to have a rather high Agility score based on¨C¡±


    ¡°Let me stop you there,¡± I thought to the mage. ¡°I trust that you¡¯ve got plenty of evidence gathered to support your theory, and I¡¯m happy to confirm it. We¡¯ve got more attributes than we should for Level 16. As for why our Level still says 16, it¡¯s more or less the correct number based on how the System tracks Levels, which is different from how most people believe the System tracks Levels.¡±


    ¡°Ah. The typical method is by total attributes gained...¡± Baltae replied, trailing off in thought. ¡°But it also corresponds to total Delves undertaken. Delves are the only known way to gain attribute points, but if that were not the case, then one could undertake Delves to gain Levels, while gaining attributes externally without increasing those Levels, thus resulting in greater attribute scores than expected for any given Delver Level.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you got it on the first try.¡±


    ¡°Curious. I wonder what Delver Level is intended to measure, then. Experience?¡±


    ¡°At this point, it almost feels like an intentional misdirect,¡± I replied. ¡°For example, this is my Delve record.¡± I sent him the part of my status screen that showed a breakdown of the Delves I¡¯d undertaken.


    Delver Level: 16


    Delve Record: 16 Platinum (modified from 10)


    Special Delves: 2


    ¡°What is this modifier?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The second Special Delve we did gave us six Levels by the end of it. We¡¯ve only done ten actual Platinum Delves, but our Level still says 16. That doesn¡¯t follow the total Delves to total Levels formula. If anything, Delver Level is a record of the quantity of mana infusions you¡¯ve received directly from the System.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating.¡± Baltae went silent for a few seconds while the bird slaughter continued around us.


    ¡°Not going to ask how we did it?¡±


    He glanced up from his pondering. ¡°That feels like a useless question. Either you have no desire to share the method, or it is something that is not widely applicable. Otherwise, why would you not distribute the process? Your party seems to be quite open about what others would keep as closely guarded secrets.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s impractical,¡± I replied. ¡°One method is extremely difficult and dangerous. The second method is extremely dangerous, difficult, and expensive, but... we might be figuring out a way around that.¡± Baltae nodded, but didn¡¯t press the issue, which I found refreshing. I decided to change the topic and see if Baltae could help me with one of the problems I¡¯d been working on. ¡°Say, do you know of any good Intelligence-based healing skills?¡±

 Chapter BOOK 2 IS LIVE ON AMAZON KINDLE/KU

    Chapter BOOK 2 IS LIVE ON AMAZON KINDLE/KU


    Hey there folks. Today is the day! Book 2 is oot and aboot on Amazon.


    If you are an audiobook enjoyer, I am told it will be available next week. I believe the 85% Audible megasale had some impact on its release timing there.


    You guys killed it with the book 1 launch; the support was insane. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going with book 2.


    There are, as always, a couple of free ways to support the release! Every person who gets involved makes a measurable difference:


    You can download it for free with a KU sub. Every download counts as a sale, so even if you have no intention of re-reading book 2, just clicking the download helps with visibility and rank.


    Leave a 5-star Amazon review, even if you don''t buy it there. You can rate and review without owning it.


    Updoot my shit on Reddit. I''ll be making some posts. I don''t have links yet, but if you see em in the progfantasy or LitRPG subreddits, please give the doot. It''s very helpful.


    Additional rewards info:


    Top 5k: Self explanatory


    Top 2.5k: We have an entire TTRPG ruleset that governs a lot of what you see on the page. It''s big, it''s well-developed, you can make fully realized characters and kick ass. Right now it''s available on Patreon to paid members. We''ll make it public for a month so anyone interested can grab the pdfs.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Top 1k: Sometimes I need a break from Mage Tank to write something else and stir my creative juices in a different way. When I do, I end up coming back with more zeal and fresh ideas. My main outlet is a fic called [Handyman] Heroslayer. It has not been seen by any but my writing group. I''ll publish the first ten chapters and make them available for free on Patreon. It''s darker, bloodier, and has a similar System but more streamlined overall.


    Top 750: RR and Patreon will each choose an existing side-character to feature in an addendum. These will be published as bonus chapters on a Tuesday as they are created. The addendums will relate to the plot in some important way, so they won''t be fluff or filler episodes.


    Go ahead, try and pick a character that doesn''t seem plot relevant. We''ll make it work. Haven''t seen Seinnador in a while... What about that Delver that rode a giant Divine hand around in book 1? What could she possibly have to do with the current world events? You can find out, if you want.


    Top 500: Eldritch options in the art commission rounds were pretty much always number two. We like em. We wanna make em. Become an enabler.


    Top 250: We will hire professional musician(s) to create a heavy metal version of one of the JRQ or other Eldritch poems.


    Top 100: I''ll drop a gift link that gives one hundred people a free sub to the main tier of the Patreon. It''ll be in the pre-chapter author note on a regularly scheduled chapter. Probably the one immediately after this rank gets reached.


    Download with a KU sub, drop a 5-star rating on Amazon for free, mention Mage Tank when you randomly overhear your non-LitRPG reading coworkers talking about DCC, which is a weird thing to happen but it literally happened to my wife, so I dunno.


    Anyway, you guys killed it with the book 1 release and I''m really looking forward to seeing how book 2 does as well.


    Hope you''re having a delectable week.

 Chapter 277: Active Forgery

    Chapter 277: Active Forgery


    ¡°For you, or someone else?¡± Baltae asked.


    ¡°For myself,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Forgive me if I am mistaken, but is Fortitude not your highest attribute?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°Healing skills that key off of Intelligence are typically spells. Why spend your mana to heal when you could spend stamina instead?¡± He gestured at the Elemental Barrier batting more Swifts out of the sky as Varrin rammed into them. ¡°After all, you have need of your mana for other things.¡±


    ¡°Varrin suggested Second Wind to me a while ago, but the rate of exchange isn¡¯t great, and the cooldown is too high.¡± I glanced at the text of the technique.


    Second Wind


    Physical


    Cost: Variable stamina


    Requirements: Physical Magic


    Cooldown: 1 hour


    You can spend any amount of stamina to heal for an amount of HP equal to five times the stamina spent.


    Even with my doubled healing from Body of Asclepius, the one-to-ten exchange of stamina to health still wasn¡¯t attractive enough when limited by such a high cooldown. My cooldown reduction would drop the time between uses to a little under forty minutes, but I hated to slot in another skill that was only useful once per fight. If it didn¡¯t have any cooldown, it might be worth it.


    Then again, I could always just reforge the skill so that it didn¡¯t have such a hard-on for making its user wait before slurping down more of that health juice.


    I already had experience futzing around with a skill¡¯s cooldown with Explosion!+, so that wasn¡¯t a big hurdle. I might also be able to improve the efficiency of Second Wind by having the skill key off of a determined value, such as my Fortitude, rather than a variable value like the amount of stamina I wanted to feed it.


    Further, I¡¯d discovered how to alter the governing attribute of a technique when I changed Charisma to Fortitude in my Shielding aura, significantly increasing the value of the Shielding it provided. The healing spell I¡¯d been considering adding to my repertoire also used a specific attribute to determine its healing value, giving me multiple tools I could use to rework Second Wind. Specifically, Telekinetic Surgery used Intelligence plus Physical Magic skill level. That might let me loop in my magic skill on top of everything else.


    Of course, altering the Intelligence designation on Telekinetic Surgery to Fortitude would be tough, since spells preferred mental stats, but I could get around that by converting it to a stamina-consuming technique in line with Baltae¡¯s suggestion. I¡¯d need to amend its targeting so that it could only apply to myself, and then altering Intelligence to Fortitude would keep pushing the skill in that direction.


    I could probably bootstrap the stamina resource designation and self-targeting aspects of Second Wind, then slot in the modified portion of Telekinetic Surgery, which would key off of Fortitude and Physical Magic. I could dump the rest of Telekinetic Surgery¡¯s framework, since it wouldn¡¯t really apply anymore. That skill also helped mitigate Bleeding and Toxicity, and I didn¡¯t really need that. I just wanted to heal big and heal often.


    I could also force the skill to become an aura, but that would inflate its cost and reduce its efficiency, whereas I was trying to maximize the benefit I got from Body of Asclepius. That meant I wanted the most healing I could get for myself, and that ran counter to the philosophy of an aura. Trying to do that would also make the process of reforging a lot more complicated.


    It was tempting to try and tack on Shielding, but since Shielding didn¡¯t stack, having multiple sources was less appealing. I didn¡¯t think it would be worth adding to the cost, especially when I could activate Aura of Persistence to give me 190 Shielding that regenerated over time. Beyond that, I had some upcoming evos in Shields and Heavy Armor that could probably improve my Shielding game. R?a?NobE??


    Grotto was already modeling the process as I thought through the problem. Together, we visualized how fragments from each skill would imprint onto my mana matrix and the adjustments needed to combine them into a functional whole. I was feeling ambitious, thinking that I could get the skill forging done in record time, despite dealing with two separate skills rather than one. I wanted to plop my ass down on top of this birdless bird plane and start work on it right away.


    Instead, the System offered me the skill directly.


    Rejuvenation


    Physical


    Cost: 10 stamina


    Requirements: FOR 20, Physical Magic 20


    Cooldown: 6 seconds


    Instantly heal for an amount equal to your FOR plus your Physical Magic skill level.


    ¡°Damn. Why do I feel disappointed that I didn¡¯t have to meditate on this for a few hours?¡±


    [Likely because you realize this means your engineered solution was not as creative as you imagined. I pushed the framework we designed to the System, which accepted the skill into its database. It was similar enough to a branch of existing techniques that it considered our work to be ¡®discovering¡¯ one that already existed, although it did make slight alterations based on our work.]


    ¡°Maybe we should try this with more skills...¡±


    [Perhaps. Convincing the System to allow me to browse its libraries without any particular goal in mind is costly.]


    Moving on from the unexpected skill notification, I carefully looked over our sort-of creation. The base healing would currently be 104, which would double to 208 with Body of Asclepius. This took the efficiency up to nearly twenty-one health per one point of stamina spent, and that would keep going up as my Fortitude and skill level improved. Now we were cooking with dynamite.


    The cooldown of six seconds dropped to around four with my reduction, which meant I could spam it pretty reliably, even in shorter engagements. The word ¡°instantly¡± implied that I could activate the skill with a thought, so it wouldn¡¯t interfere with everything else I was trying to do in combat. At Physical Magic 100, I¡¯d be able to dump as much stamina as I wanted into the skill all at once since the cooldown and activation time would functionally be zero.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    With this skill, an enemy would need to penetrate my block and all my defenses, burn through nearly 200 Shielding, and then do more than 208 damage, or else I¡¯d immediately pop back to full HP after they were done mauling me.


    ¡°Any concerns about this?¡± I thought to Grotto.


    [Just take the damned skill. How long will your paranoid mind delay you from getting to a full load-out? You don¡¯t even have all your passive slots filled yet. And when will you choose a twelfth intrinsic? I hope you are not holding out for this Colossal Weapons foolishness.]


    I ignored the tirade, selectively accepted the Delve Core¡¯s wisdom, and added the technique to my final active skill slot.


    I came back to the world with Xim waving a hand in front of my face.


    ¡°Did you break?¡± she asked.


    I blinked and looked around, realizing that while one instance of focus had been maintaining Elemental Barrier, the second had gone on a deep dive into a simulated soul space with Grotto to work on my new skill. That left zero Arlos to monitor my surroundings, and I¡¯d missed the remainder of our avian genocide.


    I gave Xim a thumbs-up. ¡°I¡¯m good. Just messing around with my skills. If you guys are done, let¡¯s go back down and check in with Tavio.¡±


    After a quick look to ensure everyone was ready, I went ahead and used Shortcut to take us back into the cabin below. Except for Varrin, who would continue being the only reliable bird in the sky, while also accounting for 50% of the living bird population within a few miles of us. The Littan hammerhead had escaped our wrath for now.


    I decided to leave Elemental Barrier running for the moment, since it was a pretty effective deterrent against anything that might want to get close to us. I could always drop it later if I needed my sub-mind for something else.


    Once we were back down below, Guar came over to slap me on the shoulder as I peeled off my helm. ¡°My friend,¡± he said. ¡°Did you really get lost in thought while we were surrounded by hundreds of flying monsters?¡±


    ¡°I simply had faith in the skills of my allies,¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°Ha!¡± barked Guar. ¡°Baltae, it¡¯s like I¡¯m meeting your double.¡±


    The mage stroked his chin while peering at my face. ¡°Is my fur really that scruffy along the jawline?¡±


    ¡°Oh no,¡± said Etja. ¡°Arlo¡¯s beard is like our mascot. You can¡¯t insult it.¡±


    ¡°I thought our mascot was Grotto,¡± said Xim.


    ¡°Nope,¡± said Etja, shaking her head sadly. ¡°Ever since he lost his fluffy c¡¯thon body, it isn¡¯t the same.¡±


    I ran my fingers through my glorious chin curtain. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Etja,¡± I said. ¡°Even heroes are vulnerable to helmet hair. No matter how powerful they may be. Also, Grotto¡¯s working on getting a fresh c¡¯thon corpse from Her Silver Majesty¡¯s collection.¡±


    [Negotiations have already been successful in that regard.]


    Tavio rapped a knuckle against the hull to get our attention. ¡°Before we start discussing scented grooming oils and corpse-preservation techniques, I have news.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s the news?¡±


    ¡°The news is that we have no news,¡± Tavio replied. ¡°Despite the efforts of your familiar, the slates in Krimsim cannot be reached. Grotto assures me that there is no problem on his end, which, if true, means that something is interfering with their operation or that they have been destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Slates are temperamental at the best of times,¡± said Baltae. ¡°High mana concentrations are known to interrupt their function.¡±


    A serious look passed between the Littans at that statement.


    ¡°Care to fill us in?¡± I asked.


    Tavio thoughtfully tapped his knuckle against the hull again. ¡°The defenses at Krimsim can elevate ambient mana levels,¡± he said. ¡°It is carefully managed, but if they are being used aggressively, it may be enough to interfere with the slates.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like we¡¯re going to need to get eyes on the problem to figure things out,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, it seems so,¡± said Tavio. ¡°I suggest we remain battle-ready.¡± He turned to look at one of the markers displayed on the windshields. ¡°We are about one hundred and eighty miles out from Krimsim. How fast can Lord Ravvenblaq take us there?¡±


    I gave Varrin a second to consider and send me a psychic response. ¡°He says it depends on whether this thing falls apart from wind resistance.¡±


    ¡°Closet-harness method,¡± Xim stage-whispered to me.


    ¡°I can use Consecration on the cabin,¡± said Captain Pio. ¡°It will greatly increase its durability.¡±


    ¡°My Shield Wall can serve as a windbreak,¡± said Guar. ¡°I can put two down in front to make a wedge.¡±


    ¡°I can also reinforce the structure with Telekinesis,¡± said Baltae. He glanced at Guar. ¡°Have you practiced your mana-shaping? A wedge may not be the most ideal configuration. You can summon up to three walls, yes?¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± said Guar. ¡°I can make them taller and I can make them longer.¡±


    ¡°That is not quite what I am thinking,¡± said Baltae. He took the beefy Littan by the shoulder and guided him away for a quick brush-up on some shaping methods.


    ¡°See?¡± I said to Xim. ¡°They have their own solutions.¡± I ran the numbers and turned back to Tavio. ¡°If we aren¡¯t worried about this thing coming apart, we can be there in under ten minutes.¡±


    ¡°That sounds quite fast,¡± said Captain Pio.


    ¡°Madel¡¯s faster!¡± came a voice from the rear of the plane. We all turned to see Cezil accepting a drink from one of the golems through my Closet portal. Madel was sitting in a flight seat just in front of the portal. I had no idea when the twins had returned.


    ¡°Sure, but she can¡¯t carry this whole thing,¡± said Guar, gesturing around the cabin with his hammer. Baltae gently guided the man back to their mana-shaping task.


    ¡°She might be able to,¡± Cezil mumbled through a pastry she was shoving into her mouth. ¡°Tactile Telekinesis makes her really strong.¡±


    ¡°Madel will support our approach,¡± said Tavio. ¡°Fly ahead and scout.¡± The martial twin nodded and stood, then disappeared with a teleport. Cezil kept snacking. ¡°Captain Pio, have your people buff the hells out of our vessel. Arlo, please have Lord Ravvenblaq take us up to speed. Any questions?¡±


    Nuralie stepped forward. ¡°What is the plan if the city is under attack?¡± she asked. ¡°And will the response change based on the type of enemy attacking?¡±


    ¡°That is simple enough,¡± said Tavio as he began pulling his own equipment from inventory. ¡°We kill whatever is attacking. Monsters, Delvers, demi-gods, it does not make much difference to me.¡± He turned to the pilot. ¡°Lieutenant Augustin, see if you can contact the capital to give them a report.¡±


    ¡°Using our, uh, ally¡¯s ¡®assistance¡¯, Major?¡± the pilot asked, sounding ill at the prospect.


    ¡°Consider it psychic resistance training, Lieutenant.¡±


    ¡°By your will, Major,¡± Augustin replied. He barely flinched when Grotto reconnected with him.


    ¡°That seems like it is too simple,¡± said Nuralie.


    ¡°We will evaluate the foe and select an appropriate strategy,¡± Tavio replied. ¡°But I suspect that any strategy we come up with will revolve around killing whatever that foe may be.¡±


    Captain Pio stepped in to assuage Nuralie¡¯s concerns. ¡°Major Tavio is an accomplished tactician, even if his demeanor implies otherwise. We will respond appropriately to whatever we discover.¡±


    Tavio tightened a strap on his breastplate. ¡°We will,¡± he said. ¡°By slaying it.¡±


    Nuralie looked to me for support, but I shrugged. ¡°I mean, when you boil it down to basics, that¡¯s our own strategy most of the time.¡±


    ¡°And it fucking works,¡± said Xim. ¡°Usually.¡±


    The cabin around us began to glow with radiant golden light as Pio laid down her Consecrate spell, then a chain of notifications hit me.


    You are on Consecrated ground. You gain +40 DR All and deal an additional +40 Righteous damage with all attacks against hostile or profane entities!


    Spirit Guide: Captain Pio has used an active skill to bestow a beneficial effect upon you. You gain 1 stack of Blessed!


    Yara¡¯s Reciprocity: Captain Pio has granted you a stack of Blessed. You both heal for 34 HP! Healing is doubled from Body of Asclepius. You heal for 68 HP!


    Healer: Captain Pio has granted you healing. You gain 3 additional stacks of Blessed!


    All of the effects triggered from one use of Consecrate, which was a skill that neither healed nor granted stacks of Blessed on its own. It took me up to a total of ten stacks of Blessed out of my maximum of twenty-six. Then all of our Divine wielders got on the Blessed train, and the stacks came rolling in.

 Chapter 278: Tray Tables Up, Buffs in the Full Upright Position

    Chapter 278: Tray Tables Up, Buffs in the Full Upright Position


    ¡°May Sumrann sow the seeds of our victory and smile upon its harvest,¡± Tavio muttered as a wave of energizing light pulsed out of him.


    Divine Inspiration: You gain 1 stack of Blessed! Sumrann, God of Harvest and Bounty, offers you the Sacrament of Redemption.


    Sacrament of Redemption


    You gain bonus Spiritual and Divine DR equal to your total stacks of Blessed.


    Whenever you have at least 5 Blessed and would become Mesmerized, Dominated, Feared, Berserk, Paranoid, or Psychotic, you lose half of your Blessed and negate the status.


    You currently have 2 of 2 Sacraments prepared: Sacrament of Mortality, Sacrament of the Dread Star. Would you like to replace one of these Sacraments with the Sacrament of Redemption?


    I took a moment to parse the notifications. I¡¯d seen the Sacrament of Redemption before, back when Avarice had sold me some of Yara¡¯s holy water. Of course, the goddess herself had then upgraded it to a more potent temporary effect, and let me know I could get the more permanent, albeit weaker, Sacrament if I came and gave her a visit. Sumrann was also willing to hand this one out, it seemed, and as a member of Yara¡¯s pantheon, I doubted he would make the offer if the Godqueen wanted to insist that I come to her temple first. Besides, we¡¯d probably flown over a small part of Connas earlier, which meant that we¡¯d already done the Fortune¡¯s Folly version of ¡®visiting¡¯ by avoiding civilization completely on our way into danger.


    I recognized the second Sacrament listed, the Sacrament of the Dread Star, of course. It allowed me to burn Blessed instead of mana for teleports. That was handy when using several mana shapes on Shortcut, which could make the cost balloon pretty fast. However, the first Sacrament on the list, the Sacrament of Mortality, wasn¡¯t one I immediately recognized. The moment I realized that, comprehension bubbled up almost unbidden, and I understood that it governed the default behavior of Blessed. That is, I could spend Blessed to briefly raise my attack or defense. My understanding of the phenomenon didn¡¯t change; the name of the Sacrament was simply attached to something I was already intimately familiar with.


    After some poking around I found a spot on my status that listed the Sacraments, but I could tell that their nature wasn¡¯t governed by the System. The entries catalogued their behaviors, but there wasn¡¯t anything deeper for me to dive into, and I naturally understood them without the System spoon-feeding it to me. I didn¡¯t need to review the descriptions, since the function of the Sacraments came naturally once I¡¯d received one.


    It wasn¡¯t something I was willing to dive deeper into at that moment, so I moved on and considered the effects of the newly offered Sacrament.


    The Sacrament of Redemption was pretty good, granting a flat bonus to Spiritual and Divine DR based on my Blessed stacks. While less flexible, a persistent defensive bonus was potentially better than the temporary burst bonus that Mortality could give me. I couldn¡¯t use it offensively, but I rarely used Blessed like that anyway. Plus, the status mitigation on Redemption was pretty solid. Losing half of my Blessed stacks all at once could be rough, but it was hands-down better than getting Dominated or becoming Psychotic.


    I was keeping the Sacrament of the Dread Star, naturally. Mana was my most precious resource at the moment, so anything that helped reduce the demands on my reserves was sticking around. I went ahead and replaced the Sacrament of Mortality with the Sacrament of Redemption.


    It would have been nice to have all three, and the moment I wondered how I could expand my capacity, I realized it was determined by Luck. I discarded that factoid and decided that I shouldn¡¯t be greedy in this regard. Two Sacraments were plenty, and it was a shame there was no reasonable way for me to increase that number.


    ¡°Oh!¡± said Etja, pulling me back from my thoughts on Sacraments. ¡°I can help out with blessings.¡±


    She pulled out a large stringed instrument that sat on the ground like a small table, reminding me of a Japanese koto, and began plucking out a tune. She hummed as she played, and my Blessed stacks ticked up again as she performed the soothing serenade. As ridiculous as the situation was, and despite our ongoing uncertainty as to what divinity was granting Blessed whenever Etja was the source, I ignored such trifles in favor of more practical matters.


    I turned to raise an eyebrow at Xim.


    ¡°Normally, the best way to get blessings from me is to beat stuff up,¡± she said. I raised my eyebrow harder, and she grinned. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll spend the mana.¡± She rotated her scepter through the air, and her body began to glow with a soft crimson light.


    Sam¡¯lia¡¯s Warmth: You heal for 105 HP and gain 1 stack of Blessed every 6 seconds! Healing doubled by Body of Asclepius! You heal for 210 HP!


    Spirit Guide: Xim Xor¡¯Drel has used an active skill to bestow a beneficial effect upon you. You gain 1 stack of Blessed!


    Xim and Pio shared a Leadership evolution, it seemed. The cleric¡¯s skill hit everyone in the entire cabin, and Pio did a quick cast of another AoE heal that triggered four more stacks of Blessed. The healing didn¡¯t do anything since we were at full health, but the skills still triggered secondary effects, and as a result I was getting my ass Blessed off.


    After a couple of minutes bathing in a variety of divine glows and relaxing amidst the sonorous mutterings of soft prayers and life-changing plucking and strumming, I was capped. I now had an extra twenty-six DR against all Spiritual and Divine damage, a way to negate a variety of debilitating debuffs, a resource for teleporting without spending mana, and an infectious melody that I¡¯d catch myself humming for the next several weeks.


    While the Blessed stacks flowed, Baltae and Guar moved to the front and displaced Lieutenant Augustin, who didn¡¯t have much he could do up there since our hammerhead had abandoned us. Tavio asked that I direct the pilot through the Closet portal, where he could focus on contacting the capital with his slate. It would keep the Level 3 Copper safe if things got dicey again.


    Baltae guided Guar¡¯s mana shaping as the beefy Littan placed his hands on the front windshield and began summoning a translucent barrier attached to the nose of our craft. The construct had a rounded body, slightly elongated and tapered like the lower half of a raindrop. There was a brief moment of turbulence as the barrier locked into place and started catching the wind, but the flight smoothed back out after a second. Once that was done, Baltae spread his hands and cast Telekinesis on the entire vessel. The mage¡¯s spell suffused the craft, and a gentle pressure gripped every inch of its materials.


    The moment the spell took hold, Varrin began accelerating at a casual pace compared to what he was capable of, which still left most of us hanging diagonally off of straps and handholds. Etja and her koto simply began to float, the serene mood of her performance striking a contrast against the groan and rattle of our metal tube. Her volume rose with the roar of the wind, which grew for a full sixty seconds before the acceleration leveled off.


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    Over the next few minutes, some other buffs made the rounds. I ensured Life Warden was up on Etja while Xim used a new skill she¡¯d picked up called Lifeguard. Despite the similar name, the skill was different enough from Life Warden that it didn¡¯t infringe on my intellectual property rights.


    Lifeguard


    Divine


    Cost: 20 mana


    Requirements: Divine 40


    Grant an entity you can touch the buff Lifeguard. Whenever an entity with Lifeguard is reduced to half health or lower, they heal for an amount equal to 10 times your CHA and lose the Lifeguard buff. If an entity with Lifeguard would be reduced to 0 HP, they are instead reduced to 1 HP before Lifeguard activates.


    Xim had a Charisma score of 70, meaning the skill¡¯s default healing value was 700. That was doubled to a mighty 1400 for myself, which was almost enough to take me from half health back to full when it triggered. The buff didn¡¯t have a duration, so Xim had already given Lifeguard to everyone in our party ahead of time, but she graciously dolled it out to the Littans as well. Aside from the healing, it was also one-shot protection, which everyone appreciated.


    I started to realize that when this many Delvers were pre-gaming together, things could start getting a little silly. This feeling struck me hard when Guar began handing out the most glorious pastries I¡¯d ever encountered. It was some kind of fruit tart, still warm to the touch, beautifully presented, and it smelled absolutely fucking delicious.


    ¡°Pre-combat carb loading?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°That, and more!¡± he said, clapping me on the shoulder. His gauntlet landed hard enough against my pauldron that half the cabin¡¯s occupants flinched from the noise. ¡°My whole party contributed to making these. Just make sure to eat the entire thing.¡±


    I¡¯d been raised to believe in good manners, so I dutifully ate the scrumptious treat.


    You gain the buff Monumental Macros! For the next 9 days, all food you consume is 4 times as filling and will leave you well-fed for 9 times longer.


    You gain the buff Breakfast of Champions! For the next 9 days, your stamina and mana pools are increased by 25.


    You gain the buff Tryptophan! For the next 9 days, whenever an activity or cooldown calls for an 8-hour rest, you may complete that activity or cooldown in 2 fewer hours.


    You gain the buff Daily Apple! You can consume Daily Apple to negate one instance of Slowed, Immobilized, Paralyzed, Stunned, Stupefied, Blinded, Deafened, or Weakened. You can only have one instance of Daily Apple. Once Daily Apple is used, you must rest for 8 hours before gaining it again.


    That was a lot of effects loaded into one delectable goodie.


    Xim¡¯s eyes widened as she popped the final bite of her own pastry into her mouth. ¡°This is the best thing I¡¯ve ever eaten,¡± she said, licking some fruity filling from her fingers.


    Etja kept playing her Koto with three hands as she ate her pastry with the fourth. She looked over at Nuralie between bites and asked, ¡°Can you make your potions taste this good?¡±


    ¡°I managed to turn them into a gummy form, but I am still working on the flavor,¡± said Nuralie. ¡°Waiting for gravity to pull the liquid into my mouth was too slow.¡± Pause. ¡°If someone with the Cooking skill prepared ingredients, would they maintain their effects when utilized in my Alchemy?¡±


    ¡°Only if your potion counts as a meal,¡± said Baltae. ¡°Or maybe if the chef¡¯s meal also counted as a potion?¡±


    ¡°You can add butter to anything,¡± I said. ¡°Easy calories.¡±


    ¡°One cannot add butter to a potion and say that it is food,¡± said Baltae.


    ¡°Agree to disagree.¡±


    ¡°I will undertake further research,¡± said Nuralie.


    It was about this time that Madel reappeared in the cabin, covered in dried blood. The sticky viscera had the downy remains of feathers caked in and stained her cape in splotchy patches.


    ¡°You look like shit, sister,¡± said an eerily familiar masculine voice from behind us. I turned to see myself scarfing down one of Guar¡¯s fruit tarts.


    ¡°Lieutenant,¡± said Captain Pio to Madel, ignoring the second me. ¡°Are we flying into trouble, or did you take care of it?¡±


    ¡°The former, Captain,¡± said Madel.


    After a moment of consideration, I raised a hand, and watched myself raise the opposite hand in perfect unison. I frowned, and my clone also frowned at the exact same moment.


    Madel studiously ignored us alongside Pio. ¡°I encountered two additional species of avian mana monsters a mile outside of Krimsim¡¯s walls,¡± she said. ¡°Grades eleven to twenty. They are numerous enough that sightlines to the city are obscured.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of birds,¡± said Guar, his golden eyes flashing with excitement.


    I reached out and plucked my feathered cowboy hat from my inventory. The double mirrored the motion, and somehow produced the exact same hat. The little boots dangling from its brim even clacked together with the same pleasing woody sound.


    We put the hats on and we looked myself up and down.


    ¡°Hey, I look pretty good,¡± I said.


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯d fuck me,¡± I replied.


    Captain Pio turned to Tavio. ¡°Should we have Lord Ravvenblaq slow our approach once he has a visual on the new enemies?¡±


    Tavio ran a hand along the fur of his scalp. ¡°How fast were they?¡± he asked Madel.


    ¡°Fast, but slower than me,¡± she said, then looked up at the ceiling in Varrin¡¯s direction. ¡°Slower than we are moving right now, as well.¡±


    ¡°And there were still too many for you to maneuver through them to scout the city?¡± asked Tavio. ¡°You could not teleport past them?¡±


    ¡°My teleport range is short, and like Guar said, it is a lot of birds. I could have gotten past them with a little time, but felt it more important to bring you my report before you encountered them yourselves.¡±


    Tavio hummed in thought. ¡°If we slow, they will have an easier time swarming us.¡±


    Captain Pio¡¯s whiskers pulled back slightly. ¡°Colliding with high-grade monsters at our current speed would be unwise.¡±


    ¡°Arlo¡¯s spell is still active and has a knockback effect,¡± said Tavio. ¡°This vessel has mana weaves for Physical DR. Consecrate is enhancing that, along with Baltae¡¯s Telekinesis, and Guar¡¯s Shield Walls.¡±


    Captain Pio turned to her stout subordinate. ¡°How much damage can your Shield Walls take?¡±


    ¡°Two thousand,¡± Guar replied. ¡°Each. I got all three of them up there.¡±


    ¡°What about Lord Ravvenblaq?¡± asked Pio.


    ¡°He¡¯s got the best Physical defense in our party,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. If anything, stopping and giving the birds a chance to hit him with a different damage type would be more dangerous.¡±


    ¡°That is true for our vessel as well,¡± said Tavio. ¡°We need to breach that blockade and get a look at the city to see if it is still standing. If Sergeant Baltae is correct about there being some kind of Alpha, we need to identify it as well.¡± Tavio looked past me. ¡°Specialist Cezil.¡±


    My copy whipped his head towards the major, the wooden boots clattering about. ¡°Yes, Major?¡± the other me asked.


    ¡°Stop fucking around and take the pilot¡¯s seat. You have the best eyes.¡±


    ¡°Aye, Major,¡± other me said, giving a boot-rattling salute. Then the duplicate marched towards the front of the plane, my body smoothly transitioning into the red-eyed Littan mimic.


    ¡°Moving through the flock that quickly, there is a chance that we will hit friendly air support,¡± said Captain Pio.


    ¡°I can assist,¡± I said. ¡°I assume the air support is other Delvers?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± said Pio. ¡°They will be mounted on hammerheads.¡±


    ¡°I can filter my Soul-Sight to spot them through the enemy. I¡¯ll relay that to Varrin, and he can dodge them if needed.¡± Pio nodded reluctantly, and I moved up to join Cezil at the front, who was lounging in the pilot¡¯s seat. She gave me a smile and a wink when I knelt beside her.


    ¡°So, like, are all of your clothes fake too?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to know?¡± she said.


    I tilted my head to the side as I got a psychic update from Varrin, and our path angled down slightly. Then I focused out through the windshield ahead of me. Pio was still trying to convince Tavio that this move was unwise.


    ¡°No more time for debate!¡± I shouted back into the cabin. ¡°Brace for impact!¡±

 Chapter 279: Krimsim Skies

    Chapter 279: Krimsim Skies


    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned towards the cockpit as we all tightened our grips on the handholds. Through the windshield, beyond the translucent blue of Guar¡¯s shields, was a dark mass in the sky. The mass expanded until it was a haze of individual dots, which grew until the shape of wings was visible on each, then they were suddenly close enough that I could just make out the colorful plumage of each individual bird. After that,


    BAM!


    BAM! BAM! BAM!


    The birds practically warped into us, and the cabin shuddered as a series of deafening collisions rattled us around. Guar¡¯s shields were smeared with a thin film of greyish-red gore, streaking out into impact spreads that were halfway to scorch marks. The detritus flash-froze and was stripped off by the wind almost as soon as it appeared, only to be replaced an instant later by the next man-sized bird to lose a game of chicken with us.


    Elemental Barrier¡¯s knockback effect came out in pulses, and the birds were traveling towards us at the speed of a high-velocity rifle round. There was scarcely a few hundredths of a second between the time they entered my Barrier¡¯s range and when they struck us, letting the majority of them bypass the skill¡¯s effect.


    The avians were pelting us like heavy rainfall, and I did not like how the cabin was starting to buck. Varrin was flying steady, like a supersonic iceberg through a volley of ping pong balls. He wasn¡¯t getting jostled, which meant the frame of our vessel was the part that was moving. Baltae¡¯s fur rose as his Telekinesis worked to keep things together.


    Madel had encountered the birds a mile outside of Krimsim proper, meaning that at our speeds it would take us around three seconds to get to the city. I didn¡¯t care to try and calculate how many fucking birds it would take to fill that much sky this densely. Okay, I did, but certainly there wasn¡¯t a full mile-thick perimeter around the city, otherwise it¡¯d have to be millions of mana monsters.


    Throughout our approach and breach, I had Soul-Sight cranked up and scanning for the telltale signs of Delvers. There were more than a hundred on the ground, but only a few in the air. All of them were lower than us and bunched up in one area, close to where I imagined the city¡¯s center to be. Varrin had no trouble staying out of their way as we cut through the birds and did our flyby.


    While I was actively filtering out the souls of the mana monsters, there was one creature with a soul so potent that I couldn¡¯t ignore it. At my current sensitivity it was a flaring beacon, threatening to blind me to all else. It wasn¡¯t any Delver, nor was it like anything else I¡¯d encountered.


    But whatever it was, I¡¯d get a good look at it soon enough.


    Fortunately for our ship¡¯s structural integrity, I was correct that the entire mile wasn¡¯t one hundred percent bird, and we breached the perimeter after a second and a half of bulldozing through. There were still plenty of flying creatures all around, but much, much more spread out. It was more of a figurative sky full than a literal one. Our first objective was to check on the state of the city, so I took a couple of seconds to give it a once-over. The monstrous soul I¡¯d felt was a half-mile outside of its borders.


    Krimsim itself was only about a mile in diameter, although the Littans packed a decent amount into that area. The city was constructed so that ground level was a hundred feet higher than the surrounding terrain, but it wasn¡¯t built on some sort of hill or rise. Rather, the entire city sat on an artificial platform, which had me curious, but I didn¡¯t have time to study it. The city was then fully encompassed by walls that rose for another hundred feet, made of a dark brown material, polished and smooth enough to gleam like metal. However, my recent foray into Wandmaking made me suspect that it was wood, especially given the city¡¯s proximity to the Forest.


    Regardless, whatever it was, it was durable. I watched a horse-sized avian with lightning coursing through its body twitch madly and veer down from the sky. It collided with the wall hard enough to explode, and the impact left no damage behind that I could make out from this distance.


    The reason for the bird¡¯s suicidal plunge was a large weapon atop the wall itself, with an unusual design that I recognized. It was a long spike of dark, mana-woven metal seated on a gimballed mount. The last time I¡¯d seen such a thing was during our ill-fated encounter with the Littan naval blockade off the coast of Eschendur. At the time, it had seemed like an experimental cannon and had caused a great deal of hand-related damage to the person who¡¯d fired it. It had also caused a lot of collateral


    damage to everything else.


    The one atop Krimsim¡¯s wall didn¡¯t appear to have an operator and was shooting just fine without atomizing its surroundings. I could see threads of mana connecting it to someplace deeper within the city, where I suspected an operator controlled it remotely. It launched a crackling bolt of lightning at another multi-colored bird, which arced to three more nearby. Two were killed instantly, but the others were higher grade and more durable, leaving them smoking and injured, but alive.


    Further down the wall were more such weapons, although each varied in its form. I spotted several that looked like a conch shell, launching glistening white orbs into the sky that exploded into razor shards of ice. A few looked closer to a traditional cannon, but scaled up to the size of a tractor-trailer. Those released brief gouts of fire that travelled for hundreds of feet, igniting everything on contact. The most common was a smaller weapon that looked like a spotlight, focusing on one bird at a time and smashing its body into pulp with pulses of concentrated pressure waves.


    The walls of Krimsim themselves may not have done much against the birds, given that they could just fly over them, but the weapons atop them were putting up a valiant anti-air defense. Even so, it was a losing battle. I could make out more destroyed weapons than functional ones, and of the big guns that were in one piece, half of those weren¡¯t firing at all for some reason.


    More weapons were distributed throughout the city itself, mounted atop stout buildings made of similar dark brown and polished materials. These were packed between practical and sturdy houses and shops constructed from more ordinary materials. r?A¦­o?§£§¦S


    The architecture in the city was focused on resilience, favoring wide, one and two-story buildings built on strong foundations with thick columns and supports. Where one might normally construct a building from planks of wood, these buildings were made from beams or entire logs. I saw several that looked to be the whole trunk of a massive tree, cut and sanded into a rounded top with the living spaces carved out from within. A couple of dwellings were even repurposed house-sized monster skulls, but even these were reinforced and filled in with yet more wood. I really hoped they had their fireproofing down.


    There were a handful of buildings that rose higher than the relatively short structures surrounding them, but these were uniformly dome-shaped, with roofs made from the tough, polished wood of the city¡¯s walls. Each of them also had a canon on top.


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    Overall, Krimsim kind of looked like a densely populated region of Renaissance-era loggers that had been crammed into a perfectly circular city created by wood-crazed wizards, which was then subsequently outfitted by benevolent space invaders with strong beliefs concerning self-defense. There was a clear stylistic mismatch between the weapons and the rest of the city, which made sense if these were the evolved form of the experimental weaponry I¡¯d encountered a year and a half before.


    Compared to other Littan vassals, Nohrrin and its capital Krimsim had been extremely independent prior to the phase transition. With the Forest¡¯s conversion into a mega-Dungeon and the arrival of the Littan military, there was a lot of new construction favoring function over form. If Krimsim had a historical society, they¡¯d probably been weeping over the hasty improvements. They were probably still weeping, just out of fear for their lives rather than outrage, but it would be hard for anyone in the city to deny they were alive because the Empire had shown up and installed exactly all of the guns.


    The weapons inside the city were turning the airspace above Krimsim into a meat grinder of long-range elemental attacks and kinetic projectiles. A smattering seemed to manipulate spatial energies or fire off beams of raw mystical force, but those were a small minority compared to the number of Physical attacks going out.


    Weaving in and out of the aerial fight were a half-dozen Delvers mounted on hammerheads, making an absolute mess of any birds that came near. This crew had some kind of special sauce on their Delver hot wings, because I watched a Delver-hammerhead pair eviscerate a bird six grades above their Level in about two seconds.


    Was this the real potential of the Animal Handling skill? Did Joma and Grotto know the true secrets to unfathomable power? I couldn¡¯t be certain, but those weren¡¯t the real questions I needed to be asking myself. The real question was, did I want to tame a giant bird to ride into battle? Because it was looking pretty fucking cool from where I was flying.


    I wasn¡¯t a huge fan of birds, though. Maybe I could tame a giant c¡¯thon instead... One that I could actually ride. Shog was more of a carrier. If anything, Shog rode me


    the last time we got close to anything resembling a mount-and-rider interaction.


    Moving on from the mounted combat, I looked to the action on the ground, where Littan Delvers operated in teams to launch attacks and fend off dive bombs. Two-thirds were military, organized into squads with specialized roles. They worked together on a scale that essentially took the concept of a five-person party and expanded it out to an entire platoon. The military was concentrated near Krimsim¡¯s center, flitting in and out of fortified bunkers surrounding the city¡¯s largest dome-like building.


    The other third of the city¡¯s defenders were independent Delvers, half of whom were Littan, but the next largest representation was the bat-like Chovali. Some of these Delvers operated with a traditional five-person configuration, but many others ran in smaller groups or even solo. The Chovali could fly and take the fight directly to the birds, but generally kept their fighting below the elevation level of the cannons. Probably a wise decision on their part.


    At a glance, the representation from the military looked to be predominantly Level 11 Silvers, with some supporting crews of Level 3 Coppers. The only Golds I spotted belonged to a party from the independent faction. Even then, they were only Level 12, which wasn¡¯t too much of an advantage over the military¡¯s people.


    I knew that Krimsim¡¯s ruler, Count Starion, was a Level 26 Gold. The man¡¯s full party also lived within the city, meaning that Krimsim should have had an elite defense force ready to rumble at the drop of a bird. Despite flaring Soul-Sight to an uncomfortable degree, I couldn¡¯t find anyone near that level of power inside the city itself. The hammerhead riders were the city¡¯s most powerful individual force at the moment, with the cannons doing the majority of work cleaning up the weaker mobs.


    Fortunately, there were no civilians outside and no signs of mass slaughter. The birds were fixated on the Delvers themselves, who were doing an excellent job keeping their attention focused where they wanted it. Even so, there were plenty of Delvers lying bloody and motionless, missing vital portions of their anatomy. Decapitations in particular seemed to be very popular with the avians, which struck me as odd, but I didn¡¯t know too terribly much about Forest-dwelling murder birds.


    Varrin had arced our path so that we had a little more than four seconds to survey the area before he planned to take us back out through the flying meatwall. As it was, there were so many avian mana monsters in the skies that slowing down would immediately have us overwhelmed. We could always retreat into the Closet, but that wouldn¡¯t help with scouting, and whether we wanted to set down in the city was up for debate. We were taking a gander, then falling back to evaluate.


    While four seconds wasn¡¯t much time to take a good peek, I could do a lot of lookin¡¯ in a handful of seconds. I¡¯d spent half my allotted time checking out the city, leaving me only a couple of seconds to try and find whatever was attached to the overwhelming soul, which felt like an obvious choice for being the thing responsible for the swarming monsters. Two seconds turned out to be plenty of time to spot the creature, since it was a walking nightmare the size of a battleship. I felt comfortable assuming that this was our alpha.


    The first thing I noted was that it was not a bird. It stood on four thick legs, each ending in a spreading mass of bulky, webbed toes. It had a barrel-shaped torso, with a gut that hung near to the ground. Its body was wrapped in a tangle of vines, foliage, and entire trees, as though it had bulldozed through the forest and brought half of it along for the ride. This misconception was banished when I noticed that man-thick roots sprouted from its slick and wet skin, connecting to the mobile jungle. Along its spine was an unusually straight trunk, running the entire length of the creature and then some, jutting out ahead of it like a battering ram. The whole massive rod glowed with an unsettling amount of power to my mana sight.


    A pair of gnarled and twisted trees grew from what looked like an otherwise empty pair of eye sockets on either side of its head, free of any leaves or other greenery. Each was a creaking network of black branches, drooping heavily with round masses dangling from their offshoots. The rest of the head was shrouded by the growth and barely visible. All I could tell was that it was ovoid, with a wide drooping mouth.


    The beast was a half-mile from Krimsim, amidst a no-man¡¯s land between the city and the edge of the forest. It was a mass expanse of scorched soil, cut and burned of any cover or obfuscation. The ground was churned up and marred by frequent impact craters, littered with the corpses of avian monsters that had died in droves outside the city walls. The deaths meant little to the swarm, as more birds flocked to Krimsim from the thick expanse of trees to our south.


    The birds did not make a beeline for the city, however. They flocked to the titanic quadruped and landed amidst its branches. Their bodies came alight with twisted magicks, and only then did the avians take flight towards their objective. The empowerment wasn¡¯t a mild one, either. I witnessed a flock of Grade 2 mana monsters advance to Grade 12 over the course of a second.


    Not all the birds were making quick pit stops on their way to the assault. There were five hiding amidst its canopy, significantly larger and more powerful than the rest. I also noticed that there was a constant trickle of birds returning from the city to the beast, carrying some unidentifiable burden in their talons. All of this was far enough away that even with my enhanced eyesight, some of the details were lost. I didn¡¯t have time to study these divergences, choosing instead to focus on identifying the giant.


    Hierophant of the Abductor: Whippomorph, Grade 32


    Before I could even begin to wonder what the fuck a Whippomorph was, the notification changed.


    Hierophant of the Abductor: Whippomorph, Grade 33


    This whole situation was starting to look a bit dangerous.