Chapter 20: Dungeon Delver

I pointed at myself, “You mean me?”

Torix spread his arms, “Who else is here?”

“Ok, first off, what’s a conduit?”

“A way of channeling energy. In your case, you will act as a reservoir of her excess energy.”

I raised my hands, “You want me to take in the energy that turns her into that deformed, disgusting, and horrific abomination from earlier?”

Torix raised a finger, “Yes, but allow me to explain. I wouldn’t imagine doing this to you if not for your fight earlier. You were covered in her blood numerous times, and you even swallowed a portion of her forearm using that armor of yours.”

I flinched while remembering that. Torix waved his hands, “You’ll find no judgment from me for your fighting methods. My main point is that you’ve already dealt with quite a bit of the energy that deformed her, yet it took no toll on you whatsoever.”

I frowned, “What? I have?”

“Yes.”

“But that’s her body, not her mana.”

“She has blood magic just as you do.”

I furrowed my brow, “I thought blood magic was rare?”

“It is, but it’s by no means nonexistent. Regardless, she’s here with that quality. I tested her blood on a minion of mine, and it had to be destroyed. That underling devolved into a monster and with far less of her energy than your own exposure.”

I lifted my hands, my palms facing me, “So..So this armor just ate the energy.”

“Indeed. From what I’ve seen of it, it absorbs any kind of energy it’s exposed to. Remember those evolutions you mentioned? This conduit will allow you to evolve faster and stabilize her condition at the same time. We may keep tabs on her via that conduit as well.”

I narrowed my eyes at Torix, “Can you actually stop this, um, conduit if it begins going awry?”

Torix nodded, “I may, thought at a cost. I did so to Althea earlier, as you saw. I could do the same feat for you as well, though I’d never allow the energy to go haywire for that length of time. I’d step in the moment anything amiss occurred.”

I leaned back, “That’s going to be a lot of risk you’re asking me to take on.”

Torix shrugged, “It’s part of the process for understanding your armor. Remember, you offered your services as an exchange for finding your friends. This is a part of that. I understand it’s rather distasteful, but so is peering out at random in search of those close to you.”

I rolled my shoulders, “Yeah, you’re right. We’ll..We’ll do it.” I raised a hand at Torix, “But you’d better stop it if anything starts going haywire.”

Torix steepled his fingers, “Remember who you’re talking to. I treat my experiments like I treat my plans; they are always under my control.”

Equal parts unnerving and reassuring, I spread out my hands, “So, what do I need to for this conduit thing?”

Torix picked up the bowl, swirling it some, “You’ve handled all of the necessities already. This is the most vital aspect of your assistance. I merely wished for your verbal agreement before treading onward. This will take days in order to finalize, after all.”

I grinned, “So I’m free to go for a while?”

He dabbed an instrument into the bowl of bright purple, “Absolutely. Do stay alive, as other scavengers might be out and about at this point. You’re quite unfortunate to have met so many already, but I’ll continue safeguarding you while you search out your dungeon cores.”

Torix stabbed Althea with tiny pricks of a needle, coloring her skin. He continued, “Be careful, and I’ll send you a message when you need to return henceforth.”

I squeezed my hands to fists, “Alright, cool. I’ll be off then. Cya Torix.”

“You as well.”

I ran past zombies, knights, skeletons, and a variety of undead before finding the large loop of BloodHollow. Nearing the doors out, I strolled up to the sentinel. I raised up a hand, “Can I complete two of the quests sent by Schema?”

The sentinel peered down at me, “Ah, yes. I’ll connect you with one of his AI’s. They should be able to handle your trite little quest.”

I blinked, “Uh, yeah, I know what you mean. A quest personally given by Schema himself. Psh, how trite and little.”

The Sentinel froze in place. He simmered, “Just get your rewards and leave me.”

A robotic voice sounded in my ears, “Two quests completed. Rewards will be received via notification. Thank you for your continued assistance. Goodbye.”

The servant AI for Schema spoke in absolute monotone. The voice justified Stacy and David’s assumptions about who and what Schema was. I knew better now, after having spoken with a fragment of its mind. Either way, I scrolled through my menu, finding the notifications.

Gorge on Horrors | Unknown Tier Quest – You are a monster. Become the eater of monsters.

0/4,000,000 ambient mana eaten | Timeline(2 months)

He Who Slays the Eater of Worlds | Legendary Unique tier quest – Most never enter a dungeon in their lifetime. You have been commanded to destroy many. Good luck.

0/6 Dungeons cores obtained | Timeline(2 years left)

The quests changed their names, sounding much larger in scope. Inspecting each update, my brow crinkled. I spoke out, “All I got was a notification to complete the next tier of the quest. What the hell is this?”

The Sentinel stated, “That is your reward. The opportunity to further serve your savior.”

I rolled my eyes before walking out of the dungeon. After grumbling for a few minutes, I opened my minimap. Finding dungeons of any quality and caliber proved simple and easy. I passed several of them on my way to the Evergreen Ravine. Taking a few laps of the nearby forest, I found a dozen just chilling in the middle of nowhere. On the one hand, a part of me heartened at how easy they were to find.

Another part of me dreaded the idea of dungeons dotting the countryside everywhere. If the monsters within escaped, the consequences made my skin crawl. I pushed the thought aside since I struggled to find two friends let alone save everyone. Keeping my head down and focusing on myself, I inspected my minimap, finding a dungeon about three miles away.

I passed it on my way towards the Evergreen Ravine where dinosaurs and phoenixes roamed. A few minutes later, I traveled towards the nearest landmark, Pier’s Creek. Stepping up to it, a few new fauna darted around the countryside nearby. The creek’s surface rippled with smooth, dark stones littering its bed.

Hopping into the stream, the water plopped from around me. No water seeped into my shoes, the armor airtight in all respects. Traversing the crevice, different mushrooms, algaes, and crawfish darted around. These tiny mushrooms hopped every few seconds, jumping onto nearby algae.

The algae kept near the water’s edge for that reason, staying in the wet shelter of the stream. This shimmering, bluegreen muck swallowed any nearby crawfish, melting the shell and devouring the meat under the chitin. To my surprise, the crawfish indulged on any mushrooms falling into the water. This consuming cycle kept each piece of life at bay.

Following these strange lifeforms, I followed Pier’s Creek before finding a waterfall. About half my height, the series of rapids stuck out like a sore thumb. I followed this stream for miles in both directions, and without a doubt, this stream lacked anything resembling a waterfall. Getting near it, I listened. Flowing water hummed in my ears like the engine of a car.

Beyond the gush, a slight clicking echoed from beyond the water wall. I passed through the waterfall, finding myself drenched and facing a tiny cavern. Bingo. I crawled into the tunnel, claustrophobia pressing in from all sides. That fear surged from the idea of a creature finding me, not the walls themselves.

No cretin found me helpless, so I passed beyond the tunnel and into an opening. The water below carved a middle to this place, two walls of rock wrapping around it. Glowing seaweed lit up from the stream, offering light into the entire hollow. Massive crabs walked around the currents, snapping for fish and nibbling on the glowing seaweed.

Offering more light, crystals lined the wall, glowing azure as an untainted sky. Pacing up towards these crystals, my armor squirmed in place. A shining mist flowed off the glowing gems and flooded my armor. The once shining crystal dampened its glow. Finding more ways of fueling my armor, I turned to the crabs.

Baby Deep Dweller | lvl 14 – This is essentially the larval state of the deep dweller. They feed on algae and various fish until creating a cocoon and transforming into their adult state. They can then feed on much larger prey before growing once more. This molting process continues until they reach behemothic sizes, able to tear down skyscrapers in a single hit.

This is a new colony without any adult deep dwellers. Fully grown deep dwellers can snap their claws with such speed and power that they create sonic booms with resulting explosions. Other variants can snap out their claws with an intensity few creatures can match. They are heavily armored and muscled creatures in this state, with a variety of violent, effective attacks.

These little guys, however, can’t do any of that. They are just the inklings of a much grander species. Face this inkling, you will never face their true horrors.

The deep dwellers followed an evolutionary path, one requiring time to incarnate. Robbing the creature of said time, I crushed the closest crab under a heavy heel. One stomp led to another, and I chained a series of hops together. By the time I left, the cavern carried more seafood than a fish market. The perks and stats coordinated together, making my leaps land with devastating efficiency.

Further benefits mounted.

historical

Skill Unlocked! Stomp | Level 1 – The lifting of one’s heel and driving it downward: that is a stomp. This simple, unrefined attack defies its simple origins, becoming an attack worthy of fear. Levels add additional stomp speed and force.

Making the most of my time, I tossed rocks as I stomped from crab to crab. Balancing while aiming stones took some practice. I wobbled on the monsters, the caving of crab shells and throwing of small stones exhausting me. I gained a grip on it after a while, timing the tosses with the landing of my feet.

I levied the contrasting forces so they evened out more, and after several hours, the tiring turned into tedium. Willpower and the resulting perks from it kept me sharp and focused during this time. A bit of skill leveling later, and I reached the boss. As expected, an older, adolescent deep dweller stood at the end of the subterranean stream.

Less a normal crab and more a shelled spider, its twitching eye stalks zoned in on me. Streaks of blue trailed down the orange top of the creature, zigzagging its surface. It raised clawed hands, one far bulkier than the other. It snapped the larger limb, a snapping sound rippling out. Water nearby cascaded away, the flow of water reversed for a moment.

I picked up a rock, snapping the stone against the crab. It blocked with the thickened shell of its arms. Snapping off my feet, I closed the distance and tackled the monster. It dragged back on its feet, portions of its body cracking. I whipped down, avoiding a snapping claw, and I picked up a rock at the same time.

I lobbed the rock into one of its eyes, the eye stalk breaking. The crab covered the wound while I rocked a heavy hook into its exposed gut. The belly of the beast crushed, my hand dashing through the flesh and chitin. I gurgled on its orange ooze while I reached in and up its chest. Grabbing a mass of organs, I pulled its insides out.

It squirmed as one eyestalk submerged into the shell, a pit of steaming entrails lying at my feet. The creature died seconds after. Staring around, my armor ingested the nearby creature, and the dungeon core popped up in my inventory. I smiled at my notifications.

[Brilliant(Intelligence of 20 or more) – Your intelligence is amazing. 1/10th of intelligence added to luck. Mental skills are gained twice as quickly.

[Genius(Intelligence of 25 or more) – Your intelligence is incredible. Another 1/10th of intelligence added to luck. Doubles effect of mental skills. Level of mana(Health due to Blood Magic) no longer affects mental acuity.]

[Omniscient(Intelligence of 30 or more) – You are all knowing. +5 mana per point of intelligence. +2 mana per level. Increased critical thinking and memory per level. Emotional tolerance doubled. Spells may be cast silently. Doubles mana costs.]

[Piercing(Perception of 20 or more) – Your perception is amazing. Levels can no longer be blanked out, unless the target is unknown. Extra data on enemies is categorized into your personal archive. Minimap data improved to include terrain, obstacles, and enemies.]

[Flexible(Dexterity of 10 or more) – Your dexterity is good. Doubles flexibility bonus.]

Hoping the mana turned into health, I selected the Omniscient. Hitting finalize, my anatomy shifted. A primal change rushed in like a tempest, my thoughts clearing up a bit. Blood Magic altered the perk’s impacts, turning the mental into the physical.

Arcane bonds spread throughout my skin, bones, and even blood. I increased my entire body’s density from these matrices of magic. When I clenched my fist, they bended with me. When I breathed in, these magic circuits coursed through my veins. Like another layer of protection, they held me together, solid as any substance.

That arrived with a subtle shift in my clarity and togetherness. Wielding the refreshing mental change, I analyzed my character screen.

Daniel Hillside, The Harbinger of Cataclysm | Character Screen

Health – 2,456/2,456 | Health Regen – 357.2/min | Stamina – 1,040/1,040 | Stamina Regeneration – 31/sec | Damage Resistance – 96.5% | Mental Resistance – 96.5% | Physical Power – (+)350% | Damage Increase – 5%

Aura – Oppression | Current Damage: (6,000 + 20% of your health)/minute within a 120ft radius.

My health augmented from the mana bonuses of the intelligence perks. Combined with my armor’s health and resistance bonuses, and my generic bulk rose well beyond a normal system dweller. Thinking of Althea’s spears, I frowned. Metal or not, they shouldn’t have pierced me with that kind of ease.

I clanked my fists together, my blood thick and my flesh thicker. Normal spears would’ve rebounded off my armor, but the scout’s could kill me. More mysteries mounted around her and her origins, but I held my curiosity at bay. Dungeons required clearing, and so far, no dungeon since BloodHollow even touched me.

My situation stemmed from being overleveled, mostly from spawning in a dungeon but also from Torix’s help. Unlike my circumstances, Michael and Kelsey might not be ahead of the leveling curve. Setting them up with controlled or weakened enemies might work, but how I’d do that, I had no clue. Getting Torix’s insights and methods could help me out there.

But maybe with a bit less blood and guts involved.

Those thoughts drifted through my mind while I traveled towards the next nearest dungeon. For now, getting myself up to speed took priority.

************************************************************

Roots peeled from the ground, wrapping around my neck. They flooded towards my mouth, my ears, and my eyes. Rushing into my helm, I stayed calm as the center of a storm. The teeth of my helm snapped shut, and I pulled out the creature below. A cluster of plants darted in and out of a mole’s back, some kind of virus having overwhelmed the creature.

Now subservient, this mole corpse snapped its teeth at me. I tore out its bottom jaw, rotten sinews and joints pulling apart with ease. I hooked the jawbone into its eye socket, and the controlled body died. With no control center, the root cluster crawled from the mole’s back. It raced up my arms towards my face before I popped a sweet smelling core at its center.

The cluster fell apart, ropey tendrils collapsing around me. My armor consumed the wooden remains, turning the chaos in my wake into energy for its evolution. Stomping out with another core in tow, I dove out of a mammoth tree on Red Hill. Splinters rained down from my descent, my feet lodging into the dirt below.

My armor swallowed the dungeon core in my palm before a ding echoed in my status. It wasn’t from the core.

Torix Worm, of Darkhill | Level 1,236 – I’ve finished the procedures necessary for the conduit’s completion. You may come back and we’ll commence with the procedure.

I frowned at the message, unnerved but still motivated. I fought over the last few days, getting all of the missing points required for my perks. I gained Brilliant, Genius, Piercing, and Flexible. The perception perk, Piercing, let me find other dungeons, and the extra luck from the intelligence perks may have helped me out already.

It was hard to say.

Those same intelligence perks showed few changes for me. I expected a pretty significant alteration for my mind, yet no true change exposed itself. Even thinking of the increasingly complex system formulas left me overwhelmed. Taking the sting off those unmet expectations, the cores themselves took little time and effort to collect.

The reason for that came from how fresh the dungeons were; most of the dungeons and rifts held babies or larvae from different species. Just reading the statuses, each species carried immense potential given time. I could imagine myself falling behind their growth rates if I stood still system wise, but that wouldn’t be a problem. Ever since the system started, I hustled.

Something about the change motivated me.

Apparently, no one else shared my sentiment. I found no one else running around and clearing dungeons. David and Stacy proved to be exceptions to the norm as most people searched for the missing and dead. It left me thinking about humanity’s future as a whole. If we, as a species, took our sweet time organizing against these dungeons, they’d snowball out of control.

Of course, I didn’t fault anyone for searching people out. I did the same. During my dungeon hunting, I set up a route to cross by Michael’s house. Searching his country cottage up and down, I uncovered an abandoned home. Unlike Kelsey’s residence, no creature’s invaded to force Michael’s family away.

In fact, no sign of Michael’s family materialized at all. No piece of furniture or hunting prize moved at all. I found their kitchen untampered with, their hunting supplies unmoved. I considered taking one of their bows, but I lacked any training for it. If they came back, they’d find more use from the weapon than I would.

But that assumed they ever came back. With multiple weeks passing since the system arrived, I doubted that possibility. I dreaded the other explanations for why Michael and his family disappeared. I considered Torix abducting them as a leverage point, but that didn’t add up. The almighty necromancer could just run his experiments on me by force at anypoint. Going through the trouble of hiding my friends required more effort than simply overpowering me.

As for other outcomes, they haunted me. Michael and his loved ones could’ve died during the tutorial like plenty of other people. That fear stuck out in my mind like a festering wound on someone’s face – an ugly yet undeniable reality. I held that apprehension back like holding a fiery coal in my hand. Barely tolerated, the dread would overwhelm me if I didn’t resolve my fears soon.

That’s why I tore through the forest floor as I raced towards BloodHollow. Roots snapped under my stomping heels and branches cracked on my swinging arms. Thirteen dungeon cores rattled somewhere within the depths of my armor, stored in an unseen place. I used up four of them, leaving me plenty for getting the perks related to luck, perception, and some from charisma.

Progress amassed elsewhere as well. I trained various skills while handling the dungeons, from throwing to stomping to jumping. I collected about 500,000 ambient mana during the process along with eighty seven skill levels. I put them in Obliterator as I strode into BloodHollow. The Sentinel and I exchanged the usual banter, and I reached Torix an hour later.

In the center of the dungeon, Althea hovered over the ground. Torix dressed her in a pair of fitted robes, like something he’d give an acolyte. A new tattoo covered up towards the back of her neck, disappearing into her flush hair. Peering at the markings, they imitated the runes on the wall, though Torix’s lacked the same complexity.

I walked up, “So what’s the plan for Althea?”

Torix pulled out a clear crystal from his bag, “The conduit’s creation has been finalized for her, and the last steps lay with you. We’ll set the energy to fill into this empty mana gem. The crystal shall then fill up in time. You simply must attempt to absorb the energy within the crystal. If anything goes askew, simply cease the mana absorption. I shall pull the energy’s impact from you thereafter.”

I leaned over the clear, glassy stone, “Damn. That actually doesn’t sound as crazy as I first thought. This sounds about as safe as absorbing mutating energy can be.”

Torix shrugged, “You mentioned apprehension at the idea, and I had the time to set a test parameter first.” Torix tossed the gem at me, and I caught it. Torix paced up to Althea, “Ready yourself for her awakening, as the mana shall then begin its production. Speak up if you feel odd.”

Torix raised his hands, his umbral, dark mana oozing from his fingertips. It leaked into the table, charging the runes and incantations. Torix talked as he channeled energy, “Likely the person with a vested interest will send others to come collect Althea. They won’t let her go without at least some resistance, surely. Be prepared for the impending force, though given her level, I doubt anyone worthy of repute shall show.”

Althea twitched before her eyes slid open. She pressed her hand against the cave floor before glancing up. Her eyes glazed over, the comatizing magic ambling out of her. Pulling herself up, she glanced around before her eyes set to mine. Her expression of wonder took me back for a second, but the curiosity crumbled into abject horror.

Her eyes widened, “Wait..What’s going on?”

Torix gestured around himself, “You’re in my lair. I’ve captured you to uncover what you know-”

She raised her hand, “I-I need my armor. I need the medicine. Give me my medicine.”

Torix waved a finger at her, “There will be no need for that, and just as well, don’t interrupt me as well when I’m speaking.” Torix’s eyes flared bright, “Or I shall remove your ability to do so.”

Althea’s chest heaved as she held back the urge to vomit. Glaring down at her hands, she trembled, “Leave. I’m going to change. I-I don’t want to rush under your skin.”

The tattoo along her back sheened purple. A violet fire, it dimmed the room as if absorbing the light around it. Althea panicked, grabbing around herself,

“Did..Did you not hear me? Run.” She pulled herself into a ball, her whole body convulsing in fear, “Away. Any second now and..I’m going to turn.”

After a few seconds of trembling, nothing happened. The conduit worked, and her mana pooled into the small gemstone in my hand. Before I could even connect with it, my armor swallowed the crystal. I took a step back, and Torix spread out his arms, “What have you done?”

I put a hand to my chest, “Me? I didn’t do anything.” I hit my armor, “This did it.”

Althea winced, “Wait, what happened? Why isn’t it coming out? I should already have changed.”

Torix and I met each other’s eyes, a silent conversation taking place in a moment. Torix interlocked his arms behind himself, and I stood tall. The lich stated, “Why, my plan has all worked out precisely as I intended it to.”

I nodded, “Oh most definitely.”

Torix raised a hand, “This conduit has created a permanent connection between you two, siphoning excess mana from you to his armor.”

I spread my hands, “Yeah, so you don’t need to pump yourself with that gunk anymore.”

Torix took a step closer to Althea, hovering over her with an aura of dread, “And therefore, you will tell us what you know of both your employers and reasons for being here.”

Althea blinked, tears tracing down her cheeks. Torix stepped back as Althea heaved deep breaths and coughed. Ignoring us, she raised trembling hands, “I..I’m not turning. I’m here. I’m me.”

Torix and I glanced at each other again, and we gave her some space. We’d get our answers, but we let her have a second to herself. I watched as waves of emotion coursed through Althea, the scout overwhelmed by new sensations. She raised her hands,

“I can’t believe it. I-I can feel the air and the stone. Hah. Hah.” She smiled, touching her robe, “This is incredible. This, wow. I can’t believe it. I’m not turning.”

With light steps like someone in ballet, she hopped across the stone. The robe flowed around her while she spun in circles, spreading her arms and staring up. She rolled over the ground, meandering her form in different ways. A light hop followed a heavy stomp, and she shifted around with a childish glee.

Her wonder proved infectious, and I found myself having a small grin on my own lips. Torix leaned to me, “It would appear she’s never tasted freedom before, hm?”

I put my hands on my hips, “Yeah, it would seem so.”

Torix stepped up to Althea after letting her run wild for a while. He stood a head taller than Althea, Torix’s form imposing and noble. Torix glared down with his fiery eyes,

“Enough fun here. Answer my questions.”

Recognizing our presence for the first time, Althea stared at us like a deer in headlights. She made herself smaller,

“Uh, who are you guys?”

Torix placed a palm to his chest, “I’m Torix. This is Daniel. Now, why are you here, and who sent you here as well?”

Althea squinted, searching her memories, “I’m here for training. I’m supposed to become someone’s follower, in time.”

Torix’s eyes flared bright, “Follower? So it’s a guild leader then?”

Althea blinked, confusion spreading over her face, “I-I think so. Maybe?”

Torix sighed before turning a palm to her, “You may play out your ignorance as you’d like. I shall not believe this charade of bewilderment.”

Her eyes narrowed, “I’m not lying. I don’t know.”

Torix tilted his head, “What of your employer?”

Althea peered down, “He’s a plant. Alm? Awm? Something like that.”

Torix remained motionless before seething, “If you think I’m a fool, simply say so aloud. I shall prove you wrong thereafter should I be required to do so.”

Althea took a step back in fear, “I’m telling you what I know. Why would I want to lie for him? He lied to me about what and who I am. They told me I needed the armor and my medicine or else I’d turn.”

She stared down, her hands trembling, “They lied to me, so I’m not about to lie for them.”

Like a spreading infection, the shaking of her hands travelled up her arms. It hit her chest, and she gasped. One of her hands swelled before her back shifted under her robe. Torix stepped away from her,

“It would seem even a conduit isn’t enough for you to fully control yourself. Your mastery of your mind and body is rather lacking, isn’t it?”

She snapped, a claw rupturing from one of her fingertips. She growled out, “Leave. I still can’t control it.”

I walked up, turning a hand to her, “You can. You wouldn’t have stayed stable at all if you couldn’t.”

She snarle-->>

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