《Evolution of a Healer》


 1. An Odd Dream

    Welcome to the adaptation point.


    Please wait calmly while your form adapts to the new environment.


    The text seemed to float on nothing, and was the only detail Cyn¡¯s eyes could make out in the inky darkness. Darkness wasn¡¯t quite the right descriptor though, and if Cyn wasn¡¯t so preoccupied with other thoughts she might have noticed it was more of an absence of anything at all and not just an absence of light.


    Is that¡­comic sans? Really? Font choice was clearly the most important thing to notice, at least if you worked in website development like Cyn did. How she got here, or even where ¡®here¡¯ was came as an afterthought. She got over the initial confusion quickly though, and tried to look around. Only to find she couldn¡¯t move. Actually, now that she thought about it, Cyn could not even feel her neck to move it. Or her torso. Or anything at all. Even her eyes. She could clearly see the floating message, but noticed she couldn''t feel her eyelids. Or see herself blinking. Normally the human brain ignores those microseconds of darkness, but even when Cyn consciously thought about the idea of blinking she did not see it happening.


    That is when the panic set in. Adaptation point? New environment? What the fuck? After a few more moments of attempting, and failing, to flail around, Cyn tried to think of the last thing she was doing before now. It had been a Saturday, so instead of getting up early to go to work she had slept in until nearly lunch. Then a pretty typical day of playing video games. She had just bought the newest expansion pack for a popular MMO a week ago, and predictably for a gaming enthusiast, had been dumping all of her free time into it.


    Leftover pasta for dinner, more dungeon runs, then¡­sleep. The last thing I remember doing was going to bed. Cyn actually found that realization pretty comforting, and relaxed to wait out the ¡®adaptation¡¯. This was clearly a dream. She had never had a lucid dream before, but there''s a first time for everything. She was no stranger to weird dreams as a whole. Luckily, Cyn did not have to wait very long for the message to change.


    Subject is 79% compatible with system environment.


    Minimum adaptation levels reached.


    Skipping forced evolution and proceeding to¡­


    The text flashed by so fast Cyn could not read all of it before it vanished, leaving only the nothingness behind. She did wonder what ¡®forced evolution¡¯ could mean, but since it sounded pretty ominous it seemed like a good thing it ended up being skipped. Was it to change her into something completely different? Perhaps just make her more compatible with this system environment?


    Cyn did not get to ponder on forced evolution for more than a few breaths before she had the sudden sensation of being moved. She still could not feel her body, but she had a strange sense the area around her was changing rapidly. Then, a flash of blinding light and a rush of sensations that sent Cyn to her knees, dry heaving as she suddenly felt her body again. She had to take a minute to just breathe, eyes closed and kneeling on the floor, before the horrible rush started to fade. That was almost as bad as the time I tried acid in high school.


    When Cyn could open her eyes without a new wave of crippling pain she noticed she appeared to be in what could only be described as a blue void. The surface under her was only barely a darker color than the rest of the area, the color reminiscent of a computer crash screen. It lacked any details or texture and, save for the very normal looking folding table about ten feet away, it was empty. Nothing as far as the eye could see, no way to determine distance or light variance. Overall the endless flat blue gave Cyn a deep feeling of discomfort.


    Standing, she chose to instead focus on one of the two things that were not blue. Herself. Taking account of all her fingers and toes Cyn noted that nothing appeared to be missing or injured other than a lingering nausea. She was pretty sure she went to bed with a few random bruises, since her pale skin bruised easily, but those seemed to be gone. One blessing at least, even if it only meant she could make new ones bumping into stuff. She was still wearing the pajamas she remembered going to sleep in, consisting of a pair of black cycling shorts and a t-shirt a few sizes too big. The shirt was one of her favorites to wear on a lazy day, featuring a large cartoon frog swimming in a coffee pot. Coupled with a tangled mass of red hair, Cyn was sure she looked like a walking disaster.


    Satisfied she appeared to be whole at least, Cyn then decided to take a look at the only other not-blue object. A gray folding table. She had taken a few steps towards it when text once again appeared in front of her, floating now above the table.


    Focus


    Cyn waited for more text to appear, but nothing else happened. With only that vague instruction she decided to take a walk around the table. The only thing she discovered was that the text seemed to remain facing her no matter what angle she looked from. Odd, but it felt a bit like using a virtual reality phone app. The text was there, but also kind of separate from everything around it. Cyn tried to touch the text, but that only confirmed that it did not seem to be physically there and nothing on the table looked like it could be projecting an image.


    While studying the floating word Cyn felt a slight itch behind her eyes that grew until suddenly what could only be described as a pop-up window appeared in the lower left corner of her vision. It relieved the itch upon appearance, washed away by a short burst of warmth that seemed to radiate out from inside of her skull. Like the floating text the pop-up felt like it existed separate from everything else. Unlike the floating text, no matter where Cyn looked, the pop-up remained in the same place in her line of sight. At least it was partially transparent, so the small box did not give her a true blind spot.


    It was however pretty small and difficult to read. Cyn had never tried to read something in the corner of her eye before, and moving her eyes to look left did not help its positioning. After nearly a minute of struggling she figured out how to make the window a little larger, at least while attempting to focus on it. As soon as Cyn stopped thinking so hard about reading the pop-up, it shrank back to its original size. It would take some practice, but it was probably a good thing it shrank back down on its own. Even though she could partly see through the pop-up, having it take up so much of her vision seemed like it could become inconvenient depending on how often it would happen.


    Not that it matters how often it happens. This is a dream. A pretty strange one though, even for me. Maybe it was brought on by that article I read the other day about the possible uses for virtual reality. Cyn shook off the thoughts and chose to focus again on the pop-up to actually read it.


    Focus on the idea of yourself to view your information and status.


    Clearly, this whole thing was some kind of tutorial. At least this instruction was less vague, if only slightly. Actually, the ¡®idea of yourself¡¯ was pretty vague. It was almost a philosophical concept. Who is she? Who is Cyn Price?  I mean legally my name is actually Cynthia but¡­ Cyn did not get to finish that thought before a much larger, but still partially transparent, pop-up appeared. This one took over nearly all of her vision, but for the moment Cyn was not bothered because what she saw was much more interesting then the first pop-up.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: N/A


    Profession: N/A


    Health Points: 9/10


    Mana Points: 40/40


    Stamina Points: 20/20


    Free Points: 0


    Vitality: 1


    Mind: 2


    Will: 3


    Strength: 1


    Agility: 1


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Luck: 2


    Racial Skills: [Dimensional Translator][Inspect]


    Class Skills: N/A


    Profession Skills: N/A


    Feats: N/A


    A bona-fide stat screen. It lacked any of the frills and design details Cyn would have expected to see in a modern RPG, being just text in a semi-transparent box, but since it was actively obstructing her vision the simplicity made more sense. Alongside her status information there also appeared to be notifications, the first two being about the racial skills Cyn saw already listed.


    New Skill Learned! Dimensional Translator (Unique) - You are able to understand all languages native to the dimension of your birth.


    Useful. Extremely useful. Cyn would give just about anything to have this kind of skill when she was awake. ¡®Unique¡¯ was an odd thing to have in the skill title. She would have to look at other skills to see if that meant anything. The wording in the description also seemed to imply the idea of multiple dimensions existing, but even thinking about the implications of that idea gave her a headache, so Cyn moved on to the next notification.


    New Skill Learned! Inspect (Common) - Focusing on a person, object, or idea may reveal more information.


    This was the skill the floating text had been trying to get Cyn to use. Or perhaps teach her? With the third notification being the small pop-up she had gotten when Inspecting the floating text, she assumed the list of notifications were in chronological order but without some kind of timestamp there was no way to tell how long had passed between them as far as she could tell. Inspect also had an odd word in its title, this time being ¡®Common¡¯ and based on experience Cyn suspected that the skills may have some sort of rarity scale.


    The fourth and final notification just told Cyn she could remove notifications and close her menu by focusing on them. She removed the first three notifications, but since the final one seemed like a way to continue a tutorial Cyn left it for now to look again at the list of stats.


    She tried to use Inspect on her name by focusing on it, intending to change it since not even her family called her Cynthia, but nothing happened. Inexplicably she felt like the skill was activating, but it did not seem to work when used on her name. Cyn tried a few more times before she moved on, frustrated. This was her dream, why the hell was she not able to change her name? Next she tried to use it on her race, Human, and the ensuing pop-up did confirm that the skill just did not work on her name.


    Human - The root of all humanoid races. Highly adaptable and with unrestricted evolutionary possibilities, humans embody potential.


    Once Awakened, humans will gain +1 to all stats and +2 free points when leveling up.


    Start with 10 stat points pre-allocated.


    Awakened humans are able to irrevocably alter their evolutionary path to become or even create another humanoid race through their decisions and actions.


    Cyn was not sure what she expected to see when using Inspect on her race, but it certainly was not that. The line about being adaptable and potential was probably the closest thing to what you would get if you had asked Cyn what a human was, philosophically speaking. The stat points were also a little surprising, since in her experience games with point allocation either made it entirely free points or it was based on class.


    This is a dream. Cyn had to remind herself of that. Surely she had seen something similar somewhere else, and that was what her unconscious brain was digging up. In the rest of the description, two repeat words stood out to Cyn, ¡®humanoid¡¯ and ¡®Awakened¡¯. ¡®humanoid¡¯ seemed to be an umbrella term for a group of races based on the context here. Her understanding of the word meant basically any race with basic intelligence and reasoning, along with having a body shape similar to humans. But that might not be the case here. Without more information, she would have to keep that idea on the back-burner for now.


    ¡®Awakened¡¯ on the other hand was actually pretty simple once Cyn took even a moment to think about it. An Awakened human was one that could level up. Kind of ironic naming, since she could not level up when actually awake. What stood out more than anything else was the final line of the description.


    Awakened humans are able to irrevocably alter their evolutionary path to become or even create another humanoid race through their decisions and actions.


    That was¡­kind of terrifying actually. Especially without any knowledge of what other humanoid races were. If it was something that could only be done consciously it would just be interesting, but the idea that her actions could suddenly make her not human anymore made Cyn extremely nervous. She reminded herself again that this was just a dream, but the nervous feeling remained.


    She attempted to distract herself by continuing to go through her menu, but the only other things that responded to Inspect were the two skills she had already seen through the notifications. She could make pretty good educated guesses on what each of the stats did, but for now she was not going to get any detailed information on them out of Inspect. Cyn did notice she was missing a health point, but considering how awful she felt once she could feel her body again it was almost a surprise it was only a single point missing. Hopefully that would regenerate on its own, or maybe her dream world would have free health care so she would not have to worry about that number reaching zero.


    Still feeling a lingering nervousness, Cyn finally closed the fourth notification and vaguely saw through her menu the floating text change and objects appear on the table in front of her. She was a little bit smug about her hunch being correct, that closing the notification would continue the tutorial, and closed her menu to face whatever came next with a slight smirk.


    A smirk that changed into a full grin as soon as she could see the objects resting on the table, before even taking the time to read the new floating text.


    The road before you is filled with strife, and no one can survive walking it alone. Choose how you will contribute to the collective survival of your dimension.


    The new text was on point for what Cyn expected based on the objects. Evenly spaced on the table was a small round shield, a longsword, a pair of crossed daggers, a wooden bow, and a wooden staff. This was clearly going to be how she chose a class. Cyn already knew she would be picking up the staff, although the presence of only a single staff instead of an expected two nagged at her. To Cyn that meant that either a kind of mage or a healer was an option, but not both. Either way, she wanted to Inspect all of the other options first. Starting with the shield, which she assumed would be a tank class.


    Guardian - A root class focused on defending allies. The Guardian sacrifices power for survivability. Root classes are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Guardians will gain +2 Vitality, +1 Strength, +1 Agility and +1 free point when leveling up.


    Cyns'' assumption appeared to be correct. Years of pouring over MMO games and RPGs had not gone to waste. All jokes aside, the only thing that stood out was the concept of a ¡®root class¡¯. The description of human had used the same word before talking about evolution,and even mentioned decisions and actions the same way. Inspecting the longsword solidified the repeating motif.


    Warrior - A root class focused on raw power. The Warrior sacrifices speed in order to hit their enemies hard. Root classes are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Warriors will gain +2 Vitality, +2 Strength, and +1 free point when leveling up.


    Evolution. Decisions and actions. Those were the motifs here. The idea of a class that was shaped this way was pretty cool to her, but the same ideas being present in her race was no less nerve wracking. Perhaps being human was just too ingrained into her sense of self. Cyn had no interest in either Guardian or Warrior, and was pretty sure she knew what the next Inspect would tell her.


    Rogue - A root class focused on speed. The Rogue sacrifices power in order to move more freely around the battlefield. Root classes are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Rogues will gain +1 Vitality, +3 Agility, and +1 free point when leveling up.


    She had actually expected that description to talk about fast attacks, not movement. Interesting, even a bit appealing. Cyn rarely considered melee for herself however, and next up was her default choice anytime a game did not have a magic system.


    Archer - A root class focused on ranged attacks. The Archer sacrifices survivability to instead take out targets from a distance. Root classes are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Archers will gain +1 Strength, +1 Mind, +2 Agility, and +1 free point when leveling up.


    It was rare for her to play a game without magic, but when it did happen Cyn felt ranged was the next best thing. There were even some cases where she preferred it in single player over magic options. But unless this final Inspect pulled the rug out from under her, Archer was not happening.


    Mage - A root class focused on magic. The mage sacrifices physical combat power in order to use magic more efficiently. Root classes are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Mages will gain +2 Mind, +2 Will, and +1 free point when leveling up.


    Did that count as pulling the rug? Cyn read the description of mage again, baffled. Nothing there seemed to even hint at what a mage could do. Even worse, they used magic ¡®more efficiently¡¯. That could mean a lot of things, but she was reading it as one of the worst case scenarios. Whatever a mage did, other classes could do too. Mages were just better at it.


    And now she had a real problem on her hands. If given the option, when playing a MMO or co-op game, Cyn would always choose to be the healer. How much she enjoyed that varied moment to moment and depended heavily on who she was playing with, but ultimately she found the role rewarding. No one wanted to play the healer, but no one wanted to play without one either. Being good at it had made her invaluable in most MMO games, and it was rarely a struggle to find a group for whatever she needed.


    Plus, Cyn could not deny that she was a little petty. Being in charge of who gets healed and who gets to hug the floor was pretty satisfying when people pissed you off.


    If she wasn¡¯t playing a healer, dazzling feats of magic and mayhem was an acceptable substitute. But that description was giving her nothing. If she wanted to play it safe, she should just choose Archer. Its role was very clear, and if other classes could use magic that opened the door to some fun possibilities.


    But ultimately, did this really even matter? I am dreaming. If it''s a good dream, things will be fine. If it''s some kind of drawn out nightmare, there is no right answer anyway. Satisfied with that flawless logic, Cyn did what she really wanted to do anyway. She chose magic.

 2. An Odd Dream?

    The moment Cyn touched the staff all of the other choices vanished, and she felt the burst of warmth in her skull again. This time however, it did not stay in her head region and instead spread throughout her whole body before dissipating. Notifications also flashed in the corner of her vision, but unlike the first time they did not stay there and instead rapidly faded out. The floating text had changed once again, and more items appeared, but for the moment Cyn chose to focus on the choice she had just made. Using Inspect on the staff now gave a much different description.


    Staff of Beginnings (Unique)(Soulbound) - A simple wooden staff given to novice Mages. Lacking enchantments, its primary use is as a walking stick. Can be used as a melee weapon in a pinch.


    Good to know smacking things over the head was still an option. ¡®Soulbound¡¯ was a word she had not seen here yet, but Cyn suspected it would only appear on items. She had seen the term in games and it simply indicated the item could not be given to or used by anyone but the first person who used it. With that curiosity satisfied, she opened her menu to look at the notifications.


    Class chosen: Mage - A root class focused on magic. The Mage sacrifices physical combat power in order to use magic more efficiently. Root classes are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Mages will gain +2 Mind, +2 Will, and +1 free point when leveling up.


    Seeing as the first notification did not give her any new information, she immediately removed it in favor of reading what appeared to be new skills. The first of which had a name that gave her a little hope.


    New skill gained! Restoration (Common) - Use mana to accelerate natural health regeneration and close wounds.


    Can be used on self or others.


    A healing skill. Even if it sounded a little underwhelming, Cyn could be a healer and that¡¯s all that mattered. She should still read the other skills though.


    New skill gained! Mana Ball (Common) - Condense mana into an inefficient and unstable mass that can be thrown to deal unattuned magic damage.


    This one was just¡­weird. The description went out of the way to point out that using this skill is inefficient, and on top of that you had to actually throw it? She couldn''t be certain about what unattuned meant, but suspected that it just did not do elemental damage, like a fireball would. There had to be better attack options than that, even for a level 0 mage.


    New skill gained! Mage Regeneration (Common)(Passive) - The Mage will regenerate their mana faster than other classes.


    And that was it. A walking stick, an underwhelming healing skill, a questionable damage skill, and a passive to get mana back faster were the rewards for choosing Mage as a class. Cyn was not entirely certain if she had made a mistake or not. She had not even gained any stat points since the class appeared to start at 0. If push came to shove at least she had the option of just going feral and bonking her enemies over the head. The absurdity of that mental image made her chuckle and Cyn removed the notifications and closed her menu to read what the floating text had to say now.


    These items should help you while adjusting to the transitional dungeon. Included is a gift chosen by The Arcane Hall to be given to all Mages being Awakened from the 242nd dimension. When you are ready to face the future, open the door.


    If the door is not opened in 2:51 you will automatically enter the dungeon.


    That number was counting down, leaving Cyn less than three minutes to gather up the new items on the table. If she had read the floating text before her new skills, she might have waited to ponder over them. With time ticking by she had to almost forcefully shove away her internal questions about the transitional dungeon and The Arcane Hall, and instead looked quickly over the table.


    The first thing she grabbed was a belt with a few leather pouches attached. A glance inside the pouches revealed two of them to be empty while the remaining two contained a few small bottles filled with liquid, and something rectangular wrapped up in cloth that she did not have time to identify. The pouches did not have a lot of space, but it was better than trying to just hold stuff in her arms. Unable to figure out how to use the clasp on the belt quickly, Cyn just threw it over her shoulder for the moment and started on the rest of the items.


    Next was a pale blue hooded cloak made of a soft material. A different shade than the blue void she had been surrounded by for some time now at least, so it did not come with the discomfort looking around currently did. This was unceremoniously thrown over the same shoulder as the belt. The only reason Cyn recognized the next item, a waterskin, was because of it featuring in many survival games. It looked like it could attach to the belt too, but she would have to just hold it for now alongside her staff. The final item on the table was a box wrapped in blue cloth the same shade as the cloak, and topped with an elaborate silver bow. This was undoubtedly the gift from The Arcane Hall, but with less than a minute to go she would have to open it later.


    Cyn shoved the wrapped box under one arm and held her staff in the hand on the same side, picking up the waterskin with the opposite hand while looking around for the door. Finding a modern looking door directly behind her, she scrambled to open it with only moments to spare, refusing to even think about the logic of using a door that is not attached to anything. As she turned the knob, Cyns vision went dark and she found herself once again unable to feel her body. This time it only lasted a few moments before her consciousness crashes back into her physical form with a flash of pain and bright light.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The pain and nausea were significantly reduced this time at least. While she wanted to keep her eyes closed until the feeling passed, the sound of groans nearby made it clear that wherever she was now, she was no longer alone.


    Cyn quickly opened her eyes in an attempt to assess if she was in danger, but ended up only blinding herself briefly and making her own groan of agony as another stab of pain shot through her head. When she was finally able to actually see, what she found was four other people in various stages of pain and wildly different attire.


    Her attention was drawn left to the most absurd looking of the group. A slightly overweight looking man with light olive skin and brown hair, sporting a full beard it looked like. Although he was currently holding his face in one hand, still groaning quietly. What made him stand out was the fact he wore only a pair of lime green boxers. Scattered around his feet appeared to be the items he was given, including a longsword identical to the one Cyn had passed over, a bright red cloak, and what looked to be metal covered gloves.


    To his left was a tall, dark skinned woman. She seemed a bit more recovered than the first man, eyes wide and quickly flicking around as if she was trying to take in everything at once. Dark hair sat in neat braided rows to be gathered at the back of her head. The gray pants suit and black heels the woman wore looked only a little out of place paired with her leather belt, pouches, and dark green cloak. She had apparently been more time conscious than Cyn or Boxers, and managed to actually wear the gear she had been provided with. Held in one hand was a wooden bow and the straps to a quiver, and in the other some kind of cloth Cyn was not able to immediately identify.


    Left of Pants Suit another man sat on the ground. He too seemed mostly recovered, and was just staring at Boxers. Not that Cyn could blame him for that, Boxers was a sight to behold. Sitting made it harder for Cyn to get a good look at him, but his lanky limbs gave her the impression he would also be pretty tall when standing, possibly taller than Pants Suit even with her heels. Wearing pretty normal gray sweatpants and a dark t-shirt, but no shoes, the only feature that stood out was the tips of his short brown hair were dyed pink. She was not able to see his weapons or gear, but based on the dark purple lump of cloth he was holding in his lap she guessed he may have used his cloak as a makeshift bag to carry it all. Definitely a smarter way to hold things than what she was currently doing.


    The final man standing to the left of Pink was significantly older than the rest of them. His long hair, tied back in a ponytail, had lost any traces of its original color and the wrinkled skin on his face and arms appeared leathery, as if he had spent too much time under the sun over a long period. With a solid black tank top, black leather pants with matching boots, and an array of tattoos Cyn would have bet he owned at least one motorcycle. He just looked the part so completely. Despite his clear age, the biker''s eyes were a sharp, unclouded green and he appeared to be carefully taking in his surroundings. A neat pile of gear sat at his feet, and at the bottom of it was a shield, seeming to be coupled with a spiked mace Cyn had not seen when choosing a class. The folded cloak sitting near the middle of the pile was a dark gold.


    Since her unopened gift was the same shade as her cloak, Cyn had a hunch the cloak colors were significant. Meaning Pink with his dark purple one was probably a Rogue. On a whim, she tried to use Inspect on Pink to see if it would tell her. The pop-up she got was unhelpful.


    ?


    No information beyond that Inspect could be used. More importantly however, was Pink''s reaction. As soon as Cyn attempted to use Inspect on him, Pink''s whole body jolted and he jumped to his feet, looking around wildly while exclaiming, ¡°What was that?!¡±


    Pants Suit took a step back and just shook her head, while Boxers silently looked at Pink like he had lost his mind. With Cyn silently questioning if it even was her use of Inspect that caused his outburst, and mentally confirming he was in fact the tallest of them, that left Biker to be the sensible one.


    ¡°What was what? Young man, all we saw was you suddenly jump up and start hollering for no reason.¡± Bikers voice was gravelly, with a slight southern drawl, and the full weight of his gaze moved to rest on Pink.


    Having a second, calmer voice break their silence had a calming effect on everyone, and when Pink found his voice again he sounded a little sheepish, ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know. It was like the worst case of goosebumps I¡¯ve ever felt suddenly. And¡­like someone was prodding at me. I don¡¯t know man. It¡¯s gone now.¡±


    Cyn knew then it was time to speak up. ¡°That was probably me. I tried to use Inspect, and you jumped at the same time.¡± Four pairs of eyes fell on her at that moment, and while she wasn¡¯t exactly shy it was definitely uncomfortable to have the entire room''s attention. She waited a few moments for any kind of response, but when all she got back were wide eyed stares Cyn felt compelled to add on, ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Good idea. I didn¡¯t think of trying that.¡± This came from Pants Suit, whose voice was as crisp as her outfit, and Cyn did not even get a chance to give the other woman a grateful smile before she understood exactly why Pink had nearly jumped out of his skin.


    It could only be described as invasive. Cyn could not articulate exactly how or why it felt like that, but it did and the shock that came from the almost violent goosebumps made her drop her staff and gift. She was able to recover quickly at least and found Pants Suit frowning slightly.


    ¡°I assume you got the same thing I did, just a question mark?¡± Cyn spoke while bending down to grab her things from the floor, turning her head slightly to look at Pink, ¡°I also see why you jumped when I did that, sorry again.¡±


    Pink let out a relieved laugh and sat back down while Pants Suit answered her question. ¡°Yeah, just a question mark. So I guess we should do some introductions.¡±


    There was barely a pause before Pants Suit spoke again, seeming to take the lead in her own idea. ¡°My name is Dana, and I work as an attorney. I have no idea how I got here between client meetings, and am now apparently classed as an Archer.¡±


    Pink spoke next after it was clear the Archer had nothing more to add. ¡°You can call me Hex, currently unemployed. Pretty sure I was doing dishes before I ended up in that¡­blue hell. Picked up the knives before looking at anything else so I guess I am a rogue now?¡± He didn¡¯t seem pleased with his class based on the almost sullen tone.  I like blue void more. But that works too.  Cyn doubted Hex was his real name, since it sounded like an edgy screen name, but she was not in a position to point it out considering her own nickname. No one else seemed inclined to point it out either.


    Hex¡¯s predicament seemed to make Biker have to take a moment to chuckle before he took his turn to speak, smiling at the younger man. ¡°Names Scott. Retired, and the last thing I remember was cruising down the highway. Sort of assumed I crashed and woke up in literal Hell. Got myself in the same situation as Hex here, and just blindly picked up one of the provided items. Made me some kind of Guardian. Guess that means I¡¯m gonna have to keep an eye on the lot of you.¡±


    Scott already seemed pretty good at putting everyone else at ease, and the more relaxed atmosphere caused Cyn to not feel the same pressure as before once all eyes fell back on her. ¡°My name is Cynthia, but please just call me Cyn. I¡¯m a programmer, and since the last thing I did was go to bed I am not convinced this isn¡¯t just a very, very weird dream. Oh, and I chose to be a Mage.¡± The mention of her class had been an afterthought. She did not know any of these people, and at least two of them seemed to have taken a class by accident rather than purposefully. She wasn¡¯t mad per se, but that coupled with a nagging doubt about this being a dream, and the rising sense of panic was starting to get hard to push down.


    ¡°Shit, magic was an option?¡±


    ¡°That does explain your hair situation.¡±


    Hex and Dana spoke at the same time, the Rogue managing to look even more forlorn over his class choice upon hearing he accidentally passed up using magic.


    Since Boxers did not immediately speak up to take his turn, Cyn decided to ignore the comment about her hair and answer Hex. ¡°Yah, magic was an option. But it seems kind of weird based on the abilities I got, so don¡¯t feel too bad you missed it.¡±


    Hex didn¡¯t look relieved, but nodded just the same and all eyes fell on the final member of their group who had to clear his voice before speaking in a deep baritone. ¡°Call me Sam, I work in construction. I was also sleeping, hence¡­¡± Sam gestured to himself, a clear attempt to explain his state of undress compared to the rest of them. ¡°And after evaluating the options I chose Warrior. Didn¡¯t even have the time to pick up my stuff before I was whisked away again.¡±


    The final introduction was followed by a round of awkward nods that lapsed into silence, everyone seeming to be at a loss of where to go from here. Cyn had taken the opportunity to glance around the room while the others took turns introducing themselves, and while it looked like they might be in a literal dungeon made of stone bricks and lit by torches, the circular room the group currently stood in seemed safe enough with only a single door that was closed.


    Knowing what she at least wanted to do next gave her the courage to break the silence again. ¡°I did not get a chance to look at anything I picked up, and would like to do that before we decide how to proceed. I suggest anyone else who did not get to use Inspect on their stuff or new abilities do the same.¡±


    Cyn started to sit back down as the others nodded in agreement, and as she began to sort through what she had been carrying Scott spoke quietly, tone now far more serious, ¡°I agree, best we do that. I get the feeling from all this we better be prepared for a fight before opening that door.¡±


    ?

 3. More Questions Than Answers

    No one spoke to try and disagree with Scott¡¯s grim words, instead seeming to settle into their own thoughts. Cyn wholeheartedly agreed with his assessment, and for her the first step in preparing had to be checking if anything she had been given would be useful. Starting with her belt of pouches, Inspect did not give any more information than she already had from just looking at them.


    Opening the pouches up to reveal the items that came with it, Cyn found she had three red potions, three blue potions, and what looked like small, dense crackers. The crackers were the cloth wrapped rectangle she had briefly noticed when first picking up the items. Using Inspect, she was able to identify the red potions as health potions, and the blue ones were predictably mana potions. Inspect did not give any detailed numbers however, just informing her that drinking the potions would restore a small amount of health and mana respectively.


    Survival Wafer (Rare) - An unappetizing meal alternative. A single wafer provides all of the daily nutrition required by an Awakened human. Eating more than one wafer in a day may cause severe side effects.


    There were ten wafers in total. The rare quality tag on them made her think it would be difficult to get more. Cyn would run out of fresh water long before she ran out of wafers, but the limited amount was still a concern she filed to the back of her mind while picking up the next item.


    Waterskin (Common)(Water) - A container specifically made to hold liquids. Has a mouthpiece to allow drinking. Able to be attached to a belt.


    Enchantments: [Endless Spring]


    This was the first item she had seen with an enchantment on it. Cyn was able to use Inspect on the enchantment name within the pop-up description to get an idea of what it did.


    Endless Spring Enchantment (Faulty) - Allows the waterskin to be infused with mana to inefficiently convert raw mana into drinkable water.


    So she wasn¡¯t going to be running out of water anytime soon then. As long as the mana use to regeneration ratio wasn¡¯t terrible, that is. ¡®Faulty¡¯ sounded at least a step below common on the rarity scale, if not more. The enchantment was exciting regardless, since the others likely had limited uses for their mana and could instead just use it to keep them safe from dehydration.


    The waterskin also showed what was inside of it. Perhaps there were other liquids that she could put in? Potions maybe? If she could get her hands on another one that is, since she would likely need to continue to carry around fresh water for drinking.


    Saving the gift for last, Cyn used Inspect on her cloak next. While doing so, she couldn''t help but notice that using Inspect was rapidly becoming second nature, and no longer took real effort to use. That was encouraging, because if all skills took the amount of effort to trigger Inspect had at first they were going to be useless to fight with. If it just took practice, Cyn was destined for many training montages, and probably a whole lot of just waiting on her mana to regenerate.


    Novice Cloak of The Arcane Hall (Common)(Soulbound) - Keeps the wearer dry in rain.


    +1 Mind.


    ¡®Useless thing wouldn¡¯t even stop an angry kitten!¡¯ ~ Stelphan, First Lichweaver


    There was a lot to unpack in that short description. It was the second item she received with the ¡®Soulbound¡¯ label, and both related to her class choice. The label itself did not respond to Inspect, so Cyn was forced to keep her previous speculation about its meaning. This was the first item to have stat points on it, and it was also the first time she had seen what could be called flavor text. In games, flavor text generally held little value beyond immersion, but this seemed to communicate that the cloak should not be used to defend yourself.


    While that was useful information, the flavor text was also an attributed quote. ¡®First Lichweaver¡¯ felt like some kind of title, so maybe it was an important individual from The Arcane Hall? Was this something she was supposed to already know? With every Mage related item so far including odd details and giving her fragments of information, she took a breath to brace herself for even more unanswerable questions and carefully untied the ribbon around the box.


    Except it wasn¡¯t a box. As soon as the silver ribbon came untied the cloth gift wrapping collapsed in on itself, completely losing its box shape.  What the fuck?  She froze a moment before picking up the now shapeless mass to unwrap and reveal¡­a crown? No, it was a circlet. Simple in design and of a lightweight silver metal, it was adorned with only a single, colorless gem that Cyn assumed was meant to rest on the forehead.


    Radiant Diadem (Unique)(Soulbound) - The Awakening Gift given by The Arcane Hall to the newly Awakened Mages of the 242nd dimension. Mana can be infused into the diadem to illuminate the surrounding area.


    +1 Will.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    That was a long winded way to explain she now had a magic headlamp. Not that Cyn was complaining, a magic headlamp was pretty cool, and the small stat boost was probably nice. More than anything she was kind of grateful Inspect had not triggered another round of questions this time since everything there that might be questionable she had already seen elsewhere. Well, it triggered no questions except for what happened to the box. The wrapping and ribbon both lacked descriptions beyond what they were made of. The wrapping was dyed cotton cloth, and the bow was dyed silk ribbon. No explanation on why they had once been box shaped. She could only assume it was some kind of magic, but since it didn¡¯t seem important she did not linger too long on it.


    The cloth could potentially be useful, so Cyn folded it into one of her empty pouches to keep. She actually had an idea for how to use the ribbon. Without a hairbrush it would never be cooperative, but between the ribbon to tie it back and the diadem to hold it down she might just be able to keep her mass of red hair in check. Or at least out of her face. Tying the ribbon was harder than she thought it would be, but after a few tries the plan was mostly successful. Cyn then took the time to figure out the buckle of her belt, where the pouches could sit comfortably, and how to properly clasp her cloak.


    Properly outfitted with what she had been given, Cyn still looked silly in her frog shirt, shorts, and with no shoes, but at least now the only thing she had to hold was her staff. Considering its use as a walking stick and bonking stick, her hands were probably the best place for it anyway. Satisfied, Cyn¡¯s attention was once again returned to her new companions.


    Sam looked like he had put on everything he had, but paired with only his lime boxers it made the poor man look more absurd. There must have been some kind of strap included to hold his longsword, as it was now hanging across his back, atop the red cloak. Belt and pouches sat on his bare waist, and his newly gloved hands were fiddling with the pouches. It looked uncomfortable overall. He was standing in the same place he had sat down after their introductions, but the unfocused look in his eyes made Cyn suspect he was reading something in the menu.


    Dana, Hex, and Scott had moved to one side of the room and were speaking in whispers. All three appeared now properly outfitted, although the Archer had been nearly there already when they arrived. She now had her quiver on, and it had a few arrows in it. Cyn was pretty sure it had been empty before, so maybe it was enchanted like the waterskin? Hopefully, since making usable arrows was not an easy thing to do.


    Hex looked like he was from some kind of dystopian RPG. His clothes were casual enough to almost work with the provided gear, and he also had a dark purple fitted mask on that covered his entire face below the eyes. Cyn would have expected the daggers to be attached to his belt, or in thigh sheaths, but they were instead sheathed upside down on his upper arms.


    Scott looked intimidating. There was no other way to put it. Between his already black outfit made mostly of leather and the wicked looking spiked mace it would have been easy to believe the room they stood in was the Guardian¡¯s own boss room. Cyn had been a bit apprehensive about the older man being their Guardian, but one look at him now and any doubts fled. He belonged here.


    ¡°Shit. Hope I wasn¡¯t holding us up.¡± Sam¡¯s deep voice sounded embarrassed, but when the group of three turned to face him and Cyn they just collectively shook their heads.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Clearly you and Cyn had less time to ready yourselves before coming here.¡± After a brief pause Scotts eyes flicked to the door and he continued, ¡°We were just discussing what might be expected on the other side of that door. Me and Hex think it''s gonna be rats. Big ones.¡±


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± The Warrior sounded perplexed at their guess, but Cyn agreed. It was probably rats or maybe undead.


    ¡°I¡¯ve played my fair share of tabletop games, even did time as a dungeon master. Rats just make sense for the scene.¡± Sam nodded slowly as Scott spoke, as if he understood. Maybe he did. When the Warrior had spoken about choosing his class it sounded as if it was deliberate, so it was not out of the question that he had at least some familiarity with RPG¡¯s.


    Between his reaction to missing out on being a Mage and agreeing with Scott about what they would be facing, Hex also seemed like he was connecting whatever this was to RPG concepts. Scott being so familiar with them took Cyn by surprise, but she realized that judging the Guardian based on his age going forward would be a mistake. She glanced at Dana; and that seemed to make the Archer feel the need to voice her own thoughts. ¡°I think it¡¯ll be undead. Walking skeletons or zombies.¡±


    Seems like none of them were fully ignorant at least. Instead of sounding silly by agreeing with both sides, Cyn changed the topic. ¡°Regardless of what we might fight, we need some kind of plan. I have a healing skill, but it doesn¡¯t sound like it''s the kind that could do much in the middle of a fight so we can¡¯t be reckless.¡±


    Everyone''s faces brightened at that, and Hex sounded straight up excited. ¡°You¡¯re a  healer?!  When you said you were a Mage I assumed we needed to prepare for stray fireballs.¡±


    Cyn couldn''t help but smile. The sudden shift in mood embodied one of the reasons she always played healer. ¡°I wouldn''t call me a healer¡­yet. Mages seem to be able to do both. The healing skill I have just says it accelerates natural health regen and closes wounds. Without testing I really don¡¯t know how effective it will be. Plus, I also have damaging magic. It just sounds a bit dangerous to try, especially in close quarters.¡±


    Scott nodded. ¡°In terms of a plan, there isn¡¯t much of one to make until we have more information. Guardian seems like the kind of guy that should go through the door first, and I have no problems with that.¡±


    ¡°You could just open the door and see what it looks like. Worst case scenario the door is rushed as soon as we open it, but me and you could probably hold it shut for a bit while we make a plan.¡± Sam¡¯s idea was pretty sound. There was nothing that indicated they would have to leave as soon as the door opened. Taking a short look was low risk, especially if the Guardian was the one to do it.


    ¡°That sounds like a safe option. Good thinking. Anyone else have a better idea?¡± Scott did not pause long before continuing, genuinely not seeming to mind being the guy in line of fire. ¡°Let''s get this party started, then.¡± He strode towards the door confidently, shield strapped to one arm and spiked mace in the other. But when he got to the door, Scott paused and looked back.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a free hand to open this. Need one of you to do it.¡± None of them had moved with the Guardian initially, but now they all repositioned themselves around the door. Sam went for the handle to pull it open, Hex beside him and seeming ready to help hold the door shut if needed. Dana and Cyn stood a little behind Scott. They had not discussed it, but Cyn felt they both wanted to get a look and not just depend on one set of eyes to observe what was on the other side if it could only be opened briefly.


    Sam stopped his hand inches from the handle and met eyes with the Guardian. Both men nodded, and the Warrior grabbed the handle.


    And did not pull it. After a few seconds of awkwardness Hex asked tentatively, ¡°Sam? You OK?¡±


    ¡°Yah, just¡­just a second. This isn¡¯t really a door.¡± They waited for him to explain that, but he did not. His next words, after a short silence, were instead instructions. ¡°Everyone over here. We have to be touching.¡±


    There was some hesitation, especially from Cyn and Dana, but ultimately they complied and ended up collectively locking elbows to make a human chain. Almost instantly after Dana, who was last, joined the chain Cyn had a pop-up appear. This one did not immediately leave the corner of her vision, so assuming it was related to the door she focused on it in order to make it readable.


    Please confirm you are ready to enter the first floor of the transitional dungeon. If you are entering with a party, all members of your party must be touching and confirm they are ready before the dungeon will start.


    [Ready][Not Ready]


    Below the message were five check marks, two of which were glowing green while the other three seemed grayed out. Cyn confirmed she was ready with Inspect, and the third check mark started to glow. Then the fourth. She heard the Archer mutter behind her, ¡°So much for that plan.¡± just as the final check began to glow, and once again her vision went black.


    ?

 4. First Floor Revealed

    This time Cyn felt barely any pain or nausea, and after a few seconds of rapid blinking in order to acclimate to the low light, she could see her new surroundings. Instead of a dark dungeon, the party now seemed to be in a cave. Presumably a mineshaft based on the mangled tracks along the ground, but their state of disrepair hinted this place had likely been abandoned a long time ago. They currently stood near the center of a large chamber, at least 200 feet across, with multiple exit tunnels, and that was just barely illuminated in places by some kind of growth.


    The growths seemed to creep along the walls, ground, and ceiling, and in many places stretching in the air between surfaces. Most of them were thin and threadlike, but in a few instances they seemed to grow between the floor and ceiling; they looked like thick ropes. They gave off enough light to allow Cyn to see within a few feet of the growth, but outside of that area it became heavily shadowed.


    ¡°Well this is significantly worse than the previous room.¡± The Rogue¡¯s tone was flippant, and after doing a quick spin he added, ¡°Doors gone too. So it looks like we are stuck here.¡±


    ¡°What other choice did we have? That was the only exit.¡± Sam and Hex devolved into a quiet argument that Cyn stopped listening to immediately. She wasn¡¯t claustrophobic or anything, but something about this place made her extremely nervous. Perhaps it was the low light, but she felt like there was something moving just out of sight she sometimes caught in her peripheral vision. But if she turned her head to look, nothing seemed to be there.


    Scott had not moved or said a word, and when she leaned around to look at his face the Guardian appeared to be squinting intently into the darkness. Before Cyn could ask him what was wrong Dana spoke up from somewhere behind her. ¡°Don¡¯t touch the glowing stuff. It''s sticky.¡±


    The four of them at the front of the human chain had not moved from the spot they had arrived, save for small shuffles in order to turn around. But when they all looked back to the rear of their group they found Dana had managed to silently walk a few feet away, crouch down, and prod at a glowing spot with one of her arrows. As the Archer stood back up, pulling the arrow with her, long strands of luminescence clung to the arrowhead and stretched without snapping until she gave up retrieving it and just dropped the arrow back onto the ground.


    Cyn saw movement again, but this time it wasn¡¯t out of the corner of her eye. In the darkness behind Dana, high in the air, something moved. She could hear Scott speaking, but Cyn found herself transfixed on where she had seen the movement, waiting for it to repeat.


    She did not have to wait very long to see it again. A moving shadow was ever so slowly detaching itself from the ceiling. There was not enough illumination in that area for her to clearly see what it was at first, but once it was fully suspended in air the glow from the wall behind created a clear shape.


    And that shape had eight legs.


    ¡°Spiders above!¡± Fear made Cyns voice high, easily cutting through the discussion the party had been having. All eyes snapped upward at her words, and Scott began to let out a near continuous string of curses as they all rushed to arm themselves against the now clear ambush.


    The arachnids seemed to sense the jig was up, and stopped trying to be sneaky. Instead the party could now see at least a half dozen shapes quickly descending down upon them around the room. Cyn still could not make out any details in the dark, but the creatures'' round bodies looked to be the size of a car tire, and each leg was about twice as long as the body.


    Luckily none of the spiders were directly above them, but now that they moved freely they moved  fast.  The closest was the one she had seen first behind Dana, and it was on the ground in seconds after Cyn alerted to the danger. The Archer had already moved back to the group from where she had been prodding at the glowing strands of web, but she was still the closest to the skittering creature and seemed to be struggling to draw the bow in her hands.


    Dana barely managed to get her weapon drawn and fired right as the spider leapt forward from ten feet away. Cyn did not get to see if the Archer''s arrow connected, because she had been standing too close when the Archer finally got the bow fully drawn. Danas¡¯ elbow connected with Cyns shoulder and, with the speed and power behind the draw not being insignificant, she had been sent spinning back and sideways onto the ground.


    Thankfully Scott had taken a few steps to the side in preparation to meet a pair of the arachnids that were descending together, or Cyn might have ended up taking both of them to the ground. She landed on one of her arms, the same side Dana had hit, and that entire arm was now numb. Adrenaline allowed her to ignore it for now and scramble back to her feet within a few seconds of hitting the ground, her staff making a useful crutch.


    Within those few seconds Cyn was struggling to get back up, the real fight had started for everyone else. She glanced at Sam in time to see him step forward and punt a spider hard, sending it careening back into the darkness. A second one reared up on its backmost legs to grab the Warrior around the waist at the same time from the side, but Sam did not seem to even struggle as he seized the grasping appendages, snapping them in his gauntleted fists. He had not even bothered to draw his longsword.


    Scott and Hex were fighting together, facing off against a trio of the arachnids a short distance away from the rest of the party. The Guardian was exceptionally effective with his shield, seeming to be able to bring it up in time to deflect every attack. The Rogue on the other hand spent most of his time behind Scott, but when he did attack he was as fast as the creatures themselves, able to dip into the fray and back out again safely. The pair seemed to be holding their own for the moment, so Cyn did not let her gaze linger on them long before she looked around for Dana.


    She found the Archer flat on her back, just a few steps away, and using her bow to just barely block the large, wiggling fangs trying to sink into her face. The Archers head was down near a strand of glowing web, and the illumination allowed Cyn to take in more details of the arachnid than before. Its exoskeleton was bumpy and matte; and combined with a dark coloration it was no wonder it had been able to blend in seamlessly along the shadowed cave ceiling.


    Cyn took two steps forward to get in range, and swung her Staff of Beginnings as if it was a baseball bat. Not confident with her ability to hit near its fangs without also hurting Dana, and afraid hitting the back of the spider would only make the Archer''s situation worse, she aimed for its side in an attempt to knock it away.


    The attack was not as effective as Cyn had hoped it would be, the creature barely moving. But it was enough to shift its center of balance sideways and allow Dana to take the upper hand in their grapple. The Archer shoved hard with one side of her bow, flipping the spider onto its side. At the same time, she hooked one of her legs around one of the spider''s lower limbs, allowing her to roll with it and force the arachnid fully onto its back with the Archer straddling.


    The spider only appeared to have only a single, round body segment and with Dana straddling it she had effectively neutralized its fangs. They were not large enough to reach her, and its exoskeleton was too stiff to allow any kind of bending. It was not totally defenseless however, and as it flailed all eight legs in an attempt to right its orientation Cyn could make out tears forming across the women''s clothing. The tips of the spider''s legs were almost needle sharp points, and each time they made contact with skin it was leaving behind small cuts.


    Dana was still lacking a weapon for close combat, and while her position was better than a few moments ago it was all she could do to keep the creature down. Unsure how else to help, Cyn attempted to cast Restoration. She was trying to use it on the Archer to counteract the wounds she was receiving, but instead she found sensation rapidly returning to her injured arm, first pain as the numbness receded then that too faded to leave the arm feeling normal again. At the same time, she felt more than saw notifications pop-up but she definitely was not in the position to read them right now.


    While Cyn struggled to figure out why the skill had miscast, Sam ran past her to help Dana. The Warrior started grabbing legs and breaking them off where they attached to the main body one by one. He too was covered in small cuts, more than Dana, but was also sporting at least two pairs of larger wounds on his side, presumably from being bitten.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Please don¡¯t be venomous.  Cyn¡¯s thought was more of a desperate prayer, since they did not have any way to deal with venom other than trying to out heal it. Seeing how bad Sam¡¯s injuries looked gave her an idea though. He was still snapping legs, but with this arachnid mostly taken care of she reached out to touch the Warriors arm and tried to cast Restoration again.


    This time the skill worked as she intended. Cyn¡¯s touch made Sam startle slightly, but he did not complain or pull away as his injuries healed in real time. As soon as the deeper bites stopped bleeding she pulled her hand away to cut off the skill, having felt the continuous drain on her mana while using it. Concerned about the cost, for using it back to back, she opened her menu for a split second to check.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: [Mage] Level 1


    Profession: N/A


    Health Points: 8/20


    Mana Points: 23/100


    Stamina Points: 19/30


    Cyn didn¡¯t bother to check her notifications or read more and just closed her menu. More notifications had popped up in the last few seconds, but she could look at them later. It appeared she used 17 mana to heal both herself and Sam, assuming that leveling up did not restore resources equal to the increase in cap. Seeing that the Warrior was helping Dana stand up from the now dismembered spider, Cyn turned to check on Scott and Hex.


    Only to find them already walking back to rejoin the rest of the group, having finished off their own opponents. The Rogue was entirely uninjured from what she could see, and the Guardian was only sporting minor scratches up and down his arms. Relieved neither of them were in bad condition, Cyn turned back and reached for Dana to use Restore, the Archers injuries looking worse than Scott¡¯s did.


    The other woman spoke before Cyn had a chance to, her voice sounding harried, ¡°I am so sorry. I didn¡¯t know what that stuff was, and did not think touching it with my arrow could have an effect like that. Then I accidentally hit Cyn in the face¡­¡±


    Cyn could not help but give a small, strained laugh. ¡°You hit my shoulder. I¡¯m not quite that short. ¡®Don¡¯t stand directly behind the Archer¡¯ was a lesson I needed to learn apparently.¡±


    ¡°Pretty sure the bastards already knew we were here anyway. I¡¯d bet you walking away from us is what made them start moving. Isolated prey.¡± Scotts words were not comforting, and Dana just nodded in response, looking downcast. His next question was aimed at Cyn. ¡°How''s that healing spell of yours?¡±


    Dana hadn¡¯t needed too much healing, and Cyn checked her menu again to see the cost before answering.


    Mana Points: 16/100


    ¡°I figured out I have to be touching someone to use it on them. I was accidentally healing myself instead of Dana before Sam showed up.¡± She grimaced before adding on, ¡°And the cost is inconsistent. I think it works like a channeled spell.¡±


    Scott was nodding along to her words, looking thoughtful, and spoke again once Cyn fell silent. ¡°It looks pretty effective though. Even with those downsides. And you, boy, something wrong with your sword?¡± That last part was clearly directed at Sam.


    The Warrior looked confused for a few seconds, then sheepish. ¡°I forgot about it, sir.¡±


    Whether it was at the Warriors words, or the immense sigh the Guardian let out, the party laughter that followed served to lighten the tense atmosphere that had lingered after their harrowing first battle.


    When the noise died down again Cyn spoke, ¡°We should find a place to rest a while. We will have to take turns keeping watch, but I need to recover mana and check my notifications.¡±


    While everyone agreed with that, being low on stamina themselves, actually finding a safe place was easier said than done. After a short discussion the party slowly made their way to one of the walls of the cavern, the only decently sized area without a tunnel, walking single file. Scott took the lead with Sam all the way in the rear, since the Warrior had proven he could take a hit better than anyone expected him to. Progress was slowed partly due to everyone trying to avoid touching the glowing webs, but also because three of the five of them had no shoes. It had been easy to ignore with the adrenaline flowing, but now Hex, Sam, and Cyn were feeling the toll of walking on the uneven ground and dirt. Cyn had also voiced concern about the possibility of nails and wood splinters when near the busted mine tracks, but so far no one had stepped on anything too damaging.


    Once they made it to the wall the party had a new problem. Well not new, as they had anticipated it before deciding where to go, but this wall was covered in web. The ground as well had more web than they had originally anticipated, leaving little space for anyone to comfortably rest.


    Hex was the first to voice a solution. ¡°We can try just wiping it off with our cloaks. Not Sam¡¯s or Cyn¡¯s, because I doubt either of you could sit without them, but those of us with pants. I volunteer mine to start.¡± He was already unclasping and shrugging it off, clearly not anticipating a better idea or perhaps just eager to rest.


    Cyn realized for the first time that the cloaks each of them wore had to be custom made, or perhaps had an invisible enchantment. The cloaks fell down to mid calf on everyone. If they all were close in build she would not have noticed, but that was not the case. Cyn was significantly shorter than anyone else, standing barely over 5 feet, and there was probably a whole foot of difference between her and Hex, who was the tallest. Sam was stout and broad shouldered, while Dana was willowy and even without her short heels she would be nearly as tall as the Rogue. Without intervention, there was no way the cloaks should fit the same on everyone.


    She had not even realized how focused she was in that train of thought until she felt someone grab her arm and gently shake. ¡°Cyn..?¡± The speaker was Dana, who had also been the one to grab her arm.


    Cyn had clearly lost a bit of time just standing there. A decent sized area was now clear of web, with Scott and Sam already sitting down with their backs against the wall, also cleared of web. Everyone looked concerned, except for Hex. His facial expression was difficult to read because of the mask. He just raised an eyebrow and asked, ¡°Checking your menu already?¡±


    He was also the only one without his cloak on, so clearly removing the web was not as hard as they feared. Cyn shook her head. ¡°No I¡­I think I¡¯m just tired. I must have zoned out.¡± She felt guilty using that excuse since her contributions so far had been pretty lackluster. She wasn¡¯t even tired, at least not physically. Mentally though, today had been a lot to handle. It was easier when she thought she was dreaming, but Cyn was no longer trying to hold onto that explanation for whatever was going on.


    ¡°Sit down and rest then. Hex and I are going to alternate keeping watch for now.¡± Dana tugged on her arm while speaking, and no one seemed to question Cyn¡¯s explanation. She let herself be led into their pretend safe area, and settled to the ground to look at her notifications before maybe just taking a nap, hard ground be damned.


    Before she could get started Scott spoke. ¡°Did anyone perchance Inspect our ambushers?¡± A chorus of groans and muttered curses was the only answer he got.


    ?

 5. Taking This Seriously

    The first thing Cyn checked was her stat screen to see how fast her mana was regenerating.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: [Mage] Level 1


    Profession: N/A


    Health Points: 13/20


    Mana Points: 65/100


    Stamina Points: 22/30


    Free Points: 3


    Vitality: 2


    Mind: 6


    Will: 7


    Strength: 2


    Agility: 2


    Luck: 3


    Racial Skills: [Dimensional Translator][Inspect]


    Class Skills: [Restoration][Mana Ball][Mage Regeneration]


    Profession Skills: N/A


    Feats: N/A


    A lot faster than her health or stamina did, that was clear. With that kind of mana regeneration, there was no reason for her to not do a little bit of testing. Keeping her menu open, Cyn attempted to use Restoration. And nothing happened. The skill completely failed to activate. It appeared only certain skills could be used while in the menu. This result was annoying, but ultimately unlikely to be a problem long term. As an alternative, Cyn closed her menu, activated Restoration for three seconds, then took another look.


    Health Points: 16/20


    Mana Points: 54/100


    That came close to being one health at the price of four mana, but not quite. She also did not think that math made sense for her uses of the skill during and right after combat. There had to be other factors she could not easily calculate affecting the mana cost, such as closing wounds or using it in combat. She would have to just keep winging its use for now and checking her mana often. She could also see the possibility that it would never be calculable, if the concept of skill experience existed. Cyn couldn¡¯t rule that out, especially since Inspect had already proven to her that there was a tangible effect to using the skill repeatedly. Next on the todo list was her notifications.


    Class experience earned for assisting in the death of Illuminant Harvester - Level 2.


    Experience has been split among all living members of your dungeon party.


    There were six of those notifications, all identical. Thankfully for her and Dana, who had only fought one of the arachnids, it did not seem to matter they were not directly involved with the other skirmishes. Cyn removed all of her kill notifications, leaving only one more to look at. If she had not already seen she had leveled up, this notification would have informed her of that.


    Class level up! [Mage] is now level 1


    +1 Vitality, +3 Mind, +3 Will, +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Luck


    +3 free points


    Cyn had forgotten about the free points. The last few times she looked at her stats it was to check her resources, and she had not even connected her new resource maximums to having additional stat points. It was only three points right now, but it was going to be three points every single time she leveled up. Regardless of the level cap, unless it was super low, that was going to quickly add up to a ton of extra stats.


    She had only played a handful of games where free points existed, or would even be reasonable. Most of the time anything that was not a ¡®primary¡¯ stat for your class had limited, if any, function. Here though, Cyn had the feeling there was no such limitation. She was pretty sure if she put a point in strength it would make her stronger. Making the spending of these points a really important decision in shaping her ability to not only survive, but also function in her role.


    Regardless if you looked at the short or long term, she needed more health. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure how much damage she had taken when Dana knocked her over, since she healed herself shortly after, but it was probably a significant chunk compared to her small pool. If her healing skills continued to force her into melee, her current health situation was not going to cut it. Suspecting it was directly tied to hit points, she placed her first free point into vitality using Inspect. Proven correct by her increasing max hit points, she also placed her second free point there. She only gained a single vitality point when leveling up, so at least some of her free points every level would probably end up in vitality for the foreseeable future.


    Where she should put her third point was a harder decision. Cyn threw out strength as a contender immediately. While bonking the Illuminant Harvester had been disappointing, she didn¡¯t really intend to go around meleeing her enemies. Not for long, anyway. She lacked a good way to deal damage, and was still too concerned about the description of Mana Ball to want to attempt it in an enclosed space, but bonks were not the answer.


    Mind and Will were clearly the primary stats for Mage, but Cyn could barely guess at what they did individually. They were probably tied to mana and power for skills that used mana, maybe even mana consumption on a skill like Restoration. Cyn did not feel like she needed more mana, and without more information decided that adding more Mind and Will was just likely to mess up her attempts to gauge the effect and cost of Restoration, for little benefit. At least for now. She also got a good chunk of those stats automatically on level up, and had started with a higher value of them, so it''s not like she would be lacking.


    Agility and luck were the real competitors here. Thinking back to class selection, Rogue dumped three of its four points into a single stat, and that was agility. Seeing as Rogues were also described as being focused on speed, logically agility would affect movement speed. And probably not just by making her walk faster. If it affected her reaction speed, she might be able to avoid incidents of friendly fire in the future.


    Luck on the other hand was a total wildcard. It could do any number of things, from increasing the chance of dealing a critical hit, resistance to deathblows, to increasing the amount or quality of treasure. Or none of those things and instead something completely unrelated to combat. Luck was rarely a bad stat to have, so the point would probably not be wasted if used. But she also would be unlikely to feel the effects directly.


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    For a split second Cyn thought about just putting this final point into vitality as well. She was not eager to find out if respawning after death applied here, making staying alive the highest priority. And vitality was the only stat that had a clear effect on survival. But ultimately, she ended up placing her third point into agility. The ability to move faster, even a little bit, was hard to pass up.


    Feeling satisfied with her choices, Cyn removed her still pending level up notification and took one last look at her stats.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: [Mage] Level 1


    Profession: N/A


    Health Points: 20/40


    Mana Points: 64/100


    Stamina Points: 22/40


    Free Points: 0


    Vitality: 4


    Mind: 6


    Will: 7


    Strength: 2


    Agility: 3


    Luck: 3


    Racial Skills: [Dimensional Translator][Inspect]


    Class Skills: [Restoration][Mana Ball][Mage Regeneration]


    Profession Skills: N/A


    Feats: N/A


    Her resources had continued to regenerate, if only by a handful of points in the case of health and stamina, while Cyn was thinking about her free point allocation. Her mana had basically recovered from testing Restoration already. Satisfied overall, she closed her menu to check in on the rest of the party.


    Scott¡¯s eyes were fully closed, seemingly asleep or at least resting more deeply than the rest of them. Dana and Sam both were in their menu, based on their shared unfocused gazes. Hex, clearly on watch, glanced at Cyn briefly before returning to glaring into the dark cavern. Her looking around had probably cued the Rogue in that she was no longer in the menu. Or he was just reacting to seeing movement.


    With nothing to do but wait out her resource regeneration, she decided a nap was the best course of action. It wasn¡¯t much more comfortable than just being on the ground, but she could wrap herself up in her cloak and  almost  pretend she wasn¡¯t in a giant spider infested mineshaft. And that was enough to send Cyn¡¯s exhausted mind off to sleep.


    ***


    Waking back up to the hushed whispers of her party and still in a glowing, webbed hellscape proved this whole thing was not a dream to Cyn. Dwelling on it would only lead to a spiral though, and this was not the time or place. There was nothing she could do about it anyway. She could freak out later if they managed to escape this abandoned mine.


    The whispers stopped as she sat up, glancing around. Her surroundings were the same as when she went to sleep, and there was no indication of how much time had passed. To one side Scott, Dana, and Hex were all sitting close together, clearly awake and the source of the whispers. They had put as much distance as possible between themselves and her, without leaving the ¡®safe¡¯ area. Sam was on the opposite side of her, flat on his back and snoring softly. Deciding to let him keep doing that, Cyn got up as quietly as possible to join the others a few steps away.


    Giving her a small smile as Cyn resettled on the floor, Scott whispered, ¡°Feeling better?¡±


    She nodded. She was feeling better, by a long shot. ¡°Much. How long was I asleep?¡±


    ¡°Few hours, I reckon. Sam too. We¡¯ve been taking turns on watch and resting our eyes.¡± Guilt flooded Cyn at the Guardian¡¯s words. She had seriously been asleep so long they skipped her turn on watch?


    Her feelings must have been plain to see, because Hex quickly added in, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry about it. You and Sam were both asleep before ending up in the blue room, right? It makes sense, then, being already tired before we got here.¡± The Rogue''s words were of little comfort, but Cyn appreciated the effort.


    Dana gestured out into the darkness. ¡°We have been discussing where to go in the meantime. Two of the five tunnels out of this room had movement while we were resting. I don¡¯t think whatever it was actually entered this space, but they are definitely occupied. It''s hard to tell, though, when none of us can really see with just the webs for light. Scott thinks we will have to investigate the entrance to each tunnel before we make a decision.¡±


    Cyn had a sudden realization that made her feel a bit stupid. She could probably do something about the lack of light. Obviously they had been a little preoccupied since entering the dungeon, but she should not have forgotten about her gift that quickly. Especially since it was literally sitting on her head.


    ¡°I need to try something once Sam is awake. I might be able to help us see better, but I am not sure if it''s sustainable. And I don¡¯t want to risk the possibility of calling attention to us while someone''s asleep.¡±


    The trio looked at her curiously, with Hex being the one to ask, ¡°Oh? Did you get a new skill when you leveled up? None of us did so I assumed no one would.¡±


    Cyn shook her head quickly and pointed to her diadem. ¡°I was given a gift from something, or some place, named The Arcane Hall. I think it works like a headlamp.¡± Saying it aloud made her realize it was almost too convenient that she was given a gift of light, and the first floor of this dungeon was really dark. Although dark dungeons were a pretty standard concept, making a source of light a safe bet if you were getting a gift for someone entering a dungeon.


    ¡°And you are just thinking of this  now ?¡± Before Cyn could try and explain herself, Scott smacked the Rogue in the back of the head. Probably harder than he intended to, since Hex almost did a face plant despite sitting cross-legged.


    Scott did not apologize, scolding the younger man as the Rogue rubbed the back of his skull, wincing. ¡°Boy, you were just talking about it being reasonable that the girl was tired. And far as I can tell, she''s the only one with a healing skill. Try thinking before you open your trap to piss off the cleric.¡±


    Cyn couldn¡¯t help letting out a genuine laugh. Though the exact words were different, the Guardian¡¯s sentiment was so familiar to her from a lifetime of playing healer class in online games that it was comforting. Unfortunately she did make enough noise to wake up Sam, who once again looked embarrassed at the idea that he might be holding up the party. Insisting he was rested enough, they quickly got him up to speed, before the party had a serious discussion about their sources of water and food. It was clear that until now all of them had been quietly banking on this not being real, making long term plans unnecessary.


    With no one really holding onto that illusion anymore, the conversation was unavoidable. Since all of them had been periodically taking drinks the waterskins needed to be refilled before they continued. Cyn had been correct in thinking that for now she was the only one with skills that used mana, but Dana¡¯s quiver allowed her to conjure arrows cheaply with her mana. Even with that the Archer believed she would be able to keep up with both of their water consumption so Cyn could preserve her mana for skills.


    As it turned out, Dana actually had pretty high mana due to her stat distribution. While they all agreed that they could talk in exact numbers, doing so felt inexplicably uncomfortable. Knowing that the Archer had started with higher will than other stats, and that her class gained mind on level up, the larger mana pool made sense. Exact numbers were unnecessary anyway, at least in this case.


    This conversation also cued them in that while everyone had started with ten pre-allocated stat points, the distributions had been very different. Dana had had slightly higher will and relatively even other stats. Cyn started with high will and mind, with almost all other stats being a single point. Scott and Hex had been mostly even across the board, though the Guardian admitted outright his starting vitality was only one and he was using his free points to make up for it after his accidental class choice. Sam just said he had already come to the conclusion before now that all of them had started with different stats because it did not make any sense for everyone else to have his base strength.


    While Cyn and Sam were sleeping the others had actually taken advantage of Dana¡¯s mana and used the conjured water to mostly wash off Hex¡¯s web-covered cloak so he could wear it again. Infusing the skin with mana was apparently as easy as just focusing on doing that, though for the Warrior he did not have enough mana to fill it all at once. The Guardian had no problems helping there, with Hex agreeing to be backup in case the Archer needed help keeping up with consumption. Dana was practically out of mana now, but there shouldn¡¯t be a need for her to use it anytime soon.


    Food was an easier discussion, if more confusing than the water situation. They  should  be hungry by now, but no one was feeling it. With them having ten of the wafers each, and no idea how long they would be in this dungeon, ultimately the party had no trouble agreeing to just hold onto their food supply and see if they felt hungry later. As for their potions, everyone had started with three health potions. Cyn was the only one who received mana potions however, with the others getting stamina potions instead. They collectively agreed that with Cyns healing skill the health potions were going to be saved for emergencies, while the other potions were to be used with individual discretion. With only three available she considered her mana potions to also be emergency items.


    With one final talk about how to proceed, they were finally ready to get moving. After Cyn figured out how her diadem worked, that is.


    ?

 6. This is a Dungeon

    Before attempting to activate the diadem, Cyn checked on her resources.


    Health Points: 40/40


    Mana Points: 72/100


    Stamina Points: 40/40


    While asleep all of her resources had fully regenerated, but she had used Restoration to fill Hex¡¯s health points after he got smacked upside the head. Scott had underestimated his own strength, and failed to consider that the Rogue may have a small health pool. Apparently that one strike had taken nearly a third of Hex¡¯s max life. Based on the excessive amount of mana it took to top him off compared to other uses of Restoration, Cyn suspected he may have had a concussion or another internal injury, not just health point damage. The Guardian apologized at that point, and promised to be more mindful of friendly fire. He did not promise he would not end up smacking one of them again, just that he would be more mindful of the damage he caused.


    Closing her menu Cyn reached up to press the fingers on one hand to the diadem. She could probably do this without her hands, since she was literally wearing it, but for the first time she thought it might be easier this way. Using the others advice on how the waterskins and Dana¡¯s quiver worked, she focused on the idea of infusing mana into it.


    The result was immediate. While Cyn had expected just the gem to glow, functioning like a headlamp and creating a cone of light forward, instead everything in a full, perfect circle approximately 40 feet in diameter around her was now clearly visible. The entire area was awash in a pale blue light, but it did not appear to have a directional source. This completely eliminated all shadows within the diadem''s aura. Outside the aura however, was totally unaffected. Light is expected to fade as you get further from the source, but this sourceless light cut off sharply at the edges of its radius instead.


    Cyn barely registered all of this before quickly bringing up her menu to check her mana. While it did not feel like it was draining continuously like Restoration did, the up front cost of the spell had made her feel almost dizzy.


    Mana Points: 36/100


    Exactly half of her remaining mana. That number was far too specific to be a coincidence. Closing her menu again Cyn turned to see what her party thought of it.


    They all were looking around, appearing a bit awed. Sam spoke first, ¡°You look like you are wearing a crown of blue glow sticks.¡± Cyn had actually assumed the diadem itself wasn¡¯t giving off light, since any significant glow should have been noticeable that close to her eyes.


    ¡°I would have compared it to a halo, but glow sticks work too.¡± The Warrior looked sheepish as Dana spoke, but Cyn quickly moved the subject off of how she looked.


    ¡°Half my mana to infuse it. I am not sure how long it will last, but it''s not draining more mana to keep up.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you are low on mana now?¡± Hex clearly had his priorities straight, and how she looked was not even on the radar. Could they continue as planned?


    Cyn shrugged at his question. ¡°Lower than I was, but I have about as much as when we arrived here. We should take a look at the tunnels you saw movement in after the others, just to give me a bit of time to regenerate. I think it should take less than ten minutes to get it all back.¡±


    ¡°Great. At the very least, that light should make it harder to ambush us and make it easier to avoid stepping on sharp rocks.¡± He was clearly relieved. Being able to more easily pick safe steps was more important than ever, since now only Scott had shoes. Dana couldn¡¯t keep wearing heels without causing her feet to bleed, and the rough terrain increased her risk of falling with them on.


    ¡°It¡¯ll also announce our presence to anything in here that isn¡¯t blind, but I suspect we will be announcing ourselves with noise and vibration long before they can see us.¡± Scott spoke as he moved to take the lead. ¡°You should walk third, Cyn. That light doesn¡¯t seem to care about line of sight.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± She gave a mock salute to the Guardian, who snorted and just shook his head before starting their jaunt towards the furthest tunnel, the closest ones having had movement detected in them. They had previously discussed her walking directly behind the Guardian, assuming they would be working with a frontal cone of light, but she was not going to complain about being relocated to the center of the conga line.


    Scott would take the lead, focusing on taking an easy path and kicking debris out of the way for the bare feet behind him. With Cyn now holding the metaphorical torch in third position, Hex had been moved forward to second. His role remained the same, since even with her previously going to be walking ahead of him, the Rogue was tall enough to watch over the Guardian¡¯s shoulder into the darkness outside the aura of light for possible threats ahead. Dana and Sam took the rear, with the Warrior being in the last position. Sam had proven himself most likely to be able to handle being ambushed from behind, and apparently his cloak was actually fairly durable so he did not mind the threat of being attacked at that angle too much. Both of them, and Cyn, planned to keep an eye out for threats to the sides as they walked.


    The walk back to the center of the chamber where they first arrived was still slow and nerve wrecking. They could not go in a straight line, having to take a very convoluted path around the cavern due to the web coating being too big to step over in places. The light helped immeasurably, but once the party was away from the wall, the ceiling rose, and it was made clear that the diedems aura wasn¡¯t a cylinder, but a dome or sphere. It no longer reached the roof of the cavern.


    They were not quite back to the center when the diadem''s aura washed over the first arachnid corpse. It was not directly in their path, but off to the side and near the edges of the light. Based on its crushed underside, this was probably the one that Sam had kicked. Cyn tried to use Inspect on the corpse from a distance, wondering if it would even work.


    Illuminant Harvester - Level 2


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    Not exactly helpful. She already knew what they were called and their level from her notifications, and there was no other information there. It¡¯s possible knowing a creature''s level beforehand could help tell her if they were outmatched, but she assumed using Inspect on anything living would give the same reaction Hex had when they first met. If the creature knew Inspect was being used on it, the party could not take advantage of knowing its level to retreat instead of engage.


    On a whim, she also tried Inspect on one of the thick ropes of web stretching up to the ceiling nearby.


    Illuminant Web Mass - Multiple Illuminant Threads twisted together to form a thick rope.


    Illuminant Threads have lost adhesiveness in the creation process.


    Has medicinal properties.


    Has toxic properties.


    Created by Illuminant Harvester


    Cyn was so startled by the unexpected influx of information she stopped walking, causing Dana to bump into her from behind.


    ¡°Wha¡­¡±


    Cyn did not give the Archer a chance to finish asking her what was wrong. ¡°Guys, use Inspect on the big web!¡± The rest of the party stopped, Scott only glancing back at her briefly before joining the rest in following Cyns advice.


    After a few moments Hex spoke up. ¡°The threads are the small strands everywhere. I checked them out while we were stopped, and it showed basically the same thing. Except it said it was highly adhesive. I figured the big ones would have been the same.¡±


    Scott leveled the Rogue with a look and Hex was quick to preemptively defend himself. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was important enough to share! We already knew it was sticky, and the properties don¡¯t really matter if it is both medicinal  and  toxic.¡±


    The Guardian sighed and rubbed his face, and when he spoke he sounded a little exasperated. ¡°You are partly right. But we have to consider that we all came from very different lives, and all think a little differently. Just ¡®cause it''s not important to you, doesn¡¯t mean one of us can¡¯t make use of it.¡±


    Hex threw up his hands and did not argue more. Dana then started to step away from the line while speaking. ¡°I want to check if that means some or all of the adhesiveness. If it''s all, we might be able to cut it down to use later.¡±


    Sam quickly stepped after her. ¡°I¡¯ll go too. Just in case.¡± Cyn was thankful Sam immediately stepped in to go with the Archer. She really did not want to remind Dana what happened last time she separated herself.


    As it turned out, the Illuminant Web Mass had lost all adhesiveness. It took a while to get down though, and after some discussion Dana shot multiple arrows upward in order to sever it partly from the ceiling. Her archery seemed to improve with each shot though, and Cyn chose to count that as a blessing instead of focusing on the time being spent. The Archer admitted earlier that she had never shot a bow before coming here, but her class gave her the most basic of knowledge. The others had similar passives for melee weapons. However, practice was needed to really be able to use them effectively.


    After a handful of shots the mass was frail enough for Sam to snap with a sharp tug. With the height of the cavern they ended up with a lot of rope. For now, the Warrior wrapped it around his torso to carry before they continued on to check out the first of the five possible exits. While waiting for them to gather the rope, the light of Cyns diadem suddenly went out with no warning. A few startled shouts, and one mana infusion later, she hypothesized it would stay lit for one minute per mana consumed. No one had a way to tell the passing time exactly, but it had felt like a little more than half an hour. If it stayed lit close to an hour this time, since she had put half of her full pool in, Cyn would consider the hypothesis proven.


    The first tunnel was pretty disappointing, having been blocked by a cave-in a short distance from their current cavern. They quickly moved on to the next option, only to find a similar situation. Caved in. Hex said he had a passive skill that made him think there was something treasure-like on the other side of the cave-in here, but the party agreed it probably was not worth pursuing.


    The third tunnel had one of the Illuminant Harvesters right at the entrance, clinging to the wall in complete stillness. It did not seem to be able to sense the light from Cyns diadem and was waiting to presumably ambush whomever walked near it first. Without the extra light it would have been close to impossible to see until it was too late. Dana managed to hit it with an arrow to start, and Scott quickly finished it off with his mace as it jumped from the wall straight towards them. Without an ambush advantage a single Harvester would not be dangerous to anyone but Cyn. Even Dana could probably just use her arrows as melee weapons if she thought about it. Cyn really needed to test Mana Ball to get some idea of what it did, but she still felt like doing so in a cavern would be stupid except as a last resort. The third tunnel seemed to continue on without blockage, but everyone wanted to at least take a look at the final two before making a decision.


    The fourth tunnel seemed much the same, sans Harvester. The final tunnel, though, was much different. This was one of the tunnels Hex had seen movement in, and now they knew why. It was narrower than the previous four tunnels, but absolutely infested. And not just with Harvesters, either.


    The party had chosen not to get close enough for their light to reach, making details impossible, but there was definitely at least one other kind of arachnid hanging out over there. They could only tell because it was smaller than the Harvesters the party had fought thus far. Cyn was pretty sure they were baby harvesters. She could just barely make out rounded shapes made of the glowing web further down the tunnel, but no one else seemed to be able to see them. Dana suggested her high mind stat might be affecting her ability to see, and that it would explain why Archers gained mind on level up. Cyn had also been the first to see the spiders during the ambush, so the theory made sense.


    And now the party had to decide what tunnel to take, which was not as simple as most of them expected.


    ¡°I think we have to go down the infested tunnel.¡± Hex was the first to speak, and predictably the entire party, except for Cyn, looked at him like he had lost his mind.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°You blind, boy?¡±


    Sam was just vehemently shaking his head.


    Cyn quickly spoke up, attempting to put forth a middle ground and make the trio of dissenters understand why the Rogue was right. ¡°I agree with you Hex, but I think we should at least try the other options first. To get experience, if nothing else.¡± She locked eyes with Scott, who Cyn believed was most likely to understand her reasoning, before continuing. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, this is a dungeon. The system, or whatever the hell you want to call the phenomenon that put us here, literally called it the first floor of a dungeon. Dungeons have bosses that need to be beaten, and that tunnel screams ¡®this way to danger¡¯ for me.¡±


    She watched Scott''s face shift as she spoke. He understood, like she expected, but he was not happy about it. Hex spoke again to drive the point home for all of them. ¡°None of us chose to be a part of this. We were placed here, together, with no way to go back to our lives. There is no fucking way we are just going to stumble across an exit to wander out of. The way out is through.¡±


    ?

 7. Mana Ball

    Hex¡¯s words didn¡¯t really leave room for argument. Even if they did not like it, the logic was sound. Once it was agreed they would probably have to take the fifth tunnel to ultimately progress, the Rogue relented to trying out the other options. Scott once again led the way as the party trekked back to the third tunnel, the one that had had the single waiting harvester when they first checked it out. The Guardian had suggested that if the goal was experience, then the route already shown to have monsters was the better option of the two. No one had had a counter argument to take the empty route instead.


    While the tunnel was certainly smaller than the chamber the party entered from, it was not narrow. If they wanted, all five of them could walk side by side easily and not even brush the walls. That would not leave much room for anyone to maneuver or swing weapons though, so it was decided against. Instead, Sam moved to take up position parallel to Scott, the two toughest members of their party walking roughly equidistant from both each other and the walls. Once entering the tunnel the concern of an ambush from behind felt lessened, so the Warrior was no longer needed the shield their rear. Sam also mentioned he had no intention of drawing his sword. Its swing was too wide to use comfortably here, and Cyn got the feeling he just preferred using his hands to fight overall.


    Hex, Cyn, and Dana formed a second parallel line behind the first. They stood closer together and more centered than Scott and Sam, and while Cyn felt a little exposed without anyone directly between her and the darkness ahead, she was pretty sure the Rogue intended to use the gap to flit in and out of spider range should they be attacked. As the sole source of useful light, she had to be centered, or one side of the tunnel would lose illumination and they might miss something important.


    Only a few minutes walk from the entrance and one more Harvester later, the mangled minecart track, which had periodically shown itself through twisted bits of metal and wood cresting out of the dirt back in the area they started in, suddenly became whole. Mostly whole, anyway. It still looked decrepit and rusted, but there was a cart sitting atop it and for as far as Cyn could see there did not appear to be any obvious breaks in track around it. The glowing web that spread across all surfaces, which had continued to accompany them away from the main cavern, was also not present on the tracks and cart.


    ¡°That is the single most suspicious thing I have seen in my life, and I have seen some shit.¡± Dana¡¯s normally professional tone had slipped, and Cyn was pretty sure that was the first time she had heard the woman curse. Cyn agreed though, it was very suspicious. Either this cart was used regularly, which seemed unlikely since the web continued everywhere else in the tunnel, or there was something keeping the arachnids from putting web on it. She used Inspect, still at a distance.


    Minecart - Level 4


    ¡­what? Why would a minecart have a level? And one so high at that.  The party was still walking while Cyn¡¯s thoughts bumbled around in confusion, albeit slower than before they saw the cart. Still a good fifteen feet away from it Scott held up a hand. ¡°Everyone stop.¡± The Guardian didn¡¯t look back but continued speaking as they all obeyed. ¡°Cyn, you said you had a damage spell, right?¡±


    Not sure where he was going with this she answered truthfully. ¡°Yah, but I don¡¯t actually know what it does and I think it has to be thrown.¡±


    ¡°Let''s find out on that.¡± Scott pointed at the minecart.


    ¡°You¡­want me to attack the minecart?¡±


    ¡°No, sweetheart. I want you to attack the obvious mimic.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Alright then.¡± Obvious mimic. Of course. Cyn felt like an idiot. That''s why it had a level when she used Inspect. She quickly double checked the description of Mana Ball.


    Mana Ball (Common) - Condense mana into an inefficient and unstable mass that can be thrown to deal unattuned magic damage.


    Exactly as helpful as she remembered. She shifted her staff to her left hand, assuming she would throw better with her dominant one, and held out her right hand palm up, attempting to cast the skill. Mana Ball proved to be an entirely different experience to cast than Restoration.


    The only similarity was the continuous drain on mana while the Ball was forming. It was a slower drain than Restoration thankfully, but Cyn was able to feel much more sharply  how  her mana left her body, and where it seemed to stem from. It was almost as if tiny veins of pure power grew out from the center of her chest to her fingertips, and those veins expelled an ephemeral blue mist out of them.


    The mist rapidly solidified in her hand, gathering to become a sort of amorphous blob initially. She tried to focus on the idea of making it round, seeing as it was literally supposed to be a ball, with some success. Her fingers were still venting out mana though and the larger the mass got the harder it became to keep it a shape. It seemed to naturally want to separate, or perhaps react with the world around it, instead of just being solid-ish mana. Cyn quickly cut off the skill before the Ball was too big for her to keep together, but even though she was no longer venting mana from her fingers the Ball continued to drain her just to keep its shape.


    She was pretty sure if she stopped thinking about it being a ball she would be finding out personally what unstable meant.


    The whole thing had taken about four seconds to form, and was now floating just above Cyn¡¯s palm. The way it wiggled as she struggled to keep it round reminded her of a non-newtonian fluid, and she felt as though it could be a true ball if she could find the right balance of magical pressure.


    Now was not the time, however, with her party watching in interest and a bead of sweat dripping into her eye from the effort this was taking. Scott had even turned sideways, keeping one eye on the mimic while being able to also watch Cyn. With a deep breath, she tossed her Mana Ball at the mimic underhand.


    The drain on her rose sharply as the Ball arced through the air, the effort needed to keep it together rapidly overwhelming Cyn¡¯s capabilities. She had been aiming to have it land in the bucket of the minecart, and when her control fell away it was near the front, still above the mimic. Without her restraining it, the Ball immediately burst like a water balloon.


    If a water balloon could be filled with liquid acid. And shards of glass. And covered in blue flames. The burst did not solely hit the minecart either. The Guardian was just able to raise his shield in time to block what looked like a long, thin spike of flaming mana, which burst into smaller shards on impact. Cyn barely heard the Warrior yelp over the piercing shriek now filling the tunnel, but did not see what had hit Sam as a mostly solid chunk of her own mana slammed into her gut.


    The impact of her returning mana was less than she expected, only making her stumble back, and it seemed to reabsorb into Cyn¡¯s mana pool almost painlessly. The now-revealed mimic was not so fortunate. Its contorting gray form still held the basic bucket shape of a minecart, but it now was oozing a viscous yellow ichor from multiple small puncture wounds. There also appeared to be sections of its body that had become partly melted, warped into bubbling ridges and grooves. A long, jagged mouth was open on the side of the minecart, filled with row upon row of wickedly sharp teeth, and that is where the shrieking was emanating from.


    Cyn was still trying to take in the full effects of what she had done, a little stunned, when the mimic turned towards her and charged. Dozens of eyes in various sizes opened up from previously unseen cracks in its body, and every one focused on her with murderous intent. It had no trouble getting off the track and locomoting on its own, as where there had previously been wheels was now dozens of gray nubs sticking out of the bottom of the mimic. The little undulating legs allowed the monster to move surprisingly quickly, and she was barely able to throw herself sideways in time to avoid its maw.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    What she could not avoid entirely was the mimic¡¯s tongue. Long and whip-like, it flicked out to catch hold of her right wrist as she dodged, the stronger monster causing Cyn¡¯s momentum to suddenly change. The force of it made something in her shoulder snap, and her staff dropped from her other hand as she found herself being limply dragged after the mimic, now scuttling down the tunnel in the direction the party had come from.


    Cyn had been momentarily blinded by the pain from being grabbed like that, but it only took her a few seconds to be able to think coherently again. As soon as the mimic stopped she was going to be in deep trouble if she did not do something, fast. Some instinct told her she was dangerously low on health points, but with her current situation that was probably obvious. She could not take the time to open her menu and check her health, either, but undoubtedly bouncing along like this was whittling away at whatever points she had remaining. Restoration was not going to be enough to help her here, as its healing rate was far too slow.


    She could try Mana Ball again, but instead she chose to focus on her chest, where she had felt her mana drawing from earlier. By doing this she could feel she was also low on mana, though the feeling did not tell her exactly how low. Ignoring that, she tried to control what remained and push it out of her fingers like Mana Ball did, but without using the skill. She didn¡¯t care about making a ball, or even trying to make the mana a single mass. It was a waste of resources when she was touching the monster.


    She felt it working, although in her state of focus the process felt sluggish to Cyn. In reality the whole effort took only a single heartbeat, and within a few more moments she felt herself roll to a halt as the mimic seemed to let go, Cyn ending up stopping on her back. She also felt a notification pop-up, but she was far too preoccupied to care. She cut off her venting mana quickly, and in her blurred vision Cyn barely caught sight of something, or someone, vaulting over her.


    It was coming from the wrong direction to be the mimic again, so she assumed it was one of her party while she was blindly fishing around her pouches one handed to search for potions. Cyn didn¡¯t even try to stand up or move more than was required to feel around the pouches one by one. Metaphorical alarm bells were ringing through her whole body, declaring her now dangerously low on health  and  mana.


    She still hadn¡¯t found the potions when someone knelt down beside her and roughly shoved the mouth of a bottle past her lips in an effort to force Cyn to drink. She managed to swallow most of it, the effects rapidly tangible. Cyn still felt like she had taken the beating of her life, for sure, but was no longer one bad papercut from death.


    Dana, who was the one who had force-fed her the health potion, helped Cyn get into a sitting position, then to standing. The Archer was taking on most of her weight, but that was mostly because Cyn felt unsteady and nauseous. Her legs had barely been injured at all. Dana appeared to be speaking, at least it appeared her mouth was moving, but all Cyn heard was a deafening silence as they shuffled away from the direction the mimic headed. She remembered still being able to hear the mimic shrieking while being dragged, but not after it let go of her. Perhaps she had hit her head? It had been bouncing off the dirt rather forcefully.


    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you. Anything, actually.¡± She couldn¡¯t even hear herself speak, and that was a really odd sensation. Dana just nodded grimly and after moving a little further the Archer sat her back down on the ground. Turning, Cyn could barely make out rapidly moving shadows outside of her diadems aura. Her vision was clearing up slowly, but it wasn¡¯t enough to see how the fight with the mimic was progressing for the others.


    Dana was watching that way too, and Cyn tried to wave her away. ¡°Go help them. I¡¯m in no condition to heal anyone.¡± The other woman refused to leave however, just standing with her bow out and sweeping her gaze over both sides of the tunnel. Probably for the best if Cyn was thinking more clearly about it, because there was no way she would handle being ambushed by a spider while everyone else was fighting the mimic.


    Cyn went to prod at her right shoulder, the worst of her injuries, and stopped when she noticed her arm. The mimic¡¯s tongue was still tightly wrapped around her wrist and forearm. Between the likely break in her shoulder and the disorientation of being dragged she had not realized the mimic did not actually let go of her. Instead, it looked like its tongue had been severed or ripped out and she had been trailing the golden ichor of the monster''s blood. She tried to use her left hand to pull off the tongue, but it seemed to have adhered tightly to Cyn¡¯s skin. Rather than start opening more places to bleed from, she left the tongue where it was and closed her eyes, trusting Dana to keep watch, to check her stats.


    Health Points: 12/40


    Mana Points: 0/100


    Stamina Points: 35/40


    Zero mana. She knew it had been very low, but assumed once it hit zero she just would fail to be able to use it. Unless she had happened to stop venting right as she ran out of mana points, which would be a massive coincidence, that did not seem to be the case. There would definitely be a cost to using mana when you had none, but she wasn¡¯t sure what it was. Maybe it was silently in the negative, or she could not regenerate for a while? Because she had been out of the fight long enough she should have gotten back at least a few points.


    The fact she was only on twelve health, after drinking a potion, was also pretty shocking. Sure, the potions did not say how much they restored but either it only gave a pitiful amount, or she had been down to only one or two health points when she drank it. Even then, that amount of health return would probably be useless to someone like Scott or Sam.


    As she stared at her resources, pondering and watching two of the three slowly regenerate, another notification popped up and she watched her numbers change in real time.


    Health Points: 13/50


    Mana Points: 0/140


    Stamina Points: 37/50


    Too bad leveling up did not restore her health or mana. She checked her notifications, making sure that was from the mimic kill. There was a third notification waiting she had forgotten about receiving earlier, but she would check it last since she did not know what it would be for.


    Class experience earned for assisting in the death of Mimic - Level 4. Experience has been split among all living members of your dungeon party.


    Bonus experience earned for attacking before the Mimic was revealed.


    Neat. Bonus experience for noticing a mimic before getting chomped. Hopefully that was for the whole party, because Cyn absolutely would have been subject to a surprise attack without Scott¡¯s help.


    Class level up! [Mage] is now level 2


    +1 Vitality, +3 Mind, +3 Will, +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Luck


    +3 free points


    Exactly what she expected to see there, although she was wondering at what level she would start to get more skills. She wasn¡¯t sure how everyone else was feeling since they could physically fight, but she really needed something other than Restoration and Mana Ball. Mana Ball was just too unstable to be useful in most situations.


    New Skill Gained! Freeform Mana Casting (Unique)(Passive) -


    The System honors your willful attempt to manipulate mana without skill assistance, and has permanently removed all natural safeguards relating to mana use. Proceed at your own risk.


    [Human] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Mage] - Evolutionary path altered.


    That was not what she meant.

 8. Nearly Dying Comes With Rewards

    Cyn¡¯s hearing was starting to come back, though it was very muffled. It sounded like the party had regrouped, but no one was bothering her yet so there was time to think about her new skill more. Cyn had assumed she would be able to use mana in this way after using the Mana Ball only once, based on feeling alone, but this skill indicated that was normally not the case. Doing so required permission from the System. Without having met another Mage, it was impossible to tell if this was actually something special, or more like she just chopped off her training wheels early. Cyn quickly read the description again.


    New Skill Gained! Freeform Mana Casting (Unique)(Passive) -


    The System honors your willful attempt to manipulate mana without skill assistance, and has permanently removed all natural safeguards relating to mana use. Proceed at your own risk.


    [Human] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Mage] - Evolutionary path altered.


    ¡®Proceed at your own risk¡¯ did not sound like a warning you would get if you were progressing normally. Nor did removing all safeguards at once. Cyn wasn¡¯t even sure what safeguards existed in the first place. She was only level two for goodness sake. To top it off she was apparently already shaping her evolutionary path as well¡­


    Cyn was interrupted by a soft tap on her foot. Closing her menu, she opened her eyes to reveal Scott crouched down in front of her, looking a bit worse for wear himself. There appeared to be some kind of burns up and down both of the Guardians arms, and a nasty looking puncture wound that was still oozing on one hand. It was also dark again, her diadem having run out of juice, and only the webs around them to provide passive light.


    ¡°Can you hear me?¡± His voice was muffled, as if she had headphones on while someone was trying to speak to her.


    Cyn went to nod and winced. Bad idea. ¡°Yah, mostly. Still kinda fucked up.¡±


    Scott¡¯s relief was crystal clear as he reached up to rub his face with his unpunctured hand, shoulders slumping as the tension ran out of him. Cyn knew if she had gone permanently deaf in here, there was no way she would make it out. The whole party may not be able to make it out.


    Carefully taking a look around in order to not move her head too much, Cyn tried to take stock of the party''s condition.


    Dana was uninjured, the Archers priority clearly having been to get Cyn off death''s door and to relative safety as soon as possible while the others finished off the mimic. She was now seemingly wrapping up one of Sam''s legs in his own cloak.


    Sam was covered in blood. While with the low light Cyn wasn¡¯t able to tell where it had come from, she noticed the Warrior didn¡¯t look like he was suffering too badly and she took a guess that it was mostly superficial injuries other than his leg.  His health seems stable.


    That was a really odd thought to have. Looking at Scott again she also got the feeling he was stable, though with lower health than Sam. She had either gotten really good at just eyeballing her party¡¯s condition suddenly, or unlocked some kind of hidden ability to detect health without actually seeing numbers.


    It took a moment for her to find Hex to see if she had feelings about his health too. He was sitting and leaning against the wall to her left, the opposite side of her as Sam and Dana, with his mask off and eyes closed.  His health is low.  Outwardly the Rogue looked alright, with the same scattering of burns as Scott and some tears in his clothes. Cyn did not physically see any open wounds or signs of blood, but she was almost positive he was carrying hidden injuries.


    ¡°Hex, you should drink a potion.¡± He opened his eyes to look at Cyn, but only for a moment before waving her off dismissively.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. We are taking a break anyway.¡±


    Cyn hesitated, but did not push the issue. He would probably be fine if they all rested for a while. Cyn didn¡¯t feel tired, or like she could even sleep, but she did desperately need to regenerate. She was also having to bet on either Restoration or her natural health regen fixing broken bones.


    She ended up informing everyone she was not able to turn the lights back on indefinitely, or heal anyone, and she only vaguely explained she had done something with her mana that she probably wasn¡¯t supposed to do. Since none of them really understood how mana worked anyway, no one questioned it further. While he was helping remove the mimic tongue from her arm, Scott also quietly apologized for having her attack the mimic first, and for not being closer when it attacked. He did not think the level difference was significant enough to be problematic, especially with a preemptive magic attack.


    Cyn brushed off his apology, uncomfortable with how guilty the old man seemed to feel. While she agreed he probably should have been more prepared to tank the mimic¡¯s retaliation, his logic of making her attack first made sense at the time. Plus, she hadn¡¯t even realized it was a mimic. If no one had, she likely would have been the one getting grabbed anyway based on her position. For Cyn, all that mattered was that she didn¡¯t die, so it could just be counted as another lesson learned.


    ***


    A few hours later Cyn opened her eyes again. While she had not slept, she found that meditating, even badly, seemed to have a positive effect on her regeneration rate. She had never been good at truly emptying her mind, but she zoned out to her own internal voice like a pro. Her physical wounds also had healed fully, including the break in her shoulder. Having it snap back into place suddenly was not a great experience, but at least it was fixed now and everyone could breathe a sigh of relief that breaking a bone was not an instant death sentence. It was also very convenient. Cyn couldn¡¯t help but wonder if she had a more drastic injury, such as losing a limb, if that would ultimately be cured as well. At the same time, she definitely did not want to be the one finding out.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    While resting, everyone had finally felt actual hunger and got to try the Survival Wafers. Much to the party¡¯s regret. The description calling them ¡®unappetizing¡¯ was an understatement. Scott mentioned they made him miss MRE¡¯s, although Cyn wasn¡¯t sure that was meant to be flattering to military food. Regardless, the hunger had come and passed quickly.


    Her mana situation had also resolved, although it had been more than an hour into the party¡¯s rest before it started regenerating again. She guessed it to be some kind of overdraw penalty, and in the future Cyn was going to have to be very careful not to trigger that accidentally. Standing up with the help of her staff, having been fetched from where it was dropped by Hex and Dana, she stretched and looked around.


    Her party had been sparring on and off in the dark nearby for a while now. They did not take as long to recover as she had, but no one had complained about not moving on yet either. The mimic had really spooked them all. Being ambushed was one thing, but having an advantage and still having the fight go so poorly left everyone a bit skittish. Speaking of the mimic¡­


    ¡°Was there anything inside the mimic?¡± Hex and Sam stopped their bout, Hex once again wearing his mask, and the whole party glanced over as she spoke.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us thought to look at the time. We were kind of concerned about you being dead.¡± Hex looked around to confirm, and the others just shook their heads. Infusing her diadem again to illuminate the space around her, Cyn started the walk towards the corpse.


    ¡°Someone come with me, please. I just want to look. Every iteration of mimic I know is stuffed with treasure.¡±


    Hex was the one who ended up striding after her, his long legs catching up in only a few steps. ¡°I think I would have sensed treasure.¡±


    ¡°What if monster loot isn¡¯t considered treasure?¡± The Rogue rolled his eyes but did not have a comeback.


    As it turned out, either monster loot wasn¡¯t treasure or Hex¡¯s just skill failed to pick it up. He had to reread his skill, and it said he could  sometimes  detect treasure and hidden objects. Cyn had found a sort of handle inside the bucket portion of the minecart mimic, and pulling on it revealed a small cavity containing five identical black tokens.


    Rare Monster Treasure Token (Rare) - Dropped from rare monsters. Infuse mana into the token to generate a reward based on your combat performance.


    If infused by persons who did not participate in combat with the monster that originally dropped this token, token will instead generate a single random consumable.


    Dropped by Mimic - Level 4.


    You are eligible for a performance reward.


    Cyn tossed one to Hex and, feeling a little giddy because who doesn''t love loot, quickly walked back to share the rest with her party. Everyone''s mood brightened upon their triumphant return, hoping that the rewards they received would make whatever came next easier. There was also relief that came with confirmation that mimic¡¯s were rare, and thus a problem not encountered regularly. Cyn would still be trying to use Inspect as often as she could remember, not just to check for mimics but in case of surprise information like the Illuminant Web Mass had had. Hopefully it would become like second nature over time. Agreeing they could all take a few minutes to use the tokens, Cyn eagerly infused hers with mana.


    ?It barely took any mana to activate, and Cyn watched as the coin in her hands changed drastically. She now held a soft looking pair of dark leather boots that would reach to just below her knees.


    Boots of Near Death Experiences (Rare)(Soulbound) - The larger the gap between your health and maximum health, the faster all resources regenerate.


    Enchantments: [Oops]


    Oops Enchantment (Rare) - Allies take less damage from incidents of friendly fire caused by you.


    It would appear that ¡®based on your combat performance¡¯ was a very literal description on the Treasure Token. Despite them being a reminder of what a disaster that fight had been, the boots seemed good. Or maybe Cyn was just tired of being barefoot. Either way she was already sitting down to put them on her feet.


    The Archer and Warrior both were also putting on boots, with Dana¡¯s appearing leather like hers and Sam¡¯s looking like they had metal plating over the leather on the tops of his feet and front of his calves. Scott had on new plate gloves that reached all the way to his elbows. Cyn wasn¡¯t able to find Hex until a pair of stained gray sweatpants sailed out of the darkness behind the Guardian to hit Sam in the face.


    The Rogue walked back into the light as he spoke, sporting a new pair of black leather pants, ¡°If those don¡¯t fit you, give them to Cyn. I know it''s kind of gross, but I am really tired of playing peek-a-boo with your junk.¡±


    Everyone, even Sam, laughed at that. No one was unhappy with their loot, and after the Warrior barely managed to squeeze himself into his ¡®new¡¯ pants the party set off again, in the same order they had before the mimic. Scott had wanted to change it up, mostly to make sure he was walking in the center to be ahead of Cyn, but they were able to convince the Guardian that what they were doing before was the best option.


    Cyn just needed to not be the first one to attack in a fight. Easy to do, theoretically, but she also had a new ability to play with and a party of people who were able to kill the Illuminant Harvesters too quickly. After an hour of walking and a handful of easy spider deaths, Cyn was able to convince her allies to let her try something on the next waiting arachnid. Her target was a Harvester that was waiting to fall down from a small crevice in the ceiling atop some poor, unlucky soul. Cyn, determined to not end up being that soul, did not argue when the Guardian insisted on being by her side while she made her attempt.


    She just made him stand on the opposite side from her casting hand, since when she had attempted this on the mimic no one had seen the exact result. They had only seen her and the monster becoming separated. Focusing on the pool of mana inside of her, Cyn tried to bring it out through her fingertips again.


    It was easier than expected, and she had to take a few seconds to control the flow as the blue mist vented out. It seemed to be vanishing into nothing quickly however, and she struggled to take control once the raw mana was no longer inside of her. She could feel it was still ¡®hers¡¯, at least until it vanished, but without the assistance of a skill actually using it was going to be tough. Dana ended up shooting down that arachnid too, because Cyn did not want to use too much of her mana at once with experiments.


    Hours later they were still traveling down the same tunnel. The only changes to their environment had been an increase in the number of encountered arachnids. The Harvesters were still level two though, and no more difficult than before since they still waited to ambush in solitude, or at most in pairs. Bored out of her mind, Cyn had been periodically venting small amounts of mana and trying to ¡®grab¡¯ onto it mentally. Still no success in the endeavor, but she felt like she was making progress.


    They also were expecting to level up at any time. The fact the party had killed dozens of spiders during the past few hours and still had not leveled up was confusing. Either these Harvesters did not give much experience, or the experience needed to level increased at an insane rate. Then out of nowhere, Hex said he sensed treasure up ahead. Multiple treasures, actually.


    ?

 9. Standard Procedure

    After walking for so long any change was exciting. Scott did enforce the idea they should not get reckless and rush ahead, as treasure probably meant danger. But even he was walking a little faster now.


    It wasn¡¯t long before what appeared to be the end of the tunnel was in sight. At a distance it was the lack of glowing web that cued them in, and as the party got closer they actually found a closed set of what appeared to be double doors, lacking any handles. It wasn¡¯t a mimic, Cyn made sure of that, but it did seem a little on the small side. Dana and Hex would have to duck slightly to walk through it. Like the mimic, however the doors appeared in suspiciously good condition and completely free of web, as if they did not belong there or someone was doing upkeep on them.


    ¡°Maybe we  did  manage to just stumble on a way out of here.¡± Hex sounded¡­disappointed. Had he actually wanted to fight his way through the infested tunnel? And also wasn¡¯t this the direction he had sensed treasure?


    Scott approached the door first and reached out to touch it, then the Guardian pulled his hand back with a shake of his head. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it. I assume when you touched the other door, Sam, you got a message?¡± The Warrior nodded in response and Scott continued speaking as they all looked over the door, ¡°Don¡¯t see a way to open it. There''s not even many gaps to try and pry it open.¡±


    Dana walked up and just knocked while Scott and Hex were looking for some way to get the doors open. As she did, they heard a series of mechanical whirrs and clinks that had the entire party scrambling backward, readying their weapons in alarm. The sounds only lasted a few seconds before a small, previously invisible, panel opened in the wood.


    Out of the panel shot a small ball of light that touched the ground right in front of the door, and changed into a three dimensional image of a small person. ¡®Person¡¯ in the sense the translucent hologram was humanoid shaped. The image itself was about two and a half to three feet tall, and appeared to be clad in a set of full plate armor, including a helmet that fully covered its face. It also carried a sword on its hip and a shield on its back. For a few moments the party and hologram appear to just stare at each other silently, with the image only moving its head to look at each one of them in turn.


    Dana spoke first, seemingly to the party and not their newest addition, ¡°Maybe I should stop touching strange stuff.¡±


    Before any of them could respond to her the image spoke back, its voice too neutral to determine gender. ¡°Perhaps not, Archer. If your friends had actually tried to pry open the door it would have activated our defensive measures. And it would be a pity to have to kill you, since we have not had guests in a long time.¡±


    Cyn had suspected the hologram was not a recording based on it appearing to actually look at each of them, but that they seemed to speak the same language was a surprise. Maybe they were from the same dimension, or it was because they were inside a dungeon?


    Scott spoke up, taking a diplomatic route, ¡°Apologies to you and yours. Didn¡¯t know there was anything smart enough to talk living down here, and we were just looking for a way out. Do you happen to know one?¡±


    The image turned to peer at Scott a moment before seeming to believe the Guardian was being sincere. ¡°Apology accepted, as no harm was done. As for a way out, no, I don¡¯t know where one is. There is one somewhere in the mine, but I believe our last guests said it was destroyed or damaged beyond their ability to repair by the Illuminants.¡± The image paused a moment before continuing, ¡°I have been given permission to allow you to enter our city, so long as you pass the admittance scan, and you can ask the remaining miners yourself.¡±


    Scott was nodding along slowly with the hologram''s words. ¡°And what is this admittance scan?¡±


    ¡°It is standard procedure.¡±


    ¡°It gonna hurt, damage, or steal from us in any way?¡±


    ¡°It will be uncomfortable. Should you fail we simply will not open the doors, and so long as you leave peacefully no harm will be done.¡±


    ¡°Excuse us a moment, we have to discuss this before making any decisions.¡± The hologram nodded, as if it expected as much, and vanished. The panel on the doors also closed as the Guardian quickly held up his hand, gesturing for the party to follow him back down the tunnel a ways.


    Once they stopped what was hopefully far enough away to not be overhead Scott spoke. ¡°Sounds like a standard quest set up. I bet those miners it''s talking about send us where we already know we need to go.¡±


    Everyone nodded in agreement. The hologram had not been particularly subtle about it. Sam spoke up, ¡°We should still enter the city, shouldn¡¯t we? We might learn more, or at the very least maybe get some supplies?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m kind of strapped for cash for supplies.¡± Dana¡¯s words actually made Cyn want to enter the city more, reminding her how starved of basic information they all were. Would they even use paper money? A barter system? She really wanted answers.


    Scott also thought they should enter the city. ¡°Even if we can¡¯t get supplies, the miners might have some insider information that makes the boss easier on us. A weakness of some kind.¡±


    Cyn spoke up, having had another idea that made entering the city make sense. ¡°A city is also bound to have at least a few professionals. Without knowing how long we will be stuck in this dungeon, we might want to consider picking up a profession ourselves depending on the options.¡±


    Hex agreed with that reasoning immediately. ¡°If cooking is available to learn, I¡¯m doing it. I don''t care how long it takes. Anything to never have to put one of those wafers in my mouth ever again.¡±


    No one needed to be convinced further after the Rogue¡¯s comment. The wafers were truly heinous. Now that Cyn thought about it, that might be the point. They were so bad that it encouraged them to take time learning new skills. The same could be said about the underwhelming potions, the poor quality enchant on their waterskin, and even the fact they had been thrown into this with limited starter gear. Just enough gear to let them know useful gear  existed  , but still making them fight in practically just street clothes at first. Or in Sam¡¯s case, nearly naked.


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    All in agreement, they walked back to the doors. Scott seemed to naturally want to take the lead and knocked. Moments later the hologram was back, looking at them expectantly. ¡°Are you ready for the admittance exam?¡± The party nodded, and a second small panel opened. ¡°I thought so. Please stand still in front of the scanner, one at a time. I will let you know when it is acceptable to move again.¡±


    Hex got in front of the newly opened panel first, the rest of the party moving to be against the far wall to watch.. After a few instructions from the hologram to get him into a better position, a laser-like beam of light shone out and moved rapidly across the Rogue¡¯s body in a systematic pattern. Hex jerked slightly when it first hit him, but was able to remain still for the entire minute the scan took.


    As soon as the laser disappeared the hologram spoke. ¡°Pass. You may move now. Next guest please.¡± Hex warned the party it felt like when Cyn had used Inspect on him, and was probably a better version of it if this city was actually able to see anything about them. The warning helped each of them brace for each of their own scans, and the script repeated identically for Scott and Dana. Sam was told his Illuminant rope, still being worn wrapped around his chest, would be confiscated if he took it inside. With no real recourse, it would be left a little down the hallway while they visited the city. Even if it was gone by the time they came back, the party knew where to get more.


    Cyn was the last one to be scanned. Once it was over, instead of the expected script from the hologram, she got a sight filling pop-up.


    Cogtopia has requested to view skill: [ Freeform Mana Casting (Unique)(Passive)]


    Requesting entity will be unable to use or alter skill.


    Do you accept?


    [Accept][Refuse]


    ¡°The scan has flagged a non-standard skill and labeled it as potentially dangerous. It is standard procedure in this case to have our council manually evaluate your threat potential. Please accept the prompt to allow them to look at a detailed description of it.¡± For the first time the hologram¡¯s voice changed, from its neutral tone to one of surprise. Between the formality it displayed during the scanning process, to the delay before speaking after Cyn¡¯s scan, she suspected it may be reading from a literal script. Ignoring the  very  intense stares from her silent party she quickly accepted the prompt and watched the scanning panel on the doors close.


    ¡°Thank you, you may move now. It may take time for the council to come to an agreement about if you have passed the scan due to the circumstances. Our welcome committee is ready to receive four of you, if you are ready.¡±


    Cyn¡¯s party quickly shook their heads, except for Hex. He hesitated a moment before asking, ¡°If I go inside, will I be informed once a decision is reached?¡± Scott tried to smack him in the back of the head, but Hex was easily able to sidestep the Guardians hand. The Rogue¡¯s reflexes had improved.


    ¡°So long as you make yourself easy to find, that should not be a problem to arrange. I am sure we can¡­¡± The hologram trailed off, leaving the party waiting for it to continue a few seconds later. ¡°Nevermind. Due to her low level and lack of evolutions, the council has unanimously agreed the Mage Cynthia Price is not a threat. All of you have passed the admittance scan.¡±


    Some part of Cyn¡¯s pride felt a bit insulted at being deemed ¡®not a threat¡¯ unanimously, but it''s not like the council was wrong. She really wasn¡¯t a threat to anyone¡­yet. She was pretty sure most people would agree that a healer should not be threatening, but Cyn was quickly gaining the determination to be the most threatening healer anyone had ever seen. A desire totally not born out of sheer spite.


    ¡°Are we ready, then?¡± Scotts question was aimed at the party, though he was still giving the stink eye to Hex. When they all agreed, the hologram vanished and the whirring noise started up again, this time accompanied by even more electrical and mechanical sounds. Slowly what the party had perceived as a pair of double doors began to rise up. It was a cleverly disguised portcullis. Even if they had noticed the odd gap between the ¡®doors¡¯ and ground, when closed the bottom of the portcullis sank deep enough to be nearly impossible to pry open from below.


    The Guardian led them in cautiously walking through the opening and into a large room drastically different from the tunnel they came from. Dirt and web-covered cave gave way to polished gray stone floors and ceiling. The walls were marble-like, shining white where they were visible. Taking up either side of the room was a mass of machinery, a chaotic looking mix of old fashioned looking gears and cogs alongside what appeared to be an almost modern computer display. Directly across from where the party entered there was another archway, and from what Cyn could see it was an equally polished hallway.


    More eye catching than the room itself, though, was the people in it. None taller than three feet, there were a dozen of them frantically running around. They all had exceptionally pale skin and hair, and the proportions Cyn would expect to see on an adult not a child. On a few she caught sight of small, pointed ears peeking out under their hair. One, seeming to be attempting to direct most of the others, had a wrinkled face as if he was elderly. So clearly they were just naturally sized that way. And Cyn was just guessing that one was a man based on his voice, the loud rasp easily distinguished from the general cacophony. As far as she could see, they lacked any visible characteristics normally used to indicate if they were male or female. By human standards, anyway. Everyone seemed to just be wearing loose tunics, pants, and shoes in neutral colors, except for one. One of the people was approaching the awestruck party directly from one of the machine monitors, removing a familiar helmet that matched its plate armor.


    Cyn barely noticed however, as her attention was on what looked to be a  very  hastily painted series of colorful banners hanging above the archway ahead of them. There was even a giant roll of paper and other craft supplies sitting nearby, indicating exactly how last second this plan was. The final banner, paint rolling down in places as it was not even dry, was still being hung by a trio of the natives. They did not use a ladder and instead were precariously stacked atop one another''s shoulders.


    COGTOPIA WELCOMES NEW GUESTS


    HENRY SMITH III


    SCOTT BATES


    DANA FOSTER


    SAMUEL NGUYEN


    CYNTHIA PRICE


    ?

 10. Cogtopia

    Henry Smith. Cyn looked over at Hex to find him with his head in both hands, covering what little of his face the mask did not. That was all the confirmation she needed, and Cyn intended to keep that nugget of information in her back pocket until his ego needed pruning. Well she did, anyway, until Dana burst into laughter.


    ¡°Henry Smith? The  third ? No wonder you felt the need to give yourself such an edgelord new name. That one makes you sound older than Scott.¡± She doubled over, laughing harder, as Hex just shook his head without removing his hands from his face. Scott and Sam both were barely able to contain their own chuckles, and even Cyn could not help smirking. Not that she had much room to talk about having an edgy nickname, but at least she had the excuse that it was a shortening of her real name. The Archer tried to compose herself as the small, armored figure got close to them, but was still chuckling.


    The elderly man too was quickly making his way over, waving his arms in the air and calling out before the armored person could speak, ¡°No, no, no! Asri, you are not ruining the welcoming ceremony for our first guests in a century. Absolutely not! Go back to your duties!¡± Cyn noticed one of the old man''s arms was not an arm at all, but a mechanical limb ending in a four pronged claw instead of a hand. It looked just like the ones you sometimes saw at grocery stores inside of toy machines. The kind that promised stuffed animals but instead stole your money because said claw had practically no hydraulics.


    The armored one, Asri, rolled her eyes. ¡°The safety of all gnomes and guests inside the city  is  my duty, elder. I was only going to introduce myself.¡± Her voice must have been distorted when using the hologram, because when she spoke now it sounded distinctly feminine rather than the nondescript tone the party had heard when on the other side of the gate. The gate now closing behind them, Cyn noticed. Not that she blamed the natives for wanting to keep it closed, the Illuminant¡¯s were as big as the gnomes themselves. Bigger if you counted the legs.


    Asri spoke again while looking at each of the party members in turn, just as she had done as a hologram, while the elderly gnome tugged on her arm as if he could physically remove her. ¡°I am Asri, keeper of the gate and captain of the watch. Please refrain from violence and thievery while within Cogtopia so I do not have to expel you.¡± For as formal as the woman''s words sounded, the twinkle in her eyes and the twitch of her lips made Cyn think she was antagonizing the elder gnome on purpose.


    ¡°Shoo!¡± Asri allowed herself to be pulled, then pushed, away from the party to return to one of the machine monitors. With a sigh of relief the elder gnome turned his attention to Cyn and her party, his wrinkled face lighting up with sheer joy as he looked them over quickly. ¡°Welcome, welcome! We are so excited to be receiving guests again. I was beginning to think I might have to smuggle you inside myself when councilor Heb started to make a fuss about that silly skill. Now, we used to have kitchen staff ready with food for arrivals but the kitchen was removed from this building¡­perhaps¡­forty years ago? Not long before they also took down my welcome sign to be used elsewhere. I told them we would need it again, and now I¡¯ve had to make do with paint! Blasted artificers never think about the long term. Heb has been¡­¡±


    The party just stared as the animated elder continued to babble about how much trouble councilor Heb was, and how silly it was to assume no one would visit them again. They hadn¡¯t even gotten the gnome''s name. The dozen others now just lingered near the archway, looking them over curiously. The three who were previously stacked atop one another had finished hanging Cyn¡¯s still wet name sign, and were now trying to stop the dripping paint from ruining the polished floor. No one was as happy as the old gnome, but they also did not seem overly cautious or upset either. When it was clear the elder was not going to stop talking, one of the waiting gnomes coughed lightly into its hand and spoke tentatively, but loudly enough to be heard. ¡°Perhaps our guests would like to start the tour, Kreeble?¡±


    Kreeble, the elder gnome, cut himself off mid-sentence before sputtering. ¡°Oh, yes. Of course. Follow me, please.¡± Being interrupted did not seem to have much of an effect on his joy, and Kreeble was still grinning as he turned, walking towards the archway. ¡°Much of our city will not be accessible to you, being so large, but the lowest level was built to accommodate our guests from the other dimensions. Since our previous batch of guests became more permanent residents here, the trend of keeping larger buildings at ground level has continued.¡±


    He seemed to want to continue talking as Cyn, Scott, Dana, Sam, and Hex followed the elder into the short hallway, lined with gnome sized doors and a set of almost human-sized doors on the other end, but Cyn quickly interrupted him to ask, ¡°You know we are from another dimension?¡± She had thought they might be from the same dimension, since they could understand one another, but if the gnomes knew about dimensions already she was pretty sure they were not.


    Kreeble did not stop walking, but looked back at them with visible confusion. ¡°Yes? Dimension 78 is far too old to still have root humans wandering around. We figured you were probably from dimension 155. Unless 156 was able to clean up its act in the last hundred years?¡± The old gnome raised an eyebrow, as if he actually expected them to have an answer to that.


    ¡°My Awakening gift says we¡¯re from 242¡­¡± Cyn winced as Sam spoke. She had a feeling that something was off here based on Kreeble¡¯s assumptions, but had wanted to get more information before they dropped that kind of bombshell.


    And bombshell it was. Kreeble stumbled, barely able to catch himself before falling flat, then whipped around to stare at the party with wide eyes. ¡°Gift¡­you¡¯re¡­that¡¯s not¡­¡± The gnome sputtered a few more senseless syllables before his face turned more somber. Kreeble took a deep breath and, after peeking around the party to glance at their entourage, gave the Warrior a stern look. ¡°Don¡¯t repeat that. To anyone.¡± Kreeble peeked another look at the group of gnomes behind them, who were chattering amongst themselves and did not seem to notice the odd conversation, before shaking his head and walking the last few steps to an electronic panel to one side of the doors that they had been heading towards. Now sounding far less joyful, the gnome spoke again, ¡°Behold, our home.¡± He pressed a few buttons, and the doors swung open to reveal Cogtopia.


    Cyn had expected an underground city to be a series of tunnels and chambers. Instead, she found herself staring into an impossibly massive cavern. In the distance, seemingly miles away, she could make out what she thought might be waterfalls cascading down the walls of what she thought might be the far side of the cavern. High above, a craggy roof of gray rock was visible, featuring sparse, multicolored, glowing patches and hanging flora. Cyn also saw some kind of flying creatures flitting between the glowing spots, although from this distance she was not able to make out what they were. Scattered across the landscape were gigantic stalagmites and stalactites, in some places meeting to form columns of rippled rock.


    Near what she approximated to be the center of the area there was a huge green crystal column that looked to have veins of crystal twisting out from it where it met the ceiling and, Cyn guessed, the floor. The green veins glowed brighter than the webs outside had, and created an almost mesh pattern everywhere along all of the natural cavern surfaces, even reaching where the party stood now. Combined with the installed lamps along the cobble road, and scattered everywhere else in the city, Cyn didn¡¯t think she would need to use the diadem to see while they stayed here.


    Where they stood now was a small hill, and directly in front of them was a cobblestone path that sloped down into the city proper. If there was only the ground level, she would have called it a town, but the gnomes had made use of the regularly jutting rock to build vertically at every opportunity, creating stacked clusters of buildings on both stalagmites and stalactites. Between these clusters stretched a labyrinth of bridges to connect it all together.


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    The buildings seemed to be mostly made from the same rock as the walls, and commonly throughout Cyn could see masses of the same kind of machinery they had seen in the previous room. On the ground floor the buildings and machines were larger and more spread out, with the cobble paths running between. How to access the vertical structures and bridges from the ground was not clear from what she could see. Across the entire area were large patches of what seemed to be a kind of fluffy moss, and she was pretty sure there was some kind of animal being kept in pens. The contrast of nature and machine was an impressive sight.


    The whole place smelled, felt, and tasted damp but drawing in a full breath of fresher air felt wonderful. She had not even really noticed the air in the abandoned mine had been kind of thin, but it was obvious now. The party had been silent for nearly a minute, just taking in the unexpected landscape. Scott then ruined the effect a bit by descending into a fit of sneezes. Kreeble had just been letting the party observe, the gnome¡¯s smile slowly returning as he watched their awe. ¡°Magnificent, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    They all agreed it was, though Scott continued to have sneezing fits as Kreeble led them down the path towards the stone buildings at ground level. As they got close the party found themselves to be the center of everyone''s attention, not at all shy about openly staring at the strangers from the windows of buildings or down from the rope bridges above. Nearly everyone Cyn saw was a gnome, all sharing the same short stature and pale features. It also appeared that mechanical limbs like the one Kreeble had were extremely common, with more than half of the gnomes Cyn saw having at least one.


    There were a few people who were not gnomes though, and it was not only their height that made them noticeable. While the gnomes were curious, the other inhabitants'' stares felt far more intense. Most of them were about human-sized, if a little bit taller on average, and lithe. They were not pale like the gnomes either, instead being various shades of brown in both skin and hair. The addition of long, pointed ears made Cyn internally classify them as elves for the moment.


    The other inhabitants she could see as the party was led towards the green crystal looked like a horrifying cross between a spider and a person. There were fewer of them than the elves, but they stood close to ten feet tall, with the general body shape of a humanoid. They stood on two legs and had two primary arms ending in clawed fingers. In addition to the more normal looking appendages, four more limbs were visible, reminiscent of the Illuminant Harvesters legs, with one set rising from their back to curve over the shoulders and the other set near their waist. Their skin was a smooth black, looking more like an exoskeleton than soft skin to Cyn, and most had softly glowing silver hair they kept tied back.


    But it was their faces that ultimately bothered her the most. Each had eight, small, solid blue eyes, no ears or nose she could see, and a nightmarish mouth. The mouth was lipless, and when one seemed to try and smile at her she saw that they had a single row of pointed teeth. Teeth that existed in addition to two sets of fangs so large they jutted out from both their top and bottom jaw, clearly visible even when the creatures mouths were closed. She tried to smile back, wanting to be polite because no one had been threatening so far, but Cyn was not a fan of spiders. The giant Illuminants they had faced so far were bad enough, but these creatures were pushing her limits.


    The party entered what looked like a town square set up around the central crystal, the area immediately surrounding it clear of buildings and bridges. Around the edges of the clear area, she could make out scattered combinations of free hanging ropes and what looked like pulley elevators, and her suspicions that these were used by the gnomes to ascend and descend from above was quickly confirmed. The only structure other than the crystal itself was a raised platform, and standing on it was a pair of gnomes.


    The first one looked like a near carbon copy of Kreeble, clearly another elder. They wore unremarkable clothes like most of the gnomes did, and only stood out due to additionally wearing an odd hat. It had a stiff looking, wide brim, a chin strap, and from the center rose a long pole, topped with a brightly glowing object Cyn could not make out. The pole on the hat nearly doubled the gnome''s height, and looked ridiculous.


    The second gnome was younger than its counterpart, face wrinkle free, and peered at the approaching party with suspicion. They wore a leather apron and toolbelt, both filled with an assortment of tools, and had a mechanical arm with what looked like just a metal tube on the end. As Kreeble gestured for them to follow him up to the platform, their longer human legs taking the steps multiple at a time, the second gnome spoke.


    ¡°Well, not as impressive as I expected for a party that managed to survive getting themselves lost down here.¡± Her tone was condescending, and before any of Cyn¡¯s party could reply the first gnome, who was another woman based on her voice, chided back gently.


    ¡°Now Heb, you agreed it was a good idea to let in our guests. Don¡¯t be rude.¡± Turning to the party, the first gnome gave them a bright smile. ¡°Welcome, guests. I am councilwoman Torith. Please don¡¯t take offense to councilwoman Heb¡¯s words. She may be intelligent, but is too young to remember when we had guests flowing in and out of Cogtopia like water. Councilman Kreeble and I do remember, though. It is good to know our little backwater moon has not been completely forgotten about.¡±


    The party was uncomfortable with the implications of her words, because none of them knew what she was talking about, and it was showing on Sam and Cyn¡¯s expressions. Hex was thankfully covered by his mask, while Dana and Scott both had impressive poker faces. The insinuation seemed to be that they were sent here by someone. And while that might be technically true, if you thought of the System as a ¡®someone¡¯, it probably was not who Torith was talking about. Kreeble supplied an answer that probably was not much better than the truth. ¡°They are here by accident. Interdimensional teleport gone awry from dimension 156.¡±


    There were audible gasps of shock from the surrounding crowd. The platform did not seem to amplify their voices, but the closest of the observing population had been standing quietly enough to overhear. Torith¡¯s face fell too at Kreeble¡¯s words. It was clear that the gnome had hoped their arrival would mean good tidings for their future. Scott spoke up then, clearly speaking to the council but loud enough to probably still be heard by the crowd over the rising sounds of voices around them. ¡°We appreciate your welcome, council. I hope you can forgive our intrusion. We were told someone here might have knowledge of how to get out of these caves? We are hoping to move on as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°You are forgiven, though I am surprised 156 has progressed to interdimensional teleports. You were doing¡­not well when we last received news.¡±


    Dana stepped in to respond to that as Scott hesitated. ¡°Things can change quickly.¡±


    Torith seemed to wait a moment, expecting more, but when Dana did not elaborate she moved on. ¡°I suppose they do. Young dimensions are unstable. As for a way out, I think the old mine foreman, Ander, will know more.¡±


    ¡°No one has been able to leave in a hundred years because of the Illuminants. And, no offense, you are not equipped to try,¡± Heb chimed in.


    ¡°Then maybe we could stay here for a time to get ourselves more equipped? I am sure there is a lot we could learn from the inhabitants of a well established dimension.¡±


    Torith smiled at Scott¡¯s words before offering, ¡°We have plenty of empty housing for large guests, but you¡¯ll have to work to earn your keep outside of that. There is always more work to be done, and I am sure you can quickly figure out what profession you want to invest your effort in.¡±


    ¡°Torith! They are still root humans. We don¡¯t want to hinder their evolutions by forcing them into our ways of doing things.¡±


    Heb rolled her eyes at Kreeble¡¯s interjection. ¡°Is helping them survive through tomorrow really ¡®forcing¡¯ them?¡±


    Both Kreeble and Torith seemed to ignore Heb as Torith replied, ¡°If they end up staying long enough for the root profession to get specialized, they probably aren¡¯t going home.¡± Her next words were aimed at the party. ¡°Think of it as motivation, if you are serious about leaving. The faster you can get out of here, the less our ways will ultimately affect you.¡±


    ?

 11. Limited Answers

    Kreeble still seemed concerned for them, and Cyn couldn¡¯t help but find Torith¡¯s words concerning as well. Having the rest of her life largely impacted by living in a cave for an extended period did not sound like a good time. She was short enough, Cyn did not need to end up evolving into a gnome. Or worse, one of the spider people. Ultimately though, there just wasn¡¯t a better option. The party of humans needed to get stronger and more well equipped, and this was really the only route unless they wanted to try and brute force the infested area.


    The first thing they needed to do, though, was find and speak with Ander, the forman. At least Cyn thought so, but Kreeble was  very  insistent that he show them to places they could stay. The crowd mostly dispersed after the party walked away from the central crystal, but she could still feel a lot of eyes on them as the elder gnome led the way to guest housing. None of the buildings they passed on the ground floor were dilapidated, but it was clear that upkeep on many of them had become less of a priority. It was obvious what ones were currently being lived in or used because they were overall just cleaner.


    Most of the well-kept buildings on the ground floor looked like housing, and private living was just not a thing. Kreeble explained that the housing had been designed for short term living, as their guests were once frequent but rarely stayed long, and to preserve the limited space a number of people would share the same house. He offered to let them choose pre-established groups to join, but did not seem surprised when the party made it clear they did not want to be separated.


    As they walked Kreeble pointed out a communal kitchen and dining area filled with simple tables and chairs. He explained that gnomes had many more in the area¡¯s above, but this was the only one available on the ground. Hex inquired if they might be willing to teach him there, and the only thing Kreeble said in response was that he would talk about their options once they were settled in. He also pointed out where the Arachi, the spider-like people, lived, since their housing requirements were different from elves and gnomes. Cyn had been correct in assuming the long eared humanoids would be called elves.


    Arachi were basically refugees, arriving at Cogtopia only a few years ago. They had been driven out of their homes by the Illuminants expanding throughout the interior of this moon. Cyn wondered if the situation here was more dire than anyone seemed to want to let on, but also felt like every time one of the party spoke they were showing a suspicious level of ignorance. Kreeble clearly was trying to cover for them, but he could only do so much.


    After showing them a few more buildings, including the storage building they would find Cogtopia¡¯s profession stones, since they were learned much the same way that classes were, the party arrived at what would be their home for the near future. Outside, it looked identical to the surrounding buildings. Walls and roof made of gray rock, a handful of glassless windows, and a door that Cyn suspected was not made of wood, even though it did look like it. She had not seen anything resembling a tree down here, so a source of wood ample enough to be wasting on doors seemed unlikely. The windows at least had cloth coverings on the inside, so they were not totally devoid of privacy.


    Inside the floor was the same rock as the walls and roof, just more smooth. It looked like it could use a bit of cleaning, but seemed overall livable. It was dark initially, as Cyns diadem had turned off a while ago, but Kreeble fiddled with a cluster of buttons near the door and showed them how to use it to turn the glowing crystal light residing in the ceiling on. Instead of beds, one wall of the main room had hammocks lined up along the wall and stacked on top of one another.  Infinitely better than the bare mine floor.  On the other side was a handful of chairs and tables with a woven carpet underneath. There was a single door on the other side of the room, but otherwise that was it.


    The elder gnome said it was the washing room behind that door, and made them gather at the buttons to show one more thing. ¡°Anytime you are in here you will want to press this one. It takes a good chunk more mana than turning on the lights, but it prevents sounds from escaping.¡± The look he gave the party now was more serious then the jovial gnome that had been showing them around. ¡°Now sit, there''s an important discussion to be had before you go and mess up your future.¡±


    Finally, maybe they would get some answers. That seemed to be everyone''s thoughts, as the party silently rearranged the chairs into a circle and sat down. Kreeble climbed up onto the remaining chair and let out a deep sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much help I can actually give you before the System intervenes. But I am going to try. Just don¡¯t give me excess details. Am I correct in assuming that, for you, this was labeled as a dungeon?¡±


    They all nodded but before he could continue Dana asked, ¡°What do you mean by that? ¡®Before the System intervenes¡¯?¡±


    ¡°The System is very peculiar when it comes to the Awakening. Interference from the Collective, the surviving Awakened dimensions, is extremely limited until after your terminus event.¡± He quickly held up a hand as Dana opened her mouth to speak again, ¡°Don¡¯t ask! I can¡¯t tell you what that is. Only that it¡¯s what the System is preparing you to survive.¡±


    ¡°If I remember correctly from my studies as a youth, dungeons are only one possible trial for the newly Awakened before they get to go home.¡± Kreeble threw up his hands again, waving frantically. Cyn did not see which one of them had tried to speak this time, but assumed it was the Archer again. ¡°No, no questions! Let me get out what I hope I can. I don¡¯t know how or when I will be stopped before I say too much.


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    ¡°Root humans only exist in the five hundred or so years after a dimension is Awakened, at most. If a dimension is particularly stubborn about it. Usually they are gone within a single generation. You are just too evolutionarily volatile to stick around as a species for long, and the advantages that come from evolving before the terminus event are too tempting.  Everything  you do adds up to what you will become. How you mold your class, your profession, even where you linger and who you spend your time with.


    ¡°Being in a dungeon means what you do here might not have as large of an effect,¡± He eyed Cyn as he paused, then shook his head, ¡°Actually, it might. I would not think the System would allow you to be affected during Awakening like that, but having a non-standard skill at level two is kind of insane.¡± Cyn felt the burning stares of her party again as Kreeble continued. ¡°Anyway, that is to say, be very selective about training your professions. Try to progress through your chosen profession on your own, or as a party, as much as possible, because if you learn skills directly from us it is going to have effects long term. Our home was so peaceful before the Illuminants that we stopped learning how to fight. We evolved out of classes entirely. And I doubt learning our ways would help you, since they barely help us anymore.¡±


    Kreeble had practically admitted what Cyn already suspected. The gnomes, and their other, now permanent guests, were in serious trouble. She had wondered why they had not tried to regain control of the mines, but if they had to fight without class skill assistance it made more sense they had retreated into the city instead. Since Kreeble had fallen silent Cyn hoped he would allow a question, especially one that was more in line with this being a dungeon, ¡°Is there something that can be done to help you here?¡±


    The old gnome gave her a slow blink before responding carefully, ¡°I suggest doing whatever you thought you needed to do before you got here. If this is a dungeon, this isn¡¯t the real Cogtopia. As real as it feels for us inhabiting it, it will cease to be once you are gone.¡± While she was still absorbing that, Kreeble quickly stood and brushed himself off.


    ¡°And now, before I am reduced to a pile of dust or forget what we are talking about, we are going to stop talking about it. I can feel the System warning down to my bones. Anything else will have to wait until you meet those who actually know what they are allowed to tell you. Good luck, and make good choices.¡±


    As he left the party called a chorus of thank you¡¯s after the elder gnome, who gave them a sad smile before shutting the door behind him. As soon as he was gone Scott turned to Cyn. ¡°Alright, putting aside all that for a moment, what in the hell is this skill they keep mentioning?¡±


    Cyn, embarrassed, told them it was the thing she thought she wasn¡¯t supposed to do with her mana that happened during the mimic fight. On further request, she supplied the full description.


    Freeform Mana Casting (Unique)(Passive) -


    The System honors your willful attempt to manipulate mana without skill assistance, and has permanently removed all natural safeguards relating to mana use. Proceed at your own risk.


    [Human] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Mage] - Evolutionary path altered.


    ¡°I agree with Kreeble. That sounds insane to have at level two. And not in a good way.¡± This came from Hex, but all Cyn could do was shrug. It wasn¡¯t like she could go back in time and change it. And she probably would have died without it.


    ¡°I¡¯m being careful. It''s too late to do anything about it, so I might as well learn how to use it.¡± She paused, then added in, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for not mentioning it before. Not because I intend to read off every time something changes for me, but because it probably would have been helpful to know you can gain skills just by being stubborn.¡±


    The Guardian let out a sigh, rubbing his face with one hand. ¡°Yup, nothing to do about it now. What do y¡¯all make of the rest of¡­¡± Scott took his hand off his face to instead wave it in the air, ¡°This? Personally, I don¡¯t want to spend the energy thinking too hard about it. At least not until we are out of here.¡±


    Scott¡¯s preferred solution of putting it off was basically what all of them had been doing already. They had just been collectively rolling with the punches for the most part since meeting, and no one was keen to change that, even Cyn. As badly as she wanted answers, speculation would only get them so far, and it sounded like it could even hinder them if they were not careful.


    They also agreed that while none of them wanted to stay here long, professions would probably be worth at least picking up and trying for a while, depending on what was available. And when Sam confirmed the washroom had running water and a bath, no one could resist the call of being clean and not sleeping on the hard ground for at least a few days.


    From here the party split up. Dana was going to go see if she could find, and get answers out of, Ander. Cyn thought they should go as a group, but the Archer reminded everyone she was an attorney in a previous life. She was pretty decent at getting answers, and mobbing the guy was probably not the way to go about it. Sam and Scott would be remaining at the house for the moment, intending to take turns getting clean and cleaning their clothes. Hex intended to head straight for the storage building to learn cooking, and Cyn decided she would join him to see what was available, since sticking around to wait her turn in the bath was not appealing.


    ?

 12. Choosing for the Future

    Of course it was an Arachi in charge of the storeroom. Thankfully Cyn had arrived with Hex, who spared no time telling the creature what they were after, so she did not have to get over how uneasy the multi-limbed humanoids made her. If she had been alone, she might have just decided to come back later in an effort to avoid interaction. It was perfectly polite, if a bit surprised they would be getting started on professions so quickly, and had no reservations about showing them the carefully stored profession stones. When it spoke it was with a slurred accent, and frequently making small chittering sounds, as if its mouth was not really made for speech.


    Since, much like the weapons during their class selection, the stones were activated by touch, they were carefully stored to avoid accidental touching.A glass display case with nine separated sections, each section having a small metal knob to pull open the door, housed the profession stones. The stones looked almost like totally normal river stones, all smoothed edges and small enough to be held in Cyn¡¯s palm. The only thing that made them stand out was the prominent rune carved or painted onto one side of each one. Hex had seemingly already found what he was looking for, and by the time she got around to using Inspect on the first stone the Rogue was opening one of the small glass doors.


    Builder - A root profession focused on the creation of structures. Root professions are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Builders will gain +2 Strength, +1 Mind, +1 Agility and +1 free point when leveling up.


    How delightfully vague. Not as if that was a pattern or anything. Could this even be used for combat? She could imagine a builder quickly putting up defensive barricades, or a structure for ranged combatants to fight with a height advantage. Or just a more comfortable camp while traveling. Fighting well rested would definitely have an advantage over the aches and pains that came with laying on the bare ground. But it felt like Builder was a profession based more on living as a society. Hex was already gone, so Cyn moved on to Inspect the next stone.


    Smith - A root profession focused on creations using primarily metal. Root professions are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Smiths will gain +3 Strength, +1 Agility and +1 free point when leveling up.


    While the explanation was not any more clear than Builder, at least Cyn could make a good educated guess at what a Smith could do. Armor and weapons definitely. Not useful to her most likely, but she could see Scott or Sam taking this one.


    Cook - A root profession focused on edible and drinkable creations. Root professions are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Cooks will gain +1 Vitality, +2 Mind, +1 Will and +1 free point when leveling up.


    Cyn now knew why Hex was able to get in and out of here so fast, what the Rogue knew he wanted was in the top row. They probably would not want to have the same professions, so Cyn moved on.


    Tailor - A root profession focused on creations using various types of cloth. Root professions are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Tailors will gain +2 Mind, +2 Agility and +1 free point when leveling up.


    Stereotypical RPG Tailor would make armor for light classes, like Mage, and just clothing in general. They would also likely make household goods like blankets and rugs. Definitely a solid option for a Mage, and decent stat allocations, so she would keep it in mind when making her final profession selection.


    Creature Handler - A root profession focused on understanding non-humanoid creatures. Root professions are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Creature Handlers will gain +2 Vitality, +1 Will, +1 Agility and +1 free point when leveling up.


    This was an odd one. In a broader sense, Cyn could see this being for animal husbandry. Understanding livestock would go a long way to making them happy, and happy livestock produced well. But what about combat? Did ¡®understanding¡¯ here mean the ability to communicate? Or just an expedited process of learning what could normally be achieved through observation, like behavior patterns and weak spots? Cyn could see this leading to a sort of animal companion to fight with you, though the idea of sending a hound after something like the Illuminated Harvesters seemed absurd. Not sure what to make of it, Cyn just used Inspect on the next stone.


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    Leatherworker - A root profession focused on creations using primarily creature remains. Root professions are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Leatherworkers will gain +1 Strength, +3 Agility and +1 free point when leveling up.


    Like Tailor this was another standard profession Cyn expected to see. Unlike Tailor, she did not see this working out as an advantage for her as a mage. She wasn¡¯t keen on working with dead animal parts, anyway.


    Socialite - A root profession focused on understanding humanoids. Root professions are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Socialites will gain +5 free points when leveling up.


    Five free points on level up. Cyn could only assume that meant Socialite was a particularly broad profession, and having dedicated stat allocations was not feasible. Not even talking about how this could possibly help them fight, she found the idea of being a Socialite wildly unappealing. She wasn¡¯t a loner, but she also had never been a particularly social person. Plus, like Builder, this one just seemed skewed towards living in a society as a whole. Five free points though, was tempting.


    Jeweler - A root profession focused on creations that use gems and precious stones as foci. Root professions are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Jewelers will gain +2 Agility, +1 Mind, +1 Will and +1 free point when leveling up.


    Not entirely what Cyn would have expected for the description of a Jeweler. The base idea she anticipated was there obviously, with the mention of gems and precious stones, but the idea that using them as foci, presumably for some kind of effect, instead of just making jewelry and accessories was interesting. A Jeweler presumably made her diadem, and she could imagine herself being able to improve it, or making other items with useful effects. Jeweler was going on the back burner while Cyn looked at the final profession stone.


    Woodworker- A root profession focused on creations using primarily wood and plant fibers. Root professions are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Woodworkers will gain +2 Strength, +2 Agility and +1 free point when leveling up.


    Bows and arrows were the only things that came to mind with being a Woodworker, and she was just not interested. She was surprised to see no options for alchemy or enchanting. It could be that Cogtopia just did not have stones for those professions, although it would be pretty weird since they had one for Woodworker, and Cyn doubted that could be more useful than alchemy with what looked like limited flora. More likely, she reasoned, alchemy could stem from Cook. What are potions if not drinkable creations? She had actually kind of hoped to find enchanting as an option, since her limited experience with enchanted items made it seem like there were interesting effects. Perhaps they were limited to being given out by the System, or linked to one of the other root professions in a way she did not understand.


    That left Cyn with the options of Tailor, Creature Handler, and Jeweler. In her eyes, Tailor was a given. Mages wore light clothes and armor, and that''s exactly what a Tailor makes. Its downside was that it would likely have limited usefulness for her party. A cloth armor piece probably would not be high in strength or agility, Cyn reasoned. She could maybe make items that made camping more comfortable, and stitch up their civilian clothes until they could find or make more useful gear. It also felt like the kind of thing she might have to sit down and just dedicate herself to for a while in order to make anything useful. Not that that was a bad thing, especially since it was probably true for all of the professions, but Cyn had done some sewing in her life and would not call it an activity she was thrilled by the idea of doing regularly. It was kind of boring. Being kind of boring weakened its viability in her eyes, but it was still a solid option.


    Creature Handler was just odd overall. She had almost dismissed it outright, but the amount of possible skills and effects really called to her. And what could she say, Cyn loved animals. As long as those animals were not spiders. She even liked most bugs, as long as they had less or more than eight legs. It also had stats she liked more then Tailor or Jeweler, propping up her weaker vitality and agility. The +1 mind she did not feel strongly about, but only two of the professions gave vitality on level up at all, and she did not intend to be a Cook like Hex. The very large downside was that she was working with assumptions on limited knowledge, and in that regard she could not even tell if this would be more of a benefit to her, like Tailoring was, or to her party. If it was useful at all.


    Jeweler did not look like it would suffer from being boring, or from only being useful to Cyn herself. It did however suffer the same problem as Creature Handler, in that she was really stretching assumptions while evaluating it. Her only example of work from a possible Jeweler was her diadem, and ultimately she did not even know if that was a standard she should be basing her decision off of. What if her gift from the Arcane Hall was a crazy advanced craft, and a ¡®normal¡¯ Jeweler could not make anything like it? She also felt like she could not directly ask anyone a question like that, because she would likely have to come up with excuses as to why she did not know much of anything. If more people found out they were living inside of a dungeon, like Kreeble had, because she was asking super weird questions about general knowledge, who knows what could happen? If she found out she wasn¡¯t real, that would probably make her act irrationally and recklessly. If that held true to even a small percent of the population here it could make things far more difficult for them.


    Maybe she should go back and talk to her party about the options and see what everyone else thought? It was tempting, but no one seemed to have a problem with her and Hex going to pick out professions first, even though it functionally meant Cyn had first pick. Hex didn¡¯t count since they all already knew what he was going to do. Plus, Kreeble had made it clear that because she was a root human, choosing a profession was not just about what was useful to her right now. It would have a ripple effect on everything else about her, and on her future as a whole. Short term they might suffer a disadvantage for having the same professions, but long term they would likely evolve differently. Was getting through the short term the only thing she should be caring about?


    They were also going home at some point, and Cyn doubted the world would be exactly the same as when they left. She refused to consider the possibility that they would not all make it out, but in the future she might not always be fighting alongside the same people. In that case, her carefully chosen profession would become just a part of her total kit, no longer carefully tailored to work with a set group.


    So which one of these did she actually  want  to do? That had an easy answer, surprisingly, and Cyn opened the case to grasp her chosen profession stone before she could continue to think herself into further indecisiveness. The familiar full body warmth spread out from her skull, just like when she chose her class, and she felt herself receiving notifications as her profession locked in.  I am going to pet all the things!


    ?

 13. One Pet Down, Infinity To Go

    Cyn had been thinking for a while and did not notice the Arachi that kept checking in on her since she was taking so long. It continued to let her be lost in thought, just awkwardly standing in front of the profession stone storage, for now. After closing the case, she opened her menu to see the notifications, and presumably new skills.


    Profession Chosen: Creature Handler - A root profession focused on understanding non-humanoid creatures. Root professions are highly malleable, and are prone to specialized evolution through your decisions and actions.


    Creature Handlers will gain +2 Vitality, +1 Will, +1 Agility and +1 free point when leveling up.


    The first notification was exactly what she expected it to be. Cyn closed it and moved on.


    Skill upgraded! Inspect (Common) -->


    Inspect (Uncommon) - Focusing on a person, object, or idea may reveal more information. Has improved results when used on a non-humanoid creature.


    That on the other hand was unexpected. She was sure she would have new skills, but her first one just being a direct upgrade to Inspect was a surprise. Cyn was eager to test whether the upgrade in quality meant she would get more information no matter what she used the skill on.


    New skill gained! Friendly Aura (Common)(Passive) - Non-humanoid creatures are less likely to react to your presence with hostility.


    Does not work on all creatures.


    Effect will be canceled if the creature is provoked.


    Back to normal, vague descriptions. Reading it over a few times she decided that this skill was ultimately moot. Even if creatures did not attack  her  immediately, they would still attack her party and that probably counted as being provoked. And without a comprehensive list of what creatures it did and did not work on, even alone Cyn was risking life and limb if she tried to depend on this skill. What did ¡®less likely¡¯ mean in this context, anyway? Shaking her head, she moved on to the final notification.


    New skill gained! Harvesting (Common)(Passive) - You are able to more effectively harvest items created by non-humanoid creatures.


    A second, likely useless, passive skill. This profession was definitely set up to be used in animal husbandry. Cyn still had hope though, since her initial skills from Mage were not much better. Suspecting she would need to interact with creatures in order to get experience, she closed her menu. Before she could turn around to leave, however, there was a sharp tap on her shoulder. Cyn just about jumped out of her own skin in surprise, and her heart rate was not helped when she turned around to discover herself uncomfortably close to the Arachi who was managing the storeroom.


    It looked down at her intently, clawed hand returning to its side from tapping Cyn. ¡°Chhhk¡­ Need help?¡± Its chittering made her skin crawl.


    ¡°No, I am done. Thank you!¡± Cyn couldn¡¯t exit the storeroom fast enough, leaving behind the confused Arachi as she rushed past and back out into the cobble street. She wasn¡¯t sure exactly how long she had been in there, but it couldn¡¯t have been too long, right? She should have some time to check out the animals she noticed when they arrived.


    Thankfully it did not take long for her to find one of the animal pens, and she looked over the short stone wall to watch the animals inside. Cyn was calling them animals, since they were penned and seemingly mostly tame, but ¡®creature¡¯ really was a better descriptor. They were like dog-sized centipedes, with bumpy, colorful bodies and covered in what looked like dozens of small spines on their backs. The spines appeared as if they either collected, or perhaps grew, cotton-ball-like chunks of gray fur. Cyn saw pincers near their mouths, but based on the reactions, or lack thereof, from the gnomes and elves taking care of them when the centipedes snapped at them the pincers must not be that threatening. Ready to test out her upgraded still, Cyn used Inspect on the creature.


    Gray Tufted Spikipede - Level 5


    This spikipede has been carefully bred to grow more fur than other breeds of spikipedes.


    Fur can be harvested to make cloth.


    Spines secrete toxins.


    Parts of this creature are edible.


    Finally, some actual information. She wasn¡¯t surprised that whatever creatures the gnomes were cultivating had been bred to be better at a specialized production. Humans had been doing the same thing for a long time. She could even guess that the extra fur this breed of spikipede grew would be a detriment in the wild, much like farmed sheep on earth. The fact they produced a toxin, though, was concerning. If it was secreted from the spines it would undoubtedly end up saturing the tufts of fur, since they appeared to grow from the ends of the spines.


    Cyn watched the caretakers of the spikipedes a while longer, and deduced that either the toxin was too weak to be threatening, or the caretakers had an increased resistance to it. She watched both gnomes and elves harvest the tufts bare handed, and no one seemed concerned. Nor did she feel anyone was losing health. Feeling bold, and seeing an opportunity, she leaned over the short wall and carefully petted one of the spikipedes between the spines on its head.


    Petting a strange creature probably shouldn¡¯t make Cyn grin like a fool, but here she was, grinning. The creature twisted to look up at her with large, multifaceted eyes and clicked its pincers together, before slowly rising up on its rear legs. She rose with it, continuing to gently stroke the spikipede, in order to keep her face from coming too close. Even if she did not think it was hostile, keeping her face away from direct danger was still a good idea.


    It seemed to like, or at least be enthralled by, being petted, and this allowed Cyn to study the spikipede up close. As fascinating as the creature was, she still intended to shape this profession into something suitable for combat. With that in mind, she focused on identifying the spikipedes strengths and weaknesses as if she intended to fight it. As docile as it was right now, it was higher level then the mimic had been, and would probably still overpower her if it came down to it. Its exoskeleton was predictably hard, but when Cyn touched its underside it was noticeably more malleable than its back. Not exactly a soft underbelly, but clearly the large number of legs prevented it from having the same kind of armor on both sides.


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    It also did not seem to like having its underside touched, snapping its pincers dangerously close to her arm, so she quickly moved her hand back to its head to calm it. As for strengths, those pincers were almost definitely dangerous if it wanted them to be. The spines too looked quite sharp, at least the ones not growing hair. Steeling herself, sure its toxin was only mild but needing to test for science, Cyn pricked a single finger on a spine.


    The spines were indeed needle sharp, a drop of blood welling up from her finger. The effects of the toxin were immediate too. A light burning spread out from the puncture but faded before even reaching her wrist. She felt herself receive a notification, but ignored it for a minute to focus on her body to make sure that that was the only effect. The wound had closed within seconds, and when she felt no further effects after a minute Cyn determined she had been correct about the toxin. It was a very mild annoyance, and likely just an extra deterrent to anything that might try and take a bite out of the spikipede, rather than an actual defense mechanism.


    Since Cyn had stopped petting it once she pricked herself, the spikipede had wandered off and left her to be able to check her notifications, finding she had leveled up already. Not that that was too surprising, the first level of Mage had come very quickly as well. Creature Handler was just more ambiguous about the experience she was gaining. She also noticed she had six free points waiting to be spent, having forgotten about them after the fight with the mimic. Thinking about where they would best be spent, Cyn looked over her stats.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: [Mage] Level 2


    Profession: [Creature Handler] Level 1


    Health Points: 52/80


    Mana Points: 160/170


    Stamina Points: 69/80


    Free Points: 6


    Vitality: 8


    Mind: 10


    Will: 12


    Strength: 4


    Agility: 6


    Luck: 5


    Racial Skills: [Dimensional Translator][Inspect]


    Class Skills: [Restoration][Mana Ball][Mage Regeneration][Freeform Mana Casting]


    Profession Skills: [Friendly Aura][Harvesting]


    Feats: N/A


    She was tempted to split them all into vitality and agility, but decided that for now she would just hold onto the free points. Cyn wanted to spend them before they returned to the mines for sure, but would rather see how much she could gain by leveling her profession before determining what she needed to put free points into. Hearing a voice very close to her, she quickly closed her menu to see who was speaking.


    It was one of the spikipede caretakers, and they were talking to her. Cyn had to apologize and have them repeat themselves, and this led to a discussion about the spikipedes. The caretaker had noticed her interest and seemed very willing to teach her about them, or at the least use her new profession for cheap labor. It would be another few hours before she left the spikipede pens, richer in both knowledge and Credits, and a level higher.


    Her time spent among the caretakers also ended up answering her previous curiosities about the economy, without having to ask too many awkward questions. Dimension Credits were the standard currency, and rather than being anything physical she had a special location on her stats screen that displayed them now that she had received some for her work. Based on the name alone Cyn theorized that they would probably be used across all dimensions. They did not seem to have any kind of identifier of what dimension she received them in, so she was pretty sure they were not specific to the current one. Depending on the price of food, the party may be able to get some new clothes and supplies before leaving Cogtopia for good.


    Ultimately the only reason she did not stay longer was a creeping feeling of hunger, and a growing need to bathe. The spikipedes were pretty dirty creatures, and Cyn had not been clean in the first place. She wanted to be clean before dragging herself to the communal kitchen and after saying goodbye to the people who had been teaching her she headed back to the party¡¯s temporary home, hoping everyone else had already had their turn in the bath.


    ***


    Unfortunately, she would have to wait even longer before taking a bath. Dana was occupying it when Cyn arrived back at the house. Fortunately, she would not have to wait to eat since Hex had brought back his more edible attempts at cooking. They had been labeled not good enough to sell at the kitchen, but rather than go to waste he had been allowed to bring his creations back to the party. Paying for the ingredients would have to come in the form of free labor over the next day or two, but the Rogue had already improved his profession enough to be confident that his future attempts would be profitable. These half baked, half burn creations could never be classified as good, but anything was better than the Survival Wafers.


    Scott and Sam were out, having left to pick up their own profession choices around the same time Hex returned, an hour or so before she had come back, so the Rogue did not anticipate seeing them again for a while. He had also already had his time with the tub, leaving just Cyn once Dana had finished. The Archer had only returned minutes before Cyn did, and had only told Hex she was successful in finding Ander, and leveling up her own profession before she went straight for the bathroom.


    While eating Cyn briefly detailed her own profession choice. Hex initially commented on it being an odd choice for a healer, but once she explained her reasoning and how she hoped to guide the profession to be useful to her, the Rogue relented that at least it would probably be interesting. He also confirmed her suspicion that cooking was the root to most alchemy professions, something he was pleasantly surprised to learn from the kitchen.


    At this point Dana leaving the bathroom interrupted their conversation, and, after confirming with the Archer that she should not have to wait for hot water, Cyn finally took her turn getting clean and tackling her hair situation.


    It took Cyn twice as long to deal with her hair then it had to clean both herself and her clothes. The red curls had turned into a knotted mess, and after taking the time to slowly work a brush through it she was finally able to weave it all into a single braid reaching the middle of her back. It was the only style she could come up with that stood a chance of holding up long term, short of just chopping it all off. It was nowhere near as well braided as Dana wore her hair, but it would have to do. She had rarely braided her hair before, generally opting to just have it loosely gathered in a clip, but her current circumstances forced Cyn to consider how long it might be between opportunities to brush and care for it properly.


    Leaving the bathroom, she was surprised to find everyone was there. Scott and Sam had apparently returned quickly instead of taking a lot of time to train like Hex and Cyn had. With everyone now here, they had a chance to discuss what Dana had found out from Ander along with their profession choices.


    Getting the most serious points out of the way, the Archer pulled out a crude looking map of the mines. She was able to pinpoint the chamber they had entered the dungeon into, and fresh charcoal markings seemed to indicate the collapsed passages they found along with other things. Of the two tunnels the party had not explored yet, Ander had indicated the one that was not infested would lead them to a portion of the mines that had collapsed into a large sinkhole. He wasn¡¯t sure what they would find there now, as the collapse had happened only shortly before the Illuminant¡¯s arrived, but he thought it unlikely that the original passage to the surface in that area was still intact.


    As for the final tunnel, it should lead to the vertical lift shaft. The problem was that the lift had been broken deeper into the mine when the miners had left it behind to flee the Illuminant¡¯s, and he did not think trying to climb the shaft to the surface without it was feasible. He had also explained the original break to Dana, and it sounded like a fairly easy fix. As long as it had not been destroyed further, all they would have to do was find it and the party should be able to get themselves to the surface. The party as a whole found that encouraging. The only real hurdle should be fighting their way there.


    Turning to their profession choices next, everyone was most surprised to hear that the Archer had chosen to take up smithing. Her reasoning was she was pretty sure it would allow her to create a gun, and Dana thought that would be a weapon she would be far more comfortable using instead of the bow. Cyn¡¯s choice of profession was also decreed a little odd, but Scott at least shared her optimism that it would allow her to more easily spot weak points. The Guardian had become a Jeweler, inspired in part by the diadem Cyn wore and in part based on his experience in how powerful a good magic ring could be during a RPG campaign. Sam on the other hand decided to stick with what he was already good at, and officially made himself a Builder. Interestingly, he made it sound as if he actually got a boost from his previous experience in construction and it had allowed him to pick up the basic skills much faster, even if it was more akin to magic then construction on earth had been. Based on their experiences for the first day in Cogtopia, everyone expected to be returning to the mines within a few days.


    ?

 14. Longer Than Expected

    Finally.  Relief washed through Cyn as she felt herself hit level five and put down her fishing pole. It had been just over a week since the party had arrived in the underground city, and she was afraid that she would be unable to reach the first skill selection in Creature Handler before they returned to the mines tomorrow. Everyone else had reached level five within just a few days, and had been excited to discover their first skill selection. While the first two levels had come quickly, the next ones were substantially more difficult to achieve for Cyn in particular. The diminishing returns on experience for doing things you already knew was really harsh. Ultimately she had to meet and handle both kinds of ¡®livestock¡¯ the gnomes kept, the second ones being the flying creatures she had glimpsed when they first entered the city who were a bit like giant bees, and for the final level she had resorted to fishing up the strange creatures that lived in the pools at the far end of the cavern. The fish were ugly and practically inedible, and because of that she had had to make her own janky fishing pole as well since the gnomes had no reason to be fishing them up.


    Her efforts at least were not totally in vain. As it turns out, Creature Handler was not a popular profession so it paid fairly well in Cogtopia. Between her and Sam the party was able to afford the materials to train their professions, along with being able to get everyone some basic clothes to wear and supplies. She had been sad to see her coffee frog shirt go, but could not deny the plain tunic and full pants were more comfortable, despite being a boring gray. Not knowing what to expect out of her first skill choice, she braced herself and checked her notifications.


    Profession level up! [Creature Handler] is now level 5


    ? +3 Vitality, +1 Mind, +2 Will, +1 Strength, +2 Agility, +1 Luck


    +3 free points


    Skill selection available for [Creature Handler]. View options now?


    ? [View][Wait]


    Cyn dismissed her level up and chose to view her options on the second notification. As she did, a larger pop-up took over her menu to present her with three new skills to choose from. A little disappointing, as both Hex and Sam had received five options.


    Fish Finder (Common)(Passive) - You are able to detect aquatic creatures present in nearby bodies of water, without having to see them.


    That one was clearly based on her past few days of fishing, and since Cyn hoped to never pick up a fishing pole again that was almost definitely the worst option.


    Detect Weakness (Uncommon) - Focus in an attempt to discern where a creature is most vulnerable.


    Reliability of skill is dependent on many factors, including how familiar the Creature Handler is with the type of creature skill is used on.


    That right there was pretty close to what Cyn had been aiming for. It seems the System had noticed her attempts to focus on finding weaknesses in every creature she had handled since choosing her profession. Being a skill, rather than just relying on her taking the time to study the creature, she hoped it would be usable in the spur of the moment. The only concerns were the skill itself seeming to note that it was not totally reliable, and it being activated rather than just a passive. If she was already familiar with a creature, would she really need a skill to know where it was vulnerable? Or perhaps ¡®type of creature¡¯ was a broad category, and she would be able to quickly find the weakness of any centipede-like creature after studying the spikipedes. Looking at her final option did not make the winning choice any more clear.


    Pet (Uncommon) - It seems they enjoy being touched almost as much as you enjoy touching them.


    Has a chance to produce a calming effect when used on an agitated creature.


    Attempting to use this skill on a hostile creature may result in injury or death.


    Well, damn. Cyn had noticed her penchant for petting was not universal almost immediately, as the caretakers only seemed to touch their creatures when they needed to, but to make it a full on skill? And why was she so tempted to take it even though it had little to no benefits compared to Detect Weakness? Although, if she thought about it, were there really that many benefits to Detect Weakness? Like almost everything else since the System whisked her away, the description was vague. It did not take long to convince herself to once again take what she wanted to, instead of what might be a safer or more useful choice. With that final level up, that left one more task for Cyn to take care of before they left.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: [Mage] Level 2


    Profession: [Creature Handler] Level 5


    Health Points: 176/200


    Mana Points: 270/270


    Stamina Points: 162/180


    Free Points: 18


    Vitality: 20


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    Mind: 14


    Will: 20


    Strength: 8


    Agility: 14


    Luck: 9


    Racial Skills: [Dimensional Translator][Inspect]


    Class Skills: [Restoration][Mana Ball][Mage Regeneration][Freeform Mana Casting]


    Profession Skills: [Friendly Aura][Harvesting][Pet]


    Feats: N/A


    18 free points to be spent. Having focused on leveling her profession for a while now, her stats no longer appeared so skewed towards just mind and will. Although as soon as they were fighting again that would probably change. With that in mind, and still feeling too slow, Cyn spent ten of her free points on agility and split the rest between will and luck. She was going to just put the remaining all in will, since that appeared to be a strong stat for both her class and profession, but decided since she now had multiple skills that appeared to reference chance or likelihood she would probably benefit from a little luck.


    Health Points: 180/200


    Mana Points: 280/310


    Stamina Points: 185/280


    Free Points: 0


    Vitality: 20


    Mind: 14


    Will: 24


    Strength: 8


    Agility: 24


    Luck: 13


    Satisfied with her progress so far, even if it was less than her party had made, Cyn closed her menu and stood to stretch. It was a long walk back to their temporary home in Cogtopia, and she needed to get back with enough time to take a final bath. Picking up the makeshift fishing rod to recycle, and despite the time constraints, she started to walk the longer route back in order to Pet just a few more creatures before they left for good.


    ***


    The party¡¯s departure from the city after a final, restful sleep was unsurprisingly uneventful. Only Asri, who was once again on door duty, was there to say goodbye. Over the past week it had become quite clear most of the residents of Cogtopia thought them mad for even thinking they could take on the Illuminants and escape, and their helpfulness to Cyn and her party had started to come across as more forced than genuine as they took up more resources. Cyn wondered if they would have even received help if this was the real Cogtopia, and not a dungeon, since sometimes when interacting with the residents their responses started to feel more like a generated dialogue, rather than fitting with the personality they displayed otherwise. She also missed Kreeble, and since they had not heard or seen the old gnome since his last conversation with them Cyn couldn¡¯t help but think that the System may have gotten to him. Even if he wasn¡¯t real, the idea that something may have happened to him because of her party really bothered her. Not that there was anything to be done about it now.


    Everyone had agreed that once they left they probably would not be welcome back in. It was going to be all or nothing for the rest of this dungeon floor at the minimum. They all felt quite prepared, though, especially with the extra few days Cyn took to level up. Everyone had at least one or two new pieces of gear, on top of their more comfortable clothing, and had improved their ability to carry around stuff with a leather satchel for each of them. At first Sam had offered to act as a sort of pack mule, to take advantage of his high strength, but they decided it was too risky to have all their supplies on one person and would instead split them as if the group may become separated in the future.


    Scott and Sam now both had light chainmail vests made by Dana they wore over their tunics. They were poor quality, since they had been some of the Archers first attempts at crafting full items, but no one was going to complain when the other option was no armor at all. Sam had sold his longsword as scrap and decided to fully commit to fighting bare handed, since he found it more comfortable anyway. The Warrior also now had pants that fit, much to everyone''s relief.


    Cyn had traded out her pajamas for a tunic and pants, and had chosen to ditch her staff. It was unwieldy, and she hadn¡¯t made much use of it anyway, so instead picked out one of Dana¡¯s better attempts at a dagger to carry around in case of emergencies. She felt better having both hands free. Also, socks. No matter how soft the boots were, not having socks chafed. Hex had chosen to only swap out his t-shirt for a more durable tunic, and continued to go barefoot. The Rogue had mentioned something about bare feet being better, and frankly no one had wanted to argue with him. Maybe he would get a skill for tougher feet. Cyn was pretty sure she saw Scott stuff an extra pair of boots into his satchel right as they were leaving, though.


    Dana still carried around her bow and quiver, as her effort to create a working firearm had had questionable results. She had managed to make something that resembled a rudimentary handgun, but Cogtopia lacked anything that resembled gunpowder. Cooking and smithing were both done with magically created, flameless heat. Tests of her handgun using this flameless heat to propel metal slugs had a low success rate so far. The Archer took her prototype with her, but would have to depend on her arrows and a dagger to fight with for now. At least she seemed to enjoy working on her profession, and was not too bothered by the lack of results.


    As the gate into Cogtopia closed behind them, sealing shut, Cyn channeled mana into her diadem for the first time in a week. She had almost forgotten how bright it had been inside the city, with its lamps and glowing crystal formations, compared to the decrepit mining tunnels. The pale, directionless light no longer felt as comfortable as it had the first time she saw it. Frankly, Cyn wasn¡¯t sure she would be comfortable until she saw the sun again. The cavern the city stood in was amazing, but she had spent enough time in caves to last a lifetime now.


    As they cautiously made their way down the tunnel back towards the cavern they had entered the dungeon into, Sam remarked that the Illuminant Web Mass he had previously carried around appeared to be gone. More concerningly, there were also signs that more of the arachnids had been through the area since the webbing across the walls and floor was more dense. They had hoped that it would remain mostly peaceful until they at least were further from the city, but since that did not seem to be the case the party quickly moved into their previously used formation.


    It was only a few minutes of walking before they stumbled across their first pair of ambushing arachnids, waiting on the ceiling of the tunnel for them to pass under. Cyn quickly used Inspect on one of them, wanting to see if she would get more information now, while Dana was aiming her bow. After using Inspect almost exclusively on farmed creatures for so long, she did not immediately consider that the Harvester might know it was being looked at.


    Illuminant Harvester - Level 3


    An ambush predator that creates glowing silk webs that can be harvested for various uses.


    The tips of its legs are sharp and tough to help it stay anchored to rock ceilings and walls for extended periods without moving.


    Parts of this creature are edible.


    Thankfully, the Harvester did not seem to notice Cyn using inspect. She was concerned to find both of them to be level three, higher than the level two Harvesters from before. As the Archers first shot missed, both of the waiting arachnids launched themselves at once towards the party. It wasn¡¯t much of a fight regardless, since they all had vastly improved stats from before, but served to highlight how rapidly the party had lost what little skill they had gained on the way to Cogtopia. They would need to shape up, fast. If these monsters had returned stronger, the ones they left in the infested tunnel would probably be stronger as well. With that reminder of the lurking danger, Cyn returned to training herself to grasp onto her vented mana from Freeform Mana Casting. The skill had been left by the wayside while she trained as a Creature Handler, but now that they were walking again, and she had little to do but exist as a floodlight and occasional healbot, there was no excuse to not practice.


    ?

 15. Anticipation

    Cyn wasn¡¯t sure if she was eager to see what the infested tunnel looked like, or dreading it. The walk back to the entrance cavern from Cogtopia had become a slog, just due to the sheer number of Harvesters that were waiting for them along the mine walls. The party had quickly fallen back into a groove after the first few fights, and now it was just annoying. The only upsides seemed to be that everyone had managed to gain enough experience to hit level three in their class, and Cyn was actually making progress with her Freeform Mana Casting. Enough to once again request to test the ability on a Harvester.


    Of course, the next waiting ¡®ambush¡¯ they came across was three of the Harvesters, instead of just two. Cyn vocalized her intent to aim for the one on the ceiling, since even if she missed there was a chance her magic would do splash damage far enough to hit another of the arachnids. The party would allow her to hit first, and quickly take over to finish off whatever enemies remained regardless of how Cyn¡¯s test went. Taking a deep breath, and grateful the creatures did not seem to attack until they got close or were provoked, she started venting out mana through the fingers of her right hand.


    Now that she had some practice with it, mentally grasping onto the venting mana really was not too difficult. Neither was the next step, at least not when her goal was to shape the mana into something so simple. To Cyn, shaping the mana into multiple long, needle-like shapes made more sense than trying to condense it into a solid ball. Not only did it take less mana to hold the thinner shape, they felt more solid and stable then any of her freeform ball attempts had. Plus, didn¡¯t something sharp and piercing just make more sense as a weapon?


    It was the final step, actually propelling the mana needles, that needed testing. Cyn had a theory she could guide them, since she still felt in control of the mana, but without a target and with her party walking so close she had not actually tried. While they were walking all of her practice had ended with her just releasing the mana back into its misty default form, which would dissipate just a few inches from her hands. Holding up her right hand, the three bright blue needles, each appearing solid and about the same length as her whole hand, were hovering just over her fingers and easily visible to everyone before Cyn made a flicking motion towards the ceiling arachnid.


    The flicking motion was far more effective than she anticipated, sending the mana needles flying rapidly towards their target. Unprepared for a high rate of speed, Cyn immediately lost her control of one of the three projectiles, causing it to disperse into mist almost instantly. The second one struck true, ripping straight through the Harvester¡¯s large, round body at an angle and continued a short distance into the ceiling before she allowed the mana to disperse. The third needle flew past the arachnid clinging to the ceiling and continued down the tunnel. Quickly, before it got too far away and the cost of keeping the third needle¡¯s shape rose past what Cyn could handle, she tried to take more direct control of the mana and pull it back towards its original target. The mental multitasking of keeping track of multiple projectiles was a strain, but ultimately she felt it was worth the results.


    As the Harvester that was waiting on the ceiling began to fall towards the ground, seemingly still alive but stunned by the new hole through its body, the third needle returned. It blasted off one of its dangling legs near where the appendage connected to its body and ripped a thin gash across the arachnid''s abdomen before Cyn allowed the needle to disperse. She was hoping the dispersing mana would have an additional effect, like the acid it had created with Mana Ball and against the mimic, but that did not seem to be the case here.


    She quickly stepped back to allow Scott and Sam to intercept the other two Illuminant Harvester¡¯s that attempted to leap at her. She did not feel like she was low on mana, but since she also did not anticipate her party having any trouble finishing off the arachnids, Cyn quickly checked to see how much she had remaining.


    Mana Points: 213/350


    She wasn¡¯t full mana before testing the mana needles, and having used about one-third of her available mana felt right. The needles overall felt like a far more viable attack than Mana Ball, even if it was costly, and Cyn was sure it was just the first step to properly taking advantage of her non-standard skill. Once she could figure out how to give her mana specific effects, rather than just solidify it into shapes, the needles would probably also become less viable. Or at the very least, would probably change a bit.


    ¡°Well, that went better than the last few times you tried to kill something. I think it was dead before it even hit the ground.¡± Hex sounded suitably impressed, and Cyn couldn¡¯t help but feel relief watching the Rogue prod at the dead Harvester. Even if what she had done wasn¡¯t technically more impressive than what her party had been doing the whole time, she at least was not alone in feeling good about being able to contribute more and participating in battle without almost dying in the process.


    ¡°Yah, that was much better. I can do that a few times before I think my ability to heal will start to suffer. It''s also getting easier just by practicing.¡± He nodded along to her words while using a dagger to pry the exoskeleton off of the Harvester. The Rogue had been taking some internal part of the Harvesters, at least off the ones that were easy for him to get into. There was apparently an organ inside that he could use in cooking, but it wasn¡¯t important enough to rip out of every arachnid they killed.


    Cyn thought it was kind of gross, but not nearly as gross as how Hex had discovered it. Which was by licking one of the first spiders they killed after coming back from Cogtopia. Apparently, he had a passive skill from his profession that allowed him to more easily discern possible ingredients and their use, but it only worked by putting them in his mouth. The Rogue had also eaten some of the web from the walls, discovering it was significantly more toxic than medicinal, and requiring frequent healing while his body metabolized the material. Cyn could at least applaud his commitment.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    After a few more battles, with the party allowing Cyn to shoot off at least one of her mana needles for practice each time, the entrance cavern came into sight ahead of them. At least, they would have been able to see the entrance cavern if they could see past the solid wall of glowing webs that covered the end of the tunnel. Scott slowed as the web wall came into full view within the diadem''s light, then came to a stop with the wall roughly thirty feet away still.


    ¡°Don¡¯t like how that''s changed. We should make sure we are prepared before trying to cut through.¡± The rest of the party quickly voiced their agreement with the Guardian, settling in for a short rest to regain their resources fully. Hex wandered a little closer before sitting down, staring into the webs for a bit before letting everyone know that he sensed some kind of treasure in the large cavern that either wasn¡¯t there previously, or that his ability had failed to pick up last time.


    ¡°With it being blocked off like that, do you think it''s a boss? It would explain there being sudden treasure, too.¡± The unexpected question came from Sam, and at first his only answer was a shrug from the Rogue.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it makes much sense to pit us against a boss when we are still at such a low level. I would think we should at least have had the chance to make our first skill choice? It''s probably just a creature that is a little more powerful, like the mimic was.¡± Cyn had not thought about it for long, but voiced her opinion anyway. It made sense to her.


    ¡°Unless we fucked up in how we have handled everything so far, and we are supposed to have more experience.¡± The bout of pessimism came from the Warrior, but Cyn was quick to counter it.


    ¡°Based on the levels of what we have been fighting, I don¡¯t think so. Plus, what else could we have done? If we took the infested tunnel instead of this one, we may have never seen Cogtopia at all.¡±


    ¡°There was another tunnel too, the one that Ander said would lead to a sinkhole. But I agree, if we were under leveled we probably would not be having such an easy time killing the Harvesters.¡± No one seemed inclined to disagree further after Dana voiced her agreement with Cyn. It did not take long for everyone to be at full resources, and not sure what to expect the party regrouped themselves and cautiously approached the wall of web. Cyn was not able to make out anything on the other side, and using Inspect on the wall just told her it was made of Illuminant Threads.


    Actually, maybe Inspect did a little bit more than that. The description she got had not changed, but after using the skill Cyn felt as though she better understood how to safely handle the sticky substance. Not entirely safely, mind you, but definitely more safely than just trying to hack through it. Which was what Hex and Scott were currently attempting, with limited success. It wasn¡¯t an expected benefit, but she figured that the web was probably affected by her Harvesting skill since it was created by the arachnids, and the threads could probably be used to create a kind of silk.


    She didn¡¯t care about the use of the web, though. Just that she not only knew how to handle it, but would be flatly better at cutting through the web than anyone else because of her profession. She informed the party, and while Scott was definitely not a fan of her being out in front while they cut their way into unknown danger, it was hard for him to argue she should stay back after seeing how much easier it was for Cyn to cut through the web wall. It was more than a foot thick, and Cyn was very aware that each slice she made was likely sending vibrations to whatever awaited them inside of the entrance cavern.


    As soon as one of her cuts went through into air, opening a small hole, she backed off to allow the Guardian to finish making the hole large enough for the party to enter through, one at a time. Naturally, Scott took the lead, followed by Hex, Cyn, Dana, and finally Sam. The primary difference in the large cavern compared to their previous stay was the sheer amount of web that covered all surfaces. It looked like a nest in the making, rather than just an abandoned place where spiders lived like it had before.


    Despite the increase in light, she found it concerning that there were no threats immediately visible. The Harvesters the party had been facing were dark colored, and easy to distinguish when in front of the glowing web as they created a shadowy break in the luminescence with their bodies. Now there was much more light though, with few shadowed areas remaining, and Cyn could not immediately make out any threats. The party quietly agreed that while it was strange, there was nothing to do but keep moving towards where they thought the infested tunnel should be. None of the other tunnels were visible from where they stood, seemingly covered in dense webbing just as the tunnel to Cogtopia had been before they broke through.


    Since there was no longer an ¡®easier¡¯ path around the web like before, Scott had them stay near the wall of the cavern, slowly walking single file as the Guardian used first his mace, then a long, twisted chunk of metal from the broken minecart tracks to clear out a path through the sticky substance. Luckily the party already knew that the webbing¡¯s toxicity was not transferred through skin, since Sam had previously been carrying around the Illuminant Mass rope by wrapping it around him for quite a while, so while Hex was clearly uncomfortable when his feet got stuck on stray webs it was not overtly dangerous.


    They were close to where Scott estimated the infested tunnel to have been when Cyn caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She wasn¡¯t able to react fast enough, barely turning in time to see a mass of glowing webbing strike Dana in the shoulder, the momentum of it throwing the Archer against the wall where she quickly became stuck, struggling against the sticky substance that was gluing her in place. She was strong enough to get out of the web on her own, just not instantly.


    Cyn was still trying to pinpoint the source of the projectile when a second one shot towards the party. Everyone but Dana was looking for the danger now, and Hex was able to just barely drop to the floor in time to dodge. With the party trapped between the wall and a seemingly impassable sea of webbing, and with the source of danger unclear, Scott yelled, ¡°Back! Back to the tunnel!¡±


    The Archer was nearly free, and Cyn took a few heartbeats now to help her so they could retreat. Unfortunately, when Sam turned to lead the charge back in the direction they had come from, it quickly became clear that was not going to be so simple an option.


    ?

 16. Risky Business

    When Sam stopped after only taking a few steps and started to curse, Cyn leaned to look around him. Directly in the path they had made stood a massive arachnid, the legs on one side up the wall while the legs on the other side stood on the ground. This one was large enough Cyn could probably walk under it if the creature stood upright fully. Instead of the dark colors they had come to expect, this spider was the same color as the webbing that filled the room. Although its exoskeleton was not luminescent like the webbing, it did have the glowing threads wrapped around its body which helped create an illusion that the spider was a part of the wall. The only reason it was so visible now was the clear path the party had made, and it was close enough that the lack of glow was easy to see.


    Greater Illuminant Weaver - Level 5


    This ambush predator is able to create large amounts of bioluminescent thread in a short amount of time, which it primarily uses to create nests and store living prey for future consumption.


    Has a paralyzing venom.


    Parts of this creature are edible.


    Considering the size of its fangs, Cyn did not think the venom was going to be a problem. If any of them were bitten they would probably be incapacitated by the wound alone. Each of the arachnids fangs was at least the length of her forearm, making the venom just overkill when fighting at this level. It had not moved yet, and Cyn figured it was probably like the Harvesters, who also remained still until it was obvious the party was aware of them. This would be fine, if it was not for the still unseen second attacker flinging web balls at them.


    While Scott and Hex frantically tried to create more room for them to dodge and maneuver, now aware of the obstacle blocking their retreat, Cyn was attempting to track the location the web balls were coming from. She had to focus on dodging them anyway, since she also had the lowest strength in the party by far. As long as one arm was free Cyn could cut herself out of the web easily enough, but if both of her arms got pinned she was probably screwed.


    ¡°There''s at least two of whatever¡¯s shooting at us!¡± Her warning might not be immediately helpful, but having any information was probably better than what the party was currently dealing with. It had taken a few more projectiles, but Cyn was certain there was more than one shooter. The timing and distance between shots was just not reasonable, especially since she still had not spotted any movement on the webs around the cavern.


    Scott and Hex had made enough room around them to rearrange their positions, with Scott moving to place himself between the party and the waiting Weaver. ¡°Cyn, try to get a good first shot on this thing. We don¡¯t have the space to fight it safely. Dana...Yah, keep doing that.¡± The Archer was focused on finding the source of the web balls, and had taken to shooting the offending projectiles out of the air when possible. It was pretty effective at making dodging for everyone else easier.


    ¡°This ones venomous, by the way.¡± Cyn was fairly sure only she could see the extra information on the creatures, given her profession. Stepping to the side, and closer to the wall, gave her not only a clear view of the Weaver but also served as a reprieve from dodging web balls since both Dana and Hex were between her and the rest of the cavern. Focusing on her mana, she created four needles and quickly flicked them towards the waiting Weaver to avoid wasting more mana than she had to to hold the shape. She felt her mana drop below the halfway point in the few seconds it took to form and send out the four needles, but the effect was devastating for the arachnid.


    Cyn¡¯s practice and improved control was on clear display as all four needles struck. The Weaver attempted to dodge at the last second by flinging itself sideways, towards the center of the room, but the attempt failed miserably as the mana needles had no problem changing direction on a dime, even at high speed. Two entered the arachnid''s main body mass, the third went through one of its legs first, and the final needle struck the Weaver''s mouth. The first three lost all momentum before exiting the creatures body, since it was tougher than the Harvesters had been, and dissipated rapidly. The final needle was the most impressive, since it ended up nearly severing one of the Weavers fangs before dissipating. While Cyn felt she had probably done pretty good damage to it, the Illuminant was far from done and let out an ear piercing screech before charging forward at the party, easily moving over its own webs.


    Scott had already repositioned himself to be directly in line with the creature¡¯s charge, but between the small amount of cleared floor space and the size of the Weaver there really was not enough space for anyone to truly get out of the way. As it reached them the Guardian raised his spiked mace to strike at the arachnid''s ruined mouth, the already damaged fang breaking off completely. At the same time, Sam lunged to bear hug one of its legs and plant his feet in the web, trying to use the adhesive strength combined with his own body strength to prevent the Weaver from moving too much. The web was not strong enough to hold both of them in place, but the Warrior did succeed in temporarily slowing it down.


    The temporary reduction in speed was enough to inspire Hex to attempt to jump on top of the Weaver. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure if it was strength or agility, but it was clear one of his higher stats had an effect on how high the Rogue could jump as the leap easily brought him to a height above the creature''s back. Unfortunately, before he could land and strike, something hit him and sent Hex flying sideways. He had not gone far, or hit the wall, but was now lying solidly in the sea of glowing web. Cyn had not seen the projectile, and based on the Rogues howl of pain she doubted it was the same web balls they had been dodging thus far.


    Cyn focused on Hex, trying to get an idea of how hurt he was, because while he was already getting to his feet the Rogue was clearly struggling to stand up. His health points did not feel low, the projectile and subsequent fall apparently not doing much damage outright, but they were draining at a concerning rate. Taking advantage of an opening created by the Guardian and Warrior, who were still grappling with the Weaver, she darted closer to Hex and was able to see the source of his struggle.


    On one side of his abdomen the gray tunic he wore had a ragged hole in it, and she could see the flesh beneath was bleeding freely to stain the remaining cloth and drip down his hip. Rather than a puncture wound or cut, it was almost as if a wide chunk of his skin had been scraped off. Cyn did not think that would be enough to account for how fast he was losing health, so, while keeping an eye on the battle with the Weaver, she unclipped her cloak from around her to use in rapidly clearing web towards the Rogue, having to drop to her knees to do so. At least she was a smaller target now. It was not as efficient as cutting the strands directly, or even using a makeshift tool like Scott had been doing, but was definitely faster. For his part Hex wasted no time in stumbling through the web in a straight line towards Cyn, calling out for everyone to hear, ¡°Whatever hit me felt like acid, watch out.¡±


    Acid could explain the continued health loss, if it was still burning through his flesh. As soon as he was close enough to touch she reached out and used Restoration, while the Rogue took out his waterskin and started pouring water down his side in an attempt to wash out the caustic substance still eating away at him. Now that Cyn was more familiar with how her mana felt, alongside being able to discern someone''s condition by just looking at them, it was easier to judge how effective Restoration would be. And while she was certain it would be able to overcome the damage Hex was taking, it was too slow. While she healed him they were practically sitting ducks for further ranged attacks, and neither could return to help the rest of the party either.


    Using mana to heal felt different than when she used it to fight, and Cyn was pretty apprehensive about experimenting with it. The last thing she wanted to do was accidentally hurt someone she was trying to heal. But rather than forgo her skill entirely, like she had done with Mana Ball, what was stopping her from just pushing more mana through her Restoration? Actually, she already knew there was nothing stopping her since she had accidentally removed all safeguards. The risk was just that the excess mana would not be used properly by the skill, and potentially have a more harmful effect.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Hex suddenly grabbed onto her and pulled them both to the side, making them land in the web but narrowly avoiding an acidic projectile. Yup, they were sitting ducks and Cyn was getting less thrilled by the second. The Rogue was still hemorrhaging, and a quick glance to the rest of the party confirmed that while they were ok for now, small wounds had started to add up. And she was pretty sure Scott was a little bit envenomed. At least the Weaver appeared to be in its death throes.


    Fuck it.  Cyn pushed a large amount of extra mana out through Restoration. It took a bit of finesse to force it through the skill, rather than allowing her Freeform Mana Casting to create new channels of mana out of her body, but it worked beautifully. Hex¡¯s health loss stabilized in mere seconds, and he began to actually gain health. She did not bother trying to get the Rogue back to a fully healthy state, and cut off Restoration quickly after she was sure he would be safe to recover naturally. Ignoring the notification she had received, Cyn quickly pulled out a mana potion and downed it quickly. It was the first one she had used, and it tasted like stale water with a hint of grass. Gross.


    She did not feel like it did much for her dwindling mana, but it was technically better than nothing. Pulling out her dagger, Cyn quickly cut herself and Hex free of the webbing they had landed in before making their way back to the party. She picked up her cloak, but had to just haphazardly fold it to carry, the cloth too covered in sticky web to be wearable until it could be washed. Making their way back to the party, they found the Weaver had been taken care of and everyone was now focused on dodging the web and acid projectiles while trying to locate the hidden attackers among the swath of glowing web.


    ¡°I can¡¯t figure out where they are. These stupid balls just appear out of nothing.¡± Dana sounded annoyed, firing yet another arrow to break apart a web ball as Cyn was flitting between Scott and Sam, shoring up the worst of their injuries.


    ¡°Let''s just try and make it to the tunnel that leads to the sinkhole. We should be close.¡± Scott spoke as he picked up his dropped mace awkwardly in his shield hand, his shield now attached to his back. The Weaver had grazed his main arm with its good fang during the fight, paralyzing the limb. Restoration had little effect on the venom, so the Guardian was going to have to just wait it out. Accordingly, Sam was now going to lead their way since he would better be able to clear the webbing, and Scott was now at their rear.


    Scotts plan was easier said than done. The narrow path the party created left no room to dodge, and they could not tell exactly where the tunnel was because of the web covering. So far the party had been able to dodge all of the acid and web projectiles, but they were also receiving small amounts of damage from the acid as the balls would burst when hitting any surface, including the wall next to them. The injuries were mild enough Cyn could still preserve her mana, but if they did not find the tunnel soon it could become a problem.


    ¡°Cyn, I think it''s here. Can you try cutting through?¡± Sam turned slightly to look at her questioningly, pointing at a spot that to her eyes looked no different than the rest of the web covered wall. She nodded and carefully moved around Hex and Sam to get to the spot the Warrior had pointed at, and started trying to create an opening in the web. She stepped on a piece of broken track near where Sam had pointed as she moved, indicating there probably used to be a full track going this direction, so when her dagger cut through without hitting the stone wall she was not surprised.


    While Cyn was cutting the web wall the party failed to notice the amount of projectiles they were being bombarded with had slowed down. Specifically, there was now a distinct lack of acid. Just as she felt the tip of the dagger break through to air, Cyn was knocked to the ground by an arachnid only a little larger than the Harvesters had been, with the same web-colored camouflage as the Weaver. It had dropped down from above almost directly on top of her and Sam, the larger man taking the brunt of the Illuminant¡¯s momentum.


    Unfortunately, while the Warrior may have taken most of the weight of the ambusher, the two of them had almost equally shared the burning acid that spewed out of the creature''s maw as it fell. Sam took the injuries in stride for the most part, letting out a roar of pain as he tried to grab onto the arachnid. He managed to grab and rip off one of its legs, but the injury caused another splash of acidic liquid from the wound as the agile creature managed to just barely escape the Warrior¡¯s range.


    Cyn was not nearly as tough as Sam. It was difficult to tell which stats affected toughness exactly, but she had a suspicion strength was a part of that calculation. And that was her lowest stat by far, on top of only having mediocre vitality. The acid that had been spit onto her landed mostly on her back, but the location did not really matter to her as the pain of melting flesh briefly took over her ability to think for a few breaths. She was brought back to reality quickly by an internal sense of danger. Her health was low, and she was still bleeding health points. Oddly though, the rate she was losing health was slowing, until it reached almost an equilibrium.


    She quickly rose to her feet, ignoring her low health for the most part. Everything hurt like a bitch, and she was definitely still injured, but as long as she could keep her health above zero she could power through the pain. Because now she was gaining mana rapidly.


    Boots of Near Death Experiences (Rare)(Soulbound) - The larger the gap between your health and maximum health, the faster all resources regenerate.


    Enchantments: [Oops]


    She didn¡¯t think she would be making much use out of the ability on her boots, but here she was again, flirting with death. She wouldn¡¯t even call it overpowered, since she was pretty sure if anything even looked at her wrong she would be a goner. And the only reason it was working so well was because she had an injury keeping the increased health regeneration from raising her hit points. Plus, she was still losing health. Just really slowly.


    Standing now, she quickly reached out to quickly use Restoration on Sam, closing the wounds created by the acid quickly by pushing extra mana through the skill. Dana had shot a few arrows into the retreating attacker, and while it still was not dead it was struggling enough its camouflage was no longer effective.


    Still healing Sam she called out, ¡°Hex, I was almost through the web. I can¡¯t risk being hit again.¡± She met eyes with the Rogue, making sure he understood what she was asking him to do. Yes, it would be faster for her to finish opening the hole, but that would require Cyn to turn her back to the danger in this cavern, and if there was anything waiting just on the other side she would be the first in the line of fire. Luckily, he did seem to understand and nodded quickly, hopping around her and Sam to slice at the web wall. Dana was still trying to finish off the acid spewing spider, and since the Warrior was in good shape again Cyn used Inspect before sending a pair of mana needles through the creature, putting it down for good.


    Greater Illuminant Spitter - Level 5


    This creature uses camouflage to hide while harnessing its acidic venom for ranged attacks.


    Its method of attack makes it unfit to hunt, and instead it will normally serve as a nest guardian.


    Its blood has become a potent acid over time.


    The acid also made it inedible, apparently. Hearing Hex yelp and curse behind her made it clear that she made the right choice in not finishing off opening the tunnel. Turning, she watched as Scott also moved to help. The Guardian was still one handed, and had chosen to wield the shield like a battering ram instead of using his mace. As the pair of them opened the hole in the web further, the mistake became clear.


    ?

 17. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

    This was not the tunnel to the sinkhole. They must have passed it at some point, and instead they were now heading into the much narrower infested tunnel. The name was still apt, based on the Harvesters trying to stop Hex and Scott. The party did not discuss it, but seemed to have silently agreed the Harvesters, who now only really qualified as annoying, were preferable to the still hidden web flingers and possible Spitters in the open cavern.


    Cyn used Restoration on herself only briefly, trying to keep her health low to continue to take advantage of the large mana regeneration boost she was getting from her boots. Dangerous for her, but it allowed for generous use of Restoration on everyone else while the party fought their way into the mouth of the infested tunnel. It was more terrible than she remembered it being, but that''s probably because they had not gotten close last time.


    By the time there was enough room for them all to fit inside, the front line of the party was having to push and kick corpses back towards the entrance cavern in order to have enough room to maneuver and kill the steady wave of approaching Harvesters. The tunnel was only wide enough for two of them to fight safely side by side, unlike the previous tunnel where the backline could contribute easily through a gap, and in this instance it was mostly Hex doing the fighting, with Scott just knocking the attackers away with his shield. Once Sam was there, the last to enter the smaller tunnel, he started piling them against the webbed entrance to block the web-throwing arachnids from continuing to attack them or follow. It also served to trap the party inside of this tunnel, but if that was a problem it would have to be dealt with later.


    Around the fighting in front of her, Cyn could see the number of large Harvesters approaching them dwindling. Further down, she was able to confirm her previous suspicions that there were baby Illuminant''s and eggs lining the walls and ground. They did not seem hostile, or at least did not charge forward with the larger Harvesters, but at least some of them would have to be taken care of before anyone could rest. The idea of having an army of tiny spiders ambush her was somehow more terrifying than the large ones. Cyn was not a fan of spiders on a good day, and the time they had spent here definitely only made her opinion of them worse.


    It did not take too long for the tide of enemies to stop, leaving Hex, Scott and Cyn all winded. Looking around and seeing no further threats, the Rogue dropped to the ground and lay flat on his back. His voice sounded genuine as he chuckled, ¡°Well, that was fun.¡± Cyn was the only one that seemed to agree, unable to help herself she burst into loud laughter before sitting down hard and committing the mana needed to actually heal her wounds with Restoration and get her health back to a reasonable level. She felt the loss of mana regen hard as her health rose, and ultimately decided to leave her health at about half and let the rest regenerate naturally while she milked just a little more mana out of her boots buff.


    Although Dana had participated a great deal in the fight in the entrance cavern, it had been mostly shooting down projectiles and she had avoided getting hit for the most part, leaving her still feeling fairly fresh. Sam seemed to have not lost much during the fights before, at least not after being healed, so he too was feeling fine. With half of them needing to rest, though, the two energized party members set up to keep watch both on the blocked off entrance cavern and the baby spiders further down the tunnel.


    ¡°Let me know once one of you is feeling well enough to take over for a bit, we hit level five and I need to make a skill selection.¡± Cyn had been messing with her ruined tunic, the back of it having been burned away with the Spitters acid, when the Archer spoke. Since she was still pretty well covered, her leather satchel strap having survived the attack and holding the tunic mostly in place, Cyn quickly opened her menu to look at her notifications. After dismissing all of the expected kill notifications, she was left with just the important ones.


    Overload (Uncommon)(Passive) - You have learned to increase the amount of mana skills consume, increasing power at reduced efficiency.


    So once again she was able to brute force a new skill on accident. She kind of thought that what she had done with Restoration was just a part of her Freeform Mana Casting, but apparently not. What¡¯s more, this skill was only Uncommon, not Unique like her other one. She took that to mean it was probably a standard skill Mages would learn, just maybe not quite as early as she did. If Cyn had not been successful with Freeform Mana Casting, she likely would not have even tried to empower her other skills like that.


    Class level up! [Mage] is now level 4


    +1 Vitality, +3 Mind, +3 Will, +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Luck


    +3 free points


    Profession level up! [Creature Handler] is now level 6


    +3 Vitality, +1 Mind, +2 Will, +1 Strength, +2 Agility, +1 Luck


    +3 free points


    Class level up! [Mage] is now level 5


    +1 Vitality, +3 Mind, +3 Will, +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Luck


    +3 free points


    Skill selection available for [Mage]. View options now?


    [View][Wait]


    Wait, she had gotten a profession level up? How? From getting her ass kicked by a giant spider? Maybe from cutting through the webs, but she found it hard to believe that that would have given her a whole level, not when she had barely made level five before they left Cogtopia. Perhaps it was from interacting with new creatures, meaning it  was  from getting her ass kicked. She would have to try and see if she leveled up more while the party fought new things, assuming they were not stuck fighting arachnids forever. Moving on to what she was really looking for, Cyn accepted the prompt to view her skill selection options and was thrilled to find five waiting for her.


    Mana Barrier (Weak) - Use mana to create a protective barrier above the skin.


    Barrier is temporary and weak.


    This skill can only be used on self.


    Well, that sucked. It kind of felt like the System was trying to tell Cyn she was getting hurt too much, but since the quality of the skill was bad, and the description sounded bad, she really did not want to take this. She might even be able to do this with Freeform Mana Casting at some point. The only possible redeeming quality she saw was that there might be potential to increase the skills quality and specialize it, like had happened with Inspect. But that was just a theory, and with four more options surely there was something better available.


    Purify (Common) - Use mana in an attempt to purge simple poisons and toxins from the body.


    Can be used on self or others.


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    There¡¯s the basic healer dispel she was definitely missing since Hex decided to start licking everything. Simple, to the point. The ¡®attempt¡¯ portion of the description was probably just to cover more powerful or complex things the skill might not be able to deal with. A solid choice.


    Restoration Aura (Uncommon) - The Mage can reserve a portion of their mana to continuously emit an aura for themselves and allies that passively accelerates natural health regeneration by a small amount.


    Aura range is dependent on will stat.


    This skill serves as an upgrade to and replacement for [Restoration]


    Now that was interesting. If she had any other heal spell, she would pick that up in a heartbeat. The skill did not mention closing wounds though, and checking the description of Restoration made it clear that this would also increase health regen by a smaller amount. Which made sense, since it was an aura that she could just keep active. It also had the problem that it would increase Cyn¡¯s health regeneration too, making it even harder to take advantage of her boots like she had in the last battle. She just did not think that would be a good skill to take right now. Hopefully she would be able to reconsider it in the future.


    Melee Mage Expertise (Uncommon)(Passive) - The Mage gains basic knowledge on using melee weapons.


    Melee weapons that do non-physical damage will do more damage.


    Melee weapons that do physical damage based on the strength stat will use the Mages mind stat instead.


    Technically not bad. It definitely brought forth the idea of being a sort of paladin, or arcane warrior. She would much rather have Purify, though.


    Magic Missiles (Uncommon) - Condense mana into efficient, unattuned spikes to strike at enemies.


    Mana cost is dependent on how many spikes are created.


    Magic Missile will not miss its target under normal circumstances.


    This skill serves as an upgrade to and replacement for [Mana Ball]


    This was literally just what she was doing with Freeform Mana Casting. Hell, that might even be why it showed up as a skill option. Cyn had not thought of her needles as being like a Magic Missile spell, but they definitely fit this description. She would not be taking it, and honestly having two of her five skill options be replacements for skills she already had made her feel a little cheated. At least for the first skill choice of her class. To be fair, though, she also had gotten a few skills through making stubborn assumptions. Feeling only a little dejected, she chose Purify and took a look at her stats.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: [Mage] Level 5


    Profession: [Creature Handler] Level 6


    Health Points: 151/260


    Mana Points: 268/470


    Stamina Points: 350/350


    Free Points: 12


    Vitality: 26


    Mind: 24


    Will: 35


    Strength: 12


    Agility: 29


    Luck: 17


    Racial Skills: [Dimensional Translator][Inspect]


    Class Skills: [Freeform Mana Casting][Restoration][Mana Ball][Mage Regeneration][Purify][Overload]


    Profession Skills: [Pet][Friendly Aura][Harvesting]


    Feats: N/A


    It was kind of funny how her stamina points were full. She just did not use much of it, and the few points she might use regenerated nearly instantly when she had low health. With the belief that strength would probably make her at least a little tougher, Cyn put six free points into it, and split the remaining between luck and vitality. Satisfied, she took one last look at her stats before closing the menu.


    Health Points: 155/290


    Mana Points: 276/470


    Stamina Points: 351/380


    Free Points: 0


    Vitality: 29


    Mind: 24


    Will: 35


    Strength: 18


    Agility: 29


    Luck: 20


    Looking around at her party, she wasn¡¯t really surprised to find Hex blankly looking into the middle distance, clearly still in his menu. He had been taking this the most seriously out of all of them, at least to Cyn¡¯s eyes. And by seriously, she meant like a tryhard gamer. Obviously, he didn¡¯t want to die, but he had also acted in ways that were not just about surviving. You had to be lacking a certain amount of survival instinct to be willing to put clearly poisonous material in your body, without knowing exactly what it would do to you, just for the sake of experience and knowledge. It was admirable, honestly. A bit stupid, but admirable. So the fact he was taking the time to think about his skills seemed on brand for him.


    On the opposite end of the seriousness spectrum was Scott. He appeared to be keeping watch alongside Dana while Sam was in his menu, so Cyn assumed he had already made his skill selection. She liked Scott, he was smart and had acted as a good leader in many ways. But his focus was entirely on survival, both his and everyone else''s. That might be good for a Guardian, to an extent, but she did not think the older man was considering what his decisions now might mean for him later, once they were out of the dungeon. They had discussed not thinking about the things Kreeble had told them, but Scott might be taking that a little too seriously. He just wanted out of here.


    Dana and Sam both fit somewhere between. The Archer was a little more serious, especially when it came to her profession. She was still carrying around a nonfunctional gun prototype, in order to work on it more, even though none of them knew when they would have the chance or resources to do stuff like that again. Since it was intended to be a weapon for her, that also related to taking her class seriously as far as Cyn was concerned. Hopefully the other woman''s skill choice had been clear, and she had not messed up by not thinking about it enough.


    Sam was hard to read. He stuck to what was familiar to him, taking the Builder profession and choosing to fight with mostly grapples, but it really was working out for the Warrior. It was hard to tell if that was just happenstance, if his previous life giving him a strength boost was simply a huge advantage, or if he also was taking his choices seriously. Maybe for him, serious was just playing to his already established strengths.


    Cyn knew she was much closer to Hex in how she was taking their situation than anyone else. After purposefully sticking at low health for an extended period, for the sake of mana regeneration, it was pointless to even try and lie to herself about it. And frankly¡­as odd as it seemed, she was having fun. She had no desire to go back to her boring office job, and just pretending to be something interesting online. She had a chance to live out those fantasies now, to go on adventures, to see and do fantastical things. To become something fantastical. To learn magic. You would think that nearly getting killed by the mimic so early in their dungeon would have put her off, or at the very least given her nightmares, but it was quite the opposite.


    The mimic was just a catalyst, giving her a non-standard skill, and it only served as the first step in her evolution as a healer.


    ?

 18. Splitting Up

    Now that skill selection was over with, Cyn could get back to other things. Like making sure she wasn¡¯t fighting in just her undergarments. The entire back of her tunic was basically gone, making the tunic continuously try to fall off, and the leather satchel and straps were damaged. The leather had held up better than her flesh or the cloth, and was still usable, but was at risk of just breaking fully. She did not trust it to keep holding together her tunic, and ended up just taking the whole tunic off. Sam¡¯s tunic was also pretty ruined, but the chainmail he wore did not appear to be affected by the acid so the tattered remains were just keeping the metal off his skin.


    Cogtopia had not had a bra that would have fit her, so Cyn was just wearing some tightly wrapped cloth around her chest. She wasn¡¯t comfortable to be running around in just that if she could avoid it. Instead, she quickly washed off her web-covered cloak and put it on before flipping it backwards, so it draped over her front instead of her back. She then used its length to wrap around one side back to her front and over the opposite shoulder, making a sort of halter top. Recognizing her problem, Dana stepped in to help her fasten it all together with some makeshift metal clips. It didn¡¯t even look too odd, almost looking like it was intended to be a wrapped garment, except for the hood of the cloak now being on her chest. She wouldn''t be able to use it for wiping away web easily now, and it definitely was not going to be protective against rain, but she still considered it better than nothing.


    ¡°Hey, Hex, can I try using Identify on you again?¡± Cyn had the decency to at least wait for the Rogue to appear to be done with his menu, not long after she had settled back down to continue resting. It was hard to resist the temptation to just do it, since she had wondered if the increased quality of the skill would result in more information. He blinked at Cyn a few times then shrugged.


    ¡°Sure. Why not?¡±


    Human - Level 16


    Level  sixteen ? There was no way he was that high a level. While Cyn was thinking that over the Rogue cocked his head to the side, watching her a moment, before speaking again. ¡°I could tell you were Identifying me, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as before, or even when we were scanned at Cogtopia. Just mild goosebumps.¡±


    ¡°My Identify upgraded when I picked up my profession, that''s why I wanted to try it again. I just had not thought of trying it on one of you until now. I can see your Human, but it also says your level is sixteen¡­?¡± As she finished speaking, a sense of being looked at came over Cyn, and she felt the goosebumps Hex had mentioned.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably the sum of my levels, five in Rogue and eleven in Cook. I got the same thing for you, except you are level eleven. And you can be licked for more information, apparently.¡± Cyn laughed at his amused tone, though she did wonder what else he could possibly learn about her with his skill. Probably just that she was made of meat.


    The rest of the party traded uses of Identify, learning to no one''s surprise that Cyn was the lowest level. She had been the only one to struggle with leveling her profession while they were in Cogtopia, but with the exception of Hex she might also be the only one who could get experience in the field. Overpowered Cook had bought a heat stone and small cooking pot he now carried around to make fresher food whenever they had a chance to rest. Everyone had also received an upgrade to Identify when they chose a profession, but the Rogue was the only one who had a result that was not just race and level.


    By the time they were all done making their skill choices and discussing Identify, Scott had fully recovered from the venom that was paralyzing his arm. Cyn would have to wait to get the chance to test out Purify, but she wasn¡¯t bothered. She had no doubt that they would be facing more venomous arachnids shortly. Very shortly, since the party saw no reason to hold off on continuing down the tunnel.


    As they approached the baby Harvesters the small arachnids scattered, fleeing en masse away from the humans. As Cyn passed one of the glowing egg clusters, everyone having decided to just leave them alone in favor of moving on, she used Inspect.


    Illuminant Harvester Egg Sack


    Contains a multitude of unhatched Illuminant Harvester Hatchlings.


    Disturbing the Sack now will cause the Harvesters to hatch early.


    Mostly what she would have expected, with the addition of reinforcing their decision to avoid disturbing the eggs. The party walked for much longer than Cyn anticipated before finding more fully grown Harvesters, who were overly aggressive instead of waiting to ambush them. She reasoned that that was because this appeared to be a sort of nest, or leading to a nest, and the creatures were more protective of their young. Not a trait she would normally associate with arachnids, but it''s not like she had dealt with any spiders as large as a car tire before coming here. So maybe it was normal.


    Regardless, the Harvesters were no more difficult than before. This tunnel was relatively short, at least compared to the one going to Cogtopia, so it was only an hour or so before they reached the end. They sort of knew what to expect, from Dana¡¯s conversation with the foreman, but it was still a little eerie to walk up to a large vertical shaft going straight down. Inside of the shaft was an old contraption meant for moving ore from the lower tunnels up to this one. It reminded Cyn a little bit of a Ferris wheel, but tall and skinny instead of round.


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    Only about half the buckets were still intact, and many of those looked dangerously close to crumbling. The shaft was also predictably filled with web, and while no one could immediately identify waiting Harvesters there was probably some lower down. Ideally, the party would make use of the contraption to get down to the lowest floor, where the elevator to the surface should be. But if they couldn¡¯t get it working, or it was too unstable, they would have to backtrack to the entrance cavern to harvest the Illuminant Web Mass for ropes. They had intended to get some while they were in the cavern before, but being attacked had derailed their plans.


    To one side of the shaft was the decrepit remains of the magic engine that used to run the machine. While they could spend the time trying to repair it, the party instead looked to the opposite side where a large hand crank was. Unlike the engine, the more simplistic mechanical crank appeared mostly intact. It would just take a lot of strength to use. Once everyone was satisfied with their inspection, Sam took up position and, with a grunt, turned the crank.


    The tunnel filled with the sounds of groaning metal, but sure enough the ore buckets started to move. Because this machine was meant to move ore up to their current floor, they would be taking the buckets on the opposite side of the machine to go down. As well, Sam would have to stay up top to turn the crank. It was still better than trying to rappel down, since at least Dana and Cyn would still be able to attack any waiting Illuminants from above as the party made their way down, but it definitely was not ideal.


    After some discussion, it was decided Hex, Cyn, and Dana would go down first and hope there was a crank at the bottom of the shaft. Dana surprisingly had almost as much strength as Sam, due to her profession, so she should be able to use it. Cyn was an obvious choice to go, although healing anyone while they were separated in the ore buckets would be a challenge. Hex was going in case they had to fight at the bottom, and being the most agile of them he was the least likely to fall down during the initial descent. Scott would stay to defend Sam in case reinforcements arrived from either the shaft or back the way the party had come.


    If they found a crank at the bottom, they would send up either Dana or Hex¡¯s cloak in a bucket to notify the Guardian and Warrior. If not, the three of them would just reascend so the party could return to the entrance cavern to collect some makeshift rope. With that decided, and everyone ready, the scouting party found three sturdy-looking buckets close together and climbed in to start their descent.


    It was uncomfortable. Mostly because the buckets swung as they traveled downwards, leaving Cyn feeling constantly a little unbalanced. At least they were far enough apart that she could stand. Hex and Dana were both further from her than she would have liked, because they were too tall to be in any bucket that had another one right above it. They would have received a concussion. The Archer was three buckets above, and the Rogue two below, though there was not actually a bucket between him and Cyn. It had crumbled away or otherwise became detached before the party arrived, giving just enough space for Hex to stand.


    Should she need to heal him, the Rogue would just have to reach upward for them to touch. Not ideal, but neither was trying to fit both of them in a single bucket. As long as nothing made it past him or Cyn, the Archer should not need healing. At least she hoped so, since it would be incredibly difficult to get the other woman within touching distance. Everyone kept their focus downward as they slowly traveled, keeping an eye out for any signs of ambush. It didn¡¯t take long for a waiting Harvester to become visible, clinging to the vertical surface just far enough from the moving ore buckets to not get hit by them.


    Cyn was about to call up to Dana, to make sure she saw it, but there was no need as an arrow streaked past, hitting the arachnid. Almost before it could react to the first shot a second arrow hit, dooming the poor Harvester. Cyn almost felt bad as she saw the low-level creature fall down the shaft, dead, without having a chance to retaliate. Almost.


    That scenario repeated itself only a few more times before the bottom of the shaft came into view. Hex was able to get out of his bucket fairly easily, and as soon as he was on stable ground the Rogue lunged forward towards an arachnid. Cyn could only stumble out of her bucket, nearly doing a faceplant. After making a mental note to invest in more agility, she noticed the foe he was fighting was not one of the Harvesters. Instead it was another Weaver, the huge creature far too close for comfort.


    Hex was not struggling too badly with the web covering the ground, his increased stats from leveling up helping a good deal, but even being slightly slowed by it was dangerous. As Cyn quickly got out of the way of the buckets, so the Archer could also get out, she saw the Weaver just barely nick the Rogue¡¯s arm as he dodged a fraction of a second too slow. Even a graze that small was enough to envenom based on what she could feel, her new skill seeming to have given Cyn a better sense of when someone was hampered by a debuff Purify could help with. Since Cyn was more hampered by the terrain, her strength stat significantly lower than anyone else''s, it was the perfect time to test if Purify could be used at range.


    Much to her surprise, it worked. She felt the venom subside, it not even having spread enough to make Hex drop his dagger. While she created and sent a single mana needle, trying to preserve her resources, and Dana began to rapid-fire arrows into the Weaver, Cyn watched as Hex used what must have been the new skill the Rogue had gained at level five. He threw himself backward and up and, the Rogue¡¯s body moving faster than what Cyn thought should be possible, suddenly reversed his momentum mid-air to strike downward with both daggers.


    It was remarkable to see what the combination of slightly higher stats and a new skill could do. As Hex¡¯s weapons struck into the back of the Illuminant Weaver its exoskeleton practically shattered, causing the Weaver to emit a high-pitched screech and shake violently. The shaking was not enough to dislodge the Rogue, who followed up with more strikes to the creature''s exposed organs. The Weaver only lived a few more seconds before the combination of Dana¡¯s arrows and Hex¡¯s attacks was too much, and it collapsed.


    After a few moments of silence, the now-winded Rogue began to climb off his dead opponent. His health felt fine to Cyn, so she assumed the skill had taken a toll on his stamina or his mana. Perhaps both. The Archer let out a low whistle. ¡°Damn, I feel cheated if that''s what you got for level five.¡±


    Hex let out a short laugh before speaking, inspecting the Weaver¡¯s fangs at the same time. ¡°Yah, that was more effective than I expected it to be. Took a lot of stamina and mana, though.¡± Dana just shook her head, putting away her weapon and looking around the still-moving ore buckets for a manual crank. The Rogue carefully cut off the fangs and started to shove them in one of his pouches before Cyn interrupted.


    ¡°If you need to taste those, I can dispel the venom after a few seconds.¡±


    Hex raised his eyebrows at her for a few seconds before muttering, ¡°Oh, hell yeah I do.¡± He quickly pulled down his mask, grinning like a maniac, and stuck the tip of the still dripping fang to his tongue. Cyn felt the venom enter his body, and could not help but laugh as the Rogue¡¯s face grimaced at the taste. He quickly spat it out, and after a few heartbeats of letting it spread Cyn used Purify to remove the venom before it got too far.


    Hex nodded his thanks before putting his mask back up and putting away the fangs. Looking back at the Archer, Cyn saw she was now missing her cloak and just sitting near the crank, seemingly waiting for it to stop so she could take over. In the opposite direction, past the Weaver corpse, she could see a wall of web a short distance away. Based on the map they were given, beyond should be another large chamber with the elevator to the surface at the other end. And based on the party''s previous assumptions, it would probably also be a boss room.


    ?

 19. The Best Laid Plans

    Good thing they had left Scott on the floor above with Sam. The party''s concerns were warranted, and almost as soon as the three of them had gone out of sight, Illuminant reinforcements arrived. Thankfully it was just Harvesters, so Scott had no problems keeping them away from Sam so the Warrior could continue to work the crank. In no time at all, the party was back together again.


    With the waiting Weaver below dead, and the entrance to the next cavern currently sealed off, Hex had taken the time to relax and start cooking while they were waiting for Sam and Scott to descend. While everyone had a supply of stable travel food, plus their emergency wafers, fresh food was able to give small buffs. And buffs were always good, as long as Cyn did not think too hard about what exactly the Rogue was putting into his little cooking pot.


    As the party ate, gaining a small bonus to health regeneration, there were some attempts to strategize. But without knowing what they were getting into, the discussion was limited. The largest concern was that there would be more Spitters and web throwing arachnids, and attempting to track those down would have to mostly be left to Dana and, to a lesser extent, Cyn.


    The second largest concern was the fact that the floor would undoubtedly be covered in web. While the Warrior and the Archer were both strong enough to be entirely unbothered, Hex had already shown it still had an effect on him. Scott too was only a little affected, leaving Cyn as the weakest link. Literally, since the problem was her low strength stat. There was no good solution readily available either. The best solution they could come up with was for Sam and Dana to essentially shuffle around to clear an area for her to stand after they got inside and had an idea of what they would be up against. Until then, Sam was going to carry her.


    Which Cyn found absolutely mortifying. Obviously the Warrior was strong enough to be able to carry her easily, but still. It was taking the idea of being ¡®carried¡¯ through a dungeon a little too literally. Was she still a valuable member of the party? Of course. They probably would have died a while ago, possibly as quickly as the first day, without her help.


    Once everyone''s resources had fully regenerated, and they were mentally prepared, Scott took the lead to cut open the web wall so the party could enter the cavern. They opened it large enough to take a look inside to get an idea of what they were up against, and luckily nothing attacked straight away. It really did not look too different from the entrance cavern, though it was only about half the size. The major difference came from the sheer number of egg sacks scattered around the cavern in groups, and the swarms of baby Illuminants that were fleeing from the party.


    Oh, and the absolutely massive arachnid clinging to the ceiling.


    Illuminant Brood Queen - Level 7


    This creature is the source of the Illuminant infestation in the area.


    Has a potent venom.


    The Brood Queen is highly protective of her offspring and mates, and will become enraged if any Illuminant creatures are killed in her presence.


    Parts of this creature are edible.


    The Weavers had been roughly the size of a truck, and the Brood Queen was a few times larger than that. The creature had made no attempts to camouflage itself, having the same dark coloring that the party had seen on the Harvesters. Since the cavern was coated in the glowing web, she stood out easily. Cyn quickly relayed the information from Inspect to her party, triggering a change of plans. No one wanted to see the Queen become enraged if they could avoid it, so everyone but Cyn was going to go all out on the boss in an attempt to end the fight as quickly as possible, rather than try to play it safe. Cyn was going to be kept in reserve in case the aforementioned mates or other reinforcements showed up after the Queen was dead. And since Hex had already joked he would be ¡®standing in the fire¡¯ to get more dps, she would also need the mana to heal the inevitable injuries.


    Normally, when Cyn played a healer online, she was more than happy to just let dps die for doing shit like that. But she could forgive it just this once.


    With the circumstances as they were Cyn would also be up in melee range. There was just no way she would be able to heal everyone otherwise, and Dana could move around easily enough that if she needed help she could come closer. Scott had gotten some kind of taunt ability when he leveled up, so he was also confident he could keep the Queen''s attention for the most part.


    The party entered the boss room cautiously, and to everyone''s surprise the Queen did not start attacking immediately. She did move, however, and they watched as the spider slowly descended from the ceiling on a thick web rope while making a chittering sound. Dana did not wait for the Queen to finish descending and instead began to fire off arrows. The rest of the party was only about halfway to where the Queen would be touching down, and Cyn held onto Sam tightly as the men broke into a sprint, aiming to reach the creature just as she landed.


    Cyn found herself rather unceremoniously dropped by Sam just a few feet from the boss, the Warrior almost immediately jumping up to grab onto one of the Queen¡¯s legs. He probably intended to pull the creature down or pull a leg off, since it had not quite reached the ground yet, but the Queen was clearly tougher than their previous opponents. All the Warrior did was make himself dangle a few moments before nearly getting stabbed by the very leg he was holding onto.


    As soon as the Queen was on the ground she lunged for Scott, who had moved himself nearly to the opposite side of the creature from Cyn. A metallic clang rang out as one of the Queen¡¯s fangs hit the Guardian¡¯s shield, the second fang just barely missing him as Scott deflected the attempted bite. Cyn was looking for where Hex went, and barely heard the Archer call out a warning before Cyn was suddenly knocked to the ground. Once again, a large arachnid had fallen down from the ceiling right on top of her. At least this one wasn¡¯t spitting acid.


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    Illuminant Brood King - Level 6


    This creature was created by an Illuminant Brood Queen for the sole purpose of creating more offspring.


    Brood Kings are highly protective of their Queen, and will become enraged if she is killed.


    Great, unless they were killed at the same time at least one of these creatures was going to get pissed off. Not to mention, the Queen¡¯s description had mentioned mates, plural. The Brood King was about the same size as the Weaver, and physically resembled the Queen, but thankfully due to how short Cyn was having it fall on top of her was only a glancing blow. She was barely able to reflexively raise an arm to protect her head before the Brood King¡¯s fangs descended towards her.


    They never made contact. The Brood King was suddenly no longer above her, and instead Cyn saw the Warrior, who was now faintly glowing red. Sam reached down and roughly grabbed her, setting Cyn on her feet before charging back towards the Queen. Cyn quickly looked up, making sure there was nothing else directly above her, before trying to take stock of the situation again. She quickly found the Brood King, nearly on the other side of the cavern and now on the ground at least, charging towards her. A second Brood King caught her eye, going for Dana, who at a glance seemed to be aware of the danger.


    Cyn wasn¡¯t able to check on the guys fighting the Queen, needing to help herself before she could help anyone else. Making a split-second decision, she used Mana Ball. The first, and only, time Cyn had used the skill it had taken some time to form the Ball and throw it. Not having any time to waste with the Brood King blitzing towards her, she Overloaded the skill to rapidly form a small Ball before lobbing it at her assailant.


    Man, did Mana Ball suck. The Brood King easily dodged the projectile, causing it to sail harmlessly past and explode midair as Cyn let go of her control of the mana. A little bit of flaming acid may have hit the Brood King, but she couldn¡¯t be sure. The creature was practically on top of her again, and she drew her dagger while attempting to aim a pair of mana needles at the Brood King¡¯s fangs.


    Yah, she would be sticking to her Freeform Mana Casting needles for the foreseeable future. One of the needles was successful in its mission, severing a fang, and the second pierced into the Brood King near its mouth before dissipating. Without any room to safely dodge, since she was more likely to just get herself stuck on the webs, Cyn braced herself for impact while holding her dagger in front of her with both hands.


    The Brood King attempted to bite down on her arms, the remaining fang slicing along one of Cyn¡¯s forearms, and managed to stab itself multiple times in the mouth while Cyn struggled to keep ahold of the dagger. If she had let go, she might have just fallen to the ground, but instead she was carried along as the Brood King continued its charge. The creature had the strength to force her through every impact with the thick strands of Illuminant Web Mass that stretched between the floor and ceiling along the way. The impact with those did not damage Cyn much, just covering her thoroughly with sticky web, unlike the impact with the wall.


    Cyn felt some of her ribs break, and she probably cracked her skull. However, while it definitely left her breathless and in pain, it was a lot less damage than she expected. Perhaps a quarter of her health? Maybe she wasn¡¯t as squishy as she thought, and the acid from the Spitter was just particularly nasty. She was, however, now solidly attached to the wall, and the Brood King was still trying to bite off her arms with a single fang and raw bite force.


    Knowing it would probably enrage the Queen, but not having much choice and unable to even see her party around the Brood King trying to kill her, Cyn let go of the dagger with one hand and rapidly fired mana needles into her attacker from the inside of its mouth. The needles were smaller than previously, since she was not letting them fully form, but they did not have to pierce the hardened exoskeleton of the arachnid so their effects were greater. The needles tore through its soft organs, ripping the creature apart from the inside out.


    The damage quickly overwhelmed the arachnid, and Cyn knew it was dead not just because it started to slide down off her arms, but also because of the horrible scream the Queen released. The sound made her feel dizzyingly nauseous, and she was pretty sure her ears were bleeding. The sound itself seemed to do some damage to her health points, as well. She could still hear, though, and now she could barely make out her party fighting in the distance, illuminated by the glowing webs and the now brightly glowing Queen. Veins of silvery luminescence flooded over the Queen¡¯s exoskeleton, creating a spiderweb pattern across its surface. At first glance Cyn thought her party looked to be doing alright in her absence, but was quickly proved wrong as they all found out what an enraged Brood Queen could do.


    Cyn, still stuck to the wall and struggling to free herself with her dagger, watched as Scott raised his shield to block one of the Queen''s sharply tipped legs. To her horror the shield appeared to do nothing, its leg stomping straight though both the metal and the Guardian himself as if they were made of air. The creature whirled to then attack Sam, who was still glowing red, and left Scott motionless on the ground.


    Panic settled over Cyn¡¯s mind. She was supposed to be the healer, it was  her  job to make sure everyone made it out of here alive. Not only had she caused the boss to enrage, she was now stuck too far away to do anything about it. She made it free of the wall, falling onto an equally stuck position on the web covered ground. Struggling to stand, she watched helplessly as Sam, who had been managing to use his brute strength to prevent the Queen from landing a significant hit on him, was struck by one of the arachnids'' venom-filled fangs. It ripped a chunk from the Warrior¡¯s shoulder, who roared in response but did not stop attacking back.


    Cyn was stuck on her hands and knees in the webbing and, frustrated, she vented out raw mana from both hands, trying to will the mana to dissolve the web. She wasn¡¯t sure it would work, but she had to try something,  anything.


    Much to her surprise and relief, it worked perfectly, the web dissolving almost instantly around her hands. Cyn was still too far away from her party, who were still at the center of the cavern, though. Her mana was running low from killing the Brood King, too low to try and use this new trick to make it back to everyone, and her health was still too high for her boots to have much of an effect on her resource regeneration. There was only one solution she could see, and she took it without hesitation.


    Cyn raised her dagger, and stabbed herself.


    ?

 20. Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions

    Ow.


    Turns out, stabbing yourself fucking hurts. More than having a giant spider slam you into a wall. But it  was  effective. Through the panic, Cyn had enough forethought to try and hit somewhere without too many immediately vital organs, but still should do a lot of damage. Just below her sternum. She was pretty sure there was nothing she needed in that area right this second.


    When she struck Cyn felt her health points tank, and continue to bleed out. Her resource regeneration rose rapidly, and as she stood Cyn had a distant thought that there must be something happening with the System that increased her tolerance for pain. Because there was no way she should have been able to handle this and continue moving. As she moved the blade cut into her more, increasing the damage she was bleeding out and making it harder for her to reach a regeneration equilibrium.


    Ignoring that her equilibrium was totally screwed and just keeping one metaphorical eye on her health points, she used one hand to keep the knife in and tried to use her Freeform Mana Casting to vent mana out of the bottoms of both feet, hoping she would be able to run over the web. It took a few heartbeats for her mana to forge new paths out of her body, and as soon as she felt the mana leave her skin she tried to take a step. Then another. Then another.


    With the confirmation her plan was working, and that she was still gaining mana despite actively venting some out, Cyn broke into a full sprint back towards the Queen and her party. Of course this jostled her dagger more, but since pulling it out would be worse she just kept holding on. She had not tried to do any running since they had entered the dungeon, so for the first time she could really feel her agility points at work. Cyn had been unathletic previously, but now she had no problems running at olympic speeds to reach her party in a matter of seconds.


    Sam was still standing, although Cyn could feel he was badly hurt and envenomed, so she quickly threw a Purify at the Warrior before going for the Guardian first, who was still lying on the ground. He was alive, if just barely, and unconscious. The Queen had torn a massive hole through Scott¡¯s chest, missing his heart by only a few inches. The wound was still bleeding, but oddly it did not feel like his health was changing. It was just lingering at a dangerous level.


    Cyn did not have time to contemplate why he had not bled out completely, and instead knelt and poured a significant chuck of her mana into Overloading a cast of Restoration on the Guardian. The wound in his chest knit closed, and Cyn cut off Restoration as soon as his health points no longer felt dangerously low. He did not wake up, and she did not feel there was a good reason to use more mana than the bare minimum to keep him alive right now.


    As she stood back up, the Queen let out a second pain-inducing scream. Cyn wasn¡¯t prepared for the sudden damage, her vision blacking out a second as she scrambled to use Restoration on herself in an attempt to stabilize. When she could see again, the Queen was no longer near her. The Queen now had what appeared to be a second layer of bioluminescent veins, which Cyn took to mean the second Brood King Dana had been facing was dead. The double enraged arachnid was chasing Sam around the room at high speed. The Warrior was no longer glowing red, and was just barely keeping ahead of it.


    She would not be able to heal Sam until either the Queen was dead, or focused on someone else. Attempting to get to him now would most likely only result in both of their deaths. Looking around for the other members of her party, she did not see them at first.


    At least not until Hex was suddenly on the Brood Queen¡¯s back, a powerful strike from both of his daggers causing the exoskeleton under him to fracture. It did not shatter, but the damage was enough for the Queen to change targets. She stopped chasing Sam, and instead reared back onto her hind legs, trying to dislodge the Rogue. It worked, since the skill Hex used consumed a large amount of his stamina, but before the creature could turn to attack Dana took the Rogue¡¯s place on the Queen''s back. Cyn heard a single, loud pop as what looked like a small explosion went off where the Archer was, sending Dana flying backward.


    The Queen tried to turn, staggering forward a few steps, before the veins of glowing light across her exoskeleton faded away and the creature collapsed.


    A notification pop-up confirmed the kill. The boss was dead, but the danger had not fully passed. They were all in rough shape. Since Sam was the only one close enough for Cyn to feel, other than the still unconscious Guardian, she went to him first. The warrior was staggering, clearly low on both health and stamina, and was sporting multiple deep wounds. Thankfully, they seemed to be mostly on his arms, with other shallow cuts scattered across his whole body. Cyn used Restoration until the worst of his injuries seemed stable, and once again tried to stabilize her own bleeding health without affecting her resource regeneration too much, but since she did not know Dana or Hex¡¯s condition she tried to save her mana.


    As the pair of them made their way back towards Scott, they were met by the Archer and Rogue. They were leaning heavily on each other, Hex seemingly out of pure exhaustion, since his health was doing better than anyone else''s, and Dana from being badly injured. The other woman was missing one hand entirely, cradling a burnt stub to her abdomen, and had minor burns everywhere else. Under the fresh burns there appeared to be at least a few puncture wounds as well, and many smaller wounds that had mostly cauterized.


    Cyn waited until they had all regrouped around Scott before trying to treat the Archer. The missing hand made her nervous. While she was positive about being able to fix everything else, she was not sure about trying to regrow a hand. As Cyn channeled Restoration on Dana, not able to afford Overloading it, the Archer explained she had taken her gun prototype and shoved it in a hole Hex had made in the Queen¡¯s exoskeleton, followed by purposefully causing the unstable prototype to backfire. While Dana knew it would cause the weapon to explode, it apparently was a stronger explosion than she anticipated since it was the only time she had ever purposely caused it to backfire. The other times were while Dana was developing and testing it, and the resulting explosion had only resulted in minor burns and broken hand bones.


    Cyn thought that was pretty resourceful, though a little unfortunate since Dana no longer had her prototype and would have to start from scratch. She was still working on healing Dana when Hex tentatively asked, ¡°So¡­did you stab yourself on purpose or on accident? Because if it was an accident, we are taking away your sharp object privileges.¡±


    Cyn started to laugh, but it turned into coughing up blood, to everyone''s alarm. That was probably just a punctured stomach. She didn¡¯t think she had managed to nick a lung. After a few moments she wheezed out, ¡°On purpose. Can¡¯t remove it until everyone¡¯s healed.¡±


    No one was able to argue with that, and Cyn continued to channel Restoration on the Archer for a few long minutes, regularly stopping to briefly heal herself. To her relief, they watched as Dana¡¯s nub slowly grew out into a new hand. It was remarkable, although without her buffed mana regeneration there was no way she could have output that much healing in such a short amount of time. Hopefully it growing back at all meant that, left to just her own health regeneration, the appendage would have grown back on its own over a longer period.


    Cyn was still impaled on her own weapon when Scott woke up with a groan. She needed to make sure she had enough mana to  very  quickly Overload a cast of Restoration, or else the sudden increase in bleeding when she removed the knife would be dangerous. So for the last little while, the whole party had just been resting. They had leveled up to six from the fight, and Cyn had hit level seven in Creature Handler. Hex also sensed some treasure nearby, that had not been there before the Queen¡¯s death, but no one was inclined to separate from the group to find it right this moment. At least the baby Illuminants around the cavern were not approaching them.


    Once Scott was awake, Cyn had Sam help her remove the dagger. She mostly just needed someone to try and put pressure on the wound while she healed it. The blade pulled free with a gush of blood, her health dropping dangerously for a moment, before Cyn quickly Overloaded a cast of Restoration and began gaining health as the wound healed. While she did this, the party went over what happened during the fight since they had ended up basically fighting three separate battles, and Scott was out of commission for half of it.


    Dana and Cyn had encountered the same problem of the Brood Kings, and while Cyn ended up across the room and stuck to a wall, the Archer was able to kite the creature with little difficulty. She just could not help fight at the same time. Once Cyn explained what had happened to her, the party agreed that while it sucked majorly, she did not have a choice in killing her attacker and enraging the Queen.


    Unexpectedly, when Cyn killed the first King, it had also appeared to enrage the second one alongside the Queen. Dana could no longer stay ahead of her pursuer, and Hex had peeled off to assist her without noticing that the Guardian had gone down almost immediately, and accidentally leaving Sam to fend for himself against the boss. Being able to hold off the enraged Queen for as long as he did made the Warrior quite the MVP. But all in all, the whole fight had been one big clusterfuck everyone was just lucky to have survived.


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


    And now, they were all ready to just leave. No one was at full health or resources, but where they currently sat felt like a bad place to linger in. It was still a spider nest, even if they had killed the biggest spider there. The party traveled towards the treasure, finding five magic tokens floating over what they assumed was the broken lift to the surface. A lift they would not be taking, since also on that lift was a freestanding door, presumably the exit to the next floor. But first, loot.


    Dungeon Boss Treasure Token (Epic)(Soulbound) - Dropped from dungeon bosses. Infuse mana into the token to generate a reward based on your combat performance.


    Dropped by Illuminant Brood Queen - Level 7.


    Similar to the token dropped by the mimic, except this one seemed to be only usable by participants in the fight and was of a higher quality. If Cyn was being honest, she was kind of afraid of what this was going to generate for her. She had a bit of a theme going on, and frankly she wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about it. Holding her breath and infusing the token, her fears were validated as an ornate dagger replaced the token in her hand.


    Blooddrinker (Epic)(Soulbound) - This weapon will feed on the blood of any creature it is used on to temporarily empower itself.


    If left in a wound it will continue to feed until removed, doing increasing bleed damage. If Blooddrinker is permitted to feed long enough, it will create a burst of unattuned magic damage on removal.


    If feeding from its wielder, Blooddrinker will return a portion of the damage dealt in the form of healing when removed, instead of doing additional magic damage.


    Clearly, the only thing the System had registered from that fight was that Cyn had stabbed herself on purpose. Not how much healing she did for her party, or the cool trick she learned to walk across the web. The dagger wasn¡¯t bad, she would even label it as good. But was this really the route she wanted to be taking long term? She wasn¡¯t sold on it.


    Regardless, Cyn would at least use it for now. It was just flatly better than the basic dagger she was using against enemies. Whether or not she made use of its healing effect remained to be seen. It only took another minute for everyone to look over and equip their own rewards before they were ready. Anticipating what came next, they linked arms before Scott touched the door, and one by one the party confirmed they were ready to move on to the second floor.


    ***


    As Cyn left the first floor of the transitional dungeon, somewhere far away bets were being made. They had been being made since the moment dimension 242 entered adaptation, but with most of the dimension''s residents having either died or entered the second phase of their adaptation process the number and variety of bets was rising quickly. Initially, the bets only revolved around if the dimension would survive. These would not be resolved until the terminus event, but most of the beings felt safe in their bet that 242 would fall. Not because it was performing particularly badly, it was just a fact that most dimensions failed to stop their own destruction.


    Now though, outliers among the population of 242 had begun to make themselves known. Not on purpose, mind you, but the most powerful beings in the Collective had reasons to keep their eyes trained on newly adapting dimensions, and the means to pick out oddities. Oddities like sole survivors, early evolutions, extreme feats, and non-standard skill acquisitions. While these criteria may have put Cyn on the radar, she was far from the only one. Oddities made for far more entertaining bets among the elite. Would this sole survivor be able to finish their adaptation? Would this Mage end up blowing themselves up with their non-standard skill?


    Entering the second phase of adaptation had another effect for both the residents of the adapting dimension and the Collective. It allowed for limited interference by the Collective to the benefit of the residents of the adapting dimension. This interference for most would come in the form of mentorship and knowledge sharing from the Collective. While it may not seem like much, the ability to just have basic knowledge questions answered often came as a huge relief for the adapting dimension.


    Even in a form so limited however, it came at great cost for the Collective to offer assistance like this. It was only possible due to a close collaboration and sharing of resources between the Pillars. The Arcane Hall had to shoulder the brunt of the work, since the only method of interference was magical in nature. The only other Pillar that came close to providing as much for the Collective in this instance was the Bizarre Bazaar, home to the most skilled craftsmen across all dimensions. The Bulwark, the Colosseum, the Bullseye Range, and the Guild were able to supply mentors without having to do much else. Despite how much work it was, most agreed that so long as they could help one in five dimensions survive their terminus event to join the Collective, it was worth it.


    This limited help was for the normal residents of a dimension, though. Just making it onto the list of oddities before reaching stage two of adaptation had extra perks. Primarily, the interference would come directly from one of the Paragons rather than from a standard mentor. Paragons sat at the highest point in the hierarchy of their Pillar, and for most residents of the Collective they were akin to gods. Or at least as close as a once-mortal creature could ever be. Statistically, most Paragons had lived through their dimensions adaptation into the System environment, and were classified as oddities. So it only made sense for the current Paragons to guide and nurture their possible future colleagues.


    And this was why Stelphan, First Lichweaver and Paragon of the Arcane Hall, was now standing in his chambers and staring into his reflection on a full-length magic mirror. It was always best to make a grand first impression, so for all of his introductions he had been wearing formal Mage robes and cloak, only leaving down the heavily decorated, pale blue hood since his half-bone face never failed to signify his position of power for the new Mages. A little bit of fear never hurt as well. It was this robe and face he saw reflected back at him now, his puzzlement clear. Because he should not be looking at his own face in the magic mirror.


    He had taken his share of oddities, some promising and most less so, and thus far everything had been standard. He would introduce himself to the oddity as they transitioned between step one and two of adaptation, answer a few questions, and instruct them on how they could use the blessing bestowed upon them to communicate with the Paragon going forward. Stelphan had drawn a lot of short straws while the Arcane Hall Paragons had been splitting up assignments, so it was no surprise the oddity he was trying to communicate with was one of the less promising ones. What  was  surprising was when he tried to introduce himself to this fledgling Mage, he had been prevented from doing so. Because despite not being one of the more promising oddities, someone else had already made use of the limited allowed interference for this Mage before Stelphan had been able to.


    ***


    Pet ?


    This was, by far, the strangest situation Cyn had ever found herself in. And that included the blue void that started all of this. Because now the black void was apparently asking to be petted. No, not asking. Demanding. She had already closed this pop-up multiple times, and it just kept reappearing. She assumed it was the black void anyway, since it was all she could see.


    I am being held hostage by spam mail.  She finally just relented, since it was clearly not giving up, and, as strange as it felt, Cyn attempted to use Pet. The pop-up disappeared, and was followed by the sensation of something small but heavy settling into the loose hood of her cloak at her chest. She did not have much time to contemplate what in the hell that could be, or the notifications that appeared, before she was whisked away to the second floor of the transitional dungeon.


    ?

 21. Friend-Shaped?

    Arriving on the second floor of the dungeon came with a splitting headache, not helped by the fact Cyn was now standing directly under the noon sun. Going from just the light of her diadem inside a dark cave, to full sunlight felt awful. When she could open her eyes and squint around, the first thing Cyn noticed was that she was alone. She stood in the center of what looked like a four-way crossroads in a hedge maze, the green flora walls towering over her and stone bricks under her feet, creating paths about ten feet across. Her party was nowhere to be seen.


    Well, not totally alone. Remembering her odd encounter between the dungeon floors, she looked down at her chest. Peeking out at her from inside her hood was a bubblegum pink frog, or toad, with three eyes that were reminiscent of the black void. The third eye was embedded directly in the center of the creature''s forehead. Without breaking eye contact, Cyn carefully reached into her hood to pick it up.


    The frog offered no resistance to being lifted, and seemed content to continue their staring contest. While it could technically fit on one of Cyn¡¯s hands, it was very rotund and if she tried to hold it one handed the poor thing¡¯s stomach would droop off either side of her palm. It was also very heavy for its size. Besides its color and third eye, it could almost pass for a small African Bullfrog. Almost. It was definitely giving Cyn some uncanny valley vibes.


    ? - Level 13 (?)


    ''Spam Mail''


    This creature has formed a [Familiar Bond].


    This creature is bonded to you.


    Inspect left Cyn baffled. The first question mark she assumed should have been its race or species. The second one she had no plausible explanation for. She had called whatever was holding her in the void between dungeon floors ¡®spam mail¡¯ in her head. Cyn had definitely not said that aloud. The final lines made her open up her menu to take a look at all the notifications.


    And boy, were there a lot of unexpected notifications. And a new part of her menu that was previously uninhabited now had stuff in it. With the pounding in her head slowly subsiding, Cyn browsed the notifications first.


    New Skill Gained! Familiar Bond (Unique)(Passive) - A magical creature has determined you are friend-shaped, whether you like it or not.


    Bond can be strengthened or altered, but never broken.


    [Human] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Mage] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Creature Handler] - Evolutionary path altered.


    She closed the menu to look at the frog, who was still chilling on her hands. Cyn had lost the staring contest, and now the creature appeared to be cleaning its eyes using a long, black tongue.


    ¡°Friend-shaped, huh? You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re kind of cute.¡± The creature, who Cyn decided she would just call Spam, made a small warbling noise in response to her voice. Cyn had an inkling it understood her, even if she did not understand it. She gave the creature a Pet, which it seemed to  greatly  enjoy, before setting it back down in her hood and reopening her menu to move on to the next notification. She found it difficult to be mad, even if she wasn¡¯t given a choice in gaining a familiar and altering her evolutionary path. Cyn liked animals, and she liked frogs most of all.


    You have successfully survived the first stage of full adaptation.


    [Accept System Reward] [Wait]


    She wasn¡¯t expecting more loot so soon. Thinking back to where this all started, before she even entered the blue void to pick her class, hadn¡¯t the System mentioned her adaptation before? She felt like it had, but could not remember what exactly the text had said. Since the first step ended with the first floor of the transitional dungeon, Cyn would be working on the assumption that the stages correlated to dungeon floors, at least for now. Not that it made a difference to her. She accepted the reward, and, feeling a strangeness on one of her hands, closed her menu again to look. She now had a simple silver ring on her right hand.


    Promising Ring of Holding (Unique)(Soulbound)(Tiny) - A unique storage item given out by the System to Awakened that survive the first stage of adaptation.


    This item is capable of evolving and upgrading as its Soulbound Awakened gains power.


    You may only have one storage item Soulbound to you at a time. Unbinding a storage item will cause both the item and all items inside to be destroyed.


    This item originates from the 242nd dimension.


    Enchantments: [Indestructible]


    Indestructible Enchantment (Legendary) - Item cannot be destroyed or damaged through normal means.


    Oh yes, please and fucking thank you.  This was the best item Cyn had seen so far. And frankly, it would be hard to top, ever. She assumed its third label, ¡®tiny¡¯ related to the size of the storage. Without a frame of reference though, it meant next to nothing for her. Even if it could only hold a handful of things, that was a handful of things less she would need to physically carry around in bags and pouches that could become damaged or stolen. Sweet legendary enchantment too, although she had a feeling it did not apply to the warning about the ring being destroyed if she tried to use a different storage item. It was probably just to protect against accidental damage while fighting.


    Stolen story; please report.


    The only problem was that she had no idea how to use it. Cyn tried a few things, including infusing mana into the ring, but she discovered that it basically came down to focusing on moving an item between the storage space and outside of it. No mana involved. It wasn¡¯t too tricky, especially for her, since it was similar to how she used Freeform Mana Casting to direct and control her raw mana. One item at a time, she slowly fed everything she was carrying into the Ring of Holding. Cyn also found she had a sort of detached awareness of what was inside the ring at all times, just lingering at the back of her mind. It was kind of uncomfortable at first, but by the time she was done storing all her stuff, including the pouches and almost ruined satchel, she no longer consciously noticed it unless she wanted to.


    The only things she now had outside the Ring of Holding was the gear she was wearing, a still-sheathed Blooddrinker on her pouch-less belt, and Spam. That was like, twenty pounds of stuff she was no longer carrying. Food and potions made by Hex, the emergency wafers, a handful of scraps of cloth, a spare dagger, waterskin, and a bedroll all went into the storage. And it still did not seem to be full, although she could not tell how close to full it was. However much space ¡®tiny¡¯ was, it was a hell of a lot more than she expected. This was awesome. After checking her surroundings again, and finding no change, and making sure Spam was still hanging out in her hood she returned to notifications.


    Objective Tracker now available.


    This will keep track of objectives given by the System or city notice boards.


    And that was what the new section of her menu was. She found the idea of city notice boards interesting. Being separate from the System objectives meant there was probably a way for city officials to give out quests. Or maybe it was more of a help wanted board? Cyn probably would not be finding out anytime soon. Intending to look at it after, she found that the remaining notifications were actually just notifying her of new objectives.


    New objective for transitional dungeon floor 2: The Hungering Labyrinth -


    Five entrances, many exits, countless secrets.


    Objective: Find an exit.


    New objective for transitional dungeon floor 2: The Hungering Labyrinth -


    You have been separated from your companions. Once you find an exit, you can choose to leave alone or as a party. Anyone left behind will need to find a different exit.


    Bonus Objective: Reunite your party 1/5.


    New objective for transitional dungeon floor 2: The Hungering Labyrinth -


    With great danger comes great rewards.


    Bonus Objective: Find the center of the labyrinth.


    Good to know her party was out there somewhere, and she could rejoin them. It was kind of rude for the System to separate a healer from her party, though. The premise of these objectives would probably create a rift among her party members as well. If Cyn was being honest, she was inclined to hunt for the center of the labyrinth. Especially since the first objective mentioned secrets, so surely there were more objectives and rewards to be had. She would bet money on Hex having the same inclinations.


    But Scott, Sam, and Dana? They would probably want to leave as soon as possible. And while that would be an option, so long as they found an exit, Scott at the very least had shown signs of feeling responsible for the party as a whole, and would probably want them to stick together. And while sticking together was generally good, it became really bad when half the party didn¡¯t even want to be there.


    It was kind of moot, since Cyn hadn¡¯t moved from where she entered, but she was considering not actively hunting for the others, especially if she found Hex first. A stab of guilt went through her, but since she was capable of defending herself, she had to admit that maybe she would be better in a smaller party, made up of people with some enthusiasm for the adventure. Or even alone, at least for now. If Cyn still wanted to be a healer, which she did, going totally alone wasn¡¯t a great option.


    Well, she was probably never going to be alone again, based on the Familiar Bond Spam had forced on her. She would just have to get moving, hoping she was aiming for the center of the labyrinth, and that anyone who did not want to find the center would find a door out.


    Now, what was the key to solving a maze? If Cyn remembered right, it was to keep walking forward, and if you hit a crossroad, go left. If you hit a dead end, turn around and go left at the next crossroad. It might be boring, but ideally it keeps you from taking the same dead-end paths. Of course, that method does not account for starting at a four-way crossroad. She could also try climbing the hedges¡­they were tall, probably close to fifteen or twenty feet, but they should still be climbable.


    As Cyn approached the hedge and reached out, Spam suddenly gave off a croak. Cyn froze, looking down at the pink creature staring up from her hood and wondering how the hell she knew that it sounded alarmed. It was probably a result of the Familiar Bond, but the problem was that she did not see anything to be alarmed about when she looked around. When she continued to move her hand, coming within inches of the hedge, Spam croaked more urgently. The familiar did not want her to touch the hedge. Suspicious, she used Inspect.


    Hungering Hedge - Level ?


    Cyn would not be touching the hedges. She quickly pulled back, muttering a thank you and using Pet on the pink frog. She was curious about the lack of information, mostly because Cyn was not sure if it was because the Hedge was a high level, or because it was not a creature. If it was a creature, she would probably get a good amount of experience for touching it. As long as it did not kill her outright.


    Deciding that was too risky, she just picked one of the four identical paths and started walking, then changing to a light jog. It was faster than her sprint used to be, and took negligible stamina to maintain the speed. As she jogged, it felt like nothing really changed around her. She reached a crossroads, went left, rinse, repeat. Miles of identical hedges. She hadn¡¯t even reached a dead end, which was kind of suspicious. The next time she reached a crossroad, Cyn removed her old, ruined tunic from storage and tore a piece of it off, carefully setting the scrap of cloth in the path she would take from the crossroads, before setting off again.


    As it turns out, the idea of sticking left to solve a maze was predicated on the designer not being a dick. And whoever designed this place absolutely fell into the dick category. Because she had been going in circles. Feeling annoyed, after picking up her scrap of cloth Cyn fished Spam out of her hood and set him on the ground in the middle of the crossroad.


    ¡°Alright, Spam. What way do I go to get to the center?¡± Was it silly? Probably. Did she care? Not really. The other option was to just pick at random when she came to a crossroad. The bubblegum-colored amphibian stared up at her a moment, blinking each of its three eyes in turn, before slowly turning itself to look in every direction. It then turned back to one of the paths and flicked out a long black tongue before turning to Cyn and making a leap onto her shoulder.


    The weight of the familiar jumping onto her nearly made her fall over, but she managed to maintain her balance and took the path Spam seemed to have indicated.


    The process repeated itself for a few hours, although she did not have to set down the familiar again. It would just do a little spin from on her shoulder and choose a direction with a flick of the tongue. And honestly? It seemed to be working. While the midday sun never seemed to move, the color of the surrounding hedges was changing. Slowly, the green shifted to the colors of autumn, the range of warm colors beautiful to watch as Cyn passed them by.


    And then, while waiting for Spam to do its little spin at yet another crossroad, she saw something different. On the stones of the path to her right there was an arrow pointing away from the crossroad, drawn in what looked like dried blood. Cyn jogged in that direction without waiting for the familiar to finish choosing a path, causing it to warble in annoyance.


    She stopped to point out the arrow to Spam, not sure why she felt the need to explain herself to the strange creature but doing so anyway before continuing on. In response Spam just crawled back into her hood, moving so its front legs and head sticking out like a baby kangaroo. Since she had been maintaining equilibrium with her stamina regeneration, it was still full, so Cyn felt comfortable pushing up her speed in an attempt to catch up to whoever made the arrow marks.


    An obnoxious amount of crossroads and bloody arrows later, and running low on stamina, she finally found them.

 22. Dangerous Puzzles

    Hex was at the next crossroad Cyn came to, lying on the ground and with one arm in a hole up to his shoulder. The Rogue was facing away from her as she approached, and, slowing down, she called out to not startle him too badly. ¡°Whatcha doin?¡±


    He must have been pretty focused on whatever was down that hole, because he was startled anyway. He jerked, but not enough to remove his arm from its position, and attempted to crane his head to look over his shoulder at her. ¡°I uh¡­might be stuck.¡±


    Cyn wandered around his front, crouching down so he didn¡¯t have to strain to look at her, and noting without surprise that Hex¡¯s satchel and pouches were gone. It actually would have been more surprising if all of them didn¡¯t get the Promising Ring of Holding, based on its description.


    ¡°What the fuck is that?!¡±


    She had forgotten about Spam, who was now almost eye level with the Rogue and seemed to be initiating another staring contest. Hex¡¯s reaction was fair, honestly. It wasn¡¯t every day you see a fat, bubblegum pink, three eyed frog. ¡°Oh, that''s Spam, my familiar. It forced me to take it with me between the dungeon floors.¡± Hex lost the staring contest, glancing up at her with raised eyebrows before Cyn continued, ¡°Anyway, how did you get stuck?¡±


    ¡°There''s treasure below some of the crossroads, I¡¯ve already found a few of them. I think this one was rigged, though. There¡¯s a bear trap or something that has clamped down on my arm.¡±


    Cyn winced in sympathy. ¡°How bad do you think it¡¯s going to be if you just pull your arm out?¡±


    ¡°Bad enough I decided to just stay here a while and hope you showed up. It probably wouldn¡¯t have killed me to do it alone, but¡­¡± Hex shrugged his free shoulder. ¡°No reason to risk it since it seems pretty safe around here.¡±


    She nodded, reaching out to put a hand on the Rogue¡¯s side. ¡°Ready when you are.¡± Hex took a deep breath, and with a quick jerk sat half-upright. Cyn felt his health drop, but not dangerously.  He probably underestimated the effectiveness of his stats,  she thought while channeling a normal Restoration. Hex¡¯s first movement did not fully free him, but a second sharp tug pulled his lightly mangled arm out of the hole. In his hand was a small box, since apparently he was unwilling to let go of the treasure, and attached to the same wrist was the trap. It did resemble a bear trap, with two closing sides with a row of sharp, metal teeth and a pressure trigger below his hand. Based on where the long, jagged wounds started it had initially clamped down just above the Rogue¡¯s elbow, and he had pulled it down to the wrist while escaping.


    While Cyn helped pry off the trap and heal him, Hex told her about what he had found so far. The treasures themselves were not great, a combination of dimensional credits, crappy potions, and what he assumed were meant to be profession supplies. Things like uncooked food and scraps of various materials. However, each of the treasures came in a puzzle box that, based on the description, gave class experience when solved. So Hex had continued to uncover and open the boxes as he detected them.


    Now that Cyn was with him, they would take turns opening the boxes. Hex let her take the one that he had injured himself for, and she took a moment to look it over.


    Hungering Labyrinth Puzzle Box (Common) - Contains common quality treasure. Solving the puzzle will unlock the puzzle box and reward class experience.


    The puzzle itself was simple, in this case. There was a series of six symbols across the top of the box, and when a symbol was infused with mana it would change to a different symbol, alongside zero to five of the other symbols. The goal was to make the symbols all match. Having solved puzzles like this before, it took Cyn no time at all to get the box open and collect her mediocre rewards.


    While she was solving the box, they continued to talk. Now that they were out of the infested mine, and overall the pressure to survive had lessened, Cyn found it easier to chat. She was pleased to learn she was correct in assuming that the Rogue was planning to head for the center of the labyrinth, with or without the party. She explained to him her method of using Spam to choose the direction, and since that was no worse than his method of taking turns at random, once she was done with her puzzle Cyn fished out the familiar from her hood so the trio could set off once again.


    Traveling with Hex was technically slower than traveling alone, but that was only because they kept stopping as the Rogue detected the common treasures hiding mostly under the bricks below their feet. Not that Cyn was going to complain about that, it was nice to be under the sunlight again after spending so long in the spider mines, and even if the boxes only gave a little experience it was basically free. Hex also kept up with putting down arrows at the crossroads by pricking his finger with a dagger, just in case anyone else from the party was trying to follow.


    She mentioned the hedges while they waited for Spam to choose a path at one of the crossroads, and learned that Hex had actually tried to climb them without inspecting them, just like she was going to, and discovered why it was a bad idea. Apparently, when he touched them, a vine suddenly shot out and grabbed the Rogue around the waist to try and pull him into the hedge. He also started losing health points rapidly, although it didn¡¯t appear to cause any actual wounds. It was a combination of luck and agility that allowed Hex to cut the vine and free himself before becoming plant food. Because of where the vine was cut, he actually had a small sample of it from where it had been wrapped around his body.


    Of course, he had already licked it too. Good thing it wasn¡¯t poisonous.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    After a few hours they saw the first exit, just a freestanding door located in a small alcove off of the path. It was a little surprising how fast they had found one. Cyn thought it would probably be a few days at least. The leaves around them were still the warm colors of autumn, and Cyn had developed a suspicion the colors would indicate how deep they were in the labyrinth. The theory mostly stemmed from the fact that Hex said he had not found any treasures in the green area. And if her theory was correct, they were nowhere near the center yet.


    Finding an exit made things a little more complicated. They were still leaving a trail for others to follow, and now they needed a way to tell anyone following them it was alright to leave without Hex and Cyn.  If  anyone was following them. They considered resting for a while, but despite the fights that had occurred before the party had arrived on the second floor, neither of them felt tired. Ultimately, Hex just ended up writing out a longer note in blood on the stones.


    H & C go mid


    U exit if want 2


    Believing that to be a clear enough message, they kept moving. When they almost immediately went a longer stint without any treasure, Hex expressed concern they were possibly moving further away from their goal despite the hedges staying a range of reds and oranges. The concern was quickly alleviated, however, when instead of an expected crossroad they turned a corner and found something very different.


    It was like something had cut a large square out of the labyrinth, leaving behind just a clean section of stone slabs. With the exception of the opening they would enter through and an identical opening opposite, the entire square looked to be surrounded by a solid wall of hedge. It was empty, the entire area devoid of any clues as to what Hex and Cyn might be facing by entering. The Rogue commented he did not detect anything in the area and, to test, tossed a chuck of scrap metal into the area. Nothing happened, it just bounced before coming to rest. The pair agreed that the case would probably not be the same for them, but with no good alternatives they crossed the threshold together.


    They managed to get a few feet in before it all suddenly shifted. Cyn turned, wanting to return to the relative safety of the path, but found their entrance point to now be just more hedge wall. Entire slabs seemed to vanish before their eyes, while others rose high into the air, higher than the hedge walls, and still others descended downward. The slabs were actually four-foot cubes of stone floating over what looked like empty space, only made obvious now that they were moving. Hex and Cyn both remained still, just observing the chaos for a few moments, and once enough of the slabs had vanished they watched as the remaining ones started to move along the horizontal axis as well.


    Nothing remained still for more than a few seconds, the entire square a flurry of movement. Cyn heard Spam croak a warning, and instinctively she moved, scrambling up the cube at hip height beside her as it rose. Not a moment too soon, as the stone slab she and Hex had been standing on vanished. The Rogue obviously did not have the same reaction to Spam¡¯s croak, falling a short distance before managing to just barely catch hold of a passing cube lower down. Cyn let herself worry about him for only a few heartbeats as Hex was ferried away, watching the Rogue manage to pull himself up to the top of the cube, before she had to shove the concern to the back of her mind. She needed to worry about herself, first.


    Her cube was still rising up, but as interesting as it may have been to look around at the labyrinth a moment now that she was above the hedges, Cyn chose instead to locate the next cube she needed to move to. All of the cubes had moved enough to create persistent gaps between them, large enough she would have to make a small jump at the very least every time she tried to change cubes. There would be one passing right in front of and a little below her sometime in the next few seconds, so long as it stayed on its current path. There wasn¡¯t time to wait for it to be an easy transfer, though, as Spam let out another warning croak, so Cyn made the jump for the traveling cube.


    To her surprise, she almost overshot the jump. Clearly, she needed to do a little testing on what she was physically capable of. Once they were clear of this obstacle. Cyn quickly found that once she had touched one of the cubes, it would only persist five to ten seconds before vanishing. This forced her to be in constant motion alongside what remained of what was once a solid square. At a glance, the number of cubes did not appear to be decreasing, so she assumed that they would either reappear after a time or new ones were springing into existence. The most pressing problem was that alongside their entrance, the exit appeared to have vanished too.


    It was now a solid line of hedge all the way around the square, and at first she could not find any indication on what they were supposed to do. Whenever Cyn caught a glimpse of Hex, he appeared to be in the same predicament she was, having nowhere to go and not being able to stand still long enough to get a good look around them. Finally, while climbing up the side of yet another rising cube, Cyn happened to look up.


    High above the square was a grid of floating objects. She could not quite make them out, especially when she had only a few seconds at a time to look, but Cyn thought she counted it to be five-by-five. The next time Hex was close she called out, ¡°Look above! Can you tell what they are?¡±


    The Rogue, who was on a cube currently moving towards her, glanced first at Cyn then upwards. After looking long enough for both of them to have to change cubes he called back, ¡°No. Try shooting your magic at one of them.¡±


    They were pretty far away, and she wasn¡¯t even sure she could hold one of her mana needles long enough to make it. Much less if she could avoid falling while doing so. But since it was the only idea they had, and neither of them could continue this dance forever, she had to try. Cyn was able to form and shoot a very small needle while standing on one of the cubes, and then tried to jump to the next safe spot when she heard Spam croak, with the needle still rocketing towards one of the objects above. Almost instantly, she lost focus on her mana and the needle dispersed.


    Cyn tried again. And again. And again. If she focused too much on her mana, she ran the risk of falling, either from not determining her next destination fast enough, or miscalculating the jump itself. At least with Spam¡¯s help, she did not have to worry about keeping track of seconds like Hex would have to. If she didn¡¯t focus enough, the needle would disperse before reaching the grid. It¡¯s not like they were free, either. Since she was at full health points, Cyn¡¯s mana was not regenerating nearly quick enough to keep going like this. Finally, after way too many tries and nearly out of mana, she hit her target.


    It was incredibly difficult to multitask shaping and holding her mana using Freeform Mana Casting while doing anything else, but Cyn managed to do it. She looked up after jumping just in time to see her needle strike one of the objects in the grid above. As she felt her mana disperse, the object began to glow a bright, fluorescent green.


    Now she just had to repeat that impressive feat of mana control twenty-four more times.


    ?

 23. Difficulty Spike

    Correction, Cyn actually had to do that impressive feat of mana control twenty-five times, in fairly rapid succession. She had hit ten more of the objects, turning them green, within five minutes of managing to hit the first one. Then, she watched in dismay as the first object stopped glowing. Her time had been spent mostly waiting for mana regeneration, alongside a few more early needle dispersions.


    She was getting better though, and it was rapidly becoming easier to multitask clambering around the cubes and shooting off mana. This whole thing would be a ton easier if Dana was here. The Archer could aim and shoot quickly, and there was less of a cost if one of her shots did not hit. If Hex had come in here alone he would be totally fucked, and might have to risk trying to jump over a hedge and onto one of the labyrinth paths from a high cube. As they passed one another once again, Cyn breathlessly relayed her problem to the Rogue. ¡°Need to wait¡­for full mana.¡± Lowering her own health for mana regen just wasn¡¯t a good solution here. Any physical injuries would make it more difficult to move around the shifting cubes, plus Cyn still wasn¡¯t sure she wanted to continue to encourage her evolution in that direction.


    Hex didn¡¯t waste his breath speaking and just nodded, before trying to chuck her a potion. She wasn¡¯t expecting it, and fumbled attempting to grab the blue potion mid-air. The bottle fell from her fingers as Spam gave a croak, and rather than risk herself Cyn jumped to her next cube, assuming the potion was lost. Until a long black tongue shot out of her hood at high speed towards the falling potion.


    Not only was it insanely long, the end of Spam¡¯s tongue must have been sticky since it only touched the side of the bottle before retracting just as fast with the bottle attached. The potion smacked the familiar in the face at high speed, dazing it and causing Spam to fall fully into her hood instead of having its face and front legs out. Despite how startling the whole scene was Cyn managed to actually grab the potion before it fell again.


    Mana Potion (Uncommon) - Restores mana when consumed.


    ? This potion may have additional effects.


    A quick Inspect told her that the potion was a mana potion as she suspected, but likely better than the ones she currently had. Perhaps it was one he had gotten from a puzzle box? Hopefully, whatever the ¡®additional effects¡¯ ended up being would not be too detrimental. Surely Hex wouldn¡¯t give her a poisoned potion. Her familiar gave a groggy croak as it pulled itself back into position, and once Cyn had made it to the next cube she quickly downed the potion.


    The effects of the liquid were immediate, returning roughly a quarter of her mana pool.  Significantly  better than the potions she had. At least it was, until the additional effects kicked in. Since she would need more mana to hit all the objects in the grid above in time, Cyn would continue to just jump and climb between cubes. Until, a few cubes later and midway through a jump, she found herself suddenly floating upwards. She wasn¡¯t going particularly fast, as the effect seemed to have activated at the height of her jump, and kept her forward momentum. Confused, and unused to the strange, floating feeling, she began to flail while letting out a high-pitched yelp.


    Her flailing limbs only served to curb Cyn¡¯s momentum, alongside causing her to start to spin. She slowly found herself tilting until she was upside down and staring into the empty void below. All the while, Spam was just clinging onto the inside of her hood for dear life, making frantic chirps and croaks as they both rose.


    She frantically tried to think of what she could do, what skills she had that might be able to control her ascent or at least save her once the effect inevitably wore off. And she came up with nothing. The  only  thing she could try to do was Freeform Mana Cast a solution, and that was a massive gamble. Cyn had so far managed to only do two useful things with mana outside of skill usage. One, her needles, had taken a great deal of practice and testing before becoming viable, and she was improving her control of them even now. The second thing she had done, clearing the Illuminant webs, was practically a fluke. An act of desperation with a half-formed idea that somehow worked out. A lucky feat she had to prepare to repeat.


    Luckily for poor Spam, Cyn did not have to take full responsibility for saving both of them.


    ***


    It had been the best week or so of Hex¡¯s life. Sure, it was terrifying at first. And confusing as hell. But as soon as he started to understand what was going on, the opportunity this presented, he was elated. The chance to reinvent himself as someone other than his father¡¯s failure of a protege was a dream he had never even dared to think about.


    Not that his brief time with the System hadn¡¯t been without regrets. The biggest one had definitely been picking up the daggers without thinking first. Not that he was super unhappy, at least he did not end up a guardian, but missing the chance to be a mage stung. Especially as he was forced to watch some of the things Cyn was learning to do. Though after speaking to his ¡®mentor¡¯ between dungeon floors, Hex felt better knowing magic was not off the table for him in the slightest.


    His second regret was complicated. He hated how they had left behind so much treasure and unkilled mobs on the first floor. If he had been by himself, there was no way he would have left so many stones unturned. They hadn¡¯t even gone down one of the tunnels!


    But Hex wasn¡¯t by himself, and had developed enough respect for every member of the party to not want to drag them down, especially when it was their lives at stake. He was pretty sure all of them were desperate to leave, so he didn¡¯t resist moving on after the boss fight.


    Before this floor he would have said he was  positive  the party wanted out as quickly as possible. When he discovered through the objectives they no longer had to stay together, he was relieved. Hex might not find everything in this labyrinth, but he sure as hell was going to find the center. Cyn had taken him by surprise with her eagerness to find the center of the labyrinth too, but words were just words. He didn¡¯t think the Mage was serious, until they had passed an exit door and she hadn¡¯t even hesitated in wanting to keep going.


    Hex definitely was not unhappy to have her along, either. She kept up well enough, and seemed smart if a little ditzy. Putting aside her growing penchant to hurt herself, having a healer would allow him to take risks more freely; and while the strange arena of moving cubes they were now navigating served to highlight his shortcomings, primarily a lack of ranged options, at least with the Mage along there was a chance to solve it.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Speaking of Cyn¡­


    What the fuck is she doing?


    Cyn¡¯s yelp had drawn Hex¡¯s attention back to his teammate, and, after witnessing the Mage¡¯s struggle, it was clear that whatever was going on was not intentional. He quickly made his way back towards her, reaching a cube that was rising not too far away from Cyn. It was below the Mage, but not by too much. The cube was just too far away to catch her if she started falling now. One trajectory calculation and quick risk assessment later, he jumped.


    Hex¡¯s jump took him just behind the floating woman, now upside down, and he was able to reach out and just barely grab ahold of her belt. Cyn let out another yelp, the sound accompanied by a chorus of noise from the strange pink amphibian she carried around, as the Mage was dragged along with Hex to another cube much lower down. He barely made it onto the other cube, having failed to accurately estimate how much drag the floating woman would create. But they were safe for the next few seconds.


    Still holding onto her, now floating above Hex¡¯s head, he quickly pulled a short rope from his storage. He had bought it back in Cogtopia, figuring it would come in handy. Far too short to rappel down the shaft back in the mines, but long enough to make a Cyn balloon.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± Hex tried not to sound as annoyed as he felt while mentally trying to restart his internal timer for the cubes. He would have to try to tie this rope to her after he was in rhythm again, and just looped it around one wrist for now.


    ¡°Did you Inspect the potion before you threw it?¡±


    ¡°No?¡± Spam made a croak just as he jumped to the next cube. The hell was with that thing? Also, why would he have used Inspect on the potion? Hex had seen her mana potions, it was the same shade of blue. The only reason he had kept the potion at all after pulling it from a puzzle box was because he was kind of just hoarding everything he could, at least until his storage ring filled.


    ¡°Oh. It said it would have additional effects. I kind of assumed¡­with your profession¡­you probably already knew what those effects were so I didn¡¯t need to worry.¡± Cyn sounded sheepish, and Hex was glad she couldn¡¯t see the embarrassment on his face. She was probably right, he should have used Inspect before just assuming it was a mana potion and giving it to the Mage. He trusted that, because of her profession, if she said a creature was a certain way that it was true. It made sense she trusted to put in her mouth anything he had handled.


    Spam croaked again, just before Hex jumped this time. Was the amphibian acting as a timer? ¡°I didn¡¯t think about it. I¡¯ll be sure not to just hand off strange potions in the future.¡± As he spoke, he tied one end of the rope firmly to Cyn¡¯s ankle, making her officially a balloon. If she was suddenly affected by gravity again, they could just cut it off.


    ¡°Thanks, by the way. In good news, I should be able to make an attempt at hitting the whole grid soon.¡±


    ¡°Great, hopefully that¡¯s the solution.¡± Croak. Jump. ¡°Because this difficulty spike is a bit much.¡± Cyn agreed with him, mentioning she thought the whole thing might be rigged to favor an archer. In that case, the pair of them were just lucky she had a long-ranged attack.


    Hex quickly adjusted his jumping and climbing for the extra drag Cyn created, and the extra tug he had to do sometimes to get her floating body out of the way of a moving cube. The pink familiar did seem to be keeping track of when a cube was going to vanish, but Hex trusted his own timing more. The concern he had now was that if the Mage couldn¡¯t complete the task at hand in the next try, if they were wrong about the solution, or it had a second phase, he was probably going to run out of stamina before they were done.


    It wasn¡¯t too much longer until the Mage voiced she was ready to give the timed trial a try.


    ***


    This was super awkward. Not only was it uncomfortable to get pulled around by her ankle while floating in the air, it was clear that Hex was having to expend more of his stamina to account for her. On the plus side, she was pretty sure not having to split her focus with jumping around would make this trial downright easy to pass,  especially  after her practice with split focus. As long as she didn¡¯t end up getting bodied by a moving stone cube in the process.


    Good thing her mana regeneration was pretty decent while at rest, which apparently floating above the Rogue counted as. It wasn¡¯t good as it was when she was near death, but Cyn would take what she could get without injuring herself. Not to mention, her needles had become more mana efficient the more she practiced with them.


    Once Hex confirmed he was ready, Cyn once again started firing off smaller than normal needles at the objects in the grid above them. She still missed a few, mostly due to unexpectedly being tugged on while the mana needles were far away, but it was quite a bit easier than when she was first attempting to reach the objects. One by one, all twenty-five turned green above them.


    Once the final one began to glow, there was a distant chime followed by the remaining cubes all changing their movement to return to their original position. The cubes were no longer vanishing, and when Hex and Cyn found themselves back at ground level all remaining gaps in the floor filled instantly. Well, the Rogue was on ground level. Cyn was still floating. The square was once again just a suspicious looking flat area, devoid of the Hungering Hedges. Both their exit and entrance had returned as well. The only change was that instead of looking completely empty, there was now a pair of treasure chests sitting side by side in the center of the square.


    In the same moment the space returned to normal, Cyn also got a notification. A quick glance into her menu confirmed she had leveled up her class to seven. Honestly that challenge seemed more worthy of experience than the puzzle boxes. She had had to put in a lot of work to complete it. Closing the menu, she found Hex quickly crossing the space, reaching down to touch one of the chests and causing it to vanish before tugging Cyn closer to the ground so she could take her reward as well. Rather than open it now, she willed the chest into her Promising Ring of Holding as the Rogue had likely done.


    Of course, she also checked to make sure it wasn¡¯t a mimic first. It was too soon to fall for that trick.


    Chest of Agility (Rare) - Contains rewards for completing the Trial of Agility within the Hungering Labyrinth.


    ? Rewards are generated based on your performance within the Trial.


    She had not stabbed herself or even been injured this time, so Cyn had high hopes for what would come out of this chest.


    As they quickly left the area, Cyn looked up and saw the grid of objects was still glowing green. Was that just an indicator they had completed the challenge? Would it reset for someone else to do it? There were only two reward boxes, which struck her as a little odd. On the previous floor they had all shared kill credit for the spiders, regardless of who helped in each kill. But here it looked like only the direct participants would be rewarded.


    Barely back within the hedges, Hex abruptly sat down and sighed, ¡°Any indication on how long that potion is going to last?¡±


    ?

 24. Exhaustion

    Done lost all my ducklings. Some guardian you are.


    Scott was tired, both mentally and physically. When he first started adaptation, he was sure that he would not end up missing retirement. How wrong he had been. Scott almost felt his age, sans the crippling arthritis he once endured. That, perhaps, was the best thing that had come out of this whole ordeal. All the health problems he had developed, old injuries that had plagued him, the diseases, they were all gone from the moment the war veteran had entered the blue tutorial room. His body was as strong as it had been in his prime, and even Scott¡¯s mind had felt refreshed, free of the fog that had been slowly creeping in as death inched closer.


    After suddenly appearing there and feeling better than he had in decades, Scott had been eager to live the life of adventure. The team he had been provided was young, but they seemed smart enough. Scott had tried to take a leadership role, even if he had never been particularly good at leading others, simply because he was sure he would have the most experience with combat and it seemed like the sort of role a guardian was supposed to have.  Quickly, though, his enthusiasm faded.


    Firstly, he wanted to throttle whomever had designed that mine as the first floor for a fresh adventuring party. Scott hated spiders, and was a firm believer that they were not intended to be for low levels. Then, he discovered that their Mage was somehow more special than the rest of them, but only when she was actively dying. The rest of the time the girl faded into the background. She took ¡®works well under pressure¡¯ to an unhealthy degree. Scott was pretty sure every fight with her in his party was taking years off his lifespan.


    But it was that last battle, with the Brood Queen, that had broken him in more ways than one.


    Edge of Death (Legendary)(Passive) - You have seen your end, but through sheer luck combined with external intervention you pulled back from the brink.


    You have gained the knowledge to survive overwhelming damage, but not without cost.


    Triggering Edge of Death while still suffering the cost of a previous activation will cause your soul to shatter, resulting in true death.


    [Human] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Guardian] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Jeweler] - Evolutionary path altered.


    Right now, all of Scott¡¯s stats were lowered to ten percent of their total. It was one hell of a debuff, and he had no idea how long it was going to last. More importantly, the battle had served to show him that he really was not needed. The party had done fine without him.


    After coming to the second floor, and having a conversation Scott was sure was supposed to be uplifting with a mentor guardian, he found that even the System agreed the party didn¡¯t need him. They had been separated.


    Now he was just wandering this hedge maze looking for a door out, hopefully before a low-level creature found him easy prey. He wasn¡¯t stupid enough to leave, not until his debuff was gone or he was forced to, but he could camp near an exit. Despite it all, the Guardian couldn¡¯t help but worry about what kinds of trouble the ducklings would be facing without him.


    ***


    The answer to Hex¡¯s question came about half an hour later, when all of the sudden Cyn was once again subject to gravity. Rather than continue to traverse the labyrinth they had decided to make a bit of a camp just outside of the Trial of Agility, since both of them were now low on resources and wanted to rest. One moment she was floating, idly petting Spam while Hex cooked, and the next she was falling flat on her ass with a yelp of surprise. Luckily she was just far enough away from the Rogue to not land on top of him.


    Hex looked back with one raised eyebrow before helping remove his rope from her and putting it away. Now that she was no longer at risk of floating away, Cyn eagerly took back out the treasure chest she had received as a reward from the Trial. The Rogue had already opened his, receiving a throwing dagger that he could retrieve with mana after it was thrown and a handful of miscellaneous supplies similar to the smaller puzzle boxes.


    She found much the same in her chest. A handful of potions, some with the same ¡®additional effects¡¯ warning in the description that the previous mana potion had. Plenty of scrap that would probably never come in use. Dimensional credits. Finally, at the very bottom, she pulled out the real reward.


    At first, she thought it was some kind of leather apron, except the ¡®apron¡¯ part was on both sides of the clothing. She didn¡¯t want to call it a shirt, dress, or tunic, since while it would go over her head to rest on her shoulders and reach her knees, it did not have full sides. Just a dark brown back and front with what looked to be some side straps near her midsection to adjust the fit, and a large pocket directly over the chest. Spam started frantically warbling and wiggling while she was looking it over, sounding excited to Cyn. Being able to sort of ascertain its emotions was strange, but she assumed it had to do with the Familiar Bond.


    Or she was just projecting onto the cute creature.


    Tabard of Small Familiars (Rare) - When activated by a familiar, they will be able to stick to the fabric of this garment no matter the movements or position of the wearer.


    When activated by the wearer, your familiar will be returned to the pouch. Distance limit is based on the strength of your familiar bond.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Attempting to use this item with large familiars may result in injury to the wearer or familiar.


    Enchantments: [Self-Repair]


    ''Will you stop complaining about being dropped now?'' - Bann Soom, creator of the first Tabard of Small Familiars


    Self-Repair Enchantment (Rare) - Item will repair itself over time if damaged.


    Ok, that did explain why Spam was so excited. After nearly falling into the abyss when Cyn spun upside down, she couldn¡¯t blame the pink familiar. And honestly it wasn¡¯t bad for her either. The enchantment in particular she was happy for, since that meant Cyn could have her cloak back and wouldn¡¯t have the same problem of having to find solutions to destroyed clothing. Being made of leather also probably meant it would be a little more durable than cloth, at least based on her leather satchel and straps surviving the spider''s acid attack where her cloth tunic had not.


    She quickly removed the cloak wrapped around her chest and replaced it with the tabard, followed by putting on the cloak properly. Much more comfortable, even though the pale blue cloak was looking pretty battered by this point. With Spam looking up at her from the ground expectantly, Cyn attempted to activate the tabard¡¯s ability. Like with most other items, it just required a little bit of mana to activate.


    Instantaneously, Spam disappeared from the ground and the nearly ten pounds of frog was in the pocket attached to her chest. Cyn should have been more prepared to deal with the sudden shift in weight, since she had been carrying the rather dense creature around for a while, but instead she nearly lost her balance and came close to doing a faceplant. Clearly, it would take some getting used to.


    After resting a while longer, and eating the meal Hex had made, they moved on. Cyn was admittedly feeling a bit weary, since the last time she had slept was before leaving Cogtopia, but decided that she could live with the mental fatigue for now. As they traveled further, Hex stopped detecting the small puzzle boxes and instead they began to come across small rooms in the maze, similar to the exit door room. Inside there were larger chests with new, but still simple, puzzles in order to open them. The other difference was that solving the puzzles wrong would result in damage. It would probably be an annoying amount for anyone not traveling with Cyn.


    None of the puzzles posed a problem, especially since their mental stats were clearly having an effect. Prior to the system, Cyn would have had an awful time attempting to ¡®solve¡¯ a memory puzzle. While it was still a bit of a challenge, since it went up to a sequence of ten steps, it was actually possible for her now. Before, any pattern that exceeded four or five steps would have been nearly impossible for her without writing down the pattern. The improved memory was unexpected, but welcome.


    It was while solving one of these puzzles that Hex and Cyn heard a distant chime ring out. It sounded similar to the sound that echoed through the labyrinth when they had finished the Trial of Agility, if a little louder. It startled Cyn out of the puzzle box she was solving, leading to an electric shock she didn¡¯t even bother to heal.


    ¡°It looks like the others have finished a trial.¡± Hex spoke while she was still looking up at the sky, pondering the sound. Looking at him, the Rogue seemed to be in his menu.


    ¡°You think so?¡± It made sense, but two chimes was hardly enough of a sample size to know for sure.


    ¡°Know so, actually. We have a new objective.¡±


    Cyn quickly opened her menu to see what he was talking about. While she had not gotten a notification of a new objective, a new one definitely had appeared.


    Transitional dungeon floor 2: The Hungering Labyrinth -


    Strangely thematic.


    Bonus Objective: Trials completed 2/6


    Neat. Except for not getting a notification. That was actually pretty fucking stupid. Notifications were basically the only reason she would be opening her menu, and the idea that she could miss out on objectives from sheer ignorance was annoying. At least for now she had Hex around, who opened his menu every time they stopped for even a moment to do who knows what. She couldn¡¯t imagine what he could be doing, their menus were really limited. Theory crafting, maybe?


    ¡°Cool. At least we know someone out there is alive and hasn¡¯t left yet. Wonder if there is like a big trial when they are all done, or if just finishing the objective is the reward.¡± Before closing her menu to return to the memory puzzle, Cyn also noticed her ¡®reunite the party¡¯ bonus objective had been updated to show two of five, clearly keeping track of her and Hex being together. Would it show if anyone else had found each other, separate from them?


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to find another trial before I can even make a concrete theory on that. I¡¯m just surprised anyone else bothered to do a trial, and hasn¡¯t just left.¡±


    Cyn finished her puzzle before replying carefully, having gotten the feeling over multiple conversations that Hex wasn¡¯t fond of their party in general. ¡°Maybe they didn¡¯t have a choice and got locked into an arena. Or maybe whatever they found was more geared towards their class. Like I said earlier, I am pretty sure Dana would have made a mockery out of the Trial of Agility. Plus, it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if no one else has found a door out yet. I have a feeling not everyone has a Spam to follow.¡± The familiar chirped in agreement, making Cyn grin and Pet it.


    The look Hex leveled them with, even with his mask on, made it pretty clear he wasn¡¯t convinced ¡®following Spam¡¯ was actually helping them. He just didn¡¯t have any better ideas. They had tried having him jump up, with her on his shoulders, to see over the hedges but it wasn¡¯t helpful. She was too short to get a good look, and the maze looked too uniform at a glance. ¡°Maybe. Speaking of¡­Spam¡­is it toxic? Or at the very least, can you Purify its toxin? I tried using Inspect on it, but it only gives me question marks, and that I can lick it for more information. I would like more information.¡±


    While Hex spoke the fat frog went from quietly warbling and looking around from the tabard pouch, its normal behavior, to silently staring  very  intently at the Rogue with all three eyes. Cyn observed this before replying, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t actually know. My Inspect doesn¡¯t give much more than that, just that Spam is my familiar. If Spam¡¯s alright with it I guess?¡± She had no doubt it could fundamentally understand them, and Spam had been pretty good about warning her about danger so far. So it should object to being licked if it was dangerous for the Rogue to do.


    Hex was now staring back at the frog, brow furrowed. ¡°I think it just used Inspect on me.¡± Could the familiar do that? Maybe, although she would be a little surprised if creatures had the same kind of skills they did. What would it even be looking for with Inspect?


    Spam chirped a clear affirmative, at least to Cyn¡¯s understanding, before crawling up out of the pouch and jumping onto the ground in front of the Rogue. Hex slowly picked it up, bringing Spam up to his face. ¡°Heavier than it looks.¡±


    She started to stifle a chuckle, before losing the fight and breaking out in full on laughter as the familiar responded to Hex by flicking out its long, black tongue and sticking it to the Rogue¡¯s forehead.  A brilliant show of dominance.  Before she could get her laughter back under control, Hex pulled down his mask, his face looking only a little apprehensive now that it was more clear how intelligent the frog was, and licked Spam back.


    Only to collapse to the ground a second later.

 25. Not Having a Good Time

    Cyn¡¯s laughter cut off abruptly, not just because Hex collapsed, but because she also felt his health dip sharply into dangerous territory. She didn¡¯t even think about it before kneeling to use an Overloaded Restoration on the unconscious Rogue. She could tell there was some kind of toxin inside of him, but it was far outside of her Purify skills ability to cleanse, even with Overload. Cyn wasn¡¯t able to tell what exactly the toxin was doing, but at the very least his health did not continue to drain after the initial dip.


    ¡°What the fuck, Spam?!¡± The familiar was sitting on the ground next to Hex¡¯s head now, having jumped out of the Rogue¡¯s hands as he collapsed, and was just staring intently at Hex¡¯s unconscious form. Beyond letting out a quiet chirp, Spam ignored her outburst. Whatever the toxin was, it was making its way through Hex¡¯s body rapidly. Cyn only healed the unconscious man to about half health before stopping, and since the toxin seemed to have run its course by that point she just anxiously waited for him to wake up.


    Luckily, she did not have to wait long. The Rogue let out a long groan, moving one hand to his face to briefly rub at his eyes. Cyn was sitting beside him on the ground and, relieved he was awake, spoke. ¡°Welcome back. How are you feeling?¡±


    Hex didn¡¯t answer for a long few moments before peeking out from behind his fingers, eyes quickly passing over Cyn before finding Spam too close for comfort. The Rogue flinched as Spam hopped over him to return to its tunic pouch, the familiar seemingly satisfied that Hex was fine. With a sigh, he sat up. ¡°Like I was hit by a truck filled with magic mushrooms.¡±


    ¡°Open your mouth.¡± Cyn thought she saw something, but needed to confirm it. The Rogue gave her an incredulous look before slowly opening his mouth. It had been hard to see while Hex was talking, but this made it much more clear. ¡°Your tongue is black.¡± It wasn¡¯t like he had eaten something with heavy food coloring to coat it, either. The flesh itself was an almost uniform deep black color, only fading to the normal pink tone unevenly around his gums and teeth.


    Spam made a high-pitched warble at Cyn¡¯s observation.  Was it laughing?  Quickly, a wide-eyed Hex tried to stick out his tongue far enough to look at it. He was unsuccessful, and without a mirror the Rogue would just have to take her word for it. He dodged any further questions about what had happened, only relenting that he had yet to decide if it was worth it, and insisted that they should move on.


    As curious as she was, Hex didn¡¯t appear to be dying or suffering other noticeable side effects from the little misadventure, so Cyn did not feel she had an excuse to press further. Whatever he gained would have been a side effect of his profession, so it wasn¡¯t like she could recreate it. Cyn did give the familiar a halfhearted scolding about hurting her friends, which Spam clearly ignored. If the frog could roll its eyes, she was pretty sure it would be rolling all three at her.


    It was a few more hours before Cyn admitted she needed them to stop. The mental strain of being awake so long had reached a point she knew if they ran into any trouble now, it would be bad. Hex was reluctant, but almost as soon as he sat down it looked like the weariness caught up with him. Seeing as they had yet to run into anything dangerous that could sneak up on them, it was agreed they would both sleep for a while to save time rather than alternating.


    ***


    This was a nightmare. Sam had just been getting used to the quiet expectations of everyone around him, feeling especially useful after working the machine to get the party down to the boss fight, along with being trusted to carry the Mage into the fight. He had even managed to stop the first attack on her from the Brood King. It had gone pretty well, in his opinion.


    But now he was alone. Sam hated being alone. He wasn¡¯t good at making decisions, and this maze was frustrating. He felt like he might be going in circles, and after the leaves changed to red and orange he now had puzzles to deal with. Or he would, if he wasn¡¯t just skipping them. Sam had managed to solve a few of the puzzle boxes, but it was just taking far too long and he wanted to find his friends. Luckily, after the third or fourth time he had tried reading his notifications for clues, Sam had seen his System reward so he could just store the puzzle boxes for someone else to solve later.


    He could only read a few of the notifications at a time before getting a headache from the moving letters, and even if he did manage to read them half the time they didn¡¯t make sense on the first read. He was used to it, sort of, and it hadn¡¯t been much of a problem since leaving school to work in construction with the rest of his extended family. Now of course it felt like he was forced to read constantly, and if he failed to understand what he read it could lead to getting hurt, or getting other people hurt.


    Being alone was even worse here, because it left far too much time to worry about what might have happened to his family. Before they met the gnomes, he had assumed that he had been chosen for some reason to live in the System. But after speaking with the old gnome, Kreeble, he had understood enough to know that his family would have to go through something similar. His mama would probably be fine. She would make the spiders cower in fear with her voice alone. Sam¡¯s brothers were as big as him, so they too would probably do alright. Especially Isaac, he was the one who was always trying to get Sam to play adventure video games with him.


    But what about his little sister? She was small, and far too young to have to learn how to survive in a place like this. Was there someone to protect her? Hopefully she did not have to face the spiders, and was sent somewhere else. The Warrior he had met between floors had not been any help, either, when Sam asked. If anything, the mountain of a man seemed to think that anyone who didn¡¯t survive didn¡¯t deserve to!


    A chime echoing through the maze knocked Sam out of his spiraling thoughts briefly. It was the second one he had heard, but he so far had not found anything to tell him what was causing it. Hopefully it wasn¡¯t some kind of timer, because he had yet to find traces of anyone else.


    Sam quickly sank back into his worried mind, jogging forward as if run by a rudimentary autopilot. He only took notice of his surroundings again hours later, when instead of the expected hedge-lined paths there was a large, open space now directly in front of him.


    ***


    Cyn couldn¡¯t breathe. The feeling had slowly increased as she went about her day at the office. At first it was just an unexpected shortness of breath when walking to the break room, but she brushed that off quickly. Cyn was a far cry from being physically fit, so while that might be a bit excessive she wasn¡¯t exactly surprised.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    It became worrying, though, when mid-conversation with Andre in accounting she felt a sudden pressure on her chest, squeezing the air from her lungs and not allowing her to take a breath. Even worse, Andre didn¡¯t even seem to notice anything was wrong. He just waited patiently for Cyn to be able to finish her sentence. She didn¡¯t say anything to him about not being able to breathe right, though. It would have been awkward.


    Then came the team meeting. The very definition of ¡®this could have been an email¡¯. You would think a group of people who work so closely with tech would know when to just send a notice, and when they should have an in-person meeting, but clearly not. She ended up just zoning out to Ross¡¯s low monotone, droning on about client expectations and the cool ¡®new¡¯ coding language he wanted everyone to learn.


    Cyn¡¯s eyes were drawn to a spiderweb in the corner of the room, where she could see a tiny Weaver skittering over its web. As she watched the spider, the pressure on her chest grew again and stole her breath. Struggling to inhale, she watched as the arachnid seemed to grow, larger and larger. The web grew with it, rapidly taking over the room. A distant part of her mind took note that she could no longer hear Ross, but she found herself unable to turn to look at him, or the rest of her team. Had he asked her a question? Why was she more panicked over having missed a question from her boss than about the Weaver, or her lack of air? Why was no one else panicking?!


    With a jolt, Cyn woke up to find herself staring into the sunlight filtered through the blue fabric of her cloak. She was confused and disoriented for a few seconds, before realizing she had been having a dream. Maybe a nightmare. The inability to breathe properly was  very  real, however.


    She quickly moved her cloak away from her face, having placed it there because the perpetual noon sunlight had made it difficult to sleep even with her mental exhaustion, and found the source of her breathlessness. Spam was hanging out on her collarbone, practically standing on her jugular. If it had been a normal sized frog she probably would not have noticed, but the dense familiar was slowly strangling Cyn in her sleep due to its weight.


    She quickly sat up, causing the creature to fall back into the chest pocket of her tabard with a startled croak. Cyn didn¡¯t think Spam was intentionally trying to kill her, just that when she laid on her back the pouch became pretty unusable, at least without Spam keeping it activated. Her chest would have caused the familiar to just tumble out onto her neck anyway.


    Hex was still asleep next to her, so Cyn whispered to Spam in an attempt to explain why it should not be sitting on her neck. Whether or not it would listen was yet to be seen, since it was glaring at her for seemingly getting up without warning. Feeling rested enough, she took the time to take a look at her stats in order to spend free points. She had been putting it off for a few levels now.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: [Mage] Level 7


    Profession: [Creature Handler] Level 7


    Health Points: 340/340


    Mana Points: 580/580


    Stamina Points: 430/430


    Free Points: 9


    Vitality: 34


    Mind: 31


    Will: 43


    Strength: 21


    Agility: 33


    Luck: 23


    Racial Skills: [Dimensional Translator] [Inspect]


    Class Skills: [Freeform Mana Casting] [Restoration] [Mana Ball] [Mage Regeneration] [Purify] [Overload]


    Profession Skills: [Pet] [Friendly Aura] [Harvesting] [Familiar Bond]


    Feats: N/A


    The even levels felt nice to look at, even if she knew they probably would not be that way for long. After a few minutes of looking everything over, she decided that being in this labyrinth rather than constant combat actually made choosing a stat to dump into a little harder. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure where she was still feeling weak. The only real challenge so far had only been difficult because it took so long to do using her Freeform Mana Casting, and if she had to do it again now it would be faster from her practice. The challenge had not come from an actual lack of stats.


    Cyn just ended up putting all nine points into will. There wasn¡¯t really a reason why, other than the vague feeling it might help with her mana control. By the time she closed her menu again, having gained ninety maximum mana, Hex had started to stir. He actually looked more tired than when they had both laid down to rest, but she decided not to mention it as they got moving again.


    She started to notice the hedges were losing color as they traveled, the brilliant reds and oranges dulling into yellow and brown. It did not happen quickly, just the occasional leaf at first, but when they found the first dead end of the labyrinth nearly twenty-five percent of the surrounding hedge had dulled.


    Hex slowed as they got close to the hedge, brows furrowed. Cyn felt a similar confusion. Spam had been leading them the entire time and they had found no dead ends, so she did not understand why they would find one now. Curious, she walked closer even after the Rogue had stopped. Something felt¡­off. But familiar. A need to know more drew her even closer.


    She came within a few inches of the hedge before Spam croaked a warning, and while Cyn stopped she did not move away. Whatever she was feeling was beyond the hedge, and it was a mental strain to focus on it, as if it was near the limit of her range to perceive.


    ¡°Guess the amphibian isn¡¯t infallible. Let¡¯s get back to the crossroads and choose again.¡± Spam let out a chorus of angry warbles and chirps at the perceived insult, crawling out of its pouch and up her shoulder to glare at the Rogue. Cyn ignored both of them, at least for the moment. She was feeling¡­health points? Low health? Bleeding health. Sam!


    She was feeling the Warrior, badly injured and bleeding out slowly somewhere just beyond the hedge in front of them.

 26. Rage

    Cyn¡¯s breath came out in a gasp as she pulled back her focus, feeling a bit dizzy from the effort. She hadn¡¯t even been aware she was holding her breath. Turning back, she saw that Hex had moved away a bit but was now stopped again to look at her with knitted brows.


    ¡°It¡¯s Sam, he''s hurt.¡± Cyn¡¯s words came out in a rush as she gestured towards the dead end. ¡°Somewhere just over there.¡±


    The Rogue tilted his head slightly, glancing at the hedge for a moment before returning his eyes to her. ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± He sounded doubtful, and having him doubt her after getting this far together made Cyn¡¯s temper unexpectedly flare.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fucking sure. I am also fucking sure Spam wouldn¡¯t lead us to a dead end.¡± She saw his eyes go wide for a moment at her snarl, taken aback by Cyn¡¯s sudden anger. She then took a step towards the Rogue, causing her familiar to croak a warning. What it was warning about, or who it was even directed at she did not know, but Cyn stopped moving anyway.


    ¡°During the Trial of Agility, the entrance and exit both closed over. If we had been outside of the area, it would have created a dead end like this.¡± Her voice was even now, but not quite calm as it still held an undercurrent of roiling rage. ¡°Now, are you going to help me or not?¡±


    Hex just blinked at her a few times, and since his lack of response served only to feed Cyn¡¯s fury she whirled back to face the hedge. Perhaps she could use her mana to destroy it, similar to the web from the first floor? She reached out, ignoring the increasingly frantic croaks of Spam. Cyn wasn¡¯t worried. Hex had talked about touching the Hungering Hedge when he first entered the labyrinth, and it had not killed him. The carnivorous plant trying to eat her would only serve as a mana regeneration boost.


    Somewhere in a detached, calmer part of Cyn¡¯s mind, she was aware that she was not thinking clearly. She rarely got angry, often choosing to instead just ignore and walk away from anything that started to rile her up. Specifically because when she  did  end up angry, it historically ended with a pile of poor choices, lashing out, and regret. But it was a little late to try and re-bottle the emotion.


    The forefront of Cyn¡¯s mind was not thinking seriously about consequences or past lessons learned. Her only thoughts revolved around reaching her injured teammate, and stoking the simmering rage that had surfaced at being so blatantly doubted. Having quickly, if not entirely logically, settled on a solution to the problem Cyn was fully prepared to go through with it.


    Just before she would have made contact with the yellowed leaves, mana lingering just inside of her fingertips, a hand grabbed Cyn¡¯s wrist and yanked her back. ¡°Damn, give a man a minute to think before you start acting stupid.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t the best response Hex could have given in the current situation.


    Made obvious when he was forced to dodge a knee to the crotch as Cyn spun to face the Rogue again.  Should have put my free points in agility.  Hex quickly let go of her and backpedaled a few steps, raising his hands as if in surrender. Cyn saw his eyes flick briefly to the side of her before he spoke again, his tone having gone from annoyed to utterly bewildered. ¡°Are you seriously going to pincushion me over that?¡±


    ¡­ What?  The strangeness of his question cut through the incandescent rage Cyn was gripped by, and she turned her head to try and figure out what he was talking about. To her horror, she found at least a dozen tiny shards of mana floating beside her, primed and waiting to be directed. The shards were significantly smaller than her standard needles, though shaped roughly the same, and were only so visible due to their pale blue glow against the dull but still warm colors of the Hungering Hedge.


    Seeing them was a surprise, but the fact she could feel them was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over Cyn, instantly draining away the white-hot wrath. The shards were definitely her creations, and now that she was aware she could feel the continuous drain on her mana pool. She had not even realized she was doing it. Not consciously, anyway. But for just a few heartbeats she had felt genuine malice towards Hex. For doubting her, for accusing her of doing something stupid, for  daring  to try and stop her.


    Cyn quickly dispersed the mana, raising her hands to cover her face while focusing on just breathing. She could not afford to take long in recentering her emotions. Or rather, Sam could not afford for her to take long. She could still faintly feel his health, though without focusing on it the sensation was not clear. Cyn needed to get to the other side of the hedge.


    When she removed her hands and looked at Hex again, he was in the same spot, watching her warily. Spam gave a soft, worried warble that made Cyn reach up to her shoulder to Pet the familiar, trying to assure it that she was alright. ¡°Sorry I ¡­ Sam is on the other side of the hedge. I don¡¯t think he has time for us to try and find a way around, so I am going to try and create a hole to go through.¡±


    Before she could turn around the Rogue spoke softly, ¡°If you would wait just a second, maybe we can come up with a solution that doesn¡¯t include you sticking your hand into the murder bush.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any ideas? I don¡¯t want to end up responsible for him dying while we twiddle our thumbs over here!¡± Cyn was barely keeping the sparks of rage from reigniting.


    ¡°First, if Sam gets himself killed, that''s on him. Not us. Second, getting  yourself  killed doesn¡¯t help anyone. Third ¡­¡± Hex paused for a moment, seeming to acknowledge that he was just pissing her off again, ¡°Third, I do have an idea. I think after leveling up I can now jump high enough for you to see over the hedges. At least enough to get an idea of what is happening on the other side.¡±


    Why the hell didn¡¯t he just start with that?  Rising anger shifted to exasperation, and she waved the Rogue over. ¡°Let''s try it. Please.¡±


    Hex knelt next to her, and after only a little bit of awkward climbing Cyn was rather comfortably sitting on his shoulders. Spam unexpectedly climbed up to sit on her head, as if trying to get an even higher vantage point. A few deep breaths later, the Rogue jumped straight up.


    Previously when they had tried this, Cyn had barely gotten high enough to see the tops of the hedges. The extra bit of height Hex could now get would not have helped much, if what was ahead of them was more of the same labyrinth. She wouldn¡¯t have been able to see into the paths. But ahead was not a standard part of the labyrinth. Just as Cyn had suspected, the ¡®dead end¡¯ would have actually been the entrance to a trial if said trial was not in progress.  In the mere heartbeat she was high enough to see into the clearing, Cyn tried to take in as many details as possible.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    First, the floor was mostly intact unlike the trial of Agility. The center appeared to have a large, round hole in it, and the entire light gray stone floor looked to have a series of evenly spaced, shallow canals leading to the hole. One of these indentations was filled with a deep crimson, and her eyes tracked the splash of color to Sam.


    The Warrior was on the opposite side of the hole from Hex and Cyn, and slightly off to one side. He looked to be tied down by something she was unable to distinguish at a glance, but she could definitely take a solid guess as to why the only red canal was leading to him. As she and Hex started to come back down from the apex of the jump, Spam took the leap over the hedge and into the trial.


    The three-eyed frog cleared the jump easily, though its sudden absence left Cyn feeling off-kilter. Spam had been practically glued to her since they were bonded, and had only been a few feet away at most. She had not been aware of the metaphysical connection between them, but Cyn definitely was aware of it now as she felt it stretch uncomfortably. She could feel Spam hesitate briefly on the other side of the hedge before hopping further away, towards the Warrior.


    ¡°Fuck. Looks like we need to get over that hedge, and fast.¡± Hex¡¯s grim voice snapped her attention back to herself, rather than the connection between her and the familiar. She didn¡¯t need to ask why, though, because she could see the waiting notification in the corner of her eye. Cyn felt a sense of urgency from the pop-up, something she had not felt among any of the previous notifications she had received. Maybe it felt that way because it did not fade away like normal? Or maybe it was the slight shake the textbox had, which intensified as she used Inspect.


    Hungering Labyrinth - Trial of Vitality


    You have interrupted a trial in progress.


    Difficulty level has been increased to compensate for 3 total participants.


    Cheating countermeasures have been deployed.


    Yah, ¡®fuck¡¯ about summed that up.  At least her and Spam seemed to only count as a single participant, since it sounded like Hex had the notification too. The line about cheating countermeasures sounded¡­ominous. What even counted as cheating in this instance?


    The Rogue spoke again while swinging her down from his shoulders, ¡°Quick, pull out any potions with additional effects. Let me see if any of them could be useful.¡± As Cyn pulled out potions and put them on the ground, Hex had single bottles appearing and disappearing rapidly from his hand. While she was still taking potions out of storage, having collected quite a few from puzzle boxes by now, the Rogue threw a bottle over her head at the hedge.


    The bottle didn¡¯t shatter on impact, but Cyn turned around in time to watch as the hedge moved. It grabbed onto the potion the instant the glass had made contact, a thin vine snaking out to wrap around and pull the potion further into the hedge. Once it had disappeared she could hear the crystalline sound of glass breaking, presumably being crushed, and nothing else happened for a few, long moments.


    Then, as Hex and Cyn watched, the hedge went up in flames.


    The fire was almost white in color, and rapidly spread to engulf not only the dead end but the surrounding hedges. Flaming vines shot out from the plant, frantically writhing along the ground and in the air, and forced the pair to defend themselves against both flora and fire. The unorganized and desperate movements made it fairly easy to cut away or deflect any attacks thankfully, and since the fire did not appear to be giving off heat they were not getting proximity burns either. The only injuries suffered were lacerations anywhere the hedge vines did manage to get ahold of them.


    Clearly, Cyn had been very, very lucky when it came to what effect the potion she drank had given her. Immolation would have been much worse than just floating around.


    The burning bush burnt out almost as quickly as it was engulfed, leaving behind charred-looking stems and sticks and allowing them to see into the trial beyond. The previously gray stone had changed to a shimmering black, reminding Cyn of obsidian, and the new floor made the streak of red still flowing from the Warrior even more apparent.


    Spam too was clearly visible, its bubblegum-pink body hopping circles around the large man. Cyn couldn''t hear it from this distance, instead she could  feel  the familiar¡¯s frantic warbling. It wasn¡¯t quite a sound inside her skull, but came close.


    Not willing to hesitate another moment, she ran forward through the remains of the hedge. The charred remains crumbled at even the softest touch, no longer a suitable barrier, and allowed Cyn to enter the trial proper. She made a beeline for Sam, and as she got closer it was more clear what was happening to him.


    When Cyn got the initial glimpse into the trial, she was able to tell something had the Warrior tied down. Now, she was able to see what exactly it was. They were vines, seeming to grow straight out of the stone around the canal that circled Sam, a canal which also had an offshoot to the center hole. If not for the small crimson flowers, she would have said he was tied down with barbed wire. The gnarled vines looked like dull steel, and were covered in thorns. The thorns varied in size, from barely large enough to break skin to almost as long as one of Cyn¡¯s fingers.


    The vines had wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso, with the one wrapped around his torso snaked close to his neck. While Sam was bleeding from basically everywhere the vines touched, it was the largest of the thorns doing the bulk of the work bleeding him out. Especially one wrapped around his thigh, which she was fairly sure had hit an artery based on the red stream flowing down the plant and into the canal. How had he not bled out already? Cyn could only speculate it was because of his stats.


    As she ran closer, Cyn passed by the large, center hole close enough to glimpse inside. Not that there was much to see, the swimming pool sized hollow was roughly half filled with a dark, opaque liquid she could only assume was blood. Gross.


    She was almost to Sam when she saw her familiar stop hopping just long enough to spit a whole-ass glass bottle at the Warrior, who was obviously unable to catch it with his limbs tied down. Cyn saw it bounce off Sam¡¯s head and join a few other bottles on the stone, all filled with a bright red liquid she would associate with health potions.  Where is Spam getting potions from?


    Sam¡¯s head had been angled down, but when hit with the potion he glanced up and angrily exclaimed, ¡°Would you stop it?!¡± The Warrior¡¯s voice was weak, matching what Cyn was feeling about his health points. Raising his head also made him take notice of her, shock filling his face followed by alarm. ¡°Behind you!¡±


    In the same moment, she also heard Hex yell from somewhere behind her, ¡°Cyn!¡±


    Cyn didn¡¯t have time to react to either warning before she was grabbed around the waist and roughly yanked backwards.

 27. Mounting Pressure

    Cyn caught a brief glimpse of Hex rushing towards her as her whole body snapped backwards, but he had clearly not followed her closely on entering the arena and was too far away to make it in time. The Rogue¡¯s movement speed might be crossing into superhuman, but it was still too slow against whatever had grabbed ahold of her.


    She put her palms against what had grabbed her around the waist, distantly categorizing it as a vine based off the thorns that pierced the skin of her hands and through her tabard in some places, and started venting mana in an attempt to destroy it. Cyn shaped the mana into tiny shards, similar to what she had almost used on Hex, and for a single heartbeat she felt like it was working. The shards pierced the vine, doing damage and causing it to spasm, before she found herself plunged into the pool of blood with it still wrapped around her midsection.


    In almost any other situation, she probably would have been too disgusted to function if this had happened. Blood didn¡¯t bother her generally, but Cyn sure as hell didn¡¯t want to be drowning in a pool of it. However, despite the lukewarm, viscous liquid that surrounded her, she was a little too preoccupied to think about it. Primarily because her venting mana had abruptly shut off, as if a dam had formed at the end of her mana veins. The build-up of mana inside her fingers burned while she tried to forcibly push past the blockage.


    When that did not work, the dam holding firm, and the pressure started to feel dangerous, she instead tried to push the mana into a use of Restoration. She didn¡¯t need to be healed yet, but Cyn needed to put the mana  somewhere  before something, likely her, broke from it.


    The skill didn¡¯t activate.


    Neither would Mana Ball nor Purify. Cyn guessed the pool must produce some kind of ¡®silence¡¯ effect, preventing activated skill usage, though that explanation did not include why her Freeform Mana Casting was partly working. She had stopped pushing mana out from her mana pool, but the ¡®veins¡¯ that lead to her hands felt so blown out by the build-up a trickle continued to leak out of her mana pool and increase the pressure. She was also still being dragged down through the pool, and was holding her breath, but those things seemed unimportant compared to the fact she couldn¡¯t use her mana.


    Why was the mana only going one way? Shouldn¡¯t it just flow back towards her core, her mana pool, in this case? It didn¡¯t make any sense that pressure would keep building up, or that mana would continue to drain into a pressurized system after she stopped willing it to.


    Since pushing it out was a futile effort, Cyn instead tried to will it back to her mana pool. The pressure just moved from her hands to her chest. She didn¡¯t know how to put it back in. Getting desperate to equalize the mounting pressure so she could focus on other things, Cyn rapidly improvised an internal circuit for the built-up mana to spread out and travel inside of her. Crossing through all four limbs, it made crude use of the mana veins she had already created from previous uses of Freeform Mana Casting before using newer veins that would connect them together in Cyn¡¯s chest. It was far from a perfect solution, since she was still leaking from her mana pool into her damaged hand channels, but it would buy her some time before the pressure became overwhelming again.


    Mentally pushing the mana through her circuit took only a little bit of mental effort, and was easy to put on autopilot in the back of her mind. Now she could actually pay attention to what was happening outside of her body. On the plus side, at least her health did not feel too low, and she didn¡¯t yet feel the need to breathe. Cyn found she wasn¡¯t moving anymore, but not because the vine holding onto her wasn¡¯t trying to move her. Now that she had returned to being aware of her situation, she found it was slowly and  very  painfully attempting to bisect her.


    The original vine that had grabbed her was pulling one way on her waist, while another felt like it had grabbed onto her left leg at the knee was pulling the opposite way. Moving surprisingly quickly through the liquid, Cyn drew Blooddrinker and tried to cut away at the vine around her waist first. It snapped almost immediately under the blade, and while part of it was still wrapped tightly around her midsection at least it was no longer pulling her apart.


    She tried to reach for the vine wrapped around her leg to do the same, but now that it was pulling her freely it was significantly more difficult to get ahold of. It took multiple tries before she could get ahold of it, Blooddrinker making quick work of the second vine as well. Now she just had to get out.


    Cyn was a decent swimmer, in water at least, and thankfully she felt strong enough to move through the thicker blood without issue. The problem now came from not knowing what direction was up, and the lurking threat of being grabbed again. Not to mention, it was impossible to see anything even if she opened her eyes. She first tried to ¡®sense¡¯ Spam or either of her party members'' health she knew was above, but only found that the blood she was swimming in created a rather intense interference. Attempting to feel her familiar resulted in a feeling akin to static filling her head, Hex gave her no results, while Sam felt like he was both everywhere and nowhere at once.


    Most likely, she reasoned, this was because at least some of what she was floating in belonged to the Warrior. It was just a little surprising the blood still carried his¡­essence? Signature? It felt like it belonged to him still, and she found that strange. It also didn¡¯t give her any information on him, and ultimately it was not helpful for Cyn¡¯s current situation since she couldn¡¯t use any skills to try and interact with the connection to Sam.


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    In the precious seconds she was trying to figure out what to do, Cyn was also aware of the pressure building from her mana. It was starting to burn something fierce, and somehow that pain was significantly worse than the physical damage she had received from the vines. Or at the very least, harder to ignore. Aware of the timer she was on, and that her party was probably also in trouble, Cyn just started swimming in one direction.


    It didn¡¯t take her long to find either the stone wall or floor, and while she did not know for sure what part of the pool it belonged to, Cyn kept herself aligned with it before finally breaking the surface. She took a few lungfuls of air while wiping blood away from her eyes, then took stock of her surroundings.


    The amount of liquid was not enough for Cyn to see over the rim of the hole she was in, but she now had a better view of what had likely grabbed her from behind. It was more vines, significantly thicker than the ones that had been wrapped around the Warrior, and they appeared to be growing directly from the pool of blood. A half dozen had snaked their way up the sides and out, and from the squirming motions she could guess the vines were attacking her party.


    But they could also provide a way out for Cyn.


    She still wasn¡¯t able to vent mana, so time was of the essence. Sheathing her dagger and swimming along the wall to the nearest of the vines, Cyn didn¡¯t hesitate to wrap an arm around the plant and start to pull herself up and out of the pool. While the squirming definitely made it more difficult than it needed to be, she was able to rather easily climb out.


    Upon reaching the rim of the hole, and pulling herself up, Cyn first took Blooddrinker to the vine, severing it. Both sections of vine continued to writhe, but at least it wouldn¡¯t be pulling more victims into the blood pool anytime soon. Her eyes were first drawn to Sam, who appeared to have been freed from the smaller vines previously holding him down. The Warrior was grappling with a pair of the larger vines, one of which she had just cut in half, and while his health did feel improved, Cyn could still sense Sam was significantly weakened.


    Cyn didn¡¯t see Hex or Spam, but could feel the familiar somewhere behind her now. She didn¡¯t turn around, trusting that they would both be alright without help for a few moments, and sprinted towards the Warrior to assist him and hopefully get the burning mana out of her veins before it reached a critical mass.


    It didn¡¯t cross her mind to wonder why she had no trouble running across the smooth stone, when objectively Cyn should have been slipping and sliding around on all the blood. Instead she ran with laser focus alongside the second of the vines Sam was fighting and, when it raised itself high enough to easily reach, she sliced up with the dagger. The malicious flora cleanly snapped, with one half sliding back towards its origin and the other writhing more violently in an attempt to warp around the Warrior.


    Not bothering to try and untangle Sam when she reached him, Cyn dodged the loose end of the vine she had severed to get close enough to touch her party member. Once they made contact, she immediately used Restoration and attempted to Overload the skill with all the pent-up mana she had been circulating. It worked even better than she expected, the Warrior¡¯s wounds rapidly healing and health pool spiking well back into a safe range.


    Finally letting out all the scorching mana was an instant relief, at least for a few heartbeats. Before Cyn even had time to pull away from Sam and the vines he was fighting, a wave of weakness fell over her. Stumbling and barely dodging one of the vines attacks, now partly aimed at her, Cyn did a mental check of her resources. Both her health and mana were fine, at the very least over halfway full. A check of her menu, done in a mere blink of an eye, confirmed her stamina was probably down to about a quarter of its maximum.  Low, but not low enough to make me this weak, surely?


    A lack of clear reason didn¡¯t make the weakness vanish, unfortunately, so Cyn was going to just have to deal with it. She wasn¡¯t a physical fighter, usually, making the main effect a slowed reaction speed. Cyn quickly slid away from Sam, needing to put some distance between her and the writhing vines, and nearly lost her balance in the process.


    For fucks sake¡­  Shaking her head, Cyn spread her feet in a mediocre attempt to keep her balance while also looking for Hex and Spam. Hex was pretty hard to miss, as he was across the central hole with a mass comprised of three intertwined vines. The Rogue was on the run, easily leading the twisting mass in circles and occasionally tossing out his throwing dagger.


    Hex was pretty bad at aiming.


    Regardless, while the Rogue wasn¡¯t making progress in destroying the vines, he also didn¡¯t seem to be in any trouble. Finding the small, pink frog was more difficult. Before she could track the familiar down one end of the vines the Warrior was struggling with whipped out and wrapped around Cyn¡¯s arm. It pulled her off balance, but not quite enough to fall. Instead, she ended up sliding towards Sam again as the vine contracted to bring them together.


    Getting steadily more annoyed at this whole situation, she quickly sawed the offending plant apart. Clearly the ease at which she had been slicing the vines in half had not been wholly about Blooddrinker being sharp. At least it only took a few seconds to mostly free herself, leaving just a small portion tightly wrapped around one arm. Sam was slowly getting the upper hand in his fight, so Cyn wasn¡¯t concerned about helping him more as she frantically searched for Spam.


    Finally finding her familiar did not make her feel any better.

 28. Experimental HP Delivery

    Spam was closer to her and the Warrior than Hex, and the fat frog was in trouble. The sixth and final large vine originating from the pool was wiggling around the familiar¡¯s small form, and to Cyn¡¯s shock and horror, appeared to have a hold on it. Fighting the weakness that still gripped her, Cyn formed and sent multiple mana needles towards the pair while making her way over. She was moving far too slowly for her liking, unable to run without risking a fall, but the needles did as she hoped, creating large holes and tears in the attacking vine. She even managed to nearly sever it in one spot.


    In the back of her mind Cyn was able to breathe a sigh of relief that at least her Freeform Mana Casting seemed mostly unaffected by the extended period of internal pressure from the mana build-up. There had been a tiny whisper of concern that her blown out mana veins would create a problem, but she seemed fine. At least in the short term.


    Cyn¡¯s panic turned to confusion rapidly as she got close enough to actually see what was going on. At first she had a horrifying thought that the vine had stabbed through the familiar, but as soon as Cyn realized she would probably feel if Spam was that injured and in her head the frog felt fine.  Is¡­is Spam eating it?  Completely baffled, she stopped long enough to watch the creature slowly chew and take more of the vine into its mouth, as if it was just an extra-large noodle the frog was slurping.


    The damn vine was as big around as the familiar itself, and  significantly  longer, but Spam did not seem to have any trouble continuing to gulp it down. Even the thorns just¡­went right in. It was totally uninjured by the process, and even if the vine thrashed enough to hit Spam, the familiar would just move a bit to avoid the damage. Three void-black eyes stared at Cyn when she got close, blinking in turn, but the familiar made no move to stop its feast.


    Deciding it would be in everyone''s best interest to leave Spam to its business, and making a mental note to consider later that the creature was probably more than it appeared on the surface, she turned to help Hex next. The Rogue was being chased by a mass of twisted vines when Cyn last looked, but that was quickly changing.


    Just as she looked over to assess how to help, Cyn watched as the vines stopped chasing Hex and pulled back closer to the pool of blood. The Rogue slowed, clearly a bit confused, and they both watched as the mass rose from the floor to instead form a sort of stalk. While it was mostly still, Hex took the opportunity to then rush forward and attempt to sever the vines part way up, but his blades did not cut through the flora like expected. Instead, he left only a shallow wound that quickly closed as Hex was forced to jump back to avoid a small vine shooting out from the mass. Cyn also tried to attack with one of her mana needles, but found she also was no longer able to do much damage to the vines, at least not when they were twisted together like that. And any damage done simply healed too quickly to try and whittle it down.


    Sanguine Lily Vine - Level 8


    A carnivorous flower-bearing vine.


    Not helpful, and the lack of information told Cyn this was probably not a ¡®creature¡¯. Not that she would expect a plant to be, but you never knew. She had used Inspect in the hope of getting a clue on how they were supposed to stop or kill it while her and Hex backed off. A bulb had formed at the top of the vines, high in the air, and was growing steadily. Although the large vines originating from the pool did not have the same kind of flowers on them the smaller vines did, it was clearly some kind of flower bulb.


    Distracted by the growing stalk and bulb, she did not see the small vines creeping up behind and under her until it was too late. Detecting movement in the corner of her vision, Cyn turned in time to barely register the thin vines assaulting her before she was pulled roughly to the ground. The weakness that hit after expelling her pent-up mana was still affecting her, and Cyn had no opportunity to dodge or try to fight off being snared.


    She was rapidly made completely immobile, the small, blooming vines wrapped tightly around her major joints and twisting up her limbs to anchor Cyn to the ground. While previously the smaller vines had reminded her of dull steel, they now shone bright silver while still being mottled with small red blooms. She had been easily caught, and watched as Hex was able to briefly dodge his own capture before ultimately being just barely too slow to dodge all of the vines. His attacks proved equally ineffective against the clearly empowered flora as they had against the twisted mass of large vines that had risen above them. Sam had been caught as well, since the Warrior was still struggling with the large vines, but it had taken more of them to actually drag him back to the ground.


    Cyn felt the thorns dig into her flesh, and a steady stream of blood formed leading back to the center. It was not as neat as the stream Sam had formed before she and Hex entered, since she was not near one of the pre-carved channels spread around the room, but the vital fluid appeared to be drawn in all the same. It wasn¡¯t overwhelming damage, especially since her regeneration increased as her health points got lower, but it would definitely pose a problem for her party. With all of their limbs bound, they could not even supplement the health loss with potions.


    This is some kind of trial, right? So there has to be a solution.  The plant was labeled as carnivorous, and based on the situation as a whole she guessed it only fed on blood, not their flesh. Perhaps the test was just if they could provide enough ¡®food¡¯ for it. That sounded like a vitality trial to her, anyway. Never mind the fact that the swimming pool of blood should have been enough to feed anything. But if Cyn¡¯s hunch was right, they just had to hold out long enough for the flower bulb that had formed to bloom.


    Cyn would be fine, most likely, and given enough time could probably supplement the whole trial herself. But without knowing how long this would take it was a massive gamble for the others. Especially since they had increased the trial¡¯s difficulty by entering it while it was in progress. Cyn was now really regretting not doing any experimentation beforehand with healing using Freeform Mana Casting. She obviously couldn¡¯t reach her party members to touch them, a requirement for Restoration, and that was the only thing she had to heal with.


    She couldn¡¯t physically touch them, anyway.


    Feeling Hex and Sam¡¯s health steadily drop in the back of her mind, and working with a half formed, slightly crazy idea, Cyn used Restoration on herself. Not for the health gain, she didn¡¯t need it, but to focus on how her mana was used on delivery of the skill in order to heal the body and health pool. After a short while, it was clear this skill wasn¡¯t going to work for what she was planning. Restoration wasn¡¯t an instant health points boost, it sped up the rate at which the body naturally regenerated. The skill was just too complicated for her to replicate with Freeform. Focusing on the interaction between her health and mana did give her a better understanding of health points, though, and produced a second,  much  sketchier idea.


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    Since there was no longer a skill involved she would just have to wing this whole thing. Hex and Sam were both entering dangerously low health, giving her mental alarm bells that they were running out of time. Throwing a whole lot of caution to the wind, Cyn attempted to inject some of her mana into her health pool. Her health pool felt like it was in the same place inside her as her mana pool inside of her chest, but separated in a way she did not fully understand. Her first attempt to push a little mana over resulted in feeling like she had taken a bolt of pure pain straight to her brain. It also didn¡¯t work.


    Neither did a second try. Nauseous now from the splitting headache she was giving herself, and getting angry it  wasn¡¯t  working and her party was  dying , on the third attempt Cyn pushed every ounce of her will into moving her mana across the barrier between the two resource pools. Something felt like it snapped into place, a missing piece of an enigmatic puzzle, and the barrier between her resources was no longer an issue.


    Cyn let herself mentally celebrate how much of a stubborn bitch she was for only a fraction of a second, purposefully ignoring a notification, before ¡®scooping¡¯ out some of her own health points and surrounding the scooped health in a layer of mana. It felt deeply wrong, but that did not stop her. Cyn didn¡¯t know how to  create  health from just mana, but she was pretty sure her mana could be used as a delivery system, sort of like a syringe. And based on how her party members'' health currently felt, ¡®pretty sure¡¯ was going to have to cut it.


    Cyn¡¯s current veins of mana were not going to work for this bubble of health points and mana, and it also felt like the health was dissipating at a pretty fast rate once outside of her health pool. To avoid losing too much of the encapsulated health, and not wasting too much time carving out a new metaphysical path for it, she vented it straight out of her chest. It did not leave her body like the raw mana mist did, instead it just moved out of her chest like the image of a fully formed, violet bubble, and only became solid once it was no longer inside of her body.


    She quickly molded the shape to resemble one of her standard mana needles, if a bit rougher and fatter, and without any hesitation shot it directly at Hex.  As long as it doesn¡¯t kill him outright, this will work. It has to.


    The Rogue was still, making him an easier target to hit over the still-struggling Warrior, and since he had closed his eyes Hex did not see the high-speed mana syringe coming for him. He sure felt it, though, when it hit him directly in the neck. Cyn winced as it struck, having been aiming for Hex¡¯s shoulder since it was one of the larger areas without a vine covering, but the addition of health made her mana harder to control directly.


    Ignoring his bewildered glare, she focused on making another one with more of her health. On impact of the first syringe, the Rogue¡¯s health dropped to a precarious position for a fraction of a second before abruptly increasing. It was barely more than he had before she tried to help, but Cyn just considered the first attempt a proof of concept. If she could fit more health into it, and deliver it faster, she should be able to overcome the impact damage. It would be easier once they were no longer in danger of dying from the delivery method.


    Cyn sent two more to Hex a few seconds apart, both better made and with more health points inside of them, before attempting to do the same for Sam. The second one she sent to the Warrior missed, since he was still weakly thrashing around, and probably thought the sudden pain in his back was just from the vines. Before attempting again she called over, ¡°Hold still Sam.¡± He obliged quickly, and Cyn was able to alternate between them more comfortably once their health was no longer in the danger zone. The magic was in no way efficient or easy, but for now it worked.


    It was a precarious balance to keep all three of them alive, since Cyn was now not only feeding the Sanguine Lily, she was also siphoning away even more of her health to the others. Her overpowered boots could not fully keep up, and she had to keep an eye on her dwindling health. At least she did not have to also heal Spam, who was being ignored by the Sanguine Lily entirely save for the single vine he was still eating.


    Luckily, Cyn did not have to keep it up forever. She had managed to move her head enough to comfortably stare up at the growing bulb, and watched as it slowly bloomed. If it had not been trying to kill them, she would have thought it rather pretty. It reminded her of a water lily, featuring many long petals in various shades of crimson. The imagery became even more evident as the flower started to bloom in full.


    As the petals spread and unfurled, all of the vines unwound themselves from the party and retreated back into the cracks between the stone slabs beneath them. The larger vines, consisting of the stalk and the single vine Spam was eating, also began to move back into the pool they were sprouting from. The ones that had been severed just drooped and stopped moving entirely. The familiar, unwilling or unable to let go, was being dragged along very slowly as even the vine seemed to struggle with its weight.


    Cyn stumbled to her feet and quickly hacked the final vine apart to free the frog. Once the vines were mostly inside the pool, stones began to shift to close over the hole. When everything stopped moving, the now-familiar chime rang through the labyrinth and they were left with just a flat obsidian arena, with the massive Sanguine Lily fully bloomed right at the center, appearing to have blossomed straight from the ground where the pool once was. On the other side of the bloom from her, a trio of chests also appeared.


    ¡°Your desire to stab me has been fulfilled. Can you heal me a little less painfully next time?¡± Cyn tried to laugh at the Rogue¡¯s bit of dry humor, but it came out a little closer to a sob, much to Hex¡¯s clear alarm. His eyes went wide, and he sounded almost panicked while sputtering, ¡°I was just¡­look¡­Joke! It was a joke!¡± Hex went to pat her arm, but quickly pulled back when he found his hand was sticking to Cyn.


    She was just overwhelmed, along with being both mentally and magically fried. Drenched in drying, sticky blood, low on all her resources, having to on the fly create multiple solutions to problems back-to-back in a single fight without any time to consider the consequences or better answers. It was all just a little much.


    After a few deep breaths, giving Sam time to also wander over, Cyn gave the Rogue a small smile. ¡°I¡¯m¡­I''m ok. I probably wouldn¡¯t feel so bad if I had access to a shower but¡­¡± She trailed off with a sigh. ¡°I need to go back and get all those potions I dropped before we came in.¡±


    Seemingly eager to remove himself, - or be helpful, Cyn wasn¡¯t sure - Hex quickly offered, ¡°I¡¯ll grab them, go out the other end and I¡¯ll catch up in a minute.¡± Desperately wanting to try and wash off with her waterskin, she didn¡¯t protest and followed a clearly exhausted Warrior out the other side of the arena after they both grabbed their rewards, with Spam following behind. The familiar clearly would rather hop than be sticky.


    Once out she started checking her notifications while trying to rinse the blood off of herself, Sam awkwardly trying to help with his own waterskin, and found among the expected notifications was one that made it clear she had fucked up.

 29. Hubris

    Skill upgraded! Freeform Mana Casting (Unique)(Passive) -->


    Hubris (Unique)(Passive) - The System honors your willful attempt to manipulate your resources without skill assistance, and has permanently removed all natural safeguards relating to mana, health, and stamina. Proceed at your own risk.


    This skill serves as an upgrade to and replacement for Freeform Mana Casting.


    [Human] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Mage] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Creature Handler] - Evolutionary path altered.


    The description had not been altered much, only changing instances that previously referenced mana into referencing all resources, along with adding that her profession evolutionary path was altered. She had received Freeform before getting her profession, so it wasn¡¯t really a surprise that on upgrading the skill it would also affect Creature Handler. On the surface, it  was  an upgrade, and exactly what she had been trying to do by literally injecting her own health points into her party members. If Cyn had had more time to think about consequences, she might have hesitated before acting, but in the situation there simply wasn¡¯t time. She could only work with what she already had and knew, and that knowledge was based on the very limited set of skills provided.


    What had indicated Cyn had probably fucked up was the new name of the skill. ¡®Hubris¡¯ did not bring good connotations, and instead the System was making it very clear she was in over her head. But what had been done could not be undone, at least not as far as she was aware.


    And even if she could undo it, would she? Noting she had reached level eight in Mage, Cyn dismissed the notifications and closed her menu, focusing on the steady stream of red-tinged water flowing off of her. Basically every successful strategy she had used so far was based on Freeform Mana Casting, now Hubris. If she even  could  get rid of it, it would be like going back to square one with learning how to heal and fight. Cyn shuddered at the thought of being stuck with only Mana Ball to defend herself, and to her surprise suddenly found herself wrapped up in a bear hug.


    Sam had apparently mistook Cyn¡¯s shudder and, ignoring the fact she was still pretty sticky, had lifted her off the ground into a tight embrace. Luckily she did not need air as much as before the System, because the Warrior was squeezing her hard enough to prevent Cyn from taking a breath. Not that she was complaining. The hug was an unexpected comfort, and Cyn wiggled her arms enough to free them to hug Sam back.


    ¡°It¡¯s gonna be alright. We¡¯ll find Dana and Scott and get out of here just fine¡­¡± The Warrior¡¯s baritone voice cracked, and he squeezed her tighter. Cyn was pretty sure his words were more to reassure Sam himself, rather than her, but there was no reason to dispute them. Despite how she felt after entering the second floor of the transitional dungeon, she now wanted to gather the party back together again. If only to make sure they were alright.


    Feeling Sam on the verge of death, and being unable to reach him on the other side of the hedge to help, was far too reminiscent of Scott going down during the Illuminant Queen fight. It had sent her into a panic spiral, driven by a need to save the Warrior. Cyn felt like it was too soon for so many close calls so close together, and she partly blamed herself. Even taking into account the fact the System had forcibly separated them at the start of this floor, Cyn couldn¡¯t help but feel as though if she was stronger, more practiced, more capable, her party would not be struggling like this. What she really needed to do was commit to the path that had been presented, stop hesitating to wonder if it was the right option, and test her limits more so she would not end up caught unprepared so often.


    At least I can effectively remove my own health now, without getting physically hurt. That¡¯ll make it easier to stomach taking advantage of my boots buff.  Cyn gave the Warrior a final squeeze before wiggling out of his arms. Since it was visually clear where she had been in contact with him, she returned to trying to get as clean as possible. ¡°I take it you haven¡¯t seen anyone else then?¡±


    Sam shook his head at her question, watching something behind her. The arena was at Cyn¡¯s back, so she assumed it was just Hex. ¡°No, this flat area is the only thing I have found. Other than some treasure chests. Have you guys found anything?¡±


    Cyn assumed by treasure chests he meant the puzzle boxes. Unless the Warrior had found a way to detect the hidden ones from the earlier part of the labyrinth, they were probably the larger ones. She shrugged before responding, ¡°Treasure, and a different trial we beat. Oh, and a door out we passed.¡±


    Sam¡¯s eyes widened, his voice becoming incredulous. ¡°You found a way out, and didn¡¯t take it?¡±


    ¡°No. We are going to find the center of the labyrinth. And hopefully the remaining three trials before someone else gets to them.¡± Cyn had felt Hex¡¯s approach behind her once he got close, since the Rogue¡¯s health was not full, so she was not startled to hear him answer Sam¡¯s question. She was sort of pleased to find that she did not have to focus to determine the health of people around her, at least at close range. And as long as she did not focus on it, it was just another thing lingering in the back of her mind, joining the awareness of her own resources, her connection to Spam, and the contents of the Promising Ring of Holding.


    Instead she got to be startled by his appearance when she turned around. Or rather, his lack of appearance since she could not see Hex around the massive Sanguine Lily he was carrying. While the Rogue put the flower on the ground nearby, Sam turned his questions to Hex. ¡°Why? The sooner we finish this dungeon, the sooner we can return home.¡±


    ¡°You are free to try and find the exit we left behind, or take the next one we find if you are so eager to go home. The objectives made it pretty clear we do not have to continue on together and can take different exits from here. But I want the rewards for completing as much as possible.¡± The Rogue had made a pile of potions on the ground while speaking, Cyn presuming they were hers, and since there was more than she remembered leaving on the other side of the trial the pile probably also included the potions Spam had been spitting at the Warrior. The frog did not seem inclined to take them back, so she just stored all of it.


    Sam did not immediately respond, staring between the two of them with arms crossed and a frown. Ignoring that, Hex started pulling the petals off the Sanguine Lily and making three neat piles of them. Since it was getting more and more difficult to fill her waterskin just to dump over herself, Cyn decided she would have to settle for how clean she currently was. It was time to check her trial reward. She tried to pull out the chest she had stored just a few minutes ago, only to find it felt¡­wrong. She had to mentally ¡®pull¡¯ harder than expected to get it out. Odd, but perhaps just a side effect of her low resources?


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Cheaters Chest of Vitality (Epic) - Contains rewards for completing the Trial of Vitality within the Hungering Labyrinth, after cheating countermeasures were activated.


    ? Rewards are generated based on your performance within the Trial.


    She had checked for a mimic before picking it up the first time, but had not caught the expanded Inspect information at first glance.  How in the hell did I cheat? It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve been given a rulebook¡­  She shouldn¡¯t be so annoyed, since it appeared to have resulted in a higher quality reward chest, but since emotions didn¡¯t always follow logic Cyn opened the chest with a huff. Rather than the assortment of items she expected, inside of the chest was only a single, unmarked book. While she tried to get her hands clean enough to pull out the book, Cyn noticed something odd. It was not super obvious when she was covered in blood, but once enough had been wiped away it was clear her fingers were now discolored.


    Not in a natural way, either. From the tips to her first knuckle, Cyn¡¯s skin was a pale blue. The color faded out completely to her natural tone around the second knuckle, but the change was still alarming. She obviously knew her mana veins were still damaged from the blockage and buildup, but Cyn had not expected such a clear physical indicator that something had gone wrong. The keratin of her nails looked fine, although only time would tell if new growth was affected. Hopefully this was just temporary, and the damage would heal on its own.


    Looking around, her party was looking over their own rewards, each apparently having received a book from their chest. Not wanting to make a big deal out of the injury, Cyn picked up the book and looked it over without opening it. She observed the leather and bronze buckle that held it closed, but found no other distinguishing markings before using Inspect.


    Tome of Soul Slip (Epic) - Contains knowledge of the skill [Soul Slip]. Can be used to teach [Soul Slip] to a single Awakened.


    Soul Slip (Epic) - Your soul seeks company, allowing you to teleport to another soul nearby.


    Attempting to pass through solid objects between the target soul and yours can instead cause this skill to backfire.


    Short range teleport, limited by needing a target person it seems?  The existence of the tome also served to show Cyn yet another way that skills could be gained outside of leveling up. Interestingly, the tome also wasn¡¯t labeled as Soulbound. Not that she wanted to give it to anyone else, the skill seemed exceptionally useful, but presumably the possibility was there.


    She quickly unbuckled the strap holding the tome closed, opening up to the first page. The page was empty, but Cyn instead felt a rush of warmth and a notification. As she focused on the notification to confirm it was her new skill gain, the tome crumbled to dust in her hands.  The lack of confirmation prompts is seriously a problem.  She had gained the new skill, as expected, and since its description had not changed on learning it Cyn was eager to try Soul Slip out.


    Sam was still staring down at his tome, but Hex looked to have already learned his new skill. The Rogue had one hand held out in front of him, a small, silver flame burning steadily just above the skin of his palm. Very mage-like, and combined with the realization that her trial chest had contained what was arguably a more rogue-like movement ability it made Cyn chuckle. ¡°Mind being a test dummy, Hex?¡±


    While she was still low on resources, Cyn was pretty sure she would have enough mana for at least one test of Soul Slip. She backed up to put some more distance between the two of them while waiting for the Rogue to respond. He blinked a few times, seeming to put actual consideration into the question before asking slowly, ¡°Is it going to hurt?¡±


    Now a good twenty or so feet away, Cyn felt her lips curve into what probably looked like a manic grin, especially when you took into account she was dripping wet and absolutely covered in blood stains. ¡°I have no idea.¡± She watched Hex¡¯s eyes widen for a fraction of a second before she activated Soul Slip.


    The bit was only funny because she was almost certain it wouldn¡¯t hurt him, although with Hubris she could not be so sure about herself. Cyn felt the risk was worth it, especially since basically anything she did as a Mage would probably qualify as a risk. It would not surprise her to find that Hubris removed internal safeguards on skills. No use worrying about it too much since she had no intentions of giving up or stopping. Not to mention, there was a certain thrill to trying something new.


    On activation of Soul Slip, Cyn felt her body move, similar to the feeling she had the few times the System moved her between locations. Her eyes however only registered the end result, which was the gray of the Rogue¡¯s tunic as she smashed face first into Hex¡¯s chest hard enough to break her nose and send them both toppling over. Not only did she now have a fresh stream of blood pouring over her, Cyn felt extremely disoriented. She felt almost detached from her body, or as if it was not quite in the right place.


    Groaning, she awkwardly managed to roll off Hex but remained lying flat on her back on the stones as the Rogue began to howl with laughter beside her. ¡°You¡¯re a goddamn madwoman, you know that?¡±


    His howl¡¯s continued as Sam worriedly bent over her, but Cyn waved the Warrior off. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a miscalculation.¡± Her voice sounded thick and strange, but that was not surprising considering her nose. It was already healing, the bleeding slowing down, and to avoid even more blood to wash off she spared some mana on making it heal faster with Restoration while she pondered the test.


    What had gone wrong? The disorientation had passed quickly, but Cyn got the feeling that she had not arrived at the intended end point for her Soul Slip and that was why she felt disoriented. Hex had definitely been her intended target for the skill. Reading the skill description again, she was forced to consider what a soul was. Or rather, where one was. In this case, the where was more important. Soul Slip only mentioned her teleporting to another soul, and initially she had assumed that just meant she would appear close to the target. But if she was literally trying to reach the location of Hex¡¯s soul, presumably inside of him somewhere like their resource pools, it would explain the collision. The disorientation probably came from her soul rubberbanding back into her body after going somewhere her physical form could not.


    It was going to take a ton of practice and testing to see if Cyn could take control of the skill enough to be usable in any situation. Or maybe she could learn enough to use Hubris to mimic a better version.

 30. Intuitive Alterations

    If I reach the end of these arrows and don¡¯t find one of them, whatever I do find is getting shot.  Dana was frustrated. When she found the first arrow made of dried blood at a crossroads, she was elated, thinking she would be joining up with another member of her party soon. But Dana had been following behind them for days now, with no signs of getting any closer. Not to mention, taking the same path as someone else meant she was no longer getting any treasure chests. With nothing to break up the monotony except the single chime she heard earlier today, it was boring.


    Dana had found a trial not too long after entering the second floor, and it was almost laughable how easy it was to complete. A ¡®Trial of Strength¡¯ probably was not a fitting trial for an Archer, but a Smith? Total joke, her strength was way higher than any other stat. Big boy Sam would have wiped the floor in that competition too. The whole thing was basically just tug-of-war, against an invisible entity and with Dana glued to the rope.


    And the giant pit into nothingness that the loser would fall into.


    But those small details did not matter as long as she won, and Dana won the trial handily. After that though, it had been non-stop running with no end in sight. She had found two separate exit doors before coming across the bloody arrow, but was not inclined to take them by herself. Not without knowing what came next, or having a reason to believe the rest of her party had left her there.


    ¡®Teamwork makes the dream work¡¯, a phrase the Archer mentor had used while trying to instill the importance of the party dynamic on her, but also a phrase that Dana had heard back home more than once, mostly from her parents after Dana and her siblings clashed. She was heavily inclined to agree with it in this instance, based on the experience so far. Almost everything seemed made to be overcome as a team, not as an individual unless you had niche class and profession combinations. Plus, leaving without them just felt a bit wrong.


    So, she was looking for her team before moving on. It wasn¡¯t so bad when there was treasure to collect, but now Dana wanted to pull her hair out from the apparent lack of progress. Just as she was considering trying to climb the violent hedges again, she turned a corner and saw a section of the hedge maze had been burnt out, leading to a large flat area made of black stones that was coated with dried blood.


    ***


    It had been two days, the trio still had not come across the next trial, nor did they hear the chime that would indicate one of the missing members of their party had completed one. The slow dulling of the autumn flora continued, morphing into more and more barren hedges until all that was left was walls of twisted, thorny branches. A few mottled yellow leaves still clung in places, but for the most part the shift into a more winter appearance was complete. There was no snow, thankfully, but the air had taken on a chill. Cyn should have felt more effects from the change in temperature, but while she was aware the air was cold it was only mildly uncomfortable. She had to chalk it up to another thing the System made more tolerable, like pain or running.


    While they could now see into other parts of the labyrinth around them in places, for the most part it was irrelevant as the paths running alongside them looked nearly identical to where they currently were. The large puzzle boxes too had slowed until coming to a stop, Hex detecting no treasure at all nearby, serving to reinforce the barren feeling the changed landscape brought.


    At least the two days was more than enough time to recover and for her to get moderately clean. Plus, as soon as Cyn felt moderately recovered, she dedicated every spare moment to attempting to control Soul Slip or improve her syringe method of healing.


    Soul Slip wasn¡¯t a total bust, thankfully. It took hundreds of uses of the skill, resulting in a lot of minor injuries, for Cyn to start to understand how it worked in order to manipulate it and not smash into her target. Her initial theory had been correct, that the target of Soul Slip was not the physical body and instead was the soul, but the skill made use of both mana and stamina. The addition of stamina made it exponentially harder for Cyn to understand and manipulate, even with Hubris.


    She had understood Mana Ball after a single use of the skill, and more than that had almost instantly gleaned enough knowledge of both her mana pool and how mana moved through her body in order to manipulate it. While Cyn had not spoken with another Mage to confirm, she was pretty sure that was not normal based on gaining Free Form Mana Casting. She was just inherently attuned to the resource.


    Restoration and her health pool, and by extension other people¡¯s health pools, had taken a bit longer to understand. Even now she did not fully understand how it worked, but could manipulate it to a point by using mana as a tool.


    Stamina had been a completely foreign resource to Cyn until she started trying to take control of Soul Slip. And even after she was familiar enough to be able to use the skill safely, she still would consider stamina a pretty foreign concept. She couldn¡¯t even detect her stamina pool like she could for mana and health. Cyn had ended up simply manipulating the mana in the skill to shorten its course, using a lot of trial and error to make sure her mana manipulation did not interfere with the way the skill consumed stamina. When that happened, it made the rubberbanding backfire debilitating.


    The syringes on the other hand ended up undergoing quite a few iterations, with Hex and Sam taking turns being her test dummy. While there was no getting around the need to damage her party to heal them, she was able to modify the shape her mana took to minimize it as much as possible. Both men did comment that the pinprick would still probably be a distraction that could create problems, depending on the situation, but it was better than not getting healed at all. Cyn was also concerned about what would happen if she accidentally struck something she did not want to heal. Would she be able to stop the health points transfer? Would her health points even heal something not human? She couldn¡¯t even test that question properly on Spam, since Cyn wasn¡¯t sure how their bond might affect the test.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    She had already learned one unexpected effect of their familiar bond over the two days, which served to give her quite the scare. The frog had complete access to her storage ring, through its mouth. That was where the potions Spam had spat at the Warrior came from, but more importantly Spam had seemingly decided to store the Sanguine Lily Vine. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure if that was purposeful, or just the only way the familiar could deal with the vine in the moment, but when she found the frog ¡®eating¡¯ the vine during the Trial of Vitality so easily it had actually just been shoving it into her Promising Ring of Holding.


    Cyn didn¡¯t notice it at first, thinking the difficulty of withdrawing items was just her being tired, but when she went to pull out a mana potion on the second day she instead pulled out a broken bottle and a long withering vine that still had enough life left to try and strangle her. Presumably, however this storage space worked, it was not intended to keep living things. After she pulled it off herself, Cyn chopped it up into smaller pieces until it stopped wiggling. She ended up trading all of the remains to Hex for a few intact potions, joining the rest of the vine fragments that had been wrapped around Cyn still after the trial, before going through every single item in her storage to get rid of anything that was damaged.


    Which ended up being most of her potions, and a good deal of the food she had was also unusable now. At least the Sanguine Lily petals, which the Rogue had split between them after dismantling the bloom, were still intact. Cyn did not get anything special out of Inspect, but after eating one of them Hex let her and Sam know that they would restore a lot of health if eaten and were not poisonous. It had come out to five for Cyn and Sam, and six for Hex after he ate one.


    Her remaining survival wafers were indestructible, unfortunately, and suffered no damage from the wayward vine.


    During the second day Cyn had started experimenting with circulating her mana, like she had while unable to vent it during the Trial of Vitality, after determining she had improved her mana needles as much as possible at her current level of knowledge. It proved a little harder to do when she was not forced to keep the raw mana inside of her, but after getting the hang of it Cyn discovered that doing so provided a sizable increase to her stats. It explained the sudden weakness when she stopped holding it in before, that she was just returning to ¡®normal¡¯ after being boosted.


    Sam actually had a similar skill, talking about it after asking why she was glowing blue. The circulation made soft lines of blue spread out from Cyn¡¯s core while she was doing it, along the veins she had created, but she did not realize she was actually glowing until the Warrior mentioned it. The red glow she had seen during the fight with the Illuminant Queen had been Sam¡¯s boosting skill, increasing his strength and agility by a large amount for a short time. He could use the skill every half hour or so based on the testing Cyn and Hex had convinced the man to do after hearing about it.


    Unfortunately, this method of buffing herself was too dangerous to do unless she was under duress. Not only did the process have the potential to do lasting damage to her, shown by her still blue fingers, it also began to make her mana veins feel raw and painful after each test. It was more of a psychic pain, and she did not have the tolerance for it like she did for physical pain. So once she had a handle on the concept, she decided to stop pushing that limit for now.


    The trio¡¯s friendly chatter and personal skill testing ended up being interrupted when Spam straight up refused to indicate a direction at a crossroad. There was no clear reason, as it looked the same as any other intersection in this section of the labyrinth, but when Cyn tried to figure out why the familiar just crawled into her tabard pouch with a grumbling warble.


    ¡°Well, guess it''s time to just start picking at random.¡± Hex shrugged while speaking, but before he could actually make any attempt to pick the frog made a brief, angry cacophony of sound from within the pouch. ¡°Or not¡­¡±


    ¡°I think it wants to wait here. I don¡¯t know why though.¡± It was hard to describe what Cyn felt from her familiar, but she was pretty sure that¡¯s why it wasn¡¯t picking a direction. It wanted to stop.


    Her words made the Rogue sigh, but he did not argue and just helped Sam pry up some of the stones. The Warrior was able to mold them using his profession to smooth over the cobblestones in a small area and create makeshift backrests for them. It wasn¡¯t much, but the small comforts went a long way during the short rests they had taken.


    It took a few more hours, but they discovered why Spam wanted to wait. The Warrior was sharing funny stories of mischief he and his siblings had gotten into growing up, when Cyn felt something odd at the back of her mind. She stood up quickly, confused and alarmed a few heartbeats while she tried to figure out what exactly she was detecting, before turning around in time to see Dana run into view from the direction they had traveled from.


    Cyn felt her face break into a grin, and she raised her hand to wave at the approaching Archer. Dana didn¡¯t stop her run until she was directly in front of Cyn, sweeping the shorter woman into a tight hug. Spam surprisingly did not make any complaints about being crushed, but perhaps the Archer had squeezed the air out of it.


    The men received the same greeting before Dana asked, ¡°No sign of Scott?¡± The party shook their heads to her question, and Dana¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°Damn, I was hoping I was the last. I have been following those arrows for days.¡±


    ¡°Did you do a trial? One was completed without any of us.¡± Now that the Archer was with them, Cyn hoped that the mystery trial had been done by Scott. It would be an indication he had been alright at some point in the labyrinth at least.


    Her hope was quickly dashed as Dana nodded. ¡°Trial of Strength. Kind of a joke.¡±


    Hex snorted, probably thinking about the fact both of the trial¡¯s they had done had been a pain in the ass, before speaking, ¡°Well, if you are feeling rested enough, we should get moving. So long as Spam is feeling cooperative again.¡±


    ¡°Spam?¡± Dana sounded confused, until she looked at Cyn again and watched as the bubblegum-pink frog crawled out of its pouch and onto Cyn¡¯s shoulder. The Archer''s jaw dropped a few moments before she laughed, ¡°Oh god, it''s adorable.¡±


    Cyn and Sam joined her in laughing, with Hex just shaking his head. Spam was apparently feeling cooperative again and chose their direction. Dana claimed to feel plenty rested, having kept an easy pace through the labyrinth, so the nearly complete party continued in high spirits.


    They didn¡¯t run long, however. Instead of another crossroad, the next feature they came across was yet another obvious trial arena.

 31. Seeds of Doubt

    No wonder Spam had wanted to stop, being that close to another trial. Could it detect Dana being close as well? Cyn wasn¡¯t sure, but frankly she wasn¡¯t sure of much of anything when it came to her familiar. For the most part, the frog didn¡¯t do much of anything other than hitchhike in Cyn¡¯s tabard and warble. Not that it hadn¡¯t been useful, especially with directing around the labyrinth, but the concept of a familiar to her meant an animal that helped with casting spells. Spam had shown absolutely no inclination for that.


    Before they entered the trial, they took the time to discuss possibilities. The theme of these trials was clearly their stats. Since Dana had completed the Trial of Strength, which had been a rather straightforward game of tug-of-war, and the trio had completed the trials of agility and vitality between them, that left mind, will, and luck as possibilities. Everyone had similar values for luck, and if it ended up being a chance-based trial there was no preparing for it. Hex had significantly more mind than anyone else, and the same was true for Cyn and the will stat.


    After some discussion about how the improvement in stats felt when leveling up, the party developed a haphazard guess at the difference between mind and will. Mind seemed to improve memory, eyesight, and just overall mental acuity. A Trial of Mind would probably end up being some kind of puzzle, with the requisite threat of death for failure.


    Will on the other hand was more nebulous, perhaps in part because Cyn hadn¡¯t thought too much about it since they had entered the dungeon. She had noticed as she leveled up she had become more aware of herself, others, and her surrounding environment in general. A lot of it ended up being pushed to the back of her mind, unfocused, but she was aware of it nonetheless. Her mana control had also improved greatly, but Cyn wasn¡¯t entirely sure if that was more about practice or the stat since it was related to her non-standard skill.


    While they anticipated having to do all three trials at some point, the party was in agreement that right now the best they could hope for was the Trial of Mind. Steeling themselves to react to the expected changes within the arena, the party stepped over the threshold together.


    ***


    ¡°They don¡¯t care, Samuel. They weren¡¯t even concerned about their friends being missing somewhere in this maze, what makes you think they will care about helping you find your family?¡± The elder was practically pleading with Sam, her eyes shining with unshed tears.  ¡°Let me help you, child.¡±


    Sam wasn¡¯t sure he believed the elder¡¯s words completely, but he also found it difficult to argue. Every time he tried to speak, Sam lost the words he was going to say and his thoughts became fuzzier. The worry he had been silently holding for those Sam loved most, and the uncertainty he had developed about his party, felt amplified with every word the elder spoke.


    ¡°They are in the way, Samuel. You cannot leave until they decide to, or they die. Your family needs you now. Let me help you.¡±


    Sam nodded slowly in agreement, ¡°Help me get to my family.¡± He did not notice his vision blurring, or the smirk the old woman wore.


    ***


    ¡°Get to the point.¡± Dana wasn¡¯t sure what gave this man the idea they were friends, but his slimy smile and faux soothing voice was grating on her nerves after only a few minutes of talking. He knew far too much about her life, and she did not like it. She wasn¡¯t stupid enough to fall into complacency just from listening to him list off her achievements and accolades. Dana had come far in her life from her roots, and she was proud of that, but no one was this flattering without wanting something from her.


    For a fraction of a second he looked a bit taken aback by her dismissal of his praise, before smoothing the front of his crisp suit and continuing in a more serious voice, ¡°The point, Dana, is that you are a very intelligent woman. Success after success, through your own hard work and dedication. I admire that.¡± The man leaned forward, purposefully entering Dana¡¯s personal space, before continuing, ¡°You know what it takes to climb to the top, how to make a ladder out of other people''s broken dreams. So I must know, why are you  allowing  yourself to be just a rung on someone else¡¯s ladder?¡±


    If the man thought getting into her personal space would make Dana back down, he was sorely mistaken. It was an old, tiring intimidation tactic the lawyer had been on the receiving end of far too many times. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Seeming to understand she would not be cowed, he stood straight again. ¡°The people you are associating with.  Why would you allow them to use you like this? ¡± Dana cocked her head to the question, causing the man to explain further, ¡°You have already proven you do not need them with the Trial of Strength. The longer you allow them to leech off of you, the more needlessly difficult it will be when the time comes to seize the final reward.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a competition. We need to work together, not step over each other.¡±


    One perfectly manicured eyebrow on the man¡¯s face raised slowly,  ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±


    ***


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Are you sure of your answer?  This is your chance,  Hex. With my help, you will become a king among men.¡± The man sounded genuine, as if he truly only wanted to help Hex achieve his goals. Henry Smith III, son of a prolific business mogul, knew a con man when he saw one. It didn¡¯t help the man¡¯s case that Hex was very aware that only a few minutes ago, he was stepping into a trial within the Hungering Labyrinth.


    Abruptly finding himself instead inside of a neat, modern office and sitting across a desk from a nondescript human man in a suit had been quite the surprise. The promises the man tried to get him to agree to were pretty tempting, though, as if he could see Hex¡¯s deepest desires and knew just what to say to get his attention. If Hex had been even a little less aware, or less sure of himself, he might have considered taking up an offer.


    ¡°Quite sure. Unfortunately, being given advantages like you are promising is entirely antithetical to my goals. If I cannot stand on my own merits, there is no point.¡± The man didn¡¯t seem surprised by Hex¡¯s response, just giving him a smile before leaning back in the office chair and letting out a sigh.


    ¡°Always annoying to get one like you. The do-it-myself kind. You make my job difficult. At least there¡¯s only one of you this time.¡±  That  statement caught Hex¡¯s attention more than any promises. He didn¡¯t know any member of the party well enough to know what they could be promised, or if they could resist taking up a deal. What would that mean for him?


    God help them all if this demon, which was what Hex had decided it actually was, could make a deal with the Mage¡¯s familiar. He didn¡¯t want to know what a creature like that, who could give Hex a damn mythical quality feat from a single lick, could possibly want. And he had no desire to find out.


    The demon''s smile turned into a full-on smirk when he noticed how closely Hex was listening to him. ¡°Since I¡¯ve already lost this trial to you, a word of advice? You should consider if these people are worth your time, or if you should  cut loose the dead weight before it holds you back,  Hex. If you are serious about wanting power, that is. Your party is crumbling like a house of cards from just a few empty promises and lies.  Surely you could do better. ¡±


    ***


    This is wrong.  Cyn couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly what was wrong about the situation, but she could feel it was. She knew she had entered the trial, and then found herself sitting in this office. Across from her was a professional-looking woman, sitting in a comfortable chair with her arms crossed. Neither the woman nor Cyn had said a word in the near minute she had been in this place.


    It was very awkward. But Cyn also did not feel right about breaking the silence first, and instead continued her perusal of the room. It was very generic looking, and nothing specific stood out to her, except the lack of windows. Having had an interior office herself, she didn¡¯t consider it that strange.


    Some kind of escape room, maybe?  That would make this likely the Trial of Mind. The woman didn¡¯t make much sense in that context, but Cyn chose to ignore that. She was very much  not  thinking about why the idea of interacting with the only other person in this room bothered her so much. Deciding to run with that assumption Cyn hopped to her feet and went for the closed door, trying to open it.


    Unsurprisingly, it was locked. Surprisingly, her attempt at opening it made the other woman break the silence with an annoyed sigh,  ¡°Could you not try and break my illusion please?¡±


    The sudden appearance of the woman¡¯s shrill voice made Cyn flinch.  What is wrong with me? I don¡¯t think I have ever been this on edge.  Slowly turning back towards the still-seated woman, Cyn had to make a conscious effort to observe her. Instinctively, she just wanted to turn away or look elsewhere.


    The other woman seemed to know Cyn was struggling and waved a hand dismissively, ¡°Don¡¯t bother making an effort to look at me. Your will is far too high, and if you keep pushing this whole thing will start to crack and break.¡±


    Cyn didn¡¯t turn away, feeling emboldened by the idea she had some power over this, and responded, ¡°Does that mean I have won the trial then?¡± Presumably this was the Trial of Will. Hopefully her success would make this a quick trial for everyone.


    ¡°You have passed the first part automatically. There is no point in me even trying to convince you to let me have control, no promises I could make to entice you. Not when you were too skittish to even acknowledge my presence.¡±


    ¡°What is the second part?¡±


    The woman¡¯s expression changed, mild annoyance giving way to a grin that was more akin to a predator baring its teeth.  ¡°You try to survive your weak-willed ¡®friends¡¯ attempts at killing you, and each other.¡±


    Mind control? Magically influenced suggestion?  Cyn¡¯s thoughts raced. This could be really bad, for all of them. Dana and Hex had a chance to resist, she reasoned, but Sam would be a lost cause. He had admitted during their discussion before the trial that his will stat was very, very low because he had been dumping his free points into vitality and strength. She didn¡¯t think the Warrior could beat all three of them in a fight, or even two of them, but that was beside the point. Cyn didn¡¯t want to fight her party, or witness them fight each other. ¡°How do we win?¡±


    The woman responded with a vicious laugh, ¡°That¡¯s the best part. Last man, or woman, standing wins. Of course, if more than one of you passed this first part you could win together.  But anyone who fails here will either kill everyone else, or die. ¡±


    As the meaning of those words sank in for Cyn, the space around her began to warp. The woman¡¯s grin grew larger and larger, until sharp, white teeth filled her vision entirely.  ¡°Kill or be killed, little Mage...¡±  Distorted laughter echoed in her ears for a few moments before Cyn felt like she snapped back into place, reminiscent of Soul Slip with a partial backfire, and she found herself once again in the arena with her party.


    Before she even had time to orient herself, Sam began to glow red and launched himself full force at the Rogue.

 32. Strength of Will

    Hex seemed to have anticipated an attack would be coming his way, and quite easily sidestepped the charging Warrior. Any relief Cyn felt was shattered almost instantly as the Rogue drew his weapons, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Dana backing up with her bow also drawn. Sam, undeterred, quickly stopped his charge and turned to face Hex.


    Shit, shit, shit!  This was really bad. Was she seriously the only one who was able to resist? Spam had been croaking loudly from its pouch since Cyn had returned from the illusion, and the noise made her realize it had not been in there with her. More importantly, she had not thought to question it at the time.  I need to be careful, I might have been affected too.  She tried to use Purify on Sam, to no effect. The description listed poisons and toxins if Cyn remembered correctly, so she was not surprised, but she had to try.


    For now, she ignored the frog and rapidly backed away from what was about to turn into a brawl. Cyn deliberately chose not to draw Blooddrinker, believing having a weapon out would not only make it easier for her to turn to violence, but also that being unarmed would make her appear less threatening to her clearly controlled party members.


    ¡°Stop! We aren¡¯t your enemies, Sam!¡± The Warrior ignored Cyn¡¯s plea, and instead took a swing at the Rogue, who had not backed up after sidestepping the Warrior¡¯s charge. Hex, who had a massive speed advantage over his attacker, twisted his body to the side in order to dodge the fist that had been aimed at his head. The punch had been full force, leaving Sam unable to pull back in time to protect himself from retaliation.


    The Rogue took advantage of the scant few seconds of vulnerability, delivering two rapid strikes into Sam¡¯s unprotected ribs. The daggers easily broke through the chainmail vest to sink into the Warrior¡¯s side, but before Hex could retreat, he unexpectedly found his legs swept out from under him. The party had only really seen Sam use his fists to fight, but clearly he knew more than that.


    Cyn quickly created a healing syringe, intending to heal back some of the damage Hex had done to Sam, as the Warrior dropped on top of the fallen Rogue to try and prevent him from continuing to dodge. The two grappled a few heartbeats, Cyn unable to get a clear shot, before Sam raised his red-glowing fist to strike at Hex for a third time.


    ¡°No!¡± She only had a single heartbeat to act, and Cyn didn¡¯t hesitate. The slightly bulbous needle of mana and health shot away from her at a far higher speed than Cyn would normally use, hastened by an infusion of excess mana, to pierce into Sam¡¯s raised fist. It wasn¡¯t enough to stop the blow, but the force of the high speed projectile deflected the Warrior¡¯s fist ever so slightly.


    Cyn then used Soul Slip to put herself dangerously close to the pair just in time to witness the Warrior¡¯s attack making contact. She wasn¡¯t sure exactly why she had brought herself so close, besides a desperation to make them stop, knowing there was no way she would be able to pull them apart. Combined with Hex flinching away from the descending fist, the slight deflection Cyn had caused was enough to make Sam only graze the side of the Rogue¡¯s head. Hex would not get away fully unscathed, the power behind the blow leaving his ear hanging on by only a thin, bloody strip of flesh. Undoubtedly, he would also have a concussion from even the slight contact of knuckles along his skull.


    As the punch instead made full contact with the slab below them, the shattering stone and flying rubble painted a poignant picture of how high Sam¡¯s strength stat was, and how lucky Hex had been to not take the full force of the strike. Cyn grabbed at the Warrior¡¯s arm helplessly as he raised it again, but was not able to make any attempts at separating or calming the men before she found herself forced to let go, rocketed a short distance into the air and away from the epicenter of an explosive blast that was centered on Sam.


    Kill or be killed, little Mage¡­.


    Once Cyn was in contact with the ground again, she shook off the echoing memory of the illusion and stumbled to her feet, dazed. She was injured, but not enough to be a concern for her. At first she thought that perhaps the explosion had come from Sam himself, but when she did not see the Warrior immediately she Soul Slipped to his side again. It was risky, using Soul Slip without knowing exactly where her target was, but since she could feel Sam¡¯s low health in her mind she was able to use him as a target for the skill anyway.


    Beside him now, she was positive the Warrior was not the source. He too had been blasted away from their original location near the entrance of the trial, and his large, unmoving body lay sprawled on its side like a broken doll. He wasn¡¯t close to death, much to Cyn¡¯s relief, but his health was low and he appeared to be unconscious. On one hip she could see burn marks radiating out from a clear impact location, and the epicenter had a small waft of smoke drifting out.


    She had failed to consider what Dana might be doing during the melee brawl, having last seen the other woman backing away from the fighting. Turning to look for her now, Cyn saw the Archer on the far side of the arena. She had her bow out and drawn fully, the nocked arrow aimed at Hex who had gotten to his feet again. The Rogue was holding one side of his face, and based on his location Cyn guessed that Sam¡¯s body had protected Hex from most of the blast.


    Dana had not shot yet, and Cyn watched for a moment as the arrow appeared to gather sparks around its tip. She quickly fished a now quiet Spam out of her tabard, setting him down beside Sam. The familiar looked a little battered, and very disgruntled, but remained mostly unharmed. ¡°Watch over Sam.¡± Spam warbled, sounding unhappy, but she didn¡¯t stick around to explain herself and took off in a sprint towards Dana. Sam¡¯s health was low, but not dropping, so Cyn was banking on him staying unconscious long enough for this trial to end. She was leaving Spam behind because she did not want it to be harmed, and Cyn was developing a sinking feeling she would be getting pretty hurt before this was over.


    Dana was too far away for her to use Soul Slip on, but it seemed like whatever skill the Archer was charging had quite a long use time. Before she could make it into range, Hex overtook Cyn in the sprint towards the Archer, seemingly recovered enough to see the danger he was in.


    Not that that was comforting to Cyn, since now he was also a source of danger to both her and Dana. Hex had a not-insignificant level advantage over all of them, having gained far more than most of the party in his profession during their time on the first floor, and combined with having also gained class levels since the start of the labyrinth the gap between their stats had the potential to be devastating. Locking down the Rogue like Sam had done was the only real counter to his speed, and she wasn¡¯t sure Dana could pull it off.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Hex reached Dana just as Cyn came into range to use Soul Slip, the Rogue forcing the Archer to stop channeling her skill and roll to the side in order to dodge his immediate attempts to stab her in the chest. Cyn appeared at the Rogue¡¯s elbow, grabbing onto it. ¡°Fucking stop, both of you! Think for one goddamn s¡­¡± She didn¡¯t get the chance to finish speaking as Hex¡¯s arm erupted into silver flames and the Rogue threw his held elbow back towards her, hard.


    The flames were heatless, but forced Cyn to let go as they burned her hand nonetheless. His burning elbow also scalded the skin where it struck her in the gut, leaving a hole in her tabard and knocking her a short distance backward. The blow left her breathless, but she barely managed to keep herself standing. Hex looked back at her briefly, his cold, gray eyes giving Cyn a once-over before returning his attention to Dana.


    Cyn¡¯s anger, and frustration, over the situation was growing rapidly. None of them were listening to her. None of them were even paying attention to her, as if she wasn¡¯t worth their time!


    Kill, or be killed little Mage¡­


    Cyn found herself reaching for Blooddrinker, barely stopping herself from drawing it as Hex and Dana engaged in a rapid melee. She had been literally holding onto the Rogue, and he hadn¡¯t done more than just move her out of the way. Even the damage she had taken from Dana was a product of being too close to the Warrior. Cyn could only guess it was because she had yet to act with hostility. But with her anger bubbling up she struggled to let go of the dagger¡¯s grip, just holding onto it as she watched her party members try to kill each other.


    The two were fairly evenly matched, even if the Archer was not particularly suited to melee. Her agility was high enough to both dodge most of Hex¡¯s attempts to strike, and occasionally land her own with either a dagger or blunt force from her bow. Dana¡¯s high strength also meant that when she did manage to hit the Rogue with more than a graze, it did noticeable damage. But it was apparent who would be the winner. Even injured from Sam, Hex had not only the numbers advantage but also skills that could be used in melee combat unlike Dana. It was a battle the Archer was rapidly starting to lose since she could not create distance between her and the Rogue.


    Kill, or be killed little Mage¡­


    Cyn felt frozen as the woman¡¯s voice echoed once again, the surge in rage making her tighten her grip on the dagger.   GET OUT OF MY HEAD!  She received a vicious laugh in response to her screaming thoughts, confirming that the echo was actually just continued attempts to incite Cyn to violence. Knowing that did not temper her anger, though. Not entirely sure what she was doing, but needing to try and wash away the influence on herself before she turned the rage on her party, Cyn flooded her body with mana.


    Dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of new, small mana veins opened to accommodate Cyn¡¯s Hubris, reaching to vent ephemeral blue clouds out of every inch of her skin. She had a brief spike of pain as the mana veins entered her head, but it faded away rapidly and was replaced with a sense of euphoria and a notification that she dismissed. The laugh cut off abruptly once her head was filled with mana as well, and Cyn quickly stopped venting. The few seconds had taken most of her mana pool, but if the voice did not come back it was definitely worth it.


    One deep, calming breath later her anger was under control and she let go of Blooddrinker, refocusing on the fight between Hex and Dana. Both were bleeding from numerous small wounds, and while Cyn was distracted it appeared the Archer had gotten a good hit in. Across Hex¡¯s neck was a thin, red line, with a stream of blood flowing steadily down his collarbone. It would have been a dreadful wound before the System, likely resulting in a quick death, but clearly they were made of tougher stuff now. Both of them had under half health.


    ¡°Dana, Hex, please think about why you¡¯re fighting! We don¡¯t have to do this!¡± Once again, Cyn¡¯s plea fell on deaf ears. Then, to her horror, she saw the Rogue vault back and up into the air.


    Remembering the effects of that skill on the Illuminants, Cyn used what little remained of her mana on Soul Slip, intending to interrupt the strike by using Soul Slip¡¯s default collision instead of manipulating it. The fractions of a second it took to activate Soul Slip was too slow compared to the speed of Hex¡¯s skill as he reversed direction mid-air, surging forward and downward to strike Dana, both of his daggers plunging into the Archer¡¯s chest before the woman could react. Cyn felt Dana¡¯s health tank, but was unable to help as she collided forcibly into the Rogue¡¯s shoulder before he could finish off his opponent. The collision sent them tumbling over one another, the daggers ripping free of Dana¡¯s chest and dropping her already low health further.


    The backlash from Soul Slip was expected, but there was nothing Cyn could do to recover faster from it. For a heartbeat she lay on her back, staring up into the clear, noon sky before struggling to sit up. She could hear the angry croaks of her familiar growing closer, and the sound made her afraid the Rogue would go after Spam or return to finish off the Archer while she was down. That fear proved fruitless as Cyn was slammed back into the ground before she could sit up fully.


    The impact with the ground knocked the breath out of her a moment, finding Hex straddling her body and holding one of his daggers against her throat, just hard enough to draw blood, and the other pressed just above her heart. She froze, staring up to meet his cold gaze.  His eyes look clear.  She was surprised to see that.   Cyn would have expected a mind control, or magical influence effect to give him unfocused, or foggy eyes. She wasn¡¯t sure why, just that there surely had to be some kind of indicator when someone was being affected like that?


    ¡°Stay out of the way.¡± As Hex spoke, he started to pull back from her, head turning to look in the direction Cyn felt a near-dead Dana. As confusing as his words were, she couldn¡¯t let him just go and kill the rest of their party.


    Quickly reaching up with one hand, Cyn tried to grab the Rogue by his short brown and pink hair. While she was unsuccessful in actually grabbing him, the goal was to keep his attention on her. It worked perhaps a little too well, since now both blades were firmly cutting into Cyn¡¯s flesh where before they had been lightly pressed.


    Cyn¡¯s hand was still up, a mere inch from Hex¡¯s face, but she held it still while speaking softly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this. Please, Hex.¡± The Rogue¡¯s eyes narrowed as she moved just enough to lightly place her hand against his face, but while he did push the blades a little deeper, he didn¡¯t pull away.


    She wasn¡¯t going to be able to speak without ripping open her throat more, but that wasn¡¯t the wound that was making her internal alarm ring out in tune with Spam¡¯s now close cacophony. The blade in her chest was a hair''s breadth from puncturing her heart, so close Cyn had to stop breathing. Both of them were deathly still, a stalemate waiting for either side to flinch.

 33. Risk, Rewarded

    She could kill the Rogue. Cyn could create mana needles near her feet and shoot into the back of Hex¡¯s head. At less than half health, it would be overkill. He would never see it coming.


    But she refused to fight, even if some part of Cyn screamed the truth that his death would save Dana, Sam, and herself. Sacrificing one of her party just was not an acceptable outcome in her eyes, and she would rather die trying to save everyone.


    As Spam reached a crescendo, Cyn felt her hair being moved behind her, then a slight pulling as the frog climbed to have its front legs on her forehead. She couldn¡¯t see much of the creature, but it definitely felt and sounded pissed off. It took all her willpower not to laugh at the absurdity.


    Now smiling, Cyn channeled Restoration on Hex through their contact, her hand on his cheek. The Rogue¡¯s eyebrows slowly furrowed, and the coldness in his gaze was replaced by confusion before becoming unreadable to Cyn. A chime rang through the Hungering Labyrinth as Hex removed the knife from her throat, quickly dropping the blade and replacing it with the firm pressure of his hand. ¡°Are you going to be alright if I remove the other one?¡± Hex¡¯s voice was thick, barely audible over her familiar, and he had been careful not to jostle her while removing his first dagger.


    Relief flooded through Cyn, her tightly reigned rage and frustration fading as the trial ended. ¡°Leave it in. Help Dana, please. She¡¯s doing bad.¡± Cyn was sure she would not need help removing the blade, unlike after the fight with the Illuminant Queen. She just needed to do it when she had a bit more mana to heal others too. Hex flinched at Cyn¡¯s wheezing request, but nodded and carefully moved off of her.


    She remained lying on the ground, pulling the blade in her chest out only a little so she could breathe safely and, as she felt the Rogue retreat, Spam''s angry croaking changed to concerned warbles. Cyn carefully reached one arm up to pet her familiar, whispering, ¡°I¡¯m alright, really.¡±


    During the next few minutes of mana farming, she idly kept stroking Spam and mentally keeping track of her party, feeling Hex move first to Dana. The Archer gained a small amount of health shortly after, so Cyn assumed the Rogue had managed to get her to swallow a potion. He then carried the woman to just outside the trial and set her down, returning to leave Cyn¡¯s range of health detection towards where she left the Warrior.


    Believing she had enough mana, and wanting to check on the others for herself, while Hex was out of range she carefully removed his dagger and healed herself. It was definitely a close call, and her actions a massive gamble, but she did not regret it even a little.  Honestly? Could have been worse.


    Feeling better, she picked up both of Hex¡¯s daggers and slowly got to her feet. The weapons felt strange the longer she held them, and she got the feeling she would fumble if she tried to actually use them. A quick Inspect provided a little bit of context as to why.


    Left (Unique)(Soulbound - Henry Smith III) - A simple iron dagger given to novice Rogues. Part of a set:


    [Stabbing 101] - 0/2


    [Stabbing 101]


    You have two hands, use them.


    +1 Agility.


    Neat.  The second dagger was identical, except for being named ¡®Right¡¯, and both showed as being Soulbound to Hex. That would probably explain why they felt awkward to her, she could pick them up but not use them properly because they belonged to him. She also had not considered the idea that ''sets¡¯ of gear would exist. This one was very simplistic, but Cyn liked the wit involved with both the name and flavor text.


    Spam had climbed on and activated the Tabard of Small Familiars, sticking to her shoulder, since the pouch at Cyn¡¯s chest was damaged from having a blade shoved through it, not to mention being coated in blood. Looking around, she saw Hex partly dragging the Warrior out of the trial arena, the unconscious man''s large body too unwieldy to properly carry. Following after them, Cyn caught sight of only a single reward chest and she veered off slightly towards it.


    Only one reward seemed a little unfair, since all of them had technically survived, but Cyn severely doubted anyone would argue it belonged to her.


    Resplendent Chest of Will (Epic)(Soulbound) - Contains rewards for completing the Trial of Will within the Hungering Labyrinth, after both resisting temptation and saving multiple members of your party from each other.


    ? Rewards are generated based on your performance within the Trial.


    A returning Hex met her at the chest while she pondered the description. ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to pick that one up in my storage, unlike the other three. Since it''s yours I guess.¡± Hex¡¯s voice was quiet, almost timid.


    At least they got some rewards.  Cyn handed off his weapons, nodding, then stored the reward chest to open in a little while. ¡°That would be my guess too. Your weapons feel a bit weird to even carry around, probably for the same reason.¡±


    He didn¡¯t respond, so she wasted no time in exiting the arena to check on the others who were still noticeably injured. The Rogue had laid down the unconscious members of their party a decent distance apart, with their reward chests sitting beside them. Sam was starting to stir, groaning, and since his condition had not worsened since Cyn left the Warrior on the other side of the arena she quickly moved on to the Archer.


    Dana¡¯s health had improved further since the Rogue took her out of Cyn¡¯s range of detection, but the woman was still solidly unconscious. Since no one was in critical condition, and Cyn would prefer to save mana, she moved to near the middle of her traumatized and mostly unconscious party to sit down and open her reward, before going over missed notifications.


    She wasn¡¯t totally ignorant to the glances Hex kept throwing her way, or the fact there was probably going to be some very awkward conversations between all four of them, but Cyn would rather put that off as long as possible. Or at least take it all at once, rather than individually.


    Pulling back out her reward chest, Cyn popped it open. Like with the Trial of Agility, there was an assortment of potions, food, credits, and junk within, but true to the name of the item there was an abundance of all of it. At the very bottom was a long, solid white, silk ribbon.


    Ribbon of Mercy (Epic) - You do less damage and more healing proportional to your target''s missing health.


    +3 Mind, +7 Will.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    White, the stereotypical color of healers in every dimension, apparently. The color at least was not as unfortunate as it might seem. Cyn had noticed that her gear, namely the pieces that actually had effects, did not seem to hold stains or grime like normal clothing. While her pants were positively disgusting, her boots, cloak, and tabard actually looked pretty clean despite her recent swim through blood. Water washed it all away very easily. It was some kind of hidden effect, but one Cyn was definitely appreciative of nonetheless.


    The description of the ribbon did not indicate that the effect was only for allies, so Cyn would have to presume it would lower her damage to enemies as well. That would not keep her from equipping the item, though. Only two pieces of her equipment gave raw stats, and both only provided a single point. Ten points was a mountain comparatively.


    Knowing just where to wear it, Cyn swung her braid over the shoulder Spam was not occupying. Her hair desperately needed to be washed, and re-braided, but it would have to wait. For now, she just wanted to replace the ribbon she had tied to the end of the braid with her new one.


    The old silver ribbon looked like it had been through hell, clearly never intended to be worn after being untied from her Awakening gift. As she went to tie the Ribbon of Mercy onto the end of her braid, she had a quick look around to confirm that neither Sam nor Dana had quite woken up yet, and Hex was just staring into the middle distance with an unopened reward chest in front of him. Nothing to be done until everyone was awake, so it was time to move on to checking her other notifications. The first of which made her skin crawl.


    Kill, or be killed little Mage¡­


    Cyn immediately removed that notification. Creepy bitch. The next notification left her gobsmacked, forcing Cyn to reread it multiple times to make sure she was seeing correctly.


    New skill gained! Mental Fortress (Divine)(Passive) - Your mind is your own.


    You are immune to the effects of most mental afflictions, regardless of source.


    You are not able to be fooled by illusionary magic.


    You are able to detect and shrug off attempts at mental influence.


    This had to be the notification Cyn received when she was desperately trying to get rid of the voice by flooding herself with mana. The pain inside her head, followed by euphoria and the ability to control her misplaced anger. But damn that was one hell of a skill. Based on her next notification, the System agreed.


    New feat gained! Divine Class Protege (Divine) - Acquire a Divine quality class skill before level 10.


    +10% to all stats.


    That was the first feat Cyn had seen. The area of her menu dedicated to them had just read N/A, with no more information, since the start.  A percent increase to all stats? Additive or multiplicative? Probably additive.  Whatever the answer, it didn¡¯t really matter at the moment. While she held no hope of getting the likely profession equivalent to that feat, she couldn¡¯t find enough negativity to care. Cyn had gone from relieved fatigue to over the moon in the span of just a few notifications. And there was still more to be read.


    New feat gained! Elite Adapter (Unique) - The front line and the final bastion.


    Completed System adaptation before the final stage.


    This feat can grant extra objectives within System Events and dungeons.


    +10% to all stats.


    Two feats in one go. Her stats might be experiencing diminishing returns, but her joy was not. Cyn did not know what exactly it meant to have completed System adaptation, but it hadn¡¯t kicked her out of the dungeon. She had only completed one stage, though, based on her Promising Ring of Holding. Perhaps the stages were based on an average, and that was why she received a feat for finishing early?


    Shaking off her unanswerable questions, Cyn checked the final notification, confirming it was a class level up to nine. One more level to go, then another anticipated skill selection. At least based on what others had experienced when hitting level ten in their profession.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: [Mage] Level 9


    Profession: [Creature Handler] Level 7


    Health Points: 324/430


    Mana Points: 198/1020


    Stamina Points: 498/550


    Free Points: 6


    Vitality: 43


    Mind: 48


    Will: 78


    Strength: 27


    Agility: 42


    Luck: 30


    Racial Skills: [Dimensional Translator] [Inspect]


    Class Skills: [Restoration] [Mana Ball] [Mage Regeneration] [Purify] [Overload] [Hubris] [Soul Slip] [Mental Fortress]


    Profession Skills: [Pet] [Friendly Aura] [Harvesting] [Familiar Bond]


    Feats: [Elite Adapter] [Divine Class Protege]


    Six free points, but Cyn was going to wait for more until she worried about where to put them. Some very sketchy mental math made her think the feats were additive, but she couldn¡¯t be sure. Math was not her strong suit.


    Despite ending on a more calm note, her gains had Cyn grinning like a fool when she closed her menu. An exceptionally inappropriate expression, considering the state her now-conscious party was in.

 34. Repentance

    While Cyn had been fiddling around in her menu, both Sam and Dana appeared to have woken up. The Warrior was sitting cross-legged, hunched over and with his hands covering his face. She actually felt kind of bad for the guy, since traveling through the dungeon with him so far had made her think he was actually kind of a softie. Cyn had no doubt if he remembered the trial it would be eating him up inside to know that he had tried to hurt them.


    Dana on the other hand, was in a borderline hostile stare down with Hex. The tension hanging in the air between them was palpable, unsurprising since their fight had been far more vicious than the one between Hex and Sam. No one appeared to have opened their reward chests, either, which Cyn took as a very bad sign. The Archer, catching sight of Cyn¡¯s smile before it fully faded, shifted her attention. ¡°Well, at least someone came out of this happy.¡±


    Cyn felt herself bristle at Dana¡¯s words and sarcastic tone.  Seriously? No ¡®thanks for not letting me die¡¯?  She had to take a calming breath before responding, ¡°Yah, I am happy. Happy everyone survived, and happy with the rewards I received for winning the trial.¡±


    The Archer scoffed. ¡°As far as I remember, you didn¡¯t do much more than stand there while  he, ¡± Dana waved her hand out, gesturing at Hex, ¡°tried to kill me.¡±


    Before Cyn could respond, Hex spoke, tone scathing, ¡°I¡¯m not going to apologize for defending myself. Sam nearly turned my skull to dust. I had no idea what you would do next after shooting a goddamn explosive at us, Dana¡­  unprovoked . If not for Cyn, I  would  have killed you. I almost fucking killed her for trying to stop me.¡±


    Closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose, Cyn listened to the two of them spew excuses and argue about what the other could have done, on top of throwing some uncontested blame at the Warrior, before finding she was sick of listening to it. The situation was all too familiar, and not in a good way. It was like after a night of raiding gone wrong, with no one wanting to admit they were part of the problem. Both of them were angry and unapologetic, when really, they should just be moving forward.  I know being a healer is a thankless job, but cut me a damn break here.


    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± They might have ignored her in the trial, but that was not the case now. The two of them fell silent instantly, startled by Cyn¡¯s sudden exclamation. She did not give them time to recover before continuing as calmly as she could manage, ¡°Not killing each other was the win condition. Or I guess whoever survived would probably have won on their own. Not fighting at all would have been the best possible outcome, but  that¡¯s  a bit moot at this point.¡±


    Cyn held up a hand, speaking louder in order to drown out both of them trying to respond. ¡°I am not sure exactly what happened there at the end with you, Hex, but for the rest of it I was the  only  one able to fight off the attempted mental influence. I am the  only  one who has the right to be pissed off here, because I spent the entire trial risking  my  life to keep everyone who  didn¡¯t  resist - everyone who  failed -  alive, while  also  trying to stop you from attacking each other. We speculated beforehand I would be the best at this trial, even without knowing exactly what a Trial of Will would entail, and we were right. I knew what was happening immediately, and it was pretty clear none of you were acting normal, so I¡¯m not pissed off.¡±


    She threw her hands up in the air, letting the frustration leak through her voice. ¡°At least I wasn¡¯t.  Now  I am pissed because you two are slinging blame and excuses like fucking children, instead of accepting your failure and discussing what went wrong like adults.¡± She was mostly frustrated with Dana, who seemed to just be lashing out, but felt Hex could also apologize about using excessive force, since it was apparent he felt justified in his actions while under the mental influence.


    ¡±I was also struggling with the influence for most of the trial, and it was practically chanting in my head that I needed to kill you before you killed me. The difference is, I did not listen and was ultimately able to break free of it.¡± She stared pointedly at Hex for her next words. ¡±Even though that chant felt like the absolute truth at some points.¡±


    Cyn took a deep breath before trying to drive home the point. ¡°Regardless,  all  of you lost this trial. Be happy to be alive, and if you want to be angry, be angry at yourself. Think about what  you  could have done better. And. Get. Over. It.¡± She paused, staring at them both a moment. Dana still looked angry, but Hex was regarding her with furrowed eyebrows, his head cocked to one side.


    ¡°Claim your fucking loot already, or I will find out if the System stops me from taking your stuff.¡± A mostly empty threat, but the pair quickly moved to grab their reward chests. At least they still had motivation. Shaking her head, Cyn walked over to Sam.   The Warrior hadn¡¯t moved at all, not during the arguing or her exasperated monologue. Reaching out, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Sam? Are you alright?¡±


    The Warrior flinched from her touch, before slowly raising his head from its resting place in his palms.  Oh fuck.  Sam had been crying, the wet tracks down his dirty cheeks clearly visible until they met his beard. Unfortunately, Cyn did not do well with people crying. Mostly because it just made her cry too, and she hated that. ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Her soft exclamation made the Warrior quickly wipe at his face, before whispering, ¡°I just wanted to see my family again. The woman said she would help, but¡­ I don¡¯t¡­¡± Sam¡¯s voice cracked, forcing him to take a shaky breath. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I did that. I didn¡¯t want to hurt anyone. But when she said I had to¡­¡± The Warrior trailed off without finishing his thought, wiping at his face again.


    ¡°When she said you had to, it just made sense. Right?¡± Hex was the one who spoke, the Rogue wandering close while removing the purple mask that covered the bottom half of his face most of the time. He now also had a swath of thin, loose fabric around his neck. It resembled some kind of scarf, but Cyn did not see either end of the bright, golden cloth. Once he was close enough, she could see it appeared to have a hood on it too, laying over his back, which Hex was not wearing.


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


    The Warrior nodded to the Rogue¡¯s question, before abruptly jumping to his feet and wrapping his muscular arms around Hex, squeezing the thinner man hard. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Cyn saw Hex stiffen as Sam reached for him, but he did not pull away and allowed the Warrior a hug.


    The Rogue did not return the embrace, but very awkwardly patted Sam on the back. ¡°It¡¯s¡­fine man. It sounds like the trial used our weakness to make us feel like we had to fight each other.¡±


    Cyn wasn¡¯t sure that was totally correct, but it did seem to make the Warrior feel better. Or at least having Hex not be angry did. Sam pulled away after a moment, freeing the poor Rogue from the uncomfortable moment, and visually started to calm down.


    Dana, looking more unhappy than wrathful now, sighed as she slung a new-looking bow over one shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for shooting an explosive at you, Sam. I was under the impression only one of us would be able to leave the trial alive. Doesn¡¯t make much sense, now that I can think clearly about it.¡± The Archer¡¯s voice was begrudging, rather than remorseful, and Cyn took note that she did not make any attempt to apologize to Hex. The way the Rogue was blatantly glaring at Dana, his mouth set in a thin line, made it clear Hex did not miss his exclusion.


    Sam on the other hand just gave Dana a weak smile, before sitting down to open his reward and revealing a sledgehammer.  Oof.  The Warrior took it in stride, though, remarking that it could be used for his profession before storing it. Everyone seemed ready to move on again, but Cyn just had one more thing she needed to know.


    ¡°Hex?¡± She stepped close to the Rogue, interrupting his silent observation of the Archer. Dana, for her part, was ignoring him. Hex shifted his attention to Cyn, and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why did you stop?¡±


    He gave her a few slow blinks before speaking, voice inquisitive, ¡°Stop?¡±


    ¡°Twice. I tried to grab onto you twice, and you never outright attacked me. The first time I sort of understand, since I was not the greater threat, but at the end¡­¡± Cyn paused, taking a deep breath, ¡°I had a hand on you, and you have seen what my magic can do. Why didn¡¯t you kill me?¡±


    Cyn watched as his jaw clenched, seeming to struggle with a response.  He¡¯s easier to read without the mask.  A spark of the indignation he had previously been aiming at Dana reappeared in Hex¡¯s tone when he finally did speak, ¡°In what world does my daggers in your chest and throat not count as trying to kill you?¡±


    She heard Sam suck in a sharp breath, but ignored it and just rolled her eyes at the Rogue. ¡°This world, apparently. You could have killed me, and got real fucking close, but you stopped. I  need  to understand why.¡±


    ¡°You''re right, I have seen what your magic can do, and I want an answer first. Why didn¡¯t you defend yourself?¡± The Rogue became more animated as he spoke, his voice rising. ¡°I almost fucking killed you, and you just laid there! There are probably a million things you could have done to stop me from getting that close, but you didn¡¯t. Why?!¡± Hex was yelling and gesticulating wildly by the time he stopped speaking long enough to give Cyn a chance to answer him, seemingly more upset and confused over her  not  trying to kill him than he was at Dana or Sam for  trying  to kill him.


    To Cyn, the answer was simple. ¡°Because I¡¯m the healer.¡± The Rogue¡¯s face, unsurprisingly, shifted to a picture of sheer bafflement, so she gently explained further. ¡°When I couldn¡¯t stop you from fighting, I did the next best thing I could and tried to stop you from killing anyone else. By shifting your attention onto me. If I hadn¡¯t, you would have finished off Dana, and probably Sam. I was practically out of mana, and there was no real plan. But once we were in that position, I realized that the only way I could possibly escape was if you either came back to your senses, or if I killed you in a single strike.¡±


    ¡°I was low enough health, you should have taken advantage of my hesitation. Especially if you were concerned about them. If I had killed you, I would have killed them too.¡± He wasn¡¯t yelling anymore, at least. The Rogue just sounded exasperated and confused.


    She shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re right. Objectively, maybe I should have taken the easy way out. I doubt anyone else would have blamed me. But  I would have blamed me , Hex. I¡¯d rather die trying to save all of you than live with having done that.¡± The Rogue just shook his head. She didn¡¯t expect him to understand, when Cyn herself barely understood the conviction she felt. But it felt as true now as it felt in the moment she first made the decision not to kill him, consequences be damned. ¡°I answered your question. Now answer mine.¡±


    The Rogue averted his eyes, shifting uncomfortably. He clearly did not want to answer, but she was not about to just let him out of it. ¡°Hex?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t fit the narrative I was acting on. Killing you. The¡­ trial¡­ tried to twist my thoughts to make me kill you at the end, but it still didn¡¯t make sense. You¡¯ve shown yourself to be too fucking useful. That, and you doing the single most insane thing I can imagine by healing me while we were in that position, was enough for me to realize I had fallen for the trick.¡±


    Useful isn¡¯t the best compliment, but I¡¯ll take it.  He had been careful not to reveal exactly what the narrative was, but Cyn decided not to push. It was enough of an answer. ¡°Well, it sounds like my tactic worked, then.¡± Hex scowled at that as she turned to look at the other two members of their party before speaking again. Obviously, they had been listening, but at least Sam had the decency to try and look like he wasn¡¯t. ¡°Once everyone is ready, we should keep moving.¡±


    ¡°Find Scott, and get the hell out of here.¡± Dana had managed to take control of her expressions, giving no hint of how she felt about what she had heard.


    Hex scoffed at the Archer¡¯s words, but Cyn spoke before he could escalate again.  If this continues, I might just stab both of them.  The irony of her unwillingness to defend herself, and willingness to stab them for being annoying, was not lost on her. But sometimes, that''s just how it was. ¡°I definitely hope we find Scott along the way, and a door for anyone who wants to leave.¡± Her words were deliberate. Cyn had no intentions of leaving until she had to, or she found the center. She would leave with the last person to go, and since that was probably going to be Hex she was not worried about leaving early. As for finding Scott? She  wanted  him to be alright, and she did want to find him if he was still here. But without any signs he was even alive, or if he had left the labyrinth, she wasn¡¯t sure it was worth actively seeking out the Guardian.


    Meeting Dana¡¯s intense stare for a heartbeat, Cyn had a sudden idea.  What if¡­  Turning her head, she looked at Spam who was still perched on her shoulder. The Tabard of Small familiars might be self-repairing, but it was not fast. ¡°Spam?¡± The bubblegum-pink creature turned its head to her in response, chewing on one of its front feet. ¡°You know the way to the center?¡±


    Spam blinked each eye in turn, and she got the distinct feeling the familiar thought her stupid as it turned and flicked its tongue down the path away from the trial they had just done. Taking a deep breath, she asked the question she should have asked when the familiar seemed to make them wait for Dana before the Trial of Will. ¡°Do you know the way to Scott?¡±

 35. Therapy Not Included

    Spam tilted its head at Cyn, before making a confused warble.  It never met Scott, obviously.  Trying another tactic, she explained carefully, ¡°There should be five people, humans, in my party. We are missing one. Do you know where he is?¡± The familiar went back to chewing its foot for a few seconds, making quiet gurgling sounds, before flicking its tongue the same direction as before.


    Cyn turned back to her party and shrugged. Sam and Dana¡¯s faces fell slightly, but honestly, she wasn¡¯t sure if the familiar did not understand her question, or if Scott was actually in the same direction. With no better options, the party got moving again. Cyn was still relatively low on mana, but as long as they did not rush headlong into another trial, she figured it was fine.


    ***


    A chime ringing out through the labyrinth jolted Scott out of his contemplation. That was the fourth one he had heard since the party had entered the second floor, and no less puzzling than the first three. The second time it had rung out, four days earlier by his best guess, Scott had started to pick up his pace looking for a door or one of his ducklings. His greatest fear now was that that chime meant someone had been killed, and without any indication otherwise Scott had mustered up the energy to keep moving forward. The worst of his Edge of Death debuff had passed, leaving him with close to seventy-five percent of his total stats. From fifty percent on, he was gaining back stats significantly slower, but at least he no longer felt his age.


    ¡° Ah, it seems your friends have completed a trial. Best hurry up, before they arrive here and interrupt us. I will have to fight any cheaters that interrupt this trial in progress. Do you have an answer for me?¡±


    The creature who spoke sounded serene, not even a hint of impatience in its soft, feminine voice even though Scott had been pondering the final riddle for quite a while. Relief flooded through him at her words, and based on their interactions so far he had no reason to doubt the truthfulness of them. If any of the ducklings were on their way, he needed to get this over with. The Trial of Mind had no time limit, thankfully, because its administrator was rather impressive - for a few reasons, in Scotts humble opinion - and he was sure if he got this riddle wrong there would be no saving him.


    Inspect told him the creature was a sphinx. A race that held partly true to the interpretation Scott knew, with her body being that of a lion. But rather than just a human face, she had a whole human torso attached to the shoulders of the lion body. She was also significantly larger than a lion or human, with just the lion parts being close to the size of a car, and the human torso scaled proportionally. Putting aside the size, a mouth full of  very  sharp teeth, and the wicked claws the creature was sporting instead of fingernails, the torso looked like a lovely human woman. Sounded like one, too.


    Scott had been lingering at this trial too long, despite being quite sure he knew the answer to the last riddle. With his life on the line for a wrong answer, he felt he needed to be careful and had taken extra time to think over every riddle the sphinx gave him. It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that, like so many creatures in Earth''s mythology, the sphinx did not bother to wear clothes.


    ***


    Cyn was at her wits end. It hadn¡¯t even been half a day since the Trial of Will, and at this point, she wanted to find Scott more than anything solely so the passive-aggressive hostility between the Rogue and Archer could be someone else''s problem. She thought moving forward in the labyrinth would help, or at least make it difficult for them to do much interacting, but she was so, so wrong.


    Stats were high enough for people to talk easily while running, and Sam''s attempts to make things better seemed to involve trying to get them both into conversation. Casual conversation, not that it seemed to matter. It was counter-productive, based on the evidence, but what was Cyn supposed to do? Tell the Warrior to please shut up? She didn¡¯t have the heart. At least both of them were being nice to Sam, since clearly no one wanted to see the big guy cry again.


    ¡°Shocker.¡± Dana¡¯s voice was dripping with sarcasm.  At  her wits end? More like over it. The Warrior was asking about Hex¡¯s family, and the only thing the Rogue had said was that he wasn¡¯t close with them.


    The Rogue had been doing much the same whenever Sam tried to speak with Dana, so it wasn¡¯t like it was just the Archer making problems. ¡°We get it. You two hate each other now. Please, for the love of all things holy, either kiss and make up already or find a way to hate each other that does not force me to listen to it. I don¡¯t fucking care, just stop before I throw both of you in the murder hedge.¡± The leafless, twisted mass of thorns and branches surrounding the party did not really resemble hedges anymore¡­ but that was beside the point.


    Rogue and Archer both turned their glares to Cyn, aghast at her suggestion to kiss and make up if she had to guess, but they seemed to have just enough sense to stay silent. Sam glanced back at her, looking Cyn over before saying tentatively, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not sure you could pick up and throw either of them. You¡¯re kind of¡­¡±


    She interrupted the Warrior before he could finish his thought, her tone lighter and half joking, ¡°Mention my height, and you are going in the hedge with them.¡±


    She heard Hex snort beside her, and caught a glimpse of a smirk before the Rogue said casually, ¡°Small and violent. Like a chihuahua.¡± Sam chuckled loudly, while Dana choked on a laugh she tried to hide behind a cough.  I can take being roasted a bit, if it makes them stop going at each other.  She scowled at Hex, but, before Cyn could come up with a retort, a chime rang through the labyrinth.


    The party was running in pairs, with Sam and Dana up front, Hex and Cyn behind. No one tried to stop, but instead they collectively sped up and fell silent for a few moments. Cyn checked her objectives to be sure that chime was the same as the other ones.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Transitional dungeon floor 2: The Hungering Labyrinth -


    Strangely thematic.


    Bonus Objective: Trials completed 5/6


    Rewards for completion will be distributed upon leaving this floor.


    ¡°The trial objective updated to five of six done. That has to be Scott¡¯s doing.¡± Cyn let the relief she felt seep through her voice. It was as if a massive weight she was not even aware of carrying had been partially lifted off her shoulders, just from confirmation that their final party member was still alive somewhere. She had tried to set it aside - or at least not think about it - but the feeling of being responsible for everyone making it out alive had clearly been festering in the back of her mind.


    ¡°Hopefully we can collect him before finding the last trial, so we don¡¯t miss out on it.¡± Hex didn¡¯t sound annoyed, but he wasn¡¯t happy either. Cyn knew it probably bothered him to miss out on another of the trials. Thankfully, Dana had not seemed to pick up on his lack of joy, or at least had gone back to ignoring the Rogue.  Have to celebrate the little things, sometimes.


    There were only a handful more crossroads before the next trial arena came into sight, causing Sam to whoop in celebration since it was immediately clear Scott was still here. The Guardian stood in the center of the stone slab arena, and raised his hand in greeting as the party came into sight. It was his companion, though, that made the party slow as they got close. Dana held a hand out to stop Sam from just entering the trial arena, clearly more cautious than the Warrior.


    ¡°Right on time. Please, do not be alarmed. The Trial of Mind has been completed, and so long as you do not show hostility I will not be inclined to either.¡±  Cyn felt her anxiety skyrocket, and while she couldn¡¯t grab Dana and Sam before they stepped out of reach, she did reach to the side and grab Hex who was wandering in right behind them.   They were just barely inside of the arena now.


    ¡°Wait!¡± The Rogue gave her a puzzled look, but seemed to register the clear alarm in Cyn¡¯s face and voice. The Archer and Warrior were already running to give Scott a hug, and did not stop or seem alarmed by the large sphynx they now stood beside. This made Hex quickly pull on the hood of his new piece of gear, and pull the cloth around his neck up to cover his face in the same way his previous mask did. The combination almost entirely obscured his face, and the cloth changed from a bright gold to dark blue.


    Cyn noted the changes with mild interest, but she had more important things to worry about. The entrance and exit did not close over when they entered the area, thankfully, but that did not do much to ease her anxiety. While Spam was croaking up a storm, she did not need it to tell her there was danger here. The creature¡¯s voice felt like sandpaper applied directly to Cyn¡¯s eardrums, and there was something very¡­ wrong when she tried to look at it. Cyn saw the sphinxlike creature, a lion''s body and a woman''s bare torso, but it was hard to look at. Not exactly the same as the Trial of Will illusion but similar feeling. She tried to use Inspect, and it returned a very confusing mess of letters initially.


    ¡°Are you two just going to stand there and glare? This lovely creature was kind enough to keep me company and let me know you should be arriving here, so I wouldn¡¯t have to run around searching.¡± Scott sounded a little annoyed, but Cyn ignored him. She was too busy trying to focus on her Inspect results, looking for the truth. She also still had a hold of Hex, who seemed to put enough trust in Cyn to remain distant from the creature and their party.


    ¡°Ahh. You can see me, can¡¯t you little Mage? You must have quite the mind, or will. Please, do not be alarmed.¡±  The nickname, the same used by the Trial of Will, caused her adrenaline to shoot through the roof. As for the Inspect she was struggling with, Cyn was quite sure it was functionally two Inspect results layered atop one another. She just needed to untangle them into separate results. What she was physically seeing was probably the same, explaining why it was weird to look at.


    She felt a hand squeeze her wrist hard, the Rogue whispering sharply. ¡°Threat or not, Cyn?¡±


    Refocusing on the creature, she saw it had stood up and slowly started to move towards them, clawed hands spread.  ¡°I do not want to fight you. My illusion is intended to keep the trial participants at ease, and it works quite well for that purpose.¡±  Sandpaper on her eardrums. Mental influence, probably?   Two images, layered on top of one another. The doubled vision was easier to separate when looking at the creature directly, versus the Inspect results.


    The first image, a huge golden lion combined with a beautiful woman. Just imperfect enough, with just enough characteristics of the lion bleeding into the human part to be convincing. Dangerous, warranting caution, but¡­ fake. The shape had a feeling of wrongness to it, a fuzziness at the edges she did not see, but felt.


    The second image felt wrong for an entirely different reason. The lower body still appeared feline, but instead of golden it was corpse-like. The hide was lacking fur, tattered and a dull, gray-green color. Dark, thorned vines wrapped and crossed around the body, plunging inside in some places and holding together jagged tears in others.


    Where in the first image the woman¡¯s torso appeared to grow smoothly out of the lion¡¯s shoulders, in the second it was more like someone had shoved the top half of a bisected humanoid body into a jagged, cavernous hole created post decapitation of the lion. More of the vines appeared to be supporting the torso, and holding together the junction of the bodies.


    The stomach of the torso was hollowed out, and the broken ribs that once protected vital organs were now broken and pulled to the side to create a wider hole filled with even more jagged shards of bone. Cyn could see vines snaking up the spine of the torso from the inside as well, the flora plunging out near the collarbone to twist and wrap around the arms.


    The head was eyeless, and clusters of small, striking yellow flowers filled the sockets instead. She could see a few clumps of dull, black hair remained on the head, but it was mostly replaced by thin, shoulder-length vines poking out of the skull. There was no nose or ears either, the cartilage seeming to not have lasted as long as the rest of the corpse. Sunken skin clung to bone, and the mouth appeared to have once been extended all the way to where the ears once were, a jagged gash running along either side of the natural mouth shape. Whatever the reason that was done, tiny stitches now held the orifice closed.


    As Cyn watched, it was as though the plant was using the corpses like a puppet. The movements were smoother than she would expect, but it still bent in places a human body would not, and lacked the stiffness and shape that came with being filled with muscles and organs.


    ¡°Cyn!¡± Hex¡¯s voice was even more urgent now, tugging her backwards as the monstrosity got closer. Cyn couldn¡¯t speak as bile rose up, her mind struggling to come to terms with what she was seeing.


    The sharp, fractured rib bones appeared to be moving of their own accord as the creature spoke again, and since the stitched slash across the human face did not move, Cyn presumed the hole in its stomach was more akin to a mouth for this abomination.


    ¡°This does not have to end in violence, little Mage¡­¡±


    ?

 36. Nope

    Sphinx - Level 10


    ? Known for their humanoid intelligence, and a love of riddles and puzzles.


    ? This creature is unlikely to attack unless threatened directly.


    ? Parts of this creature are edible.


    Fuzzy. False. Cyn quickly read over the second Inspect result, after finally untangling the overlapping text.


    Cadaverous Puppet Bloom - Level 17


    ? A rare species of sentient flora.


    ? This subspecies of Puppet Bloom scavenges for corpses and discarded biological waste, using its findings to create a layer of armor between its core and the world.


    ? Capable of powerful mind magic.


    ? Parts of this creature are edible.


    ¡°Don¡¯t attack it.¡± Cyn barely managed to gasp out the words as she let go of Hex and scrambled sideways in an attempt to create more distance between herself and the creature. She had no doubt the Puppet Bloom could be a threat if it wanted to be, but to Cyn the fact its description mentioned scavenging rather than hunting was a decent indicator of the plant being neutral. How it could be both a plant and a creature she wasn¡¯t sure, but that wasn¡¯t important at the moment.


    What  was  important was keeping her most recent meal down -  When did I even eat last?   - and avoiding combat with the much higher-level abomination. As she checked in on her party, Cyn also had to dismiss a notification. Not important right now. She saw Dana and Sam were still next to Scott, the pair seeming unsure if they should attack or not. The Archer had her bow in her hands and an arrow knocked, but the weapon was not raised to aim. Hex kept beside her as Cyn scrambled, eyeing the Puppet Bloom as it stopped walking closer to speak again.


    ¡°I could dispel my illusion, little Mage, so your friends can see what you do. But I think we both know that would create a¡­ finality to this encounter. I would prefer not to fight.¡±


    Another surge of panic and adrenaline. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. Please.¡± Cyn was finding her new divine-quality skill, Mental Fortress, had a pretty awful downside. She was completely incapable of seeing just the sphinx. She could see the layered images, and she could see just the horror that was the Cadaverous Puppet Bloom, but her mind would not allow Cyn to see just the illusion no matter how badly she wanted to.


    A niche problem, but a problem for her nonetheless. The Puppet Bloom tilted its human head to the side, the movement floppier than it should be.  ¡°As you wish, though it is an accurate moniker. Are we settled, you and I?¡±  Where is its voice even coming from?


    Cyn nodded quickly, now skirting around the edges of the trial arena to get to the exit on the other side. ¡°Yup! No problems. I would like to leave now.¡± She was well aware that both her words and the high pitch of her voice betrayed that there absolutely was a problem, but she was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. Cyn had never seen a human corpse before, grandpa¡¯s open casket notwithstanding. Especially not one in the state of decay this corpse was in, and that was not even mentioning the grotesque way in which the body was being used.


    ¡°There is nothing stopping you from doing so.¡±  Cyn saw the Puppet Bloom turn to return to where it once was, near her party, but did not stick around to see more. Without a second thought, Cyn bolted for the exit as fast as her legs would move.  If anyone stays behind, that''s not my problem.


    She passed the threshold of the arena, arriving back into the main labyrinth paths, but did not slow down.  Parts of this creature are edible.   Nope, nope, nope¡­  Cyn let her mind fill with that mantra, trying to dispel the uninvited memory of her Inspect result. It wasn¡¯t working.


    Needing to move even faster away from the living nightmare, Cyn started circulating her mana internally for the boost it would give to her agility. The burning pain, the damage she was doing to herself, the fact that with boosted stats she would definitely be leaving some of her party behind¡­ none of it mattered in the moment. She intended to run for as long and as far as her body would allow her to.


    Hex was able to keep up easily. Cyn didn¡¯t know how much agility the Rogue had, but clearly it was a  lot . When they hit the first crossroad, she still didn¡¯t slow down. ¡°Cyn¡­¡± Ignoring both Hex speaking to her and the annoyed sounds from Spam, she took a random turn. She heard a clatter of something metal on stones, before Hex was beside her again.


    The numerous crossroads they passed through after that he did not even try to speak. A clang of metal on stone when she chose a direction, then a return to silence. Cyn didn¡¯t know how long she had been running, mentally detached from the world around her, before Hex grabbed onto her arm and stopped, forcing her to stop with him.


    The force of suddenly stopping popped Cyn¡¯s arm out of its socket, but she barely registered it as everything else slammed into the forefront of her consciousness. It was as though a dam had burst, resulting in a flash flood of information she had been filtering out while focusing entirely on moving forward.


    Burning pain all over. Low stamina? Internal alarms. A taste of copper filling her mouth. Blurry vision. Low health. Was she on fire? It felt like it, at least internally. More alarms. Spam, making a sound akin to nails on a chalkboard right in her ear. Annoyance. Fear. Panic. Neither of those emotions were hers, they came from her connection to the familiar. Restoration. Had she done that on purpose? Cyn wasn¡¯t sure. Low mana. Low health again. Alarms. Danger.  Danger. DANGER.   Houston, we have a problem.  She might have laughed at her own completely unhinged thought, if she was capable of laughing.


    It was too much. Cyn blacked out for a few seconds, coming back around again on her knees. Hex was still holding her arm and now her waist, having kept her from falling directly onto her face. ¡°Easy¡­¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Her only response to the Rogue¡¯s whisper was to start heaving, expelling a mixture of mostly blood and bile. Losing consciousness for those few seconds had stopped her mana circulation, leaving Cyn feeling weakened beyond belief. She was shaking so hard it was almost an unintentional vibration as every muscle and joint screamed in agony, neurons misfiring from pushing herself far past the normal limits of her body. Cyn doubted she could even hold herself up, much less move, so she was thankful that Hex had not let her go.


    She was still shaking when the Rogue moved them both a distance away, putting her in a sitting position she could barely maintain, after it seemed like her bout of sickness was over. The blurriness in her vision at least had improved, and she could see Hex was covered in a thin sheen of sweat along with breathing a bit hard. She watched as he lowered the mask and hood he had been wearing to take a drink, leaving it down and giving her repeated sideways glances. Had she seriously ran the Rogue nearly out of stamina? With her capacity to think clearly also returning, Cyn checked her resources.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: [Mage] Level 9


    Profession: [Creature Handler] Level 8


    Health Points: 23/460


    Mana Points: 0/1030


    Stamina Points: 0/580


    Fuck.  If Hex had not stopped her, Cyn would have run herself literally to death. She did not remember even feeling the strain that was being put on her body until she was stopped.  At least I leveled up in Creature Handler, probably from¡­  She felt her still-racing heart somehow pick up speed, losing a health point before she could shut down those thoughts. It was not a good time to get upset or anxious, apparently. And honestly, she was ok with shoving anything anxiety-inducing into a box for the moment.


    This was the second time she had dropped one of her resources below zero. And this time, she had done it with two of them. Cyn wasn¡¯t surprised her mana and stamina were both still zero, even after a brief rest. The one other time she had done this her mana had taken quite a bit of time before regenerating again.


    Thinking about the delayed information her body had given her, it was almost as if she started spending her health points after running out of stamina. In a fucked-up way, it kind of made sense. Even before the System, it was not unheard of for people to hurt themselves badly by pushing their body past its normal limit, generally while under the effects of adrenaline.


    She still had no idea what was happening with her mana, though, once she ran out. It could also be pulling from her health points, but Cyn doubted that. Oddly, thinking through the possible logic of what she had done was kind of comforting. As long as she kept her thoughts detached from the possible long-term effects.


    Hex cleared his throat. Jerked back to reality once again, she found the Rogue crouched in front of her. She had been kind of just staring at her menu in his general direction, and had not noticed him crouch. ¡°Are¡­ you alright?¡±


    She went for the truth. ¡°No.¡± Cyn¡¯s voice came out in a rasp, and with some difficulty she pulled out her waterskin to rehydrate, using her not-dislocated arm. She wasn¡¯t sure what was harder: pulling the damn thing out of storage, trying to get her arm to move, or watching Hex¡¯s face as he tried awkwardly to come up with how to respond to her.


    Cyn took a brief look at her arm as she raised the waterskin, and blocked it out before the sight took out the last few health points she had remaining. Just another thing for later. Spam was a silent weight on her shoulder, and she couldn¡¯t bring herself to look at it right now.  Sorry buddy.


    ¡°Maybe get some sleep then. And eat one of these.¡± The Rogue produced one of the Sanguine Lily petals, holding it out to her. Cyn squeezed her eyes shut, shrinking back as she fought the urge to gag. ¡°Or¡­ not.¡± Logically, she knew it made sense. They would restore a lot of health points, and she was frighteningly low on those. But at least for the moment she could not even bring herself to consider it. All she could see looking at the large, crimson flower petal was tiny, yellow blooms in¡­  Nope, nope, nope.  Rather than even try and explain herself, Cyn just laid down and was almost instantly consumed by a blissfully dreamless sleep.


    ***


    ¡°Thought we would never catch up to you. What in the hell was that?¡± Scott¡¯s gravelly voice pulled Cyn into consciousness. Thankfully she did not startle, allowing her to pretend to be asleep still. Literally every inch of her body hurt, inside and out, and her resources were far from fully restored. But she was calm, and could think clearly. Cyn wanted - no, needed - to do some thinking and reflecting before facing everyone again.


    ¡°You heard the sphinx. It was using an illusion, and Cyn could see through it. What she saw spooked her bad enough to nearly outrun me.¡± Hex paused for a moment, and Cyn could hear the shuffle of the party settling down behind her. ¡°What was I supposed to do, just let her run off alone?¡±


    The Guardian sighed deeply. ¡°No, no. You did well. Did Cyn tell you what she saw?¡±


    ¡°The only thing she said was ¡®no¡¯ when I asked if she was alright. She wouldn¡¯t even take a healing item I tried to give her. She¡¯s been asleep since I made her stop running a few hours ago.¡± After that Scott started asking about what had happened since the start of the floor for Hex, letting Cyn tune it out.


    She felt guilty about her reaction to the Puppet Bloom. If it had been hostile, she would have been useless. Cyn had been totally consumed by a primal fear, and readily gave in to the instinct to flee. The grotesque horror of it was too real, and so wildly unexpected that she had just shut down. If it had been a status effect inflicted on her, Mental Fortress should have prevented it. But no, the fear was hers, a weakness Cyn would need to overcome. She couldn¡¯t let that happen again. For her party¡¯s sake, and her own.


    Cyn mentally went over the details in her memory, both of the Inspect results and what she had actually seen. Over and over. Not because she wanted to - it would be infinitely preferable to shove the memory in a box and throw it into the sea - but because she needed to. She needed to get over it. There was no question in Cyn¡¯s mind she would encounter an equivalent horror again, and she  had  to be ready for it.


    She would probably see human corpses again one day too.


    Only when she was satisfied she could relay what she had seen without having a panic attack again did Cyn open her eyes. She had wanted to get a look at one of her arms, knowing she had really fucked them up, but found Spam sitting nose to nose with her.


    She jerked slightly in surprise, the bubblegum-pink frog not even twitching while continuing to stare directly into her soul with its black eyes. The party behind her went silent when she jerked, so Cyn didn¡¯t bother to hide that she was awake. Instead, she reached one hand to the familiar, using Pet and whispering softly. ¡°Sorry buddy.¡± It made a quiet, timid warble in response and leaned into her hand. Cyn could feel its concern in the back of her mind, making her pretty sure their Familiar Bond had deepened. At least there was a good thing that came out of the ordeal.


    The position let her get a decent look at one arm, and it was better than she had anticipated. Her skin had vein-like cracks and deep gouges running through it, the edges and interior of the wounds appearing burnt, dark blue and crispy. The wounds unsurprisingly ran along the primary veins she had used for circulating mana. But, remembering how it had looked before she had blocked it out, Cyn determined the damage had healed at least some. She might be scarred, or have a more long-term effect like the blue of her fingertips, but she was pretty sure she would recover.


    Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Cyn slowly sat up and turned around, ready to face the music.

 37. Missed Call

    Cyn found four sets of eyes watching her as she moved from lying down to a sitting position facing her party. They were collectively sitting in a loose circle on the path, facing inward. It was awkward as hell, made even worse when no one said a word. Clearing her throat as Spam climbed up into her lap, Cyn addressed the Guardian, who she noticed had a plate chest piece on now that was not present when they had left the first floor. ¡°Nice to have you with us again, Scott. We were worried for a bit there.¡±


    Scott gave her a smile that didn¡¯t quite break through the concern in his eyes. ¡°Me too, girl. How are you feeling?¡±


    She let out a tense laugh.  Here goes nothing . ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll be alright. I¡¯m really sorry for running off like that. I kind of panicked. It shouldn¡¯t happen again.¡± Turning slightly to face the Rogue, who was maintaining a completely neutral face, she continued. ¡°Thanks, Hex. If you hadn¡¯t followed me¡­ You kinda saved my ass.¡±


    Hex¡¯s face changed to one of surprise, and he shifted a little, as if he did not know how to respond to being thanked. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Would hate to lose our guide through the labyrinth, and it seems a bit attached to you.¡± Cyn chuckled, this time more genuinely, as Spam glared at the Rogue and let out a croak.


    The Guardian also chuckled before his face became more serious again. ¡°You look like we will need to rest a while,¡° Cyn shook her head - she was sure they could travel at a steady pace, even with her current condition - however Scott ignored her and continued, ¡°but can you tell me what happened there? That creature was part of the Trial of Mind, and just had me answer some riddles. She was rather polite, even kind.¡±


    Cyn rubbed at her face and took a few deep breaths. Just the anticipation was raising her heart rate. After a few moments, she went on to explain what she saw as calmly as possible, along with a partial explanation of why she could see through the illusion. It wasn¡¯t perfect, and Cyn could feel herself falter at points, but she managed to keep going. As she spoke, the expressions on her party¡¯s face changed. She wasn¡¯t going into too much detail, at least compared to the detail her eyes had taken in, but it was enough to paint a picture of why she had panicked.


    Sam, who had started out looking concerned, appeared a bit green by the end.


    Dana¡¯s face became wide eyed, her lips forming a thin line as she tried to stay in control of her expression.


    Hex also tried to keep his expression neutral, but he wasn¡¯t able to stop his skin from paling as Cyn described the condition of the human torso.


    Scott¡¯s face changed the most. From serious, to alarmed, before settling on just sad about halfway through her explanation.


    When she finished speaking, electing not to talk about how close she was from running herself to death, the Guardian stood up. He then moved in front of Cyn and kneeled, taking both her hands in his. ¡°I am so sorry you had to see that, sweetheart.¡± While she was appreciative of the sympathy, Cyn was also a bit confused about Scott¡¯s reaction.  He¡¯s not¡­ horrified? Sickened? Afraid?


    The Guardian¡¯s next words made her realize why his reaction was so different from the others. ¡°First one¡¯s the hardest, in some ways. It gets better. Easier to stomach. Or maybe you just get numb. I reckon we all will be witnessing more horrors before all is said and done. Perhaps even after that.¡± The war veteran squeezed her hands. Scott had only mentioned his military service in passing once or twice since they had met, but the chasm of experience between the old soldier and his party of greenhorns shone clear in the Guardian¡¯s gentle words.


    Cyn nodded, having already come to Scott¡¯s conclusion on her own already, and pulled him into a hug. The Guardian hugged her back tightly for a brief moment before they pulled apart and he moved back to his spot across from her. Scott asked her to fill him in on how the floor started before she met Hex, and detail the experience at the Trial at Will. He had been given everyone else''s side of that particular debacle, and based on their inconsistent experiences he determined Cyn would have the most objective view of the event. Predictably, the Guardian did not seem thrilled with her refusal to defend herself from Hex, but beyond that Scott only had praise for her effort to keep everyone alive. Cyn couldn¡¯t help but preen over the praise, lifting her mood significantly.


    ¡°Now, I know everyone is eager to keep moving, but I think there''s a discussion to be had now that we are all back together again.¡± Scott¡¯s voice had shifted back to stern. Ignoring the sigh from Hex, the Guardian paused only a moment before continuing, ¡°Everyone should be coming close to class level ten. If you¡¯re not already?¡± Scott looked around a moment, everyone shaking their heads. Cyn was level nine, and based on the previous trials she would probably hit ten after the Trial of Luck. ¡°My mentor told me that we each might receive different advice about the upcoming evolution, and I think it would be prudent to share it. Especially since you ninnies have proven you don¡¯t like to share without being told to.¡±


    ¡­What? Mentor? We evolve at level ten?!


    Cyn did not have the chance to wrap her head around that bundle of information before Scott was talking again. ¡°I was told to consider what my role is, and what I want it to be. It¡¯s best to be sure of what you want before the first evolution, because you can¡¯t change your mind.¡± Dana, Sam, and Hex were nodding along, so clearly, they knew what the hell Scott was talking about.


    Why didn¡¯t she?


    ¡°The ability to kill isn¡¯t the only thing that matters. Think about what you are bringing to the table.¡± Dana filled the silence quickly, followed by Sam.


    ¡°You will have to fight sometimes, even if you don¡¯t want to. Some of us will always have to be on the front lines, but combat is not the only way to contribute after we return home.¡±


    There were a few awkward moments of silence, everyone looking at her, when Hex just stepped in and took his turn instead. ¡°Fake it till you make it. Once you know what you want, just start doing it and the System should provide.¡±


    Her turn. With everyone looking at her expectantly Cyn quietly admitted, ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about¡­¡±


    Scott spoke slowly, furrowing his eyebrows. ¡°Your mentor. Between the dungeon floors? They should have given you some advice and a guide.¡±


    These motherfuckers have a GUIDE?!  Cyn started to shake her head, then stopped.  Between¡­  Looking down, Spam was still sitting on her lap. She lifted the chubby frog up with both hands to display to her party. ¡°This is the only thing that happened to me between dungeon floors. You have a  guide ? Like, a guidebook? With information?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been useful. Just a lot of disjointed facts and history, and a way to ask questions they can¡¯t answer. It¡¯s not on your menu¡­?¡± It was Dana that responded to her, a puzzled look on the other woman''s face. Scott was just staring at the raised familiar with a frown. Cyn spared a moment to bring up her menu to double check. There was nothing there that would indicate a guide.


    ¡°No. Between floors I just met Spam. It held me hostage there until I petted it. Then it kind of¡­ forcibly came with me?¡± Spam, for its part, seemed to be ignoring the conversation and was attempting to chew off its foot. Again.


    ¡°I know I only just met this little guy, and Hex has made some¡­ questionable claims about it, but are you seriously trying to tell me it forced you to do something?¡± She saw the Rogue roll his eyes at the Guardian¡¯s incredulous tone, but Cyn found that reasonable. Spam was something that had to be experienced firsthand.


    ¡°The skill Spam gave me literally says: ¡®a magical creature has determined you are friend-shaped, whether you like it or not¡¯. So yah. I did not exactly get a say in the matter.¡±


    Scott covered his face with his hands, sighing before speaking in an exasperated tone. ¡°Alright. You didn¡¯t get a mentor. The important thing right now is, our classes should evolve for the first time at level ten. Profession at twenty-five. There are no set evolution levels after that. So just¡­ be prepared for it.¡±


    She nodded, moving Spam into the pouch on her tabard. The leather was almost entirely repaired from Hex stabbing it and, while it definitely was painful to have so much weight on an area her circulating mana had been running through, she didn¡¯t have a more comfortable place to carry the familiar easily. The party started to get up, with a clear intent to get moving. While Cyn was sure they would remain stopped if she needed to heal more, all sitting here would do was make her restless. She would just have to be in better shape before they went into another trial.


    ¡°One of us could try contacting our mentor about your missed mentor connection.¡± It was Dana who spoke. The other woman sounded more like she had before the Trial of Will, and Cyn wondered if Scott had said something, or if the Archer had realized she was being unfair.


    ¡°I mean¡­ you said yourself it wasn¡¯t particularly useful. I would like to read or hear those history bits you mentioned, though.¡±  Who doesn¡¯t like lore?


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been useful  yet , and that''s mostly because it''s mostly things Kreeble told us already. It can¡¯t hurt to try, can it? I won¡¯t be able to ask for you for god knows how long, since they take a while to respond and I already have an inquiry out.¡± Cyn would not be surprised to hear the lawyer was submitting back-to-back questions, even if none of them could be answered by her mentor.


    Scott and Hex both also had inquiries pending response. The Rogue was particularly annoyed, since he had put his out at around the same time Cyn found him stuck at the start of the floor, and his mentor had not responded. ¡®Useless bitch¡¯ was thrown out, leading the Guardian to lightly smack him in the back of the head with a scowl.


    Sam, however, seemed happy to help. ¡°I can ask for you. I haven¡¯t looked much at the guide, so it¡¯s not like I am using it for anything else.¡±


    Cyn smiled at the Warrior. ¡°As long as it¡¯s not any trouble.¡± He confirmed it was not, and after a few minutes of him fiddling with his menu, Sam declared it was done. After that, with Cyn confirming to Scott she would be alright, the party started to backtrack.


    She had run a good distance in the wrong direction, but not as far as Cyn was afraid of. Choosing directions at random while running was pretty inefficient, and Spam seemed to lead them along a direct route. The party did move slower than before, at least at first. Once she had a comfortable amount of mana, Cyn started channeling Restoration as she ran. Not for the health points, but the skill¡¯s ability to close wounds. The cauterized gouges from her excessive mana circulation ran along her arms, legs, and crossed over her chest. While Restoration was not a quick fix for those like it was with most wounds - closing them even slower than it had grown a whole new hand for Dana - it did seem faster than just letting the injuries heal on their own.


    If nothing else, it made Cyn feel like she was actually doing something about the problems she caused with her little breakdown.


    Once she had sufficiently healed herself, the party was able to speed up. Travel had been steadily getting easier, and not just because they could run longer. Scott mentioned he had not had to sleep for quite some time, or felt hungry. The ensuing conversation led to the conclusion that something about leveling up or the adaptation process had lowered their basic needs. The only time Cyn had felt tired was due to mental strain or being injured, and she could not remember the last time she felt hungry. The lack of hunger she had assumed was because she and Hex had been eating regularly, since the Rogue took every rest opportunity to work on his profession, but based on what Dana and Scott had experienced they just did not need to eat as often.


    While that was an interesting development for all of them, the mentor conversation had given Cyn a lot to think about. She wasn¡¯t salty about missing out on a mentor. Not since Dana had pointed out they hadn¡¯t been very useful. But the few points of knowledge they had provided for her party and not her now put Cyn in a bind. Scott, Hex, Sam, and Dana had had much more time to contemplate the upcoming evolution than she had.


    Cyn obviously knew at some point she was bound to evolve. It had been clearly spelled out in the descriptions of her class, profession, and race since she was first placed into adaptation. She just did not think it would be quite so soon. Without knowing how far away they were from the Trial of Luck, and her inevitable level up, the best thing Cyn could do was think about the advice the other mentors had given her party.


    Consider what my role is, and what I want it to be.  What Cyn wanted it to be was simple, and had not changed. She wanted to be a healer. As for what she was right now? A bit of a walking disaster, if she was being honest. But Cyn believed that was more due to the System not separating the idea of mage and healer. So she was both and neither, with Hubris providing just enough rope to hang herself with.


    The ability to kill isn¡¯t the only thing that matters. Think about what you are bringing to the table.  See: healer. It¡¯s not like anyone else had displayed the ability to keep themselves alive except with potions.


    You will have to fight sometimes, even if you don¡¯t want to. Some of us will always have to be on the front lines, but combat is not the only way to contribute after we return home.  Cyn had a complicated relationship already with fighting when she did not want to. But she definitely was not interested in doing anything else. Cyn did not feel those two things were contradictory. This advice just did not seem like it was for her in general, but thinking about Sam it made more sense. There was a hope for him that he could focus on his profession, and only fight when there was no other option.


    Fake it till you make it. Once you know what you want, just start doing it and the System should provide.  Hex¡¯s contribution was not news, she had already noticed her skill options and treasure was reflective of her actions. Thinking about it in terms of evolution though¡­ she had a theme, one she had recently committed even more to. And it was too late to change it before evolution. Perhaps she could mold it into something different later, but Cyn was sure whatever evolution she received would revolve around hurting herself to use skills.


    Very productive brainstorming, everyone. Let''s take a break.  Cyn could think in her old boss''s voice, at least for that line. She did not miss team meetings with Ross, and unfortunately the advice her party had been given had been about as helpful to her as Ross¡¯s meetings had been. Thankfully, it did not take too long for the party to get back on track, and they were closer to the Trial of Luck than anyone had anticipated.

 38. Lucky Break

    Less than a day later the party approached the Trial of Luck. As everyone anticipated, the trial would take place in a large, empty clearing of stone slabs. At least, that was what the arena would start out as. They had no way of knowing how it would change after they entered the space and started the trial.


    What they did not anticipate, however, was what could be seen just on the other side of the trial, through the exit opposite them. While previously the trials had exited back into the labyrinth pathways, this one appeared to have just a short path to another stone slab arena. From this distance no one would make out much of anything inside of the second arena, except that there was  some  kind of object in the center of it, but the fact there was a second one at all seemed strange. ¡®Luck¡¯ should have been the final trial.


    Stopping just on the labyrinth side of the arena threshold, the party looked at Cyn. They had already discussed that there was no way to prepare for this, other than knowing Hex had the highest luck stat. If it came down to needing to take a gamble, he would be first in line to do it. But was Cyn, who had been recently injured, ready to jump into another trial?


    Her resources had recovered, and the physical wounds had almost healed completely. The only thing that made her hesitate was the feeling that her primary mana veins were still damaged beneath the surface. Any use of Hubris to create needles or syringes felt like she was pulling glass shards through the veins instead of mana. Definitely painful and more difficult than it should be, but not impossible. Circulating mana was out of the question, Cyn did not even dare to test it. She could almost feel her internal alarms blaring just  thinking  about trying it.


    Ideally, she would allow herself to heal fully before stepping into another potentially dangerous trial. But Cyn had no idea how quickly she would recover. It could be just another few hours, or it could be days of waiting with little progress. Cyn did not want to wait, or hold anyone back. Smiling - and shoving any anxiety into the back of her mind - Cyn gave the party a thumbs up and they collectively stepped over the threshold into the Trial.


    Everyone was tense as they walked forward together, and just a few feet in the arena changed.  Is that¡­ a gumball machine?  Right in the center of the arena, a large machine had appeared. It did look freakishly like a run-of-the-mill gumball machine, at least ten feet tall and made of blue painted metal with an opaque glass sphere atop it. There was even what appeared to be a coin acceptance mechanism, although Cyn would struggle to reach it without help.


    For a few seconds they just stared. There was a level of absurdity that came from seeing something so normal looking considering their surroundings, and no one was quite prepared to handle it. The recess was broken however as a small creature peeked out from behind the machine. The party quickly took up defensive positions, ready to fight as a little golem shuffled fully into view.


    Peat Golem - Level 11


    ¡®Lucky the 34th¡¯


    A synthetic creature, created to perform simple tasks for its maker.


    This creature has a [Golemancy Bond].


    Tampering with, harming, or destroying the Peat Golem may alert the bound Awakened.


    Golemancy Bond - A bond between creator and creation. Golem is entirely dependent on the bound Awakened, and will die should the bond be broken.


    Based on her experience with Spam, Cyn could guess ¡®Lucky the 34th¡¯ was the name its creator gave the Peat Golem. The tiny construct did not even reach Cyn¡¯s knees. Made of what appeared to be a very dark brown substance - presumably peat, based on its name - and shaped into something approaching humanoid, the golem had the number thirty-four stamped into the clay of its forehead above shiny, sky-blue glass marbles that seemed intended to mimic eyes. It appeared as though the golem was once inside of a terracotta pot, or was now wearing one as ¡®clothes¡¯. Stubby legs protruded out of the bottom of the pot, and the rim of the pot went about halfway up its body. In the creature¡¯s chest was a third, larger marble, half embedded in its peat body. The third marble appeared to be some kind of azure stone, smoothed down into a rounded shape, and Cyn could see small blue veins that spread out from the marble to form a geometric design in the peat. Growing out of its head was a small, leafy green plant, looking as though it was a hat.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    As the little creature waddled closer - its stumpy legs not having proper knees to bend - the golem opened one of its mitten-like hands to reveal a single, golden coin while reaching upwards towards Scott. Since the Guardian did not seem to be relaxing Cyn spoke, ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you can see with Inspect, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a threat. I think it¡¯s trying to help?¡± She wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but the Peat Golem did not strike Cyn as dangerous. Whoever had made it, though, probably was.


    Scott slowly lowered his weapon, staring down at the approaching golem. Once it was directly in front of him the creature began to make tiny hops up and down, holding the golden coin above its head. A little cautiously, the Guardian bent and carefully plucked the coin out of the golem¡¯s hands. Without missing a beat, the golem clasped its hands together again for a brief moment before opening them to reveal yet another coin and hopping to Sam next. Hex was given a coin after Sam, and the Rogue immediately headed for the machine.


    ¡°Cute.¡± Cyn barely heard Dana mumble when taking her coin. The rest of the party wandered closer to watch what would happen when Hex used the machine, while Cyn reached for the golden coin in the Peat Golem¡¯s hands. Before she could grab it, however, Spam¡¯s black tongue shot past her hand and struck the coin. The familiars tongue stuck to the object, similar to when it had saved the potion she fumbled during the Trial of Agility, and when Spam retracted its tongue the coin ended up sitting half in its mouth.


    With a small chuckle, Cyn joined the others. The golem - who had also joined them and now stood to one side of the machine, still hopping up and down - had not offered her a second coin when Spam stole hers, but she was not concerned. Since she and the familiar were connected, a reward for either of them theoretically helped her. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure if or how Spam trying to claim the coin would affect the trial anyway.


    Cyn arrived at the gathered party in time to watch Hex pull a small, blue orb out of the machine. The Rogue pulled the orb apart, the shell coming apart in equal halves, and everyone jumped back as colorful confetti burst forth. Cyn could not get a good look at the new object that had replaced the two halves of the orb in Hex¡¯s hands, but at a glance it looked a bit like a compass. The Rogue stepped to the side, staring down at his prize with a frown.


    Scott used his coin next, the shorter man stretching a bit more than the Rogue had to reach the intake. The Guardian¡¯s orb opened with less fanfare than Hex¡¯s had, no confetti and just a small popping sound, and revealed a pole that was a little taller than himself with a solid-colored, golden flag attached to it. Since Scott had been startled by such a large object appearing suddenly out of a small orb, he did not move in time to grab it before the pole fell to the stones with a clatter. Muttering curses under his breath, Scott quickly picked up his prize and moved out of the way for Sam to take his turn.


    The Warrior did not move fast enough for Dana it seemed, and the Archer quickly moved up to take his place. Just another popping sound, and what appeared to be a small, winged statue was left in her hands. Unlike Hex and Scott, she seemed neither confused nor perturbed over her reward as she moved away. While Sam wandered forward, Cyn watched as the small statue took off from the Archer¡¯s hand. It flew around only briefly before dropping out of the air as Dana reached up to hold her head with a wince.  Interesting.


    The party seemed pretty amused by the whole ¡®trial¡¯ at this point, so when the Warrior opened his orb to find that instead of paper confetti it was filled with large snakes, he was quite shocked. Cyn recognized quickly they were just illusions, and thankfully Sam was only at the mercy of his panic for a handful of seconds before the illusions burst into very real glitter. Clearly disoriented, the Warrior picked up his actual prize - which appeared to be a small orb, only a little larger than the one that had come from the trial machine - and trudged a short distance away to brush the glitter off himself.


    Bad luck, I guess. He really needs to diversify his stats...  Spam, seeming impatient as Cyn hesitated, started making muffled gurgles and chirps around the coin in his mouth. Chuckling, she walked forward. The coin intake was a decent distance above Cyn¡¯s head, but by holding Spam up with both hands, the frog was just able to reach it for them both. Luckily, the familiar did not seem to have much trouble putting the coin in or turning the knob. After a few seconds, Cyn placing the familiar back into his pouch during the waiting time, a small orb identical to the ones she had seen everyone else receive rolled out from a little metal door and into her waiting hands.


    Open me!


    Not sure what I expected, to be honest.  Taking a deep breath and preemptively flinching back, Cyn opened the orb. The preventive flinch did not stop her from jumping when a small burst of confetti popped out, and left in her hand was a single blue seed.


    Magic-Eater Seed (Epic) - A fertile seed produced by a mature Magic-Eater.


    A semi-carnivorous plant will grow inside of any creature that consumes this seed, forming a symbiotic relationship unique to the host.


    Absolutely fucking not.  Spam thankfully did not seem interested, warbling in annoyance and repeatedly licking the machine with its long tongue. Cyn made no effort to suppress the shudder that ran through her or the grimace on her face as she stored the terrible prize in her ring.


    Within a few seconds of her opening the orb she was done with her prize, and in that time a familiar, soft chime rang through the labyrinth. Unlike previously, this time was followed by a sound much louder and deeper, more like a gong. Looking around, Cyn watched as the twisted branches and sharp thorns of the Hungering Hedge shuddered collectively before small, light green buds began to grow all over the hedge.


    The party moved back together quickly, waiting for any more changes, but it was just as though the dungeon had rapidly shifted from winter to spring. The new growth did not even cover the hedges, or have many fully opened leaves, and after a minute they started to relax again. Cyn could see that the exit into the next arena had reopened after the trial, but she had something to take care of first. A very important level up.?

 39. Power Gap

    After confirming with the party she could take the time to level up and evolve before they moved on, Cyn sat down to take a look at her menu. She wasn¡¯t sure what evolving may entail, and she did not want to end up falling on her face if it was disorienting. Before she opened up her menu, she saw Hex sit down as well, presumably also having leveled up.


    [Mage] eligible for evolution. Evolve now?


    ? [Evolve] [Wait]


    The notification took up practically all of Cyn¡¯s menu when she opened it, making it difficult to look at anything else. ¡®Wait¡¯ was also in red, seeming to indicate that it would not be a good idea to select that option. Would it prevent her from evolving at this level? Cyn was not sure, and she was not interested in finding out. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, she selected ¡®Evolve¡¯.


    Much to her surprise, Cyn was presented with a selection of options similar to her skill selection at level 5. She had assumed evolution would be out of her control.


    Arcanist - An evolved class from root Mage.


    ? The Arcanist walks the path of magic, in its purest form.


    ? This class is capable of evolving further.


    ? Arcanists will gain +4 Mind, +4 Will, and +2 free points when leveling up.


    ? [Human] - Evolutionary path altered.


    ? [Creature Handler] - Evolutionary path altered.


    ?


    ? Stat point distribution is retroactive upon evolution.


    ? Some skills may be gained, lost, or changed upon evolving. Current Skills effected by this evolution:


    ? [Mage Regeneration] [Mana Ball] [Overload]


    That one looks like a direct upgrade to Mage.  Arcanist also provided exactly double of the same stat points as Mage, reinforcing her idea that that was the direct upgrade. Cyn was relieved to find that the information on the evolution included what skills she already had that would be immediately affected by her choice. There was no information on  how  the skills would be affected, but at least she would have some idea beforehand.


    Martyr - An evolved class from root Mage.


    ? The Martyr willingly risks and sacrifices themselves, for cause or compassion.


    ? This class is capable of evolving further.


    ? Martyrs will gain +3 Vitality, +1 Mind, +3 Will, +1 Strength, and +2 free points when leveling up.


    ? [Human] - Evolutionary path altered.


    ? [Creature Handler] - Evolutionary path altered.


    ?


    ? Stat point distribution is retroactive upon evolution.


    ? Some skills may be gained, lost, or changed upon evolving. Current skills effected by this evolution:


    ? [Mage Regeneration] [Mana Ball] [Friendly Aura]


    Martyr was exactly along the lines of what Cyn expected to receive on evolving. It did not explicitly mention healing, but was closer to the idea than Arcanist. There was a significant difference in the stat distribution compared to Mage, although it made more sense with the theme of the evolved class. Vitality and strength, to assist in not dying. Cyn would lose a noticeable amount of mind with this evolution, though. On top of that, the affected skills included Friendly Aura, one of her profession skills. Not a particularly useful skill thus far, but she still found it surprising that the lines between her profession and class would start to cross this quickly.


    Occultist - An evolved class from root Mage.


    ? The Occultist seeks the forbidden and unknown, crossing barriers and pushing boundaries.


    ? This class is capable of evolving further.


    ? Occultists will gain +3 Mind, +3 Will, +2 Luck, and +2 free points when leveling up.


    ? [Human] - Evolutionary path altered.


    ? [Creature Handler] - Evolutionary path altered.


    ?


    ? Stat point distribution is retroactive upon evolution.


    ? Some skills may be gained, lost, or changed upon evolving. Current skills effected by this evolution:


    ? [Inspect] [Meditate] [Mana Ball]


    Cyn chuckled softly as she read the description of the final option evolution presented her with.  Goodbye Mana Ball, you will not be missed.  Every option would end up changing or removing the skill, so it seemed even the System was aware of how unusable it was. While Occultist was certainly an interesting option, what stood out more than anything to Cyn was the second skill that would be affected by the class evolution. Meditate. Thankfully, she was able to use Inspect on it in the class description.


    Meditate (Common) - Enter a state of rest, greatly increasing all resource regeneration while Meditate is active.


    ? Will decrease all awareness of surroundings while active.


    ? Must be sitting or lying down in order to use Meditate.


    ? You cannot move while Meditate is active.


    That was definitely not a skill she had. Or at least, she did not have before leveling up. She would have to confirm with her notifications after evolution, but Cyn suspected it was a skill she had gained at level ten in her class. She had noticed before now that being at rest would increase her resource regeneration, hopefully a skill for that specifically would make the process quicker and more efficient to recover from intense situations.


    She looked over the classes for only a minute, but ultimately, while Occultist definitely had some interesting possibilities, only one evolution called out to Cyn as a path to healer. Not allowing herself to agonize over the choices, she selected Martyr. She noticed the difference in her stat distribution immediately, the sudden infusion of vitality in particular, and a warmth spread throughout her whole body. Cyn felt as though she had lost half her health in an instant, and since she was so in tune with her resources the effect was a bit nauseating. Thankfully, it was over quickly and she could go through the pending notifications.


    Most were expected. Level ten in Mage, confirmation she had gained Meditate before evolution, followed by her choice of Martyr. Cyn dismissed those immediately in favor of looking at how her skills had changed after the evolution choice.


    Skill upgraded! Mage Regeneration (Common)(Passive) --> Martyr''s Conviction (Rare)(Passive) - With every blow, your conviction grows.


    ? The larger the gap between your health and maximum health, the faster all resources regenerate.


    ? This skill serves as an upgrade to and replacement for Mage Regeneration.


    ? Passive skill is inactive, duplicate effect found:


    ? [Boots of Near Death Experiences]


    Well. At least my strategy isn¡¯t going to get completely fucked if or when I get better boots.  Cyn agreed it would be unfair to have the duplicate effects stack, but that did not prevent wishful thinking.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Skill upgraded! Mana Ball (Common) --> Light Ball (Uncommon) - Create a sphere of Light mana.


    ? The created sphere will glow brightly.


    Even if all it did was glow, she would probably still use it more than Mana Ball. Not to mention, Cyn was eager to try out a more specialized mana type. She had suspicions that, due to her use of Hubris being initially based on Mana Ball, all of the mana she had used so far was unattuned. If she could replicate attuned mana types outside of skills, she could potentially do much more interesting things with Hubris.


    Or blow herself up. That was always a possibility.


    Skill upgraded! Friendly Aura (Common)(Passive) --> Soothing Presence (Uncommon)(Passive) - All creatures are less likely to react to your presence with hostility.


    ? Nearby creatures who are agitated will be more susceptible to calming effects.


    ? Effect will be canceled if the creature is provoked.


    Once again, she wasn¡¯t really sure about the primary function of this skill. It really seemed to only have a use if she was alone, or if for some reason the creature was inherently more hostile towards her and not her companions. It now worked on all creatures at least, and no longer included the specification for non-humanoid.  Are... are people creatures? Or does that just mean creatures with humanoid features are separate from other creatures?


    The skill had been moved from her profession to now be listed as a class skill, and Cyn was not sure if that said anything about the classification of creature. The effect of increasing susceptibility to calming effects had her checking the description of Pet. She had not noticed it previously, but the skill also did not specify non-humanoid. She could probably test if it worked on her party members, even if they were not agitated. Other creatures seemed to like Pet even if they were calm already. A thought for after she was done, since there was one more notification waiting.


    Skill selection available for [Martyr]. View options now?


    ? [View] [Wait]


    Not totally unexpected, though Cyn was not sure what she could be offered after evolution. When she selected ¡®View¡¯, a selection of four options appeared.


    Slow Fall (Common) - Use mana to decelerate when falling, allowing you to land safely from any height.


    Potentially useful, but mostly niche and uninteresting.


    Purify (Uncommon) - Use mana in an attempt to purge impurities from the body.


    ? Usable on both mental and physical afflictions.


    ? Can be used on self or others.


    ? This skill serves as an upgrade to and replacement for [Purify]


    Not a bad upgrade, if also uninteresting, but at least it felt more valid than Slow Fall after having struggled through the Trial of Will.


    Siphon (Uncommon) - Sacrifice a portion of your own health points to instantly heal others.


    ?


    Cyn was doing something similar already, although the skill was probably better than her use of Hubris syringes since it was instant and did not mention having to hurt the target to transfer the health points. Assuming the skill could be used at range.


    Mana Circulation (Epic) - Circulate mana internally, boosting all stats by 50%.


    ? Circulating mana will burn off while ability is active, draining your mana pool and doing increasing unattuned magic damage to your body.


    ? This skill is not impacted by mana-blocking in most cases.


    ? [Martyr] - Evolutionary path altered.


    Hubris did a good job of making what should be exciting skill choices unappealing. Cyn didn¡¯t think her version of Mana Circulation was as effective as the skill in terms of the boost, but it also did not burn off and drain mana. The mana just burned inside of her without being consumed, allowing for use of other mana consuming skills.


    Before making her selection, Cyn noticed there was a small ellipsis to one side, as if there were more options she could not see. When she selected it, a small list of skills appeared. She quickly realized that it was the skills she had not chosen at level five, sans Magic Missiles. Since she had already replaced Mana Ball, it made sense the other skill to replace it was no longer an option.


    With few other good options, Cyn ended up choosing Siphon. For as much work as she had put into the syringes, Siphon seemed as though it would be significantly better and easier to use if it was ranged. If not, for most situations it was probably still better than Restoration due to being instant. It was good to know she could come back later and choose a skill previously passed up if she had an especially bad skill selection, though.


    She quickly checked the objectives, finding both the ¡®reunite the party¡¯ and ¡®trials¡¯ objectives listed as complete. Rather than rewards now, though, she would be rewarded after leaving the floor. Cyn found it strange the ¡®find an exit¡¯ objective had not updated to complete, but reasoned that that one may only trigger once she actually took an exit.


    The final thing she wanted to do before leaving the menu was to spend the twenty-two free points she had accumulated. It did not take much consideration to put half of them into mind to make up for the loss Cyn experienced when evolving, and then some. Three into luck, to not leave the stat too far behind everything else. The final eight she split between vitality and agility. Vitality was more important than ever for her class, and as for agility?


    Cyn just wanted to continue to be able to keep up with everyone else, or at the very least not be totally left in the dust behind Hex.


    Satisfied and eager to do some testing, she took a final look over her stats.


    Name: Cynthia Price


    Race: [Human]


    Class: [Martyr] Level 10


    Profession: [Creature Handler] Level 8


    Health Points: 498/880


    Mana Points: 1013/1230


    Stamina Points: 570/710


    Free Points: 0


    Vitality: 88


    Mind: 54


    Will: 96


    Strength: 42


    Agility: 50


    Luck: 36


    Racial Skills: [Dimensional Translator] [Inspect] [Meditate]


    Class Skills: [Hubris] [Overload] [Soothing Presence] [Light Ball] [Martyr''s Conviction] [Soul Slip] [Mental Fortress] [Restoration] [Purify] [Siphon]


    Profession Skills: [Familiar Bond] [Pet] [Harvesting]


    Feats: [Elite Adapter] [Divine Class Prodigy]


    The difference in numbers before and after evolution was surprisingly significant. While she would have to wait for an actual fight to feel the difference fully, Cyn was sure the power gap between level nine and ten would be palpable. For a brief moment she considered what may have happened if Hex had pulled further ahead of everyone else in levels before entering the Trial of Will, and shuddered before closing her menu.


    Standing and stretching, she found Hex still appeared to be in his menu still. Since his health felt fine, Cyn assumed he was still considering his options. Spam, though, had hopped out of its pouch and looked to be trying to bully the Peat Golem. The rest of the party did not seem to have noticed, caught up in their own conversations, but the familiar had the little golem pinned on its back and was chewing on the golem¡¯s leaves. The terracotta pot the creature wore made it stuck under the frog¡¯s weight, like a turtle on its back, as it flailed its limbs helplessly.


    Quickly, Cyn used her tabard to summon Spam back to her. ¡°Dude. Seriously?¡± The familiar just grumbled in response, clearly annoyed but not enough to climb out again. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure what had gotten the frog so riled up, but now that it was no longer on the Peat Golem the creature was able to roll itself over and frantically waddle back to the machine, disappearing behind it.


    Remembering the description of the golem she waited a little anxiously for anything to happen, wondering if what Spam had done was enough to alert the creature¡¯s maker, but thankfully nothing seemed to have changed. Feeling they were probably safe, she joined the three members of her party who had wandered a distance away to be able to look into the next arena.


    ¡°I saw two different exit doors on the way here, and that¡¯s not one.¡± It was Dana who was speaking as Cyn got close, the Archer sounding annoyed and gesturing into the next arena. Cyn could see a large, intricate archway in the middle of the open area. From this distance, it appeared to be made of wood. It did not resemble the exit door that she and Hex had seen either.


    ¡°I reckon it¡¯s some kind of portal, then. Otherwise, it¡¯s a damn stupid place for an arch.¡± The Guardian¡¯s drawl did not seem to make Dana less annoyed, but before she could respond Scott saw Cyn approach and smiled. ¡°There you are. Seems like the evolution was not too dramatic?¡±


    Cyn shook her head and quickly recapped the experience for them. The fact they would probably have choices lightened the mood significantly, but before Dana could completely alleviate her annoyance Cyn asked, ¡°Can I quickly test something on you? It shouldn¡¯t hurt, I just don¡¯t know if it will work at all.¡±

 40. Roots

    The other woman narrowed her eyes at Cyn¡¯s question, but nodded after a moment, and Cyn reached out to Pet her arm. It was more of a pat, because actually petting a person is kind of awkward, and to her surprise Cyn felt the skill activate. After a few moments, Dana frowned and backed up a step. ¡°What... what are you doing?¡±


    Cyn laughed at the question, her surprise leaking into the sound. ¡°It looks like people are also classified as creatures. The skill theoretically should have a calming effect.¡±


    ¡°Well it definitely did that, and that is what made it very weird. I could feel you were doing... something.¡± Dana shook her head and continued. ¡°Don¡¯t do that again.¡±


    Cyn shrugged. She hadn¡¯t planned on doing it again, at least not without good reason. ¡°I was just testing.¡± The Archer looked even unhappier now, but there wasn¡¯t anything Cyn could do about it. Feeling Hex approach behind her, she was surprised to find the Rogue was not missing health points. His evolution must have not given any vitality.


    Turning slightly to face him, Cyn saw Hex wore a scowl. ¡°Evolution not go well?¡±


    ¡°I had to take the best potential in a suite of shitty options.¡± Cyn gave the Rogue a pat too, sans skill activation. Hex gave her a bit of side-eye, but made no comment on it.


    ¡°I have a few more skills to test, but for one of them I need someone injured.¡± There was a round of groans at Cyn¡¯s words, but ultimately Hex agreed to cut himself so she could test Siphon, in exchange for a future favor. The Rogue was not convinced that Cyn knowing more about her new skill would be a favor in itself, but he was also the only one that was not extremely averse to hurting themselves.


    Cyn was going to owe Hex quite a hefty favor, because he had to reopen the same cut multiple times for her to test the range of Siphon. The range wasn¡¯t great, only around ten feet, but ten feet was better than needing to literally touch someone. Every activation also seemed to remove the same amount of health from Cyn, a little under one-hundred points, but she was not sure how that translated to health gained on Hex¡¯s end since he was barely losing any health in the first place. There was a mana cost as well, but it was negligible. The Rogue commented that Siphon appeared to speed up wound healing, but after some discussion the party was not sure if that was because of having full health points or a function of the skill itself.


    The way the skill felt to use would be something Cyn would have to study more over time. It was entirely different from how Hubris felt when she was using it for a similar purpose, and she still had to test Light Ball before her party got too impatient about moving on. Using Light Ball felt almost identical to how Mana Ball had felt, right up until the mana was leaving Cyn¡¯s fingers.


    As the mana passed through her skin, it was as though it also went through a small pocket of something else. Normally, Cyn could feel her mana all the way from its origin in her chest to its dispersal point, wherever that may be. But when she used Light Ball, for a fraction of a second as the mana passed out of her body, the mana just vanished from her senses. For a barely discernible amount of time, it simply did not exist for Cyn. Once it was back, it took the form of a softly glowing, ephemeral golden mist before condensing into the more solid ¡®ball¡¯ shape.


    The golden, light-attuned mana still felt almost entirely like Cyn¡¯s normal mana. Almost. There was a strange distortion to her perception of the mana that she found difficult to even pinpoint. It was just... different. She would have to use the attuned mana more to get a better gasp on what was going on before Cyn could ever attempt to attune her mana using Hubris, but she had no doubt that it was possible. She just had to be able to access whatever pocket the mana was entering, and that would just take practice.


    Or, with her track record, desperation.


    Satisfied with the results of her testing, Cyn gave into the impatient stares of her party and let them know she was done for now. With no idea what to expect, they cautiously walked forward and into the next arena, keeping an eye on the central archway.


    Once everyone was inside of the arena, the most surprising thing happened. Nothing at all. The entrance behind them did not suddenly close off, nor did the apparent exit on the other side of the large, flat space. The archway remained dormant, and as they slowly wandered closer Cyn was able to confirm it was made of wood like she thought, intricately carved with symbols she did not recognize.


    One other feature of the arena stood out in comparison to the other trials, and that was the stone slabs that made up the floor. It had not been as noticeable from a distance, but there was a pattern to them here. In the previous trials, the floor had been fairly uniform. Four-foot square, gray slabs - which turned out to actually be cubes - for the Trial of Agility, Will, Mind, and Luck. Similar slabs with deep grooves carved into them for the Trial of Vitality, which turned into an obsidian material once Cyn and Hex joined the trial. Dana had not mentioned the floor of the Trial of Strength, except for the large hole that had opened up, but Cyn assumed it was probably much the same.


    The arena around the archway, however, used significantly smaller and unevenly shaped paving stones. It gave an almost tiled appearance, the effect increased by the patterns of off-colored pavers that wove through the standard gray. Cyn was attempting to discern any recognizable shape out of the patterns as the party approached the archway, when a portion of the off-colored pavers began to glow purple.


    The party quickly retreated, and within a single heartbeat the glowing had stopped. Nothing else changed around the arena, and after a few moments Scott told them to stay back while he inched forward again. The Guardian was not able to trigger the glow a second time. Scott beckoned them forward, and being near the rear Cyn was able to catch the moment the glowing began again.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Looking down at the paving stones as the party walked forward, Cyn saw Hex¡¯s bare foot pass over one of the off-colored strips, and as soon as the Rogue made contact with the ground on the other side the pattern began to glow again.  Purple... like his cloak.  The party froze this time instead of backing up, and she was able to more clearly see the pattern now that it was glowing.


    The fact Cyn was not able to easily make out a pattern beforehand made more sense now that one portion was glowing. It was not as though just a single section of the arena was glowing purple, instead there were still non-glowing stones passing over and through the lit portions. The patterns were overlapping. There was a large amount of branching embellishment of the pattern too, twisting around the entire arena, but the main portion formed a clear image of a pair of crossed daggers. Hex had stepped into the image of the weapons, and that appeared to have triggered the glow.


    While Cyn was studying the glowing stones, Dana had moved away. ¡°Sam, over here. I think I can make out a sword.¡± The Warrior jogged after her, and the Archer was proved correct as more of the floor lit up crimson. The rest of the party quickly spread out to find their own positions, and in less than a minute Scott was the final member stepping into his sigil, a golden guardian¡¯s shield blazing to life under his feet.


    Once the party had ignited all of the sigils, a pentagon formed around the archway with each side of the shape having a separate color, predicably matching both the cloaks each of them wore and the sigils they had lit. The entire pattern shone throughout the stone arena in a bright, chromatic display for a few moments before the colors seemed to flow across the paving stones towards the archway, the tide of color leaving dull paving stones in its wake. As the light entered the wooden arch, the symbols Cyn had seen carved into the structure began to glow white from within.


    It only took a handful of seconds for the sigils on the ground to empty their light into the archway, and the symbols in the wood only shone for a few seconds longer before going dark. The party was not left without results, however. Where Cyn could once see through the wooden arch, she now instead was looking at a silvery, iridescent surface. If she had to imagine what a portal to another world would look like, this was it.


    Scott snorted softly. ¡°How dramatic.¡± The Guardian began to walk towards the portal, and the rest of the party seemed to take that as their cue to do the same. ¡°Think we just walk on through?¡± There was a collective shrug in response to his question, but before Scott could say anything further, Hex took the last few steps into the archway and vanished. Not even stopping to think about it, Cyn followed after the Rogue. As she stepped into the portal, she could hear Scott begin to curse colorfully behind her.


    The portal felt inexplicably wet as she passed through, although it did not leave any residue on her skin or clothes. It also did not give her the nausea or feeling of movement that she had experienced when the System moved her between the dungeon floors. Cyn bumped directly into the Rogue¡¯s back on the other side, and - while muttering some curses of her own - she pushed Hex out of the way of the portal while getting a look around them.


    The room they had ended up in was not very large - less than thirty feet across - and, after spending so much time under the open sky again after the mineshaft, the effect was almost claustrophobic. Not helping the feeling of close quarters was the creature that looked to be waiting for them, who took up a not-insignificant amount of the available space.


    Hekaton - Level ??


    The hekaton was definitely a humanoid, nearly twice Cyn¡¯s height and with human-like proportions. Other than the height, what really stood out was the multitude of arms Cyn could see sprouting from the creature¡¯s torso and back, along with the deep blue color of her skin. Cyn was guessing the creature was female based on a human standard of feminine features, but it was all she had to work with. The hekaton at least did not appear to be threatening them for the moment, just lounging in a suitably sized chair while being surrounded by what appeared to be multiple high-tech computer systems and a large number of potted plants. She could feel that Spam was nervous about the hekaton, although that was also obvious by the fact it was barely peeking out of its pouch now and was completely silent. The familiar was not making any kind of warning croak, so she assumed that for the moment the party was not in direct danger.


    It had only taken Cyn a few moments to observe the creature and room while pushing a tense Hex to the side, and the instant she was out of the way Scott stepped through the portal behind them. The Guardian quickly closed the gap between himself and the pair that entered first, smacking them both roughly on the back of the head. It hurt, but the effect was not nearly as detrimental as the first time Scott had smacked Hex, based on his lack of health loss. ¡°The hell were you two thinking? Don¡¯t answer that, you w...¡± Scott¡¯s annoyed lecture cut off abruptly as he seemed to finally take stock of the room they ended up in, most importantly that they were not alone.


    The hekaton let out a mirthful laugh as the Warrior and Archer filed into the room directly behind Scott. ¡°Are you not used to wrangling your party yet, Guardian? I would suggest a leash for the Rogue, at least until he learns better.¡± Hex scoffed at the idea, causing Cyn and Sam to join in on the laughter. The small interaction eased the tension in the room greatly, and since she did not detect any illusions or attempts at mental influence Cyn felt as though the hekaton was not a threat to them. At least not directly. It would still probably be a bad idea to piss her off, since Cyn could not see her level.


    Scott¡¯s sighed and slumped his shoulders, before jerking a thumb at Cyn. ¡°Any suggestions about wrangling her?¡± Cyn choked on her laugh, but before she could object everyone else was laughing even harder. Even Scott had cracked a wry smile.


    ¡°Mages are unpredictable. Sometimes a leash works, sometimes they just set it on fire. I don¡¯t think a leash will work for this one, from what data she has provided over the course of the trials she seems the type that would chew her own arm off in protest.¡± It had taken the hekaton a minute to recover from laughing before she answered, wiping tears from mercury-colored eyes.  Hey, I resemble that remark! Wait, data?


    ¡°Figured as much. Now, if you don¡¯t mind miss, can you tell me where we are?¡±


    The hekaton, who was smiling warmly, spread out her multitude of arms at the Guardian¡¯s question. ¡°Congratulations, newly Awakened. You have successfully reached the center of the Hungering Labyrinth.¡±

 41. Araphassa’s Labyrinth

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s some damn good news. How do we...¡±


    Cyn stepped forward and quickly cut off Scott¡¯s question to the hekaton, needing to urgently clarify something the multi-armed woman had said. ¡°Wait, you know we are newly Awakened?¡±


    The hekaton¡¯s smile did not waver. ¡°Technically, no. It was a  very  educated guess, but thank you for confirming it. I hope this data ends up being transmitted to my current self properly, regardless of the System hijacking and altering my dungeon. Being able to see this much information on Awakened who are only partly adapted...¡± She clapped a few pairs of hands, clearly delighted. ¡°It¡¯s unprecedented!¡±


    Nerds still exist, I suppose that¡¯s a good thing. Current self...?  Before Cyn could question further about what the hekaton meant, Dana cut in. ¡°What kind of data are you collecting?¡± After a brief pause, the Archer seemed to realize her question could be taken as hostile and continued in a more polite tone, ¡°And what should we call you?¡±


    ¡°I do not have more chairs, but please, sit a moment. I am a soul impression of Araphassa, Knight of the Bulwark. I created this dungeon as a kind of training course for young Awakened, especially those who may be unsure of their role.¡± Araphassa paused, waiting for the party to cautiously settle themselves onto the ground in front of her. Over the course of the next hour, the hekaton attempted to explain as much as she could to the party.


    She explained that the data being collected was primarily about their actions and comfort while acting within their class expectations. The dungeon was created to help young Awakened who had only recently chosen a class become comfortable - both with themselves and working as a team - before going out into the wider dimensions where they would likely get killed for what Araphassa saw as simple, childish mistakes. She had gone to great lengths with the labyrinth¡¯s creation to try and reduce the widespread loss of life that happened in early levels that many in the Collective considered inevitable. The hekaton took her root class role as a Guardian quite seriously, and that dedication to protecting others extended beyond combat she was directly involved with. Knowing Araphassa had started out in the same class Scott made their banter make more sense, even if Cyn was not eager to be put on a leash.


    The Hungering Labyrinth, at least the one Cyn¡¯s party ended up in, had been made significantly more deadly by the System than it was originally created to be. Only ¡®exceptionally stupid¡¯ Awakened should be in danger within the dungeon in its creator¡¯s opinion. Or those who had cheated. But with the System¡¯s interference, every trial came with high risk of death and even the Hungering Hedges themselves had been altered to be more aggressive. This was compensated for by the inclusion of reward chests for each trial, rather than the singular, final reward that was designed by Araphassa. When Cyn asked what constituted cheating, since they had triggered a cheater warning, Araphassa explained there was a whole set of rules that ultimately did not matter in this case. For the Trial of Vitality, they had cheated both by entering a trial in progress and by destroying the Hungering Hedge to get in.


    The hekaton went on to explain the three known types of dungeons. The first was Awakened-made, like the original Hungering Labyrinth. Depending on the size and complexity of the desired dungeon, they did not even take that much power to create. They were simply pocket dimensions that could be ¡®reset¡¯ once all Awakened left or a trigger was activated. Incorporating rewards was the most intensive part, due to System limitations, and the ability to create a soul impression was very rare.


    The soul impression of Araphassa the party was speaking to was, functionally, a snapshot of the hekaton in the exact moment in time it was made. That limited copy of the true Araphassa was bound to the dungeon entirely, but allowed for much more complex interactions and active adaptation of the dungeon for the Awakened within. At least normally. While the hekaton they were speaking to was able to see the collected data, she was not able to dictate any events or take direct action in adapting the dungeon due to the System taking over all control. The Hungering Labyrinth the party found themselves in was actually the second type of dungeon, an Awakened creation that was copied by the System and altered. Instances of this kind of dungeon were quite rare, but not entirely unheard of.


    The third, and most common dungeon was entirely System made. Some appeared as completely fabricated scenarios, but most of the time System-created dungeons were encapsulated moments in time. Events, places, and people who all had existed at one point. What the Awakened did within the dungeon often had little to nothing to do with what had actually happened, and since it was all within a pocket dimension it had no effect on the greater collective of dimensions. They were seen purely as sources of experience, and to a lesser extent, loot. Two of the most important resources to every Awakened.


    Araphassa tried to explain more about dungeons, appearing to genuinely enjoy teaching, but started to stumble over her words before going silent. The hekaton¡¯s silver eyes became unfocused for a few seconds before she shuddered violently. ¡°Ah... too much. I am surprised I was allowed to ramble for as long as I did.¡±


    No one in the party was surprised, since they had already heard about the System limiting interference and information given to them from Kreeble in Cogtopia. They stood and stretched one by one, letting Scott take the lead on speaking since the Guardian seemed the most inclined to politeness. ¡°We appreciate the lesson, ma¡¯am, and it was a delight meeting you. I think it¡¯s best we move on, though, if this dungeon is over.¡±


    The hekaton¡¯s smile was a little more strained than before, and her face more tired, but Araphassa still sounded pleased as she stood up and moved for the computers that lined the room. ¡°It was my pleasure. Allow me to open up the dungeon exit, so you can receive credit for finding the center.¡± Multiple sets of hands rapidly moved across the screens, but after a few moments they went still. ¡°Unless, of course, you are interested in an optional trial? It will require all of you to activate.¡±


    Looking around at her party, there was a clear hesitation in the faces Cyn expected. It was a little disappointing, because she was very interested in a final trial. When no one immediately spoke up to decline, she glimpsed Hex straighten beside her before he spoke. ¡°We have an objective for it. It just appeared.¡± He looked around at them all with a raised eyebrow, the Rogue¡¯s lips twitching into a small smirk when Cyn nodded and stepped closer to him. She turned her own pleading gaze to the trio, causing Scott to sigh and rub his face with one hand.


    ¡°How dangerous is it?¡±


    Araphassa had already turned to watch their exchange, and gave the Guardian a small shrug in response to his question. ¡°I presume as dangerous as the rest of this dungeon has been. I cannot tell you exactly what you would even face, because of your unique position as newly Awakened.¡± She paused a heartbeat before adding, ¡°But I can tell you that if you never push your limits, you will never grow. And those who do not grow tend to live very short lives.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Dana moved to join Hex and Cyn before the hekaton had finished speaking, to Cyn¡¯s surprise. When the Archer spoke, it was directed at the two who were still hesitating. ¡°As long as there isn¡¯t a direct reason we should refrain, I think we should do this trial too. The stronger we are, the better off we will be for whatever happens when this dungeon is complete.¡±


    I wonder what made her change her mind about leaving quickly.  It only took a few moments for the Guardian and Warrior to give in, agreeing with Dana¡¯s logic on the matter. Seeming pleased, the hekaton clapped a few hands before returning to using the computers. To one side of the room, near where the portal was, a wall panel began to slide to the side to reveal a short hallway. ¡°This trial had the potential to be lethal even within my own designs, and I do not know how the System may have tampered with it. But if you place your faith in one another, I think you will do just fine.¡± Araphassa waved multiple hands with a smile as the party waved goodbye and spoke their thanks as they made their way to the hallway.


    The door back to the hekaton closed almost as soon as everyone was inside the short hallway, and with no other choices available they moved forward. It exited back outside into an arena similar to the previous trials, with the primary difference being two sets of clear sigils carved into the stone floor, and a lack of exit opposite them. The first set of sigils were evenly spaced apart near the party at the entrance, and resembled the class sigils they had lit up to activate the portal to the center of the labyrinth. Instead of being made out of off-colored pavers, this time the carved sigils looked to be lined with colored paint and Cyn guessed that they would probably light up when activated. The second set of sigils looked identical, but were closer to the other side of the trial arena.


    After agreeing they were ready, the party stepped into the final trial. Predictably, the opening to the hallway and center of the labyrinth closed behind them. When there were no other changes however, they carefully made their way to the sigils. Just as Cyn expected, the moment she stepped onto the intricate sigil shaped like a staff, it began to glow sky blue. The sigil opposite her, in the second set, also began to glow. Scott chose to wait a few moments for everyone else, before the Guardian took the last step to once again become the final sigil to be activated. To his left was Sam, followed by Dana, and to his right stood Hex and Cyn on their respective sigils.


    On activation of all five root class sigils, the second set across from the party began to glow brighter, becoming nearly blinding. Cyn shielded her eyes for a few seconds, before taking a peek at what awaited them once the glowing began to fade. Across from her, standing on the sigil opposite, Cyn saw an illusion. It was much easier to detect now that she knew what to look for, but that did not make seeing a mirror image of herself any less startling. Like with the Cadaverous Puppet Bloom, there was something else very real underneath the illusion she could make out, appearing like a featureless mannequin.


    Human - Level 18


    Fuzzy. False. The Inspect result was also easier for Cyn to separate than it had been the first time.


    Doppel - Level 18 (?)


    A golem capable of limited mimicry and illusion magic.


    This creature has a [Golemancy Bond].


    Tampering with, harming, or destroying the Doppel may alert the bound Awakened.


    There were four other Doppel¡¯s, one appearing to mimic each of Cyn¡¯s party members. One of the creatures, illusioned as Hex, had the highest level at twenty-two. The others were between seventeen and nineteen.  No Spam that I can see.  The illusion of Cyn had the same gear she was wearing, but the chest pouch on the tabard was empty. Cyn did not get more time to ponder about that before the Doppel¡¯s attacked in sync.


    The party had been waiting for an indication that the trial had started, not entirely sure what they were supposed to do, so none of them were prepared for the ferocity of the attacking illusions. The mage Doppel across from Cyn raised one hand as a faintly glowing sheen passed over its illusionary skin, and she saw a half dozen small sparks of mana appear near the Doppel¡¯s raised hand. Out of the corner of her eye, Cyn saw Scott intercept the warrior Doppel as it attempted to charge past the Guardian, either towards Hex or herself. Scott was pushed back a short distance, but was just barely able to remain on his feet as the Doppel hit his shield head on.


    Cyn no longer saw the rogue Doppel or Hex, but she did not have time to be concerned about it as the mage sent the sparks of mana flying in her direction. The guardian Doppel was also charging towards her, but the creature¡¯s speed was low enough that Cyn was forced to be more concerned about the magic. Just before the high-speed magic sparks made impact, Cyn used Soul Slip to take herself to Sam¡¯s position. She would have preferred to target Dana with the skill, but the Archer was not in range on the opposite side of the arena.


    One of the sparks just barely grazed Cyn¡¯s cheek as Soul Slip activated, slicing open a thin line of flesh as if she had been struck by razor wire. The wound was minor and easily ignorable as she found herself near to where the Warrior¡¯s sigil was, Sam¡¯s charge towards the warrior Doppel forcing her to turn around to find out where he was. Spinning back towards her previous position allowed Cyn to see the sparks that she had tried to avoid with Soul Slip make a sharp turn back towards her.  Must be Magic Missiles.


    No one was badly hurt, at least not yet. Cyn could feel Dana somewhere behind her, and Hex was somewhere to one side just out of her vision. If it was not for the Doppel mage, grouping up would probably be the best option for the party. She had not seen the rogue or archer Doppel since they started attacking, but with the other three seemingly intent on targeting her out of the gate Cyn had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach she would probably be the target of the missing creatures as well.


    Before she could come up with a solution to the sparks intent on trailing her, Cyn¡¯s vision went dark.

 42. Not Exactly Copies

    It was instantly disorienting, but the darkness that suddenly covered Cyn¡¯s eyes was not entirely solid. It was as if a thick smoke or black cloud had taken up residence in front of her face. Regardless of what it was, the effect was the same. Cyn could just barely discern a difference in light levels in the direction she looked, and was otherwise completely blind. She knew there was only a few precious seconds to orient herself before the magic missiles would hit, but before she could even get her bearings she felt a warning vibrate through her mental connection to Spam.


    Acting on instinct before even fully registering what the familiar was trying to communicate, Cyn threw herself backwards as the frog¡¯s warning audibly echoed with a croak. She had only a fraction of a second to lament her poor choice of direction as her mind finished processing the warning, before she found herself impaled on a pair of partially raised daggers. When throwing herself backwards, Cyn had assumed whatever the threat was would be coming from in front of her.


    Luckily, the Doppel rogue was also unprepared to have its target move towards it midway through an attempted assassination. Instead of the intended strike to her head and neck, one dagger became buried in one of Cyn¡¯s shoulders, while the other carved a long line across her back. Cyn¡¯s momentum also sent the pair of them tumbling backwards towards the ground. As they collided, she drew her own dagger and blindly attempted to stab at the Doppel behind her. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure if she struck it or not, as by the time she hit the ground the Doppel had disappeared entirely, the dagger in her shoulder along with it. Blooddrinker was no longer in her hand, though, and still blinded she had no hope of finding it.


    Mentally locking onto Scott, Cyn used Soul Slip again. ¡°I can¡¯t see!¡± She blurted out the words the instant her Soul Slip ended, leading to a string of curses from the Guardian to join in on the sounds of metal striking metal. She had no idea where the magic missiles were, and based on the sounds she assumed Scott was still fighting the Doppel warrior and possibly the Doppel guardian, but she seriously needed someone else to help since the Doppels were ganging up on her and she was now blinded.


    The best thing Cyn thought she could do with her current predicament was to stand as still as possible now that she was near a few members of her party again. Just until her vison returned. She felt like a sitting duck, but with her mental awareness of everyone¡¯s position and health she was not totally useless. Her own injuries were not serious, at least not in Cyn¡¯s opinion, and when she felt Sam take a large blow to his health beside her she did not hesitate to start freely making use of her new skill, Siphon.


    Focusing on how the skill felt again wasn¡¯t an option, but at least Cyn was able to determine that her party almost certainly had less raw health than she did as the Warrior and Guardian took damage she suspected may have been intended for her. Cyn did not know exactly how much health anyone had, but based on how her perception of them changed as she repeatedly healed both the pair of them. It felt like she was giving them more health than she was sacrificing. Since that did not make sense to her, and they had not evolved, Cyn assumed they just had a smaller health pool.


    As Sam roughly picked her up and moved her a short distance, the Warrior losing some health in the process, a kill notification popped up. Unsurprisingly, the System interface could still be ¡®seen¡¯, despite her inability to see anything else. Cyn quickly dismissed it, since she was not sure what Doppel it was for. She only knew it was not the one that was mimicking Hex, since that creature had the highest level of them. Becoming steadily more annoyed by her blindness, Cyn tried to summon a Light Ball right in front of her face. Her logic was a bit of a stretch, but Light mana should, theoretically, banish darkness. To her genuine surprise, it worked. The soft golden glow quickly cut through the cloud over her vision, and Cyn had to dismiss the Light Ball before the glow burned into her eyes to blind her in a different way.


    ¡°Focus! Work together to bring them down one at a time!¡±  Still trying to get her bearings now that she could see again, the sound of the Guardian¡¯s power-filled voice bellowing over the arena made Cyn flinch. It wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as listening to the Cadaverous Puppet Bloom, but her passive skill made any kind of mind magic uncomfortable to experience. Even when it was ¡®friendly¡¯ and did not affect her.


    Looking towards Scott, Cyn saw him standing over the corpse of the guardian Doppel, the flagpole he was rewarded with in the Trial of Luck jammed into the body and standing upright without Scott¡¯s support. Thankfully, the Doppel¡¯s mannequin appearance did not make the scene too grotesque, although the dark ichor that was leeching out of its wounds would probably become nauseating if Cyn spent too much time looking at it. The golden flag itself had a glowing white shield symbol on it. Before Cyn could see much else happening, Sam had picked her up again to deposit her near the flag, the object feeling like it was putting off a pleasant warmth.


    ¡°I¡¯m good, worry about yourself.¡± Sam hesitated at Cyn¡¯s words, but quickly nodded and took up a defensive position beside her, with Scott on her other side. The Warrior found himself almost immediately grappling with the mirror image of himself, the creature choosing to use the sword Sam had long abandoned. The Guardian was focused on using his shield to deflect the steady stream of Magic Missiles and arrows coming their way.


    To one side, barely within Soul Slip range, Cyn could feel both Dana and Hex only taking small chunks of damage. Since the pair seemed safe enough for the moment, she instead focused on continuing to support Sam and Scott. Outside of keeping Sam healthy, her options were limited in relation to the warrior Doppel. He was fighting too viciously with Sam for Cyn to get a good hit in without risking injuring or getting in the way of her party member. Instead, she chose to start creating and using small mana needles to intercept the Magic Missiles. They were a little hard to aim for, but being able to take out a few before they reached the Guardian helped tremendously as Scott was able to maneuver himself to pincer the warrior Doppel between himself and Sam.


    Cyn heard an explosion go off in the direction of the Archer and Rogue, Hex taking a significant chunk of his health points in damage and a kill notification appearing, but all of those things were drowned out by her familiar¡¯s warning croaking through her mind. This time, she took the fraction of a second to actually absorb what Spam was warning her about before once again trying to dodge backwards. The rogue Doppel did not blind her this time, and had also chosen to attack from the front. That meant Cyn was able to watch the air in front of her ripple, the Doppel materializing with daggers raised as she hopped backwards. Her movement did not interrupt the attempted assassination, throwing the Doppel off balance as its daggers slammed downward onto empty air and causing it to stumble.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    As the Doppel stumbled, Cyn caught sight of Blooddrinker. The dagger was glowing red, embedded into the ribs of her attacker.  Is it just too stupid to remove it, or is there another reason? Surely it would have fallen out on its own? Or not, since it¡¯s actual body is not flesh. I think.  Before Cyn could take any further action against the Doppel, Spam launched itself out of her pouch and landed on the creature¡¯s shoulder. With a second ripple of air, both vanished.


    The pain was instantaneous, almost bringing Cyn to her knees. Her connection to Spam did not feel stretched, but instead warped or twisted, like a joint forced to bend in the wrong direction. Based on the mental screeching coming through their connection, she had no doubt the bubblegum-pink familiar, wherever it was, was feeling the same pain. Thankfully the agony was fading rapidly as their familiar bond adapted. It only took a few seconds for Cyn to be able to think clearly again, and for Spam¡¯s emotions to shift from pain to annoyance. She tried to activate her Tabard of Small Familiars to bring Spam back to her, but it failed. The frog felt like it was simultaneously not far away at all, and unfathomably distant.


    As she was still recovering, the Doppel mage took advantage. Cyn was struck by a pair of Magic Missiles, doing significant damage to her health. Gritting her teeth, she managed to intercept the next pair with needles before they hit her. Unable to do anything more about the vanished Spam, and concerned about Hex, Cyn shoved the lingering pain aside and used Soul Slip to move to the injured Rogue.


    ¡°... hit you! How the hell was I supposed to anticipate you getting in the way?!¡± Cyn almost collided with Dana mid-rant as the Archer helped Hex off the ground. She quickly used Siphon twice on the Rogue before channeling Restoration on herself. Her health was not too low, but between the vanishing Doppel and the one slinging Magic Missiles Cyn felt like she should keep her health in a safe zone.


    ¡°Hate each other later.¡± Cyn quickly interrupted before Hex could respond like he clearly wanted to, the Rogue instead silently scowling and yanking his arm out of Dana¡¯s hand once he was on his feet. He looked like he had been through hell, even having a few arrows sticking out of him. Cyn could guess he had been hit, or at least clipped, by one of Dana¡¯s explosive arrows meant for the archer Doppel. Regardless, now was not the time to fight about it.


    As a third kill notification appeared, Cyn turned to survey the arena. Scott and Sam had clearly finished off the warrior Doppel they had been fighting, and were now charging at the mage Doppel. Cyn saw movement to one side, and after turning her head and staring a heartbeat she caught sight of the final enemy, the missing rogue Doppel. The creature was flickering in and out of sight erratically, looking like an animation missing a significant portion of its frames. It did not appear to be aiming at anyone for the moment, and instead looked to be grabbing all over its body. Trying to grab or dislodge Spam, presumably. Cyn did not know exactly what her familiar was doing, but it made a good distraction.


    Dana and Hex were already running to join the others, and Cyn chose to run behind them instead of using Soul Slip again. She did not want to accidentally end up in the way as the Warrior and Guardian moved in sync, remaining close together. The Archer and Rogue quickly pulled well ahead of her.


    Oh, that¡¯s just unfair.  As Cyn watched, Sam managed to grip the Doppel in a bear hug from behind as the creature was dodging the Guardian. Before either could take advantage of the position, the Doppel appeared to blur. It was only for a fraction of a second, but whatever skill it used allowed it to slip easily out of the Warrior¡¯s grip. The Doppel managed to create some distance from the pair as they recovered from the confusion of having the creature get away from them so easily, but its freedom was short-lived.


    With a sudden burst of speed, Hex closed the gap between himself and the mage Doppel. Before it could react to his presence, the Rogue struck. However, instead of becoming embedded into the creature¡¯s body, when Hex¡¯s daggers made contact with its skin they were deflected and the sheen that covered the Doppel appeared to shatter. Hex did not hesitate when his first attack failed, following up with a second, more vicious attempt as his target tried to pull away.


    The Rogue¡¯s second strike made contact before the Doppel could mount another defense, both daggers slicing through its neck and nearly decapitating it. Cyn flinched lightly as the image of herself crumpled, the illusion flickering before disappearing completely as a fourth kill notification confirmed its demise.


    ¡°Is that it?¡± Dana looked around cautiously as the party moved closer together.


    ¡°Obviously not. There was no bell.¡± Hex¡¯s statement was flat, but Cyn wasn¡¯t sure he was actually  trying  to be rude to the Archer. His tone made Dana scowl, but she did not comment on it as the Rogue wiped off his blades and looked around the arena too.


    Cyn did not see the rogue Doppel that had been flickering earlier, but it was definitely still around somewhere. ¡°Your Doppel is still alive, Hex. It keeps disappearing, then coming back for a few seconds to try and stab me.¡±


    Hex cocked his head to the side, but did not look directly at her as he continued to scan around them. ¡°Like... going invisible?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Spam is with the Doppel, distracting it I think, and it feels...¡± Cyn hesitated, trying to find the right words. ¡°It feels like Spam is both really far away and nearby at the same time. I really don¡¯t know.¡± The Rogue frowned at her words, looking puzzled, but as he opened his mouth to speak again, he was interrupted by Sam.


    ¡°There!¡± Cyn and Hex twisted in time to see Sam point briefly, before the Warrior charged. Following his indication, she could see the missing Doppel near the Hungering Hedges, as far from the party as it could possibly get. It was no longer flickering, and instead was standing almost completely still before grabbing at its side with a blur of speed. Directly where the clearly visible, bubblegum-pink frog could be seen.


    Cyn watched in horror as the rogue Doppel managed to roughly grab ahold of Spam in one hand while the familiar was dangling from the creature¡¯s side, hanging on to the hilt of Blooddrinker with its mouth. The Doppel¡¯s second hand held a dagger, rapidly moving towards the familiar. With the pair currently able to be seen, and much too far away to do anything else in time, Cyn desperately tried to activate her tabard again before the weapon could make contact.

 43. Teambuilding 101

    A sharp crack echoed through the air, accompanied by a bright flash of crimson light and a final kill notification. The familiar chime of a completed trial rang in Cyn¡¯s ears as she briefly covered her eyes to protect them from the flash. Once she could see again, she was able to make out the lightly smoking corpse of the rogue Doppel on the ground near the edge of the arena, a series of deep cracks branching out along its skin. The wounds still glowed softly - though that was fading very quickly - and originated from the location Blooddrinker had been embedded into the creature.


    Blooddrinker (Epic)(Soulbound) - This weapon will feed on the blood of any creature it is used on to temporarily empower itself.


    ? If left in a wound it will continue to feed until removed, doing increasing bleed damage. If Blooddrinker is permitted to feed long enough, it will create a burst of unattuned magic damage on removal.


    ? If feeding from its wielder, Blooddrinker will return a portion of the damage dealt in the form of healing when removed, instead of doing additional magic damage.


    Recalling the weapon¡¯s description, she had forgotten until that moment that the weapon would cause extra damage if left in long enough. The dark ichor that oozed from the golem¡¯s wounds did not resemble blood, but Cyn reasoned Blooddrinker must be using the term pretty loosely. Since no one else had even had a chance to attack the vanishing Doppel, it was pure luck that her own single strike, and Spam¡¯s removal of the weapon, was ultimately enough to bring it down. The three-eyed frog had the still-glowing dagger gripped in its mouth, now safe in her tabard pouch. To Cyn¡¯s eyes, it seemed proud of itself. She was just relieved it appeared mostly unharmed, Petting the familiar as she took back the weapon.


    While the trial did not seem to provide direct rewards - much to everyone¡¯s disappointment - and the weapons the Doppel¡¯s used were just copies of their original class weapons, a new, fancy-looking door had popped into existence at what was previously the entrance to the arena. Not ready to move on quite yet, the party settled down together near the doorway to recover and, for three of them, evolve. She had not even leveled up on the trial¡¯s completion, but even though it was also a bit disappointing Cyn was not surprised. With the stats boost she received now for each level, it made sense to her that it would be harder to keep leveling. Once Cyn was satisfied with everyone¡¯s health, she sat down and took advantage of the skill she had received earlier but not used yet. Meditate.


    The skill did not seem to activate unless her eyes were also closed, and once it did she stopped being able to hear the soft noises of her party around her, or even the sounds of Spam in her tabard. She could feel the hard ground below her, and decided she would probably pull out her bedroll next time to sit on. While Meditate definitely cut off her physical senses almost entirely, her mental senses were not dampened at all. She could still feel everyone¡¯s health and location relative to her, and her connection to her familiar.


    Cyn knew this would give her a distinct advantage, at least for now. The downside of Meditate was supposed to be a decrease in awareness, making it risky to use in dangerous locations, but as long as Spam paid attention while Cyn was Meditating, it would completely negate the associated risks. She found the whole experience pleasantly relaxing, and chose to remain in that state until Hex tapped her shoulder, her resources long restored.


    ¡°Hey, you hungry?¡± Cyn nodded quickly to his question, stretching the stiffness in her limbs away. She must have been sitting for some time to feel stiff, and she did feel a little hungry. Cyn had felt the health of Dana, Sam, and Scott drop after choosing their evolutions, but she had also lost track of time and was not sure how long ago that was.  Hope they were not waiting on me, and needed some rest too.


    Everyone else was already eating a mystery soup, courtesy of the Rogue. Since they looked refreshed, she assumed they had also been resting a while. As Cyn started on her own bowl, Scott steered their conversation towards what everyone¡¯s evolution had been. ¡°We need to talk about how our classes evolved. All of you have proven pretty well you don¡¯t need my direct protection,¡± Scratching the back of his head, the old man sighed before continuing, ¡°And that¡¯s likely for the best. I¡¯m a bit shit at it. My evolved class, Standard-Bearer, looks like more of a support. Giving y¡¯all buffs and the like. While I still have the shield though,  you ,¡± Scott pointed at Cyn, ¡°Should try and stay behind me. Every time I turn around you¡¯ve wandered off directly into danger, killing yourself all the while.¡±


    While knowing that Scott¡¯s role in their party had shifted was good information, Cyn felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment under the scolding. ¡°Well, ¡®killing myself¡¯ is kind of my whole class now. I¡¯m a Martyr. Plus, I have more health than you do. At least I did, until you evolved. I¡¯m not sure now.¡± Scott dropped his head into his hands with a groan in response, causing Hex to laugh and volunteer his own class.


    ¡°If you thought I ran off too much before, I evolved into a ¡®Seeker¡¯. Not ideal, but the description sounded a bit like a treasure hunter and it was better than the other offers I got.¡± Scott¡¯s second groan was clearly exaggerated, making the rest of the party join in with Hex¡¯s laughter.


    Dana spoke through chuckles as the noise died down, ¡°Tactician. Exactly what it sounds like. I am sure everyone is relieved I decided to pass up the opportunity to become a Demolitionist, considering my track record with explosives.¡±


    Hex did actually look a little relieved at Dana¡¯s words. Honestly, Cyn thought the other woman had been pretty effective with her explosives, just needing to work on not damaging herself or allies, but it wasn¡¯t her place to judge anyone else¡¯s choices in evolution. With everyone looking at him for the final evolution, Sam just shrugged awkwardly. ¡°Berserker. Not really a change I guess.¡±


    Scott patted the Berserker on the back. ¡°Ey, if it ain¡¯t broke, don¡¯t fix it. You¡¯re doing fine, boy.¡± Sam smiled slightly at the encouragement, and with that out of the way the party broke into smaller, more casual conversations until Scott stood and announced that if everyone was ready, it was time to go.


    Fully recovered, full of food, and in high spirits, the party approached the door. There was nothing more to be done as far as they were concerned, and they could not even get out of this arena without going through, or over, one of the Hungering Hedges. Everyone took a deep breath before locking their arms together, and Scott barely hesitated before reaching out to touch the door. Surprisingly, the message the party received upon touching the floor exit door was different than it had been previously.


    Please confirm you are ready to enter the final floor of the transitional dungeon. If you are entering with a party, all members of your party must be touching and confirm they are ready before entering the queue. You will be sent to a waiting zone while other parties are found to meet the floor requirements. This floor will require 8 parties to begin.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    [Ready] [Not Ready]


    Multiple parties?  The concept made her incredibly nervous. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure she was ready to face other groups of people, and the System was not giving any indication if this was going to be competitive or collaborative. Her party looked at each other, their expressions fluctuating between nervous and excited, but since no one seemed to have an objection to moving on one by one their green checkmarks lit up. As the final checkmark went green, a new notification appeared for a fraction of a second.


    Elite Adapter feat detected 3/5. Party is majority Elite Adapters. Transfer to fresh raid scenario aborted. Entering floor in progress...


    No, wait!  Cyn barely had time to process the System notification before her vision went black, and she was whisked away to the third and final floor of the transitional dungeon.


    ***


    Stergu was bored out of his mind. When he signed up to be a Warrior mentor for the newly Awakened dimension, he knew it would not be much fun. What he did not expect was spending almost every moment of his time ¡®answering¡¯ the endless tide of stupid questions on the mentor menu. The experience and Horizon gain was supposedly worth it, especially since a chance to raise one¡¯s growth ceiling was so rare, but after a few weeks he wasn¡¯t sure about that.


    He couldn¡¯t even answer most of the questions asked. The System wouldn¡¯t let him, much to both the newly Awakened and his own frustration. At this point, some of them were just using the ability to message him to send vitriol and harassment.  Why do we even bother with this? I have yet to see a single question that I can actually respond to that could not be answered by the guide.  What was worse, at least in Stergu¡¯s opinion, was that most questions they asked would be considered common knowledge to the Collective. The kind of stuff you learned from your parents as a child. It was a bit disorienting to have clear adults asking him how their stats worked.


    The Archon in charge of the Colosseum¡¯s mentors had assured everyone the rate of questions would slow drastically once the populous reached full adaptation, and returned to their home planets to prepare for Terminus, but as Stergu fired off generic responses to thousands of inquiries an hour for days on end he questioned if that would be true. Feeling numb, he almost did not catch a particularly strange inquiry that came to him before sending a standard response. Luckily, he noticed just in time and paused a moment to read over the novice warrior¡¯s message a few times, each read leaving Stergu more puzzled.


    My teammate didn¡¯t meet a mentor. Can you help?


    While it was possible the translator was malfunctioning, Stergu did not think that was the case here. When that happened, he would just receive nonsense. It was also possible this warrior¡¯s party member was just lying, but... this just did not fall into the scenarios Stergu had a prepared response for. Because he did not have a response at all. It shouldn¡¯t be possible to not meet a mentor, since the Collective had been refining their interference system for nearly two hundred dimensional Awakenings. He hesitated a few moments, watching the comically large number of unread messages grow, before forwarding the strange message to the Archon and continuing his mind-numbing task.


    It was just too weird, and he was too busy to deal with that.


    ***


    The Awakened it had bonded to was kind of stupid and exceptionally danger prone, but it had been an entertaining foray into dimensional space. The conditions required for the creature known as ¡®Spam¡¯ to meet someone from inside of a dimension rarely occurred, and until Cyn showed up within its range of detection the creature was not even aware it was possible for it to be able to leave with one. Especially one that was not fully adapted, since the System normally had extra protections surrounding them. But it was possible, perhaps even probable, that that was the key. A fluke of missing safeguards and a lack of full System integration. A tiny loophole it was able to squeeze into courtesy of Cyn¡¯s choices, her natural Gift that preceded an exceptionally chaotic non-standard skill, combined with just a sliver of luck. The familiar bond it had initiated - and, in a way, forced Cyn to accept - protected Spam from the normally deadly conditions inside of dimensions, leading to a wealth of Horizon and new experiences. For anything that lived in the void, new experiences were treasured. Spam was no exception.


    There was just a small cost to the bond. As long as it was active, the creature¡¯s level and abilities had been drastically reduced. What little power it still had was mostly spent on keeping a corporeal form, the shape of which had been haphazardly pulled from the Awakened¡¯s mind. It was more or less accurate, and the Awakened didn¡¯t seem to be bothered with what it looked like. But now that they were leaving this dungeon floor, it was time for Spam to leave too. It had had more than enough excitement, and considering the violence and danger all Awakened faced Spam was not keen to stay. It was much safer in the void, where almost no fighting ever occurred. It was kind of complicated to evolve the ability to fight without physical forms, and there simply wasn¡¯t reason to do so for most creatures that existed there. Not to mention, Spam was over having a body. Having a physical form was unexpectedly uncomfortable. Mostly itchy. Being Petted felt nice, but it did not overcome the uncomfortable sensations.


    It would miss Cyn for sure, but it was time to go home.


    So, as the party passed through a section of void between dungeon floors, Spam tried to break off the familiar bond.


    And nothing happened. That wasn¡¯t right, familiar bonds only existed at the discretion of both participants. They were a partnership, Spam should be able to break it. The creature frantically double checked the skill right as the party passed back into dimensional space. There was a single line that stood out, one the creature had not noticed previously and definitely had not been there when it had agreed to initiate the bond.


    Bond can be strengthened or altered, but never broken.


    At no point had the creature considered that the same unique conditions that allowed it to form a familiar bond - normally unattainable for its kind - and travel to dimensional space could also warp the bond itself in ways beyond anyone¡¯s control.

 44. A Warm Welcome

    Entering a dungeon in progress was rarely a good, or even neutral, thing. In the context of the transitional dungeon, Cyn assumed that meant that people had died. At least five of them, in order to have enough room for her entire party. People dying meant something had probably gone very wrong, and they would be dropped, entirely unprepared, right into the thick of it. There was no interruption between floors this time, so Cyn noticed a handful things immediately upon arriving at the third floor of the dungeon.


    First, because the emotion felt very loud inside of her head, Spam was pissed. She had no idea why, and, unfortunately, now was not the time to figure it out.


    Second was the mountain of notifications flashing over the corner of her vision, all quickly being dismissed. It was not the time for that either, she would have to check in on it all later.


    Third, also inside of her mind, was a flood of information. Specifically, the health of a hell of a lot more people than were in her party. The health of the party members she had been fighting with for the earlier dungeon floors were much clearer and more distinct, but the new arrivals created an instant headache as she tried to quickly adjust to the perceived pressure of too much information. It did not help that none of the new health pools she felt seemed to be having a good time, probably in part because of the final thing Cyn noticed.


    Fire.


    The System had dropped them directly into a disaster-in-progress, just as she had predicted. The party stood near the top of a small rise, roughly in line with the tops of the huts Cyn could see burning around them. The red and orange flames were pumping spark-filled black smoke high into a moonless night sky and providing limited illumination of what appeared to be a village. Only a few of the people she could see were attempting to put out the fire, while many more were fighting violently amongst themselves.


    It only took Cyn a few heartbeats to realize that there were at least two distinct factions here. She was able to sense the health of around half of the people she saw, and until she was shown otherwise Cyn would have to consider those people their de facto allies. For a fraction of a second, she was concerned that she would be the only one able to tell the difference, until she got a better look at one of the people she was not able to feel.


    The man passed close to one of the houses engulfed in flames just below her, wearing what looked like light leather armor and holding a crossbow in his hands. For a moment he turned his face towards Cyn and her party. Bright crimson eyes widened in surprise, and the single slit that existed where a nose should be flared open as he raised his weapon to shoot. The clear threat seemed to spur the party out of their shocked stupor and into action, unlinking arms and drawing their own weapons.


    Vampire - Level 16


    Scott was barely able to move in time to use his shield and deflect the crossbow bolt that the vampire shot towards them. The power behind the shot caused the Standard-Bearer to stumble, barely keeping his footing. As Dana returned fire, hitting the vampire in the shoulder with her first shot, Cyn frantically tried to explain her thoughts. ¡°Some of these people are supposed to be our allies, I think. I can feel their health.¡±


    Dana made an exasperated sound. ¡°Do you think you could have said something before I shot him?¡± The Tactician sent another arrow at her target, either knowing Cyn didn¡¯t mean the vampire in front of them, or simply not caring. It ended up being a close miss. The vampire was fast, but struggled to raise and aim his crossbow with the arrow still lodged in his shoulder. His second shot missed entirely, digging into the ground about half way up their hill.


    ¡°If it helps, I don¡¯t think that one is friendly.¡±


    The Tactician snorted a laugh before shooting a third time, landing a rapidly shot pair of arrows into his throat before he could load and fire the crossbow again. As Dana nocked another arrow to finish him off, a stout woman wielding a large sword in two hands lunged out from an alley near the vampire, impaling him on the weapon and driving both of them to the ground.


    Human - Level 11


    Luckily, despite the woman¡¯s low level, it seemed to be enough to put the vampire out of its misery. Most likely because Dana had done most of the work already. ¡°She should be friendly?¡± Cyn posed her statement as a question, since she was not completely sure, but did not want Dana to end up shooting the sword-wielding woman too.


    Scott, Sam, and Hex had remained clustered around the point the party had entered the floor while Dana shot down the vampire, unwilling to separate without knowing what was going on, but ready to act. At Cyn¡¯s words, Scott raised his flag, waving it in the air while calling down to the woman who was stumbling to her feet. ¡°Need some help?¡±


    The woman¡¯s head shot up to look at them, and Cyn felt the tell-tale goosebumps run across her skin as the woman seemed to Inspect them. As she quickly started scrambling up the hill towards the party, Cyn was able to get a better look at her. Short blonde hair framed the woman¡¯s round, fair-skinned face, and she was wearing a full set of chainmail armor. Although the armor itself seemed worse for wear. Once she was close enough to speak, Cyn could make out the color of her cloak. Red, like Sam¡¯s. ¡°By the Stones! Are you reinforcements?!¡±


    ¡°I suppose we are. Is there water nearby, so we can get these fires put out?¡±


    The woman waved her arm dismissively to Scott¡¯s question. ¡°Forget about the fire! If we don¡¯t push back the damn vampires, we are all dead anyway.¡± The Standard-Bearer nodded sharply, but before he could respond the woman was jogging back down the hill towards a pair of people locked in combat. ¡°If anyone asks, tell them Alphina approves!¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Scott sighed and rubbed his face. ¡°Guess we just have to check who we are fighting.¡±


    ¡°The vampires all seem lower level than the Doppels we faced. At least the ones I can see. But the humans are even lower.¡± Hex shook his head while speaking, anxiously fiddling with one of his daggers.


    Cyn was busy sorting through the mass of health pools she could feel. Almost everyone she could feel needed help, to varying degrees. Between that and Spam, she was finding it hard to focus on anything else. Hex¡¯s mention of their levels drew her into the conversation again. ¡°We should split our attention, and get moving. There are a few people close to dying out there, and we won¡¯t be able to help as many if we stay together.¡±


    Not waiting for approval, because frankly she wasn¡¯t sure she would get it, Cyn made a break for someone that was bleeding health rapidly. She was pretty sure they were close by, anyway. As she reached up to Pet Spam, trying to calm the still-upset familiar - who dodged her hand and burrowed deeper into the pouch -, Cyn heard Scott break into angry curses behind her. The Standard-Bearer made no move to follow, instead heading in a different direction with Sam and Dana. Hex, however, did follow after her. The Seeker caught up just as she darted between two of the huts, slowing to match her pace as Cyn turned to raise an eyebrow at him.


    Hex shrugged, ¡°I figure where there are dying people, there are enemies. I¡¯ll focus on removing the vampires near your targets.¡±


    Nodding with a smile, Cyn pushed herself to move a little faster. The planning for this little village was clearly lacking, there were no real streets and the buildings seemed to be just haphazardly placed. Combined with the fact that the only light came from the huts actively burning, it was difficult to navigate. Cyn considered activating her diadem for a second, but dismissed the thought quickly. That would just make her a target unnecessarily, and likely cause her to have to slow down even more. Not to mention, it would clearly illuminate the corpses she was passing by. Right now she could not easily tell if they were human or vampire, or see details, and Cyn would rather keep it that way.


    Whoever she was feeling was getting worse by the second, and after zigzagging past a few more huts she found out why. As she rounded a corner, a fight that had clearly been going on a while came into view. Another broadsword-wielding warrior was locked in combat with a vampire using a pair of daggers just outside the door to a hut, this one miraculously not burning yet. Bodies littered the ground around the hut, thankfully still indistinguishable in the low light. It was the warrior¡¯s low health that had drawn Cyn over here, and as she moved closer, she also caught sight of archers exchanging arrows on both sides of the battle.


    The human archers were hiding inside of the building, shooting through the window, explaining why the warrior was at the door. The vampires on the other hand were scattered about different alleyways and even on a roof nearby. The human archers weren¡¯t in great shape, but at least the pair of them seemed stable. So long as their cover¡¯s point of entry remained protected. Potential targets in sight, Hex surged past Cyn to take on the vampire the injured man was struggling with.


    As she arrived, Cyn threw out a Siphon on the man, followed by trying to usher him inside and out of arrow range. She also saw the vampire attempt to disengage from combat with Hex, turning her back to sprint away. A quick Inspect told Cyn that the level 17 vampire likely knew she was outmatched facing the Seeker, but attempting to retreat did not serve her any better. Hex overtook his target easily, and he did not hesitate to go for the kill before going after the fleeing vampire archers.


    Once inside, Cyn found herself facing a fully drawn arrow at point-blank range. Thankless job... The woman holding the bow was middle-aged, with wispy, brown hair pulled back into a bun. Any further details were obscured by the shadows in the hut, lit only from more distant fires.


    ¡°Stand down, Juls. If they wanted us dead, her high-level friend would have gutted me, not the vampire.¡± It was the warrior who spoke as he slid down the wall and into a sitting position, panting for breath. Cyn might have improved his health, but there was not much she could do about the warrior¡¯s flagging stamina.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± As Juls lowered her bow slowly, backing up a few steps in the process, Cyn glanced around quickly to find the second archer, a very pale woman with dark hair, rapidly looking between her and out of the window, seeming to not be sure where she should be anticipating the next threat. At least her weapon wasn¡¯t actively aimed at Cyn.


    With the apparent high risk of friendly-fire, Cyn decided she would try to use Siphon sparingly for now. The pair of archers weren¡¯t at much risk anyway, hovering around half health. Mimicking what she had once seen Hex do, Cyn started cycling her potions in and out of her storage ring in one hand, looking for a stamina potion without additional effects while she answered. ¡°Reinforcements. There are five of us, we split up to cover more ground.¡± Finding what she was looking for, she handed it to the warrior. ¡°I¡¯m Cyn.¡±


    ¡°Geoff. That¡¯s Juls and Taesh. Reinforcements? From where?¡± Geoff, the warrior, drank the potion after spending a few seconds looking at it.


    Cyn hesitated, remembering Kreeble¡¯s reaction when he found out they were in a dungeon. But this was different. Not only was she aware there would be other parties on this floor, but she could also feel the health of these people. That was not something she was able to do with any of the System-created soul impressions in Cogtopia. ¡°The System sent us here after the second floor. We barely got a warning we would be entering a floor-in-progress before arriving into...¡± She waved one hand around aimlessly. ¡°Whatever is happening here.¡±


    The trio nodded along to her explanation, not seeming too surprised. ¡°Bad luck for you. We¡¯re screwed.¡± It was the second archer, Taesh, who surprised Cyn with the bout of such extreme negativity. Even worse was that neither of the other two spoke up to disagree.


    ¡°I have no intentions of dying anytime soon. And there are other people in need of healing, so I¡¯ll be going.¡± Cyn was annoyed now, and it bled heavily into her voice as she shook her head and carefully stepped back into the night. She might not know exactly what was going on yet, but a defeatist attitude definitely would not help. Hex felt pretty far away now, and she did not feel like she needed to wait for him to come back to move on. There was someone else at very low health she wanted to find.


    Despite her earlier decision to use Siphon sparingly, Cyn found herself absent-mindedly using it as she passed by an unfamiliar dark-skinned guardian in combat, distracted by her own thoughts. The guardian too, barely seemed to notice her. He was only level fourteen, and just barely holding his own against multiple vampires at least two levels above him. If we all got the same dungeon, they must not have completed the labyrinth. It was the only explanation she had for why everyone so far seemed to be at such a low level. The trio she left behind in the hut ranged between fourteen and sixteen, with Alphina being even lower at twelve. Cyn also felt a few other people who were not in immediate danger as she ran, but the sensation of the person she was looking for actively inching closer to death made her hesitant to stop and look for others.


    Thankfully, it did not take her much longer to find the location of the second person she felt near death. Unfortunately, that person appeared to be inside one of the burning huts. The wooden structure was entirely engulfed in flames, and the scene made Cyn hesitate. She wasn¡¯t even sure how someone could survive inside of that.


    But the nagging feeling at the back of her mind, the sensation of someone right in front of her steadily losing what little health they had, was maddening. She might be able to reach them with Siphon, but that would not solve the problem. So instead, after scooping a loudly protesting Spam out of its pouch and setting it on the ground, Cyn took a few deep breaths and boosted herself with circulating mana before sprinting into the inferno.

 45. Trusting Strangers

    Hot, ow, hot! Obviously, running into a building on fire was not going to be comfortable. But with her increased tolerance the pain was manageable, at least for a short time, and Cyn found the health drain was not immediately overwhelming. She had no intention of lingering, however. The smoke and fire made it nearly impossible for her to see with her eyes, but she was able to follow her sense of the person¡¯s health to find their location quickly.


    Kneeling at the spot she felt them and reaching around herself, Cyn found a large, soft mass she had to assume was the injured person. Awkwardly, since she was too short to pick them up fully, Cyn grabbed onto what she could and quickly dragged them out of the flames and a short distance from the blazing hut. A little bit on fire herself after escaping the inferno, Cyn stopped, dropped, and rolled once they were both out of the danger zone. She was a little lower on health points now than was ideal in such an uncontrolled situation, and Cyn overall felt... crispy... but instead of healing herself she turned her attention to the woman on the ground beside her.


    Remarkably, the unconscious and still-dying woman barely appeared touched by the fire she had just been rescued from. Even her clothes, made of nondescript leather and paired with a blue cloak that matched Cyn¡¯s own, were only lightly covered in soot and her skin was bereft of burns. The source of her health loss was plainly obvious, however, due to the massive rend in her dark brown flesh that spanned from her collarbone nearly down to her hips. Working quickly, Cyn started pumping an Overloaded Restoration into her, hoping the wound would close quickly so the woman¡¯s life would stop trickling away. She wasn¡¯t able to heal for long, though, before being interrupted.


    ¡°Get away from her!¡± A furious bellow was all the warning Cyn received as she was kneeling down beside the dying young woman, and she scrambled sideways in time to barely avoid losing her arm to a downward slash from a polearm. She had felt him approach, but was so focused on the woman that she did not consider the fact that she could be seen as a threat. The weapon¡¯s wielder, a brown-skinned boy in a red cloak who couldn¡¯t be out of his teens, planted himself protectively in front of the woman as Cyn created more distance between them.


    Still on her knees, she raised her hands palm out to appear as non-threatening as possible. ¡°She¡¯s still very hurt. Please, let me help her.¡± Cyn intended to help anyway, she just did not have enough health to safely use Siphon after running into the flames. Especially since she had separated herself from her party in order to find the dying woman, and this boy was acting hostile. Hoping the young woman would be able to hold on long enough with what healing she had already done, Cyn quickly used Inspect on the boy.


    Human - Level 14


    Another low level Human. He also needed healing, a myriad of injuries visible on his body through slashes in his clothes, but not nearly as urgently as the woman he was trying to protect. The boy quickly shook his head in response to her request, clearly not trusting Cyn, and continued to hold his weapon out threateningly. A shiver of goosebumps spread down her arms before he called out, ¡°Del! Come quickly!¡± The fury in the boy¡¯s voice had faded, replaced with fear. He clearly knew time was short, or he was afraid of Cyn since she was a higher level than any of the Vampires, but much to her frustration still did not want her help. Feeling another of the strangers approaching, she turned her head to look.


    A pale man in an equally pale robe came running at the boy¡¯s plea. He was elderly, though Cyn guessed not as old as Scott was. It was hard to tell. The blue cloak he wore, appearing identical to the dying woman¡¯s and Cyn¡¯s own, flapped behind as he continued to run towards them. He had only hesitated a fraction of a second when seeing Cyn, but seemed to decide the woman on the ground was of higher importance then the threat Cyn could pose. Falling to his knees beside her, Cyn watched as he placed his fingers against the woman¡¯s neck while worriedly looking over the still-gaping wound in her torso.


    She had not even considered until this point how anyone else might have to figure out if their friends were still alive. She had become so accustomed to being able to feel her ally¡¯s health, it was a slightly horrifying realization that that might not be universal to the mage class. The kneeling man cursed softly, moving his hands to put pressure on the wound in the woman¡¯s chest, - a useless gesture with the size of the injury - and looked up at the boy while shaking his head. ¡°I don¡¯t have any mana left, Mountain.¡± Mountain? An odd name.


    As the boy let out a strangled cry, Cyn spoke up. ¡°I was healing her before you arrived. If you would let me close again, I can continue. She¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    Del looked at her again, hesitating another moment before nodding. ¡°Please. Back up, boy. We had new arrivals come midway through the attack, and I believe this woman is one of them.¡± The boy did not look totally convinced, but slowly lowered his weapon so Cyn could approach again. Scrambling forward, she quickly placed her hands back on the woman and continued where she left off.


    Mountain took place standing guard over them, nervously swapping between scanning the area and glancing down at the still body. The woman¡¯s brown flesh knitted back together seamlessly, if slowly, as Del continued to monitor her pulse. It wasn¡¯t long until she was healed enough for her chest to start visibly rising and falling again, Del letting out an audible sigh of relief as he pulled his hands away. Fire still raged all around them, though it was clearly starting to die down as it ran out of fuel. The wooden huts had burned down to nothing but blackened, crumbling timbers and ash.


    ¡°Don¡¯t attack the frog.¡± Spam had wandered off after Cyn dove into the fire, presumably to find a safer spot to bunker down, and she could feel it approaching her again. The last thing she wanted was for the nervous boy to take her familiar as a possible threat too.


    As she felt the dense, bubblegum-pink creature start climbing into her lap, she heard the boy mutter. ¡°Frogs aren¡¯t supposed to be that color...¡± Cyn chuckled at his indignant tone, but found herself thankful Mountain appeared to have calmed down.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    While she finished bringing the woman¡¯s health back into a safe zone, Cyn had also started to hear yelling in the distance, sounding different than the sounds of battle that had been ringing around her since arriving on this floor, and in the direction she could feel most of her party. They were close to the limit of her ability to sense them, but she was pretty sure they were still close to full health. Her other, unknown allies were all various degrees of injured, but at least no one seemed to be actively dying anymore. She could sense less people now, though, and Cyn was not sure if that was due to distance or because some of them had died in the interim. She could not feel Hex at all, and had to presume he had moved too far away from her. Knowing the Seeker was more than capable of taking care of himself did not stop a sliver of worry from seeping into her mind, but the yelling was more concerning.


    Removing her hands from the still-unconscious woman, Cyn stood up, grabbing Spam with both hands and depositing it in her tabard pouch as she did. ¡°Sounds like something is happening over there, and I need to check on it. I don¡¯t know when she will wake up, but she should be alright healing at her own pace now.¡±


    Del nodded quickly, giving Cyn a strained smile. ¡°Thank you. We have already lost so many... I am glad not to have to add Fish to that list tonight.¡± Fish? First Mountain, now Fish? Mountain was already leaning down to pick up the woman, his polearm slung across his back. Hoping they would be able to take care of themselves from there, Cyn ran towards the yelling. All of her resources were hovering around half, and between the mental strain of now feeling so many people, Spam¡¯s still-simmering discontentment, and the annoyance stemming from her new allies that appeared to have separated themselves - forcing her to run between them - Cyn was ready for this to be over.


    As she got closer to the source of the yelling, Scott¡¯s power-infused voice scraped over her eardrums. ¡°Wet the buildings not burning yet. Quickly, before they catch! Dana, girl, do you see anything?¡± Cyn did not hear the Tactician¡¯s response, and combined with the actual words Scott was saying he was probably using that skill or ability just to make his voice carry further. Despite how uncomfortable it was to listen to the Standard-Bearer speak like that, she found herself relieved that they did not seem to be in any trouble.


    Coming around one of the burning huts she got a better view of what was going on. When the party had arrived on this floor, it had been onto what Cyn thought was hillside overlooking the village. Now that she was looking at it from a distance away, it was more akin to a mound, more uniform in shape than she would have expected from a natural hill. At the top was a small tree, its trunk and twisted branches lined with softly glowing green veins. The leaves too almost seemed to glow, an emerald glitter peeking through the smoke clogging the air.


    Around halfway up the rise was Dana, and just a short distance below her Scott stood clutching his flag and directing the half dozen or so people attempting to control the blaze that was eating through the huts using buckets. She couldn¡¯t tell where the water was coming from, nor did she see Sam. Cyn could feel the Berserker¡¯s health nearby, though, and he felt fine. There was only one of the strangers not helping, and he was sitting near the foot of the mound. The man¡¯s health was not concerningly low, but as Cyn came closer she could see his leg had been severed at the knee, and was wrapped in bandages.


    ¡°Are you alright, sweetheart? Ya look a bit... burnt.¡± Cyn was making a beeline for the injured man as the Standard-Bearer spoke, flinching since his voice sounded even worse now that she was closer. ¡°Stay still, boy. She¡¯ll get you fixed up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Scott. There was a woman in one of the burning buildings.¡± The young man on the ground was eyeing her wearily, his paper-white skin coated in a sheen of sweat and drops of blood. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure how much of his skin tone was due to the injury, but between that and his nearly white hair he almost looked like a younger version of Del in the low light. Wonder if they are related... ¡°There¡¯s two small groups out there I helped, and two or three stragglers fighting on their own. I only passed by one of them, the other two didn¡¯t seem to be struggling from what I could feel.¡±


    ¡°And Hex?¡±


    ¡°Chasing after some Vampires last I saw him.¡±


    Scott sighed, turning himself to speak to Dana in a normal voice while Cyn knelt down to start unwrapping the injured man¡¯s leg. ¡°Do you...¡±


    The Tactician cut him off, listing her observations tersely. ¡°Four Humans coming in from the same direction Cyn came from. One being carried. Fire seems contained to the man-made structures, and is burning out. I can see movement near the tree line, but I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s Human or not. There¡¯s also an archer that keeps shooting at my drone, but I can¡¯t seem to locate the asshole.¡±


    Del, Mountain, and Fish must have met up with someone else before following her, Cyn guessed. Perhaps the guardian she had passed by. Before she could get the tightly wrapped bandages undone, the man grabbed her wrist and spoke, his voice sounding hoarse, ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time... Even if I won¡¯t die from infection losing a leg is a death sentence out here.¡±


    Cyn only had so much patience for bedside manners, and that had all been used up by her previous interaction with the strangers. She rolled her eyes and yanked her hand back before finishing unwrapping him. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. If I could regrow our archer¡¯s whole hand, like, five levels ago there is no reason I can¡¯t do it for your leg now. It¡¯ll just take some time and mana.¡± He would also probably regenerate the limb on his own, but since she did not have any solid proof of that Cyn chose not to mention it. It was something she wanted to test, but the morality of testing that on someone else was extremely questionable. Do I need all my toes? Maybe I can try that first...


    At any rate, the bandages were likely just inhibiting his healing even if the man could now regrow the limb. Cyn understood why they might still feel compelled to wrap up wounds, but from what she had seen so far that kind of treatment wasn¡¯t strictly needed unless you were trying to stop someone from bleeding out their last few health points, and you had no other way to improve the situation. The injured man did not look convinced of her claims, but she did not care. Cyn was going to heal him anyway, and she had no desire to hear more doom and gloom about the state this dungeon floor was in. Whatever was happening, she found it unlikely that it could not be overcome or at least survived.


    The man remained silent - other than giving his name, Irrab, when she asked - as Cyn channeled Restoration into him. Scott came down from the mound after the initial panic seemed to have passed, and began helping with the fires directly as stragglers slowly made their way from the burnt-out village and into the clearing around the mound. It wasn¡¯t until hours later, when the fires were finally out and the rising sun was staining the dark sky pink, that the parties began to make more official introductions.

 46. All that Remains

    Irrab¡¯s leg was not fully regenerated yet, but at least he no longer doubted Cyn could grow it back. He was just missing a foot now. Shortly before the sun rose a few groups of the strangers, those in the best condition after their hellish night, had gone out to look for any more survivors. They came back with only one, plus Hex who had been on his way back anyway. The final straggler was an archer named Donovan, who had been the one shooting at Dana¡¯s drone. The ¡®drone¡¯ was the flying statue the Tactician had received from the Trial of Luck, and while it had taken her some practice to use, she was able to control its flight and see through the statue''s eyes. Donovan, upon hearing he had done nothing but make the rescue more difficult, apologized to the Tactician profusely. He believed the object belonged to the Vampires, and had been using a stealth skill which prevented Dana from finding out where the shots were coming from.


    The unconscious woman, Fish, woke up as everyone started to loosely gather at sunrise. She had been deposited gently onto the ground near Cyn by Mountain for her to keep an eye on during the night, while he lent a hand to the firefighting. When Cyn had been badly injured from her own mana in the Hungering Labyrinth, she had woken up afterward pretty softly. As had Scott, after the fight with the Illuminant Brood Queen.


    Fish did not wake up softly.


    Instead, the young woman sat abruptly upright, let out a loud yell, and burst into flames.


    Appropriately startled, and her concentration broken, Cyn jumped back away from the source of the fire. It only took her a heartbeat to recover before she darted forward again to help Irrab move away as well. As she dragged the injured man back, Mountain ran forward and tossed a bucket of water over the burning woman.


    ¡°Fish! Calm down!¡± The water put out the flames and left their maker gasping, wide brown eyes looking around wildly before settling on the boy. It seemed to take her a moment to recognize him, before Fish was on her feet and hugging Mountain tightly while sobbing incoherently about Vampires, fire, and the moon.


    With Fish awake, and no other survivors to be found, it was time to get some introductions out of the way and figure out what in the hell had happened before Cyn and her party had shown up.


    Scott, ever the diplomat, took the lead in introducing them to the strangers first, admitting his confusion about why they had ended up being transferred to a floor in progress, and only stating it seemed to have something to do with feats some of them had acquired. The side-eye the Standard-Bearer was giving her and Hex while he talked about it made it clear he suspected they were two of the three Elite Adapters that had put them into this situation. He was probably pretty unhappy none of them had chosen to share that information. If the third wasn¡¯t Scott, Cyn would bet money - or, she supposed, credits - that the final Elite Adapter was Dana. Especially since the Tactician had a remarkable poker face going on while Scott spoke.


    ¡°Regardless of why you ended up here, we are damn lucky to have you show up like that. The last few days have been... difficult.¡± Alphina seemed to struggle with a word to describe their situation, and, from the expression the blonde warrior was making, Cyn felt as though that was a probably inadequate adjective.


    ¡°Give me some names to put to these faces, darlin¡¯, then we can get started on what needs doing.¡±


    Cyn did not catch all of their names as the strangers, her new raid party, introduced themselves. Her head felt pressurized between Spam¡¯s simmering discontentment, and the weight of knowing so many people¡¯s health status and location. The splitting headache was also why she had not bothered to check her notifications yet, since a further influx of objectives and whatever else the System would be throwing at her was not welcome until she had a chance to Meditate and sort out her problems.


    In total, there were fourteen survivors from the original raid party. Four warriors, three guardians, three archers, two rogues, and two mages. Outside of the few she had met during the attack, Cyn only latched onto one other name. Cirrus. She had taken note of the rogue well before he had introduced himself, and even kept an eye on him throughout the night as he assisted everyone. Average height, with tanned skin, dark eyes and short, light brown hair, he was pretty non-descript. She could not pinpoint exactly why, but Cirrus made her nervous from the moment she first laid eyes on him.


    There really was no explanation. He wasn¡¯t using any mental influence or illusions, that she knew for sure. He seemed to be on friendly terms with everyone. She had spent a significant amount of her brainpower while healing Irrab¡¯s leg to try and find any reason Cirrus stood out, and had come up with nothing. He just made her unreasonably nervous.


    Cyn continued to listen and keep one eye on Cirrus while everyone tried to explain what had led to this point, still steadily pumping Restoration into Irrab. It was easy to keep her own health low with Siphon to farm mana, even if no one near her needed the health points anymore. There were no safeguards in place to keep her from ¡®wasting¡¯ her resources like that, and as long as they were not fighting it didn¡¯t even feel dangerous to her.


    Prior to the previous night¡¯s attack, there had been twenty of them. Just over half the original number when they entered the floor a week ago, since their raid party had never been forty people. It had been made up of eight parties, and some of the parties were already down members before entering this floor. Of the fourteen still alive, they spanned five of the eight parties that had arrived on this floor together.


    The day before Cyn and her party had arrived, there had been twenty-eight of them alive, seven short of their original thirty-five.


    Scott was visibly shocked by the news, and before he could come up with a response Dana spoke up. ¡°I assume that none of those deaths were to a Vampire attack on your homes, right? Because you would have done more to make sure you were not so vulnerable again.¡± The Tactician was not very subtly making sure they were not dealing with complete idiots, and while Cyn agreed it was information they needed to know, Dana also probably could have said it a bit more tactfully.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°The Vampires have not attacked like this before. They only picked off anyone who tried to travel through the woods at night, so we had no reason to think we would need to protect ourselves while near the Territory Heart.¡± Del gestured up at the glowing tree, which Cyn assumed was what he was talking about. What exactly that meant would have to wait until later, since the conversation about the large number of deaths trudged on with Scott¡¯s insistence.


    ¡°Then what killed everyone?¡±


    The first seven deaths were just accidents over the week they had been here, as explained by Alphina. A few picked off by Vampires or other predators in the surrounding area, a few others to overestimating their combat ability against other challenges present in the dungeon, or being caught off guard. It was the eighth death that lit the fuse of disaster.


    Initially, the man¡¯s death had been seen as another unfortunate case of someone taking a risk, and losing. But the dead man¡¯s original party had not felt that way. Instead, they accused a member of a different party of murder, and possibly even attributing some of the other ¡®unfortunate¡¯ deaths to them. Over the course of only a day, tensions skyrocketed as people took sides, or attempted to abstain and keep the peace.


    This tension culminated in a slaughter of the remaining members of both parties and a few others who had tried to intervene. Then, while the remaining nineteen mourned and tried to recover from the horrific events, the Vampires took advantage and attacked in the night.


    Fish and another woman from her party, Moon, had been the first attacked, likely since they had been in a hut near the edge of the woods. Fish had been the source of the flames that consumed the wooden huts they had all been living in, having panicked after being attacked in her sleep and accidentally setting both herself, and her attacker, on fire. Moon was not among the survivors.


    And now they were left with only a fraction of their original number, most of which had not focused on leveling up. With the threat of direct attacks now on the table, their tactics would have to change. Up until this point, they had all been acting fairly lax about the primary objective of the dungeon floor, which was to survive. Only those that wanted to actually level up left the village, with the understanding they were putting themselves at risk. Staying in ¡®safety¡¯ is why most of them were still low level. Four of them did not even have professions, as they had not encountered profession stones on the first floor of their dungeon.


    Without professions, they are missing out on a lot of possible stat distribution. But that does mean that Taesh, Irrab, Del, and Alphina have all evolved their class, since they are all over level ten. I guess Cogtopia was a little out of the way, but it¡¯s strange only one group missed out on them. Did we even get the same dungeon floors?


    ¡°Cyn? You need a break, sweetheart?¡± Scott was tapping on her shoulder, breaking Cyn out of her thoughts.


    Yah, I guess I do. She had just been staring blankly at Cirrus, who was staring back at her with a frown, and apparently Scott had noticed. Or she had been asked something. Cyn actually... wasn¡¯t sure. She had a headache, her head felt horribly crowded still, and she honestly didn¡¯t know how long she had zoned out for. Either not very long, since her mana was not empty... or she had been autopiloting keeping her mana regeneration buff going. ¡°Maybe. Probably.¡± She looked down at her patient¡¯s partly formed foot, lifting her hand and cutting off her skill. ¡°If another mage can take over using Restoration on Irrab for a while. He¡¯s almost done, but I haven¡¯t tested if our body parts grow back on their own yet...¡±


    Del quickly walked over, kneeling down beside her. The aging man looked tired, with dark bags forming under his eyes, but his proximity made the resemblance between him and Irrab even more stark. ¡°It is just Restoration doing this? I assumed you were using a different skill, or I would have assisted sooner.¡±


    Cyn nodded. ¡°Yah, though... I am not sure how you will be able to keep up with the mana cost. I have a way to raise my mana regeneration higher than the cost of the channel.¡± She hesitated, grimacing and putting her hand back on Irrab¡¯s leg. ¡°Maybe I should just...¡±


    The other mage quickly grabbed her wrist, shaking his head and pulling her hand up to replace it with his own. ¡°Fish and I can alternate. Get some rest, child.¡±


    Sighing, Cyn moved away slightly to get some space between herself and the raid party. It didn¡¯t help much, but there was some relief to not feeling physically crowded alongside her mental crowding. She wasn¡¯t even tired. Hopefully, she could get it sorted out through some meditation.


    While she got comfortable, Scott began to steer the conversation to how they could quickly improve their situation, at least to be prepared for the fact that they were at risk of being attacked at night. Sam, having worked in construction prior to the System and being a builder now, eagerly took the opportunity to jump in with ideas on what to do. First and foremost, a wall around the mound since apparently protecting the Territory Heart was important. They would have to make most things out of stone, not only because of the risk of fire but also because Sam only had experience using stone in his profession. Picking it up while stuck underground was going to have at least some effect in the long term for him.


    She let the conversation fade out while she fished Spam out of its pocket. If she could figure out what the hell was going on with it, there would be one less pressure source inside her skull. The fat frog did not resist, and to Cyn¡¯s eyes it even looked unhappy. Spam had barely made a sound since they had entered this floor, so even if she wasn¡¯t able to feel its emotions it was clear there was something going on. ¡°I had to take care of other things first, but I know you¡¯re upset. What¡¯s wrong, buddy?¡± She spoke in a whisper to not interrupt everyone else, even though she was getting a lot of stares since only Mountain and Del had seen Spam.


    It made a soft warble, even quieter than Cyn¡¯s whisper had been. But she didn¡¯t speak frog. Not really. All she could feel was that Spam was unhappy, only a slight progression from how angry it had been when they entered the floor, and Cyn had an inkling that the emotion had something to do with her. Feeling as though she had done something wrong, with no way to fix it or even know what exactly what she had done, hurt.


    ¡°I wish you could just tell me what made you so upset.¡± It gave another soft warble, leaning into Cyn¡¯s hand as she gave her familiar a few Pets before putting it back in the pouch on her tabard. She hadn¡¯t been able to solve the problem, unfortunately, but with her acknowledgment of it Spam¡¯s emotions faded in intensity at least. It was no longer a thrumming distraction in the back of her mind, and more of just a weight not dissimilar to the physical weight of the familiar on her chest.


    Feeling sad, but having a bit more mental breathing room, Cyn closed her eyes and used Meditate. It was time to figure out if she could do something about the pressure of feeling so many people at once.

 47. Mindscaping

    Cyn instinctively wanted to open up her menu and check notifications as soon as she felt the world around her fade, Meditate dampening all of her physical senses. Well, all her physical senses except the feeling of hard ground under her ass. She had forgotten to bring out her bedroll to sit on before using the skill. At any rate, Cyn was barely able to hold herself back from opening her menu immediately. Only the knowledge that it would likely increase the pressure in her mind held her back. Instead, she first tried to sort all of the information that had been steadily cluttering up her subconscious.


    She found it was actually fairly difficult to try and sort everything in her current state. Everything was just so... intangible. Not only that, it was as if all of the intangible concepts were at full volume, all at once. Her own resources, everyone else¡¯s   health, Spam, her inventory inside of the Promising Ring of Holding... while Cyn might be able to bring one piece of data at a time into her conscious focus, they were otherwise equally important and loud as background noise. And that background noise was now a dull roar that was overwhelming. It hadn¡¯t been a problem before, since the amount of data was limited, but not only had that changed, she wasn¡¯t sure what else might get added onto the pile in the future. She needed to be able to turn some of it down, or even shut it off entirely.


    Cyn needed a HUD.


    Not  literally , since she also needed the full scope of her vision, - and she had more than enough distractions already - but it was a good metaphor. And there wasn¡¯t any reason she couldn¡¯t create one in her own mind, even just temporarily, to help her visualize and hopefully tweak all of the data adding to her mental load.


    Imagining a big, empty screen, Cyn started to dump all of the information she was subconsciously keeping track of onto it one by one. First and foremost, her own resources. Seeing no reason to reinvent the wheel, her health, mana, and stamina pools were just represented by a stack of three colored bars, though the one representing stamina was grayed out. Cyn still was not able to innately feel her stamina, but she had no doubt she would be able to someday, so it was added to the HUD.


    Next came her Familiar Bond to Spam, which was simply represented by the image of a frog. Her awareness of Spam did not need tweaking, but she added him anyway.


    The health and location of her party - and the extended raid party - was a little more messy and was the bulk of information that was causing the mental pressure. In her mind, Cyn had been separating them into two separate categories, her party and the ¡®others¡¯. But that did not make much sense for her to do. While Scott, Dana, Sam, and Hex had been her near-constant companions for around two weeks, there was nothing that should make them inherently more important than everyone else.


    Everyone¡¯s location relative to Cyn was technically a different set of data, but it seemed so intrinsically tied to their health there was no reason for her to try and separate the two. Every health and location she could feel became an orb, some labelled and others not, and as Cyn dumped the representations of her eighteen party members onto her imaginary screen, she tried to imagine them shrinking.


    To Cyn¡¯s amazement, she could feel it working. The pressure on her mind eased rapidly, bringing immense relief. She still had the same information as before, it was just... quieter. She could bring any of it into focus, but the background was so much more manageable. Cyn would also likely have trouble noticing a problem with anyone¡¯s health when she  wasn¡¯t  actively paying attention, but that sacrifice was going to be required to keep her sanity. At least while she had so many people around.


    Even though her goal of relieving the mental pressure had been achieved, Cyn wasn¡¯t done. She still had her storage ring to deal with, and frankly that was something Cyn felt she only needed awareness of on demand. It didn¡¯t need to be an undetailed list in the back of her brain at all times.  I just need to... close my bags. So it stops taking up space on the screen.  It took some trial and error, but she was finally able to tweak her awareness of the items stored inside of her Promising Ring of Holding. With just a bit of effort, she could glance through and remove items, but otherwise it was almost entirely shoved out of her consciousness. It was now represented by a very original image of a brown sack.


    The final thing that Cyn wanted to try and tweak was significantly more complicated, but she was pretty sure she would need to take a look at her menu and notifications first. Pulling up her menu, Cyn¡¯s visualization of her HUD vanished. Her mind was not instantly assaulted by pressure, so she knew her method worked. Feeling optimistic, Cyn glanced over her stats, and was pleased to find she had hit level eleven in her class. Creature Handler still stubbornly remained at level eight. Going over her notifications, the first few were expected from changing dungeon floors.


    Bonus Objective complete!


    Transitional dungeon floor 2: The Hungering Labyrinth -


    ? You have been separated from your companions. Once you find an exit, you can choose to leave alone or as a party. Anyone left behind will need to find a different exit.


    ? Bonus Objective: Reunite your party 5/5. (Completed)


    ? Reward: Bonus class experience.


    ? ...


    ? Bonus Objective: Find the center of the labyrinth. (Completed)


    Rewards: [Uncommon Item Upgrade Scroll]


    [Claim]


    ...


    Bonus Objective: Trials completed 6/6. (Completed)


    Reward: Bonus class experience.


    ...


    Bonus Objective: Complete the final Trial. (Completed)


    Reward: [Uncommon Skill Upgrade Scroll]


    [Claim]


    ...


    Objective: Find an exit.


    ? Reward: Bonus class experience.


    Between her completed objective notifications was a notification of her level up. Cyn Inspected the Uncommon Item Upgrade Scroll, finding it claimed to do close to what she expected. It could be used on most items of ¡®Common¡¯ quality or below, and would increase its rarity by one. The skill scroll had an identical function for skills. The only item Cyn might consider upgrading would be her cloak, but she was not sure it was worth it. At least not without knowing how difficult it was to get more of these scrolls.


    She had more options when it came to the skill scroll. Meditate, Harvesting, Restoration, and Purify were all common quality. But Purify and Restoration had already been offered upgrades she had passed over, and Harvesting just was not worth upgrading as far as Cyn was concerned. She also remembered seeing a skill option at level five, Mana Barrier, that had been an even lower quality. Meditate was probably her best use of it, but she would hold on to it as well for now.


    Cyn had a persistent bad habit of ¡®saving¡¯ useful items in games and never using them, and that was not a trait she was going to be able to rid herself of quickly. If she found a skill or item at low quality she could not live without, the scrolls would definitely come in handy.


    When she went to claim the scrolls, a new notification overlapped the current one she was looking at.


    Eligible storage item detected: [Promising Ring of Holding].


    ? Would you like the claimed reward to be directly deposited?


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.? [Yes] [No]


    Sweet.  Rather than have to exit Meditate to put away her rewards, Cyn instead had the System deposit them directly into her storage so she could continue scrolling notifications. The next batch involved all her  new  objectives, including a few that were clearly exclusive to her Elite Adapter feat.


    New objective for transitional dungeon floor 3: Under Siege -


    ? 45 Days, 20 Hours, 33 Minutes, 54 Seconds remaining.


    ? Objective: Survive.


    As Cyn watched, the timer ticked down in real time. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure exactly how long they had been in the dungeon, but the first two floors combined with the remaining time on this one would add up to around sixty days. Two entire months.


    The realization of how long it had been since the System first swept her away, and how much further she had to go before heading home, hit Cyn like a brick. So much had happened, and yet so little. It felt like she still barely had a grasp of what was going on. The thought of going back home - back to Earth - also made her think of her family, and by extension everyone she knew even casually. She couldn¡¯t say she missed them, exactly, but Cyn couldn¡¯t help but wonder how they were doing. If they were even still alive. For a moment, guilt gnawed at her stomach.


    Because she should miss her family at least. They  were  family, after all, and it wasn¡¯t like they had been horrible to her. Sure, they had had fights, especially between Cyn and her parents - Cyn¡¯s flash fire temper and stubbornness were both inherited traits - but never anything serious. After turning eighteen she had moved out and just... drifted away. She loved them, of course, alongside her brother and sister, but she just did not feel any real attachment. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for her to go months without thinking about them at all.


    On top of the guilt, there was a genuine fear creeping up in the back of her mind that this really  was  a dream, and going back would result in her waking up in her apartment, needing to go back to work at the office.


    And that would be  absolutely devastating.


    Shuddering, she pushed the thoughts back into the mental ¡®ignore¡¯ box they came from and moved on to the other objectives. Despite the fact that the current raid was struggling with even the main objective, Cyn wanted more goals than just survival.


    ...


    ? Your raid¡¯s claim on this territory empowers you. Should the claim be passed to another faction, survival will be much more difficult.


    Bonus Objective: Maintain your raid¡¯s control of the Territory Heart.


    She had already known keeping control of the Territory Heart was important based on the talk they had had with the survivors, but knowing it would likely empower their enemies - and would definitely weaken her party - should they lose control of it was a pretty critical detail that was left out of the conversation.


    ...


    ? The front line.


    Elite Objective: Find and eliminate the threats to your raid¡¯s claim on the Territory Heart.


    We already know about the Vampires, but that phrasing seems to imply there is more than one threat.  That did not bode well for them, and the survivors would likely not be of any help pinpointing any other threats. In part since they had already assumed the Vampires were not a real danger, and since they were  extremely  unlikely to be Elite Adapters they would not have even seen this objective to know there might be even more threats out there. They had said some of the early deaths had been to overestimating themselves against challenges, but she also doubted anything that picked off only a few of them would end up being a threat to the Territory Heart.


    ...


    ? The final bastion.


    Elite Objective: Have all Awakened survive. (Failed)


    Well, if that isn¡¯t just a kick in the teeth...  It wasn¡¯t her fault people had died, but apparently, she would lose out anyway. She let herself sulk for a minute, silently cussing out the System for putting them in a floor-in-progress, before looking at the remaining notifications.


    Class experience earned for assisting in the death of Vampire - Level 17.


    Kirpal Banewood.


    Hunter Level 11.


    Woodworker Level 6.


    ? Experience has been split among all nearby, living members of your dungeon party.


    The rest of the notifications were similar, for all of the Vampires that had died in her general vicinity. The notifications were very uncomfortable, simply due to how different they all were from the kill notifications she had received for creatures. It even gave their  name . They were  people.  Cyn was almost certain they were just soul impressions, but it did not make her feel much better. They were humanoids. The Vampires had classes, and professions, just like she did. And she had gotten experience for killing them. It may have been in defense of their raid party, and it still felt justified, but that did not totally erase the disturbing feeling that she had assisted in killing people. Shuddering again and trying to shove the feeling in the same box as the guilt about not missing her family, she quickly dismissed all of the kill notifications and moved on to her final goal for the moment when it came to her mental HUD.


    She was still feeling a bit salty about not getting a notification regarding new objectives while midway through the Hungering Labyrinth, and thus wanted to have some level of awareness of her objectives at all times. At least so she would know if more were added to the list. Since Cyn currently had no subconscious tracking of her objectives, she wasn¡¯t even sure it would be possible for her to do what she wanted to do.


    Now that she knew what her current objectives were, she tried to revisualize her HUD. It appeared in her mind easily, almost as easy as pulling up her menu. There was one critical difference, however. When she was originally visualizing it, it was just an empty screen. And it barely even qualified as that, since she had not bothered with imagining a border for it. Now though, there was an outline surrounding her visualization - looking like a thick layer of glowing, sky-blue bricks with black mortar - she definitely had not thought up herself. Cyn attempted to study the new addition, confused, and received a pop-up.


    Mental Fortress (Divine)(Passive) - Your mind is your own.


    ? You are immune to the effects of most mental afflictions, regardless of source.


    ? You are not able to be fooled by illusionary magic.


    ? You are able to detect and shrug off attempts at mental influence.


    ?


    Does this mean what I am doing is a function of the System, or am I just breaking more things on accident?  Cyn didn¡¯t really have a way to know for sure, but she was relatively convinced that the addition of the skill to her visualization meant it was at least partly an intended feature. The skill was intended to protect her mind from outside influence, and Cyn was - perhaps more literally than she had expected - working with a portion of her own mind.  If that¡¯s the case, this is probably also dangerous as fuck for me.


    Cyn hesitated for a moment, debating if she wanted to continue with the plan to try and add her objectives to the HUD. Visualization was supposed to be a technique that could help her keep her thoughts organized and sort out the important parts. When she had started this, Cyn had not considered that she might be  actually  messing with her own mind. The line between testing her limits and getting herself killed was razor thin, and Cyn was very aware she was walking that line with no harness to save her if she slipped.


    On one hand, she had already completed her goal of relieving the mental pressure. Adding her objectives was purely for her own benefit, and it was definitely not needed by any measure. On the other hand... she just kind of wanted to? The frustration of missing out on objectives was something she wanted to avoid, even if it was safer and more logical to quit while she was ahead. Pure logic couldn¡¯t dictate her every action, anyway, especially since Cyn¡¯s logic tended to be quite warped and...


    Her internal debate was interrupted by a feeling of warning from Spam. Cyn quickly shuffled through her party members to see who she could feel approaching her, before cutting off Meditate. Blinking away the bright light of the mid-morning sun, she looked up in time to lock gazes with a pair of unassuming, yet completely unnerving dark brown eyes looking curiously down at her.

 48. Assessing the Situation

    Human - Level 20


    It took a lot of willpower for Cyn to not immediately create more distance between herself and Cirrus. She had to remind herself that she did not have any concrete reason to feel unnerved by him, so acting on it would be ridiculous. There was no reason to invite trouble. The raid had already had enough division to nearly end them. Plus, Cirrus was the highest level of everyone, save Hex, making him invaluable to their continued efforts to survive.


    The man¡¯s eyes widened slightly, seemingly surprised she had detected him before he reached her, and after a moment his lips curved into an easy smile. Her skin was already crawling just from him being so close, but she felt the sensation of goosebumps as Cirrus returned her Inspect in kind while he spoke. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to disturb you. I was gonna offer your little guy some snacks.¡° He held up a small wooden bowl that he was carrying in one hand. ¡°You can eat them too, of course. I just assumed you would probably be resting a while after saving so many of us.¡±


    The ¡¯little guy¡¯ in question warbled from its pouch as Cyn stood up, and they could both see that inside of the bowl was a handful of small, almost neon-yellow berries. Spam stared at the berries a second before choosing to gnaw on one of its own front feet instead. The familiar would occasionally munch on a bite of Cyn¡¯s food, but she was pretty sure that was not because it actually needed to eat. Inspecting the berries only told her they were something called a ¡®Plench Berry¡¯, and she had no interest in putting mystery fruit in her mouth without having Hex at least look at it. ¡°Thanks, we are fine though. I should go help with preparing this place to withstand attacks. The sooner that is done the sooner we can work on other things.¡±


    Cirrus frowned at her dismissal of him, studying her a moment before the smile reappeared. ¡°Sure. Your friend, Hex, has already expressed interest in teaming up to take a look at some of the bonus objectives left scattered around the floor. Having someone so skilled at healing tag along would make things much easier...¡±


    Cyn turned and began to walk towards Scott, barely suppressing a scowl.  Of course Hex has already taken interest in this guy. He¡¯s higher level than Sam or Scott. Or me, for that matter...  Able to feel that Cirrus was following her and, feeling even worse having him at her back, Cyn turned her head to speak, ¡°As soon as I am sure people won¡¯t spontaneously die in my absence, I¡¯m game.¡± She couldn¡¯t afford to lose out on the extra experience that could come from the bonus objectives, or the possibility of interacting with new creatures for her profession. Regardless of how on edge the rogue made her feel.


    She saw Cirrus¡¯s grin widen before she turned back ahead, looking around at what had been done as she moved towards the Standard-Bearer. Most of the debris from the burned-out buildings had been moved, piled high a good distance away from both the Territory Heart and the tree line, but added to the pile was additionally a large amount of usable timber. As she neared, it slowly dawned on Cyn why the fresh wood had been added.


    It was a funeral pyre. Under the logs and beams, not quite covered up, there were dozens of bodies. Vampire and Human, stacked on top of one another. Feeling her stomach twist, Cyn was suddenly very happy she had not taken the offering of berries. It wasn¡¯t as bad as the Cadaverous Puppet Bloom, since the corpses appeared to be mostly intact, but there were  just so many.


    There were a few of the Humans adding to the pile still, but most were staying away. Avoiding looking at the pyre more, but still moving towards Scott who stood beside it, Cyn watched as the Berserker and another man -  Burt? One of the warriors but I can¡¯t remember his name... -  carried a large rock across the dirt clearing that was once a little village. Others ferried smaller stones, laying them in a pattern around the Territory Heart mound. In the light, and without the buildings in the way, she could see there was a wide, boulder-filled river running parallel to the clearing and that appeared to be where they were getting the rocks from. For Sam to shape into a wall using his profession, most likely.


    The cleared area ran all of the way to the water¡¯s edge, and across Cyn could see rolling, grass-covered plains. Surrounding the clearing on all other sides was a forest, made up of a few kinds of trees. It was mostly evergreens, but interspersed between them were trees that reminded Cyn of pictures she had seen of redwoods. They were massive, towering over everything else. Their thick trunks had no low branches, and their dense canopies high above created dark shadows below them with little foliage.


    ¡°Sweetheart, you don¡¯t need to be over here. If you¡¯re rested, there is plenty of stuff that needs doing elsewhere.¡± Cyn sighed at the Standard-Bearers gentle voice, shifting her attention back to him, Alphina, and another man whose name eluded her. He was relatively short, only a few inches taller than Cyn, with a very lithe build. Fitting for a rogue, as indicated by the purple cloak that he had draped across his back. The man¡¯s skin was such a deep black it almost appeared blue, and after a moment he inclined his shaved head lightly towards her.  His name is another strange one, since he¡¯s from the same party as Fish and Mountain... damn what was it...  Unsure what else to do, she returned the man¡¯s slight nod.


    Cirrus, thankfully, had wandered off so Cyn no longer felt the aura of nervous anxiety that seemed to stem from the rogue. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Scott. I just needed to make some internal adjustments, since I wasn¡¯t really prepared to deal with being around so many people. If you have a moment, can you get me up to speed?¡±


    The Standard-Bearer glanced at his cohorts, but Alphina was already waving him off. ¡°Shoo. We should all get to work and stop yapping anyway.¡±


    ¡°There is too much to be done, and not nearly enough time. We need to be prioritizing the living over the dead.¡± The dark-skinned man¡¯s argument was directed at Alphina, and based on her waving him off as she walked away, Cyn guessed that was probably the topic of their discussion before she had shown up. She kind of agreed with the man, although she did not want the corpses just strewn about, either.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Scott just sighed after them, and ushered Cyn away from the pyre. ¡°Did you read the objectives?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I probably have more than you do.¡± They did not go very far before stopping, but at least she had her back to the pyre so it was easier to ignore. Although she was mostly now watching Sam direct everyone on where to put the stones - the Berserker looking more comfortable than Cyn had ever seen him - she did not miss the sour look that passed over Scott¡¯s face.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t had the chance to give y¡¯all the thrashing you deserve over three of you not mentioning that feat that got us dropped into this mess. I take it that¡¯s what you¡¯re talking about?¡± Scott¡¯s tone shifted from gentle to scathing in the blink of an eye.  Damn, might have actually pissed him off this time.


    Matching the Standard-Bearer¡¯s stance, Cyn stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest as she turned to face him more directly. The effect was definitely weakened by the seven or eight inches of height Scott had over her, but, since she had lived most of her life only a few inches over five feet tall, Cyn was used to looking up at pretty much everyone. ¡°I got it during the Trial of Will, and honestly didn¡¯t think it would do anything that needed mentioning. It gives me a stat multiplier, and, from the description, sometimes extra objectives.¡±


    She expected Scott to look shocked at the idea of a stat multiplier, but instead he just nodded slowly with his lips set in a thin line.  Either he¡¯s holding back information himself, or he¡¯s already talked to the other Elite Adapters.  She raised an eyebrow at him, and after a moment the old man seemed to deflate a little. ¡°Well if that¡¯s all you thought it did, I guess I can¡¯t be too mad. A bit of extra stats ¡¯s not worth making a fuss over.¡±


    Scott paused a moment before taking a deep breath and gesturing towards the work being done all around them. ¡°Wall is gonna be the first thing to go up, with one open end to funnel the bulk of any attacks. Then we can put up some shelters, and Dana was talking with the other smith about a place for them to work. There¡¯s some kind of old mine at the base of a mountain upriver that still has ore and such they can use.¡± She was pretty sure the Standard-Bearer was hiding his own stat-giving feat at this point, with how quickly Scott had moved the conversation forward. But it also wasn¡¯t important enough to pressure him over. Even if Cyn felt he was being a hypocrite.


    ¡°Is it safe?¡± Despite having experienced the first few dungeon floors, which had been  very  large, Cyn still found herself surprised at the idea there was a whole mountain in there with them. Their low point, combined with the density of the trees around what would become their fort, made it impossible for her to see the mountain from their position.


    ¡°Absolutely not. Riddled with bad supports, partial collapses, flooding, and some kind of burrowing beasts. One of the first deaths was in there. But Sam is certain he can take care of the supports in a day or three, once this camp is fixed up. At least give us access to some metal, for either training professions or defensive construction.¡±  I¡¯ll have to get a look at these beasts. Not excited to go back underground, though.


    Scott continued speaking when she did not immediately ask further questions. ¡°There¡¯s a few other points of interest that they have mapped out, but with the current state of things... it¡¯s all kind of moot. Few people are going to survive wandering off, since this whole dungeon floor is filled with hostile plants and animals, and only a few of our new allies are not actively combat avoidant. I¡¯m told the critters seem to stay away from the Territory Heart, but based on the fact the Vampires were also staying away previously, I don¡¯t reckon we can count on that.¡±


    ¡°Those points of interest might be more important than you think, Scott.¡± Cyn lowered her voice, not wanting to spread alarm if anyone overheard her. ¡±One of the elite objectives is to find and eliminate all threats to our claim on the Territory Heart.  Threats , plural. It might be better for some of us to preemptively seek out problems, before they show up unannounced. Even if we can¡¯t eliminate them, scouting them out will at least give us a heads up about what we are facing.¡± She paused a moment, letting the Standard-Bearer absorb what she had said. As a frown started to form on his face, she continued, ¡°Plus, I already agreed to take a look at some stuff with Cirrus and probably Hex.¡±


    The old man sighed, rubbing his jaw with one hand. ¡°Of course you have. And of course Hex will go with, if he doesn¡¯t piss off on his own. Can¡¯t just stay in camp, can you?¡± Cyn just gave him a smile.  Guilty as charged.  ¡°Any other funny objectives, miss Elite?¡±


    ¡°The only other one is already marked as failed, since it was for everyone to survive.¡± She hesitated before answering, not sure if she should bring the conversation back to something so grim. Wanting to move past the topic quickly, Cyn asked followed up her own statement with a question regarding something she was curious about. ¡°Have you gotten any information about the Territory Heart?¡±


    Scott shrugged, the sad look on his face making it clear that the grim reminder was not lost on him. ¡°Not really. It¡¯s that glowing tree up there, clearly, but I haven¡¯t taken a close look. In my opinion, if we  do  lose it, this whole operation gets shot to hell. Even if it¡¯s only supposed to be a bonus objective to keep hold of it.¡± Cyn nodded along to his assessment. With their numbers, and the relatively low level of most of the raid party, they needed every advantage they could get.


    The old man stepped closer to her, speaking in almost a whisper. ¡°There¡¯s one real snag in all of this. The people. They¡¯re physically alright now, and can take orders well enough. But very few of them are thinking ahead, even to tomorrow. Or even an hour from now!¡± Frustration started to leak into Scott¡¯s voice as he spoke, running one hand through his long, white hair. Based on how messy it had become near his scalp, he had been doing that a lot while Cyn was Meditating.


    ¡°From the sounds of it, half the recovered bodies are from the infighting before we even got here. They didn¡¯t have it in them to take care of themselves immediately after that debacle, much less grieve. And now they have to work even harder to survive.¡± He paused. ¡°They have to  choose  to survive. And I ain¡¯t sure they all want to anymore. Not when it is looking like they will have to fight every step of the way.¡±

 49. Second Impressions

    Cyn frowned at Scott¡¯s assessment of the raid¡¯s mental state.  That¡¯s... not good.  Losing people to their own apathy, or darker emotions, would only create a further downward spiral for everyone else. Not to mention, they all  needed  to level up, especially in their classes. To do that, they would have to go out of their way to fight, not just survive the direct attacks on the fort.


    ¡°Theres a few of them that should be fine. Cirrus, Donovan, and Wolf,¡±  That¡¯s who was speaking to Scott a bit ago. Wolf.  ¡°Are all adept at fighting, and seem to understand what it¡¯s going to take for us to get through this. They were already part of the groups that regularly left camp before we got here, so they should be a big help from here on out.¡± Cyn was not at all surprised by the mention of Cirrus, based on him already expressing the desire to go out and find trouble with her and Hex. Despite only having brief interactions with both Wolf and the archer Donovan, she was not too shocked by them also making the top of the list when it came to their new allies.


    ¡°Wolf¡¯s whole group sounds like it just needs to do some catching up. They ¡®got lazy¡¯, as he put it, but losing one, nearly two, of their own should kick them into gear. Their home planet sounds pretty deadly, so they just aren¡¯t as...  traumatized  as some of the others by this stuff.¡± Scott paused, the old man¡¯s voice taking on a tone of wonder. ¡°They got two suns, and rarely see full darkness. Part of their planet is a damn hellfire wasteland. You ever hear of something like that?¡±


    Cyn felt her lips twitch at the Standard-Bearer¡¯s awe, before she fully absorbed what he was saying. ¡°Wait... they aren¡¯t from Earth?¡±


    Scott shook his head quickly, the old man¡¯s eyes shining with excitement. ¡°No. From the sounds of it, every party that joined up on this floor was from a different planet. Just the same dimension as us. I ain¡¯t had the chance to ask for more details, since there¡¯s more pressing matters, but isn¡¯t that remarkable?¡±


    Cyn couldn¡¯t help but give her wholehearted agreement. It  was  remarkable. She had been able to accept the idea that their dimension was only one of many without too much difficulty, but had assumed that all Awakened would have stemmed from Humans on Earth. Or every dimension¡¯s Earth equivalent. The idea that root Humans had existed on other planets in her dimension prior to the System¡¯s arrival was mind blowing, and created far too many questions that she was unlikely to get answers to anytime soon. If ever.


    If their planets are so different from Earth, shouldn¡¯t they have evolved differently? I could accept looking similar, but we are all the same species as far as I can tell. We also had pretty conclusive evidence of how Humans came to be on Earth, the idea that the exact same thing happened repeatedly across countless planets just seems... impossible. Unless it was designed that way? But by who, or what? The System?  Cyn said her goodbyes to Scott, since there was work to be done, and while ruminating over her unanswerable questions she made her way towards the trickle of people ferrying rocks from the river.


    As Cyn approached the group, distracted by her thoughts, she suddenly found herself swept off her feet and lifted into a tight hug from behind. For a few fractions of a second, she panicked. Between lowering her awareness of the people around her, and being generally more inwardly focused, Cyn had not felt anyone approach her until it was too late to do anything. Thankfully, before she could produce a potentially violent knee-jerk reaction to being lifted off her feet, Cyn was able to mentally identify her assailant and relax as Fish laughed gleefully while spinning them both in a circle.


    As Fish set her down, coming around to Cyn¡¯s front to face her, Cyn felt her lips tug up into a smile to match the young woman¡¯s infectious grin. Not wanting to bring down the mood, but needing to make sure Fish understood the kind of risk the woman had just taken, Cyn chided her gently. ¡°You know, it¡¯s dangerous to sneak up on people like that. I could have seriously hurt you.¡±


    Fish¡¯s glee didn¡¯t falter at the chiding. If anything, she seemed even more happy. ¡°Maybe, but you would have healed it right back!¡±  Only if I didn¡¯t kill you outright on accident.  A quick Inspect confirmed the fire-happy mage was only level fourteen, so there would likely be a significant stat discrepancy between them. Especially if Fish¡¯s class had not evolved. ¡°Anyway, by the time Del told me that you are the one who saved my life, not him, you were already resting. I really wanted to wake you up to say thank you, but you also had worked so hard to fix Irrab, and then I heard about Geoff too... Wolf said I should let you rest. But you¡¯re awake now, so...¡± Cyn found herself lifted into another tight, spinning hug. ¡°Thank you. For saving me, and everyone else.¡±


    Cyn returned the embrace until Fish set her back down on her feet. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I¡¯m just glad we made it in time.¡± As nice as it might have been to have  not  been thrown head-first into a disaster, Cyn really was happy she had been able to save at least some of the dying raid party. Since there was work to be done, she gently guided Fish back to the trickle of people carrying rocks as the young woman started to chatter.


    And oh boy, could Fish chatter. Cyn distinctly felt as though she was being talked  at,  not  to,  and could barely get a word in edgewise as Fish joined her for rock carrying. But she was able to learn a few interesting things over the next few hours, among what mostly felt like nonsense without reference.


    Hex and Dana had fucked off almost immediately after Cyn activated Meditate, with the excuse of scouting the area. Never mind the fact that the raid already had a few rough maps of the dungeon. They had not come back in the few hours she had been resting, but Cyn was sure they would both be back before dark. A belief she had to reassure Fish of, as the young woman nervously voiced a half-joking concern that they had already been abandoned. Cyn was pretty sure they were just avoiding the more boring work she now found herself part of, but she did not voice that out loud.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Cyn also learned why Fish¡¯s whole party had strange names. They were monikers, or perhaps more accurately chosen names their people used around strangers. Despite the entire situation they had found themselves in with the arrival of the System to dimension 242, the party from planet Veert had held onto at least one tradition. Fish, Mountain, Wolf, and Elk - the final living member of their party, a guardian that Cyn had passed by while locating Fish during the attack - had all come from different groups or settlements on their planet, but shared the same belief. Their true names had power, and were not to be used around people you did not trust explicitly.


    The belief wasn¡¯t exactly contradicted by the arrival of the System, and having some normalcy probably gave them comfort, so Cyn could sort of understand why they would continue to hold onto the tradition. She still thought it was a bit strange, though. Mountain, who had overheard at least part of the conversation, tried to tease Cyn about having power over her now. Cyn could not help but laugh at the crestfallen look that came over the boy¡¯s face when she informed him that she, and Hex, were also using monikers. Albeit for different reasons than the others.


    Fish also talked about the planets the other parties were from, with members of said parties chiming in to correct her occasionally. The range of technology for each planet was mind blowing. Fish¡¯s planet and the planet Del¡¯s group was from were between the stone and iron age, and while both planets sounded deadly with a low Human population, they were complete opposites. Scott had already told Cyn about the hot, two-sunned planet that Fish¡¯s party hailed from.


    Del¡¯s planet on the other hand sounded as though it was situated further from its sun than Earth was, or they were in some kind of ice age when the System arrived. It was unbearably cold, and nearly devoid of life above ground. In their party, only the archer Taesh had ever seen the sky before they arrived in the dungeon, because they all lived underground. A remarkable survival strategy made possible by immense, natural cave systems and the diverse flora and fauna native to their planet that had also evolved to live underground.


    Geoff and Juls were the last surviving members of their own party, and their planet had been more like Earth¡¯s medieval period. They did not seem eager to talk about their home, so Cyn was just making a guess based on the lack of technology and a few descriptions of what sounded like feudalistic serfdom.


    Cirrus, a sole survivor before even arriving on this dungeon floor, came from a planet that sounded much closer to Earth, circa early twentieth century. He knew what electricity was, but mentioned it was only a luxury afforded to the wealthy and not widespread. The rogue was also not terribly interested in elaborating further or answering any questions.


    ¡°Last but not least, there is Donovan, Eli, and Gilbert, -  Gilbert, not Burt. That¡¯s the warrior I saw with Sam earlier. -  their planet was nearly destroyed by nooo.... newl...¡±


    Fish seemed to be struggling with the word, and thankfully Donovan was nearby to chime in, tone grim. ¡°Nuclear weapons.¡± The archer caught the shock and recognition that flashed clearly over Cyn¡¯s face, and continued before Fish could take over the conversation again, ¡°You know what those are?¡± He sounded surprised, and since it appeared lower technology planets were more commonplace - at the very least based on her current sampling - Cyn couldn¡¯t blame him for being surprised that she knew what he was talking about.


    Bending to set down her rock among the others - one significantly heavier than she would have been able to lift, much less carry before the System - Cyn nodded her head. ¡°Our planet, Earth, has those. They¡¯ve even been used in war, a few times if I remember right. But not on a planet destroying scale. The threat of mutual destruction has kept conflicts from escalating that far.¡±


    Donovan scowled. ¡°You¡¯re lucky, then. Or your leaders are smarter than our governments. Either way, some asshole halfway across the planet shot a nuke at a bordering country about a week before this dungeon took us away, and suddenly everyone else was shooting theirs too. From the safety of their bunkers, naturally.¡±


    ¡°Civvies always take the brunt of things, Donny. Look on the bright side, you could be back dying of radiation poisoning. Not a great way to go, take my word for it.¡± It was Eli who interjected, sounding upbeat but his tone was offset by the clearly empty smile paired with a haunted look in the young man¡¯s brown eyes as he passed by them. ¡±Instead, we¡¯re dying from Vampires and other people¡¯s stupidity.¡±


    ¡°I would argue that the nukes  were  other people¡¯s stupidity. I sure as fuck didn¡¯t make them, or press the big red button to launch. Even if we make it out of here, we are just going to walk right back into the same deaths this dungeon saved us from.¡±


    The anger and despair in Donovan¡¯s voice as he spoke to Eli¡¯s back was heartbreaking. Cyn couldn¡¯t blame him for not wanting to return to a ruined planet, or struggling with the failures that had occurred before her party arrived on this floor. But she might be able to give him, and maybe some others, hope. With cold, hard logic. ¡°In case you haven¡¯t noticed, you are a lot harder to kill now. And magical healing is a thing.¡± Donovan rolled his eyes and started to turn away, but Cyn grabbed his arm to face him back towards her. ¡°Any mage can regrow people limbs in a matter of hours, and you might even be able to do it without a mage. There is no reason to think that the radiation would still be a death sentence. I would suggest putting some free points into vitality if you aren¡¯t already, so you have more health points to work with.¡±  Radiation poisoning has to be a DOT, right? Definitely damage over time, I am sure of it.  Taking a deep breath, she let go and instead used Pet while patting his arm and speaking softly. ¡°Think of it as a chance to start fresh, and build a better world. It was a miracle you survived, and you should put that miracle to good use.¡±


    Donovan still didn¡¯t look happy, but he did visibly relax under her touch and shrugged. ¡±I don¡¯t know about that. Even if the radiation doesn¡¯t kill us, I am not sure I want to go back to a world ruled by people who think they can just play god with our lives.¡± Cyn let him pull away and sighed.  Pretty sure people playing god with other people¡¯s lives are an inevitability, no matter where you go.  Her effort wasn¡¯t a total success, but Cyn was just thankful that she was able to use the skill without getting caught, because there was a huge potential for backfire. But she was convinced it could be of use, and this encounter was a start to getting the most clearly depressed members of their raid party motivated to survive.


    Turning back towards the river to get another rock, she locked gazes with Cirrus, who was staring at her with an intense, unreadable expression. He flicked his eyes to Donovan, a few steps ahead of her, before meeting her gaze again.  Welp, so much for not getting caught, I guess.  The rogue took one step towards her, before she was saved by Fish grabbing onto her arm and pulling her back towards the water.


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t understand half of whatever you three were talking about, but every time they speak it makes me feel sad. Anyway, once this wall is built, can I hold your frog?¡±

 50. Scouting Reports

    As they continued to move rocks until midafternoon, Cyn was surprised that Cirrus did not make any more attempts to approach her and question about what he had seen happen with Donovan, nor did he appear to tell anyone about it. She felt both relieved, and suspicious, about his lack of action. Or perhaps it was just her innate discomfort around the man that made Cyn struggle to see Cirrus¡¯s seeming cooperation as purely a good thing.


    Regardless, if it was a problem, it would be one for a later time. By midafternoon most of the raid party was exhausted from lugging around rocks and fighting the night before, necessitating a chance to rest before the sun set in case there was another Vampire incursion. Most just laid down in the grass and dirt, passing out quickly or using Meditate. Included in those passed out was Fish, who had left to rest near the others from the mage¡¯s home world after Spam refused to leave its pocket to be fawned over. Cyn was a little surprised that her familiar had just outright refused to allow Fish to hold it, since the fat frog seemed to love being Pet, but Cyn chalked it up to the fact that Spam was still inexplicably unhappy.


    Not being tired herself, since carrying the rocks was boring but not strenuous, she briefly wandered over to Sam. Dana and Hex were still MIA, and Cyn wanted to check if the Berserker needed any more help before she worked on her personal to-do list. As she approached, Cyn saw Sam was working while talking with Mountain, the only other builder in the raid party. She could hear the Berserker attempting to teach the boy about legitimate construction techniques, all the while steadily shaping the mass of rocks into a solid wall. Cyn ended up as enraptured by Sam as Mountain was, albeit for different reasons. While he was greedily eating up the stream of information Sam provided, she was fascinated watching the process itself.


    She had seen Sam work stone a few times, in small amounts, but those instances were not nearly as dramatic as when he was working on a larger scale. The Berserker would lay his large hands on one of the rocks that been put in place, and after a few seconds it was as though the stone became liquid. The liquid-like stone would flow away from its original form in small streams, suspended in the air, before settling into its new shape and rapidly hardening. Because of the size and multitude of stones Sam had to build with, each one would only end up creating a kind of large brick, which he then had to adhere to each other using a similar process. It was infinitely faster than traditional building, and downright fascinating to watch.


    It did not take a lot of mental focus for the Berserker either, allowing him the opportunity to freely talk to Mountain and Cyn. After listening to a handful of the boy¡¯s questions regarding building without the assistance of a profession, a topic she found a bit moot, Cyn could not help but step into the conversation herself. ¡°Not to interrupt, but is there a point to learning any of that now? It seems like your skills would solve most of the problems for you.¡±


    Mountain looked sheepish, but Sam shook his head vigorously at her. ¡°The skill does the hard work, but you still have to know how to make something that won¡¯t collapse the moment you step on it. How to properly put the different parts together so they won¡¯t break each other, and actually make something out of it. Magic isn¡¯t holding this together for me. I just made a brick, without tools, and stuck them together, without grout. My skills are simple.¡± Sam paused, scratching his beard a moment. ¡°If I had bigger chunks of rock, or if we were underground like back in Cogtopia, I might be able to make entire sections of wall out of a single piece, like a big brick. But I would still have to consider the structural integrity so it didn¡¯t crumble. There might be ways to cheat it when I level up more, but not right now.¡±


    ¡°The profession skills are pretty limited, like your mage skills from what Fish says. You can change little things, like sacrificing thickness for length in a material. Or making Mana Ball smaller. But you can¡¯t use Mana Ball to make a Fireball, or make a wheel using a brick-making skill.¡± Mountain was clearly trying to be helpful, but unfortunately that logic just did not apply to Cyn. She probably  could  make her Light Ball into a Fireball instead, or any mana for that matter. As soon as she took the time to figure out how mana attunement worked. It wouldn¡¯t  technically  be the same skill anymore, she supposed, but in general Hubris made everything Cyn did a ton more flexible.


    She got the point, though.


    ¡°I see, I didn¡¯t realize it was still so involved. Creature Handler is a bit more... nebulous. Every time I look at a profession skill being used to make something, it looks like it just  works .¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? My handgun worked  so  well, did it?¡± Dana¡¯s voice was followed by a loud, carefree laugh as the Tactician approached Cyn from behind. She had felt the other woman approach, but not until she was quite close. Cyn would have to tweak her awareness to find the sweet spot to both not be overwhelmed, or snuck up on.


    Turning with a chuckle, she shrugged at Dana¡¯s rhetorical question and responded, tone teasing. ¡°I thought it worked great. As a stick of dynamite, that is.¡±


    That caused Dana to laugh even harder. ¡°Yah, well... even dynamite isn¡¯t supposed to go off while you are still holding onto it.¡± Stifling her laughter, she continued after looking around a moment. ¡°I take it Hex isn¡¯t back yet?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him since the two of you apparently ditched doing manual labor while I was Meditating.¡±


    Dana scoffed, gesturing for Cyn to follow her a little further away from Sam and Mountain. The pair had returned to their own conversation, and there was no reason for all of them to be in range to talk over one another. ¡°I wasn¡¯t ditching anything!¡± The Tacticians tone was not believable, but Cyn just rolled her eyes and let Dana continue, ¡°We decided to split up scouting. Sure, a wall is a good start, but we need to get a handle on whatever is going on everywhere else on this floor too. Quickly.¡±


    ¡°The raid already has maps of the floor, according to Scott.¡± Dana had led Cyn up the mound while she spoke. When they stopped near the Territory Heart, Cyn stopped to cross her arms and gave the other woman a reproachful look.


    A look that Dana clearly ignored, leaning in towards Cyn to speak softly. ¡°These people tore themselves apart before we got here, and they have contradicting accounts of what happened.¡± Cyn had not heard more than one version of the story, but she did not think Dana was lying either. She had just not bothered to ask more questions about the days leading up to their arrival yet. ¡°You can¡¯t seriously think we can blindly trust whatever any of them tell us.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Cyn sighed. She might have defended the survivors more, if not for the feeling Cirrus gave her anytime he was near. She  did  want to believe them, though. Donovan¡¯s party in particular felt genuine when they spoke, even if it was depressing. Fish, and to a lesser extent her party, also seemed genuine. ¡°So, what did you find?¡±


    Dana explained how she had scouted what they assumed was north of the camp, so long as the sun rose and set in the same direction as Earth, starting by following the river that sat to the north upstream to the north-west. The Tactician already knew the mine would be at the foot of the mountain where the river started, but there was also a small, deep lake that had formed under the waterfall coming down off the mountain cliffs. In that lake was an island with a tall, decrepit-looking stone tower. There was something large moving in the water of the lake, deterring her from investigating further.


    With this side of the river appearing to be more woods, and the mountain being too dangerous-looking to climb unprepared, Dana then crossed the river at a shallow spot back downstream to check out the rolling plains. Both the woods and plains were teeming with wildlife, and while she was able to avoid most of it either by hiding or it running from her, that became harder and harder to do the further away she got from the Territory Heart.


    ¡°I had the same problem. Things get higher level as you get further away, quickly, and fucking everything wants to kill you. I made the mistake of thinking a goddamn rabbit wouldn¡¯t be a problem even though it was the same level as me. How the fuck does a rabbit get to level twenty-three? By taking out your kneecaps with a high-power kick, apparently.¡± Hex had returned by the time the Tactician reached this point in her report, looking worse for wear and clearly frustrated. The Seeker¡¯s clothes were torn up, splattered in blood she was not sure the origin of, and he was sopping wet. He did not feel injured to Cyn, so it couldn¡¯t have been too bad, but Hex had clearly had a more difficult time than Dana scouting.


    Or he had done something stupid while off on his own. Maybe even a few somethings.


    Dana nodded grimly, briefing her own difficulties with the local wildlife. At least on the plains she could see most of it coming, but when she was blasted into the air by a wind elemental that was practically invisible when it was right in front of her, the Tactician decided it was time to head back. Dana expressed then that she didn¡¯t even know how she was supposed to fight something like that. There was also some kind of flying creature circling high above that plains that she was not able make out because it was so far away, and as she was making her way back she also noticed a towering tree that stood far above the others, deep in the forest southeast of the camp.


    Dana¡¯s final scouting observation was that they appeared to be limited in where they could go. She could not see it well, but there was a shimmering wall on the far side of the plains she was barely able to make out. Everything on the other side of the wall was distorted and blurry, and the Tactician reasoned it was probably the edge of the dungeon. Cyn and Hex both agreed that was probably the case, though Hex did not find anything similar on his trip. With the density of the forest, he would have to be right on top of it to see it anyway.


    Hex had followed the river east at first, finding a multitude of small stone ruins along the shoreline and in the woods as he moved away from the water. Near the camp, they were predictably empty of both threats and loot as far as the Seeker could tell. As he stumbled across more of the ruins further away, they began to have small groups of creatures living in them and he was able to feel hidden treasure. His next admission proved that Cyn had been correct in assuming Hex had done some stupid things.


    Despite already having had his ass nearly handed to him by a rabbit by this point, he still made an attempt to sneak into one of the ruins to get some treasure and hopefully a few kills. Thankfully, the Seeker quickly realized he was in over his head and managed to escape the group of skeletons that spotted him with only minor injuries. Empty handed, so at least he had not been rewarded for the behavior.


    Following the river further after it curved south, Hex was able to catch glimpses of a massive tree deeper in the forest, the same that Dana had been able to see from the plains. The river widened as it went further south, and Hex found a larger set of ruins on an island set in the middle of the fast-moving water. He had not intended to go into the water, but  something  reached out when he was standing in the shallows to peer at the ruins, pulling the Seeker under the rapids. He was able to recover and scramble ashore after only being pulled a short distance downstream, with the assistance of one of his skills, but that was when Hex decided he had had enough and came back to camp. Whatever had grabbed him had left a hand-shaped wound on the Seekers ankle - completely removing the skin where it touched - that took a long time to heal, and left him with a limp most of the way back.


    Regardless of his current frustration, Hex seemed pleased there was adventure to be had. Even if he was too weak still to do it by himself. Cyn shared his eagerness, and felt a tiny bubble of relief that he had failed enough to be unlikely to go off on his own, but had not been seriously hurt. She just did not want to be left behind.


    There was a lot of things to explore, provided they could get this camp safe and the survivors motivated enough to level up. But before night fully fell, there was one more thing that needed to be done. And based off of the people starting to gather around the pyre, it was time.


    ***


    I hate this.  Cyn chose to keep her distance from the burning pile of wood and bodies lighting up the night, though not so far as to be picked off by a Vampire. There were eulogies, and crying. So much crying. She did not blame any of the raid party for their sorrow, Cyn just did not know how to handle it. Made worse by being a small woman, since that inherently made her seem approachable. Any words she might give, rooted in her own habit of continuously moving forward and bereft of the experience of true grief, would be horribly out of place in this moment. She had already been seen using Pet to calm someone, and, combined with the fact that that too would probably be seen as unwelcome and out of place, she chose not to use it. So instead she just kept silent.


    Fish had held onto her a while after the fire was lit, before Cyn was blessedly saved by Sam, who actually knew how to comfort someone. Dana, Scott, and Sam all bonded with their raid party, offering kind words and sympathy. Scott was an expert at proving a sense of hope, keeping the mourners from falling too far into despair, despite the conditions.


    Even Hex was able to keep up a passable mask of sympathy, though that was probably in part because no one was actively looking at him for comforting words so he did not have to do much. Instead, he stood with Cirrus and Donovan, quietly discussing the next steps for the points of interest that had been found. She chose not to join them. Cyn was already on edge, she did not need to add close proximity to Cirrus making it worse. Especially since there was a knowing look in the man¡¯s eyes every time she caught him looking at her, a weight of unasked questions.


    Instead, Cyn sat almost alone in the shadows, guiltily hiding from a sense of responsibility marbled with failure, holding tightly to a very sad and very scared three-eyed frog.

 51. High Scores, and Bad News Birds

    Two days and no Vampire attacks later, and the camp finally felt stable. Alongside the wall that circled two-thirds of the area around the Territory Heart, four buildings had been put up. The largest of the buildings had been set up for those with crafting professions, specifically the smiths, but also had room for the work areas other crafters required to utilize their profession properly. The other three buildings were shared lodging, one for the six women and the other two buildings split between the men. Not only was shared lodging faster to build, but it was also safer. No one would be resting alone or far away from help. They were made primarily of stone, like the wall, if for no other reason than mitigating the risk of Fish catching the whole camp on fire again. Only their roofs and some beds, since not everyone had Meditate, were made of wood by Mountain.


    Cyn had taken some of the downtime she had in the past few days to risk trying to add her objectives to her HUD. But since her goal was not constant awareness, and instead just wanting the ability to notice if things changed, only time would tell if it actually worked. At least nothing catastrophic happened immediately. She had also discovered, through prompting the ever-talkative Fish, that everyone¡¯s dungeon so far had been different. Or rather, the  first floor   specifically  had been drastically different for each party. All of them sounded easier to Cyn than what her party had gone through in the spider-infested mines. Juls and Geoff had started within sight of a friendly town, even.


    To Cyn¡¯s ears, there was a problem in the fact that every other party seemed to have rushed themselves through the first two floors. She couldn¡¯t blame them for wanting to get home as quickly as possible, even if she did not share the sentiment, but there was a very real chance they had lost out on a lot in the long run because their easier first floors had made it possible for them to rush. In contrast, Cyn was fairly sure that if her party tried to face the Illuminant Brood Queen before going to Cogtopia, they probably would have died.


    Overhearing Cyn talk about her party¡¯s first floor, and her pondering aloud about the strange range of difficulty, led to Donovan asking her if she remembered what her compatibility was before she entered the class-choosing area at the start of adaptation. Because the archer had developed a  very  interesting theory after arriving on the third floor and meeting more people, thus noticing the same difficulty discrepancy.


    Cyn admitted she did not remember the exact number, but was pretty sure it was somewhere in the seventies. Wide-eyed, the archer quickly confirmed with her nearest party members that their numbers were also that high. Sam couldn¡¯t remember his at all, but Hex claimed his had been eighty-three. Five higher than the previous highest compatibility, they found out. Nearly all of the people originally on this floor had had compatibility between thirty and sixty, with two exceptions. The mage from Donovan¡¯s own party, now dead, had had compatibility in the low seventies, and the previous highest belonged to none other than Cirrus.


    Donovan¡¯s theory was that the System put those who were more compatible into a more challenging first floor. Each party also seemed to have been selected to have similar compatibility numbers to each other, reinforcing the theory they had been tiered. Obviously, they had no way to prove it, but after listening to Donovan talk about it, and hearing tales of the differing first floors, Cyn felt it was pretty reasonable. Sam also expressed relief at the theory, and hoped it was true. He had a little sister, and the thought that she might have ended up in the same situations Sam found himself in had been worrying him.


    Once the wall was built and the camp seemed stable, the raid party split into three groups. The first group leaving camp for the day would be heading to the plains, mostly so that Cyn¡¯s party could get a sense of how much work needed to be done to get everyone appropriately leveled up, how they worked together, and an idea of who needed more motivation. Scott had, naturally, taken the lead in the camp and no one had really stepped up to contest his decisions so far. Del¡¯s entire party - consisting of Alphina the warrior, Irrab the guardian, Taesh the archer, and Del himself as the mage - would be heading out alongside Scott and Hex. Since their party was missing professions, it was agreed that they would be the first ones Scott and Hex would work with. The four had little to do if they were stuck sitting at camp, so it was important to make sure they were ready to venture out of their relative safe-zone and start gaining levels.


    Cyn was originally planning to go with them to the plains, until Cirrus approached her from the second group forming to head to the mine. ¡°Hey, I think you should  come with us instead.  In case there is trouble, or a collapse.¡± Cyn barely avoided flinching at the attempted mental influence. It was far more subtle than what Scott did, or how the Cadaverous Puppet Bloom communicated, but it still felt like sandpaper. Just more like sandpaper lightly rubbed, instead of trying to vigorously polish her eardrums.


    She also only had a few heartbeats to come up with a response. While her own party knew she was immune, or at least resilient to, illusions, Cyn had not been entirely forthcoming with them about how powerful Mental Fortress was. The only thing that might reasonably explain her resistance otherwise was stats, since it was her will that allowed her to initially resist during the trial, but she simply did not know how it worked.


    ¡°Sure...¡± She decided to pretend his attempted influence was successful, or at the very least that she had not noticed it, although she could not fake being thrilled with the idea. Cirrus didn¡¯t seem bothered by Cyn¡¯s slight hesitation to agree, just giving her a warm smile and reaching out with one hand. Resting the hand on her upper back, Cirrus attempted to guide her towards the second group.  Nope.  Cyn was not into that. She picked up her pace, pulling away from the rogue and shamelessly seeking shelter from unwanted touching between the giant teddy bear that was Sam and an over-excited Fish.


    Fish, of course, immediately slung one arm around Cyn¡¯s shoulders to lean on the shorter woman. Still unwanted, but at least Fish did not give her the heebie-jeebies. With her and Cirrus joining this group, the latter giving Cyn a slightly strange look but not attempting to touch her again, they were ready to head out.


    Sam would obviously be a part of this group, since the Berserker was taking responsibility for making sure the supports were stable enough to prevent further collapse. Mountain had been glued to Sam¡¯s side, the boy absorbing everything the man had to teach him like a sponge, and this trip would not change that. Geoff, one of the warriors, was also a smith. He would be coming along since he had been to the mine previously, and his profession allowed him to more easily identify and extract useful material from the ground. Juls, Fish, and Cirrus were joining for protection and to just make themselves as useful as possible. Everyone else would be staying at the camp to work on their professions, and protect the Territory Heart if necessary. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    With everyone being ready, both groups set out just after sunrise. While the group going to the plains technically did not have to go very far, the mine was at least an hour away when sticking to the riverbank. It would be less for those who had high agility, but since they were going to stay together for safety the group had to move at the pace of the slowest person. And that person was Geoff, who was torturously slow. They could probably shorten the time a little by cutting through the forest, since the river curved some and was not a direct line to their destination, but most preferred to stick to the route they knew.


    At least Cyn did not feel totally averse to going to the mine with the second group. Her current goal was to interact with some of the creatures on this dungeon floor for Creature Handler experience, and supposedly there was some kind of tunneling creature that would harass anyone who tried to make use of the mine. But even more interesting was whatever Dana had seen moving in the lake. The only reason she had not volunteered to go to the mines initially was because Cirrus had joined before she got the chance to.


    They did not make it far from the camp when Cyn saw her first non-humanoid creature of the third floor. It looked like just a little, black bird, peering silently down at the party from the air and following their movements.


    Shadow Crow - Level 13


    A highly intelligent avian, known for living in flocks consisting of a variety of specialized subspecies.


    This subspecies is capable of shadow magic, and will often serve as a scout for its flock.


    Parts of this creature are edible.


    How many birds count as a flock? And if it¡¯s a crow, wouldn¡¯t it be called a murder, not a flock? Actually, after Hex¡¯s experience with the bunny, I would rather call it a flock. Less ominous.  The creature seemed to realize it was noticed, probably since she was just staring at it, and quickly dived deeper into the trees, vanishing. Clearing her throat to get the group¡¯s attention, since most of them were wrapped up in idle chatter, Cyn quickly asked a question. ¡°Know anything about the birds on this floor? I just saw one.¡±


    Everyone but Sam and Cyn immediately came to a stop and started looking around, with Juls, Geoff, and Mountain drawing their weapons. While their reaction was enough to tell Cyn what she needed to know, Juls answered her question as she and Sam also stopped. ¡°I only know of two kinds, and they both are bad news. Was it a Crow?¡± The archer was nervously fiddling with a half-nocked arrow as she spoke, her gaze still flicking around their surroundings, and clearly on edge from the mere mention of a bird.


    She nodded quickly. ¡°Shadow Crow. The description says it¡¯s probably a scout for a flock. I assume they are aggressive?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes, but I doubt they would attack us. Too many people, too many high levels between you, Cirrus, and Sam. It would be stupid, and the Crows aren¡¯t stupid.¡± Fish was looking around just like everyone else, but seemed pretty relaxed about it. It was only Juls and Geoff that appeared genuinely nervous.


    Cirrus quickly agreed. ¡°They haven¡¯t actually killed anyone yet. They only seem to attack the already injured, and only if no one strong is close by. Smart enough to run... fly... from a fight they won¡¯t win. We should be alright to keep moving.¡± Turning, the rogue gave Cyn a bright smile. ¡°Good catch. I expect good eyes from the archers, not the mages.¡±


    Regardless of how Cirrus made her feel, Cyn was not able to stop herself from preening under the praise and smiling back. ¡°Looking at critters is kind of the whole reason I am out here.¡± She paused a heartbeat, before realizing she had left out the other, arguably more important reason she was here. Cyn quickly added on, ¡°And keeping people alive. Obviously.¡±


    Boisterous laughter from Sam and Mountain at her gaffe seemed to relax Juls and Geoff, and the group got moving again. Cirrus, unfortunately, immediately adjusted his pace to jog beside her. Trying to get away from him now would definitely cause an unnecessary scene, and, if Cyn was being honest, Cirrus had been nothing except nice to her. She couldn¡¯t even count his instance of attempted mental manipulation, since she was guilty of doing something similar. She just wished she knew why the rogue made her so nervous.


    ¡°The Crows attacked often in the first few days, and only once did someone catch sight of the Shadow Crow before the whole flock showed up. You must have pretty high mind or will. Maybe both?¡± Maybe she should be nervous, because Cirrus¡¯s friendly observation and question felt like a clear phishing attempt. Not that she knew what he could even do with that information, since mind and will had been the stated primary stats for mage. She might have evolved, but mage was still the root of her class, and it wasn¡¯t a stretch to think they were still her primary stats.


    ¡°Yah, I do. Standard mage stats.¡± His expression, the same easy smile Cirrus seemed to wear all of the time, did not change at her vague answer. He just nodded, but since he seemed to be about to say something else, she quickly tried to change the subject. ¡°Anyway, what¡¯s this about a second kind of bad news bird?¡±


    ¡°The Wind Roc. We would have noticed it if it was near, the creature is massive. It seems to spend most of its time out over the plains.¡± That was likely what Dana had seen during her scouting. Cyn had a flash of concern for the others, and it must have been clear on her face since Cirrus quickly added on, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve been out there while the Roc is flying around and it never seemed to care.¡±


    ¡°Like how the Vampires never attacked the camp?¡±


    His smile slipped. Cirrus didn¡¯t have a response to that.

 52. Blessing or Curse?

    ¡°You seriously don¡¯t even have to try to hold it together? What about Mana Ball?¡± Cyn was dumbfounded, and it was reflective in her tone. The group had encountered a hostile creature near the lake, when they were nearly in sight of the mine entrance. It resembled a brown bear, if a brown bear had two heads and a long, fluffy tail. Inspect had told Cyn it was a Urul, and they were highly territorial. Since it was only level fifteen, Cirrus, Sam and Cyn had hung back to allow the others to fight it on their own. No reason to pass up easy experience, and some of them clearly needed the practice.


    Watching the fight highlighted a few things for Cyn, including the gap in fighting experience between different members of the raid party. Juls and Geoff were... not having a good time. They both protested the idea of even attacking the Urul, wanting to try and sneak around it instead. Geoff fought fine, though he was almost overly defensive. His passable competency was not too surprising, since the warrior had been successful in holding off Vampires when Cyn and her party arrived on the floor. He just did not  want  to fight.


    Juls did not do well at all. She had long hesitations between each attempted shot with her bow, and kept glancing back at the three bystanders as if she was waiting for permission to stop. They did not give it to her, even if her pathetic attempts were painful to watch.


    Mountain and Fish, on the other hand, were eager but downright reckless. Mountain¡¯s fighting style with his long polearm would probably be good, if there was not another person in melee range of him. Part of Geoff¡¯s defensiveness could likely be chalked up to having to constantly watch out for the other warrior¡¯s weapon being swung too close to him.


    That, and the fireballs.


    Fish had had zero hesitation to just start lobbing fist-sized balls of red flames as soon as the lower-level members of the group were prompted to attack the Urul. Her aim was careless, leading to many minor burns for Mountain and Geoff, and a small fire that Cirrus, Sam, and Cyn ran to put out using their waterskins before it spread. As effective as it was, something else stood out to Cyn. Just how  easily  the other mage seemed to be able to create and throw nearly identical balls of fire. There was some variation, due to the nature of fire itself, but the core orb created by the skill remained a perfect sphere from what Cyn could see.


    Cyn had never been able to create a perfect sphere with Mana Ball, and the few times she used Light Ball since acquiring it she had not created a perfect shape either. It just took too much work, too much focus, too much  time  to do. She had been settling for something vaguely round, and not too bumpy. After the fight was over, feeling only a  little  inadequate, she had to ask Fish how the other woman had managed to get the shape so perfect every time.


    Only to be met with confusion. The skill made a fireball. The only thing Fish did was determine the size by how long she channeled the skill for, and throw it. Rubbing the back of her neck and frowning, she responded to Cyn¡¯s question, ¡°I don¡¯t even know what you mean by ¡®hold it together¡¯. It explodes when it hits something, or I miss and it gets too far away. Mana Ball was the same.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t... do you know if it¡¯s the same for Del?¡±  Maybe it¡¯s just something special about Fish?


    The other mage shrugged, likely having not even thought about asking someone else about how their skills worked. Instead, Cirrus, who was close enough to listen, stepped in to comment. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for Del, but I have a mana-using skill. All I have to do is turn it on and off, and make sure I do not run out of mana and pass out. Otherwise, it just does exactly what the skill description states.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Confused, she waved off any further questions for the moment with the explanation she needed to think as the group continued towards the mine. She wasn¡¯t keen on sharing details of her non-standard skill, even though her party already knew about Freeform Mana Casting, but she would probably have to soon since Cyn had just made it blatantly obvious she was not sharing the same experience using skills that others were.


    Cyn just wanted a few minutes to think first. Hubris altered her experience with using skills, she already knew that. She was not even terribly surprised to hear Cirrus mention passing out when he ran out of mana. That was probably some kind of safeguard that Hubris removed for her.


    What Cyn found puzzling was the fact that she first used Mana Ball  before  gaining Freeform Mana Casting. She had found the skill frustrating and difficult to use, leading her to abandon it quickly in favor of something that felt more stable and natural using Freeform. Learning that other mages did not have to shape the ball, or even mentally hold it together after throwing, was shocking. She had already suspected that her ability to  feel  her mana flow through her body was likely abnormal, but the idea that - even in that very first use of Mana Ball before gaining Freeform - she had had significantly reduced System assistance and far more direct control of the mana than she should have been capable of was confusing. There had been nothing on her menu to indicate she was supposed to have an ability to do that, or that for some reason the System was not helping her like it should.


    Not until she stubbornly gained Freeform Mana Casting, anyway. But now it seemed like that non-standard skill gain was more of a side-effect from something else she already had, rather than a lucky boon on its own. But why? And why did only  certain  skills appear to be affected? She had never had an issue with using Restoration or Purify. Were there other things she was regularly doing or dealing with that Cyn did not know was abnormal?Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Those were the questions looming over Cyn, and unfortunately the trees and lake to either side of her held no answers.


    Sighing, she looked down at the pouch on her tabard. Spam was inside, though she had to use one hand to pull open the pouch to see it since the frog was curled up all the way at the bottom. The familiar had been fluctuating between scared and upset over the past two days, and adamantly refused to leave the pouch. ¡°Any idea what¡¯s weird about me, buddy?¡±


    Cyn did not expect much of a response to her whispered question, so she was surprised when three black eyes opened to stare up at her and Spam gave a quiet chirp. It  did  know. Not that that was much help, since her communication with the familiar was based on vague feelings and not words. Cyn felt her shoulders slump. ¡°Well, fuck. If only you could talk, and tell me what is wrong with  both  of us.¡±


    Letting go of the pouch opening so it could fall shut, she ignored the raised eyebrows around her and slowed down as they approached their destination. Cyn could see the mine entrance at the foot of a high cliff now that they had left the tree line near the lake. The entrance appeared worn, but not nearly as decrepit as the inside of the mines on Cyn¡¯s first floor of the dungeon. As they entered, Fish and Cyn both activated their diadems for light. While the pale blue light the item gave off had been comforting when Cyn first saw it, now that she had spent time out in the sunlight again it was almost eerie. But it served its purpose, and the group could see the tunnel clearly ahead of them.


    The group spent only around an hour inside the mine before the Berserker was ushering them back out. There was no sign of giant spiders, thankfully, but there was a concerning amount of damage and instability in the support beams according to Sam, and he did not want to linger longer than they needed to. Him and Mountain would need supplies in order to make repairs. At least they were all able to pick up some small bits of ore to allow the smiths to start crafting while the builders worked on stabilizing the mine. Cyn also noticed signs of the burrowing creatures, notably what looked like small burrow entrances where the ground met the cave walls, but did not catch glimpse of any of them. She would have to come back during the repair process, or after Sam declared it safe.


    Most of the group was eager to return to camp, but not Cyn. Once they were back outside, she couldn¡¯t help but glance to the lake to the north of the mine entrance, and subsequently the black stone tower that jutted up from the island at the lakes center. The tower looked as though it was on the verge of crumbling, and while she was curious about its possible purpose, she was much more interested in whatever Dana had seen in the lake. Before the group moved out, she spoke. ¡°I want to go take a look at the water; can we wait a few minutes to head back?¡±


    Geoff quickly spoke up, ¡°You don¡¯t want to do that. There¡¯s some kind of big snake in there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I am trying to get a look at. But you should probably stay back. I have a skill that reduces hostility towards me and I am not sure it will work if you are too close.¡± Geoff shook his head in disbelief, but made no more protests as she turned and walked towards the waterline.


    It was Cirrus who stopped her instead, stepping forward to grab her arm and sounding genuinely concerned. ¡°Wait, Cyn. That thing¡¯s seriously dangerous. Why do you need to see it?¡±


    She stared down at the rogue¡¯s hand, only answering once he let go. ¡°My profession is Creature Handler, and I haven¡¯t gotten enough opportunities for gaining experience in it. I seem to get most of my experience from interacting with or fighting new creatures. Whatever is lurking in the water will definitely be new to me.¡± Looking at his face, Cirrus seemed puzzled so she tried to reassure him. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to fight it. I just want to look.¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem reassured, or less confused, but allowed her to continue toward the lake unimpeded. The water looked crystal clear, but the sheer abundance of aquatic plant life Cyn could see as she got close could create an abundance of hiding spots for anything lurking in the lake. She suspected the water was quite deep, despite being able to see the bottom in places, though it was difficult to judge. Cyn was just basing her judgement off of the perceived height of the dark green, kelp-like fronds that grew nearly to the surface of the water.


    Only a few feet back from the water, she stopped and watched for any signs of unusual movement, beyond the gentle sway of the flora that was expected. While the fronds made up the bulk of the flora, she could also see some more colorful shrub-like plants that grew in clusters across the lakebed. The near stillness of the water almost felt like a warning, the lack of fish an unnerving danger signal for the predator she was sure lived there. It took less than a minute for her to catch sight of something moving further out into the lake, parting the fronds in its path. If it was a single creature, it was  very  long. And it was moving towards her. Cyn probably should have backed up more, but she really wanted to get a good look at whatever it was.


    Her anticipation ratcheted up until, finally, the creature came into sight, gliding smoothly forward through the water as the fronds thinned near the shoreline. Her first impression upon seeing its head made Cyn think it was some kind of axolotl, mainly due to the frilly tendrils that grew out of the sides of its head. But its serpentine features quickly overtook any resemblance to the amphibian of Earth as it continued towards her, its long and limbless body clearly covered in small, overlapping, off-white scales. The serpent¡¯s most striking feature was the six pale red eyes, three on either side, that lined the creature¡¯s head, the black slitted pupils focused entirely on Cyn as it stopped just short of the water¡¯s edge, keeping its massive head beneath the surface.


    Big danger noodle. I think I could fit inside its mouth...


    Feathered Brine Serpent - Level ?


    ? A rare ambush predator native to deep oceans.


    ? Possesses a highly potent necrotic venom.


    ? Parts of this creature are edible.


    I shouldn¡¯t have stood so close to the water.

 53. Striking a Bargain

    Backing up felt like it might be too sudden a movement, and thus dangerous, in the face of an unexpectedly large and dangerous creature. So she instead stood stock-still, staring the Feathered Brine Serpent down and wracking her brain for a good way to get out of this predicament safely. At least it was not openly aggressive. Yet. It could definitely reach her from where Cyn stood if it wanted to, but even when Cyn broke eye contact to glance down the serpent¡¯s body again it did not react.


    With the creature being so close now, Cyn was able to get a much better look at it. And what she saw was both confusing and concerning when combined with the result she got from Inspect. Its scales were worn-down, even missing in places, and she had an inkling that their dull color was not the color of a healthy creature. The tendrils extending from its head were only slightly darker than its scales, and appeared droopy, the feathery frills looking damaged or shriveled.


    It''s sick.  Cyn was pretty sure she knew why, too. The water in the lake was not salt water, and it definitely would not have the same properties as a deep ocean. The creature was  far  outside of its natural environment. ¡°Poor noodle...¡± She wasn¡¯t sure if the serpent could actually hear her, but in case it could Cyn used the tone of voice one would use on unfamiliar animals or scared children, a quiet coo.


    Curious. What kind of prey stares at a hunter with pity?  The vaguely feminine voice, not Cyn¡¯s own, flitted through Cyn¡¯s thoughts and made her jerk in surprise. She wasn¡¯t hearing it, at least not with her ears. Despite feeling as though the voice spoke directly into her head, it was extraordinarily different than the experience Cyn had with the Trial of Will, or even with the Cadaverous Puppet Bloom. The words were distinctly and clearly separate from her own mind, and she felt none of the discomfort she had begun to associate with mental manipulation. A form of telepathy that caught Cyn off guard, since she had assumed this was just another kind of beast.


    Not a creature intelligent enough to communicate with her. That made it far more dangerous.


    Thinking quickly on how she should respond to the serpent¡¯s question, and keeping in mind that the creature was likely significantly higher level than she was, Cyn spoke carefully, ¡°I meant no disrespect. I just wanted to catch a look at the creature I was told was in this lake, and I was surprised to find such a rare beauty so far from its home.¡± While her words were clear flattery, none of it was a lie. The massive serpent  was  beautiful. Even in its sickly state.


    I can hear your racing heart, Human. Its song betrays your fear even when your face does not.  The serpent¡¯s voice was a dangerous purr, sending a shiver down her spine, and Cyn felt the tempo of her ¡®song¡¯ rapidly increase as the Feathered Brine Serpent raised her head slowly above the surface of the water. The creature only stopped moving once her eyes were level with Cyn¡¯s own, the scaled, serpentine snout almost within touching distance. The serpent¡¯s tendrils did not hang down like Cyn would have expected as they left the water, and instead gently waved in the open air as if they were made of powerful muscle or simply defied gravity.  Such weak prey displaying pity towards me is an intolerable insult.


    As the serpent¡¯s indignant voice washed over her, the gentle waving of its tendrils grew faster. Starting as a mere pinprick at the tips, a white luminescence grew and seemed to dance across the feathered frills in a flashing pattern. With the growing light a pressure built behind Cyn¡¯s eyes, quickly becoming uncomfortable. More concerningly, she could feel the group of Humans behind her, just inside the tree line, approaching at a steady pace. She could probably escape using Soul Slip once someone was close enough. But that would mean leaving everyone else to pay for her miscalculation, entranced as they were. While Cyn was not at all surprised that she would find her end in the mouth of a large creature - even before the System she probably would have gone out trying to pet something unadvisable - she  really  did not want to be responsible for the deaths of others.


    Protected by Mental Fortress, Cyn was able to look away from the mesmerizing display and meet the Feathered Brine Serpent¡¯s eyes again. ¡°Not pity. Sorrow. I saw your injuries, your sickness, and felt sad.¡± While the serpent¡¯s reptilian face did not display emotion, she tilted her head slightly at Cyn¡¯s words. Whether it was the words themselves, or her clear and unexpected resistance to enthrallment, Cyn was not sure. There was a few moments of silence, the Humans walking ever closer, before a quiet, tentative warble came from Cyn¡¯s chest. Cyn¡¯s and the serpent¡¯s gazes flicked downward simultaneously, landing on the bubblegum-pink familiar. Spam was holding onto the edge of the pouch with both front feet, with its eyes barely visible as it peeked out.


    Curious... perhaps you are not prey. But the Humans are.  Spam¡¯s response to the serpent was to make a series of chirps and croaks as it pulled itself further up out of the pouch, sounding a little more annoyed.  Then we make a deal, Voidling. I will give nothing without receiving in turn. And their lives are now mine to give or take.


    The Feathered Brine Serpent wasn¡¯t wrong in that regard. The other Humans had reached the shore, and out of the corner of her eye Cyn could see their vacant stares to either side of her.   It was completely implausible that any of them could move fast enough to get away if the serpent chose to strike. Whatever Spam was doing, Cyn would not interfere. She did find it interesting that the serpent addressed the familiar as ¡®Voidling¡¯, and, based on Cyn herself being addressed as ¡®prey¡¯ or ¡®Human¡¯, she took a guess that that was Spam¡¯s species. She had not been able to see it¡¯s species previously, only coming up as a question mark when she used Inspect on Spam. Rather than distract the frog by double checking right now, she instead filed that thought away for a later time.


    Spam and the serpent had a few more brief exchanges, though without context and only hearing half the conversation it was difficult for Cyn to tell exactly what was being discussed. It was only clear that the two of them were attempting to make some kind of bargain and it was stressing the familiar out. She did get an expected notification, letting her know she had leveled Creature Handler up to nine, but it gave little comfort as she dismissed it. Cyn¡¯s anxiety did not ease the entire time, even when the Feathered Brine Serpent once again met her eyes and spoke.  A deal is struck on your behalf, and the Voidling tells me I must communicate it to you since it cannot. You, Human, will return my egg to me before sundown. In return, I will release the others.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°Where is your egg?¡± If the serpent had just requested help, Cyn probably would have done it without needing much convincing. But why would a creature so much stronger than her need help?


    The tower. Should you return without it, I will consume you and any other Human foolish enough to come close to the water looking for you. If you think you can escape without fulfilling your half of the bargain... know that I can traverse the river. And the other Humans live quite close to the water, do they not?


    It felt as though ice had entered Cyn¡¯s veins at the mention of the camp, spreading a frigid fear and guilt through her. As unintentional as it had been, she had put not only the people with her, but the entire raid party at risk. What chance did she have of succeeding if the serpent could not retrieve her own egg? All Cyn had wanted to do was take a look at the creature in the water. ¡°I understand.¡±


    The serpent slowly pulled back its lips, revealing layered rows of needle-like teeth as it sank back down into the lake. As its long, serpentine body turned to glide away through the water, the luminescent display dimmed before flickering out entirely. The instant the lights were gone, a collective gasp came from the group around Cyn as everyone but her scrambled quickly back from the water¡¯s edge. Cyn did not move, having locked her knees to keep standing at all. Her leg bones felt like gelatin, and she was pretty sure she would end up face-first in the water if she tried to move.


    Regardless, she would probably end up face-first in the water shortly from locking her knees and reducing blood flow.


    Before that could happen, though, Sam darted forward again to pick Cyn up and remove her from the shoreline. When he did not let go or stop moving after entering the trees, she quickly came to her senses and started to struggle. ¡°Wait! Put me down, Sam. I have to go back.¡±


    The Berserker did not stop. If anything, he picked up enough speed that they started to pull away from the slower members of the group. ¡°Like hell you do. Did you  see  that thing?¡±


    ¡°Did you  hear  it? I need to go back, or it will attack the camp!¡± Unable to free herself physically without resorting to actually hurting Sam, Cyn used Soul Slip to move herself to Cirrus. She chose Cirrus because Cyn was not concerned about accidentally hurting the rogue in case they crashed into each other, which is exactly what happened when she suddenly appeared in front of him. He had been running a short distance behind the Berserker, and their off-center collision sent Cyn and Cirrus spinning in opposite directions and onto the ground.


    Having a great deal of practice recovering from Soul Slip related collisions, she was on her feet again before Sam managed to turn himself around. The Berserker glared at Cyn with frustration and began to walk towards her. She responded with a glare of her own, snapping, ¡°Do not grab me again, Sam.¡±


    He instead stopped directly in front of Cyn, and jabbed her hard in the sternum with one finger. ¡°We are going back to camp. You can tell Scott about what happened, he¡¯ll know what to do.¡± Sam sounded serious, and as if he genuinely believed she would listen. It was kind of sad.


    ¡° You  will go back to camp, and make sure everyone else gets there safely.¡± Despite her annoyance, Cyn took a deep breath and tried to speak more calmly. ¡°I created a problem, I am going to fix it. Find Scott and tell him what happened, and that if I don¡¯t come back, there¡¯s probably going to be a large, angry, mind-fucking snake coming down the river. I don¡¯t know how you prepare for that, but I¡¯m sure he will figure it out.¡±


    Sam threw his hands up in frustration. ¡°You can¡¯t just go off on your own! If we go back to camp, I¡¯m sure Hex or Dana would go with you.¡±


    ¡°Or we would waste time trying to figure out other options and soothing over fears, when there is at least one solution I can start on now.  I have a time limit, Sam.  If Hex or Dana want to join me, they can catch up.¡± Cyn spun, making a beeline back towards the lake. This was going nowhere, and she did not feel there was any point in continuing to argue with him. The quiet and frightened faces watching them were also making her feel quite awkward.


    The Feathered Brine Serpent had scared the shit out of all of them, some were just a little better at hiding it than others. The creature was not frightening to Cyn in and of itself. The fear she felt was mostly due to being unable to see the level of something clearly hostile, and she found the experience much more tolerable than the Cadaverous Puppet Bloom had been. She was afraid, but not panicked. Even if she had ran from the serpent, she would have only gone far enough to feel safe.


    As foolish as it might seem to run off alone, Cyn wasn¡¯t entirely stupid. She was well aware she was putting herself into direct danger. She also knew that there would be a great deal of time wasted if she did not get started immediately. Whatever was keeping the serpent out of the tower, it was unlikely to be just a strong creature or person. Not only was the structure dilapidated and likely vacant, but the raid party also stood no chance against any creature strong enough to keep the serpent out, so waiting for backup was useless.


    Most likely, the egg was just somewhere the big, aquatic snake could not get to, Cyn reasoned.


    As she approached the water, Cyn realized the encounter probably would have been particularly bad for Sam, who likely still had the Trial of Will fairly fresh on his mind. It wasn¡¯t exactly the same, but losing control of his actions again was similar enough to probably freak out the big Berserker. The only other person who had admitted to facing that particular trial was Cirrus, but he had won by default due to being alone. Meaning everyone else had likely just had their first experience with direct mental manipulation. Cyn wasn¡¯t sure if the serpent was better or worse for your first time.  Probably better, because while you and your friends might die, at least you didn¡¯t kill them.


    Stopping just short of the tiny waves that lapped against the shoreline of the lake, Cyn quickly took off her boots and stored them in her storage ring. She could take walking around with wet clothes for a while, but after the pool of blood in the Trial of Vitality she found out that walking around in wet leather boots was awful. She then pulled out a disgruntled and grumbling frog from its pouch, holding it up to eye level and giving it a Pet.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope I can live up to that bargain you made. Ready to go for a swim?¡±

 54. The First Hurdle

    Spam was, in fact,  not  ready for a swim. A stance the familiar made loudly clear from where it clung to the back of her head as Cyn swam for the island in the lake. That would have been surprising, if Cyn had not confirmed before wading into the uncomfortably chill water that Spam was not actually a species of frog.


    Voidling - Level 20 (?)


    ? ''Spam Mail''


    ? An enigmatic and incorporeal creature that lives in the gap between physical dimensions.


    ? This specific Voidling has found a way to maintain a physical presence after entering the transitional dungeon of dimension 242.


    ? This creature has formed a [Familiar Bond].


    ? This creature is bonded to you.


    Cyn wasn¡¯t sure when Spam¡¯s Inspect result had changed - since she had not had a reason to use the skill on the creature since first encountering it - so there was no way to tell if the extra information was the result of her higher level, the amount of time she had spent with Spam, or just because the Feathered Brine Serpent had cued her in to it. Regardless, it gave Cyn something to think about other than the nearby serpent that was watching them make their way to the lonely island in the center of the lake.


    She was trying  hard  not to think about it, a feat made increasingly difficult as the Feathered Brine Serpent maintained only a relatively short distance from her. The damn thing barely had to move to keep up. Cyn was pretty sure the creature was not a danger to her, at least temporarily. It and Spam had made a deal, and it  did  need her help. But that didn¡¯t mean that its presence didn¡¯t get her heart racing and adrenaline pumping.


    While she considered herself a pretty solid swimmer, the size of the lake meant it still took around ten minutes for Cyn to get close to the island and tower. The exercise had taken significantly more stamina than she had anticipated, since Cyn had based her estimation on running. There was only about a quarter of it left as she slowed down to approach the shoreline of the island, the tower taking up almost all of the landmass. There was only a thin strip of rocky dirt between it and the water. Looking at the structure up and down, she realized the tower itself wasn¡¯t in nearly as bad of a condition as it had appeared from a distance.


    The most visible and significant damage came from the roof of the tower having collapsed and taken a chunk of the upper floors with it. While parts of the roof lay in a pile of debris off to one side, there was enough missing that Cyn suspected most of it would be inside of the building. Provided that the interior damage was limited to only a few of the upper floors, she estimated there would be around ten floors to search once she was inside. Considering the diameter of the building was only around fifty feet, searching for the serpent¡¯s egg in a limited time frame did not seem unreasonable.


    One thing that only stood out to Cyn once she was nearly at her destination was the lack of any plant life in the water close to the island, and on the rocky shore. It stood in stark contrast to both the lake, which was filled with the kelp-like plants, and the tower itself. On the tower there was a sage-colored moss that grew over nearly every exterior surface, alongside a darker ivy that seemed to crawl vertically up and down the stone bricks that made up the tower. But there was a very clear line where the moss and ivy met the ground, and spread no further. It was much the same in the water, as rather than a gradual decrease in the aquatic flora approaching the shore, it simply cut off suddenly as if meeting an invisible barrier.


    These observations lead Cyn to stop and tread water above the lake plants, around fifteen feet from the shore of the island. Just a few feet ahead of her the dead zone began. There was almost certainly some kind of defense mechanism in place, causing the lack of life around the tower, but she could see no clues to tell her exactly what it was. Short of throwing Spam across the threshold ¨C which was absolutely  not  an option that crossed Cyn¡¯s mind ¨C there was only one good way to find out.


    ¡°So... do you know if there is some kind of trap defending the tower?¡±  Never hurts to just ask.  Cyn also had a backup plan of diving down to get some of the plants to throw into the dead zone, but she thought it was likely the creature would be able to tell her more than such a simple test could. And it would be nice to not stumble into danger blind, for once.


    A massive, scaled snout broke the surface of the water just beside Cyn, startling her since she did not realize the serpent had swum within touching distance.  Do your eyes not work, Human? Or are you simply stupid?


    While at least one of those accusations was debatable, Cyn chose not to answer the questions posed. Instead, she tried to carefully rephrase what she was asking. ¡°I see the dead zone. What I meant was, do you know what is causing it?¡±


    Crimson irises stared into Cyn¡¯s hazel ones a few moments, before the serpent answered her in a soft whisper.  Fire, a kind that burns even under the water. It consumes anything that ventures too close.  She watched as the creature sunk back down, diving down to the bottom and picking one of the shrub-like plants in its teeth before resurfacing. It must have been more coral than shrub, since it retained a stiff, bushy shape even outside of the water.


    The serpent glanced at her again, before spitting out the plant with enough velocity to make it hit the exterior of the tower and bounce. There was no effect when the projectile bounced off the building, but the same could not be said when it hit the rocky shore. The instant the plant hit the ground it burst into silver flames, bouncing again and being consumed entirely before it could land a second time. While the plant was probably not a good indicator of how strong the trap was, the intensity of the blaze made Cyn cautious about just trying to heal herself and Spam through it.


    Even if I can survive the flames for a time, they grow ever stronger the longer they are allowed to burn. And I am too large to get inside without risking that the structure collapses atop my egg.  Cyn nodded slowly to the serpent¡¯s words, her eyes drawn back to the debris that originated from the collapsed roof. There was still moss attached to some of the rubble, indicating it should be safe for her to step on. It would not be an easy path to get to the tower walls, but she was confident she could traverse it. The two main obstacles would be fifteen or so feet of open water, and actually making it inside by either scaling the wall or finding her way to a door. There was no door on this side of the tower.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Making her way around the dead zone, towards what remained of the roof, Cyn decided to voice what she was thinking aloud. Just in case the serpent had any ideas, since getting back its egg was clearly important to it. ¡°If I can get over the water, I should be able to make it inside.¡± Cyn had briefly considered going back ashore to get a log or something to float on, but quickly scrapped the idea. If it burned away plants that touched the area, a boat would not protect her from the flames. It was probably only nonorganic material that was safe.


    I cannot spit you over there like the Lakenut. You are too heavy, Human, and the force it would require would kill you.  It had been quite vicious before, but now that Cyn was actively trying to help it the creature had shifted to almost docile while they spoke. No less dangerous, obviously, but it was nice to feel like they were temporary friends.


    ¡°Would it kill Spam to be shot over there?¡± Upon Cyn¡¯s perfectly reasonable question, there was an immediate chorus of angry sounds that emanated from the familiar. It had already been grumbling, a small sound she had learned to ignore after traveling with the frog ¨C or rather, Voidling ¨C for so long. But apparently the suggestion was too much for Spam. Treading water, Cyn reached back behind her head to Pet the familiar while the Feathered Brine Serpent seemed to seriously consider her question.


    Hmm... I do not know. The Voidling is quite odd, and I am not familiar with its species. Even if I could, it could not retrieve my egg alone, could it?  After another brief pause the creature turned its serpentine head towards shore before diving back below the surface of the water.  Perhaps the other Humans will have a better idea.  Cyn had been debating if she should try and explain her logic, which revolved around using Soul Slip at its maximum distance to just barely reach the shore, but was distracted by the mention of other Humans.


    Cyn had not been out on the water nearly long enough for the group to have made it all the way back to camp and return with reinforcements. Turning back towards the shore herself, she could make out the distant forms. Four of them were standing roughly midway between the shore and trees, while two others were just entering the water. Sam¡¯s bulk was easily recognizable as one of the swimmers, confirming it was the group that was supposed to leave for camp without her, but Cyn was not able to recognize Cirrus as the second swimmer until they were quite a bit closer.


    She was mildly annoyed at the pair leaving their four lower-level allies to fend for themselves. But just as they arrived, and before Cyn could voice that annoyance, Sam rather forcefully dunked her head under the water.  What the fuck?!  The Berserker did not hold her there, instead letting her go almost immediately. Cyn bobbed back up to the surface, coughing and sputtering while poor, not-actually-a-frog Spam wailed pitifully.


    ¡°Sorry, Spam. Collateral damage.¡± Sam¡¯s voice was thick with emotion, confusing Cyn further. Before she could fully catch her breath, the familiar was plucked from her hair. Realizing he was probably about to dunk her again, she quickly used Soul Slip to hide behind Cirrus and dodge the Berserker¡¯s large, grabbing hands.


    Peeking out from behind her Human shield, Cyn exclaimed, ¡°What the fuck, Sam?!¡± The Berserker looked pretty pissed off, though the effect was dampened by the bubble-gum pink familiar now clinging to the top of  his  head. Cirrus, she noticed, did not look particularly happy either. Whether that was due to the situation as a whole, or just Cyn using him as a shield, was unclear.


    Sam jabbed a finger towards her, practically yelling, ¡°You! That¡¯s what! I can¡¯t just march back into camp and say,¡± Sam started miming his hands talking to each other, taking in a mocking tone, ¡±So, Scott, uhhh Cyn ran off again and I left her behind. That¡¯s cool, right?¡° The Berserker slapped both hands onto the water, creating a large splash to spray over Cyn and Cirrus. The latter being the second victim of water-based collateral damage Sam had caused in the span of a minute, and causing the rogue to swim out from between the two of them arguing. ¡°Seriously?! We are supposed to be in this together, Cyn!¡±


    ¡° I  created a problem, and  I  am fixing it! You should be getting  them, ¡± Cyn gestured back towards the four waiting near the shoreline, ¡°back to the camp! I can take care of myself, Sam.¡±


    The Berserker¡¯s voice quieted, taking on a pleading tone as the three of them treaded water, ¡°I know that. But you don¡¯t  have  to ¡®fix¡¯ things by yourself. What if something happened to you? What are  we  supposed to do if you run off alone, and just disappear forever?  I don¡¯t want to find out  what I am supposed to do without you... or Scott... or Dana... or Hex.¡± Sam¡¯s voice cracked, forcing him to take a deep breath to calm himself. ¡°I¡¯m worried sick every time one of you do this. So stop trying to leave all of us behind.  Please. ¡±


    While Cyn was still convinced she had made the right decision to go by herself, Sam¡¯s words filled her with guilt. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to put anyone else in danger.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re always in danger. All of us.  Every second  of this dungeon has been dangerous. How many times do you think one of us would have died without you swooping in to stop it?¡± Sam held up his fingers, counting out the times he believed Cyn had saved them.


    ¡°Everyone probably would have died when we got trapped in the entrance cavern after leaving Cogtopia.¡±  I forced us to stay in the town for too long. The fight probably would have been easier if the spiders did not have as much time to prepare.


    ¡°Scott would have died to the Illuminant Queen.¡±  The boss enraging was my fault.


    ¡°I would have died to the Trial of Vitality.¡±  I nearly attacked Hex out of misplaced anger, and after getting myself caught by the vines I barely made it in time.


    ¡°Hex would have killed me and Dana in the Trial of Will.¡±  Without me and Spam, it¡¯s unlikely everyone would have faced the trial together. Plus, my ability to resist was more of a miracle, not a sign of strength.


    ¡°Only god knows what would have happened if you had not been there to see through the illusion on that corpse-creature.¡±  Probably nothing, since the trial was over. My panic attack only delayed us more.


    Sam paused a moment, seeming to try and think of any more, and that gave Cirrus a moment to say quietly. ¡°There are multiple others who owe you their lives. If you have already saved everyone so many times in such a short time span, what do you think would happen if you suddenly vanished because you were alone? If you were no longer around to save them?¡±

 55. Interlude - Old Friends

    In a personal pocket dimension impossibly far away from dimension 242, a blue flame flickered to life atop a half-melted candle, and illuminated its surroundings far more effectively than should be possible for such a small flame. The wax of this candle would never melt, its magical fire not requiring fuel nor creating heat, but its creator had a fondness for aesthetics and the nostalgia the shape inspired. The small, round table the candle appeared melted to looked even more well-used. It was made of misshapen and off-colored wooden planks, covered in knife marks and stains, and with a  very  clear tilt due to one of its legs being about an inch shorter than the others.


    The table wasn¡¯t created to look quite like this. The design and quality was always a bit bungled, courtesy of inexperienced craftsmanship, but it had at least been  level  at one point. But, after the passage of time had had its way with the thing, instead of replacing it the table¡¯s creator had lovingly placed enchantments on it to keep the ancient keepsake preserved in its state of wear and disrepair. The five stools that sat around the table were equally ancient, having been created at the same time as the table.


    A reinforced door was the only other feature of the small room. This place served a single purpose, and little else was needed for it to do so. It was a meeting place for five old friends to speak openly, and with absolute certainty that there would be no interruptions or uninvited guests.


    Not long after the candle flickered to life, the door opened and a broad-shouldered Orc wearing shiny plate armor stepped in. He took a moment to look over the scene before him, his green lips forming into sad and wistful smile that curled around small tusks, before busying himself with the final touches this meeting needed. Namely, a book to put under the short leg of the table to level it out, and a pint glass in front of each stool.


    The pints were empty, since the Orc was not a cook. Another attendee would bring the required beer, like she always did. And he would not have to wait long after sitting down for the others to start filing in.


    After the Orc was a woman, though you could only tell once she sat down and collected herself back into a more solid, almost human form. Her entrance had resembled the door blowing open from a gust of wind more than a person walking in. The Orc did not even flinch at her arrival, entirely used to the Fairy¡¯s antics, and after a brief greeting the woman flounced onto her own stool to wait for the others. Unable to sit still for any amount of time, she pulled out a worn dagger to toss into the air and catch repeatedly.


    A second woman, a Hekaton that was sporting an obscene amount of weapons strapped to her body, entered next. The beer she quickly poured into all five pints would make waiting for their final arrivals much easier.


    The fourth was a Creaturekin, a willowy man with a mostly elven appearance. Huge, black, scaled wings adorned his back and an impressive set of antlers sat atop his head. A soft click of claws on the floor could be heard as he made his way to a seat at the table, murmuring appreciation for the booze.


    After the Creaturekin entered, minutes ticked by, the only sounds coming from the rustle of clothes and wings, and the occasional clink of metal. They collectively stared at the door, waiting. But they could not wait forever, and it was not long before the Orc let out a long sigh.


    The candle was a beacon, their fifth would have known the moment it was lit and what it meant. He had the means to enter or project into this pocket dimension, no matter his own location. He was still welcome here, despite everything. He would  always  be welcome. But it had been a very, very long time since the fifth had sat among the old friends. Pouring the fifth pint, and waiting for a time after the fourth arrival, was more ritual than actual hope.


    It would have been really nice to have him here this time, though, since the topic was more than a little related to their missing member.


    ¡°We all know why we are here?¡± The Orc spoke in a solemn rumble as he glanced around the table.


    The Creaturekin snorted, ¡°I can think of at least two reasons. The Gift, or the death toll?¡±


    ¡°The System corruption, and the death toll, obviously. Why would we...¡±


    The Orc was cut off by the Fairy¡¯s lyrical voice. ¡°You can¡¯t fool us. I think I nearly dropped dead when I saw the sign of his Gift showing up in 242.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°We¡¯ve talked about this at length. Freeform shows up every damn Awakening cycle at least a few times, and it¡¯s not even related to a specific Gift, much less Set¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Just how far do you keep your head in the sand to not even hear about the hottest topic in the Collective, Thor? Not Freeform.  Hubris. ¡±


    The Orc¡¯s eyes widened at the revelation. He very purposefully tried to keep himself separate from the details of new dimensional Awakenings, and particularly from the details of specific Awakened. Thor found the betting distasteful, and the analysis of individuals pointless. All that mattered to him was the dimensional survival rate. A rate that had decreased to the point of concern almost one hundred cycles ago, and had only gotten worse since. ¡°I... You know damn well I don¡¯t look at those reports. It¡¯s not Set, is it?¡±


    Thor¡¯s three companions shook their heads quickly. ¡°Definitely not. This Awakened picked up Freeform very early, and it evolved to Hubris during Araphassa¡¯s Labyrinth.¡± Thor grimaced at the Creaturekin¡¯s mention of the Labyrinth. The Collective was over the moon about the amount of extra data that floor was providing them with, but all he could see was how less than half the Awakened who entered the floor managed to leave alive. Araphassa herself was so distraught over her safe training dungeon being turned into a slaughterhouse that the Knight had not been seen since the numbers began to roll in.


    ¡°I can see why the Awakened¡¯s mentor would be excited to see that kind of skill evolution, but how would that be the ¡®hottest topic¡¯, as you put it Nyx? No one should be able to connect that skill to Set, or his Gift.¡±


    ¡°Because Stelphan wasn¡¯t able to make the mentor link with them.¡± The Fairy, Nyx, had a brief burst of laughter before continuing, ¡°And as far as anyone can tell, it wasn¡¯t due to his own incompetence.  Something else  took over the channel we use for interference.¡±


    ¡°You think Set interfered instead.¡± Thor crossed his arms and leaned back as he spoke. His statement might have been posed as a question if he was speaking to anyone else, but he knew the three Awakened at the table like the back of his hand. Perhaps even better than that, since they had been friends for a long, long time.


    Nyx shrugged. ¡°We can¡¯t rule it out.¡±


    The Creaturekin tapped long nails on his pint glass, while speaking in a low rumble, ¡°A record number of deaths, with a new record set every cycle for twenty cycles in a row. A record number of oddities, in the same record setting pattern. Twenty dimensions ending in consumption at Terminus. That is a streak that is impossible for anyone to just ignore, and even the most inattentive of the Paragons have rightfully started to feel concerned.¡±


    ¡°That is why we are having this conversation, Herne. We need to...¡± Thor paused as the Creaturekin stood up abruptly, interrupting the Orc¡¯s attempts to put the conversation back on track and away from more painful topics.


    There was a soft rustle as Herne moved, and scales clicking as they shifted against each other, followed by the click of talons in time to his restless pacing as he spoke again. ¡°And if  we  are this concerned at the rate of System corruption growth, how desperate do you think Set is? Desperate enough to try and cultivate another Breaker?¡±


    The mere mention of a Breaker made Thor flinch. The five of them had thought once that a Breaker would be their salvation, but it had ended up only making things far worse. The idea that another might rise...


    ¡°If that is the case... maybe we should let this take its course.¡± Thor¡¯s head snapped towards the Hekaton as she spoke, the Orc startled by her suggestion and still reeling from the Creaturekin¡¯s words. Catching his look, and the equally appalled one on Nyx¡¯s face, she sighed and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. We¡¯ve tried everything. Perhaps Set was right; and if this is his doing, I don¡¯t think more harm can be done by just letting it happen.¡±


    ¡°A Breaker, Ishtar. You are talking about  letting  another Breaker form, and saying it could do no harm?¡± Thor stood up from his stool, slamming one hand down on the rickety table. ¡°Do you not remember?! Because I do!¡±


    Ishtar¡¯s voice became sharp in response to Thor¡¯s anger. ¡°Of course I remember. Everything,  everyone , that was lost, and that the only thing we gained was more time. But  nothing else has worked . Nothing we have done has had even the  smallest  effect on the spread of corruption. The same pattern repeats itself, despite our efforts.¡± Her voice became soft again as the Hekaton reached across the table to place one of her hands over his. ¡°Maybe it needs to break.¡±

 56. Tense Conversations, and the Tower

    Cyn wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about Sam and Cirrus attributing so many people¡¯s survival directly to her. She was pretty sure most of the situations Sam had listed would have been handled differently without her presence, and possibly even for the better. Regardless, she was no longer alone and they were wasting time. There was an egg to find.


    Shaking her head lightly, Cyn changed the subject by quickly explaining the first hurdle she had encountered while attempting to get to the tower. She also explained her half-formed plan to use a launched Spam and Soul Slip to get over the trap¡¯s trigger area. It was a plan  both  men deemed reckless, and Sam called outright stupid. Luckily, since Cirrus was now joining Cyn on this adventure, there was a slightly better option to try.


    The rogue had mentioned having a mana-using skill earlier, specifically one that was meant to be toggled on and off. It allowed him to, briefly, walk across air. The skill¡¯s mana cost was crippling for Cirrus, but he was sure he could make it to the ruins of the tower¡¯s roof before running out of resources. He was not willing to take on the tower by himself, nor was Cyn willing to be left out of it, which left them debating between two options for how she would get across the water.


    The first option, Cyn¡¯s preference, was to use Soul Slip. Sure, the place Cirrus would have to stand for him to be in range of that skill would be just a small chunk of debris, and there was a decent chance she would fall off. Or even knock both of them off the safe area. But she really,  really  did not like the second option.


    ¡°Cyn... it¡¯s not the first time you have been picked up and carried somewhere. Its objectively safer than trying to teleport, and if anything goes wrong with Cirrus¡¯s skill on the way over, you will be there to heal him too.¡± Sam sounded exasperated, and she frankly had no real excuses to give them to explain why she was so reluctant to let Cirrus pick her up. She didn¡¯t like being carried in the first place and, while she had been steadily learning to ignore the feeling the rogue¡¯s presumed aura gave off, Cyn still felt extremely averse to the idea of him touching her. But she seemed to be the only person that felt that way.


    ¡°Just trust me, Cyn.   It¡¯ll be fine.¡±  She barely suppressed a flinch when Cirrus spoke.  I need to tell him to quit that shit with me, regardless of his intentions.  After giving the rogue a momentary glare, Cyn finally just agreed to the plan.


    Sam wouldn¡¯t be going with them, at least not for the moment. He was going to help lift Cirrus above the water before he activated the air walking skill, so the rogue did not waste mana crawling to get himself above the surface. Then the Berserker would be rejoining the group on the shore to protect them and create a boat. Mountain and, a little ironically, Fish could not swim, explaining why they were left on the shore in the first place. There was limited water on their planet, so they never had a reason to learn. Cirrus and Cyn were supposed to leave out some kind of sign if they were able to deactivate the trap around the tower so the others could join them.


    After the Berserker gave Spam back to her, Cirrus climbed up out of the water with Sam¡¯s help to stand on top of it using his skill. Cyn couldn¡¯t help but hesitate for a heartbeat as the rogue crouched and put out his hand to help her up. She was  not  interested in climbing him like a tree, but with limited time and options... Cursing quietly, Cyn took the offered hand to be lifted and unsteadily climb up onto Cirrus¡¯s back. There was no way in hell she was going to be princess carried or thrown over his shoulder.


    As soon as she had a hold of him, Cirrus took off at full speed, sprinting for the shoreline. Cyn felt like her heart might beat out of her chest as they passed into the dead zone, but no fire burst over them since there was a small gap of air between Cirrus¡¯s mana and the water. It took only a few seconds for them to make it across and for the rogue to quickly scramble up the debris to a chunk of roof that had enough room for both of them to stand easily.


    Or sit, since that is immediately what the rogue did when they stopped. Cyn quickly scooted away, noting that the man was panting for breath and looking a little pale. Hesitantly, she asked, ¡°Are you... alright?¡±


    Cirrus just gave her a thumbs up at first, but after a minute of watching Sam swim away and catching his breath he followed up with, ¡°Yah. Guess it takes more resources when I am carrying someone. Didn¡¯t expect that, and almost ran out of mana.¡±


    Should have just went with my skill.  Shaking the thought away, Cyn began to more closely inspect the tower wall closest to them. She  still  hadn¡¯t seen a door on the tower, so their best entrance was where the wall had crumbled away with the collapse of the roof. That, of course, was nine or ten floors above their current location. Provided the ivy vines could hold the Human¡¯s weight, it shouldn¡¯t be too bad. Even if they could not, the stones of the tower were uneven enough it shouldn¡¯t be impossible to freeclimb. Extremely difficult, but not impossible. After putting back on her boots, Cyn began to make her way across the rubble towards the wall to test the vines.


    ¡°You  really  don¡¯t like me, huh?¡± Cirrus sounded... amused? That wasn¡¯t quite the emotion behind his tone, but it was close enough.


    Turning back around, Cyn found the rogue still sitting, a half-smirk plastered on his face as he studied her intently. Unlike the smiles she had seen on Cirrus¡¯s face before, normally warm and even boyish, there was an emptiness to his expression now that set her on edge. Even more than his presence did normally. ¡°And what makes you say that?¡±


    Cirrus raised an eyebrow. ¡°You aren¡¯t exactly subtle.  Tell me what I did to make you dislike me. ¡±


    Cyn had had quite enough of sandpaper on her eardrums for one day, snapping back at him, ¡°That skill you are using, with your voice?  Stop . I wasn¡¯t enthralled by the Feathered Brine Serpent, what in the hell makes you think I would be influenced by any of your skills?¡±


    He seemed genuinely shocked a few seconds, half-smirk vanishing and blinking rapidly. ¡°I... Of course. I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s meant to make you more comfortable with my suggestions. It¡¯s been very helpful in keeping tension low and people productive.¡±


    That did sound reasonable; similar to the skill that Scott used, just more subtle. No less annoying for Cyn, though. ¡°Yah, I have one that calms people down too. I get that it¡¯s useful, just don¡¯t use it on me. It won¡¯t work and only pisses me off.¡± Cirrus nodded quickly, starting to stand up. Cyn paused only briefly before continuing, ¡°And your aura? Can you turn that off or is it permanent? Because while I am sure it has a... valid... purpose, it  also  doesn¡¯t work on me. I assume so anyway, since I am the only person who seems to feel the aura at all. Your nearness is very uncomfortable.¡±


    Cirrus froze, silently staring at her for a few long moments. When he did speak, his surprised and almost apologetic tone from moments ago had shifted into cool neutrality. ¡°Permanent. I¡¯m sorry it has that effect on you.¡± Telling the guy that his mere presence made her uncomfortable wasn¡¯t very nice, but she really did not have another way to put it. At least they could both just chalk up her dislike of Cirrus to an unfortunate mixing of skills now.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just have to get used to it, I guess, since we need to work together.¡± Shrugging, Cyn turned and resumed her careful steps towards the wall of the tower, balancing on and hopping between small pieces of the roof. She had already started to assume that what she was feeling from Cirrus was just skills similar to Scott¡¯s and her own, and getting that confirmed made her more inclined to look past the nervousness he inspired in her. At least Cirrus shouldn¡¯t try to use them on her directly anymore.


    After a few tests, they determined that the ivy vines would be too risky to climb directly and they would both have to freeclimb up the stone bricks. It was far from ideal, especially with the moss that clung to every surface, but after both of them had regained a bit of stamina through using Meditate for a few minutes, they started climbing. The rogue went first, with Cyn only a short distance behind.


    Cyn had climbed a lot of trees growing up, and had even climbed onto the roof of her childhood home once. Much to her parent¡¯s exasperation. But the moss-covered tower was a whole different ball game. Two thirds of the way up Cyn had yet to slip, but was quickly realizing that while ten stories did not seem that high at the base of the tower, it was a hell of a distance to climb. She was going to run out of stamina before reaching the top if she did not do something, quickly. Since lowering her health enough to counteract the stamina drain would put her in the danger zone - if she could even get enough regen in the first place - Cyn instead circulated a small amount of mana to boost herself and climb faster.


    Cirrus made it to the hole in the wall before she did, but did not immediately climb inside. When Cyn made it herself, with barely any stamina to spare, he helped her get onto the edge of the hole with him as she stopped circulating mana. No reason to hurt herself. Looking down inside the tower, she could see why the rogue had chosen to remain at the jagged hole instead of entering.


    The above ground portion of the tower was empty. There was no indication there had ever been floors between the ground floor and the roof. Runes and symbols she had no hope of reading were scrawled in spiral patterns all along the stone bricks of the interior, running the height of the structure. There were a few lit symbols scattered around, giving soft illumination in addition to the sunlight streaming in, but most of the patterns lay dark. Instead of a ground floor, Cyn could see a thin strip of bricks around the walls that gave way to a spiral staircase descending underground and,  far  below them, she could make out an amber glow through the gaping center hole of the spiral.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to climb down.¡±


    Cyn barely stifled a groan at Cirrus¡¯s words. It was an obvious observation, but she definitely wasn¡¯t happy about it. ¡°I have to rest little while, or I am going to run out of stamina before we reach the bottom.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll wait up here with you, then. If there are traps, I would rather not find out by myself.¡± The rogue leaned back carefully, resting his back against the edges of the hole and turning his head to look back out over the lake.


    Fair enough.  Nodding, Cyn settled herself on the bricks and closed her eyes. It was not remotely comfortable to straddle the crumbling hole in the wall, and Cirrus¡¯s proximity made it impossible for her to actually relax, but hopefully she would not have to Meditate for long. She felt a slight disorientation upon activating the skill, but thankfully did not lose her balance.  Note to self, avoid using Meditate in places that are a fall risk.  Since she had not lost her balance, Cyn assumed it should be safe for a short rest.


    Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t Meditating for very long before she felt something shift, followed rapidly by an urgent screeching from Spam. The familiar had been in his normal location in her tabard pouch, not thrilled by the adventure and  especially  not the height they had to climb to. Cyn didn¡¯t need its warning, however. The shift she had felt was the discomfort of the bricks between her legs vanishing, and that could only mean one thing.


    She was falling.


    Deactivating Mediate confirmed her rapid decent, and instinctually she used an Overloaded Soul Slip to try and rejoin Cirrus where she could see him still at the hole above her. Honestly, she wasn¡¯t even sure Overloading the skill would work. Cyn just had not thought about it before acting, and by the time she realized she was falling she had already passed the standard max distance for Soul Slip.


    Unfortunately for Cirrus, Overload  did  work with Soul Slip. But the extra infusion of mana completely ruined Cyn¡¯s normal alterations for the skill that would cause her to not collide with her target. She slammed into the carefully balanced rogue, hard. Disoriented, and suffering from major backlash after using the incorrectly modified Soul Slip, Cyn barely had the cognitive ability to grab hold of Cirrus¡¯s shirt to prevent herself from falling again.


    Cirrus himself was straining to not fall back  out  of the tower with Cyn on top of him, cursing loudly. As he pulled them both back into a mostly upright position, a series of popping sounds reached their ears. The rogue froze, going silent for a moment.


    Right before the bricks they were sitting on began to shift, crumbling free of their mortar.


    Now they  both  were falling.


    Fuck.  Cyn was still suffering from backlash, and that single word was the only thing that flashed through her mind as the pair descended rapidly downward, passing the ground floor of the tower in only a few seconds. Then, she found herself holding onto nothing rather than the rogue¡¯s shirt as Cirrus pushed away from her.


    She was still falling, but Cirrus wasn¡¯t. Cyn watched as the now shirtless man scrambled to his feet atop an invisible platform, and jumped for the safety of the spiral staircase that curled around the hole they were falling through.  Fair. Too bad I didn¡¯t take Slow Fall.  She did not blame Cirrus for saving himself.


    As Cyn¡¯s mind recovered enough to think in more than single word sentences, she started to pull out potions and chug them. She still had quite a few listed as having ¡®additional affects¡¯, but without Hex¡¯s help she had no idea what exactly those effects were.  Another thing for the to do list. How big is that list, now? Maybe I should start writing these things down...  Chaotic thoughts aside, Cyn was  pretty  sure she was falling too far and too fast to survive. The potions were a gamble, but a gamble was all she had. Potions didn¡¯t have explicit cooldowns, either, though she did feel some innate aversion to drinking them back-to-back. According to Fish, who had once ignored that aversion, after a few potions she became very sick.


    Sick was still better than dead, probably.


    The first potion turned her skin a weird shade of orange.  Hope that¡¯s not permanent. Kind of clashes with the blue.


    The second one did not seem to do anything immediately, but after her first experience with these potions she knew that that did not mean it would not have a delayed effect. There was no time to wait for it, as the light below her was increasing in intensity.


    The third potion is where she started to feel nauseous, and after finishing the bottle she burped up a small ball of fire that fizzled out after traveling a very short distance. It burned something fierce the whole way up her esophagus, and did not feel good on the mouth.


    She was only halfway through chugging the fourth potion when Cyn no longer had hands to hold it. She was already disoriented and panicking, and that only became worse as she felt her body contort and change. It was fast, and not painful, at least. The change left her facing downward, towards what she could now see was a pool of water at the bottom of the tower. The light she had been able to see from above came from something under that water. Cyn only had one thought before hitting the surface.


    Do sheep take reduced fall damage?

 57. Polymorphed

    The idea that water can soften a fall only works up to a point. After that point, you might as well be hitting concrete. Cyn had fallen from a height  far  past that point. The only thing hitting water did for Cyn was try to drown her after shattering her legs, ribs, and causing significant internal organ trauma. But by some miracle, she was still alive. In pain, still disoriented, and polymorphed.  But alive . If anything, Cyn was less injured than she would have expected from a fall like that. Maybe sheep  did  take less fall damage?


    Much to her relief, Spam was alive too. She could feel the Voidling having a very bad time in the water beside her, but otherwise it did not seem worse for wear. Cyn presumed that she had taken the brunt of the fall for both of them, though she did not know exactly where Spam had been when she hit the water.


    While she wasn¡¯t in danger of drowning immediately - since Cyn had discovered during the Trial of Vitality she was able to hold her breath for a long time ¨C she was floundering in an unfamiliar and broken body, in addition to being at the bottom of a tower with unknown dangers lurking around. Low health meant she had  plenty  of mana to work with, and Cyn did not hesitate to dump as much as she could into Overloading Restoration on herself. She found it a little surprising she was able to use her normal skills while changed into a sheep, but there was no reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.


    As Restoration did its work, mending bones and refilling her health pool, Cyn also had to continue to deal with the nausea from her potion chugging, alongside regularly burping up small fireballs. Those burps felt ten times worse with a shattered sternum. But each fireball pushed her fluffy new self closer to the surface of the water, and when combined with a natural buoyancy it did not take long for Cyn to be able to breathe again and take a look around.


    The pool of water she was in appeared to take up most of the bottom floor of the tower, and was quite deep. There was only a small strip of stone that would allow her to enter the spiral staircase, or the single, closed door on the wall at the bottom of the steps. Dark, scrawled runes similar to those she had seen on the upper portions of the tower spiraled up the walls around her. The pool itself was also devoid of features, except for the source of the amber glow that permeated the area. The source was a runic pattern at the bottom of the pool, and its glow illuminated the one other object in the water besides Cyn and her familiar. Atop the runes was a large egg.


    Feathered Solar Serpent Egg


    ? Once a Feathered Brine Serpent Egg, this unhatched creature has been forcibly evolved through infusions of attuned mana.


    ? Will not hatch in current location.


    ? You do not know the required conditions to hatch this creature.


    ? Parts of this creature are edible.


    Any relief Cyn felt was rapidly followed by worry. While the egg below her  once  belonged to the Feathered Brine Serpent, it clearly didn¡¯t any longer. It wasn¡¯t her fault someone had messed with it, and she could only hope that the big snake could understand that.


    The idea something, or someone, had evolved the egg before it hatched also did not sit well with her. If it had been a sort of natural evolution, such as its environment changing without intent, it wouldn¡¯t be too bad. But based on its location at the bottom of this tower, and the rune it sat on, Cyn had a feeling it¡¯s evolution had been purposefully done by the tower¡¯s inhabitants. And she was pretty sure an egg could not consent to that.  With the state of this place, at least there is a good chance that any inhabitants are long gone.


    Cyn wasn¡¯t going to be able to get the egg in her current condition, but at least she knew it¡¯s location. Spam climbed up her neck to cling to the top of her wooly head, making distressed sounds. Cyn got the impression it really, really did not like being wet. While she wasn¡¯t that bothered by the water itself, she could feel herself getting steadily heavier as the once-fluffy, orange wool she was covered with became saturated. She wasn¡¯t going to be able to remain in the water indefinitely, as Cyn knew the increasing weight would only make it harder for her to stay afloat.


    Using slow and clumsy movements after her body had healed enough, and hindered by the feeling of unfamiliar muscles and limbs, she made her way towards the stone slab to try and get out of the water. Getting  to  the slab was not all that bad on its own. She was still injured and it sucked to move, but Cyn managed before becoming too heavy. Getting out of the water was a different story entirely.


    As soon as they were close enough to the edge, Spam hopped off her head and onto the safety of the cool stone, followed by watching her unsuccessfully attempt to get out of the water. The top of the stone slab was a few inches higher than the surface of the pool, an easy enough distance to pull herself up if she still had arms and hands. But Cyn did not have arms and hands. She had stubby, wobbly, hooved legs that lacked the range of motion that came from Human shoulders.


    After trying and failing to even raise her front legs far enough up out of the water, Cyn just gave up. She had no idea if a real sheep could get itself up the small ledge, but she sure as hell could not. Instead, she tried to tell Spam to back up away from her so she could Soul Slip to the familiar. Since any verbal communication came out as pathetic sounding bleats, it took way too long for the Voidling to make a correct guess at what she wanted and place itself close to the wall. It took multiple attempts for her plan to work, with each failure ending in Cyn falling back into the water, but finally she was able to Soul Slip into a position where her lack of balance on injured limbs instead left her soggy sheep form sprawled out on the stone slab.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Cyn wasn¡¯t sure how long she was going to be stuck like this, but the only thing she could do in the meantime was Meditate. After the Trial of Agility, Cyn¡¯s levitation had only lasted about a half hour. The fireball belches had already stopped. Those two experiences gave her hope that she would not have to wait too long to be back to normal.


    ***


    Scott rubbed his face with one hand, barely stifling a groan as he watched Irrab scramble backward from the creature he was fighting, the young guardian practically hiding behind his party¡¯s mage. It¡¯s not that the group of four he had taken out to the plains was bad, per say. They were all acceptable when it came to fighting alone. Working as a team, though, somehow made all of them worse. It was difficult to watch them struggle to take down one of the cow-sized rats together when they had no problems doing it on their own.


    If they could spend the rest of their time in the dungeon only fighting one foe at a time, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. But most creatures came in groups, and facing a group of enemies alone was inadvisable at best. Deady at worst.


    If any of them were good at retreating ¨C which they absolutely were not ¨C it would be a little better. At least then they could do what Hex currently was... letting a few of the rats chase him around and whittling them down slowly. The Seeker remained nearby in case Scott and the others needed help, but the boy was far too antsy to just sit and watch others fight.


    Scott watched as Hex¡¯s throwing dagger hit one of the rats in the skull, killing it.  His aim¡¯s improving.  Despite all Scott¡¯s frustrations with his original party, he was now aware of the blessing it had been for everyone to be able to not only stand on their own, but to be able to shift gears and work together near flawlessly.


    Regardless, even if the others were good enough to generally fight on their own, there was still the matter of protecting the Territory Heart, and clearing the small ruins out for treasure. Those things were going to require them to work as a team. He couldn¡¯t let them, or anyone else for that matter, enter more dangerous looking locations - like the tower on the lake - until he was sure they could handle it.


    ***


    Cyn did not have to wait very long, as predicted. She did, however, have to suffer through the feeling her familiar was laughing at her for a while. The sudden contortion of her body back to Human forcibly ended Cyn¡¯s Meditation, which she found a bit disorienting, but mostly all she felt was relief at being back to normal.


    Except for being orange. A quick glance at her hands confirmed that Cyn still looked like she would be right at home in a chocolate factory.


    Avoiding the temptation of the door closed beside her, Cyn took a little bit of time to ready herself to continue on, making sure her body was working properly after so many injuries and being polymorphed. Since - by her estimation - it was only midmorning, Cyn determined she should have plenty of time to return the egg to its mother outside before sunset. As long as there were not too many problems on the way back up.  I¡¯ve never missed an elevator more than I do right now.  It was going to be an arduous trek up the spiral staircase, but she really hoped she could deliver this egg quickly, and the serpent would leave for its natural environment in the deep ocean. That should allow easier access to the tower so Cyn ¨C and others ¨C could return to explore it fully.


    Cirrus had not joined her at the bottom of the tower yet, but she was not surprised about that. She  had  almost killed the guy by accident. And it would not be unreasonable to assume the fall would have killed Cyn. It probably would have killed most, if not all of her allies. If any of them didn¡¯t just die on impact, only the mages would have a reasonable chance of being able to heal themselves enough to not just bleed out or drown. Realistically, the rogue had either left entirely or focused on getting the defenses deactivated so the other members of their party could join in looking for the egg in order to stop the Feathered Brine Serpent from attacking their camp.


    After confirming her body was in working order, Cyn dove back into the pool. Since Spam was so averse to getting wet - and there had not been any threats inside the tower outside of her own bumbling miscalculations ¨C she left the Voidling at the bottom of the staircase. The distance she dove was uncomfortable for both of them, but apparently it was less uncomfortable than being in the pool to Spam.


    As Cyn got closer to the egg, she was able to make out that the mostly dark runes that were scrawled across the interior walls of the tower extended all the way to the floor. The single, large, amber rune was the only one that was still glowing within the water. It resembled a geometric image of a sun, and considering the new species name for this egg that was not actually surprising. Not that Cyn knew anything about runes or what she assumed was ritual magic. It just made sense the main rune would look like a sun symbol if it was making something ¡®solar¡¯.


    The egg itself was smooth and spherical, looking more like a yellow-tinged pearl, and was bigger than Cyn¡¯s head. Considering the size of its mother, it actually seemed a bit small. Thankfully, when she touched it, the egg felt stiff and not fragile. In the back of Cyn¡¯s mind, there had been a tiny concern that she might have to carry and handle something more akin to a fish egg. At that size, there was no chance she didn¡¯t accidentally pop it. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, she tried to transfer the Feathered Solar Serpent Egg into her storage.


    It didn¡¯t work, and Cyn wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that. It  was  a creature, and presumably alive, so the idea of storing it in her Promising Ring of Holding felt... wrong. Something told her that was  not  a place living things should be. On the other hand, getting it out of here had just become multiple times more annoying. Resigned to carrying it, Cyn wrapped her arms carefully around the egg and started to ascend using just her legs.


    The moment the egg left the ground at the bottom of the pool, two things happened. First, Cyn felt herself receive two new objectives. Before she even had a chance to celebrate her earlier experiment with her internal HUD working, she was plunged into total darkness.


    The sun rune, which had been lighting up not only the pool but could be seen from where she had entered the tower above, had gone out.

 58. Up is More Complicated than Down

    Cyn froze for a moment, surprised, before quickly activating her diadem and searching for signs that the extinguished rune had triggered any traps. Seeing no other changes, and feeling her familiar¡¯s concern above her, Cyn began to kick her legs again to make her way back to the surface. Spam also did not appear to be in any danger, and as far as she could tell, its concern stemmed from the surrounding area suddenly becoming dark without the rune.


    She had to set the egg down to get out of the water and, after confirming their surroundings still seemed safe, Cyn quickly checked the new objectives she had received from picking up the egg.


    Madman, or genius?


    Bonus Objective: Discover the crumbling tower¡¯s treasure (Completed)


    Rewards to be dispensed upon exiting floor.


    Huh.  Cyn felt almost... disappointed. There was at  least  one other door in this tower, this egg couldn¡¯t be the only thing here. Right? Maybe in the eyes of the System this was a major find, since it was some kind of magic-infused, forcibly evolved egg of an already impressive creature species. She just didn¡¯t really have any use for it. Hopefully there would be more useful items to be found here after further exploration, even if they were not  the  treasure of the tower. The flavor text of the objective was a bit odd, but it was easy to presume that it was referring to whomever had infused the egg, and that it would have made more sense if she had explored this place normally. Instead of from the bottom up.


    A helping hand.


    Creature Handler Objective: Hatch the Feathered Solar Serpent Egg


    That was a new kind of objective, one specifically for her profession. It wasn¡¯t listed as ¡®bonus¡¯, and it didn¡¯t state the dungeon name above its flavor text, which made her wonder if the objective might not be limited to this dungeon floor.  Neat. Too bad I won¡¯t be doing that.  She had already promised to return the egg to its mother. Cyn supposed that to get in here, most people would have had to kill or somehow sneak past the serpent outside. Other Creature Handlers might have been able to approach without getting eaten immediately, but she doubted most would have had the opportunity to make a deal with it. Hell, if not for Spam, she also would have been screwed despite being immune to its mental influence.


    Now that she thought about it... why hadn¡¯t the Voidling been affected by the serpent like the other Humans were? As far as Cyn was aware, Spam did not share her skills. Perhaps it just had some kind of natural resistance to those kinds of abilities, since its Inspect description made it clear that Spam was not meant to be in the physical world. The familiar also understood speech, though, and not just from Cyn. It did appear to just  ignore  people most of the time, but also had, on more than one occasion, directly reacted to her party members¡¯ words.


    Again, though, she couldn¡¯t rule out that just being a skill Spam had. While she presumed the soul impressions inside the dungeon were altered by the System to work with her Dimensional Translator skill, the mentors her party had encountered were from outside dimension 242. They did not seem to have problems communicating, so they probably just had a better version of the translator skill. She  could  try playing a really complex game of charades with Spam to get answers, but frankly Cyn did not find the questions important enough for that. There were better uses of her time.


    Shrugging away her thoughts and the mild disappointment at her discovered objectives, Cyn picked up the familiar in question to put it on her shoulder before picking up the egg. She planned to hold the precious cargo to her chest, which would make the Voidling¡¯s pouch unusable. That was the easiest place for Cyn to hold anything for an extended period, and she could even hold it one-handed for a limited amount of time with relative safety. After giving the mysterious door a final, remorseful look, she started up the steps back towards the surface.


    As she carefully made her way up the spiral, Cyn found she kind of missed the warm, amber light the rune had given off. Her diadem was extremely useful, but the odd, directionless, pale blue light made everything look much more unnerving. It made Cyn feel jumpy, a response not helped by the fact that for most of the way up the only sounds she could hear were her own footsteps, and occasionally a quiet crumbling as the edges of the stone steps broke into a course dust. There weren¡¯t even handrails on the staircase, forcing her to walk close to the wall out of caution.


    As she climbed, Cyn took note of the lack of doors. While she did pass a few closed ones, similar to the door at the bottom of the tower, there were significantly fewer than she would have anticipated with how deep the tower went.  Was this place really meant to create a single item?  It just seemed like a lot of work and space going to waste. But what did she know? Not much, since the dead runes that flowed across the walls were more foreign to her than any language of Earth. Maybe it  needed  to be that big.


    Cyn was about halfway up the tower when she encountered a problem. A very big problem. A section of the staircase had collapsed, falling onto the stairs below, and the rubble prevented Cyn from continuing up the spiral. She  might  be able to climb around the edges of the debris, but it was a huge risk if the pile ended up breaking apart. She would fall back into the water below, with large chunks of stone falling down atop her. Not to mention, even attempting to go around the obstruction this way was impossible while also holding the egg.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Lacking options, Cyn backtracked to the last door she had passed. She was going to need to find either a different route upwards, or some kind of item to help her continue past the collapse. She did not feel like it was reasonable to try and depend on her party coming down after her, and instead she would be better off trying to save herself. After lingering in front of the unimposing door for a few moments, Cyn chose to set the egg down a few steps away. She had to prop it up with bits of scrap material she was carrying around in her Promising Ring of Holding, since its round shape left it at risk of rolling down the stairs, but it was a better solution than trying to hold onto it while opening a door into the unknown.


    After taking a few deep breaths, Cyn carefully pushed open the simple wooden door. A small puff of dust, accompanied by a horrific, putrid smell, was blown into the air as the room came into view. The room itself wasn¡¯t very large, and it was almost immediately recognizable as living quarters. A large bed was pushed against one wall, a stone vanity adorned with a clouded mirror nearby. On the other side of the room, closest to Cyn and the doorway, was a small table with a single stone stool and some scraps of paper scattered across its surface. At least one of those scraps had writing on it. Overall, there was no sense of decadence or even much in the way of decoration. At a glance, the items looked functional and nothing more. Everything was coated in a fine layer of dust and, between that and the pale light of her diadem, it made the most of the scene appear muted. Cast in shades of gray and dull blue.


    While Cyn mentally took note of the little details, none of those things truly drew her focus. They were distractions, a mostly subconscious attempt to  not  see the center of the room. The first thing she saw on opening the door, the part of the scene Cyn¡¯s eyes quickly skittered away from, was a corpse. She needed to actually acknowledge the entire room before entering, and definitely make sure that the... person... wasn¡¯t a threat. But she couldn¡¯t bring herself to  look.  There was nowhere to run this time, and turning her back to ignore the problem also would not work. Cyn felt stuck in the moment, frozen in place as her heart raced ever faster and her eyes flicked around to study  anything  else. She was also alone this time, which made the entire prospect of facing the source of her anxiety feel insurmountable.


    Then, Spam let out a quiet, worried warble from its perch atop Cyn¡¯s shoulder. The soft sound, a gentle feeling of concern that existed outside her own emotions, combined with the Voidling¡¯s sticky tongue briefly plastering itself to her cheek, pulled Cyn out of her frozen state. Taking a deep, shaky breath and trying desperately not to gag, she reached up to Pet the familiar and whisper, ¡°Thanks, buddy.¡±  Not alone. I¡¯ll never be alone again.  Despite her internal pep talk after meeting the Cadaverous Puppet Bloom, Cyn was still very freaked out by the sight of a decaying corpse. Frustrated at her own fear, and determined to  get over it , she forced herself to look while covering her mouth and nose with the edge of her cloak.


    Orc ¨C Level 43


    Considering Cyn¡¯s own overall level was only twenty, that seemed like a pretty high number for her to be able to see. But corpses might follow different logic than the living, or the Feathered Brine Serpent outside was  really  high level. The Orc had clearly been left here for some time. Long enough for decay to eat away most of his features, resulting in a large, dark stain that spread across the stone floor, but not so long as to have turned to just bones. Both taller and bulkier than a Human, the man had green skin that Cyn was pretty sure was not due to his current state. What skin was left had a great deal of discoloration, but the undertone reminiscent of pine needles remained constant. She could not make out any wounds on the curled-up form that would have resulted in his death, but the decay had riddled it with jagged holes so she found it impossible to really tell.


    Under the stain surrounding the corpse, Cyn could see runes and geometry scrawled over the floor. Compared to those she had seen in the rest of the tower, these runes seemed roughly drawn. Imprecise, or perhaps just done with a shaking hand.  Could they have been drawn in a rush, some kind of failed protection spell?  None of it was glowing, so Cyn was at least reasonably sure they were deactivated, or were never active in the first place.


    There was nothing visible that indicated the Orc¡¯s class or profession, and his clothes appeared casual, but he  was  holding onto something. Clutched to his chest with both arms, Cyn was able to make out some kind of book. She wanted to know what it was, since Inspect did not seem to detect it, but... she would have to get very close to grab it. Maybe even touch the body.


    Feeling a light tremor start running through her muscles at the thought, Cyn turned away to look for anything else that could be of importance. Picking up the scraps of paper on the table, they all had varying degrees of writing on them. But much of the writing was scribbled out, as if the writer kept changing their mind about what to say. From what she could make out in the scribbles it appeared to be some kind of apology to someone named ¡®Nel¡¯, but there were no details about what warranted the scrapped bits of letter.


    Searching further, she found that the vanity had no drawers, and the mirror did not appear to be anything special after Cyn wiped away the layer of dust on top of it. There was no under the bed to check. That left her with only two options. She could just leave, and try a different door further down the stairs, or... Cyn could try and retrieve whatever was important enough to the dead Orc for him to die still clutching it.


    The entire idea was revolting. The smell in the room had not gotten any better, easily penetrating the cloth of the cloak she was attempting to use like a mask, and Cyn was more than ready to leave. Cyn doubted it was important, but she also had a very hard time shaking the feeling that she should at least  try  to retrieve it. Creeping forward, she tried to use the tip of her boots to move the Orc¡¯s arms. Unsuccessfully. She only managed to make herself more nauseous.


    Just as Cyn was resigning herself to not seeing the book, the Voidling made an annoyed chirp, and jumped off her shoulder. Right onto the Orc¡¯s body. Spam appeared utterly unbothered by the corpse, and after giving its bonded Awakened a reproachful glare, the small, pink creature carefully climbed down the Orc¡¯s arms and grabbed at the book with its mouth.


    ¡°You are not climbing back on me anytime soon.¡± Cyn could hear the wobbling tension in her voice, making it almost painfully high pitched, and she hated it. Spam glared at her again before tugging the tome free with little difficulty. Unsure if the stained stones were still wet, and not wanting the pair to fall onto the floor it if was, she quickly reached down to grab both the Voidling and the book before bolting from the room and back out into the ¡®fresh¡¯ air of the tower.


    Cyn unceremoniously dumped both of them on the ground before pulling the door shut again. If she had lingered any longer, Cyn was pretty sure she would have been sick. The smell remained, but she was hopeful it would dissipate quickly now that the source was once again sealed away. After a few calming breaths, she reached down to pick up the unmarked, leather-bound tome beside a grumbling Spam, using her cloak like a glove now to avoid touching the object directly. ¡°Look... I appreciate it. But seriously... I am not carrying you until I can give you a bath or something.¡±


    The familiar¡¯s grumbles only increased, making it clear that it did not understand what her issue was. Shaking her head, Cyn sat down and fumbled the tome open. She barely saw that the first page was filled with charcoal sketches before a scrap of loose paper fluttered out, forcing her to catch it before it went down the steps or over the edge into the water below.

 59. A Somber Note, and Rescue

    The scrap was covered in the same unsteady scrawl as the paper inside of the room, though this letter had no scribbled-out parts and appeared complete.


    Forgive me, Nal. I only ever wanted us to be happy, to be able to push back our Horizon and step into the stars together. But now you are gone, and I am left alone, trapped in a prison of my own making. I thought if we could fill the Sunny-shaped wound in your heart with a stronger, less fragile familiar, you could heal and we could continue our grand adventure. And perhaps, if not for my folly, we would have.


    Perhaps I should have anticipated the serpent following me. I underestimated its tenacity, presumed it would value itself more than its young, and we have both paid the price. My only pride is knowing that if our new Sunny ever hatches, I have no doubt she will be even stronger than either of us could have dreamed. But I cannot hatch her without you.


    I am left with knowledge of my success, in the creation of something truly unique, but with no way to see it though. My Horizon may have moved, but without you I have no will left to chase it. Forgive me, Nal. I do not know if my words here could reach you now, but, System willing, I hope they do. I hope you know I did not want this for you, for us. I will join you soon, and I hope that we can meet again before our souls are washed clean.


    Cyn had to reread the letter a few times for the words to fully settle in, and with each read she felt a twisting pressure grow in her chest. Her eyes flicked back towards the book in her opposite hand, to the rough art that filled the pages. Slowly flipping through them told a story without words, the corpse and letter a tragic ending.


    While each page and doodle varied greatly, there were two main subjects the artist drew repeatedly. The most common drawing was of a creature that appeared to be a ball of fur with butterfly wings and six spindly legs. Based on images of the creature interacting with an Orc, the second main subject, it would have been about the size of a large housecat. The further Cyn flipped into the sketchbook, the more detailed the art became, and with those details also came short descriptions for many of the drawings.


    In the early pages, all the descriptions did was label the winged creature as ¡®Sunny¡¯, something Cyn had already suspected based on the letter. It wasn¡¯t until a second Orc ¨C labelled as ¡®Erilan¡¯ - began to make an appearance around a third of the way through the tome that it became clear that the sketches had been done by Nal. Page after page of poses, scenes, detailed portraits, all done in black charcoal. Many pages later, there was a sudden shift. The drawings became less detailed, only partially complete. In some cases, they were barely sketches with an unclear subject before being abandoned.


    Then, with a sizable number of blank pages left, they stopped. There was a single, half-finished portrait of Erilan, the image almost returning to the level of detail Cyn had seen earlier in the book. But it was never completed, and the rest of the book was empty.


    Tucking the letter back into the book, Cyn gently closed the leather binding and, after a moments hesitation, stored the tome in her ring. It wasn¡¯t anything useful to her, and never would be. But Cyn also felt she could not just leave it behind to be forgotten, just because it wasn¡¯t useful. The corpse she had found, once named Erilan, had been a person. Not some nebulous NPC, an imitation of flesh atop complex programming. He had lived, loved, and died. Had aspirations of his own. Made mistakes. Was there even anyone to remember him and Nal? Cyn might be in a dungeon - meaning they definitely were just soul impressions in this space, perhaps even less since he was not alive ¨C but regardless, the somber realizations her discovery brought to the surface felt heavy.


    Corpses might freak her out, in general, but there was something so much worse about the idea that they were actually real. Real people. There had not been too many thus far, but Cyn hadn¡¯t known the people behind any of the bodies she had seen. Sometimes there was a name, either from her kill notification or given to her by someone who  did  know the dead. But otherwise they were just... objects. Or rather, it had been very, very easy for Cyn to unconsciously think that way up until this point.


    And while she did not technically know Erilan and Nal either, Cyn felt more of a connection to them. They felt more  real,  through little more than a letter and sketchbook. A gut-wrenching story assembled with only a few puzzle pieces. She couldn¡¯t even blame the Feathered Brine Serpent for the tragedy. The Orcs had stolen her egg, and the creature had responded by trapping them.


    Unable to shake the weight resting over her heart, but needing to continue on, Cyn quickly washed off a quietly complaining Spam using her waterskin. The Voidling only had so much respect for her downturned mood, but with the promise of being carried again it allowed itself to be rinsed and dried off with some scrap pieces of cloth, before they both made their way further back down the steps to another doorway.


    The next room was surprisingly empty. It was just a large, unfinished space roughly carved out of rock with no indication of what its purpose might have been. The next door Cyn tried, she couldn¡¯t open. It just refused to budge even an inch. As she struggled with the door, Cyn noticed that the orange color of her skin was rapidly fading. Relived at the change but also getting more nervous by the minute, she continued downward. There was only one more door on this half of the tower, and it was the one at the bottom.


    Before she made it that far, however, she had the knowledge of someone else¡¯s health re-enter her subconscious. Bringing it into focus, she was able to quickly identify who it was. Mountain.  Oh fuck, please don¡¯t be falling.  The thought barely flitted through her mind before she was able to dismiss the idea. He wasn¡¯t approaching Cyn¡¯s location nearly fast enough to be falling. It was definitely a slow, controlled decent.


    Carefully making her way to the edge, she peered up to confirm what she was feeling. A good distance above her, the boy was being lowered down by a rope. He clearly had one foot in a loop at the end of the rope like it was some kind of stirrup, but that was not the only thing keeping Mountain attached to his lifeline. It was hard to see, but she was pretty sure he had more rope wrapped around him like a harness. Not surprising, since she was positive Sam would not have allowed anyone to be lowered down like that without some kind of safety measures.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Feeling fairly positive he wouldn¡¯t fall, and that even if he did, she would be able to make it back down to the pool to heal the warrior, Cyn felt safe calling upward. ¡°Hey!¡±


    Mountain was clearly startled, jerking violently at her voice, followed by peering downward towards her. After a few seconds he called back, sounding unsure ¡°Cyn?¡±  His eyesight must be worse than mine.


    ¡°Yup!¡± In response to her affirmation, the boy let out a whoop of joy. Energized by her impending rescue, Cyn turned and started running back up the steps so she could be more in line with Mountain as he descended. Once they were actually close enough to speak comfortably, he swung himself towards the stairs to clumsily climb out of the center hole. Once the warrior was steady, he jerked a few times on the now-slack rope. It must have been some kind of signal, since a few moments later the rope stopped being lowered.


    ¡°Dang, I¡¯m almost disappointed. This rescue is going to be easier than I thought it would be.¡± As Cyn laughed at his words, Mountain gave her a hug and went on to explain that there were multiple collapses on the upper portion of the stairs. Sam guessed that it was due to parts of the collapsed roof falling in at an angle when it was first destroyed. But the collapses forced the party above to find a different route down the tower after Cirrus disabled the defenses. Luckily, there was actually quite a bit of rope stored between all of them, mostly from Geoff and Juls, that allowed the party to work together and create a way for one person to descend and check out the situation.


    ¡°So is there enough rope for a second harness? I found the egg, but I had to leave it up there.¡± Cyn jerked her thumb towards the ascending staircase. ¡°I have to hold it, so I won¡¯t be able to hold the rope.¡±


    ¡°Uhh...¡± Mountain shrugged, then began fiddling with the ropes wrapped around him. ¡°We can figure something out. Go grab it, and I think I will have a workable solution by the time you get back.¡±


    It actually ended up taking a good deal longer for Mountain to devise a solution than it took for Cyn to fetch the Feathered Solar Serpent Egg, so long that she almost told him to go back up without her to see if Sam could help. But ultimately the boy figured it out, conceding some of the safety of his harness to instead tie Cyn to him and create a second loop in the rope for her to stand on. Cyn would be entirely dependent on Mountain to keep her from falling, but as long as the party above did not take an eternity to pull them up, he would be able to handle it.


    A few tugs of the main line later, and the pair slowly began to rise. Once they were pulled into the air, they swung back into the center hole for a straight shot up to the surface. It was slow, and as Cyn and Mountain came closer to the ground floor Cyn could make out that some kind of primitive-looking pulley system had been assembled. She wasn¡¯t mechanically inclined, and the whole thing was kind of terrifying to look at. Cyn had no idea how it had not broken under their combined weight, but she just had to trust that at least one of them probably knew what they were doing.


    As soon as they reached the ground floor, Fish and Juls helped Mountain and Cyn dismount from their makeshift elevator. Sam had been the one doing the majority of the rope pulling, assisted by Geoff and Cirrus, but now that the pair were safely at the top of the lift the Berserker was free to let go of the rope and sweep Cyn into a soul-crushing hug. She barely moved her cargo in time to save the Feathered Solar Serpent Egg from the same fate as her torso. The hug only lasted a few seconds, as Sam¡¯s unfettered strength caused one of her ribs to break with an audible pop.


    The sound made Sam let go quickly, setting a wheezing Cyn back down on her feet while muttering an apology for hurting her. As she was using Restoration to heal herself, he spoke darkly, ¡°Twice in one day. We are going to  leave  now, right? Or do you want to convince me you are dead or dying a third time?¡±


    She winced at Sam¡¯s words. She had already felt a little guilty for her actions before entering the tower, but Cyn¡¯s encounter with Erilan¡¯s letter and Nal¡¯s sketchbook had shed the situation in a new light. One that made her feel a ton worse about the kind of stress she had unintentionally been putting on the Berserker. ¡°Yah. I just have to return this egg to the serpent, and we should be able to go.¡±


    Sam looked surprised for a moment, before heaving out a sigh of relief and rubbing one hand down his face. ¡°Great. Wonderful. Let¡¯s not do this again.¡± Cyn didn¡¯t respond to that, since she probably  would  do something like this again. She would just be more careful about who she was with when doing it. Instead, she just stepped around him to accept another set of hugs from Fish and Juls. The latter looked harried, more than ready to be done with this adventure. Fish at least did not appear too bothered, giving her a big grin after letting Cyn go.


    Cirrus then stepped forward, once again wearing his shirt, looking like he was also going to try and hug her. Cyn was willing to accept it, and since she had nearly killed the guy, or at the very least almost forced him to drop down the tower with her, she also felt the need to apologize. ¡°Look, Cirrus, I am so, so¡­¡± Before Cyn could finish, with the rogue practically within touching distance, they were all shocked by the sound that erupted from Spam, who was still perched on her shoulder.


    Cyn could only compare it to a snarl, a sound that should not be able to be produced by a frog, or frankly anything of Spam¡¯s size. Deep and reverberating, it ripped through the air like a threat. While the sound left everyone frozen momentarily, unsure how to react, Cyn was reeling for a second reason.


    No.


    It wasn¡¯t telepathy. There was no voice, Cyn didn¡¯t hear the word like she did when the Feathered Brine Serpent spoke. But it was the single most clear communication she had ever experienced with her familiar through their bond. Not an emotion, or a vague, fragmented impression of a thought. It was an absolute rejection.


    ¡°Umm¡­ I guess Spam¡¯s a bit on edge?¡± Cirrus slowly lowered his arms and stepped back as Cyn spoke, the rogue¡¯s expression frozen in a forced-looking smile. Spam only went quiet once Cirrus had retreated a few steps. While Cyn wasn¡¯t going to complain about not hugging Cirrus, Spam¡¯s behavior was beyond confusing to her as it was drastically out of character for the creature. And as clear as the rejection of them touching had been, she did not get even an inkling as to why. Reaching up to Pet the Voidling, Cyn returned to apologizing. ¡±Anyway, as I was saying, I am really sorry. I nearly made you fall with me on accident, Cirrus. I wasn¡¯t trying to drag you down with me, I promise.¡±


    The rogue kept his gaze locked with the familiar on her shoulder, but allowed his expression to relax. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ fine. We are both alive, so no harm done. I¡¯m just relieved you didn¡¯t get hurt, or worse. It looks like quite the drop.¡±


    Cyn couldn¡¯t help but burst into nervous laughter. ¡°Oh, I am pretty sure I brushed death when I hit the bottom. But since I am able to heal myself really efficiently, I could recover. I don¡¯t think anyone else would have the same experience.¡± She saw Sam pale at her words out of the corner of her eye, but the information was important. Cyn didn¡¯t want to inadvertently make anyone think they could fall down the tower safely. Now, the fact she had turned herself into a fireball-burping, orange sheep was kind of embarrassing, so Cyn decided to leave those details out. She wasn¡¯t sure if polymorphing herself had been helpful anyway. With everyone anxious to return to camp, Sam and Mountain took down their lift and redistributed its materials. It wasn¡¯t really safe in the first place, and no one was confident they would be able to get it to work without multiple people remaining at the surface. If ¨C when ¨C a group returned to finish exploring the tower, they would need to figure out another way down.


    Finally, before leaving the tower, Cyn had everyone touch the egg. The completed objective might be little more than a consolation prize, but at least the people she made suffer her mishap and subsequent misadventure were not leaving the situation totally bereft of rewards.

 60. An Expanding Horizon

    Cirrus had managed to deactivate some of the glowing runes on the ground floor while Cyn was at the bottom of the tower, not only deactivating the defenses but also opening up a doorway back outside. Rather than an illusion to hide the entrance, which Cyn would have seen, once the door was activated the bricks of the tower itself moved out of the way to create a series of steps down to the ground. It was on these steps that everyone but Cyn would linger, while she returned the egg to the Feathered Brine Serpent.


    The serpent itself was clearly visible as Cyn approached the water, having swam all the way to the shore of the island to wait. As she approached, its massive, scaled head broke the surface to regard both Cyn and the altered egg that she held clutched to her chest.  You have found it?  The vaguely feminine voice sounded almost hopeful, and Cyn had to suppress a grimace.


    ¡°Yes but... It was changed by someone. Long before I got there.¡± Spam made a few chirping noises of agreement to Cyn¡¯s assessment as she held out the yellow-tinted egg. In the afternoon sun, outside of the dark recesses of the tower the egg had been residing in, it shone brilliantly. The beams of sunlight danced across its smooth surface, before reflecting outward to instead bathe the surrounding area in a warm, golden glow that could barely be seen in the already bright ambient light.


    The white-scaled, serpentine head moved closer to Cyn in order to more closely inspect the egg. She felt her pulse jump in response, but managed to keep ahold of the egg and keep herself from shaking too badly as the creature¡¯s snout almost brushed against her hands.  This is not what I expected you to return to me, Human.  Cyn¡¯s heart became a thundering in her ears, but before she could muster a response the serpent very carefully maneuvered to pick up the egg between its giant teeth.  But it is satisfactory to our deal.


    Cyn let out a relieved, shuddering breath, moving her hands carefully out of the way to avoid losing them alongside her cargo. The egg looked tiny in the serpent¡¯s jaws, the contrast between the rows of sharp teeth and the fragile, sun-lit pearl stark. Despite the undercurrent of fear the creature inspired in Cyn, with its head in touching distance she was also fighting a foolish desire to Pet the Feathered Brine Serpent. She knew it was stupid. Cyn would absolutely lose a hand or worse if she tried. But it was right there...


    Crunch .


    The sound of the egg¡¯s fragile shell breaking wasn¡¯t very loud, and if Cyn had not been within a few feet of its source, she probably would not have heard it at all. Her desire to touch the creature was replaced by shock as Cyn watched the serpent¡¯s jaws snap shut around the egg, rapidly consuming its contents and most of the shell. She saw a few small shards drop onto the rocks below them, but found her attention quickly preoccupied with the changes to the Feathered Brine Serpent before her.


    Over the course of a few seconds, an invisible wave seemed to sweep over the serpent¡¯s body, replacing cracked, worn, and even missing scales with pristine ones, their color shifting from dull off-white to gleaming snow. The serpent¡¯s frilly head tendrils burst into a brief kaleidoscope of warm colors before becoming pristine and white again as the wave of healing reached the end of its course. It was remarkable to watch, even if Cyn was left utterly baffled.


    I will take my leave of this place, and in the spirit of honoring your assistance, I will leave the Humans along the river alive.


    She nodded quickly at the serpent¡¯s words, relieved, but as the creature began to slide back into the water Cyn could not help but try and get answers to what she had just seen. ¡°Can I... ask a question?¡± She regretted her curiosity almost immediately as the Feathered Brine Serpent turned back to her and moved to partly encircle Cyn, dragging its body along the rocks as it moved out of the water.  Mistake, mayday, why don¡¯t I know when to call it quits?!


    As Cyn slowly spun to keep eye contact with the crimson orbs studying her only a few feet away, her spiraling thoughts were interrupted by a soft whisper against her consciousness.  Ask.


    Cyn had to take a deep breath before responding, ¡°Why did you eat the egg?¡±


    Does it matter?  The Feathered Brine Serpent continued to slowly encircle Cyn, creating a loose coil and forcing her to continue spinning to keep eye contact.


    ¡°No, I was just... curious.¡± Cyn wasn¡¯t sure if this was a threat, or if the creature was just fucking with her. Perhaps a bit of both. For a moment, she felt one of the other Humans start moving forward. But they only moved a few steps before the serpent¡¯s tendrils lit up, now a twinkling pattern of yellows and oranges instead of the white luminance from before. It had the same effect of controlling the others, though this time they just stood still as far as Cyn could feel, and creating a headache-inducing pressure behind Cyn¡¯s eyes. Spam made a small croak before also falling silent, still on her shoulder. Cyn did not feel she could break eye contact to check if the familiar had fallen victim to the mind control, but so long as Spam did not move it should be safe. Ish.


    Your uncontrolled curiosity will get you killed, Human. That would be a pitiful ending for one so odd.  The serpent paused.  But I will answer your question.


    Eating my egg allowed me to reclaim the power I gave up creating it, while also gaining the power it was given by the thieves who stole it away. The opportunity to expand my own Horizon was an unexpected but not unwelcome outcome of this tribulation. An undeniably preferable, if temporary, alternative to giving up everything in the pursuit of an offspring that will grow even further than I.


    ¡°Temporary?¡± Cyn blurted out the follow-up question without thinking, trying to process the information she had been given without breaking their little dance.


    That is more than ¡®a¡¯ question.   The Feathered Brine Serpent sounded amused, but Cyn definitely felt like she was reaching, or perhaps even past, the limits she should push her luck.  I will reach my Horizon again, or die trying. If that day comes, I will again give all my power so my offspring will have a head start in their growth.


    ¡°I see. Thank you for the opportunity to understand you better.¡± Between Erilan¡¯s letter and the conversation with the serpent, Cyn got the feeling that a ¡®Horizon¡¯ was some kind of personal limit. But now was not a good time to question the idea further. She now had to look up at the creature coiled around her, and as the serpent slowly lowered its head towards her own Cyn decided that that was enough. Cyn had dismissed a level up notification while the serpent was speaking, and it was time to quit while she was ahead. Activating Soul Slip, she tried to move back to the other Humans on the steps of the tower. Cyn had used the skill on Sam, who was the furthest down the steps after the Berserker had moved forward during her conversation with the serpent. In the split second between the skill activation and end of her teleport, she realized her mistake.


    The serpent coiled around Cyn was a ¡®solid object¡¯ for all intents and purposes. And unlike previous uses of the skill - where she had either an unobstructed path or only party obstructed path between herself and the target of Soul Slip ¨C there was no easy route for the skill to take that did not involve going  through  the Feathered Brine Serpent. So Cyn went through it. While her soul and the entirety of Spam reached the intended destination, a clear spot directly next to Sam, Cyn¡¯s body only traveled around half the distance. For the split second of travel, every nerve in her body burned. That pain was mercifully brief, though.


    Unlike the thunderbolt to her brain that forced Cyn to her knees, retching as her soul violently rubberbanded back into place. Her vision was too blurred to see, and the ringing in her ears drowned out all noise, save the soft, feminine chuckle that flitted across her mind for a few seconds. The distance between her body and soul during the skill backfire was exponentially further than any other time she had used it, leaving Cyn helpless. She found herself unable to even think for an indeterminate amount of time, her every sense ¨C save the ability to feel pain, unfortunately - cut off as her soul struggled to reconnect with her body properly.


    As the pieces of Cyn started to reconnect, the first thing she noticed was that Spam was concerned. Less concerned than she would have expected, but the Voidling must have understood whatever was happening to Cyn was temporary. It also appeared to not have suffered any ill affects from the skill backlash, much to her relief. It was also not entirely surprising that that was the first thing to return to her, as the familiar¡¯s emotions where practically beamed into her consciousness at all times.  The snake must have just been fucking with me, or I would definitely be dead.


    After regaining the ability to think, Cyn¡¯s other senses slowly came back into focus as the pain died down. The acrid smell and sour taste of stomach acid, the small puddle of it she had created visible just below her face. The weight of something ¨C Spam, she quickly realized ¨C moving along her spine and up towards her hunched shoulders. The sounds of her concerned allies, mostly Sam and Fish.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Once everything seemed  mostly  back in place, Cyn tried to wave off their concern and stagger back to her feet. Luckily neither of them bothered to back up much, since Cyn¡¯s disorientation was still bad enough to cause her to stumble and require help to keep standing. Leaning heavily on the other mage, she finally responded to the incessant questions about her wellbeing. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a miscalculation.¡±  Not a very convincing statement, considering how badly I slurred.


    Fish snorted. ¡°Liar.¡± Cyn did not bother to argue that, taking a quick look around as she allowed herself to be helped onto the raft they had made to reach the island. She didn¡¯t see the Feathered Brine Serpent anywhere, confirming it had likely started its journey back to the ocean. The raft wasn¡¯t big enough for everyone, but at least Cyn and those who couldn¡¯t swim should remain afloat. Back-to-back with Mountain, Cyn leaned on both him and Fish and closed her eyes. She wanted to look at a few things, and the relatively short ride back across the water was a good opportunity.


    After checking her resources, mainly to note how her stamina was doing ¨C not good, Soul Slip had likely taken more than it would have during a normal use ¨C she moved on to her notifications.


    Profession level up! [Creature Handler] is now level 10


    +3 Vitality, +1 Mind, +2 Will, +1 Strength, +2 Agility, +1 Luck


    +3 free points


    Knowing that the next notification would be prompting her to select a skill, Cyn hesitated. She wasn¡¯t even sure what could be offered, since her profession usage lacked a theme and instead had been all over the place. She considered waiting but, believing she would have enough time to choose before reaching the shoreline, Cyn instead opened the notification and selected to view her skill options now.


    Natural Armor (Faulty) - Taking inspiration from creatures you have observed, you have learned how to temporarily harden your skin to reduce damage taken.


    Objectively not terrible, except for its quality. Was faulty worse than weak? Cyn wasn¡¯t sure, but she kind of felt like it was. The skill overall sounded to Cyn like a more natural version of the Mana Barrier skill she had been offered as a mage.


    Golemancy (Common) - Gain the knowledge required to create simple golems.


    ? This skill can be used to activate a golem after creation.


    ? Golems have various requirements in order to be activatable.


    ? This skill can be used on an active golem under your control in order to give basic commands or deactivate it.


    [Creature Handler] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Martyr] - Evolutionary path altered.


    Cyn was not interested in this skill, aside from the brief fantasy of controlling a small army of cute creations.


    Skill Share (Uncommon)(Passive) - So long as you and a familiar have a strong enough bond, they are able to access and use some of your skills. Shared skills will consume your resources if the familiar does not have the required resource.


    ? What skills are shared will depend on familiar capabilities, quality of Skill Share, and strength of the familiar bond.


    [Creature Handler] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Martyr] - Evolutionary path altered.


    Ah. A skill to make Spam useful.  She was mostly kidding with that thought, seeing as the Voidling had actually helped her with various problems since showing up. Skill Share did look like it had serious potential to be powerful, though. It all depended on what skills Spam would be able to use, and the description offered little in that regard. Cyn barely even knew what a Voidling was, much less what it should be capable of.


    Shapeshift (Rare) - You have learned how to change your body to temporarily mimic other creatures.


    ? While Shapeshifted, you will gain access to new abilities based on the creature you are mimicking.


    ? Some Shapeshift forms will restrict access to or effectiveness of other skills.


    ? Learning new Shapeshift forms requires an in-depth understanding of the creature you wish to mimic.


    ? Available forms: [Sheep]


    [Creature Handler] - Evolutionary path altered.


    [Martyr] - Evolutionary path altered.


    Now that was an interesting skill, and the fact that she already had a Sheep form unlocked was  hilarious . Inspecting the available form just told Cyn that it had a passive ability that reduced damage taken, confirming that the fact she had polymorphed herself while falling  did  matter.


    She almost took Shapeshift on a whim, just because it was a cool idea. But the lines in the description about altering her path made Cyn hesitate. Only the Natural Armor skill lacked the warning, likely because it was a solid but uninspiring skill. If anything, it just aligned vaguely with changing her body like a discount Shapeshift. The other three skills would effect both her class and profession, and after thinking about it for more than a few moments that actually made sense.


    They were all skills that Cyn could see defining how her profession would evolve, and what she would be offered going forward. Considering how closely her class and profession already sat ¨C she had already had one skill move between categories after choosing her class evolution ¨C their potential effect on her class also made sense. For her journey to Martyr, the defining moment was probably her willingness to make use of the buff that her Boots of Near Death Experiences. More so than even Freeform Mana Casting. She had not realized how important that small choice would end up being in the moment, but this time Cyn actually had a chance to consider how she wanted to define herself.


    Golemancy wasn¡¯t even in the running.


    Shapeshift looked  really  cool. Depending on how it worked, Cyn could imagine a whole lot of non-combat uses of the skill. Obviously, there was going to be creatures that were also really good at fighting. It wasn¡¯t out of the question that there would be creatures that had useful support abilities, and so long as she found more forms she could use her normal skills in, it would definitely improve her maneuverability in the long run. The skill seemed versatile, and more disconnected from her class than the other options.


    But if she was taking into consideration how this would affect her choices and evolutionary path going forward, Cyn had to seriously consider Skill Share. For better or for worse, her and Spam were stuck together. Permanently, if the Familiar Bond skill description was to be believed. Even putting aside the quiet fear of losing her familiar that had recently been instilled in Cyn, having her profession focus on the pair of them synergizing wasn¡¯t a bad idea at all. Skill Share, however, required her to ask an important question.


    Did Spam even  want  to be a critical part of her profession?

 61. Raising Scott’s Blood Pressure

    Closing her menu, Cyn scooped the Voidling off of her shoulder and held it up to her face. Three black eyes squinted back at her, the creature softly grumbling as it settled onto her hands, sagging over the sides. ¡°Hey buddy... do you want to be able to use some of my skills?¡± She really did not have a better solution than just asking outright, and Cyn could only hope she was able to get a clear answer from the familiar.


    Spam blinked asynchronously at her for a few very long and awkward moments, prompting Cyn to try and explain further. ¡°I can take a skill that lets you use some of mine. I don¡¯t actually know what ones, and it will probably make me get more options involving you in the future...¡± Cyn¡¯s haphazard attempt to explain was interrupted by a very sticky, black tongue becoming plastered to her cheek. Cute, but it really wasn¡¯t a response. She needed a yes or no from Spam, because if the familiar wasn¡¯t interested then there was little point in taking Skill Share. Even worse, she might even be crippling herself.


    ¡°Yes, or no?¡± Cyn made an exaggerated nod and shake of her head as she spoke. Before she had finished speaking, the familiar was bobbing up and down. Its whole body, not just its head, but Cyn was going to take that as an enthusiastic ¡®yes¡¯. The sight made Fish, who was sitting beside her on the raft, giggle. The two women shared a smile for a few moments, before Cyn placed Spam in the pouch on her tabard and reopened her menu. Looking over the skill selection again, and lingering over Shapeshift more, she chose Skill Share.


    Surprisingly, Cyn did not receive any notifications of what skills were being shared with Spam. She had to Inspect each skill to see if anything had changed, to find that only two of her skills had new lines in their description notating that they were being shared with the Voidling. Purify and Restoration. Cyn did not have a large number of skills, so it wasn¡¯t shocked that only a few could be shared. Just a little disappointing. She did find it odd that Light Ball was not included, but it was possible a creature from the void wouldn¡¯t get along with light attuned mana. Probable, even. There was no surprise over the exclusion of higher rarity skills like Siphon, or her multiple unique skills. Skill Share was only uncommon rarity, after all. Regardless of how useful it was currently, Cyn saw it as a foundation for the future.


    Satisfied with her choice, she moved on to the final notification. Unsurprisingly, it was just informing Cyn that she had failed her objective to hatch the Solar Serpent Egg. It had also vanished from her objective list in the menu, unlike her other failed objective to have all Awakened survive the floor. It was strange, but Cyn reasoned that the odd behavior supported her idea that that particular objective was not tied to this dungeon.


    The raft was nearing the shoreline by this point, but before disembarking she took the ten free points she had built up and dropped all of them into agility. Hopefully the stat would help her sense of balance, and she wouldn¡¯t stupidly fall to her near-death again.


    ***


    Other than having another ¨C or perhaps even the same ¨C Shadow Crow follow the group for a time, most of the trip back to camp was uneventful. Considering the stress everyone had been put under over the course of the day, Cyn could admit that that was probably for the best. Not to mention, she was still suffering from the lingering effects of the Soul Slip backfire all the way back. This mostly manifested as a killer headache and overall feeling off-balance, so not crippling, but it would still be a bad idea to engage in combat or any other ¡®interesting¡¯ situations.


    They were nearly back when Cyn felt someone else approaching the group. It took her a heartbeat to identify them as Donovan, the stealth archer. She let everyone else know he was approaching, but that did not prevent them from jumping when he popped out of the shadows, heaving a sigh of relief. ¡°Oh, thank god.¡±


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Cyn spoke up immediately. Donovan was supposed to be a part of the group staying behind that day, so if the archer was looking for them that could only mean something had happened.


    Donovan hesitated, before shrugging. ¡°I mean, you all are alive so I guess not? You must have just missed the big fucking water snake coming down the river. I was coming to look for bodies.¡±


    Sam heaved a sigh, glancing at Cyn a moment before responding to the archer. ¡°We didn¡¯t miss the snake. But is everyone else ok?¡± Cyn felt her face heat up at the Berserker¡¯s words, embarrassed.


    She wasn¡¯t too worried about the camp, since the Feathered Brine Serpent had said it wouldn¡¯t kill them. Although that meant taking the creature at its word, she saw little the serpent could have gained by attacking the camp unless it was out for revenge. Everyone was at a lower level than it, and considering that the Territory Heart was a decent distance from the water it also was unlikely to be a target. Not to mention, it was definitely eager to return to its natural environment.


    Donovan quickly confirmed Cyn¡¯s speculation. ¡°Yah, everyone is fine. Scared shitless, but fine.¡± Continuing the final part of the trek back to camp with Donovan in tow, the archer explained how the creature had drawn everyone down to the water using the ability Cyn and party had experienced, then just splashed water over them before swimming off downriver. More like slithering, since the shallow water did not cover its body, but that was beside the point. Despite it not hurting them, the whole ordeal was understandably unpleasant for everyone involved.


    The relief everyone at camp felt upon their return was palpable, the entire raid party clustering near the Territory Heart as if it provided tangible protection. Those who had traveled out to the plains for the day had returned not long before the serpent showed up, making Cyn¡¯s group the only ones to have ¡®missed out¡¯ on seeing it. Scott said they were very lucky to have missed it, at least until Sam prompted Cyn to tell him what had happened.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°You did what?!¡± The Standard-Bearer¡¯s roar of disbelief was followed by a string of very colorful curses. Cyn had barely made it to explaining why she had returned to the tower instead of going to camp for help when a red-faced Scott couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer.


    Raising her voice to be heard over both Scott¡¯s outburst and the whispers of everyone else around them, she explained, ¡°I did what I thought was right. I know it was reckless, but I stand by all of the decisions I made today.¡± After a brief pause and glance at Cirrus, Cyn added on, ¡°Well, except for nearly killing Cirrus. That was a mistake, I shouldn¡¯t have risked his life to try and stop my fall.¡±


    Spam grumbled its disagreement, but Cyn was more focused on the fact that the older man¡¯s eyes looked like they might be about to burst out from his head. ¡°Fall?¡± After asking the strangled question, he managed to remain quiet enough for Cyn to finish her retelling of the day, though the red color of Scott¡¯s face only got darker as time went on. It might have been funny, if Cyn wasn¡¯t a tad concerned about possibly giving him a stroke.


    ¡°Well, bless your lucky li¡¯l heart, child.¡± Alright, she wasn¡¯t concerned anymore. Scott¡¯s normally mild southern drawl was thick with sarcasm and barely restrained anger. ¡°Er¡¯one survived, so there¡¯s not a single damned lesson to be learned.¡±


    While Cyn had expected a lecture upon return to camp, she found herself suddenly not in the mood to deal with it. ¡°Actually, I learned a lot. And I intend to keep learning, starting by going back to the tower tomorrow to check out things I did not get to today. Either by myself, or with anyone else who is willing to take the same kinds of risks.¡± She had learned quite a few things, but the biggest lesson of the day for Cyn was to be more aware of who she was adventuring with. Taking risks alongside reluctant tagalongs only made things more difficult. Glancing around quickly, she looked for any signs of those who might feel the same.


    Cyn was unsurprised to see the Hex incline his head when their eyes met, a barely discernable smirk lifting up one corner of the Seeker¡¯s mouth. Dana was watching the conversation with a closed-off expression, giving nothing away. Cirrus, who had previously been interested in teaming up to explore, looked much less eager now that he had had a taste of Cyn¡¯s brand of misadventure. She couldn¡¯t blame him for that. The real surprises came from Donovan and Fish. The archer was regarding her thoughtfully, knuckles pressed against his lips. Fish was chewing on her lower lip, eyes darting between Cyn, Mountain, and Scott. It looked like the other mage wanted in, but wasn¡¯t sure about standing up to the Standard-Bearer who had stepped so easily into a leadership position among them.


    Scott stared her down for a few silent heartbeats once Cyn¡¯s gaze returned to him, before speaking through clenched teeth, ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I can really stop you, can I? You are going to do whatever it is you want, consequences be damned. Just try to remember that your actions affect everyone.¡± She had no intention of abandoning the more risk-adverse members of their raid party, but Cyn wanted ¨C needed ¨C the knowledge and power that came with big risks. It was the only way she was going to be able to keep them alive when it came down to the wire.


    Cyn started to turn away, thinking the conversation was done, but she was stopped by a heavy hand on her shoulder. Turning her back towards him, Scott took a few deep breaths before speaking in a softer, almost gentle tone. ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to get hurt, sweetheart. Or worse. We need you to stick through this with us.¡±


    Sighing, Cyn tried to explain her reasoning while also reassuring the Standard-Bearer. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere. But everyone has to get stronger, Scott. Some of us will have to pull more weight in this dungeon, for multiple reasons, and I am ok with being a part of that group. I want to be, even. But I¡¯m not going to get stronger by catering to everyone else¡¯s fears. And I¡¯m not going to get stronger by being in camp, or from just following other people around as they do their professions or face weak enemies. My profession requires me to go out and face things like the Feathered Brine Serpent, and I love it.¡± Despite the fact that her own decisions often led to Cyn being scared out of her mind, she did love it most of the time. The adrenaline. The knowledge. The split-second decisions, where pushing her limits could mean the difference between life or death.


    If she didn¡¯t love it, how could Cyn stand to keep going out of her way to put herself in these kinds of situations? She didn¡¯t have to have a friendly conversation with the creature after Spam made the bargain on her behalf, but she did. She didn¡¯t have to push for more answers after handing over the egg, but she did. Even after Cyn had recognized she was in danger, she kept going right up until she was almost eaten. This attitude towards risk wasn¡¯t exclusive to Creature Handler, either, as she behaved much the same way when it came to her class. Martyr just did not have as much of a focus on knowledge compared to her profession, and instead she was prone to putting herself in danger in general.


    Smiling, Cyn added in a teasing tone, ¡°Plus, my whole thing is ¡®getting hurt¡¯ remember? Sometimes, I even do it on purpose.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t remind me.¡± The Standard-Bearers exaggerated groan and the scattered laughter around them broke the tension. Squeezing her shoulder a moment, Scott tried to smile back before letting her go. It did not reach his eyes, but at least it felt like they had come to a sort of agreement.


    The raid started to disperse, needing to ready themselves for nightfall, and before Cyn could approach anyone to confirm their interest, Hex walked up to her. ¡°Seriously? I get stuck watching people struggle to stab rats all day, and you get to have all the fun instead?¡±


    Cyn¡¯s lingering smile turned into a grin. ¡°I think we have a different definition of fun compared to most people. My party was not thrilled.¡±


    ¡°Yah, well, kidnap me to go with you next time. I started to consider if I could throw a knife far enough to hit the Roc, I was so bored today.¡± The way Hex said it did not sound like a joke. At least he only considered it, instead of just impulsively trying like I tend to? ¡°Grab me before you head out tomorrow. I do enough of my profession at night, I don¡¯t need to be doing it all day too.¡±


    She nodded as the Seeker wandered off, looking around for a few other people. Finding Dana, the Tactician waved her off before Cyn got too close, calling out. ¡°I¡¯ve had more than enough of tight quarters. Talk to me when you decide to do something stupid outside.¡±


    Cirrus avoided her entirely. Fair. Donovan had much the same reaction as Dana, though he also stated that he had already made commitments to his group for the next few days anyway. Fish, though, gave Cyn a nervous smile when approached. The young woman was talking with Wolf and Elk, so Cyn initially felt as though she would be in the same situation as the archer. Instead, Cyn was pleasantly surprised to find that the pair were actually encouraging Fish to ask about joining her in something dangerous. They had a lot of faith in Cyn¡¯s ability to keep people alive, or they felt pushing themselves was important. Either way, she was glad to have the mage come along.


    Cyn reasoned that three was enough to take a look at the tower again, without taking too many people away from Scott¡¯s scheduling. For once, she actually had something to look forward to.