Alan wasn't really sure he knew where this line of questioning was leading to. Surely Su'ong already knew that time was all fucked off in Dungeons. She was the one who had given Alan the majority of Dungeon Lore he possessed, so he never even bothered to mention his concerns with his seemingly glitched-out (Dynamic Tutorial Quest).
“A few weeks? Maybe a month… I don't know…“ Alan said hesitantly. “Honestly, its hard to say for sure how long I've been since I got trapped in the Sandstone Palace. There's been a lot going on, and I haven't been sleeping much… Looking back, it feels more like it was one long, extremely shitty day.“
Instead of replying, Su'ong started to pace back and forth, muttering more to herself than actually conversing. “Survive the first day? You've been here for nearly a month, yet your (Dynamic Tutorial Quest) says you are still on the first day of the Tutorial… How is that possible? Unless… Unless the Dungeon has a time dilation.“
Su'ong surprised Alan when she let out a gleeful whoop, and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Do you know what this means?! She asked with a crazed gleam in her eye. Shaking him roughly, she didn't bother waiting for a reply.
“This whole time, I thought the years were tickling by on the outside as well. I don't have enough information to be accurate, but I can make a decent guess as to how much time has passed. I find it doubtful that you've been in the Dungeon for an entire month. It was just over two weeks ago that I first learned of your existence, so I would say it's been about three weeks…” Su'ong released her hold on Alan, and resumed pacing.
“There is no real way to know how much time has passed on the outside, but according to this (Dynamic Tutorial Quest) description, it has been less than a day. So if your PSA is to be believed, at the very worst, a month inside the Dungeon would be a day outside… That would mean a year in here is only worth twelve days out there!“ She stopped and stared up at the ceiling.
“Alan, if I'm right, then that means at worst, it has been less than three months since I arrived here…” Su'ong sat down and took a deep breath. To Alan, it seemed as if uttering those words had sapped all of the strength from her body.
“Which reminds me,” Su'ong said suddenly, “Where exactly are we? What is this place?“
“This is the Sandstone Palace Dungeon Safe Zone,” Alan answered. We're gonna be here for about three days.“ Alan opened his PSA to the Party tab, and sent Su'ong a request. Once it was accepted, he uploaded an image of his Mini-map onto the Party Interface Screen they now shared, allowing her to study the Tutorial Safe Zone while he tried to finish up his explanation.
“I guess it's about time to wrap up the story. After I made the deal with Reggie, I woke up and you were sealed up in a big-ass cocoon that looked like someone tried to build an egg around you. One made out of thick leather straps… Gaea was already gone, but she left behind a creepy clone to see us off.“
A shiver ran down his spine thinking about that off-putting talking hand. “After we made it back to the Dungeon, the Earth Wyrm was already basically dead. [Gaea's Tempest] really did a number on it. I tore the damned things heart out before it ever got a chance to recover. Got another couple of Titles for that. One of them grants access to a Tower of some kind. Though I won't be allowed access until finishing the Tutorial, reaching the (E-Stage), and acquiring something called a Crest.“
Hoping that Su'ong would provide some info on what a Tower, or Crest was, Alan stared at her expectantly for several moments. Yet when Su'ong just stared right back, waiting for him to continue, he knew he'd have to ask.
“Any idea what those are? The Tower and Crest I mean… Like most everything else having to do with the System, I admit I'm next to clueless.“
“Well, I can't really say one way or the other without reading the listing for the Title,” she said, gesturing for Alan to hurry up.
With a thought, Alan's PSA was opened up to the Statistics tab. His Titles were right there, yet having never tried, he didn't know how to review their individual descriptions. When mentally selecting it failed to do anything, he soon discovered it was as easy as looking at the desired Title, and thinking the word 'description'.
“Here it is,” he said. He wasn't sure how to share his Title descriptions, so he turned around and allowed Su'ong look over his shoulder.
Apostle of Heracles- +5 Strength, +5 Agility, +5 Endurance, Slight reduction in the pressure felt when up against enemies of a higher Evolutionary Stage. Provides access to the Tower of Eurysteus, however the Tower will remain inaccessible to you until successful completion of the Tutorial. (Minimum Tower Requirements) (E-Stage) of Evolution, and the ownership of at least (1) Crest.
By the time Alan had re-read the description for the fifth time, he was beginning to grow impatient. “Do you kn…”
“Shhhh! Give me a moment to think!“ Su'ong hissed out.
“First I need to know why you were given this title to begin with. What did the System prompt say when you first recieved it?“
Alan didn't remember the exact phrasing, but he knew the gist of what the notification had said. “It was something like, “As the first Human Tutorial denizen to kill a beast two or more Evolutionary Stages above my own, here's some free Stats, and a confusing Title for your troubles."
“That makes sense. That Earth Wyrm was likely somewhere near the mid (E-Stage). As a (G-Stage) being, vanquishing such a foe is nothing to scoff at.“ She have Alan a sidelong look, “It is almost like I provided no assistance at all… It would seem that my going into Evolution before the Boss met its end tricked the System into believing you defeated it by yourself… There is also the possibility that you would have been given the Title regardless…”
“Either way, I have never heard of the Tower of Eurysteus, but from what I know, Towers in general are a type of System Trial. Promising candidates are selected, and then pitted against the tower, and occasionally one another, in some kind of a Quest or Trial. Something like 'be the first to reach the top of the tower', or, 'go find a hidden object, here's a terrible hint'. I've heard of a few different kinds, but they all have at least one thing in common.“
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Su'ong looked at Alan intensely. “You go in alone, and if you are to fail, you don't leave. There's a reason that most of those chosen to face these Towers are the standouts among their races. Take your's for example. To recieve this Title, you were made to kill something that you had no business even sharing a room with. Yet although it was a total shit-show, you prevailed. Where most would've broken and ran away, you stood your ground, and fought back tooth and nail against the waiting arms of death. By winning against nearly impossible odds, you were judged capable of finishing this 'Tower of Eurysteus'.“
“As to what kind of trial awaits, you won't know until you reach the (E-Stage), so we have plenty of time to gather information. Now, a Crest is basically a physical manifestation of a Title that can be passed freely, from one person to the next. The majority of the Crests that I am aware of do not provide any Stat benefits, instead, they usually provide abilities.
“Unlike Titles, which are permanent,” she said, “Crests can be stolen. If you were to kill a being with a Crest, as long as you were to touch the crest before it dispersed, it would be transferred to you.“ A sad look crossed her face.
“That is how new Beast Generals rise, and the old generation falls. That… Is how grandfather died… He was challenged for his position. Although he knew it was a fight he had no way to win, he was honor-bound to accept the duel. Upon his inevitable death, the new Beast General of the River was named. Although it is the way of my people, and I bear no grudge for the death of my grandfather, I still hope that damnable turtle lives long enough to die by my hands. That Crest belongs to me.“
Sensing her distress, Alan changed the subject. “After the Dungeon reabsorbed the Earth Wyrm, Reggie showed up and told me the portal to the second floor was about to appear. That if I waited for a while, the portal would turn green, and allow us to enter a Safe Zone. Also... Before he left, he gave me two Class Scrolls. [Warden of Blight] and [Spear Maiden]. That's another reason I really need to get into my Storage Ring…”
“So the Wraith actually brought my [Spear Maiden] Class Scroll?! That is both a relief, and a surprise. Now, please explain to me why it is that you suddenly lost access the Ring. No offense,” Su'ong said quickly, “But it really is terrible timing. I want my Class Scroll as soon as possible.“
Alan understood the sentiment. He was anxious to get a Class as well. “Well, you see, after Reggie left, I started getting sharp pains in my head, and then I got a notification that our Soul-Union was overdrawing my Spiritual reserves. Right as another notice said my Soul was on the verge of collapsing, the System stepped in and forced me to evolve.“
“Suddenly I was in a strange place, filled with unending rivers of energy. A mechanical-sounding voice that called itself The System talked me through my Evolution.“ Alan pressed on, trying to ignore the sight of Su'ong's eyes practically bulging out of her head.
“The System said that my Bloodline was rejecting the Beast-Folk Spiritual Energy I recieved from you through the Soul-Union, and then shoved a Soulgem into my Spiritual Wellspring. I'm not sure how it happened, Hells Su'ong..." Alan sucked in a breath. "I'm gonna do my best to explain what happened, but I'm way out of my depth here... I don't actually know what a Spiritual Wellspring is, but when the System placed a Soulgem in there, it was able to separate the Human and Beast-Folk Racial traits, and provided a skill called [Soul Cycle] that will allow me to switch between Races.“
“But,” Alan said, “[Soul Cycle] has a twenty-four hour Cooldown… So if it's my new Race that's causing the issues I'm having with my Storage Ring... Then it's just a waiting game. But," Alan said with a sigh. "When I Evolved, my Cultivation Core awakened, and as soon as it it did, the damned thing ate my Stamina and Mana Pools. But it gets better. At the same time, it was brought to my attention that my mysterious Spiritual Wellspring decided it was going to eat my Health Pool… So I… Don't exactly have my Energy Pools anymore.“
Judging by the incredulous look on Su'ong's face, Alan might as well have said he no longer had a face.
“What do you mean you 'don't exactly have Energy Pools?" Su'ong demanded, "You showed me your PSA, so you obviously still have System access. I don't understand. You must have some kind of an energy source for your Skills and future Class Skills. So if not Mana, what exactly are you using?!“
“You ever hear of Celestial Energy?“ Alan asked with a hopeful expression, “I don't know what it is, and I can't really see it, but there's definitely Celestial Energy everywhere around us. My Core is cycling it as i speak. If I focus, there's a faint haze of energy coming out of everything…” Alan said, straining his eyes, yet only catching a brief glimpse of his target.
It was no use. The eerie shimmer danced in and out of view, there one second, and gone the next.
Su'ong sighed, and her face fell. “I.. Have never heard of Celestial Energy.“
A sudden and unexpected flash of silver in the air above Su'ong was all the warning he was given. A still-thrashing Lake Chub plummeted from the sky, and slapped Su'ong in the back with a meaty thud.
It was so random that Alan simply watched it happen. He instantly registered that there was no way it could hurt her, but looking back, he probably could've stopped it from happening. With his recent Evolution, his Stats were at an all-time high. The damned fish was practically falling in slow motion. Each rotation of its body highlighted with perfect clarity. It was an off-putting sensation, one that brought to mind how slowly the Rocs had fallen. Was his perception that much better in this form, or was it the Evolution to the (F-Stage)? By the time he settled his thoughts and decided to move, it was already too late.
“CAAWW!!” The Roc crowed out, surprising Alan as it once more landed on, and dug its claws into, the top of his thankfully scale-plated skull. With a watchful eye on the newcomer, The Roc bobbed its head up and down while emitting strange clicking sounds.
For a moment, Su'ong just looked confused. The way she was staring up at his unwanted, but admittedly majestic new hat made Alan sure the Roc had just made an enemy it couldn't afford to have. When Su'ong simply said “Thank you”, and picked up the offering, he realized that he didn't have the slightest clue what was going on.
A swift twist of her hands saw the the fish torn clean in half. A wide smile spread across her face as she recieved her Kill Log notification. “Level 2 Silver Lake Chub defeated, eight Experience gained… Ninety-two Experience until I reach Level two... Again. Hopefully there is a better source of experience somewhere around here…” She said absently, and tossed half of the Chub up into the air.
As if it already knew what to expect, the Roc shot off after the remains, and caught them with ease. It cried out excitedly and Alan watched as it performed a series of aerial somersaults. Landing with a thump at Alan's feet, the bird craned its neck out, and stared at Su'ong expectantly.
“Umm…” Alan said, watching with abject horror as Su'ong shoved the remaining half of the fish into her mouth, and ripped off a large chunk. Looking upon a strange scene, and having no way to explain it, Alan found it impossible to keep quiet. “Su'ong, I don't mean to interrupt your snack time, but uhh... what's going on?“
Until her meal was finished, the sound of snapping bones was her only response. “Thank you little one!“ Su'ong said in a high-pitched voice, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“I can't say for sure, but if I were to make a guess, I'd have to say that your cute little friend here just made me a peace offering. Fearing that I might be a hungry newborn beast, and therefore more likely to try and eat her, perhaps she decided to offer me a different solution?“
As if in agreement, the Roc flapped its wings, and flew off towards the lake to search out another offering.
“Have you given her a name yet?“ Su'ong asked, watching with rapt attention as the Roc soared out over the lake.