COI C52
Gobins spoke tails of its separated tribes, where they were the first enemies against the other worlders. Tales of them fighting within the center of the Pangaea as artificial life being made, creating one of the world’s describing about life. An old gobin tells its story
“The spirits of the soil, stones, metals, and even gems are the life of many things below the surface. Wiser as crazy of their . . . generosity and ‘kindness’. Its soil armor hid within the forest of Kinnou or now called Kinteinnou. But now they are gone and cursed by the other worlders. They won’t be coming back even you try to let you bang it itself”
Haw’s armor is nothing like the spirits wants, but the armor is made from Rune Isles where the spirits where actually hid. Trying to act out the role of the spirits’ attraction. His leather armor hid a small armor plating that is made from the robots in Rune Isles. Identical to the iron totems patrolling as he walked by. After keep on losing, its good nature will appear not by sound but some goblin who can communicate with. They are there at his back, secretly hearing the plating protects him from the attacks. The classical guild already knows as the testimony they are planned out to see what he is needed in the undercity of the gobins.
Bor shouted
“I told you he is bonified gobin’s boy”
“We get it, the 13 coins wasn’t enough for you”
“Laugh* it’s coins you crazed coin tipper”
“Laugh*”
The instructor goes to Haw and says to him. “There is no need to prove your worth here, mostly the payment of coins would be sufficed. I’m amazed of a man with no mana could live like a city like this”
“I know the currency is mana, I’ll trade with mana potion instead”
“Then try to trade faster, the inflation keeps growing”
The instructor gives him a pin shows he is part of the guild. He held the pin as the same material of those goblin spirits, it begins to speak with him.
“We are the ones who accepted you here, the classical guild kept secrets under those testimonies. All forms of mana together, as yours as nothing to benefit all except for so called Archscience and Shamanism of our clan”
Haw already knows that, telling it as a secret is already exposed since its publicity. The testimony is still used to this day and lost its meaning as legends told before never been continuing to pass on. As Haw left the sphere, that moment it speaks to him from a gobin spirit to a man is hardly likely to be heard. Nowadays, those spirits are only to the gobins themselves.
“Great work Haw, now care to explain us what were you're doing over there?”
“Trying to use my knowledge about goblins’ shamanism. Sadly, I won't be using their gifts for the landmark”
“Yeah . . . what an actual fuck!?”
“You mean to tell us you need to get beaten out of what? That's it . . .”
“You’ve seen it in the summer festival challenge, and I have to do it too”
“Destroying yourself is the only way for the spirits will help you but can't even use it in the sphere”
“Spirits are willing to help, not goblin spirits”
“That’s some bullshit explanation, Alche did you get anything from that?”
“Then its better off not explain it to us at all”
The next morning, everyone is anticipating for them to ready to go in the sphere. Thean, First, Second, and Haw are already readied themselves since the beginning. Forcing to equip the city’s equipment and added a few changes how they use it. Quail couldn’t look away from how they dress. They look casual and more like them as they wear it, Haw is wearing in a more stylish attire. Quail thought it would be his 'girl friends' dressed him to be a playboy looking. The others look normal.
“We are wearing substitutes equipment as we are not going to be screen from your city's approval”
“But you look rather cool”
“I take it as an insult”
“What Quail said that you look charming”
“That what those saleswomen said to us before, until the price smack me”
Thean and First keep responding and complaining about they wear, the prices about those clothes are expensive and still don’t want to use their own equipment instead. Its blunder of their personal money and showing the modification of their clothes had to be made to advance.
Haw looks fitting of him wore sunglasses, a neat black jacket, a white with a logo of a dragon that looks menacing, and lastly, the pants and shoes made him look thin. His jacket has an inner pocket where he kept his potions, all of them are made and approved by the government. The disappointed of his eyes that there should be another way to use a more versatile for only inside the sphere. The sphere’s materials would be useful for him, but it wasted his time when it resets after use. Second didn’t mind wearing the casual clothes, since he is a supporting role and it won’t harm his performance.
They got themselves inside the sphere, the teachers send a scouting probe to check them. They appeared at Durjn Kings, the Jigeram tower, a place it regulates the moon’s particles to spread further within the central plains. Set in when the sun is rising, where the tower is greater as a monument of the dwarves. Standing tall as the particles being collected, so much intense mana being frozen. First’s aura loses itself and dusts fell on the ground. The teachers and Quail watch the screen as the first time they seen a monument to be that big. Runic statues appeared at the front, as they back off.
“Alright, we set the date after the coronation of the dwarves. We can get in without any actual dwarves to get in”
“Except there’s an elder resting on the top, this is going to be hard when we cleared it or find it out of luck”
“Haw, any intakes about this place?”
“I have made mine to counter them, but I requires cliffs and edges to do it”
“This is going to be the three of us losing our powers”
Thean, First, and Second already feeling the freeze of their mana. Their senses in mana form already breaking apart, they have to use a greater amount of mana to use their magic. Haw has to be the only one who didn’t get the freeze from the Jigeram.
Haw pulled out all the consumables he had and hand over to them, its temporary and has no resemblance of actual medicine to endure the Jigeram. It’s a mana battery, each of them has a set each containing three mana batteries. These batteries are too much to them to refill their mana as it will overflow, but the Jigeram has no exception of such an item exist. Once a little expose mana release, as a whole, the mana battery will fully freeze once used. Going up the tower should be the better choice, the map from the papers that there are more hidden rooms below. The instruction said they have to go up instead, there are ways to fully search everything while they are going up.
Andui and the others entered the simulation room as they see that the screen they already inside the sphere. Siren is with them as she sees the screen as it been use as second hand. She won’t complain as she already been told by them, and her awkward look of how the equipment is mix between classic and modern being forced to be display together. Her taste won’t let her stay silence, looking at the screen again, the four people who entered the sphere wearing like casual clothes like ordinary people in a city going into a monument. It looks like they are just tourist to get inside. It’s more ridiculous as she wants to critique it.
“Why everything looks out of place, anyone?”
“Just treat it like you are in a tight budget, Siren”
“Iggy . . . You too look confused as well”
“Confused? I am trying not to laugh how ridiculous how they are wearing into that dungeon. It reminds of ourselves only wearing like that with powers behind our back”
Reya kind of agreed what the two are saying. Coral sits their focus on the screen of the monument look like an ice tower, she is in awe where they about to get in as rune words carved the frozen structure. Engraved by dwarven writings as Thean took his first step as their bodies except for Haw freezing on the surface upon their feet.
The monument inside is empty, filled the stairs up of many statues of different dwarves in frozen ice like craftsmanship. First fully reanalyze what he is seeing
“This frozen tower, carved by the dwarves, its particles being collected and turned into one solid material. It would be easy for us to walkthrough without using magic, but the runes will bring life to those sculptures and statues. Dense and compacted that gives a weight of stones, from what Haw said it's better to fight higher terrain would be the best choice. Thean, we have to push them off the stairs if we have to fight it”
“It’s fine Woni’es (First), we can use the city’s rune items”
“Secius (Second), remember that it’s made by Rusic. From one of the Enders”
“We should’ve asked Haw to make the equipment than us wearing this”
“Laugh* You should’ve mention that to Haw when you have a chance. I was the one who will be preparing our equipment”
“That’s enough look!”
They turned around as the runes begin to appear, echoing down the tower. Someone is talking to them. The voice heard by the runes as it awakens many runic statues of dwarves released by its display.
“Care to mind by the way you are wearing, younglings? I’ve seen runes to improve the quality of your weapons and armor. I don’t get it why you look like peasants trying to fight with nothing but soft skin to bear the strength of those statues”
Thean respond to the elder, screaming from the right loudness as he remained speaking without sounding like a banshee.
“We are here to test our strength”
“Then why are you wearing like your mother have sending you to the cold snow? Or I’m too old to know the secret of mana is now developing further like the goblins riding their so called it golems”
Haw’s turn to say to him. Rusic gives a quick advice when talking among other dwarves honorably as he remembered he laughs when took a long pause to say it. He repeats what he remembered
“One of your kin send us to fight here as drunkards, we got sober on the way here after the coronation of the champions”
“Laugh* I forgot all about it, I got drunk too and it was yesterday, Laugh*”
The monument begins to form stairs way up to the tower. The three Agatheans look at him like he knows about the dwarves, he didn’t, it’s a quick advice from Rusic. The catch is that the fight is going to be more brutal as drunkards can’t remember how they are fighting. It’s telling to wake them up with a smack.
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Dwarves had strong thick bones as it won’t be enough for a fist on the head will broke off their drunkenness. Those statues coming down are meant for them to get hit by it. Haw doesn’t have the time to explain to them, where the runic dwarves are heading down attacking them. One of them slams down with its one-handed axe. They moved pass by it, while Thean tried to hit it. Purely on his swords alone, it wouldn’t cut a statue. He knows it through his obvious guess and quickly summoned his elven hammer and easily breaks apart.
The first runic statue is down as more coming up to them. Their plans are setting up, as Thean is the only one who could do the finishing blow. They move up as much of they could. First and Second’s magic, will froze once they release their spell. It is strong enough to root the statues and take time to break free. The runic dwarves coming down step by step, steadily between their stance already raising their heavy weapons in the air. Striking it down to their heads, closing in within their striking distance. First use his magic on its shoulders as it about to swing downward. Frozen by the jigeram and jam to its shoulders, they walk pass by where First’s hands start to freeze up.
The Jigeram intensely succumb the magic they cast, one after the other, their fingers were the first to feel motionless movement as no cold being felt but no movement at all. This strange phenomenon had to describe to themselves as frozen instead. Through the eyes to what they see between illusion and reality the Jigeram wasn’t ice in the first place. Its colors look frozen, but it was mana materialize into crystal and captured the mana user its crystallization. Time and time again, the habit to called it a freeze was too much for them to differentiate.
Thean hammered the statues to tip to the edge of the stairs, they fall as much as they try timber them off down the ground. Runic dwarves from below still are chasing them up, slowly, and threatening as the stairs form new platforms and helping the dwarves position themselves forward. All of them are facing the formation of runic dwarves readily blocking the door up to the tower.
“We should’ve climb outside”
“Thean, don’t go the hard way. We are not as strong as you”
“Haw, use the potions now!”
Second ordered Haw as he pulled it out. Interactive potion, relying on more ingredients to fully completed its worth. Haw pours them with a potion to relief them from the crystallization. Their hands recovered and the potion drips down as it quickly melts the solid particles even spread further. They move away from the melting floor as they see the elder is trying to weaken the floor. Moving away from the center as it begins to fall apart. Haw is making a new potion as they move away. The floor starts crumbling, melting, or even molded back to the tower walls.
They use their magic to make an extension of the platform for the tower, wasting a large amount of their manas to make it. Haw throws the potion to the extended platform and splashes on the floor horizontally. It makes smooth surface as it only remained on the floor. A few more potions hit the statues, a normal mana potion, and bind it together. Thean flashes behind them nearly his entire body frozen as he appeared. Strikes down on the floor behind it letting those statues fall. It got stuck as it tries to grab the ledge.
The stretch of the newly formed frozen mana slanting down like a support. They are using it to climb themselves up as the floor of the tower disappears. Climbing up to the door where the statues they froze remain as a support to climb up. They made it up as Haw has to clear off the crystallization that happened to his team. The mana inside of them shows their internal bodies won’t be moving, no pain is happening inside of their bodies. The probe let the audience see the worse from First’s moving his own body. The horrific details where his eyes move in different pace.
Left eye moves slower and the right eye moves faster than the left but not normally move of a normal eye should.
“. . . Can’t even talk, you’ve been using your mana for just making a platform. We still have time to made into the next room. Use your mana battery if you are drained” It's too graphic for them to see, except the guys who are intrigue and gross out how the Jigeram internally weaken them. Hearing them talk about the Jigeram. First broke free from the freeze but kept his misalign eye moving abnormally.
“It’s the runes, there is no way for the Jigeram to let you live like that. Once you crystallize or freeze the important parts of your organs, then you eventually die from it. The runes took control of its effects and made it more enduring. I’m not sure that it is a fact or the magic of the runes”
“We can discuss about it later; Runes are for the dwarves that mastered it. There is no telling how far they made it”
“Just wait a little bit more, my lower half can’t move”
Thean is not yet fully recovered. First is better off partially recovered, his new impaired seems nothing for him. As for Second having felt no warmth within part of his limbs, Haw tries his best to remove the effects of the Jigeram. Being in Rune Isles for so long, that the Jigeram runes are more proficient than just natural light affecting them. Every carve kept it long and difficult to break as its rune words made it weak to use its lethal effects but last longer than he could trying to break it with natural remedies. Haw has to force to waste certain ingredients for the important enemy. Thanks to that, they recover internally.
Haw checks outside as the runic dwarves can’t be seen above the stairs, but below, they are going up. The tower starts to rebuild the stairs back up, the team needs to go up as soon those statues will reach them. Haw watches them being nearly crystalize, bodies frozen, slowly moving in such a different pace, and there are no signs of them showing in pain. The Rune Jigeram had so much potential and at the same time so horrifying to look at. They can’t tell each other’s feeling of pain as they are all looking confident and annoyed by it.
Haw did what he can to bring those remaining runic dwarves fall from what they stand on. Potions spilled in a numerous amount, and nothing he could make more here. Runes made from Jigeram is useless for it won’t homogenize the other chemicals, dwindles the potions he had on his bag, as he had to use it as less as he could. Runic dwarves come down the stairs as it is more agile the previous one. Haw was pushed back as its quick hand switches weapon. Their heavy weapons intentionally broke down to normal weapons, treating the remaining size as projectile.
Its great sword removes the blades once it swings as if it is throwing Haw off the ledge, heavy in blunt and not thoroughly cut, Haw almost fell and Second grabs his hand. First pulled up his potion and throw the statue at its feet, melted from below as it falls. It grabs the ledge of the wall and quickly pulled itself up. Thean goes in freezing his feet in order to break the ledge and immediately fell. Haw’s destructive potions are gone, and leaving the interactive potion of the Jigeram.
“How much potions do you have, Haw?”
“Already gone, I can’t waste the important ones . . .!”
They entered a floor where runic dwarf is waiting for them. Not by figure of their appearances, most likely what it is carrying. Rune items possessing magic, the absolute items written in rune words. None of them know about those rare weapons, since it is belonged to the mightiest of veterans. Just like Thean’s hammer, but fully nullified against magic. The tricks they have to make the statues fall are gone, and now they have to fight as little and powerful as possible. Only one runic dwarf, carrying so many weapons imbued with itself. All of them said its legends
“The Arms Bearer”
It jumps to them and begins to swing its weapons, through blades, blunts and pierce, and the attacks are unpredictable. Treating no actual weight coming from the weapons it released and the runes kept its power as real as it strikes down on them. Thean forces himself to be at front and Haw at his back, First and Second in the backlines and watch what that giant runic dwarf is doing. The sounds of the other dwarves are going up and leaving their options into a minimal, mana batteries on each other sides and Haw uses the replica of Rune Isles potions.
Using the potions for the main ingredients, it would be a miracle of his knowledge to understand the chemistry was taught on him. Thean quickly fell down after the initial attack, nothing would best against it where their own raw strength. The equipment held firm in runes, since the beginning to here, such signs of their survival and only thing will let them leave this sphere is the mind wavering, and body reaches exhaustion. Thean grins slightly as the others put themselves in the corner. Not by expectations of their defeat, but something they don’t want to use. Haw took his time and throw around the potions.
Breaking in a specific pattern, circular or positions to formed it, from its vapor raising to smoke. The floor didn’t melt and infused by mystic, Thean runs to where the potion breaks and only Haw follows through. Leaving the two backlines behind, the runic dwarf targets them. The time is come, the forced of their action have to bear their help in humiliation. Remained silence and focus on the fight, not arguing is needed for this job. First begins to raise his weapon, given by Thean, and shows his first counter strike with his magic. A wand, an anime style wand that looks feminine and childish, and no design meant for fighting.
Its origin is a mystery, but his rage to use it now made him in disbelief with gruntled. His body crystallize where his mana will be used up, impress of this wand’s capacity to use his magic all at once. Mimicking the adventurers’ spells with the mana battery to his side,
“EXPLOSION!”
Appeared only just an orb, frozen by Jigeram, everyone sees the orb that should explode. The runic dwarf doesn’t care, quickly rush to breakthrough it to First. The orb shatters and the explosion has cast. Tremendous power leaving everyone fall back to the wall. First crystallized and still won’t break, the tower didn’t shake and sturdy of its stand. Only on this floor caused such a powerful force.
Haw got hurt badly by the explosion, but the rest being slightly covered by the crystallization is enough for them to endure it. Second is rushing to Haw where he starts to leave the sphere, his body reached the limits to allow him to stay. First frozen body blocks the door where the runic dwarves are coming. The arms bearer expand itself where the mana solidifies, it can’t move and its weapons molded all together, and it can’t do anything and remained still. The potions’ leak is still there, and Thean has to finished it. Sacrificing First would be a great idea for him, he must endure the Jigeram’s light.
First fully frozen still, hoping Thean to see his reaction. His obvious face nearly frozen and don’t bother to move his lips. To finish what Haw had to do, Thean raised his elven hammer. Releasing first the images of himself, starting to freeze up, they start writing on the spilled potion as easily written by hand and slamming down the hammer at the center to form the magic circle. The spilled potions had formed magic. The floor shatters but not the magic circle, forcing the room to move up. Skipping the rest of the floors from above, the plan was to use it since the beginning but never realize how fragile to the runes Jigeram.
Thean had to bring them back together where parts of the floor are shattering. Second managed to heal Haw as he too had the freezing effect of the mana on him. The damage on Haw’s spine will make him slow on the final stage. The runic dwarves are trying to breach inside but blocked by First crystallize body, Thean’s image appears and pulled First to them. All gathered together, most of them stops moving. The giant runic dwarf fell where the effects of the potion didn’t reach. All of them crystallize, waiting for them to go up. The moving floor persist going up, shattering the other floors from above.
Reinforced and compatible from Haw’s potion to leach the Jigeram surrounding them. Outside where the potion spilled, inside where the elven magic enforced at the center. A difficult concoction to be made and replicate. Controlled to going up through Thean’s activation of the magic to form, the alteration of a magic circle to control the Jigeram’s light, and now steadily weakening when the potion starts to dry up. Bump into the floors from above, crushing them but remained crystallize. Again and again, breaking through the floors as it stops and one of them breaks free.
Second made it out without knowing what they breached through. Break and tear to the crystallization imprisonment to the two, and Haw pulls himself up leaving only his back frozen in place. He felt something casted on his back, no movement, and have to move uncomfortably. This hard times for them to face the elder at the top, where Haw will be heading up. There’s nothing else left for him to part of the team where all of his potions are used up, nothing left but the techniques he had trained for. His back has no chance to use it and doubted if he can be of use. Haw faces the elder as the elder looks at him seeing the disgrace of using mana, and impressed they made it this far.
“My kin had brought wizards to the monument, and you look like walking statue with that straight back of yours. Laugh*”
Facing away from Haw as Haw himself only see the elder’s back, it is the most difficult place to took control at the benefits only to none magic user or elves.
“I give as much as we could to made it this far”
“I don’t give that much effort; you look different with those clothes on being not torn off”
“It’s because it made by your kin”
“That might have done a lot of effort to make it right, or maybe that clothe of yours are possessed”
Made from Isekai City, it is nothing to show off about. Their real equipment is not strong enough for this place. The three made it to the top and sees the dwarf, the elder heard them coming as he turns around. Haw heard stories from what Rusic said to him, the legends of beard. Drunk by his own mind or love to tell legends to have those dwarves to be drinking buddies. The elder’s beard touches the ground as he stands up. Their health is struggling to keep them inside the sphere, and only thing they could do now either talk or go back again. Then Haw has to remake those rare ingredients again. His long months of work.
“Seems like all of you are not good in your health, then there is nothing we could talk about and fight it. Why not tell me why you are here?”
The elder’s presence grew intense where the rune giant before that was fell off the floor appeared again in runes. Materialize itself, bigger and rune words made it clearer, as they can’t fight him.
“Hah! I admit that you survive my rune guardian, but this monument is the coronation of champions. I, the elder who once was King”
The elder starts spouting words as any dwarf loves to talk, he is here after the coronation because they didn’t make it to the top of kings.
“. . .Laugh* seems like I talk too long about myself. What you younglings want here?”
Second told the elder what they want to go, trying to reenact to have permission to get the special room, the catacombs of Durjn Kings, they thought they have to face the elder with their own abilities. It was too real for them to face him, accepting further in the replica of the past.
“We want to give condolence or honor to your kin”
“Sigh* I thought the elves were always the one to visit that place, now humans like you too? Alright, but tell that elf woman to stop visit there every day”
First thought something was up, the coordinates help them put into a certain date to access the controls hidden in the landmarks. An elf was here, visiting, probably this sphere back then kept frequently used before. Made him to think that something happened to Durjn Kings, he can’t get those words off from his head. The elder brings the floor to a collapse, quickly descending them back down to where that landmark is.
“I have enough, you four probably been asked to go there too. Like the others that called themselves Crusaders”
Haw kept that in mind, the notes or papers never mentioned about them. He knows those group, and probably were the last one who use the sphere. They descend down to the landmark where they found it. The controls to the sphere, list of update versions being stored where First and Second analyze it. Thean stood silence for a while now since the start to the end. Slowly moving his lips where the effects of the Jigeram is gone, and he says to them
“Finally, I can talk again, is the control what really after?”
“Yes, this is it. Output controls, we can stop the external repercussion . . . surprisingly, it has an option to do that”
First reads further and found out why
“It does it for defending itself from the Fall Era, to preserve the actual history made by the elves. In the name of Ehan Se . . . what?”
It’s done as they automatically get out, they have the controls output. Now there are still three left, the content, the settings, and the data are next. Ignoring the last one as they are advised not to. As it says on the papers, calling it an AI. None of them don’t know the meaning of its acronyms, but the elves are responsible of it. A mysterious figure coming to see the changes, wearing a dress in silhouette, adjusting the content to its will. They will not forget what is happening here.
The sphere starts to continue to move forward, keeping it alive where other characters heard about the elder’s tales. Advancing on the timeline as the teachers found out about it as their own made settings lost control.
“Dang! A bug”
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t change the settings”
First is puzzled about it, they shouldn’t be able to access it.
“That’s odd, you can’t access it yet. The sphere only continues the start as it plays, it kept repeating over and over again”
Haw argued “That’s not right, it continues on when install those equipment”
Something was not right, as they gathered around talking their sides of using the sphere.