COI C85
“What is this shit turned into?”
“Oh my god! The entire entrance is sealed by roots”
“Now this is something to keep us surprised. Only just more than a week when that moon coming to this region and now something fuck up is creeping one way or another”
The researchers received the videos about the dungeons. New underground networks, roots desperately stretch where the Alga’s light hid, and monsters were forced to relocate after all that happened. Now, near to the borders of the barrier. Two Enders sprung out from the ground with the employer with them. The man seems to be suffocating from the ground.
“This is an emergency. We found the dungeons are covered with roots forcing the monsters to remigrate in different locations they could find. More of them are spreading throughout the corners of this place. These monsters attracted the mobs and follow to where the roots didn’t reach. When the roots eventually move around to find more of the light, the mobs will eventually be freed making them as traps where the roots you venture through. Prepare the defenses as the mobs or monsters crowded themselves to the barrier”
After the video, they look back to the rest of the videos where the barrier is already in contact with the monsters. The roots are there, trying to drill through the magic barrier as if it desperately looking for water to drink. Emerald looks at the barrier as it begins to lose its effects.
“Do you see that?”
“The barrier is being leeched, and the monsters behind the roots are trapped with it. What is surprising that the roots exposed with the dust withered fast and at the same time using the barrier as a nutrient for it to grow”
According to the description it appeared from the ground without them knowing. Now those large roots are drilling in to feast on the mana.
The city guild had informed many adventurers as they can. The conditions of the quest are drastic and needed immediately. The failsafe is conditioned to force them out that is close to the 40% exposure without any excuse. Even in the middle of battle or something personal happened, they will be directly appeared inside the city no matter what. The dwarves had given them with failsafe talisman, needed to be worn at the open for this to activate, worse than their failsafe but it doesn’t require mana. The situation gets harder, where the adventurers will be force experience the dust that is below the 90% mark.
“This is not going to be good for us. We managed to keep our powers up when reaching 90% but in 70% that’s when the effectiveness of our magic”
“What’s the big deal? You think you would be accepting a quest like that”
“I want to, the pay looks promising here”
“He’s right, it’s shared payments and reputation honored with the elves too”
“The elves are adding the rewards as well?”
“No, the payments will always be Y and the reputation with the elves”
“What are we going to do with reps then?”
“Reading through the city guild guidebook, elf reputation can provide service outside of the city. Being part of your team doing quest together”
They read it like it is not worth it. Altair appeared behind them as he gained the elf reputation. “You guys look like you don’t like the elf rewarding you”
“The reward is going outside. I need my earnings but not a favor”
“That would be likely the case. Sometimes we don’t know what we can give them with. Have you tried give them something to worth their time?”
“I did, back when trading with them was impossible. The only thing we could trade those guys are mostly the vegetations and other plant base. Now I see a lot of wood production industries are bringing only raw wood or seeds to their city”
Altair agrees “I get it what you mean, luckily the environment here still held well to grow properly. With the fast-growing magic they are using on those trees made me happy we are not starving to death”
“You forgot that that magic is from Alga’s light, they found a way to store it like those goblins did from one of those creatures”
“Sorry, I seem to forget about it. Again, those elves, it would be helpful they could explain it correctly”
“How about you? What did you do with the reps?”
Altair remembered they provide escorts to venture dangerous places near the east coast. One incident happened when one of his friends was caught in the mix up between them and the defectors.
He honestly answered “It deliberately said outside of the city. That’s all they can provide beside giving us something else”
“That sucks. Hey, do you think it still worth it?” The adventurer who is interested show no change. Only made him curious and with his necklace with a replica look from the Enders Guild banner.
“I’ve been fighting in the sphere long enough. I am still a B rank, but I have the confident I need to go there. You guys still with me?”
They look at him, not sure if they could take it. The description said unknown difficulty where dangers said to be haunting roots.
“I don’t know about you trying to get something out from the infested dungeons, but I am not going. You go on ahead”
“Sorry, she is right. After that confident boost fighting with the Enders, really made us feel less worthless from time to time but it’s the dust keep scaring us out to go there”
“I know you guys have concern and I won’t be forcing you. My pay check is getting low and I don’t see my job is coming back after another gang fights”
“Yeah, about that, we still sorry about what happened”
“This Autumn season does feel like back to school for me, laugh*”
Altair looks at him to be in desperate situation. Something about him gets his life worse, and trying to compare that back to their home world is a waste of time. He says his goodbyes
“If you still want to accept that quest. Let me remind you this”
He pulls out his backlog when he got out from the city being exposed. “When reaching to the dungeon, you already reaching 25% exposure. I am not here to scare you but maintenance cost will be worse”
Altair left them, putting the man in a dire situation. His odds get the best of him and his friends said to him.
“Oh, cheer up, you still have that necklace. You said you wanting it to become your good luck charm for incoming danger”
“Yeah, thanks guys. I need a moment for myself”
They look at him sadly and slowly moves away. There is nothing else they could say but waving goodbye. One of them is concerned about him
“If only this world would be easier to do adventuring”
“You expect to find an easy world with already overpowered”
“We are already overpowered, but soon realize we are not the first or the last to be summoned. Heh, even there are more powerful than us”
The man with his copied necklace, looking for the other big rewards quest. Among the three quests, they are more difficult than he would be doing alone. First quest is urgent about the previous dungeons he went through. The second one is still in progress of constructing infrastructure coming from Enders Bridge to here. It requires heavy labor and he is no fond to fight and work at the same time during the exposure. Then finally the third one when going down the manhole in the sewers, where mana infested diseases are now spreading. It wasn’t those dark blood lurkers but a new phenomenon acting like monsters. He has no skills of identifying them either.
Only thing he good at is scouting the premise. After that sphere experience inside the underground structure and its weird movable platforms inside, he was given the skills to draw around the place to make maps and other photo realistic drawings. He could use his device to take picture, but the main goal is to use his hand drawing to reach the level of rune drawings. So far, he needs rune materials to get his work done. The city’s resources are scarce and quickly sold out those materials when he needed. A sudden flashback occurred when the incident happened, when the gangs bringing the fight to where he works.
He keeps tapping the necklace as he tries to forget it. The man is temporary laid off after the repair is done, but the problem is still the resources are limited. His part time job brings this man to tears if he is not in public. He thinks
“Phew* I need to get some work or thinking about it made it worse for my health”
He went to the reception desk and starts to apply the quest he chose. The receptionist however sees the man in distress.
“Ah Sir, if you keep pouting. I don’t think I will allow you to have this quest”
The man quickly raises his spirit reluctantly “I’m fine see . . .”
She doubts him “. . . I need this job ok. I have been raking debts and no bank existed to save me from it”
“It is not for me to handle your situation but you could at least give me problems that you’re making this excuse like the other people before you”
“Yes, I know. You could at least trust me in this. I am a good scout even I was part of the search team looking for ‘lost’ adventurers”
“Don’t use that tone saying ‘lost’, but let me check your past works first . . . My, you are a heavy bearer. You even added that Benedictus banner on your profile too”
“Let’s just say I have it too in my necklace”
“Yeah, well, I can manage to get you in after that lonely face of yours”
“Sorry”
“You would be, incidents like these I don’t want to make”
The man walks out from the city guild courtyard, where he sees the serpent once again flying through the mist above them. It rains down water cleansing everyone who want to take a shower or collect it for free to wash off the dust. He brings his own water container and fill up what it falls in dew pace. The serpent gradually collects the water from the air as humidity reach close to the shore. The salts and other small microbes separated from the water and lies on the ground compacting itself into stones. Many people still gathered around the creature to collect free stuff.
Children having fun chasing it and try to communicate with it, their lovely voices come across to the parents around them feeling the safe place protected by this sea creature. One of the kids is carrying a toy, a weird looking toy but now already spread rumors about it. A toy rubber duck, yellow in color and its dotted pupil wide eyes, and the way it stares felt the mystery is coming through its mindless sight. The kid throws it to the air, as it reaches up high, it stares at the adventurers with its big old eyes. Then catch from another kid its head keep focusing them like no other.
A total creep of how it looks, but kids seem to like it. Among the rest of the spirit pets around them, the duck has more charm the rest of them.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
“Duck?”
The duck speaks and eventually try to escape from their little grasps. They chase it then use magic to catch it, the duck took a quick glimpse at the adventurers again. The duck is one scary toy when it comes to looking at stuff.
“Duck”
A sound of sad tone coming from its beak, the kids hug it one more time to continue playing with the serpent above them.
The adventurers spoke out to him, not holding back what they saw. “That duck is something”
“Yeah, it feels like that thing is a goblin in disguised”
“I know what you mean. If only its eyes should’ve drawn a little better. The dotted pupil looks like it was traumatized or something”
“Oh, sorry for making you join our conversation. That duck keeps us cautious all the time when we saw it”
“That’s how you put it, but it feels like the duck is identical to Sork”
“Sork? The goblin was jailed since the summer festival. What’s make that duck so identical to him”
The duck breaks free and begins it escape, the toy spirits surround it gathers to help it away from their childish grasps. It escaped with no expression.
“Other than that duck’s elusive escapes, many other people keep posting on social media about the same yellow duck around the city. You think it can be found somewhere dangerous?”
“That’s what Sork would’ve done before. But you mentioned it made me want to see it going on the adventure”
“Let’s not, I will be going now. I have quest to do”
“Alright, sorry again to be drawn in our conversation”
The man left and the adventures continue to go their merry way. Other adventurers got stuck on the conversation loop where they too ask about it.
“Hey, did you see that duck with its pact of toys?”
They all get mix up again “And I thought I was rude”
The man checks his stat where he is now already 3% exposed or 97% powers left in him. The sight from the sky where it is already sealed the barrier from the dust collapsing at the ceiling. Though, everything happened so quickly when the moon came in and already wrecking the city apart. The remnant of dusts still lingered around the city, but still managed anyone to get their powers low in 30%. It is very annoying to some people, but dangerous to terminal ill and near breaking people. The mana kept them alive trying to live their lives as normal people.
He looks around the highway as he decides to take his steps slowly. The same place he walks on where the dust collapsed. Already clean off and little shines from the dirt, the dust is still there already attaching itself on the ground moving closely to his feet. The exposure he has continue to rise and him wondering if it possible to live like this. He shakes his head
“Deep breath* If only . . . if only it is a natural occurrence than a natural disaster. What else in this world provide good reason to live like this?”
He reaches the border. He walks out and already feel the dusts are gathering on him.
The man goes through where the roots are, a new route to go to the dungeon is already next to the barrier. It was a convenient step to travel through the forest, but the barrier where he looks at it is being tampered by the same roots opening the route. The adventurers walk out from the cave roots and said to him.
“Are you here for the extermination or the exploration?”
“What if it is both?”
“It’s complicated, look at this” The adventurer shows him the detail as it gets a little hectic.
“The roots are pushing the ground, either it is route blocked or new routes because it withers. The tricky part where is the dirt go”
“I read the quest. The monsters dug it”
“Monsters from the surface or from the dungeon, this gets you prepared being trapped wherever you go”
“From what the guy is saying that we’ve been trying to get out the dungeon few hours ago, the monsters and the roots made us get lost when we used our magic”
“How come?”
“Magic attracts the roots, the dusts kill it and trying to reach out mana for it to replenish. Acting alive and forcing to change terrain, the monsters were the most problem at that”
“Then what is supposed to mean doing them at once?”
U’ecin comes out from the cave already brought dead monsters to the surface, exposed from the dust as it quickly decays in dehydration. Preserved to the shell of its corpse, the man looks at the new comer.
“It’s better you could learn it by yourself. Did you bring a team with you?”
He nervously replies “No . . . but I”
“Great, the message is already been sent”
The employer came out from the cave then sprung out of surprised “SENT! I just texted to them right just now . . . Oh it’s one of the old members of the rescue team”
The man’s necklace was noticed from the Enders as he takes a look. “Rescue team huh? He even has the Enders guild banner logo on his necklace”
“Oh, thank you”
The employer confronts him “It doesn’t matter, the important thing is I need to ask him few questions. Shall we?”
The man walks inside the cave with the employer and the adventurers say their good luck and a little advice “If you go there alone, make sure to keep that failsafe away from the roots”
They left as they feel exhilarating to see themselves out from the damn roots.
Employer explains the situation. The sound of echoes heard from the two where other adventurers are yelling and fights across the underground network.
“The rewards are simple; The extermination is to bring what the mobs always have or the monsters you bring as a whole, while the exploration is to uncover what the roots blocked and where the roots withered at some point. Now listen carefully that this place gets more difficult when exploring. You can’t do both because it is stressful when the roots are the main problem here”
The man listens the details from the employer is trying to portray. The dungeon is covered with roots and the roots are tracing the mana around the adventurers. Every use of their mana it forced to grow and reached it, making it a substitute sustenance for it survive. The moon is slowly killing the vegetation and even all life that possessed mana among them. The monsters were also had mana, but the entire week withered itself to starvation. Weak but able to live on, the excessive creatures exist because of Alga’s light are now dying off, returning back the actual numbers that would sustain what the forest provides. Feral goblins were seen inside, the danger of it because of their new weapons at hand.
Dusts, a lot of it, is in their hands throwing at their enemies. The main problem of it all is the roots. It’s unrealistic living interaction with magic caused it to search throughout the forest with mana. The dusts had prevented them from reaching from the surface but not underground. It dug and dug deep within the seclusive dungeons as it grows. No one knows where it goes. Old documents when before the city teleported this part of the region. It should have mountains connected to the east, nearing closely to where the roots reaching for mana. This makes it troublesome.
The reason to have this mission was easy as they already set their foot here. The mana is weak as much as they are pests. Good rewards are here because of the situation to the city barrier and the same time dungeons to be raided repeatedly. The roots are the problem, they can be trapped in the inside. Using a failsafe means leaving the loots behind, and the talisman made from the dwarves are the lesser version when you dropped it, then you are stuck. The man sees the payment increases where the loots are still there within his tracking abilities.
The mobs loot are basic materials but useful for crafting their own magic items. Cheap and bountiful, however not so good in the city’s high-quality services and productions. Nonetheless, it is still in demand in the market. The ores they need are struggling to come by, even groups of caravans from Enders Bridge weren’t enough. The infrastructure is coming its way for both cities. He keeps his eyes looking at the exploration of things, would be the easier choice. The rewards to find the hearts of the roots are growing, they are willing to pay big when find and destroy it. 30% cut to the location and 70% cut to destroy are in the total payment of 500,000Y.
The employer explains the job. “Remember always to record proof, even in milliseconds. The camera we have now is state of the art”
“Why would you mention that?”
“The heart we found days ago, its active. A device with magic can also attract it”
The man never thinks the roots anything more of a threat. “Then why we didn’t know it is actually be a living monster”
“Aw, it is already a monster. Alga’s light always forced evolve any monsters more menacing. The root bites’ nests were one of the examples”
“Eh, then what happened to them?”
“Not extinct, but somewhere else safe”
“Right”
“Just in case, the minimum total if you at least succeed one of them. Ignore the part if you actually destroy the damn thing. 150,000Y to find the heart, locations of blockade (12,500Y) where roots hide and the monsters trapped (2,500Y) in a considerable amount of time, and some up the price as 165,000Y”
The man thought about the minimum profit. Not bad, but farming against the mobs are clearly better if successfully would get you the total of 800,000Y or less within one dungeon raid, without other adventurers butting in.
“One last thing, these are the place already uncovered. It would be difficult to get side rewards though”
“Wait, none of them found the heart yet”
“Around the dungeon, yes, there were no hearts located near it but they gave up when they realized they got trapped by the roots. The same roots they could get as side rewards. I’ll mark on your map and please be careful”
The man touches his necklace as he goes through the cave, the last sight-seeing the employer leave where he douses himself with water. He did the same, the dust removed and the exposure reached to 0%.
The sounds of people echoing through the cave still made him scared a bit, but it taken them so long to explain the information he had. Alone through the dark with his rune items in hand, he can’t ignore the screams much longer. He goes through the first withered roots and see inside the new environment. Empty and clean to where his flashlight goes, no dirt but recently carved holes and routes. He checks the map that it already been searched. Dissuaded to follow along the map, he looks at the small burrows as he squeezed through.
Those burrows where the sounds are coming from, even the surrounding matches the volume coming his way. Going through the tightest path, he hears the echoes out pacing the other sounds. Carefully listening through, the man begins to rush forward. The exposure is building up to every corner of walls and tight edges of the burrow. The yells are no longer the sound of a fight, screams going through and the sound of collapsing stones to his ears. He used his magic, recklessly going forth then eventually falling down where the burrow ends on the cliff.
“Aah!”
He screams down waving his flashlight around to find the edges to climb on to. He casts a magic hook and pulled him to the cliffs. Pointing at the dark space, the stretch of the use of his magic is going nowhere. Aiming at the wall, it barely touches the surface as it still moving forward. Clenching his hand on the magic hook, extending further than he anticipated, the hook hits something as he tries to pull to it. The dust stops his hand to retract his magic as it solidifies his magic. There is nowhere else to see to find another cliff but wait for him to fall down, the arc of the rope managed to reach the end while he still hanging on it.
The big tug on his hand drops a handful from his inventory. He looks at his inventory as something interferes with it. Fell off to the dark abyss, where he sees his cleansing water and the failsafe talisman fell from his inventory.
“SHIT! What happened to my inventory? Fuck! I need to get out of here”
The man tries to use his other hand to hold the rope while the other hand exposed with the dust as he tries to break it. The solid magic shatters and he use his scouting abilities to navigate where he is now. The screams continue on and his haste is getting bolder. He finds the way down and saw what happened.
Two adventurers are injured are being horded by swarm of unknown monsters. Their equipment is breaking apart as the monsters tried to bite them off. Hunger through these monstrous gazes, where the adventurers are getting exposed with the dusts. The monsters throw the dust at them as they are desperately feasting them alive. The man tries to reach them by using his hook again, enhance it with twin catch, as he pulled those two to him.
“GO!” The man shouted at the two as they are barely survived from their crazed bites. They went back to the cliff as he tries to climb up.
The two women barely used their own strength and forced to use their magic. The essence of mana is coming through the massive sinkhole, where monsters chasing them. The man tries to use all of his magic abilities to escape, then suddenly, the roots appeared from the walls grabbing them and leeching their mana. The man lost his magic hook attached to the upper cliff as they fell down. The dust covered his leg where his magic is focusing on his landing. Bracing themselves to the ground where he covered both of them in his arms. Finally reaches the ground, his left exposed leg cracked where his magic can’t reach it.
The adventurers were too tired and their mana leeched. The exposure on them already reached 65% but why they didn’t escape with the failsafe. He fell down and sees his water container leaking and the talisman shredded by one of the monsters. With only one leg he tries to pull them away from danger where he sees something crumbling. His scouting trait detects something is happening where they land. Monsters falling from the sky and landing on top of him, he persists and continue to bring them to safety. To the moment of this crucial moment, the man carelessly ventured to an unknown place and now going to die. But not until these two survived.
A powerful clanking noise heard through the massive sinkhole. Something pops up from the ground and impaled one of the monsters. The ground starts crumbling down, a light coming from below as it seeks its prey. Continuous firing of bolts and clanking sound before firing, it was powerful and the monsters flinched with every shot it takes. The man reaches the edges with the adventurers as the ground collapses leaving them closely to the wall.
A light focuses on them while managed to grab the water container and watch off the dust to all of them. They regain their mana but his leg seemed not healed, he sees something stuck on his leg and it was the piece of root. A splinter and grown into a small branch poking inside his leg, he pulled it out and a sheer pain coming from it and the roots are seeping through his veins.
“What kind of shitty plant is this?”
He hears someone climbing up the wall with a crossbow on his back. His short height can be deceiving to be a dwarf. The adventurers see what is going on.
“We’re alive!?”
“Who are you?”
The man can’t believe something like this happened. Is this the same dungeon they thought to be a starter dungeon? No, he thought. Where he fell seems to farther away from the dungeon. He looks at his UI as it is corrupted but managed to show the warning notification.
“WARNING! Eldritch source coming from below the area, evacuate immediately. Challenge bonus: If kill the unidentifiable monster, gain knowledge of the Eldritch”
He looks at it confused why adding a challenge. The previous notification never added challenges. Something is not right about his UI.
The adventurers looking at someone walks towards them. Their eyes are waiting for him to appear through the dark silhouette, this anticipation of silence and around them where monsters will be coming soon. The man asks him
“What’s going on? Why the monsters are like this? They never tear to shred or anything like that”
They look at each other as their clothes were ripped off. Hiding their embarrassment but their guilty face measured heavily, questioning everything as they enter the depts of dangers. The man walks to them with his carcass tied on his belt. The bolts are made from the roots and his dirtied clothes show sign of days being here.
“That necklace, is it real or copied . . .?”
The man shakes his head “I made it myself. I thought it would best fit my virtues of their bravery of their rescues”
“How about your failsafe? Is it affecting too?”
“Failsafe!? Wait, Its blocked. How!?”
They didn’t realize what happened, and their failsafe can’t be used as their exposure reached their limits. The Enders raised his cloth and wrap around his bolt. Aimed directly to the wall, he shoots it and hanged on the wall like a sign. The magic activates and were they stand or lied down shifted upward and turned into a platform. A monster suddenly appeared with its hand reaching to them, limbs attached with roots like tendrils trying to search for them.
A fireplace appeared through the sign as it light brightly. It shines where the monsters disappeared like they are from the darkness. The Enders revealed his face and they recognized him in a blink of an eye. All of them spoke his name, echoing through the sinkhole reaching closely to the surface. The other Enders are here to find them. Ironno, Haw, and Myrrkei with the adventurer who escape from the abyss.
“Voldemyr is here?!”
“That’s can’t be good”
“Ironically, the survivors found him”
The adventurers who are still in the dungeon were receiving an urgent message to leave where this Eldritch warning keep popping up in their feeds. The offer of killing it to have its knowledge was too suspicious.