COI C90
Haw is setting his hands on the medicines they brought. Neither cure nor remedy but the sustaining their health before they reached their symptoms. He looks at the misfits who were easily ambushed from the corrupted environment. Knowing so well that they were the only two people left inside the cave. The Sun’s Skies adventurers were the last people left the fight against the monster. Almost setting it to trapped it to the dungeon but the roots had taken so much magic from them as they are forced to retreat to the saferooms.
The last moment as the roots and the cloud fled, Ironno took it down. The root infestation and its magic spreading in the tunnel. Where it led to the dungeons as the rubbles of withered roots lying on the ground crumbling, the strange colored cloud was floating among the adventurers, easily taken them out like some invisible creature running amok. Ironno knows this different form of magic. Never would have guessed the demons’ puppet has some able powers through its master’s capacity. It must be those foolish servants remained with them in the so called ‘eternity’.
Ironno clears what the clouds were spreading. The roots kept surrounding the tunnel as he alone couldn’t wipe them off as it able to twitch and turn. The feint of mana left behind is now belong to the demon. He heads back to the saferoom and checks on Haw. Haw was able to help the adventurers, and the dust exposure on them did affect their condition to fight, while the other is their actual well-being. Filled with their bodies with mana instead actual nutrients inside. It will take time for their mana to recover, filling their necessary conditions, and let them squirm after they getting hit by unknown entity.
The two waits for them as they rest, while the others are waking up but they feel so weak later on. No idea, but they feel wanting to sleep a bit, their sense of caution is little as if they were convinced that they were safe. Their dreams were tempting as similar as they hoped to be, those sensations felt so real as the only few wakes up as their dream were good but down right illogical.
“AH! That was some best dream I ever scream in my whole life”
The other one raises his. “Me too here, it feels like the demon give me a dream that almost make me want to commit homicide”
Both don’t want to tell their full details. Where the others are more appalling that would alienate themselves.
Somewhere in the dungeon, the roots are already there covered the whole place. The adventurers are slowing down as the environment starts to get uncomfortable. Ruby and Gemina are out, yet other adventurers saw Haw bring them inside the saferoom while Ironno cleanse off what was a fight here.
“A trap? It was able to beat the S ranks. Gordon wasn’t kidding about retreating”
“Yeah, I didn’t know that there is another saferoom here. We could use it to teleport back sooner than we thought”
Altair looks at the new infestation covered by roots. “How did that monster make it here?”
“It’s only the roots, Altair. There’s also that weird colored air too”
They step forward and witness the dungeon main gate to the hallway, the central route that leads to the dungeons in miraculous path of the massive structure and multiple themes like area they first saw it for the first time.
“Were not been here since before our summer vacation”
“Hah, you got that right. Coming right back here after the sphere experience, made me think that this place was really made for us”
“Just like the adventurers before us, they have better experience than us. It’s like their purpose are meant to be here”
The adventurers spout out what they think while they have remembered the fantasy settings here, but now covered with roots.
Altair kept his sight low of how it infested by roots “Comparing those mobs and the monsters from the surface, this place is perfected from our own imagination”
“Too bad the surface are actual animals behaving the threats like us”
“There is nothing much else for us to learn from the locals when they show them this dungeon. Groan* I felt afraid than nostalgic”
The adventurers built inside the central network, and this hallway is their secret hideout when they’re close to the secret rooms for them to grind effectively. This is where they get their adventuring materials and other resources only for the city guild. Now with runes as their priority, this place where they get their basic gears.
They hear the echoes of the fighting, the elf and the monster, never once in their life to hear this place haunting and surrounded by shredded Enders magic scrolls on the walls. They look at it as if it turned into a disturbing view, as if the papers were flesh and drilled the very roots crumbling. They chipped off the roots where more Enders magic scrolls were torn off.
“Did Ironno prepared this room or something? It looks scary now as the roots crawled on to them”
“Nervously laughing* We have Altair, he . . . Ah shit, did you look away from it?”
He looks at Altair didn’t look up “I’ve been watching horror movies lately, I guess my imagination gets to me”
They all laugh nervously as some of them found bits and pieces of the monsters. Hearing Altair being scared and all, made them slowly regretting to play a trick to ease their tension. Everywhere, all of them are skulls being rooted, they found the bodies carried with dust as if it supposed to make those monsters. Yet, it didn’t move. Altair founds one lies hiding on the ground along with the roots. He pops it out all of sudden and the monster skull went flying.
“AAH!”
Altair laughs “I yes, that’s clear off my . . . Haha!”
He laughs they pulled off more heads raining on him. “You fucker! I thought we were . . .”
“Sorry, I guess you don’t know what I’m afraid of”
Silfa, and her doll lied down and waited. They positioned themselves where the ritual circle should be directing to.
“Alright, we decided we’re choosing the 8th dungeon”
“The dungeon where the famous adventurers slain the infamous and invaluable randomize monsters”
“Geez, that’s where the best cosmetic items out there”
“Yeah, that’s what Gordon said to us when they escape. Even though how strong they are, they admit that this place is mostly for grinding good looking materials”
“I hope those monsters wouldn’t be feeding those mini bosses”
The doll is channeling the circle as it is getting excited. Everyone with their ritual items hear the doll’s voice. Goblin tongue translated in whispers, to the first time they hear it except animals speaking to them. The spirits are talking.
“The monsters are coming, are coming, coming . . .”
Chanting through their translation got to them, it soon left to its tribal words as they hear spirits singing ritual
“Kul ki kara dyam da da dalang Kaka lam pyang kara ma da da . . .”
The translation gets them nowhere whereas only Silfa’s UI understands it.
“We need to go now. Everyone! Get over here and prepare the seal. Puma is multi chanting”
They gathered as their ritual items started to glow, the essence of the spirits shakes, as they feel something wiggling through their pockets and bags. One of them checks their item and saw her item moving like it is alive. The talismans and the ceremonial tools are moving on its own and hanged on to her arm. Their weapons, armors, magic equipment, and even runes are in the presence of their spirits.
Enchanted to the will of the spirits, where one person with back up sets, all of his setups got out from his inventory and turn itself alive. A living golem on his side as he stops and realize it took his stuff.
“Are these spirits want to help? It took my stuff”
“What kind of spirit do you have?”
“A shadow spirit, more like shadow form but why it needed my gears though”
“I don’t know, that’s the spirit you choose and you should know about it”
They keep moving on as the spirits pester as they gather. They watch the spirit moving together where theirs are coming to life, whereas more of them are coming from the dungeons.
Altair and others return as they found out their spirits are here. “They’re they are”
“They’re sure do, and I don’t think your spirit is not one of those animal types”
“I don’t have a spirit but a shamanistic weapon”
“Pfft* You mean your cleansing club”
“You have to admit, this is my alternative way to heal”
“Yeah, removed the curses with stuns . . . Sigh* These spirits though are quite a lot, aren’t they?”
“You should’ve known about the spirit trends”
“I have . . . it’s better not about Train’s spirit. He has rare spirits I have never get during my summoning”
The golem leaps forward and the spirits are following after. Everyone sees the entrance of the dungeon as it already being sealed with roots. The spirits are hitting the roots with the purpose of each item is used for. Weapons like throwing knives, shaman weapons, and ritual spells blasted forth at it. The roots grow and touch by the shamanistic ritual, they watch them and see how they played out. The talismans spirits left trail where the roots go, stretching to the corner of the walls and forced to follow it.
The center roots that sealed the door are slowly weakening where the growth isn’t enough for it to reach but the bait the spirits give such aroma that it forced toward it with empty meals. The roots fell off from the entrance as the rests at the corner. The spirits play around the roots while it barely touches them. It’s past life and habitat have known this vegetation. Quickly removes the hurdles of the adventurers’ path. But they continue on baiting them further back to the hallway as which they stop from their masters’ leash.
“Wow! That’s something we didn’t know”
“This is the first time we have spirits act like this”
“Silfa’s Puma doll is probably guide them to do this”
“Yeah, calling the Horde chief spirit as ‘puma’ doll”
“Stop making jokes. If only the goblins would teach us about this”
“That ‘if’ won’t do much for them. You already hear their nonsensical grief . . . I just don’t want to believe that there is a thing called stupid and wise spirits”
The adventurer sarcastically laughs
“How Ironic if we have those spirits”
“Shh! Something is coming”
Where the spirits are baiting away the roots, they were forced return back to their masters as the rituals immediately activate.
Altair and the others are spreading out. Their auras quickly turned to the colored air of the spirits. The roots stretch so far that it held bones inside. Identical to the monster they saw before with roots sprung out from their bodies like leeches biting on its skin while moving its tail like a tendril. Now it comes forth in abomination, collected with dusts and a familiar demonic sigil made with the crystallize gem. No stench but an embodiment in a wooden frame by roots, the roots are forced to the entrance as it withers from the dust’s contact.
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Their stats show their exposure. They keep their mana under control where they won’t let it leak. Everyone carefully looks around as piles of bones falling from the roots’ grasps, waiting for any of them to reanimated.
“Even here there are more bones than the dungeon’s hallways”
The skulls inhales through the small gaps where the air is gathered. The bones start to reattached with the roots. The air released fumes from the bones as something hidden inside its bone marrow. Dripping down like sands, it’s the dusts.
Silfa raises her sword, her spirit ignores her caution while it chants at the ritual circle. She swings in front of the bones. The spirit hears her plea as it sweeps forward to the falling bones entangled with roots. The roots suddenly reacted from the direction of the wide sweep. The bones were taken down, crumbling and weak. The dusts leak out with a boom where her spirit attack with its rituals. The gang of spirits quickly charge at the bones. The sounds of chattering bones quickly rose up with its entangled roots. Immediately destroyed with the spirits’ first attack.
All of their powers revealed in a slight color to the air. Silfa and Altair watch her doll charged directly at the bones hiding inside the tangled roots. Easily taken them down whereas the doll’s aura is spreading among the spirits. Either way, the spirits dance around like cartoon characters moving around after they fight and raised their victory dance. Silfa’s doll goes back to the ritual circle and continues its multi chanting and the other spirits slowly return to normal then follow along the ritual circle.
The adventurers’ spirits are becoming more powerful after being closer with Silfa’s doll. Now that the spirits are chanting, and their masters watch their ritual dance.
“That was fast, they quickly finish them off”
“Like hell if I know, they have shamanism as their magic”
“But it doesn’t have the power we used them earlier. Silfa’s doll is helping our spirits to get stronger”
“Damn it, they’re chanting and it starts to annoy me”
“You don’t want to listen ritual items dancing around making noise. I hear you, and I’m staying away”
Silfa reads the UI through her doll’s dialogue; Different language that is not have translated yet. She can only read the expressions of the spirits form of rituals and magic. So long that she had tried to understand the doll with her younger sister, Joanne, and learn so much of its abilities. Not much when regards to the ritual circle, she read the words of guidance from her UI through her doll.
“. . . The goblin spirits are coming, see the inevitable judgement of our beyond the dead magic”
This line makes her question more than telling them about the warning. Shamanism is powerful when they see something odd, but what odd magic it is talking about?
Ruby, Gemina and the other adventurers go out from the saferoom. Recovered from the attack including the ambush of the strange cloud, they see their ritual weapons are retuning with essence surrounding it. Ironno takes a look at it
“Spirits garnered with chief’s rituals. Your group will be able to go back to your objectives. Me and Haw will be heading to the entrance. This time won’t be attacked easily after what’s left inside the dungeon”
Haw looks at the spirits as they show slight colored air forming behind them
“Weapons and accessories as ritual items, the spirits can’t be easily satisfied with that object they are using”
Ruby received a call from Silfa. “This is me, and we are receiving calls through shamanism, ok?”
“But I don’t have a spirit”
“Does a horde of friends’ spirits does not link together? Gemina has one and I know you won’t let her go when on adventuring”
Gemina heard them and look at Ruby’s expression. That grin looks of her face as she is about to say, Ruby blocks her face
“I get it, I’m sorry we got attacked ended up almost failing the mission”
“Good, tell them that the spirit can fight on their own. You can do different jobs as they protect you”
The call stops and Ruby looks at Gemina again. Complete still as she still grins at her, Ruby can’t look away where her hand grip tight to hit her. A fast punch in high speed out of pure embarrassment. Gemina’s face dodges back like the wind and missed her punch, and she said to her mischievously
“Gay”
“Ah! Why won’t you just shut up?”
“But I like the old meme. A foreigner looking disappointed and ask the question ‘why are you gay?’”
The two busy fighting each other while the adventurers checking their ritual items.
The spirits form a line and do the conga line. They are moving forward as they identify their items’ new buffs.
“I can’t read goblin shit”
“Laugh* I expect nothing less for the spirits. Yet, they leave us when we are down though”
“Then they comeback with buffs, I can see the stats in gibberish form”
The spirits return to their owners, everyone or some of them grab their item feel the strange magic. Their eyes can see secrets within the tunnel, marks of magic coming from the roots and the cloud in a dream state. They can confirm the threats hidden inside the roots and through walls.
Gemina’s spirit comes to her in a piece of metal. She quickly grabs it and attached to her elemental sword, fused together with hidden rituals as she bears her hand gripping on the handle. Her eyes see the secrets hidden in the tunnels and the essence of magic feint and hide through the walls. The roots are returning and as it won’t stop growing, strange mana it possessed as it not belonged to them. She can’t raise her power with her spirit because of differences of mana, but now it shares the strength with her. Balancing together as it meant more than looks. She calls out to them
“Let’s finish what we have started, to the hallways, we need to clear everything there before everything else comes back”
Ruby insists them, dashing around to everyone’s position as they were distracted on their ritual items. Hit their heads multiple times and others quickly reacted before she lays a hit on one of them. They move right ahead. Ruby returns to Gemina’s side
“I guess we can finish this with these spirits on our side, right?”
Gemina smiles back at her with devilishly look on her face. Ruby couldn’t resist “You still give me that look. I’ll be going to hurt you once this is over”
“Ooh, don’t be that hard, mommy”
Both of their sword clashes in a blink in the eye. Ruby dashes to the side, and Gemina split herself with an elemental and hits her sides.
“AAH! How did you?!”
Gemina’s slides her tip of her sword and the spirit essence flows down on the ground, appeared from the ground behind her and see her spirit has a body. Carrying the magic of its master as it ready to collide it with her sword. Ruby knows her skills
“That’s your elemental magic: Split blade”
Gemina bit her lips as she said the wrong skill name. “Again, it’s Gemini Clash. Two counter parts elements clash together, I spilt my sword into two then combine it together again with you in the middle of it”
“Laugh* I never thought I couldn’t stop you with that gay joke, but this, laugh*”
“TCH!”
Ruby had gone wild teasing Gemina, both of them are good companions together and with Silfa. These two is the epiphany of close friends with different tastes. They head forward to the dungeon hallways and see the roots covered the dungeons’ gateways. The roots are covered everywhere to their feet to the ceiling, while they are prepared and excited with their spirits on their side. Buff by Silfa’s doll and everything else on their ritual items. The Horde chief spirit, dared to give them the power that Silfa tried to control. The animal spirits are restoring its wild instincts.
There is someone on Gemina’s side, a hunter and holding his range weapon. He said to her “Can you guys at least give us position to fight against them? I know Ruby will be dashing through the fight, but they have spirits too having an itch”
Gemina pats hard at the hunter’s shoulder “Oof”
“It’s been so long that we ever join along side by side”
“You know our composition won’t work. I am from the backline while you guys are at the aggressive front”
Ruby agrees “Surprisingly, you are one of the Saint Heroes members”
The hunter rolls his eyes as the two being ganging up to him. He skips their comments and directly talk to Gemina “I was saying, they want to fight and try their ritual items. They are going high as they talk about the buffs of their spirits”
Gemina nods and changed her manner “Yeah, I saw it too. Luckily my spirit behaves and keep warning me that the threats are nearby”
“I guess that spirit is no goblin, while they are . . .”
The adventurers with their ritual items starting to twitch, mingled together with both magic. The spirits are restless and much more something in its aura start to glow brightly.
“. . . Yeah, well this is going to be exciting for them”
Inside the hallway, too tight for many of them to fight but enough for clear off the roots to open the 8th dungeon. The mages and the others with their ranged weapon take arms with explosive as they anticipating for a big wave hidden behind the roots. The roots stretch closer to them as the spirits were released, its magic forcing the monsters hid inside as it keeping its body with dusts. One of the mages got spoof of how horrifying it looks, hits it, and drops a chunk of dusts on them. Almost got showered but one of the spirits come to their rescue and sacrifice itself leaving a wailing laughter as it wipes out.
“Sheesh, those guys won’t let the suspense go”
Side by side, the spirits and the adventurers stood before the monsters hid inside the sealed 8th dungeon. Other dungeons had sealed are starting to crumble, the mages cast their spells to seal them off before they are outnumbered. The spirits with them coordinate one another as the mana is becoming entwine together, their magic channeling and magic circles are forming to have faces and ritual signs. They stop their channeling out of being surprised, once the spell let go, the spirit fires it to the dungeons’ gates. Partial seal appeared as it blocks parts of the gateway.
The roots are merging with the seal as it turns into a solid stone. The roots are carved by the spirits and the image of the magic signs of the mages show align to fill the spaces of their drawings. Ruby shouted among the mages
“What are you doing?! Seal those gates before they overwhelm us”
They stop their awing at the spell and continue to seal the gates. The adventurers at front are drinking their potions, raising their buffs, and maintain control of their mana. Using their UI to managed their limited skill sets. Picking the right moves only less than five slots, their spirits are there to enforce them.
Gemina comes in first with Ruby attacking back forth like a pinball. Her elemental sword fused with her spirit slashes like a projectile. The spirit guides the slashes and hits the monster, she pointed at the monster as it being hit behind by her spirit. Guiding the monster to her, both Gemina and the spirit pulled them as she uses her abilities. The spirit replicates her attacks as she screams
“GEMINI CLASH!”
Both of them pushes forward to collide to together to the monsters, her control of this special ability made her nauseating. The elements burst through the monster in flames, shattered into stone, and shattered when frozen. With her spirit there to double it.
The monsters are breaking inside the 8th dungeon, quickly pushed back by the adventurers. The counter assault where their ranged weapons gunning down and piercing through. The entangled rooted monsters come in drove in mix both mobs and monsters from surface, all of them are as equal as its mana drained away by the roots only mindless attacking forward. The spirits attacked after the shots, feasting through the fumes and strange clouds burst out from them, and the dusts opened up quickly crystallized them altogether.
The crystallized spirits revert back into items, while the adventurers continue to head forward. They clean them off with purified water as the spirit returns to their side. The spirits face the monsters as their psyche grew wild, together to fight alongside, they feel the power of the shamanism is surging through their magic. Their magic filled with visual features as they fight. Equipment has auras, weapons turned bleak in cursed colors, and magic turning into spirit like creatures.
One of the adventurers unleashed a devastating spell through his ritual item. He throws the talisman that helps him to become agile, his spirits fused with his magic and Silfa’s doll ritual magic, the talisman turned into a ritual beast and charges through the monsters. Following along through Gemina’s assault with her spirit, the talisman beast fused with her elemental magic and embolden its ferocity while her spirit received its beastly form. Gemina noticed her spirit turns into an elemental beast and pounces on the monster more dangerous as before, it returns to her when clashed at them, looking at her spirit as it gives a look of a dangerous predator.
More and more spirits are sharing each other’s power, as everything turned into one spirit. The adventurers hear it speak out the name.
“Puma! Puma!”
The chant grows louder as the adventurer lost their train of thoughts. A nostalgic feeling for themselves, overpowering the monsters without a care in the world. It was a memory alone that made them adventurers and rumple stomp the mobs. It was nothing but a bloodbath, the spirits empowered alongside with them, and they are happy for it.
Once the battle is cleared, the rest of the dungeons’ gateways are sealed. Turning into seals that is made together both neutral mana and shamanism, the spirits received each other’s power are quickly faded away as no threats around them to deal with their rage and hunger. Many spirits faded, but some stay as their masters or mistresses surprised of the new level-up they received. Finally, they finished clearing this place. The finale will be here and all of them take their rest and look around the 8th dungeon is clean off from the infestation, truly empty.
Gemina looks at her spirit in her UI, she grins happily as she hugs Ruby. “Woohoo, look at this Ruby. My spirit levels-up”
“I don’t know spirit actually levels-up, I thought they are all maxed”
The adventurers that have their spirits level-up confront to her with excitement “You too! You can now see these spirits actual form now . . .”
“Really!? I want to see this. Yup, just like I thought, mine is an animal spirit”
“YES! Mine too, I don’t have to deal with goblin spirit mugging me”
“Laugh* It was obvious, when we use our summoning ritual, we take care how it behaves. Thankfully, those goblins kept their words”
However, there is one adventurer who didn’t listen to the goblins but Train. Gemina trusts him during her adventuring to the north. His spirits were interesting to the point that it has no aggressive tendencies, yet this one is aggressive, not going to lie herself, but no animals exist that can’t survive this world. She brings Ruby closer to her as they read her UI. Ruby whispered to her
“Why are you pulling me closer? We share our UIs with Silfa. You can’t . . . whoa”
Both of them see that Silfa can only read Puma’s dialogue. Now shared with Gemina too, the level-up to her spirit taming can now able to share with Silfa now.
“This is Puma’s data. All of its stats and abilities are sealed ‘intentionally’ by Silfa herself”
“It’s obvious that it is the horde chief . . . Wait a minute, it can still use its abilities though. How come . . .?”
Through reading further in Puma’s dialogue, this is its respond of the perfect concealment, it was something they thought it was acting like a child but . . .
“Follow these ritual boyz, the boss thinks that I can’t wreck the wikis. Keep follow my steps and it will be over without my boss knowing . . . I have no power, but I can give it to you. Haha!”
Gemina stops reading her UI as she gets a funny feeling that act was sealed too. Now curious expressions come to the both of their realization. Back when the spirits left them as they rest inside the saferoom, it returns with hidden buffs they can’t read, and everything happened here were smoothly cleared off like it was fun for them. They tried to contact her through the spirits, but Puma block it, continuing the dialogue of laughter through its back logs. Ruby sees both advantages and disadvantages
“Now I get it why they don’t want goblin spirits. They can do that”
Gemina suddenly gives up and break off the mood “Why I even bother? I can’t think right with this shamanism bull shit”
“That’s why you always ask Train”
Meanwhile Puma was carried by Silfa, as it seems it finished. “Altair, I guess my doll finished the circle. We can now call out the wisp to come here”
The wisp aimlessly moving at the center of the ritual circle. It flashes off as Altair responds
“I don’t think it needed to tell it. Let’s hope this plan works”
“I know it would, Puma here is acting all excited”
The doll clinches its fists with determination as it whispered as they hear it “Puma”
Hiding across the ritual circle are the spirits of its horde, waiting, they have prepared long in secrets and Silfa knows it but don’t know who they are. They bear in arms and soul through its chief, Puma, with only a fraction of its power. The boss fears it but they wield it with great pride. The spirits will be gathering here. These chosen ones before Puma and the other people here will witness the ritual. The ritual circle drawn into a specific trick to hide their motives and kept their schemes hidden for that dead body. The ritual of torture.
Silfa held firm to her doll as she already knew. She reads her UI as the purpose was to take revenge on it, the only discussions are
“Who was that monster you hated so much?”
The doll speaks out happily and concealed as she did out of fear of its dangerous curses coming from the doll’s body.
“Puma”
She hugs it tightly as she wants to know, the boss wants to know, and Puma starts thinking about pumas again.
“Puma”