----------------------------------------
Jace crept into another lava tunnel with the slight stream of the superheated rock and metal flowing past him. His Dark Matter Shield (Rank 2) and Dark Matter Blade (Rank 5) [Rending] were both active, and he scanned the environment as he crept forward. “No sign of movement,” he muttered.
Ollie – who had curled around his neck and was tangible thanks to Jace’s increased ‘attunement’ to The Cosmic System – purred an assent. “It is just a Complex. You are not going to encounter other Aspirants in this volcanic region. The mountains surrounding it? Maybe.”
<<<<<>>>>>
[Warning! You are about to enter a Complex!]
[This location has been marked by The Cosmic System as Tier 3.]
[Number of foes to clear out: 18.]
<<<<<>>>>>
[Quest: Defeat the Scythe Fiends.]
[Time Limit: N/A.]
[Reward: Epic (Equipment Augmentation) Boon.]
[Sender: The Cosmic System.]
<<<<<>>>>>
Jace instinctively raised the shield as a blade swung out from the edge of the tunnel and slammed into him. The curved blade almost cut into his torso, its shape allowing it to get behind the shield. Dark Matter Shield (Rank 3), Jace thought. The shield on his arm vanished and surrounded his body. Twisting to riposte, he slashed through the arm of the creature and got a good look at it for a split-second. Thanks to his new eyes, he could take in all of the detail with that brief observation.
The scythe that had swung out at him was made of a single, extremely-sharp bone. The monstrous humanoid holding it had deep, crimson skin, was slim, and lithe. A speed-based combatant just like Jace. It had no armor, and despite being covered in corded muscle, its blow was surprisingly weak. The face is what struck Jace the most.
The creatures Jace now saw as they poured from the walls of the large, circular chamber looked just like the depictions of devils that he had seen in the reading material on the back of the benches in a funeral-hall for his mentor. Long, pointed ears that jutted out to either side of the head. Enormous front teeth that curved down over the lower lip. A tuft of fur or hair atop the head. And the eyes – almost serpentine. A forked tongue snaked its way out as the monster hissed.
Jace rapidly spun – letting his body’s muscle memory take over thanks to the Swordmage Stance Skill. He deflected every single blow – not one touched him. Their weapons were weak enough for his Legendary rarity weapon that he was able to break their scythes – drawing looks of shock from the monsters. Each one that his blade made contact with resulted in the dark purple and crimson nebula clouds spreading along their flesh.
Jace felt the surge of adrenaline through him as he reveled in how easy this encounter was. Despite being a Tier lower, these creatures were no real match for him. He was barely breaking a sweat despite the sweltering heat and his exertion. His prosthetics really were almost effortless to move – and could even twist in their sockets in unexpected ways, letting him strike from dizzying angles that only the most skilled fighter could counter.
After only thirty seconds of fighting, all of the creatures lay slain. Jace wasn’t breathing heavily, but fighting for any length of time was draining. The golden pillar rose from the small lava puddle in the center of the room, and he snatched it. 41. “Dust them.”
<<<<<>>>>>
[Stardust Acquired: 900]
<<<<<>>>>>
[Quest Completed: Defeat the Scythe Fiends.]
[Time Limit: N/A.]
[Reward: Epic (Equipment Augmentation) Boon.]
[Sender: The Cosmic System.]
<<<<<>>>>>
Jace made his way out of the tunnel and looked down the volcanic mountain. His eyes picked up movement, and zooming in, he saw the bob of a hat that just dipped behind a rocky outcropping. “Ollie, check how many more Complexes are in this tile.”
The spectral map appeared in front of them both. Ollie moved his paws up, “Hmm. Only five remaining. And we have done three of them.”
Jace frowned, “Other Aspirants beat us to those two?”
“Yup. Looks like it.”
Damnit. I wanted to get all these high rarity Boons.
“They must have come from the mountain tile to the North, or one of the plateaus in the Northeast or Northwest. The mountain tile we passed over is barely cleared, and the tiles to our South and West are fully in-tact.”
Jace spotted the hat moving from outcropping to open space. Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 1). The purple glow enveloped him, and he vanished from sight along with Ollie. “Can you tell their faction?”
Ollie shook his head, “Nope. Not a good enough look.”
“Should we get closer?”
Ollie shook his head, “There is only one Complex in the direction they are headed. We can clear out the other four that are to the South, and head towards that plateau tile that leads to the desert where this other phylactery half is located.”
“Alright,” Jace muttered as he grappled in the opposite direction and traversed the landscape.
----------------------------------------
“You’re just seeing things,” Priam muttered to himself. He kept a hand on his floppy hat as the wind howled around them, carrying the searing heat of the nearby lava flows up across him. If not for his Pulsar Cosmic Power augmenting his shields with the capacity to reflect heat, he would be cooked. In fact, his Skill keeping his whole group from being parboiled.
“What was that?” Rory asked. She turned to face Priam, and her cascading, green locks of vines slightly curled at the sudden movement that forced them out of Priam’s protective Skill; retreating from the heat. “You saw something?”
“Could have sworn I saw a flash of purple higher up on the volcano,” Priam replied.
Rory looked at him quizzically, the vines and flowers comprising her face shifting to an approximation of confusion. “That’s…purple fire is not common, but its not unheard of. This is a magic world.”
“I saw it too,” Giordo interrupted. The man whose body was made up of mostly rock and stone had a gravelly voice that matched his hardy exterior; sounding like two rocks being cracked together deep in a tunnel. “Purple flame or lava just looks like that when some sulfur is present. It’s really a blue color.”
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“Blue lava?” Priam replied as he scratched the edge of his dripping forehead under the hat. “That’s got to be made up.”
Giordo chuckled, “It’s true. I know my rocks. Come on, my Wayfinder has figured out where the Complex is.” A rough spherical boulder floated just above Giordo’s head and seemingly vibrated in the air – a way that Giordo’s species communicated with their own. “What?” The rock vibrated further, and Giordo immediately crouched. “Get down!”
His allies did so, and Rory cocked her head sideways, dropping her voice to a whisper. “What is it?”
Giordo peeked up towards where Priam saw the movement, “That hint of movement we saw – my Wayfinder has seen that color before – there’s a Dark Matter user up here.”
A what user? Dark Matter? I didn’t see that on the list of options. He looked over at Bloopa – his Wayfinder who was a mass of geometric shapes. “What is that?” He asked it.
It fizzled in response, and he could make out the response – but only he could due to his species’ unique relationship with patterns and figures. Giordo’s Wayfinder may be more familiar – I am not.
Priam looked over at Giordo, “Ask your Wayfinder more about it.”
The rock-man looked up at his floating boulder, and it quivered before vibrating further. Giordo nodded and his voice became resolute. “Dark Matter is a secret Cosmic Power only available to Signers for a secretive faction called the Dark Between Stars.”
Rory muttered, “That explains why so many of the Complexes have been cleared already on this terrain tile.”
Priam frowned, “Okay, that’s good to know…but why should we care? They aren’t hunting Aspirants, are they?”
“Let me use a Boon,” Rory replied as she looked at the small, flower-like growth of a Wayfinder perched on her shoulder. Rory frowned, “What do you mean Uncommon isn’t high enough of a Boon rarity to find it out?”
Priam gulped. Not even Uncommon? We haven’t come across any Aspirants that can’t be identified with Common or Uncommon. “Should I use my Epic one?”
Giordo nodded, “We need to know who we are dealing with.”
“Do it,” Priam whispered to Bloopa, as he dreaded whatever answer he was about to receive.
<<<<<>>>>>
[Using Boon: Epic (Information).]
[Query: Information about this unknown Dark Matter Aspirant.]
[Answer: Known only as Flicker, they are from [HIGHER RARITY REQUIRED]. They have the Cosmic Power known as [HIGHER RARITY REQUIRED]. Their Class is [HIGHER RARITY REQUIRED]. Their species is [HIGHER RARITY REQUIRED]. Current residence in [HIGHER RARITY REQUIRED].
<<<<<>>>>>
Priam shared the information aloud as he read it, and he could see Rory’s grip on her staff tighten, and Giordo’s gem-like teeth grit in resolve. Priam concluded with, “Who is this person? He’s mysterious enough that the second-highest Rarity can’t figure it ou-” A message appeared across his vision.
<<<<<>>>>>
[Quest: Capture Flicker.]
[Time Limit: 10 days.]
[Reward: Legendary (Skill Evolution) Boon.]
[Sender: Black Hole Conclave]
<<<<<>>>>>
“Damn,” Priam whispered. “I just got a Quest-”
“Me too.”
“And me.”
Giordo chuckled, “Well, I think a Legendary reward is worth the hassle of trying to track this person down.” He looked at his two allies, “Even if we win this Dungeon Run event, we only get the one Legendary Boon. If we catch this person? We each get one.”
Rory nodded in agreement, and the two began heading up the mountain towards where Priam had seen the movement.
But Priam stayed back. I mean…it’s not like we’re working for the Conclave. Just doing a mission while we’re here. He followed his allies but felt a tingle of fear down his spine. This Dark Matter person has been up here clearing Complexes. They’re going to be tough to take down.
He was also quite confused by the objective. Why capture him?
----------------------------------------
Jace finished yet another Complex and chuckled at how easy these Scythe Fiends were to defeat. “Dust them.”
Ollie flew forward and did as instructed.
<<<<<>>>>>
[Stardust Acquired: 900]
<<<<<>>>>>
[Quest Completed: Defeat the Scythe Fiends.]
[Time Limit: N/A.]
[Reward: Epic (Equipment Augmentation) Boon.]
[Sender: The Cosmic System.]
<<<<<>>>>>
“And that makes 42 dungeon cores,” Jace stated as he walked up to the pedestal, grabbed the object, and chucked it into the backpack.
Ollie flew back and curled around his neck – the new ‘hangout’ spot as the otter referred to it. “Yup! Making good progress.”
“How come Complexes are always combat oriented?” Jace asked as he left the lava tube, sword and shield still out and active. But he had dropped the Dark Matter Cloak after clearing line-of-sight with that person with the hat.
“Remember, it is a ‘glitch’ when the System tries to merge a new world, but some creature gets caught up and becomes a corrupted Aspirant. Basically, The Cosmic System integration did not work properly, and the creature got the benefits of raw, Cosmic Power instead of getting a specific type of the energy.”
“So you could have someone just as a Cosmic Power generalist?”
“No, that is why it is a glitch.”
Jace exited the tunnel and looked at the small map that Ollie had began to put just under his chin – a quick glance down confirmed that 4 more Complexes were on the volcano tile. “That hat-person didn’t clear the one up away from us,” Jace commented.
“Doesn’t look like it,” Ollie replied. His eyes went black, and he grimaced, “Uh-oh.”
“What?” Jace asked as he scanned around for any sign of danger.
“Someone nearby did an Information Boon – Epic rarity.”
“Xera was able to block it, right?”
“Even she has limitations,” Ollie replied, his voice filled with uncertainty. “I do not know the specifics. They only got your code-name, but one of their Wayfinders is an old one. It knew Dark Matter’s Cosmic Power symbol on sight alone. That means it’s one of forty.”
Jace frowned, “So they are hunting me?”
“Possible. Or, they might have been curious about who else was up here. Perhaps looking up possible threats?”
I don’t want to hurt people, Jace thought. They keep trying to hurt me. I’m just repaying the favor. “Okay, well, I think we can-” he stopped as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Reflexively, he raised the Dark Matter Shield (Rank 2) – and the cascading blast of wind shattered against the barrier.