Zeke’s insides twisted into knots as he beheld the landscape before him. The expansive galaxy that had so captivated him was gone, replaced by something decidedly more mundane, yet still impressive in its own way. At first, Zeke thought he was back in the ruins he’d left behind on the surface, but it only took a cursory examination to mark the differences. The first was that the structure in front of him was no city. Instead, it was a maze of worn walls, with each stone used in its construction covered in a thick layer of moss and a dense collection of vines.
Looking up, Zeke saw a small sun, almost white in the illumination it offered, amid a light green sky. The rest of the landscape was populated by moss-covered rocks and a wide variety of mushrooms, some of which were large enough to rival the trees back in the Old Growth forest. When Zeke drew close to one of them, the twisting nausea in his stomach grew more potent than ever, suggesting that the fungi were poisonous.
With that in mind, he strode forward, leaving the forest of mushrooms behind. To his relief, the queasiness retreated with every step he took until, by the time he reached the ruins, he felt normal. Still, he pulsed [Cambion’s Awakening] to deal with any remnants of poison that might still be clinging to life within him.
“Very hospitable,” Eveline remarked, giving the impression that she was studying the ruins.
Zeke didn’t respond, instead focusing on the task before him. Fortunately, the path through the ruins was straightforward, so he wouldn’t have to worry about traversing a maze. Nor did they seem populated, save for an occasional knee-high mushroom, each of which he gave a wide berth. Still, the ruins were expansive, and it took him a few hours before he finally reached their terminus.
The sudden cessation of moss-covered rubble was a bit jarring, especially because the wide expanse of barren rock stretching before him was such a distinct deviation from the claustrophobic confines of the ruins. Zeke recovered quickly, though, and when he did, he saw something glinting in the distance.
At first, Zeke thought he was looking at a series of spires, but as he focused, he saw that it was, instead, a palace of sorts. Pushing forward for a few hundred more yards, he gradually made out more details until he got a good sense of the structure in the distance.
First of all, it was quite a bit smaller than he’d first expected. Usually, everything he encountered in the Eternal Realm was outsized and grandiose, but this palace was of a size that would have been at home on Earth. However, its size was the only thing familiar about it. The architecture clearly marked it as coming from alien sensibilities, and it was characterized by the prominent spheres, standing atop the slim, segmented towers. From those spheres stretched long, cylindrical protrusions, all in a circle at the widest point.
Zeke counted seven tall spires, with one much shorter building nestled between them.
Though they seemed to be made of mundane stone with black, metallic accents, each opening glowed with noxious green light. That suggested that they were far from normal, and given the colors, put Zeke in mind of poison.
“Probably because you were poisoned by giant mushrooms the moment you entered this dungeon,” Eveline stated.
“Fair enough.”
Zeke rolled his shoulders, then advanced. He was already in his colossal form, so the only preparations he could make were to pay close attention to his surroundings. As it turned out, that was unnecessary, because he reached the palace entirely unmolested. However, when he drew close, he saw that something guarded the entrance.
Scorponik – Level 63
“Is that its name? Or a species?” Zeke wondered aloud, his voice carrying across the barren landscape.
“Both, maybe?” Eveline answered. “Do you think it wants to make friends?”
Zeke studied the monster. On the most basic level, it had the shape of a giant scorpion, complete with eight legs, an overlarge set of pincers, and a segmented tail curving over its back and ending in a wicked-looking stinger. However, it looked like it was being held together by twisting and thorny vines that wove in and out of its chitinous exoskeleton. Finally, Zeke could see hundreds of tumor-like mushrooms – each one vividly blue – sprouting from where its head should have been.
It reminded him of the myconids he’d fought back in the Mortal Realm, though even from so far away, Zeke could feel the thing’s power. Perhaps it was an evolved version of the monsters he’d defeated in the Radiant Isles.
“I don’t think it’s very friendly,” he remarked as the creature finally noticed him. It didn’t charge. Instead, it rose from where it had been lounging and planted itself challengingly in front of the palace’s door. “Do you think there’s another entrance?”
“Probably not. This looks like your first challenge. I’m guessing the next is in that building.”
Zeke sighed, then summoned Voromir to hand. Gripping his trusty hammer, he advanced confidently. As he drew closer, he felt himself growing more nauseated with every step. Clearly, the scorponik wasn’t just venomous; instead, it was obviously toxic to everything around it.
When he was only a hundred feet away, Zeke noticed a subtle green fog hanging close to the ground. With the atmosphere having the same tint, the low-slung cloud was almost invisible, but now that he’d noticed it, he couldn’t ignore the implications. However, he still advanced, trusting in [Cambion’s Awakening] and his resistances to see him through.
Even so, each step sent the fog swirling. It seeped into his pores and tainted the air he breathed. In only seconds, he felt the weakness set in as he stumbled. A quick flare of [Cambion’s Awakening] allayed some of the effects, but the only way he could remain upright was to keep the skill churning.
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But the implications were clear. If he didn’t end the fight quickly and find safety, he would succumb to the poison. With that in mind, he stomped his foot against the barren ground, simultaneously activating [Hell Geyser] and launching himself forward at a dead sprint. The rending earth outpaced him, but only just, and even as the ground erupted into a pillar of hellfire and molten rock, Zeke crashed into the monster, kicking it into the center of the geyser.
The fog caught fire, burning quickly and giving Zeke some respite from the poison. However, only a second later, it crashed back into him like a tidal wave, engulfing him completely. He endured, though, and as the geyser dissipated, he raced forward to hopefully finish the skorponik off.
That’s when a spear-like stinger came lashing out of the retreating flames to spear him through the chest. Zeke saw it coming at the last second, so he managed to twist just enough to avoid having his heart obliterated. However, the stinger still ripped through his shoulder like it wasn’t made of metal. A spray of blood like mercury splattered across the landscape, and the scorponik’s tail lifted him high into the air before spinning around and throwing him aside.
After rolling across the ground, he came to a stop when he hit a particularly large boulder, cracking it with his weight and momentum. Flaring [Cambion’s Awakening], he climbed to his feet; however, the movement sent a wave of intense nausea rolling through his stomach. At the same time, dizziness enveloped his mind, and muted his senses as the poison’s effect reached a new level.
Letting out a roar, Zeke dragged more mana into his body, using the last vestiges of atmospheric corruption to fuel the demonic version of [Cambion’s Awakening]. It burned through him, eradicating the poison and scorching his soul in the process. However, it got him upright in time to meet the charging scorponik with mighty uppercut from Voromir.
The hammer took the creature in its face of fungi, sending it rocketing up in a flip that ended with the creature on its back. Zeke pounced, leaping high into the air and coming down with all the weight and force he could muster. The monster’s chitinous exterior cracked, and a puff of green mist erupted from the wound. Zeke held his breath, but just like the fog had, the mist seeped into his pores, where it was quickly eradicated by the burning corruption coursing through him.
But a little bit remained.
Zeke hit it again.
And again after that.
The monster squirmed and bucked, trying everything to right itself. But on its back, it had no leverage. More importantly, it couldn’t bring its massive claws or that dangerously venomous tail to bear. As such, Zeke’s assault was entirely unobstructed.
The only problem was that, even as he destroyed the scorponik, the clouds of poisonous mist grew ever denser. Eventually, it overcame even the demonic version of [Cambion’s Awakening], twisting Zeke into knots as his body was ravaged by the toxin.
Yet, he endured. As he always did, and in the end, he felt an influx of kill energy that was poor reward for the pain wracking his body.
He stumbled free of the monster’s corpse, forgetting even to loot the thing as he staggered toward the palace’s door. With every footfall, the toxic mist surged and swirled all around him. He fell to his knees, but still, he didn’t stop. Even Eveline was affected, and her thoughts were a tangle of frayed and unraveling threads.
Zeke dragged himself up the steps, his fingers digging into the moss-covered stone. [Cambion’s Awakening] still sang through him, though the minute amount of ambient corruption in the air had already been burned. Instead, it used earth attuned mana as fuel. It wasn’t as explosively effective, but it was steady and stoic against the tide of poison.
Finally, Zeke reached the door and grasping the ring that was its handle, he dragged himself upright. Once he did, he pulled it open. A wave of fresh air washed over him, and he stumbled through, taking deep, gasping breaths as the door closed behind him of its own accord.
The poison persisted, though, and still on his hands and knees, he vomited. What came out did not resemble food, though. Instead, it looked like pure mercury with silver clusters. The expulsion didn’t make him feel any better, though, and he knelt there for a long moment, as he attempted to settle his roiling stomach.
It didn’t work.
No matter how much mana he fed to [Cambion’s Awakening], it just wasn’t enough. So, marshalling his Path of Arcane Destruction, he concentrated on lacing the ability with only the tiniest bit of his Will. Pain the likes of which he’d never felt – even under the influence of the corrosive mana of the demon realm – lanced through him, but he refused to give in. Instead, he guided that destructive power, focusing using it to eradicate the poison.
That was moderately successful, and beneath all that pain, he felt the toxicity recede. He only managed to make a little progress before the agony overwhelmed his willpower, and he pushed his Path of Arcane Destruction away. That left his body ravaged, but he used [Cambion’s Awakening] to repair the damage he’d done. So, only a few minutes later, he was better off than he’d been when he stumbled through the door. The improvement in his condition was enough to allow him to take stock of his surroundings.
The interior of the palace looked nothing like what Zeke expected. Instead of a grand entry hall from which corridors would branch, the place was entirely hollow. The walls were lined with cracked columns, and the center of the space was dominated by a large dais.
A single mushroom, thin and topped by a yellow cap, stood next to it.
Zeke pushed himself to his feet, though his legs felt like jelly. It had been some time since he’d felt so weak, but he refused to let himself to surrender. So, seeing no other viable route, he lurched toward the raised platform. It was made of the same material as the rest of the interior, though the center glowed with iridescent light.
However, Zeke got a surprise when he finally drew within a few feet of the mushroom. One second, it looked like a normal fungi, but the next, it unfolded to reveal a thin but definitely humanoid form. Beneath its cap was a lined face.
Before Zeke could react to the sudden change, it spoke. “Ah,” it said, stretching its arms out wide as if it had just woken from a long nap. “A challenger. How novel.”
Zeke didn’t know how to respond to that, so he went with his gut by saying, “I am.”
“Good. Good. Do you understand your task?” it asked.
“I don’t,” Zeke admitted.
“Very well. You have three tests before you. The first is a trial of strength. The second, of endurance. And the final will test your wisdom. Complete them, and you will receive your reward, challenger. Be forewarned, though – these tests are cumulative, rather than completely individual.”
Zeke asked, “What does that mean?”
“It means that each step will carry with it the burden of the last,” the mushroom man said. “If you can survive, you will be rewarded. If not, your mana will fuel the dungeon like so many before you. Now, go. I can offer no more assistance.”
Zeke certainly wanted to know more, but aside from the clear mushroom man’s clear dismissal, he could still feel the toxicity rampaging through his body. That, along with the explanation already on offer, told him that he would get no reprieve until he conquered the dungeon.
So, he nodded to the guide and said, “Thank you for your assistance.”
Then, he stepped forward, climbed the handful of steps leading to the top of the dais, and strode into the iridescent light. Immediately, Zeke felt the telltale sensation of being teleported somewhere else, and then, suddenly he was falling.
He windmilled his arms, but thankfully, the fall only lasted a few seconds before he thudded into the ground. He lay there for a few seconds before finally looking up and seeing the task before him.