"Anyone else picking up unusual rewards?"

Preece's question brought Lowe out of his reverie. He was staring at his hands, trying to stop them from shaking, and he didn't think that was just because of Roll with the Punches working overtime to heal his skin. The Corrupt Fenrir was hardly the first life he had taken - but then again, was it even a life? He wasn't wholly sure of the status of the creatures a Dungeon generated. Latham had said they were constructs of pure mana, no more alive than a reflection in a mirror, but right now, Lowe wasn't so sure about that. He'd been forced to look into that wolf's eyes as the blaze had consumed it, and he didn't think he'd simply watched a mana construct splutter and die.

"I don't know what you mean. I didn't get anything," Gral said.

"Shocking. And you did so much to help, after all. You should sue!"

"I think not, my dear Inspector. You know the old saying, A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client. I would imagine that, being the same level as that poor animal, my XP gains were substantially less than the rest of you. Why, at his underdeveloped level, Mr Preece probably has never seen so many gains in one go in his life."

"I wasn't always a , Gral!"

"And we will not always be in this Dungeon, Preece. I would recommend you watch your tone."

"Can everyone just be quiet for a moment!" Karolen said, eyes unfocused as she checked her own stat sheet. "Lowe, are you seeing this?"

Lowe brought up his Core sheet and frowned. "What the fuck is a Remnant when it is at home?"

Preece shook his head. "No idea. I've not seen anything like it before. As . . . Mister Gral said, I would have expected a fairly substantial XP surge from that fight. But all I got was a 'Remnant of Memory'."

Karolen snorted. "'Remnant of Skill' for me. Lowe?"

Lowe looked at the strange notification flashing on the corner of his Core. He had long become used to his stats sheet looking a touch unusual. In the year since losing his Class, he'd avoided looking at it at all, so depressed did it make him. Even after being power levelled by Latham and with all the weirdness that Essence Transmutation Theory had wrought on him, he still found himself scared to contemplate it too much. But it would be hard to miss the red glow that blinked in the top right corner now. He mentally pressed down on it, and its name became apparent. Remnant of Essence.

"Preece, this is your area of expertise . . . "

"As I said, I've never seen anything like it before!"

Lowe narrowed his eyes. There was something about the tone of the voice that suggested he knew more than he was saying. 'Look, I don't need it to stand up in the Middle Court. But if you have any ideas, now would be a good time to share. I did just burn myself alive to save your arse."

Preece wiped a hand over his face. "Look, at best I'm just going to be guessing, right?"

"Understood."

"This is a new Dungeon, right? But we think it's based on the Dungeon Core from the exhausted one on the outskirts of Soar."

"Okay . . . " Karolen had moved to stand next to Lowe, her eyes scanning the corridor for sign of any other monsters.

"So, we don't really know where Dungeon's get the XP they reward delvers with. But as most of them are so ancient, it's widely theorised that they are simply focal points for recycling energy from those that die in their completion. You know, real 'circle of life' stuff. Power from the fallen is taken and then given back to those who are successful."

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Right." Lowe had never heard this before, but both the and Gral were nodding sagely along so it was obviously hardly secret sauce stuff. "How's that linked to these . . . these Remnants?"

"This is just a theory, right?"

"Fucking hell, Preece!"

"Sorry, I've just got used to Director Nuroon needing every i and t dotted and crossed before saying anything. Right. So, we think this Dungeon has manifested from an exhausted Core? That means it probably does not have any spare XP sloshing around as rewards. I mean, once everyone who was working here when it changed is dead, that situation might change, but right now, I'd guess it might be running on empty."

"So, Remnants?"

Preece shrugged. "I could be wrong, but if I were a betting man, I'd say they're probably fragments of past delvers. Mine is sitting above my Core, so it has to be a temporary effect rather than anything permanent like a new Skill or an XP gain. I reckon they will be unique abilities that don't directly affect core stats like Strength or Dexterity but offer creative and situational advantages. You know what, fuck it." At that, Preece's eyes unfocused, and a yellow glow infused his body.

"Ha. Nice to be right on occasion. Maybe I'm not such a lousy after all. So, a Remnant of Memory is a fragment of knowledge left behind by someone long dead. I've got a couple of choices here for what I turn this one into - what's your pleasure?"

"What are the options?" Lowe was itching to check out what his own Remnant would give him but sensed that, having bullied Preece into his explanation, that might be viewed as a touch rude.

"I can either 'unlock secret passages that aren’t visible to regular perception', 'grant hints to counter specific traps or bosses' or 'reveal past mistakes made by previous adventurers, giving the delver foresight into upcoming challenges.'"

"Traps," Karolen and Lowe said together.

"Sold." The light around Preece increased, then abruptly faded. "Cool. So, everyone should take two quick steps to the right." He smirked as they did so. "Just kidding."

"Hilarious. So it didn't work?" Karolen asked.

"Oh, no, I think it is working fine. I'm having, for example, the very strong inclination that we take the middle corridor in the branch ahead. Try your own."

"I must say, it does seem rather unfair that you three are getting all sorts of new abilities whereas I, who am in no less danger than the rest of you . . . "

"My heart is bleeding," Karolen interrupted. Her own body glowed a neon pink as she accessed her own Remnant. "Hmmm, nothing so useful as a spot trap ability. Of the options, I think I'll grab the third one. 'A half-formed teleportation ability, allowing a short-range blink movement, but only in areas of deep shadow." I guess that might help?"

"If you think that is best." Lowe hardly felt qualified to advise on such things. It certainly couldn't hurt the rest of their time in the Dungeon for her to have something that made her a touch more deadly in the shadows.

Interested in the properties of his own Remnant, Lowe touched on the deep red shadow above his core.

<<<

* Essence of Giant’s Wrath: Increases physical strength by 50% for ten minutes, but during that time, your body grows unwieldy, reducing Dexterity.

* Essence of Silent Thought: Sharply increases Intelligence and Mana regeneration for five minutes, but during that time, you are unable to speak, communicate telepathically, or use vocal spells.

* Essence of Spectral Veil: Temporarily grants partial invisibility, but only if you're standing still and breathing slowly. >>>>

Well, thought Lowe, that was something of a shit sandwich. Each of those abilities could be temporarily helpful, but also had severe limitations. He didn't think there would be much benefit in the extra strength. Slugger already gave him a pretty powerful punch, and dropping his Dexterity would hardly make that more likely to land. Likewise, as he was acting as the tank for his group, he didn't think being able to temporarily go invisible would be all that endearing to those he left exposed. And Arebella had always said she went for the strong, silent type . . . Essence of Silent Thought it is, then.

"Well, if we are all finished luxuriating in our gains, perhaps we can move on?" Gral drawled when the red glow around Lowe faded. "I'm sure the next thing urgent to kill us is just around the next corner."

"Sure. I'm going to go quiet for a moment, though. Don't mind me. Just trying something out." It occurred to Lowe that 'sharply' increasing an Intelligence that was already - effectively - Level 50 was likely to be pretty illuminating. With Silent Thought sharpening his mind, he was about to think a whole lot clearer—and not just about the Dungeon. There was a lot more to figure out. Like how in Soar they’d ended up here in the first place, and who had been pulling the strings.