Drake stabbed at the hand wrapped around her neck without pause; her alarm growing as she noticed even more Denizens coming from the opposing side of the pool. Only then did she notice there was a secondary shaft as another skeleton emerged.
“Well, that ain’t good…”
This denizen was far more dangerous looking than its previously defeated counterpart. The far more feminine body was slender and had veins visibly woven through its entire frame. The intricate system pulsed with a vibrant power; the lines seemingly consisting of the same liquified ruby that she’d first seen within the body of her first monstrous enemy.
The Denizen still had its hair, but the sight of the monster made Drake feel as if she was looking at an even more advanced version of the monster she’d just fought. She’d barely survived the previous engagement, and had no intentions of fighting more of the incoming monsters.
She stabbed and thrusted the spear point down on the wrist of the dead monster, chopping at the skeletal arm that still had her trapped with only one intention in mind.
We gotta get the fuck out of here!
Even as she worked however, she saw no exits in the darkness. The bones began to chip and crack, but not fast enough for Drake to feel safe with how many emerging monsters that had begun to swarm the cavern.
The female Denizen was only but a handful of yards away by the time she managed to sever the skeletal appendage. She dropped into the water with the hand still attached to her neck, spluttering as she swam toward Vanish.
She climbed out the water, and rushed toward Vanish’s head, scooping the boy up by his armpit, barely able to pull him along with her off hand until she managed to gain momentum, praying that the wet of his tunic would continue to slide easily across the stone flooring.
Holy fuck he’s heavy!
Drake started to drag the young man, pulling him further into the cavern. It was only then that she saw the line of runes that stretched in a straight line from the center of the cavern’s pool; quickly deciding to follow the only source of light within the area in a rush to escape.
The tremble that emanated throughout the room grew the farther she managed to pull Vanish; the only hope of finding an unrevealed exit being the slowly lighting runes at their feet.
She dragged Vanish for what felt like an eternity, sweat drenching her from head to toe. Drake’s back finally pressed up against a wall, making her look left and right to see if there were any openings to either side of her. She’d kept the increasing number of Denizens in her line of sight as she’d moved backward, and had only glanced over her shoulder to see where she headed a few times. Truly surprised by the cold surface as her back touched the stone.
“Well it seems our luck runs out here buddy, sorry I wasn’t strong enough to keep you safe,” whispered Drake,looking down at the unmoving Vanish.
Even though she was quickly able to resign herself to face her death again, she struggled to not let the eroding force that was fear lick the corners of her mind. The moment she spent facing the horde of monsters, she stopped breathing for a span of time that felt longer than the half day since the last time she’d seemingly been unable to overcome a perilous situation.
Hope filled her heart once more as a tinge of air brushed against the back of her neck. Her knees nearly went weak as she looked at the light that brightened at her feet, and she was somehow able to take a deep breath. Her mind racing at anticipation of what was to come.
She was even more surprised when the light shifted, crawling up the wall behind her. The light transformed and begun to bloom in a maze of spiraling characters behind her, making her crane her neck upward to see a straight line of runes, artfully carving up the wall behind her. The same wall she now knew was an extremely massive door, as the extremely large tribal sun that shown on the walls surface cracked down the middle.
“No way…!
The wall opened up to reveal a blistering sunlight. Drake froze at the sight of what could only be another world. Not even noticing as the hand that was clamped around her neck turned to dust and blew away in the vibrant breeze that blew into the cavern.
Beyond where she stood was a jungle unlike any she’d ever seen before. The trees were taller than skyscrapers; they were even larger than some mountains in fact. The longer her eyes took in the area, the more that was revealed to her.
There were vines that connected the trees, forming bridges seamlessly woven through the canopy above. Even more odd was the placement of the stone structures.
Black marble architecture was woven between the abnormally large plant life. Larger buildings used many of the trees branches like foundational platforms, spanning what could only be city blocks. While smaller structures sat nestled atop smaller branches, but Drake could tell that even these buildings would be considered high rises back on Earth.
The scale of the city before her shifted her belief at what was possible to build. Drake amazed by the use of nature, was easily able to analyze the ingenious way the city must have been built from the top down.
Her mind broke down the structures in an instant. The skill gained by her years of parkour and her need to plan climbing routes in places without steps or ladders.
The buildings showed a unique use of magic as science that made Drake feel as if the power of nature was belittled on Earth. Her mind lost pondering the what ifs of a nurtured natural environment, rather than an industrial society.
The leaves of the trees so large they seemed to be used as streets and walkways. The natural openings in the trunk of the trees formed to support tunnels that held what Drake could only assume were the equivalent of railways. White marble boxes with openings on either end speeding in every direction as moving vines pulled them from section to section.
Drake couldn’t help but marvel at the fountains she could see above the top of some of the trees. The fountains overflowing, causing a beautiful weave of waterfalls to gush down and around all the complex engineering and design.
She couldn’t understand how so much water could be produced by the fountains even as large as they were, until she looked skyward once more. There she found holes in midair, water spouting from what could only be dimensional tares feeding the fountains.
The only thing that surprised Drake more than what had been exposed to her was, what she saw when she looked back at the enemies she’d fled from.
All the Denizens stood at the edge of the half circle of light that bled in through the doorway’s opening. Their numbers had grown, and Drake couldn’t see the end of the mob that was now before her.
It was then that Drake realized that she’d frozen in the open doorway like a complete idiot. Cursing mentally at her ignorance until she heard a surprisingly stoic voice, drawing her mind from her thoughts, and back toward what was threatening her life.
“Nightfall will come Cultivator, and we shall be there,” said the Denizen at the front of the skeletal army. The obviously sentient woman pointed at drake. The skeleton’s finger seemingly pressing up against a barrier made of light, ripples emanating from the point of her finger at the edge of the darkness her and the other Denizens stood within.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Drake, pulling Vanish further into the light of the environment beyond; her curiosity triggering a scan of the Denizen that chuckled as Drake made her way inside the new area.
*Scan* - Monster -
Name: Valorant
Rank: Adept
Age: ???
Class: Undead Mother
Average Attribute Level: 3.0
Scan results - This is an undying Adept. Their rank is too high for your senses to understand any of their true capabilities.*
Woah…
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The doors began to close and Drake smirked, hoping that she’d never have to come across creatures with such high level disparities to her own again, but having a feeling that she was only beginning to experience a taste of how bad her situation would become. The feeling growing worse as the Notifications started to pop up, blurring her vision.
Def going to have to figure out how to change that, thought Drake as she blinked three times rapidly to bring up the notifications.
“Not like the notifications are any worse than me standing around like an idiot with an undead army at my back…”
She was mad at herself, and counted herself truly lucky after what she’d just survived.
This isn’t a game Drake, there are no cut scenes, you’re going to have to think on your feet more than ever before, Drake thought before she read her new pop ups.
*Notification* Updates -
Information condensed while under imminent threat.
Achievement Unlocked! - Unranked slayer of monsters, Epic -
You have somehow managed to slay a ranked monster even before gaining your first level. There are many degrees of this achievement but you managed to skip all minor forms, achieving the epic rarity first.
May your journey through Cultivation continue to be Mighty!
+ 0.3 Attribute points gained.
Bonus: All further attribute gains increased when killing opponents of a higher rank.
Welcome to Vivarium, land of the orphaned gods. You have entered a dungeon. This once civilization was sacrificed as a whole to create a training ground for the children of gods and Demi-gods. These lands are a growing dungeon fed by the realm above to support monsters between the ranks of Beginner, all the way up to the 11th rank, Ascended.
Warning - You will not only be tested by the formidable monsters within, you cannot leave until you yourself have reached the rank of Ascended. This means that any Cultivators or even those of higher ranks than Ascended within this dungeon may also be a threat before you are able to leave. Be careful child of Omni, for your powerful soul is reviled throughout all realms.*
Hmm. There is that name again. This is the second time I’ve been called a child of omni or whatever that means.
Drake reread the notifications a handful of times, making sure to slowly digest all the information she’d been given, finding it concerning that the notifications had still been condensed due to imminent threat.
Hoping there was a clue as to what her next move should be. She took a few moments to try and figure out how to use her Overlay. In the end only figuring out how to move certain aspects around.
“Maybe if I move the notifications panel to the corner of my vision they won’t block everything…?
She wouldn’t know if any of her changes were permanent until her next notification, but moved on, worrying over what may happen if she stayed in one place for too long.
Finding nothing of note in her immediate area, she looked around again, taking in more of the distant landscape.
She wanted to use the advantage her current position gave her, being atop a mountainside as she was currently.
She spun, taking in all directions one by one. Starting behind her was the doorway, perfectly situated on the mountainside. To her right was what seemed to be a vast ocean lined by red sand beaches. While to her left was a series of mountain ranges, rivers and lakes that all could be seen descending into the distance for as far as her eyes could see.
Finally she looked up and was shown the limits of her new world. Though the notification spoke about how the dungeon grew, the sky above was strangely split, showing a night sky and a daylight sky all at once.
Instead of the sky being as she was used to on Earth. The horizon above was vertical, giving an impression of night to her left and day to her right.
Even more strange, was the crystalline surface that could be seen down the middle of the separated sky. It was as if the ceiling was some sort of simulated picture.
Daytime created by the crystals above being filled with light projecting the imitation of what an atmosphere looked like. While night was made by a lack there of.
The impression of stars was even attained by pinpricks of light far in the distance to her left, while the effect of clouds and blue skies were made by a mixture of various colored light in the distance to her right.
Now that is going to take some getting used to.
Drake returned her gaze to the city she now could see was settled at the depths of a valley. Able to see more, edging down the path that curled down to the base of the mountain and straight toward the city. The jungle there was backed to one side by mountains, and closed in on the other side by and ocean.
Should I go there first? What if its just filled with high level monsters though…?
She couldn’t see any people or roaming monsters from where she stood, but was sure that was most likely because of the incredible distance between where she stood and the city she only then realized didn’t have a gate. A defensive feature she assumed all magical cities would possess.
Looking at the sky, Drake couldn’t tell how much daylight she had left, thinking of the warning given by the Denizen Adept. She momentarily wondered if they should stay atop the mountain, and see what happened with time; pondering the possibilities that she may be able to gain an understanding of what was abroad if she waited and watched.
She looked back at Vanish and knew as soon as she took in his sleeping form that she needed to make a decision quickly. Coming to the conclusion that if she didn’t find a safe place for the boy to recover, the monstrous environment detailed in the notification would lead to both of their deaths. His for being injured, and hers for trying to protect him while he was.
Looking around once more, she took in a small pathway that seemed to lead even higher up the mountain that she hadn’t seen before. Her years of playing video games told her to search every corner of the world she now found herself in. The thought to climb up the mountain rather than descend making her sigh.
Really Drake, climb a mountain while dragging a whole person around, what are you crazy… Never mind Drake, don’t answer that, your definitely crazy, your talking to yourself in your head girl…
“At least its not out loud right…”
It took Drake a long time to get the boy onto her back. She’d tried a fireman’s carry, a princess carry and eventually landed on a piggy back setup, ripping the boy’s sleeve’s off his tunic to tie them together, finding the boy’s clothes surprisingly durable, needing the broken spear tip to puncture a large enough whole to start.
She would have used the cloth belts that was wrapped around both her and Vanish’s tunics, but could tell easily that the belts were the only object keeping the pair from experiencing their pants around their ankles, rather than at their waists as they currently were.
She sat between his legs, using his arms to pull him up, first tying their necks together, then tied their wastes together. The struggle to do so with one working hand was interesting.
The activity took a large amount of trial and error, but she ended up using both her teeth and the crease of her elbow to get the knots tight. She was honestly proud of herself by the time she was done.
“Wow this is taking way too long Drake, come on woman, pick up the pace.”
She’d thought her accomplishment crafty and skillfully done, until it took her an untold amount of time to get on her feet; glad that she’d thought to tuck her broken spear in the folds of her own tunic and cloth belt.
She had to use every bit of flexibility her new body was capable of to get her feet tucked beneath herself, performing a sweat inducing stand, after failing to remained balanced an embarrassingly abundant amount of times.
Once she was upright, she cheered in celebration, until she took a few steps and heard Vanish’s feet drag along the rocky surface of the ground below and sighed.
Then began her use of the sleeves of her own tunic. SHe’d had to lean Vanish’s back up against the mountainside. There she managed to cut off her own sleeves, nearly stabbing Vanish in the shoulder as she struggled to cut off her left sleeve with her off hand.
Holding one sleeve between her teeth, she formed a loop out of the other batch of cloth, and used her own leg to force Vanish to bend his leg on the same side; dexterously tucking her ankle beneath his own, pulling his leg upward with a sort of eccentric high knee, bringing her foot up toward her rear.
She then used the folded cloth to wrap around his bent leg, and once again struggled to tighten her knot. She had to do a standing crunch to get one end of the cloth in her mouth, hoping she wasn’t hurting Vanish each time she bent, thus forcing his tied form to bend as well.
I really hope we can find a miracle like health potion option for you buddy.
She almost fell over numerous times,, cheering even louder once she managed to get both of his legs off the ground.
Ugh,i’m fucking exhausted and I haven’t even started to climb, groaned Drake.
She looked back at the world abroad,, and then up the mountain path, slapping herself on the cheek as she began her climb, feeling as if she could the feint sound of cheers in the background.
“Here goes nothing…”
…
Aurora was baffled beyond believe. SHe’d received an identical notification once she’d been pulled into the dungeon alongside her charge.
Since she was a child she’d had the land of the demons described to her countless times. It was supposed to be a land of pure darkness. Plains mixed with fire and immeasurable frost. A land with endless chaos and destruction. A place built to torture the minds and souls of those undeserving of the maiden’s light and love.
How could this be? How could any of this be real?
Her mind flickered between what she was taught and the reality of what she’d now been shown. The realization of what her world truly was, making her mentally sick to think about.
We are nothing but food to feed a training ground for the children of gods…
The demons were real, at least that was true, but Aurora had a feeling that even their presence in the depths of the abyss they’d barely managed to escape, was more likely to guard this godly secret than anything else.
Further more, the demons were even more likely a test to see the worthiness of the Godlings that were sent here to train. As Aurora’s senses showed her two details that her charge more than likely missed.
One, was the black energy that left the body of the Denizen that she’d managed to kill. The energy seemed to want to travel toward the shafts from which the Denizens had risen from, but had instead been consumed by a vortex that swirled to life at the boy’s solar plexus. While secondly was where the light that filled the heart and brain of the Denizen vanished to.
Aurora had watched the crimson light flow to the ceiling incredibly far above, lighting the largest and most intricate rune she’d ever seen. The light stored in a crystal latticework that formed a sideways hourglass above.
It wasn’t until this rune lit entirely that the door to the dungeon opened, and Aurora doubted that her charge got the same achievement she was rewarded once she lay her eyes upon the spectacle shining down on the mayhem of clambering bodies below where it was located.
*Achievement Unlocked* - Tongues of Celestials -
You have witness a rune so powerful that you have been gifted the basic understanding of the language spoken by Titans. This language is known to be able to shift reality, distort time & space. Or even create without the use of mana, physical resources, or even sacrifice of any kind.
Warning - using this languages power without the utmost experience and understanding can lead to forces beyond your scope and scale seeking you out in an effort to take this knowledge from you. Or keep the secret that is the delicate balance of power upheld by the gods to keep mortals from rising beyond the limits of their chained souls.
Skill Unlocked - Basic Matter Manipulation -
Through the use of the Celestial rune you have beheld, you can use the natural elements around you to create, distort and even destroy matter.*
She read the skill and achievement dozens of times, but had no idea how to use the skill. Skill training began once they were unlocked within a Cultivator’s Overlay. Any and all information on the topic kept a secret until then.
She was more surprised to see that she could even gain skills after death. Which made her wonder even more if she’d truly even died.
Though she wanted to begin practicing with her skill as soon as possible, Aurora felt that she had far more important matters to accomplish first. The number one goal being, figuring out how to speak to her charge.
She believed she’d accomplished it already, sensing that the connection between her and the Traveler had been heightened during the brief periods of unconsciousness, making Aurora wonder if her ability to communicate was restricted by a lack of her own power, understanding, or both.
She floated beside the girl she learned was named Drake, listening to the Traveler speak to herself during her struggle to secure the boy she’d saved onto her back.
Aurora talked during the entire process, finding herself cheering as Drake did. She was impressed by the girl’s ingenuity, and even more blown away with her dedication to a boy she didn’t know.
Is this what real honor looks like…?
Aurora felt herself wanting to change watching Drake. Become a being worthy of the person she now found herself tied to through circumstance.
The power within her linked them in a way that she’d never felt connected to anyone. Not even her siblings or parents.
Part of her felt that she should be angry at having her body stolen, yet she couldn’t manage to follow the series of thoughts for very long without her mind pointing out details that she could not ignore.
Firstly, she’d committed suicide. Yes she’d been wronged by her family and the church, but before she could meet a dire fate, she’d tried to give up on her own life completely, regardless of what ended up occurring.
Secondly, was the sense of purpose that now thrummed through her. Her every thought was that of something she felt she may be able to do if she managed to figure out how to speak to Drake, finding herself wanting to help more and more with every task the Traveler chose to undertake and eventually accomplished through a strength of will and pure tenacity.
Finally, was an urge to learn the truth that she’d been lied to about since her birth. She needed to know the secrets of her realm. The what and why of every person or being that controlled the lives of those around her.
With these details in mind, she’d decided even without knowing she had made any type of choice. She would follow Drake to the ends of the realm and back, and become the best guide through her homeland that she could be.
Now… the hard part begins…