The distance from the arena to the desert wasn’t far, so I expected the tunnel created by the assaulting Scorpion Prince to lead directly there. It rapidly became clear that my vague estimation about the scope of the tunnels beneath the dungeon floor was way off. The first crossroad came quickly, with dozens of branching pathways soon making it hard to keep track of where we were underground. We had marked each turn, and using Tracking, I was confident it would be enough to return.
“Fucking stinks down here,” Merownis complained. I nodded apologetically. Whatever secretions scorpions made was distinctly unpleasant in the amounts being created. To my nose, it was a mixture of rot being covered up with an overwhelming antiseptic. I could only imagine how bad it was for the Sundercat. His predator’s nose was stuffed with some fur he had pulled from his chest with a grimace.
“Smells like home,” Naea sighed happily, not a care in the world. Merownis looked very much like he wanted to swipe at her, so I kept an eye on him. She was sitting on my head, after all.
“Home? I thought the dungeon was your home.” I tried to imagine wherever Naea might come from, originally. The tales which are named after her would say she lived in a mushroom or an old shoe. But no, she was a creation of the System like all the dungeon monsters. However, as with Merownis, there was a core to her being which existed before being confined here with me. Maybe she was from a giant mushroom colony with her insectoid brethren. So many bugs.
I suppressed a shiver as I imagined the arachnids scuttling about beneath me for days. I would be glad once we started the extermination. Except after nearly twenty minutes of careful stealth, all we had found was more tunnels. Thankfully, that was set to change at the single file width hole widening, the ceiling extending upwards before we stepped into a cavern.
I slammed my hand onto Merownis’ chest to stop him in his tracks. We were about to step into a large cavern, but I had received the tingle of analysis. We had been quiet, but I had a sinking feeling as I sent more energy into Manasight and accepted the cost to see what we were up against. The drain was immediate and sizable, alongside giving me a skill level to Manasight. It was a double-edged sword as my eyes gained even more clarity in the darkness.
Giant Scorpion - Level 14
Giant Red Scorpion - Level 19
Giant Ochre Scorpion - Level 16
Giant Scorpion - Level 13
Giant Black Scorpion - Level 18
My vision was covered in nameplates. As though my attention had awoken them, the scorpions started moving. The walls seemed to melt and the previous quiet was shattered by the falling chandelier sound of dozens, hundreds of scorpions clattering to the ground. I was glad the cost of analysis was sinking, though the dread threatened to overwhelm me just the same as if I had been sucked dry of mana. The floor began to shake with their approach. Merownis swiped a claw and cast the nearest scorpion back with a flash of mana. There were too many.
And yet.
If I kept taking steps back to prepare, I would never leave this place. I stepped forward instead, giving the Jingu Bang in my grasp all of my mana regeneration to fuel its own rhythm. “Get back.” The words sighed out of me as I took another step. The tigerman wisely listened and I swung the staff where he had been standing. The Jingu Bang asked for more and I gave it, the armament singing with excitement as it extended, doubling its length over and over until it scraped the far wall. With my chest, there was a roar. Despite the situation, I smiled. I was scared, but my magic and my weapon were not. It didn’t matter if I was afraid when my strength was so sure of itself.
From its standard length of around six feet, the Jingu Bang was now easily ten times that. Even without changing width, it was a lot. I was struggling to hold the weight, the already heavy wood was now many times more dense. Except… that was fine, wasn’t it? I had been carrying a weight this whole time, and in this moment, I could push back against it. The tide of the System’s approach was personified no more aptly than in this impending swarm. I imposed the System’s cruelty upon the horde and my fear became indignation. More, the staff demanded.
The staff wanted more than just my regeneration? Well, I had more to give. I flared Dragonburn to life, feeling the earthquakes and eruptions from the world inside of me as I tapped into the aspect’s power. Cracks and pores appeared on the dragon world as I demanded as much strength as I could receive. Into those deep crevices and bubbling lava flows I poured Spirit. My core, the celestial body, burst into vibrant light which burrowed into the dragon’s world. As the two power sources burned together, I took one final step. As I stamped with enough force to crack the hard earth beneath my foot, I scoffed. More, it had asked.
Heavy Blow, I answered.
The creaking of my bones couldn’t be heard over the whipping sound of the Jingu Bang slicing through the air at full extension. The pop of my wrist was clear even over the cacophonous, screeching stampede of scorpions when the first collision occurred. I shoved all the same, pouring well over one hundred mana into the swiping attack. The resistance from their bodies was enough to damage my arm, but not to stop the swing. The chaotic percussion of the scorpion’s bodies being shattered like china was bookended with the smash of the Jingu Bang against the wall to my left.
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The thunder of my attack rumbled for a long while, but I was barely cognizant. The river of experience flooding my core was almost overflowing, and it took conscious effort to make sure some of it didn’t spill out of the sides and get wasted. The possibility went from something I didn’t know could happen to one of my biggest fears in an instant. It was my experience, and I wanted it all. Thankfully, I didn’t have to struggle for long before I could focus again.
Merownis was scratching the back of his head as he looked at me and then back at the room full of twitching bodies. He had a few bodies around him, stragglers which had avoided my attack, I assumed. There were many, many more beyond him though. I smirked. The tidal wave had only been the ones which died on impact. The flow was much more manageable at the rest I had killed shuffled from their mortal coil one at a time. I enjoyed the feel of my vessel filling time and again as the levels came quickly.
“I think,” Merownis said through the mostly returned silence, “you can stay on as party leader.” His eyes were wide as he looked at the room and I laughed before swaying. I felt strangely disjointed from my rising attributes as the frigid feeling from lack of Spirit crept over my shoulders. It wasn’t as bad as the complete emptiness I had felt the first time, but it wasn’t pleasant.
Ding! Level up! +10 Attribute points! +3 Command, Strength, Recovery and Regeneration Attributes, +1 Power and Resilience Attributes!
…
Four levels in total. I almost squirmed at the idea of having forty free attribute points to spend. That was the equivalent of twenty levels without my achievements. A tiny burning what if chirped in my ear at the thought I could have chased some more power before gaining levels. I smashed it aside by reminding myself I had a built in achievement sensor in Spirit Well which hadn’t alerted me to any more chances to do so before now. I would be grateful for the increased strength and move on.
The gains didn’t stop there, however. Like a dying man in a drought being shown an oasis, I fell to my knees in reverence to the Spirit aimed my way by the System. That’s right, I thought, give me everything you’re willing and I’ll take what you won’t. My just-drained reservoir received a decent gulp of lining. Not enough to do that again, but enough I could move without stumbling. It was enough, and I was grateful. If anything, I was surprised at the vehemence of my greed when seeing the System’s energy. It was my thoughts but a little…
Draconic.
Distracting myself with the shiny reward screen, I looked at the prompt the System shared regarding my newest change.
Congratulations! Skill upgraded due to cohesion with your weapon!
Heavy Blow -> Serious Swing (Uncommon)
A novice knows a strike thrown with weight will do damage. A master knows that an attack meant to destroy is heavier.
My right arm buzzed pleasantly as the mana I had been feeding into the staff returned in a refined form. Somehow, the mana had been processed into Spirit, at least partially. The bundle of energy rushed to the bundle of patterns which made up Heavy Blow and shredded them. I watched on with mute horror as a portion of my ability was eviscerated. Before panic could arrive, the new skill pattern took its place, grabbing the old connections and rebinding them with gilded fastenings.
I had no idea what all of that looked like to Merownis, but his wide eyes weren’t leaving me in a rush. To ignore his staring, I quickly checked my Mana Skills window.
Mana Skills
Spirit Well (Max)
Unique
Mana Savant (Max)
Legendary
Serious Swing (Level 1)
Uncommon
Haste (Level 2)
Uncommon
Mana Bolt (Level 4)
Uncommon
Manasight (Level 4)
Common
Mana Shield (Level 2)
Common
Dragonburn (Level 1)
Rare
The changes were as expected. I hadn’t needed Mana Shield much in the tunnels so far, but we weren’t done. This was just one room after all. There was still plenty of caverns within which to gain skill levels. With my new skill, an obstacle had turned into a gold mine. With all of the additional stats I had just received…
“You ready to continue?” I asked Merownis. He gave me an insulted look and began walking forward. There were a few offshoot tunnels to go through, so we would likely have to double back unless we got lucky. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I was looking for down here. I tapped the bodies of the scorpions I passed but I didn’t go out of my way. Once more, the chitin took up a lot of space. I decided to ignore the common scorpions with no colour, which were actually a dull brown-grey while aiming for the colourful scorpions instead. “Okay, you can go for it, Naea.”
The fairy was salivating at the meal before her, which was like an all-you-can-eat lobster buffet in her eyes. “Oh god, the noises are going to echo!” Horrified, Merownis started to scramble away, picking up his pace. I chuckled, having already considered that. While I did catch the initial wood-chipper sounds of her meal, a few Mana Shields on the entrance made the tunnel we were in soundproof. I sighed, glad it had worked.
Then, I turned around and considered how strange my life was as I followed after the tigerman who was likely headed straight into danger. The Spirit Well I had been thinking of earlier hadn’t stopped tingling since my level ups. Focusing on the strange compass to strength inside of me, as well as maintaining the soundproof barrier between us and Naea, I caught up with Merownis and we carried on.