A boulder sat directly in the path ahead, covered in all sorts of glowing mushrooms. Most were green, giving the rock a mossy appearance. Owin stepped around the mushrooms, using the cave walls as support to avoid destroying any of the dim light.

Katalin barreled through behind him, kicking up the inert mushrooms and immediately causing the cave to become a bit darker. “Oops.”

She pointed left, directing Owin to a dead end where mushrooms grew across the floor. Some were as big as Owin, others were so small they looked like tiny blue dots spread across the ground.

A bristle worm slithered past. Its segmented body moved awkwardly like it was ready to separate into its different pieces.

“Is it a special one?” Owin asked. He used Examine, barely catching the tail of the mob.

Ocean Mob

Chaeta

Bristle Worm Prince

Level 25

“The bristle worm prince,” Katalin said.

“What’s a prince?”

“Go ask.”

That earned a deep laugh from Ernie.

Owin planned to only use the wands, but he didn’t know if bristle worms had a weakness, and if they did, what kind of damage it would be. There wasn’t anything obvious from what he could see. If the wands couldn’t manage, he could use a free Discharge, which could potentially kill all the segments at once.

“There’s another mob down here that has venom,” Ernie said. “Maybe keep a couple charges of your wands to be safe.”

Owin nodded. He wanted to start with both Ice Bolt and Arcane Blast, but he could test the spells before fully committing to using either wand. He could have a few seconds to react after shooting a spell where he could easily reach for a knife or two.

“There’s no way this worm is using luminous damage, right?” Owin asked.

“No. Uh, probably not. Why?” Katalin asked.

“My lich bone knife will break if it hits anything luminous.”

“It should be fine on this floor,” Ernie said.

“Yeah.” Katalin flattened his hair as she patted him on the head. “Shouldn’t be a problem. Stab away.”

Owin took a deep breath and strode forward. The cave floor between him and the bristle worm was barren, leaving it darker than the rest of the cave. Chaeta had noticed him and reared up. The hairs along the side of the worm wiggled in the water.

“What’s a prince?” Owin asked.

Chaeta didn’t respond. It didn’t seem like the worm had a way to make any noise.

“It’s the son of a king,” Katalin said.

“There’s a king worm somewhere?”

“Probably lower in the dungeon. Not on this floor,” Ernie said. He had climbed on top of the mushroom-covered boulder and sat. “Need this?” He waved the trident through the water.

“Not right now.” Owin turned his full attention to Chaeta, who had remained mostly stationary. The worm was nestled in the middle of all the glowing mushrooms with only a narrow opening through the cave. If he came toward Owin, he would be trapped, unable to turn around. But if Owin charged, Chaeta could use the small opening to block Owin and force him to get too close. Close enough to get stabbed with bristles. Chaeta opened his mouth, revealing the beak-like structure filled with teeth.

“He’s bigger than the other worm,” Owin said quietly. That meant when Cheata split, each section would be bigger too. Or there would be more sections. He didn’t know how it worked. Not that it mattered. He had fought specters, wights, liches, and plenty of enemies that had been far more terrifying than some water worm that couldn’t even use its venom on Owin.

It should be scared of him.

“Arcane Blast.” Purple swirled off the end of the wand and launched through the narrow pass, filling the cave with violet light. It crashed into Chaeta just below its mouth, causing the worm to reel back and shudder.

It was already splitting. Owin tensed, ready to charge in before it could split and overwhelm him when his wand caught his eye. Arcane Blast wasn’t the only spell.

He pointed the wand at the ground a few steps ahead and cast Magma Mine. Chaeta burst into six different bristle worms, all crawling over each other. He cast another Magma Mine just ahead of the first worm, leaving two traps the worms would have to pass before reaching him.

Journeyman Level Wand

Spells: Arcane Blast, Magma Mine

1/4 uses remaining for today

Note: Use of wand without charges will result in health drain

Note: Arcane Blast requires a verbal command

Owin put the wand into his belt and fetched the trident. “I have a brain.”

Both alchemists laughed as Owin turned back to the mobs. The worms were far more chaotic after splitting apart. They trampled over the mushrooms and crawled on top of one another until they all spotted Owin.

It took no time for them to rush forward, slithering through the water. The first one hit the first Magma Mine, which spewed molten rock into the water, obliterating the mob. The magma quickly cooled, forming a huge stone pillar that forced the worms to the side to slither around.

Five left.

“Ice Bolt.” Owin aimed the other wand at the narrow space between the newly-formed column and the cave wall where a section of Chaeta forced its way through. The magus spell caught the worm right in the mouth, shattering its beak. Cold blood poured from its face as it continued slithering. Another worm appeared right behind it, forcing its way through the cloud of blood.

The worms clung to the walls, even as high as the ceiling as they all charged him at once. Whether intentional or not, the five remaining worms were going to avoid his mine, which was his best weapon at the moment.

Fighting five at once, even if one was missing teeth, was too much. At best, he would be absolutely covered in bristles.

Owin chucked the trident. It left his fingers wrong, but it didn’t matter. He hadn’t aimed at a worm. The weapon flew over the mine, crashing into the stone. It wobbled for a second before falling. The shaft tapped the mine, triggering the trap.

A geyser of magma erupted, crashing against the ceiling where it decimated one worm. The molten rock quickly cooled and hardened into another column, which shifted in the slightly wider area before crashing to the side, pinning a worm to the side.

Three left. Three that could reach him, at least.

Owin grabbed his lich bone knife and jumped as one worm launched itself. He scored through its face, immediately killing the smaller section of Chaeta. “Ice Bolt,” he said, casting a spell at another section. It was the same one he had hit with the spell before, and this time, the chunk of ice was enough to crush its weakened head.

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The last section of Chaeta reared up, trying to look imposing and powerful in front of Owin. Meanwhile, its other sections were all dead or bleeding around it. Owin smiled. It should be scared of him.

“Ice Bolt.” The spell smashed into the exposed underbelly of the worm, causing the mob to fold in half. Owin closed the distance and drove the lich bone knife into its head.

“How did I do?” Owin asked, putting the knife and wand into his belt.

“Well.” Ernie grunted and stood from the boulder. “You blocked the whole damn passage.”

“Oh.” Owin looked back at the two magma columns. “Right.” He fetched the Thunderstrike Maul and used the heavy hammer to push aside the bristle worm corpses. There was enough room to the side of the cave in a little area to shove the corpses.

The final section of Chaeta, the one he had pinned to the wall, still slithered and snapped at Owin. He drew a knife, stabbed it in the head, and prepared to smash the column.

Swinging the hammer in the water felt like forcing it through a wall, but it was the best option he had for destroying a big pillar of stone. They couldn't reach the mushrooms or the chest while it was in the way, which would ruin the entire trip. He had gone through too much and tried too hard to fail now.

He wrapped both hands around the smooth metal shaft and lifted the hammer above his head. Owin closed his eyes and focused on the weight of the hammer head. It was difficult to swing, but he was strong. He had worked for his strength, even if the numbers had come from buffs.

He took a step and swung the hammer, smashing the first column with ease. It was tall but brittle. Rubble rained down, filling the water with dust. Owin stomped through and found the mangled trident on the ground. The prongs were still fine, but the end of the shaft had been melted and twisted in the magma. Owin tossed it through the small opening into the next room and smashed the next column, kicking the bit of stone that remained.

“Damn,” Katalin said. She closed her eyes and walked through the dust with her fingers sliding across the wall to guide her. She bumped into Owin and opened her eyes. “That’s one way to handle it.”

Ernie appeared out of the dust with his eyes squeezed shut. Katalin poked him in the forehead, signaling him to stop.

“Is this worth keeping?” Owin asked, picking up the trident.

Ernie took the trident and turned it over in his hands. He bashed the shaft against the wall, which made it curl more. “No.” He tossed it into the pile of rubble. “If you really liked it, you can get one in your next fight against Graliel.”

“It didn’t suit you anyway,” Katalin said.

Ernie spotted the collection of mushrooms in the corner and rushed over as fast as he could, which was agonizingly slow.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Owin asked.

“I’m not really used to pain,” Ernie said as he sat beside the mushrooms. “Health is stable, wound is . . .” He looked down at his abdomen. “Fine. It just hurts with every little movement.”

“Yeah.” Owin had plenty of pains at the moment, and he had plenty before. It was a sensation he had quickly grown used to through his various fights and battles.

Ernie ran his hand over one of the pink and green mushrooms. “Look at this beauty.” He carefully plucked it from the very base. “A gilled mushroom.”

The underside of the mushroom looked like gills, identical to the ones on the girhuma, cetanthro, or even the plain fish swimming around the first floor. They appeared to move and even open wider as if the mushroom was breathing.

“I’m glad we found some.”

“Just the first of five clusters.” Ernie went about carefully picking each one before placing them in his bag. There were about twenty clustered together growing in the crevice and along the edge of the wall.

Katalin grabbed an empty bottle from Ernie’s bag and set upon Chaeta’s corpse with Ernie’s plucking tool, pulling bristles out and carefully placing them in the bottle.

“Why are you getting those?” Owin asked.

“I think I can make a sleep dart bomb. Sleep shrapnel.” Katalin nodded to herself, muttering a few other possible names.

“Grab some of the flesh too,” Ernie said. “We can see if Althowin has any use for it.”

“Did you grab any of Baby Head?” Owin asked.

Ernie pulled out part of Baby Head’s leg.

“Oh. Gross.”

Ernie chuckled and continued collecting mushrooms. “Go check the chest. It’s all yours.”

The chest was nestled in its own crevice, almost hidden from the mushrooms’ light. Small mushrooms grew on top of the wood. Owin approached, took a deep breath, and pushed the lid back.

And there was nothing inside.

“It’s empty.”

“Impossible.” Ernie set his bag beside the mushrooms and slowly walked over. He leaned on Owin’s shoulder and peered inside. “No way.”

Katalin appeared on the other side with cold worm blood spilling into the water from a chunk of Chaeta she was holding. “There has to be something inside. Why don’t we have anything with light?” She gasped. “Wait!”

Owin and Ernie both turned to watch Katalin run to Ernie’s bag, drop the piece of Chaeta, find an empty bottle, then scramble to some of the glowing mushrooms. She poked a few, shifted some others to the side, and finally decided on a couple to pluck and shove inside the bottle. She shook it, causing them to break and lose their glow.

“Shit. Hold on.” She cupped it with both hands, one glowing yellow, the other glowing orange. Electricity raced through the bits of mushrooms as they spun inside the bottle, quickly regaining their glow. Katalin brought it over and held the bottle inside the dark chest. Inside was a simple black gem, no bigger than a pebble. No light reflected off the little item.

“No fucking way,” Katalin said as she started to laugh.

“What is it?” Owin asked.

“A void gem. One of the rarest things to find from a mob or in a chest.” Ernie squeezed Owin’s shoulder. “It’s a bit like a quest reward, giving you the option of anything at the rarity level of the floor.”

“So, artisan?”

“Right.”

Owin picked up the gem and held it in front of his face. It weighed nothing, making it feel like he wasn’t even holding anything.

Pick your reward

“It wants me to pick something, but usually it gives me a list.”

Ernie patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll have to figure this out on your own. I’ve never seen a void gem before. Those are one of the myths people tell.” He sat back down and continued collecting mushrooms.

Katalin went back to harvesting Chaeta, but left the glowing mushroom bottle beside Owin.

The words hovered in front of his vision. There were so many different directions he could go. So many different things he could do. An artisan buff gave 30 attribute points, which was undeniably helpful. Putting more points into strength, dexterity, or wisdom would benefit him greatly.

But . . .

“Could I get another piece of the armor set with this?”

“Hm. Yeah, I suppose,” Ernie said. “Are you sure you don’t want to get a buff or a new weapon?”

“I have enough weapons,” Owin said. He glanced over where the wrecked trident lay in the rubble. “For now.”

Owin tried to imagine himself in a full suit of armor like Artivan. It was impossible. He hardly even knew what he looked like, so all he did was imagine Artivan much shorter and with green skin. It wasn’t a good look.

“Would chest armor help me take less damage?”

“Yes, that’s what it’s for,” Ernie said. “And magical chitin armor will also block more magic than traditional metal armor.”

“Magical armor has weaknesses though,” Katalin said. “What are the crabs weak to?”

“Electricity,” Owin said.

Katalin pointed, splashing some worm blood into the water. “Exactly. So the more chitin you wear, the weaker you will be to electricity.”

“There are ways to overcome that type of weakness,” Ernie said. “Pieces of equipment specifically made to add resistance or to negate some specific damage. Plus, you don’t have enough chitin to make it a real concern right now.”

Katalin nodded slowly as she cut in another section of Chaeta. “I agree.” She tapped the side of her head, leaving a spot of worm blood. “It’s good to learn positives and negatives. Think ahead with that . . . brain?”

Owin smiled. “I think I have one.”

“Still up for debate,” Ernie said.

Owin sat down, still holding the void gem between his two fingers. “A full armor set is rare, but if I get it, I’ll be weaker to one type of damage?”

“Essentially yes.” Ernie plucked the last mushroom and shuffled things about in his bag. “Kat just wants you thinking about that kind of thing. We both noticed that protecting yourself isn’t really your first thought. Damage types are important.”

“Artivan talked a lot about that when we fought specters.”

“A good example.” Ernie handed his bag to Katalin, who started loading it with bristle worm ingredients. “I think your choice of a chitin breastplate is a great idea. It protects your vital organs and can give you another spot to take a hit if you can’t block or dodge. Kat?”

She shoved a few bottles into Ernie’s bag and wiped a little worm blood along the straps. “It’s a good idea. Fill out the rest of your armor when you get back to Atrevaar.”

Owin stared at the void gem and thought about the chitin breastplate. The gem vanished and was immediately replaced by a breastplate that was far too big for Owin. It slowly drifted down to his lap.

“Is the void gem gone?” Ernie asked.

“Yeah.” Owin took off his bag and belt, setting them both to the side. He pressed the breastplate to his chest and felt a tug as the chitin shrunk and latched on, forming sinew straps over his shoulders and along the sides. It took about a second for the armor to stop shifting. Owin hopped to his feet and stuck his arms out. “How do I look?”

“Almost like a hero,” Katalin said.

“I’ll give you more than that,” Ernie said. “It looks good.”

Owin put his bag strap back over his neck and tightened his belt until he could fit the knives and wands in their respective places. “What’s next?”

Katalin wiped her hands on the cave walls, trying to get the last of the worm blood from her fingers. Some still clung to her skin, especially under the nails. She frowned and rubbed her hands on Ernie’s shirt.

He didn’t even flinch as he adjusted his backpack. “The next batch is straight across. I think I can get there easily, but there is a potential risk. The wandering boss frequents the area, which is by the arches. I don’t know much of anything about the secrets you continue going on about, but I have to assume the damn arches are related to it in some way.”

“What’s the wandering boss?”

“A big fucking lizard,” Katalin said. “Is that an exaggeration?”

“No. It’s damn big.” Ernie peered around the bend. “Maybe we can just avoid it.”