Chapter 349 - Hubris VI

109833 - 2 - 3 - 7

Dear Diary,

We’ve finally managed to make our way through Zarkaahn. Lina reached level 250 and ascended again. She levels so quick that it’s just plain unfair. I’m working just as hard, but my racial level is still stuck at 80. Master says that’s plenty impressive already, for a ten-year-old, but I’m not so sure. Lina and I are literally twins!

I’ll just have to try harder. At least I’m good at enraging! Master says it’s the one place where I have my sister beat. She tries not to use it if she can because she’s not all that great at staying in control, even though Master always says it’s the most important part.

Lia

___

Though the bazaar was the city’s main attraction, the dungeon was certainly not losing by far. There were large swaths of people gathered by the dock, with merchants once again making up the grand majority. They peddled food, weapons, camping sets, and all sorts of other supplies to the adventurers lined up by the water’s edge. There was even a warehousing and stable service, with which the group entrusted their wagon and pack turtles.

None of the parties heading into or emerging from the lake were geared for underwater combat. Most had hiking boots and filled their luggage with tents and bundles of clothes sure to weigh them down in water. It was fortunate then that the boatmen were able to keep them out of it. Like everyone else who lived in the city of Karlsborg, their transport took the form of insects. Specifically, they piloted massive water striders. And it was on the backs of those ten-meter-long creatures that the parties were delivered.

There was a surprising variety when it came to the dungeon’s spelunkers. Some were fresh blood, sporting poorly crafted gear and carrying themselves without any of the confidence, skill, and experience delivered by their peers. But while there were greenhorns, so too were there seasoned veterans that ranked among the nation’s finest. The reason was quite simple. Karlsborg’s dungeon was one of Skarnia’s deepest. It had a few hundred floors with a slight jump in power between each. According to Griselda, even Claire’s party would be challenged by the creatures encountered on the lower levels.

Some of the more powerful groups in line were not too different from theirs. Krail scrutinized their members with his elven eyes and determined that there were many others above the five-hundred mark, the largest group of which was dressed to the nines in sparkling steel. They earned looks from people all around them, some curious, others jealous or perhaps admiring.

It was difficult to determine the extent of their strength from a few quick glances alone, but there was a chance that they would be competing for prey on the lower floors. Even in such a case, Claire was confident that the brigade would come out on top with or without her assistance. The only deadweight they had was Chloe, seeing as how she was the only one without her third ascension.

The maid spun around, almost as if sensing the rude thought, but Claire ignored her and continued towards the back of the line. They could have easily skipped it if their members rode on her back, and some of them were even eyeing her with expectation, but she met their gazes with silent refusal. She did admit that she was wasting their time—they wound up spending nearly an hour waiting for a boat to be made available—but her pride was far more important than whatever goal it was that lay ahead.

In the first place, she didn’t think much of the ticking clock. She had every intention of facing the incoming army head-on, but she had a few contingencies in place in case the others weren’t ready. Pollux’s army would have to go spelunking to find them if they remained within the dungeon, and a simple portal could return them to the surface at a moment’s notice, leaving the troops trapped inside. It would take an unreasonable amount of time for them to search the dungeon and confirm that their targets were missing before backing out and giving chase again. A mere hour or two was nothing.

Being completely new to the area, the party did earn a few stares by waiting in line, but few lingered for long enough to rouse suspicion. The three that did were all fixed on Chloe, who uncomfortably shuffled around in hopes of staying hidden.

Upon reaching the front of the line and subsequently boarding one of the giant bugs, Claire was surprised to find the water with a strange property. It reflected the surroundings when observed from an angle, but looking at it from directly overhead revealed its surprising verticality. Even by the shore, the waters were ten meters deep. They were filled with fish and freshwater plesiosaurs, lazily swimming around and ignoring the creatures up above them.

A large bubble emerged from the insect’s back and enveloped its passengers soon after they boarded. And then, following a command from its driver, it dove beneath the waves and into the watery depths.

Looking up at the fox sitting on her head, Claire twisted her lips into a smirk, a knowing, undeniable smirk that the pet tried her best not to see.

“Don’t say it! Don’t even think about saying it!” she huffed, before any words could leave the lyrkress’ mouth.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The moose innocently tilted her head, which in turn, prompted the angry fox to pull on her cheeks. The role reversal had Arciel laughing, but no one else even seemed to notice. The party’s eyes were focused on their surroundings, specifically, the ruins that lay at the bottom of the lake.

Gathered around the dungeon’s spiralling entrance were a series of ancient stones. They were covered in glowing runes that shimmered with a deep, yellow shade. It was almost like they were arranged to form buildings, but they were too long gone to say for certain.

There wasn’t any time to comment on the scenery, however, as they soon reached a point where the whirlpool’s pull was present. The bug responsible for their transport peeled the bubble off of its back and pushed it towards the vortex. A few seconds of spinning later, they were swallowed right up.

Having grown more sensitive to vectors, Claire found the whole ordeal to be somewhat strange. The method of teleportation was peculiar, completely different from anything she constructed for herself. The gates that she had learned to make from Sylvia were wrinkles in spacetime, distortions that connected two points so that they could be freely navigated between.

The dungeon’s portal was more of a hole. Everything fell through and a strange force she allegedly lacked the necessary permissions to identify separated out the various entrants and placed them back on the world’s canvas.

Log Entry 850561

You have entered Karlsborg Alpha. Some of the monsters that lurk within this dungeon may prove challenging.

Whatever the case, the end result was the same. The outside world was gone, replaced by the dungeon’s scenery. Considering the amount of water by its doorway, the interior was impossibly dry. They were located in a massive field whose rolling hills extended as far as the eye could see. The accompanying grasses were green, so beautifully green that she almost felt the urge to eat them, but the ascended moose refrained. They were far too filthy, given the number of adventurers out and about.

Most of the fighters on the first floor were still far from their first ascensions, and the monsters—flightless birds, for the most part—were weak enough to wind up defeated regardless. If anything caught her attention, it was the sheer extent to which the field was open. There was nowhere to hide. The grass was short, not even reaching her knees, and the hills were small enough that one could easily see over them by taking to the air.

Going between the floors changed nothing. In fact, the layout remained identical even after ten floors of progress. The only benefit was that the boss was always placed in the same position—and that it was always either dead or dying. There was even a queue, wherein parties would take turns waiting to defeat it and harvest the accompanying materials.

“Uhhh… is it just me, or is this dungeon kinda boring?” asked Sylvia, as they entered the seventeenth floor. “Are you sure this is the right one?”

“I have no doubts,” said Arciel. “We need only to seek a greater depth.”

“I know the monsters are getting stronger, but exploring it sucks. The god who made this is even lazier than the god that made the dungeon Melly used to live in. Aren’t they normally supposed to put in some effort at least?”

“It was probably the god of trade that installed it,” said Jules. “Lohor doesn’t give a shit how his dungeons look. All he cares about is whether they generate value.”

“Oh, come on! That’s so boring,” complained Sylvia. “Dungeons are supposed to be fun!”

“Some of them are made that way, but clearly, this isn’t one of them,” said the clam. “And it’s not hard to see why, even if you are on the dumber side.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“It means that the god that made this dungeon tried his damn best to make it stable. So, you know, the city outside wouldn’t get overrun if shit hit the fan.”

“That’s not really what I was asking,” pouted the fox. “Plus, wouldn’t they be able to get more value out of it if people actually enjoyed diving into it? More fun means more adventurers, which means more profit, right?”

“Normal people don’t enjoy diving into dungeons,” said the clam. “It’s meant to be a job, and a gruelling one where you put your life on the line. Look, it really doesn’t take much to put two and two together. The people that live here are aspiring merchants, not wannabe adventurers. Any adventuring they do is just a way for them to load up their wallets so they can get their businesses up and running. It’s just a convenient means to an end that happens to have a whole economy built up around it. It’s that fucking simple.”

“Yeah, but no one’s going to come if the dungeon is this boring, right guys?” Sylvia turned to the rest of the party and found herself sorely disappointed. None of its members were nodding or otherwise affirming her claim.

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“Negative,” said Sophia. “I do not think it matters.”

“The layout being identical makes it really easy to navigate,” said Chloe. “And it’s not like each floor is all that big to begin with. I don’t really think it’s a problem.”

“Could argue that it’s a pain in the neck to go deeper, but that’s just how these things go,” said Ace.

“You guys suck.” bemoaned the fox. “It matters lots, right Claire?”

“Not really. As long as there’s experience to be gained.”

“What the heck!? You’re supposed to agree with me, you stupid traitor!”

The group continued to idly chat as they headed deeper and deeper into the dungeon. They had managed to reach the ninety-seventh floor by the time night fell, the monsters on which were roughly level three hundred. There weren’t quite as many adventurers so far down the rabbit hole, and the few who were present generally did their best to spread out so as not to encroach on each other’s domain.

Though it was certainly late enough for the brigade to throw up its own tents, they only continued to move from floor to floor. Even for those without night vision, it was surprisingly easy to see through the darkness. The stars were bright, the moon was brighter, and the plains were filled with glowing bugs. Adding further to the already impressive illumination were bright white flowers, whose glimmering petals had only unfurled after the sun had set.

If there were a reason to make camp, then it surely would have been the group’s exhaustion, but Sylvia was the only one to show any signs of lethargy. The day’s march had been more relaxing than usual. Most of their steps were walked on a gentle, downward slope, and they had even taken a solid break to explore the city and search for serviceable wares.

They had come out of that particular process with a set of surprisingly decent finds. Ace had found himself a new sword, made of a steel alloy more robust than his previous blade, and Lana had acquired an axe that was twelve times the weight of her body. It wasn’t particularly fancy, like the weapon that she had wielded as a pirate, but its weight paired perfectly with the extent to which her strength had blossomed. She just needed some practice to grow accustomed to the way it balanced.

But as far as weapons went, none were quite as eye-catching as the sentient pair out and about. They more or less followed after their master, but so too did they deviate from her path. They wandered around the plains haphazardly, doing whatever it was they pleased. On occasion, the behaviour would get them chased or attacked, sometimes by adventurers who thought them rare prey, and other times by the monsters they played with or otherwise harassed. Claire wasn’t watching too carefully, but the knife-footed, fire-breathing chickens on the ninety-ninth floor hadn’t exactly seemed to like it when Boris flattened their nests in an effort to win a game of tag.

Though the fleshless pair certainly enjoyed the expedition more than any of the other members, even they had highs and lows, with a low coincidentally hitting right as they finally made camp.

The caldriess reached into her bag as they stopped and checked the wooden pocket watch that had come with Lia’s diary. It was half past nine, a solid three hours later than the time they normally made camp. Feeling bored enough to help with the setup, Claire magically set the girls’ tent in position and hammered the stakes into the ground.

They had made it through another forty-odd floors since the sun had set—she had stopped keeping count at the three-digit mark—and finally arrived at one that was empty. They even had to kill the boss at the end of the previous map for the portal to open.

Like the monsters in the area around it, its level was still in the mid-four-hundred range, so she had thrown Chloe into its pit and forced her to kill it solo. Jules, who considered the maid to be a civilian, had readily voiced his disapproval, but everything turned out fine in the end.

One quick meal later and Claire was left by her lonesome, standing guard around the fire while the others slept the night away. Her pets were the only ones with her. Sylvia was asleep on her head, two Borises were sitting in her lap, and even the spider was settled on her shoulder. Of course, there were more than two Borises present. There were four around the fire and another dozen or so still hovering around in Vel’khan.

Without much else to do—the monsters were too scared of her to draw near—she decided to review her status.

___

Claire Augustus

Health: 1328242/1328242

Mana: 10005720/10005720

Divinity: 279638/279638

Health Regen: 330.3/second

Mana Regen: 2618.1/second

Divinity Regen: 7.76/second

Ability Scores [x1.07] - 113998 Points Available

- Agility: 50406

- Dexterity: 76759

- Spirit: 29685

- Strength: 99141

- Vitality: 28451

- Wisdom: 88740

Racial Class: Caldriess - Level 596.64

- Cataclysm Convergence - Level 276.52

- Realm of Eternal Frost

- True Ice Manipulation - Level 200.53

Titular Class: Witch of the Seventh Tempest - Level 24.80

- Catgirl Affinity - Level 25

- Essence Manipulation - 236.01

- Heavenly Annihilation

- Spirit Sorcery - Level 92.74

Unclassed Skills

- Artifact Manipulation - Level 15

- Cadrian Court Etiquette - Level 25

- Digging - Level 7.71

- English - Level 25

- Fishing - Level 16.50

- Llystletein Authority++ - Level 34.63

- Marish - Level 19.82

- Napping - Level 30.94

- Singing - Level 43.41

- Sneaking - Level 28.15

- Weapon Mastery - Level 267.68

___

The numbers had changed significantly since she asked for her father’s help, but she couldn’t help but feel that they were still lacking. She wasn’t going to be the only one to have answered Vella’s call. There were surely a few among the inbound troops that had done the same.

Moreover, even with the additional modifier, she felt like the more powerful soldiers would have her numbers blown out of the water. She didn’t know how strong Pollux’s men were exactly, but Durham’s ability score total had been well into the millions. She would have to rely on her class-specific skills to make up the difference.

Cataclysm Convergence

This ability would provide a source of infinite energy, as well as an accompanying sinkhole of infinite destruction, but you apparently lacked the brain function to deduce that drinking Alfred’s brew would have lasting side effects. While its outlandish functions are temporarily disabled, it does still provide you with a series of traits innate to your bastardized form.

Effects

- You may freely shift between your various forms.

- You are highly resistant to heat, cold, and electricity.

- You may imbue all attacks with destructive attributes.

- You are immune to life, mana, and energy-draining effects.

- You are capable of deflecting projectiles with your limbs and appendages.

- Your skeleton, made of true ice, functions as a source of raw elemental power.

- Your mystic eyes are capable of inflicting paralysis, madness, and destruction.

- In combat, your ability scores will be increased proportionally to the amount of havoc wreaked.

- Your physical attacks are imbued with the power of true ice. The damage you deal is increased, especially against those susceptible to the cold.

Additional effects are to be added upon your body’s restoration.

Catgirl Affinity

Catgirls find you irresistible. Looking upon you drives them to madness, even though there is little of note to be observed. The opposite is true as well, however, it appears that your trauma is serving you well, for once, as the memory of a specific catgirl keeps these side effects at bay.

Effects

- Your eyes’ telescopic effects are enhanced.

- You are capable of seeing catgirls through any number of objects.

- You are capable of tracking prey within the maximum range of your vision.

- The clothes that catgirls wear are invisible to you, save for when you seek to remove them.

The solution to the catgirl problem had been long desired. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but pause as she read through its justification for the thousandth time. It wasn’t the solution she wanted.

Essence Manipulation

Your body is just as despicable as your degenerate mind. The gods wish for nothing to do with you and insist that you keep your prying fingers to yourself. Perhaps it may be worth ridding yourself of your catgirl fetish if you do not wish to appear to Flitzegarde as a woman as disgusting as a frog.

Effects

- You are capable of seeing and touching souls.

- Your attacks leech health, mana, and divinity from your targets.

- You may drain a significant amount of health, mana, and divinity from any target with which you are making direct contact.

Heavenly Annihilation

Did you know that mass extinction events are bad? Evidently, the answer is a resounding “no.” Please be aware that, while the system does reward murder, ecocide and genocide are generally frowned upon. Of course, you would know this if you had any semblance of common sense, but you are so blind that you are unable to differentiate between an acceptable action and a war crime unless explicitly instructed.

Effects

- You are capable of launching an orbital strike that bypasses the Planetary Defence System.

- Orbital strikes that you imbue with divinity leave cursed wounds. Cursed wounds cannot be healed unless they are purified.

Additional effects are to be added upon your body’s restoration.

Many of their functions were still restricted. Though technically usable, not even everything listed could technically be used. Case in point, her sight-based spells. Her magic circuits were so damaged that trying to inflict madness and destruction would cause her eyes to explode right out of their sockets. And even then, there was a fair chance that the associated magic wouldn’t go off. She had only managed to get destruction to work one of the twenty-odd times she tried it. She could always open more eyes, of course, but it wasn’t exactly the most pleasant or worthwhile experience.

She still needed more power.

Sighing, Claire pulled her fox closer to her chest and started toying with her abilities. Her newfound vector-adjacent powers took center stage, largely thanks to the extended functionality and lack of recoil.

She played around with the ability until she was relieved of guard duty, roughly halfway through the night. The magical clam that took her place crawled out of the men’s tent and reluctantly shook himself awake.

Returning to her own sleeping bag, Claire closed her eyes and sent her mind away.

She wasn’t particularly tired, but she found herself in the usual empty space in just a few heartbeats. She had already decided where to go ahead of time, so she pulled the key from her chest, unlocked the phantom’s door, and proceeded through to the other side.

The world was a lot more stable than it had been during her last visit. The phantom and his body had returned, and even Headhydra had somehow made herself present. But strangely enough, the man’s body was the only individual still conscious. The spirit and the lizard were both sound asleep on the couch, with the ghost cuddled up between the hydra’s necks. And his body of course paid her little to no attention.

She did try waking them. Claire shook the hydra and the spirit but neither budged at all, so she directed her attention towards the door and eventually crept outside. She was expecting to find the strange city again, but the caldriess was greeted instead by a scene above the clouds.

It was the man’s village, the place that he had lived before the mysterious house. The beautiful village extended as far as the eye could see.

Until it became a sea of flame.

The hallucination only lasted for an instant, echoing through the back of her mind as she gazed upon its form. But then it came again, and again, and again. Every few seconds, the horrific scene flashed. His emotions invaded her mind. The rage he felt at its unjust destruction. The hatred he felt towards the perpetrator. And the fear he felt as he gazed upon the lion’s jaws.

She could tell that they were not her own emotions. They were not quite as invasive as Alfred’s desires, placing themselves in a separate compartment as memories that belonged to another. But she could feel them nonetheless, seeping through the membrane like a viscous poison.

And then, all of a sudden, the realm was gone. Replaced by a serene, cloudy scene that she knew all too well.

Flux stood in front of her, her divine visage pursed into a guarded frown.

“Be careful,” she said. “The lion has already played his hand.”