Rin plowed heedlessly through the tunnel, holding aloft the blazing blue flame. It cast sharp spectral shadows that flickered eerily upon the walls. When he reached the first chamber, he experimented with the mouse-sized hole, obsessed with conquering the puzzle. He tried sliding the torch into the hole with disappointing results—it began to smother as soon as he set it on the ground. It didn’t matter as it couldn’t penetrate the magical ward anyway.
In the second chamber, he tried setting the sand alight, which Rin admitted was a crazed notion. It did nothing, as expected, but the boy was disappointed nonetheless.
Finally, he reached the chamber of pits, and the torch provided great utility here, lighting up several craters at once, although a regular yellow torch would have done the same. Rin was halfway through the chamber with a puzzling lack of results when he remembered he had to defeat the bats on the ledge first, either by sword or charm.
My jerky is almost out, so, fighting it is!
Even with having to hold the blazing torch in his free hand, he downed the monsters swiftly. Several minutes later and to Rin’s utter dismay, not a single swirl of essence manifested, even when he was sure every last monster was dead.
He peered up into the dark recesses where the bats had been roosting, holding the torch at its farthest. Now that he stared at it, he noticed the stone here was remarkably smooth, unlike the other three walls. Not a crack, crevice, or handhold could be seen as if specifically engineered to prevent climbing. The ceiling hosted a cluster of squat stalactites huddled around a narrow opening six inches wide. The shaft appeared unnaturally round as if carved for some ancient purpose, and the hole was pitch black.
I guess the bats come out of there.
Rin squinted and waved the fire around, but saw none of the telltale twinkling of dungeon flowers through the shaft. He eventually resumed his search for flowers among the pits, baffled as to where else the essence trails could possibly go.
He sighed in relief when he finally discovered a flower.
+1 Charisma
He munched thoughtfully, swallowing with a frown.
The essence doesn’t always point to where the flowers form. I suppose that would just be too easy. So this room alone could be filled with them, hidden behind walls and such, and I’d never know.
That didn’t seem right. He was learning what type of person Craven was, and it appeared the god employed challenging puzzles, but not impossible. Rin had made steady progress finding flowers once he applied himself. And given a little luck.
He explored the pits swiftly, bounding over each crater’s waist-high walls now that his torch illuminated their depths. To his disappointment, no additional flowers presented themselves.
Once he arrived at the cavern’s end, a solitary crater remained, fifty feet off to the side with no apparent reason for its position. Any ordinary adventurer would ignore it, for at this point, the room’s exit beckoned brightly.
Rin was no ordinary adventurer. Not anymore. To him, the anomaly was glaring, a beacon of unrightness about the room, and he hastened over to investigate. When he saw what the torch revealed, his heart skipped a beat.
This crater was broader than the others, and an iron brazier stood in its precise center, perfectly shaped to cradle the torch in his hands. He dropped down and secured the torch in place. The flame reacted by flaring high, flickering wildly.
A distant rumbling echoed through the surrounding limestone, quaking through the ground and causing curtains of dust to rain from the ceiling. It persisted for several seconds, then abruptly stopped and silence reigned once more.
Rin raced down the chamber, searching for the source of the sound. The cavern with the sand pit was unchanged, the cave wriggler still peacefully sitting there. His heart raced as he arrived in the ratback chamber and skidded to a halt, his mouth agape.
Where the tiny mouse hole had been was now an open doorway leading to three dungeon flowers, twinkling in the dark and ripe for the picking.
“I KNEW it!”
He devoured every last one.
+1 Charisma
+1 Charisma
+1 Charisma
Damn, that was a lot of work for only three flowers. There better be something good at the end of all this.
He checked his status, scrolling past the stats to the only one that mattered.
Charisma: 13 (+4)
His mind somersaulted, calculating the possibilities.
I bet I can even charm that stupid lemur now.
He double and triple-checked the hidden room where the flowers resided, but there was nothing more to be found. It was yet another fact that convinced him the flowers were valuable.
It also gave him a sadistic satisfaction thinking of past adventurers unlocking this room, only to find it filled with deadly dungeon flowers. Anyone stumbling across this secret would be woefully disappointed, but to him, it was hope itself.
His belly gurgled, voicing a loud complaint. It sounded like a street drain being unclogged after a thunderstorm. He gave it a careful pat.
I may be overdoing it. Even if I’m immune, these flowers are chock full of poison. They can’t be good for me.
Rin jogged back to the pit chamber and navigated to its exit. This time, when he attempted to remove Craven’s torch, it wouldn’t budge. The boy struggled for several minutes before he figured it out.
It’s a message. The torch won’t help me further.
He moved on, treating every cavern like a puzzle. No stone was left unturned in his quest for secrets. He gravitated toward anything extraordinary like a moth to a flame, inspecting every anomaly. And his approach yielded results.
He found flowers in all manner of places, from one high on a ledge to another deep in a crevice. The worst was hidden within a burrowing snake’s lair. He was confident the snake wouldn’t attack because of his Charisma, but it was still terrifying. He reached his arm into the beast’s nest, navigating all manner of bones and detritus before he happened upon the smallest flower yet.
When he came to the chamber with the camouflaged stone turtletans, he meticulously examined each of their hiding places before proceeding to the chief’s hut which he turned practically inside out in his zeal. He found three flowers buried in the dirt, each with barely a single leaf tip peeking from the earthen floor. He brushed off the dirt and downed them while striving onward, glancing at his status.
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Charisma: 19 (+6)
Damn. How many of these things are there?
Rin arrived at the boss chamber and walked inside without fanfare. The lemur greeted him by tilting its head with evident curiosity, staring at him like he was a strange dungeon monster it had never seen before.
Rin strode up to it and did nothing more than pat it on the head.
Dungeon Boss: Level 7 Lemur (Stone Type)
Elite and boss monsters cannot be charmed until first defeated in battle.
Charming requirements met.
You have charmed the dungeon boss, a Level 7 Lemur (Stone Type)
Duration: 10 minutes
The following abilities have advanced by negligible amounts:
Monster Charming
You have charmed every monster type in this dungeon.
Reward granted: Dungeon flower counter
This counter will now display for any dungeon you explore.
Dungeon flower counter? What’s the use of that? If I’m curious how many flowers I’ve found, I just check my Charisma.
Rin opened his status screen to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. There at the bottom was the counter in all its glory.
Bastion’s Boulder: 19/20 flowers acquired.
Rin fell backward, plopping onto his backside while he stared into space.
Only one left!
Rin wracked his brain, going methodically through every chamber in his memory. The only remaining unexplored spots were the weird bat shaft, and … this room.
He checked every stalagmite, from its base to as high as he could see. Finding nothing, he moved on to studying the walls.
Finally, he arrived at the tranquil pond.
Without a second thought, he disrobed and waded into the waist-high water. It was bitterly cold, but nothing deadly. It would have been refreshing had he worked up a lather fighting the boss instead of charming it.
He scoured the floor with his toes, discovering several strange markings in the stone. They seemed to be leading him somewhere, but it was difficult to tell standing up. There was nothing else for it; he had to duck his head under and feel it with his fingers. Following the trail of markings, he found a hidden latch beneath the overhanging edge of the pond, hidden from view.
No one would ever, ever find such a thing.
Unless they were looking for secrets.
Rin gave it a tug, and part of the pond’s floor fell away as a trapdoor opened. The water slurped greedily into its depths, leaving him standing on dry ground. The trapdoor revealed a square compartment, two feet long and wide with a drain for the water at the bottom.
It was empty.
Wha—how? What am I missing?
As if teasing him, a swirl of mana essence sped past his eyes and materialized into a single dungeon flower.
YES! That’s the last one!
He snatched it up and gobbled it down, his mouth bursting with the strange flavor he’d come to love.
+1 Charisma
20/20 Dungeon flowers found. Secret quest completed.
Proceed to the boss room to claim your reward.
Hint: Make sure you are alone. Secret quest rewards will not appear in the presence of dungeoneers that did not complete them.
Rin nearly laughed out loud at the ‘hint.’ The Game of the Gods finally gave him a helping hand, and it turned out to be irrelevant. Still, it was good information for the future. As a dungeon guide, he’d be surrounded by other people constantly.
Now that he thought about it, he had serious doubts about keeping the job. He’d explored every square inch of this place and found every last flower. What else was there to do? If he were forced to endure endlessly repeating the chambers, it would get boring fast. All while so many other dungeons were out there waiting to be explored.
Think of the secrets!
His thoughts were interrupted by an enormous amount of essence swirling into being at the end of the chamber. With a bright flash and a cloud of blue smoke, an elaborate treasure chest appeared.
Rin hurried over, scrambling to reclothe on the way there. The chest was far more grandiose than the one that appeared that morning, with carvings of monsters etched in detail along its length. Its metal straps were gleaming polished brass. Even the wood was rare, an exotic variety he didn’t recognize.
Rin attempted to open the chest, but the lid was locked tight. Confused, he triggered Identify, which made him gasp aloud.
Craven’s Secret Chest
You have discovered a secret path to power that does not abide by the typical rules in the Game of the Gods. By opening this chest, you agree to a binding soul contract preventing you from disclosing this secret path or using this ability when observed by others.
Do you agree to these terms?
A secret path to power? A thousand times, yes.
Rin mentally expressed his agreement before he could change his mind.
Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with the feeling of terrible ancient power sinking into his bones, marking him. It left him cold and shuddering, fearful of his life. Magic had changed him at the deepest level of his soul. He doubted he could speak about this secret path even if he wanted to. But he wasn’t about to test that theory. They didn’t call Craven the god of curses for nothing.
He lifted the chest’s lid, his pulse pounding. Inside was a velvet pillow cradling a humble pebble the size of Rin’s thumbnail. The stone was bright crimson—the same color as the title on his Cursed status—and marbled with black swirls that meandered lazily across its surface.
Gift of Craven, God of Secrets
Skill Stone: Transmutation
Incurs permanent penalty of -100% XP gain.
Incurs lethal dose of Craven’s poison.
To activate, place on forehead and wait 5 seconds.
Rin stared. Based on the quality of the treasure chest alone, it must be valuable, possibly even epic rarity. But he was mystified as to what it did.
There were the usual Cursed debuffs—he expected nothing less from Craven at this point. Strangely, this reward mentioned Craven as the ‘God of Secrets,’ which was new.
The only reason Rin hesitated was because he’d heard of transmutation before. The kingdom employed transmutation mages to assist with building projects because they could perform elemental transformations, such as changing a bucket of water into an equivalent mass of dirt, and vice versa.
Rin was disappointed. The ability was unimpressive. Boring. It certainly didn’t warrant the rare quality of the chest before him, let alone the arduous toil of finding the hidden flowers.
It’s better than nothing, I guess. Besides, what choice do I have?
He placed the pebble against his forehead and counted. The stone dissolved and a puff of essence rushed into his head, right between his eyes.
You learned a secret ability: Craven’s Transmutation
You may become any creature you’ve defeated since gaining your Cursed class, whether by charm or sword.
Usage Limitation: This secret ability is universally despised by the five major gods. It is not to be shared under any circumstances. Your soul contract prevents transmuting when observed by others. This limitation may be lessened or removed entirely as you garner trust with the gods and the ability evolves.
Cost of Transmutation: 10 MP
Rin gaped. He checked his status sheet, and there at the bottom was the new ability, along with a list of all the dungeon’s monsters.
Secret Ability: Craven’s Transmutation: Grade F
Available Creatures:
Level 4 Ratback (Stone Type)
Level 4 Lesser Cave Wriggler (Stone Type)
Level 5 Greater Cave Wriggler (Stone Type)
Level 5 Quad Bat (Stone Type)
Level 6 Turtletan (Stone Type)
Level 7 Lemur (Stone Type)
Only the highest level of each creature he’d defeated was listed, which was fine by Rin. He had no desire to transform into a level 1 Stone Ratback when a level 4 version was available.
Wait, why is the lemur level 7 instead of 8?
He thought back to his latest fight against the two lemurs and realized he hadn’t been the one to finish the level 8 boss.
Dammit, Dex got the credit for that kill.
In a moment of fleeting insecurity, he peered around the boss room, making sure no one was watching. He mentally selected the strongest monster he’d ever defeated.
There was a bright flash and an explosion of essence. And just like that, it happened.
Rin was a monkey.