Taking a moment to recover and catch their breath, they surveyed the battlefield. A few birds, injured but still alive, were scattered across the plateau, cawing pitifully. They set about the grisly task of finishing them off; each swing of sword and thrust of spear sending more coins flooded into their balances. Fracta, meanwhile, eyed the cave mouths lining the rocky cliff.
“There may be some good loot up there,” she said excitedly, gesturing with one of her palps. “I can climb up there and have a look…”
With a scant five hours remaining on the timer, Jeff hesitated, reluctant to waste any more time, but Fracta had already taken off. Applying her natural climbing abilities, she nimbly scuttled up the side of the cliff and disappeared into the nearest cave entrance. Moments later she reappeared, several items clutched in her pedipalps.
“Jeff, there’s tons of stuff in here! I’ll throw it down to you.”
Jeff made himself useful and stood, arms outstretched at the base of the cliff while Fracta started dropping down an assortment of equipment and weaponry from the cave’s mouth.
After she had finished scouring the first cave, Fracta moved on to the next one in line along the escarpment, and the pair methodically cleaned out the Cave Roc colony’s possessions. Jeff kept an eye on the timer, yet in spite of his impatience he felt an endorphin rush each time Fracta dropped down some new treasure item.
Half an hour later, Fracta had managed to scout out and clear all of the Roc caves lining the cliffs, building up a sizable pile of materials, weaponry and other assorted artifacts.
Before they distributed the loot between them, Fracta and Jeff, weak with hunger, decided to feast on some roc eggs Fracta had discovered in nests, cunningly hidden at the back of a cave. The huge green and pink orbs, reminiscent of gaudily wrapped Easter eggs, were decorated with strange fractal like patterns, and each weighed over 10 pounds. Cracking open one of the eggs, they quickly ate it uncooked, before deciding to spend a bit more time preparing a proper meal.
Experimenting, Jeff delicately submerged eight of the eggs into a small pool of mana. Using the point of his sword, he etched the rune for ‘fire’ from memory onto the side of a flat rock and plunged it into the pool with the eggs. Concentrating, he focused on the mana, and placing his hand into the pool, activated the rune.
The result was spectacular, as the mana instantly turned from a cold, blue liquid into what Jeff assumed was fire-aspected mana. The pool was transformed into a turbulent cauldron of fiery red energy, churning and roiling aggressively, it’s heat so intense the air shimmered above it.
Congratulations! Your Mana Essence Skill has now reached Level 4
Fracta gasped, astounded by the effect. “You’re going to have to explain to me how you did that,” she said, a note of envy in her tone.
She moved in closer to take advantage of the much-welcomed warmth emanating from the pool—the temperature on the mountain had dropped still further as the star-flower overhead flickered, entering its final stages of life.
Jeff was shocked too, and pleased that his first experiment with runic engraving had worked so well. Yet he couldn’t help wonder if there wasn’t some risk attached to the process. He decided to keep a close eye on the burning fire-aspected mana.
They rested by the side of the boiling pool for a while, allowing the welcome heat emanating from the burning liquid mana to thaw out their chilled bodies. Once they judged they had been cooked enough, Jeff and Fracta used their weapons to fish the hot eggs out of the boiling mana and left them to cool, while they inspected their loot.
Congratulations!
You have learnt the Skill Cooking (Level 1)
The glinting pile contained several finely crafted swords, some bearing runes and intricate designs, as well as some other weapons of a lower quality level.
Jeff chose what he determined to be the best one for himself, a massive Zweihander with an intricate, clear gem encrusted hilt and a silvery metallic blade, engraved on both sides of its length with intricate runes. Nearly six foot long, the massive sword gave off a palpable air of menace. The weapon, at least ten pounds in weight, would have been too heavy and unwieldy for Jeff before his Class selection, but now with his new found physical prowess, he was able to swing it over his head one-handed with ease.
ITEM: [Enhanced Long Sword, Janissary Infantryman of the Crepuscular Marshes Standard-Issue], Reg, No. 17373. Affectionately nicknamed ‘Leech’ by its previous owner due to the blade’s unique ‘life steal’ ability—to siphon energy from adversaries, restoring the wielder’s health during battle.
ITEM TYPE: Weapon
ITEM CLASS: Rare, Grade H, +4 Offense (Stackable)
REQUIREMENTS: At least one grasping organ
EXPANDABLE: (Expandable)
DESCRIPTION: The Janissaries of Talnus IX, an elite cadre of warriors, were allocated the unenviable task of patrolling the forbidding Crepuscular Marshes, ensuring that its accursed lethal flora and predatory fauna did not escape into the adjacent populated zones. Their swords were designed to suck out the very life essence of any creature they struck, symbiotically channeling the energy back into their wielders.So profound was their bond with these sacred blades that the Janissaries were said to commune telepathically with them, becoming inseparably connected.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Thus, when their species was harvested by the Vogels, the Janissaries—divested of their swords—all perished, withering away when the symbiotic links were cut. The Crepuscular Marshes of Talnus IV, no longer patrolled by the fabled Janissaries of yore, have since spread beyond their former boundaries, rendering the planet completely uninhabitable.
The runes so skillfully engraved along Leech’s length shimmered as Jeff gazed at them. He felt [Mana Essence] activate, allowing him to decipher more of the meaning contained within the symbols. One side of the blade appeared to deal with a complex instruction or command associated with the process of extraction, intertwined with the concept of hunger. Flipping the sword over revealed smaller runes etched into the opposite side, dealing with the concept of injection.
Jeff reread Leech’s description, frowning slightly. He resolved not to become too attached to the exotic blade in his hand.
Fracta, meanwhile, had been examining a plain wooden chest containing a bundle of light blue fabric banners fixed to sharpened poles, each around a foot in height. One side of each banner was decorated with a stunningly detailed collection of runes, warping the very air around them with their potency. The other side of the banners was stitched with an image of an exotic bird of paradise, something like a peacock, with tail feathers spread wide in a sumptuous fan. The bird was hand-embroidered exquisitely, shown looking back over its shoulder, eyes aflame with a myriad of colors. Underneath the flags at the bottom of the box was a small clay tablet, upon which was etched a single control rune.
ITEM: [Ebarbil Phoenix Boundary Formation] ITEM TYPE: Psi-Weapon
ITEM CLASS: Rare, Grade H, +8 Offense (Stackable)
REQUIREMENTS: None
EXPANDABLE: (Not Expandable)
DESCRIPTION: The Ebarbil Phoenix is a mystical creature synonymous with confusion and insanity. These seven banners, when placed in conjunction with one another, create a zone of bafflement, which can disorient and derange enemy combatants. The area of effect can extend up to fifty yards on a side. By holding the ward key (provided), the owner can enter and exit the zone with impunity.
“I think this’ll work a lot better with your Scout class and skills,” Jeff said, after some deliberation. “You keep it.”
Fracta agreed, adding the chest to her ring inventory.
The pair continued sifting through the pile of loot next to the steaming pool of mana, dividing the remaining weapons and artifacts between themselves. Hurrying now, they spared only cursory glances at the System generated descriptions, acutely aware of the timer inexorably ticking down.
Within one of the caves, Fracta had discovered an empty oaken barrel, robustly bound with iron straps. Jeff decided to make use of the barrel to preserve some of the mana for future use. Carefully lowering it into one of the luminescent pools, he filled the barrel up with the blue liquid mana before storing it in his ring.
Ten strange metal ingots recovered from the caves aroused Jeff’s curiosity. With glowing, golden veins of energy running through them, the jet black bars were extremely heavy, so much so that Jeff and Fracta had difficulty lifting them, even with their boosted strength. Stashing them in their ring inventories, they resolved to get them valued in the Tournament Store later on.
Before setting off on the final leg of the ascent to the summit, Jeff and Fracta quickly set about eating two of the now cooled roc eggs. They placed the other remaining cooked roc eggs in their rings for consumption later on.
Peeling the shell off the top of the soft boiled egg in front of him, Jeff was pleased to discover it had a pleasant taste and aroma, despite the yolk being a disconcerting purple hue. Some salt wouldn’t have gone amiss either.
The meal was a rather messy business. Globs of thick purple yolk dribbled down Jeff’s chin and spattered the rocky ground at his feet— without any cutlery he was forced to use his hands to scoop up the yolk and albumen. A slice of toast to dunk into the huge egg would have been ideal. He resolved to purchase some essential camping items from the Tournament store at the earliest opportunity.
Fracta, on the other hand, was able to consume the egg, or at least the yolk, in a more dignified manner; extruding a long proboscis from the front of her cephalothorax, she daintily sucked up the gooey purple liquid without spilling a drop.
“This is delicious!” she exclaimed, slurping up more of the purple yolk.
Jeff complemented her on the dainty method she employed to consume the egg, whilst lamenting his own lack of proper utensils. Fracta responded somewhat cryptically, with what Jeff assumed to be a Tesek proverb.
“Every brave Lekshenj has its own way of eating congealed Marwank nectar…”
Their mood was improved still further when they both received a system notification:
You have eaten a mana-imbued food item.
Your Vitality Attribute has risen by 2
As they were finishing up their strange meal, they were abruptly disturbed by a ghastly, bone-chilling screech, coming from the cliff face behind them.
One final cave roc, somehow having escaped their cull, flew down towards them, cawing in outrage, its shrieks infused with raw maternal fury.
“no..no…NOOOOOO!!! My chicks, my chicks… You’re eating my beautiful babies!”
The articulate bird diving towards them like a cruise missile was larger and more impressive than the other cave rocs. Its plumage was edged with regal looking golden feathers, its head crowned with some sort of crude ceremonial headdress made of twigs, perhaps signifying it was the leader of the slaughtered avian community.
A yellow nimbus surrounded the bird as it activated a Skill. Jeff simultaneously received a system notification.
[You’ve Been Cursed] Cave Roc Matriarch Spell of Shrinkage - Your size will now be reduced by a factor of six.Time remaining: thirty minutes.
Fracta acted quickly.
“Oh, buzz off, you !^%}{#§•ª•º” she shouted, her placid nature finally reaching breaking point, her segmented arm bending back to send Aetherstrike skyward. The spear was thrown with such strength and accuracy, it skewered the squawking Queen cave roc right through the breast, killing her instantly.
The system awarded Fracta a Boss Loot Box, which she quickly added to her ring inventory.
Unfortunately for Jeff, Fracta taking out the Matriarch did not negate the effect of the curse. He felt himself rapidly shrinking, his surroundings blurring and stretching upwards. Smaller and smaller he became, until he was reduced to a mere thirteen inches in height, roughly the size of a Ken doll.
Fracta stared down at him, suddenly transformed into a giant as she loomed over his tiny form.
To make matters even worse, while they had been busy gorging on the Boss Bitch’s eggs, they had failed to notice that as a result of setting the mana pool alight, Jeff had inadvertently triggered a chain reaction. The fire-aspected mana had begun to spread unchecked across the plateau. All of the once calm, blue mana pools surrounding them had now ignited; the red glowing flames were spreading like wildfire, jumping up the cascades and igniting the liquid mana pouring over the cliffs.
The previously icy cold plateau was quickly becoming transformed, the air now unpleasantly warm and humid despite the heat-death of the star-flower. Boulders and huge partially melted icicles began to fall around them, dislodged from the destabilized cliff face, and clouds of mana-steam rose up in a dense fog, reducing visibility.
Fracta, peering down at him with her compound eyes, shouted urgently over the rising din,
“We’ve got to make it to the far side before the whole plateau collapses. It will be quicker if I pick you up and carry you. Is that OK?”
Jeff reluctantly signaled his consent, seeing no other way to get to the top of the mountain in time. At his current reduced height it would take him days to reach the summit.
Fracta reached down with one of her pedipalps, scooping him up and plopping him feet first into her marsupial pouch, next to her glowing Hive Seed. Only Jeff’s head stuck out through the flap at the top of the pouch, giving him a great view of the apocalyptic spectacle unravelling around them as they rushed across the plateau.
Despite feeling slightly humiliated by the situation, Jeff was also grateful for the respite; the warm confines of Fracta’s pouch gripped him tightly, womblike.