As soon as I bought Arcane Choker, I wasted no time in testing it out. While a fragment of my attention was still fixed to my surroundings, steering me clear of any more fights, the rest of me was fully focused on the class skill. Arcane Augmenter skills tended to be my favorite of the bunch, and that was doubly true for my skills that had different variants for every mana type.
But first, the standard variant. Activating the choker with unaspected mana brought forth the original skill description.
Arcane Choker
Enhances the wearer’s breath control, increasing stamina regeneration. While this skill is active, the user is immune to choking effects. Additionally, cures all coughs and sore throats while also preventing food from going down the wrong pipe or sharp foods from scraping the wearer’s throat. Aids in digestion.
While fun, most of the secondary effects weren’t overly pertinent to my day-to-day life. My diet, even before getting stuck in the dungeon, didn’t involve many doritos or otherwise-sharp foods, and my Constitution kept me from getting a basic cold.
On the flip side, I’d severely underestimated the strength of the primary benefit. I’d have to do tests to see how much my stamina regeneration was boosted, but just the feel of the skill was incredible. It was as if I’d just had my swollen adenoids removed, a deviated septum fixed, and a third lung implanted. For the first time in my life, I took a real, full breath in.
Oh man, I’m not going to want to turn this one off, am I?
Still, that wasn’t the reason I’d bought the skill in the first place. Rushing down the side of a tall sand dune, I swapped to the variant that I assumed would fix my poison problem. Even before I opened my mouth, my lungs inflated with air. The sensation was disconcerting at first, but not at all uncomfortable like I would have expected.
Internal Breeze
Directly supplies the wearer’s lungs with clean air, removing their need to physically breathe in. Additionally, purifies the air around the wearer’s head, eliminating any aerial toxins, pathogens, pollutants, or other offensive airborne effects. On activation, clear the wearer’s throat and lungs of existing irritants.
Exactly what I’d been hoping for and more. My Dexterity seemed to make me naturally resistant to knots and kinks in my muscles, but I felt all sorts of tension suddenly melt away.
I hadn’t exactly become immune to dying from being buried alive. Eventually, I would have to sleep, and then my active skills would shut off. Up until that moment, though, I couldn’t die from sinking into the sand or being pulled deep into the sea. It was a very welcome change for the better, especially with how long I could go without sleeping.
What next? Deciding to work through the rest of my elemental options first, I shifted to fire mana.
Fire Mouth
Protects the wearer’s respiratory tract from superheated air. Prevents hot liquids and foods from scalding the wearer’s mouth. Greatly increases the wearer’s spice tolerance.
A part of me had been hoping for a fire breath attack, less for practicality’s sake and more to run around pretending to be a dragon. If less flashy, though, the actual skill effects weren’t too shabby. My armor was great for resisting all manner of external fire attacks, but it would do nothing if the air got so hot that it started cooking me from within.
Plus, I was officially safe from burning the roof of my mouth while eating pizza. Of course, I’d have to get my hands on some pizza for that to matter, but assuming Arbor knew what tomatoes were, all I still needed was cheese.
What biome would be the most likely to have milk in it? Nothing came to mind, but I was cautiously optimistic. It had to be somewhere, right?
Frost was next, and as was often the case, its effects mirrored its fiery counterpart.
Frost Mouth
Protects the wearer’s respiratory tract from excessively cold air. Increases the mouth and teeth’s resistance to cold. Prevents brain freeze. While active, the wearer can lick metal poles without getting their tongue stuck.
Likewise useful in exceptionally specific circumstances. I wanted to say I’d never end up needing it, but there was presumably a frost region hiding around here somewhere. Air cold enough to freeze my lungs was, unfortunately, not completely off the table.
And as a bonus, it sounds like I can bite into ice cream with impunity now. For a quick test, I summoned some water into a cup, casting Chill Liquid on it until it froze. Breaking off a chunk of ice, I threw it into my mouth, merrily crunching away.
Trippy. It still felt cold, but I was detached from the sensation, somehow. Before the ice could fully melt, I swallowed, the many shards of ice heading down without causing complaint.
Earth was harder to predict, and I spent a while trying to make a good guess before ultimately giving in and checking.
Stone Innards
Coats the wearer’s respiratory and digestive tract with internal armor, providing additional defense against puncturing the throat, lung, and stomach, both from within and without. Additionally, increases the hardness and durability of the wearer’s teeth.
On the one hand, this was one of the more practical variants I’d come across. If I had to pick my top ten least favorite places to get stabbed, the throat, lungs, and stomach would all make an appearance on the list.
On the other, it felt downright strange. I doubted that the skill was actually summoning real rock inside of my body, but it certainly felt that way. More than that, I became aware of my stomach and lungs in a way I usually wasn’t, now able to sense exactly where they rigidly bumped up against the rest of my organs. There was a reason that nerves weren’t set up to relay that information normally, and I dismissed the skill after only a few seconds.
In terms of my elemental mana types, that only left one more, and I wasted no time shifting to water mana.
Aqua Lung
Allows the wearer to breathe underwater or with liquid in their lungs. On canceling this effect, all water will be expelled from the wearer’s respiratory tract. Additionally, moisturizes the wearer’s throat and mouth. This skill passively conjures water into the wearer’s stomach, keeping them perpetually well hydrated.
Now that was something I could use. The air variant theoretically already let me breathe underwater as long as I held my breath, and I wasn’t overly prone to cotton mouth. Since arriving here, however, we’d all been locked out of our spatial bags, which meant I no longer had access to my old Cleansing Shower Gem Pendant. While the necklace had the primary function of getting me out of movement-impairing effects, it had also thoroughly cleansed me and hydrated my body. Even as someone who could magically conjure fresh water, I’d been sorely missing that hydration.
Along with Impairment Resistance, though, now I can mimic 2/3 of what the pendant does. How long would it take before I got a spell that cleaned me, letting me do away with the necklace for good? Maybe next time we woke the grand magus, I’d see if he could teach me one. A full body clean felt like something an Apprentice water and air mage should be able to manage.
Maybe more importantly, though, I no longer have to be afraid of swimming. Even if I messed up with Internal Breeze and accidentally inhaled a ton of water, it wouldn’t matter anymore.
It was a realization that at once meant nothing and everything to me. The others didn’t have great power sets for underwater adventures -- although maybe Verin could still manage if I put her in backpack mode -- so it wasn’t as though we’d immediately set off into the water region. At the same time…
It’s possible. My eyes lit up and my heart quickened. Almost of their own accord, my feet shifted, charting a new course. The cabin wasn’t going anywhere. I had to test this now.
----------------------------------------
In record time, the sprawling sands of the desert and the grand grassy fields of the prairie were both at my back as I approached a new territory. Despite its proximity to our home, the region was one I’d yet to visit personally.
Stretching out into the distance was an endless expanse of blue. For the first time, I was checking out the water mana biome.
I’d entered through the prairie, although the desert was still in sight far to my side. From what I could tell, the shore took on the properties of the region it abutted, sandy for the desert, and full of beach grass by me. If I had to take a guess, I would bet the shore was equally rocky where the water met the mountains, but I had little desire to trek that far just to check.
Without any moon or tides to speak of, there shouldn’t have been any waves, which naturally did not stop the dungeon at all. Water gently lapped at the gritty soil as small waves broke against the shore.
When one considered the chaotic, patchwork sky above, it was altogether a strangely serene sight -- the kind that could easily make one forget that this was a dungeon at all.
I took a moment to just let the view soak in, but at the end of the day, I hadn’t come here for sightseeing. After all, I had something rather important on my mind.
While I couldn’t spot anything hostile from here, out of an abundance of caution, I kept my plate armor on and enhanced. On the off chance that something would pull me into the water, I toggled on Internal Breeze as well. As prepared as I possibly could be, I approached the shore.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
From there, I bent down, cupped a bit of water in my hands, and brought it up to my lips. My nose already knew the answer, but only my tongue could tell me for sure. A brief sip.
I spat the water out. It was vile. And exactly what I’d been looking for.
Salt.
I beamed, not having felt this thrilled since meeting Arbor weeks prior.
Salt!
Admittedly, gross seawater salt, mixed in with all sorts of nastiness that I would never dare put into my cooking, but still salt all the same! I unfortunately wasn’t 100% clear on how to isolate the seasoning from the rest of the dissolved sea debris and microorganisms, but that was nothing that some trial and error couldn’t solve. I imagined it would involve lots of boiling, and maybe some straining.
All of that, I would do back in my mountain cave, where I tended to leave a lot of my alchemy equipment I didn’t want filling up my storage. As for transporting all the water I would need…
Would you like to bind Conjure Liquid to sea water? Note, based on the rarity of the substance in question, you would be able to conjure sea water 25 times a day.
The spell variant continued to be the best rank-up bonus I’d ever gotten, especially as it was also responsible for all the moonshine we’d drank over the months. On that note, I was more than a bit afraid to unbind the spell from the moonshine in question, but I had a huge reserve tucked away in my storage. If we ever needed more, I could just use some to rebind Conjure Liquid back to moonshine later.
With that in mind, I accepted the prompt, now the owner of an infinite salt-producing spell. We’d have to see how much salt I could make from 25 casts a day, but I was betting the answer was a lot.
“Huh. That took a lot less effort than expected.” With how vulnerable I was to drowning up until today, I’d made sure to steer clear of this entire area. Still, I probably could have done this ages ago, could I have? Or failing that, I could have made Cal carry back a bucket of water at some point.
I decided not to mention any of that to the others. It was best that they enjoyed what we had rather than cursing themselves for what we’d missed out on. That was especially true if we’d missed out on it by me being stupid.
Still. Kind of a shame to come this far and not even test out my new breathing skills.
And who knew? Maybe the region was filled with a new type of monster that I could train against. Cal tended to kill most of the gryphons whenever they respawned, and the same was true of Verin and the scorpions. If I had a good reason, I could steal the regions from them for a while, but not long term. That largely left me the forest for myself, but I’d seen neither hide nor hair of the panthers since we’d been granted safe passage, which left me sorely needing a new hunting ground.
Ideally, I wouldn’t explore without everyone present after Cal had scouted ahead, but that wouldn’t be happening here. And more than that, the other three regions immediately surrounding the prairie had long stopped being threatening to me. I was hopeful that the same would hold true here. Even then, I vowed not to go too far.
All right. I’m convinced. A brief foray into the water, and then I’d test out the last few Arcane Choker variations.
Without further ado, I began to walk directly into the waves. Soon, the water covered both mouth and nose, and yet still my lungs continued to inflate and deflate under the power of my new skill.
Heavy Step. Not having a strong desire to swim around, I weighed myself down, walking along the ocean floor. Sending mana to my eyes, I also activated Arcane Vision. When I opened my eyes, I was relieved to find that the layer of mana kept the salt water from stinging them.
Basically have my own set of scuba gear now. Who knew a class called “Arcane Arsenal” would ever let me do something like this?
In the end, it took considerably longer than I expected before I ended up seeing anything. When I actually did, however, I was left regretting my choice to come here alone.
Not because I needed Verin’s or Cal’s powers. I just felt guilty for being the only one who could see all of this.
A coral reef. I’d seen pictures before, but I’d never been in person. Probably for the best -- I doubted the mundane version could hold a candle to what lay before me.
Directly before me, the seafloor dropped off, a sharp cliff revealing a trench below. As if trying to reflect the sky above them, thousands of different varieties of coral dotted the seafloor, all of them subtly glowing with their own internal mana.
The embedded magic intensified their already vibrant colorings, though in different ways in different sections. Parts of the scenery blended together with a subtle ethereal glow, as if painted with pastels. Others looked far more like an outlet-mall laser-tag arena, haphazardly slapped together with clashing neon paints.
Belatedly, I realized that the sea had grown darker as I descended, shutting off its usually omnipresent lighting. It didn’t matter one way or another to my Illuminated Sight, but the glow of the coral took on new meaning, dimly lighting up the seafloor.
If there are mirror gems, someone has to have invented camera gems, right? I made it a priority to buy a few if we ever actually escaped this dungeon.
That aside, should I take some samples back? Try to see what monsters are around? As pretty as the reef was, I would leave fully mapping it out for another day. A brief reconnaissance mission, though, felt perfectly fair.
Taking the plunge, I stepped off the side of the cliff, letting myself slowly sink to the bottom of the trench. Small fish came into view as I descended, none of them knowing how close they were to being cooked for dinner. Fishing could wait for now, though. I hit the bottom of the trench with a thud, small plumes of silty sand kicked up from the impact.
Everywhere the eye could see, there was coral.
So? What do I even go looking for here? Already using Arcane Vision, I scanned every inch of my surroundings, my Intelligence working overtime to handle the sheer sensory overload from all the colors.
Nothing immediately stuck out to me, but the more I looked, the more I felt something subtly wrong.
Is it a shape thing? Why do some patches of coral feel ever so slightly off? I flicked through the rest of my vision variants, a few of them only solidifying my existing suspicions. Vitality Sight and Heat Sight in particular seemed to light up certain corals, both hotter and more full of life than their surroundings.
To my discredit, I still didn’t understand what I was seeing until I finally hit one of the odd patches with God’s Eye.
Adaptive Reef Squid: Level 21, 800/800hp
Blessed with exceptional camouflage abilities, the adaptive reef squid is able to take on properties from the substance it disguises itself as. Rather than hiding from prey, the squids use these skills to serve as ideal ambush predators.
Oh. I warily counted out the squids now surrounding me, deciding to stop once I reached “too many.” No thank you. As subtly as I could, I dismissed Heavy Step and replaced my plate armor with fully conjured mana armor instead. Slowly, slowly, I began to float upwards, doing my best to evade detection.
A small twitch caught my attention, and without thinking, I whipped my head towards the motion. Caught out, the squid in question froze.
And then, seeming to realize the jig was up, it surged forth all at once.
Not wanting to be left out, its many hidden companions soon followed.
With a curse that was lost to surrounding waters, I resummoned my plate and activated Heavy Step once more. Outrunning a squid in water was a losing proposition, and having firm ground beneath my feet would do me some good.
As the first of the many arms and tentacles wrapped around me, I had only a single moment to reflect before the fight broke out in earnest.
Huh. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
----------------------------------------
Far from the ocean, back in the very center of the prairie, Lady Verin’Sylus knelt in the dirt.
With a calm gaze, she took in the state of the many plants that made up their garden. While she couldn’t deny the diminutive fields were mostly Tess’s labor of love, Verin occasionally checked the garden’s progress as well. After all, she’d been present for its inception, and she’d even earned the Herbalism and Gardening skills as well.
A touch dry. It must have been some time since last Tess watered everything. A simple enough task, and one Verin was happy to tend to.
Gardening has reached level 4!
Her time at the garden was generally a quiet, solitary affair, free from monsters and companions alike.
It was particularly peculiar, then, when she spotted one of said companions in the distance.
Trudging along from the south came the fully armored form of the Lady Tess. Instantly, Verin knew something strange was afoot.
Was she not set to fight in the desert today? She’s returning from the wrong direction. More than that, Verin had expected her outing to end a good many hours ago.
As Tess neared, Verin’s convictions only grew stronger. Given Tess’s stamina and healing spells, there was no reason for her to be at anything but peak performance after the long walk back to the cabin. As such, her slow, plodding movements and distant stare could only point to something mental. While Verin had long ago surmised that Tess wasn’t fully healed from her mental break, it had been some time since she’d last seen her friend quite so visibly exhausted.
“Lady Tess! Welcome back.” Verin called out, stifling a wince as she received only a dull grunt in return.
Worse than usual then. Though Tess had grown somewhat taciturn, she could usually be relied upon to return a greeting. Is there a way to get her talking again?
On closer inspection, it appeared that Tess was now sporting some form of strange, criss-crossed necklace, tightly hugging her neck. An item found in the dungeon? Or no, that couldn’t be it. She was supposed to learn a new breathing skill for the jungle. Had she finally succeeded?
Do I ask about the skill? Or talk about the garden? Mmm. Perhaps. Then again, there was something far more tried and true that got Tess talking up a storm. A nudge from her Conversation skill pushed her in the right direction.
“Lady Tess, would you like me to handle dinner tonight? You look as though you’ve trained hard today. We can fend for ourselves should you require some small respite.” Not actually true, of course, but Tess had left some leftovers in the freezer for situations like this. Never mind that Verin struggled to heat them up evenly -- they were perfectly edible in a pinch.
Tess pulled up short, the words seeming to break her from her stupor. “No. I’ll cook.”
“Delightful. Might I inquire as to what we’ll be eating tonight, then?” In truth, Verin somewhat enjoyed having each night be a surprise, but anything to keep her friend distracted.
In this, however, it seemed that Verin had made something of a mistake.
A brief flash of anger graced her companion’s face, the expression almost entirely foreign coming from her. As fast as it arrived, it was gone, Tess lacking the requisite energy to fuel the emotion. Still, when next Tess spoke, her words came out firm and clear.
“You can, as a matter of fact.” Tess held her hand out, and a thick tentacle appeared, summoned directly from her storage ability. Bright orange and sporting a row of suction cups, it looked like the very last thing Verin wanted to eat.
Tess, sadly, was of a different mind.
“Tonight, we’ll be having calamari.”