Inventory
Bullet Boar meat (Common)
Flingsitter Gibbon fur (Common)
Shadowcrawler hide x 4 (Common)
Vampire Cat fangs x4 (Common)
Skyblind Raptor talons x 12 (Common)
Productive, I thought, looking at the inventory screen from the System. I could tell that there was a limited amount of room within the spirit to hold items, but I wasn’t very close at all. After the first loot, nothing had seemed to actually add to the weight. I had a few theories, the one with the most confidence being that it was more about magical potency than actual weight.
The fights themselves had been varied, but simple. The gains there were also compounding on themselves quickly. The lowest level creature was the lemur, while the strongest I had fought so far was the hawks. Rather, they were the most troublesome due to my own limitations.
While the birds had trouble hurting me, the same was also true. When they were in the air above me, it was truly impossible to see them. From this blindspot, they dove to attack with their vicious beaks and talons. The two I had killed were levels three and four, the strongest and therefore bravest and therefore deadest of the flock. They may have been invisible, but they weren’t soundless, and after dodging their dive, they were disorientated. The weaker hawks hovered angrily in the distance, even now, but they were posing less and less of a threat as I moved deeper into the dungeon.
Name - Isaac/Izaark Race - Gem Kobold () Level - 03
Title - None
Fortitude - 15 Speed - 15 Mental - 6 Will - 6
Free attribute points: 0
Both my Fortitude and Speed had doubled in two levels and the sensation of growth was intoxicating. Even if the monsters I faced weren’t dropping money into my pocket, I would still be chasing after this feeling again and again. Both levels, I placed five points into one main attribute and one into the lesser. Speed and Mental first, then Fortitude and Will. With each point placed, I got more of a sense for how each attribute specifically felt and what they did. Nothing groundbreaking, and nothing to change my current path.
I wanted strength. I wanted to lean on my natural abilities and those to come as I evolved and become a force of unstoppable might. The magic of dragonkind, magic I had been able to wield prior, was for later. It was not a goal I had abandoned, but one truth remained burned into my psyche from the struggles I faced on Gaia.
Overwhelming strength will trump nearly everything else.
Leaving the rows of tall, thin homes, I was being careful. It felt like there was a genuine demarcation between what I guessed were neighbourhoods. The air was denser with energy. Not the same as the kill energy, but not far off it either. I moved into the closest building to see if there was any difference between these taller, slightly wider ones and the previous. Again, there was nothing of value within, but the keen eye of a greedy dragon was sharp to more than just the currently visible.
The walls of this home had held decoration. Paintings with oil and frames of fine wood, which had left the faintest of marks even after the eras had passed. There was a level of opulence in the rot of this building which suggested far more wealth than the buildings I had seen earlier. A toothy smile fixed to my face.
So began a multi-hour scouring of the surrounding area, using the first building as the centre of a radius. The first six buildings had nothing of any value or even structure after time had its way with the contents. Before my heart could waver, I finally found something worth finding and all of my scrambling was rewarded. Like a sixth sense, or seventh maybe, I could just feel that this place was different.
These taller buildings were shaped a little like mushrooms, with a single wide room at the top of each. On the uppermost floor of this particular tower, my nose had smelled a new scent. The tiniest whiff, certainly, but I knew that smell. Bounding into the large room, it wasn’t hard to find the source of the scent. The thrumming in my blood was like a radar, pulling me to the magical item.
My eyes landed on the gleaming item surrounded by rotten debris and my blood pulsed.
“Now what are you?” I asked the wondrous little orb. Completely at odds with its austere and dull surroundings, the sphere on the floor was glistening with colours and potential. I picked it up, keeping my attention on the room. If there was ever a perfect trap specifically for me, it would be this. My worries were unfounded, but I wouldn’t allow myself to get complacent.
Item - Guidance Stone Of Archaism (Rare)
Guidance stones are sometimes called the lesser variant of Aspects. Each Aspect has a set amount of spaces to absorb a Guidance Stone. They can only be used by Aspect wielders.
Well, thank you for the lesson, System. No help on what archaism meant, but I guessed it was something to do with time. Old time, maybe? As I wasn’t an “Aspect wielder”, it didn’t really matter. Why was it here? Did the fact that this place was untouched for so long create a bundle of magic, flavoured with “archaism”? The dungeon quest was going to give me an Aspect for completing it, so hopefully things would become clearer soon. Shrugging, I let the item slip into my inventory.
“Oh damn, there’s the weight.” My earlier suspicion of my inventory having a magic limit more than a weight limit was confirmed as the orb landed heavily within. There was still a lot of wiggle room, but it was a noticeable chunk of the max, far more than the common items.
There was no attack before I found the item, but apparently its sudden disappearance was an aggravation. A shriek from below, outside the building but close, was far too reactionary to be coincidental. An honestly terrifying pounding came from the lower levels as whatever the creature was tore through the building up to my position.
“Fuck this.” All of my danger senses were raised and I made the executive decision to get the hell out of there. Long emptied windows were my portal to escape. It was a good sixty feet to the ground but terminal velocity wasn’t a threat to me anymore. With the flight path of an arrow, I landed on one of the nearby buildings and threw myself to the roof.
A scream of pure rage shook even the building I had jumped to, and my danger senses flared once more. Whatever that thing was, I wanted nothing to do with it. I wasn’t running away, I was just tactically escaping with my spoils. That’s it. Thankfully, I could hear the fury behind me staying stationary. It must have really liked that Guidance Stone, which really only made me more glad to have it.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I bounced my way from roof to roof back towards the safer area of the dungeon. Standing on the last of the tall buildings before they lost some height, I watched in the direction of the still audible howling. From the fact nothing else had shut it up, it was probably one of the stronger creatures in the dungeon. More than that, it had done something to me.
My pride aside, I truly wouldn’t have run away without a tangible effect falling onto me. Now there was distance between me and the creature, whatever fear inducing ability it had was fading, replaced by frustration. Whatever it was, attacking it while it was enraged and unprepared was definitely one of the better opportunities I would get. Now, it could sneak up on me just as easily.
I groaned, slotting that problem firmly into the “later” pile. The whole situation had completely robbed me of the feeling of success from finding something worth my time. My lip twitched and I rolled my neck. I was fairly confident the beast that had run me off wasn’t coming in this direction. The answer to my current nervous energy and to defeating the monster was the same.
I needed to find something to kill.
———————————————————
“Did I go overboard?” I waited. “Oh what do you know? You would think that, you’re dead.” I threw the feline head to the side with a dramatic roll of my eyes. Death had come to the dungeon in the form of a purple dragonoid, claws of onyx and ivory fangs visiting decimation upon the unwitting place.
I considered the dungeon as I took a breather. A pack of the vampire cats I had run into earlier took umbrage with the fact I existed, so we fixed our irreconcilable differences amicably enough. At least for me. I considered making a necklace of the fangs I had collected but I had some plans for outside the dungeon which would get hindered by looking barbaric. Hopefully I could find a tie.
No such luck yet, but I was hopeful.
Inventory
Bullet Boar meat x 3 (Common)
Flingsitter Gibbon fur x 6 (Common)
Shadowcrawler hide x 4 (Common)
Vampire Cat fangs x 16 (Common)
Skyblind Raptor talons x 12 (Common)
Noircanid’s canines x 4 (Common)
“Noircanid is a stupidly fancy name for a big black dog,” I muttered, not for the first time. Easily my hardest fight of the dungeon, too. I winced as I remembered the fight and accidentally put weight onto my bad leg. Stupid mutt had got its teeth around my thigh at the end. Wrong side to hold me, unfortunately, because my teeth were closer to its neck. It was healing reasonably fast, but it had slowed me down against the cats.
I felt the essence gathering onto my core, anticipation needling my already painful leg. I punched the air as the threshold ticked over to my fourth level up. A feeling of strength filled my limbs, fatigue fading and the damage to my thigh began to recede visibly.
Name - Isaac/Izaark Race - Gem Kobold () Level - 05
Title - None
Fortitude - 15 Speed - 15 Mental - 12 Will - 12
Free attribute points: 0
It had caused me nearly physical pain, but as with the previous level up, I placed all of the points into my “secondary” attributes. There really wasn’t anything in it at this point, but I would increase the difference soon. Beyond the achievements, each level infused my body with an overall boost of power, so even if the numbers hadn’t gone up, I was still noticeably stronger than at level three.
I shook my head and glared into the dungeon. If that wasn’t enough protection from the unknown monster’s fear aura, then I guess I deserve death. With a shrug, I removed the Guidance Stone from my inventory and tossed it on the ground, leaping higher and waiting. I smirked as my plan began to work immediately. A few of the nearby scavenger birds floating around scattered as a scream started approaching.
Assumedly, there would be a fight attached to whatever was causing the noise. Slightly on edge, I waited to see if the terror would take hold again. My smile only grew. I could feel tendrils trying to poke my brain, imperceptible before. Now, they were easily batted away, my mind remaining my own. The process allowed me a good chance to analyse my states of being.
With each level up and assigned attribute point, my three layers became clearer and clearer. This mental assault helped highlight the mind, which in turn allowed me to separate and analyse the body and spirit. Each was a part of the whole and disruption of one was enough to throw the others out of line. By smashing my mind’s defences, the creature had frozen my soul and sent my body fleeing. Inversely, complete control of one would allow me to shrug off any effects on the other parts.
Introspection over. Fight time.
———————————————————
“You. Are. A. Mother. Fucker.” Each word was punctuated with a punch, either from me or the ghoul. I’d have called it a ghoul even before the System told me it was one. The thing was a monstrosity from head to toe. Its scalp was riddled with sores, and where the hair remained, it had matted into thick, filthy dreads which scraped the floor. Pallid skin was stretched tight on an elongated and painful looking frame, all the humanoid features distorted to the maximum. Despite looking half-rotten, the damn thing was tough.
Once I attacked, its durability became clear. My ambush was timed to perfection and the heavy slash which had shorn through every enemy to this point were reflected away. It was only for a moment, but there was a noticeable smell of something other in the air, both underneath and on top of the stink of the ghoul. Each time my claws found what should have been soft, rippable skin, the smell returned.
The initial clash didn’t go well for me, but once I started throwing punches instead of slashes, momentum started moving in my favour. Slightly. I kicked myself for my haste, but it was only after I inspected the thing that I realised expecting to dominate this creature in any attribute was unlikely. What I had hoped would be an assassination was turning into a brawl.
Mini-Boss - Ghoul of the legion (Level 10)
I had closed the gap with its level advantage using my much higher intelligence and somewhat competent skill at fighting. The Ghoul hit harder than me, moved faster and took damage far more happily. It didn’t even seem to feel pain, mostly confirmed when I snapped one of its gruesome fingers and all it did was slap me with the now more-flexible digit. However, unlike before, my danger senses were at a much more manageable level.
Sure, any clean swipe could take my head off, but so what? That possibility is what made the combat feel real. A chunk taken out of my tail at the cost of half the ghoul’s left foot, removed with a pair of quick, sharp stabs using the talons on my own feet. Much easier to unbalance, the next punch landed hard against the side of its head as it lunged to bite me. This toppled the thing, leading to the current flurry of blows.
For each punch the ghoul landed, four were taken from my quicker fists. With a flash of inspiration towards a reptilian brethren, I locked my teeth onto one of the ghoul’s thrown fists. Taking an uncomfortable knock to my pearly whites, I latched down and tried to crush the bones. Unbreakable skin from outside, maybe, but my mouth filled with awful viscera as the ghoul’s own hand bones started to tear their way out from the inside. I jumped with a vicious spin, taking the disgusting meat with me and creating some distance.
Hoping for a moment to breathe, all I could do was groan before I landed and the ghoul was on top of me. The creature was a true undead, completely unfeeling in the face of pain and dismemberment. I found it within myself to give some respect to the ghoul, committing this fight to a deeper space in my soul. This disparate strength, the tyranny of higher levels, age or wealth… I would overcome it with strength.
The ghoul was having a much more difficult time harming me without one of its hands, and I wriggled free of its tackle. From the furnace in my core, the place where drive and desperation became a tangible force, I bellowed. Spiritual core pushing both mind and body, I rushed forward. Slipping the telegraphed attack with its single good arm, I leapt at the ghoul’s chest.
I grasped the thrown punch of the ghoul at just below the shoulder and, with my feet on its face and chest, I heaved. A tearing like the collapse of a great tree ripped out, louder than the screaming from me or the mini-boss. The ghoul howled, muffled by my foot. With a final push, the limb came free and the ghoul was launched into a nearby building. I was almost disappointed no one was around to watch as I landed expertly.
No one’s ever around for the cool stuff, I reminded myself. I flipped the arm in my grasp around and held it forward like a longsword while I entered the tall house I had thrown the undead creature into. As I had hoped, it was rolling on the floor, unable to get to its one good foot without its arms to help. With a swipe of its own arm, I removed the ghoul’s head from its shoulders. “Good fight.”
Unlike when I attacked and the creature did something, its seemed to have no defence against its own natural weapons. Magic is stupid, I philosophised wisely. The scent I had picked up was the burning of mana, the fuel source for almost any magical effect. Whatever ability, skill or spell it had cast had a limit, but I hadn’t bothered to find it. Brute force was good enough for now.
A huge influx of energy gathered around my core and I hesitated, not wanting to waste even a drop of the potent power. Knowing most of it wouldn’t be taken into my spirit made me frustrated, even in the aftermath of a victory against a difficult enemy. Not wanting to leave another bad taste in my mouth after the ghoul blood, I sat down without even moving away from my gory position.
Was I a dragon or not? My spirit purred as I aligned my goals with my draconic blood and my mind felt clearer as I accepted the greed inherited by my species. It was dangerous to stay in the vicinity of such a dramatic battle but I didn’t care. So what if I was going to get a lot more experience than I had before? If I was going to lose any, then my victory was lessened. That could not be allowed. Avarice, fury and frustration were slammed down under the weight of a much more focal and powerful emotion.
Pride.
My world had been stolen from me twice. The first time, I hadn’t cared so much and it was only now that I realised how furious the second loss had made me. Gaia was to be truly my world. I had made plans. I had literally bled for the goal and yet, with a confusing swipe of an unseen god’s hand, everything was taken from me once more.
I would not allow even the System to take from me again.