“I’m not doing that.” Ione said, decisively. The Treller bristled, but let her continue. “There’s no way I’d be able to defeat you without proper preparation. I know I can punch above my level, but you’re nearly 1,000 levels above me. There’s no way I’d be able to take you as is.”
The Treller hummed. “I will allow you to accept your dungeon rewards. I am willing to give you that.”
Ione’s face screwed in consternation. The Treller knew that she had a class that enabled her to fight against beings much stronger, but it didn’t want to wait until she grew too much in power. The Treller wanted some sort of a challenge.
Though, she could probably hide out in the dungeons too if it really came down to it. That is, unless, the Treller chased her inside of the dungeon. She could probably survive if they played a game of cat and mouse, but she didn’t want to anger the being too much if she decided to renege on the deal, though her own survival was paramount. Her head tilted and she frowned. “So you’re pretty much forcing a fight because you’re suicidal and you want to go out fighting in a semi-controlled manner?”
“Precisely.”
“Does this have something to do with the death of your people?”
“Yes.” It grumbled.
Ione’s lips thinned, and she came to a decision. She knew it was stupid, but if the Treller wanted death, then it deserved to know the truth. It's what she would’ve wanted in their position. “Soooo,” She drew out the syllable, “I’ve recently come to a bit of information that I feel you should know.”
The Treller levied a heavy gaze. She could feel the weight of it bore down on her, but she remained steadfast. Ione controlled her heart rate and diaphragm to ensure she remained calm. “I found out that the elves may have had a hand in the genocide of the Treller population.”
It was silent. For a long time. They each stood in quietness as she assumed the Treller absorbed the information and she shifted her feet.
“...I just figured you should know. I don’t have many details, but, yea.” She shrugged. “Probably not the best thing to say after you just said that you want to fight to the death, but in this case, I think you deserve to know.” Her eyes were trained on the beast as she finished her sentence, keeping watch for any miniscule movement it made.
“I already had my suspicions, Ione G’alatria, descendant of Oflan G’alatria. Your ancestor had disappeared when the human raid occurred. In fact, all elven presence had dispersed when the humans came to massacre my people.” It paused, as if taking a breath.
“My mind may be old, but I have enough wits to connect the clues in the wake of my family's death. I have had plenty of time to ruminate on what I could do. I cannot leave; I am confined to this forest, so I cannot enact any sort of revenge. Mauvah had turned me into a beast, with my only hope of escape to be through death. The humans have put up a barrier to dissuade the rest of them from fighting me. Spewn, my most loyal servant, would not agree to be an instrument in my death.”
The Treller moved and in less than a blink, it was right in front of Ione’s face. An uncontrolled spike of adrenaline coursed through her body as she neutrally regarded the creature; while her face showed minimal emotion, her mind was in disarray.
Holy fuck! I didn’t even see it move!
For all her attributes, she still wasn't able to completely follow the movements of the Treller. Which meant the Treller could have killed her at any point in the conversation. All she could hope for was that the dungeon rewards took her over the threshold before the fight occurred.
Though, another thought came to her mind.
“Why didn’t you have Spewn enact revenge? Spewn can leave your domain, right?” She questioned.
“I will not have Spewn catch the attention of humans if I can help it,” it said with a hint of annoyance. “The missions I send Spewn out on are clandestine. It would not do me or Spewn well to have any more attention than what you have brought.”
“The humans that patrol outside the barricade?” Ione mentioned with a slight inflection. She already knew that she caused a bit of a ruckus when she launched herself at the barricade, but she didn’t give them too much thought since she didn’t really regard them as beings that could cause her immediate destruction, especially after her fight with Spewn.
The Treller nodded. “They have amassed quite the force since your arrival. More arrive everyday and they have built additional structures to look over the barricade.” It tilted its head. “Of course, you would have known that if you were vigilant.”
Ione’s eyes narrowed at the admonishment. It almost felt like the Treller was giving her a lesson in some way. “Noted.” She replied.
It nodded, then continued. “The point is, they will try to come in, sooner or later, and I have no wish to be backed into a corner, or have Spewn killed. I have allowed you to enter my domain, a being with mixed blood of those responsible for tragedies past, and in you, I will have some semblance of revenge. You have given me many great gifts; the stories of your past lives, and your presence. For that, I am thankful, Ione.”
Ione was confused and so, ignored the last part of their sentence. “So if you kill me, what happens? The humans will come and then what you just said will happen anyways.”
The Treller was silent.
That’s when Ione knew that the Treller didn’t have any plan. It was confident it would die by her hand.
“Wait,” Ione continued, “If I kill you, wouldn’t it be like-.” The Treller cut her off.
“I know what you’re going to say,” it said with a hint of amusement. “History has a unique way of repeating itself.”
It was gruesomely poetic, in Ione’s opinion. The same being who’s people died by both humans and elves, wishes to die by a being that carried the blood of both. Ione wished she could have Coranne’s, or Fellis’ opinion, but unfortunately she couldn't.
Ione’s eyes glanced around the rooted den and the same question came back to her. “I would really like to know where Spewn is.”
The Treller laughed. “Spewn is safe, they’re sleeping deep beneath the terra.”
“In preparation for the fight?”
Its mask tilted in a yes.
There was no way that Ione could psych herself fast enough to fight the Treller. While she wasn’t close with the being, she had conversed with it in a meaningful way and it was one of the only beings that really knew what she went through. “Can I request a week’s preparation? Just enough time to consolidate whatever gains I get from the dungeon?”
Ione asked this for multiple reasons. Yes, it was true that she wanted to use the time to consolidate her gains, but she also wanted time to convince the Treller to allow Spewn to watch, otherwise she suspected the creature would try to fight her in revenge for killing its master. If she killed its master, she couldn’t be too confident. Another reason was that she did want to scope out the barricade. She would take the small lesson the Treller bestowed upon her and see who was lurking around the Treller’s domain.
Its black, bottomless eyeholes peered into her, as if assessing the veracity of her question, before it gave a quick, nearly imperceptible nod.
A notification dinged in her mind.
Complete the Treller's Objective: 200/200 Beasts, Kill the Treller
Time Remaining: 6 days, 9 hours, 58 Seconds.
Ione briefly watched the counter go down before she beamed and quickly said her thanks. All of a sudden she felt a rumble beneath her feet before a new being pinged on her [Spatial Awareness].
An entangling of roots emerged from the dirt floor, the bark scraped against each other and with Ione’s enhanced eyesight, she was able to see the fibers heal themselves almost immediately. She had no doubt that was an aspect of the Treller’s power and she logged the information away for later use.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
The roots eventually disentangled themselves to reveal Spewn, who slept as silently and quietly as a babe, and Ione looked to the Treller in confusion.
Why wasn’t Spewn waking up?
As she watched the Treller gaze adoringly at the sleeping bundle of green, she had the distinct impression that she was encroaching on a tender moment. Though, her growing suspicion that the Treller drugged Spewn grew as she slowly, but loudly made her way outside without any commentary on Spewn’s part.
How was she slow and loud, one may ask? Ione pretended to stub her foot on a root and noisily cursed and grumbled.
Her last view of the two creatures, before she moved onwards, was that of the Treller reaching its rooted arm towards the still slumbering Spewn.
~~~~~
Ione quickly made her way to the barricades and noticed, with the aid of [Spatial Awareness], that there were a lot more soldiers patrolling the rampart. What was originally an estimation of five, seemed to have grown in the low 100’s. Her body was shrouded by the cover of foliage, and she was hesitant to go out into the thin line of open area where the newly constructed towers stared down into. Her eyes caught movement in the towers, and she watched as soldiers conversed with each other; they pointed and gestured towards the domain before Ione caught sight of a familiar individual with her enhanced eyesight.
Tervail, fucking, Morns. The investigator who briefly ‘interviewed’ her after Sannie died.
She didn’t think she would see him again, but it made sense that he would be there if she was the one suspected of being the barricade hopper. She wondered if the shadow person was around too, and in being cautious, she slinked away before her wonderings got the better of her.
[Prey Sense] didn’t activate so she wasn’t being watched, at least. Not yet.
Ione went to the second dungeon that she had yet to accept rewards from, the dungeon titled [Labyrinth of Sorrow].
Rewards:
1,250,000 EXP
250 attribute points
Minthor’s Greataxe
Great Minthors Fire
Mana Crystal x 5
Accept Rewards?
Ione’s face was unimpressed as she was suddenly inundated with loot and heard the dings of notifications filter in her mind. She really hoped it didn’t fuck her class over, and she decided, after the fight with the Treller, that she would dedicate some time to skill farming.
Then, finally, she would figure out the answer to that damn Sphinx’s riddle.
As she leveled up and got new attribute points, she sorted through the loot.
The Minthor’s Greataxe was absolutely massive. From pommel to head, it was nearly the length of her body, and both blades, just in length, were a little under the length of her arm. The metal blades were engraved with intricate sigils and the handle was tightly bound in supple black leather, interspersed with red twine. The pommel ended in a sharp point, perfect for stabbing someone when they’ve crept behind her and was polished to a sheen that reflected the little baby hairs on Ione’s face. She wasn’t sure what to do with the greataxe, except use it to pose as somebody else or sell it. Though, it was a gorgeous weapon, and she would be more hesitant to sell it if she weren’t so broke. She checked the greataxe’s description.
You have picked up {{Minthor’s Greataxe}}
The Greataxe the mighty Minthor held. Enchanted to give an additional 50 points in Strength. Imbued with the element of fire. Requirement to wield: 300 strength.
Ione’s eyebrow raised. She gave the greataxe an experimental swing and fire erupted out of each blade. Laughter bubbled out of her. Unfortunately she couldn't eat it, not with her hunger strike she imposed on Harold, and the fact that she couldn't eat enchanted items, but the gimmick was too cool to sell off.
Fuck yea, I’m keeping this, broke be damned.
Ione might have been a hoarder. She decided to prop it up against the stone wall as she sorted through other materials. Her eyes locked onto the Great Minthors fire, an object that looked like it was some sort of animal gland, with a fleshy beet red exterior and a tube like structure that looked to connect to other organs. As she held the sac, Ione could feel an incredible heat emanate from the object, and if her heat and fire resistance wasn’t as high as it was, her hand would have burned. She read the description.
You have picked up {{Great Minthors Fire}}
The fire that came from the belly of the beast. A delicacy to some, a poison to others, it has many uses inside and outside the kitchen.
Ione’s lips curled into an excited grin before she quickly deflated. If the object was what she thought it was, then she could consume it and gain some sort of fire element, much like the corrosion she got from the Redmane. The one single tiny problem was that she couldn't eat it. Not with her trying to starve Harold.
Ione knew how much of an advantage she would get against the Treller if she consumed the fire, but it wasn’t worth it until she actually figured out what the hell Harold was.
Then again, if she didn’t survive against the Treller then she would never find out.
“Fuck you, Harold,” Ione said, as she threw the gland into the open maw on her belly. “You’re still not getting that pearl.”
She ignored the resulting burp and giggled like a madwoman when she used [Arcane Flesh Molding] and turned her skin into flame. The sight was grotesque as she saw her veins, sinews, and muscle beneath the orange blaze, but she stood stock still, mesmerized at the display of fire. The sensation and logistical aspects were strange as well. It gave off heat, but because it was connected to her, it didn’t burn, and she could feel the flames themselves lick and claw at the air.
Fire, by principle, needed something to burn, though nothing on her was burning. That was when she realized, upon taking a glance at her stat page which showed her pool of mana decreasing, that the fire used her mana as fuel to burn. She didn’t understand exactly how it worked, but she accepted it nonetheless.
She extended the flames to the standard length of a sword and slowly condensed it until she was left with a weapon nearly as bright as the sun. Ione quickly swung the pressurized fire sword at a nearby tree.
The sword left a massive dent, followed by a huge scorch mark. A few flickering flames remained.
A new powerup, and now Ione was infinitely stronger, doubly so, against the Treller. Although she was annoyed that she had to break her revenge fast in order to do so.
The last thing to check before she looked at her stats were the mana crystals.
You have picked up {{Mana Crystals}}
Crystals that come from deep within Terrestria. Or, as a reward for completing quests and dungeons. Will give 500 mana back instantly, but dies upon one use. Can be recharged.
Ione’s eyes widened and a broad smile broke out across her face. It should go without saying how useful the items were, and she quickly stashed them inside of her pack.
Now, it was time to look at her stats. Her jaw dropped.
Alright. I suppose it’s time to kill myself, she dramatically thought.
She had only increased by 38 levels to a whopping level 113. An annoyed groan left her as she did the math in her head; it took a little less than 40,000 experience to level up at her current state, and she knew as she grew in level that it would only get worse. Her class forced her to grind for levels and that’s even with the 2.5x experience modifier she had from Increased Experience Acquisition.
However, her lips curled into a smile when she saw that she had 478 stat points to spend, which would make it all the harder for the Treller to kill her and all the easier for her to survive.
She looked at her attributes.
Attributes (478 points available)
Constitution: 455
Wisdom: 800
Stamina: 650
Strength: 500
Dexterity: 479
Intelligence: 595
Then, she allocated them.
Attributes (0 points available)
Constitution: 457
Wisdom: 1000
Stamina: 750
Strength: 500
Dexterity: 650
Intelligence: 600
Her eye twitched at her constitution attribute, she quite liked whole numbers, but otherwise ignored it in lieu of her gains. An extra thousand points of mana brought her up to 9000 and an extra 500 stamina brought her up to 5,375 from 4,875 points. The two additional constitution points brought her up 10 extra health points, which wasn’t big, but her focus on mana meant the more mana she had the more she could heal herself without running out.
She quickly stashed the greataxe inside of her Spatial Ring, and started to head off towards the last dungeon, before she heard a peculiar noise, one that eerily sounded like a battering ram hitting a door. Ione set off in the direction towards the commotion, which, unfortunately, seemed to come from where the soldiers were stationed outside of the wall.