Ione poked at Harold’s teeth on her stomach again. A single twitch was all it gave. She half expected it to curl into a grin and eat her, but she knew that was due to what she encountered in the depths of her mind.
That thing, whatever it was, smiled at her. As if it was amused at what she was doing.
She wondered if she made a bad idea with her choice of class, but she couldn’t regret it now. Harold was a part of her, and she had to live with it. Him? Her? She snorted, but she couldn't decide if she actually wanted to give some sort of personhood to the entity connected to her through her stomach. When she actually decided to investigate the area where her stomach used to be, it was just a blank space. A space that was an all consuming blackness, and it reminded her of the void of a blackhole. Her actual stomach had disappeared, and so did the lower portion of her spine. Ione suspected that was the reason she could immediately move her flesh and bone around; the entity in her stomach had eaten those parts of her upon her class bestowment.
Her face made a quick, disgusted frown at the thought. Ione huffed a sad sigh, and then repeated the experience.
She laid back and floated. Her white hair haloed her angular elven features and her limbs were spread wide. [Arcane Flesh Sense] was activated at slow increments until she eventually was brought to the state that allowed her to witness Harold in the recesses of her mind.
The darkness was familiar, and when she saw Harold again, the mouth licked its bloody teeth with a tongue so black that it was nearly indistinguishable from the dark surroundings.
This time, she didn’t run away. Ione’s consciousness floated closer to the being and she stopped until she was about half a football field away. The mouth was utterly gargantuan. The stained yellow and red teeth gleamed in an unknown light, and then ended in sharpened points that could easily slice flesh with the barest hint of a touch. As she looked at the teeth, a headache started to form and without even a warning she felt her eyes split open by an imaginary knife and she screamed at the unexpected pain that shouldn’t have existed.
Are you actually fucking kidding me?
She brought up her status page and saw that her health had gone down. Her actual eyes were cut open. Ione quickly healed her wounds and then glanced at the teeth again. The grin that stretched the too-wide mouth haunted her; Harold knew what happened. She glanced away before her eyes could be sliced open again and she felt anger bubble up.
“Motherfucker! I’m feeding your greedy ass, what the hell?” She loudly exclaimed towards the ground.
Ione hoped for some sort of response, but none came.
Hmmm.
“You know, I wonder what would happen if I threw shit down your gullet? Like actual animal shit? How would that taste, I wonder?” She walked around and mused to herself. Ione surreptitiously glanced at the being to see if her words had any effect, and with satisfaction she saw the grin slightly fade from the mouth; the corners less upturned than before.
“Or maybe you’d rather I just feed you dirt from now on? I’m pretty content with my set-up so I think some nice helping of mud pies is gonna be up your alley, or down, rather, pretty soon and onwards…” She trailed off.
Still, Harold did nothing.
“...And from the end of time while I’m alive.”
Silence reigned until a growl reverberated through her consciousness. It was akin to the sound a dinosaur made, only more primal. Her bones clattered and her eardrums vibrated. Whatever version of bones and eardrums she had in this wayward and dark place.
It was a warning. That much, Ione knew. Ione also knew she wasn’t that smart, and so decided to egg the beast.
She goaded, “oh please. And what are you gonna do? Eat me? You can’t seem to do anything right now, anyway. I’m the one that feeds you, after all.”
The grin had ceased. What had replaced the ghastly amusement was an expression that bordered on rage. The teeth held a barely concealed anger as they twitched in the effort to hold back, whatever it was they were holding back.
She stared at the teeth before the headache came back, and she slowly averted her eyes. Some part of her wanted to continuously challenge Harold. She had questions that she wanted answered, and if Harold was actually sentient then that meant the motherfucker masquerading as her stomach was holding out on her.
Ione knew that she did benefit from Harold’s existence, she could change her body how she wished into whatever Harold ate, but she couldn't ignore the uncomfortable idea that there was an actual thinking, plotting entity inside her.
It also made her question whether this scenario was in her mind, or not. Though, she quickly remembered that not five minutes ago she had her eyes sliced by just looking at how sharp Harold’s teeth were, so that quickly extinguished that question.
She looked back to Harold, ready to give up, when she noticed something just passed the teeth. It was slight, just a glimmer, but she saw light. A single speck before it was swallowed by darkness. Ione followed it. She warily approached the gargantuan teeth, distinctly kept her eyes off the offending bone, before the bone cracked wide open, split into shards. Ione looked, and saw that the teeth had split into more teeth and they moved. Fast.
The last thing she saw before she noped the fuck out of there was the teeth clamping down towards her, incredibly close to piercing her eyes again, or whatever she used to see in that strange domain.
[Arcane Flesh Sense] was deactivated, and all of her senses quickly returned to her. Ione looked around to make sure she was still in her little snail shell of safety. Ione tilted her head back when she realized she was safe and slowly closed her eyes. She floated there briefly before she realized that her senses were different. At least she got something good out of it.
For the moment, she was going to look at her gains. Something to pick her spirits up.
DING! Arcane Flesh Sense Tier 1 LVL 8->... Arcane Flesh Sense Tier 2 LVL 4
Arcane Flesh Sense Tier 2 LVL 4: Sense of touch, hearing, smell, sight, and balance can be controlled. All senses are now heightened.
Ione floated there and listened to the noises that surrounded her. The hot bubbles that left underwater vents, the various marine life. Her eyes examined the assorted ridges of the shell she hid in, and with a start she realized that at her position, it was almost as if she could zoom in manually with her eyes. Akin to an eagle. Now that her sense of balance was increased, she knew the synergy between [Arcane Flesh Sense] and [Total Body Control] was a huge boon in her arsenal. While she couldn't smell under water, she was excited to exit the dungeon and get a good whiff of the forest.
Now that she was finally in the second tier, she decided to think about the experience she just had.
All she could think was, Fuck.
She knew the fucker was hiding something. Ione had no doubt that Harold panicked and what happened was its attempt at trying to boot her out.
What was that light?
If she wasn’t so keen to avoid looking at the teeth, she never would have seen it. It almost reminded her of the light of an event horizon of a black hole, but its appearance and then subsequent disappearance were too fast to even figure out what that could have been.
There wasn’t a chance that she would go back in anytime soon to even investigate anyways. She knew when she was unwanted, and that any further attempts would be met with opposition, so she decided to follow through with what she said. Harold would be eating dirt, but not before she absorbed the salt water and the sand the shell rested on. She wasn’t sure if she could control the water the way she could with solids, and as evidenced by the corrosive liquid, she wagered she wouldn't. Ione was happy with the salt and silica addition, however, and while she wasn’t sure what she’d be able to use those materials for at the moment, she knew that it would probably help in the future at some point.
With that, Ione decided to move forward. The enemy type she had saved for last, the Nautis, floated around in packs. In fact, most of the monsters she encountered were in packs and she wondered if that was just generic dungeon design. Regardless, the Nautis were actually quite crafty. While Ione could easily dodge their poison attacks, when they failed to hit the poison would spread out, and she found herself in a poison cloud that she inhaled.
Status afflictions (1):
* Nautis Poison - You have been poisoned! Your stomach is in disarray. Effect: Nausea, Vomiting, Rash | Health - 70/s | Time left: 1:30
That was fucked, in Ione’s opinion. She only had 8,000 health, so the Nautis poison will eat through over half. Once again, she was glad for [Arcane Flesh Healing] and she was able to outpace the poison's effects and quickly dispatched the hostile creatures.
Now, there was nothing left between her and the hole in the other side of the cavern and she raced towards it. The glowing fauna that surrounded her abruptly stopped at the entrance to this new area, and she swam into the darkened area. With delight, she realized that with the second tier of [Arcane Flesh Sense] she could now see in the dark. Ione briefly wondered why she didn’t get that as a general skill, since she had been numerous creatures that utilized that sort of eyesight, until she suspected that seeing in the dark wasn’t really a skill that could have tiers.
As Ione swam through the hole, she was astounded at how deep it went. It felt like hours had passed and she felt along the grainy wall. Her pace increased as the feeling of unease came back and she wondered if this was where she was meant to go, but she couldn't turn back now, she had come this far and something in her refused to admit that she spent this amount of time on nothing.
So, she went deeper, nearly on a complete decline, until she reached a circular room. Glowing moss lined the walls which created an almost eerie effect, and in the middle, on a pedestal was a chest. A regular wooden chest, and Ione became suspicious at how it hadn’t rotted yet.
Ione floated until she was about 3 meters away, and lengthened her finger to where it almost touched the chest.
A slight nudge, and the chest burst into action, the lid flew open to reveal a cavernous mouth, lined with monstrous teeth and long spindly arms tore through the wood. A large tongue lolled out and licked its chops, reminiscent of Harold did earlier.
I fucking knew it!
The chest was too weird and too pristine. Wood underwater this deep down beneath the surface? Ione wasn’t idiotic.
She inspected the Mimic.
[Mimic] - LVL 502
What the hell? This is a level 300 dungeon, why is this mimic in the 500s?
Regardless, Ione felt anticipation as the Mimic pushed itself off the pedestal and Ione retracted her ET finger. Adrenaline coursed through her body as she formed her polearm and then got to work.
~~~~~
The Mimic was hard. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but its speed, strength, and dexterity nearly matched hers, and she floundered. Every swipe was dodged, and every trick went wayward, and Ione grew frustrated. What wasn’t frustrating was the gains she got while fighting the creature. Of course, she couldn't look at them, that would be incredibly stupid even with [Multitasking], as she had to keep her attention on the beast that was trying to eat her, but once she beat the mimic she was going to dance on its decaying body as she basked in the rewards.
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Her mastery of the polearm had grown, that much she knew, the way she was able to glide it along her body without it actually turning to flesh was a sight to behold, and despite her frustration, she knew it was only a matter of time her growth would outpace the Mimic.
Its own attacks were nothing to scoff at either. It utilized its long arms to deliver bone crunching blows that rattled her insides, and the tongue was used to strategically block her vision. She wasn’t sure if the Mimic had higher cognition, the way it attacked belied a being that could think about its moves in a manner that required planning and confident execution, but she also theorized that it could simply be an enemy type that was made to fight like that. It was a higher level, after all. Ione suspected it was due to the level difference. What Ione also suspected was that If any other adventurers had come across this enemy, they would have died. There was no doubt that adventurers at a solid level 300 would have been able to win against the Mimic in this environment, with the creature at level 502. No way.
With that thought, Ione fought harder. Her attacks had just a bit more edge to them, and with a blow that brought her polearm straight through the Mimic’s tongue, she split the vicious beast in half to reveal a radiant purple pearl within its depths. A reward completely unexpected, and after Ione made sure the mimic was dead by an extra stab and a dance on its corpse, she grasped the object and a screen revealed itself to her.
You have picked up {{Mimic’s Pearl}}
The pearl of a Mimic from the depths of a dungeon. Extremely rare and valuable.
It wasn’t gear, but Ione’s eyes were locked in at the ‘valuable,’ part. A grin formed as she wondered at how much she could sell it for, before she realized that she should feed it to Harold.
Though, she wasn’t going to. When she got out of the dungeon she was going to taunt the absolute hell out of Harold with the pearl, and she was going to feed it dirt. Hopefully, that would force the being to communicate with her beyond an angry growl.
As Ione thought about fucking with Harold, a new screen popped into her vision that made her blood run cold.
You have completed: [Dungeon of Endless Waters]
You have fought an optional boss and have prevailed. A secret boss now roams the waters.
Fight the boss, or exit the dungeon, immediately.
This was certainly new. Ione was astounded that secret bosses enlisted, and it upended her view of the other dungeons.
Do the other dungeons have secret bosses? It gave her all the more resolve to go back and see for herself, since she had other things left unfinished. She did want to leave the dungeon, however, to get some questions answered, and she quickly stored the pearl into one of her rings before she swam all the way back up to the surface. All was quiet, and the bottom feeders that she had seen just a while ago had all but vacated the area. She strained every sense she could, but there was absolutely nothing that gave away any sort of life.
It was unnerving, and that feeling of unease returned just as strong. That sixth sense told her something, but she wasn't sure what. Regardless, she swam directly up at full speed and with [Prey Sense] she realized that hundreds of eyes, as big as her body, followed her and she shrieked under the water.
Fucking Christ Almighty!
She swam at the speed of light and when she got closer to the surface she could actually see what the being was. It was some type of serpent, a body longer than the empire state building, and thicker than a school bus. Its face had various ridges that ballooned into spikes that raced along its back, and eyes that started from the front that trailed along the rest of its body.
She inspected it while it chased her.
[Hydra of the Abyss] - LVL 809
She shrieked again at the level, and decided that she wouldn't chance a fight with it. Her limbs pushed her to break the surface, and she narrowly missed the dirt hole that floated.
“Fuck!” she yelled, and as she soared over the ocean she squealed as the Hydra tried its chance at catching her with its ferocious jaws.
It narrowly missed and when Ione tried a second time to get to the dirt path, she made it by just the skin of her teeth. She quickly grabbed her backpack, and with one last glance down the hole she saw the Hydra give her one look before it sank beneath the waters, leaving her view, and the once tumultuous liquid turned calm.
She breathed a sigh of relief and shakily left the dungeon. Once she was back in the forest she sat down and took a deep, water-less breath.
The air smelled nice.
A screen filled her vision once more.
Congratulations! You have successfully completed: [Dungeon of Endless Waters]
Rewards are calculated based on performance, time and level.
Your completion grade: A
Rewards Calculating…
Rewards Calculating…
…
Rewards Calculated:
2 Million EXP
200 Attribute Points
Nautis Poison x 2
Hydroter Meat x 4
Sublune spike x 6
Accept Rewards?
A disappointed frown marred Ione’s features. She wanted to accept the rewards, but couldn’t, at least, not yet. Not until she asked Spewn, or the Treller, what level her evolution would be at.
She looked at another screen.
Congratulations! Class Aptitude Skill: Polearms of Flesh has leveled up!
Proficiency increased. Durability increased. Mana usage: 32
Ione was happy with that increase. Now it was at level 2.
DING!Total Body Control Tier 1 LVL 7->... Total Body Control Tier 2 LVL 1
Total Body Control Tier 2 LVL 1: You have full control over your bodily functions, your reaction speed is increased further, and you may move with increased athletic ability and grace. The mind and body is attuned. Immune to manipulation of the mind and body. Immune to age.
‘Immune to age’? Ione was flabbergasted. Was she effectively immortal now? Could she control her aging? She didn’t want to be 15 forever, and the resulting headache that came out of the questions and concerns that circled her mind forced her to massage her temples in dismay. She was glad to increase the tier, but not glad for the implication. She wanted to assume that she would be able to control it, given the first sentence of her skill was that she had control over her body functions, but she couldn't be sure.
[Prey Sense] dinged, and she suspected that Spewn was looking at her.
“Hey Spewn?” Ione called out.
The little green creature emerged from the bushes. “How did you know I was here?” Spewn asked.
Ione gave a noncommittal reply, “I just know these things sometimes, call it a sixth sense, if you will. Anyways, you said the Treller wanted to see me after I finished the dungeons?”
Spewn vibrated in excitement. “Yes! My master would be delighted to have your presence. Come, come!”
Ione laughed at its exuberance and got up, but not before she grabbed a fist full of dirt and chucked it into Harold’s mouth. She quickly whispered. “That's what you get you motherfucker, enjoy some crap infested dirt. You’re not getting that pearl.”
“What did you say?” Spewn asked.
Ione didn’t particularly care if Spewn heard her or not, and in the case that Spewn did have good hearing, she decided not to lie straight to its face.
“I told Harold that it's not getting a pearl I collected from the dungeon.”
“Harold wants a pearl?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I think it does. But it annoyed me so it’s not getting it.”
“Oh, okay!”
Ione laughed, Spewn couldn’t give less of a shit.
She decided to ask the question that’s been burning in her mind. “Hey Spewn, do you know what level an evolution takes for a strange class?”
“I don’t know.” Spewn said, with a hop, skip and a jump as it led her to where the Treller was.
Ione laughed. Well, that answered that. She would try the Treller next.
Spewn led her to an area thick with fog, and eventually down through a root covered hole into what looked like a nesting area. Roots coiled around in an imitation of a bird's nest, only huge, and Fireflies intermittently glowed. Her eyes were brought to the Treller who was situated within the nest and she gulped. Even though the Treller wouldn't actually be able to do anything to harm her, its presence was simply terrifying. Its masked visage stared at her and she lowered her gaze in respect, she knew the truth, or at least, a version of it, and the least she could do was show deference to a being that experienced so much.
“Greetings Ione. I trust that your dungeon explorations went well?” Its deep vaguely British voice boomed.
“It did, although I have a question. May I ask?”
It made a gesture that indicated she could.
“Thank you. So I'm sure you're aware that I have a strange class,” she said as she glanced at the being and it nodded. “Right, and I’m wondering if you know the evolution level for my class.”
Short, sweet, and concise.
The Treller answered. “I do not.”
Fuck!
“Though,” It continued, “it would be beneficial for you to know that strange classes all vary in evolution level. It comes with the strangeness of the class, there is not much to be recorded as very few individuals are blessed with the class option. In a single renewal period, it’s theorized that only 3 individuals are able to have the option. I have met one such person in this renewal period, but it was long ago. Before the death of my people. You are the second.”
Ione noticed the casual way the Treller mentioned the literal genocide of their population, but decided to not ask about it. Instead, she nodded and asked. “What was their evolution level?”
“Level 600.”
She whistled. “That’s high.”
“Indeed. Regardless of what you do with the dungeon rewards, I trust that you will find the appropriate time to accept them. For now, I have a question.”
Ione eyes widened briefly at the knowledge that the Treller knew she had the rewards on standby, but quickly schooled her features. “Ask away,” she said.
“I have a quest for you. Would you like to empty my domain of my beasts for me?”
Ione cocked her head. “You want me to kill your beasts?”
Spewn interjected. “Bu- but master! You lov-.”
“Quiet, Spewn.” The Treller gently chided and Spewn whimpered. “Apologies, and correct. I will have further need for you after you dispatch them.”
Ione thought about it. She wasn’t sure what the Treller would gain from this, and she knew that Spewn apparently didn’t like this course of action, but the Treller did let her stay, and she felt that she should uphold the unspoken bargain.
“Okay, I'll do it.”
“No!” Spewn exclaimed, but she ignored it to look at the screen that popped up.
DING! Quest Obtained! Please refer to the quest tab to get a detailed explanation.
Complete the Trellers Objective: 0/200 Beasts, ???
Rewards: 75,000 EXP, +80 attribute points, ???
Failure: Death
Death? What the actual fuck did I just agree to?
“Excellent. I trust you to dispatch my creatures with the utmost of care. Now, you may exit. Do come back after you have finished.”
It seemed the Treller wanted her gone. Alright then. With one last glance towards a distraught Spewn, Ione exited the earthy room. She still wasn’t sure what the death part meant, but hoped it was just Mauvah fucking with her.
~~~~~
It didn’t take long to kill the beasts. Her experience in the dungeons had taught her much, and they weren't at a high level. At least, not to her. The quest didn’t update, so she knew she wasn’t finished yet.
She was back at the Treller’s nest within a week.
“Now,” Ione started, “before I ask any other questions, why the fuck did your level increase to 987?!” She nearly screeched while she said the number.
As soon as she walked in, she noticed the Treller had looked different, the mask more intricate, and the roots thicker, and sharper. Lethal. So she decided to inspect it and was met with a number so startling she nearly pooped her pants.
“That it has.” The Treller nodded. “As I had become the sole proprietor of this domain, I had become a boss. Mauvah seemed unsure what to do with me, and so gave me an ability to produce beasts that hold a fraction of my power. What I had asked of you, was to give me my power back. The power that I had cultivated in my years of solitude.”
“Okay,” Ione brows furrowed as she drew out the syllable. “But what does this have to do with me? Are you going to kill me?” She looked around. “Also, where’s Spewn?”
“Spewn is of no concern for the moment. I have one last thing to ask of you.”
Ione found that incredibly suspicious, both, that the Treller ignored her second question, and that Spewn had disappeared, so her preservation instincts kicked in. It wasn't like she could actually challenge the Treller now, so she nodded. “Sure, go ahead.”
“Ione. You are strong. Perhaps the strongest I have ever faced. Perhaps, the strongest that has ever existed, and will ever exist. I sense a potential in you that I have not sensed from anyone else. So I ask this of you…”
The quest updated.
Complete the Trellers Objective: 200/200 Beasts, Kill the Treller
Rewards: 75,000 EXP, +80 attribute points, ???
Failure: Death
“Fight me, and prevail. Kill me, and set me free.”