As Ione ran back to the doors, all she could think was, “what was the answer to the riddle?”
It was so vague and non-directional that, really anyone who would have answered it, would have come up with an answer personal to them. For Ione it was kindness. Treat oneself with kindness, others and nature. To instantly take that away was devastation. Yet, trust, love, life, nature, empathy, and humility could have all been answers too.
It made Ione think that the question was deliberate, to disallow people from solving the riddle, to force them into a fight against the Sphinx.
Ione wanted to fight the Sphinx again. There was something in her that wanted to guess the answer. To know it. The boss of this dungeon was a program of some kind, or maybe just an asshole who didn’t want to answer her questions, but still, she wouldn't give it up.
She made it back to the doors in record time, thankfully, they were wide open and revealed the forest she came from. There was still some left before the dungeon turned to nothingness, but Ione wasn’t going to test her luck. With one step, she was back in the forest, and she heard a chorus of Dings! In her head as the doors slammed shut behind her.
Her eager visage faced the notifications and she huffed in utter delight.
Congratulations! You have successfully completed: [Grazing Heat of the Sun]
Rewards are calculated based on performance, time and level.
Your completion grade: A
Rewards Calculating…
Rewards Calculating…
…
Rewards Calculated:
1,000,000 EXP
Ugasin scale x 15
Sand Prowler hide x 20
Redmane Corrode Substance x 14
Sphinx Hair x 1
Accept Rewards?
Her back met the grass and her gaze focused on the clouds moving by. Her experience acquisition skill was doing wonders and she found it incredible that it made up for the difference in her class leveling. She prepared herself, and then accepted the EXP.
She closed her eyes and listened to the symphony of notifications sound in her mind until all went quiet. Birds chirped. A breath escaped her lungs, and she looked at the blue screen in front of her.
DING! F̷̝͇͕̈̈̕l̴͚͔͓̉̓e̸̬͋ş̵͓̹̈̌ẖ̸̽́w̴̢̹̌͌̈́é̶͍̩̿ạ̴͘͜v̷̱̻̺͐͂e̷͓͛r̶̨̩͓̉̌̂ LVL 9-> F̷̝͇͕̈̈̕l̴͚͔͓̉̓e̸̬͋ş̵͓̹̈̌ẖ̸̽́w̴̢̹̌͌̈́é̶͍̩̿ạ̴͘͜v̷̱̻̺͐͂e̷͓͛r̶̨̩͓̉̌̂ LVL 10 - 6 attribute points received
DING! F̷̝͇͕̈̈̕l̴͚͔͓̉̓e̸̬͋ş̵͓̹̈̌ẖ̸̽́w̴̢̹̌͌̈́é̶͍̩̿ạ̴͘͜v̷̱̻̺͐͂e̷͓͛r̶̨̩͓̉̌̂ LVL 10-> F̷̝͇͕̈̈̕l̴͚͔͓̉̓e̸̬͋ş̵͓̹̈̌ẖ̸̽́w̴̢̹̌͌̈́é̶͍̩̿ạ̴͘͜v̷̱̻̺͐͂e̷͓͛r̶̨̩͓̉̌̂ LVL 11 - 6 attribute points received
…
…
…
DING! F̷̝͇͕̈̈̕l̴͚͔͓̉̓e̸̬͋ş̵͓̹̈̌ẖ̸̽́w̴̢̹̌͌̈́é̶͍̩̿ạ̴͘͜v̷̱̻̺͐͂e̷͓͛r̶̨̩͓̉̌̂ LVL 74-> F̷̝͇͕̈̈̕l̴͚͔͓̉̓e̸̬͋ş̵͓̹̈̌ẖ̸̽́w̴̢̹̌͌̈́é̶͍̩̿ạ̴͘͜v̷̱̻̺͐͂e̷͓͛r̶̨̩͓̉̌̂ LVL 75 - 6 attribute points received
Ione laid there for a brief moment until hands that emerged from her back pushed her into a standing position, and she whooped in jubilee. She gave a small victory dance.
I’m fucking loaded!
She had a whopping 396 attribute points to allocate before she tried the dungeon again. An A ranking was nice, but she knew she could score higher. She had to. Of course, she dumped 160 points into Wisdom. It turned her original stat from 640 to 800, and boosted her pool to 7,000. Which meant she could last through fights longer once she came across tougher enemies.
152 attribute points went into stamina next, which made it 650, as she had noticed how low her stamina would get after roughly 45 seconds of fighting when she continuously used it. Now, her pool was 4,875. The rest of the points went into strength, dexterity, and constitution, respectively 20, 21, and 53 points. Each sat at 500, 479, and 455.
Ione looked at her status page with glee.
Status Page
HP: 2,275 | ST: 4,875 | MP: 7,000
Name: Ione G’alatria
Race: Human-Elf Halfling
Birthday: 06/01/700 RY (Renewal Year)
Age: 15
Class: F̷̝͇͕̈̈̕l̴͚͔͓̉̓e̸̬͋ş̵͓̹̈̌ẖ̸̽́w̴̢̹̌͌̈́é̶͍̩̿ạ̴͘͜v̷̱̻̺͐͂e̷͓͛r̶̨̩͓̉̌̂ LVL 75 [EXP bank: 20,897.85]
Class skills
Passive:
Arcane flesh Sense Tier 1 LVL 2: sense of touch, hearing, smell, sight, and balance can now be controlled
Total Body Control Tier 1 LVL 2: you have full control over your bodily functions, your reaction speed is faster (250ms÷2= 125 ms), and you may move with increased athletic ability and grace. You may also lower your heart rate, increase your rate of breathing, and devote resources to different organs or parts of the body. The mind and body is attuned. Immune to manipulation of the mind and body.
Meditation of the Flesh Tier 2 LVL 5: when standing still or sitting, you may gain mana at a rate of +3% mana/s. Gives a static boon of 1.75× the amount of mana you have.
Active:
Arcane Flesh Healing Tier 2 LVL 4: Your body heals from any injury at a rate of +75 hp/s- however it has a cost of 40 mana/s. Cannot protect against decapitations.
Arcane Flesh Molding Tier 1 LVL 3: you can shape your Flesh how you see fit, be it into armor, weapons or both. It is as strong as what you consume, however the shaping of Flesh costs 25 mana/s when active. Range is 2.5 meters away from the origin body.
Arcane legs of Momentum Tier 1 LVL 3: your legs are enhanced for speed. Movement speed increased by 2.5 with a cost of 400 mana/m and 50 stamina/s. Gives a static boon of 1.5x the amount of stamina you have.
Class aptitude skills: None
Attributes (0 points available):
Constitution: 455
Wisdom: 800
Stamina: 650
Strength: 500
Dexterity: 479
Intelligence: 595
Status afflictions (0):
General Skills (29):
[Focus to expand]
Arcane perks (2):
Increased Experience Acquisition
Omniglot
Resistances (23):
[Focus to expand]
Quests (4):
Find Al’Varo
Obtain the Tutorial Book
Ascend
Kill Nemoa
Gear (5):
Black Glove Wrappings (damaged)
Black Leg Wrappings (damaged)
Ring of Dimensional Holds (5 storage slots)
Ring of Dimensional Holds (5 storage slots)
Ring of Dimensional Holds (5 storage slots)
Pendant of Gostra
One thing that stood out to her was [Total Body Control]. It said she was immune to mind and body manipulation, which meant that she couldn't be mind controlled at all, but Spewn's poison still affected her reaction time. Was it because it was considered a poison? It still affected her mind, manipulated it. Unless the skill only meant that she couldn't be controlled, as in her thoughts and actions can't be controlled, and by extension, her bodily movements couldn't be controlled either. Since the poison did affect her, she concluded that she was right.
Ione then looked at her gear and noticed that she still wore the Pendant of Gostra. It had yet to actually activate, so that meant that for the past battles she was never in danger of a life-ending strike, which was nice to know. There was another necklace in her inventory, however; the Necklace of Mana Recovery.
You have picked up {{Necklace of Mana Recovery}}
Additional mana recovery at .5%
Place in gear? (Must wear item)
Could she wear both at the same time?
She tried to place it into gear, but then an error message popped up.
!Error! You cannot wear more than one Necklace. Effects will not apply if worn.
Gee, thanks. That’s kind of stupid. But, I could probably switch them out, which might help in confusing people.
The necklace was put on, and she switched the pendant out for the necklace and it worked. The transition was seamless and could be done with a thought. That bode well for her.
Her attention switched to the items she got. Her eyes glazed at the shine from the Ugasin scale and she immediately fed one to Harold. Same with the Sand Prowler hide and the Redmane’s corrosive liquid. Surprisingly, the liquid wasn't rejected, apparently not considered magical in nature and she experimented with it for a bit. She turned the tip of her finger into the liquid and watched as it drooped to the ground. Gravity caused it to separate from her body and the result was a goop of flesh at her feet. She decided to instead coat her hand with it, in a very thin layer and watched as the peridot liquid created a sheen that implied untold pain.
A ruthless smile graced her face. She put her hand on her own shoulder and listened to the sizzle it caused.
She found it interesting that the hand that was coated in the liquid wasn't damaged, yet the shoulder she tested it out was.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Maybe it had something to do with the intent? She had intentionally coated her hand with the substance, and while she did intentionally coat her shoulder, she would consider it a second-hand coating.
Well, now I can farm my own resistance.
Wait…
Holy shit…
I can farm my own resistances!
Maybe not all, but she could do it with certain non-magical substances. Then, while farming her resistances, she could also farm levels for [Arcane Flesh Healing]. She had to experiment, but she wanted to get a few more levels first before she settled down to actually focus on the logistics of her class.
Ione wasn’t tired and instantly tried to go back into the dungeon, but was met with another error screen.
C’mon dude.
!Error! You cannot enter the dungeon [Grazing Heat of the Sun]. It is undergoing maintenance.
Come back in: 3 hours.
Maintenance? I didn't think I was in an MMO. She audibly groaned.
While it was nice to know that she could come back, there were still a few things she wanted to check out. Akin to an ipad kid that didn’t want to get off their screen, she wanted to continue dungeoneering. She wanted to know the Sphinx's riddle.
Ione stared at the door for a second until she turned around to go in an unexplored direction. There were still parts of the map that were left undiscovered, and she hoped that would chance across one relatively soon, otherwise she’d have to go back to the Sphinx dungeon.
It wasn’t long before [Spatial Awareness] picked up something trailing after her. Of course, she crossed the occasional Treller’s Beast, but they kept to themselves with an occasional grunt at her passage.
She had a sneaking suspicion of who it was. Ione jumped high into the air, and then landed behind the little green guy that followed her: Spewn.
She startled it. “Gah! What are you doing?” It exclaimed.
“I’m pretty sure I could ask you the same thing.” She crossed her arms.
It huffed. “My master told me to follow you.”
She raised a brow, disbelieving.
“And- and I noticed you have gained many levels! Impossible for your class! Tell me why!” It demanded.
Her face scrunched. “Dude, what makes you think I’m going to tell you any of that?”
“My name is not ‘dude!’”
She ran a hand down her face. “Okay, Spewn. Regardless, I'm not going to tell you about any of that.” her hand waved back and forth. “I just want to find the next dungeon, wanna help me?”
It stayed silent.
Hmmm.
“You know…” She trailed off.
Spewn angled its body towards her, interested. “What?”
“I still have that food that I gave you earlier. I don’t need to eat all that much anymore, so It’s just wasting away at this point…”
It started to vibrate in excitement. Yet, I didn't say anything.
“So I guess it’ll have to go to the Treller’s Beasts, I’m sure they’ll enjoy the meals…”
“No!” It yelled, and startled some small creatures in the vicinity. “I-I want it.” Then it held out a trembling hand.
Just like a child. She wanted to laugh. Surprisingly, the frustrating little being was growing on her.
“Alright, I’ll give you some food, but you have to tell me the location of the next dungeon.”
It immediately retracted the hand. “You think I’m stupid!”
Oh, for fucks sake.
“Listen, you want the food or not? This is your last chance.”
It didn't take long for the little being to exclaim, “okay, fine!”
“Great, show me the dungeon and you’ll get it.” She knew Spewn would eat it immediately, and once it was in its possession she couldn't be sure if it would actually lead her to the next dungeon. The last time it did, yes, but it was realizing her tactics, so she had to come up with something different.
“Bu-bu.” Spewn started.
“You'll get the food, just show me the next dungeon. In fact, you don't even have to lead me to it, just point to it on the map.”
It stared at her before it nodded. Spewn pointed to an unexplored spot on the map before it said, “now, give me the food. Quickly!”
“Why are you so impatient?” she asked as she procured the noodles.
“Because my Master doesn’t like it when I eat human food.”
Ione gave it the dish and while it noisily slurped, she sat down then thought for a bit. She was surprised that Spewn wasn’t suspicious that she had poisoned the food, which indicated a certain level of trust already. A warm feeling developed in her chest, and she knew that she felt honored to have the little green guy’s trust, albeit, just a small amount. Her mind wandered back to what Spewn said about human food.
Does Spewn routinely try to eat human food? How? Makes sense that the Treller doesn't want human food around. Maybe I can convince the Treller to eat some noodles. She laughed at the mental image and Spewn stopped slurping at the interruption.
“Do you have something to say, Ione?” It grumbled with its mouth full.
“I was just thinking about how funny it would be to see the Treller eat some of those noodles.”
Fear permeated the air.
“No, my Master can’t eat human food!”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
It paused before it answered. “Won’t. Because humans are evil.” Ione was about to roll her eyes before Spewn made an offhand comment that explained everything, yet nothing. “Humans killed everything my Master has ever loved.” Then it continued eating.
What. The. Fuck. New Treller lore?
That was not what she was taught in school. Ione was told that the Treller was a solitary monster that was barricaded due to its strength, its potential to cause havoc on human civilization, too great a risk to be allowed to roam free. Yet, for something so feared, why didn’t it try to leave the forest? She remembered when it said to Spewn that she had allowed it to leave the forest for a brief moment, though, all she did was talk about her previous lives. If it was as powerful as what she was taught, why didn’t it just escape? There were soldiers outside the wall, but not as high leveled as the Treller. The Treller could easily leave the forest and escape its prison.
Something didn’t add up, there was always more to the story. She grimaced and then asked, “what happened?”
It had finally finished the plate and then it handed it back to her. She laughed, but said, “thanks.” She wiped the plate on some moss and then stowed it away in her holey backpack.
Spewn started. “That is a story my Master will tell if my Master wishes to.”
Ione nodded. “Fair enough.” She wasn’t going to push for a story. It will grace her ears soon enough, she reckoned.
Ione stood up and thanked Spewn for telling her the location. She started walking in the correct direction and Spewn trailed after her.
She turned to it and raised a brow.
“I wasn’t lying! My Master did tell me to follow after you!”
She tilted her head, then kept moving. She still thought the little dude could have been lying, but it wasn’t as if was intent on killing her, as far as she knew. It had ample opportunity to kill her already so she suspected the odds of attempted murder were low.
She gave the creature a side-eye.
But never zero.
Spewn’s Perspective
Spewn watched as the elf walked towards the dungeon it indicated on the map. Her long strides forced the little being to nearly run, and it silently cursed its short legs.
It really wasn’t lying about its order from its Master. Master did tell Spewn to watch Ione. Even if she was half-elf, she was also half-human and Master wanted to make sure extra eyes were on her as humans could never be trusted.
Although, Ione had yet to hurt Spewn. She was suspiciously kind, and suspiciously suspicious. It did make sense to Spewn, though, from what Ione said, she had to be mistrustful in order to survive. Spewn would make sure Ione trusted it. Despite the tentative truce, Spewn did like Ione, after all, she gave Spewn good food!
As they walked, Spewn noticed Ione took a piece of bark from a tree and she fed it to the mouth in her stomach.
“Why did you do that?” Spewn asked, curious.
“Because Harold likes to eat.”
“Harold?”
“Yes, Harold. He likes to eat, most things,” she said in an offhand comment.
“Does Harold speak?”
The elf smiled. “Rarely. Though, Harold burps sometimes.”
Harold was crass.
“Why do you feed…Harold?”
“That’s for me to know, and for you to find out.”
Spewn vowed to find out.
It kept following until eventually Ione reached the second dungeon. This one was the level 200 dungeon, and Ione turned around and looked at Spewn.
She hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “Thanks for pointing this out. I imagine you’re going to follow me after I come out of this one, so how about I give you two plates of food, instead of one. For the last dungeon's location, of course.”
Spewn debated. It already felt like it had disobeyed its Master twice, but the food was so good, and already it could feel itself salivating at the prospect of two plates, instead of one. The deliciousness was doubled and Spewn couldn’t resist.
“Yes!” It loudly exclaimed. Then looked around in fear of its Master, but nothing happened. “Yes, I would like that. I shall report to my Master, and then I will be back!”
Ione nodded. “Sounds good to me.” She turned around and pushed the stone doors open. This time they were inlaid in the surrounding stone as this dungeon entrance was situated in the valley wall.
The doors revealed a setting that depicted a labyrinth and Ione whistled.
“Hot diggity dog. I feel like I’m going to see a Minotaur here. Wish me luck!” She said, before she hopped in and the doors slammed shut behind her.
What’s a ‘Minotuar’? Spewn thought, before it gave a half-hearted, “good luck.” Even though Ione couldn’t hear it.
Spewn figured it had just enough time to update its Master before Ione finished the dungeon, so it headed in the direction of its Master’s lair. The once cheery and brightly green area gave way to a densely fogged and muted surrounding, and Spewn opened the root hatch that covered the entrance. It descended into the depths and soon came into a slightly illuminated circular room, dank, and overrun with roots, branches and other forest debris. Their Master sat in a nest-like structure and Spewn announced itself.
“Master! Your trusty servant, Spewn is here!” It declared. “I have updates on Ione!”
Spewn unintentionally woke its Master from their slumber, but the Treller paid no mind to the interruption. “Thank you, Spewn. What are the updates?” It whispered, tired.
“Ione has leveled up from 9 to 75! From one dungeon! She has a strange class, so she must have a skill that increases experience. She is currently in the second dungeon. She was wearing two necklaces this time, but I can’t tell what they are.” Spewn paused to think some more. “Oh! And she had a bunch of holes in her backpack and in her cloak and she has started to emit an aura.”
Out of all things that Spewn said, that caught the Treller’s interest. “An aura?” it queried.
“Yes! An aura. Oppressive, dark. Only slight. It may be because of her class type.”
“Strange, correct?”
“Yes.” Spewn vigorously nodded.
“Interesting,” was all its Master replied with. Spewn wished it knew what its Master was thinking, but it trusted the Treller with every fiber of its being.
Yet, Spewn was concerned. “Are you okay, Master?” It took a small step forward.
The Treller grumbled. “Thank you for your concern, Spewn. I’m simply tired. You know how I am.”
Spewn did. Its Master had laid its tired body to rest, for longer and longer periods of time. Spewn couldn't fathom why, or perhaps, Spewn did know, but did not want to confront the unbearable truth.
The little creature nodded, “if there’s anything you need, Master, all you have to do is ask.” It said, solemn.
“I appreciate that, my dear servant.” Spewn preened. “Is that all?” The Treller asked.
“Ah! Um…” Spewn debated telling its master about the food, but Spewn was truthful, only to its Master and it refused to set any sort of precedent. “I ate…human food again.”
“Again?” The Treller laughed. “You greedy little thing.”
“It just tastes too good, Master! I can’t help it!” Spewn got on its knees.
“Oh, get up. You know you don’t have to do that.” Spewn immediately stood on its feet. “Just because I dislike human food, doesn’t mean I've disallowed you from eating it.” The Treller continued.
“But, I am your servant!”
“Yes, but you are also your own being. I am beyond grateful to have you by my side, but do not think that I control everything you do, right down to what you eat. Do you understand? You do not need to tell me when you have eaten human food.”
“I-”
Before Spewn could argue, the Treller interrupted. “You will not get in trouble. I trust you wholeheartedly.”
Spewn immediately crawled into the Treller’s nest and cuddled against the larger being.
“I’m grateful to have you as my Master.” A root limb curled around Spewn’s small body and the Treller hummed.
A moment passed before Spewn spoke. “May I ask a question?”
“You may.” The Treller rumbled.
“What’s a ‘Minotuar’?”
Ione’s Perspective
Ione’s grin was bloody as she swiped the jugular of the bull-human creature that unfortunately crossed her path. Hot blood covered her from head to toe, and she whooped as another beast fell to her blade. This time, she used metal daggers, better for faster and more efficient combat, coated in the Redmanes corrosive attack.
When she had entered, she immediately knew the dungeon was some sort of homage to Greek mythology. The walls were a slick black stone, inlaid against each other with Greek lettering along its surface and there was minimal lighting. Braziers filled with a dim fire were hung overhead, and when she tried to jump above the labyrinth walls, she was met with an invisible ceiling that broke her neck.
-1700hp
Jesus Christ! Thank fuck I wasn't decapitated.
She laid there, paralyzed and annoyed at herself, while she healed her injuries so she could walk again.
Soon after she gained feeling in her limbs, she was proven correct after she had turned her first corner and a Minotaur was stood still, menacingly.
I knew there were going to be Minotuars! She had thought. Ione immediately inspected the creature and she wasn’t surprised to see it at LVL 215.
Although, it wasn't a complete rip-off. It's body was more bull than human, the chest was gargantuan in comparison to the hips and its legs were definitely that of a bulls. The only human thing about it was the stature, and the arms. It's name was different, too
[Minthor]
Eh, close enough.
So, she formed two daggers, coated them in the corrosive liquid and ran towards the hulking being.
It emitted a beastly roar and a notification sounded in her mind.
DING! You have resisted The Call of the Beast, no status affliction caused.
Thank you [Total Body Control].
It then looked surprised when Ione continued forward, and soon she established dominance when she impaled the beast upon her blades.
The smell of burnt flesh and hair invaded her nostrils. The pained growls filled her ears.
She saw the beast swipe at her as her wide eyes cataloged every move and Ione dodged accordingly. Delighted to see that the monster's injuries were slowly healing, she knew this fight would last just a bit longer than others and her grin turned feral.
They did a dance of death, each chipped away at each other, the Minthor more than Ione, until eventually it made one last effort to bring her down.
The beast lunged at her, she dodged, and rammed her blades into its back and dragged them down, parting sinew from bone. The beast was fileted from mid-back to flanks.
Soon enough, the creature melted into the stone floor. Something that seemed to be on par for dungeons. Ione gave a quick glance back the way she came, just to memorize what the area looked like and then continued onwards. Her steps echoed and nearby she heard another Minthor huff their presence.
Ione readied herself.
She was excited.