The sun beat down on Ione’s body as she ran to the pyramid.
No matter how far she ran, she could never get close enough to the structure.
The fuck is this?
Ione sensed that this was some sort of puzzle, and she grimaced as sweat dripped down her neck. She debated taking off her clothing, of which consisted of a tunic, cloak, some sandals and a belt, but she figured if she could level up heat resistance then it was worth sweating like a turkey at Christmas.
Although, she wouldn’t like it. She felt like she was being baked.
Soon, she stopped her run and almost immediately figured it must have been some sort of mirage. Beyond the strangeness the triangular prism held, simply because it was on Terrestria and not Earth, she had no other reasoning to go off of.
If she was in a desert and can’t get to the pyramid no matter how far she ran? Mirage was the answer.
She turned around and ran back to the dungeon entrance. The closer she got to the doors that blocked her exit, the more she could just make out the tiniest peak of a triangular top in the distance past the dunes, and she gritted her teeth at the injustice. If she peered over behind the doors after she entered, she would have seen it.
Oh well.
DING! [Heat Resistance] Tier 4 LVL 1-> [Heat Resistance] Tier 4 LVL 2
Nice.
Her powerful legs brought her to the pyramid in no time, only, she could see there were more monsters than she expected. There were still the Sand Prowlers lurking about, but ones named, “Ugasin,” and “Redmane,” filtered across her vision.
Ugasins were a bug-like creature, only the size of a small minivan. Reminiscent of potato bugs, but had thousands of spindly legs that made them move around as though they didn’t take any steps at all. Long, fluffy antennas sprouted from their rounded heads and their shells were an iridescent yellow.
Ione was mesmerized.
I want those shells.
Redmanes seemed to be characterized by their name, the hog-like animal that sported a fluffy crimson scarf that ended in a golden yellow by the end of their long tail, which resembled a whip. Their snouts were wide and flared, with nostrils the size of her fist.
As she stood on the sand bank that overlooked the pyramid, Ione watched the creatures, roughly 30 of them, all varying levels between 90 to 120, begin a fight to the death. As if her presence triggered some sort of battle.
She already knew how Sand Prowlers fought, but the Ugasins and Redmanes were a mystery, so she took a seat to survey the battle.
Ugasin were fast. Their many legs allowed them to traverse the terrain easily, while they seemed to harden their antenna into a stiff point and rushed the others, using the extra appendage as a spike to ram enemies straight through.
Not so fluffy after all.
The nostrils of Redmanes ejected a green-yellow substance that seemed to corrode whatever it touched, and the resulting sizzles that Ione heard confirmed her suspicion. Their tails would then slice their opponents which drove the corrosion further into the bones. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to last long, so Ione decided she was going to farm some corrosion resistance.
Granted, she didn’t have a thick hide, but she could certainly make a metal one.
All creatures were equally deadly, yet in the face of a being with stats five times higher, they were akin to ants.
The snarls, yelps, chitterings and disgusting sneezes echoed in the dunes below and Ione felt that she had seen enough to determine that it was time to wreak some extra chaos on the aggressive beasts below.
Ione armored herself with metal, took a few steps back, then ran into a jump that landed squarely in the middle of the fighting beasts. The double-sided halberd that graced her palm an hour ago appeared back into her hand and she started swinging. Bits of animal viscera were flung around the sandy hills and the beasts that were brawling amongst each other set their sights on her.
A huff of a laugh escaped her as an Ugasin charged her, intent on spearing her through the chest and she jumped high to land on its back. It took a small amount of effort to pierce its body, but her high strength attribute eventually allowed her to drive the halberd straight through. It squealed in pain before it collapsed in a heap and Ione had just enough time to [Dash] before a ball of green gloop landed on her. The body of the dead Ugasin sizzled to her left, and a Redmane started to flail its tail towards her, its whip-like appendage snapped at her face and she used her halberd to slice its tail clean off. A furious grunt came from the beast and she readied herself when she saw nearly all of the creatures look at her.
Duck, weave, slice, pierce, jump; [Spatial Awareness] allowed Ione to master the battlefield as three types of creatures vyed for her death. She came out nearly unscathed, her forearm was bitten by a sand prowler, its long teeth had to work to pierce through her left forearm, and her right side was pierced by a lone Ugasin. She had to turn on [Arcane Flesh Healing]. Despite the healing injuries, she was able to dispatch all the adversaries quickly, except for one.
She made a stone prison for the Redmane, its struggling body writhed in the effort to escape and she realized quickly that the corrosive liquid even went through the rock jail she had it in. Her hand left the prison and she quickly jumped away, the Redmane burst through the pile of flesh that formed and aimed its nose at her.
Ione tried to test to see if a stone hand that protruded from her chest could be used to farm the resistance, but it seemed to do nothing. She watched as the stone hand corroded, and a Ding! was yet to be heard. The hand was detached and Ione watched as it turned into a pile of corroding tissue.
So, with no other choice, Ione planted her feet and watched as the green rot snot flew to her in a graceful arc before it splattered on her chest.
Status Affliction:
* Redmane Corrosion. Your flesh has touched a corrosive material! It burrows deep into the tissue. Effect: Health -55/s | Time left: 25 seconds
Fuck, that’s 1,375 points of health. Over half. Ione concluded that dungeons were normally traversed in groups, else lone wanderers would easily die.
She grit her teeth in immense pain, the molars crushed against each other as she weathered through. She could turn on [Pain Resistance], but she wanted to get more levels in the skill. Thankfully, [Arcane Flesh Healing] overpowered the brunt of the corrosion.
-5hp
-5hp
-5hp
-5hp
DING! You have received [Corrosion Resistance] Tier 1 LVL 1
Exactly what I wanted.
Corrosion Resistance Tier 1: You have developed a resistance to corrosion. When affected, you eject the corrosion 2x faster.
With the added resistance, the corrosive substance quickly left her system. The feeling of melting flesh wasn’t new to Ione, she had endured it in the form of extreme heat when she accidentally fell into a volcano. It wasn’t totally her fault, her left wing was destroyed in a tousle with another creature and she couldn't fly properly, but it was one of the worst experiences of her life. Lives. Whichever. Regardless, that’s one of the reasons [Fire Resistance] had leveled up immensely.
This, however, was worse. The smell that invaded her nostrils was foul, so she turned on [Arcane flesh Sense] and turned off the ability to smell.
The Redmane rushed her, then swiveled to the side to whip its tail in her vicinity. Ione jumped over the creature and instead, ran up to the pyramid to get away for a slight respite. The beast tried to follow her, but its stout body couldn’t climb the blocks, and tried to use the projectile to get at her. Fortunately, Ione was high enough to where the substance couldn't reach her.
Ione noted that the corrosion didn’t seem to affect the pyramid, so she thanked her lucky stars that the Redmane couldn’t climb its way using its snot of pain and suffering.
Her chest smarted, and she breathed deeply. A series of dings were heard in her mind as she heard enraged grunts from below. She turned on both types of meditation to quickly gain back the lost mana her healing and flesh molding used.
DING! [Arcane Flesh Healing] Tier 1 LVL 1-> [Arcane Flesh Healing] Tier 1 LVL 2
DING! [Arcane Flesh Healing] Tier 1 LVL 2-> [Arcane Flesh Healing] Tier 1 LVL 3
DING! [Total Body Control] Tier 1 LVL 1-> [Total Body Control] Tier 1 LVL 2
DING! [Arcane flesh Sense] Tier 1 LVL 1-> [Arcane flesh Sense] Tier 1 LVL 2
DING! [Meditation of the Flesh] Tier 1 LVL 1-> [Meditation of the Flesh] Tier 1 LVL 2
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
DING! [Meditation of the Flesh] Tier 1 LVL 2-> [Meditation of the Flesh] Tier 1 LVL 3
DING! [Arcane Flesh Molding] Tier 1 LVL 1-> [Arcane Flesh Molding] Tier 1 LVL 2
DING! [Arcane Flesh Molding] Tier 1 LVL 2-> [Arcane Flesh Molding] Tier 1 LVL 3
DING! [Arcane legs of Momentum] Tier 1 LVL 1-> [Arcane legs of Momentum] Tier 1 LVL 2
DING! [Arcane legs of Momentum] Tier 1 LVL 2-> [Arcane legs of Momentum] Tier 1 LVL 3
Finally! Some good fucking food!
Ione beamed to the blue sky above, her face tilted in pleasure as she basked in her gains. She wondered when her class skills would level up, and she supposed the battle she just finished, with multiple beings 11 times her level, would push her past the needed amount of experience to level up her class skills.
Just as she finished healing the corrosion she jumped down again, only to get another unhealthy dose of the green liquid, unfortunately, right to the face.
Immediately, she leaped up onto the highest platform before her eyes melted, and she let out the blood curdling scream she had been holding in. Ione finally turned on [Pain Resistance] while she kept healing. Her back met the crumbling stone and she focused on her breathing as her facial bones met hot desert air. Fortunately this second bout of corrosion resulted in two additional level ups, now at level 3. She wondered if it helped that the Redmane aimed for the perfect spot to strike her.
She tested her theory for close to an hour, and with a few well placed corrosive strikes, Ione sat at [Corrosive Resistance], tier 3, level 8.
Ione wanted to get to tier 4. Desperately. The Redmane was still furious and displayed no signs of an animal that would normally get tired. It still huffed, grunted, and snarled below the spot she chose to perch on.
[Arcane Flesh Healing], [Meditation of the Flesh], and [Meditation] had leveled up as well, her near constant state of regeneration and mediation proved to be extremely useful for leveling the respective skills.
Arcane Flesh Healing…Tier 2: 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.
Her rate of healing increased, but so did the cost.
Meditation of the Flesh… Tier 2: 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.
An additional percentage and an increase of mana by .25.
Meditation… Tier 5: Recovery increased by 4.5% per second.
Ione gave a small smile at her status page, and then looked at the Redmane. The next two levels were obtained easily, and once she obtained tier 4 of the resistance she quickly dispatched the disgruntled beast. Her corrosion resistance resulted in a 5x rejection rate of the substance, and she could also transfer the damage to an adversary of her choice. Quite similar to her poison resistance.
Her anxiety peaked when she realized that she might have been in the dungeon too long, and very quickly set out to find the entrance. Her mouth opened into a small o as she found the doorway partially buried in sand and she gulped. A brief thought about equipping [Fear Resistance] crossed her mind, but she decided against it. Ione wanted to work through it, and if she gained levels, then that was good. Even though she shat her pants at the thought of being in a dark enclosed space with the potential of quicksand.
Hesitant footsteps brought her inside the pyramid, and fortunately there were lit torches that led the way to a labyrinth. Akin to a maze, Ione turned corners and twisted into hallways that either led to nowhere, or resulted in a surprise Redmane, Ugasin, or Sand Prowler. Her annoyance increased until she eventually reached a golden tomb that was encrusted with jewels. Light emanated from under the lid and a grin of triumph spread across her face. She looked at the ground, worried about a stray pressure plate, but sand covered every inch of whatever flooring that could have been present. The best Ione could do was use her dexterity skills to quickly bring her to the tomb. As soon as she moved the lid an inch, she fell into a crouch as darts flew over her head.
She smiled. Ione had expected some sort of trap, and did an experimental move with the tomb to make sure such a thing wouldn't catch her unawares. She reached a hand up to push the lid the rest of the way, and once she could no longer hear the whistle and subsequent clinks of darts that didn’t reach their target, She stood up and looked inside. What greeted her made her breath catch in her chest.
Shaky hands picked up a pair of black wrapped gloves and black wrapped leggings, and the twinkle of jubilant laughter filled the deathly silent chamber. Whatever was left of the person in the tomb was dust, but she said her thanks all the same.
You have picked up {{Black Glove Wrappings}}
Gloves that have been gifted to royalty of ancient times. Made with care and ingenuity. Gives a flat 50 Points of dexterity and constitution. Cannot be repaired if destroyed.
Place in gear? (Must wear item)
Yes.
You have picked up {{Black Leg Wrappings}}
Leg wrappings that have been gifted to royalty of ancient times. Made with care and ingenuity. Gives a flat 50 Points of dexterity and constitution. Cannot be repaired if destroyed.
Place in gear? (Must wear item)
Hell yes!
As soon as both items exited the tomb, a new door opened to reveal another hallway, only illuminated by a smattering of green and bright yellow torches. The light was reminiscent of the color of snot the Redmane made, and Ione was filled with apprehension. She took a deep breath and then quickly turned on [Pain Resistance], her gut instinct told her the creature that awaited her would have some sort of corrosive ability and she sure as hell will not suffer through the feeling of her skin being corroded again if she could help it. She quickly put on her new clothes as she kept an eye on her surroundings by using [Spatial Awareness].
Swift steps brought her to a circular chamber and Ione was left speechless. The dome room was characterized by interlocking green and yellow torches that created an almost grid-like pattern on the wall. The ground she walked on was held up by pillars of stone while the below area bubbled as hot lava flowed in a miasmatic dance of heat and death. A pathway led to a circular area that was held up by thick ropes, and her eye was drawn to the hulking being that sat in the middle.
A fucking Sphinx, that somehow embodied all three of the monsters she had encountered outside of the dungeon.
Its coat was like the Sand Prowler, only that it held the iridescent yellow sheen of the Ugasin’s exoskeleton. Its tail was long, whip-like, had a golden shimmering mane, and had a suspicious green-yellow substance leaking from its eyes; like the Redmane’s corrosive substance.
She was inexorably drawn to the hulking being and her footsteps echoed as she approached the Sphinx. Ione inspected it.
[Sphinx] - LVL 150
The boss opened it’s eyes as she stepped into the arena. It’s gaze swiveled to her and with a start she noticed that they glowed an eerie green.
A mouth, unmoving, spoke to her. “Solve my three riddles and you may leave in peace.”
Ione was pleasantly surprised. “You want me to solve riddles?”
No answer.
Hmm.
“If I solve the riddles will the dungeon be considered completed?” Ione’s brows furrowed.
Again, no answer.
“Okay, so do you understand what I'm saying and are ignoring me, or are you like a program that only has a preset amount of dialogue?”
No answer.
Ione huffed, then said, “Okay fine, I’ll solve your riddles.”
The Sphinx purred, “perfect,” as It laid its head on its paws, which brought it eye level to Ione.
Yea, this is a program of some kind.
“The first riddle: what means more to you, then it does to me?”
Ione was suspicious that this was a weird dig at her, regardless, she thought for a moment. “My life, I guess.” She shrugged, not all that confident.
“Correct,” The Sphinx replied.
“Oh!” Ione sported an impressed look, “ha, nice. What's the next one?”
“The second riddle: I cross the river but I do not move. What am I?”
“Ah shit, give me a minute.” She put a hand up to her chin as she took a short while to think of the answer.
Something that crosses a river but doesn't move? A fallen log? A bridge? There are many things that can cross a river and not move. A rope tied tightly to a tree on each side? Obviously not.
She gave a guess. “Hm, a bridge?”
“Correct.” The Sphinx confirmed.
“Yes!” Ione pumped her fist. “What's the last one, lay it on me.”
“The third riddle: What is the most precious thing in the world, but it can be lost in an instant?”
This one made Ione’s brows furrow in consternation. It was too broad and vague. There were many precious things in the world; life, love, kindness, empathy. It was hard to choose which one.
Ione stood there for a while, unsure of the answer, but decided to go with the one she felt most right.
“Kindness?”
The glow of the Sphinx’s eyes increased before a pleasure hiss escaped its mouth. “Incorrect.”
All of a sudden, she was blanketed in darkness. The torches all went out. The only light available came from the eyes of the Sphinx and the gurgling lava below.
Fuck.
Ione readied herself immediately, forming metal armor on her skin as her signature halberd appeared in her hand
The Sphinx closed its luminous eyes, then slinked away and luckily Ione had [Spatial Awareness], so she knew where the beast was at all times. She hid her smile beneath a half formed metal helmet and quickly jumped the beast. It attempted to scamper away, surprised that she could see it, but Ione was too quick and she quickly sliced its flank. A pained yowl shook the arena and Ione snarled. Her mind was focused on one thing, and one thing only: killing the boss.
Ione chased the boss around the arena, when it would whip its tail towards her Ione dodged effortlessly, until she waited one last time for it to repeat the same brain-dead attack and she managed to cut the offending appendage clean off. The beast stumbled and continued to try to escape. It ran towards the entrance that Ione used, and contrary to what Ione thought it would do, it managed to break the doorway completely, which allowed it to free roam past the arena and onto the dunes.
Is that allowed?
The tall girl gave chase, her face a feral visage of excitement as she became the predator to scare a dungeon boss. The Sphinx was faster, but she was faster despite having to run on sand. Ione jumped on the back of the Sphinx and cut the nape of its neck. It gave an eerie human shriek and tried to buck her off, but she held firm onto the fur, corrosive tears leaked from the wide inhuman eyes, and Ione was thankful every time she felt a piece of corrosive material touch her body, although she was saddened at her destroyed cape and clothing.
Ione formed two incredibly sharp daggers and started stabbing the beast in the back. She knew that she had to get to the head or else she wouldn't be able to put the creature out of its scripted misery, and she soon found her chance when the creature huffed a quick breath. It was all she needed to jump up high in the sky, only to then use the downward momentum to drive a huge metal spike in the beast’s head. Blood spurted from the destroyed skull and painted Ione in a viscous red.
She stood there for a moment to bask in her glory, before a notification popped up in her face.
You have completed: [Grazing Heat of the Sun]
Exit the dungeon immediately.
What the-? Was all the girl had to think before she turned and saw the dungeon start to disappear in the background, leaving a white nothingness in its wake, as though bits of code were being stripped away.
Ione had to haul ass.