As we continued, halfway down the tunnel the whole area was full of traps. Xantcha found them scattered around, and their frequency increased after encountering the fifth one. That's when Xantcha offered to teach me the art of trap finding and disarming. After pointing out the second trap, I received a prompt saying that I had learned how to find and disarm traps. I asked Xantcha if I could give trap finding a try, and she agreed, saying that the best way to learn was through practice.
I started by inspecting the ground and walls ahead of me. After about a minute of searching, I noticed three traps turning red in my vision. One was a square plate on the ground, the second was a tripwire, and the third was two odd holes in the wall. I asked Xantcha about them.
"The plate is a pressure plate. To disarm it, all you have to do is wedge it so it can't compress, or you can pry it up if you want to take the trap apart. The tripwire is more challenging to disarm. You have to determine what type of trap it is and whether it's double-trapped, meaning it triggers if you step on it or if you cut it. The worst of the three. It's a magical trap triggered when you cross the line between the holes in the wall. A mage can dispel it. If you want to attempt to disarm the first two, I can have Trila show you how to dispel the magical trap."
"I think I have an idea for taking care of all three, but I would like to try disarming the first two and consult with you on the third," I said, preparing to cast Conture Nature. I focused on channeling the Seismic Perception aspect of the spell, releasing a pulse of mana around me. With the combined effect of Arcane Sight and Conture Neature, I could see through the floor and walls for 7 mana per second, allowing me to maintain it for about 40 seconds with my current mana pool. I then took a closer look at the pressure plate and used the spell to shape finger holes to the side where the plate met the floor. Once the sculpting was done, I turned off the spell and carefully lifted the plate, storing it away.
"That's one way to do it. A bit brutish, I must say, but it gets the job done," Xantcha remarked with a smirk.
"Some of us can't be elegant while performing complex tasks," I replied.
Once my mana pool was fully replenished, I moved on to the next trap. Using Conture Neature, I pinched the stone on each side where the wire entered the wall. Trilla came up to me, and I explained what the trap looked like and its location. She then showed me how to disarm the triggering system by overloading the focus crystals. I inquired whether there was a way to extract the crystal storing the trap, but she warned that digging it out might set off the trap due to breaking the storage mechanism. Laughing, I said, "Hold my beer."
"But you don't have a beer," Trila says, and I shake my head.
I cast Conture Neature, creating a hole a little larger than the crystal. Then, I switch the spell to move the soil around the crystal, pushing it out through the hole and catching it in my waiting hand. Once it's out, I turn to Trila and ask her to identify both traps.
Mechanical Poisonous Caltrop:
Effect: When pressure is applied to the plate, sharp spikes stab through the foot, dealing 10 armor-piercing damage and delivering a potent poison.
Current poison: Strong Necro poison
Rank: Adept
Magical Lightning Ward:
Effect: When triggered, releases a lightning bolt dealing 200 to 300 lightning damage.
Rank: Adept
so I will pocket them for now hoping that i could sell them. We found more traps down the line, but unfortunately, I could not harvest any of them due to their type or construction. After three hours of finding and disarming traps, we reached a dead end. Everyone was tired and frustrated, worried that we might have missed a door or path. The dead end was a stone and dirt wall with nothing magical about it. After a fruitless search, the team wanted to head back, but I wanted to try one last thing.
I cast Conture Neature and extended my senses as far as I could. As my mana started to bottom out, I felt a hollow space about 10 feet to the right of the dead end. I conveyed this to the party, and we backtracked using pulses every 10 feet, which took us another hour. We arrived at the room we left and started to search around. I paced around the right side of the room until I found a space behind a wall. I pointed it out, but before I could suggest looking for a switch, a rage-fueled Amurak smashed his spare Warhammer into the stone wall ten times, causing it to collapse and reveal a tunnel that mirrored the one we had just walked down. Xantcha took the lead, but not even 5 feet into the tunnel, we encountered the first of many traps.
By the end, we had disarmed over 50 traps, a task that took us six hours. The skills gained were great, and I acquired five traps, gaining 10 levels in both finding and disarming traps. I also obtained three more of the caltrops with different poisons, two more crystals containing a kinetic force trap, and one that emitted a cloud of acid. As we approached the end of the tunnel, I started to cast buffs.
When we finally reached the end, a metal door stood blocking our path. The three of us checked it for traps, but we found none, and the door was unlocked. pushing it open, revealed a room approximately 40 feet by 60 feet with 15-foot-high ceilings. At the far end of the room was an altar covered in blood, with a body lying on top of it. The rest of the room was filled with rows of pues, and sitting in the seats were zombies, like a grotesque parody of a church service. Behind the altar stood a glowing skeleton emitting a sickly green light. As I scanned the situation, Xantcha let out a string of invectives that I didn't quite understand. I could hear the rest of the party take sharp breaths, followed by the creaking of hands tightening around their weapons. Once I finished scanning the figure, I let out a sigh and said, "Fuck."
Necro-inquisitor
HP: 8000 Mana: 1000 Stamina: 300
Level: 45
The Necro-inquisitor is a living dead creature. Created to be a scout and hunter for the Soulless Legion. Inquisitors are sent out to scout, retrieve objects, or establish a foothold in enemy land.
The Inquisitor was a skeleton with each bone individually wrapped in gray silk adorned with small runes glowing with an Eldritch green light. When it raised its hand, all 30 zombies in the room stood. Luckily, I don't see any Tyrants, as those big boys are hard to miss.
In a moment of inspiration, I pulled back from the door and took out the Last Hope flower from my inventory. Plucking a petal off, I start the cast for Summon Plant Elemental throwing the pedal into the mix. Having only used this spell once before, what emerged was truly shocking.
Luminous OakenShield lvl 10 HP: 600 MP: 100 Stamina: 200
Luminous Aura: All friendlies in the area of effect gain 10% damage reflection from undead sources. All healing spells are 10% more effective. Deals extra holy damage
The connection to the elemental appeared in my mind. The elemental looked like a tangle of roots surrounding a glowing white ball of energy. It had 2 arms and 2 legs that were composed of vines that wrapped around each other. The shield and club it carried seemed to be made from a tree limb and a large section of bark with veins of golden light weaving throughout. I instructed it to join the tanks up front. By the time I had summoned the elemental, Trila had blown a section of the room into splinters. The tanks had engaged with the zombies, while Xantcha was, as usual, lurking in the shadows. As the OakenShield lumbered into the melee, I took in the scene.
The Necro-inquisitor was casting a spell while the zombies funneled down the center aisle. The tanks strategically positioned themselves to limit the areas from which the zombies could approach, leaving the caster to bombard the leader with spells. The inquisitor had a magic barrier up in front of himself, and its spell was nearing completion as it lifted its arms above its head. Xantcha attacked with a dagger I had never seen before—a green and red blade, no more than 10 inches long, adorned with flaming runes that coursed down the blade.
The dagger plunged into the inquisitor's spine. The runes on the bandages flashed, sending a wave of energy that stunned Xantcha for 5 seconds. The dagger caused the spell to rebound onto the caster. Due to the stun, she couldn't evade the blast. The explosion shook the whole room, knocking almost everyone to the ground. Only I, the two tanks, and the summoned elemental remained standing, allowing me to see two shapes bouncing off the roof.
Crashing into the ground after hitting the roof. Xantcha look down to see her arm was a wreck, with chunks of flesh missing, and the bone visible in several areas. Her right side was badly damaged, and her leg was broken. She knew she was lucky to be alive, but everything felt off right now, and she couldn't move most of her body. Then she heard a shout that sounded like both a command and an apology. "Brace yourself. Oh no, sorry." Suddenly, a sharp pain struck her square in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. It felt like someone had kicked her ribs with a pair of steel greaves. But the pain lasted only a moment before sweet blissful relief swept through her. Her leg and arm would need focused healing, but at least she could move again.
As I saw Xantcha start to move, I felt a wave of relief mixed with dread. I was glad that I hadn't killed her with my orb, but I dreaded the fact that I had forgotten about my increased strength and had beamed her full blast in the chest. With her stable, I turned to my plant elemental and used Grasping Roots trying to lock up the zombie while they were still prone. It worked As the zombies knocked over by the backfiring spell tried to get up, roots shot out of the ground, wrapping around the horde and pulling them back down. Trila didn't miss a beat and threw a massive fireball into the center of the pack, spelling the end for most of the zombies.
For a moment, it seemed like the battle was over, but then four zombies launched out from the pile with lightning speed, lunging at the tanks. Unlike the other zombies, they had weapons, and some even looked magical and shiny. I didn't have time to watch the fight; I needed to get to Xantcha. I rushed over with Earth Strider, jumping over some benches to reach her in seconds. She was crawling away from the fallen inquisitor.
"How bad is the damage?" I asked, and she informed me of the breaks, saying we would need a healer for those. "Naw, I got it," I replied, taking out the augment hardened bone and straightening her broken bones after much screaming and bone realignment. Now that the bones were ready, I cast Healing Hands, channeling through the augment. I focused on the broken sections, feeling them shift into place and grow together. Once the bones were healed, I moved on to her arm. The skin regrew over the bone, and I noticed the bone grew denser and changed color.
With Xantcha all healed up, I checked on the other teammates. The tanks were above 60% life, but Trila was low, and I wondered what had happened to her. Scanning the room, I saw the Necro-inquisitor pointing at her, and that's when I knew she had taken a bolt while I was healing. "Orb now," I said, holding out my hand. An orb dropped into it, and I quickly threw it at Trila without hesitation. The orb smashed into the Anzû mage, and I shouted, "Sorry."
I asked Xantcha to entertain the mage while I checked on Trila, and she nodded, vanishing into the shadows. As I dashed over to Trila, something struck me from the side, causing fiery pain to bloom in my ribs, and lighting coursed through my body. I was knocked to the ground and felt my health dip down to 15%. In a daze of pain, I wondered what hit me, but before I could think further, I heard the shout, "Brace yourself." The orb hit my nose breaking it and shattering it on my face, and that was the final straw. I passed out.
I woke up a short time later, the battle had progressed. Only two elite zombies were left, and Leopold and Amurak were glowing a crimson hue. As I sat up, the two tanks released their abilities into the zombies, leaving only a bloody mist.
Then a massive eldritch green lightning bolt tore through the blood mist. Striking Leopold square in the shield, ripping through it and into his chest as he tried to push Amurak out of range. It only half worked as the lightning ripped right through Leopold and slammed into Amurak’s chest. Xantcha appeared and started slashing at the mage.
I dashed over to the tanks, commanding my elemental to attack the mage, and quickly checked on Leopold and Amurak. Arriving at the smell of burnt flesh and melted metal was something I am never going to forget. Scanning over Leopold I can see that he is fully dead. There is a massive hole in his chest so I turned away and started to tend to Amurak. He was at 20% life but wouldn't wake up. Know that I needed to get him above 50% HP. I used Troll's blood ashes and channeled Healing Hands through it, hoping to get him back in the fight, but he remained unresponsive. I healed him until my mana ran out.
Filled with rage over the loss of a new friend, I pulled out my Blackwood Naginata of the Elemental Bull and rushed over to put an end to the monster. As I moved across the room, I saw that the boss was at 30% health, and I knew this was going to be a tough fight. When I reached melee range with the Necro-inquisitor, I used Piercing Thrust, quickly stabbing it in the ribs. The Naginata's blade scraped against its ribs as it slid into the chest cavity, hitting something inside. The inquisitor roared in pain and lashed out at me.
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Lacking the combat prowess to dodge effectively, I took the strike to the side of my face, knocking me to the ground. I used the momentum to roll away, creating some distance between me and The Inquisitor. Just as he struck out at me, Xantcha made another attack, hitting the creature's back and bringing its life down to 15%.
The Inquisitor stabbed out with his knife, slashing a gash from Xantcha's shoulder to her hip. His bandages flared with Eldritch light as a bolt of green lightning shot out from his body, hitting Trila in the shoulder. Trila screamed and collapsed to the ground.
With all my companions down, I knew it was up to me to finish this fight, or we would all die. I noticed that we were close to the wall, and a plan started to form in my mind, a plan that could either get me killed or win the day. As I rolled to my feet, the inquisitor turned to me, preparing to cast a spell. Scraping the bottom of the barrel for mana, I cast my spell and sprinted toward the boss. Just as he dropped his spell and raised his dagger to block mine, I aimed my spell. Not at him, but at the wall behind him, an Earth Spike stabs out of the wall hitting nothing. Holding the spell to keep the Earth Spike active, I lashed out with my naginata, activating its once-a-day special ability, Force Strike. The strike hits true, launching the Necro-Inquisitor like a rocket, smashing him into the spike with a loud boom. The wall shook, but thankfully it held, impaling the inquisitor through the chest, hanging there motionless. At the tip of the spike, there was a Black Onyx Crystal.
We did it. We defeated the Necro-inquisitor and his Legion. I stored my naginata and rushed over to Xantcha, who was downing a health potion. I could see from the wound in her chest that she would be okay; it was a shallow but long gash. I grabbed a spare potion and ran over to Trila, who was alive but her shoulder was severely charred. I poured the healing potion onto her shoulder, knowing it would take some time before I had enough mana to cast a proper healing spell using life jelly as a medium. Once she was stable, I moved to the last party member, Amurak, who still hadn't awakened.
I scanned him to gather information and found that he had a debuff called Necrotizing Sleep. I attempted to cleanse it, but nothing happened. I called Xantcha and Trila over to discuss what to do. We searched our inventories and found that the only thing that might save him before we got back to town was the Cloud of Restoration potion. Amurak's health had plummeted from over 90% to just 40%. We all gathered around him as Xantcha smashed the potion on the ground, emitting a cloud of pink and gold stars. The healing effects took hold, and we heard gasping and coughing, indicating that he was no longer unconscious.
Then, there was some muttered cursing as Amurak sat up, complaining about his hurting chest and trying to piece together what had happened. As the realization of being in a dungeon hit him, he jumped to his feet and scanned the room, looking for The Inquisitor, only to find him still impaled on the wall. His eyes then landed on the body of Leopold, and the weight of the loss hit him hard. Walking over to his friend, Amurak crumbled to his knees by Leopold's side. He pulled Leopold's helmet off, wanting to look at his friend's face one last time.
"You didn't have to jump in front of the bolt for me. The price you paid was too much for my life. May you find what you were looking for in life, in death, my friend. I'll carry your memory for as long as I live," Amurak said solemnly, closing Leopold's eyes for the final time. Without any further ceremony, he pulled Leopold's body into his storage.
Once everyone confirmed they were fully healed, they began the task of looting the dead. Amurak received multiple notifications, but he chose to ignore them until they were back in town. After looting all the zombies, they turned their attention to The Inquisitor. Trila used her Identity spell on the Black Onyx Crystal, making the description available to all of them.
Black Onyx Heart Crystal
Rarity: Legendary
Effect: Unknown
Description: A legendary item that had once gave life to a crystal dragon. This item has been corrupted to be a perfect storage device for Eldritch energy.
Xantcha stopped me from looting The Inquisitor's body, explaining that they would need it for evidence, as the situation could become a significant problem for the orcish city and potentially the entire continent.
With The Inquisitor's body stored away in Xantcha's storage, we proceeded to loot the rest of the building. My arcane sight/couture nature combo allowed me to find a chest hidden beneath a coffin and a hidden stairwell. After taking the heavy chest into my inventory, we figured out how to open the door to the staircase and double-checked the room. The only thing left was the broken benches and the body on the altar.
Amurak suggested doing something about the body, suspecting that it might be the person for whom the place was built. Xantcha agreed to pay her respect and suggested burning the body to prevent it from being defiled in the future. Trila tried to cast a flame stream, but nothing happened. Amurak then reached out to check the body for warmth and found it stone cold. Suddenly, a quest prompt appeared before me.
Lay to Rest the Unspoken Oracle
Difficulty: Noble
Quest Description: Find a way to either seal the body away or destroy it. The body of the oracle has too much magical potential to be destroyed conventionally.
Type: Final Rites
Rewards: 5k XP, 200 SP, and a Unique item.
We all received the quest together. "Well, what do we feel like doing?" Xantcha asked. Trila and Amurak voted to entomb her, while Xantcha and I voted for destruction. After a conversation with some really good points on both sides, the argument that if we don't destroy the body, they can try to break the seal and desecrate her resting place swayed our decision.
"I can always try to loot the body with Quick Loot, of course. Unless somebody else can think of a different way, it's the only way that I know of to get rid of the body in its entirety," I said. Everybody nodded in agreement, and we decided to proceed with destruction. I reached out with my hand and activated Nature's Bounty, selecting Quick Loot. The body turned into life jelly, and I saw the items appear in my inventory. I pulled them out for everybody to inspect, and then, as one, we received the prompt that we had completed the quest, choosing destruction. The item was unique, and it felt out of place in this world.
Spectacles of the Oracle - Cat's Eye Style
Item Rarity: Unique (Epic)
Effects: Allows the user to see what somebody is best at, help people find the path that fits them best, +25 to Wisdom, +25 to Intelligence
Slots Available: N/A
The spectacles resembled cat's eyeglasses, with tinted sky-blue lenses and arms made of pure sapphire. Trila picked them up and looked at us. "Can I have them? I won't ask for anything else. I could do so much good." As the only caster, I agreed if everyone else was fine with it. I then asked, "Does anyone mind if I keep the Black Onyx Heart Crystal? I need it to reach my wife."
The only person who had an issue with it was Amurak. "I am willing to let you have it under the condition that you leave it alone until you hand it over to Urza. No taking it out to play with it." I couldn't help but giggle like a child. Amurak looked sternly at me. "You don't experiment with it or take it out for any reason except to give it to the guild for validation and the city of Urza. Do we have a deal?"
At first, I felt a bit offended being told what I could do with my spoils, but I trusted Amurak's experience with me. So, I took a deep breath and agreed to the terms.
"How about we check out where the staircase goes," I suggested. Everyone agreed, and we ascended the staircase with weapons in hand. It seemed to go on forever, and after at least 100 flights of stairs, we were surprised to find ourselves at the center of the little town, right next to the central water feature. Another surprise awaited us at the top. a ring of militia holding spears, pointing at us.
I hold up my hands while putting my weapon away and say, "Woah, woah, everybody. Let's put down the weapons. It is the Crimson Bulwark. We have completed the quest, and it leads us back to town. Why are you all here carrying spears?"
"Well, you see, it was early in the morning when some of the townsfolk heard a loud boom. It shook a bunch of houses, which was enough to arouse most people in the town. Then the second loud boom came. Most of the townspeople retreated to the edges of the town, as the noises seemed to be centered here at the fountain. Then, lo and behold, the floor opens up. We thought monsters were going to come pouring out, so we got ready with our spears. But then nothing happened for a long time. And now your party comes scuttling out of the hole. How are we supposed to react to that?"
"Well, we are sorry for the inconvenience. I didn't mean to wake you all up. To be honest, we didn't even know we were this close to the town, let alone fighting underneath it. If you're not going to stab us, can you put down the spears, and can we get some food? We've been up all night fighting these undead. I could use some rest."
"Oh, of course, of course. I do apologize. Let us get you rested and fed, and then we can hear the story from you. Didn't you have another party member with you?"
"Yeah, he didn't make it."
"Then today, we honor his name. What was it?"
"Leopold Crimsonclaw."
"You all heard it. He laid down his life so that we can continue to live. Spread the word; we'll have a feast in his honor tonight. All hail Leopold Crimsonclaw, the savior of Tomalik!" The crowd starts to cheer in relief as the speaker leads us to the bar where we had stopped the first night. As we head to the bar, we see the barman pulling tables out and setting them up outside. In the light of day, I take a closer look at the party. Our clothes and armor are shredded or missing in some areas.
As I look closer at everybody, I see Xantcha leaning to one side, and her leg seems to be at a slight angle. Trila is missing all the feathers on her right side, and her right wing is damaged and clutched close to her body. While Amurak's armor looks intact, the skin around it is blistered, and he has a slight limp as he walks. We make it to the table and just about collapse on it, asking everyone if they are okay and if they need any more medical attention. I get confused when they use the term "medical." I explain what it means, and they say no, they're good. From their notifications, they read that some of the damage is permanent until dressed by a proper healer. This stung my pride for a moment, and then I realized that I want to be the healer that can fix injuries like this.
After relaying the story of the battle to save Tomalik and the dungeon we found, the town was stunned. Afterward, they feasted us, hailed us as heroes, and put us to bed at noon to rest as the carriage would arrive soon. We were provided with a richly appointed carriage to take us to the orcish city. It was sent by the Adventurers Guild as a reward for completing a bounty two ranks higher than our own. The carriage was magical and larger on the inside. The driver waved down to us and said, "Hop on in, and we will be there in just under six hours. Feel free to rest. The Guild knows you've earned it." So we all piled into the carriage and settled into our beds, performing our pre-bed rituals. While resting, I checked my notifications and was surprised by the number of them.
Congratulations, you have completed the quest "Save Tomalik from the Undead." You have been awarded the following: 16,000 experience, 100 Sp, and a minor class item - the Spellbook Magma Bomb, requirement: level 25 Druid class.
Magma Bomb: MP: 250, CT: 10 sec, CD: 2 min
Active: Can be launched up to 50 ft from the caster. When the ball connects with anything, it explodes, dealing damage for (wisdom + intelligence) over a 15-foot area.
Passive: Adds fire damage to any earth-based spell.
Description: Create a ball of magma that is launched out from the caster's hand.
Level bonus: Increase damage by 1%
Congratulations, you have completed the quest "Lay to Rest the Unspoken Oracle." You have been awarded the following: 5,000 XP, 200 SP, and the unique item "Sunglasses of the Oracle."
I checked my XP logs to see how much the Necro-Inquisitor was worth.
You have received XP from the following kills: 30 zombies - 99,930 XP and Necro-Inquisitor - 8,731 XP. The total XP you have received from quests and kills is 129,661 XP.
Congratulations, you have gone from level 21 to 28. You have obtained a mana body. The next time you rest, your body will be changed on a fundamental level to be more in line with the rest of the universe. You have 37 unspent Attribute points and 75% skill progress that need to be spent the next time you rest.
Congratulations, you have completed your first quest as an adventurer. Due to the rank of your first mission being a silver-ranked mission, your title has been upgraded from Bronze Adventurer to Silver Adventurer.
Title: Silver Adventurer - Grants 15% to 2 Attributes when acquired. This title cannot be combined with any other title and can only be upgraded through official gold-ranked missions.
With that finished, I accepted the Silver Adventurer title and felt the two percentage bumps to intelligence and wisdom. I then contemplated the upcoming changes and decided to apply my stats in the following order: 10 to Con, 10 to Int, 10 to Wisdom, and 7 to Luck. I added points to Luck because if the only reason we got out of there was luck, I needed more of it. Finally, I dealt with the skill and spell growth since we entered the dungeon.
Congratulations, you have gained levels in the following skills and spells: 13 levels in Find Traps, 13 levels in Disarm Traps, 5 levels in Conture Nature, 2 levels in Earth Spike, 5 levels in Magic Missile, 3 levels in Polearm Mastery, 7 levels in Healing Hands, 6 levels in Summon Plant Elemental, 2 levels in Gift of Focus, 5 levels in Nature's Bounty, 10 levels in Arcane Sight, and 6 levels in Mage Armor.
Additionally, two of my spells, Healing Hands and Magic Missile, had reached Novice level and gained some bonuses:
Healing Hands (Novice Rank Bonus): Focused Healing - The caster may choose to focus healing on just one area at a time, greatly increasing both healing and the rate.
Magic Missile (Novice Rank Bonus): Arcane Missiles - Increase the damage by casting the spell for 3 times the cost, granting the missiles an explosion that affects everything within 10 feet centered on the target.
Finally, I received 1,265 professions XP and reached level 2 of my profession, leaving me with 15 unspent points.
With everything settled, I prepare to sleep and inform the party about what is about to happen. As I drift off to sleep, my body undergoes a strange transformation. It turns translucent, revealing the inner workings of my body. Veins, nerves, and bones are exposed, glowing with a dim azure light. The nerves rearrange themselves, finding their perfect alignment, while the veins slide around like thin worms into unseen channels. The bones also take on the same radiant light as they are compressed, increasing in density.
The muscles undergo rapid changes, making it difficult to discern exactly what is happening. Soon after, the skin turns opaque again, concealing the transformations. Despite the peculiar changes, I manage to sleep peacefully for the rest of the journey.
Upon waking at the entrance to the adventurer's guild I noticed that I had 2 more blinking notifications so I skim them and decide that I better talk to the team before I fully dive into them. So I set them back to being unread and walked up the stairs.