Dungeons, rifts, and ancient ruins, along with the teeming hordes of natural monsters, serve as pivotal resources for advancement. Yet, amidst their significance, none rivals the worth of an inheritor’s trial.. Although rare, these trials house the legacy seeds of the ascendant who crafted them.
-Barith Osbourne
Guild master of the adventurers guild.
Sector 1, Ragnarok.
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Daruk snapped his fingers. “Earth to Aodhán. Where did your mind go?”
“Sorry, sorry, I kind of spaced out for a moment there.” Aodhán replied. “It’s just that I’m at the 13th tier now, and there were a lot of changes on my status screen that I had to take a moment to process.”
“These changes were caused by a simple storm.” Daruk asked with a slight frown, but Aodhán shook his head. “Nothing about that storm was simple, Daruk. Before it even appeared, I could feel it. It was unnatural, driven by an overwhelming will that simultaneously sparked a sense of belonging and imminent danger within me, and my status calls it the origin plane.”
Daruk’s frown deepened. “I’ve never read anything about that, but we can easily solve the mystery of your necklace when—if we get to Sector 8.”
“We’ll get there, eventually.” Aodhán replied with a sigh, and Daruk chided. “You should be happy; I mean, you’ve gotten stronger, silver linings and all.”
Aodhán chuckled. “I’m happy; I’m just a little confused about the changes.”
They resumed their walk through the forest, but a minute later, they began to feel a chill that instantly put Aodhán on edge. He raised a hand, and Daruk immediately came to a halt. Aodhán strained his ears, listening for any odd or strange sounds, and before long, a screech echoed through the forest.
Instantly on guard, Aodhán pushed Daruk behind him as a trio of spider-like monsters burst from the underbrush before them. The creatures were made entirely of clear blue ice and had six razor-sharp blade-like appendages extending out of their bodies.
Standing at a mere 2 feet in height, their translucent forms glimmered in the morning light, and a frosty chill emanated from their mouths. Above the head of the largest was a line of text that identified it as a Tier 4 ice arachnid.
The creatures were so weak that it only took a second to destroy them with a single storm hammer. He created another and handed it to Daruk, who used it to smash the dead arachnids and harvest their cores.
A few minutes later, they came across another group of arachnids, about half a dozen in number, and although this group had a higher average tier compared to the previous one, it still only took a second to destroy them.
Daruk helped, though, as thin earth spikes shot out of the ground and pierced the arachnids. It did negligible damage to the arachnids above Tier 3, yet, Daruk shouted in excitement. “By Raol! Did you see that?” He asked, pointing at the two earthen spikes that jutted out of the earth.
“Yes, Daruk, I’m not blind.” Aodhán replied with an amused roll of his eyes.
“I can’t believe it.” He muttered, still in awe, as he harvested the cores and placed them in a pouch of vines and leaves that they had made. “Maybe this affinity isn’t so bad after all.”
“Finally!” Aodhán groaned, raising his head to the sky and lifting both hands in jubilation.
Daruk chuckled and adjusted the vine pouch hanging from his shoulders. “Don’t start jubilating yet; I still hate the affinity.”
“Ungrateful wretch.” Aodhán muttered as they continued forward, killing every group of arachnids they found and harvesting their cores.
Half an hour later, when they finally destroyed another half dozen of the ice creatures, Daruk asked. “Where do you think they’re coming from?”
“We are about to find out.” Aodhán replied, pointing towards an area before them covered in a thin layer of frost. Ice crunched beneath their feet as they walked forward, and when they finally reached the area covered in frost, a white entrance suddenly appeared as if it had always been there, but they’d been unable to discern it.
It was an arched entrance that floated a few inches above ground. Energy swirled within it, seeming almost like a mirage of colored energy.
Their eyes widened at the sight of the dungeon, and Daruk almost squealed in excitement. “It’s a white dungeon!”
“Yes, but there’s a reason we’ve been encountering monsters all morning.” Aodhán replied with caution.
“A dungeon break?
“That’s the only possible explanation; besides, it makes sense. There’s no one on the island to delve into the dungeon, so it must have overflown with monsters.
“That also means it’s final boss will be very strong.” Daruk agreed with a frown, but then he caressed the vine pouch hanging from his shoulders and smiled. “I guess it’s time to absorb all those cores we’ve gathered.”
….
In total, they had gathered twenty-seven cores, but only two of those cores were at the 5th tier, three were at the 4th, and the rest ranged from Tier 0 to Tier 3. Ten minutes later, Daruk had absorbed all twenty-seven cores, but he only advanced four times, which wasn’t really surprising considering the fact that most of the cores were Tiers 0 and 1, and the energy they contained was negligible at best.
….
[STATUS]
Name: Daruk Brystion
Class: Earth awakened
Tier: 4–86.5%
Skills {Innate}: Earth manipulation.
Bloodline: Nil
….
Daruk grinned as he went through his status, but soon frowned. “I feel so close to the 5th tier yet so far away.”
“Yeah, the fifth tier is a milestone.” Aodhán replied. “You should get a title and a skill when you eventually cross it. Are you ready?”
“Absolutely.” Daruk replied with a maniacal grin, and Aodhán shook his head in amusement, wondering where the boy who had hated hunting was. They stepped through the dungeon’s entrance an instant later and were immediately hit with a sense of vertigo as they arrived within the dungeon’s space.
It took a while for them to regain their bearings. Aodhán recovered first, suffering for only a moment before he turned to take in his surroundings.
Vapor emanated from his lips with each exhale as he took in the icy cavern they’d appeared in. The entire space was made of clear blue ice, and although there were no openings, the cavern was bright enough to see.
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Massive ice stalactites jutted down from the roof, and a thick haze of frosty mist obscured the cavern floor.
“By Raol, it’s beautiful.” Daruk whispered, but his voice echoed in the emptiness of the cavern, and it took a few seconds for it to fade.
“More like creepy.” Aodhán replied. “We can’t afford to spend too much time in this dungeon, or we’ll freeze to death.”
Their steps echoed as they walked forward, the sound of each bouncing off the frozen walls and ceiling until it was an entire cacophony that only stopped about fifteen seconds after they did.
“At this rate, the monsters will hear us coming from a mile away.” Aodhán muttered with a frown, and immediately he spoke. The familiar screech of arachnids reached them. Half a dozen arachnids between Tiers 2 and 5 emerged from the mist a moment later, and Daruk sighed, “Well, it also makes it impossible for them to ambush us. Also, I’m completely useless, once again.”
“Well, you still have the hammer, don’t you?” Aodhán inquired with a smile as a trio of lightning spears shot towards the arachnids and exploded, shattering their translucent bodies to pieces.
Needless to say, they ran through the first few waves of arachnids like knives through butter, and thirty minutes later, they’d crushed so many monsters that their vine pouches were once again bulging with cores.
The fights had gotten harder, though, as the cold pervaded their bones and caused their teeth to chatter. Still, they persisted, and a moment later, they crossed a kind of boundary that led into a different ice cavern.
This cave was much colder, and the ice had more of a greenish hue than blue. Barely a few steps into the new cave, another group of arachnids attacked them.
There were seven of them in this group, and the strongest was at the 10th tier. It still wasn’t enough to give Aodhán much trouble, but Daruk was utterly useless, so he stayed a few feet behind Aodhán and let him work his magic.
Six storm hammers shot forward immediately the arachnids attacked, and they smashed into the monsters with such force that their bodies shattered like glass. Three of the arachnids survived, though, but they were swiftly destroyed by a trio of lightning spears.
After Daruk harvested their cores, they moved deeper into the dungeon. Their journey slowed almost to a crawl as they battled both monsters and cold, and more than a few times they contemplated leaving, but the promise of a good reward at the end of the dungeon kept them going.
Perhaps they would get an enchanted weapon or something else that was just as extraordinary. This was probably the first time this dungeon was being delved into since it manifested, so it was sure to reward them greatly.
They continued for another half hour, contemplating what their final reward might be, and as they turned a bend, they came across another group of arachnids. There were only three of them this time, with two at the 11th tier and the other at the 12th tier of advancement.
A dozen storm spears appeared around Aodhán, as he couldn’t afford to take chances with this trio. The arachnids rushed forward, their blade-like limbs clacking furiously against the frozen ground, and a thick haze of icy mist poured out of their mouths.
As threatening as they were, they were still mundane creatures attacking an evolved individual a tier or two above them. The spears smashed into them, causing them to stumble. Before they could react, a dozen lightning hammers smashed against their bodies and immediately exploded.
The two arachnids at the 11th tier were instantly destroyed, but the largest twitched and staggered back to its feet. It only had two blade-like limbs left, and an entire half of its body had been destroyed, yet like an unfeeling machine, it rushed forward, intent on destroying them.
Aodhán raised a hand to the arachnid, and a thick beam of lightning shot out of him. It struck the monster instantly and smashed it against the cavern walls. It was only when the arachnid’s body disintegrated that Aodhán finally cut off the beam.
“Overkill, and is that a new skill?” Daruk asked as he moved to harvest the cores.
“Not really.” Aodhán replied. The lightning beam skill was one he had created the week before the harvest festival. It was quite powerful, but it usually consumed a large amount of energy, so he rarely used it.
As they continued forward, Daruk advanced to the 5th tier and gained both the Neophyte title and a skill called {Resonance}. It was a skill that allowed him to feel vibrations through the earth, but unfortunately, it was useless within the dungeon.
Fifteen minutes later, they crossed another boundary and found themselves at the entrance of a smaller cavern filled with thick, icy mist. The chill of the cave was enough to turn Daruk blue and cause Aodhán to shiver uncontrollably.
“We have to turn back; it’ll be foolish of us to continue.” Aodhán said through gritted teeth, but when he received no reply from Daruk, he turned to see him staring wide-eyed at an icy blue crystal the size of his fist, and that was when Aodhán noticed the silver runes softly glowing through the mist.
“It’s not—it’s not a dungeon.” Daruk said through chattering teeth. “By ascendants! It’s an inheritors trial.”
Aodhán stared at the core in amazement, but a moment later he sighed. “Daruk, I know how much you’ve always wanted an ice affinity, but we won’t survive long if we step into that cavern; you can barely breathe as it is, and the cold is draining me of my strength.”
Daruk was barely listening, though, and before Aodhán could stop him, he rushed into the cavern and towards the glowing crystal.
…..
A loud screech rang out immediately as a creature emerged from the fog and rushed towards Daruk. It looked like the usual arachnid, but it stood a little above 5 feet, and its entire body was covered in more than a dozen blade-like limbs.
Above it’s head was a line of text that identified it as a Tier 15 ice arachnid protector. Its bladed limbs whirled, intent on skewering Daruk, and Aodhán had no choice but to rush into the cave.
With a thought, a storm cloud appeared above him and extended to cover the entire roof. Thunder crackled loudly, causing the cavern to shudder, and a loud explosion of lightning shifted the protector’s attention to him.
Already, Aodhán could feel the invasive chill of cold, and he knew that he had to end this fight quickly, as a battle of attrition would not end in his favor.
Ice spikes jutted out of the floor, rushing to impale him, but Aodhán created a storm platform and floated into the air. Before the protector could react, a dozen storm hammers materialized around him and shot towards it.
It smashed against its carapace with enough force to crack it, crushing multiple bladed limbs in the process. The protector retaliated with a piercing screech, and a cloud of icy mist rushed out of its mouth.
The temperature instantly dropped, coating Aodhán in a thin layer of frost. Refusing to succumb to the intense chill, Aodhán shot forward even as he charged the storm above him, pouring almost all of his energy and willpower into it.
He smashed a hammer into the protector’s face as he entered melee range, but a bladed limb sliced into his chest, leaving behind a wound that was instantly pervaded by a chill so intense that he staggered to the frozen floor, leaving him defenseless as another limb rushed towards him.
Aodhán managed to react on time, and a storm shield appeared above him. It cracked an instant later, but it had bought him enough time to attack, and a dozen storm spears descended from the rumbling cloud and shot towards the protector.
While Aodhán battled the protector, Daruk clawed his way towards the crystal. He was entirely coated in frost, and his eyes itched and bled from the chill, yet he persisted, crawling closer towards the pulsing crystal.
Unlike the earth affinity he’d awakened, this affinity was one he’d dreamt about, and he couldn’t afford to lose this opportunity, not when he was already so close.
A roar resounded as Aodhán smashed the protector against the cavern wall, causing it to shudder as more cracks appeared on its carapace. Thunder boomed, andhundreds of lightning bolts rippled across the storm cloud.
With another roar of pain, six spears of ice materialized around the protector and shot towards Aodhán, but he created a storm dome around himself. Unsurprisingly, the dome shattered from the force of the protector’s attack, and an instant later, a bladed limb stabbed towards Aodhán’s shoulder.
Aodhán barely managed to sidestep the attack, but it had created an opening in the protector’s defenses, so he clumsily swung his hammer with frozen fingers, and it smashed against the protector’s head.
The protector was thrown back several feet, but when it rose to its feet, Aodhán saw that half of its face had been shattered and almost all of its bladed limbs were gone. It rushed towards him with an agonized roar, but before it even made it halfway, Aodhán called the bolts of lightning rippling across the storm cloud, and in one smooth motion, they descended.
A river of lightning struck the protector, and the bang of an explosion filled the air. The entire cavern rattled, and several stalactites fell to the frozen ground. Cracks rippled across the walls and floor, threatening to collapse the entire cave, but a pulse emanated from the floating crystal, and the cavern was instantly repaired.
All that was left was a massive crater filled with shattered ice and the shimmering blue core of the protector. Aodhán rushed towards Daruk and let out a sigh of relief to find him still breathing.
He was completely blue from the cold, and frost covered his entire body. Small particles of ice hung from his eyelashes, and his breath was extremely shallow.
Without hesitation, Aodhán dragged him closer to the crystal and raised his frozen hands to it. When Daruk failed to respond, he slapped him gently. “Wake up, buddy; this is your chance. Take it.”
It took a few seconds for Daruk to actually clasp the crystal, but immediately he did. It pulsed once again and released a wave of icy mist that threw Aodhán against the walls of the cavern.
Blocks of ice rose around Daruk until he was completely encased in a coffin-like structure. With a sigh of relief, Aodhán walked towards the shimmering core of the protector and absorbed it. When nothing happened, he reviewed his status and realized that he was still a little far from the next tier of advancement.
Tier: 13–74.8%
With a groan of frustration, he dug into the pouch of cores they’d gathered so far, and after a few seconds of searching, he took out a single Tier12 core and absorbed it. Energy surged out of his core, flowing through his pathways and into his body as he advanced to the 14th tier.
The chill subsided a little, and Aodhán turned his attention to the ice coffin; perhaps if he studied it, he could gain some insight into what had happened during his own awakening.