rev: [Avardum: Day 027 | Location: Howling Plains | Marcus]
Marcus had gotten several rewards from what was essentially someone else's fight. He was not sure how he felt about that. But the rewards were here already, and he could not get rid of them, nor should he if he wanted to accomplish his mission here on Avardum.
[https://bluebox.akmedrah.com/VV_Notification-012.png]
"Those must be from Jarev." Marcus thought to himself. He was very confused. "I gained a skill for that? Maybe
[https://bluebox.akmedrah.com/VV_Notification-013.png]
"This is for the quest. I leveled up to level one from the quest, and I got all of this. Quests seem pretty profitable. Two more skills and some
[https://bluebox.akmedrah.com/VV_Notification-014.png]
While reading the message from Elina, Aurora chimes in, "Marcus, it seems that I am able to use the new level 3 variation of
"Of course, Aurora. Why don't you see how deep of a spiral staircase you can dig? Just let me know if you need me to come and pull dirt and debris out of the way." He said, taking the following silence as acquiescence. Marcus opened his status screen and took notice of the changes since the last time he had looked.
Satisfied with his quick glance, Marcus checked that no one was coming, at least as far as he could tell, and then he got to work digging out more of what the system called his first floor. The rest of the day proceeded in silence as the Presteis slept, Marcus dug, and Aurora made stairs.
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[Avardum: Day 028 | Location: Howling Plains | Marcus]
"Aurora, can you still do medical and geological scans?" Marcus asked, two points of concern pressing in his mind.
"I can, but I must warn you both will be drastically reduced in effectiveness as I do not have a link to the databases I had access to before."
"That is fine. Please scan our guest and make sure she is alright; then, if you would, analyze what you can of the surrounding geology. I think I have been feeling earthquakes for most of the morning. I just want to make sure that we are not going to dig into a massive cave."
"Understood Marcus." She said and set about her task.
Twenty minutes went by as Marcus worked on a hallway from the large room that he now had surrounding the spiral staircase. Auroar finally gave him results.
"So best as I can tell, she is fine, a little malnourished, but nothing overtly wrong with her. I would hazard a guess that wherever you did to strengthen her probably exhausted much of her energy as well as consuming massive amounts of mana."
"Fair enough, and any word on the geological issues yet?" Marcus asked.
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"No, though I can confirm we are fine to continue digging, this seems to be something entirely natural," Aurora said.
"Good, now let's get back to work until our guest wakes up; then we can figure out some of these new skills."
"Understood," Auroar said, turning back to her stairs.
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[Avardum: Day 028 | Location: Howling Plains | Janel]
Janel awoke still in the strange bunker in the middle of the dead zone that was the Howling Plains. This place was strange. She looked over at the body of Jarev. If it had not been for the mass of Mana in this place, she would not have even suggested killing him. She had also never heard of a building surviving the acid rains that were common in this area. So whatever this place was, it must be significant.
When the other two had fled after her attack on Jarev, Janel had been convinced that she would not survive. So, in a last-ditch effort, she had reached out to her goddess. Elina had not answered her prayers in years, but if she were to die, she would wish it be to ascend to the loving embrace of her Goddess. So when she felt the sudden and massive influx of power and mana after her prayer, she thought that surely her Goddess had answered.
The thing flashing in her mind now confirmed that, in her way, Elina had answered. For the first time in many years, Janel had a quest available to her. The only one who could give a high priestess quests was her God or Goddess. She was hesitant because the look of the interface was different, but she still read the quest.
[https://bluebox.akmedrah.com/VV_Notification-015.png]
"A holy dungeon?!" Janel exclaimed. She had heard of them before, but never had she seen one, let alone entered one. "And it is dedicated to Elina. Perhaps that is why she was able to bless me?"
Janel thought for a moment. She had nothing to go back to. Her mother and father were dead and had been since she was a tiny child. She had no friends, not after they had been the ones to turn on her, assault her, and cast her into slavery. She had absolutely nothing to go back to, but to live here, she was unsure if it would be a wise decision.
"I have been asking for guidance, and here it is, yet I hesitate, some High Prestess I am." She said before chuckling and accepting the quest.
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[Avardum: Day 028 | Location: Howling Plains | Marcus, Janel]
"Holy Dungeon!" Janel exclaimed, looking around and seeing stairs that she had somehow missed before. Hesitantly, she descended the stairs, to find a massive underground room, and at the end of the room, a beautiful blue orb on a pedestal of mana-imbued stone.
Janel tried again. "Holy Dungeon, I have received a quest to reside within you. I do not wish to intrude, but it is a mandate from the Goddess Elina. What say you, Holy Dungeon?"
Marcus was a little miffed. "What in the hell did you call me to her, Elina? Why does she think I am a Holy Dungeon? I am barely a Dungeon Core. Hells, if anything, I should probably be listed as some kind of Divine Harbinger purely based on the numbers I have killed! Whatever."
Marcus cast the
Janel jumped. "Who is Marcus Terno?" She said out loud.
"Welp, this is fucked. Just call me by my name, Elina. No more of this Holy Dungeon shit, please. I don't even know if you can hear this!"
Janel seemed to think for a moment before both accepting the contract, and both she and Marcus received the same notice.
[https://bluebox.akmedrah.com/VV_Notification-016.png]
Janel breathed a sigh of relief and spoke to the blue orb. "I take this to mean you are the Holy Dungeon?"
Marcus, feeling the proverbial 'weight' of having a blocker entity inside his dungeon lift, responded by summoning a piece of bread next to Janel.
"Bread... Does this mean yes?" Janel asked, and suddenly, it rained bread around her. She laughed. "I will take that as a confirmation. Does this mean you are Marcus Terno?"
Marcus spawned bread.
"So you are both the Holy Dungeon and Marcus Terno?"
More bread.
"Very well, thank you, holy Dungeon. I shall look forward to residing within you."
Marcus was about to attempt to try and communicate further when Aurora began shouting out warnings he did not know she possessed.
"Warning: Pyroclastic expulsions eminent, recommend immediate evacuation, or seek immediate shelter!" Auroar shouted in Marcus's head.
She finished repeating this for a second and then a third time, when the earth began to rumble, the shaking becoming harsher and harsher.
Janel's eyes widened. "The earth spirits are angry. They will soon shake the mountains and make the world bleed. We should flee!"
Marcus felt that he had the best chance out of anyone of surviving a volcanic blast, so he dumped water over Janel's head.
"PFFT.." Janel wiped water away from her face, her hair sticking to her nude body. "I take it that means no?"
Bread.
"Very well, but please just sprinkle water near me next time." Janel asked, looking down at her soaked form, "That and help me shower properly later."
Bread.
Suddenly, they both received the same quest notification.
[https://bluebox.akmedrah.com/VV_Notification-017.png]