The gnoblars sat in their hiding places wasting their time with quiet chatter and picking at empty bones. None of them knew why they were here, only that there was a strong instinct for their being here. The stone floor was bumpy, the air stale, and they all despised the lack of meat around them. Yet the same instinct that kept them here was also the one that promised delectable screaming food soon. Something would come from the depths, where nothing ever came out. They all shivered when their attention ever drifted too far down the corridor, something screaming that there was nothing good that came about from the deeper places in the world. The weakest of them sat glumly in full view of the tunnel, unwilling bait for whatever came from those depths. It was bored and suffered the bruises from its kind in silence. Until it heard leather scrap against stone. It perked up and the others noticed in moments. All of them went quiet as broken shivs were prepared for their coming meal. The bait shivered but peered into the darkness, trying to perceive the coming danger before darkness raced for its face. Before it could scream it died as shadow essence tore its weak body apart. The others flinched but stayed in their hiding places.
A creature stalked into the chamber with an orb that shined a malevolent purple. It was an abomination! It had to be! An abomination born from the black sun itself. Before they could even scream a ball of shadow formed from the orb. It took the shape of a whirling cloud of dark essence surrounding a core of purple before blasting for the two gnoblars against the far wall. They screamed as they threw themselves from their hiding places. It was to no avail. Tendrils snaked out ripping and tearing the gnoblars to pieces. Barely any blood or viscera was left but the rest of the gnoblars didn’t even hesitate to charge forward. While this thing was distracted killing their brethren they could get the kill! Their screams of challenge did nothing as without warning the orb flashed again and another of the balls of shadow formed. It was small and it couldn’t get them all. That thought rushed through all of the gnoblars minds before the abomination surprised them all and threw the bolt to the ground. Darkness engulfed them, sending the scurrying away in fear. They screamed, unable to see except for the dim radiance of the bonfire. They congregated there without any thought for their safety or the foolishness of their actions. The shadows dissipated and the light of the fire pushed the lingering darkness away. The gnoblars were finally able to see the now dim orb and its wielder stand only a few feet from where it had entered. In its hand another bolt of shadow hung in the air. It flew and the gnoblars knew no more.
Kelford stood over them heaving as he fought off the lingering shadow essence. Blasting [Shadow Bolt] on top of him wasn’t lethal but it hadn’t been pleasant. Training with T.U.I had given him some control over the spells output and according to T.U.I he had some resistance to his own essence. Still, shallow wounds dotted his legs and arms leaving him bloody and distinctly unhappy. The ritual orb was barely glowing, much of the power he had gathered had been expended.He flared his attunement skill until he could see the shadow essence floating in large clouds all around him. The orb greedily pulled at the clouds, pulling power into its depths and refilling its reserves. With some testing Kelford had learned that the Acolyte class was powerful but had some pretty severe downsides.
First , by attuning himself to a type of essence he had not only gotten some measure of influence over that essence but also taken some of its weaknesses. Namely, light essence attacks would be more effective against him. T.U.I had insisted that he wouldn’t burn up once he saw the sun but if he ever went up against someone who used light essence he would be in some deep trouble. Secondly, his influence over external essence leads to a lack of influence over his internal mana. Unlike with the Apprentice he didn’t have an Essence Pool to draw from, so he could kill himself by casting too many spells from his internal stores. Which meant that he would have to lean into the shadow essence in the area or use his ritual orb to cast spells from. It could mean that some drawn out fights would be very dangerous if he didn’t have access to large amounts of shadow essence.
“ Another problem I’ll deal with when I get to it” Kelford muttered as he finally activated the rooms Relic Orb
Crown of Fear
Uncommon
Description:
Grants an aura of fear that reaches 10 feet in all directions. Will increase in potency as more essence is poured into the relic. Effect weakens as more entities are within the radius.
Amulet of Mountains resilience
Uncommon
Description:
An amulet that makes the body flow with the strength of the mountain.
Increases Constitution by 40%
Focus of Barrage
Rare
Description:
A focus made from crystallized shadow bat blood granting the ability to exert more control over shadow essence spells. This focus has been enchanted to assist with splitting spells into barrage versions of themselves. Each split will be weaker than the last but can be controlled independently.
“Well that’s an easy choice” Kelford selected the Focus of Barrage.
The orb flashed leaving a glowing, red pendant in the air. Kelford grabbed it before feeling the connection take hold. It was reinforced with a dull silver that separated the crystalized blood into 4 sections. Symbols were carved into the metal, so fine that Kelford could barely follow the twisting lines. It fit his palm nicely and as he held it up he called forth a [Shadow Bolt ] using the shadow essence in the environment. The spell came together easily, even with the added time needed to pull together the environment's essence. When it was stable Kelford flexed his will and split the spell in two. He felt a slight pressure but nothing he had to worry about. Better yet he could feel a connection to the second bolt just like the first. He began to play with both of the bolts pouring essence into them at different rates. He split both of them again and found his control beginning to be pressured. 4 bolts would need to be his limit unless things were getting dire. He could push himself but that would lead to him losing his awareness of his surroundings and tiring him out. He wanted to get to the fifth floor as fast as possible. With a wave he dissipated the bolts back into the environmental mana before allowing his ritual orb to finish absorbing the ambient essence.
He pushed forward to the next floor ritual orb in his left hand and focus in his right. He pulled on the ambient shadow essence before splitting the essence into 4 bolts leaning heavily on his focus. He entered the second floor with spheres of smokey essence floating behind him. Usually most of the gnoblars were asleep, while the rest were sitting near the fire or hiding in the alcoves. Much like with the first floor, Kelford was taken aback as the gnoblars all were awake. They stood around the fire weapons held out as they waited for Kelford’s arrival. Unlike with the first floor Kelford didn’t pull his first punches. He connected the forming bolts to his ritual orb and they swelled in size in half the time it took to form them. Kelford could see the gnoblar’s eyes widen with fear as he released his empowered spell.
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Shadow Bolt
His practice with both T.U.I and as a Ranged Warrior lent him accuracy as the bolts shot forward. Explosions of smoke and blood covered the room as gnoblars screamed and died. Kelford pulled more ambient essence to create another bolt but as he peered into the aftermath he realized it was unnecessary. All of the gnoblars were dead. In retrospect, it may have been a bit overkill but the results were extraordinary. So enthralled with the power of his attack, Kelford hadn’t noticed T.U.I manifesting next to him.
“ Well done Kelford, you have cleared this room in record time!”
“ That’s only because they all grouped together.” Kelford walked forward pulling what essence he could into another waiting bolt before turning back towards T.U.I. “ It seems that they know I’m coming before I even make it into the room. If I wasn’t exactly hiding they may have gotten some sort of ambush together but this is different. They’re changing their behavior.”
T.U.I bobbed up and down, “ Yes, there seems to be a distinct awareness of shadow essence within the gnoblars.”
“ Can you tell me what that’s about?”
“ Unfortunately I do not know.This is beyond the information I have access to.”
Kelford stopped in his tracks, “ You don’t know? Not that the information is restricted or even that I should figure it out myself?” Kelford’s heart was beginning to race. This was all too different. Wrong in a way that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was only the first two rooms and it seemed as if the gnoblars were changing their behaviors while his omniscient guide was not as all knowing as he had believed.
“ I have an idea of what could be the reason for this but that information is restricted. You will have to figure this out on your own.” T.U.I’s voice was downcast, “ All I can say is that the Myriad Index has provided the means to understand the situation.” With that T.U.I disappeared.
Kelford closed his eyes before taking several deep breaths as he processed the news. It would be fine. It had to be fine. His goals hadn’t changed and if the gnoblars knew he was coming then it just meant he’d have to use that to his advantage. The next floor would be the last time he’d see the gnoblars until the fifth floor. He’d just have to make it through the end of the second floor and hopefully everything else would be the same.
“ Thanks T.U.I, your tips and information are super useful ” Kelford said out loud, he didn’t get a response but he hoped his words would help a little bit. T.U.I seemed to be taking the lack of knowledge pretty hard.
He pushed forward entering the connection to the last room of the second floor as he tried to pull together a serviceable plan. He released the orbs he had been creating, letting his ritual orb feast upon the essence before putting it back in his Inventory. He looked at his focus before also placing it in the pocket space. If the gnoblars could feel the manipulation of shadow essence then he might be able to avoid their notice by removing himself of his relics and prepared bolts.
“ And if they can just feel my attunement to shadow essence, that’ll be good to know for the future.”
The tunnel opened up to the familiar cave that housed the gnoblar town, the sounds of gnoblars living their lives filled Kelford’s ears. He waited at the entrance for a moment before making his way down when he couldn’t detect a disturbance. It seemed none of the monsters were aware of his presence. At least not yet. The previous runs had helped Kelford get this floor down to almost a science. During his Ranged Warrior runs he had discovered that the secret to this floor was killing the Gnoblar Gorger . Without their leader the gnoblars would descend into infighting or simply flee if they knew what killed it. That lesson had come after he had died fighting the entire cavern when he ran out of arrows. When he had returned he had waited for the gorger to begin the feast and killed it before any of the gnoblars had a bite. They fled screaming and while he watched from a hill of broken rubble soon began to tear into each other. If you watched long enough one of the gnoblars would eat the meat cooking in the center and transform into another gorger. So from then on he had focused on killing the gorger and stealing mysterious meat the gnoblars had been leaving out. With the Light Warrior he had been able to steal the meat and assassinate the gorger without being noticed, and with the Apprentice he had blown up the gorgers tent. That had the added benefit of catching the entire town on fire and Kelford had been able to waltz right out of the cave.
Now Kelford wasn’t so sure what he wanted to do considering that he now had a new opportunity. With the change in behavior perhaps the Gnoblar Gorger may actually speak to him. He could take the risk,it wasn’t like he’d stay dead if this went poorly. Though the danger of trying to get words out of the creature was high, especially without any physical enhancements. If something got close to him he’d be in trouble. Besides, he was already so close to completing his quest. He could try on a different run.
He made his way along the edges of the gnoblar city, unconsciously stepping over debris that he had seen countless times. He paused as he prepared himself. A lone gnoblar lived around here, and was constantly shuffling around looking for baubles or desperately trying to find food. Usually, Kelford found it not paying attention and killed it quickly before climbing to his hiding spot. This time the gnoblar was shaking as its eyes met his immediately. Adrenaline shot through his system and Kelford casted a quick [Shadow Bolt] killing the gnoblar immediately. He stared at it for a moment before the weakness hit him. Taking a deep breath he pulled gently on the essence around him to replenish the essence he had just used. He didn’t dare pull too much as he got ready to climb the rubble. The gnoblar had none he was here, would the others know too? Kelford shook his head as began to pull himself up the side. Even if they did,they hadn’t made a move. Soon it would be too late.
The gnoblars gathered in the town center, screaming and roaring as they waited for their chief to appear. Kelford watched from above, sweaty and covered in dust. He pulled a small bolt together and prepared himself. Pouring ambient essence into the spell while keeping a watchful eye on the gnoblars below. He pulled out the Focus of Barrage just as he noticed a few gnoblars begin to look around. He split the bolt into two , then four. The gnoblars were now looking around fear and anger rolling through the crowd. Kelford waited as he stopped sending essence to his spell. The gorger hadn’t shown itself yet. The crowd beneath him grew more agitated, as they tried and failed to find the source of their discontent. Kelford began to sweat as his magic pushed at the bounds of his control. Finally, a roaring gorger burst from the tent . It was small, carrying a staff with bones and teeth strapped all along its shaft.
“ Who dare bring curse here! I Kill Kill you!!”
Kelford brought out his ritual orb. The Gnoblar gorger’s eyes flicked directly for him but it was already too late.
Shadow Bolt
Empowered by the ritual orb his bolts rained down upon the gnoblars. 2 for the crowd and 2 for the gorger. It screamed as it tried to flee but the bolts flew unerringly for their target. The explosions sent blood and viscera flying and Kelford stood as he watched what gnoblars not killed in the explosion flee for their lives. The gorger was dead and all that was left was for Kelford to claim his prize and leave. He couldn’t help himself and smiled. The Acolyte class was simple and powerful. Just the way he liked it. As he made his way down the rubble, the gnoblars huddled in their tents.