32: Deeper into the Dungeon
Darkness surrounded him, and soon everything ached. He swore something battered him all over the place. The sensation of breathlessness took hold, followed by a gnawing bite of frost. Something swallowed him whole, a cold embrace that promised relief and pain as his movements became restricted.
In a moment of pure clarity, Aidan opened his eyes and felt them stinging, then surged upward to reach the surface. He broke through, gasping deeply for air before coughing like his insides were stuck in his throat.
Everything around him was filled with water, and they churned along the current, dragging him with it. His arms quivered, but he managed to grab hold of the riverbank before pulling himself onto the still surface of the ground. He choked before he coughed some more water out of his throat, spitting profusely as his mind cleared up from the rampant torrent behind him.
“Fuck… me… that sucks…” Aidan muttered, breathing heavily before his mind took notice. “Shit, where’s…”
To his relief, he found the siblings already trying to swim up through the currents. Haley was knocked out cold, but Van carried her like a champ, aiming right where Aidan was. He helped out the siblings, first carrying Haley out of the water then pulling Van out with some force thanks to his heavy armor.
While Van was busy coughing out water, Aidan checked to see if Haley was alright. Her eyes were closed and she wasn’t breathing, but one push into her stomach got her to belch out the water from her lungs, then she coughed up a storm as she turned to the side. Unfortunately that belch water got to Aidan, making him gag out in response.
“Oh come on,” Aidan cursed, but ignored that as Haley looked like she was having the worst of it. Perhaps she took in more water due to her heavy iron armor, making her swallow more. “You good?”
“Ugh… I wanna go home…!”
“Okay, you’re alive at least.”
Aidan chuckled but he knew when was the right time to do so, so he turned to her brother to see if he was still alive. He already stood over the pair, pushing his hair back in a relaxed manner.
They were completely soaked to the bone, but they were alive. As though in proof of that, he spotted some notifications ready to unveil.
You have gained a title!
“Chaos Wielder”
Lead your enemy to your enemy to make themselves enemies. A worthy plan if there ever was one.
+1 Intellect
+1 Wisdom
+1 Perception
…..
You have gained a title!
“Survivor”
Survive an encounter that would’ve taken your life. Sometimes, smart thinking is better than pure power.
+1 Speed
+1 Reflex
+1 Lifeforce
It just gives whatever title it feels like giving, huh?
That was another point into Intelligence alone. After his last bout, he was definitely considering spending his next points into Agility or Vitality, whichever needed priority first. That Toughness stat however felt pretty promising at the moment, and he was suddenly more than grateful for his Class granting him that single Toughness point every level.
“Status check, everyone. Need any healing?”
“I-I might need it,” Van said, currently holding his ribs with his hand. “I think I hit something on the way down…”
“Sorry, bro,” Haley apologized, figuring that it was her fault for it.
“That’s nothing that a Heal can’t solve,” Aidan said, setting aside Haley’s guilt as he went over and patted Van’s abdomen, letting his mana flow through him as he cast Heal.
The consternation shown on his face vanished, replaced with a cool and light face as he let out a breath. He also did the same for Haley, who looked just as pleased as she stood up, seemingly with no issue.
“Man, who’d have thought you could get a healing spell right in the middle of the dungeon,” Haley said. “That already makes you precious in any dungeon… but did you really have to call that Prime over to us?”
“I knew it was coming,” Aidan said, figuring that Haley of all people saw what he did. Van looked aghast at the revelation, however. “It was a gamble, and it worked. But, still, sorry about that.”
“I mean, we survived, so I guess I can’t complain,” Haley crossed her arms, her shoulders trembling. “But where are we?”
Aidan took a glance at his surroundings, mesmerized at the sight as blue crystals lit up the cave surrounding them. The entire area was lit up by said crystals, giving the space a somewhat calming feel along with the drift of air passing through.
Unlike in the earlier cavernous floors, this one seemed to extend far beyond what he could naturally perceive. Even his own Sense Vibrations couldn’t breach through some of the available places that were far enough away from him. In the distance, with his physical eyes, he spotted what looked like glowing butterflies that drifted around, passing by certain spots that lit up their surroundings before going on their merry way.
“It’s kinda beautiful,” Haley muttered, possibly noticing the butterflies that passed by. “And it feels so quiet…”
“But that doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous,” Van said, who was currently checking his gear for any damage. “My buckler is totally trashed…”
“Hold on, give it to me.”
Aidan noticed Van’s plight and offered his hand. Seeing how he had fixed up his own sword earlier, Van readily handed him his precious shield. Taking it into his hand, he felt the heft of it, which now made sense as to how such a small shield could take such strong impacts from that Dweller Prime.
The orb of Craft showed up, and Aidan placed it inside. After a few moments later, he sensed that the shield was up and ready. But he wasn’t finish just yet.
Closing his eyes, he cast Infuse onto the shield within the Craft orb, flowing mana into the dense metal and keeping it firm before it eventually faded, revealing a new glowing shield that was utterly different than its previous dented self.
“W-What did you do?” Van asked after seeing how his shield was just shimmering brighter than before.
“I added an enchantment,” Aidan said, handing the heavy shield over to Van. “It should make things easier for you as our tank.”
In truth, he should’ve thought about this sooner, but he supposed he couldn’t really use his hindsight to fix his current problems. A quick scan showed that while it seemed simple enough, the looks on Van and Haley’s faces were proof of its great power.
Mana-Infused Buckler (Uncommon)
A buckler enchanted with a powerful wave of mana that drenched it to its core, changing its properties. When activated, it creates a large circular shield around its wearer, increasing its defensive properties multifold. Tough and enduring, this shield protects the ones behind without relenting.
Mana Barrier–Mana Cost: 20
Requirements:
Level 5+ in Any Class
He was surprised at the name of the activating spell to use the enchantment. Was it the same one that the Mage class offered him at Level 5? If so, wouldn’t that mean his talent literally bypassed even the system itself?
That was a scary thought. He instantly quelled that rabbit hole, not wishing to go further down unless he would risk getting a big head.
“T-This is incredible!” Van said, his voice sounding elated as he swung his shield. “Its mana cost is pretty high, but I can definitely see how useful it is!”
“How many times can you use it?” Aidan asked.
“With my MP? Around maybe 3 times before I have to regenerate,” Van said, getting Aidan to calculate it in an instant.
Man that high Intellect really came in. It looks like he only has around 6 Wisdom?
“Make sure you save those then for when things get really nasty. It should be tough enough to handle most encounters,” Aidan said, then proceeded to look around before asking. “Haley, do you still feel that tingling?”
“Oh, yeah!” Haley said, pointing in another direction. “If we go down there for a bit, I think we should find it.”
“How did you sense it from all the way up there?” Aidan asked, looking back up into the hole that they fell from. It was so far down that he could barely see anything, though the darkness that surrounded the top ceiling was making that difficult to see.
“I know, right? I’m wondering about that myself. It’s the first time I ever felt something from so far away. Maybe my increased level has something to do with it.”
“Does that mean you can pinpoint treasures from far away now?” Van asked. “I hope that doesn’t mess you up in your everyday life.”
“Nah, it only activates when I really wish for it. Otherwise, it just stays silent,” Haley said. “Now come on, let’s go! I don’t want to find out if that thing might chase after us all the way down here.”
That sounded like a nightmare and a half, so Aidan and Van followed Haley’s lead, ensuring that nothing else might jump up and hit them where it hurts. Of course on the way, Aidan used Craft to get rid of the excess water dripping from their armor and clothes.
It was simple, really. All he needed to do was command the water like how he commanded the earth to seep itself out of their clothes, then send all the water back to the river they found themselves in. Just like that, they were as dry as before they lunged into the pit.
It wasn’t like he never thought about commanding the other elements, like water or air, whenever he would command the earth to do his bidding with Craft. It was that first off, water wasn’t as easily accessible, and he did try multiple times to command the air like he did with the earth.
But it was difficult to lay claim to the vibrations on something as insubstantial as air. Though he had a feeling that he just needed to practice a little further with Craft in order to achieve it.
They traveled down the bumpy pathway, jumping over several boulders that stood in their way. They kept going at this for a while, eventually finding a small hole on the wall where one had to kneel down and squeeze on through.
“It’s telling me that we gotta go through there,” Haley said uncomfortably. “Looks like a tight spot…”
“You sure we need to go through here?” Van suggested. “I mean, just how far are we going to go into the dungeon?”
“Until we find something for the quartz,” Aidan said. “And that’s where Haley’s talent comes in.”
“And if we run into anything like the Prime?”
“We run like hell,” Aidan said with a smirk. “But I don’t feel anything like that around here. Now come on.”
Van shrugged, letting Aidan’s argument stand as he became the first to kneel down, followed by Haley. Aidan followed through, then was hit with a stupid thought that being behind Haley while kneeling down might be a bad idea.
Seeing nothing but the bottom half of her armored and padded bottom shaking left and right as they trudged along proved that there was nothing to worry about on her end.
They went like this for a few minutes, which prompted Aidan’s claustrophobia to trigger as he already thought about wanting to head back out. Sure, he could just use Craft to expand the hole but the idea of a cave-in frightened him to no end. Soon light filtered through the darkness, making Aidan look up to see Haley coming out along with Van who stood at the scene.
As soon as Aidan came out and saw both the siblings staring ahead with astounded faces, he checked to see what made them pause, and understood immediately.
What stood before them was something that shouldn’t be seen by the natural eye. Something that nature itself cultivated for years on end, left behind to be alone in nature for hundreds, thousands of years.
A pond wide enough to have a swim meet in, glowing with bright blue sparkling water that flowed endlessly in its natural habitat. It was a wondrous sight to see, enough that even his Sense Vibrations told him that this pond was beyond normal. It hummed with life and exuberance, meeting his ears through a mellow song that urged him to calm down and look at his surroundings.
Whatever he expected when he came through that hole definitely couldn’t match what he was seeing.