《Shatter》 Chapter 1 Inke stepped into the dungeon. ¡°Status: Active Effects,¡± she said. In front of her, the translucent screen appeared.
Active Effects
Dungeon: The Prismatic Tower EXP Drain: 75/minute
Grimacing, she clicked her tongue. ¡°This is why no one is entering you,¡± Inke called out. No response was forthcoming, but she knew it had heard her. She sighed, placing a hand on her sword. ¡°Two minutes to clear based on the maps and relative level, best estimate. That should be how much time you have to think over your life choices.¡± Actually, it was probably closer to thirty seconds, if that, considering reports of the dungeon removing all of its monsters to reabsorb their EXP, but lulling the dungeon into believing it had more time than it did never hurt. Inke walked forward, pushing open the crystalline door and entering an open, cavernous space. She took a moment to blink at the unexpected room before glancing down into the darkness. Below, a solitary pinprick of silver light rested in the center. Inhaling deeply, she jumped. ¡°Activate Bond: Soar,¡± Inke said clearly. A blue screen coalesced in front of her, but she dismissed it. As she fell, her descent slowed to a halt and stopped in midair. With a mental nudge, she floated slowly towards the dungeon core. She hit the ground. From her current position, she could finally see the core properly as it illuminated its surroundings with a soft silver light. It was only the size of her fist, if that, still a young dungeon. Which made sense, considering that its maximum drain was a measly seventy-five EXP per minute, but this was the sort of thing that dungeon fairies were supposed to prevent. Not that a dungeon fairy was anywhere in sight. By regulations, Inke was supposed to immediately proceed without engaging with the dungeon. At this range, though, the core couldn¡¯t generate anything to attack her, and she was allowed to use her best judgment in unusual situations. This probably qualified. Stepping closer, she placed a hand on the core. ¡°Where did your fairy go?¡± It pulsed threateningly. [Leave-leave-leave-leave-leave-now.] Waves of silver light flowed off it. With a smirk, Inke said, ¡°Not happening.¡± [Will Absorb you, your gear, ev-ery-thi-ng-]
Warning
Dungeon Core [???] attempted to Absorb Bonded Object [Ignari] and Bonded Object [Soar]. Absorb failed due to insufficient Mana of Dungeon Core [???].
¡°Just for that, I¡¯m rather tempted to forget finding answers. But, then again, that¡¯s probably your first instinct to just about everything. That¡¯s why you made this cavern, after all.¡± How-how could you know-I will succeed-Absorb you, Absorb and I will have everything.] Shining sparks popped off the surface of the dungeon core, sizzling in midair before fading into nothing. Slowly, she raised an eyebrow. ¡°Let me guess, you Absorbed your dungeon fairy.¡± [Useless, useless-wanted to stop me-power is within my grasp-everyone will obey, bow down-I am all-powerful there is no-one-nothing to stop me from achieving omnipotence-power-rule-power-wealth-power-power-power.] Inke stared and deliberately removed her hand. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some weird things doing my job. I even met a core, once, who was convinced that if they could generate a body and fall asleep, they would become a person. Or that one obsessed with trying to harness lightning. But out of all of them, you, you, who ate your own dungeon fairy¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°Top fifty, maybe? It¡¯s not exactly uncommon. Actually, you¡¯re only odd insofar as the circumstances.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The dungeon core flashed brightly before dimming down to almost nothing. It was probably saying something, but without touching it, Inke couldn¡¯t understand it. ¡°Waste of my time.¡± Inke pulled Ignari from the sword¡¯s sheath and slammed the blade into the dungeon core. It shattered, sending silver shards cascading across the cavern floor.
EXP Gained
Dungeon Core [???] shattered: 15,698 EXP
Total: 15,698 EXP
Yawning as she stepped into the sunlight, Inke handed over a pouch to the local noble, who was frantically wringing her hands. ¡°No need to thank me, just doing my job, the remnants of the core are in the pouch, any and all complaints can and should be submitted to the local Scribes¡¯ Guild, who will send it onto whoever¡¯s in charge of paperwork, who will look over it and inform their Guildmaster if it¡¯s important enough¡­¡± she trailed off. With a wave of her hand, Inke added, ¡°Come to think of it, don¡¯t bother. No one will notice.¡± The noble¡¯s face twisted. ¡°Get off my land.¡± ¡°With pleasure, my lady,¡± Inke said seriously. A crowd had gathered around the former entrance to the dungeon, dedicated adventurers interspersed with merchants and farmers. An air of general unease had settled over them, and the anxiety was palpable. Without the dungeon, the only way for anyone to raise their level within any reasonable time frame would be traveling to the nearest city or town with a dungeon of its own. Inke had it on good authority that any such locale was at least a week on feet. And since dungeon cores only generated over ley line nexuses, the surrounding area was about to become much more dangerous with the sudden addition of ambient EXP flowing into the ecology, further compounding the issue by making it almost impossible to leave safely unless one of the citizens happened to be an unusually high level compared to what the dungeon had been. If the soon-to-develop monsters became desperate enough, they could even begin to attack the town in hopes of¡­ something. Food, possibly, depending on the local conditions. Or Experience in order to evolve, she thought, though she didn¡¯t understand the life cycles and evolution of monsters. Inke wasn¡¯t a researcher, and it showed. It would likely be a year or more until a new dungeon core developed with how small the nexus here was. Only two ley lines intersected, and they were both small ones, at that. None of the local adventurers seemed strong enough to clear out monsters at a fast enough rate to create a core faster, either. The largest dungeon it would ever support would probably be a Silver, if she was going to be generous. Until even a small core generated, however, the town and its outlying villages and lands would be in trouble. Not that any of those were Inke¡¯s problems. Attitudes like that were probably why people, in general, disliked Inke and others who worked in the same field as her. Or maybe the fact that they caused those problems in the first place was a greater factor behind the prevalent dislike. Still, though, she had better things to do with her time than slaughter monsters for some tiny, middle-of-nowhere town. They might be destroyed in a year¡¯s time without aid, and any aid wasn¡¯t likely for such an unimportant place. ¡­They¡¯d probably be fine. Again, not Inke¡¯s problem. ¡°Activate Bond: Soar,¡± she said and flew into the sky. The grim faces of the villagers watched her depart.
¡°Repeat that for me again?¡± Inke asked. The Guildmaster opened his mouth and began to speak, but Inke was faster. ¡°I was being sarcastic. Please don¡¯t. Your voice irritates me deeply.¡± It didn¡¯t, actually, but the Guildmaster was one of the few people Inke enjoyed being flippant with. The only one, if she were to be honest. ¡°Luckily for you, I happen to be extremely skilled at utilizing unsophisticated language and minimal amounts of verbiage in order to properly communicate my knowledge to lesser minds such as yourself who are discomforted by their non-understanding of my superior intellect.¡± He held a stoic face for a moment before breaking out into a laugh, pushing his glasses up from where they had slipped down his nose. ¡°Wonderful to see you, Inke.¡± She offered him a slight smile. Guildmaster Shatter knew her well enough to avoid taking offense at her minimal reaction. ¡°I wish I could say the same, but this is one of the most ridiculous assignments I have ever seen.¡± ¡°Even-¡± Cutting him off, Inke added, ¡°Even including the mold dungeon. And the puppy one.¡± With a look of slight surprise on his face, the Guildmaster leaned back in his seat. The sun glinted off the silver bands ringing each finger as he folded his bronzed hands in his lap. ¡°I did not realize it was such an offensive task that I require of you.¡± He raised a singular, pointed brow. Inke took a moment to let her gaze slowly wander over the room, ensuring that the Guildmaster saw her do it. There was a particularly fine-looking necklace resting on one of the shelves that she was surprised to notice he wasn¡¯t wearing. She would have to make an attempt some time to cajole the information out of him as to what dungeon he had procured it from, or possibly a craftsperson who had made it. And the curtains were new. She said as much to the Guildmaster, who simply sighed and buried his head in his hands. She smirked at him when he looked up. With a sigh, the Guildmaster said, ¡°You are the only one who I believed would accept the assignment. Satisfied?¡± ¡°When am I not?¡± Inke asked rhetorically. ¡°I can do it. Where is it, anyway?¡± He smiled. That certainly presaged nothing good. ¡°I cannot tell you. Take this teleportation sigil, instead.¡± Blinking, she thought about that for a moment. Using an expensive, one-use teleportation sigil for some backwater, newborn dungeon was far beyond unusual. Abnormal, perhaps. In any case, the entire assignment in and of itself was unusual to begin with, even precluding this additional teleportation. Why anyone would assign this task to a Shatter of all people was beyond her, but her job wasn¡¯t to ask questions. Even if she did, occasionally. Or rather often. Inke just followed instructions. She reached out and accepted the crystal token from the Guildmaster¡¯s outstretched hand. ¡°Just remember-¡± he began. ¡°-Observation only,¡± Inke finished. Guildmaster Shatter hesitated. ¡°Inke, listen to me, I-¡± Before he could add anything else, she snapped it in half, and the world around her dissolved in a swirl of light. Chapter 2 The air was rank with the scent of unwashed bodies, filth, and animals. Wrinkling her nose, Inke glanced around as she appeared on the teleportation platform, noting the disparity between the two. For a teleportation platform to exist, a high-level Architect tied to Space would had to have invested at least a week into constructing it. However, such services carried a high price attached to any possible construction, at odds with the general poverty that surrounded Inke. But no, poverty wasn¡¯t quite the right word. While no one, or close to it, at least, seemed to understand basic concepts of cleanliness, the area around her was a market. Merchants hawked potions and weapons alongside vendors offering food. Even as she watched, an adventurer splattered in blood and grime stepped up to a makeshift stall, swapping a bag of crystal from what must have been the dungeon for several throwing daggers. Shaking her head, Inke walked off the platform. As she did, more than a few heads turned her way, noticing the appearance of someone using a teleportation sigil. However, the use must have been more common than she assumed, as none of them paid her any further notice. Onto her task, then. Observe, and intriguingly, protect. Stealthily, too. Shatters didn¡¯t protect. And if they were to do so, they certainly didn¡¯t protect dungeon cores. After all, their entire existence was centered around the notion of destroying dungeons. Furthermore, why a dungeon would need protection was beyond Inke. Only rogue dungeons were shattered, and thus in need of any sort of protection. But if this dungeon were rogue, Inke would have been assigned to destroy it, rather than protect it. Luckily, Inke¡¯s job didn¡¯t involve worrying about those sorts of questions. As she merged into the mass of people, walking through the marketplace, bright rays of sunlight shone onto the ground. They illuminated and reflected brightly off several adventurers¡¯ armor. Inke followed after them, tracing their steps through the crowd. It wouldn¡¯t do to seem overly obvious, but neither would it to be suspiciously stealthy about following them. In a developing city built around a dungeon like this one, crime had to be running rampant. It was an unfortunate side effect of expensive goods produced by the dungeon packed together with powerful adventurers drawn by the allure of the dungeon. Hopefully, whoever ran the city had established some sort of watch or guard. Or not. It didn¡¯t particularly matter to Inke. She pitied anyone who attempted to steal from her. Inke glanced down at her left side. Especially anyone who tried to steal Ignari. She trailed behind the party of adventurers as the crowds began to thicken. This close to the dungeon, makeshift stalls gave way for erected buildings and actual shops guarded by hired adventurers. Land around dungeon entrances was always expensive due to the higher EXP concentration and first access to goods brought out from the dungeon, but it came with the additional problem of both prideful, powerful customers along with the risk of an invasion by the dungeon. For established dungeons, it was rare to see a break from the usual norms and patterns, so the risk was lower. However, for a new dungeon like the one Inke was assigned to, quite a few of them went rogue within the first several months. It was probably a good thing, or Inke would be out of a job. She really needed to figure out how long the dungeon had been established. Typically, Inke received basic dungeon information such as age and maps when assigned to destroy a dungeon core, but thus far, her assignment had proven to be anything but typical. Casually, Inke walked over to a clerk from the Adventurer Guild positioned in front of the dungeon entrance. She reached for her sleeve to display her bracelet that marked her as a Shatter before pausing. Stealth. Right. Without looking up, the clerk continued writing something and said, ¡°Entrances per week are limited to one per person, two if entering with a party. While the dungeon does seem to have access to some form of spatial magic due to being instanced, it only supports ten concurrent instances. If you wish to enter the dungeon, you may add your name and rank to the wait list. Higher ranked adventurers are prioritized for dungeon entrance.¡± She ran a hand through frizzy dark brown hair and added, ¡°Attacking another member of the Guild such as myself is a one-week ban from the dungeon for a first infraction.¡± At least she didn¡¯t have to wait for a long time. Inke doubted that anyone here was higher ranked than Silver, and Inke was Platinum VI, far beyond that. Her Adventurer Guild bracelet was on her right arm, opposite the Shatter on her left- Inke was beginning to despise stealth. When she didn¡¯t immediately respond, the clerk glanced up. ¡°If you are not a member of the Guild-¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Breathing heavily, a young man skidded next to Inke, hand held up. He was doubled over, panting, other hand resting on a bent knee. When he finally stood, she noted the way his cheeks were flushed a heavy red against the backdrop of a deep mahogany brown complexion. Presumably, then, he had a low endurance, which was odd. Very few classes didn¡¯t grant at least minor bonuses to that stat.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Or he was extremely low level. That was probably more likely. ¡°I-¡± he said before breaking off, coughing. ¡°Give me a moment.¡± The clerk¡¯s lips pressed together in annoyance with eyes narrowed, though she didn¡¯t say anything. The man turned to Inke. ¡°Party with me?¡± It was an odd way of phrasing it, but if someone could mark their ranking down as a party registration, it would be far preferable to Inke being forced to obtain a false membership with the Adventurer Guild. She had to ask, however, ¡°Why?¡± He gave a high-pitched laugh, hands fidgeting. ¡°Y-you look high level, and I can¡¯t convince anyone to party with me, b-but you seem¡­¡± Trailing off, he added, ¡°In a standard five-person party, there¡¯s always at least one who isn¡¯t willing to carry me in exchange for better wait times.¡± Inke blinked, brow furrowed. ¡°Better wait times?¡± She glanced down at herself, as well. Ignari hung at her hip, and Soar rested on her finger, but neither of them were overtly powerful items, and she wore only simple leather gear. Nothing that might indicate she was high leveled. Nodding frantically, he said, ¡°Yeah. I, uh, well, I own the land the dungeon is on, so I get three entrances a week plus priority in entering it.¡± He took a deep breath and rapidly added something unintelligible. ¡­It was probably unimportant. Inke shrugged. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m Inke. Architect, and my concept is-¡± she paused imperceptibly. Bond was a rare concept, and she didn¡¯t know of any other Architects using it. ¡°-Wind,¡± she finished without missing a beat. As long as she managed to quietly activate Soar, the ring should be able to passably imitate spells from that concept. ¡°And you?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Harin!¡± Hesitantly, he glanced away. ¡°¡­Adaptor.¡± If his class was Adaptor, that went a long way towards explaining the reasoning behind his lack of a party. Out of the three core classes, Adaptors tended to almost universally be weaker than Architects or Annihilators. Compared to creating or destroying, change wasn¡¯t nearly as powerful or even useful. Then, again, there were certainly some concepts that synergized well with the Adaptor class. Blushing furiously, Harin mumbled something quietly. At Inke¡¯s quizzical look, slightly louder, he repeated, ¡°Mana.¡± Inke tried not to let it show, but she was reasonably certain some of her emotions bled through as her eyes widened. Every so often, someone tried to tie themselves to the concept of Health or similar, intangible parts of the Status screen in the hopes of gaining power quickly. Unfortunately, the mana demands for most of the skills made it all but impossible to level the class, leaving those unfortunates stuck with an unusable class. Well, if he was going to choose one of them, at least Mana was more usable than quite a few of the other ones. She ran into an adventurer once who had picked Experience and whose only usable skill was decreasing someone¡¯s Experience by ten a minute. And on the off chance that a monster stood still long enough that the Experience loss killed it, it wouldn¡¯t even reward anything as a result. Compared to that, Mana wasn¡¯t really all that bad. Compared to just about everything else, it was. She nodded. ¡°We should party, then.¡± Harin¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°W-what? Really? Thank you, t-thank you so much! We can, uh-¡± He turned to the clerk. ¡°Is the dungeon open?¡± The clerk fixed him with a deadpan stare. ¡°No. I¡¯ll put you on the list, then.¡± Calmly, Inke sat down a distance from the dungeon entrance, ignoring several of Harin¡¯s aborted attempts at conversation. She wasn¡¯t particularly interested in hearing about his childhood struggles of inheriting the land from his deceased parents as his relatives fought to steal his inheritance from him. No, Inke had better things to think about. Like what sort of concept the dungeon was tied to. From what she had heard, it was instanced, but the monsters within didn¡¯t drop Space crystal. Inke asked Harin as much, interrupting his spiel about being shunned as an adult due to his class. He ran a hand through his dark hair. ¡°Ah, you haven¡¯t heard? That¡¯s why everyone¡¯s here, because it doesn¡¯t seem to have a concept. So far, the monsters have only dropped basic concepts like Fire and Metal, but everyone¡¯s hoping that if it progresses in level, more complex and powerful Crystal will be produced.¡± Inke froze. That- why hadn¡¯t the Guildmaster given her more information? If that was the case, it was no wonder that people might try to destroy the dungeon core. When monsters- or anyone, really- died, their Experience and Mana dispersed into a combination of the surrounding world along with a decent chunk going to whatever had killed them. The class, the concept, skills, however- those became Crystal, used to produce potions and other magical items. Depending on the concept, Crystal was also useful to power things from basic portable lights to teleportation. If the dungeon produced multiple kinds of Crystal, its potential value was inestimable. Some of her thought process must have shown on her face because Harin laughed sheepishly. ¡°And I own the dungeon¡­¡± He shook his head. ¡°To be honest, at any given moment, I¡¯m more than mildly terrified someone¡¯s going to assassinate me in the hopes of getting the land. Not that I¡¯ve got an heir or anything, so, uh, probably¡¯d throw the area into disarray. Or something.¡± The two lapsed into silence after that, waiting until the clerk called them. By the time she did, the sun had fallen from its zenith. ¡°Harin and party, Copper I.¡± There was an assortment of snickers from the gathered adventurers waiting to enter the dungeon, and more than one glare from parties upset at being pushed further back and possibly not being able to enter the dungeon that day. As Harin ducked his head down, tips of his ears red, Inke took the opportunity to quietly mutter under her breath, ¡°Activate Bond: Soar.¡± A blue screen appeared in front of her.
Activated Bond: Soar
Mana Drain: 120/minute
Status Skills
Stat Increase ¨C AGI: +20 Stat Increase ¨C END: +15 Stat Increase ¨C STR: +15 Stat Increase ¨C REF: +20 Gained Skill: Flight Gained Skill: Compress Air Gained Skill: Wall of Wind Gained Skill: Suffocate Gained Skill: Gust
With a mental nudge, she swiped it away and stepped into the dungeon.
Entered Dungeon: The Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (without Dragons)
Chapter 3 Very seriously, Harin said, ¡°We¡¯re going to die.¡± He was breathing rapidly, inhaling in short, fast gulps. Tugging nervously at the leather straps holding his armor in place, he continued, ¡°Oh, God, what if we die here? The dungeon will Absorb our bodies, and everyone will assume we died, but they¡¯ll never actually know-¡± Abruptly, Harin¡¯s eyes widened, pupils dilated in fear. ¡°I-it¡¯s the perfect setup for a murder!¡± He ran a shaking hand through his hair. ¡°They¡¯ve been trying for years, but-¡± Inke tuned him out. ¡°Status: Active Effects.¡±
Active Effects
Activated Bond: Soar Stat Increase ¨C AGI: +20 Stat Increase ¨C END: +15 Stat Increase ¨C STR: +15 Stat Increase ¨C REF: +20
Gained Skill: Flight Gained Skill: Compress Air Gained Skill: Wall of Wind Gained Skill: Suffocate Gained Skill: Gust
Dungeon: The Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (without Dragons) EXP Drain: 25/minute EXP Absorption: 0.5x Gain
Not particularly unreasonable for a dungeon of its level. Considering that Harin was only Copper I, and Inke hadn¡¯t put down her ranking, the dungeon could only be Copper III at most. Adventuring was a risky profession, but the Adventurer Guild didn¡¯t let just anyone enter the most dangerous dungeons. It was slightly on the high side, considering that the typically accepted formula was a loss of five per Copper ranking, with an increase at each successive tier. A dungeon suited to Inke¡¯s ranking would kill Harin by draining all of his Experience within minutes, a major contributor to why lower-ranked Adventurers were forbidden from entering dungeons of more than two rankings higher. Speaking of which, Inke turned to Harin. ¡°Level?¡± As people grew and changed, they absorbed ambient Experience from the world surrounding them. It wasn¡¯t anywhere close to what could be gained by entering a dungeon or even going out and hunting down wildlife, but by the time they reached maturity, physical and mental growth generally at least gave people a level of seven. ¡°A-ah¡­ four,¡± he muttered quietly, shoulders hunched. Inke ran some mental calculations in her head. Experience requirements to reach the next level doubled with each successive level up, beginning at ten to advance from zero to level one. At level four, assuming that Harin didn¡¯t have any excess Experience, he had a total of 150 Experience. Six minutes in the dungeon before he died, then. She nodded firmly. ¡°Let¡¯s find some monsters, then.¡± Harin whipped his head up to stare at her, eyes wide and shining. ¡°Y-you mean it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about you, but I¡¯m not going to let an- a party member die on me.¡± He looked slightly crestfallen at Inke¡¯s opening words, but the latter half of the sentence caused him to cheer up slightly. ¡°L-let¡¯s go, then!¡± The dungeon entrance was rather overdone: a set of detailed carved stairs that began the descent into the dungeon proper were adorned with shining geometric patterns of what appeared to be Light Crystal. If that were where it ended, the design would have been an elegant, understated entrance. Instead, though, different colors and shades of Crystal were splattered onto what seemed every possible surface, illuminating the entrance to be almost blindingly bright, garishly so. She paused. ¡°Has anyone tried to take the Crystal out of the entryway yet? Blinking, Harin bit his lip. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m not quite sure? Maybe?¡± Higher-level dungeons had their own methods of protecting their structures, but Copper and Silver dungeons tended to be highly susceptible to simple damage to their walls and rooms. Presumably, though, the Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (without Dragons) had a way to protect itself from that, or the resource drain from constantly producing the Crystal would have been so great as to be unsustainable. Yet another oddity in the abnormality that the dungeon was. The door itself, however, was plain in comparison, featuring only an engraving of something. Inke couldn¡¯t tell. A child¡¯s depiction of a hand, possibly. Carefully, Inke walked up to the door and placed her hand on the engraving, matching her fingers to the drawing. Nothing happened. With a slight frown, Inke applied more force. The door gave way with a sound of grinding stone, somehow swinging inward despite the lack of hinges. She squinted at the opening, noting the faint shimmer that appeared as an almost veil-like covering over the entrance. It really was instanced, then.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Inke tilted her head towards the entrance, beckoning Harin to the dungeon as she entered the dungeon proper herself. Beyond the doorway, Inke stepped into a bare stone corridor, populated only by a single feathered creature on the far side of the hallway. Harin followed close behind her, glancing around nervously as he did so. She drew Ignari from the sword¡¯s sheath. ¡°Do you have a weapon?¡± ¡°Sort of? I have a, well, that is to say, I have these two daggers.¡± Harin held them up. He carried two plain, steel daggers with no ornamentation. Sighing, Inke said, ¡°Just try to stay behind me.¡± Holding Ignari before her, she said, ¡°Gust.¡±
Activated Skill: Gust (Soar)
Mana Drain: 3/second Mana Activation: 200
Stat Increase ¨C AGI: +30 Movement Modifier: x3 Evasion Chance: +15%
As she sprinted, quickly approaching the monster, she drew Ignari back, preparing to strike the monster. It turned, head twisting to face Inke, two beady, molten-red eyes glaring at her- Inke squinted. Was that a chicken? The chicken-monster cawed loudly, and five other chickens came stalking in from around the corner where the hallway ended, and a room began. Almost simultaneously, their feathers lit on fire. With a loud cry, the chicken-monsters charged at Inke. Behind her, Harin mumbled something quietly and added, louder, ¡°¡­Mana: Transfer.¡±
Transferred Mana
Harin transferred 30 mana from [???].
Mana Gained: 30
On her left, one of the chicken-monsters gave what might have been the equivalent of a sneeze, feathers fluffing out and dimming for a moment before flaring up again. A wisp of smoke trailed from its beak. As one, the mob of chickens halted and slowly turned their heads to stare at Harin, who was slowly inching his way backwards down the hallway. Inke raised Ignari to the left of her body before bringing it down in a sweeping arc before her as the chickens leaped in a frantic rush at her- or, rather, the adventurer hiding behind her. Ignari cleaved through five out of six of them, but the monster on the far right managed to get past her. Spinning, Inke was fully prepared to slaughter that one as well, but to her surprise, Harin stood there, trembling hand holding one of his daggers. The chicken-monster screeched, talons outstretched and aimed for Harin¡¯s face, but before Inke could swing Ignari and take its head off, Harin stabbed it with one of his daggers. If it could be called stabbing. More accurately, he broke slightly past the skin, causing several feathers to separate and float to the floor, slowly burning into particles of fine ash. When he withdrew the dagger, there was perhaps a drop of blood on its tip. Despite the pitiful attack, the chicken fell to the floor, landing in a soft thump. Glancing around, Inke took in the scene. Six chicken-monsters lay on the floor, all but one of them neatly severed in two. Harin cut in, snapping Inke out of her quasi-meditative state, ¡°W-wait. How did your sword manage to cut th-through those chickens like that?¡± Inke focused on the important part of Harin¡¯s question. ¡°So they are chickens, then?¡± He laughed with an edge of hysteria. There was a red flush slowly creeping its way up his dusky cheeks. ¡°I, uh, I did mention that owned the land, right? And I happen to own a flock of chickens, which, uh funny story.¡± Harin scratched the back of his neck. ¡°Th-that¡¯s sorta how I found the dungeon in the first place? One of my chickens wandered in here, I followed it in just in time to watch it fall down a pit trap. And uh. Die. Then, I watched it get Absorbed! And k-kinda left. Like. R-really fast, y¡¯know?¡± Nodding seriously, Inke said, ¡°Have you checked your Experience gains, yet?¡± ¡°O-oh! No, not yet. I guess I should get on that, huh?¡± ¡°Status: Combat Experience,¡± Inke stated.
EXP Gained
[???] x6 slain: 50 EXP x 6 EXP Absorption ¨C The Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (without Dragons): 0.5x EXP Split: 0.5x
Total: 75 EXP
By then, the chickens had been Absorbed by the dungeon, leaving behind gleaming piles of Crystal and loot. Inke kneeled, sweeping the Crystal into one of her many belt pouches and the assorted loot into another. Standing, she told Harin, ¡°We can split the drops when we reach the end of the dungeon.¡± Inke paused, a thought coming to her. ¡°How is your Experience doing?¡± As Harin fumbled his way through another explanation, presumably actually checking at some point, she pulled up her own. ¡°Status.¡±
Inke
Class: Architect (Bond) Level: 16 Species: Human Age: 29
EXP: 23,622/655,360 Health: 810/810 (360/360) Mana: 2,856/3,360
Agility: 39 (19) Endurance: 27 (12) Intelligence: 56 Wisdom: 35
Strength: 25 (10) Reflex: 38 (18) Charisma: 6 Luck: 13
Titles: Shatter, Adventurer - Platinum VI, Feared III (Regional) Traits: Dungeoneer, Bonded (16/16), Dungeon Slayer Active Effects: Activated Bond ¨C Soar, The Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (without Dragons), Gust ¨C Soar
Passive Effects: N/A
Inke gestured at the room before her. ¡°Shall we?¡± Harin nodded, stammering, ¡°I g-guess. Yeah. Yeah. L-let¡¯s go.¡± They entered deeper into the dungeon. Chapter 4 ¡°Did you have geese, too?¡± With a pant, Inke sliced through the last honking waterfowl. With a horrifically loud noise, a rain of metal fragments fell through the air after being shattered by her sword. She wiped some sweat off her brow. Harin was leaning against the wall, hand on his chest, having retreated several geese into the battle. ¡°S-see, there¡¯s another story. Lots of stories, I have so m-many things to say. Y-yeah. Led an interesting l-life, huh?¡± Watching the remnants of the monsters be Absorbed, Inke pulled her waterskin from her belt and took a drink. ¡°Y-you have a lot of different pouches and stuff on your belt, don¡¯t you?¡± Gaze drawn to her actions, Harin¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Fifteen pouches? Twenty? S-something like that?¡± Inke smirked slightly. She pulled back the corner of the cloak she was wearing, revealing potion bottles, pouches, and other assorted items. ¡°Probably closer to thirty.¡± And while the number might have been accurate, more than a few of the bags were spatially expanded and could hold more inside them than their appearance implied. For the moment, though, Inke tried to stick to using only her more typical gear to avoid suspicion. Stealth made everything so much more difficult than it needed to be. Ignari vibrated slightly in her hand, a reminder for Inke to focus. ¡°Back to geese.¡± Harin jolted. ¡°Oh! Yeah, uh, this is c-conjecture, but before I had chickens, I h-had some g-g-geese.¡± With a full-body shiver, he continued, ¡°Those things were p-pure evil. S-so one day, I tried to get rid of them, except any time I tried to kill one of them, a-all of them would swarm and peck me. I, uh,¡± he blushed, ¡°I ended up releasing them into the wild. At least one of them m-must have ended up in the dungeon.¡± Perking up, though, with a wide grin splitting his face, Harin added, ¡°B-but then I got chickens! And they¡¯re so m-much nicer than geese.¡± As Harin finished his story, Inke stood from where she had been collecting the monster drops. Brushing invisible dust off her clothing, she looked over at the door that had appeared once each of the geese were slain. Above the door, there was a curling, scrawled script that Inke couldn¡¯t identify. Either that, or it was decoration, and Inke was reading too much into it. Literally. Slowly, Harin said, ¡°Beware the boss.¡± At Inke¡¯s surprised glance, he yelped, ¡°Th-that¡¯s what it says! The- the inscription!¡± She offered him a one-shouldered shrug. Inke would have to take his word on¡­ the words. Considering that the only languages Inke could read were Intyu, the standardized language almost everyone spoke, and her native language of Rete, she assumed Harin would know much better than she did. He knew quite a few random other things, after all. For once, Harin attempted to enter the next area of the dungeon ahead of her, stepping past Inke and placing his hand on the door to push. Inke froze. ¡°Stop,¡± she said, in a tone so low it was almost a growl. Slightly louder, she added, ¡°Let me go through first, alright? Last thing we need is the boss sneak attacking the first person through.¡± ¡°H-hah, yeah¡­ wouldn¡¯t want to get one-shotted¡­¡± Harin shot her a furtive glance, looking concerned, but Inke dismissed it. Striding forward confidently, she shoved the door aside with only the slightest tremble of her hands. Harin followed close at her heels. Inside, an overly large egg lay nestled in a stone divot in the center of the room. Inke had only the time to take in the black patterns spiraling their way up the sides before the egg erupted, hatching in an explosion of light and power. With a loud slam, the door behind them swung closed. Do or die. As vision returned and Inke could finally see again, her eyes were inexorably drawn to the giant swan, wings spread proudly, standing triumphant in the large, domed cavern. The design of the boss room reminded Inke of an arena, with an improbably high ceiling for how deep the dungeon was and raised walls surrounding them that leveled off into what appeared to be spectator stands. Nothing besides the swan, herself, and Harin was in the room, but Inke felt a prickling at the back of her neck as if she were being watched. Inke tipped her head at the boss. ¡°Yours too?¡± Harin stared at the swan. ¡°O-okay, that, I don¡¯t know w-where it came from.¡± It didn¡¯t matter. Sword in hand, she charged at the boss. The swan screeched, a piercing cry that made Inke want to curl up into a ball and clap her hands over her ears. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harin drop down on one knee, blood trickling out of his ears.
Skill: Piercing Screech Inflicted
Damage Inflicted: -20 HP Bleed Effect: resisted
Disorientation: resisted Partial Deafness: resisted
Resisting most of the effects, the boss hadn¡¯t managed to damage Inke by much. She glanced at Harin, momentarily torn between attacking the boss and running to the aid of another injured party member-The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. It was only a moment¡¯s hesitation, but it was enough for the swan to rear back before lunging forward and hitting Inke with one giant wing. Being both a dungeon monster and a boss, it was far larger than any normal swan, at least twice Inke¡¯s height and with a wingspan that she couldn¡¯t quantify. Tumbling and crashing into the floor, Inke hissed, blinking away tears that had welled in her eyes. She was done with this boss. ¡°Suffocate,¡± she said with a vicious snarl.
Activated Skill: Suffocate (Soar)
Mana Drain: 10/second Mana Activation: 400
Active Status Effect Inflicted ¨C Suffocating*: 1 HP/second; damage x2/10 seconds
*0 damage inflicted if targets do not require air
It was the most highly damaging skill that she could inflict without utilizing her other Bond, but it took time for the full damage to take effect. Running low on mana, as well, Inke would have to finish the battle quickly and keep the boss from targeting Harin until she defeated it. She staggered to her feet, hefting Ignari. Starting with a slow walk, Inke picked up speed as she approached the boss. It turned back to face her at her approach from where it had focused on Harin, but not quickly enough. In a flash, she attacked, bringing her sword down and cleaving into the swan¡¯s left wing. With a cry, it stumbled back, beady black eyes narrowing onto where Inke stood. She offered it a smirk. When she made to close the gap between them again, the boss flapped its lone wing, moving away from Inke. Though it was grounded and likely slowed by the loss of a limb, Inke didn¡¯t have Gust activated and the mana cost would be unsustainable in combination with Suffocation and, as ever, the constantly present drain of having her bond with Soar activated. Luckily for her, she didn¡¯t need to close into melee range in order to kill the boss. Every several seconds, she made a half-hearted swipe at the boss; the boss would retreat, backing deeper into the boss room. After several repetitions, however, the swan paused abruptly, chest covered in feathers heaving in and out. From experience, Inke knew what was likely to happen as the damage continued to increase. She turned tail and dashed towards where Harin still lay, blood dribbling and pooling around his head. Wincing at the sight, she knelt and picked him up, slinging the adventurer over her left shoulder, and continued running. Behind her, panicked screeches and cries were heard from the swan, and a backwards glance over her shoulder allowed her to catch a glimpse of the thrashing boss, striking out wildly at everything within its reach. When she reached the edge of the room, Inke set Harin down. Merely a few seconds later, the mass of feathers in the center of the room collapsed. She dismissed Suffocation, not wanting the mana drain to continue any longer any longer than it already had. Only then did Inke allow herself to relax, adrenaline draining out of her system. That had been¡­ uncomfortably close. In front of her, Harin jolted abruptly upright. ¡°I, I don¡¯t, what-¡± he stopped, eyes landing on the fallen boss in the center of the room. Voice cracking, he breathed, ¡°It¡¯s still alive. Second stage. I-if it¡¯s not dead yet-¡± Before Inke could react to that statement, there was another flash of brilliant light that flooded the room. She shook off the effects quickly, blinking to clear her vision, and above the corpse of the boss rose a hovering figure composed purely of light. It looked as if someone had taken the previous boss, sketched it out using lines of light, and filled in the gaps with wispy streamers that imitated the appearance of feathers. Cawing loudly, its wings folded, and it swooped down towards Inke and Harin. Harin said something, but it was lost to Inke in the sound of rushing blood that filled her ears as he stepped in front of her, hands outstretched. No. She couldn¡¯t- Not again-
Transferred Mana
Harin transferred 150 mana from [???].
Mana Gained: 150
With the infusion of mana, Inke felt immediately rejuvenated. She didn¡¯t have time to bask in the feeling, though, as the swan twisted in the air, sending beams of light spiraling towards the pair of adventurers. One of them hit Harin in the side, sending him sprawling onto the floor. He didn¡¯t move. Inke grit her teeth. Forget stealth. She was going to fight. Strictly speaking, Inke was Platinum VI, meaning that she should have been able to easily tear through such a low-ranked dungeon. Realistically, as an Architect (Bond), her power was tied up solely in the bonded objects and creatures she had access to. And Inke only had two: Soar and Ignari. One of those was a support item, intended for faster and easier travel, and it only took up three of her sixteen available bond slots. With it activated, Inke¡¯s ranking went from a Copper V from stats and weapon training alone to a Silver II. The other¡­ Inke wasn¡¯t a Shatter for nothing. There was, however, also a reason that the Guildmaster typically assigned her either the easiest or hardest tasks that the Shatter Guild currently needed to fulfill. She¡¯d grown complacent, used to the simple, Copper and Silver dungeons she¡¯d destroyed. But this dungeon, no matter that it was low-ranked, was different. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Inke said, before grasping Ignari¡¯s handle from where she had left the sword leaning against the wall. She ran her thumb over the large, polished Crystal embedded in the cross-guard. ¡°Activate Bond: Ignari.¡± Power rushed through her and Inke felt alive.
Activated Bond: Ignari
Bond Slots Utilized: 13
Mana Drain: 520/minute
Soul Shard Drain: 13/minute
Status Skills
Stat Increase ¨C AGI: +35 Stat Increase ¨C END: +60 Stat Increase ¨C STR: +35 Stat Increase ¨C REF: +35 Stat Increase ¨C INT: +205 Stat Increase ¨C WIS: +105 Stat Increase ¨C CHA: +30 Stat Increase ¨C LUC: + 25 Gained Skill: Hurricane Gained Skill: Manipulate Weather Gained Skill: Swiftness of the Storm Gained Skill: Lightning Strike Gained Skill: Storm¡¯s Avatar [53 Skills hidden] Gained Skill: Luck Inspection Gained Skill: Tip the Scales Gained Skill: Probability Analysis Gained Skill: Fifty-Fifty Gained Skill: Luck of the Draw
Active Effects
Regeneration (HP): 10%/minute Regeneration (MP): 20%/minute [12 Active Effects hidden] Shadow-Realm By a Slim Margin
Passive Effects
Sentinel of the Storm [5 Passive Effects hidden] Threat Detection
Chapter 5 Inke didn¡¯t like to use Ignari. Except that she did. It was heady, an intoxicating rush of the power of the stat increases, active effects, and passive effects alone that suddenly activated, but also filling her with the thrill of the knowledge that she could do anything. Not that she actually could, but in those first moments after activating her bond with Ignari, it certainly felt like it. She raised her arm, pointing her left index finger at the swan, which cowered back, sensing something about Inke¡¯s presence. ¡°Lightning Strike.¡±
Activated Skill: Lightning Strike (Ignari)
Mana Activation: minimum ¨C 250; used ¨C 1200
Damage Inflicted (.5MP): 600 HP Skill Weakened ¨C 13/25 Bonds: x0.52
Total Damage: 312 HP
Screeching, the boss fell from the sky, the crown of its head marred by a black stain, fractals of black lines reminiscent of a tree¡¯s branches spiraling out from the epicenter. Inke didn¡¯t give it the time to react. ¡°Lightning Strike.¡± It shattered, shards of light flying out from its body and hovering momentarily in the air before disintegrating. There was the characteristic chiming sound of a rain of Crystal as the loot fell from the sky where the swan had been struck down, no physical body remaining for the dungeon to Absorb. Inke didn¡¯t care about the rewards. She knelt beside Harin, hands frantically tugging aside her cloak to find one of her healing potions. None of the Skills that Ignari granted Inke could heal someone. If they did- A shudder ran through her body at the unnervingly close similarities between Harin lying on the floor and them. Tugging the cap off a potion she had retrieved, Inke dumped the entire bottle on Harin¡¯s injured side. Applying the potion topically was much less effective than if she could¡¯ve gotten Harin to drink it, but he wasn¡¯t conscious, and Inke wasn¡¯t going to spend more time than needed to trying to force him to drink it while passed out. To be safe, she grabbed another bottle and poured onto the wound. And Inke had seen him bleeding from his ears earlier, so pulling another potion out, she made her best attempt at adding it to his head. But Harin could still have more injuries, internal ones that she couldn¡¯t see. With another healing potion, possibly- -Inke¡¯s vision blurred, and it wasn¡¯t Harin lying there in a cheap tunic stained with blood, it was someone wearing rich robes of silver of purple, it was someone in dark black leather armor, it was- A hand grabbed Inke¡¯s arm, abruptly jerking her back to the present. ¡°I-Inke?¡± Harin was sitting up, a concerned look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m o-okay, I d-don¡¯t think I n-n-need any more p-potions.¡± She swept her gaze over the surrounding area, eyes catching onto the numerous potion bottles laying discarded on the floor of the boss room. Shakily, she sat back, crouching on the ground. The potion in her hand hit the floor and crashed. Slowly, Inke¡¯s hands reached up to her face and covered her mouth. ¡°Oh,¡± she said quietly. ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t- I don¡¯t know what I was doing.¡± Standing, she stared at a point slightly to the left of Harin. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I think the boss dropped its loot somewhere over there.¡± Harin still looked hesitant. ¡°Inke-¡± he glanced at the potions on the floor. ¡°Where did all of the potions- no, Harin, focus,¡± he muttered, chastising himself. Steeling himself, Harin squared his shoulders and looked Inke in the eye. ¡°How- I- wh-what happened?¡± ¡°¡­I drank a potion, killed the boss, healed you.¡± When Harin looked like he was going to say something else, Inke broke her gaze from his and strode over to where the Crystal and other drops had fallen. Quietly, she muttered, ¡°Deactivate Bond: Ignari.¡± A small pile of white, softly glowing Crystal lay in a heap on the floor, interspersed with what looked like razor-sharp, edged metal discs. ¡°It¡¯s a fortune,¡± Harin breathed, having followed her. Laughing softly, Inke felt slightly more herself when she responded, ¡°To a Copper, maybe. That pile right there? It¡¯s worth maybe a slightly enhanced, reinforced set of steel armor.¡± She squinted at it. ¡°It looks like Light Crystal, which is solidly second-tier. Always useful, but there tends to be quite a bit of it available, and it takes quite a bit of work to make it combat-applicable.¡± Running some quick mental conversions, Inke added, ¡°In coinage, that¡¯s about ten gold coins a shard.¡± Harin gaped at her. ¡°There¡¯s a reason that adventurers use Crystal for most of their transactions, you know.¡± She fell silent. Seeing his opportunity, Harin cut in, ¡°I-Inke, I really think that we should¡­ talk¡­¡± When Inke didn¡¯t respond, Harin cautiously changed the subject, picking up on her clear reluctance. ¡°H-how d-do we divide it, th-then?¡± Inke shrugged. ¡°Even split is the best. We can each take half. I¡¯ll count it.¡± She stepped forward. Harin mumbled something that Inke didn¡¯t catch. At Inke¡¯s half-turn towards him, he added, louder, ¡°Th-there¡¯s sixty-seven shards in there.¡± ¡°Wait-¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t ask. Please.¡± The other adventurer had respected Inke¡¯s non-answers about her own problems, so Inke didn¡¯t ask about how Harin had known the amount of Crystal in the pile. Running a hand over the back of his head, Harin looked downward. ¡°I¡­ I think you should t-take my share.¡± Before Inke could respond to that, he continued, ¡°You used all those potions on me, r-right? That should m-make up for it. And you helped me the get all of this Experience, s-so¡­¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The healing potions she had used were probably worth a minor fortune, actually. High-quality healing potions that acted quickly and had strong effects were worth more than their weight in gold. An additional thirty-four shards of second-tier Crystal wasn¡¯t worth nearly as much as that. Even if Harin also gave her whatever other loot they had collected from the rest of the dungeon, it might only double the total amount of Crystal, considering that boss loot was almost always the most valuable. On the other hand, though, Inke had been the one to waste far more potions than the few she actually needed to use. Also, she was rich. Being a Shatter was a well-paying profession. Very few adventurers strong enough to reliably clear dungeons solo, and rogue ones, at that, wanted to be constantly moving from place to place and generally despised or at least shunned by the majority of the population. Conversely, there were always more dungeon cores that needed shattering and desperate people willing to pay for the job. Inke shook her head. ¡°We¡¯ll split it.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t even- I didn¡¯t even d-do anything-¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°You got me into the dungeon, didn¡¯t you?¡± Inke sat down, cross-legged, and began counting out the Crystal into two separate piles. As she did so, she pulled out several pouches that Inke had stuffed previous loot drops into for dividing, as well. Without saying anything, Harin sat next to her and took over the division of the smaller piles. He didn¡¯t touch the larger one from the boss, which was probably good because Inke was constantly trying to work around the sharp discs that made up part of the loot. ¡°Are they good for anything?¡± she asked conversationally. Out of the corner of her eye, Inke saw Harin shake his head. ¡°The dungeon¡¯s been around for t-two and a half months, now, but I think these only started dropping maybe a week ago. No one knows what they¡¯re supposed to be for.¡± Inke shrugged and returned to her counting. They sat together in silence like that for a long while.
Harin and Inke exited the dungeon into a soft twilight, the sun having set recently. Considering that they had stayed in the dungeon for a relatively scant thirty minutes, due to its rather small size, neither of them felt terribly tired despite the time. ¡°Uh, hey,¡± Harin said, eyes darting away slightly, ¡°do you have anywhere to stay the night? I haven¡¯t seen you around, s-so I was wondering if you n-needed a place to stay?¡± Inke shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, though I¡¯d be appreciative if you could direct me to the best inns.¡± She paused. ¡°There are inns around, right?¡± Presumably, with the amount of traffic going in and out of the area, there had to be some place for the sheer number of people pouring in to spend the night, but it was just as likely that there was an encampment to simply set up tents. She hadn¡¯t needed to use one in over a year, considering that it was rare for her to stay more than a day in any particular area, and Inke had her own quarters at the Shatter Guild. Visibly, he brightened. ¡°Yeah, I could direct you to one, if you want? O-or I could give you some directions-¡± ¡°Directions would be perfect.¡± She paused. ¡°I have¡­ things that I need to accomplish tonight, but if you show up at the dungeon around midday, we can talk about partying together in the future.¡± Harin gasped. ¡°R-really? I don¡¯t- I mean- you¡¯d go through that a-again? I k-know I¡¯m not exactly the b-best party m-member, but¡­¡± he trailed off and grinned, smile splitting his face. ¡°A-anyway, that sounds amazing!¡± He began to pace back and forth. She spent the next ten minutes standing there, listening to Harin gesticulate and ramble on about the six local inns that had managed to actually get genuine, wooden or stone establishments up and running within the span of two months, their relative pricings, local crime rates, comparative service and room quality, proximity to the dungeon, and his general rating of whether or not Inke should stay there. ¡°¡­and that¡¯s why I think you should stay at the Blazing Presence.¡± A beat. ¡°Even if their name is objectively terrible.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Waving, Harin walked off, leaving Inke to her thoughts. And plans. Putting on her ¡®people face¡¯, Inke sauntered over to where the dungeon entrance was, approaching the person behind the desk. It was someone else, a pink-skinned humanoid with large black eyes and long, twisting horns. Rirwon, then, though it was odd to see one so far from their native land to the west. She didn¡¯t know where the dungeon was located, but based on the number of humans Inke had seen, it was almost certainly somewhere in the Virsian Empire, where Inke was based and was home to the highest populations of humans. ¡°Hello,¡± she said, ¡°I was wondering if you knew where the previous worker here had gone?¡± Inke offered the new clerk her best friendly smile. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me.¡± She blinked. ¡°Could you repeat that for me, please?¡± ¡°I think her name is Seola, she¡¯s human, thirty-eight years old, whenever we have the bimonthly Annoyed Accountants Anonymous meeting she likes to complain about adventurers constantly threatening her-¡± Two solid-black eyes darted down to Ignari hanging in a sheath at Inke¡¯s side. An audible gulp could be heard. ¡°That is to say, I definitely don¡¯t have anything to do with her, I don¡¯t want anything to do with her, and I would really appreciate you not mentioning this to her.¡± When Inke didn¡¯t say anything, only continuing to stare, there was a quick addition of, ¡°Oh, and she went that way!¡± A point of an index finger. ¡°It was only a few minutes ago, I swear, I have no idea what she was doing!¡± ¡°I appreciate it, thank you.¡± Inke headed in the direction that was indicated, slipping into a side street between two buildings. She didn¡¯t travel very far before her eyes alighted upon the clerk, Seola, casually leaning against a wall and counting some Crystal. It was difficult, but Inke managed to restrain herself from alerting Seola through laughter. Frankly, Inke could have sworn that the older woman wanted to get robbed. The situation was almost hilarious with how stereotypical the scene was. Pulling her cloak over her head, Inke glanced at her clothing, making sure that any identifying objects were covered by the common wool cloth. Once she was sure, Inke stalked forward, a cold glint shining in her eyes, though Seola likely couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°So,¡± she said. The clerk backed up frantically. ¡°P-please, what do you want, I don¡¯t have any money on me-¡± It must have been on instinct because Seola shoved her hands full of Crystal into pockets in her pants and quickly backtracked, ¡°If you try to kill me, I¡¯ll scream and the guards will catch you.¡± ¡°What rank is the dungeon?¡± She gaped. ¡°I don¡¯t- why does that matter?¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± At a shorter than average height, Inke couldn¡¯t tower over anyone, but her demeanor was intimidating enough. ¡°Copper VII.¡± She held up her hands. ¡°I promise, that¡¯s what it is, anyone could tell you so.¡± ¡°The boss wasn¡¯t Copper. Try again.¡± ¡°You faced- what- you faced the boss? Radia? It¡¯s Silver IV, but the rest of the dungeon is only Copper VII, maybe only Copper VI at most. It¡¯s technically classified as Silver IV because of the boss, but everyone knows not to face it unless they¡¯re high-level enough.¡± Inke had already ruined stealth with Harin, so it couldn¡¯t hurt to reveal herself to Seola. Besides, Guildmaster Shatter was typically rather easy-going. Forgiveness versus permission, and all that. She flipped back her hood. ¡°So why did you let us enter the dungeon?¡± Seola¡¯s eyes flitted over Inke¡¯s features, clearly identifying her. ¡°What was I supposed to do? I couldn¡¯t stop him; he owns the land, so it¡¯s his prerogative to enter if he wants to. It¡¯s not my fault.¡± Inke paused. ¡°You¡¯re right, I shouldn¡¯t have assumed that the dungeon was Copper III without confirming it with someone. I don¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t tell me, either.¡± The clerk breathed a sigh of relief, but Inke wasn¡¯t finished. ¡°But you knowingly let us enter without warning us about anything.¡± A beat. ¡°Who paid you?¡± ¡°No one!¡± Her eyes darted away from Inke¡¯s. ¡°That¡¯s a lie. I¡¯ve dealt with enough political machinations to know when a plot is afoot.¡± ¡°Who even are you?¡± Inke smiled, but it didn¡¯t reach her eyes. ¡°No one you need to be concerned about¡­ unless you keep lying to me.¡± Stepping closer, she reached out, planting her hand on the wall next to Seola¡¯s head. ¡°Somebody official! I wouldn¡¯t have done it otherwise, I swear, but whoever it was had to have been someone high up in the Adventurer Guild; I was shown a formal seal and offered a bonus, all I had to do was let him into the dungeon without saying anything whenever he finally asked!¡± Nodding, satisfied, Inke drew back and tilted her head. With a smirk, she said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend trying to tell anyone about this, unless you¡¯d like to disappear.¡± Inke was pretty sure that worked in all the books she¡¯d read. ¡°Oh, and as an additional incentive¡­¡± She pulled a random pouch of Crystal from her belt and tossed it to Seola. ¡°For you.¡± Suddenly, Inke remembered the last thing she needed to do. She turned back, causing the clerk to tremble in fear. ¡°Also, I could use some directions to the Blazing Presence.¡± Chapter 6 Inke leaned against the wall of her rented room at the Blazing Presence, considering her next steps. While room availability was scarce, Inke had lucked out by managing to time her arrival perfectly and obtain a room, which she proceeded to rent for the next two weeks. Ideally, she wouldn¡¯t have to stay longer than that. In the interim, however, she needed more than simply lodgings. Rather, Inke was in dire need of privacy in order to use several of her Skills that would immediately tip-off anyone observing as to her true abilities. Furthermore, using them placed her into a meditative state that left her extremely vulnerable to outside attack. Ignari would alert her, but it would take precious seconds before Inke could return to the waking world, time that any would-be assailant could use to easily dispatch her. Typically, Inke would utilize her private quarters at the Shatter Guild following each of her assignments. As a heavily guarded and warded building, she could be assured of her safety. Without that, however, Inke would have to resort to unfortunate measures. She carefully pulled out a smaller bag, drawstring tightly shut, from one of her expanded spatial pouches. Considering the price tag of what was inside, a spatial pouch was the best place to keep it, as Inke¡¯s actions in the physical world wouldn¡¯t affect the interior unless the container itself was damaged. Tugging it open, Inke shook some out over the floorboards in front of the door. She took care to use as little as possible while still forming an unbroken line. Seal Crystal was an expensive, fifth-tier Crystal that was both extremely rare and extremely useless. In the entire Virsian Empire, only one dungeon produced Seal Crystal, and the material wasn¡¯t exactly in high demand. With its rarity and difficulty of obtaining, Inke had a limited supply. For most people, it was an impractical Crystal that was difficult to work with and could only manage to accomplish a few specific tasks. For Inke, however¡­ ¡°Bond: Seal Objects.¡± The powdered Crystal dust shone a soft gold as it landed on the crack between the door and the flooring before a gold shimmer traced its way up around the edges of the door. Two trails met at the top, and the entire rectangle formed flashed brightly before vanishing. Repeating the same process with the window, Inke retreated to the bed. It was pushed into a corner of the room and covered in a ratty blanket. While it didn¡¯t look particularly appealing to Inke, her goal wasn¡¯t comfort. Instead, she sat cross-legged atop the blanket and retrieved Ignari. Inke laid the sword flat across her lap, resting her right hand atop the hilt. ¡°Status: Ignari ¨C Shards.¡±
Bond: IgnariFind this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
Bond Slots Utilized: 13/25
Soul Shards: 32
Soul Shard Drain: 1/Bond Slot
Inke grimaced. Only a few minutes left before she¡¯d have to recharge Ignari, and that would be a¡­ not quite difficult task with the number of people around, but it was something she hated to do. Leaving people to their own messes was one thing, directly killing someone was another. And yes, Inke was a self-acknowledged hypocrite. Everything was running out of control. She closed her eyes. ¡°Bond: Ignari ¨C Link.¡±
She opened her eyes to a formless void surrounding her. In front of her floated Ignari, appearing as Inke envisioned her sword. They were an androgynous figure, edges of their shape constantly blurring in and out of vision. Currently, Ignari was draped in an obscuring cloak, but Inke knew that if she focused enough, underneath that cloak would lie a series of ever-shifting faces and clothing, an amalgamate of so many disparate parts stitched together like a child¡¯s toy. Taking a deep breath, insofar as it was possible within a mental construction, Inke floated closer to Ignari. ¡°I wanted to apologize,¡± she said. Ignari tilted their head, unblinking eyes watching her from within the depths of their hood. At their non-response, Inke forced a slight smile. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you converse with me. That¡¯s not what I¡¯m here for.¡± She paused. ¡°And I know that you¡¯ll never forgive me.¡± They didn¡¯t need to, not when everything from the very start of this entire mess could all be traced back to Inke¡¯s actions. She sighed, pressing the palm of her hand against her forehead. ¡°I¡¯ve known Harin for all of three hours. It shouldn¡¯t unbalance me this much to think of him dying, should it?¡± There was no response, but Ignari hadn¡¯t spoken to her within months, and she doubted that they were going to begin now. Instead, the sword gave a slight shake of their head, a marginal shift so small that Inke could have been forgiven for missing it. However, Inke had grown accustomed to Ignari¡¯s minor reactions, and she caught it. ¡°Do you want to know what I see in him?¡± Without stopping, she continued, ¡°I see you. Me. All of us, like we were. Then. Harin¡¯s me, and I¡¯m you.¡± Inke gave a soft, humorless chuckle. ¡°By that logic, I¡¯ll be dead within the year because of him.¡± Ignari shifted, and Inke planned to ignore them. And then they spoke, or something close to it. [No.] Eyes widening in shock, Inke blurted out, ¡°We¡¯re not doing this again. I¡¯m sorry, all right? It was my fault; I take full responsibility. I might never make up for what I did, but I can at least keep all of you alive like this. ¡°Besides, I had a brush with death earlier. Would have died, too, if I hadn¡¯t tapped into you.¡± Inke almost expected Ignari to say something else, but when they didn¡¯t, she pressed on. ¡°It probably would have been fitting for me to die like that. I escaped it, though, using you, and if that isn¡¯t the finest example of karmic injustice that has ever existed, I don¡¯t know what might be.¡± The void around the pair shifted, nothingness moving to encroach on their space. With a push of her will, Inke forced it to retreat, expanding the sanctuary that she and Ignari rested in. ¡°Right. Focus. The other thing I came here for.¡± She rested her elbows on her knees, steepling her fingers under her chin. ¡°The dungeon wasn¡¯t normal. No dungeon fairy would ever advise their core to do something as impractical as creating a boss almost a full tier beyond the rest of the dungeon. Why?¡± It had been several years, and there Inke was, still coming back to Ignari for answers. By the shards, she really was useless without them. In more than a few ways, Inke felt like a parasite, constantly taking, taking, and never giving anything back to her sword. Or even before Ignari was a sword, Inke had been the exact same. [Ask.] ¡°¡­That simple, then.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Can¡¯t believe I couldn¡¯t even come to such a simple conclusion on my own.¡± Though it was only mental, Inke stood, stretching and dusting off her clothing. ¡°Bond: Ignari ¨C Delink.¡± I¡¯m sorry. Chapter 7 Inke contemplated, in all seriousness, inflicting serious property damage on the inn to force her way out. While she couldn¡¯t point to an exact cause, Inke had ended the link with Ignari far earlier than she had intended to, and the seals around the door and window would remain for several more minutes. It was well within her power to simply take Ignari without even activating the sword and cut through the wall with the supernaturally sharp blade, but that would draw both more attention and cost more than Inke needed. She¡¯d already spent five pacing the length of the room and twenty before that meticulously organizing everything that Inke had brought with her, which was actually a decent amount of stuff. Sighing, Inke rubbed at her face, digging the heels of her palms into her eyes. Typically, she was more than decent at waiting patiently. However, Inke still felt off-balance after the events of that afternoon, and all she wanted to do was reach the dungeon and get some real answers. She trusted Guildmaster Shatter not to send her on a deadly task, but it was becoming plain that Inke didn¡¯t have all of the relevant information about the so-called ¡®Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (Without Dragons)¡¯ that she needed. The border of the window flared gold as she stared at it, slowly dissipating into small flakes that drifted through the air. If that seal had run its course, the one on the door certainly had as well, but using the window was probably a better idea, anyway. Despite a not inconsiderable amount of time spent pondering, Inke remained unaware of what factions could be moving behind the scenes. More than a few organizations jockeyed for power in the Empire. Signs pointed to Harin being correct, that someone was trying to quietly dispose of him, and any or multiple of them could be behind the attempt. Inke felt she had sufficiently covered her tracks, but it wasn¡¯t beyond the realm of possibility that someone had noticed her partying with Harin and set someone to watch her. Rather, she considered it more unlikely if no one was covertly observing her. Carefully, she pushed the window open. With a wince at the loud creak, Inke stuck her head out, feeling a cool breeze pass by. Glancing around, she internally debated whether or not to use Ignari. While the enhancements granted by her sword combined with the Skills could guarantee Inke¡¯s avoidance of any watchers, the tradeoff lay in the fact that Ignari was running low on Soul Shards. It would be fine if she didn¡¯t use Ignari. Probably. Without paying any additional thought to the matter, Inke slipped out the window, dropping from the second floor and landing on the dirt below with grace. Behind her, the window swung open, but Inke had left nothing of value within the room. She could close it when she returned. Life for adventurers didn¡¯t stop because of something as measly as nighttime, but it certainly slowed down. As Inke weaved in and out of side roads, hood pulled up, she only passed by a few lone pedestrians, and none of the commercial buildings were open. However, the dungeon was much busier than anywhere she had been. The limits on entrances each week and the general difficulty of obtaining a slot meant that plenty of lower-leveled adventurers shifted their schedules to attempt entering around midnight and the early morning. Higher-ranked adventurers could generally be assured of getting in if they at least waited for a full day, but with the stiff competition and limited availability, anyone lower was forced to turn to methods such as becoming nocturnal. A low buzz of conversation surrounded the dungeon. As a lone adventurer, Inke stood out against the weak parties who congregated in groups of five or more in the hopes of managing to clear a few rooms. Sure, a quarter of them might die, but that was how the dungeon worked. Adventurers entered and paid a toll of experience for the time they stayed, and in return, the dungeon monsters returned Experience and loot. Living adventurers came out on the better side of that equation, but plenty of them also died, surrendering their total accumulated Experience to the dungeon. Everybody benefited. Besides the ones who died, but no one cared about them. Some part of Inke, the rational piece, told her that she should probably feel more empathy for those adventurers than she did, that it was a flawed system. Sympathy for people who just hadn¡¯t had the same luck as her. Or nepotism. A different part of her, the hypocritical piece, told each of them had made their own choices, and she had zero responsibility to help them. A party of nine got the go-ahead to enter the dungeon, descending into its depths. Inke didn¡¯t move. Getting into the dungeon would be difficult. Without Ignari or specialized Crystal, Inke¡¯s grand total of useful Skills amounted to what Soar gave her, which wasn¡¯t much. She didn¡¯t have any fake identification, either. That was something that would have actually been more useful than her real identification. Technically speaking, Inke could lie as much as she wanted about her identity, but the bracer itself couldn¡¯t be faked by most people. And Inke didn¡¯t need information about some Platinum VI adventurer in the middle of nowhere getting out and making her life exponentially more difficult. ¡­Or she could steal someone else¡¯s.
Inke sat back, crouching, staring at the body she had hidden behind a stack of crates. It would be so easy to kill the person, unconscious and lying prone, and it would probably solve quite a few of her problems, if not all of them because of the likely low level. She shook her head, dispelling those thoughts. Murder would attract too much attention, and Inke¡­ ¡­Well, she was, in fact, about to attract quite a bit of attention, but with a goal of making people not suspect her, not in the way that a body would. And especially not in the particular brand of mutilation that Inke would have to inflict to make any real gains off a kill. A Copper II band was hung loosely on the left arm, sitting atop the sleeve of a light tan undershirt. Attempting to tug it off, Inke momentarily wrestled with the latch. In such an active business as an adventurer¡¯s, they had to be designed not to come off under serious physical activity or duress. Finally, it popped off with a quiet clicking sound, and Inke breathed a sigh of relief. There were always the weirdos who kept their armbands on quite literally every second of their lives and had the latch welded shut or some-such because they were terrified of losing them or someone stealing the armband. Inke had always considered them to be paranoid, at least, but considering what she was currently doing, maybe there was something to the idea. Her own armbands were also on her left arm, hidden underneath the loose shirt sleeve, so she slid the Copper band up her right arm and closed it. As casually as possible, she headed back over to the dungeon entrance and walked up to the same pink-skinned rirwon as several hours previously. He looked up at her approach but didn¡¯t list off the same spiel as Seola. She was grateful for the cloak and its hood, which were enchanted not to fall off unless she purposefully removed them. Furthermore, although it didn¡¯t hide her identity or voice, it cast an unnatural shadow over her face, obscuring Inke¡¯s facial features. That still left the matter of her voice, so Inke cleared her throat, preparing to pitch her voice up several octaves. While it would be obvious that she was faking it, Inke was planning to kill this identity off, so it shouldn¡¯t matter. The cloak was specifically designed to appear as ordinary and common as possible, and her identification was stolen. Hopefully, the Rirwon wouldn¡¯t think to connect it with Inke¡¯s true identity. Slipping her right arm out of the cloak, she pushed her sleeve up, revealing the Copper armband. ¡°Rit, Copper II,¡± she said, using her typical alias. The rirwon nodded. ¡°And party, I assume,¡± he said. She hesitated, but it was much less obvious than to have a single adventurer alone, so she didn¡¯t correct the assumption. With a nod to the rirwon, Inke wandered off, staying as close to the dungeon as possible without attracting suspicion- Or, rather, while attracting quite a bit of suspicion, but not so much that anyone intervened to ask her about it. Before she saw them, Inke heard it as a party exited the dungeon. Without waiting another moment, she whispered, ¡°Activate Bond: Soar.¡± A screen began to coalesce, but she waved it away. ¡°Gust.¡± Sprinting forward, Inke took a moment to savor the shocked forces of the party ascending the steps as she dashed past them and headed into the dungeon. There were shouts and calls behind her, but Inke added, ¡°Wall of Wind.¡± Behind her, what must have appeared to onlookers as empty air solidified, but the sound of clanging metal told her that at least one person had been stopped by it. The wall wouldn¡¯t hold long, as its Health and size were proportional to the Mana she pumped into it, which hadn¡¯t been much. After all, Inke had to conserve some for the dungeon. It was, however, enough to reach the entrance to the instanced portion of the dungeon. A screen flashed across her vision.
Warning
Wall of Wind reached 0 HP and was destroyed by [???], [???], [13 hidden], and [???].
Inke grimaced. Trying to enter a dungeon without waiting properly was something tended to make every single adventurer in the area angry, as no one wanted to see someone else get an opportunity they might have been waiting hours for- and unfairly, at that. The typical result of trying such a thing was a disaster, but Inke had come to realize that most people¡¯s main reason for failure was the fact that they did it incorrectly. For one, it was something that only worked in instanced dungeons. In others, a mob of quite literally every adventurer possible would follow the cheating party into the dungeon. It was even worse in those because wait times were longer, even if a larger dungeon might have more floors. In an instanced dungeon, however, the dungeon would shut the instance after a set amount of time, usually anywhere from five to ten seconds, had passed. All Inke had to do was create a new instance by entering and hope her Wall of Wind held long enough for the instance to close.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. For a second time that day, flaming chickens leaped at Inke. She cut them in twain even as she continued considering everything she would have to ensure that she accomplished. The second and typically unavoidable mistake made was exiting the dungeon. Not that there was much recourse to that beyond staying in the dungeon until their Experience was fully drained and they died, but the average adventurer didn¡¯t- couldn¡¯t- know the solution to that. Inke did. There were more than a few ways to check the number of instances a dungeon currently had open and how many it could support at a maximum. People had tried to fake their deaths, but it was easy to tell that they were still in the instance. Here was something that was common knowledge: a dungeon couldn¡¯t put their core into an instance. Here was something that wasn¡¯t common knowledge: how to reach a dungeon¡¯s core. Shatters, however, wouldn¡¯t be particularly effective if they had no clue on where the core was located and, thus, couldn¡¯t shatter it. Just as last time, she dodged a storm of metal feathers hurled at her and continued fighting. Several factors would work in Inke¡¯s favor. When the number of instances dropped and she didn¡¯t appear, everyone would assume she had died, especially due to how quickly it would occur. With the low ranking Inke had demonstrated and the way she¡¯d entered alone, no one would be terribly surprised at that. Furthermore, when Inke exited the dungeon, she planned to have the dungeon make her a separate exit. If it refused, she could always threaten it. And if Inke ended up destroying the dungeon in the end¡­ Well, there wouldn¡¯t be much a need to hide, then. The door to the boss room loomed in front of her, and Inke steeled herself. Hopefully, she could finish it within fifteen seconds or less, as Inke didn¡¯t know what the guardian might be like. If she were lucky, the guardian would also only be around Silver IV, but with how unusual the Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (Without Dragons) was, Inke wasn¡¯t willing to risk it. Fifty-Fifty, then. Harin wasn¡¯t around, and there was no one else for her to accidentally hit. On the off chance that Inke lost the gamble, she had the Health to survive the hit. Based on the Lightning Strikes of her previous visit, the boss couldn¡¯t have more than a thousand Health or so, even in its so-called ¡®second stage¡¯, something she¡¯d never seen before. Lightning Strike would work, as well, but the Mana cost was great enough that it could be impactful in a battle against the guardian. ¡°Flight,¡± Inke said.
Activated Skill: Flight (Soar)
Mana Drain: 15/second Mana Activation: 550
Passive Status Effect Gained ¨C Flight: Movement Speed 20 ft/s
Her mana dipped dangerously low, and with both Soar and Gust still activated, she would run out within a few minutes. Inke pushed the door aside, charging into the boss room. Everything was the same as before, from the egg in the center to the cavernous ceiling, but Inke didn¡¯t stop. ¡°Activate Bond: Ignari.¡± As the egg began to crack open, she added, ¡°Fifty-Fifty.¡±
Activated Skill: Fifty-Fifty (Ignari)
Mana Activation: minimum ¨C 1; used ¨C 150
Damage Wager (5/MP): 750 HP Skill Weakened ¨C 13/25 Bonds: 52% decreased chance to hit intended target
Intended Target: [???] Target: [Inke]
Damage Reduction: x0.8 Shadow-Realm: failed to activate By a Slim Margin: failed to activate
Total Damage: 600 HP
She winced as the pain washed over her, but Inke still had Health to spare, and her regeneration was already kicking in. The egg began to flash with light. ¡°Fifty-Fifty.¡±
Activated Skill: Fifty-Fifty (Ignari)
Mana Activation: minimum ¨C 1; used ¨C 150
Damage Wager (5/MP): 750 HP Skill Weakened ¨C 13/25 Bonds: 52% decreased chance to hit intended target
Intended Target: [???] Target: [???]
Total Damage: 750 HP
It crumbled, dissolving into ashes, and Inke paused. She wasn¡¯t sure if its final form would still activate after Inke had used Fifty-Fifty. Nothing moved in the ashes, and Inke mentally shrugged. Presumably, the boss needed some sort of physical remnants to recover from, which she didn¡¯t provide it with.
EXP Gained
[???] slain: 2,500 EXP EXP Absorption ¨C The Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (without Dragons): 0.5x
Total: 1,250 EXP
No loot dropped from the corpse, but Inke figured it was another side effect of Fifty-Fifty. ¡°Deactivate Bond: Ignari.¡± Her other Skills gained from the sword also turned off, and Inke added, ¡°Deactivate Bond: Soar.¡± She strode past the ashes, pushing aside the temptation to kick them and watch the pile scatter in the air. As Inke approached the final door, she kept Ignari out, at the ready. While the dungeon had included its teleportation in the instance, and she hadn¡¯t encountered anything more last time, Inke had met more than a few guardians who attacked from ambush. Beyond the door lay an engraved circle on the floor, one that she knew was mostly for show. Where mortal Architects might require additional adornments to construct permanent, reusable versions of their Skills, dungeons had complete control over their interiors. And one with power over Space, even more so. A simple anything would have sufficed as a trigger, whether that was a small carving of a square or a sculpted dragon. Inke carefully stepped around it. While the dungeon didn¡¯t have the power to directly inflict anything upon her or create anything new while she was inside, it could certainly utilize past creations. There were certain, immutable rules that dungeon cores were bound by, despite all of their power. ¡°By the authority invested in me as a challenger to the Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (Without Dragons),¡± Inke began, ¡°I accept another in turn; I challenge the guardian of this dungeon.¡± Vague variations on the phrasing worked as well, but there was a reason that random adventurers weren¡¯t accidentally discovering how to reach the core. Well, and the fact that any adventurer in an appropriately leveled dungeon probably wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat the guardian, and there was no escaping from a challenge against the guardian. Inke was a traditionalist, anyway, when it came to this sort of thing. She¡¯d always thought the formal version of it sounded the most refined. There was a grinding noise, and Inke raised an eyebrow, surprised that the dungeon had chosen to go for a physical method of transportation instead of using its power over Space. Dropping an adventurer into the guardian room without the time for the mental preparation that came with physically entering could easily grant the dungeon an advantage. Cautiously, Inke made her way into the guardian room as the door ground shut behind her. Do or die. When nothing occurred, Inke tightened her grip on Ignari and backed up until her back hit the door. She looked up at the engraved ceiling, checking along the sides and edges where it met the wall. For some reason, very few adventurers ever looked up, so a guardian on the ceiling was always popular. Either Inke was missing it, which was a possibility without Ignari activated, or the boss wasn¡¯t on the ceiling. Inside the rest of the room, there were only more of the engravings along the walls and a stone tablet in the center. She edged closer. From a closer distance, Inke could see that what she had originally thought to be an oddly rough surface was tiny, smooth grains with a similar texture to sand. On the top edge of the tablet, there was a raised carving of a small, curved arrow pointing left and a circle. Inke stayed alert, Ignari gripped in her right hand for several minutes. At the five-minute mark, Inke began to wonder if it was some sort of unusually patient guardian. At ten, Inke gave in. While she didn¡¯t let her guard drop, Inke moved over to the walls to further examine the engravings. From a distance, they all looked rather indistinguishable and decorative, but at a closer examination, there wasn¡¯t a clear theme to them. Rather, quite a few of them actually looked quite similar to the engravings above the boss door. She considered the possibility that the room was a puzzle. Puzzles weren¡¯t exactly uncommon in dungeons, but this was the first that Inke had seen as a guardian. If the engravings were information about the puzzle, that made it much more likely. However, that hypothesis was impossible for her to confirm since she couldn¡¯t read them. Puzzles typically had some sort of punishment for failing, and the Experience required for the dungeon to create the puzzle was directly proportionate to the punishment and whatever was necessary to create the puzzle itself. Beyond that, however, the only requirement on the complexity of the puzzle was for it to be solvable using the given clues. Very few dungeons, however, were creative enough for that. As a guardian, it was entirely possible that the only punishment for the puzzle not opening was that the door wouldn¡¯t open, and Inke would eventually die of either dehydration or starvation. Suffocation was a possibility, as well, but dungeons typically had some method of funneling in fresh air. It was honestly rather creative, and Inke would have applauded the dungeon if the puzzle weren¡¯t in her way. As it were, most of the Experience investment in the guardian room had likely gone into reinforcing the doors and the room. Inke decided to test that theory. Walking over to the far door, the one that had to lead to the core, Inke dragged Ignari down the stone. Ignari had several properties that the average sword didn¡¯t have, one of the least of which was being supernaturally sharp and never dull. While the blade suffered no damage, a small, shallow groove appeared in the door. Inke frowned, stepping back. Depending on the door¡¯s thickness, it could take her several hours to even fully cut through a part of it, though it was possible. If she wanted to create an opening, Inke might have to spend a day or more, something that she certainly wanted to avoid. The stone had to be something similar to what might be found in a Gold dungeon, or Ignari would have cut through easily. Luckily, Inke wasn¡¯t restricted to only that. It would be a shame to use even more Soul Shards, but that was better than the alternatives. Inke activated Ignari yet again and said, ¡°Storm¡¯s Avatar.¡± A screen formed in front of her.
Activated Skill: Storm¡¯s Avatar (Ignari)*
Mana Drain: 9,000/minute
Status Effects
Stat Increase ¨C AGI: +450 Stat Increase ¨C END: +450 Stat Increase ¨C STR: +450 Stat Increase ¨C REF: +450 Gained Passive Effect ¨C Flight: Movement Speed 25 ft/s Gained Passive Effect ¨C Swift: Movement Modifier x5 [6 Passive Effects hidden] Gained Passive Effect ¨C Lightning-Proof Gained Passive Effect ¨C Aesthetic Breeze
Skills
Gained Skill: Armor of the Storm Gained Skill: Weapon of the Storm
*All effects weakened by x0.52 due to 13/25 Bond Slots.
Visually, very little happened besides Inke¡¯s hair beginning to swirl around her and the edges of her cloak flapping in an invisible wind, but she could feel the new physical power. Even starting at her maximum Mana, Inke couldn¡¯t keep Storm¡¯s Avatar up for more than a minute and a half, but she didn¡¯t need long. Surging forward, Inke punched through the door. Shards of stone flew all around her, several impacting her skin, but they glanced off. A few tore through her cloak, but she could have it repaired. As the dust settled, Inke slipped through the hole she had created. It was ornate, especially for something that a dungeon didn¡¯t want someone else to ever enter. Tall, gilded columns framed the room, and the similar patterns to the guardian room spiraled their way up the walls. On the back wall lay an expensive, yet simplistic, mosaic of a figure holding a pitch-black sphere, as if a child had been given the leeway to design a mural embedded with Crystal and metal tracery. In the center, however, was the dungeon core. It rested in a divot, not unlike the boss¡¯s egg. While pitch-black in color, blue cracks traced their way across the floor to meet underneath the core. That would be the Experience flowing from the nexus of the ley lines, then. She walked closer, wanting to communicate with the dungeon core. However, before Inke could do so, a voice rang through the air. ¡°You utter, complete imbecile! I warned you that this would happen, but did you listen to me? No! Now, we¡¯re both going to die, and this all could have been avoided if you had taken my advice.¡± A streak of bright purple and teal zipped through the air, taking shape in front of Inke as it slowed down. The dungeon fairy hovered there, crossing his arms as he faced the dungeon core. ¡°I know better than you. Why can¡¯t you understand such a simple-¡± The dungeon core flashed, communicating something to the fairy. He whirled, only then noticing Inke standing there. Muttering in some language unfamiliar to Inke, the fairy swore, ¡°Sidarth.¡± Chapter 8 Inke stared in mild disbelief at the dungeon fairy. The fairy glowed, almost paradoxically, the same black as the dungeon core. However, the rest of his appearance was completely at odds with the glow. With light lavender skin and bright, geometric teal wings, he was unlike any other dungeon fairy that Inke had seen. Then, again, that probably owed more to the fact that he wasn¡¯t themed, for lack of a better word, after the dungeon. Most dungeon fairies both appeared and dressed similarly to the overarching design of their dungeon, which now that Inke thought about it, was an odd coincidence. She would have at least expected him to wear some sort of black clothing, at least, which he certainly wasn¡¯t. His face morphed into an expression of shock, but it was quickly replaced by anger as he shouted, ¡°No, this is not the perfect time for a ¡®facepalm¡¯, whatever that is!¡± Inke cleared her throat politely. The dungeon fairy refocused on her, scowling. ¡°Look, why are you here? If this is about something that she-¡± Cutting himself off, he took a moment to turn and fix his glare on the dungeon core. He whipped back around to face Inke and continued, ¡°-has done, I didn¡¯t have anything to do with it.¡± Crossing his arms over his chest, the fairy muttered under his breath, ¡°I could only wish.¡± Internally, Inke thought to herself that this was the most fractious relationship she¡¯d ever seen between a dungeon and its fairy, though she didn¡¯t say it. ¡°Well,¡± she began, keeping her features neutrally schooled, ¡°I¡¯ve been¡­ sent here.¡± It was probably fine to share more details, she supposed. For one, it wasn¡¯t exactly as if the dungeon or its fairy were planning to converse with every random adventurer who passed through. She couldn¡¯t imagine that they were working with whoever had tried to kill Harin, either, except as the unwitting means. And furthermore, they were the best source of information Inke could find on the dungeon. No one, after all, was likely to know better than the dungeon itself. She leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Apparently, I have to protect you. The dungeon, that is.¡± Fixing a critical eye on the dungeon fairy, Inke continued, ¡°Not sure about you.¡± At the dungeon fairy¡¯s outraged face and puffed out chest, Inke waved her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. No, see, I do want some answers to my questions.¡± She shrugged, hands held out to her sides, palms up. ¡°Largely why the boss was so much more powerful than the rest of the dungeon.¡± He clicked his tongue. ¡°Ha! I told her the final boss was a terrible idea, and what in the world is the ¡®second stage¡¯?¡± Sneering slightly, the fairy added, ¡°Of course, we could have avoided all of this by simply heeding my advice.¡± Filing away the ¡®second stage¡¯ comment for later perusal, Inke straightened. If she had pockets, she would have stuck her hands in them. Unfortunately, Inke¡¯s clothes didn¡¯t, so she simply clasped her hands behind her back. ¡°See, I feel rather invested in this, considering that the surprise transformation almost got me and my partner killed.¡± The fairy¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Wait.¡± Snapping his fingers, he came to some sort of conclusion, eyes lighting up. ¡°You¡¯re that adventurer, the one with the sword.¡± He paused, listening to someone Inke couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°She says that you¡¯re ¡®overpowered¡¯ and ¡®game-breaking¡¯, apparently.¡± Scowling, he added, ¡°Whatever that is supposed to mean.¡± Inke sighed. The dungeon fairy was quite good at getting side-tracked. ¡°I don¡¯t need random information; I need to know why the boss was so much more powerful.¡± She paused for a moment, considering. Actually, Inke realized, she didn¡¯t even have to go through the dungeon fairy to translate when she could directly talk to the dungeon instead. She stepped forward, intent on touching the dungeon core. Before Inke could, the dungeon fairy flew in her face. ¡°Wait, wait, hold up, you definitely don¡¯t want to talk to her.¡± He tilted his chin up, staring down at her. ¡°After all, why would ever need to talk to the dungeon when you could talk to me, instead?¡± Brow furrowing, nonchalantly, Inke asked, ¡°Who even are you?¡± She coughed. ¡°Besides the dungeon fairy, that is.¡± He gaped at her, prideful composure momentarily shaken. ¡°Why, merely the one and only Daethe! Most skilled dungeon fairy in over three blossomings, trus-¡± he faltered but plowed through the momentary hesitation and continued, ¡°dungeon fairy to the Dungeon-y Dungeon-¡± Face scrunching up, he said, ¡°I can¡¯t even say that ridiculous name. What is it even supposed to mean? Dungeons? Dragons? That has absolutely nothing to do with the dungeon¡¯s monsters or loot!¡± His hands balled into fists, shaking slightly. ¡°I refuse to stay silent any longer.¡± Inke hadn¡¯t realized the fairy was being silent, but maybe it was relative. Daethe¡¯s lips pressed into a thin line. Ignoring Inke, he flew over to the dungeon core and stood next to it. His eyes narrowed as he stared down at it. ¡°There is currently a vengeful adventurer upset because of your boss design, which would never have happened if you had simply listened to my advice and utilized my design for it. And!¡± He threw his arms out. ¡°And that same adventurer is currently standing in the core room because you couldn¡¯t be bothered to make a decent guardian. ¡°I pride myself on being the best. If anyone could have turned your useless mess into a proper dungeon, it would have been me, but for the sole fact that you refused to cooperate! And if you think that-¡± ¡°So,¡± Inke said conversationally, interrupting his tirade, ¡°do you want me to come back some other time?¡± Daethe rubbed at his forehead. ¡°Just¡­ alright, adventurer, let¡¯s talk.¡± He marched over to Inke, still on the floor. Tapping his foot, he huffed. ¡°What do you want? Crystal? Access to the nexus?¡± Shaking her head, Inke responded, ¡°Clarity, that¡¯s all I need. Why is this dungeon so important and unusual?¡± He threw up his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t even get me started.¡± Daethe began counting on his fingers. ¡°Whatever her concept is, it allows her to utilize multiple other ones while creating monsters, loot, and traps.¡± Holding up a second finger, he added, ¡°She refuses to follow quite literally any of my objectively useful and great advice, which is going to get us killed. Not that she believes me about rogue dungeons or Shatters.¡± Inke wanted to laugh at the irony, but she managed to restrain herself. ¡°Third,¡± he said, ¡°and I can barely believe that a dungeon so idiotic exists, despite my forced continual interaction with her, but she has, despite my continually insistent complaints, created a boss much stronger than the rest of her dungeon. Which is all very well and good when¡­¡± Sighing, Daethe trailed off. Face scrunched up as if he had eaten something sour, he reluctantly added, ¡°It works. Plenty of adventurers die to the boss. But this? This?¡± His jaw clenched. ¡°A surprise boss at the end with unexpected strength is pretty much textbook rogue dungeon. I can guarantee that if nothing is changed, sooner or later, a Shatter will be called in, and then what?¡± Gesticulating wildly, he stabbed an index finger over his shoulder. Presumably, Daethe was trying to point at the dungeon core, but from Inke¡¯s perspective, she could tell that he was wildly off. ¡°We die! And she would deserve every single thing that she brought upon herself, but my sole and entire role in this fiasco was being ignored.¡± If Inke had been called in to destroy the dungeon rather than protect it, this would have been the perfect time to reveal herself. Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t, ruining the opportunity. It was a tragedy, truly. ¡°Well, not that this hasn¡¯t been a great conversation, really,¡± she said without a hint of deceit or sarcasm, ¡°but I would like to get at least some sleep tonight. So if you don¡¯t mind¡­¡± Inke gestured at Daethe to move out of her way. As a warning and indicator of what she wanted to do, Inke took a step forward. One or two more and Inke would crush Daethe. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be a threat, but he apparently took it as one. Flying up, wings flitting rapidly, Daethe squared his shoulders and hovered a few inches from Inke¡¯s face. ¡°If you think that I¡¯m just going to stand here and let you shatter my dungeon core, even if she is a bit of a tesehdrat, you ought to reconsider your moronic assumptions.¡± He smirked. ¡°I can assure you that it would be an extremely poor idea to challenge me.¡± Inke had to work awfully hard not to let a small smile slip onto her face. Pressing her lips together, she choked out, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not planning to shatter the dungeon core.¡± She raised her hands as a show of peace. ¡°I just want to talk, like I¡¯ve been saying since the start of all this.¡± Daethe glared at her. ¡°As if I would be nearly na?ve enough to fall for a trick as deceptively obvious as that.¡± She was going to comment that if Inke had come in search of the dungeon core for its destruction, she would have done it already, but someone else beat her to it. Pulsing, the dungeon core released waves of black light. Sputtering, Daethe responded to a voice Inke couldn¡¯t hear, shouting, ¡°No! Just- that does not make any sense, and any reasonable person would immediately dismiss your idea out of hand! Not merely due to the fact that any idea that comes from you ought to automatically be doubted, but furthermore, this is objectively a poor idea even measured solely its own considerations!¡± Inke¡¯s eyes widened. Maybe not, then. Of course, considering how vehement Daethe¡¯s professed hatred for the dungeon core had been, there was always the possibility that his anger blinded him to reality. Then, again, the dungeon didn¡¯t seem to be completely rational, either. Well, it was probably best to get the dungeon¡¯s opinion herself. This had already taken much longer than Inke had both planned and wanted it to. Sighing, she brushed past Daethe, who startled, and laid a hand on the dungeon core. [Oh, gosh, wow, you are just soooooo interesting, aren¡¯t you?] It had a lilting, peppy, rather feminine voice, and Inke startled slightly. [Yeesh, what is up with that sword, though? Shame there aren¡¯t mods here, or I¡¯d try to get a ban for using that thing, get it balanced, whatever, y¡¯know?] There was a cough. [I mean, ¡®ban¡¯ is sort of a strong word, but really, you¡¯ve gotta admit that whatever it is, it¡¯s way outleveled for my dungeon!] Alright, maybe Daethe had a slight point about the dungeon. It was more than slightly odd, and additionally, there was quite a bit of language it used that was incomprehensible to Inke. [Anyway, anyway, forget all that, I am just dying to know what you think of my dungeon. Look, Daethe? That guy has no sense of good design! I mean, he didn¡¯t even appreciate my awesome dungeon name. There¡¯s no way I can use his opinion on my stuff.] It scoffed. [No, but seriously, what¡¯d you think? Personally, I¡¯m super proud of the concept I picked. Physics? See, that was just inspired.] Inke had no clue what ¡®physics¡¯ was supposed to mean, but that was one step closer to solving the mystery of the dungeon if she could identify what its concept was. The dungeon continued babbling at Inke, [I mean, I dunno what you guys have been doing ¡®round here, but just pick something encompassing! Anything straight up bigger gives you access to all the stuff beneath it. Jeez, I seriously can¡¯t believe that not a single person here¡¯s figured that out in what, four thousand years? Five thousand? But wait, no, tech here is terrible, so three thousand? Even so, c¡¯mon, what¡¯ve you been doing?] Her mind raced at that small nugget of information the dungeon dropped. It made, oddly, more sense than Inke had originally assumed. Concepts could be heavily variable depending on an individual user¡¯s perception of the idea. What the dungeon was suggesting was merely a further application of that knowledge. It was a well-known fact that generally speaking, for example, Fire was superior to Flame or Burn, and so forth, as Fire offered everything that either of the other two did and more beyond that. A tiny frown graced her face. The dungeon was correct. It was, in fact, deeply unusual that not a single other person had managed to figure that out. While the dungeon had guessed a few thousand years, Inke knew for a fact that the Virsian Empire had stood for perhaps a thousand and a half years. Its predecessor had held for but a few dozen years, but there tended to be a high turnover rate of rulers before settling into stable, long-running states.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Inke would be one of the first to admit that she wasn¡¯t exactly renowned for her intellect. Sure, her Intelligence stat was high, but whatever it represented, it wasn¡¯t the same thing as the ability to quickly process information, recall, good memory, or any of the other things were associated with being intelligent as compared to having high Intelligence. Since Intelligence controlled the available Mana someone had to use, that was a good thing, or it would be a very small percentage of the population able to become strong adventurers. And Ignari would make Inke a genius, but the sword certainly didn¡¯t. Ignari, as if reading her thoughts, brushed against Inke¡¯s side. Her sword gave a low hum, reminding her to focus. Right. Inke could believe that she wouldn¡¯t figure something like that out. For one, Inke didn¡¯t even know the word the dungeon had used, ¡®physics¡¯, despite the fact that it apparently encompassed Fire, Light, and the odd not quite Metal of the geese. That was probably a major barrier to anyone trying to find a greater-scope concept. Except that, no, surely, someone would have at least theorized about it. Inke¡¯s own concept came from studying old books of what rich nobles used to do, and she¡¯d pored over books for dozens of hours in order to discover it. Sure, she didn¡¯t have an amazing memory, but Inke thought she would have remembered something like the dungeon was proposing. [¡­hey! Hey! Earth to sword lady, Earth to sword lady!] Inke blinked, turning her attention back to the dungeon. Focus. Focus was critical, and Inke was terrible at it. [Well, so, what¡¯d you think? I have to know!] ¡°What¡¯s physics?¡± Inke said dryly. [Oh, right, Middle Ages. Or Dark Ages. Which one is it? I can never remember. Wait, do you people even have one of those? Eh, let¡¯s go with medieval. Right, medieval, wouldn¡¯t know what physics are. Or would you? Got no clue, let¡¯s put it like that. When did physics come around? Anyway, anyway, physics is like¡­] Trailing off, the dungeon seemed deep in thought. Waiting impatiently, Inke tapped her foot and glanced at Daethe, who was sulking quietly in a corner of the room. [Look, I wasn¡¯t a physics student- I never even took a physics course, alright?- so twenty bucks says there¡¯s some technical definition or whatever, but I have zero clue what that might be, so you¡¯ll just have to suck it up and live with my crappy version.] It paused. [Basically, physics is like¡­ the universe? Spacetime, does cool sci-fi stuff, energy, matter, all that good stuff. Super neat, huh? I might not know what it precisely is, but hey, it¡¯s not stopping me from using it!] Taken slightly aback, Inke stared at the dungeon core. In all her time as a Shatter, she¡¯d never run into a dungeon similar to this one. Though, that probably owed quite a bit to the fact that she was sent to rogue dungeons, who definitionally, didn¡¯t tend to be the most stable. The Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (without Dragons), however, seemed unique even among non-rogue dungeons. ¡­Inke needed something better to call it than the Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (without Dragons). ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± She hesitated. ¡°Do you have one?¡± [Ooh, yeah, I totally do! On one hand, I could go for some sort of awesome fantasy name change. Imagine being named, like, Lisbelnrow! Or Welhqpi! I mean, wouldn¡¯t that just be cool to have a name like that? Besides, I¡¯m not sure that my old name really fits in with the overall fantasy theme you guys¡¯ve got going on here, y¡¯know?] Grumpily, Daethe cut in, ¡°According to the dungeon, her name is Rain. However, I must cast doubt upon that, considering that she has previously told me that her name was, to name a few, Siri, Alexa, Zelda, and Gentiana.¡± [Hey, hey, in my defense, those are all real names! Well, besides Gentiana, maybe, but people name their kids after flowers all the time, so it¡¯s really not that far-fetched. Lo, behold the power of hours spent on Wikipedia!] ¡®Rain¡¯ seemed an odd enough name, but Inke wasn¡¯t about to tell the dungeon that. Plenty of what the dungeon said was completely incomprehensible to Inke, but she only needed to get a few important pieces of information out of it. And while Inke would admit that she had been partially at fault in dragging the dungeon onto a tangent, that also owed quite a bit to the dungeon¡¯s sheer distractibility. ¡°I would appreciate it if you made me a path out of here- one that doesn¡¯t go through the main entrance- because I¡¯d like to get some sleep tonight.¡± ¡°Hey! If you think that I am simply going to leave a passage to the dungeon core wide open for you to access at any time and bring your friends down here, you ought to seriously reconsider your world view, so I would say that I hate to break it to you, but I don¡¯t, and-¡± [Sure! Where do you need it to go?] Inke could hear the audible sound of Daethe¡¯s teeth grinding together. She was reasonably certain that couldn¡¯t possibly be healthy for his teeth. ¡°To the surface, if you don¡¯t mind. How far do your borders reach?¡± [Oh, well, that¡¯s kinda embarrassing to admit, but not to the surface unless you count the dungeon entrance. Only up to just below the surface, y¡¯know? I can¡¯t create anything on the surface. It probably wouldn¡¯t do to insult the dungeon, but Inke was dearly tempted. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I only need a passage that reaches the surface, preferably somewhere uninhabited.¡± She tipped her head to Daethe. ¡°If I wanted to, I could simply reenter through the guardian, anyway.¡± [Plus, I¡¯ll just close it up! No offense intended, uh, Inke, but whoof, Daethe is paranoid, and it really gets on my nerves to have to deal with him all the time. It¡¯d suck if he had some reason to be that paranoid, like a pathway straight to me, yeah?] ¡°¡­You are, as always,¡± Daethe said, with a strange emphasis on ¡®always¡¯, ¡°correct. Though it galls me to admit it, that is a solution I did not consider.¡± The sound of grinding teeth had stopped, but his jaw was clenched, a vein standing out on his neck. [Great, well, if we¡¯re all in agreement, then, I¡¯ll get on it!] The dungeon paused, and when it resumed, it sounded almost sheepish. [Uh, not sure I can make anything with you standing right there.] Inke froze. She would readily admit that planning ahead and anticipating weren¡¯t strengths of hers, but that was certainly a barrier. [Oh, if you wanted to become part of the dungeon, though-] ¡°Definitely not,¡± Inke said, deciding to nip that possible train of thought from the dungeon in the bud. ¡°I swear by the hadstri elderflowers, not a single person here ever stops to consider that my advice may actually be useful or valuable!¡± Daethe¡¯s voice rang out, cutting into their conversation. He narrowed his eyes at them, swinging his head from Inke to the dungeon core and crossing his arms. In the monotone of someone quoting something, he said, ¡°As found in Dicentra¡¯s Directory of Dungeon Details in Desuetude, ¡®if the core room should be besieged by enemies, a sole measure of recourse remains to the noble dungeon fairy and their core, that within the conditions proper, a passageway to remaining areas and defenders of the dungeon unvanquished may be opened.¡¯ Almost no one uses it because a few reasons, foremost of which is that monsters in other parts of the dungeon wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the core before anyone inside the core room could destroy it. ¡°Really, there is a reason that it fell into desuetude, after all. In a case such as this one, however, Rain could simply open a passage to the surface.¡± [You sure about that? It sounds like a weird, convenient workaround to this specific problem.] ¡°Actually, quite a few of the so-called ¡®rules¡¯ of dungeons have exceptions, but for the fact that they tend to be useless exceptions. I, however, in my wisdom decided to study up upon them. And observe the benefits.¡± He smirked. ¡°If you would listen to me, you might, in fact, know some of these things.¡± Tapping a finger on his chin, Daethe said, ¡°Although taking into account your general ineptitude, even that, possibly not.¡± [Yeah, okay, I can¡¯t just let that stand!] With a polite mental cough, the dungeon remembered Inke standing there and added, [Uh, I¡¯ll get on that passageway. Absorb.] Smoothly, a portion of the wall opposite Inke, behind the dungeon core, vanished as if it were never there without a sound. A long passageway lit by the same strange glow that filled the dungeon stretched onwards. It sloped gently upwards. [This¡¯ll take you as far as the dungeon extends; I tried to make it long because you said you wanted to be discreet. I, uh, not sure what¡¯s on the other end, though. Once you¡¯re out, I¡¯ll fill it back up, so try not to drop anything!] Daethe cleared his throat. ¡°It is, in fact, customary to leave the dungeon a gift should it do you a favor. I feel that ought to be mentioned.¡± [Oh, shove a sock in it, Daethe! I¡¯m trying to be nice, here!] Inke huffed a short laugh. ¡°I would, except I doubt that you have nearly enough Experience to recreate anything I have on me without dying or having to Absorb most of what you¡¯ve created.¡± Whipping around to stare at Inke, Daethe¡¯s expression was shocked, eyes wide. Of course, it would be the dungeon fairy to understand the implications of that. Rain, however, seemed entirely unaware. It was probably best to leave before Daethe got it into his head to try and steal Inke¡¯s stuff or something. With a wave, she removed her hand from Rain¡¯s and walked around it into the passageway. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of Daethe breaking into a loud argument with the dungeon. With how long and boring the walk was, it relieved Inke to see the opening at the end growing closer. She sped up slightly, hoping to get at least six hours of sleep that night. At the end of the hallway, a straight stone face stretched up into an opening in the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, though, Inke noticed the stone rungs carved into the wall. A sort of ladder, then. She worked her way up the latter, clambering out when she reached the top. As Inke did so, the stone sealed up behind her, perfectly smooth. Looking around, Inke took in the crates lining the stone walls and the sound of skittering rats. Of course, Inke had ended up in someone¡¯s basement. Things tended to go that way for her.
¡°That¡¯s a good idea, I think,¡± Harin commented. Frowning, he gazed off into the distance. ¡°You would know better than me, after all.¡± Inke shrugged. His unwavering faith in her ability and general competence was odd, but she didn¡¯t see a point in questioning it. ¡°You have your daggers.¡± Harin¡¯s eyes flicked away from Inke¡¯s ¡°Y-yeah¡­ I still feel like I need at least armor, right?¡± For someone as weak as Harin, with his low stats and terrible class, weapons wouldn¡¯t do him much good. The most efficient way to kill most monsters was through magic, or failing that, with magically enhanced stats and effects, such as the kind that Soar granted Inke. As a result, barring a prohibitively expensive purchase, Harin was right. Armor never hurt. Precluding, of course, chafing metal armor that did hurt when worn for extended periods of time. She looked up and down his figure with a critical eye. While Harin didn¡¯t have the strength necessary to wear any sort of metal armor, some sort of protective gear would hardly go amiss. An enchanted necklace or ring, possibly. Something that he could both hide and wear constantly, two factors that were always useful when it came to possible assassinations. Lighter forms of armor such as leather existed, but Inke doubted that Harin would want to be always wearing the armor, unlike something small. Yes, that would be best. ¡°What kind of protective items are sold around here?¡± Inke asked. Larger cities had just about anything a low-level adventurer could ask for. However, in a dungeon city as small as the one around the Dungeon-y Dungeon of Dungeons (without Dragons) was, there was no such guarantee. Plenty of low-level adventurers needed to get their starts in burgeoning dungeons, creating a high demand for such items, but simultaneously, it meant that merchants enjoyed no shortage of willing buyers. With trade almost fully controlled by the Merchant Guild, it increased the motivation for them to restrict the available goods and drive up prices. Suddenly, Inke realized that she had accidentally ignored Harin. He finished out a sentence, ¡°¡­and I can¡¯t exactly get rid of the auctions, no matter how terrible the system is to deal with.¡± Shocked, she fixed him directly in the eye and clapped her hands on his shoulders. The position was slightly odd, but despite Harin¡¯s towering frame, he tended to hunch his shoulders and slouch, which put them slightly closer together in height. ¡°You let the Auctioneer Guild in.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question. ¡°A-are they that bad?¡± Intellectually, Inke knew that Harin didn¡¯t quite have the same experience with them that she did. On an emotional level, however, it deeply irritated her to realize that Harin¡¯s first reaction to being faced with the Auctioneer Guild wasn¡¯t to pull out his hair in frustration. Waving a hand, Inke responded, ¡°They¡¯re like cockroaches, impossible to get rid of, tough exteriors that can¡¯t be squished easily, and extremely annoying. Just about the only thing that they¡¯re good for is selling or buying more unique or hard-to-find items.¡± She squinted. ¡°That, unfortunately, is not what we need for you.¡± Harin held up his hands, shaking his head slightly. ¡°Wait, b-back up slightly, I thought we were talking about armor? And why is the Auctioneer Guild so bad, anyway?¡± She shrugged. ¡°Mostly the people. It takes a rather specific kind of person to work as an auctioneer.¡± With a grimace, Inke continued. ¡°They¡¯re not bad people, per se, but trust me here, you don¡¯t want to spend much time in their company.¡± In the past, Inke had been subjected to the unfortunate experience, and she still regretted agreeing to it at the time. The benefits of hindsight. ¡°Okay, I g-guess that makes sense, but can we back up to the armor?¡± Harin wrung his hands nervously. ¡°I was thinking armor because defense; I¡¯d prefer not to d-die, all of that stuff.¡± With a sigh, Inke set about explaining the reasoning behind why she thought he should get enchanted gear of some sort as opposed to traditional armor. The condensed version, of course. Lately, Inke had been spending far too much time around incredibly verbose people. She¡¯d appreciate a return to normality. Long, internal monologues were one thing. Loud, verbal ones were another beast entirely. Inke considered that if she wanted to avoid those, she should probably ditch Harin. Except for the fact that she still needed his help, so that seemed a remarkably poor idea. Harin coughed. ¡°Ah, pretty much anything enhanced through use of Mana or Crystals is only being sold by the auctioneers, which is why I was only planning to get normal armor.¡± He gestured at the marketplace around the duo. Plenty of activity filled it, loud chatter constantly present in the air. Fixing him with a questioning stare, Inke said, ¡°Why? The Merchant Guild would never agree to such a policy, especially in a fast-growing city such as this. There¡¯s fantastic prospects here for anyone who manages to set themselves up in the market early on.¡± He mumbled something under his breath. Inke blinked. ¡°I didn¡¯t catch that, thanks.¡± ¡°I k-kinda signed a thing, alright?¡± Harin¡¯s face flushed, and he gesticulated wildly even as he continued speaking rapidly, ¡°I didn¡¯t know precisely what I was agreeing to, and legalese is just as terrible here as o-anywhere e-else, but the Auctioneer Guild has the rights to selling most atypical items in the city.¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°How long is it for? Are they giving you anything?¡± ¡°A s-slight tax on each sale, I think, but it¡¯s indefinite.¡± The other eyebrow went up and joined its counterpart. ¡°The tax will add up, but indefinite?¡± Harin scratched at his neck. ¡°A-aha, well, see, technically speaking, I need the Council to agree with me on major policy decisions, a-and they agreed to it, but I don¡¯t think they would reverse it.¡± Whatever mystery was going on stretched deeply, then, if people tricked Harin into signing vague agreements he didn¡¯t understand. Clearly, Inke needed to do some serious investigating. And while at least Harin was receiving something from the Auctioneer Guild, Inke didn¡¯t know how much that was. She asked as much. ¡°W-well, I haven¡¯t actually gotten anything from them yet, s-so¡­¡± Inke sighed. ¡°Here is what we are going to do,¡± she told him with a flat look on her face. ¡°First, we¡¯re going to buy you some stuff at the auction.¡± Mentally, she added that the auction would be a great place to perform some investigations. ¡°Then, I¡¯m going to restock on potions. Finally, we go to the local branch of the Auctioneer Guild and figure out where your money¡¯s been going. Understand?¡± She didn¡¯t wait for a response and immediately continued, ¡°Great. Let¡¯s go.¡± Chapter 9 The list was ridiculously long, spanning at least twenty tacked up sheets of paper and covering most of the wall. Inke gave it a once-over, hoping that someone would have the common sense and decency to at least put up drawings or even write the names of each item sold in large letters. Unfortunately, no such thing had occurred, causing Inke to sigh. Rarely, a city would give the rights to the Auctioneer Guild to sell a majority of products as opposed to the Merchant Guild. Typically, that occurred because the nobles wanted to be able to control most of the trade in the city, but also if the Merchant Guild disliked one of the Council members involved. However, that situation created a severe disadvantage due to the fact that using the Auctioneer Guild to purchase any common items or anything in bulk was deeply impractical. As a result, they had set up a system that could be used for less expensive items that demand wasn¡¯t as high for. Each individual lot could be bid on daily, and at the day¡¯s end, the highest bidder would take it home, similar to the live auctions. The difference lay in the fact that it ran for much longer. In such a situation, someone rich enough could theoretically prevent anyone else from purchasing goods. Where the Merchant Guild operated on a first-come, first-serve basis, a wealthy patron could simply place a high enough bid to deter anyone else from buying a product. It was the main reason that nobles preferred the Auctioneer Guild, while the average adventurer or even citizen, in general, liked the Merchant Guild far more. Inke personally found the Auctioneer Guild to be far more desirable. While their practices were morally dubious at best and immorally elitist at worst, Inke happened to be one of the rich elites that they catered to. Their policies made Inke¡¯s life much easier than the Merchant Guild¡¯s, no matter how annoying the individual auctioneers could be. Sure, anyone who didn¡¯t have massive amounts of wealth despised the system, but Inke had always operated under a self-serving policy. It didn¡¯t matter to her if someone else¡¯s life happened to worsen because of Inke¡¯s benefit. Unless she knew them. Inke was really only invested in the lives and general circumstances of people known to her. Lines had formed in front of desks, people waiting in line to place their bids with the novice auctioneers. The Auctioneer Guild trained their new applicants by sticking them at the heads of long lines of disgruntled adventurers who were dismayed at the lack of merchants. It was a pretty effective training system. Additionally, the method served to weed out anyone who wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with a live auction. Inke stepped into the shortest looking one. Squinting at the wall far ahead of her, she tapped her foot as the line inched slowly forward. She took a moment to glance at the other fifteen or so lines, unsure why people kept going into longer lines instead of the faster one. Eh. People could be extremely incompetent at times, Inke had found. When Inke reached the front, she began, ¡°Hello, I was wondering-¡± The auctioneer gave a sheepish laugh, pointing to a sign above herself. ¡°If you want anything besides Crystal transaction and exchanges, you¡¯re going to need a different line.¡± At Inke¡¯s blink of surprise, the woman shrugged and said with a grin, ¡°You looked lost, and I¡¯ve picked up an eye for that sort of thing after a few years working with the Auctioneer Guild.¡± Clicking her tongue, she added, ¡°Sometimes, I wonder if it¡¯s specifically designed to be as confusing as possible to those unaware. No worries.¡± ¡°Thanks, then,¡± Inke said, moving out of the line. There were advantages to flashing the Shatter symbol everywhere she went, that was certain. Interacting as an average adventurer without special privileges was terrible. Frankly, Inke had no idea how normal people survived without being treated as an honored guest wherever they went. Grimacing, she looked up at the signs hung above each station that Inke had ignored until then. Above the line she¡¯d just stepped out of was a sign labeled ¡®Crystal¡¯, while she was checking if any of them held something that might indicate protective gear was auctioned there. Not ¡®Weapons¡¯, definitely not ¡®Raw Material¡¯, but ¡®Enchanted Jewelry¡¯ looked promising. Adventurers loved to use rings and such, considering that there wasn¡¯t much of a limit to how many could be worn beyond possibly finger length. She¡¯d seen Guildmaster Shatter, for one, wearing upwards of thirty rings and five necklaces before heading into a difficult fight. High-level adventurers tended to be quite rich, and every advantage helped in a dungeon where everything was designed to be as deadly as possible. The ¡®Enchanted Jewelry¡¯ line was, of course, one of the longest. Luckily, though, it moved quickly, and as Inke drew closer to the front of the line, she could see that it was a result of the multiple auctioneers at the head. Whatever might be said about the Auctioneer Guild¡¯s elitist policies, no one could hope to argue the fact that they were certainly efficient. While the more popular lines were longer, they had more auctioneers to make up for that fact, giving similar waiting times no matter what someone was hoping to buy. Inke was at the front of the line when one of the auctioneers opened up, so she stepped off to the side and in front of the desk. ¡°I¡¯m looking to place a bid on some protective jewelry.¡± The auctioneer offered her a smile. ¡°Of course, of course!¡± he said. ¡°We have plenty of protective jewelry, ranging from our most common Earth styles to a few rarer pieces, if I could interest you in those?¡± She shook her head. ¡°No, Earth will do fine.¡± Furrowing her brow, Inke continued, ¡°Something simple, I think. Do you have any Silver rings? Probably not a necklace, but an earring will do as well.¡± Inke thought for another moment. Assuming that she didn¡¯t want Harin to die if they ended up facing the boss again, low-tier Silver wouldn¡¯t do. ¡°V or better.¡± He winced. ¡°Apologies, but currently, our stock of Silver gear is limited to live auctions only due to the size of this branch.¡± Pausing for a moment, the auctioneer rubbed at his chin. ¡°Our next live auction will be taking place in,¡± he glanced at a large, ticking clock on the other side of the room, ¡°an hour and twenty-one minutes.¡± Inke sighed. That had been a wasted half an hour standing in line. She knew for a fact that if they didn¡¯t even have Silver rings, there wasn¡¯t going to be high-quality healing potions, either. Without another word, she left the line, heading over to Harin. He was waiting for her, leaning against the wall opposite the lines. Currently, however, Harin was engrossed in what must have been a deeply engaging conversation with a boy dressed in elegant clothes. Harin was gesticulating wildly, and even as far as Inke was from them, if she focused, she could catch snippets. Not that she was terribly interested in their conversation, so Inke didn¡¯t bother. As she closed the distance, however, it was difficult to ignore their rather loud argument. Or what could be politely called an emotionally charged discussion. ¡°¡­You simply do not understand me, Harin!¡± the teenager said. His face screwed up, anger flashing through. ¡°They are serious, this time. Whatever you may have experienced years ago will pale in comparison to their current attempts. If you insist on continuing down the path you have laid out for yourself, I cannot be held responsible for any unfortunate accidents that may befall you-¡± Inke forced her way into the conversation by physically inserting herself between the two, arms outstretched as if to hold each person back. She turned to Harin. ¡°Do you need some help?¡± He offered her a weak grin. ¡°Uh, n-not really?¡± She crossed her arms and fixed him with a disbelieving look. The boy apparently didn¡¯t appreciate being ignored, making his presence known with a forceful cough. ¡°A-hem. Seeing as Harin and I were conversing, you ought to-¡± ¡°N-no, Tyen, this is Inke, she¡¯s b-been helping me with the dungeon.¡± Harin intervened, hands held up in the air. ¡°Look, we can talk l-later, alright?¡± Tyen shot a dark glare at Inke. ¡°I shall be seeing you, then, Harin.¡± With a flounce in his step, he whipped around and stalked off to parts unknown. Harin laughed shakily. ¡°Yeah, well, that¡¯s T-Tyen. His parents are both on the Council.¡± He ran a hand through his hair. ¡°I know he c-can be, uh, standoffish at times, but I promise that he means well.¡± Inke shrugged. She didn¡¯t have a reason to care about some random teenager¡¯s attitude. No, Inke considered herself above petty considerations like those. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to attend a live auction.¡± She scrunched up her mouth. ¡°Speaking with the voice of experience, they¡¯re terrible.¡± ¡°R-really? I hadn¡¯t thought they were so bad¡­¡± Harin trailed off, staring at his shoes. She nodded. ¡°Oh, definitely.¡±
¡°Welcome one, welcome all! And here we are today at the live auction for the Aerthe City Auctioneer Guild branch!¡± An auctioneer with tanned skin and straight black hair stood on a central stage surrounded by a crowd. She flashed a gleaming white grin, dark eyes sparkling. ¡°I¡¯m Chal, if you don¡¯t know me, but with how active this bunch has been, I¡¯m sure that almost all of you have attended one of these before!¡± Holding up her hands to forestall reactions from the crowd, she continued, ¡°Yes, yes, I know, procedure sucks, what can I say? I¡¯m right up here commiserating with the rest of you. I mean, hey, I¡¯m the one who has to read off this spiel every auction!¡± With a deep inhale, Chal rapidly fired off a string of words that were barely comprehensible to Inke. ¡°Everyone who¡¯s planning to participate should have informed a member of the Auctioneer Guild ahead of time; yes, I see you in the green shirt in the back waving your hand, if you don¡¯t have a paddle already with a number on it, hand over the fee to a nearby member who¡¯ll be over to assist you shortly; today¡¯s bids can be found on the list right behind me!¡± Chal continued, but Inke ignored the auctioneer, glancing at the giant sheet of unfurled paper. Words were splashed across it in bold black ink, large enough to be seen by members of the audience. In yet another example of shining moral values, the Auctioneer Guild didn¡¯t inform anyone of the lots being sold in any given live auction beforehand, forcing bidders to either pay the fee and possibly purchase nothing or risk missing something useful. The branch of the Guild around Rain¡¯s dungeon was currently small, comprising only five rows of seated visitors around the central stage. While curious observers were free to watch the auction without any cost, they were forced to stand in the limited space available for viewing. However, as fee-paying bidders, Inke and Harin were seated in the second row, easily close enough to read the words. As Harin mumbled something on her right, Inke scanned the list. It was sorted by type, she only had to find the header of ¡®Enchanted Jewelry¡¯ and check the lots sorted under it. After a few lines of random objects, Inke chanced upon what she needed. While not the most ideal, a Pebble¡¯s Perseverance Ring would serve her purposes nicely. Decent bonuses to Endurance, and thus, to Health, along with a minor regeneration effect. Though the name could probably use some work, Inke¡¯s concern lay more in keeping Harin alive. Enchanted Jewelry, unfortunately, lay at fifth on the list, forcing Inke to wait through several torturously loud and chaotic bidding wars. They were petty squabbles, too, over objects as common as flaming swords, which in Inke¡¯s experience were more harmful than useful, with flames that ran all the way to the hilt and had an unfortunate tendency to burn hands. Finally, Chal said, ¡°A Pebble¡¯s Perseverance Ring! Name could be prettier, yes, yes, I know, but don¡¯t judge by that! Silver threaded with some Earth Crystal, quality assured by both the Auctioneer Guild and the Crafter Guild. This ring grants an Endurance bonus of twenty-five, and the wearer can channel Mana to it in exchange for Health. All around useful for any adventurer, ranked at Silver VII by a certified enchanter. ¡°Bidding starts at ten second-tier Crystals, minimum increase of one second-tier!¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The boss had only dropped sixty-seven second-tier, and it was one hundred of a lower Crystal to one tier higher. For the average adventurer, such an object would be worth the price the moment it saved their life, but it was an expensive purchase, one not necessarily critical to survival. Inke, however, believed in the power of overdoing things when reasonably possible. She raised her paddle marked with a set of runic script understood only by the Auctioneer Guild. ¡°Thirty second-tier Crystals,¡± she called out, standing up. Her voice rang out clearly, and Inke noted several people who had begun to rise sitting back down. Chal looked around. ¡°Any counter-offers, any counter-offers? We have thirty second-tier Crystals right here in the second row, quite the fast bid raise!¡± When no one spoke up, her voice filled the silence, saying, ¡°Alright, the Pebble¡¯s Perseverance Ring is sold for thirty second-tier Crystals! Please see the nearest member of the Auctioneer Guild once the live auction is finished to exchange your Crystal for your new purchase. Now, now, onto the next lot¡­¡± Tuning Chal out, Inke wondered if there was a way to leave early. It would probably be rude to leave in the middle of the live auction, and the throng of observers was thick enough that attempting to exit would be difficult, but Inke could do it. Harin, less so, but as long as she led the way, he could follow in her wake. She made an aborted attempt to stand, but Harin¡¯s hand tugging at her arm dissuaded Inke. With a quiet sigh, she reseated herself and allowed her mind to wander. At some point during the day, Inke needed to conduct investigations into Harin¡¯s situation. Tyen, from earlier, seemed like a good source, but she was unsure of his relationship with Harin. On one hand, his angry demeanor and parents¡¯ status in the Council, an organization that Inke was decently sure was working against Harin, implied that Tyen was an enemy. Therefore, information from him would be suspect at best. On the other hand, however, Tyen had warned Harin about something, which didn¡¯t seem like a move someone antagonistic towards Inke¡¯s party member would take. Inke looked at the item Chal was showing off and compared it to the list. They were onto the eleventh category, more than halfway through the live auction. It didn¡¯t feel like it. Then, again, Inke had run into quite a few idiotic nobles in the past. Something about having status in combination with wealth, or even solely one of the two, caused people to make extremely poor decisions. Tyen¡¯s ¡®warning¡¯ might have been a vague threat wrapped up in a layer of intimidation and posturing. However, Inke¡¯s thoughts screeched to a halt as she heard Chal call out another lot. ¡°And here, the crowning jewel of today¡¯s auction¡­ though, I know someone leaked the info!¡± She winked to a bout of laughter from the crowd. ¡°That¡¯s why there¡¯s so many of you with eyes on today¡¯s auction, after all! We¡¯ve got a set of Gold III healing potions here! Three of them, top quality, almost instant-acting, fresh in from the latest shipment. This is the only lot we¡¯re likely to have for maybe a month, so if you want them, now¡¯s the time to get them!¡± Holding up a wooden box, Chal slowly turned, tilting at an angle so that each member of the crowd could see the potions within. They were a brilliant ruby-red, nestled in a rich velvet lining. Her grin sharpened. ¡°Bidding starts at one fourth-tier Crystal, minimum increase of twenty third-tier.¡± That was spare change to Inke, whose appropriately leveled dungeons of choice dropped fifth-tier Crystal from an average monster. However, for the rest of the bidders, a murmur spread across the crowd, slight discontent threaded through it at the price. Inke was about to call out a bid, but someone else was faster. On her left, a figure of medium height stood, holding his paddle high in the air. ¡°Two fourth-tier Crystals.¡± She squinted at him. The man was far from her, but Inke could barely make out some of his facial features. He appeared quite determined, lips upturned with an assumption of victory with his bid. In an area as poor as Aerthe City, were Inke not there, it likely would have been enough. Unfortunately for the man, Inke was there, and she needed those potions. Well, she didn¡¯t, but that was beside the point. Inke may have had fourteen left in her spatial bags, but she preferred to have at least twenty-five at any given moment. Less than that made her feel anxious. ¡°Three fourth-tier Crystals.¡± One fourth-tier a potion was about average priced, so Inke would give her opponent a chance to back out before they got into a bidding war. Any bidding war would be one that Inke would win. She didn¡¯t want to spend ten times as much as she had to, though. A Crystal saved was a Crystal earned, and all that. If Inke thought about that logic, there was something wrong with it, but she didn¡¯t care to overthink the paradigm. The other bidder¡¯s jaw tightened. ¡°Three fourth-tier Crystals and twenty third-tier,¡± he growled. Crossing his arms across his chest, he scowled deeply. ¡°Three fourth-tier Crystals and forty third-tier.¡± ¡°Three fourth-tier Crystals and sixty third-tier.¡± One of Inke¡¯s eyebrows rose. That was how he wanted to play the game, then. Inke mentally shrugged. She didn¡¯t care to spend overly much time on a slow, incrementally increasing bid when Inke could simply raise the price and win the lot. ¡°Six fourth-tier Crystals.¡± Next to her, Harin¡¯s mouth had fallen open in shock. The sounds of gasps could be heard across the crowd. On the stage, Chal¡¯s composure remained professional, and she didn¡¯t bat an eye at the sudden jump in price, more than twice the typical for the item being sold. In fact, considering that auctioneers took home a more-than-decent commission from items they managed to sell, she was probably overjoyed, though Chal didn¡¯t show any it if she was. The man gaped. Eyes widened in shock, he choked out, ¡°Six fourth-tier and¡­¡± Shaking his head, he trailed off. ¡°¡­I can¡¯t.¡± Stunned gaze filling his face, he sat abruptly. Chal¡¯s blindingly bright grin returned in full force, though she was probably disappointed that no full-on bidding war had occurred, driving the price up even higher. ¡°Any other offers?¡± She paused, waiting to see if the audience reacted. ¡°No? No other offers? Alright, going once, going twice, and sold! Same purchaser of the Pebble¡¯s Perseverance Ring, you know the drill, hand over the Crystal at the end of this and get the potions in exchange. ¡°Luckily for you, we are at the end of today¡¯s live auction! Please disperse calmly, no pushing, no shoving, I can promise you that no one will appreciate that, and remain aware that the Auctioneer Guild has several sentries on standby in the event of a scuffle. I¡¯d hate for anyone to get into trouble, really, I would.¡± Harin tapped Inke on the shoulder, aborting her motion to try and leave ahead of the crowd. ¡°L-let¡¯s wait for people to exit.¡± Inke nodded. That made sense. He ducked his head. ¡°But, um, do you know what the other bidder w-wanted those potions for?¡± She shrugged. It probably wasn¡¯t important.
¡°Please, I need those potions.¡± The other bidder was standing in front of Inke, having accosted her once she exited the auction house. ¡°I¡¯m begging you; I¡¯ll pay you three fourth-tier Crystals for a single potion.¡± His eyes were shining. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the other two, please, I only need one of them.¡± Inke tilted her head in confusion, brow wrinkling. For him to be willing to pay such an exorbitant price for a singular potion, the man must truly have been desperate. Voice thick, he choked out, ¡°My four-year-old daughter is dying of a terrible illness. None of the local healers are strong enough to cure her, but those Gold healing potions are my only hope to save her.¡± To Inke¡¯s mounting surprise, he dropped down on one knee and stared up at her imploringly. ¡°If you allow me to buy one of those potions from you, I, Keolisedeu of House Iloph, shall be in your eternal debt.¡± When Inke didn¡¯t respond, Harin cleared his throat, standing next to her. ¡°Hey, Inke, shouldn¡¯t we at least try to help, uh, Keolisedeu out?¡± At his sides, Harin¡¯s hands fidgeted nervously. ¡°I m-mean, if it¡¯s the money you¡¯re worried about, he¡¯s even willing to pay you, so, um, yeah?¡± It was a good argument from Harin, but he¡¯d failed to take into account the fact that Inke simply didn¡¯t care. The money didn¡¯t matter to her, not with how rich she was, and his apparent plight failed to stir her heart. Inke, after all, didn¡¯t have any reason to be emotionally impacted by the death of a person that she had never met. With that in mind, Inke would far more content with a few more potions in her spatial bag, as compared to less peace of mind if she gave or sold one to Keolisedeu and nothing to show for it. Inke shrugged. ¡°No. I¡¯m planning to hold onto these.¡± She waved Harin forward with one hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Harin.¡± Harin worried at his lower lip, glancing to the side. ¡°I g-g-guess¡­¡± After all, it wasn¡¯t as if Inke would ever run into Keolisedeu again. And even if she did, he couldn¡¯t possibly hope to challenge her. She didn¡¯t miss, however, the furious glare that the man shot at Inke¡¯s back as they departed.
Inke needed to track down Tyen. To that end, asking Harin was the most efficient and direct method of achieving that. ¡°Harin,¡± she said, ¡°where were you planning to talk to Tyen?¡± ¡°Oh!¡± he exclaimed. A flush crept up his neck. ¡°Uh, my house? It¡¯s, well, not exactly the most secret place in the history of secret places, but it¡¯s pretty private, and that¡¯s where we usually meet.¡± Seemingly assuming that more explanation was required, Harin continued, ¡°We used to chat at Tyen¡¯s house, but his parents wouldn¡¯t really approve, so we moved places since no one else lives with me and I have a huge house.¡± She tipped her head. ¡°Lead the way, then.¡± Harin took them down a winding pathway that led a decent way out of the city proper and into the farmland on the outskirts. He began some rambling explanation about the lack of workers for the land and how he¡¯d let it all go in the intervening years, but Inke was more interested in the paved pathway. Its existence implied that the distance between Harin¡¯s home and Aerthe City was typical, rather than a result of the dungeon¡¯s location, but that seemed odd to Inke. Not that any of it was her business, so Inke didn¡¯t ask. Instead, she simply stayed quiet and let Harin chatter. The path took several more winding turns that seemed almost designed to throw someone off the trail before leveling out into a perfectly straight line that ended in a tall, grand house that Inke wouldn¡¯t hesitate to describe as a manor. Harin tipped his head at the manor. ¡°Welcome to my home, I guess.¡± He stepped forward, inserting a key from his pocket into the lock. When an audible click sound was heard, he twisted the doorknob and opened it to Tyen¡¯s glower. He jumped back, flinching. ¡°A-ah! T-tyen! I, uh, I w-wasn¡¯t expecting you so early!¡± Tyen, however, ignored Harin, sticking his head out of the door and craning it around. Satisfied by whatever he found, he pulled Harin inside the manor. It was by a narrow margin that the teenager avoided catching Inke as he slammed the door shut. And that was only because Inke utilized her short height to her advantage, ducking under Tyen¡¯s arm and into the manor. He glared at Inke, brown eyes narrowed and suspicious. ¡°Harin,¡± Tyen remarked, ¡°are you entirely certain that you would like to allow this adventurer into your home? I,¡± he cracked his knuckles, ¡°would be happy to remove her.¡± Internally, Inke was in hysterics at the thought, but externally, her composure was placid. Harin, however, had no such compunctions. He chuckled weakly. ¡°Ah, good luck? It¡¯s fine, though, really!¡± He added the last word at Tyen¡¯s look of doubt. ¡°Inke saved my life from the dungeon boss, so, um, we can trust her.¡± At that claim, Tyen¡¯s brows shot up. ¡°Very well,¡± he said, ¡°I trust you.¡± A nasty glare at Inke made it clear precisely which of the two he meant. Inke sighed. ¡°Great, that¡¯s sorted out.¡± She walked further into the manor and turned so that she could face both simultaneously. ¡°So, who¡¯s trying to kill Harin?¡± ¡°How would-¡± ¡°N-no one!¡± As they spoke over each other, Tyen slapped a palm over Harin¡¯s mouth. Inke was decently sure that Harin was grimacing under the hand, but it was hard to tell. ¡°How would you possibly be aware of that?¡± Tyen asked. ¡°Not that hard to figure out when Harin talks about assassinations and then almost dies to a boss far above his level.¡± The corners of her lips quirked up. ¡°Unless you¡¯re suggesting that I¡¯m part of the assassination plot?¡± ¡°And if I am?¡± She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t particularly care for what anyone else thinks of me. I¡¯m not; it¡¯s that simple.¡± Harin made himself known by commenting, ¡°C-can we please try to get along? Tyen, Inke is my party member, and I trust her.¡± With a firm nod, he turned to Inke. ¡°Inke, Tyen¡¯s family might hate me, but he¡¯s better than the rest of them.¡± Tyen deflated. ¡°I would take offense at that, Harin, but for the unfortunate truth of that fact.¡± Inke clapped. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve sorted introductions. So, back to the assassination plot?¡±
The three of them sat around a small, circular wooden table. Inke, more accurately, stood due to the fact that there were only two chairs in the entire huge mansion. Both of them were occupied. Background was out of the way. While Inke hadn¡¯t expounded much on her own, leaving Harin and Tyen to their assumptions, they had explained their shared past. As a child, Tyen had been a sterling, archetypical example of an entitled, snobbish noble brat, constantly teasing and belittling the older Harin for his orphan status. However, as they had grown up, Tyen had come to realize that Harin ended up in more deadly situations than any child had the right to from time spent around the older boy. Some childish investigations had led to the unfortunate knowledge of Tyen¡¯s parents¡¯ attempts on Harin¡¯s life. An average child might have assumed their parents¡¯ infallibility. Tyen, however, despite his general demeanor, was possessed of an extremely strong moral code and horrified at the assassination attempts. He¡¯d helped Harin to avoid them for the next decade and a half or thereabouts. Then, the discovery of the dungeon and all that entailed. Inke frowned. ¡°While that¡¯s a wonderfully riveting tale, I don¡¯t see why we can¡¯t simply break into Tyen¡¯s house and kill his parents.¡± Tyen spat out the tea he¡¯d been sipping on and began choking. Patting his friend on the back, Harin mumbled something quietly. Louder, he reiterated, ¡°I-Inke, murder isn¡¯t a good option.¡± She didn¡¯t quite understand that. It would give Tyen his parents¡¯ seats on the Council, giving him more influence and ability to help Harin. The main forces behind the assassination plot would be eliminated, which would be of tremendous benefit to Harin, the target. And while neither of the younger duo was aware, it would give Inke the perfect opportunity to gain some more Soul Shards. Inevitably, the three of them would cover up such a murder or risk being found out. Even better, nobles tended to be high level, which meant even more Soul Shards than killing someone random. But no one else agreed with Inke, so she let the matter drop. Tyen seemed perfectly happy to take up the matter, but Harin interrupted and steered the teenager away from the fractious topic. ¡°Wait, Tyen, earlier, what did you mean by that they¡¯re getting more serious?¡± Face rearranging itself into a solemn visage, Tyen leaned forward, arms splayed on the table for support. ¡°It¡¯s not good.¡±
Inke yawned and rolled out of her bed. Literally. She hit the floor with a thump and opened her eyes to see someone standing above her. With a yelp, she attempted to scramble backward, only succeeding in bruising her back against the wooden frame of the bed. Inke growled, rubbing at her back. Typically, such an awakening would have been cause for worry, but Ignari hadn¡¯t alerted her, so Inke figured it wasn¡¯t anything dangerous. And indeed it wasn¡¯t. ¡°Heya, Inke!¡± Sathe said in their accented voice. Groaning, Inke pushed her way up onto the bed in a sitting position. ¡°Sathe,¡± she said. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± They grinned. ¡°Helping ya out, of course! Guildmaster Shatter sent me on down, guess he figured I could be of aid ta ya¡¯. ¡®Sides, I heard ¡®bout whatcha¡¯ been doin¡¯ over here, and I thought it was probably for the best, anyhow.¡± She blinked. ¡°Heard about what I¡¯ve been doing?¡± ¡°Well, ya weren¡¯t tryin¡¯ ta be discreet, were ya?¡± With a laugh, they continued, ¡°Threatenin¡¯ some poor clerk, dropping money like it¡¯s water¡­ news spreads fast ¡®round these parts! Back in tha Empire proper, everyone¡¯s waiting on information ''bout this new dungeon like it¡¯s hotcakes!¡± Inke coughed, feeling her face burn slightly. She was never telling anyone about her original goal of stealth.