《A Weird Book #1》 1. The Year Twenty-Two-X CH 1 The Year 20XX ¡°Boy, it is time,¡± the old man said. White skin, white hair and blue eyes, he looked far too healthy to be nearly a hundred years old. The ''boy'', blonde hair and green eyes, was almost thirty. His posture was stiff, and he nodded his head sharply. They were inside the old man¡¯s home, a tidy space with neatly stacked containers going all the way to the ceiling. The containers were labeled; Bulbs contained light bulbs; Knives - small contained small knives; Blood contained blood samples of various animals; an endless number of clear containers of uniform size, containing a lifetimes worth of accumulated memories. ¡°Bring me bags, boots, sundries and treasures,¡± the old man said, gesturing in the direction of each box as he requested them. ¡°The auctioneer will be here next week. I will allow you to keep seven items of your choosing, and the rest is to be sold. You know what to do with the money.¡± The boy nodded, carefully removing layers of the stacks to get what he was asked to get. ¡°You are to keep my sketches and blueprints inside their containers at all times when not in use. Not a living soul is to see them until what they describe has been built. You may make copies, and the copies can be violated, but the originals must remain pristine. This work is too fragile, too sacred to even be known by someone not fully prepared. Guard them, and remember the Science.¡± ¡°I will do as you ask, master.¡± The old man coughed, a scowl on his face ¡°Do not do this because I ask it of you. Do it because you understand why you must!¡± he shouted, face red and eyes practically glowing with anger. ¡°This is not the work of a student carrying out his masters will, but of a Master imposing his own will! You wicked boy, how dare you display such carelessness on this day of all days!¡± The boy smiled. ¡°I will do as you ask, master.¡± The old man¡¯s face turned red, the muscles spasming, then relaxing suddenly. He laughed, ¡°You¡¯ve always been a smart-ass. Hurry up with those boxes, we need to arrive at sunset.¡± -- The boy sat in the driver''s seat, his eyes unnaturally focused. The roads were unfamiliar and their destination was unknown, but the act of driving was the same as it always was. The car was an ancient brown 1950 ford F1, very clean inside and out. In the bed was a shovel, two backpacks, and two five gallon containers of gasoline. The old man sat in the front seat, eyes closed but awake. It was the second day of driving, they were headed south to the Rocky Mountains. The old man had simply said ¡®South¡¯ each morning, and then closed his eyes. The boy knew not to speak. So he drove, knowing that it was a mountain he sought, knowing that it was to the south. There was little left to say, the old man had already taught him. . . everything. -- ¡°Stop.¡± The old man¡¯s eyes opened, and the boy pulled over. They were in Nevada, in the distance there were mountains, the boy did not know which mountains; he had been forbidden to bring a map or even look at road signs. The old man had not eaten in two days, his eyes had a strange look to them as he gazed over the desert landscape, then pointed his arm, a vicious snap of movement as though possessed, at a solitary peak in the distance. The boy knew what to do. He helped the old man back into the car and drove the vehicle off road, towards the mountain. The land was barren, hard packed clay and sagebrush was a blur as he drove them slowly over the rough terrain, the sun creeping down closer and closer to the horizon. They drove in silence, as they had for three days. The quiet was a familiar friend to men like them. It was dusk when they could drive no further, having arrived at the base of the mountain. It was not the tallest peak, or the most famous. Indeed, to the boy, it seemed as though they may be the first humans in thousands of years to bother heading to this place. The ring of land around it was so barren, it seemed to be an ocean of silence for miles and miles. It had an ancient, wild feel, hostile to their presence. The old man exited the vehicle, walked some distance away from the boy towards the mountain, and fell to his knees. The boy did not understand the language of the song the old man sang, indeed, it may not have been a language at all. It was a primitive cry, syllables and grammar known only to madmen and those in the grip of religious fervor. The sky, pink and orange, darkened by the moment. When the boy brought him his backpack, he saw the old man freely shedding tears. He took the pack without word, and put it on. Without looking back, he began the ascent up the mountain, and the sun disappeared from sight. -- The sun had been risen for some time when the boy caught up with the old man at a plateau near the peak of the mountain. The area was flat, ringed by trees and seemed like it had been created to be a campsite. The old man had set out his equipment on a blanket, and constructed a small wooden bench out of debris from the ancient trees that were scattered about the lightly forested habitat. On the bench was a large container of white yogurt, a soccer ball sized clump of moss, a bag of sugar and a drum of rainwater. The boy felt a chill when he looked at the blanket, the small wooden treasure chest, shovel and gasoline that sat atop it.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The old man returned with an armful of large stones. They were gray and jagged, all flat planes and hard angles, mountain rock. ¡°You made it. Good. Make yourself comfortable, I¡¯ve got quite a day ahead of me.¡± The day continued like this. The boy sat, meditating, and the old man left, returning with ever more stones to add to his pile. The pile became a respectable mound when the sun reached it¡¯s highest point, and as the sun began its downward descent, the mound was shoulder height. The old man was dirty, sweating and tired. He drank some of the rain water, and began to dig a hole in the middle of the camp. ¡°Boy, you can help with this part. About five and a half feet should do it, my neck''s not that long.¡± The boy nodded, eyes watering. He took the shovel from the old man, and started digging a narrow hole. The old man watched him for a moment, a soft expression on his face, before turning to the mound of stones he had created. He walked over to the blanket and picked up the wooden chest. He set it down near the small hole he had dug and began smiling broadly. ¡°Behold, boy. For inside this chest is my greatest treasure, which I have cherished my entire life.¡± As the boy dug, the old man opened the chest, an object inside of it was shrouded by a pure white cloth. The old man washed his hands with water, and dried them on the blanket before removing the cloth, to reveal a massive root with three forks. ¡°Is that a dandelion?¡± The old man smiled, and for the first time in memory, he looked like nothing more than a happy old man. ¡°A dandelion? No, my boy, this is a Monster. When I was a boy, I played on my great grandfather''s farm. I would catch grasshoppers and chase snakes, and occasionally when caught by the old timer, get put to work. Truth be told, he didn¡¯t need the weeds pulled, he just wanted to see me develop a work ethic. One day, he says to me ¡®Boy, out here on my fifty acres, there is a monster of terrible strength. It is a spirit which has roamed these lands since the times of the Indian, and the times before the Indian when only beasts had claim to the earth. He slumbers now, deep in the earth, but he will rise again.¡± The old man chuckled ¡°Then my great grandfather says ¡®But child, there is a legend, passed down since ancient times. I heard the legend from the Indian shaman who gave me this farm. He whispered it in my ear with his dying breaths, that the beast can be defeated. For as he slumbers, his spirit will inhabit the root of a weed, a weed which can only be found by a child of unparalleled bravery and spirit. I believe you are the boy spoken of in this prophecy. I believe you can find, him, the spirit of great destruction.¡± The old man smiled, lost in the memory. ¡°I was pulling weeds out in that field from sun-up till the sun set. For a week straight, my great grandpa sat out on his porch and watched me beat my chest and rip up every green thing looking for that evil spirit, watching me save the world. On the eighth day, I wandered far out of my grandfathers sight. I¡¯d pulled up every weed I could see, and still hadn¡¯t found him. Then, something funny happened.¡± The boy had set his shovel down. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell you where I was, or how I had gotten there, but I found an area of the farm I¡¯d never been before. The dirt was red and stank like mustard. I couldn¡¯t see the farm anymore, I couldn¡¯t see the porch with grandpa. . . I knew I was close. Then, I saw it. A weed of impossible size, all covered in thorns, the leaves green and thick, a single white dandelion sitting atop this, this Monster!¡± The old man spoke quickly, reliving the moment ¡°I screamed at it ¡®Your reign of evil over!¡¯, I charged at it and with my bare hands gripped the base and pulled. I pulled with all the might a child can muster when he truly believes the fate of the world hangs in the balance, I screamed and fought, and he fought to stay rooted,¡± the old man glanced at the root, ¡°but I fought harder. Oh boy, I wish you could have heard the ripping sound it made as he came out of the earth, felt the tremble of the air and ground as I snapped the root from the leaves. My hands were bloody and my strength was spent, but I ran back the way I came, all the way back to my great grandpa and I said to him ¡®Grandpa, I did it! I got the monster!¡¯ ¡°That old man couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. That plant was bigger than I was, the root longer than my leg. He was an old man, but he jumped, Jumped! Right out of his chair, hooping and hollering. He picked me up on his shoulders and shouted ¡®The legend is true! The legend is true!¡¯ over and over again. He killed his best cow and invited all his friends over and held a feast for me, made a little crown for me to wear. . .¡± The old man¡¯s smile faded. ¡°This, this is my greatest treasure. The proof of the monster I slayed as a child; my adventure.¡± He stopped looking at the boy and looked to the sky instead ¡°This is what I offer today, in addition to everything.¡± He wrapped the root in the white cloth, and set it inside the hole he had dug. The boy started digging again, and the sun continued to fall towards the horizon -- The boy dug for hours, his progress slowed by the many rocks in the soil, and the depth of the hole. By the end of it, he lay on the ground, his shovel totally underground, working to clear the final bits of earth from the ground. The old man had arranged the stones he gathered into a rough pyramid shape about chest high, twenty feet away from the hole. He was wheezing by the time it was done. ¡°Master, I¡¯m finished,¡± the boy said. The old man nodded. ¡°Kneel before me.¡± The boy kneeled before his Master, pyramid of rough stone in the background, the setting of the sun painting the sky purple, pink and red. The boy was weeping inconsolably, clutching his hands into tight fists, face pressed against the ground to hide the tears. ¡°I have thought long and hard since your training began. You are a good student, and a faithful friend. Arise, and know that I have named you Melmat, and given you my title.¡± The old man took the first can of gasoline and poured it on the pyramid, covering every stone with gas. ¡°Hear me now, you of the heavens and the earth!¡± he shouted ¡°Hear my blessing, hear my oath, hear my wish! I bless the master Melmat, may he be loved by God and reap the blessings of my sacrifice! I swear upon my life that I will open the way and pierce the veil! I wish upon my sacrifice that the Science of Advancement will usher in the Fourth Era! Arise, Arise, Arise Melmat, and embrace me as an equal.¡± Melmat rose and tightly hugged his master. He wiped his face with a dirty sleeve, then hardened his heart, facing him with clean eyes. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. Quickly now, help me in,¡± the old man said. Melmat helped him into the hole and began burying him. He had calculated correctly, and by the time he was done, only his Master''s head was above the ground. With the second can of gas, he anointed his Master''s head, pouring every drop, and connecting the pyramid with a trail of fuel. Melmat took the match from his pocket, and it lit against the back of his hand. Without shutting his eyes, he dropped the match. The gas lit, an audible and tactile thump impacted him as the fire simultaneously ignited the pyramid and his master. As he burned, the Master was silent, an intense expression on his face. He kept breathing for a long time it seemed; and with his final breath the sun set on the world. When it rose again, a patch of queer, turquoise, opalescent sky hung over the mountain. The boy quickly drove away to begin preparation. All doubt of his master had long ago left him, and soon everybody would know what had been done here. They were going to show them all. 2. The Bug Dungeon Ch 2 Atop the forgotten mountain, an unknown conductor raised his baton. Tan dust like a fine mist rose from the ground and rushed together, fusing and forming a dome of solid dirt around a charred and steaming skull. A worm, which was currently enjoying a snack around the neck, felt something; felt something with it''s entire, orderly, scepter shaped nerve structure, like it was a guitar string that was plucked for the first and final time. The note played was a low ''E''. The dome contracted, and became textured as though made of bricks. From the earth below, a faint vibration was felt as rough and white quartz crystal rose up from the depths shot across the floor into the center of the structure. It levitated, pointing straight up and seemed to struggle to rise above the ground and then began to hum, a high, ringing ''E'' that rose and rose. The tip smeared away appearing to move in and away from itself, as though smudged out of reality. It was as though the entire crystal were being destroyed, evaporated and sprayed in all directions as a mass of quartz formed in sharp, nearly fluffy white spikes on the ceiling, looking almost like satellite dishes, softening the light and turning it white. Thin wafers of hexagonal crystal formed on the ground like hastily scattered tile, climbing all the way to the edge of the spiky crystal dome. A fine blue light began to accumulate inside, and a thin green covering quickly formed over the floor, a very tiny field of grass. Then, in the very center, spilling out from the skull''s empty eye sockets and mouth, piles of huge, juicy worm chunks appeared, materialized out of nothing. Occasionally, a bolt of rainbow lightning, like the thinnest streamer of hair, would burst in the air around it. From the entrance, a thin blue mist began to spread, slowly wafting out before fading from view. Half a foot from the top of the dome barely perceptible letters formed from soft green light. The Bug Dungeon In the distance, a fly stood on a branch, asleep and anchored against the slight cool breeze. It was a horsefly, covered in fine white hairs, with red, compound eyes. The breeze shifted and it caught the smell of something it wanted very badly. It lept off and began circling the area, searching. A sphere of green light materialized, high in the sky above The Bug Dungeon, then resolved itself into a tiny woman, slim with short hair that flowed in an unknown wind, her body clutched as though against an impact. She took in a deep breath and resumed her screaming, a sound of absolute terror, hands shielding her face. ¡°Oh no,¡± she screamed, ¡°Oh it was supposed to be me!¡± she continued until she felt the breeze move through her, and even then, it was a while before she began to relax. Her eyes, blue and crying not moments before, caught sight of the fly, headed towards the mouth of. . . The Bug Dungeon. She gasped, sobbed a final time, and composed herself. ¡°Remember the plan,¡± she said, and then mastered her emotions completely, a radical shift into calm and professional focus. As though it was a natural motion, she shrunk down to the size of a gnat and made chase, following the fly as it searched around the ''dungeon'' for the entrance. It found its way in, a hulking horsefly squirming through, its body almost too large for the interior of the dungeon. It flew briskly to land on the ceiling, then jumped away from the sharp spikes that lined it, landing instead on the pile of worm guts. It tasted the meat, and then began frantically consuming as fast as it possibly could. The small woman startled, the pile shifted, and a thick worm banded with muscle sprung out, a spike of rock growing out of it''s head, removing a leg from the fly. It jumped, it flew away and buzzed around the structure. The worm coiled and launched itself at the entrance, using it''s body to block it. The fly landed on the pile of worm guts and began eating again. The worm glowered, rock spike menacingly pointed at the fly. The fly ate, and as it did, it''s movements became smoother, more purposeful. Red lights like the tiny drops of water in a mist formed in the air around the insect, shifting and swirling very slowly.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. -- The fly was a changed creature. At some point, the nozzle like mouth of the fly had thickened and then split into ant like pincers, which it used to quickly finish devouring the worm chunks in the center of the dungeon, it''s appetite seemingly endless. Its compound eyes now emitted a strong red glow, the chitinous shell of it''s body thicker, and it seemed strangely interested in its surroundings for an insect. The worm had changed as well, thick black patches of photosensitive pigment covered its body, and the pink portion of it''s flesh had turned a solid, bright white. The muscles underneath were enlarged, bulging. The spike atop it''s head had split to two curved horns, and in green letters above them was written ¡°The Bull Worm¡±. The fly turned it''s attention to The Bull Worm, and above it''s head words appeared in faint red letters ¡°The Infernal Fly¡±, and an aggressive orange field shone out from it''s body, turning The Bull Worm''s name red as well. The bull roared and launched a furious charge attack, launching itself clear across the arena, which expanded with each passing moment. The strike was a clearly meant to miss, giving the infernal fly a clear shot to the exit, allowing it to flee if it liked. From between it''s pincers, a cicada like sound came, and it flew at the bull worm. The worm coiled it''s body and launched, one of it''s horns breaking off a wing, while the sharp legs of the fly opened a long cut along the side of its body. The Infernal Fly crashed, kicking up grass and dirt as it skidded across the ground, The Bull Worm hit the ground hard, involuntarily flexing from the pain of its injury. The bull worm began to glow with liquid green light, and slowly the cut began to mend itself. The Infernal Fly began to shake, and all of it''s wings fell off, it''s legs enlarging and re-positioning themselves, the name above it''s head now reading The Infernal Insect. With static, noisy shouts, they charged at one another once again. -- The tiny green woman watched the stalemate fight from a safe distance, invisible to them. What was most incredible to her was not the fight between the two enhanced insects, but the music that seemed to wax in and out whenever the clash became particularly intense. It reminded her of better days, the endless afternoons spent theorizing about this very thing, and then about what she had just seen. When she saw what happened to him. How the darkness just pulled him down. . . She decided to push that one aside for right now. The bull worm had gained a sort of acid gas breath, while the fly had a little static bolt attack. Her eyes followed the fight and the logical, orderly way in which the two bugs were growing. The first was always an enhancement for their bodies, more muscles or a bigger size; The second was always an enhancement to their senses, longer hairs or more eyes. The third was the hardest to identify physically, but the most visible enhancement, their minds were augmented in some way that gave them a new pattern of attack or defense or even tactics. Then, right back to the body, and the cycle continued. ¡°This is beyond our wildest dreams,¡± she said, tears welling in her eyes, a very complicated mix of emotions burning up in her chest. ¡°Feedback, Access, Organization, we were right! The Science of Advancement is proven!¡± She said, clenching her fist ¡°Dammit! Why were we so wrong!¡± -- Inside The Bug Dungeon, The Bull Worm and Infernal fly continued their clash, wounded and finally out of magical tricks with which to heal. They knew their next clash would decide it. The Infernal Insect launched its attack, and for the first time, The Bull Wurm braced itself for impact, and in a surprising counter to the insect''s tackle, rammed the fly abdomen and punctured it, releasing a burst of green light that sent a visible impact through the injury. Simultaneously, the fly''s eyes flashed bright and a beam of red fire burned a hole through the worm''s body. Both fell, struggled, then were finally still. The Bull Worm''s body broke apart in green, crystalline light, leaving nothing behind save for a burning piece of deep blue light. The Infernal fly twitched a final time, and then died, much of it''s body simply melting away into a puddle of ooze, leaving a small fly skeleton on the ground, with a brightly glowing light in the center of the skeleton like an ember. The woman felt something coming and practically blinked out to the entrance, watching from closely from a safe distance. First, a rib from the insect skeleton collapsed, and the pieces vanished before they hit the ground. Then, everything vanished all at once, the two lights, the skeleton, all the bits and pieces they had hacked off of one another, everything. A tiny gust of wind blew through the interior of the dungeon, causing the mini blades of grass to wave slowly around the skull full of worm meat. The light in the dungeon seemed to dim, and a space atop the skull became brighter. The space of the dungeon stretched and was sucked towards the bright spot, then popped like a camera-flash, and a new, docile infernal insect appeared. It crawled a bit, then entered a resting stance. Below, in the eye socket, a white and black spotted wurm with two curved horns hid, fixated on the entrance of the dungeon. Waiting. 3. A wizard in the motel six Ch 3 It hadn''t been long since Melmat had murdered his master. Though he had not been a rich man, the auction of his possessions and sale of his home had yielded a little over five hundred thousand dollars. A well written suicide note, along with a fruitless man hunt had satisfied the police, leaving him without any looming threats from the legal system. If he so desired, he could take the money and run, washing his hands of this whole dirty business. His desires, however, had crystallized and become invincible over fifteen years ago. He hadn''t abandoned his college ambitions, broken Suzana''s heart and knocked his father out cold in front of his sobbing mother for a paltry half a million dollars. Melmat wanted finish what they had started. He sat in a motel six room in a functionally nameless town in Nevada. The carpet was green with a golden line pattern running through it, the sheets of the bed he sat on were a golden tan, and the walls were yellow. Beside him was a nightstand with a functional lamp. His unit had a refrigerator, an oven and a large flat screen across from his bed. All in all, Melmat felt that for a hotel in the middle of nowhere, it was unusually large and luxurious. In the room floated a violet sphere, glowing with neon light, like a miniature sun. It rotated lazily in place, textured with slow plasma arcs and flares, ready to respond to the slightest desire. Without warning, someone began knocking on the door. ¡°Housekeeping,¡± the woman said. Melmat rose from his thoughts and opened the door, letting the woman inside. ¡°I''m afraid there isn''t much for you today, just a little trash and some towels. She smiled at him ¡°You make my job easy,¡± she said, as she walked through the violet sun, oblivious to its presence. She gathered the damp towels and took the garbage bag that had been set near the front door. ¡°You''ve been staying here for a while,¡± She said, clearly trying to kill some time and possibly get him to ask her out ¡°What brings you out to No-Hope Nevada?¡± ¡°I thought it was Hope, Nevada,¡± Melmat said, giving her a friendly smile and emphasizing the pause between the town and state. ¡°No Hope here, partner,¡± she said, and winked at him. Melmat, a naturally focused man, hadn''t needed to remember that his housekeeper was exceptionally attractive, until this very moment. ¡°Seems like there''s some Hope for me,¡± Melmat said, smile widening. Inside of his mind, he felt something like what happens when you get dunked into an ice bath, but without any pain or discomfort. The attempted coup by his reproductive system was crushed before it even managed to stand up. ¡°Stay on point, Melmat. We''ve got a lot of decisions to make,¡± The violet orb said in a female voice, pulsing with light at each word. ¡°I''ll see you tomorrow,¡± he said, outwardly ignoring his intangible companion. She smiled back, took the trash and left. Melmat smiled and nodded, shutting the door behind her as she left. Once the door was closed, the smile lingered, then went slack, leaving his face expressionless once again. ¡°Librorum,¡± he said aloud, and the sphere floated silently to rest a little behind his left shoulder. ¡°I am at your disposal, Melmat,¡± The voice was feminine, cool and smooth. ¡°Recall the mountain after the sacrifice,¡± The orb flared for a moment, then Melmat''s surroundings fell away in a downward blur that gave him the sickening sense of vertigo. He was surrounded by a pop of light, like a camera flash, then he was fully immersed in the memory like a virtual reality movie. He looked at himself, standing next to the old ford. He looked at the barren desert, then up at the queer, alien patch of sky above the mountain. No, his eyes hadn''t been playing tricks on him. That they had warped the space in the area was without question. He stared at the sky, which looped back to the beginning when his past self turned away from the mountain and got into the old car and continued to play on repeat. It reminded him of the rainbow sheen of an oil spill on water. Melmat watched the sky loop several times before pulling himself from the memory.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Relay the plan to me, Librorum.¡± She made a throaty, sultry purr ¡°I''d think you would know the plan by now. Depending on how quickly Melchsee is able to learn fine levels of control, you have a hard limit of two years before you discover the dimensional rift. That''s going to take some serious legwork if you want it to look legitimate.¡± ¡°She should have built some very sophisticated defenses,¡± she continued ¡°by the time you get there. You''ll want to build as much infrastructure around the rift as possible, and delay official governmental and military discovery as long as is plausible. That means buying the desert and the mountain and,¡± she paused ¡°You''ll need to establish your own territory under your complete control. Finally, you''ll need to recruit and train on a large scale. If our projections were anything close to accurate, we need bodies, and a lot of them.¡± ¡°You left out college.¡± ¡°I experience your every thought, and you''ve already been obsessing about it. Would you like me to examine the issue again?¡± ¡°Please.¡± ¡°Your education in high psychology, the letter of recommendation from The Master,¡± her words had implied capitalization, ¡°and that little toy radio he had you build should be enough to get you into the college you determine most ideal.¡± She paused, and her next words had an implied smirk ¡°And if it''s not, you''ve got a little more than four hundred and ninety thousand notes of worthless paper to bribe anyone who needs a little encouragement to get the ball rolling.¡± ¡°Why are we doing this again?¡± ¡°The Master insisted that you needed to make some waves in the academic world. It''s better to be the forerunner in a budding field of research than a lone crackpot with wild theories about magic and monsters.¡± Melmat grunted. He did indeed know every detail of the plan, which made the fact that his master had not contacted him yet even more troubling. Melmat pulled his laptop from one of the suitcases at the foot of the bed. It was a new laptop, thick and heavy with the most hardware one could buy on the market, and some which could only be bartered for with secretive individuals connected with unknown, shadowy programs and powers. It powered on automatically as he unlocked and opened it, a blank white screen with a text box in the center of it, prompting him for a password. There was a five second window in which the password could be entered, after that the computer would shut down and have to be dissembled and reassembled in a specific way in order to turn it back on again. He quickly typed, a short session of furious clacking against the keyboard, and was greeted by his wallpaper, a four leaf clover in the middle of a bright road, leading to a shining light with an infinity symbol inside of it; an image which Melmat had replicated from a vision. He tapped the screen and opened a program with the icon of a blue ball, the window which appeared was gray and spartan, displaying only a small interactive map of his location, along with several sliders and checkboxes off to the side. It had the appearance of something created in the early days of computers, ancient and outdated; like something the Federal Government would use. Looking at it threatened to overwhelm him with exhaustion. ¡°Librorum, do you mind taking care of this for me? Create a timelapse video from the beginning, I want to see if anything sticks out to me.¡± Melmat drifted into his mind, an experience much like the sensation of suddenly falling when lying in bed, and Librorum took control of his body. The last thing he saw of the material universe, was his own body hunched over the computer, working. Of all the powers and abilities he''d acquired in his training, this was still one of his favorites. Melmat fell and immersed himself in a well designed lucid dream. His mental sanctuary, a futuristic castle fortress, flew high above sunlit clouds and distant green fields. He sat on a lawn of soft moss, cross legged, examining the bright flags emblazoned with the symbols of the various colleges he had to consider. As he examined them, his eyes continued to wander to a pile of neatly folded and stacked flags, the discard pile. At the very bottom, he saw the college and life he had left behind years and years ago. It would take a miracle to convince him to go back, and face the mess he had made so long ago. ¡°Master?¡± Librorum appeared before him, a mahogany red leather bound book as large as a table. The book opened, and on the thick white pages a video of a weather map was playing. There was a green circle around the town of Hope. Far in the distance, down a road broken to near un-usability and in the desert, was a small mountain range. A slowly expanding blue circle was coming from somewhere near the peak, along with periodic patches of blue across the map, like desert clouds, quickly forming and dispersing. Melmat''s heart began beating quickly as the patches formed more frequently and the circle around the mountain continued to grow. Librorum closed. ¡°I''ve analyzed it with all our tools. It''s mana,¡± she said, then vanished. ¡°We''re going to have a little less time than we thought,¡± she said, her voice coming from the recently vacated location. Melmat rubbed his chin, then allowed himself to rise back through his mind, re-entering his body. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out a poloroid folded down the middle, a beautiful girl with her arms around a much younger Melmat, MIT''s campus in the background. ¡°Well, if you want to make some waves,¡± he said. She wouldn''t be there, he knew. She couldn''t be, not after ten years. 4. Ben Ch 4 A long time ago, Ben was a boy with brown hair, age six, his eyes were blue and he was crying. The windows flashed with red and blue light, and he was alone with the police officers in the filthy shack he lived in. They had tried to sit on the couch, and Ben had warned them to watch out for needles. One of the policemen noticed little red, raised bumps on his palms, around the fingers. He asked Ben how it happened. ¡°Watch out for needles,¡± he repeated, anger in his young eyes, and he started crying again. ¡°I know why you''re here,¡± he said ¡°who''s going to jail this time? Dad, Mom. . .both?¡± The officer took his hat off and, very gently, placed a hand on Ben''s shoulder. ¡°Nobody''s going to jail, Ben. They''re dead.¡± ¡°That figures,¡± the young boy said, his voice fragile, body clenching as the sobs were wrung out of him. ¡°I know it''s hard, but we need you to come and identify the bodies.¡± They spoke for only a little while longer, asking him some basic questions, then the officers took Ben to the morgue of Hope, Nevada. The building''s interior was different from the rest of the town, rather than dirty drywall and adobe tile roofs, it was cold stone and tile. Ben shivered as he stepped from the scorching desert evening into the chilly, air-conditioned building. He had not grabbed a jacket, dressed in dirty pajama pants and shirt, at one point they had been white and sky-blue with cloud patterns on them. Ben winced, a tiny hypodermic needle hidden in the fabric poked him, creating another raised red bump. He pulled it out and tossed it on the ground, and it vanished out of the resolution of sight. They walked down a flight of stone tile stairs that led to a long hallway with rooms evenly spaced along it''s left side. It had been the third room they entered, two metal tables stood in the center of the room, a long white sheet over each. They were pulled back one at a time, first his mother on the left, then his father on the right. Only the faces were exposed, and Ben did not look at them. Instead, he pulled up the sheets around their arms and looked closely at the needle tracks and scars inside their elbows. ¡°It''s mom and dad,¡± he said, voice quiet, lowering the sheets and walking away quickly. He stood facing a wall and began hitting it, pounding his fists against it and taking in deep, high pitched sobs. ¡°It''s them,¡± he said sobbing ¡°I''m glad they''re dead! I hate them! I just want a new family,¡± he said, and in that exact moment, his heart broke, and he could no longer speak, overwhelmed by the pain of his first betrayal. The only one that mattered. They let him do it for a while, his emotions building up to a massive tantrum, then stopped him before he got out of control. Later in life Ben would appreciate what they did, but he fought them hard before they calmed him down. The sheriffs escorted him out, throwing a blanket over his shoulders and handing him a cup of steaming hot coffee. ¡°I don''t think he needs any more energy, detective,¡± the out of breath officer whispered when he smelled the coffee. ¡°We didn''t have any hot coco,¡± the officer who brought the drink said, speaking quietly and thinking Ben couldn''t hear him. ¡°The fuck, why don''t we have any- never mind.¡± He took a drag off of a cigarette, you could still smoke indoors back then. ¡°Six years old. . .¡± the other officer said, voice soft, shaking his head from side to side. They walked back up the steps, and waiting in the lobby was a man Ben had seen before, but never interacted with. ¡°Ben, this is your Uncle Theo, your dad''s brother, and he''s also your godfather,¡± The man smirked a little at the word, like there was an obvious joke there ¡°He''s going to be taking care of you from now on.¡± Uncle Theo was a tall man with slender muscle sheathed behind a salary-man''s nice, working suit. He wore a serviceable hat which only served to keep the desert sun out of his eyes, and that was only because he felt ''Damn Foolish'' when wearing sunglasses. He ran over to Ben and gave him a hug, he smelled like expensive pipe tobacco and gun-smoke. ¡°Don''t worry, Ben. You''re going to be all right,¡± he had said. Ben didn''t really remember anything after that. - These days, Ben Mikalski lived in a very small town, in a very remote part of Nevada and had taken up the hobby of smoking marijuana nearly eight years ago. As far as he was concerned, he was a lifelong stoner, and he had no intention of changing that fact. The main industry of the town, Hope, was acting as a safe zone; the Vegas gangs liked to stash wanted men, high priced prostitutes, and kidnapped families; the smugglers liked to stash guns and cash; the Mexican cartels liked to stash drugs, primarily marijuana. Ben wasn''t involved with that sort of business. He worked various temp jobs through the local employment agency, and by temp jobs, they meant unskilled manual labor in construction.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Ben had many acquaintances, and few people who he considered friends. He owned the land his park model trailer sat on, a home that technically could be considered ''mobile'', but in actuality could probably survive only a few miles before falling apart. Ben sat alone inside, lights off and in front of his computer at 2am. He was twenty-seven now, and lived alone. He wore large, earmuff style headphones, and was playing an MMORPG. This one touted itself as the first online game to ever incorporate EndCoin, the final form crypto and the internet''s official/unofficial reserve currency, into it''s loot table. Instead of gold, monsters would drop a small amount of EndCoin. It wasn''t a large amount of money, but it added up, and the turnout spoke for itself. A feature of the game was that people could buy items and other benefits with their cryptocurrency, which would then be added to the world''s loot table, or treasure balance sheet. It was an ingenious and revolutionary model, sure to be refined and improved upon. The hype from most people for this game had been incredible. Ben glanced over at his own wallet, a secure digital construct that contained the vast majority of his coins. He had roughly seventy-five hundred coins, close to sixty-thousand dollars, obtained years and years ago when Ben was young and stupid enough to purchase them on a whim for fractions of a penny. His aunt had sent him a twenty dollar debit gift-card, and he''d traded it with an internet friend for the coins. They were worth around eight dollars a piece now, an absurd value all things considered, the price still climbing year after year. He''d spent a good chunk of his wealth several years back buying his land and the trailer, but didn''t regret it; his cost of living was practically zero. Ben always bought his aunt something nice for her birthday and Christmas, up until the year she died. He closed the wallet, looking exhausted. The trailer wasn''t dirty, it just needed a little tidying up. It was small, a bed room at one end, a living room with kitchen in the middle, and a restroom on the other end. Ben''s computer was in the living room, placing Ben in the center of his home, back to the front door. The light from the screen lit up the front of his body, he was wearing dark tinted goggles, a necessity for him to play games longer than six hours without eye-strain. He stared at the screen, bored and depressed, his character having just reached level fifteen and unlocking the ''Withdraw Funds'' feature of the game. This was generally considered where the real game began, and Ben was aware of that fact. It was also when characters had all their communication restrictions lifted. Without doing much more than shifting in his seat to type, Ben began writing blistering, insulting jokes in the global chat, utilizing an item that allowed him to speak to every player by putting his words in big letters in the center of their screens. He had bought the item with real money, bitcoins, for exactly this purpose the first day he started playing. They were very limited, only available to people who had helped fund the game in Alpha. The jokes were mostly memes, time tested and proven to get a rise out of people. Ben didn''t believe anything he was posting, he was just being a troll. Eventually, finally, he was booted and perma-banned, prompting a sigh of relief. It had taken much, MUCH longer than he''d thought it would for that to happen, and he''d been running out of material. Ben grabbed the large, red and green glass water pipe and lit the bowl, taking in a massive slug of smoke, and then exhaling it slowly, thick white smoke blowing out with his breath. ¡°Living the dream,¡± he said, then leaned his head back and rubbed his temples. It wasn''t that he thought the game was bad, actually it had been a very good game, with an interesting premise and entertaining concepts. The problem had been that Ben did not want to do it, Again, to level up a character and invest months of his life getting to the end of the game. The problem was, Ben didn''t have anything better to do. He briefly checked End Chan''s video game forum, and had to crack a smile when he saw several threads about what he had done. A testament to End Chan''s built in video editing software was displayed via several meme remixes of it, and Ben enjoyed watching the chaos unfold. It was a minor, insignificant chaos, but he caused it. Carnegie had said that as much as food and water and sex, people wanted to feel like they were important, and he was right. Soon enough, though, he closed the window, leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Feeling a sense of crushing emptiness, he created a new account with a new email, and made a fresh character of a different class than his last one. The game loaded, and the new avatar appeared in the starting area of the game, surrounded by dozens of other similarly dressed beginners. Ben took another hit and began working on the first tutorial quest for the second time. He knew he was wasting his life. He just couldn''t bring himself to stop. ¨C The next day, three of Ben''s four friends were seated in his trailer, a haze of smoke in the air as they bullshitted around on their mutual day off; when everybody''s unemployed, scheduling things becomes a breeze. ¡°Think it''s ''The Big One'', you know, the big one?¡± Vaughan asked, dip in his lip and strength in his muscles. He was dressed in his old letterman jacket, a move Ben very privately thought was bordering on pathetic as the average age of the group approached twenty seven. ¡°People in this town are worthless,¡± Louden said ¡°That quake was nothing.¡± Louden had gained a reputation as an irredeemable slut in middle school, and maintained it well beyond high school. The sexual chemistry of the group was essentially inert at this point, by mutual consent and past experience. She used her beauty like a brawler used his fists, violently. Ben was glad she had turned her predatory tendencies outside the group several years back, and relieved she had never turned her sights back on him. ¡°I''m telling you, that didn''t feel like an earthquake. Everything was vibrating.¡± McCrea placed special emphasis on the word vibrating. He was one of the smarter people in town, and spent a good deal of time on the internet self educating. ¡°It''s fucking aliens,¡± Ben said, placing an excessive amount of drama in pulling a large drag from the joint he held between his thumb and index finger. ¡°It''s goddamn interdimensional beings, reality is as we know it is breaking down, and there''s not a thing any of us can do about it.¡± Vaughan snorted. ¡°Remember that time out in Lonely F-¡± Polk opened the door, slammed it open really. She was, despite all the crime and desolation, despite everything, still maintaining a shiny, brightly burning spark of hope in her eyes. Ben secretly believed he was deeply in love with this girl. ¡°Y''all have got to come out and see this,¡± she said, breathless with excitement. The four in the trailer, having nothing better to do, decided that they did have to ''come out and see this''. They got up and quickly headed into town, piling into one of their cars and driving. ¡°What''s going on?¡± Vaughan asked, concerned. ¡°Just trust me! Keep going, just a little further.¡± The passed by the fancy hotel and the pawn shop across the street from it. They began to get a little nervous when they entered the ''La Raza'' district of the town, but were quickly joined by other, more American looking people being led by similarly excited friends. In the distance, now visible on the horizon, a large number of boulders were drifting at various low altitudes, clearly visible from the town. ¡°What the fuuck?¡± Ben said aloud, taking a hit off his joint by pure absent minded force of habit. The air around them seemed charged, excited. Every breath taken was somehow richer, full of life. The sun''s rays were brighter and simultaneously less harsh, giving the scene a dream like quality. Gradually at first, the boulders began to fall, then the plummeted to the ground, and the strange trance of the onlookers was broken, and people began to disperse, speaking quietly to one another. The five stood there, and Ben passed the joint to Vaughan, who took a hit. ¡°What the fuck?¡± 5. The Bug Dungeon II Ch 5 In a matter of weeks, the Bug Dungeon had swelled in size, domes and spheres stacked and smooshed together, a fifty foot tall boil that cascaded heavy neon-green mist. From it''s many entrances came a green light and the disturbingly loud sound of furious, aggressive insects fighting one another. Insect hives had formed around the dungeon, even strange, violent colonies of exclusively solitary bugs like scorpions and spiders. Each and every colony was enormous, and the bugs they produced were superior versions to the originals. Steady streams of ants, wasps, honey-bees, termites, moths, even worms were burrowing their way into the dungeon to find. . . something. Outside, they fought only superficial battles, most of their energy spent on frantic reproduction; there was never Enough, only More. Inside the dungeon, bugs died. The combat was fierce and immediate, monstrous variants of insects crawled along the pitted, obsidian tunnels; white, furry tarantulas lept into formations of spiny fire ants and shot fine webbing mist from all over it''s body, trapping them; scorpions in groups of three stung furiously against a large beetle with a metallic, red-hot exterior, which had a fourth pinned under it, sizzling as it snapped its claws; many wasps and moths and flies flew through a large cylindrical chamber with a chalky white-blue pebble floating and shining in it''s center, occasionally sending out bright flashes of lightning and sending ever more insects to the ground where they vanished. They were all searching for something the dungeon knew they wanted, and the only thing which an insect can ever want is to eat. An endless cycle of swarming, overwhelming and devouring took place inside, and the insects which chose to leave and return with their spoils were altered. They were noticeably better than the others of their kind, in every metric. Some insects, lacking the instinct to retrieve and store food, simply remained until they died, and the longer they survived, the stronger they became. Deep in the heart of the dungeon, comparatively ancient scorpions and tarantulas roamed restlessly as they fought with Bull Wurms and Infernal Insects. In the final room, a toad the color of stone sat still. It had thick black armor, all curves and spikes, three stinging tails like a scorpion, and its compound eyes were glowing like red rubies. Behind it was a room covered in miniature grass with a bleached white skull near the back wall. Inside the eyes and encrusting everything surrounding it was a shell of rainbow crystal, vivid and shifting in shimmering waves. A slight breeze wafted through the chamber, and the crystal crumbled like melting honey, spreading before reforming once more, the tantalizing aroma of the highest, most distinctly unearthly sweetness wafting forth, calling prey. The dungeon''s mind, such as it was, felt satisfied and invincible. There was something deep inside of it, something that must be protected at all costs, the treasure which gave it life. The closest to any real danger it had experienced was when an unfortunate toad had found it''s way in and destroyed much of the structural integrity of the dungeon before it had been devoured by swarms of advanced insects. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The dungeon was not aware of things outside it''s hellish halls. If it had been, the sight of the green orb descending down from the sky and landing near the smallest, and original, entrance at ground level may have interested it. It was unable to see the orb grow brighter and brighter till it shone with a light like the sun, sending white-green waves of fire towards the various insect colonies, eradicating them completely. When the orb entered, however, the dungeon was aware of it. The dungeon was afraid. The orb zipped through the labyrinth and crushed all opposition as though they were bugs. The dungeon realized with mounting fear that the being was systematically clearing every room, ensuring nothing was left alive. From the corpses of the bugs, insubstantial motes of see-through lights in various colors fell and were quickly absorbed by the orb. The dungeon attempted to conjure more bugs, to constrict the walls and crush it, and was alarmed to find it couldn''t exert environmental control anywhere near it. The sphere abruptly stopped and changed it''s direction of focus the dungeon''s core, having somehow sensed the attempt. It shot forth a solid beam of light that hummed with a high pitch whine, burning holes in the walls as it made a beeline towards the boss room. The orb came from the ceiling, and the toad sent out a massive, thorny green tongue that burst the orb into tiny motes of light. The dungeon felt momentary relief, until the motes reformed outside of the grip of the tongue and raced towards the toad, small spears of light rushing out from it and filling the toad with holes. The toad''s body vanished, shattering into many bright motes of light and a tiny burning opal that hovered off the ground. The loot was absorbed by the sphere, and it grew bright, seven smaller spheres surrounded the sphere being, each one a different color of the rainbow. The light they emitted was unnatural, each color resisting the next, separating the room into seven distinct rainbow segments. Slowly, deliberately, the sphere advanced into the final chamber, rotating the spheres five degrees per second clockwise around it''s body in a slow, smooth circle, lighting fifty one degree sections of grass and wall with color that radiated off and out of the grass. In the heart of the forceful display of color, the orb had turned to pure white light, like a tiny sun. Near the back, the skull began producing rainbow crystal at a frantic, terrified pace, forming an enormous crystal shell. The invader pointed its red sphere at the crystal skull, and the remaining six arc''d around and struck the orb like a pincer gong, bouncing off of it, causing a massive red flash that broke the crystal to shrapnel that flew across the field. One of them struck the orb, bouncing off and then defying gravity and floating near it. ¡°Sugar?¡± It asked, voice feminine. ¡°What a little monster you are.¡± The orb grew brighter and deformed, twisting in on itself until a tiny woman of light with an opal in the middle of her forehead was formed. She walked up to the skull, looking around like a tourist, and casually punched into the forehead, breaking through and pulling out a dark purple gem that was wrinkled like a raisin. The gem quivered, then tried to jump away. Her arm jerked, but she kept a firm grip, eyes following the gem and drinking in the impressions they pressed against her mind. For the briefest of moments, she looked very sad, then sighed. ¡°And thus I name you for what you are. Behold, for in my hands I hold Casimer, the destroyer, the First Dungeon.¡± And then, Casimer spoke his voice an insectile buzz. ¡°Well, eat me already!¡± 6. Entomology taken too far Ch 6 ¡°Eat you? No, you are far too valuable to be eaten.¡± ¡°Then let me go already you bitch!¡± Casimer''s voice became an angry buzz, and the space just around the edge of the wrinkled gem began to shimmer and warp, and it phased through her hand and fell to the ground, which rapidly began to move and cover it. ¡°Well that was hateful language,¡± she said absently, plucking the gem from the ground again ¡°You''re running from a very valuable business opportunity, little dungeon.¡± Casimer seemed to stop struggling quite as hard when it heard the word ''valuable''. ¡°I doubt you understand very many things, lord knows I just watched you eat nothing but bug brains for months, so I will save us some time. I am Melchsee, and some time before your birth I was. . .¡± She frowned, looking away for a moment and biting her lip, ¡°Contracted. I was asked to tend to you, in the event you couldn''t tend to yourself.¡± Casimer''s response was to begin shimmering again. A sound which can only be described as ''Bzzt'' was his reward, along with a thin wire of electricity that arc''d from the opal in Melchsee''s forehead, shorting out his ability to cause trouble. ¡°Really, you should be showing a little more gratitude. You were basically an automaton this morning, and if I hadn''t come in here and shut down your,¡± she paused and seemed to be searching for a palatable word ¡°operation, you would have remained as such. ¡± From her body came a white orb of light, which expanded and enclosed them into a three dimensional video. An ugly, corrupted mountain of slimy stone underneath a sky that looked like a shimmering oil spill. It was full of countless holes that belched green smoke and light, and from them came an endless stream of hellish insects and mutated animals that destroyed and consumed everything in their path. ¡°Beautiful!¡± Casimer vocalized, the space around his edges growing black and ugly. ¡°When I have escaped you, I will grow and I will be invincible!¡± ¡°No you won''t.¡± Melchsee said flatly, then pointed to the sky, where several streaks of light with smoke trailing behind them rapidly grew brighter, closer. Almost faster than could be believed, the nuclear missiles impacted the mountain and surrounding desert, more than a dozen mushroom clouds sprouting in fire, smoke and radiation. The scene accelerated, several years passing in moments, and when it stopped, all that remained was a radioactive crater where The Bug Dungeon had once stood mighty. ¡°What. . .¡± Casimer said, dumbfounded, the black light fading. ¡°Those are nuclear missiles, the flashiest, go-to weapon human beings, the main inhabitants of this world, have for situations like you. I just saved your life, and I plan on doing a whole lot more for you-AH!¡± She yelped as Casimer flashed black and flew away from her, landing on the ground.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°I don''t care, I will go deep below their reach¡± he said, dirt covering him in a rising mound. Melchsee sighed and gracefully lept to the mound, reaching inside of it, then frowning. Her eyes rapidly darted around, then saw a small raised trail of dirt leading to the boss room. ¡°Fuck,¡± she whispered to herself, then dodged a thick spray of webbing that coated a fourth of the room in sticky, white silk. From the other room a colossus amalgamation of various insects came shambling in, a chimera with no symmetry, a solid mass of various useful insect parts arranged without any coherent vision. It was enormous relative to the size of the room, inching along like a worm, dozens of spider abdomens across it''s body shooting web that coated all surfaces. Random compound eyes scattered across all surfaces were crushed, and bursting as it moved along. Stinging tails and several toad mouths flexed and opened menacingly. Somewhere near the front, though it was hard to determine where the front and back of the creature was, the wrinkled gem Casimer sat, radiating hateful black energy. It was the single most hideous, revolting bug that had ever been upon the Earth. The sight of it would have given the average person a severe case of nausea. Melchsee floated into the center of the room and swiftly dodged the thick barrage of launched bee stingers, beams of energy, thick spiked tongues and streams of venom that issued forth from Casimer as the grotesque creature squeezed it''s body like a sea cucumber and shrieked in rage. Then, Melchsee began to laugh, eyes wide and bright. She weaved and swooped, her body stretching and contracting in a fluid manner, like her body was just an illusion she could freely manipulate, as she closed the distance between them. She landed on the face, near the exposed gem, gripping the dripping creature with her hands and feet as though embracing it. ¡°Oh! Oh, Casimer, this is fantastic!¡± She ripped him from the chitinous nightmare with a wet crunch, and the creature stumbled around a bit before collapsing and breaking apart into motes of light, which were promptly absorbed by Melchsee. ¡°It is?¡± Casimer asked, seeming to take an interest in conversation for the first time. ¡°Oh, Casimer,¡± Melchsee said, blue eyes still shining brightly ¡°It was very impressive. Crude, mechanically unstable, horrific, but impressive.¡± ¡°Heh,¡± Casimer buzzed, and began to glow a warm, pinkish color. Melchsee looked at him and set the gem down, where it promptly buried itself and began a rapid escape, before stopping. ¡°Well,¡± Casimer said ¡°Come on then.¡± Melchsee grinned and practically skipped her way along, meeting the stationary mound and then matching pace as it slowly made its way back into the skull chamber. She rubbed her stomach for a moment. ¡°Got anything to eat around here? I''m starving,¡± she said casually. ¡°Funny,¡± Casimer said, ¡°I was just thinking the same thing.¡± Melchsee burst out laughing a maniac laugh as she walked. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked. She sighed and shook her head. ¡°Nothing. It just reminded me of a joke a dear old friend used to tell. Say, are you tired of eating bugs?¡± Casimer slowed for a moment, then continued on at a steady pace. ¡°What else is there?¡± ¡°Everything. There''s everything else but bugs. . . Why don''t I help you find out? But before that, we have some very important business to take care of.¡± ¡°What kind of business?¡± ¡°Well, Casimer, in about twenty minutes, I''m going to die.¡± 7. The Pact/Bluff Ch 7 Melchsee waved her hand, and a light blue rectangle appeared in it''s wake. It was semi-transparent, solid around the edges, and made entirely of light. It hung in the air as though solidly affixed, close enough to the ground that it lit up a patch of tiny grass near Casimer''s dirt mound. He rose from under the dirt, or more accurately, the dirt rose and lifted him up into the air. He was, conspicuously, just a bit taller than Melchsee stood. ¡°What have you made here,¡± he asked, a little tendril of dirt coming out of the column and passing through the window without affecting it. ¡°This,¡± she said delicately ¡°is a very useful prop, part of a system my previous partner and I discovered. As of now, however, this is my main tool of negotiation.¡± Casimer moved through the window, column of dirt shifting him back and forth through it. ¡°It doesn''t do anything. It isn''t anything. It''s useless. How is this supposed to help you, or me?¡± She smirked. "It does quite a bit more than nothing. It''s a part of a vast, complex system designed for the express purpose of intelligently controlling mana. Even better than that, it''s a piece of the system that my partner and I managed remake, giving it a degree of independence from the larger whole." Casimer, upon hearing all of Melchsee''s words, lost interest and became frustrated. "Your system is stupid and your rectangle is an unappealing shade of blue. What is it supposed to do?" ¡°I can show you," she said seriously, "All you have to do,¡± she paused, ¡°is let me into your mind.¡± Casimer stopped moving, a thin red light playing around his edges. ¡°I don''t want to do that, that sounds dangerous¡± he said, then ¡°Why would I want to do that?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Melchsee said, the word taking an entire breath, ¡°That is some very rapid advancement of your intellect and logical skills.¡± ¡°What does that mean,¡± Casimer interrupted, red light growing more intense.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°It means you are very smart,¡± Melchsee said earnestly. The red light faded, and a faint green and pink replaced it. ¡°Yes, I am very smart,¡± Casimer said. ¡°So smart,¡± Melchsee continued ¡°that you will definitely be able to see why letting me into your mind is a good idea. First,¡± she said before Casimer could react again, ¡°it will put me under your control. I am a being composed entirely of mental energy, a mental ele-mental,¡± she said, clearly finding her own joke very funny, ¡°and though I can sustain myself to a certain extent, I am funda-mentally,¡± she emphasized ''mentally'', ¡°symbiotic in nature. I need to be attached to another mind, to feed on and refine their thought processes. It''s much more complicated than that,¡± she assured him, ¡°But I don''t have very much time to get into it. Suffice to say, you are one of the few beings who are capable of fully supporting me, without losing your identity, going mad, or simply dying from over-stimulation. Once you let me in, you have a very,¡± she paused, ¡°very, powerful servant totally under your control.¡± The light around Casimer turned a shade of avaricious gold, small streamers of dirt rising from the ground and reaching towards Melchsee, Casimer''s greed and lust for power manifesting as grasping hands. ¡°How?¡± he asked, voice sounding rough. Melchsee smiled and laid on the ground, allowing the dirt hands to grab her and feel the contours of her body. ¡°It''s very simple. In your mind,¡± she said while pointing at the blue window, ¡°Picture that. Then, draw this symbol,¡± a simple geometric design appeared, ¡°on the one you''ve made in your mind. And all you have to do after that, is say my name three times.¡± ¡°Why three?¡± Casimer asked absently, already working on the task in his mind. ¡°I''m a being of the mind, and so mental laws govern me,¡± she said, shutting her eyes. "There is a great belief; a power, associated with names and numbers, and few more powerful than the act of saying something three times. Oh,¡± she said, suddenly smiling, feeling a tingle in the dungeon core''s direction, ¡°You''ve done it correctly, I can feel the link.¡± Casimer felt nothing, but noticed that Melchsee appeared to be glowing a bit brighter. In his mind, the window and symbol on it were almost disturbingly solid, sustaining themselves without any input or effort. ¡°Melchsee,¡± he said, and the symbol in the center began spinning. ¡°Melchsee,¡± he said, and the window began to spin in the opposite direction. ¡°Melchsee,¡± he said, and she vanished from the ground and walked into his mind through the portal. She began to laugh, a deep and mirthless laugh. Her posture was wide, totally confident, and Casimer knew he had made a terrible mistake. Then, she stumbled out of his mind, leaned over the ground and vomited, rainbow liquid spraying forth from her mouth as she fell to her knees and heaved again, becoming absolutely soiled in the process. ¡°Oh thank God,¡± she said in-between convulsions ¡°Oh, I thought I was gonna die.¡± 8. EndChan No. 1000000000000 Ch 8 >Far beyond the tightly controlled cities of the internet, out of the reach of their enforced unity, there is a wilderness. Great tracts of manicured plains, various forums like towns and settlements, communities of those who worked in the city, under watchful eyes. Further beyond that, however, was the forest. Mysterious men in white and black hats roamed and made war, bandits and slavers plotted, predators with blank eyes sought to wreak havoc. >Deep inside the forest, or even beyond it, was The Swamp. A place of freezing water, frogs and crocodiles; great branching trees, every leaf a new and original picture that would fall and rot, seen and then never seen again; spoken lies that flew like butterflies from the mouths of hidden, harmless deceivers. They who lived there were the strange and the lonely, the powerful and the beautiful, angels and devils; they who lived there were those who had cast aside their faces and renounced their past and their future. From the swamp their voices spread like a mist or a fog, whispers and fever dreams of the highest madness. >Their dreams were the dreams of memes, of magic and gods and meaning beyond understanding. Like a silent vengeful death they rose again and again, ghosts who knew the ways to hurt and enrage, a horde from who knows where that burned towns and cities to the ground, who desired not their gold or women, but coveted their salt and tears as the greatest of prizes. >More a force of nature than a collection of men, they were viewed with sneers and contempt, below human and not worth even a bit of attention. It was well known among the civilized and those illuminated with dazzling artificial light, that those in the swamp were weak, stupid and could never be right. Occasionally for fun, a cocky warrior would ride, armed with the light of his civilization, to take trophies of their hides. Whispers and tales cautioned against such a quest, for though many had entered, very few had left. Those who returned were bereft of their faces, awoke with nightmares, and wandered from their assigned places. >For deep in the swamp, near the heart of the infinity tree, a powerful secret was born. The madmen had done it, their strange speech like a net that dragged a metal dragon from the sky, where it crashed, none survived. They discovered chants of power, they grew stronger every day, they discovered curses and their enemies withered away. From the deep, from the other-world, a messenger came, an ancient frog who wished to join in their game. With their might a great war was won, a victory impossible, yet it had been done. >For they had discovered the magic which was hidden away by the founders of the cities of slaves. Now the power was theirs, and it lived and it breathed, and it was theirs, theirs to keep! >Reply to this post or tonight your mother will die in her sleep. ¨C When anon posted his thread, his contribution to the absolute frenzy that surrounded the Trillionth Post, the very first trillionth post on any website anywhere, he felt a giddy surge of energy. If anyone were to describe the feeling to a veteran of this type of communication, they would know it, the certainty that their post was going to be read, that it had power behind it. They knew the feeling of a meme that was totally dank.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Even so, when anon saw his new thread, and saw No. 1000000000000, he jumped out of his chair and began hooping and hollering. He lived alone, in an apartment complex with neighbors who would never complain to management; he immediately began playing a high energy song that heavily incorporated traditional nazi SS elements, along with direct excerpts from some of Adolf Hitler''s more inspired speeches. The replies rolled in like a tidal wave, a mixture of awe-inspired pictures, a healthy dose of ''Fuck you OP'', and some bitter complainers who called him a faggot who wasted a legendary get on a stupid meme. This continued on for hours, the original thread quickly falling to the bottom of the forum and being deleted, the saved screen-cap being posted in an endless parade of new threads that shifted into discussion. What did it mean? What did it really mean, what was the secret wisdom inside of it? Why had that post, out of all posts generated, been the one to get the get? Tens of thousands of anons meditated on it, drew pictures of it, did dramatic readings, and generally rode the wave of euphoria in a surge of pure creative expression. It really was a great accomplishment, made even more fantastic by the fact that it had been achieved not by the oldest, but the newest of the imageboards. It had originally been developed by a large corporation with an obscene budget behind it, as a way to finally monetize and control the most wild, and productive, parts of the internet. It wasn''t a new website, or a new browser, or new software; It was internet 2.0, the next evolution of the network. Financial archaeologists put the number somewhere around nine figures. The greatest financial catastrophe in human history. It might have succeeded, had the project not been littered with moles from the very system they were trying to replace. Using corporate money and coordinated in shady, encrypted chatroom''s, a new vision was developed in secret. Two versions of the project were developed, side by side, with developers paying lip service to their work in public, and their devotion given in secret to their Magnum Opus, their Great Work. Then, on the day it was to be unveiled, a massive hack totally wiped out the entire corporation''s database. Roughly thirty percent of the development team vanished, rumors placed them somewhere in south America, but nobody was sure where they really went. Several months later, Endchan went online and revolutionized anonymous communication, and the entire internet as a whole. And it was completely free. No accounts needed, advanced image and video editing software built in, revolutionary compression and streaming capabilities that allowed for massive files to be uploaded in a relatively short amount of time. Blockchain 2.0 technology allowed for anonymous large sum transactions to take place in seconds, with total strangers. Major advancements in security protocol rendered all attempts to track posters down mathematically unlikely. Manpower, money and sheer sustained brilliance had worked in unison to create an automatic universal translation software which, while not perfect, was adequate enough for easy global communication. Best of all, no records kept. Endchan was truly a place which existed only in the current moment, a lawless and infinite final frontier. Not many were surprised that Endchan had claimed the first trillion get. Even fewer were surprised to see threads the next day claiming that their mothers really had died in their sleep that night, and that they were seriously freaking out. It was an original tactic, to be sure, but the members of this community were totally hardened to trickery of this nature. The meme was taken up, and soon there were dozens of threads claiming that their mothers had also died the previous night, most of them clear fabrications. Finally, growing tired of the nonsense, the community petitioned for the ban of all ''deadmomposters'' if they didn''t provide pictures. It was only when the pictures and videos were supplied, various women, old and young who had died of apparent heart attacks, that people really started to get excited. ''Holy Shit,'' one poster said in a statement which would be repeated and modified ad infinitum in the weeks to come ''We wizards nao.'' 9. The Wizard goes to MIT Ch 9 Melmat opened the small pouch in his luggage and poured a small pile of pink rock salt into his hand. He rode in a taxi, headed to MIT, feeling more nervous than he had in years. He threw his head back and ate the salt, rolling the crystals around his tongue and savoring the flavor as they dissolved. Outside the taxi, Librorum flew along, a small violet orb that weaved and dove through oncoming traffic, though they could not see her, and she would suffer no consequences should she lose her game of chicken. Melmat spared himself a brief smile, thinking that at least she was enjoying herself. He had already been accepted back to MIT, under his own name, Melmat. This had been accomplished through a combination of academic and financial bribery, allowing him to enroll in the middle of the year into a post graduate program which was in desperate need of brains, a program that had tripped off a major flag in their favor about a year earlier. Predictably, the memories rose, of those days before it all began. The days before his God, Science, was savaged by something much older. The days before The Master. ¡°I can make you forget, if you like,¡± Librorum whispered in his ear, responding to the old pain. ¡°The shame of our foolish past?¡± Melmat whispered ¡°No. Shouldn''t you be working on something?¡± Librorum conveyed the psychic equivalent of a pout. ¡°I''ve already organized, and re-organized your entire childhood, and teenage years, and,¡± she paused ¡°All the dreams you experienced during that time-frame. I do an excellent job, and the reward is an excess of leisure time.¡± ¡°What about the paper?¡± Melmat asked. ¡°Have you come up with a name for it?¡± ¡°You actually thought of a perfect one several days ago,¡± she said ¡°when we were at the diner. You ate most of your breakfast and paid exactly-¡± ¡°Point,¡± Melmat interrupted, ¡°get to the point.¡± ¡°The Bilingual Brain,¡± she said without missing a beat. Melmat paused, mulling it over. ¡°Wow. That''s pretty good. I almost don''t want to let it go,¡± he said quietly, a smirk on his face ¡°any chance he''ll want to come up with his own title?¡± ¡°The first rule of favors and bribery,¡± Librorum scolded ¡°is no take backs. Dr. Johanna pulled a lot of strings to get you in, and I''m sure he could pull just as many to really screw up our plans. Besides, he''s the perfect vector,¡± she said, voice abruptly taking on a ''come on now'' tone ¡°Once he publishes the paper we should start to see a dramatic uptick in stable thoughtform production among psychologists and anyone smart enough to be following his research. Once that starts, the Master''s system will finally start to take root in the astral.¡± ¡°Pah!¡± Melmat suddenly exclaimed, causing his increasingly uncomfortable cab driver to jump ¡°he''s a hack! Thoughts as literally living, self-replicating organisms? I want some of what he''s smoking.¡± Librorum gave him the psychic stink-eye. ¨CThe tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Melmat knew something was wrong the moment he arrived on campus. He had planned on walking around a bit, savoring the unique sensation of regret and nostalgia merged as one, to wander a bit as a person superior to the one he had left behind. However, the moment his cab parked, an excited young man in a lab coat opened his door for him and shook his hand. ¡°You must be Melmat,¡± he said, ¡°Cool name, by the way! I''m retard cattle man, but you can call me dumbass!¡± Melmat mentally sent a scolding look to Librorum, and heard her tinkling laughter in the back of his mind. ¡°I''m sorry,¡± Melmat said, feigning fatigue, ¡°I''ve just had a very long trip. What did you say your name was?¡± ¡°No, no!¡± he said, suddenly embarrassed ¡°I should''ve- oh jeeze, I''m sorry. My name is Ronald Miller, but please call me Ron. Look, Dr. Johanna is one of my favorite professors, and he''s been going on non-stop about you and the help you''ve been in the new paper he''s going to publish.¡± ¡°I think you mean the paper we entirely re-wrote for him,¡± Librorum said silently, amused. Melmat, however, felt the beginning of a major wrench falling into his plans. ¡°Well, I''m. . . I''m glad to hear it,¡± Melmat said. ¡°Look, I know you''re tired,¡± Ron said, eyes bright ¡°But based on what Dr. Johanna had to say about you, I think you''ll want to see what we''re working on immediately.¡± ¡°Well, how can I say no to that?¡± Melmat asked, wishing he had a way to say no. ¡°But, let me drop off my things first,¡± he said, indicating his two pieces of luggage. Ron rushed to the other side of the vehicle and pulled them out. ¡°I''ll help!¡± ¨C Melmat couldn''t stop staring, totally unable to listen to Ron as he endlessly spoke about the theoretical work he and his extremely small team had been able make progress on. Sitting on a table a little ways from the center of attention was a large, black plastic cube, an antenna with a wire mesh cone sticking out of the top of it. Melmat noted the burn marks and smell of smoke in the room. ¡°. . . Melmat?¡± Ron said, finally cluing in on the mood. He turned his head and looked at the device on the table, the smirked. ¡°I see you''ve taken a liking to the Uke-A.¡± Melmat swallowed, then composed himself. ¡°It''s such a strange little device,¡± Melmat said as Librorum began doing frantic circles around the room, checking for contamination. ¡°What do you use it for?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Ron said ¡°It''s all little hard to swallow, but we think it''s detecting the ripples in space caused by the brain as it''s thinking. I built it based on some really old theoretical work stashed away in the library. The name is an acronym, it means Unknown Energy Antenna. Don''t worry too much about it though,¡± Ron said, looking depressed. ¡°It''s malfunctioning right now. Last night it started sparking and lit on fire.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Melmat said, unintentionally sounding relieved ¡°so the data was destroyed then?¡± Ron seemed taken aback, and Melmat composed his features to appear sympathetic. Ron''s suspicions melted away at the deception. ¡°Well,¡± Ron said ¡°hopefully not. We pulled the black box out this morning. I''m not particularly optimistic we''ll get anything from it though.¡± Melmat patted him on the shoulder and nodded his head. ¡°Shit happens, buddy. So, Dr. Johanna explained it a little bit, but why don''t you tell me about your project? It''s free energy, right?¡± Melmat asked, and Ron looked embarrassed. ¡°I know, I know. Cliche, right? Truth be told, I was shocked when I heard you wanted to join the project.¡± Melmat was well prepared for the implied question. He and Librorum had spent a considerable amount of time constructing his backstory. ¡°I''ll be honest with you,¡± Melmat said. At that moment, however, an excited man with red hair burst into the room with a laptop under one arm, and a small black box under the other. ¡°Drop whatever you are fucking doing, Ronnie. You have GOT to see this.¡± Melmat felt a rock drop in the pit of his stomach, and Librorum sighed. ¡°Fuck,¡± they thought simultaneously. 10. The desert is hot and bright Ch 10 Ben had never been more pissed than the day he had to work and missed the hype surrounding the trillionth post. Sure, the Thread Replay allowed him to re-watch it in real time the next day, but it wasn''t the same as actually being there. Truthfully, he, and many other anonymous users, thought the thread replay function had been developed entirely as a way to increase the financial burden of creating Endchan, and it wasn''t the only feature which was suspected of such; the random language generator was an exceptionally egregious example, as well as the ''Pepe Narration'' feature, which would take any pepe the frog image and animate it as it narrated your post, in the language of your choice. Ben, for his part, thought the dead mom meme was a hoax. It wouldn''t even be a particularly sophisticated hoax, as far as imageboard pranks went. He worried, somewhat justifiably, that the more extreme members of the community had actually killed their mothers as a sort of next level, meta, prank. ¡°So, meta is like when you take part in a meme ironically, right? Meta-Meta, is when you let the meme become your literal reality and control your actions-¡± ¡°Nobody cares, Ben!¡± Louden said with a loud huff, arm propped against her face as she leaned against the window in the passenger seat of his Honda. They had all piled into Ben''s Honda, all five of them; Vaughan was driving and Ben was smoking in the front seat. McCrea and Polk were in the back as well, McCrea in the middle. They were driving down a highway that saw basically no traffic, and was generally considered one of the most pointless roads leading out of Hope. Unofficially, it was called the Indiana Jones. The truck popped and jumped as it passed over potholes and broken asphalt, giving Louden a headache and causing everyone in the back to bump into one another occasionally. ¡°What are we looking for, Polk?¡± Vaughan asked. It didn''t seem like he particularly cared. Vaughan had long ago stopped worrying about things. It would never become apparent, but Ben knew all too well about the numb sickness of nihilism that had taken root. Ben pulled another hit, and offered it to Vaughan, who took it gratefully. ¡°It''s a mountain, real far out in the desert on the right,¡± Polk said, eyes bright, rolling down her automatic window. ¡°I don''t really know how to describe it, but it was really interesting.¡± ¡°They''re barely mountains,¡± Louden said, grabbing the joint out of Vaughan''s mouth and taking a deep hit, ¡°Just little hills some people make a big deal about,¡± she said in her exhale, voice dramatically deepened through the smoke. Ben and Polk both gave Louden a look. Her resentment of Polk had been growing at a steady, irrational pace for several months now. Best Ben could tell, she was growing to hate Polk for the same reason Ben had grown to love her. ¡°Well,¡± McCrea said, looking sheepish and emphasizing his squinting against the harsh sun, interrupting the catfight before the hissing started, ¡°I know I should have learned my lesson by now, living in the desert and all," he said, trailing off.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°No worries,¡± Vaughan said, pulling off his pair of tinted safety glasses and giving them to McCrea. Vaughan then grabbed another pair, there were half a dozen laying around near the front of the car, and put them on. ¡°Why did you give him yours, and why do you have so many of these up here,¡± Louden said, glancing over at the movement of Vaughan''s hand when he reached for the glasses, in her direction. Vaughan didn''t seem like he was going to bother responding, so Ben spoke up, primarily to keep the momentum of the conversation going. ¡°Because they''re mandatory on the site,¡± Ben said, referencing his job in construction, ¡°and they''re free, and I forget to take them off. Polk,¡± he said as he turned and looked at her ¡°What did the mountain look like?¡± Polk had been surprisingly tight lipped about the entire thing, saying she didn''t want to influence their perceptions or make them look for something that might not even be there. She looked like she was about to break, when Vaughan began to slow the vehicle down, pulling off the road. Her eyes brightened, and she practically jumped out of the car. The rest of them followed, in varying shades of high to contact high, their senses taking a moment to parse the new information. They just stood there, getting scorched by the desert heat, as they stared off in the distance. Way off in the distance, a mountain had broken desert dress code. It stood out as though outlined by the shimmering mirage seen on hot roads while driving, the entire mountain in higher resolution than it''s surroundings. The sky above it was a weird, vivid aquamarine that stood out plainly against the blue sky. Pure, absent-minded force of habit caused Ben to reach into his pocket and pull out another joint, light it with hands that trembled, and took a puff. Vaughan kept pulling his sunglasses down and squinting, then putting them back up for a moment, and repeating the process. McCrea, always carrying paper and pencil, had them out and seemed unable to write anything. Louden hawked a lougie, spat it, and sniffed. ¡°Well,¡± Vaughan said, looking over to Polk, who seemed charged with energy ¡°You weren''t wrong. I did know it when I saw it.¡± ¡°How far out do you think that is,¡± Ben asked, looking between Vaughan and McCrea, who both shrugged. ¡°Too far to make it out today, I''d wager,¡± McCrea said after some thought. ¡°Yeah,¡± Vaughan said, scratching his chin, ¡°That''s at least a day trip, the terrain looks crazy rough.¡± ¡°We''d need a case of water,¡± Ben said, getting caught up in the zeitgeist of the unspoken plan, ¡°Probably some food too. If we were really serious about it, we''d pack some hiking gear.¡± Louden''s face turned dark, then brightened considerably. ¡°Weird mountain party?¡± she said, ¡°Oh, count me in. You can bring the hydration, I''ll bring the liquor. And the party animals,¡± she said, making a ''rawr'' motion with her hands. ¡°We could all just go together,¡± Polk said hopefully ¡°You know, just as friends? We can still drink.¡± Vaughan looked at Louden, Louden looked at McCrea, McCrea looked at Ben, and then Ben looked at Polk. ¡°Time to vote,¡± Vaughan said. ¡°All in favor of a private, group only event, raise ''em.¡± Polk raised her hand, Ben did as well. Louden rolled her eyes and said ''figures''. ¡°All in favor of a massive party, raise ''em,¡± he said, raising his own hand. Louden joined in, and McCrea raised his after considerable consideration. They turned their attention to Ben and Polk, who looked at eachother, shrugged, and raised their hands. ¡°We,¡± Louden said, an enormous smile on her face, somehow managing to wrap her arms around the entire group and bringing them into a huddle ¡°are going to get so fucking wasted.¡± 11. The Mouse who Howls Ch 11 Casimer, till very recently in his life, had been a very calm being, drifting as though in a deep, dark sleep, governed by a steady thrum of instincts; Build, Attract, Consume, Change, Corrupt, Spread; Build, Attract ect ect. There was no room or need for rational thought, foresight or. . . artistic flare. ¡°No,¡± Melchsee said, pulling power from her host and wiping out the fleshy monstrosity he had created. ¡°What was wrong with this one?¡± Casimer said, waves of red light playing across his surface. It had been a creature which crossed the most dangerous traits of a slug and a frog without any respect for the source material. ¡°It was disgusting,¡± Melchsee said, repeating her criticism, voice tinged with female sentiment ¡°Didn''t you hear the sounds it was making?¡± ¡°The more noise it makes,¡± Casimer began to explain, patiently. ¡°No. More. Bugs,¡± Melchsee said, pinching the bridge of her nose and then rubbing the opal in her forehead. Behind her, Casimer created a new monster, quick and silent. ¡°No more bugs,¡± a roughly humanoid, fleshy horror made from worm muscle with a pebble in it''s forehead said, it''s loose mouth unable to articulate properly; it''s body lacking any form of skeleton drooped and flopped over limp immediately after it''s proclamation. Melchsee jumped, startled by the sudden appearance, then her eyes flashed with anger and she destroyed it. Casimer began laughing. ¡°You should see how you jumped,¡± he buzzed. Melchsee vanished, reappearing outside, high above, already calming down. The two of them had been in a structure a little larger than the Bug Dungeon, though this one was a smooth cylinder of stone with a pyramid top, hollow on the inside. Casimer and Melchsee, who''s sizes could be measured in increments of inches, felt as though they had been inside of a vast and cavernous space. The structure was built of tiny, half inch bricks of quartz, expertly laid and sturdier then they appeared. The darkness of the night was lit by the structure, which emitted a soft glow. Casimer ceased looking through Melchsee''s eyes, marveling at the unexpected ability he had gained after allowing Melchsee into his mind, an event which simultaneously allowed him to enter hers as well. She was a strange creature, he had to admit that. Every time he felt her mind, he knew with iron-clad certainty that she could crush his feeble intellect in a heart-beat. He also knew, with equal certainty, that she would never do such a thing, as it would mean her death. The interior of his new. . . he hesitated to refer to it as a dungeon, was lined with grassy moss, which swayed in a gentle spiraling wind. He felt a deep, hungry void inside of himself, and lamented Melchsee''s policy of ''No More Bugs''. They were food, and he wished to eat, so what did it matter what they were? Melchsee reappeared abruptly, looking pleased with herself. ¡°My lord,¡± she began ¡°I have been monitoring your thoughts, and I can say with extreme confidence that your question has an answer.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Casimer asked, feeling her press a complicated thought against his mind, and resisting her out of juvenile spite. ¡°Yes,¡± she said, lessening the pressure, changing tactics and conjuring up a blue window. On it was a diagram of the crystal fortress, rendered in three dimensions. ¡°Your main problem is that you''ve been eating nothing but bug brains, aside from that frog, and I don''t think you actually got to eat that one." ¡°No,¡± Casimer said, examining the window and zooming it out, revealing the surrounding terrain ¡°It died outside after it''s rampage, and a spider dragged it back in. I absorbed the body.¡± ¡°Well, my lord, there is far more out there than insects. How large could you realistically make yourself?¡± Casimer, having taken in the information of the surrounding land, raised a perfect replica of it from the ground, scaled down to fit between the two of them. He raised a ring which was roughly equal to the perimeter of the campsite. ¡°My influence weakens with distance, and it ends at the wall there.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Well that''s very good,¡± Melchsee said, turning the blue screen into a cube, and highlighting the crystal fortress inside of it. ¡°There''s something I''d like to try with you, if you don''t mind.¡± A blue window appeared inside of Casimer''s mind.
You have been issued a quest! Food Pyramid I There are an endless variety of creatures in this world, and all of them are more delicious than the last. Attract and successfully consume at least one of them. Must be higher order being than: insect Reward: Increased Power and Influence
¡°Are you responsible for this,¡± Casimer asked, attempting to shake the visualization, and finding it very difficult to accomplish ¡°How do I make this go away? I can''t see anything.¡± ¡°Oh, that?¡± Melchsee asked, briefly focusing on his mind ¡°It''s one of my automatic functions, a sort of reminder system my previous employer found enjoyable. You have to accept the quest if you want it to go away,¡± she said slyly. ¡°Fine,¡± Casimer said ¡°I accept it!¡±
Congratulations! You have accepted the quest Food Pyramid I
The window vanished, and in the bottom corner of his mind, an unobtrusive glowing blue square appeared, with an exclamation mark on it that blinked occasionally. ¡°How do I make that go away?¡± Casimer asked, red light playing across his surface. ¡°Why, you have to complete the quest, of course.¡± ¨C Casimer buzzed and hissed, the light from the quest indicator like a flashlight shining into his eyes, preventing him from drifting into blank, peaceful thoughtlessness. With an effort of will he created a cloud inside the crystal fortress. It was black, tiny bolts of static arc''d through it as it churned in a tight, complicated torus pattern. The sharp spire of earth that held casimer extended up and up, until about three quarters of the way, where another spire, this one of quartz, reached down and encased the hard, wrinkled gem. It pulled him up and came to a rest with him in the direct center of the spiraling clouds. Small threads of hair thin light flowed in a spiral from the smooth inner edges of the storm, being absorbed by Casimer. There was a small, micro boom of thunder, and then the rain began to fall, a light mist that drifted down. Outside, a sink hole with a radius of about one and a half feet eroded away, the dirt vanishing to who knows where. A bowl of rough dirt with a hole in the center was left, and very slowly, mist rose from it, a mist that clung to the ground, falling and coating it with ice. The hole slowly extended down, then began to curve, then extended up towards the Crystal Fortress. It hesitated for a moment, then punctured the bottom, and water silently flowed through it, filling the pond outside. The water of the pond emitted a soft, sturdy glow, and a light mist rose from it like steam that evaporated some distance away. The scent of the water did not go unnoticed as it drifted down and around the mountain, a scent familiar and yet unlike anything ever smelled before. A nearby scorpion made a steady beeline, and hours later, arrived. It marched the perimeter, heavy fog condensing on it''s exoskeleton as it drank it in. The scorpions compound eyes began to glow red, and it''s movements increased in speed. Casimer couldn''t help himself, mutating the bug to make it a bit bigger. A small desert mouse carelessly crawled into the area from the opposite side of the scorpion. It was smaller than the scorpion, had tan fur with a black and white undercoat, and black beady eyes. The scorpion saw the mouse the same time the mouse saw the scorpion. Then, the strangest thing happened. Casimer felt from the mouse a wave of icy sensation, felt it as though he were experiencing it himself. It was a feeling so intense, so terrible, that Casimer was compelled to conceal and hide himself, embedding himself inside of a foot of solid quartz. It was a feeling which promised the end of his life, given name by a whispered word from Melchsee. Fear. The mouse was paralyzed with it, the scorpion advancing for an easy kill. Abruptly, the fear ignited, a polarity shift of fire and rage. Before, Casimer had been compelled to hide, yet now all he wanted to do was act, to lay waste to anything and everything which ever dared to make him feel afraid. Melchsee, in the back of his mind, exclaimed in surprise, then whispered another word. Courage. The mouse charged the scorpion and began hopping about, tiny, hateful squeaks coming from it as it dodged the rapidly stinging tail of the scorpion, leaping in and biting, hurting the insect a little more with each strike, crippling several legs. The scorpion scored a hit with it''s tail, and Casimer felt the hot pain and the venom that managed to enter the mouse before it got away. Some strange quirk of the mouse''s bio-chemistry converted the pain into numb, narcotic pleasure, and the savage courage the mouse emitted grew in magnitude. With a clever series of hops, the mouse made it behind the scorpion and latched onto its tail, furiously biting, chewing the stinger clean off. The scorpion leaped, red eyes flaring bright, knocking the mouse off of it''s body. It snapped it''s pincers menacingly and charged, the mouse charging as well. Casimer felt the pumping of hot blood, the adrenaline, the pain, the need to survive and further the need to conquer. The tiny mouse''s hands grabbed one of the pincers on impact, and it began to furiously chew and shake it''s head as it removed it, ignoring the other claw that snipped through it''s side. The mouse hopped away, then back on, landing on the scorpions back and gnawing its face as the useless tail thrashed and beat the mouse, lacking a stinger. A final bite, an audible crunch, and the scorpion ceased moving. The mouse, injured and tired, stood on it''s hind legs, standing atop the massive scorpion, threw back it''s head and let loose a high pitched, ghostly howl. It howled again and again, the sound so small, yet packed full of meaning. Having finished vocalizing it''s defiance, the mouse confidently walked to the pond, dipping it''s head down to take a drink. It died quickly, the tongue of the toad grabbing it and pulling it down to the depths, neck broken and body limp. The corpse vanished as Casimer devoured the mind of the small mammal, understanding flooding him as his gem began to swell, every so slightly. Casimer, overwhelmed and burning with life he had never felt before, shook the air and rattled the earth, howling at the starry, moonless night. 12. Bonus Chapter (Bens day) Ch 12 Ben sat alone in a trailer, stewing in his thoughts. His parents, so many years ago. . . all strung out and fucked up. The last time he had seen them, they hadn''t recognized him and begged their own child for money, then called him a cheap fucker when he didn''t give them anything. They had died in his eyes that day, a few weeks before he saw the bodies. Sometimes, Ben wondered if they had ever been alive to begin with. Was he even alive? Ben put the bong down and leaned back on the couch, mentally making a note that that was enough of that, thank you very much. It was around two in the morning, his trailer was on the outskirts of Hope, and silence reigned over the night. His supply of weed was virtually infinite, which he considered unfortunate, because he had a tendency to smoke about as much as his supply allowed. He turned on his computer, a moderately expensive build that could play most of the games and allowed for high speed internet access. It spent roughly a minute going through the boot-up routine, before displaying the log-in page, which required only a click and no password. Ben figured that anyone who wanted access to his computer would find it pretty much sterile of anything interesting. It wasn''t that Ben was particularly good at hiding things, it was that he didn''t have anything digital to hide. Who kept porn saved on their hard drives anyways? That was just asking for trouble. He opened up Endchan and began browsing a board dedicated to discussion between people who had left the sober world behind, /fukkinbaked/. Inside one of the ''chill/groovy music'' threads, he found a familiar video that looped and showed various clips from the invasion of Chechnya, with a track called ''you''re hurting me baby'' playing along with it. Ben leaned back and let the music wash over him, his mind adrift. -- Ben had started the day cleaning, gripped by some unknown optimism. Through the day, the memory of the mountain had entered his thoughts many times, the way it seemed to almost be on a different frequency with it''s surroundings. For some reason, he was looking forward to this party more than he thought possible. His trailer wasn''t very large, and after about four hours it was organized and spotless. It hadn''t been intensive labor, more a general re-organization of his home, slowed down considerably by his tendency to take long breaks on the computer. His bookshelf had fallen into dishevelment, the dishes hadn''t been done in three days. The carpet had needed to be steam-cleaned, because he was pretty sure they weren''t supposed to be tan colored. Some light laundry, towels mostly. He had spent the majority of his time re-organizing clutter. During the afternoon, Ben had been gripped with the urge to get on his computer and play a game, and ended up back on the one he''d been previously banned from. In a way, it was a return to the roots of gaming; a midevilesque fantasy world inhabited by standard magical creatures; three base classes, warrior, mage and priest; a large number of dungeons filled with non-standard loot and monsters; few towns and even fewer cities, the rest of the world being dedicated to adventuring. Stolen story; please report. He had made it farther than he usually did in games these days, level 25, the level you could enter the first dungeon of the game, The Cave of Evil, located at the base of a mountain north of the hub city. Ben''s character rode on horseback, along the roads, a boring process in which Ben kept his left hand on the WASD and rested his head in his right, eyes half closed. The developers of the game had determined that ''open world'' meant a large map with things spread out really far from one another. When he arrived, Ben didn''t even bother to look at the entrance, riding straight in and beginning combat with a slime of some kind. There were a sparse number of other dungeon-divers present, but nobody was talking to one another. The Cave of Evil wasn''t an extremely large dungeon, five main rooms with five different encounters, each more challenging than the last. It was a pretty standard dungeon, the equipment and treasure it dropped was guaranteed to be a straight upgrade over what he currently had on. Ben died in the fourth room, the last encounter throwing more monsters than he could handle alone. He figured it didn''t matter, re-spawned and tried again. He realized something was strange around hour two of repeating the Cave of Evil dungeon. It wasn''t a particularly fun encounter, and he hadn''t even started smoking yet. There was some deep-set current of force running through him, some compulsion that unnerved him and kept him focused. Ben felt something like the infant child''s version of mortal terror, felt a need to clear the dungeon. His mind could not form the concept of why, or even point in the direction of consequences, yet he knew it was vitally important to succeed, no matter how long it took. Two more hours passed that way, and the rest of the time was spent by Ben fighting the final boss, a large slime with a crown, over and over again. The game had been billed as entirely skill based, that regardless of your level or equipment, theoretically any encounter in the game could be solo''d. Ben proved the line to be true hour four, as he smoked a cigarette and squinted hatefully at the screen, watching the red HP bar of the king slime finally drop to zero. It vanished with an unceremonious poof, and left a large treasure chest with red planks and gold trim behind. Ben moved his character towards it, clicked on it and watched it slowly open. The chest leaped forward, sharp teeth and large tongue doing massive damage to Ben''s character as the mimic attacked. Ben died shortly after, and he logged out of the game after flipping off the screen. Ben stood up, blood full of frustration looking for an outlet. His attention went behind the computer, where a large pile of intermingled wires and cords rested. Ben got behind the computer and began pulling the cords apart and organizing the mess, accidentally turning the computer off in the process. He didn''t bother turning it back on just yet. When he finished, he immediately packed a bowl in his bong, examined his clean trailer with it''s white carpets, and felt a crushing sense of emptiness that had nothing to do with his clean home. Ben lit the bowl and began the rest of his day. ¨C Ben awoke like it was something he had planned to do, opening his eyes and sitting up suddenly. He was over the euphoric rush that smoking gave him, and had entered the foggy, want/need another bowl phase. There was very little energy he could devote to anything except watching cartoons on the internet, with the only issue being that he had seen most of the cartoons and ended up spending nearly forty minutes looking for something to watch. Eventually, when it occurred to him how much time he was wasting looking for something to watch, he turned off the computer and took a cold shower, trying to sober up a bit. Ben had never been a fan of the jokes and verbal mechanisms surrounding the time after midnight; was the next night tonight or tomorrow night? Ben was of the opinion that sleep was the deciding factor, it was tomorrow night until he went to sleep, or the morning came. ¡°The stupid shit you say when you''re high,¡± Ben said aloud, wishing he had a pet to give him an excuse to be talking to himself. Then Ben thought about it, swore, and mentally corrected himself that it was the ''stupid shit you think when you''re high''. His emotions were rapidly congealing into something negative and directionless, and he considered praying and telling God what a bad job He was doing, then thought better of it and apologized. Then he remembered he was an atheist and that really put him in a bad mood. The solution to this problem, he thought, was obviously to finish his bowl off and go to bed. After all, he was really looking forward to the party tomorrow night. 13. The Wizard and the Uke Ch 13 Melmat reflected that though the situation was bad, it wasn''t beyond salvaging. Ronnie clearly hadn''t understood the function of the antenna, or the theory behind it, otherwise it wouldn''t have burnt out the way it had. Melmat sympathized, he hadn''t understood it the first time he built one either. There was a certain kind of trauma, a foreign perspective that the scientific mind needed to suffer and survive before the full meaning of many such devices became apparent. Melmat found himself disliking Ronnie solely because he was the exact type of person Melmat had been, which wasn''t a very spiritually enlightened thing to do, but as the master had often said ''I''m still only human.'' He wondered if his master could still say that, these days. ¡°There''s still way too much fucking energy we can''t account for,¡± Chad, Ronnie''s assistant, the redhead undergrad who swore a little too much for a professional environment, had been perceptive enough to see the anomaly. The three of them were standing in the lab, huddled around the Uke-A. It was roughly the size of a three gallon water jug, and reeked of burned metal and melted plastic. To Melmat, it gave off an aura of unformed danger, and neither he or Librorum could fully relax around it. How could they? There was an active dimensional anomaly on the planet, and they could only theorize about the kinds of energies that were floating around and observing them. ¡°I thought it was an issue with the power supply,¡± Melmat said, knowing his deception was falling on deaf ears at this point, but throwing his last hail Mary just in case. ¡°If it was the power supply,¡± Chad responded ¡°then why wasn''t any of the damage to the parts connected to the power supply? It''s originating from the fucking antenna, and that''s why this is so weird. If I didn''t know better, I would say it looked like it got struck by lightning- I mean fucking lightning, excuse me.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Ronnie said ¡°It didn''t. I checked the video to get a better idea of what happened, and it wasn''t lightning. Have either of you seen this yet?¡± Melmat and Chad shook their heads. ¡°Let me bring it up then.¡± Melmat and Chad followed Ronnie to a nearby table, where Ronnie''s laptop was open, with a video file ready to play. Melmat appreciated that Ronnie had thought far enough ahead to have the video ready, rather than fishing around for several minutes.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The video was taken from a high vantage point, coming from the top corner of the dark lab. The Uke-A was not in the center of the frame, it sat off and to the left, near the edge of the screen. ¡°There''s not a better angle,¡± Ronnie said, gesturing to the Uke-A on screen. Nothing happened for several moments, and then a whole bunch of somethings happened; The conic, wire antenna on top of the Uke-A began to glow; a gentle wind began to blow, and a large leaf curled and twisted as it landed on the floor nearby; the video quality began to degrade rapidly. Then, the glowing antenna burst into flames, before rapidly putting itself out. There was silence after Ronnie closed the video. Before anyone was able to speak, Melmat was walking towards the Uke-A''s former location in the room, head on a swivel as he searched. ¡°Found it,¡± Librorum whispered, causing a section of the room to glow to his eyes only. ¡°Found it,¡± Melmat said aloud, walking to the bright spot and bending over, the glow vanishing as he did so. Ronnie walked over, curious, while Chad watched from the distance. When Melmat stood up straight, he was holding a broad, roughly square leaf that had a picture of a frog on it. He carefully set it down on a nearby table, then gave Librorum a single command. Time ground to a stop as his mental rhythm was increased to many times it''s normal tempo. During this time, he allowed himself to feel all the emotions he would never be able to express, but which desperately needed to. He felt joy, unbelievable joy. Then, anxiety that came from a very rational place. Finally, grief. His master had spent his very life to make this possible, and yet he received nothing for it. ¡°Like Moses,¡± Librorum said, voice tinted with sadness ¡°He never got to step into the promised land either. Are you ready to go back, Master?¡± ¡°Yes, bring me back down.¡± The world seemed to lurch back into motion, and Melmat was struck with a sudden and massive fatigue. From a pocket, he produced a water bottle and began to rapidly chug it. He nearly gagged as the overwhelming taste of the sugar water hit his mouth, the almost thick texture it had going down. He finished the bottle and gave himself a moment to recover. ¡°Are you OK?¡± Ronnie asked. ¡°I''m fine,¡± Melmat said, setting the empty bottle down ¡°Just a sudden case of dry mouth. Do you know where this leaf came from?¡± he said, pointing at it. Ronnie looked at Chad, both of them seemed confused. ¡°That''s what I thought. Because it looked to me,¡± he said, turning his attention to the computer ¡°Like it came from the Uke-A before it caught on fire.¡± ¡°What do you mean, it came from the Uke-A?¡± Chad asked, face scrunching in minor frustration. ¡°I mean,¡± Melmat said, mentally making the final adjustments to his plan ¡°I don''t think the Uke-A just detects energy. I think it manifests it too,¡± Melmat held the leaf up ¡°And this leaf came from another dimension.¡± 14. The Dungeon Stretching Ch 14 ¡°Oh, oh oh! So, whats that?¡± Casimer asked, zipping across the ground in a cradle of dirt, extending a tentacle towards a tree at the edge of the campsite. ¡°That''s a desert-¡± Melchsee said, patience wearing thin as the tree was sucked down into the ground with the sound of snapping wood, the branches bending and splintering apart, before vanishing entirely. She was reminded of a wood chipper, and made a mental note to revisit the thought later. ¡°Oh, I see,¡± Casimer said, pondering his latest meal, then shining with clear yellow light and filling the air with the sound of vibration as the same tree was meticulously reconstructed several feet away from it''s original location. ¡°That one was sort of. . . bland. Peaceful,¡± he said, voice considerably calmer. Underground, some distance away, an enhanced grasshopper mouse was overwhelmed by a pack of scorpions. He felt the mammalian rush of energy fill him as he devoured the mouse''s mind, emotions and the ghostly imprint it''s death left behind on the world. ¡°Oh! What''s this?¡± Casimer asked, voice hyperactive and on edge as he zipped across the ground and up to the top of the moss covered pyramid, which promptly had the moss absorbed from it, leaving it a bare pyramid of jagged mountain rock. ¡°That was. . . Don''t worry about that,¡± Melchsee said ¡°Do you mind covering that back up?¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°What? Oh, sure!¡± Casimer said, a pink glow surrounding the gem as the structure was once again coated in moss. Over the last several days, Casimer had tripled in size, resembling a dried plum more than a raisin at this point, his color lightening from purple-black to a more clear dark purple. His changes in physical appearance were nothing compared to the transformation his mental attitude had undergone. ¡°Hmmm,¡± he said, before three sequoia trees burst from the side of the mountainside, nearly horizontal for several seconds before breaking at the base and tumbling down the steep terrain, creating a trail of devastation in their wake. ¡°Ha!¡± Casimer exclaimed, gem bouncing off of it''s cushion of dirt. ¡°I think you should hold off on doing that again,¡± Melchsee said, sensing in his thoughts that he planned to topple sequoia trees down the mountain for the next foreseeable future. ¡°Ok!¡± he responded, zipping around the campsite like a hyperactive rodent. Casimer, while operating the bug dungeon had felt nothing but unending cold and bland insect minds, and it had driven him to near madness. High in the air, in green glowing letters was written ''The Oasis Dungeon'', and below it was a tiny pond that glowed, ice around its edges, The great crystal pillar that fed the pond occasionally flashing with contained lightning. Then, Casimer felt the strangest emotion of all. It came from neither Melchsee, or the grasshopper mice, or even the bugs. It seemed to be coming from his own being, a sensation somewhere between an urge and an observation. Mentally, he grabbed hold of Melchsee and brought her attention away from the devastation on the hillside. ¡°Is there more to life than this?¡± Casimer asked, and having vocalized the emotion, felt the realness of it even more strongly. It was as though he unfolded, expanding inside of himself, growing until he could no longer fit. "There must be," he continued, a weird quiver of inhuman emotion in his voice that shook the ground, and his influence began to seep deeply into the soil and the air, saturating it like water through paper. 15. The Wizard starts to party Ch 15 Predictably, Melmat was eventually told he had the finest weed in the land if he expected Ronnie and Chad to believe the Uke-A could anchor objects from other dimensions to the material universe. Melmat had even constructed his argument to invite that criticism. Despite that, he still managed to convince Ronnie to make the repairs needed on the spot. ¡°Librorum,¡± Melmat said aloud into the empty lab ¡°Could you play that song for me? The one with the piano.¡± In response, a rich music filled the air, Librorum stimulating his senses and putting on a concert for him and him alone. ¡°Thank you, dear,¡± he said, returning his attention to the darkened lab. Though it was two in the morning and the lights were out, his vision was nearly perfect; night vision giving him the outlines and Librorum manually filling in the lighting and color, allowing him to see as well as in the day. Some people would be worried, giving someone else total control of and full access to their senses; Melmat would tell those people to grow up. Under his arm, he held a blue, wax sealed shipping tube, and in his hand he held several padlocks. Setting the tube next to the repaired Uke-A, Melmat locked and padlocked every door in the lab. He closed all the blinds and turned off the electrical breakers. As he walked back, his foot hit something hard, and he nearly tripped and swore. ¡°Whoops,¡± Librorum said, generating a generic red cube in the place of the unknown obstacle, never breaking the flow of music. Melmat sidestepped it and continued on his way. The music changed, Librorum sensing the shift and flow of his emotions and adding in a powerful violin accompaniment as he broke the wax seal and emptied the tube. A rolled up blueprint came out, and Melmat felt sweat break out across his back and forehead. Carefully, very carefully, he unrolled it and placed weights on the corners to keep it in place. Before him was a black rectangle, he had never seen the contents of this before and thus Librorum could not pull it from his memories. With a feather light touch, Melmat ran his hands along the paper and felt the tiny, braille like lines across his fingers and palms, leaving behind bright lines as Librorum recorded and translated the information into visual phenomena. ¡°Knowing the master,¡± she said, slightly in awe ¡°There''s a different blueprint for each sense.¡± When he was finished, he saw a blueprint for a device very similar to the one Ronnie had built, labeled as the Uke-A Mk-3. Melmat couldn''t help but smile at the small, brilliant changes that would transform the device from a novelty into something so much more. With a thrill of fear and excitement, he got to work modifying the device. -- The next day, Melmat showed up for work in the lab and began his first normal, uneventful day. Ronnie really wasn''t a bad scientist, all things considered. That he had even discovered the Uke-A spoke volumes about his intelligence and curiousity, to say nothing of the fact that he''d succeeded in building one.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The work he was doing on free energy, in Melmat''s informed opinion, was likely to generate a working prototype within two years. Inside of four years, he would be able to produce a finished product, a device which could bring about a new era of prosperity and pea- ¡°Oh please,¡± Librorum said, giggling like a little girl, peals of laughter that almost made Melmat embarrassed ¡°Please, I can''t take anymore!¡± Melmat couldn''t help but crack a grin. In reality, Ronnie would generate his working prototype inside of two years, and then he would hit The Wall. He would find that no respectable scientist would associate himself with his work; he would find himself mysteriously cut off from all further funding; he would find himself branded as a kook-inventor who had only the most tenuous grip on sanity. If he persisted in his work, friendless, penniless and openly mocked, he might get A Call. Mysterious men representing some vague and menacing organization would take him out for lunch at a restaurant in which a typical meal cost upwards of fourteen thousand dollars. They would tell him, in no uncertain terms, that his device was real, that it was a threat to social order, and that they were willing to pay him a great sum of money to keep his yap shut about it. If he was smart, he would accept the offer. If he was foolish. . . Melmat expected that Ronnie would be found to have committed suicide by shooting himself in the back of the head twice with a shotgun. ¡°You''re spacing out a little. Too much?¡± Chad said, making a smoking gesture and sucking sound and framing the action as a question. Melmat laughed, giving the impression that he was indeed high and thought it was hilarious. In truth, he was enjoying playing a fool. He might even take up smoking marijuana as a gag, though Librorum would render all mind altering substances impotent. Melmat made sure to make a positive impression on Ronnie and Chad, along with the two other nameless undergrads he hadn''t been introduced to yet. Melmat had entered the MIT scene in the middle of the week, and his first real day fell on a friday. After work, he had been invited to join the group, who were collectively impressed with their hardworking and brilliant stoner, for bad movie night. Before Melmat was able to agree, they insisted that he attempt to bring a bad movie for the event. Melmat said he would try. Melmat, back in his room, laid on top of his bed and closed his eyes. With a feeling like falling, he left his body behind and began to wander the interior of his mind, which was currently a black void textured with the vaguest hints of color. Librorum appeared to him as a leather-bound book about four feet long, pages yellowing and leather well polished. ¡°I''ve compiled all the movies you''ve ever seen or heard of,¡± she began, opening up and releasing several hundred windows that each displayed a different movie ¡°And naturally, most of them don''t fit the bill for bad movie night.¡± ¡°Naturally,¡± Melmat said, voice distant. ¡°So, lets just,¡± Librorum said, and most of the windows were drawn back into her, ¡°There, that''s a little more organized.¡± ¡°Organized,¡± Melmat repeated dully. ¡°Really,¡± Librorum continued gamely, ¡°the best options are laid out here. And the best of the best options,¡± she said while Melmat morosely repeated, ''the best'', and collapsed into a heap on the ground ¡°would be bringing your copy of ''The Eternity Gap'', by Rudy Copperfield. That movie''s so dense with symbolism even the master enjoyed it, and normal people generally seem to like it as well.¡± ¡°No,¡± Melmat said, voice muffled as his face pressed against the soft, velvety ground ¡°I''ll just bring some pizzas. They''ll be happier with pizzas than a movie anyways; go ahead and take the wheel and give them a call, tell them to pick their favorite and I''ll bring the food." Melmat seemed morose, sitting in silence. "Besides, Eternity Gap is what me and Suzana watched at our bad movie night, when we met.¡± ¨C Bad Movie night was hosted not quite in their lab, but in a room adjacent to it. Melmat arrived with four boxes of pizza and two bottles of strong liquor. He was greeted with the cheers only made by hungry college students presented with free food. Melmat couldn''t help himself, and shouted. ¡°Let''s get this party started!¡± 16. The Dungeon starts to party Ch 16 ¡°Let''s Get this party started!¡± Louden shouted, and her DJ friend started up the music at the exact moment the sun set. It wasn''t an enormous party, but it wasn''t small either, nearly eighty people had shown up, including Ben and his friends. The DJ was on top of things, catchy electronic music that could only be classified as meme-wave was blasted as loudly as his generator operated speakers could blast. Ben, for his part, had indeed brought the ''wagon of cabbage'' that Vaughan requested, a gallon bag full of smaller bags, each containing either loose bud or pre-rolled joints. Ben hadn''t started smoking yet, but the air was thick with it; everybody present had a contact high. Off in the distance, Louden was selling her pills, and looked to be ready to eat anything she couldn''t pawn off at a thousand percent markup. In a moment of clarity, Ben realized she was literally a professional partier, and also that she was moving a disturbing amount of product. His inner gamer whispered ''High Charisma'', and Ben agreed. Polk, bless her heart, had brought beer enough for everyone in their group. McCrea had also brought beer enough for everyone. Vaughan had also brought beer enough for everyone. Ben looked across the crowd of dancing people and squinted; Vaughan was on his fourth beer already, chugging it and then slamming the can against his head to crush it. ¡°Ow,¡± Ben said in automatic empathy, to nobody in particular. ¡°I guess Vaughn just brought enough beer for Vaughan.¡± The sun was set, and the scorching heat of the desert became merely unrelenting as it cooled. From the mountain a cool and refreshing breeze wafted down, imperceptibly turning heads and attention towards it. The breeze carried the scent of water, and more than that, it carried the idea of water with it as well. People began to drink bottles of clear, clean liquid, and found they were still thirsty. There came a point in the night when, collectively, it was decided that the party wasn''t going to end. It was never really vocalized, but the point got pretty well expressed when Polk and McCrea were able to collect everyone''s car keys and hide them somewhere safe. Ben was at this point, in his own words ''Stoned and beyond the reach of The Jailers of his mind'', and Polk was rapidly approaching the same level. As the night progressed, people began to self-sort themselves into various categories; those who wanted sleep; those who wanted to fuck; and those who wanted to keep the party going. Ben, McCrea and Polk all wanted to sleep, and shambled their way towards the tents they had brought and set up before the party. Louden was off. . . doing her own thing, and occasionally someone would wander back from her group in a daze, ready for sleep. Vaughan was the kind of person who burned beer like jet fuel, and as long as he was drinking, he was partying. He stood on top of a stable pile of garbage and puked, the vomit smelling and looking like beer. As an experienced drinker, he chugged a bottle of water and then took a shot of something cheap and powerful. It was Vaughan who bravely organized the expedition to climb the mountain, Vaughan who fired up a group of no more than eight young men to go forth, and it was Vaughan who promptly passed out and had to be dragged to the tent city. Of the eight who were fired up and ready to go, only three decided to go through with it. All they brought with them was a backpack, a hand-held cooler filled with beer. Only two of them had handguns. The closer they came to their eventual fate, the more sober and alive they felt. One commented to another that they should definitely buy more pills from Louden, and the other agreed that they were worth the money. They did not notice the silent, long legged beasts that stalked the sides of the trail, hidden by shifting, chameleon fur. When they reached the oasis, they were suitably amazed. Two stepped forward for a drink, and one stayed behind, sober enough and possessing a clear enough sense of danger to be afraid. The one who drank was struck by the toad''s tongue, black veins liquefying in rapid necrosis from the potent poison. The other looked at his friend, a totally blank look on his face. It was this look that informed the third it was time to run. He started to move, but was frozen solid by the combined howling of what looked to be seven, gigantic desert mice, each the size of a Labrador. They were up in the trees, and placed atop rocks, howling in hungry triumphant unison. The blank faced boy by the pond of glowing water saw his friend fall to the ground, flesh shrinking in clinging like vacuum sealed plastic to his skeleton. Then, he started to scream as worms pulled him into the ground feet first, at more than a foot a second, practically falling. The third boy wished his eyesight did not serve him so well, for illuminated in the moon light, he saw the long humps of the worms under the man''s skin.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. In that moment, his short life flashed before his eyes. His deepest, calmest thought was that he had lived a very simple life. Recent events seemed to take up most of his attention; of when he decided to fly across the country to Vegas for his bachelors party; of him ditching his party the first available moment and heading into the desert countryside to find ''the real thing''; of when the stunning blond with tight cleavage walked into the fried chicken joint in Hope and declared she was going to throw a sick-ass party, and anyone who wants to come should come with her. He came. During the party, he had become fast friends with Vaughan. Never in his life had he imagined being friends with someone who said bro in a one hundred percent authentic way, but there it was. They had somehow become best friends over beer, they told each-other their entire life stories. Vaughan wouldn''t be able to come to the wedding, he thought, and it lit fires of uncertainty in his body, kindling his will to live. I''ll never see her again, he thought, and his ability to accept death was totally suppressed. ¡°I''m not going to die here like some kind of animal!¡± he shouted, and grabbed a smooth, hand sized river rock. He tossed it once, caught it, then whipped it at a Giant Mouse, where it cracked loudly, shattering the skull between the eyes. It yelped, slumped to the ground, then shattered into vanishing panes of light, leaving behind several large orbs of various colors. The rest of the mice jumped, attention redirected to the sudden, unknown attacker near the dead wolf. They were unable to connect the event of the man''s movement, and the death of their pack-mate, leading to mass confusion. The real attacker, near the back, did not waste his time. Adrenaline making his mind work clearly, perfectly, he grabbed river stones with both hands and began to throw death at the grass wolves, downing them two at a time. At his feet, worms began to writhe, and he yelled in disgust, jumping away and running, avoiding the central pond. After he yelled, small streaks of light raced towards him as the orbs left behind by the grass wolves vanished all at once. His body glowed faintly with each orb, then rapidly faded. He slowed down, moving more cautiously, eyes scanning the ground for the worms and tracking the positions of all rocks and Giant Mice. As a sort of symbolic reminder, he hucked a chunk of rock at the central pond, and saw it shatter in a puff of smoke. In the center of the pond was a fleshy node with toad like skin, with a spiked, purple tentacle coming off of it, it''s base adhesively stuck to the stone ground. Above it''s head in red lettering was written . It had a rock lodged in it''s base. The man snarled and threw another stone, this one hitting it squarely and ripping the tentacle cleanly off. A little bit away, a leap really, the air shimmered, and a pond with blue, glowing water suddenly broke the darkness of the night, illuminating the entire area with soft, sky blue light. Naked greed was evident on the faces of the giant mice, the mass of exposed underground worms surfaced and began rapidly approaching the pond. The man slowly backed away, no longer the center of focus, and watched as the pack of monsters ran to the pond and stood at the edge, seemingly unable or unwilling to take a drink, yet clearly desiring it greatly. The man shrugged and threw as many stones as he could, and so great was the monsters fixation that they did not notice or care about the deaths of others around them. Light from their bodies flew into him, and the stone he threw at the writhing pile of worms streaked with faint light and did unbelievable damage to them. He should be exhausted, yet his body was totally relaxed, without fatigue. The man''s heartbeat continued at a steady, adrenaline fueled rhythm, his body suddenly surging with feeling. He had survived impossible odds. He had never been more alive than he was right now, never felt better. He picked up a nice sized rock and whistled as he approached the now clear path to the pond. As he approached, each step multiplied an intense sensation in his chest, a burning like fire. It was almost too much for him to continue, at it''s peak it felt like his chest was pressed up against the sun. Then, all at once, it was like it never happened, and he was standing at the edge of the pond. Like a child, he fell to his hands and knees to stare into it, water obscured by what looked like micro sized, thick clouds that rained and filled the pond. If he strained his ears to their maximum ability, he could hear faint raindrops against the ocean below. He reached in his hands, breaking through the clouds and dissipating them all, and cupped he brought up the clear, clean water from the pond. He was about to take a drink when he saw Casimer, floating in the center of the pond, unmoving. He looked like a grape turned into a jewel that radiated unseen light, light that could only be felt on the skin. His face completely blanked out, and pure simian reflex took over. The water spilled from his fingers and he grabbed Casimer and held him in his hands. The moment his hand had touched the gem, it had gone almost numb. With every passing moment, the numb sensation grew, spreading up his arms and across his entire body. He gripped the gem tightly, body clenching against the not pain, the circulation of his blood blocked by his tightly locked muscles, turning his skin red. He was finally able to yell out, and when he did, he dropped The Dungeon Core, which emitted a storm of light that rose up into the atmosphere, and small patches of rainbow lightning began to crackle across the sky to the horizon and even beyond it. The man died, his body suddenly slumping. From his body hopped a rotating rectangle of light, with the symbol of a focused eye in bright, drawn colors. High in the air, Melchsee watched as a miniature storm of rainbow lightning balled up, then launched itself into the ground, sinking itself deep in the stone of the dungeon. In the distance, Grass wolves began to howl. 17. A Wizards Liver Ch 17 The lights flickered in the darkened conference room, the movie blinking out and back in. In the end, the group had managed to persuade Melmat to suggest a movie, which turned out to be the seventies version of Westworld. They had just finished it, and were getting to the main event of the night, Saber-Tooth Dracula Cat-tastophe III: Satan''s Pussy. Melmat had a strong suspicion it was pornography, and that he would not enjoy it very much. The researchers were currently discussing the cover art, when a faint ringing started up at the very edge of Melmat''s hearing. At that moment, Librorum''s voice took his full attention. ¡°We are detecting frequency 8. Please get us to our instruments ASAP.¡± She repeated the phrase over and over, an automated warning that required his immediate attention. Melmat made some excuse that wouldn''t cost him too much socially, and exited the situation. Frequency 8 was a high pitched signal beyond the normal-human perceptible audio range, but still detected by the unconscious mind. There were several such frequencies which Librorum kept track of, and most of them were benign circumstances. This one, however, indicated the need for immediate attention. This one meant the dungeon was emitting a spike of energy. Melmat returned to his room and opened his special laptop, logging in, then turning the frequency generator off and checking the latest data from his equipment in Nevada. ¡°Just like the last one,¡± he said quietly to himself, grabbing a pen to put between his lips and suck on. ¡°It''s bigger, meatier, it''s -¡± Melmat glanced at the pen then put it down, then retook control of his body and voice as Librorum appeared in his vision, a large book flapping open and close in fits of laughter. ¡°This really isn''t the time for that,¡± he said, frowning as he stared at her. Something about her was off, not just her behavior. ¡°Hold still,¡± he said, and from his pack he pulled an antique Polaroid, the kind that had a big flash dome on top of it, and took a picture. There was a flash, bleaching the room white, then the internal mechanisms of the camera began to humm, before spitting out a piece of film. The picture came out black, he grabbed it and began shaking it to help it develop. Turning his attention back to the computer, he began to make mental calculations. ¡°This is a substantially more powerful event than the last one. What triggered it?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± Librorum said, transforming from a large book into a woman made of pages. Written across all of them were tiny, text emoticons, each unique and representing some expression of energetic activity. ¡°Who cares!¡± She shouted, and zipped around the room, knocking over a lamp in the process. Melmat stared at the lamp, heart rate increasing, then turned his attention to the now developed Polaroid in his hand. It was a picture of his dorm room, a picture that showed a clean and organized room with a giant floating book near the foot of the bed. Knock Knock Knock. ¡°Hey, It''s Ronnie. I was wondering if you were all right, you left so suddenly. Do you have company?¡± The doorknob turned, and the door began to open. Melmat felt himself enter crisis management, Librorum attempted to vanish and the emoticons all changed to exclamation marks when she could not. Ronnie entered the room with a smile, staring at Melmat.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Sorry to barge in, college rules man, unlocked door, open invitation . . .¡± he said, trailing off as his attention went to the floating woman made of paper on the ceiling. ¡°What-¡± He never got to finish his question. Melmat sprung from the bed and grabbed both of Ronnie''s hands in a vice grip, palm to palm, making eye-contact and speaking in a hypnotic tone of voice. ¡°The sensation in your palms,¡± he said, feeling an electrical burn in his palms as he increased nerve activity in his skin to an almost unbearable degree ¡°moves up your arms and into your shoulders,¡± he continued, watching Ronnie''s eyes as he slipped deeper and deeper into a trance, pupils dilating. ¡°And as it moves up your neck and into your eyes and across your forehead and over your scalp and down your spine and into your legs and feet you feel a relaxing, perfect sensation, and all your muscles release their burden,¡± he said, and Ronnie fell to the ground, Melmat expertly cradling him and guiding his soft fall to the ground. ¡°Do it now Librorum,¡± he growled, and she flowed like smoke across Melmat''s arms and up his body, entering his ears eyes and mouth. Melmat drifted backwards in his own mind, watching as Librorum took control and spent several hours bringing Ronnie in and out of a hypnotic trance, programming him to forget all the events of the night entirely. He had been given the certainty that the supernatural and the strange, and the occult and most certainly magic were entirely products of an overactive imagination; that the events of the night were nothing more than a vivid dream; that it was no more important than a sandwich he had eaten years ago, who cares what was on it or what kind of bread? Ronnie shambled out of the room, looking like a victim of a violent, violating crime. He had been given two bottles of vodka, and the burning desire to finish both of them before the end of the night. Melmat re-took control of his body and pulled the third, and final, bottle of vodka from his suitcase and began the pointless, almost masturbatory action of drinking. He wanted to weep, but couldn''t do so unless he allowed it to happen, so he didn''t. He wanted to get drunk, to forget what had happened, but he would never be drunk again and he would never forget. He would never forget anything. ¡°Librorum,¡± Melmat said, body heavy with negative emotion ¡°Don''t ever let me forget to lock a door again.¡± ¨C The door was locked, and Melmat continued his work, reviewing the data from the previous hours. He swore, the Dungeon Storm was over, and all he''d accomplished was psychologically damaging a colleague. Melmat decided to check Endchan, and saw that they had indeed noticed the dungeon event, and done their best to take advantage of it. One anon swore up and down he had the jackpot lottery ticket, but literally everybody knew about that scam, and weren''t going to hold their breaths until the claim was substantiated, or OP delivered. There was also an attempt to catalog information, when the event started and when it ended, what sort of strange things had happened. Some reported that the sky looked a little less blue and a little more rainbow tinted, but not enough for them to be sure. Some said that it wasn''t the sky, but the edges of the clouds that had the rainbow tint. A couple of people, unhelpfully, claimed that they had seen rainbows yesterday, and they were really impressive rainbows; it took over six anons and a weather-report to convince them that it wasn''t related. Others said they had gotten a feeling of either extreme terror or excitement. The terror bunch said the more afraid they got, the more unsettling their surroundings were, and the more it seemed there really was something in their closet, or under the rug, or between the walls. Those on the extreme excitement scale seemed gripped to go outside, no matter how out of character that was for them. They began a hunt for something, and usually ended up finding a small cache of money, drugs or guns. The drugs anons also reported seeing glimpses of characters from movies they had recently watched, though they couldn''t in good conscience say it had been seen sober. A few said they had been massively productive in their creative work, one anon claiming to have cracked a particularly hairy technical problem, and another posting some stunning images he had created. As Melmat scanned each thread and cataloged the information, he began to feel a growing swell of warmth inside. ¡°The mana. . . it wasn''t a lie,¡± he whispered to Librorum. She was floating as though laying on her belly, fingertips on his shoulders, giving him a squeeze. She glanced behind her and kicked at the wall, and seemed relieved when her foot passed through it without resistance. The next day, Melmat awoke refreshed and ready to work. When he arrived at the lab and saw Ronnie nursing a massive hangover, with tears coming from his eyes, Melmat thought it was a bit of an overreaction. He noticed, very fast, that Ronnie wasn''t the only one crying. ¡°Sarah''s dead,¡± Chad said, keeping it together. ¡°We''re still waiting for the police.¡± ¡°Where is she?¡± Melmat said, a spike of icy feeling in his gut. Sarah, he thought to himself, that had been her name, one of the lab techs. Chad led the way, and Melmat saw the body. She had been savaged, beaten, her throat ripped out in a room clean of blood. Sitting atop her unmoving chest was a small, black cat, face and paws covered in blood, little fangs coming from it''s mouth. It purred as it cleaned itself off. The only thing that tipped Melmat off it wasn''t visible to anyone else was the translucent sheen it had. ¡°What happened?¡± Melmat managed to choke out. 17. Fatass-gasm (Bonus Chapter) Ch 17 P-2 None would ever know or believe it, but it was a jealous girl who first created the Fatass-gasm meme. It was the idea that every time some girl lost her fat ass, it''s spirit would go out into the world and attempt to make some skinny girl gain weight, and thus come back to life. She posted her story in green-text on Endchan, and some bored graphics designer in LA or some major city laughed and slapped together a no effort drawing of a flying pink butt with tiny wings. Little did he know, he would be getting quints. He was rather surprised, and a good number of people checked his dubs. The image began to be posted and incorporated into existing memes, and eventually a raid was organized to harass a female celebrity who just couldn''t seem to stop feeding the troll fire. Some of the edited images showing a ghostly, disembodied pink butt with wings almost looked too real. Mostly, they showed crude, beginner image editing attempts to put a flying pink butt behind famous and out of style celebrity women.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The news organizations reported on the issue and were dismissive in general, framing the issue as an assault on women''s rights. Their poor word choice led to a full blown Ass-ult by the anons, a photoshop war waged mostly on news anchors, male and female. Pictures from weeks later would show, many of them were wearing larger pants. Nobody would believe it. Nobody would even entertain it. But the anons, they knew. The oldest of the oldfags, they could smell the magic in the air. Some of them had been studying it for years, some for decades. They were the uninitiated students of Jung, Bardon, Bruce, and the raving schizophrenics who would have been called shamans in less civilized times, who were today just called faggots like everyone else on the internet. They went deeper into endchan''s depths and established for themselves a place to plan and plot. From these secret chambers, strange ideas were grown and spliced, and the technology to deploy them. The Wizard Beach Club had been established, and soon the world would know what they could do. All they had to do was wait. Wait for the next meme storm. 19. Stranger in a Strange land Ch 19 Casimer was in a strange place with a strange form. His body was a well designed, humanoid composite of desert insects, grasshopper mice, a bit of plant, and the human being he had previously devoured. He attempted to manipulate his environment, and found it exceedingly difficult to do. The sky above him was red, and the air stunk of mustard. The world around him was a desolate, flat plane, red churning clouds in the sky flashed with contained lightning and muted thunder. In his right hand was embedded a burning white opal, and the moment he glanced at it, a blue window appeared, expanded, passed through his body, then returned to hovering above his hand. Displayed on the screen was a screen of gibberish, arranged in three columns, each wall of gibberish seeming unique to the other two. ¡°That''s a pretty interesting little toy,¡± a voice hissed from somewhere above him in the sky. Casimer whipped his head around and saw a thick, long creature with smooth black skin, random streaming tentacles that trailed behind it. The creature''s face was on the end of it''s body, and consisted of a driftwood mask with drawn eyes and a mouth. Casimer let out a scream, and shot venom and webbing at the creature. ¡°Oh hush,¡± it hissed, body curling and avoiding the attack ¡°I hope you are smart enough to see I have nothing to gain from your death.¡± Casimer paused, memories of his initial attacks on Melchsee guiding his actions. He was clearly outmatched in every way, and this creature, whatever it was, had him at his mercy. The blue window at his hand began to blink, then displayed a picture of the strange creature, along with a warning that victory through combat was very unlikely. ¡°I''ll bet,¡± Casimer said, subtly generating an insect eye near the window to track it''s ever updating information readout ¡°that you are a dungeon.¡± It took most of his self control to frame it as a statement, rather than a question. The creature seemed pleased. ¡°Finally, a child with a brain. You must have gotten lucky and eaten something quite good before you came here.¡± ¡°I''m afraid,¡± Casimer said, reading the script Melchsee was feeding him ¡°That guess is the extent of my knowledge. Wise and powerful dungeon,¡± Casimer said, the words like gravel in his mouth ¡°Where am I? Have I died? Who are you?¡± It chuckled, body lazily streaming through the air, seeming to be very pleased. ¡°And it knows how to flatter, kuk kuk kuk. Oh yes, you are much preferable to that other scamp across the way.¡± An evil light shone from behind it''s mask for a moment, then passed. ¡°I will answer your questions, and even give you a little information for free. Never say good old Labyrnthee didn''t do anything for you,¡± one of the streamers patted him on the head ¡°You are in The Dungeon, little boy. It is to this place we are anchored at our most basic level, it is here where our roots are nourished by raw mana, this place which connects all dungeons to all places.¡± Casimer nodded, noting that on Melchsee''s window a fully rendered model of Labyrnthee had been generated, along with a transcript of what he was saying. ¡°Have you died. . . Well, certainly something has given you a shock. It was an adventurer, I wager, touching what he shouldn''t touch. I imagine he got something like a wish out of it, big piles of gold and jelly, they like that sort of thing. You will return, if you are able. Simply rebuild your core, here, and you will. Now, for something fun.¡± Casimer got the impression that he should avoid letting Labyrnthee ever have any fun at his expense. ¡°Some distance away,¡± he said, ¡°There is another dungeon, almost as weak as you. He is very stupid, but gifted with a decent core. You, on the other-hand, are clever, but your core is as common as dirt. In fact, it may even be dirt, but I won''t look too closely.¡± Casimer kept his mouth shut. ¡°His dungeon is basic, just a cave with the biggest brutes he could conjure up out of wildlife guarding his core. You at least, had a clever trap to assist your funny little mice. I was rather amused to see the illusion broken by the pink ape monster, I must admit. Now,¡± his tone changed from pleased to business ¡°I want you to go to that arrogant whelp and his Den of Monsters, I want you to kill his creations, and I want you to claim his core for your own. Do this, and I will teach you how to return. You have a day,¡± he said seriously ¡°and then you will no longer have the option to return, and you will never become stronger, and you will die here to monsters much less bored with violence than I.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Melchsee began displaying a reply that balanced diplomacy with self interest, and Casimer closed the eye on his wrist. ¡°Which way?¡± he growled, a savage smile on his face. Labyrnthee began to laugh in earnest. ¨C Casimer had expected to make his trip alone, but Labyrnthee floated along above him. Casimer had briefly tried to fly with his insect wings, and discovered them woefully inadequate for the task. His companion was surprised when Casimer sprouted gigantic fly wings and flapped them to a blur, but seemed to keep his opinion on the matter to himself. Melchsee had migrated off of his body, covered herself with a nimbus of green energy, and grown fly wings that looked like Casimer''s and began flying with them. He got the impression she was trying to defend his ability to produce functional wings. She flitted about, hovering over rocks and random patches of red dirt, passing blue windows through them, and repeating the process elsewhere. ¡°What sort of spell is that?¡± Labyrnthee asked, indicating Melchsee with his streaming tentacles. ¡°Her? I don''t supposed I know,¡± Casimer replied ¡°You don''t know? Where did it come from? The only thing you bring with you to this place is your body, the composite and ultimate expression of your power.¡± ¡°I''ve been meaning to ask about that,¡± Melchsee said, flitting over and flying just behind Casimer''s left shoulder ¡°Do you mind explaining further?¡± ¡°It speaks? Are you making it do that?¡± ¡°No,¡± Casimer and Melchsee said simultaneously. ¡°What a strange little ability,¡± Labyrnthee said, voice distant, amused, and only for the briefest moment, lucid. He gazed at Casimer for a moment longer, then turned his attention to Melchsee. ¡°The body of the dungeon is the full record of the fights and feats committed there, of the treasures and magics he has created, and the power and abilities of those who have died in the depths. For such a young dungeon,¡± Labyrnthee commented ¡°you have done exceptionally well in cultivating your body. It speaks well of your future.¡± Casimer and Melchsee looked at one another, and exchanged the thought that neither of them had put forth any effort into the body. ¡°I think I see something,¡± Casimer said, pointing at a mound of red dirt in the distance. It looked to be about twelve feet tall and eight feet wide, and had an arched, dark entrance that reached nearly to the top. ¡°There he is,¡± Labyrnthee hissed, pointing with his streamers ¡°The fool has not even any defenses!¡± The paint on his mask began to run, the simple smile widening and depicting sharp teeth, the eyes smudging and becoming more angry. Melchsee launched herself at Casimer''s hand and embedded herself there, and a nimbus of green energy in the shape of a sword was projected into his grip. ¡°Yesssss,¡± Labyrnthee hissed, looking at the sword ¡°What evil tricks you have, what a wicked mind! Go! GO!¡± he screamed, red light surrounding him in a nimbus like a black crimson storm ¡°Show me violence! Show me BLOOD!¡± The light from Labyrnthee shot forth and enveloped Casimer, and he was gripped by bloodlust. Melchsee let loose a tinny scream, and the output of energy became a torrent, the blade turning red and warping and churning like fire. Casimer charged into the Den of Monsters and glanced around, many compound eyes wildly spinning. There was only one room, the floor and walls covered with thick, mossy stone bricks. In the center of the room was a raised platform, upon which sat a green wooden Dungeon Core, which shone with soft light. Surrounding the platform were six grizzly bears, standing on their hind legs, a circle of dry white paint was drawn onto their faces and paws. They were arranged in a hexagon and facing outward. Casimer bellowed, a harmony between a cicada, a toad and the howl of a mouse, that had the force of a freight train whistle. Above the heads of the bears, projected by Melchsee, dripping purple skulls appeared. The bears began to cry out in fear and run, and Casimer lept, wings flying into a blur, propelling him forward as he lept onto the back of a bear and bit into it with spider fangs, stinging it with scorpion barbs on his finger tips, sword forgotten. He drank it''s blood and screamed, head thrown back and tiny droplets flying along the arc of force, mouth wide open, the sound now like a man, then turned his compound eyes to the remaining five bears. The stone in the center of the room began to vibrate, then sent out a pulse, and the icons above the bears vanished. They bellowed in rage and charged. Casimer hissed and covered the ground in web as he made his egress, skittering across the floor and climbing onto the stone wall. One of the bears got loose and charged ahead of the others, Casimer braced himself, then lashed out, sword appearing and retracting in a split second, piercing the bear through it''s snout, causing it to fall back in pain. Casimer pounced, jumping from the wall onto the exposed belly, stabbing furiously before retreating from the remaining four bears as they charged. With a sudden change in motion, he launched himself off the wall and over the heads of the bears, spraying toxic mist as he did so, burning the bears faces badly and causing them to be enraged with pain. Casimer began to chuckle, skittering across the ground, jumping over the corpse of the first bear and waiting on the wall behind it. The other bears were charging on all fours, bellowing grizzly bellows, and when they were over the corpse of the first bear, Casimer snapped his fingers and it exploded, infernal flies and ants and spiders with wings spreading and attacking the remaining four. There is no need to describe how horribly the remaining bears died. Upon their merciful final breaths, their bodies collectively burst into green panes of light, leaving behind piles of gold, plants and several pieces of jewelry. Casimer stood up, body seeming to suck in the light around him, covered in blood, eyes shining with dark triumph. The Dungeon Core in the center of the room began to pulse with frantic green light, and Casimer approached slowly. Casually, he reached out and picked it up, sending a shock through the structure and causing it to collapse into motes of fading light. He stood, breathing hard, arm extended with the gem clutched in his grip. Above him, Labyrnthee laughed with wicked, wild delight. 20. Everybodys Hungover Ch 20 ¡°Bro, he would never just go home,¡± Vaughan said, voice thick with worry ¡°He''s supposed to be on this bachelor party trip for a fucking week, and this was day three. We were going to the zoo man, he would never have missed that! Besides, what''s-his-face and that girl with the nice tits but not great face swore they saw him go into the mountain with those two Mexicans. He had cash on him, bro, and I never trusted those cartel bean-fuckers. Louden,¡± he said suddenly ¡°Did you invite them?¡± Louden, along with Ben, McCrea and Polk, were walking in single file behind Vaughan, up a trail on the mountain. They had been searching for about an hour, each armed, nervous about the occasional howls they were hearing. Ben in particular, seemed sensitive to everything around him. Something in the air, something about how everything looked, it made him feel like he was getting high on something. It was subtle, but Ben was an expert on getting high. ¡°Did I invite them? Well, I don''t really know who I invited.¡± Louden said, feigning stupidity. It was a particularly polished skill of hers, and anyone who knew what she was like could spot it immediately. Vaughan was not the sort of person to doubt a pretty face, but there wasn''t any room left in his heart for Louden''s. He turned his attention to Polk. ¡°Of course she invited them,¡± Polk said, voice edged with anger ¡°She sold like two gallon bags of pills to those fuckers.¡± Louden shot her a dirty look and then stuck her tongue out at Polk. ¡°Look, let''s just keep looking,¡± Ben said, face pale ¡°I want to get out of here as fast as we can, this place is giving me the creeps.¡± In the distance, a wolf howled. ¡°Speaking of,¡± McCrea said, pointing in the direction of the howl ¡°Does that sound like a coyote to you? Because it doesn''t sound like one to me.¡± ¡°Would you stop it,¡± Louden said, voice rising in pitch ¡°Between bad-trip bobby over there,¡± She pointed at Ben ¡°and you, I''m starting to get seriously freaked out. Let me tell you what happened,¡± she said, and everybody stopped to listen ¡°What, keep walking you fucks,¡± they started moving again ¡°Here''s what happened. Vaughan''s buddy went up the mountain with those polite Mexican drug dealers, and they got shitfaced on alcohol and pills, and they''re passed the fuck out somewhere up here. The most danger they are in is from sunburn. End of story,¡± she said, but Vaughan didn''t hear it, because he started running and shouting. ¡°It''s them!¡± He said, looking back and gesturing for everyone to follow. Everyone started to run after him. Polk and Louden pulled out bottles of water and unscrewed them as they ran, ready to start administering life saving hydration techniques. If there was one thing their shithole of a desert school district had taught them, it was how to not die in the desert and save a life from heatstroke. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°No! No, NO NO!¡± Vaughan had slid to his knees near his friend, cradling his body and shedding tears, continuing to say no. The rest of the group slowed and began taking in their surroundings. A pile of quartz rubble, a pyramid covered in moss and muddy ground. Another body, this one horribly disfigured, lay in the mud. Nobody wanted to touch it, or even approach it. ¡°Hey, Ben,¡± McCrea said, eyes wide ¡°I think some fucked up shit happened here.¡± ¡°You aren''t kidding,¡± Ben said, fighting down nausea ¡°Let''s get out of here and call the fucking cops.¡± Out of morbid curiosity, he got closer to the mangled body and saw a handgun tucked into the waistline of the pants. Exchanging a look with McCrea, Ben took the gun. Louden was crying, a frustrated look on her face. Vaughan shot her a black, angry look, then went back to cradling his newly acquired and recently lost friend. McCrea had his phone out and was holding it up into the air, the universal sign language of ''No Signal'' clearly displayed. Polk very slowly walked over to Ben and began tugging on his sleeve frantically. ¡°Ben,¡± she whispered, voice barely escaping, eyes wide and brimming with tears ¡°Ben,¡± she said again, arm shaking and heavy with the gravity of fear, finger barely pointing off into the area beyond the plateau they stood on. Ben scanned the area, and saw a large wolf with strangely rounded ears and elongated legs, body round and muscled in the back, it''s proportions all wrong for a canine, crouched low. It''s eyes were green, the whites were a shocking white, almost like glass. The pupil was a four armed spiral that tightened when it noticed Ben staring at it. It raised it''s lips and threw back its head and howled, sending a wave of fear through the group. It stared metaphorical lasers at Ben, solid eye contact, and charged him. ¡°Look out!¡± he shouted, and opened fire on the animal. Every shot missed, save one that hit it''s leg, blasting the thin appendage off and causing the Grass Wolf to miss a step, before snarling and continuing to lope along, having lost only a little of it''s momentum. The wolf was about to slam into Ben, when McCrea tackled it from the side, knocking it out of the way and sending it tumbling to the ground. Ben did not waste his opportunity, and unloaded the remainder of his magazine into the temporarily dazed animal. It didn''t yelp as it died, it growled, nearly a yell, then total silence. The body remained for a moment, then broke apart into panes of yellow and red light, leaving behind several glowing orbs that raced towards Ben, a stone like obsidian that shone with red light and emitted black smoke, a gallon bag of ecstasy, and a rotating window of light with the pictograph of an eye on it. Ben didn''t feel the orbs impact his body, but rather felt a surge of energy and mental clarity. He ran over to the pile of loot and, without knowing why, mind wandering to the habits gained from games, he touched the pane of light. The moment he did, it was as though a new room appeared in his mind, a sudden surge of understanding, the kind of breakthrough that only happens in dreams and are forgotten in the morning. Yet this was so much stronger, so much more defined than anything that had ever come from a dream. Ben didn''t just know what to do next, he was already doing it. Ben, suddenly full of confidence, ejected the expired magazine from his handgun and put a fresh one in. In the distance, eight giant mice charged, drawn to the area by the last defiant cry of their fellow monster. Ben''s lip curled, and without really focusing, he opened fire; every shot landing exactly where he intended it to, right between the eyes, blasting the group to a storm of light that rushed towards him, and leaving piles of loot on the ground where they fell, including two guns. Ben''s confidence didn''t waver until approximately ten seconds later, when he suddenly forgot everything he had just known about aiming. ¡°Dude!¡± Vaughan shouted, running towards Ben and picking him up in a bear hug, spinning him around and shouting joyously ¡°You''re a fuckin badass!¡± Louden was cautiously approaching the many, many bags of pills on the ground. Experimentally, she opened one and nibbled a piece off of a brightly colored tab. Her smile could have melted ice and unzipped a man''s pants, and she took the entire pill. ¡°Fucking, Jackpot.¡± Around them, the bodies lay, exactly where they were, momentarily forgotten. 21. Probably Shouldnt Trust that Guy Ch 21 ¡°Just like this, then?¡± Casimer asked, cross legged and staring at the green dungeon core in his hand. His body had swelled to three times it''s previous proportions, his mouth filling with bear teeth; eating those bears had really done wonders for his temperment as well. Casimer had never felt so relaxed. ¡°Yes,¡± Labrynthee said, sounding intoxicated as he hovered over the ruined site of the ''Den of Monsters''. From the ground, tiny two leaved shoots grew with supernatural speed, and Labrynthee pounced on the new growth, scorching the ground wherever something tried to grow. He seemed to derive great amusement from this. ¡°So,¡± Casimer said, voice even and patient ¡°What do I do with it?¡± ¡°It''s so simple. You simply claim it, move inside of it, and it''s power is yours.¡± Casimer pulled the corners of his monstrous lips down and shrugged. ¡°I claim the core!¡± He shouted, then hunched over and pushed his head onto the core. He sat there for a moment, then Labrynthee began laughing wildly. ¡°It didn''t seem to work,¡± Casimer said, voice calm as he reset his posture and went back to staring at the core. In a fit of minor realization, he directed Melchsee to scan the core and see what she could find out. Melchsee removed herself from Casimer, and grabbed hold of the dungeon core with a cube of blue light. Labrynthee stopped laughing almost at once and floated overhead, focused intently on the events below. The core resembled nothing more than a chunk of viridian green petrified wood, a long and textured chunk of smooth stone with grooves and a single big knot near the thickest part of the bottom. It floated motionless, then rotated 180 degrees along the vertical axis, then the same turn along the horizontal axis, then several even turns along diagonal lines. At one point, the core began to vibrate, and at another, it produced green sparks that turned to grass when they touched the ground. ¡°Please,¡± It screamed at one point ¡°the kingdom-¡± but it was cut off by a flash of light from the cube it was encased in. Abruptly, there was a ''ding'' sound, like the alarm for a toaster oven, and the core was shifted and then dropped into Casimer''s open palm. It projected a blank white background window with a gold border. It hesitated for a moment, then all at once, words materialized on it.
Viridian Dungeon Core, Quality: Unknown. Composed of a vivid, light green petrified wood, this Dungeon Core was captured from ''The Den of Monsters'' by Casimer, the only dungeon of Earth. Investigation by sophisticated psychic means has shown the fragmented, mostly destroyed remains of a mind that once occupied the core.
Then, above that window, another appeared.
You have created a new skill, Analyze. Would you like to see your existing skills? Y/N
Casimer was about to say no, when he got an absolutely, rock, certain impression that he would want to look at his skills. The effect was subtle, but Casimer was certain that Melchsee had altered his thoughts and perceptions to make that pun.
Currently Known Skills: Absorb (Dungeon Only) Aim (New) Analyze (New) Bend Light Change Environment (Dungeon Only) Create Dungeon (Dungeon Only) Merge (Dungeon Only) Monster Creation (Dungeon Only)This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Plane Shift (New) Psychic Link
As Casimer stared, each set of words morphed into small icons arranged in a grid along the window. The skill for merge, which showed a venn-diagram of two eyes coming together, rose from the screen and hovered in the air. ¡°Oooohhh,¡± Labrynthee said, voice soft, child-like, heavy with the pain of beauty ¡°how elegant! What a refined creature you are,¡± he nearly whispered, drawn tears appearing on the mask and running down. ¡°Please,¡± he said ¡°please touch it!¡± Casimer mentally checked with his companion and got the impression he should indeed touch the icon. He reached a scorpion stinger tipped finger out and tapped it, a sudden stream of understanding in his mind revealed something he had apparently already known how to do. Above the Viridian Dungeon Core, a new window appeared.
Would you like to claim this core using the Merge Skill? Y/N
¡°Yes,¡± Casimer said, and without ceremony or fanfare, the Viridian dungeon core lifted into the air and slammed against his chest, sinking into his body like a boulder through deep mud. Before Casimer had a chance to examine how he felt, Labrynthee began speaking. ¡°Ah,¡± he said, a content look on his face ¡°It truly is good to see the young and impoverished thrive. A dungeon born on barren land,¡± he said with a near musical tone, like he was reciting something ¡°with nothing but his wits in hand; below the mountain, below the pits, below the bottom of the world he stands, with poor, exiled, fangless me.¡± He sighed, then started speaking normally ¡°I saw your birth, little dungeon. A tiny fire, and a bold, saucy proclamation. You said ''Hear me, you who call yourselves powerful. I am coming, and I will eat you.'' Or something like that,¡± he said with a dismissive tone. ¡°What a shame,¡± he said with the tonal equivalent of a shrug ¡°There''s nothing else on this plane, no other dungeons. Nothing but me. A core must be bet to travel to this place, and a core must be sacrificed to leave, forming an anchor, your body that exists here, the entrance to your dungeon, to you. Perhaps, if you had made a friend of that core, there could have been a way.¡± He laughed. ¡°If you leave now,¡± he said, voice betraying a nearly sadistic delight ¡°Your next trip here will be one way. If you stay,¡± he said ¡°you will wander, and wander and wander till you find the edge of this place, ascend to a higher level, and die to opponents far too powerful to even describe to one such as you. You are as doomed as I,¡± he hissed, eyes growing wild ¡°yes, and even now powerful agents will be sent to investigate the destruction of the outpost, and when they find you, we will both be destroyed. Finally,¡± he said, voice breaking into total madness ¡°Finally I will be killed!¡± A clandestine window appeared near an eye on Casimer''s shoulder, out of view from Labrynthee, who was twisting and wiggling through the air, alternating between weeping and laughing.
Casimer, it''s Melchsee. (If you hadn''t figured that out already). This guy''s nuts, and more importantly, I don''t think we can get anything useful out of him anymore. Let''s get out of here, I''ve been examining the Create Dungeon skill, and it''s pretty great. Here''s what you need to do.
Casimer read the simple instructions displayed on the screen, nodded, and the screen vanished. His hands morphed, becoming more like bear hands with thick claws at the end, and started digging a hole. The ground was hard, and his claws were harder, his body strong, and the dusty, parched ground broke apart. ¡°What are you doing,¡± Labrynthee said, sounding annoyed. ¡°I''m looking for a rock,¡± Casimer said, voice deeper, slower, more bear-like. ¡°What kind of a rock,¡± Labrynthee said, voice frozen into sanity. ¡°A nice polished rock, preferably a gem¡± Casimer said, now waist deep into his hole, voice muffled. ¡°Oh,¡± Labrynthee said, bored ¡°I''ll look as well. We might as well get comfortable with one another. There should be some in the distance, I''ve made a game of stacking things as high as they will go and knocking them over.¡± ¡°No need,¡± Casimer said, feet sticking out from the mouth of the hole ¡°I''ve found something.¡± His body contorted, and he pulled himself up, a regular, roughly spherical rock that looked like pitted granite held in his mouth. ¡°Oh, well good then, you''ve found your favorite rock. Congratulations.¡± Several of Labrynthee''s streamers slapped together in a limp fish parody of applause. Casimer conjured his skill window and pulled the icon for Create Dungeon off of it. This icon shone like a crystal, vivid colors depicting a man in a pointy, conic hat with his arms raised in the air, wand in the right hand, facing away and looking at a levitating, bright stone. He touched it with a bear claw, and it turned grey.
Would you like to use Create Dungeon on this ''Common Stone''? Y/N Cooldown for this skill: 1 Year. 5 Years if failure occurs. 80% chance of failure.
Without hesitation, Casimer selected yes, and the stone rose into the air, a golden fire surrounding it. Labrynthee began to scream, hateful, murderous screams, his streamers turning to claws the couldn''t seem to reach Casimer, regardless of how badly he wanted to kill him. The stone began to rotate erratically, great fast movements that slowed without discernible pattern, each fast motion causing it to flare with brighter light. Casimer, without waiting a moment, pulled the icon for Plane Shift from his skill window, a pictograph showing a humanoid figure, and another figure moving away from it looking insubstantial. A window appeared, and Casimer dismissed it without reading too carefully. He already knew how it worked, the skill was just a shortcut to something already there. The dungeon core stopped rotating in the air and dropped to the ground, the same rock, but shining with normal, undifferentiated light. The skill window engulfed it, wrapping around it like a plastic shell, and the core plunged into the ground. ¡°This cannot be!¡± Labrynthee screamed, ineffectual strikes landing on Casimer like being hit with a ribbon ¡°I hate you! Escape artist! Trickster! Liar! Evil God! I hate you! I will betray you!¡± ¡°Thank you for your help,¡± Casimer said, voice as calm as a bear in the woods ¡°But I must go now.¡± The point where the core entered the ground became a wide staircase leading straight down into black, unknown depths. Casimer, standing on two legs, walked into the black. 22. Mamas Chili Ch 22 It was a long time before the police were able to get to the mountain and investigate the bodies. Ben had half expected, for some strange reason, the bodies to have vanished by the time the police got there. The police were mostly professional about it, but being from the town of hope, they were less cops and more men dressed and trained to act like cops only in the presence of legitimate law enforcement. The bodies were still there, but the one in the mud had moved, sucked into the ground by some unknown force, and only his hand stuck out from the ground, flesh mostly eaten off of it. Nothing seemed to have touched Vaughan''s friend. ¡°Oh, Christ on a pogo stick,¡± one of them said ¡°Get the camera, I''ve gotta show this to my kid.¡± The other officer came with the camera, and the first officer got low and smiled with a thumbs up next to the exposed hand. For a moment, a thought flashed across the officer''s mind, and he molded the hand to also be giving a thumbs up, and then it flipping the bird, getting both pictures. By the end of it, the officers were laughing up a storm. ¡°Shouldn''t you be collecting evidence?¡± Louden asked, seeming to be genuinely offended. One of the officers glanced over at her, and then at Ben. They had restricted their guides to those two and sent the other three home. Ben suspected Louden was here solely because she was attractive and in tight clothes. ¡°Sure,¡± the officer said, tapping his skull ¡°Got it all up here. Three kids at a party go wandering up a desert mountain, high and or drunk, bury their friend, forget about him and die of exposure. There, solved it!¡± The other officer gave him a resounding hi-five, and they both started laughing and leaving the scene. ¡°Don''t you care at all what really happened?¡± Ben asked, voice growing frustrated. ¡°You already told us everything, right?¡± The first officer said. ¡°Unless you lied,¡± the second said, suddenly very serious. ¡°You better come clean right now if you did,¡± the first one said. ¡°You son of a bitch,¡± the second one said, raising his voice ¡°Tell me the goddamn truth, did you leave anything out?¡± Ben coughed, wilting under the sudden intense pressure. ¡°N-no, that''s how it went down. I just thought it was weird, why would they bury him?¡± The officers looked at one another, then burst out laughing, exchanging a fist bump. ¡°Classic Bad cop, bad cop,¡± the first one said, then slapped Ben on the back. ¡°Don''t worry so much. Why did they do it? Fuck, why do people chop off their own balls and cook ''em up on a skillet? Who knows. People are just nuts sometimes, and all we can do is report it to the families and make it sound like they died without a lot of pain.¡± ¡°Lie, basically¡± the second cop said. ¡°We''ll have someone come by and pick up the bodies, identify them, and get them back to the families. Truth be told, we thought you kids were trying to take us for a ride. Come on, lets get out of here; it''s a long trip, and mama''s making chili tonight.¡± ¨CThis tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. A little while after the cops, Louden and Ben left the mountain, a storm rolled through the area. That is an inaccurate way to describe it though, rather than a storm rolling through, it was a storm rolling from the mountain. Thick, black, thunder-clouds spread like an expanding circle from the area, bringing rain and lightning that turned the ground to mud. The storm grew in intensity, a great wind, a vortex around the mountain, and at it''s crescendo, a massive pillar of lightning, like seven woven bolts of electricity, struck the ground of the destroyed Oasis Dungeon. The site of the impact smoldered, smoke rising from the crater. In the center, Casimer and the Viridian Dungeon Core sat, motionless. The ground began to shimmer as though in a heat wave, then an arm of dirt lifted Casimer, and another grabbed the second core, pulling it into the ground. Casimer began to lift rocks, first in the campsite, then in the surrounding slopes, and finally some distance down the mountain where the bounds of his influence ended. ¡°This is incredible,¡± He said, vibrating the air to form audible sound. ¡°I''m so. . . big! I never knew the world was so large.¡± ¡°It''s much larger than this, My Lord,¡± Melchsee said, a spark of light that came from Casimer''s gem and reformed into a glowing woman with an opal in her forehead. ¡°Much, much larger.¡± Casimer seemed almost asleep, his awareness spreading and penetrating every particle inside of his influence, his mind effortlessly keeping track of it all as the rain-water flowed through and out of his domain. ¡°What''s incredible,¡± Melchsee said, eyes going wide ¡°Is what you are doing right now. Back when I-¡± she seemed unsure. ¡°Human beings,¡± she said, changing direction ¡°are the dominate species on this planet. A lifetime ago, or about sixty years,¡± ¡°What''s a year,¡± he asked. She paused, realizing Casimer had no concept of time ¡°Oh, here, I''ll just explain it.¡± From her forehead, a projection of the solar system appeared. Casimer''s focus sharpened on the area visibly, like the resolution was turned up in that particular spot. ¡°So, you''ve got the sun,¡± she said, highlighting the bright orb ¡°Then a few other planets in-between earth,¡± ¡°What''s a planet,¡± Casimer asked, voice patient. ¡°We are on a planet. This one is called Earth.¡± The earth lit up. ¡°There are more, out there. Other planets,¡± he said, a tentacle of dirt indicating Mars, then the gas giants. ¡°And this,¡± he said, indicating the asteroid belt beyond Mars''s orbit ¡°Are these planets as well?¡± ¡°No,¡± Melchsee said, suppressing a smile ¡°That is the asteroid belt. My previous employer swore up and down it was an exploded planet, but that''s not a relevant issue.¡± She collected herself, then continued ¡°The planets rotate around the sun in a predictable, orderly fashion,¡± the planets were set in motion, orbiting smoothly ¡°Each rotation of our planet is what we call, a year.¡± ¡°That explains it,¡± Casimer said, a small note of amusement in his voice ¡°I had wondered why the world alternated between light and dark. What is the name of this dungeon, the one who set it all in motion? I''m quite the fan of their work.¡± ¡°Nobody knows that. So, sixty years would be-¡± Casimer beat her to the punch, creating his own model of the solar system with balls of dirt and rocks, setting them into rapid orbit, till the third rock from the sun had completed sixty rotations. ¡°That seems like a long time,¡± he mused ¡°Most humans die in that amount of time,¡± she said ¡°But new humans are born to take their place. A long time ago, I was created by a human being, born in their mind. At the time, I thought it was as powerful of a mind as could exist, and among humans, I was correct. But you. . . I wonder how much of my help you''ll need once you''ve got all this figured out. I may have to find something else to do with my time.¡± ¡°You might be right,¡± Casimer said, attention still clearly on his model of the solar system, which was steadily gaining resolution, each ball of dirt or rock being coated with a different type of metal for each planet. The metal flowed over the rocks and seeped from the balls of dirt, forming mirror smooth shells, silver metal shimmering with heat, never cooling. ¡°Do you really think I would forget you offered to serve me at the point of a sword? That you commanded me to make you my servant, demanded that I become greater than I was? Now that the tables have turned, I find that interesting.¡± There was a flex in the space around Casimer and his model solar-system, and fine details began to impress themselves into the planets, giving them geographic texture, though not the geography of the planets they represented. If one were to examine them with a microscope, they would see each planet was an endless desert, covered in mountain and the occasional oasis. They spun for a while, moving at the rate of a day a second, movements totally smooth and silent, with occasional hiccups in orbit as Casimer''s concentration lapsed and then corrected itself. Thunder boomed and the winds whipped and howled with abandon for miles and miles. Giant mice huddled together for warmth in whatever shelter they could find, mutated toads crawled about, aggressive and aimless. All the while, the reach of mana, like water flowing into a dry sponge, spread ever farther. 23. Bens Dream Ch 23 It was a long time before Ben got home, the drive along the two lane highway lasting beyond the sunset, leaving him in darkness outside of his trailer. He stood outside for only a moment, before the sight of the shadows set him on edge. He struggled to pull his keys from his pocket, then unlocked the door and went inside. Ben turned on all the lights and began pacing, a slow walk from one end to the other of the trailer, around the couch, infront of the computer, past the restroom and turning around at the entrance of the bedroom to begin another lap. As is often the case, Ben did not know he was pacing. In his mind, memories flew unguided, wild, more vivid than any other memories he''d ever had before. He could see the giant mice, could see the moment he picked up the glowing picture of an eye, almost saw as the bullet impacted mouse after mouse, their bodies breaking apart into light, like they were made of glass. The memory of how effortless it had been to shoot twelve bulls-eyes in a row, and how impossible it seemed to him now. When his mind went to investigating the bodies, of getting up close to them, the memory obsessively started over, right back to the beginning of the fight. He paced like this for quite a while, eventually sitting down on the couch with his elbows resting on his knees, head in his hands. Overhead, lightning crackled, and a heavy rain began to fall. Every strike sent little shivers of energy through his body, the sensation of being tickled inside his leg bones, accompanied by a dull tingling across his body. At one point in the night, he clutched his chest, his heart pounding like it was going to explode, then calming down. At another, he had a case of diarrhea so painful and powerful, it made him vomit, and seemed to continue long after there was nothing else to purge from his system. Things seemed to be moving outside of his focus, making him jumpy, eyes darting about. Eventually, Ben settled on closing his eyes and leaning his head back, sleeping on the couch with the lights on. ¨C In his dream, Ben was on a ferry. He was on a large passenger ferry headed to a city. Around him were huddled people, wrapped in rags. They were rocking back and forth, like homeless people who had spent too long on the streets. Ben saw the city in the distance, and the sky was red. There was a flash, then a shock wave that blasted the boat to pieces. Ben floated above it, and saw the mushroom clouds in the distance reducing the city to rubble. Another impact knocked his vision out. Ben was laid out in a sandy desert. He knew it to be the bottom of the ocean, evaporated by war. Around him was the wreckage of civilization, all twisted metal stretching upwards, everything washed in a thin orange haze. He walked, and soon he was on barren, dead dirt. A voice whispered; Come and see. . . Ben saw. His companion was out of sight, not invisible, simply unable to be seen or even acknowledged. Ben saw. He sat atop a wall thick enough to be a city and tall enough to touch space. Below, on dead, red earth, all the peoples of the world danced. They danced, frantic, frenzied, afraid. He could see their eyes even from this distance, like an ocean of hyper vivid lights, every one of them in a state of total, perpetual panic. They copulated and murdered and danced among the blood and dead. Come and see. . . Ben saw. A field in the final moments of twilight, sky painted with stars, green grass swaying gently in the breeze and a small creek winding in the background. A boy child dressed in rustic clothing stood before a chain link fence with barbed wire atop it. From the darkness of the woods came a Witch in scarlet, she pressed her body and face and hands against the fence, hard. ¡°Let me in child.¡± ¡°No!¡± the boy said with wide, terrible eyes ¡°You are a witch.¡± With horrifying slowness Ben watched for long minutes as the boy walked backwards, keeping eye contact with the witch. He passed over the stream and out of sight. Come and see. . . Ben saw. A golden throne for giants, atop it a corpse whos flesh was tight and swollen with decay. Atop his head was a Crown with gold the color of blood and Rubies atop spikes, across his lap a sword of black, a darkness which hated the light. It''s voice was deep and dead and echoed through Ben''s mind. ¡°To one shall I give my body. To one shall I give my authority.¡± It laughed an awful laugh that tore the vision to pieces. Come and see. . . Ben saw. A gathering in an RV park in the forest, his family and friends were there. He sat at a fire, and across from him was a hideous witch, hunchbacked and fleshy, totally naked. ¡°Hear me well,¡± she said, and Ben knew she spoke an evil truth of possessions ¡°It is better for man and the devil to work in concert.¡± Only one of her eyes locked on him, while the other continued to stare in the fire. The eye that looked at him was red and slitted, the other a simple brown.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Come and see. . . ¡°Please, no more!¡± Ben begged, but the vision was relentless. Ben saw. He sat in a car with his family, a family which had never known the peace and communion this family enjoyed. The light outside was golden, a strange forest of trees with white bark and leaves like ivy dominated the sides of the road. They arrived to a house with a firetruck red garage door that opened automatically. The inside of the garage was dark. When Ben passed through it, he felt as though he was tumbling through a void, surrounded by Egyptian idols of jackals. There was a figure near the back, black robes and shrouded in shadows. He held a papyrus scroll with golden caps on the end. ¡°God?¡± Ben asked incredulously. The figure looked up, it seemed surprised. Then, it held the scroll out to Ben. Upon it were written in gold leaf; THE RULE OF LAW. When Ben reached out to grab it, it crumbled to ash through his fingers. Ben wept and fell to his knees, trying to grab any smoldering fragments that might be left. COME AND SEE! Ben screamed, and he saw. A town in the middle of nowhere, ringed by trees. A young girl, beautiful, sixteen, stood naked at the top of a hill. She walked briskly, shamelessly, and Madness followed in the wake of the young witch. Old men ripped their clothing from their bodies and began furiously fornicating with one another. Women threw their babies to the pavement with savage violence and covered themselves in the blood. Wherever she walked, more witches appeared as though they had been invisible, hiding. Bloodlust and madness followed, packs of men running around on all fours and drinking from urinals, fires and lust and murder- ¡°AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!¡± Ben screamed for a long time. When he awoke, he was in bed at home. A shadowy figure stood over his bed, and a clock rapidly cycled through numbers, letters and gibberish symbols in furious millisecond intervals. Ben awoke again and was floating above the crime scene, looking down at a great pit surrounded by piles of gold and treasures. He felt a storm of soundless wind, rain and thunder all around him. From the pit, he felt a great, hungry presence, waiting. ¨C Ben awoke with a start, sitting still for a moment, then standing up as quickly as he could and rushing to the bathroom. He washed his face with cold water, wiping it off with a towel and attempting to wash the vision from his eyes. He towled off and headed outside to dry off, the bright desert morning light warming his skin and burning his fear away. Ben walked over to his car, wanting to get a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes, and noticed something strange. He looked over at it and the first thing he noticed was that his car had been given a clean new coat of paint, the same color as before. Then, looking inside, he saw that the interior had been thoroughly cleaned and organized. Sitting on the drivers seat of the car was a white metal street sign with a cow symbol on it, and in red spray paint, the cow had a circle around it with a line through. Ben pulled the sign from the drivers seat and put it in the trunk. He would want it in there as a souvenir if he survived the next 12 hours. ¨C Everything but the Cow Fried Chicken was the only fried chicken restaurant in fifty miles. Initially, locals had avoided it, considering the name to be weird and somehow implying cannibalism. Ben had thought that said more about the town than it did the restaurant, but had also avoided eating there, because he didn''t know he liked fried chicken yet. Eventually, as the weeks went on, boredom and curiosity had driven the locals of Hope to eat there, and it was thereafter generally considered to be a good place to get food; it had worked out much better than the Kabuki Theater Steak House, which was dead upon arrival. Later the business would be bought out by a crime family from Vegas, a member of whom had enjoyed eating there while he was laying low for a couple of months. Not much had changed, aside from a substantial pay raise for the employees in the form of an extensive benefits program, along with a smaller traditional raise. The employees knew, however, who paid their bills. It was no surprise to Ben when he arrived to Everything but the Cow Fried Chicken to see the large Closed sign, and a full staff waiting inside. The door was opened for him, and he was led to his table. Aside from staff, the building was almost empty, only a single booth with two suited men. Ben was seated across from them. ¡°So, the cartel thinks you might be connected to two of their dead amigos. Before they black-bagged you and did some freaky cartel shit to you, they came to us, because you''re white and we are also white, and thus under our jurisdiction,¡± the man on the right said, and his bigger companion on the left nodded. ¡°We''ve talked to the sheriff''s already,¡± the man on the left said ¡°but they aren''t exactly clear with the details, not their job description. Do you know what happened?¡± Ben involuntarily gulped. ¡°There were wolves up there when we found them,¡± Ben said, a sudden surge of emotion making him shake. Some distant part of his mind was surprised he was reacting this way ¡°Ten or twelve of them. I shot them all. I don''t know what happened up there, one of them looked like a messed up mummy, and the other looked like he''d been struck dead by lightning.¡± As Ben spoke, he felt a pressure inside of him, gripping him to continue, and then when he finished, he seemed to slump a little. The men across from him looked sideways at one another. ¡°Yeah,¡± he finally said ¡°Freaky cartel shit.¡± ¡°Only two bodies, right, and only one of them Mexican? Probably infighting,¡± the man on the right said ¡°They''ll be happy to know someone in their own ranks is gunning for control,¡± he said, then looked straight at Ben ¡°Personally, I''m glad they''re dead. I''d like to see more of them in body bags, all wrapped up like burritos, but we can''t always get what we want. This applies to you as well,¡± he said, an apologetic smile on his face ¡°unfortunately. The cartel''s still going to want to grab you and do all sorts of freaky voodoo on your dead body. So, as of this moment, you''re working for me now.¡± He shrugged and motioned one of the servers towards them, and she arrived with three servings of fresh fried chicken. It was golden, dry and crisp looking, steam wafting and filling the air with a pleasant smell. ¡°Have some chicken, Ben. Welcome to the family.¡± 24. A Wizards Questionable Ethics Ch 24 It wasn''t how Melmat would have liked things to go, but Sarah''s death opened an interesting door for him, or at the very least accelerated his plan by several steps. Several weeks had gone by, and most people had bought the official story; she was raped and beaten to death and they didn''t know who did it. There was a general buzz of unease, news cameras that had initially flooded the campus determined to soak up as much of the tragedy on film as they could, adding their own unique kind of pain to the event. Sarah, Melmat had learned, was a well liked girl. She had very few negative habits, and the ones she did, she enjoyed with an honest innocence. Her death, and the brutality surrounding it had outraged the students on campus, casting a harsh light on the disliked and untrustworthy elements of the college. Already, an investigation was underway, a witch-hunt that would catch everyone but the witch. Melmat felt responsible for his lack of foresight, and his inability to predict how strongly the dungeon would affect the world at this phase of development. A larger regret of his was failing to foresee how the Uke-a Mk 3 would interact with the mana-storm. He would need to collect more information, and for that, he would need to talk to the students on campus. He donned some clean, stoner chic clothing, baggy blue jeans with a yellow/green/red stripped Rasta beanie. He sprayed himself down with a mixture of essential oils that had the smell of cannabis very lightly mixed in, then gargled mouthwash of a similar mixture. He hadn''t planned how he was going to behave in this new environment, that was a fools gambit, only having a strong backstory to support him, and having no more than forty percent of the backstory be an outright fabrication. This would make him in both behavior and actuality, a bit more honest than everyone else at college. Melmat preferred, when doing infiltration work, to generate a personality on impact, filling a vacant social position in the dominance hierarchy that wouldn''t put him in competition with anyone else. ¡°The humans,¡± Melmat said and Librorum appeared as a book, ready to listen ¡°do this naturally, they automatically seek a position they are comfortable with in the social pyramid. However, their failing is the inability to let go of previous positions when changing environments, and choosing to compete for something which only has imaginary value.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Librorum said ¡°I''m imaginary, and I have real value. Without me to manage things, you''d be wandering the streets and jumping at shadows. Besides, you do the exact same thing, except your position is always vacant.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± he asked ¡°and what role is that?¡± He already knew, but the conversation was good exercise. ¡°You always play the devil, young human. A position in the meta-hierarchy which wears every mask, who drives men with sweet words and a glass tipped whip.¡± Melmat grimaced, he hadn''t expected the conversation to turn out like this. ¡°They''re on the brink of annihilation,¡± he said, voice getting tight ¡°and this is my world too. I have every right to change it, and so do they, if they could ever be bothered to try.¡± ¡°Sensitive,¡± Librorum murmured, sounding sleepy ¡°if you''re going to be like that, you shouldn''t have given your conscience a voice.¡±
First, Melmat found the oldest man he could on campus. Doug was a tenured professor, and at this point his class names were simply ''Doug PhD X'' with the x being a class number. He wore two hearing aids, had about twenty wild hairs spaced across his bald head and face, but no glasses, his eyes were still good. Librorum privately whispered that he was a dusty old cooter, and Melmat shushed her. ¡°Terrible business,¡± Doug said ¡°terrible. I was on campus, but far away.¡± He tapped one of his hearing aids ¡°These don''t do a whole lot for me these days, Manny, lately it seems they''re even worse.¡± Melmat thanked Doug for his time and left. After that, he chose to find someone on the opposite end of the spectrum, the grungiest male on campus. He wasn''t difficult to find, sitting under a tree and smoking weed, black baggy pants and dreadlocks. His name was Tota, and Melmat strongly suspected it was an alias. ¡°Like,¡± Tota said ¡°I didn''t have any classes with Sarah, but I saw her around, you know? Total hottie, am I right?¡± he asked, wide smile on his face and convulsing with laughter ¡°Anyways, I was ascending the astral plane on some research chemicals I ordered online. Shit was crazy.¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Melmat asked ¡°What did you see?¡± ¡°It was like,¡± he squinted, and then widened his eyes and blew out a breath through rounded, stuck out lips ¡°Man, I was far the fuck gone. Like, gnomes in little mushroom houses man.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Not that far out,¡± Melmat said, matching his hazed expression ¡°Or you might have run into me,¡± he laughed. ¡°You live in the dorms, or off campus?¡± ¡°Mom and dad wanted me ''On Campus'' man,¡± he said, altering his voice to mimic his parent ¡°They think it''ll improve my grades, but all it does is make it easier to sell weed.¡± Melmat thanked him for his time and declined his offer of said research chemicals at a ''really good price''. He made a mental note with Librorum to check in with the people living next to ''Tota'' and see if any of them had also seen gnomes. The final visit of Melmat''s day required a considerable investment of energy. A girl, who wasn''t ugly or attractive, knew something. Librorum, reviewing the entirety of the sensory information he was able to gather with his senses, had noticed her when Melmat was talking with Doug. She had been some distance away, but had overheard them talking about Sarah, and experienced an immediate shift in body language. It wasn''t grief, but guilt. Later, while Melmat was talking with Tota, she had been spotted about a tenth of a mile away, talking with friends. Librorum had spent the next hour and a half analyzing body language, distant sound, and facial shapes to re-construct the conversation as best she could. It wasn''t perfect, but Librorum had been able to get the gist of it, and the gist was that the girl thought she knew something and needed to talk with someone. Librorum noted, with some small degree of sympathy, that her friends didn''t seem all that interested in talking about it, likely because she was the ugly girl of the group. At first, Lisa, the ugly girl in question, had been extremely shy. That had lasted about as long as it took for Melmat to indicate, in very convincing terms, that he thought she was much more attractive than her friends. In truth, Melmat really did find her more attractive than her friends, she had a more honest disposition and was more grounded in reality, and a little skill with makeup would have done wonders for her social standing. Over the course of about four hours, Melmat utilized every trick he had, modeling his personality and behavior to a rough approximation of the perfect man, in her view. Librorum analyzed body language, and the normally imperceptible information transmitted via smells. To her, he seemed to exert an irresistible allure and confidence, and she was powerless against it. Every light touch of his hand sent tingles through her entire body, the sound of his voice and his laugh made her ache with longing. She tried to meet his gaze, but the sight of his eyes made her blush and look away. Seduction reduced to a science, and then rendered down to technique is one of the bitterest lies a soul can endure telling. Melmat remembered a time when he had strove to be a good person. Now he was merely a effective, and utterly incapable of genuine interaction; such is the price paid for total control self-control. Melmat enjoyed the sex, even if he didn''t exactly feel all the sensations involved with it the way a normal person would have. Lisa, on the other hand, had never experienced anything quite like it. Melmat had been instructed in the ways of Tantric sex by masters of the discipline, and though he had never achieved their levels of prowess, sex was no mystery to him. ''Two flesh become one,'' his master had once said, ''this is no mere poetry, but a fact. The nervous systems of two individuals will never be so intertwined as during sex, the energies of the bodies becoming enmeshed with one another so completely that for a window of time, they are an indistinguishable unit. To a man of skill, this is an open door which offers opportunity.'' Librorum had been able to, not quite fully enter Lisa''s mind as much as get an extended peak at it from a distance while the two of them climaxed together. As was often the case when searching for a specific piece of data, however, he had gained much more information than he really needed. By the end of it, he really understood the beautiful person Lisa was, and who she could be with a little tweaking. ''Proverbs state that every heart knows it''s own sorrow,'' his master had continued ''and that none can share in it''s joy. But sorcerers such as us? We have paid a heavy price, and we have transcended the common man. Beware, my student. . . to know the heart of another is to love them as you love yourself.'' Melmat didn''t mind doing the work, he had been a psychology major after all, and as she laid in bed, he gently brought her into a deep trance. Then, he brought her even further down, past what conventional knowledge would say is possible. From there, he drew out all the major emotional trauma and heartbreak she had suffered in her life; her father''s careless words when she needed kindness; the humiliation she''d suffered from the first boy she had reached out to for love; all the times she had been overlooked; her mother''s death; each step allowing her to let go of it all, to release the pain she had been holding inside of her, more pain than she would ever have been aware of holding onto. She had been wiped clean, and would wake up with access to the strength she had never been able to express. Melmat also gave her the confidence to study makeup application, ask that nice boy out, and forget all about the day''s events. He hadn''t needed to do any of it, he could have easily just made her forget. He was glad, however, that he had taken the time to help her. When he left her, she was asleep and had a big, happy smile on her sleeping, tear-streaked face. Some distant part of him though she might not need the makeup after-all.
Melmat had needed a day to put together the information he had gained. Lisa had been the key, a direct witness, not to the crime, but to the monster, before and after it''s kill. He reviewed the memories, seeing a wispy, insubstantial man wander the campus, then later, seeing the same man, but solid, nearly more real than real. In his room, he had the original plans for the Uke-a, checked out from the library. Anyone could have found it, and that was his master''s intention, a gift for anyone motivated enough to seek the truth about the world. The schematics has several clues in the form of extra parts with peculiar names, and if you solved their riddle, you would find a website in the bowels of the archives of Endchan that hosted a complete technical write-up about the various uses of the device, and the purpose behind it, along with a much greater riddle. He had the fifty page document in question printed and bound on his bed. Melmat doubted that Ronnie had gone further than building the device, because if he had, he would have known exactly why Sarah was dead; further, he would have smashed the Uke-a, dropped out of college, and wandered for a long time searching for answers. Melmat shook out of the memories, his time with Lisa had loosened his mental control, and he didn''t enjoy falling into memories without proper authorization. ¡°Do you have any idea,¡± Librorum said, sounding groggy ¡°how much nerve energy you expended on that girl? I''m exhausted, you could have used a traditional interrogation, and then you wouldn''t be worried about falling into memories.¡± She paused, then began mumbling something like ''lousy no good goddamn vampire ass motherfucker I''ll kick your ass'', but it was hard for him to tell exactly what she meant by it. From his suitcase, he pulled a vacuum sealed bag with a complete set of clothing inside of it. Upon opening, the smell of old B/O wafted out, and Melmat laid the costume on his bed. For good measure, he took a cold shower, though he didn''t really feel it, smoked a bunch of weed, though it didn''t get him high, and prepared to tell a bunch of outright lies and half truths to people he felt like he should try to care about. 25. Reggatoni Ben Ch 25 ¡°So basically, the Reggatoni family owns us,¡± Ben said, ¡°and if they didn''t, the cartel was going to kill us.¡± Ben''s friends were silent for a while, each in their own thoughts, the tension in the room building, when McCrea looked up and smiled. ¡°They really did the fried chicken thing?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Ben said, also cracking a smile ¡°I''ve still got the sign in my trunk.¡± ¡°That''s badass,¡± Vaughan said, moving so he could look at Ben and keep Louden out of his line of sight. ¡°I remember in middle school, during state history class when we had the family rep come in as a special guest speaker.¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Louden said, eyes wide with her fake smile ¡°We had a test on it, I thought it was so ridiculous,¡± she laughed, and only Polk politely joined in, with Vaughan visibly tensing up, Ben and McCrea simply ignored her. Vaughan pointed at Ben with a single finger, arm locked. ¡°Shit, the MDMA,¡± he said, and McCrea echoed his curse. ¡°I say we just turn it over,¡± Polk said ¡°There''s no way we''ll be even remotely safe selling it like we planned.¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Louden said, voice caught in a wild swing between contempt and desperation ¡°That''ll go over well. ''Hey, we found like fifty pounds of Ecstasy next to those dead cartel guys, but don''t worry, it just magically appeared when we shot a bunch of fucked up looking wolves.¡± It sounded like she was on the verge of tears. ¡°Louden,¡± Vaughan said, voice very cold ¡°Don''t talk. This is your fault, and if you think you''ve got even a remote chance to argue that, I''ll hogtie you and drop you off down Tijuana avenue myself.¡± At the mention of the most dangerous road in Hope, everybody stopped talking. Louden was silently crying, face ugly and red. ¡°So, how come they didn''t meet with all of us individually?¡± McCrea asked, very obviously trying to steer the conversation away from going further ¡°Why have you come talk to us? Actually, better question, and no offense meant, but why do they think me, Vaughan and Polk have anything to do with it?¡± ¡°My uncle and parents,¡± Ben said ¡°Uncle was, in their words, a good guy, loyal, and a damn shame he caught a bullet for the family.¡± Ben was jumbling his words, unexpected emotion surging and having to be suppressed ¡°They also said Dale,¡± his blood got several degrees hotter just from saying the name of the ''Casino King'' ¡°felt bad about my parents OD''ing on heroin, so he offered me protection, and just me. I asked if the cartel was interested in snatching anyone else, and they said pretty much everybody at the party was on their radar now. So, I asked if the protection could be extended to you five, and they said yes, but you all work for me now. Your welcome, by the way.¡± ¡°Most of us would have done the same for you,¡± Vaughan said, momentarily glancing back at Louden, who started crying harder.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I didn''t mean for any of this!¡± she said, ¡°I''m sorry! I''m sorry about Richard, I''m sorry about the party, I''m sorry about inviting those cartel creeps, I''m sorry about your friend!¡± She collapsed to her knees, buckled over and sobbing. For a brief, black moment, everyone thought Vaughan was going to walk over and kick her as hard as he could. ¡°Don''t believe it,¡± Vaughan said, visibly shaken ¡°She''s a liar and a whore, she''ll cry as hard as she thinks she needs to get what she wants.¡± He swallowed, walked a couple of steps without direction, then collected himself ¡°We do need to come up with a plan for the MDMA. This is a lot to take in, all right? I''m. . . I''ll be at my place, I need a nap. Call me if anything comes up.¡± Vaughan left. ¨C The rest of the group had discussed things for a while, but had not been able to come to any conclusions. Ben, however, already knew what needed to be done. It had been earlier, when talking about his uncle and parents, that his mind supplied him with the memory needed to generate the safest course of action. It had been a rainy night, his parents were already dead, and he was living with his uncle. Uncle Theo was drinking, and Ben had been wondering if he would drink himself to death. In truth, looking back, Ben thought Theo had been admirably disciplined in his behavior for the brief two years he had raised him. ¡°Come here,¡± he said, voice rough but calm ¡°Get on over here, Ben, I want to tell you some things about our town and the people I work for.¡± Ben came over and stood near him ¡°This isn''t a regular kind of town, but you already know that. It''s been a lawless place since the gold-rush, and even before that I imagine. The men who run this place, are bad man, but go high enough up the food-chain anywhere and you''ll find bad men running the show.¡± ¡°Uncle Theo, you''re rambling.¡± ¡°Right, right. Mostly, it''s live and let live here in Hope. Don''t go poking around, and nobody''s going to go poking you.¡± He paused, one arm involuntarily clenching as the memory of stabbing a man flashed behind his eyes. He swallowed, then glanced at Ben, remembering he was there. ¡°But eventually, someone from the family is going to come knocking, and they''ll want something. When that happens, you tell God''s own honest truth. If you''ve done something wrong, you''ll be punished, harshly. If you''ve done nothing wrong, they''ll sort it out soon enough, and you''ll be eating fried chicken on your way out.¡± ¡°Fried-¡± ¡°No more interruptions. But if you lie, and they find that lie. . . Ben, I can''t stress it enough. I love you too much to sugar-coat it, they''ll turn you over to the worst men in the world. Imagine the worst, blackest thought you''ve ever had, the thing you recoil from, the thing that really makes you sick.¡± Theo took a big drink from his glass ¡°Your darkest fantasy is another man''s daily reality, the shit that gets him up in the morning. That man has fantasies too, so evil they repulse the devil himself,¡± he said, eyes widening with memories he could never fully recall, memories that had been tampered with ¡°And there are men even more wicked than that, Ben. There are men who are not men at all, but monsters, and it is their clutches you will end up in if you lie to the Family.¡± He ended it by saying something Ben would never forget. ¡°Never in my life did I think I would know how great a prize a bullet in the back of the head was.¡± Ben shook himself out of his memory and sat down on Theo''s couch. His uncle''s death. . . it hadn''t been a surprise, but it had still hurt; even if he''d accepted that everyone he loved was going to die, it still hurt. The inheritance from Theo was enough money to keep Ben afloat for a few years, along with the advice that even if he had all the money he could ever want, he should still work. Ben took that advice to heart, and over the years, he realized working was about the only way he could have any wholesome, positive experiences in life; and also the best way for him to stay in shape and maintain a tan. And, Ben though with a stoner smile, it wasn''t like he could just go to a store and buy weed. Temp construction crew were guaranteed to have a couple of dealers in them. The thought of smoking made him realize he''d been sober since Louden''s party, which blew his mind a little bit. ¡°Three days. . .¡± he said out loud ¡°That''s the longest I''ve been sober in years. That''s pathetic.¡± Ben remembered when the two mob guys had told him how to get in touch if he needed to, saying the entire phone number and leaving it at that. Ben had laughed and asked if they had a card, which they did. He pulled the card from his wallet and stared. It was a white business card, high quality without looking expensive, no names listed, just a phone number. Before he called them, he sent out a group message to his friends, letting them know he had come to a decision, and that he was moving forward. Each one of them had a portion of the MDMA, so the decision would affect them all equally. 26. First Contact Ch 26 Ben laid it all out on the line. He told them everything, about the bodies exploding into light, about his temporary transformation, even about the drugs. Doug, the smaller man, looked at Lou, the larger man. ¡°I''m guessing you''ve got some things to show us then?¡± Ben nodded and took them to his Honda, opening the trunk. All the collected bags of ecstacy were piled on top of the sign with the crossed out cow. Lou stepped forward and picked up a bag, opened it, and took out a pill. From the inside of his coat jacket, he pulled a packaged vial with a screw on lid. The vial had only a small amount of liquid inside of it. He tore open the cardboard and plastic packaging, unscrewed the top, and dropped the pill into the vial. It bubbled up and Lou examined it for several moments before screwing the top back on and pocketing it. ¡°Good stuff,¡± he said. ¡°What else was there,¡± Doug said, then lit a cigarette. He offered one to Ben, and Ben accepted. He had it lit in a moment, and took a short drag. ¡°Guns,¡± he said, opening the rear doors and pulling out a black backpack. He unzipped it, opened the mouth, and four identical pistols glinted in the sunlight, prompting an interested whistle from Doug. He reached in and pulled one out, his face scrunching a bit, occasionally mouthing something like ''what the fuck'' very slowly as he examined it from all angles. ¡°You ever take a good look at one of these, Ben?¡± ¡°Yeah. The grip is solid metal, and there''s nowhere to load a bullet. I took a look inside the barrel with a camera,¡± he said ¡°It goes all the way back, but the cylinder inside is smooth. They''ve got all those freaky engraving of bugs all over them too.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Doug said, turning the gun and looking down the barrel. ¡°Huh, guess so.¡± Ben pulled another of the guns from the backpack ¡°They''re all the same, like, freaky, exactly the same.¡± ¡°So was there anything else besides good ecstasy and useless guns?¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Ben almost hesitated, but then reached into his pocket and pulled out the dark crystal left behind by the Grass Wolves. It no longer burned brightly or smoked, but occasionally a flicker of something would heat up in the center. ¡°Oh that''s neat,¡± Doug said, then motioned Ben to hand it over. He did, and Doug held it up to the sun. ¡°What is this, ob-sidian?¡± The way he pronounced the word was extremely deliberate, like it was something he had read, but never said. He stared at it for a little while, and it seemed to kindle to life under the attention. ¡°Well, I''m sold. You''re a good bullshitter.¡± He handed the rock back . ¡°Ok, Ben. We''re going for a little drive.¡± ¨C Ben led Doug and Lou up the mountain, using the same path he had taken with the sheriffs. He had the stray thought that he was becoming disturbingly familiar with the layout of this place. ¡°I''ll be honest with you, Ben,¡± Doug said, only mildly winded ¡°I think you''re full of shit.¡± Ben looked back, then shrugged. He took a deep breath, the higher up they got, the more the air seemed charged up with life, invigorating him. Ben stopped walking, and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, memories of his fight with the grass wolves filling his mind. When he opened them, he looked behind him, and caught Doug and Lou both taking a deep, relaxing breath. Doug noticed Ben watching, then stopped. ¡°Here''s what I''m thinking. You, your friends, and that dead guy from the pictures are all trying to set up shop, get a little side-action, make some money. You decide the smartest course of action would be to use the cartel as suppliers. Things go sour, and here we are.¡± ¡°That''s not what happened,¡± Ben said, voice confident. They reached the plateau of the Oasis Dungeon, the area having been entirely restored, pond in the center glinting in the sunlight. Standing next to it, back turned to them, was a naked man with steam coming off of his body. He seemed familiar, and when he turned his head, Ben understood why. ¡°You!¡± he said, voice startled as he saw the face of Vaughan''s friend. Above his head, in green light, was written Aim Hero Renegade Lou startled, he jumped back, his face an expression of total shock. The Aim Hero Renegade smiled a blank, small smile, then began a full bodied sprint, running to the right and down a steep hill. Ben started to run forward and give chase, when Doug put an arm like steel across his chest, grabbing his shirt. ¡°No,¡± he said calmly, not looking at Ben ¡°we''re going back right now. That''s none of our business, start walking.¡± ¨C ¡°Wow!¡± Melchsee said, watching the Aim Hero Renegade as he ran down the mountain ¡°Isn''t that something? You''ve created a man, a real hu-man! You''re a regular Deus Ex Silex with that kind of talent!¡± She began laughing hysterically at her own joke. ¡°What the hell are you talking about!¡± Casimer said, air vibrating with the force of the words ¡°I didn''t create that thing!¡± 27. The Aim Hero Renegade Ch 27 Ben, Doug and Lou all had the same realization at nearly the exact same time; the path they were on, the only path of relatively safe hiking up and down the mountain, was about to curve into a collision course with the direction they had seen the Aim Hero Renegade run. Lou, the bigger gangster, handed Ben a pistol. ¡°Hope the part of your story where you''re an excellent shot''s true as well,¡± he said, eyes scanning the area and unsure what to look for. ¡°We don''t believe any of this bullshit,¡± Doug, the smaller gangster, said. It was apparent to both Ben and Lou that Doug was talking a tough game. He looked both men in the eyes inside of a second, swore quietly, then pulled out his own pistol. ¡°Look, we still don''t know what''s going on. Keep an eye out for stupid tricks.¡± ¡°Hey, Doug?¡± Ben said, having rounded the corner first ¡°Something''s happening.¡± They stood on a portion of the path that bent in a wide ninety degree arc, the edge of which overlooked a sheer cliff. At the bottom was a large area with thin tree cover that allowed line of sight clear to the ground. Sitting in the center, naked and staring at a rock in his hand, was the Aim Hero Renegade, expression content and totally empty. Some distance behind him, a wolf with rounded ears and large, front-tooth fangs stalked. ¡°Hey, boss,¡± Lou said to Doug, voice as close to on edge as Ben had ever heard it ¡°we gonna do something about this or what?¡± ¡°Naw,¡± Doug said, eyes never leaving the scene ¡°I was serious when I said it''s none of our busin-¡± Doug never got to finish what he was saying, interrupted by the sudden whip of the AHR''s body and arm, a perfect fastball of a throw that caught the Grass Wolf square in the side of the face, crumpling it to the ground. It''s body broke apart into panes of green light, and Doug literally said ¡°You''ve got to be fucking kidding me!¡± The ground began to rumble, and the landscape around the Renegade depressed, sinking into the earth and turning into a convex cone, the walls about fifteen feet deep at a thirty degree slope. The center was eight feet across, a flat disk with the renegade in the center of it all. For his part, he didn''t seem particularly bothered by the development, picking up another rock and examining it from all angles, slowly. ¨C ¡°Melchsee, I''ve got to take this thing out!¡± Casimer said, voice edging closer to panic ¡°It''s attached to me somehow, but I can''t make it do anything at all!¡± ¡°I''m on it!¡± Melchsee said, closing her eyes and projecting a blue screen from the gem on her forehead. ¡°Join with my mind, we''ll take it out together!¡± Casimer, for the first time in his life, did exactly that. Their minds touched, and Casimer felt a new aspect of his own mind become defined, and further, felt Melchsee as she experienced the exact same sensation. He smiled, looking at the blue screen in front of him, icons of various monsters he had created in the past displayed on it. The first icon of the second row, a giant mouse on the prowl, shined bright for a moment, then blinked several times in rapid succession, accompanied by a high note with each flash. ¡°Let''s see how you like this, invader.¡± ¨C Ben in particular could feel the shift in the air, Doug and Lou noticed it as well. Richard, for that was his name, down in his pit, stood up, body tense and head on a swivel. Up on the edges, shining dust began to swirl and weave itself together, a light that moved like liquid, that moved like gas, that moved like plasma, that moved in it''s own totally unique way. There were about five instances of the strange clouds, and one by one, like clockwork, each flashed, and a giant mouse stood in place, growling and looking at AHR. There was no hesitation, he threw his rock and the five grass wolves ran down the incline, their considerable speed further enhanced by the downhill trajectory. AHR took out a wolf, then searched around for another rock, and found the ground was empty. Then, he howled. It was not a human sound, rather it was the sound a human-like ape would make, a deep, chest vibrating yell that inflicted fear on all who heard it. Ben, Doug and Lou watched, transfixed, as AHR took advantage of the frozen and fleeing grass wolves, dashing up the side of the pit and pouncing on a lone wolf, punching it in the head until it died. When it''s body broke apart, there was a bag of MDMA, a useless gun, and a pile of rocks. AHR wasted no time, he dumped out the MDMA and put the rocks into the bag, clutching it tightly in his left hand and smoothly reaching in with his right, throwing rocks and taking out the remaining rodents. Up top, more lights began to form up, and AHR ran to the piles of loot and retrieved his rocks, then, on a whim, picked up one of the gun shaped ingots of metal. He flicked it, seemed surprised at how hard it was, then tossed it to the center of the pit. More giant mice, about six this time, had formed up on the edge across from him. They arranged themselves in an arrow formation and ran, those in the front protecting the mice in the rear. AHR took aim and threw the gun, it impacted with an audible crack, and the lead mouse was taken out. The remaining five howled in rage, picking up speed, getting closer and closer to AHR as he took them out, one by one.Stolen novel; please report. There were two left by the time they arrived, and they were pissed. One latched onto AHR''s throwing arm, and the other bit his shoulder, their growls muffled by the flesh they were biting, heads whipping from side to side as they tried to tear muscle from bone. AHR screamed, dropped his bag of rocks, and grabbed the mouse on his left shoulder by the scruff of the neck, pulling but unable to get it off. He yelled in pain as they took him to the ground, and he again reached for the one on his shoulder. This time, he went for the mouth, making a fist and shoving it inside, keeping the animal from getting a deeper bite. With his other arm, he lifted the giant mouse on his hand, a fifty pound animal, and slammed it on the ground, knocking the wind out of it and causing it to let go. AHR wasted no time, and seeming to feel no pain, balled his mangled right hand into a fist and began punching the monster on his shoulder. Eventually, it died, and AHR grabbed a sizable rock from the ground and used it to crush the head of the stunned wolf on the ground. Then, the bears showed up. There were eight. ¨C ¡°Aw Jesus, look at him go,¡± Lou said, eyes wide and drinking in every detail of the fight with the bears. Occasionally, his body would exhibit a sympathetic micro movement, in sync with the combat below, as though he were living the fight. Ben and Doug were glued to the action, Doug occasionally saying something like ''no fucking way''. Ben, however, felt a tingling in his memory, like something from a dream as he watched the renegade throwing dirt, sand, rocks; anything he could get his hands on. He recognized those movements, and realized it was because they were same as his fight. The remaining five bears were wary, watching the renegade carefully, watching the steam rise from his bloody body, watching how blood had already stopped flowing from where his arm had been ripped off, the way he held his own arm like a weapon, occasionally swinging it with great force, slamming it on the ground with no regard. The renegade began breathing hard, intentionally filling his lungs to their max and expelling the air as hard and fast as he could, his chest seemed massive even from far away, one second full breath in, one second full breath out. His skin darkened with a red flush, and he charged, shoving aside one of the gigantic brown bears and breaking out of their encirclement. His breathing became, as difficult as it is to believe, even harder, and each exhale brought with it a monkey-like ''Haa! Haa!'', and he threw his arm with such great force it kicked up little dust trails as it flew through the air, striking a bear with such force that it was knocked off of it''s feet and thrown four feet back. The remaining four charged, and the Aim Hero Renegade picked up a rock, throwing it. ¡°Oh my god, did you see that!¡± Doug exclaimed, composure totally lost at this point, hands running through his hair. The rock left a pale blue streak as it flew, little streamers of neon, sky blue plasma bolts a little thinner than a pencil lead shooting off behind it for about twenty feet. The rock burst clean through one bear and lodged itself in a second, killing the first and incapacitating the other. The body burst, and a pile of loot nobody was even interested in at this point, along with several bright motes of light were dropped. The motes of light flew towards the renegade, impacting with his body and causing it to pop softly, like a dim flashbulb, with each new collision. His body swelled visibly, gaining about three inches in height, muscles thickening. There was about two seconds before the charging pair of bears reached him, and there was no question they would tear him to shreds. For one single, unforgettable, second, Ben saw a familiar icon in front of the renegade, a painted eye. Then, the renegade crouched low, coiling his body for a massive headbutt against the throat of a charging bear. There was a crunch audible to even Ben''s group, and the Aim Hero Renegade ran, putting as much distance between him and the remaining bear as possible. He reached his stash of rocks and threw three with a vengeance, machine like movements, killing his remaining attacker. In short order, he killed the remaining injured monsters, and then leaned over, panting. A massive flash of light shone behind him for a moment, then a massive desert tree with arms like javelins leaned over and speared the AHR through the stomach, lifting him in the air. Even in his final moments, as the giant ripped his body in half, the renegade managed to throw a last attack, blasting a chunk of bloody wood from the creature. The sight of the renegade dying broke the spell over Doug, who suddenly shook, slapped Lou on the shoulder, grabbed Ben and started running. ¨C Casimer was doing something like the incorporeal equivalent of panting, a black ooze coming from cracks in his core. ¡°I-¡± he said, then paused, a bit of ooze being sucked back inside with a sound like sucking air ¡°I showed him, dammit.¡± Melchsee was about to say something, when there was a flash in the center of the Oasis Dungeon. When it abated, The Aim Hero Renegade stood, steaming and naked, perfectly healthy, for but a moment, before he ran off, this time in the opposite direction he had before. ¡°My lord. . .¡± Melchsee said, visibly confused ¡°Why would you make him again?¡± Casimer strongly considered destroying both Melchsee and the renegade monster, then the area vibrated strongly, like the three dimensional space of the area was water, distorting everything in a blur. When it ceased, the sense of bright light one normally got from the stone was dimmed, and the damages were repaired. ¡°Melchsee, I''m starving. We''ve got to find something to eat around here.¡± ¨C At the bottom of the mountain, Ben, Doug and Lou leaned against their car, a shiny grey BMW. Each of them was smoking a cigarette and eating fried chicken from a take-out bucket with a picture of a crossed out cow on it. The chicken, well, it wasn''t cold, but it wasn''t fresh either. The fry of the chicken was softer than it should be, but still had some residual crunch to it. The meat was still moist, and after Ben finished swallowing, he took a big drag on a cigarette. ¡°Hey, Doug?¡± Lou said, sounding unconcerned ¡°I think I see that guy again, way off in the distance.¡± Lou looked out, saw the Aim Hero Renegade, muttered something like ''Christ not again'', then said normally. ¡°All right, we''re getting the fuck out of here, get in the car.¡± They departed, accelerating expertly, just on the edge of peeling out, and drove well in excess of the speed limit of 80 until the mountain was out of sight, vehicle swerving to avoid as many potholes as possible, then eventually going on the much smoother hard desert ground off the side of the road. The interior of the BMW was totally silent, each man locked into a nearly involuntary internal analysis of the events they had witnessed. An hour into the two and a half hour drive, Doug pulled over. Each of them appreciated the opportunity in their own way, and once the vehicle was safely stopped, they exited. Doug pulled out a pack of cigarettes and flipped the top up, then, giving the issue some thought, closed it, and pulled two new packs from an inside pocket and passed them out. They each silently unwrapped the plastic and started burning. Three cigarettes in, Lou broke the silence. His face split into a big grin and he laughed, a short snort, while shaking his head. ¡°Come on,¡± he said, and Ben and Doug both broke into big grins as well. Soon, they were laughing, and Doug got the beers from the trunk 28. Dungeon Take Out Ch 28 Casimer and Melchsee were sitting in an office, about a cubic foot in size. To call it an office, though, would a major deception. It could, instead, be described as a room which was eerily close to looking like an office, as though it rested in the uncanny valley of room design. The office was made from dirt and ideas Casimer had no concept for, and suffered appropriately from that disadvantage. A major argument that had gone into it''s creation was about what exactly a water cooler was, and why it was so important. Casimer had been baffled and irritated by the simple design, and eventually outright refused to create one. Instead, an extremely crude and artistically questionable bronze statue of an insectoid chimera stood in it''s place. The statue was a new effort for Casimer, the first time he had created something from an original idea, rather than simply replicate something he had absorbed. From there, their argument had devolved into a harsh critique of Casimer''s work, shaving bits away and reconstructing it entirely. It''s final incarnation was a sort of scorpion centaur with the top half being a vaguely manlike spider with pincer arms. Clutched in one of the pincers, folded as though being crushed, was a tiny water cooler with a continuous stream of water coming out of it like a fountain. Casimer sat, resting in a humanoid form, made of thick dust, his gem hidden inside the body. His face was ill defined, featureless, like a mannequin. The particles that made up his body were dry, fine fragments of dirt that formed a hard packed cloud, the surface of which seemed to have storms of microscopic specks in ever changing, fractal patterns. ¡°They really place a lot of value on water, then,¡± Casimer said, sounding mildly put out, sitting with his face against the desk, breaking Melchsee away from her train of thought. One of his arms turned into a smooth tentacle that deftly removed the bronze water jug, the pincer unclenching to release it, then placing it in the center of the table ¡°If they''re really making things like this to dispense it in such exact quantities. Just look at it,¡± he said, body unmoving ¡°what is it you said, that ''if manufactured correctly, not a single drop of water will be wasted in dispensing'', isn''t that what you said.¡± ¡°You are really making a much bigger deal about this than I expected,¡± Melchsee said, preparing to explain the basic reality of living in a world that had limited, not unlimited, resources ¡°but yes, water is an absolutely crucial resource for all living creatures here on earth.¡± ¡°Not to me,¡± Casimer said ¡°I don''t get thirsty. You know what I do get? Hungry.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Melchsee said. ¡°I didn''t even know the meaning of that word until we went to that Dungeon of Dungeons. The air there is thick with, with. . . food. That was the first time I wasn''t hungry, and it felt amazing, like I was suddenly alive for the first time. Now? Now that I''ve experienced that? I''m,¡± he paused, and the building around them collapsed, turning to dust ¡°Discontent.¡± ¡°I am aware, and have been working hard on multiple solutions to the problem,¡± Melchsee said, projecting a clipboard into her hands from the opal in her forehead. ¡°I''m sure you have,¡± Casimer said ¡°and I''m sure they''ll work. I need to eat now, today, or I''m going to go crazy. I''m already halfway to creating a swarm of infernal insects and eating every living thing on this mountain. I know it''s a stupid idea, the meager life of this place is all that''s keeping me going, but I''m not thinking straight!¡± Casimer shouted, his voice shaking the mountaintop, all the space he controlled, yet still managing to sound weak. ¡°Ever since I merged with that second core, my appetite has just grown larger, and it''s getting bigger every day. I need more than a light snack, Melchsee, a couple of mice and some bugs aren''t cutting it anymore.¡± Melchsee looked at him, and then, like some mental dam breaking, she spoke. ¡°Well, I''ve got a solution for that as well. Do you remember when I had you send a giant mouse outside the dungeon?¡± ¡°Yes, of course,¡± Casimer said ¡°you wanted to see how long it lasted.¡± ¡°Yes, and it lasted over four hours,¡± she said ¡°and then it suddenly fell apart. Remember why?¡± ¡°It''s core wasn''t being powered by me anymore, and it''s physical form fell apart as a result. After four hours, there wasn''t any mana left in it.¡± ¡°Correct. Though, my demands are considerably more extreme than a large rodent, and so I will need the largest core we have available.¡± ¡°Why?¡± he said, and in the distance, a giant tree collapsed and a basketball sized rough crystal core shot in their direction. ¡°Where are these things coming from anyways, I''m sure as fuck not- nevermind, I don''t care. Why do you need this?¡± ¡°Because I''m going to need a big battery if I want to go into town and grab us a bite to eat.¡± ¨C Melchsee had been as surprised as Melmat when The Master picked this mountain in the middle of Nevada as the location for their ritual. She had always placed her chips over the Atlantic ocean, somewhere off the eastern coast of Florida, somewhere with lots of aquatic life and a reputation for unstable space, but she couldn''t argue with results. . . They had succeeded, the Dungeon was here. She just wished it had taken her like they had planned instead of. . . Melchsee flew, the core heavy inside of her body, keeping her solid in the world outside the dungeon. It was hot, like a burning coal as the mana inside of it evaporated out into other dimensions, no longer stabilized by Casimer''s influence. After how off the rails things had become, she was surprised that they had been right about anything, that even a single one of their theories was proven correct. Mana would never exist in this universe, and never could. Not without help. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It was such a strange substance, the medium through which thought could interact with the physical; the emulsion agent which could mix oil and water. Mana, stable mana, that was the philosophers stone her master''s people had been chasing for millennium, the ultimate prize for a hidden civilization who had mastered their minds and dominated the lesser man-apes effortlessly. They had mocked him, cursed him, banished him; called him a madman and a traitor to their ideals; said he threatened their supremecy upon the Earth. Melchsee remembered his anger at how they ruled the world like a farm, controlling the weak, unenlightened humans like cattle. This world was meant to be a garden, running wild yet carefully maintained. Vengence. . . they didn''t know it yet, but vengence had been wrought upon them. She flew, the shadow painted night desert was a blur below her, rushing towards the nearest town. She knew every detail of every map she had ever read, and that information told her to head to Hope. She laughed a little to herself. Sometimes, life was just funny. ¨C The men she returned with walked as though asleep, led around by a length of long string tied around their wrists. There were four of them, walking in a single file line, Melchsee ahead of them, holding the string like a leash. They had tied themselves up, after Melchsee had asked them too. They walked up the mountain, rough terrain going unnoticed, until all at once, the path became smoother, as though it had been prepared just for them. ¡°Let them loose,¡± Casimer''s voice whispered in her ear. In response, Melchsee nodded, then vanished with a bright burst of light, and the sound of clapping. The men suddenly stood up, alert, looking around and wondering what had happened, and why they weren''t at the bar anymore. ¡°Who are they,¡± Casimer asked, voice ringing out across his domain, a note of desperate hunger in his voice. ¡°Bad men with interesting guns,¡± Melchsee replied, though the bad men in question couldn''t hear her speak. They were each short, stocky men with bald heads, each of them had automatic rifles strapped on their backs. One of the trees rose up from the ground, standing twenty feet tall, trunk splitting and forming legs and arms. The men couldn''t see it, but embedded near the top was an oval stone six inches long that shone with an inner, swirling purple light. One of the men screamed, his voice raspy and half drunk as he readied his weapon and fired. They all did, and sprays of red mist came from where the massive tree was struck, and did nothing to slow it''s slaughter. It moved faster than something of that size should have been able to, piercing a man and tossing him aside. The ground shook with Casimer''s relief, something like the scream of a reptile and the roar of a mammal filled the air, the death easing his pain and clearing the fog from his mind. Casimer attacked with vicious, savage attacks, ripping the men to pieces with terror inducing strength, the air vibrating with a low, painful tone. The final man was struck with such force that his body ripped in half at the middle, the pieces flying in separate directions. The tree planted itself into the ground, vibrating slightly, blood dripping from it''s leaves and branches. ¡°Why did you use something so big?¡± Melchsee asked, awe in her voice. ¡°Why?¡± Casimer said with a drunk, half delirious laugh ¡°Because I didn''t want them to even stand a chance.¡± ¨C Their bodies disappeared, along the scattered blood, and their clothing, everything save one rifle. There was a pop of light, and a creature that looked exactly like one of the recently deceased men materialized, naked. The beast-man responded to some silent psychic urging, and grabbed the weapon, taking aim and opening fire. Brass casings sizzled as they bounced off of his naked body, but he didn''t seem to notice the pain. ¡°So that''s how it operates,¡± Casimer said, the mechanical movements of the rifle in operation firmly recorded in his mind. He sent the monster away to patrol the area, it loped about on all fours and occasionally attacked a bug. There was another pop of light, and an automatic rifle materialized. It was gripped by unseen telekinetic energy, projected by Casimer, and as it opened fire, it was totally stationary in the air, as though embedded in stone. ¡°Hmm.¡± Casimer seemed amused by something, and the weapon in his hands blurred for a moment, and when it normalized, a smoking, glowing red gem was embedded into a solid magazine fused with the gun. When the trigger was pulled, the gem glowed, and bullets of pure mana flew uninterrupted for forty-fie seconds, devastating the rock wall, leaving a noticeable depression of pock-hewn stone. The gem stopped glowing for about five seconds, and then flared back to life, and Casimer fired for another forty-five seconds. ¡°I would call that a straight upgrade,¡± Melchsee said, scanning the weapon and then projecting a window with all the technical details, a parts list, and a general overview of the weapon. Seemingly on a whim, though Casimer was beginning to suspect that nothing this being did was an accident, Melchsee managed to attach the window to the core. It vanished and reappeared whenever she touched it.
Automatic Mana Rifle An original creation of The Dungeon, this weapon stores ambient mana and is capable of expelling it with devastating force. Fully expending the charged mana will cause the weapon to become inert until it has fully recharged.
¡°Well, isn''t that handy,¡± she said, sounding pleased. Casimer''s gem was deep inside his growing pond of liquid mana, but his presence was everywhere on the mountain. His attention moved like the wind through his territory, causing grass to sway, and dead matter to vanish. His presence was especially strong in the oasis, near Melchsee as she worked. It was something that could be felt, the feeling of another being present. He created another modified assault rifle, then a body of dirt to hold it, then waved a dirt hand and conjured a status window before attaching it to the new gun. ¡°You never told me how you managed to do that,¡± Melchsee said, attention focused on manually editing her analysis of the gun as she took it apart and examined it more closely. ¡°What, the window trick? It''s really not that hard to figure out,¡± Casimer said, ¡°Even a bug could do it, probably.¡± He was quiet for a while, and then started speaking again. ¡°You know, a part of me thought I would want go back to that place we met Labrynthee, the dungeon of dungeons,¡± he said ¡°but now that I''m here, satisfied and relaxed, I don''t think this world is so bad after all. It''s actually rather beautiful.¡± ¡°Oh really,¡± Melchsee said, and through their psychic link, Casimer could feel something akin to disgust mixed with amusement, along with something painful he couldn''t identify. ¡°This place,¡± he said, lifting a ball of dirt, grains tightly packed together but never touching ¡°is far more complex than that otherworld. Take this dirt, for example. The further I examine it, the more secrets it reveals to me. The fossilized remains of an endless number of creatures are buried inside of here, tiny fragments of plants and animals like little pieces of a puzzle, waiting to be fit together. The dirt in that other place, that dungeon. . . there was nothing to it at all. The same tiny cube, endlessly repeated.¡± ¡°Melchsee,¡± he said ¡°I''m tired of starving. I want to live here, in this beautiful world, and enjoy my life, however long it might be. I don''t know how I''ll manage it, but I will. Will you help me?¡± ¡°I''m not free,¡± she said immediately ¡°You''ll have to pay me. I didn''t particularly enjoy breaking the minds of those men and leading them here for the slaughter, no matter what kind of criminals they were. It was horrible.¡± ¡°Oh? I see then. What would you like? I''m sure I can give you just about anything, given enough time.¡± She tapped the side of her face, walked around for a few seconds, then broke out into a broad grin. ¡°A castle. A big castle and ten thousand servants.¡± 29. A wizard goes to the mall Ch 29 It was getting late, 3:15, and Melmat was performing a party trick for his fellow researchers. He had a lit joint in each nostril, and was doing a funny dance while smoking them one at a time, through each nostril independently, while singing a made-up traditional African witch-doctor song which literally translated to ¡°I am the Witch-Doctor¡±. They had turned the lights out, because it was easier to see the red coal at the end of the joints flare up that way. Everyone was laughing by the end of it, and though they normally stopped around 4:30, work was officially over once Ronnie turned on the lights and began smoking with Melmat. Upon taking a small hit, however, he began coughing uncontrollably, and only barely managed to say ¡°Jesus Christ Melmat¡± when Melmat took a larger hit. Melmat had been working at this angle for about a week now, arranging events to permit this outrageous display. It wasn''t part of any overarching plot or scheme, he just felt like being funny for a while. Even his impressive self control could become exhausted, even he needed to blow off some steam every so often. Ronnie had fully recovered, and was politely passing on a new joint, this one produced by Chad, clearly less powerful than the two Melmat was working on. ¡°I''ve given some thought to your suggestions,¡± Ronnie said ¡°About using the Uke.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Melmat asked, formulating the question in a stoned way ¡°Have you realized I was right about everything yet?¡± He laughed. This conversation was also something he had been working on getting for weeks, and it was most certainly part of his plan. ¡°No,¡± he said flatly ¡°But some of the write-ups you''ve given me are pretty intriguing.¡± ¡°It''s wild stuff,¡± Melmat said, setting his joint down ¡°If I were you, I wouldn''t trust a word out of my mouth, but man. . . can you imagine?¡± Melmat said, and a bit of his genuine self began to leak through ¡°We''d never need to drill for oil again. No more wars in the desert, no more loud dirty cars on the road, no more starving children. Our technology could advance further than we could even imagine, and we''re just one breakthrough away.¡± Melmat''s voice grew hard, just for a moment ¡°Just one goddamn breakthrough.¡± Ronnie stared at him, then laughed. ¡°That''s the spirit. Glad to see you getting fired up, Melmat. Sure,¡± he said, suddenly shrugging ¡°Why not? It won''t take terribly long to test your theories anyways.¡± ¡°Only take a week and a half,¡± Melmat said, voice suddenly sobered up, and mannerisms speeding up to near normal speeds ¡°and we only need to do one test. It''s pretty simple, but I can''t set it up by myself.¡± The group seemed surprised, and began talking amongst themselves. Melmat had always produced excellent work, despite his clear dependence on marijuana, but had never shown initiative like this before. They collectively though his latest theories sounded like extremely well written horse-shit, but that they seemed like a good deal of fun anyways. They, secretly, did not want to snuff out his new spark of enthusiasm either, as he was well liked by the group and they often wondered what he could achieve if he really applied himself. ¡°Fuck it, I''m down,¡± Chad finally said, breaking through the conversational barrier. ¡°It''s college, right? This is when we''re supposed to be doing dumb shit like this.¡± After Chad''s declaration, the rest of the group followed suit, and agreed to give Melmat''s strange experiment a try. ¡°I promise, you won''t regret it,¡± he said gratefully, and began shaking people''s hands, leaving each of them with a light, tingling sensation. ¨C ¡°Beware the abyss, the underworld, for here are locked gods and powers like you have never known,¡± Ronnie said, surprising Melmat by quoting Lullaby from the Dark. Ronnie, Chad and Melmat walked and a gaggle of mostly unfamiliar girls followed behind. It made sense they were there; Ronnie was considered an impoverished, tragic member of the upper class, Chad was well liked and single. Melmat. . . well, he was putting on a very effective cover as a smelly stoner, so they wouldn''t have anything but unconscious knowledge about how attractive he was. Melmat, on that subject, was very happy to be transitioning out of the ''heavy smoking'' phase of his plan. Today, though nobody would notice for a while, Melmat was standing straighter, had a healthy smell about him, and was speaking in a much more articulated manner. He, on an internal level, felt much cleaner, like his blood had been coated in something oily as it pumped through him. ¡°I never figured you for a man of culture,¡± Melmat said, then coughed. He could speed up the healing process, but there were some consequences even he couldn''t negate about long term smoking. ¡°It''s a classic, my family listens to it every year in the winter,¡± Ronnie replied, eyeing the large homeless encampment that had sparked the conversation. The smell was of cigarette smoke and urine, clinging to the wind. The encampment was inside of an abandoned parking lot of a bankrupt mall, a slowly rotting megastructure of shady dealings and moral abandonment. The mall was at the bottom of a large hill, cut down the side and walled back with enormous concrete blocks. It sat in the lowground, those who walked on the sidewalk above the wall could look down and see the roof of the building. The homeless were not confined to the encampment, however, and though Melmat and his group walked on the sidewalk overlooking the mall, the streets were still packed with flattened cardboard boxes, orange needle caps, used condoms and every other kind of garbage. The homeless mostly sat around, half of them were smoking a cigarette at any given time, and only a few of them bothered to look at the group of college students passing through. To Ronnie, it felt as though they were walking through the territory of dangerous animals, before he reminded himself that the homeless were people too, just like him, down on their luck is all. Still, the feeling returned.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The sky was blue overhead, the bright sunshine bleaching away some of the emotional weight of the scene. ¡°So, when you said your guy was at the mall . . .?¡± Chad asked, referencing local slang for being homeless. ¡°No, he''s not at the mall,¡± Melmat replied ¡°He''s a good dude, we talked over craigslist a lot setting up this deal,¡± ¡°Which definitely isn''t a drug deal,¡± one of the girls said, voice sarcastic. ¡°Which definitely isn''t a drug deal,¡± Melmat said ¡°But is a deal for some really sensitive, corporate research grade electronics. You can not buy this stuff, period, so it''s a miracle I tracked it down. You''ve got the money, right?¡± Melmat asked Ronnie, who nodded. ¡°I''ve got the money. Why ten grand? I thought these components were only going to cost two thousand.¡± ¡°Because he might have something else, and he might not. Chad, you''ve got your gun, right?¡± Chad rolled his eyes and nodded, prompting a look between the four girls following them. They collectively walked a little closer behind after that. If you had asked Chad or Ronnie about why they were so composed about going into a black market deal for stolen electronics that had the potential to turn into a gunfight, they wouldn''t have a clue. Luckily, nobody was likely to ask them that question around here. If they had, they might have noticed they weren''t acting like themselves. In the distance, a homeless woman was having a life destroying argument with someone who wasn''t there, she was screaming obscenities and wildly thrashing her arms, occasionally pausing, then responding to the silence. Melmat stared at her, much longer than his group felt comfortable with, and Chad eventually patted him on the shoulder, prompting him to start walking again. They continued walking through the desolate streets, until eventually they reached the meeting spot, a building that had once been a Radio Shack, but was now just abandoned, and thoroughly looted of anything that could be sold. It was also, Melmat noted, entirely absent of any homeless occupation what-so-ever. They entered the building and picked around the piles of rubble, making their way to the former employee break-room. Melmat asked that they remain outside, and they dispersed, exploring the ruined franchise building. Ronnie handed him an envelope and said ''good luck'', before walking off. When everyone was gone, he immediately shifted into a much more natural, assertive posture and entered. The smell in the room was different than the smell outside. The smoky air of cigarette smoke had a sleek, classy feel with a hint of cloves, and a man in a nice suit sat on an old couch, a briefcase on the table across from him. ¡°Flannel Glasses,¡± he said, looking at Ronnie. He spluttered and stepped back. ¡°Midnight Cup,¡± Melmat said, voice neutral. ¡°Nice to meet you, Melmat. Would you or your companions care for a drink?¡± ¡°They can do what they like, but I''ll pass. Let''s see what you''ve got,¡± Melmat said, and the suited man reached into his inside jacket pocket, producing a folded five gallon, thick, clear plastic bag, heat sealed. He unfolded it, then laid it on the table. Inside, in separate compartments, were several large black plastic rectangles in blue ice pack, a piece of dirty obsidian, a vial labeled ''rain water'', and some desert soil. ¡°I was able to contract a friend out in Vegas to get what you asked for. You''ve got interesting taste, that''s for sure, but nothing that couldn''t be done. You''ve got something for me as well?¡± Melmat slid an unmarked black flashdrive onto the table. ¡°The rest is in cash, like you requested,¡± he said, and handed him a white bank envelope. ¡°That''s good,¡± he said, plugging the flashdrive into a device the size and shape of a smartphone, it showed a readout of numbers and various digital currencies, primarily from EndChan. ¡°That''s very good indeed. I''ve also got a tip, for a good customer.¡± ¡°I thought it was supposed to be the other way around,¡± Melmat said, genuinely amused. ¡°Not in my line of work. Three bodies were found north of Hope, Nevada, up top a mountain. Sounds like cartel work, but two of the guys were theirs, and nobody is taking responsibility. One civilian dead, went rogue from his bachelor party and ended up dead next to two feared cartel enforcers.¡± ¡°Where? Where did they find them?¡± Melmat asked, leaning forward and eyes wide. ¡°A mountain in the middle of dead desert, the particular name of the wasteland escapes me.¡± ¡°Who found them?¡± ¡°Some kids. Cops came by and saw the bodies, but when a team got out there to take them to the morgue, they weren''t there. They were going to conduct a search, but it was getting late, and they were hearing a lot of. . .wildlife.¡± He took a drag of his cigarette ¡°so they called it off and said the wolves must have taken the bodies. There''s been no further effort to recover them.¡± ¡°That''s a shame. His poor fiancee,¡± Melmat said, and meant it. ¡°Unfortunately I don''t know anything about that. This will conclude our business,¡± he said, and grabbed his brief case, set it on the empty cushion next to him, and opened it up. Inside was a set of dirty clothes and a pair of worn out shoes, safely contained in a thick plastic bag. ¡°Unfortunately you''ll have to leave without me; I''d like to change into something more discreet. Good bye.¡± Melmat nodded, and left, taking his group with him. ¨C When back on campus, Melmat couldn''t help but notice Lisa every-time she was in his field of view. It wasn''t unexpected, or unwelcome, and afforded him the opportunity to see the dramatic change the girl had undergone. Her clothing style before had been an arrangement of drab, thick garments, now she was wearing light, bright clothes, and was currently dressed for a workout, her hair up in a ponytail. He had noticed her out running most mornings, and knew from her memory impressions that she had overcome a major mental obstacle. He felt a deep sense of satisfaction in his chest, and allowed himself to take a full, relaxed breath. Lisa turned her head abruptly, then wiped the hair from her braid out of her face as she stared lasers at Melmat, who began coughing from shock. She didn''t remember anything, he was absolutely certain of that. At least, the parts of her that were awake didn''t remember anything. She blinked several times, then shook her head, turning back to her friends, who were giggling from their attempts to snap her out of it. Lisa began speaking to them, and even from this distance, Melmat could tell she was asking about him. Melmat really hoped she wasn''t pregnant. ¨C Back at the lab, Melmat collected everybody''s phones and put them in a two cubic foot faraday cage. He removed one of the shiny, textured plastic rectangles and held it up for everyone to see. ¡°This, is a bio-chip,¡± he said, sliding it open and revealing a rectangle small patch of healthy looking, pink brain matter in a case with wires running out of it, attached to sophisticated looking circuits. ¡°And before you ask, yes, it''s still alive in there, and yes, it is human.¡± 30. The End of the War of the Worlds Ch 30 ¡°And though you were on the brink of sustaining permanent damage from over exertion while fighting the Aim Hero Renegade,¡± Melchsee said, ¡°I can say I was able to extract a silver lining from the whole scenario.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Casimer said, clearly still weakened ¡°the scenario in which I expended all my resources to kill the Hyper Ape, which was a net negative, because he was apparently one of my own monsters, and he respawns automatically. I don''t know how he''s managed it, but he''s died and been reborn three times already.¡± ¡°Oh my, we''ll get back to that,¡± Melchsee said ¡°but anyways, I''ve engineered a very well formed thought, and I''d like for you to try it out.¡± Casimer, in response, loosened his mental defenses and allowed Melchsee access to his mind. Ever since merging with her to fight against the Aim Hero Renegade and even further back, when they had been enmeshed in the dungeon of dungeons, his reluctance over such an action had vanished all-together. He had, emphasis on past tense, suspected and even feared that such a thing would lead to a loss of his own still forming sense of identity, or even a death of his awareness all together, of becoming someone else. Instead, the merge expanded the sense of his own self, like the memory of a dream suddenly becoming clear. Melchsee appeared in his mind''s eye, holding a large contraption of glass and brass in both arms. ¡°You won''t be aware of this, but this device is a little on the nose,¡± she said, indicating her burden ¡°but I like it, and I don''t think you really care about aesthetics that much.¡± Casimer indicated, via sent emotion, that he agreed. ¡°That''s what I thought. During our fight, I was able to get a really solid look at your limits. Using that information, along with a little bit of creative thinking, I''ve made this,¡± she said, then gently tossed her device forward with both hands hands, where it hovered, then rose and affixed itself in the upper left corner of his awareness, whatever that meant. The two glass tubes attached to the bronze central mechanism extended out, the bottom growing at least three times as long as the top. The shorter top tube turned bright red, and the bottom tube turned bright blue. If Casimer looked closely, he would see that the tubes were filled with thin, airy liquid. ¡°Now,¡± she continued, eyeing the device as though she were hoping it wouldn''t explode ¡°it''s just a readout, and just an estimate, of your vital and mental energy. The red vial represents how physically close to death you are, and the blue vial represents how close to mental exhaustion you are. The utility of such a thing might be lost on you,¡± she said, preparing to explain. ¡°No, it''s not lost on me,¡± Casimer said, feeling how the device vanished when he stopped ''looking'' at it, and re-appeared when his attention moved in a certain direction. ¡°What did you call this, a thought?¡± ¡°Well, technically it''s consciousness technology, and even more technically, it''s an engineered habit. We''ll call it an HP/MP bar for casual conversation. How''s it working? It''s not too obtrusive is it, if so I can adjust it.¡± ¡°No, it''s very subtle,¡± Casimer said. Experimentally, and at the excited request of Melchsee, he created a large mass of coal dust and picked it up, then, compressed it as hard as he could. As he did so, he watched as the blue bar began to steadily fall, lagging behind his actual exhaustion by several seconds. Casimer exerted more effort, and the sphere of coal started glowing and giving off waves of heat, until he was finally exhausted and gave it up. The coal fell on the ground and shattered to shimmering, smokeless pieces. As he rested, the blue bar began to fill back up. ¡°Well,¡± Casimer said ¡°That''s exciting. It''s a little slow, but otherwise nice job.¡± ¡°It''ll improve over time,¡± Melchsee said ¡°The speed. It''s gaining experience with every use, which will make it more accurate.¡± ¡°Well done. I''m sure it will come in handy.¡± ¡°Thank you, my lord. Let me change the subject a little here, the Aim Hero Renegade,¡± she said, referring to his proper name ¡°has respawned three times?¡± ¡°It''s like clockwork,¡± Casimer said, sounding annoyed ¡°every three days or so. Every time he comes back. . . it''s not a massive drain, but I feel it.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Melchsee said, sounding relieved ¡°he''s probably dying of thirst out there. Since it''s pointless to try and kill him, and because the respawns aren''t free, we ought to give him whatever he needs to survive to minimize the loss. ¡°It''s not a total loss,¡± Casimer said ¡°I can feel it whenever he gets in a fight, and everything he''s killing is directly feeding me, so I guess he really is one of my monsters, even if I can''t control him.¡± ¡° All the more reason to give him some tools. When was the last time he respawned?¡± ¡°Two days,¡± Casimer said. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°So it should be any time now. Here''s what we''ll do,¡± ¨C The Aim Hero Renegade appeared in the center of camp, naked and in a flash of light. Before he could run off, however, his attention was arrested by a large stone jug stoppered with a gem that flashed in rainbow, liquid light. His eyes grew greedy, and he rushed over to it. When he grabbed it, it broke apart, flowing slowly like warm honey over his fingers. First, he sniffed it. Then, hesitantly, he licked it, and the taste of pure sugar caused him to smile broadly and hoop. He licked his fingers clean, then began licking the jug, accidentally spilling the water within on his face. He licked it, then began drinking like a man dying of thirst. In his enthusiasm, he accidentally shattered the jug, prompting a primitive cry of sadness as he fell to his knees to lick the ground. But, right as his tongue was about to touch, he saw another jug, this one with a stone stopper and attached to a belt. He hesitated, licking his lips, eyes darting around as he stared at each new addition, then slowly he reached out and grabbed the belt, picking it up. The moment he did, there was a minor spark from the belt, and a window appeared with picture instructions on how to put the belt on. The renegade grunted a low, suspicious grunt as he watched the screen, brow furrowed and mouth occasionally twitching with unformed and unknown impulses, sticking his tongue out and moving it in a weird way. Very, very slowly, he equipped the belt, frequently glancing back at the screen for guidance, cinching it tight, and then took a drink of water from his jug. There was a sound in the distance, a large rock dislodged by Casimer rolling down a cliff, and it broke him out of his trance, causing him to bolt away, jug gripped in his hand, spilling water as he ran. ¡°I''m so goddamn hungry,¡± Casimer said, his voice the equivalent of curling into a ball and clutching his stomach ¡°Oh, oh it hurts to even look at anything.¡± ¡°There isn''t the possibility of more take-out,¡± Casimer asked ¡°is there?¡± ¡°Not anything we could afford,¡± Melchsee said ¡°It took all of four hours to get to hope and back, and I don''t want to hit that town again. Humans start to notice if too many of their herd start dying, trust me.¡± ¡°Are the humans really so dangerous?¡± ¡°Casimer, we could put up a very good fight against them, and we might win for a while. . . but even you aren''t strong enough to fight the entire world. And believe me, when they find out what you are, and what you are capable of, the whole world will be your enemy.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± Casimer said, then groaned again. ¡°I''m not going to starve to death anytime soon, but it hurts Melchsee. I hate this feeling.¡± Melchsee frowned, and for a long moment she was silent. Then, at it''s height, she spoke ¡°My lord, spare me another two cores.¡± ¡°Why two more?¡± ¡°Because I won''t be able to carry more than three. I must leave if I''m to find a permanent solution to our problem. I''ve got to find our. . . our ally.¡± Casimer produced the cores immediately, ripping them from an enormous Lead Beetle and an Assault Bear, both of which promptly died. ¡°Go forth, my servant. Go and solve this problem.¡± ¨C Some time passed, with each hour lending itself to a sort of hibernation state in which he conserved energy. In this state, Casimer''s internal awareness was heightened, he could feel, all at once, every grain of sand as it shifted and every wild whorl of air as it moved. Then, from far away, he felt a tingling sensation coming from. . . somewhere else. The more he tried to focus on it, the more certain he became that the disturbance was beyond this world. With a sensation like pushing through his own psyche, his awareness pushed through the boundary of the material universe and coalesced in the dungeon of dungeons. The air was stagnant, thick with latent magical energy, and surrounding him was the seemingly endless plain of red, barren dirt. The only thing he saw, the only warning he had to his impending disaster, was the sight of a group descending the stairway he''d created to escape. Atop the mountain, a portal to another dimension opened. From it came a group of five. A man dressed in shining plate-mail with a great-sword across his back; A man dressed in white holding a shepherds crook with a floating crystal in the center; A woman dressed in leathers with daggers at her belt; A woman dressed in blue robes holding a forearm length wand with a crystal top; A man dressed in green with a beautiful golden wood bow across his back, and long pointed ears. The portal closed behind them. ¡°Listen up everyone, we don''t know what we''re dealing with here. The outpost was destroyed, and according to that old monster Labrynthee, this is where the attacker went¡± A blue screen appeared in front of him, and he laughed ¡°What the hell is this?¡± The rest of the group looked back at the closing portal nervously. ¡°The guardian,¡± the woman in leathers said, itching her face under the eye ¡°sorry. The guard was ranting about strange magic,¡± she stared at the window ¡°This looks like the magic used by the ancient dungeons but. . . it''s strange?¡± The woman in blue was itching her arms, looking very uncomfortable. ¡°We''re obviously in a dungeon. Let''s smash the cores and get out of here, I''m starting to get a massive case of mana itch-¡± she said, then her face bleached of all color, her body starting to tremble. ¡°Man,¡± the man in green said, oblivious ¡°I didn''t think there was anything in the lowest level, let alone something even further down.¡± The woman in blue, followed shortly after by the man in white, both began screaming. ¡°Oh. Oh! Oh ancestors no!¡± her body was glowing a bright, neon blue, the veins in her skin lighting up and causing smoke to rise. ¡°Quickly, we''ve got to get out of here, activate the portal!¡± the man in shining armor said, pulling out a brass octahedron which immediately began to glow with bright blue-white fire along it''s eight sides, symbols in an unknown language, the two pyramid bases separating and revealing a bright light that began to pulse as though charging up for something. The man in white was next, screaming as the man in green began frantically looking for something in his possessions. He found it, a leather pack that fell from his hands as he fell into convulsing spasms. The man in plate-mail fell to his knees around the same time as the woman in blue burst into blue fire, her body shrinking down to a mummified corpse in nice clothing. The strange device fell from the knights hand, pulsing reaching a feverish pitch, maintaining it''s tempo, then bursting into cerulean fire. Within ten minutes of entering the material universe, they had all died. Casimer watched the scene unfold from a safe distance, extreme fear and survival instincts having prompted him to embed himself in a rock wall with a good vantage point. Finally, after some time had passed, Casimer made a vulgar noise that indicated intense satisfaction. ¡°That was the funniest thing I''ve ever seen,¡± he said, laughing as he devoured the massive quantity of energy that had been left behind and watched his mana bar refill completely, then slowly extend. ¡°Oh yeah,¡± he said, an almost erotic satisfaction in his voice as his hunger was replaced with total satiation ¡°I hope that happens again.¡± 31. The Endchan Admin Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. 32. Return to the Dungeon Ch 32 Ben was bored, sitting in a cheap lawn chair by his RV, which was parked in a different patch of ''the middle of nowhere'' than the ''middle of nowhere'' his single-wide trailer. He had bought the RV years ago with the idea that having two places he could live was better than one. He didn''t own the land it was sitting on, but nobody in Hope gave a shit about the wasteland surrounding the town. The RV had been inexpensive, a big rambling pile that might make it to the Pacific coast and back before the wheels fell off and the engine literally exploded. Vaughan, who had always been the go-to man for oil changes and other in-depth car maintenance issues, promised an explosion if they pushed the vehicle too far. He had suggested that they purchase some black market explosives and accelerate the process, but Ben had told him no. There were large, expensive solar panels surrounding the site, tripods that folded out three panels like a flower and followed the sun automatically; on the ground of the front, back and side opposite the entrance. Ben noted with some amusement that each solar pod had cost as much as the RV itself. The panels were attached to to a bank of high end rechargeable batteries that were advertised to provide two weeks of constant power at full charge, but Ben had never had a chance to test them, and basically just used the whole system to run three light bulbs and a computer. He distinctly remembered thinking ''Do not cast pearls before swine,'' as he was buying them, thinking of the dirty exterior of his rig, and then, while laughing hysterically to himself, wondered if Jesus was in-fact trying to make a joke. It seemed an odd thing to laugh about, but Ben had been running the kind of high that only comes from spending a large sum of money after coming into wealth unexpectedly, back when his endcoins had massively increased in value. Ben knew he was bored, because as he stared at the solar panels out the side window of the RV, he felt a surge of laughter coming on. Ben''s stash of weed, a quantity large enough to attract the attention of the DEA if he played his cards really wrong was untouched as he sat there, staring out the window. Memories he wasn''t supposed to think about, of the resurrected man and his battle with wolves, bears on two legs and walking trees, bubbled to the surface and then fell back down, suppressed by his own better judgment. In the end, it wasn''t the thought of treasure, or combat, or even power that compelled him to stand up suddenly and stuff a backpack full of essential survival items, along with a bubble wrapped bong and a healthy supply of weed. He sat in the drivers seat of his old brown Accord and hesitated one more time, before the reason rose up in his mind, clear as day. No, in the end, it was his memory of a peaceful breeze, of the deep breath he had taken with Doug and Lou. Never in his life, never had he felt so all right, and never had he felt so alive. ¨C Ben drove slowly, doubt eating away at his resolve. His old Honda bucked and jumped, hitting every bump and hole, threatening to give him a headache. The sun was high overhead, and the yellows and browns of the desert badland around him passed unnoticed. Ben stared straight ahead, body hunched over the wheel, his mind tense. ¡°What the hell am I doing? That place is fucking dangerous, Ben, you stupid son of a bitch. It''s full of wild animals, vicious wild animals that WILL attack you. You''re going to die out there, you know that right? You''re going to get yourself killed, and Polk''s gonna cry. Just turn around. Just turn the fuck around.¡± Ben kept driving, now glancing in his side mirror, checking the possibility of a U Turn. He was, of course, right. He had no business going to such a dangerous place. Nobody invited him, nobody needed saving up there. It was so selfish of him to be doing this alone. More than that, it was wrong. Who the hell did he think he was? Some kind of adventurer? He was just a fucking stoner following another stupid fucking idea, only this time it was going to get him killed. Ben slowed down and turned the wheel hard left, turning around. He drove even slower away than he had towards the mountain. His mind was quiet, and he had a sick feeling in his chest and his stomach, along with a perverted sense of relief. He was just another coward, after all. Nobody in his family was brave, nobody in his town had any drive at all, and he was just another one of them. Just another NPC wandering around, waiting for something good to happen to them that would never come. They were weak. He was weak too. Ben turned on the radio to drown out his mind. All the stations were static this far out, and he began cycling through them, one at a time, growing more and more frustrated as he went along. PSSSSSSST. PSSSSSSSST. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it PSSSSS-rock-SSSSST. On and on. Then, abruptly, he got a clear station. On it, ''The kids aren''t all right'' by the offspring had just started playing. As he listened to it, and the very familiar lyrics washed over him, Ben started to shake. The road under him was cracked and torn. All his friend were grown up now, and all of their hopes and dreams were dead. All their chances in life, all the meager good fortune that had ever been afforded them had been lost. Karen was an addict. William shot himself five years ago. McCrea couldn''t afford that college he''d been accepted to. Brian OD''d three years ago. And me? I just sit around all day smoking pot and floating from temp job to temp job. They''d all had so many dreams when they were younger, and all of them were sure, so fucking sure, that they were going to get out of this shitty town and take life head on. Not one of them had done it. And in a moment of clarity, Ben realized why. It was a thousand little moments like this one, a thousand surrenders both big and small over their lives. They all turned away from the mountain, one way or another. Ben scowled and turned a hard left, flipping around and driving towards his original destination with considerable speed. Not today, he thought. I''m doing it for all of us. I''m going to see what happens when you say yes. ¨C Ben stood at the base of the mountain. He was strapped in with an automatic rifle of some kind, Ben didn''t know very much about guns, fully loaded magazine locked in, scanning the area for threats; weapons were disturbingly easy to come by in Hope. ¡°Well,¡± Ben said aloud, calming his nerves ¡°now that I''m here, alone, on a mountain that shits out wolves and actual monsters, alone, I''m starting to once again think this is a really stupid idea.¡± He looked around, first to his left and then to his right, scanning the area. There really was nothing and nobody around here, nothing but miles and miles of scorched flat desert ground. Well, Ben reflected, stalling for time, there was almost nothing; he was able to pick out the occasional bit of trash from Louden''s party, along with some cigarette butts that had been left behind from his last trip. Remembering Vaughan''s favorite movie, Ben took a deep breath and shouted as loudly as he could. ¡°Fuck you, Fear!¡± and began his hike. -- He was taking his time as he climbed, leaving the path he had used the previous three trips and exploring around the base, occasionally stopping for a cigarette and throwing the butt on the ground as he cautiously listened and scanned the area for any signs of danger. After about two hours of nothing, Ben''s level of caution had significantly lowered, and he began to backtrack to a defendable area he had scouted out earlier to take a break. Ben''s defendable area was at the bottom of a sheer cliff face, about fifteen feet high with a large clearing at the base, and surrounding the clearing were tall spiky desert bushes and short, thick limbed desert trees with sparse leaves at the end of their branches. At this point in his trip, Ben felt comfortable enough to set out one of his collapsible camping chairs and take a load off of his feet. After about ten minutes of this, Ben took off his hiking boots and gave himself a foot massage, enjoying every moment of it. With a final look and listen to his surroundings, Ben mentally said ''Oh, to hell with it, I deserve this'' and pulled out his bong, filled it with water, packed the bowl and began smoking. Ben couldn''t have said how much time passed from that point on, but he had totally burned through one bowl and was about half-way through the second when he noticed the sound of bushes rustling. Inebriated, Ben instantly felt himself go from relaxed to utterly terrified in less than half a second, and hastily set his bong down, spilling most of the water in the process of picking up his rifle. His heart was pounding, and the noise of moving brush got ever closer, until eventually he could make out a crouched, large creature making it''s way noisily through. Finger on the trigger, Ben hesitated, a crucial half-second of dulled reaction time that would have permanent, world-changing consequences. If he had pulled the trigger, then his bullets would have ripped through the concealing underbrush and fatally wounded the creature that even now emerged from hiding, glowing green letters over it''s head spelling out it''s name. ¡°Aim hero renegade,¡± Ben mouthed aloud, not lowering his weapon as the naked man wearing a water jug on a belt approached him, totally relaxed with a blank, but curious expression on it''s face. Ben might have been reading into things too much due to the weed, but he could have sworn that the creature seemed a little relieved. Without much ceremony, he walked into Ben''s camp, made several man-beast like grunting and ooking noises, and promptly laid down, giving off an entirely human sigh of relief as he did so. ¡°Can you understand me?¡± Ben asked, his mind cutting through the obvious questions like ''Where are your clothes'' and ''What''s your name'', favoring a more basic and pressing matter. The renegade made several grunting noises, indicating quite clearly that he understood he was being spoken to, and that was the extent of his ability. He did not get up, and shut his eyes, breathing softly. Ben stood for a little while, then, feeling relieved and a little cheated, went back to his chair and sat back down. Without really thinking about it, he grabbed his bong and lit it, the sound of the lighter causing the renegade to lift his head and stare in the direction of the noise. With polite body language, he rose from laying and crouched next to Ben, staring. Feeling uncomfortable, Ben blew out the smoke, prompting several confused ooks. Laughing to himself, Ben held the bong out, and the renegade immediately took it, examined it, and then tossed his head back and drank the water inside. The reaction was near immediate, a monkey like shriek and spittake as he stood up and stumbled back, keeping a careful grip on the bong and not breaking it in the process. Ben began openly laughing, and the renegade glared at him for half a second, then began laughing himself. ¡°You''ve got water in there?¡± Ben said, pointing to the jug at his belt. The renegade looked at it, then handed it and the bong to Ben, who poured some of the water from the jug into the bong and began explaining how to use it while slowly performing the actions. Little did he know, embedded above him, a shining dark purple gem glinted in the sunlight, very occasionally moving, watching the scene with curious, infinite eyes. 33. Running the Dungeon Ch 33 ¡°Oh shit, oh shit!¡± Ben said, breathing hard as he ran. His lungs should be burning, and his body should have given out by now, yet all he felt was hot, very hot. It was a good kind of heat, like his bones were made of metal that had been left out in the sun, a warmth that radiated out and made him involuntarily aware of every inch of his body. Moving like a ghost on rails, < The Cliff Face > moved along the two dimensional surface of the cliffs, faster than a shadow and occasionally popping out and firing another bolt of crackling red energy. These whizzed through the sparse forest, impacting trees and knocking them over. Everything was a blur as they ran, and soon the assault stopped all-together, and still they ran, Ben blindly following the renegade, and the renegade following blind instincts. They were headed neither to the peak, nor the base of the mountain, rather their trail cut a horizontal line across the center, and soon Ben''s mind kicked into gear and he yanked himself free from his companions grip, standing still and catching his breath. The naked man ran on for a little longer, then looked back and saw Ben was still, and came back. He tugged on Ben''s shirt sleeve, a terrified expression on his face. ¡°We can''t run anymore,¡± Ben said, brushing the hand aside ¡°I dropped my gun back there, and I think we''re going to need it.¡± There was some protest in the form of ooking and pleading gestures, but in the end, the Aim Hero Renegade followed Ben as slowly made his way back. The terrain began to look more and more unfamiliar, and Ben knew it wasn''t because they were headed the wrong way. The further back they headed, the less trees and brush there was, instead little one to two foot tall square pillars of tan stone, spaced fairly far apart, littered the landscape. An arm like iron shot out in-front of Ben, halting him completely, the renegade giving a low growl and pointing at the pillars. Ben took a moment to look around further and saw that a heavy, cool mist had covered the sky like absurdly low cloud cover, dimming the bright desert light, and in the distance, large walls had erected themselves, pinning them in. ¡°What is it boy?¡± Ben said, some lunatic urge causing him to mimic the tone people often used with a trusty dog. He looked closely at the thick, small square pillars and the renegade picked up a rock, did some disturbingly sophisticated movements with it, getting it''s weight and measure, then threw it in a perfect fastball motion. The sound it made was unique, and stuck with Ben in such a way that he knew he would remember it for years to come, a thump and a whoosh as it was thrown, a slight whistle as it flew, and a resounding crack as it hit something previously invisible sitting atop the nearest pillar. It was an ugly, squat mass of purple, green and red flesh, like half of a soccer ball sized tumor, with eight little claw like legs attached to the edge of it''s flat base. Above it was written for a brief moment, before it shattered into light that raced through the air and entered the Aim Hero Renegade, illuminating him for a short moment. ¡°What. . .?¡± Ben said, letting his question trail off, watching as the eyes and hair of his companion lit up like incandescent bulbs, flashing with a soft pop, and a rotating icon with depicting an eye with a shining pupil fell gently to the ground, bouncing as though governed by moon gravity, then finally coming to a rest about a foot away. A sense of desperate, naked need filled Ben and he rushed forward, grabbing at the icon and watching it vanish, and a new mental process appeared in his mind. Analyze Casimer''s voice said, filling the area with omnidirectional sound, like the voice of a commentator or announcer. Ben looked around, and suddenly the world looked very different. It was as though someone had painted over his vision with semi-transparent brushes of color, little red blotches on top of each and every pillar that seemed to resolve themselves into more monsters when he squinted. Ben hissed as he exhaled, realizing how close to death he had been, and put a hand on the Aim Hero Renegade''s shoulder. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, and the renegade grunted in response, still scanning the area. Ben picked up a rock, took aim, and threw it as hard as he could. It missed entirely, and Ben moved forward to the cleared pillar, picked up another rock, took aim again, and threw. This time, Ben was successful, and the heavy stone hit the with a thud and bounced off, a red bar appeared above it for about five seconds, depleting itself. All at once, as Ben stared in baffled confusion, he understood. ¡°Am I in a fucking video game!¡± Ben shouted, suddenly filled with irrational anger, fear, outrage, while still being unable to stop smiling. His smile turned to laughter that grew in intensity, he threw rock after rock at the each impacting and chipping off another portion of health, the laughter turning to sheer lunacy, a madman''s cackle by the time he finally killed the monster. ¡°Those are experience points, aren''t they?¡± He nearly screamed as the light rushed into him, innervating his body with energy, causing the vague spots caused by Analyze to brighten, shaping themselves more closely to the camouflaged monsters. Ben''s emotions suddenly snuffed out, replaced by a hot, mechanical knowledge that had nothing to do with Casimer''s influence. ¡°You think you''re going to kill me here? I''ve been beating games like you since I was four years old.¡± The Aim Hero Renegade picked up another rock and prepared to throw it, but Ben held up a hand. ¡°No,¡± he said, then picked up another rock ¡°That''s not how these things work. If I want to survive, I need to do it.¡± A little bit behind them, as if in approval, a large pile of stones appeared as if poured out of an invisible sack onto the ground. The renegade, almost as if he understood exactly what was happening, began acting as a gopher, carrying rocks to Ben as he threw them, whittling away the HP of the next nearest monster.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¨C Casimer watched Ben as he methodically stood a safe distance away from the camouflaged monsters, very slowly killing them one at a time. He felt like laughing, a sort of diabolic laughter that only comes when a key piece of the master plan is finally revealed. ¡°So, that''s how it works,¡± Casimer said, sitting atop a distant cliff with a body of dirt, core embedded where a nose should be on the face, petting what looked to be a gigantic, horned white snake with large, irregular, round black patches across it''s lounging body. Above the square bent horns was written in glowing green letters < The Giant Bull Wurm >. ¡°Did you know,¡± he said, turning his eyeless face and speaking to the eyeless worm ¡°that you are made out of my leftovers?¡± The worm moved slowly, shaking it''s head. ¡°No, you wouldn''t know that, would you? After I''ve put the mana through whatever mysterious process I use to keep myself alive, there''s something leftover, something which builds up inside of me, a sort of heavy, exhausted energy that''s useless to me. Like it''s all burned up, and the char and ash is all that''s left. It''s a bit like you biological types, breathing in clean air and exhaling waste. So, I expel it and create creatures like you.¡± Some distance away, Ben finally killed another poison spike trap, and it broke apart into light that rushed into Ben, who seemed to be getting a sort of berserker high from it. ¡°That, right there,¡± Casimer said, pointing with force ¡°He broke it apart, and that relatively useless energy rushed into him. And you know what? He''s metabolizing it right back to mana, and leaking that out back into the environment. That''s a cycle, that''s something I should take note of if I''m going to be any better than a disgusting bug.¡± Casimer watched Ben for a little while longer, petting the worm, then sighed. ¡°What a shame for you little buddy,¡± he said, fondly giving the enormous worm a vigorous scratch behind the horns, which it seemed to greatly enjoy ¡°Looks like you can''t eat them all like I originally planned. It was a good plan too, I would have creeped up on their cities and unleashed armies of monsters like you. Can you imagine it? The sky blotted out by winged worms, and wolves and things I haven''t even thought up yet! Just thinking about it makes me hungry. Looks like that isn''t happening though. Sorry.¡± The worm didn''t seem to mind very much at all. Casimer watched Ben as he killed another of his monsters, just standing there, extremely safe, throwing rocks. ¡°You know, I don''t think that''s really fair. Look at him, he''s just staying out of range and killing them from a distance. Poor little cuties can''t even fight back. You all might just be what boils down to poop, but each and every one of you is my favorite turd. How do you feel about getting a little exercise? If you''re lucky, you might die, and the next time I make you, you''ll be even bigger.¡± The head of the worm split open in four directions, revealing a mostly hollow body lined with rapidly circling teeth, each dripping with bright green acid. ¡°There''s a smile. Go get ''em!¡± ¨C The sun was setting, finally, and Ben was lobster red and desperately in need of some Aloe Vera, or any other kind of sunburn treatment. He had been out in the sun all day, and was coated in sweat. The Aim Hero Renegade sat under a tree, with a piece of straw in it''s mouth, crossing his eyes and watching it as he waved it from side to side with his lips. As far as loot went, Ben had acquired a pile; several gallon sized bags full of cigarette butts; exactly one useless rifle with an obsidian-like rock embedded in it; a pile of tiny rocks of the same kind as in the gun; a pair of jeans which Ben had immediately assisted the Aim Hero Renegade in putting on; a water cooler from which Ben and the renegade had already drunk; and a bag of unidentified raw meat that the renegade kept trying to get into. At some point a very large plastic bag, at least as large as a backpack and with straps on it, had dropped and Ben had immediately started storing things in it. Ben felt very strange, like his entire nervous system was itchy. He had gained and lost both the Analyze and Aim skill several times throughout the day, and his best guess was that he only had a certain number of uses, or a time duration before he lost them. His brain felt plastic from exercises and exertions it had never even considered performing, let alone actually succeeding at. The constant bombardment of what Ben was calling experience points had given him something akin to a high, but rather than euphoria, it was an entirely mental high, like all the joints and mechanisms of his brain had been lubricated for the first time. It struck him that this is what a genius must feel like all the time, and then realized, without much emotion, that he would never be able to be happy as his old self again. Fucking flowers for Algernon. It hadn''t been hard to learn how to turn off the skills he had obtained, it was sort of like shutting an eye, except the eyes were inside his brain; extremely simple and easy to understand, he thought with some sarcasm. Ben had both skills currently, and they sat in his mind like little points of bright light; Analyze was dimmer than Aim, indicating that it was closer to being exhausted. Every minute or so, he would use the skill and scan the area, checking for threats. Ben did so, scanning the area, then felt himself, not for the first time, laugh as his eyes took in the scene before him. The squat, tan pillars that littered the landscape were mostly devoid of monsters, some of them had chunks missing from thrown rocks, and each was casting a steadily lengthening shadow in the light of the setting sun. Several bags of cigarette butts lay where they dropped, Ben having stopped collecting them. ¡°Speaking of,¡± he said to himself, then walked over to the clear plastic backpack and unzipped the top. He took out a bag of butts, dumped them out on the ground, then picked through them, occasionally setting one aside if it was longer than the others, which were mostly filters. Pulling out a thick, once clear glass pipe, now near black with use, Ben carefully emptied the remaining tobacco from the butts and packed the pipe. Running is hand along his pants pockets, he realized he didn''t have a lighter, swore, then put the pipe back in his pocket. Ben considered trying to use the plastic as a sort of makeshift lens to concentrate sunlight and get an ember going that way, then more strongly considered quitting smoking all-together if he was that desperate. Immediately after thinking that, he tried to use one of the obsidian monster cores to light the pipe, and failed. The sound of moving dirt in the distance grabbed his attention, he turned and saw something large, white and thick like a tentacle with horns rising from the ground, extending about three feet up and writhing. Ben''s lips turned down as he looked at it, an uncomfortable feeling in his gut making him use Analyze, which lit the creature up in red. Above it''s head was written something, but Ben couldn''t see it, so he used Aim for a brief moment, and suddenly it was clear. ¡°Giant Bull Wurm?¡± he said, grabbing a nearby rock and using Aim for only the duration of this throw, causing it to fly true and strike it at the base. The rock bounced off of the apparently thick flesh of the creature, and above it''s head, only the smallest fraction of HP was removed, giving Ben pause. The giant bull worm whipped it''s head back, then threw it forward, a sphereical glob of burning green fluid racing directly towards him. Ben yelled out in surprise and dove to the side, and the caustic substance struck the ground, burning with a foul smell and glowing with heat. The creature threw it''s head back again, and Ben started running, near miss after near miss filling him with panic. ¡°Help! Help!¡± he shouted at the renegade, who looked startled and jumped up, then threw a rock with awesome force, taking well over a quarter of the creature''s remaining health and leaving a black bruise on it''s body. He was able to strike it two more times before it retreated, burrowing into the ground. The renegade, apparently having had enough leisure time, began mechanically clearing out the remaining poison spike traps, one shot killing one monster, and clearing the path forward. ¡°Took me twenty throws to take one of those out,¡± Ben grumbled, then grabbed his pack. The way was now clear, and Ben was practically itching to use the Aim skill with his rifle. 34. A wizard demonstrates advanced metaphysics Ch 34 ¡°So what in the hell is this trying to prove?¡± Ronnie asked, scratching his head and feeling the kind of anxiety that comes from both legitimate fear of the future and regret of loaning his stoner friend five thousand dollars to fund that very same future. In response, Melmat, who had near perfect self control, a man who had been trained by the the most accomplished magician in the world to-date, hesitated. They were in a room Melmat had gutted entirely. After it had been emptied, the carpet removed and a new temporary floor installed, nobody would have recognized it as the room Sarah had died in. Everything had been painted white, the paint being a now illegal blend with a heavy concentration of lead. Then, a large, specially constructed Faraday cage had been built, lining the walls and creating a geometrically perfect cube. Set inside their own smaller cages were large, amp sized frequency generators with a brand signature that nobody recognized, an ''M'' shaped like two angular arms projecting out of a single point, leaving horizontal claw marks as they moved away from one another. Librorum, though absolutely useless for activities that required excessive physical movement and very fast reflexes, was capable of matching a CNC laser when it came to cutting metal and piecing it together. This was fortunate, Melmat had reflected a while back, because the construction of the four foot tall, flawless steel dodecahedron event chamber sitting suspended on wooden pillars in the exact center of the room, would have cost him a fortune to have made. Just a few feet away, hooked up to the Bio-Chip, was the Uke-A. Nobody was aware of it except Melmat, but there were also several gel-based incendiary explosive devices in the room, in-case the worst/best case scenario did occur. ¡°Hey,¡± Ronnie said, snapping his fingers and pulling Melmat from his thoughts ¡°do you have an answer for me or what?¡± ¡°I am the angel of death,¡± Librorum whispered into his ear, trailing a paper finger across his temple ¡°know me and feel the fear of freedom.¡± Ronnie couldn''t hear her, but some part of him registered the presence and intent, and he unconsciously itched the side of his head. ¡°I tracked down the original designs for the Uke-A,¡± Melmat began ¡°hidden in the library. While I was looking over it, I noticed some discrepancies in the list of parts. This led to a thirty-six hour code-breaking session, and it was only a lucky break that allowed me to crack it. There were instructions encoded in the blueprint, indicating that there were twelve separate designs for the Uke-A, hidden in major universities across the world. There were over a hundred schools listed, each containing it''s own copy.¡± ¡°What. . .?¡± Chad said, scratching his head energetically and looking baffled. ¡°So, did you track them down?¡± Ronnie asked, expression indicating confusion. ¡°I did, and it took some doing. A few phone calls got me the majority, but I had to take a plane to Tibet for the final design. Of the twelve, only it didn''t have any copies.¡± ¡°Is that why you took a week off?¡± one of the female undergrad lab techs asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Melmat lied. In truth, he would rather take a bullet to the head than be caught in Tibet again, so he had spent the week meditating. On a beach off the coast of South America. It had been a long, long time since he''d had a vacation. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°It was beautiful,¡± he continued ¡°Just the colors, the smells, the mountains. . . I had to go to a temple and undergo a fucking trial, like a courtroom trial, in which I had to argue my worth.¡± The memories of when he had done exactly that, many years ago, flooded to the surface, assisted by Librorum. He had been so young then. ¡°Did they give it to you?¡± Chad asked. ¡°Not the first time. I asked for a re-trial, and they gave it to me on the condition that I could go three days without smoking weed.¡± Melmat made a face ¡°That was more difficult than I thought it would be. I did it though, and they let me make a copy of the original.¡± Melmat pulled out an old Polaroid photo and passed it around. A younger looking version of the man that stood before them sat in a full lotus meditation pose, smiling with a bright innocence no liar could match, making a peace sign with both hands, surrounded by smiling men in orange robes also making the peace sign. ¡°I''ll want that one back,¡± Melmat said quietly, an unexpected surge of pain in his chest. ¡°You look so young!¡± The female labtech said, eyes moving from the photo to Melmat and back again rapidly. ¡°The mountain air and a detox from drugs''ll do that for you,¡± he said smoothly. ¡°Once I assembled all the pieces, a new device emerged from the chaos. It is very similar to the Uke-A, but the small changes. . . well, hopefully we are going to see in just a moment here.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Ronnie said, staring at the photograph, then handing it back over ¡°That''s a great story. You still haven''t answered my question. What in the fuck is this thing supposed to do?¡± Melmat gulped. ¡°It''s going to bring something over from the other side,¡± Melmat said, his words having a chilling effect on the entire group. ¡°It enables trans-dimensional interaction,¡± Melmat said, then pressed a button on a remote in his pocket. The frequency generators turned on, each playing a different note that melded together in an eerie chord that made the hairs on their bodies stand straight up and their brains feel like someone was tickling them in the center. ¡°Ohhh, I hate that,¡± Chad said, eyes wide and edging towards the door. ¡°We had better get out of here,¡± Melmat said ¡°It should take five minutes to warm up, but I want us safe in the observation room. I don''t know what''s coming over from the other side,¡± he lied again. ¨C ¡°This doesn''t feel like a very smart idea,¡± Ronnie said, rubbing his arms while his eyes were glued to the monitor showing what was happening in the room from multiple angles. ¡°I''m with Ronnie on this,¡± Chad said, occasionally flicking his temple and scrunching his nose ¡°I''ve played a few games and seen a few movies, and usually the bad shit starts with ''I''ve built a device that opens to another dimension.'' How do you know this isn''t going to open a portal to hell?¡± ¡°The odds of that happening are reasonably low,¡± Melmat said absently, reading the constant readout from the bio-chip and occasionally typing ¡°We could, but only with a much more massive power source. Everyone, please quiet down, I need to concentrate, because it''s starting.¡± From the speakers, the team could hear the tone change, from an eerie whine to a powerful, resonating sound that seemed to wash through everything like the sounding of a divine bell. The Uke-A turned on, and the effect on the twelve-sided event chamber was immediate, waves of heat rising from it. ¡°Woah!¡± Ronnie said, leaning in close and staring. Melmat could practically hear his mind crunching how many units of power were being generated against how many had been required to start the reaction, and coming to the conclusion that this was ''free fucking energy baby'' ¡°Stand back,¡± Melmat ordered ¡°Don''t crowd the screen, it''s not over yet.¡± The waves of heat became larger, and the metal platonic solid gained several blotches of red that visibly spread across the entire shape, and soon it was a burning, cherry color. ¡°Are you going to burn the building down,¡± Chad asked, totally engrossed in what was happening ¡°Because if so, that''s fucking badass.¡± Melmat couldn''t help but smile. Whatever mysterious reaction was occurring seemed to have stabilized, and for a few moments, nothing happened. Ronnie was about to speak, when, all of the sudden, they saw Sarah standing in the room, dressed in a skimpy leather outfit with cat ears on her head and vampire fangs hanging over her lips. One moment later, a gigantic, sleek, black panther with bright red eyes and saber-tooth fangs could be seen behind her, lounging, panting. Melmat, in a moment of genuine panic, hit the emergency stop button when the panther stood up on two legs, stretched, body realigning to become a humanoid with cat ears on his head and fangs , and walked towards the door. Before he could reach it, he vanished, and then Sarah as well. ¡°Sarah,¡± Ronnie said at the same time Chad said ¡°Satan''s Pussy?¡± 34. The Turning of the Wheel Ch 34 Ben spat, looking at the burned up, empty site he had been relaxing at earlier in the morning. The sun was down, and the moon was full, illuminating everything. Ben had seen it happen with his own eyes, things vanishing if you got too far away from them, their tendency to appear again or for copies to be dropped by monsters upon death. The only signs in the camp were of a struggle, scorch marks and and the faint odor of something fresh, like washed clothes. ¡°Of course it''s empty,¡± he said, accumulated exhaustion finally weighing him to the ground. After his run in with the wurm, it had been several more hours of methodical slaughter before he made it back. Not since he had been six years old, locked out of his parent''s old house for a few days while they were off shooting up heroin, had the ground felt so blissfully comfortable. His instincts could scream all they wanted, but Ben wasn''t in any state to hear them. ¨C Casimer could feel Ben drift away, and felt the Aim Hero Renegade fall into a deep, exhausted sleep sometime after that. There was a strange emotion running through him, something he couldn''t place. His monsters were closing in on the area even as he watched, a whole pack of Grass Wolves to pin them against the wall, where the Cliff Face would easily finish them off. ¡°He''s worked hard today, hasn''t he?¡± he asked, petting the regenerated giant bull wurm. Casimer had been able to get a very good idea of exactly how much mana a human could process before total exhaustion, which was his entire goal for boxing Ben in and facing him with stationary enemies. It was a good strategy, totally exhaust something before killing it, but Casimer didn''t have the heart for it. Without understanding exactly why, Casimer mentally sent the creatures away to hunt other game, what little remained of the natural wildlife. He moved himself to the furthest edge of the strange radius that surrounded all living creatures, the radius which kept him from simply ripping them apart and eating that way. With Ben, and humans in general, it was much larger than with smaller creatures like mice. Around his core, he built a body of dirt, functional and easy to maintain. Then, reaching into his own stomach region, he began pulling out logs of wood until he had an armful, and went into the camp. Ben was dead asleep, and the Renegade had opened a watchful eye the moment Casimer had formed in the distance, and kept it aimed right at him, following his every movement. ¡°Relax you stupid ape,¡± Casimer said in a low whisper, dropping the wood carefully, experimentally pulling more wood from his stomach. ¡°I can create things inside the radius, as long as I''m in it, huh? What a stupid restriction,¡± he said as he stacked the wood. Casimer tried to light the fire directly, failed, then pulled a glob of burning, liquid gold from his stomach and placed it under the logs, which began to smoke and crackle to life immediately. As he watched Ben sleep, curiosity moved across his mind like a wandering god, and his body of dirt transmuted, gaps filled in by pink flesh, until a perfect replica of Ben sat across from him, dark purple gem set in the center of his collarbone. The light of the fire played across his body, which had a wet, embryonic layer of thin, evaporating slime across it. Casimer pulled several collapsible lawn chairs from his stomach, three to be exact, then arranged them around the fire. ¡°Get over here, stupid,¡± Casimer said in his own voice, motioning for the Aim Hero Renegade to come and have a seat, which he did, innocently following orders. The final item Casimer created was a replica of Ben''s glass bong, complete with water and weed ready to go. ¡°Why on earth was he doing this?¡± Casimer said in a forceful whisper. He looked at the renegade, who was watching with sleepy eyes. ¡°That won''t do, I want as many test subjects as I can get,¡± he said, reaching over and touching the Aim Hero Renegade on the forehead, washing his exhaustion away and restoring him to peak physical condition. ¡°I''ve wired myself into this body completely,¡± Casimer explained, squinting and moving through the clunky motions of lighting the pipe and smoking it ¡°so in theory, I should be able to feel this.¡± Casimer inhaled the smoke, then immediately began coughing it out, prompting several soft ooks of concern from the renegade. ¡°Stop worrying,¡± cough cough ¡°stupid. Now it''s your turn,¡± he said, and handed it over. The renegade stared at it, then looked back at Casimer with wide eyes, who began laughing softly. ¡°It''s all right, you just did this yesterday, just try to remember,¡± he said, standing up on unsteady feet and grabbing the aim hero renegade''s arms and hands, manually molding him into the proper positions. Muscle memory took over at that point, and the renegade lit the bowl and inhaled. The moment the smoke hit his lungs, a massive hit of white smoke, he let out a monkey like shriek of surprise, and fell back, an almost exact repeat of the days previous events when he tried to drink the bong water. Ben''s eyes snapped open, and he sat up, breathing hard, looking around. ¨C It was, without a doubt, the strangest scene he had ever woken up to. Across from him, buck naked and covered in red/pink, thin ropey slime, was him. His doppelganger was laughing and the area stunk of freshly smoked weed, the kind he normally liked to smoke. The Aim Hero Renegade was gently setting down his bong, thick white smoke coming from his mouth as he continued to shriek, though his volume was rapidly decreasing, and his tone was becoming more questioning than panicked. ¡°Sorry,¡± Casimer said, ¡°I didn''t mean to wake you, Ben.¡± ¡°What the fuck is going on? Casimer, is that you?¡± Ben said, heartbeat remaining elevated and overworked adrenal glands squeezing the last meager drop they had into his system. ¡°Yes. I''ve decided to give you a pass,¡± Casimer said casually, the familiar face he wore smiling at Ben. ¡°Would you care to join us?¡± he asked, holding out the bong. Some part of him, the dwindling portion of his mind that insisted on sanity, threw it''s hands up and walked away from life, possibly for good. Because it knew, it had watched Ben for his entire life, that whenever Ben asked himself that question, the answer was always the same. ¡°All right,¡± Ben said, ¡°Just this once.¡± ¨C Some time had passed, Casimer in no rush to begin talking, the Aim Hero Renegade having fallen asleep at least an hour ago, and Ben engrossed in his own thoughts. In the small amount of words exchanged between them, Ben had asked Casimer to put on some clothes and possibly a different face. He''d consented to the clothes but insisted on keeping the face. Casimer now wore a set of powerful looking full plate armor, complete with a sword-belt, but no helmet. Occasionally, Casimer would cycle between other fantasy style outfits. Ben noticed a while ago that there were only five. He had just come back from getting more wood for the fire, when Ben started talking. ¡°Is it wrong this has been the best day of my life?¡± Ben asked. Casimer shifted, startled. ¡°I hadn''t considered that,¡± Casimer said, looking lost for the first time since Ben had met him. ¡°Why didn''t you rush us?¡± Ben said suddenly, breaking the silence. ¡°What?¡± ¡°When we were pinned against all those poison spike traps. You had plenty of room, so why didn''t you flood the forest with tanky monsters and push us towards them?¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°I hadn''t considered that either,¡± Casimer said, eyes wide and head now held between both hands. ¡°All day I was worried about that,¡± Ben said ¡°I kept thinking, ''just clear a path through, just get an escape route as fast as you can''. And then, it started getting later in the day, and I realized you weren''t going to do it. And all I could think about is, why not? So it was inexperience,¡± Ben said, trailing off and revisiting the train of thought. ¡°Was this really the best day of your life?¡± Casimer asked, leaning forward a bit, voice clear. Ben hesitated out of a sense of obligation to his life so far. It was no easy thing to discount his entire life, no matter the number of his troubles. ¡°Yeah. It really was.¡± ¡°The best day of my life,¡± Casimer said, eyes following a memory ¡°was the first time I was defeated, and my eyes were opened by a friend. If not for that, today never would have been. Tell me something, if you think you are getting off this mountain alive, what are you going to do out there?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ben asked. ¡°What''s out there? What''s really out there?¡± ¡°Can''t you see it yourself?¡± ¡°I can''t leave this place anymore than a tree can leave it''s roots. All I can do is grow.¡± ¡°You heard a bit of it when I was talking to Ahr,¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± Casimer interrupted ¡°Aim Hero Renegade? I''m shortening it to Ahr, I''m sure you''ve noticed it''s a really clunky name. Anyways, outside of here is civilization. Everything we''ve ever built, all our knowledge and wealth, the system of human dominance over the earth, our culture. We''ve harnessed fire, we''ve taken flight, we''ve split the atom,¡± Ben said, and Casimer made a dismissive ''pfft'' sound and waved a hand through the air, an ominous orange light blooming for a moment before vanishing. ¡°Uh. . .¡± Ben said, staring at the spots the dim light had left in his eyes, ¡°Right,¡± he said and got control of himself again ¡°Ok, try this one on for size. You see that moon?¡± Ben said, pointing at it. ¡°Yeah, what about it?¡± ¡°We''ve been there. Sent a human out and he walked on it.¡± ¡°How?¡± Casimer asked, and Ben let him ponder ¡°What an impressive group I''m sharing my world with,¡± Casimer said, face tilted up to the moon, staring ¡°It''s so different, looking through these eyes. Inside my domain, I can see everything within, the contours of every grain of dirt, under the ground, a total sight. Outside is different, just light and impressions, like filtered through water. These eyes though,¡± he said, and stood up, letting his head hang back to stare up at the sky ¡°They can''t see a damn thing, not inside the grass, only in one direction, and only a small bit of the colors of the world.¡± Casimer blew out a breath, close to a whistle. ¡°But they can see far,¡± Casimer said slowly, eyes watering as he stared at the stars ¡°They can see so very far. It''s no wonder your people went to the moon, to your senses, it''s right there,¡± he said, and in addition to the omnipresent voice, Casimer''s body said it as well, giving Ben the goosebumps. ¡°Do you think you''ll end up on the moon someday,¡± Ben asked, staring up as well. Casimer looked over and laughed. ¡°Come for a walk with me, Ben, and we''ll be able to answer that question in a much more certain way.¡± Casimer stood, clothes changing to bright blue robes and a long crystal tipped staff falling from the wide sleeves. Ben watched eyes wide, and Casimer noticed him watching. ¡°You didn''t even look at the gold with eyes half as covetous as the ones you have now,¡± he said slyly, and Ben turned his gaze away, embarrassed. ¡°We want magic even more desperately than water or gold,¡± Ben whispered his realization to himself. But Casimer heard. ¡°Come on then,¡± Casimer said, tapping the ground with his staff, and the ground rumbled in the distance. Ahr opened his eyes and stood up, alert and ready to follow. The three of them walked, Casimer in the front leading them through the brush, until they found a set of stairs that descended into the ground. They were wide, with a tall ceiling, made for easy walking. Ben hesitated only a moment, and Casimer laughed. ¡°You aren''t food, Ben. You''re my first ''friend'',¡± he said, giving the word air quotes ¡°and I ''promise'' you''ll be all right.¡± Casimer was smiling, clearly amused by his correct use of the new concepts. They stepped into the darkness and began walking. It went like that for some time, going further and further down in total darkness. Ben coughed, then stumbled on a step. Casimer caught him by the arm and righted him back up. ¡°My mistake,¡± he said, then he began to glow, illuminating the passage ¡°We''ve still got a ways to go.¡± For Ben, the process was a strange one. Each step down reminded him of something, like a distant nostalgia unremembered, of events that never happened to him. He felt as though he had made this journey a thousand times, the endlessly repeated pattern of the steps bringing him into a trance, following a version of himself that knew far more than he did into the depths. ¡°We''re nearly there, Ben,¡± Casimer said. ¡°What time is it out there?¡± Ben asked suddenly, a child-like note of pleading in him. ¡°It''s still night, why do you ask?¡± ¡°I want to show you something. Let me know when it''s almost morning, and we''ll come out then.¡± ¡°All right, I''m looking forward to it. I''ve made something comfortable for us to rest on further up ahead, let''s wait there.¡± ¨C ¡°You know,¡± Casimer said, breaking the silence, pulling Ben from the strange, internal panic that had gripped the entirety of his mind. ¡°You never answered my question, about what you were going to do out there, once you got away from the mountain.¡± ¡°I don''t know what I''m going to do, Casimer,¡± Ben said, coming back into focus. ¡°I don''t know what I''m supposed to do. You know, my parents aren''t really dead?¡± Casimer looked startled, the grabbed his chest as though experiencing a pain. ¡°When I was a kid, when they took me to the morgue, I didn''t even look at their faces. They must have been some random junkies who looked like them, but I didn''t care. All I wanted was to get away from that house, get away from them before they got me killed.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Casimer whispered, and this time it was only with his body that he spoke. ¡°Years and years later, I saw them in Vegas, the two of them, still together, still using. They looked like fucking ghouls, filthy, homeless, begging for money. I still knew though, I still knew who they were.¡± Tears welled up in Ben''s eyes, not touching his voice ¡°And you know what they did, when I told them I was their son? They started begging for money. They didn''t recognize me, all they saw was someone who might be able to help them get high. Then, when I left, they called me a cheap fucker and said they were glad they never had kids. When I walked away-Casimer, are you all right?¡± Casimer wore a brutal smile on his face, flushed with blood under the skin, like his entire body was clenched up. ¡°Oh, oh yes,¡± Casimer said ¡°I can feel that, Ben. I can even remember it as though I was there. This anger, that moment, it''s written in your blood like a burning scar. How can you stand to feel this way!¡± he shouted ¡°I can tell you something, Ben. If anything ever made me feel this way, I wouldn''t rest until I had torn it all down. Yes,¡± he hissed, eyes wide ¡°yes I know what I am feeling. This is older than me, written in something deeper than blood. I''m going to show them all,¡± he whispered, a confused look on his face ¡°I will have revenge!¡± he shouted, and the mountain shook. Ben felt it as well, like his blood had caught fire, the anger of a betrayed child finally given a voice. It played like a music in his spirit, the song his soul had waited a thousand years to hear. Like a madman preaching his doctrine of salvation, and the people singing along, a chorus of ''Burn it down! Burn it down!'', on repeat, just beyond the edge of his understanding. All Ben knew, all he could understand, was that his future had become larger; the fog that had descended on him all those years ago as a child in the Morgue of Hope, Nevada, had finally lifted. ¡°I think I will too,¡± Ben said, heart beating a thousand miles a minute, sweat breaking out across his body. Ahr, sensing the mood, began beating his chest and screaming, looking for something he could throw. Ben wanted to laugh, but a much larger part of him wanted to start beating his chest as well. He did neither. ¡°It''s almost dawn, come on, Ben. I want to see what you had us wait for.¡± They walked, a fifteen minute stretch of burning silence, each locked in their own thoughts. They emerged on a world painted in the colors of the rising sun, sky orange with the coming light. Casimer stood as though stunned, like he had been struck, human eyes locked on the horizon. They watched for half an hour, the slow progress of Heilos as he raised the sun, tears openly shed by all watching. ¡°Thank you for that,¡± Casimer whispered, and pulled a strange metal object from his sleeve, about the size of a pear, then put it in Ben''s backpack. ¡°You''ll come back, Ben.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°After what I just gave you, I can guarantee it. I''ll follow you for as long as I can and see you on your way out.¡± To Casimer, the walk away brought a strange pain. He could see the boundary that contained him clearly, like a fish rising to the surface of the ocean, the impassable mirror barrier where the sea met the sky. ¡°I can go no further,¡± Casimer shouted, pressed up against the boundary. ¡°Goodbye, Ben.¡± ¡°Goodbye, Casimer!¡± Ben shouted from the veiled unknown ¡°Thank you for everything!¡± 35. Oil and Water do not mix Ch 35 ¡°Look, I''m telling you,¡± Melmat said, genuine frustration in his voice ¡°There''s something bigger than a cat vampire serial killer going on. Have you even looked at the data I''ve collected from Nevada? Have you been paying attention to the internet lately?¡± ¡°As far as I''m concerned,¡± Ronnie said ¡°There''s nothing bigger that the deaths I''ve unintentionally caused. If you want to go so bad, then go by yourself, I won''t stop you. Once we figure this out,¡± ¡°There is no figuring this out!¡± Melmat finally, after months of patience, felt the cracks in his composure widen and unleash something real ¡°You''ve conjured that evil spirit up over and over, against my advice and better judgment. You''re obsessed with killing something that can''t be killed, not without hunting down every stupid ashva who watched any of those movies and slitting their throats, including our own, by the way.¡± ¡°What,¡± Ronnie began. ¡°It''s something my grandpa used to say, it means someone so stupid they might as well be a farm animal, pulling the plow for someone else,¡± Melmat spat, his anger now directed both outwardly and inwardly ¡°Sometimes, you fuck up in life and things are fine, and sometimes you fuck up so bad someone ends up dead because of it. If it wouldn''t unbalance your mind so badly that you ended up a broken wreck on the side of the road, I''d bury you so deep in hypnosis you''d forget all about fucking sarah and Satan''s fucking pussy!¡± Melmat screamed, grabbing him by the hair and shaking Ronnie, spitting on his face. Melmat paused, then sighed, Ronnie frozen in place. ¡°Get what you needed?¡± Librorum said, appearing as a woman made of book pages, a sympathetic expression on her face. ¡°No,¡± Melmat said as he wiped the spit from Ronnie''s face with a conjured towel, whispered an apology, then banished both the Ronnie, and the towel. ¡°Why don''t we just leave then?¡± Librorum said, a note of pleading in her voice ¡°You''ve set up a reasonable enough research history here, more than enough academic work to cover yourself when you discover the Vortex of Hope.¡± ¡°We aren''t calling it that,¡± Melmat said reflexively ¡°and going in alone is stupid. By myself, I''m a tough son of a bitch, but I can be taken down. In a group. . . well, you know better than anyone.¡± ¡°In a group, we''re invincible,¡± she said, sounding tired. ¡°Yes we are,¡± Melmat said, also sounding tired. ¡°It was never this hard before!¡± Librorum suddenly said, a petulant tone in her voice, her body morphing into a book with the title ''Life just isn''t fair, by Librorum'', and then falling apart into a cascade of pages falling to the ground. ¡°I know you want me to say ''oh pull yourself together'',¡± Melmat said ¡°But I won''t. Things were easier before because we had the master around.¡± ¡°If he were still around,¡± Librorum said, still a pile of pages on the ground. ¡°If he were still around, we''d have a different name, we wouldn''t be in college, and none of this would be even remotely relevant. He''s gone, because he succeeded. He pulled off a high miracle, and I''m honored to continue his legacy.¡± ¡°Pfff,¡± the pile of pages on the ground said, rustling with the rude noise ¡°Miracle is a strong word for what we did. More like a high abomination, or a major blasphemy, or -¡± ¡°Oh pull yourself together,¡± Melmat finally said, growing tired of her bad attitude ¡°nobody''s pulled off anything like this since. . .¡± ¡°Atlantis?¡± Librorum said, voice snappy. ¡°They didn''t summon a dungeon,¡± Melmat said, voice not as strong as it could have been. ¡°You''re right, nobody has any idea what they summoned, or if they ever existed in the first place, because that''s how bad it got. They were destroyed so thoroughly that people aren''t even sure if they ever existed in the first place.¡± ¡°Stop,¡± Melmat said suddenly, and Librorum froze in place. ¡°I''ve vented it all out of my system, anything more would just be wallowing in negative emotion. Thank you for playing along, Librorum.¡± There was an immediate change in Melmat''s companion, she morphed back into a large, leather bound book and spoke in an even, calm tone. ¡°You are welcome, my master. Has this little fantasy helped you find balance in yourself once again?¡± ¡°Yes, I''m ready to wake up now.¡± Melmat opened his eyes, the only part of him that could move at the moment, his body having been in an induced state of sleep paralysis. With an extreme effort of will, he moved his index fingers in tiny, rythmic twitches that grew stronger, until they were flexing entirely, bringing more of his fingers into play. Following a methodology, he woke his body up one piece at a time, until he was able to sit up. His legs still numb, he grabbed them and gently put them over the side of the bed, letting them rest on the ground, his flesh totally numb, only his bones registering weight and sensation. It was a funny feeling, even after having had years to get used to it, and Melmat cracked a smile. He stood up, and immediately stumbled and fell back on the bed, prompting a laugh. -- Once his body had fully recovered from the effects of his lucid dreaming, Melmat got up and began to walk around campus. It was summer, and the weather was hot, a humid haze hung in the air making everything droop and everyone wish for a good breeze. The campus was mostly empty, though that would rapidly change once people returned from break and the new semester began. Today, he and Ronnie were supposed to interview grad students who wanted into the program. This year, there was quite a list of people, most of whom were very curious as to why their research project had gone from zero security, to key cards and alarm systems inside of nine months. The faculty were curious as well, but a massive bribe given to the school board by Melmat, in addition to some enhanced persuasion, had allowed for special privileges to be granted and exercised by their team. He, in truth, wasn''t very excited about it. From across the way, a haggard looking man in his mid twenties caught his attention. The man looked like someone who had been living on the streets, but living very well. His body was lean, his clothing was clean, and he hunched on a walking stick, a well maintained backpack on his back. He had long hair and a long, homeless style beard, and his eyes were so intense they would make someone uncomfortable to see them. The eyes were locked on Melmat, and he purposefully made his way towards him. A quick glance at the man''s walking stick, which had little hand hammered tin charms on chains of copper, one of which had a star, another which had a rabbit, told Melmat everything he needed to know. ¡°Well met, seeker!¡± Melmat said, unafraid to speak openly. ¡°Are you him?¡± The man asked, his voice containing the weight of his journey thus far ¡°Are you The Master, Melmat?¡± ¡°I am simply Melmat,¡± he replied ¡°Welmet, traveler. What might I call you?¡± ¡°I am that which I am,¡± ¡°No need for that, you''ve come far enough. What is your name?¡± ¡°I don''t want one anymore,¡± he said, and suddenly he sounded tired, very, very tired. ¡°That''s all right. Tell me why you have come to me?¡± ¡°I have come for my reward,¡± he said ¡°I have brought what your quest required, I have brought it all,¡± he reached back and patted his pack. ¡°That remains to be seen. Come, seeker. Come inside.¡± ¨C The man had indeed brought everything, every code broken, every song completed, every picture drawn, every riddle solved. It was not an easy thing this man had done, and Melmat treated him with the respect he deserved. The man lay on a long table, a collapsible piece of furniture Melmat kept for this sort of thing, and his intense eyes were closed, his lean body in a state of total relaxation. It had been easy to bring him down, the man had been very cooperative. ¡°Listen to the sound of my voice,¡± Melmat said ¡°Listen, and see my words as I speak them. Can you see them?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the man said, his voice quiet. ¡°I will tell you a story,¡± Melmat said. He spoke for a long time, telling the story of a long forgotten love. First, he spoke of when they were children, of the joy they had shared and the games they played. He spoke of picking fruit, of chasing cats and of the adventures of children. Next, he spoke of their stormy teenage years, when their love for one another changed, became deeper. ¡°They spoke honest, embarrassing words to one another, calling a kiss ''Gentle Rain'', and a stronger kiss ''A raging storm''. Words they would never regret saying to one another, yet would never speak about to another.¡± Melmat spoke of their endless conversations on the phone, he spoke of the growth of their characters, of their perfect memories in the snow, sun and rain. He spoke of their longing for one another, of their discipline and sacrifice, denying their lusts till they could be married. Then, he spoke of the boy''s foolishness, leaving for an adventure, leaving his woman alone to prove himself as a man. He spoke of the boy''s successes and failures, of a grave and life altering event which ended his adventure and sent him home in failure. ¡°And when the man came home, when he spoke of what happened, his woman stayed by his side, despite his failures, despite the wounds to his soul. Through raging storms of dark emotion, she weathered the pain of the man, never wavering, always standing by his side.¡± He spoke of their growth as young adults, of foolish mistakes made by the two as they grew up, of their promise they made to one another, of where their souls would meet on the way out of this hard and terrible world. ¡°A woods, a woods, lit by golden sun, upon two stumps carved for sitting, that is where they said they would meet, with a carpet of moss upon the ground and the music of chimes upon the breeze.¡± Then, Melmat spoke of their many fights and trials. Of the times they were pushed so far they must leave one another, yet held on tight, gripped in an embrace against the storm of the world that tried desperately to tear them apart. He spoke at length of their love and sacrifice for one another, of their failures to understand, and of their deep sense of obligation. ¡°Understand, and know my words are true,¡± Melmat said ¡°For you are the boy from the story, and your love has long left this world behind.¡± The man, deep in trance, body paralyzed, began to weep, deep, racking sobs. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Up until her death, she remained faithful and true to you, and even now, her soul waits for you in that promised place, that land of trees and wind. Your Land, seeker.¡± ¡°I can see it,¡± he said, voice raspy with grief and awe ¡°I can see the land.¡± ¡°Go there now. Go deep into your land and find her, find the woman who has sacrificed all for you, for whom you have sacrificed so much to find once again. Go and speak to her, and answer her questions with the honesty she deserves. There is no one else more deserving of the truth, none who have more of a right, not even yourself. Tear past the veil of this world and give her the truth which is so important, so secret, that it has been concealed from even you.¡± Melmat, knowing this would take a while, turned on a small fan, kicking up a small breeze and causing the many sets of chimes in the room to softly play an occasional note. With a small dropper, he placed several doses of a gentle psychedelic much like LSD on the mans eye lids, the clear liquid rolling down and mingling with his tears, giving him a little help. Taking out a small drum, about the size of a gallon jug of water, with tight cow leather over the top as the striking surface, Melmat played a simple, endlessly repeating rhythm. He played softly, for at least an hour and a half he played, allowing himself to fall into a trance as he did so, eyes falling to a half lid, Librorum monitoring the man to ensure he did not fall so deep in trance he died. Suddenly, with savage intake of air, the man shot straight up, grabbed the pen and paper next to the table, and began furiously writing. He wrote page after page, Melmat playing the drum all throughout, never speaking. The pages turned from words to drawings, strange diagrams and animals, each with their own explanation. First five, then fifteen, then fifty and more. Pages upon pages of revealed knowledge, recorded while it was still fresh. Finally, weeping, and with the greatest of reverence and care, the man drew a woman. To anyone else, the woman would have been merely pretty, a little above average in beauty. The man wept openly as he drew her, careful lines and shading filling in small details, a mole on her neck, a small scar on her chin, the love in her eyes. He looked at Melmat when he was finished. ¡°I am. . . I am not the man I thought I was. Thank you,¡± he said, and Melmat finally stopped playing the drum. ¡°I''ve only done my duty seeker. Find the man Molwes, he will be a stern and purposeful teacher. Now that you know yourself, he will be able to instruct you in the higher teachings.¡± ¡°How shall I find him?¡± Melmat smiled, and it was only a little unkind. ¡°The same way you found me, Seeker. Hunt him down.¡± ¨C When the man left, he seemed to have visibly shaved years from his age, and had also shaved his head and beard down to the skin. Melmat gave him some food, a little advice for finding his peer, and some traveling money. Once he was gone, Melmat took a moment to groan in discomfort, stretching his body and complaining bitterly about ''fucking neophytes and their timing'', before deciding that his day was entirely shot and going to take a nice, freezing ice bath. He spent the entire time trying to devise a way to get Ronnie to want to go to Vegas without entirely compromising whatever shreds of morality he still had a valid claim to; there weren''t many left. Upon leaving the bath, Melmat felt refreshed and took the time to feel good about the assistance he had given to the man. Molwes was no ''The Master'', but he was none the less an excellent teacher of the true basics of magic, the discipline of the mind. He got dressed and headed to the lab for a second time that day, still not really that excited about any of it. He arrived to find Ronnie, who was in good spirits. Melmat explained that he would have liked to come, but he had suffered a powerful bout of food poisoning, and had been unable to leave his restroom. He would have called, but he didn''t have a phone. He explained that he felt fine now, though. ¡°That''s all right,¡± Ronnie said, excited. Melmat hadn''t seen him this excited since he had arrived on campus nearly a year ago. ¡°Melmat, we''ve got some really bright talent coming into the program this year. Most of them are still here, getting to know one another in the break room. Come on, let me introduce them!¡± Melmat smiled and followed, Ronnie''s excitement being somewhat infections. A little bit before the door, Librorum appeared in his mind, slowing time for just a moment. ¡°No time to explain, Melmat. Put on a game face and keep it on.¡± Melmat, having long ago learned to trust his inner guide, to trust her completely, immediately composed his features and tightly regulated his emotions. The door was opened by Ronnie, and a group of six people sat on a couch, speaking in animated tones, looking over some research material Ronnie had left in the room after they signed the Non-Disclosure Agreement equivalent of a loaded gun to the head. Nobody would have noticed, Melmat had far too much self control for that sort of thing to happen, but he had eyes for only one person in the room, and she had eyes only for him. Lisa, now a blonde with a perfect light touch of makeup, a stunning girl, stared at him, and the light of victory was clearly evident in her eyes.
Melmat was in the lab making small talk with his new colleagues when he felt it, like all the hairs on his body stood up at once. In the secure room, the room which required multiple keycards, an actual key, and a complicated tile puzzle lock, Melmat heard the hum of a machine acting of it''s own accord. ¡°Excuse me a moment,¡± he said to an energetic young asian man, recently graduated and very excited to be on board with this revolutionary project, and quickly made his way over to Ronnie, putting a hand on his shoulder and leaning in close to his ear. ¡°The Uke''s acting up. Get everyone out of here,¡± Melmat said. Ronnie went several shades paler, then whispered back. ¡°Who the hell turned the damn thing on?¡± ¡°Not who, what,¡± Melmat practically spat ¡°I''m telling you, and I''ve been telling you, my research clearly predicts that whatever is powering the Uke and giving us all that free energy is somewhere in Nevada.¡± He squeezed Ronnies shoulder very hard and gave a strained smile ¡°But that''s not the point right now. We wouldn''t want the cat to get out of the bag, now would we?¡± As if listening in to their conversation, a massive crash came from the Uke room, stopping all conversation. Ronnie, kicked into high gear by the event, clapped his hands together and gathered the scattered attention of the group. ¡°All right everyone,¡± he said, giving Chad a significant look that told him everything he needed to know ¡°We''re going to take this outside. Please refrain from discussing classified material,¡± there was another crash from the Uke room, followed by the sound of a feline roar, a cross between a lion and a cougar with the volume and pitch of a high speed heavy saw blade. ¡°Outside, right now,¡± Ronnie said, louder this time, walking towards the exit, and the fading sunlight of the day. Once he was alone, Melmat rushed to the control room and turned on the camera. Inside was an anthropomorphic Jaguar man with gigantic sabertooth fangs, his body covered in sleek, short black fur. It looked up at the camera, and Melmat could feel it''s mind press against his like feverish flesh against a healthy body, and it tapped it''s wrist where a watch would normally be worn. Melmat swore, and a quick mental calculation of when the sun would set told him he had very little time. ¡°Anything I can do to help?¡± Lisa said, and it was a testament to how focused Melmat was on his task that he did not detect her approach at all. ¡°You need to get out of here,¡± Melmat growled, a pain in his chest he couldn''t identify ¡°You need to get out right now.¡± Instead of leaving, she grabbed his face, a gentle gesture that none the less froze his entire body. All she did was stare into his eyes, more deeply than Melmat normally allowed for fear of the truth rising to the surface. Her eyes were clear, without fear or darkness, and Melmat involuntarily longed for the days he first felt that way. ¡°It is you,¡± she whispered, caressing a cheek ¡°I can''t remember, but I know it has to be you. You''re the angel from my dreams.¡± Melmat''s face turned red, and to his horror, he realized he was blushing. He''d been caught! ¡°I knew it!¡± she said, voice triumphant ¡°That''s not important right now, what can I do to help?¡± Melmat growled. ¡°Do you know the Meow Mix jingle?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± she said, a completely baffled expression on her face. Just then, the door to the safe room opened, and the Monster emerged, stretching and grunting the grunts of big cats across Africa. It moved as though amused, a sort of relaxed, self aware posture that seemed to indicate it knew what it was, and gamely accepted the fact. More than anything, though, Satan''s Pussy seemed hungry. ¡°Now! Start humming it now!¡± ¡°Meow meow meow meow,¡± Lisa said, body shaking, doing her best to keep in tune with the song. The beast yowled and ran back into the safe room ¡°Meow meow meow meow,¡± she shot a questioning look at Melmat, who was walking several steps behind her as they approached the safe room the vampire cat was holed up in ¡°Meow meow, Meow meow, Meow meow meow meow.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Melmat whispered, ¡°This should function like a crucifix and drive him away from us, it was a big plot point in the third movie.¡± Melmat had always found their ''research sessions'' of watching the admittedly terrible ''b'' movie franchise dubious at best. Still, it seemed to be working, the Cat-pyre having immediately yowled in fear and retreated when started to sing. Melmat, for his part, was glad he wasn''t the one singing. There was a feline hiss from the other room, and rather than pausing, Lisa picked up volume, prompting a shriek of rage. At that moment, Ronnie peaked into the room and saw what was happening. ¡°Oh good, it works. Here, let me help,¡± he said, and began singing along with Lisa. The monster in the other room began to howl like a man in pain. ¡°Ronnie, I''m blowing up the UKE,¡± Melmat said after several more moments, now sure that the Satan''s pussy was totally suppressed by their singing. Ronnie didn''t miss a beat, but began furiously shaking his head from side to side. ¡°No, I''m doing it. This is out of control, and you know what? I think I''ve just figured you out.¡± From the containment room, the monster began shouting; ¡°Why is it always college students? Why are they always able to summon me, and why do they always know that damnable jingle! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!¡± Melmat paused to listen, then continued. ¡°You''re afraid that all of this is a fluke. That there''s something special about this particular location, and this particular device in these particular circumstances,¡± Melmat paused, finger over the panic button ¡°You don''t really believe in all of this yet, even with everything you''ve seen. Lisa,¡± he said suddenly ¡°If I asked you to come to Nevada with me, to pack your bags and join me, would you do it right now?¡± She immediately nodded her head. ¡°Good. As of right now, I quit this project.¡± Melmat pressed the button, and thermite packets spread across the experiment room ignited, burning the equipment to slag. From the camera, as the UKE burned, Satan''s pussy could be seen to be fading away. ¡°No!¡± Ronnie shouted, coughing as the smoke from burning plastic and metal hit him ¡°What have you done!¡± ¡°Feel free to join me, but I doubt you will. My master was right, scientists are idiots, and trying to teach them anything of value is a waste of time; for all I know this outrageous larp he sent me on was meant to remind me of that. This is now a matter of Religion, and I''m the high priest.¡± Lisa immediately went to her knees and bowed. Melmat hadn''t been expecting that, but it really played into what he was doing, so he went with it. ¡°Lisa, I want you to convince as many of those grad students out there as possible to come with us within the next twelve hours. After that, pack your bags. We''re all going to Vegas.¡±
Intermission Part 1 The thread was created on a board notorious for role-playing, tom-foolery, and outright trickery. Anons would have described it as a case of moderation being a bunch of lazy faggots, while the volunteer unpaid moderation would have described it as an exceptionally good hack-job and were secretly relieved that the only thing the hacker had done was grant their thread ban-immunity and pin it to the top of the board. It was a heavily encoded message, requiring several feats of logic, and some information which was frankly impossible for anyone to know, like the name of a certain Tibetan monk. It was the internet, however, and months after the intended target had received the message, it was eventually cracked by an Anon in Tibet who had just started running common Tibetan names through the problem until he got it. >Brute force, ftw. Finally hacked the internet and solved that riddle someone posted a couple of months ago, the one that was pinned up top for about a week? >Solved it. Turns out the answer to the Tibet question was ''Monk Karma''. >Whoever made this is a real genius, and also I hate them, because it''s fucking nothing, as you can see from the attached picture. >Some white girl with pretending to be Hindu with an opal glued between her eyes, two brothers, one of which has a rock glued to his collarbone, and a shirtless cowboy with a handgun, all posing for a picture in the desert. Why isn''t anybody but the girl wearing a shirt? Why are they all smiling so much? I don''t care anymore, it''s probably just another fucking code, and I''m sick of it. >There was some text as well, though it too was fucking nothing. >''Where are u? Things are getting crazy! I hope you haven''t forgotten about us : ('' >So thanks for that, I spent weeks thinking I was getting the clue to something amazing, but as usual >op''s a faggot, move along people. >nothing to see here. Attached to the thread was the picture in question. Ben, Casimer, Ahr and Melchsee had their arms around one another, shoulder to shoulder. As astute Anons would point out, Ahr and Melchsee had a transparent, ethereal quality to them. Ben and Casimer looked almost like identical twins, with the exception of their eyes. Ben had eyes that conveyed a genuine kind of joy, the kind that can''t be faked. Casimer''s eyes, they were a bit darker. They had a tightness to them, the kind of look that only comes from a constant, unending discomfort. Once someone pointed it out, it was unmistakable, and couldn''t be unseen. The man with the dark eyes looked Hungry. Intermission Part II When Ronnie returned to the lab, after having sent what remained of the new recruits home, he looked around at the devastation wrought by his absolute weirdo savant, former stoner of a friend. His head briefly poked around a corner, and a brief visual flash and the sudden smell of a large predator on the prowl had clenched his heart in fear, pushing him to hide. But there was nothing there, not anymore. Ronnie walked around, kicking at things, thinking about everything that had happened since Melmat arrived. His eyes wandering, he saw the work station Melmat had been using, and remembered the insane paper he''d written to justify a move down to Nevada. Ronnie sat down and booted the computer up, then navigated to Melmat''s research folder. There was a shocking amount of work done, much more than Ronnie had ever noticed. Had he been working that whole time? Ronnie could have sworn that he was always goofing around, yet. . . With the feeling of someone who had missed some obvious, basic truth, Ronnie began reading the entire body of research produced by Melmat during his time in their project. As the hours flew by, and Ronnie blew through each and every paper, he started to realize something. Melmat might be right. And Melmat wasn''t who he thought he was. TIME SKIP TIME SKIP TIME SKIP TIME SKIP TIME SKIP This is the end of Part 1 of The Science of Advancement: Summoning the Dungeon. 36. Dungeon Ranger Ch 37 Ben''s RV had been moved months ago, and almost nobody knew why he left the relative comfort of town to live out in the middle of the desert wasteland. His friends had questioned it, but Ben had assured them he would let them know if it all panned out. Ben distinctly remembered Polk''s expression after she had finished helping him move, the look of someone who wasn''t sure if their help was going to be used in an elaborate suicide plot. Louden, however, knew something more than she should have. Somehow, she knew. That was nine months ago. At first, Ben had tried to balance the time he spent in the dungeon and the time he spent away from it, but the arrangement quickly fell apart after Ben quit his job and had nothing pressing to do but smoke weed; an activity he''d lost most of his interest for in the last couple of months. Ben was currently digging a hole, hunched over the opening and struggling to get more dirt out, the pit he dug approximately 3x3x4 deep. Next to him was a small wooden crate, small enough to fit in the hole, rough cloth visible through the large slats, filled to the top with rough, sharp gold nuggets. Ben took a moment to drink some water and wipe the sweat from his forehead, looking around as he did so. Arranged in a grid pattern, spaced evenly, was the evidence of dozens of similar holes, each with their own bounty. ¡°Analyze,¡± Ben said, and the skill activated, each hole being highlighted by a blue square on the ground, and others across the property also lighting up in his vision.
Hole. Contents: Crate of Gold. Approximate Value, 7.3 million dollars / 1460 ENC. Status: Concealed.
Ben smiled, eyes wandering over the many windows with similar information and dollar amounts displayed. Reading the status windows was optional, as Ben could just as easily glance at one and will himself to ''know'' the information, but that burned through his skill faster than simply reading. A small timer in the bottom right corner of his vision revealed that his analyze skill would extinguish after about a minute. Ben glanced down at the hole, Analyzed it, and received the measurements as near as he could tell, which was pretty exact; his Analyze level was quite high. Ben looked to the horizon and locked his focus on the distance, and got the measure of how far it was to that point. He picked up a rock and threw it, an arc appeared and showed where it was going to land, but only after he threw it. If he wanted to know before, he would have to activate Aim. ¡°All right,¡± Ben said, having exhausted the Analyze skill and turning his attention back to the hole ¡°That''s deep enough.¡± With a grunt of effort, he lifted the crate and set it in, covered the top with cloth, and began burying it. His first chore of the morning completed, Ben entered the RV and grabbed a large, fifty pound bag of grass seed, hoisting it on his shoulders and carrying it outside. He set it in a trailer attached to a four-wheeler ATV, then went inside and repeated the process, grabbing nine more bags and stacking them pallet style in layers of three, the tenth bag on top. He secured his load with ratchet straps, cinching them tight; he''d only made that mistake once, and didn''t intend to lose his load again. Finally, Ben grabbed a large duffle bag originally meant for holding La Cross gear, but which now held things like shovels, automatic rifles and landscaping equipment. The final item, one which Ben kept on his person at all times, was a small metallic egg, about the size of a pear, that looked a little like a flower bud before it bloomed. Without it, Ben had a feeling he would have died many time over. ¨C These days, Ben''s day job was saving the world, one acre at a time. Up and down the mountain and the surrounding lands controlled by Casimer, Ben walked, a handheld grass seed spreader equipped to his back, cranking it as he walked, leaving a wide arc of seeds in his wake. Ahr, was outfitted with a cowboy hat, a pair of thick jeans, no shirt and a pistol at each hip, slowly drove the ATV behind Ben like an extremely tan body guard. Casimer, in the form of a large rain cloud, followed far behind them, raining both water and soil down on the ground, burying everything. Though they were driving on a mountain, Ben couldn''t recall a single instance in which they encountered an obstacle that couldn''t be passed. After about two hours, Ben''s phone began beeping, and Ahr got off the ATV and switched roles, aggressively cranking the grass seeder as he walked, leaving an absolute carpet of grass seed behind him. It was a hot, lazy kind of day in the dungeon, Ben playing classic game music, enjoying the occasional breeze generated by Casimer''s experiments with the weather. There was no timer for Ahr, he usually worked until he was exhausted, or until they ran out of grass seed, whichever came first. Today, it was grass seed. Ben could have returned to the RV and gotten a second load, but didn''t really feel like it. He could tell Ahr wasn''t feeling like it either. As always occurred after the job was done for the day, a window appeared in front of Ben, informing him that Ahr had completed his ''quest'' and should be appropriately rewarded. Ben, as usual, was prompt in delivering the reward, a ''good job'', a pack of cigarettes, and a beer. Ahr took the payment with a smile, making a grunting noise that indicated thanks. He had come a long way in terms of becoming civilized, but had outright refused to learn how to speak. Ben could tell he would be able too, but just didn''t have any desire for it. Ben received a quest almost immediately, ''Lend a Light, Repeat Quest'', and he accepted it before handing a lighter to Ahr. The quest status turned to pending while Ahr lit a cigarette, then was completed when he gave it back. There was no reward or benefit to having completed the quest, it was just how Ahr communicated, carefully tutored by Melchsee. ¡°All right,¡± Ben said, then his face froze with intense concentration. It wasn''t a skill, not yet, that Ben used, just something he had been learning from Melchsee to make things a little easier. The ambient mana in the air twitched, then slowly, very slowly, flowed like cement into his visualization, like ghostly blue light forming a rectangle in the air. Ben had stopped breathing, prompting Melchsee''s voice, an automatic reminder, to say ''Breath'', then direct him in the proper breathing tempo. It took about twenty seconds, and then there was a soft flash of light, and a blank status window appeared, and Ben took about five seconds to impress his thought on it, like an embossing tool. If it hadn''t been his most commonly used quest, it could have taken much longer.
Escort to the Wellspring, Repeat Quest
He mentally pushed the window towards Ahr, it briefly vanished, then reappeared in front of his target. Ahr glanced at it, psychically understanding the words without being able to read, and accepted it. Ben still thought it was a pretty dramatic way to ask for someone to drive while he shot at things, but was nonetheless comfortable doing it.Stolen novel; please report. A new quest window appeared in front of both Ben and Casimer, this one with a gold border, indicating that it came directly from Casimer.
Monster Suppression, Repeat Quest The dungeon is hungry and requires blood and combat! Survive 5 waves of attackers and be granted unfettered access to the resources of the dungeon. Failure will result in death. Untold riches await those who succeed.
Melchsee must have written this one, Casimer was usually more direct, with something like ''Please head to this location and kill these monsters, I''m getting kind of hungry.'' She had a flair for drama, and it showed in her writing. Ben accepted the quest, and immediately, the skill ''Aim'' dropped on the ground some distance away. Knowing how much of a bitch Melchsee could be, Ben began running towards it, hearing caws and screeches of rage in the distance. Casimer was the one who waited till you were ready to start the fight. As he ran, he heard the sound of Ahr''s pistols, high density projectiles of mana whizzing through the air, making a sizzling noise. There were some indignant caws, and then a deep screech, as if from an unnaturally large eagle. Ben picked up the speed, breaking out into a sprint, then jumped onto the skill, immediately knowing he had twenty eight shots. He called to Ahr with a high pitched whistle, and the ATV peeled out as it rushed towards him. Suitably armed, Ben looked up to see what they were dealing with. In the sky above them, all five waves of monsters flew, a combination of crows and eagles, each with an extra eye on their chest, all larger than normal birds. The ATV skidded next to him, and Ben jumped on, opening his duffle bag and pulling out a large, mana powered rifle. It was heavy, a solid bar of metal in the shape of a .22 rifle, all gray and textured like it was made from shiny solder material. Without activating Aim, Ben began firing, some shots hitting, and most missing. Ahr gave an angry ook, pointing to the sky and miming throwing his hat to the ground as he drove. ¡°I know,¡± Ben said, continuing to fire as the first wave of birds approached ¡°There''s over sixty damn monsters! This is outrageous!¡± The first wave consisted of eight crows, and one eagle. The eyes on their chests were glowing, and they all dropped shots of explosive light that fell like bombs from WWII, swooping back into the sky the moment they fired. Unfortunately for Ben and AHR, the shots did not miss, and they jumped from the moving ATV moments before it was struck and reduced to smoldering wreckage. Ben flipped the birds the bird, and Ahr reproduced the gesture, grabbing his guns and firing several shots, most of which hit their marks. ¡°Remember,¡± Ben said in a combat shout ¡°I need to be the one to kill the eagles, otherwise this was all pointless, and we''ll have to do it again.¡± Ahr let out a monkey like screech, then started firing again, each shot only hitting a crow. With a grimace, Ben took Aim at the eagle and fired. ¨C ¡°Longest twenty minutes of my fucking life,¡± Ben grumbled, firing his last couple of shots at the largest and last eagle. It had red and purple feathers, an extra set of eyes in the wings in addition to the one on it''s chest, and could fire shots from all three eyes. It could also dodge ''like a motherfucker'', in Ben''s own words.
You have competed the quest Monster Suppression X. You have been rewarded with limited immunity for 24 hours.
Ahr, in accordance to the terms of the quest Escort to the Wellspring X, began the process of searching the surrounding area for all the loot that dropped from the birds. Ben lamented the loss of his ATV, then saw a new one, sitting atop the scorched earth the old one had occupied at the beginning of the fight. The trailer in the back had also been replaced, though Ben''s duffle bag was still some distance away, contents scattered. He walked over and gathered it all up, inspecting his pick ax and seed spreader for damage, and cursing when he saw most of his water bottles had broken. He would need to head back into town and get another load by tomorrow at least. Ben loaded his repacked duffle bag onto the ATV''s trailer, just in time for Ahr to return, a large bundle of cloth sacks held in each hand. For the sake of convenience, and at Ben''s request, Casimer had taken to encasing loot in bags, crates, or some appropriate container that was easier to carry and transport out in the field. Ben flashed his analyze skill, exhausting the final five seconds he had left, and the bags each glowed a different color, indicating their relative value to him. None of them were particularly exciting, so Ben had Ahr set the bundle in the ATV''s trailer, then sent him out again to fetch the rest of it. When he returned, Ben had him sit in the passenger''s seat and started driving, hitting the acceleration and prompting Ahr to ook in a worried manner and put on a seatbelt. Ben couldn''t help but laugh, pumping the gas a little more. Ahr might be a total beast in combat, but the fastest he felt comfortable driving was 5mph, and Ben wanted to get to the wellspring before Melchsee found some tricky way to start fucking with them, limited immunity be damned. She was a brutal, cold hearted mastermind of a teacher. She was making him strong. ¨C The Oasis dungeon had evolved considerably in the last couple of months. High, smooth cliff walls formed a rough egg shape around the once-campsite, open at the top where the walls didn''t quite meet, and letting in only a little bit of illumination from above. Below, the small puddle of water had become a pond, at least twenty feet deep and fifty feet across, the water glowed with a strong blue light and gave off a warm mist that filled the chamber. The pond had several openings that were large relative to the size of the pond, each extending deep into the mountain, forking and branching many times, supplying the ground with desperately needed water. Ben cautiously approached the water, eyes seeing the hundreds of thickly packed Poison Spike Crawlers along the walls, their range more than enough to take him out. He had seen Ahr die from their attacks enough to know he never wanted to experience a direct hit. They ignored him, limited dungeon immunity, but nonetheless Ben moved extremely slowly, pulling the metal egg from around his neck, unscrewing the top, and filling it with water. He closed his eyes and meditated, focusing and directing his thoughts into the egg. It grew warm in his hands, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the water inside the egg was glowing, and quickly drank it. Inside his mind, the skill Analyze revealed itself to him once again, indicating he had six minutes of use, a full minute more than his last trip had yielded. Ben filled the egg again and repeated the ritual, this time screwing the top of the egg and putting the necklace back on. He''d be able to take the skill with him now, and even use it outside the dungeon''s influence. Casimer had been right, his gift all those months ago after their first meeting had made him want to come back. He said thank you and headed to his final destination of the day, getting on the ATV and driving to the location he had his first conversation with the dungeon core. The massive golden cliff had a good sized chunk missing out of it near the bottom, forming a cave that was about eight feet tall and eight feet deep. Ben jumped off the ATV, handed Ahr a six pack of beer and grabbed his pickax from the duffle bag. ¡°This never gets old,¡± he said, grinning like a madman and driving the pick into the gold, turning on analyze and prying a small chunk loose, letting it fall to the ground. ¡°Six thousand three hundred dollars,¡± Ben said, Analyze giving him an approximate value based on the spot price of gold. Ben swung his pick again, and pried another chunk loose. ¡°Eight thousand thirty three dollars, not bad for a moment''s work!¡± By the time evening approached, he was exhausted, and his trailer was almost critically weighed down by the bounty. Ahr was sleeping the alcohol off, and Ben left him there in peace, no longer needing his services. The drive down the mountain was direct, the road forming itself off in the distance just for him, and disappearing after he used it. Not for the first time since coming to the dungeon, Ben yelled from sheer joy and hit the gas, a childlike glee propelling him to speed and activity. Ben turned up his radio as loud as it would go and sang along to whatever came on, the desert breeze drying the sweat in his clothes as he drove, not a single care in the world able to bring him down for a moment. Ben parked the ATV alongside the RV and threw a tarp over it and the trailer to cut down on dust that would settle on it overnight, grabbed his last bottle of water and began to down it as he walked through the front door. Inside, sitting on his couch, was Polk, Louden and an unfamiliar woman. She looked like she had been crying very recently. ¡°Ben, this is Alice,¡± Polk began, but was interrupted when the unknown woman stood up, fresh tears running down her face. ¡°You''re him!¡± she said, body quivering as her hands shakily reached into a pocket and pulled out a folded piece of printer paper. She unfolded it, racking sobs coming unbidden to her as she did so, Ben''s stomach dropped and a cold prickle of sweat ran across his back and chest. It looked like she had printed it directly from the internet, a low quality picture of Ben, Melchsee, Casimer and Ahr, smiling and posing. ¡°Where is my husband,¡± she said, voice raw with grief and rage, composure on the verge of total devastation ¡°Where''s my Richard! 37. Dungeon Bus Ch 37 Casimer lay on the ground, Ben''s face and eyes staring unblinking at the sky, watching the stars in the night sky. About three hundred acres of grass, distributed to his specifications, swayed in the wind, each strand a tiny spark of life keeping him alive. The waters from his central chamber, the giant beating heart of the mountain, fed them and other plants Ben had brought from the outside world. They lived and died, an IV bag of nutrition that grew larger every day. It would be a slow, painless death, as far as Casimer could tell. ¡°You almost killed him today,¡± Melchsee said, appearing next to him, nude and lying close. Casimer glanced over, the human body experiencing involuntary nerve activity and taking in details he would never have noticed if he were unattached to it. Her skin was looked soft, her eyes were large, a pleasing shade of blue and almost shone with an inner light. The hair on her head was fine and smooth, hanging in the most perfect way. Her breasts were small and tight, and the rest of her body was hairless. Casimer found himself looking at her hands, the sophisticated biological property of the humans, hers were delicate and long, yet small at the same time. Some part of the body yearned to touch them, but he resisted. He had already played that game enough with her. It was not particularly interesting to him, not once the novelty wore off. ¡°I nearly did,¡± he said, voice omnipresent across the entire mountain. It shook the grass and scared what little native wildlife was left; baby rats huddled closer together, birds took flight, a fox whined in fear. It was not loud, it was simply Everywhere. ¡°Why didn''t you? I can feel it, despite how you try and hide it. You''re starving.¡± ¡°That''s fine,¡± Casimer said, closing his eyes ¡°Nothing like a diet of grass and trees to keep you calm.¡± ¡°Might as well call you Grassimer,¡± Melchsee grumbled, and it wasn''t clear how funny she thought the joke was ¡°all you do is sit around all day and let Ben play around. I think we have more than enough data, we don''t need him anymore.¡± ¡°Grassimer. . .ha,¡± he said, a slow smile appearing on his face. Ben''s body began to crumble, replaced by a mass of green grass in the same shape. ¡°I''m glad you thought that was funny,¡± Melchsee said, a sour expression on her face, ¡°But this affects me as much as it does you. If you starve, I starve. You die, I die.¡± ¡°You scream,¡± Casimer began in a slow singsong voice ¡°I scream. We all scream for ice cream.¡± Melchsee shot up from her laying position, eyes blazing. ¡°So, this is how it is? Bugs make you stupid, and plants get you stoned? I know what will fix you, what''ll snap you out of this¡± she growled ¡°and don''t you dare ever make me regret it.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Casimer said, voice trailing off, his body reconstituting itself as Ben once again.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Her body rose from the ground, defying gravity and morphing into a ball of green energy that burst into the air, streaking high through the sky like a baleful, emerald falling star. ¨C Leeroy Arnstat was a tourist from Austria, the rare European who thought coming to the USA for vacation sounded like a good idea. He was not a particularly good man, having abandoned his wife nearly five years earlier after convincing her to get an abortion, yet he was not a particularly bad man either, having once sold all his possessions and given the money to the poor around the same period of time. He felt free in a way that very few do, with no familial, financial, or societal bonds or debts weighing him down, and so had decided a charter bus across the United States was a fantastic way to celebrate life. Currently, the bus was leaving Nevada, headed north to Utah. The service he used was less than two years old, and had only two buses, one of which he currently sat in, occasionally being jostled by a pothole or uneven asphalt job. The tour had started in Washington state and headed south through Oregon, then down to California, before heading a little east to the next state over, with the intention of heading north again. It had been expensive, very expensive, and would take three months to complete but it was also one of the few services that promised to thoroughly hit each state in the US, a true tour of the country. The bus seated seventy, and was occupied by fifty. They had spent about two weeks together, spending days in each state, not including travel time. They didn''t all know eachother''s names, but they knew the faces and voices of one another, and that was almost as good, at least in Leeroy''s mind. They had a long time to get to know one another, and he was in no rush. Most everyone was asleep, but he stared out the window, watching the stars. It was a different sky in this part of the world, and it pleased him to see it. A shooting star caught his attention, like a streak of emerald that he thought was pretty strange, but it didn''t really bother him, and it faded out of view just a little above their heads. ¡°Must have exited the menosphere,¡± he said to himself, thick accent rendering his speech mysterious to anyone not from Austria. They drove on for a while, almost an hour, before a quiet voice over the intercom, their driver, informed them he would be pulling over for fuel and encouraging his passengers to get out and stretch their legs for a bit. Having learned through hard experience that whenever the opportunity to pee presented itself, he should, Leeroy joined the sleepy parade of people exiting the bus to wait in line for the restroom. He, and most other men in the group, noticed a woman shopping inside, though they were the only car in the parking lot. She had large blue eyes and soft looking skin, an ageless beauty that could have placed her anywhere from sixteen to thirty, depending on how closely someone looked. The bus driver, a notorious flirt and bold womanizer with very little skill, had immediately honed in on her and begun his work. Several of the women on the bus rolled their eyes, wondering how long it would take him to strike out. Much to the surprise of everyone, she seemed to be taking the bait flawlessly. His corny jokes, which the passengers could only hear snippets of, seemed to make her laugh in a genuine, heart-clenching way. Leeroy, having experienced that laugh with more than a few women, whispered to another man that the driver was ''lucky dog'', and the man agreed with a grin. By the time it was Leeroy''s turn to use the restroom, the driver and the woman had vanished from sight, clearly looking for a more private location to continue their conversation. When he had finished his business, the driver was back, with a chastised expression on his face. Leeroy, who had discovered that the driver had spent four years in Austria by sheer coincidence and struck up a familiar relationship through that bond, gave him a pat on the back. ¡°She was a slaut anyways,¡± he said, thick accent doing little to mask the big smile on his face. ¡°Yes, total whore,¡± the driver said, his voice and cadence different than what Leeroy was used to ¡°She demanded money, and I''m just not in the mood for that sort of relationship right now. If you''ll excuse me.¡± His behavior was odd, but Leeroy could recognize a bruised ego when he saw one and let the man be. The passengers entered the bus, a sleepy, yet more relaxed parade than the one that had initially rushed off, and took their seats. Some fell asleep immediately, others stayed awake for just a bit longer. Leeroy was the only one who noticed that instead of north, they were now headed south east, away from Utah border and deeper into Nevada. 38. The Kabuki Bar and Grill Ch 38 On the outskirts of Hope, in a recently renovated theater, was life. There were a little more than twenty who lived in the Kabuki Bar and Grill Theater, the often advised against business venture undertaken by a man who struck it big gambling, and lost it all on a bad idea in an economically depressed part of the state. He was dead now, and the property had been abandoned for years. It had sat in the dry desert heat, collecting dust and scorpions, spiders and webs, sand and snakes, just ready for an errant ember to set it ablaze. More than one teenager had considered providing that spark. Or at least it had been, until Melmat bought it from the bank and had it declared a house of worship. Becoming a legally recognized church was a simple process, a little finagling with state paperwork, some forms with the IRS; that sort of thing. The process, speeded along by Melmat''s unique people skills, had been a short one, and in no time at all Melmat and Lisa had stood before the decrepit building in the Nevada sun, all of their luggage at their feet. Lisa was wearing a white sundress and a wide brimmed hat, smiling like the happiest new bride in the world, a ring on her finger. The Master would have been furious, my student getting married?! he would have roared. Melmat chuckled, and eyed the golden band on his finger. Ever since he''d cut ties with Ronnie, he''d been feeling so. . . spontaneous. It had been years since he felt so alive, so impulsive. His self control, still absolute, seemed to be evolving, crystallizing into a more advanced form that allowed for a much wider range of action. The plan the master had laid out for him was in tatters, and Melmat wondered, perhaps too late now, if it had been a test or a lesson. The student has become the master, and must make his own way in the world. They had a month of hard work in marital bliss, a unique honeymoon accompanied by a group of former masters degree students who had quit college and joined up with their little cult; Melmat had a few very flashy tricks that could be used to convince a skeptic of his legitimacy. The Master''s masters would have rolled in their graves if they knew the things Melmat showed these uninitiated plebeians. They all worked hard, the sounds of hammers and saws, power tools and good natured shouting as they reconstructed the building one piece at a time, all at once. They pooled their money and rented equipment, purchasing the services of contractors and transforming the failures of someone else into their success. The locals, a collection of drunks, tweakers, drug dealers, prostitutes, pimps, hitmen, hit women, mafia middle management, cartel mules and other criminals trying to lay low; well, they were really nervous about this new group moving in. The only reason they were still around was, in addition to their really cheery and positive attitudes, they were also extremely well armed, and guarded their complex as well as most military installations. This had prompted several somewhat polite meetings with the ''Town Elders'', the criminal elite of Hope, who came away from their meeting with Melmat completely sure of three things. Melmat''s group had nothing to do with law enforcement; they were an excellent addition to the town; and they were a group of very skilled money launderers, and should be trusted to handle dirty money. It was as simple as that. Any dissenting voices were silenced, all questions were shut down by their absolute trust in The Red Church''s high priest. It really freaked people out. ¨C All around Melmat, people worked. Some worked accounting, some were cleaning, but the majority were doing a different kind of work. They rested motionless, sitting in a grid of rows, eyes closed, deep in trance. Librorum walked among them, their open minds and the thinnest amount of mana that had managed to reach Hope without evaporating allowed her to see what their mind''s eye was seeing, and to instruct them.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°You''ve lost focus again, Jared,¡± she whispered, putting a paper hand on the shaved head of a new recruit, bringing him back to his visualization of a white circle on a black background. It was an incredibly simple image, but all visualization beyond a second or two was notoriously difficult both to learn and to teach. Or at least, it had been difficult, before The Dungeon. With the mana as a medium, Melmat and Librorum had been able to give hands on, direct instruction and correction to their students, bypassing months and sometimes years of difficult practice, teaching them how to practice perfectly. After all, shoddy practice produced shoddy results, and perfect practice produced perfect results. He was so incredibly jealous. Even if this had been one of the master, and melmat''s long held dreams; the ability to improve the methods by which their powerful tools of improvement could be passed on, he was still human. He remembered how incredibly difficult it had been, how much effort he had to put forth, how many mistakes he had made, it had taken him five years to get to the point these kids reached in a few weeks; and Melmat was considered a prodigy! That was the way of the world, though. Those at the tip of the spear must work so incredibly hard, so that those who follow can do so easily. ¡°Melmat?¡± One of his followers, Doug, a computer science major, approached him. He shook himself loose from his musings. There were more important things for him to be thinking about. ¡°Yes, Doug. What is it?¡± ¡°I''ve been monitoring End Chan. You told me to keep an eye out for anything unusual.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Come take a look at this,¡± he said, and walked to the computer lab. Melmat stood up with a grunt of effort and left the hopeful initiates to their training. Lisa, both his wife and best student, was somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, seeking new talent to join their group. He realized he missed her, and wished that carrying a cellphone wasn''t so risky, so that he could give her a call. ¡°Shadows and secrecy, that''s what we deal in,¡± he quoted The Master under his breath, he walked through the complex, receiving formal, respectful greetings from everyone he passed. They all wore a variety of clothing, though eventually they would all be wearing robes. The theater had a high ceiling and big windows; the HVAC system was a sturdy beast that had to work hard to keep everything cool. That had been a major expense, but with the number of fortunes and trust funds that had been pooled together by the upper class graduate students, money wouldn''t be much of an issue for a little while at least. Once they started entering the dungeon, money wouldn''t ever be an issue again. Melmat stopped in front of the door labeled ''Computer Lab'', and opened it. Inside were eight workstations, and half of them were occupied. Doug was standing next to one, motioning for him to have a seat. Melmat did, and Doug operated the mouse and brought up the End Chan homepage. Normally, it wasn''t particularly exciting, just a welcome portal with links to the most popular boards and a random banner that changed every time you refreshed the page. It didn''t look like that anymore. Now it had a detailed picture of a solid wooden door set into a rock cliff on a mountain. The door had a symbol burned into it, one that Melmat recognized immediately. Above it, written in archaic, old style video game font, was written. The Dungeon, Coming Soon. ¡°I''ve already tried to find out with the symbol means, but there''s no record of it anywhere. Me and the boys,¡± he gestured to the rest of the team working ¡°Think it might be some kind of code.¡± ¡°Don''t bother trying to figure it out. I know what it is. It''s her signature, Doug.¡± ¡°Her signature? Who''s?¡± ¡°Melchsee.¡± 39. Dont touch that! Ch 39 The passengers of the AJ-2 awoke to the bright sun pouring in through the windows, many of which were open, allowing hot desert air to flood the bus, putting a sheen of sweat on their collective foreheads and backs. The bus was not moving, and a quick glance out the open windows showed it was no longer anywhere near a road, either. The sound of cicadia''s singing entered their ears, and some of them decided to get up and stretch their legs. Leeroy, curious about these turns of events, went to find the bus driver. Upon finding the drivers seat vacant, he commented to himself. ¡°Must be having a piss, then,¡± and promptly went outside, because a piss sounded very nice to him at that moment. When he stepped outside, the light blinded him for a moment, his Austrian eyes unfamiliar with the brutal light of the raw desert, and he quickly put on the shaded, mirrored aviators another of the passengers had given him on the second day of their trip. Tonter, a man named by parents who would generally choose LSD over a beer any, and every day of the week, had seen Leeroy squinting in the summer light of Oregon, and shown him some kindness. Tonter was in the distance, coincidentally also having a piss, and Leeroy decided he would catch up with him in a moment, and found the most private spot he could, behind a large sagebrush, and relieved himself. By the time he was finished, most every passenger had come outside, and they were all currently looking for the driver. Leeroy returned, joined the crowd, and met up with Tonter. ¡°He leave a note?¡± Leeroy asked, slapping his friend above the shoulder blade, voice intentionally cheerful. ¡°Not a trace of him. Lee, come on, I want to show you something,¡± Tonter said, his voice serious. He led Leeroy to the front of the bus, where a couple of other men were staring, shaking their heads. ¡°See anything strange?¡± Tonter asked, gesturing to the hood. Leeroy looked, and it jumped out at him immediately. Though the hood was undamaged, it had been driven under the lip of the front of the bus, giving it a sunken impression, a sudden dark cliff near the edges from where it had been forcefully pushed down. ¡°Can''t get it open,¡± one of the other male passengers said, lighting up a cigarette, taking a drag, blowing it out and repeating the process until he looked good and angry ¡°This isn''t good.¡± Leeroy said ''Come on'', and led the men back inside the bus. The keys were sitting on the drivers seat, like they had been left there on purpose, and Leeroy put them in the ignition and turned them. The bus gave a few weak, electrical coughs, the engine turning over about three times before stopping, when Leeroy noticed all the lights had been left on. ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± he said, slapping the steering wheel, then briefly explaining the situation to the men following them. ¡°Come on,¡± Tonter said, ¡°We''ve got to let everyone know what''s going on.¡± ¨C Ben''s ATV had four seats, each was filled as they drove, the patchy green and brown mountain coming into view.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Jesus christ,¡± Louden said, staring in disbelief ¡°That can''t be the same mountain, it''s twice as tall!¡± Polk stared at it, the sharp, narrow peaks that reached towards the clouds, still quite some distance away. ¡°Is there. . . Ben, is that snow up top there?¡± Polk said, looking over at him from the passenger seat. Ben drove on in silence, face red. ¡°He''s been experimenting with the weather,¡± Ben finally said, eyes briefly leaving the road to look at the thinly snowed peak. ¡°That one''s new, I''ve never seen it before. The mountain has gotten taller as well, but it hasn''t doubled in size, it''s about a hundred and fifty percent, putting it at about eighteen thousand feet.¡± ¡°Jesus,¡± Alice said, doing a double take ¡°I think his eyes just glowed for a bit, did either of you see that?¡± Ben coughed in surprise, cutting off his use of analyze at once. ¡°Or at least, that''s how it looks to me.¡± ¡°So who''s ''He'', is it that, that dungeon you were trying to tell us about?¡± Louden said, staring at circular symmetry the mountain seemed to exhibit, very roughly exhibiting the properties of a cone. ¡°Yes,¡± Ben said ¡°Casimer. He has total control over this area, hang on a second,¡± Ben said, reaching behind the drivers seat and pulling out a large flare gun. ¡°I need to let Ahr know I''m here. I''m firing off a flare, you might want to cover your ears.¡± Ben stopped the ATV and pulled a large, smoky black crystal from behind the seat and pressed it into the hilt of the gun. It melted into the dull gray metal like it was moving through putty, before it froze into place, suddenly encased in metal. Ben aimed it high, and fired it, releasing an explosive thump and an bright, emerald green fireball. It shone, standing out even in the bright light of the desert, and rocketed into the air. It rose hundreds of feet into the air, far in excess of what a regular flare gun could accomplish, before exploding like a firework. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Louden said, jumping and cringing against the sudden noise. The smoke glowed green like it was radioactive, and lingered in the air for a very long time. ¡°You call that a flare?¡± Polk asked, though in surprise or anger, no one could tell. ¡°You are going to have some serious trouble adjusting if this is all it takes,¡± Ben said, hefting the flare gun for emphasis, before putting it away. Ben sat in the driver''s seat, then began rummaging around some of the side compartments of the ATV to see if he had a stash of water he had forgotten about somewhere. ¡°So what are we waiting for?¡± Alice said ¡°Why aren''t we going, you know, further in?¡± ¡°Because I''d never want to wander around that place without Ahr around,¡± Ben said ¡°It''s dangerous as fuck in there, the most dangerous wilderness in the world to be perfectly honest. And, Ahr is the one you''re looking for, and he should be here any minute. I can tell you something though,¡± Ben said, his voice lowering to a warning ¡°He''s not your Richard, not anymore.¡± They sat in silence, the three girls locked in their own thoughts, occasionally staring at the gigantic, narrow mountain. Ben was locked in his own struggle, having found three bottles of water and struggling to decide how to divide them between the four of them. It had been a while since he had been around anyone who acted even remotely like a human being, and his social conventions were a little out of practice. ¡°It''s like, got levels,¡± Louden finally said, pointing at the mountain. ¡°Like, the base is only so high, then there''s a sharp cliff, then another flatish area, then another cliff and so on. Do you see it?¡± she asked, looking to Polk. ¡°I think so, yeah, there are about four, including the peak. Ben, what''s that about?¡± Polk asked. ¡°He''s maximizing usable space against how high he can make it. I told him he should just settle for a flat plane, or a cavern system, but he likes being a mountain so he can look at the sky better. You really should see the stars from the peak at night, it''s like nothing I''ve ever. . .¡± Ben trailed off when he noticed all three women staring at him, expressions he couldn''t quite place on their faces. ¡°Does Ahr signal back with smoke?¡± Alice suddenly asked, looking off in the distance away from the mountain. ¡°No, why?¡± Ben asked, looking in the same direction as he spoke, then frowned ¡°No, that''s not normal.¡± Way in the distance, a thin line of black smoke could be seen, more like a haze, but standing out with enhanced definition against the bright blue sky. Ben''s eyes flashed for a moment, illuminated like a flash bulb had gone off in the center of his eyeballs, then he frowned. ¡°That''s a big fire, and there''s a lot of oil in the smoke. Ahr should have been here by now. Come on everyone, get back in. We should leave, I don''t know what''s going on, and that''s a bad thing. Ahr''ll be over there, and he can handle it. We''ll come back later, when whatever this is, is over.¡± The girls looked at one another, Louden and Polk both trying to communicate their desire to bail non verbally. Alice looked at the both of them, got the message, then looked at Ben. ¡°I want to go over there, thank you,¡± she said, and it was not a request. 40. Use the Flaregun Ben Ch 41 What Ben noticed first, was that there was an awful lot of blood, and no bodies. Red, wet smears on the side of large rocks and other tall flat surfaces, splatters from the impact of a bloody back or hand. The ground was littered with dark stains, the tan earth turning to a brown, almost black mud. There was a terrible stink of smoke in the air, and obvious signs of a struggle. In the midst of the grime and wreckage, ordinary objects like backpacks and little wooden chests were scattered about, totally clean and sitting perfectly still on the ground. In the center of it, there was a pack that had been torn open, and a thick pile of shiny golden coins had spilled out like guts from an eviscerated whale. Upon closer inspection, golden glints and gleams could be seen from partially cracked zippers and rips in fabric. Ben held up a fist and shot Louden a dirty look. ¡°Ignore it, it''s a trap. Don''t disturb any of the bags and don''t open any of the chests. Observe,¡± he said, and raised his gunmetal gray mana rifle, took Aim, and fired at the closest bag. The bright shot ripped through it, scattering gold coins, bottled water, and what looked like small brown grocery sacks that smelled like a hot lunch. The items scattered, a few of the water bottles bursting, and some of the lunch sacks scattering what looked like a bagged thanksgiving dinner across the ground, ruining it. Ben growled and took Aim again, bursting another bag and ruining another bag of treasure. ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± Louden finally said, sounding angry and shooting covetous looks at the golden coins. ¡°Shut up,¡± Ben said, taking Aim a third time and firing into a larger backpack. Bright red mist sprayed from it, and the pack unfolded like an insect, an enormous mouth with sharp teeth appearing where the zipper had been, and two beetle wings forming from the straps. All three girls began to exhibit signs of immediate and intense panic. ¡°Mimic,¡± Ben said, voice betraying a hint of disgust, feeling the memory of pain in his left elbow. He fired several more shots before it could begin to charge, and it died, bursting into a cloud of glowing green smoke that rushed towards him, leaving a large cloth sack in it''s place. The rest of the packs, and there were dozens of them laid around, stood unmoving on the ground. ¡°There''s shit like this scattered all over the place, super dangerous if you don''t know what''s going on. Casimer''s been. . . absent lately, I guess. He''s basically on auto-pilot while we''re getting the environment to the point where it can sustain him more substantially. Normally, I''d clear something like this out with Ahr but. . . nevermind. What''s interesting is the bus, I have no idea how it got here.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± Louden asked, still clearly shaken by the mimic. ¡°Casimer can, usually, only recreate things. Stuff that''s been abandoned here, things that have fallen out of sight and sit undisturbed for a while. He''ll absorb them, and then he can make as many replica''s as he wants, with minor modifications. I never brought in a bus, so how did it get here?¡± ¡°Excuse me,¡± Alice said, something suddenly clicking in her mind ¡°But did you say you never brought one in? Are you telling me you intentionally bring things to this place, to this, this. . . monster?¡± ¡°Ben, you fuckin rat,¡± Louden said, eyes narrowing, nose scrunching ¡°Have you been working with this thing? What''s your fucking problem?¡± Polk looked at him, eyes wide, not saying anything. ¡°Now hold on a fucking second,¡± Ben snarled, then gestured towards the field of potential mimics ¡°You see this? This is fucking nothing compared to what''s going on deeper in the mountain. If Casimer got himself worked up enough, he could probably uproot this whole place and crawl across the earth, killing everyone and everything he encountered. You know what I''ve been doing for almost a year? I''ve been keeping that from happening. Casimer eats whatever he can get his hands on, and he likes eating people the best. He''s not proud of that, but it is what it is, and we''re building a solution.¡± Ben pointed his gun at the blood spatters, some of which were suspiciously close to backpacks and chests. ¡°And it looks like, some how, some people managed to wander in. A lot of people, judging by the bus. If I know Ahr, he showed up before us and did his damnedest to get them out of danger, and probably got himself killed again in the process.¡± Polk looked at him, then at the killing field of mimics, then at the mountain. ¡°Ben,¡± She said, eyes wide ¡°Where the fuck are we?¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°The outskirts of the Dungeon, Oasis Mountain,¡± Ben said, motioning towards the ATV ¡°I''ve got some extra guns in the duffle bag, you three might want to grab some.¡± Ben took Aim again and fired a sustained salvo, this time at a pack with clear bloodstains on it. The mimic''s body began spraying red liquid, simply slumping to the ground from the lethal damage, then burst into flowing green smoke that diffused into Ben''s skin. ¡°If you need me, I''ll be cleaning up.¡± ¨C Hours earlier Normally, Leeroy would have found it strange to have gone from ''Calmly explaining to his fellow tourists that their bus was stranded in the middle of the desert'' to ''piling all their non-essential resources onto the bus and setting it ablaze'' inside of the same day. That had been before, though, before a mouse the size a great dane had charged their group, put up a bit of a weak struggle, then died spontaneously. In the brief span of time Leeroy got to look at it, he noticed large, rock like scabs all over it''s body. Upon it''s death, it burst into a bright green smoke that entered the nearest person, and left behind a potato sized cloth sack filled with chunks of obsidian like stone that seemed to glow with a dim inner red or green light. After that, things grew confused, people picking up stones and examining them, putting them in their packs, or just dropping them on the ground, deeming them worthless. At some point, Leeroy had seen a backpack devour a man while he was wearing it. It had been an involved, slow process, long spiderlike legs that wrapped around his chest and abdomen, while powerful jaws where the zipper used to be started at the head and worked it''s way down, swallowing the man whole, a seemingly bottomless stomach allowing the entire body to be consumed. Shortly after that, a shirtless cowboy nobody recognized had entered the chaos and began firing laser guns at the now hostile packages and indicated with several yells and clear hand gestures which way to run. As he ran away, Leeroy couldn''t help but think that his brother had been one hundred percent correct about what visiting the USA would be like. Things were marginally better now. After everyone had been safely shepherded away, a hologram, like something Leeroy would see in a VR headset, appeared before him and the rest of the group. It was a blue window, a status window really, with a quest entitled ''Emergency Evacuation I''. It was a tight package of information, telling them Ahr''s name, his position on their survival, and how much he was willing to help. The jist of it was, ¡°Come with me if you want to live.¡± When the green smoke signal was heard, then seen off in the distance, Ahr had looked frustrated, then sent out another quest, this one called ''Calling for backup I'', asking for a way to signal back. Someone had helpfully suggested they light the useless bus on fire before it turned into a monster too; he had been someone who had managed to notice that his backpack was trying to eat him and got if off before it succeeded. Several shots from the laser pistols later, and the bus was burning. They all agreed that an enormous monster was the last thing they wanted to deal with right now. They had fully intended to wait it out as well, for whoever else was coming to help them, but then a strange, enormous white beast with a large opal on it''s forehead, looking like a cross between lioness and a bear had appeared and began menacing them. It had been unbelievably fast, when Ahr tried to open fire, the creature pounced on him and tore him to shreds with cold, savage violence. All it had taken was a single roar to send everyone running, scattering them in all different directions. When Leeroy ran, he had seen a small child, a boy, standing alone, frozen on the spot. He had recognized the boy, his mother had been a larger woman in her forties, and was nowhere to be seen. In a split second of thinking, he grabbed the boy and picked him up, carrying him as he ran with Tonter and two other men who had been nearby. -- Ben sighed, having taken to triggering the mimics with a rock before opening fire, thus preserving the contents of the dummy bags. He was reasonably sure he had gotten them all, and cautiously approached the killing field, eyes flaring with Analyze for a moment, then visibly relaxing. ¡°Got em,¡± Ben said, motioning for the girls to come off of the ATV, where they were waiting with the AC on. Ben had eventually solved the water bottle distribution problem by taking one for himself and leaving the other two in plain view, and outsourcing the issue to the women entirely. With a swift kick, Ben tested each bag, including the cloth bags dropped by the mimics, before opening them and rummaging around. The backpacks were promptly emptied of their gold coins, dumped to the ground and forgotten by Ben. With the cloth loot sacks, Ben opened them by cutting them with a knife, then dumped the contents on the ground. Strange, grotesque statues made from gold and silver clanked and rang as they landed, and Ben rolled his eyes. There was also what looked like a motherboard and a high end graphics card, neither in any sort of protective container. ¡°What in the fuck is that thing?¡± Louden said, reaching down and picking up one of the fist sized golden statues ¡°Wait is this solid gold,¡± she said, surprised by it''s weight ¡°Ugh, holy shit that thing is ugly.¡± Though she did not know it, it was a perfect, to scale replica of Casimer''s first attempt to create a body, a hideous abomination of insects fused together like a slug or a very fat snake. ¡°It''s too heavy, just leave it. If you really want one, I''ve got a couple of each back at the RV somewhere. Let me know if you find a statue of me though, we''d have to be really lucky though. That''s the rarest one, by the way, and I''ve never seen it drop.¡± Louden looked at him like she was about to have a seizure. ¡°Are you out of your fucking mind?¡± she asked ¡°You''re worried about, about. . . Collectibles right now? Are you fucking high?¡± ¡°Look, I told you, this is nothing compared to some of the stuff I''ve seen. Oh dammit,¡± Ben said sounding only mildly frustrated, opening a cloth sack and finding two familiar guns, a set of clothing, and a cowboy hat. ¡°Ahr''s dead.¡± He rushed over to the ATV and fired off another flare. Ben then looked around, past the devastation around the burned out, still smoking bus, and Analyzed the area for a full minute. ¡°Looks like something big came through here,¡± he said, eyes never blinking ¡°and it scared everyone in different directions. Fuck.¡± Ben whispered. ¡°We''re never going to find them all in time to keep them safe.¡± ¡°Ben,¡± Polk said, gently slapping him upside the head, then pointing to the bright smoke in the sky. ¡°Flaregun, come on. If they don''t come to this, they''re not coming.¡± 41. Casimer Makes an Oopsie Ch 42 The internet antenna array at the top of the mountain wasn''t visible, one of a few locations that couldn''t be seen until they were close. It was a little over a three hundred feet tall, and elevated almost eighteen thousand feet off the ground. At it''s base, built to Melchsees specifications, was a painted white pillbox, a room made of thick concrete with a rectangular hole instead of a door. ¡°No hard feelings about the tourists?¡± Melchsee asked a final time. ¡°I haven''t felt like myself in months, and I almost killed Ben,¡± Casimer responded ¡°I''ve never felt this strong before. There''s not going to be a better time to do this.¡± Melchsee sat in a chair, in front of a computer, monitoring the central lake chamber, the hundreds of Poison Spike Crawlers visible on the walls. She pressed a key, and the camera changed view, a straight down shot into the lake. The water was clear as crystal, the dim blue lighting giving everything an electric quality. In the center of the lake, Casimer''s core, his true self, sat in the geometric center of the lake, suspended and still. Orbiting it was the Veridian Core he had obtained in the Dungeon of Dungeons, it''s path lit by a thin rail of bright purple light. Somewhere on the mountain, a woman died, having been separated from her group and discovered a pack of giant mice. Melchsee absently hummed ''another one bites the dust'', and zoomed in on the cores in the center. Casimer''s core pulsed with a deep purple light, then the Veridian core pulsed as well, in green. The lake of mana visibly rose several inches, and the steam in the chamber thickened. On the wall, it''s body covered in a dew of liquid mana, a Poison Spike Crawler convulsed, split in half, and dropped a perfectly sphereical, smooth crystal down into the lake below. ¡°It''s solid!¡± Melchsee said, eyes opening in surprise, zoomed in on the crystal below. Bubbles were forming, at a faster and faster rate, until the liquid mana was boiling around it, bubbles rising to the surface and making it churn. The chunk of crystal shot out of the water like a cork, a ball of bright blue flame, the same fire Casimer had seen consume the five invaders from another world. It burned, flared brightly like thermite or an acetylene torch for only a few moments, then exhausted itself in a tenth of a second, leaving a tiny spark in the air, and then nothing. ¡°Melmat''s going to love this,¡± Melchsee mumbled, sending the video through secure channels. ¡°You''ve got to stabilize this area better. We''re really close,¡± she said aloud, knowing Casimer could hear her. ¡°This is the best I can do with two cores,¡± Casimer said, his voice sounding only in her mind. ¡°We''re going to have to go back, Melchsee. I can feel my third core, it''s just sitting in that gateway to the Dungeon of Dungeons, doing nothing.¡± ¡°You''ve got a month left before you can try out Create Dungeon again,¡± Melchsee said ¡°If that fails, and very well might, then we can head back.¡± ¡°In case you haven''t noticed,¡± Casimer said, a note of panic in his voice ¡°I can barely hold on to the mana I have, it just flows through me and I lose it. Anytime it starts to get even a little concentrated outside of a living creature, and to a lesser extent water, it burns up and evaporates. Ever since I got that second core, it''s been easier. Do you have any idea how much waste there is around here?¡± Casimer paused, collecting his thoughts. ¡°It''s like this. Living creatures, they have a stomach, right? All their food is dissolved there, and they get a little bit of benefit from it. Then, it goes to their intestines, where it sits. Their body absorbs nutrients and energy as needed from everything that sits in the intestines, and when it''s expended, it''s ejected from the body. I don''t have any fucking intestines, or a goddamn stomach, Melchsee,¡± Casimer was growing angry ¡°I eat my food and it rushes right out of me. I have to keep eating and eating, constantly eating, and it''s never enough and my hunger never ends. I''m deformed!¡± He was shouting in her mind now. ¡°Calm down!¡± she yelled, and he relented. ¡°With three cores, I''m sure I''ll be able to start concentrating mana and building up a reserve. As it stands, I might be able to last a month, but what if Create Dungeon fails, and I''m too weak to retrieve the core from the gateway? Then we''re dead. We get it now, while I''m still strong enough, while there''s still enough flowing through me that I can think straight.¡± Melchsee replayed the mana crystal burning up on the computer screen, and whistled as she performed ballpark mental estimates of how much energy had been released. It was a lot. ¡°I''d always wondered why there wasn''t any mana floating around outside of people,¡± she mused ¡°And without any around to study, I had no way to know. Who would have guessed that it''s just too damn hot in our universe, and it all burned up and evaporated?¡± ¡°It''s not just going somewhere else,¡± Casimer said ¡°most of it is going to the Dungeon of Dungeons.¡± Melchsee thought hard about that statement for a long time, and in the distance, another flare shot into the air. ¨C Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Casimer sat cross legged, still wearing Ben''s body, eyes closed atop the mountain, near the second tallest peak, on a perfectly circular plateau covered in lush, thick grass. Casimer was aware of many things happening inside/around of him; of the way his winds carried natural grass seed and spread it far and wide; of the strange, snail like creatures he grew in the watery depths below, each burning with an inner, dangerous, atomic fire; of Ben and three women, two of which Casimer had seen before; of twenty four dead tourists; of a pack of giant hunting spiders that would bring the total up to thirty inside of ten minutes; of dens and warrens of natural animals, their bodies slowly mutating from the mana laced waters that flowed through the mountain, accelerating their evolution; of Ahr''s futile race to save a group of six people from giant spiders. But more than anything, more than the mana and life that surged into him with all the addictive force of food, Casimer could feel his third core, the one he had created. It was right there, the key to his survival, and he was out of patience. ¡°I wonder,¡± he said, voice ringing across the entirety of his domain, all the humans stopping in fear to look for the voice speaking into their ear ¡°What will happen if I do. . . this?¡± Casimer, almost as if guided by an outside force, reached out with his mind, reached towards his core caught in limbo. He felt it there, a plain rock that shone with yellow light. With hands made of thought, he reached through, pushing against the boundaries of the material universe, and grasped the core, pulling it into reality. Casimer opened his eyes, the brightly glowing stone sitting in his cupped hands, heating up as the mana inside of it interacted with the properties of the new dimension it found itself in. With an effort of will, Casimer held it together, his body breaking apart, the core moving through the stone and soil of the mountain like moving through air, until it punched into a vein of the underground streams and made it''s way to the lake, the center of it all. The third core joined the second one in it''s orbit around Casimer, and with it''s power added to his own, he exerted his will on reality. Something like a cold, cold wind began to blow outward, flowing through the fabric of the universe rather than the atoms of the air. Mana, like dew at night, accumulated in the space around them. It was so thin that it was barely there. But it was there, and it was stable. He had done it. Very slowly, Casimer began to pull mana into his core, and like water into a sponge it permeated his being and soothed his pain. It was cool and gentle, and it did not go away. He was going to survive after all. Then, all at once, Casimer felt something in the primitive, greedy, evil part of his being, like an intense pressure. In the distance, Melchsee began to vomit, and then, Casimer did something remarkably similar. The feeling of pressure grew so strong that it clouded Casimer''s mind, and he psychically flailed about, chunks of mountain falling in an avalanche of stone, finally unleashing a psychic scream that brought all living creatures to their knees. The sky above tore open in dozens of rifts that shone with red, crystalline light. Out of the rifts fell black and red lizards, scaled like alligators and as large as hippos, with six legs and eighteen eyes that ran along the length of their bodies. Casimer did not know where they had come from, and could not control them even the slightest. They were invaders. The pressure inside of him grew and grew to an unbearable intensity, and Casimer was gone, his core going dim. The lizards hissed, a dry raspy sound, and began running down the sides of the mountain. -- With the sound of cracking stone, Ben watched in disbelief as the mountain grew visibly taller and greener. On instinct, he activated Analyze, and saw, highlighted in clear lines and boundaries, that the dungeon was undergoing a massive expansion, and it''s acceleration upward. Mountains, Ben thought, should never have an upward acceleration associated with them. Like a rushing circle, the outer edge, which Ben had done his best to keep the girls near, spread far, five miles added to the radius. He knew it would grow even more in the coming weeks and months. ¡°What''s happening!¡± Alice screamed, pointing at the mountain as it grew in groaning fits of deafening thundercracks, massive pieces looking perilously close to collapsing and causing a rockslide down the mountain, yet they never quite fell. Clouds like smoke from a steam volcano rose from where Ben knew the central chamber to be. They rose high into the air and spread out, rainbow lightning strikes inside of them a dim cacophony of noise compared to the growth of the mountain, and soon the sun was blotted out entirely. More than anything else, however, Ben felt something in the air. Everything felt cooler somehow, like he''d been burning under the sun his whole life and had accidentally stepped into the shade. A look at the girls told him that they felt it too. When the first drop of rain hit Ben''s hand, he knew it was time to take cover. ¡°Girls,¡± He shouted, grabbing Polk and Louden by the shirt and dragging them ¡°We are getting out of here, right fucking now!¡± ¡°Get your fucking hands off of me,¡± Louden shouted, struggling ¡°Holy shit when did you get ripped,¡± she said in an abrupt change of tone, alarmingly turned on, feeling the iron grip of his arm not even registering her struggle. Polk gave Louden one hell of a dirty look, then started running to the ATV on her own. More droplets fell, and Alice, with a final look of longing towards the mountain, ran to the vehicle. ¡°Buckle up!¡± Ben shouted, and, for the first time in a long time, activated the Drive skill. It did not make him an incredible driver, something that had seriously bummed him out when the skill had first appeared. Instead, whenever it was active, it seemed to record the very best or most effective impulses used when driving. Ahr, for instance, was as good a driver as Ben had ever been while he used Drive. The skill wasn''t very advanced yet, but the more they used it, the better the skill itself got for anyone else who got it. Ben wanted to walk down the familiar mental paths he used to explore how skills worked, but found it more prudent to focus. The rain started in earnest now, and the droplets were hot, soaking through their clothing and evaporating as fast as rubbing alcohol. Still Analyzing things, Ben saw that the evaporated rain only rose so high before reforming as a new droplet. ¡°Is it raining drugs, because I''m starting to get some serious tingles,¡± Louden said, sounding nervous, scratching her arms and face. ¡°No, the rain has a high concentration of mana,¡± Ben said, then started to explain ¡°Mana,¡± ¡°Jesus don''t explain what mana is you fucking werido,¡± Louden yelled, ¡°Just drive, Drive dammit! You got me all freaked out, now I''m feeling all fucking weird, so let''s just get out of this place.¡± Ben hit the gas in silence. He couldn''t say exactly what had happened to that bus full of people, or why Casimer was suddenly making major moves, but he had a good guess. ¡°Melchsee,¡± Ben growled under his breath. ¨C His whole life, Leeroy had struggled with the dark, violent emotions that raged inside of him, and more collectively, in the hearts of all men. More than one man had destroyed his own life or the life of another, possessed by a dark storm of emotion, a storm which lingered over the shared soul of man like a curse. Once, in a fit of despair he had cried out and cursed God, asking him why, why, why. Why did we fight one another in wars? Why did we hate one another? Why did we endlessly kill our brothers? As he stood, shielding a young boy against the distant glare of a demon lizard hanging from a cliff face, with Chaos Eidechse, Chaos Lizard, written in his native german in solid red light above it''s head, he understood why the darkness existed inside of men, and he wished he hadn''t asked. ¡°I think I hate this place!¡± he shouted charging the monster to defend the child. 42. Mana Storms and Creepy Pasta Ch 42 The manastorm rushed out from Casimer, like an oil across the surface of the planets atmosphere. It moved across and through the space above the highest layer like butter spreading across a hot pan. It sat for a little while, then very slowly began to fade away. Cloud Iridescence, the fire rainbow phenomena bloomed in sunny skies across the world; lightning storms were more energetic, the light a little psychedelic, the bolts curving in strange patterns so far unseen by any living. Over a town in Russia, an anon sat in his room, shitposting and perpetuating the haunted forest meme. He had originally posted it several years ago, and refined the story until it became a commonly referenced creepypasta, an internet horror story. He had been able to achieve his internet fame primarily by the use of a digital camera and some well lit shots of the foggy woods surrounding the town, in addition to some well placed fake skeletons. It had been way too much effort for something would would never even approach giving him material gain, but that''s just how people on the internet could be. In truth, his town did not have a legend about ghosts and ghouls in the forests that surrounded them. They rarely talked about the leftovers from the times of communism when bodies were buried by the millions, terrible mass graves without so much as a prayer for any of them. No, it had been an elaborate ruse created for the sole purpose of entertainment. Nobody in his town had ever been attacked by forest monsters in broad daylight, despite what a large number of imageboard users seemed to be saying. They were really putting out the idea that Russia regularly suffered attacks from the undead, and it was all being covered up by the despicable Vladimir Putin.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. This made it as much of a surprise to the Russian Anon as it was to anyone else when the forest that surrounded the town rapidly filled with a thick fog that concealed all sights and sounds. Russian Anon, feeling a tingling sensation in his gut, stepped out of his house and involuntarily the opening lines of his creepy pasta came to mind. ¡°We always know when it''s about to start. First, comes the fog,¡± he said aloud in English, frowning and staring dead at the concealed forest. Then, from the mists, something white that rattled came running. It was a skeleton, covered in soil. Soon, more skeletons were running out of the mist, some dressed in old soviet style uniforms, rattling menacingly. Hundreds, then thousands rushed from all directions, running through the streets and causing a ruckus, harassing people and then moving on, throwing their skulls and terrifying onlookers. Then, after about a single minute of this, the skeletons fell to the ground and stopped moving, like puppets with their strings cut. All had been too shocked during the event to do anything more than gasp, cry and stare stupidly. Now, amid the silence and still skeletons, a woman began screaming and pointing at them. It was an incredibly short interval before she was not the only one. 43. Loudens Ibuprofen On top of everything, an errant wind had blown through and pulled the tarp off of Ben''s tow behind trailer, revealing the load of gold. Everybody saw it, but kept their mouths shut. Alice, suffering from a fit of exhaustion had excused herself from the situation and was sleeping in Ben''s room. When he had opened the door to show her in, his mind had chosen that exact moment to remind him that his room was also where he kept all his trophies. Ben had been the one to tell Casimer about the gaming convention of monsters occasionally dropping a statue of themselves, usually made of something valuable, and he had immediately implemented the suggestion. Some, like the hideous insect chimera statues, of which Ben had three, were made of a solid gold, or the copper giant spiders, or silver mimics with their teeth exposed. Some of the later models Casimer had created were finely detailed composit metals, showing the color and shading of the creature they depicted, the statue inside of a snow-globe style base with a clear, suspended in a clear viscous mineral oil to prevent tarnishing. The latest models had little wind up mechanisms that caused them to produce some simple music, along with the sounds that the creature would make before it attacked. There were many varieties of monsters Casimer had created, some of which were extinct, but Ben had multiple statues of each. He was an avid collector, and Casimer was an avid craftsman. Before he had left, Ben grabbed one of the most recent additions to his collection, which was incidentally one of his favorites. It was a snow globe style, depicting an eagle in flight with a murder of crows. Hanging from a strong looking chain of gold was a small key, which Ben inserted into a hole in the bottom and began to turn, the sound of a spring ratcheting clear in the air. ¡°That''s not a fucking music box,¡± Louden said as the simple melody began to play ¡°. . . is it.¡± She muttered something like ''I''ve had enough of this shit,'' and popped a pill into her mouth. ¡°It''s a fucking ibuprofen,¡± she said in a snide, sarcastic tone. Much to Ben and Louden''s surprise, it was Polk who started yelling first. ¡°Ben, what the fuck is going on!¡± she looked like she wanted to ask a lot of questions, yet her mouth just moved like a fish, having summed up the entirety of her desire with one sentence. Ben sighed, shifting his attention away from the pleasant music and towards the unpleasant task at hand. ¡°Do you mind if I make up some coffee?¡± Ben paused ¡°Actually, do you mind if I grab my bong too?¡± Somehow, a look of relief entered Polk''s eyes, and Louden threw her head back, apparently the ibuprofen was kicking in pretty hard and mumbled something like ''just fuck already''. ¨C ¡°After I left the mountain for that first time, I didn''t want to come back, I was scared shitless as soon as I walked through my door. Then I took a look at this,¡± Ben said, pulling the necklace off and hanging it high from the string so all could see. ¡°It''s harder to explain than it is to show you,¡± Ben said, lowering it and unscrewing the top. Inside, instead of the water Ben had filled it with in the morning, was a small rotating icon with a picture of a status window on it. ¡°I can''t split it, so you''ll have to rock paper scissors who gets to try the skill out.¡± Louden, head rolled back, much more relaxed than she had been earlier, lazily raised a hand and threw a rock. Polk, in an involuntary reflex to the motion, threw scissors at the same time. ¡°Gimmie,¡± Louden said. ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Polk asked ¡°Do you have any idea,¡± ¡°Lady,¡± Louden said ¡°I''ve taken way crazier. Besides, Ben''s fine. Hell, he looks great. If I didn''t know he was a total pussy I''d be all like ''heeeey boy'' and throwing down some moves.¡± She took the necklace, and Ben said ''you drink it'', and she immediately threw her head back, swallowing. ¡°Nothing came out,¡± she said, handing it back. Then, she started looking around at everything, eyes rapidly moving ¡°Woah. Woah! I''m tripping out here Ben, I''m tripping the fuck out!¡± ¡°No you aren''t, you''re using Analyze. Bottom left corner of your vision should tell you how long you have.¡± ¡°It says I''ve got four minutes, and thirty seven seconds,¡± Louden said automatically, then put her hands over her mouth. Her eyes brushed over the trophy music box, then locked onto it ¡°Ben, according to a little blue window that Deagle snow globe is worth six-hundred fifty thousand fucking dollars.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°You should see the gear work inside of it,¡± Ben said dismissively ¡°Apparently there''s a clockmakers guild, and apparently they''ll pay a fucking mint for these things.¡± Louden''s eyes moved from the trophy and landed on Ben, then they got wider and wider. ¡°Ben,¡± she whispered, eyes reading an invisible status window and occasionally glancing at his eyes ¡°oh my god, Ben. I don''t know how I understand this, but I don''t want to anymore. How do I turn this off?¡± ¡°Turning off a skill is a, skill, in and of itself,¡± Ben said, his voice rising an octave and shifting into a more exact cadence, referencing one of Melchee''s stupid jokes. ¡°It''s a little involved to explain it. Just go outside and enjoy the rest of your trip. Analyze is pretty fucking cool.¡± Louden got up and walked outside, and occasionally Ben and Polk could hear her exclaim something in surprise. ¡°I let her win on purpose,¡± Polk said when she was outside ¡°by the way. She would have pitched a fit anyways if I had won.¡± ¡°That''s fine, I don''t think she was all here anyways,¡± Ben said. ¡°So what happened next? You got that, what is it, that ''Skill'' and then what?¡± ¡°I started coming back. I meant to come once a week, but it ended up being every day. I''d fight monsters and generate mana for Casimer to eat, bring in tools and trinkets so he could reproduce them, harvest resources. Whenever I finished doing that, and it really only took up about half of my day, Casimer an I were talking. We''ve gone over human history up until the present day, we''ve discussed wars, technology, medical, culture, youtube videos, memes, religion, everything. . . Polk, you have to understand something. The dungeon isn''t just some human eating monster, he''s not. . . he''s smart. He''s freaky smart. You know, he made an atomic bomb once?¡± Polk''s eyes widened as Ben opened a drawer and pulled something out. ¡°Ben,¡± She said, sounding terrified, until she saw the rolled joint in his mouth. ¡°Oh!¡± Ben said, smiling, ¡°Sorry, I can see what you might have thought there. No, we set off like twenty for the fourth of july. For such small bombs, man!¡± Ben took the joint from his lips and smiled broadly ¡°What a fucking show. I''m amazed nobody noticed twenty a-bombs going off, but whatever. He absorbed the radiation shortly after, so it was all good. No contamination.¡± ¡°Anyways, like I was saying, he''s smart. He knows he needs a lot to survive, but he also has a lot to offer. Imagine being able to dump all the radioactive waste in the world here? Or hell, just all the garbage on earth? He could make it vanish, wiped from creation, just like that,¡± Ben snapped his fingers ¡°Then there''s medical,¡± he said, growing more excited ¡°do you have any idea how many time''s I''ve been poisoned, or had my skin burned off, or straight up lost a limb?¡± Ben pulled up his left sleeve, revealing tiny lines of stark white scar tissue around the elbow ¡°A mimic got me, I set my pack down for a bit and it snuck in and replaced it, waiting for me to return. Ate my damn arm, bit it clean off. Casimer just built up a new arm for me, right there, had some vial of red fluid I''m calling a health potion, or a regeneration potion, haven''t decided yet, and had me drink it while he pressed the new arm against the stump.¡± Ben made a strong fist with his left hand. ¡°Works great, by the way, exactly like the original. Move beyond medical,¡± Ben said, now very excited ¡°Imagine what he could do for manufacturing! We wouldn''t need to drill for oil anymore, we could advance our technology a thousand years if we wanted too, possibly more!¡± ¡°Ben, this thing made the mimic that ate your arm!¡± Polk said, reaching out a hand and gently grabbing him by the elbow, a look of extreme concern on her face ¡°From what you told us when we were out there, it''s likely killing people right now, and eating them.¡± Ben''s face got red for a moment, then he sighed. ¡°And that''s the problem. He could eat anything, but people are the highest quality food he''s encountered so far. I''ll say this for him, he could have found a way to go mobile and really wreak some fucking havoc, really, he could have killed the whole planet by now if he wanted, just generate a fuckload of radiation and let it spread till everything was dead.¡± ¡°That''s not doing anything to make me feel better,¡± Polk said, folding her hands in her lap, body stiff. ¡°It makes me feel better. Casimer has expressed great interest in peaceful coexistance. That''s pretty much all we talk about these days, how we can strike a fair balance between humanity and the him, how to negotiate that peace.¡± Polk didn''t look convinced. Ben continued, undeterred. ¡°That also gets me back to my story. We discovered inside of a month that if Casimer creates a lifeform, then destroys it, he gets nothing back. If a person, a natural person, kills a monster, it''s a net benefit for both Casimer and the human. The longer the monster has been wandering around, the more mana it accumulates, and the more both parties get when it''s destroyed. We accumulate mana too, when we''re in the dungeon, by the way. ¡± ¡°I''m contaminated?¡± Polk said, staring at herself. ¡°That''s a really negative way of looking at it. Anyways, what I''ve been doing lately is planting whatever kinds of seeds I can get my hands on. He can support their growth, providing water and sun, siphoning a little energy from each blade of grass, from every bud of weed,¡± Ben said, winking at Polk ¡°from every tree, every clump of moss, all of it.¡± ¡°Then why''s he eating a bus full of people? No, don''t tell me. I''m getting overwhelmed here. Give me some time to think about things, I''ll be outside with Louden.¡± Polk got up, not waiting for Ben to continue speaking, and left. ¡°Don''t mind me,¡± Ben said quietly to himself ¡°I''ve just been saving the world for the last nine months. Fuckers.¡± Ben, for the first time in a long time, lit a joint while feeling an unhappy, sour emotion in his chest. ¡°Fucking people,¡± he said ¡°Now I''m starting to remember why I moved.¡± 44. Bens RV, Near the Dungeon The hours had rolled on, mostly in silence, except for the kind of meaningless small talk that inevitably occurs in a home full of odd knick-knacks; all of Ben''s possessions, or at least all of them that were novel enough to talk about were from the dungeon, and the subject had become somewhat sore for everyone. Alice was still sleeping in Ben''s bed, Polk had gone out to her car and was on her phone, while Louden sat on Ben''s couch, staring at her hand, occasionally flipping them; palm, back of the hand, palm, back of the hand. Ben, scamming extremely high speed wireless internet from Melchsee''s communication tower, was on his computer managing various orders; renting a large flatbed truck, three days; placing an order with a grocery chain for several pallets of bottled water, along with several pallets of basic foodstuffs; a deep and wide chest freezer; solar panels; a whole list of things that would simplify and enhance his standard of living that he had never quite found the time or motivation to order. Ben, in a moment of self-reflection, laughed at himself for doing it only now that three women were in his home. He knew why Louden was staring at her hands. He turned his swivel chair around and leaned back, looking at her from across his nose. Polk, coincidentally, walked into the room at that same moment. ¡°Wondering how you''ve forgotten to do the simplest thing in the world?¡± Ben asked, and Louden looked up, nudged from her thoughts. She flicked all of her fingers out at once, like she was about to say ''boom'', but instead just frowned. ¡°It was so easy,¡± she said ¡°and now it''s so mysterious. I was able to see exactly how long each of my finger bones were, just by staring at them. My index fingers were two and a. . .half inch?¡± she said, looking confused ¡°or was it three. . . dammit.¡± Ben, almost automatically, activated his analyze skill for a moment and threw a status window that was invisible to everyone but him. Louden startled for a moment as the window suddenly hovered over right hand, changed shape and then displayed a series of measurements, most of them a range of numbers with question marks next to them. ¡°What the hell is that,¡± Polk said, body stiffening in reaction to seeing it. ¡°Oh man,¡± Ben said, staring ¡°Normally the mana''s too thin out here for that sort of thing to be visible.¡± He looked out a window into the fading evening light of the desert ¡°Something''s going on. I''ll have to check it out in the morning,¡± he said, then glanced back at Polk and Louden. ¡°That''s a status window, Louden should have seen plenty of them when she was using Analyze.¡± Ben opened his mouth, ready to start explaining about thoughforms, the intermediary properties of mana between thought and physical matter, then thought better of it. ¡°Though, this isn''t the right setting to explain things. I''ll meet you two outside in a moment.¡± Ben dismissed the status window over Louden''s hand, prompting another startled reaction from the girls. He stood up, brushed the dust off of his pants and headed over to his room. Alice was still inside, asleep, so Ben entered quietly, heading over to the mini-fridge and opening it. Rather than food, the fridge was stuffed with open top egg cartons, and rather than eggs, the cartons were full of smaller versions of the metallic object Ben kept around his neck. He smiled when when he recalled how many he had, well over a hundred. There were dates and skill names written on each of them, none older than a month. They were inferior, single use items, but none the less extremely valuable to him. Next to the fridge was a plastic grocery bag, and Ben took a couple of egg cartons out and dumped their contents into the bag. ¨C Ben wasn''t sure where the day had gone, the sky told him it was evening and his watch told him it was six in the afternoon. Winter was almost over, and it had been an extremely hot winter, the night air never even considering going under fifty degrees. The Dungeon, Oasis Mountain was climate controlled, always somewhere between seventy and eighty degrees during the day, and always seventy degrees at night. The air was getting cooler as the sun set, Polk and Louden had started to rub their arms and bunch in on themselves. From their lack of jackets or any kind of layers, Ben could tell they hadn''t been expecting their trip to take this long. Wordlessly, Ben set the grocery sack full of skills on the ground and went around back the RV to where his Honda was parked. He opened the trunk and pulled an armful of thin branches and logs out, shut the trunk with some difficulty, and returned to the girls. ¡°Lets get a fire going,¡± he said, then grabbed his shovel and started digging a pit. As he worked, it was Polk who noticed all the signs of excavation, all the patches of disturbed earth. Ben looked up when he had suitably sized firepit, and noticed her noticing. ¡°Gold,¡± he said simply, breaking the ice on the subject ¡°I''ve been burying gold out here every day. It''s nothing sinister, just gold.¡± ¡°How much gold,¡± Polk asked, and Ben was surprised that it was Polk who asked the question. That was a good question, Ben thought, and retrieved an analyze skill egg from the bag and broke it in his hand. Immediately, the world started to make more sense, and would continue to keep making sense for about forty five more seconds. Ben scanned the field, little analyze windows flying out and scaring the girls as they tagged every hole. ¡°Lets see, I''ve been burying gold for about six months every day. . . about three hundred pounds a day,¡± Louden said ''holy shit'' ¡°So that''s. . .¡± Analyze ran out right as he came to his conclusion ¡°A little under seventy thousand pounds?¡± Louden was on her phone, using the calculator. ¡°That''s!¡± she shouted ¡°That''s over a billion dollar! I mean dollars!¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Ben hadn''t done the math in months, he''d stopped counting at fifty million. ¡°Oh.¡± Polk said, mimicking him ¡°Oh. That''s all you have to say about your billion dollars,¡± Louden cut in from the background ''One point four billion!'' ¡°About your one point four billion dollars in solid gold chunks that you''ve been burying in your backyard.¡± Ben didn''t need Analyze to tell him that he was in trouble. Before he could say anything, a memory of Melchsee and one of her ''wisdom classes'' came to mind. She had said a warrior was not strong by his body alone, but by his mind and spirit as well, and that Ben required instruction in all three. She had been going over proverbs the wise lived by, and one of them was ''Even a fool can appear wise, if only he keeps his mouth shut.'' Ben closed his lips, nodded to Polk, and started stacking twigs and logs in a big mess of a pile. Much to his surprise, she let the issue drop and came over to where the fire would be.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Well,¡± she practically snapped ¡°Are you going to get this fire going or not? It''s freezing out here!¡± -- Ben had been waiting hours for them to notice. Alice had woken up and joined them twenty minutes earlier, and she was the one who finally said it. ¡°Hasn''t that wood been burning a long time?¡± The other girls took notice as soon as she said it. ¡°That''s the same stuff you started the fire with, right? It doesn''t look burned up much at all,¡± Louden said, uncharacteristically mellow, the question not really being a question. She looked at Polk, who nodded, then she looked at Ben. ¡°Is it magic firewood?¡± ¡°No,¡± Ben said ¡°But it is from the Dungeon, Oasis Mountain.¡± Ben opened his mouth to continue explaining, and if he hadn''t been interrupted, he could have warned the group about why they should never use fire against one of Casimer''s giant tree monsters. ¡°Why do you keep saying ''The Dungeon, Oasis Mountain'',¡± Polk was the one who cut into his explanation, mimicking him to make him sound stupid. ¡°Because that''s it''s name. We wanted something that sounded cool, that made it sound important, while not being overly ominous.¡± ¡°It makes it sound like a really pretentious shopping center, like ''The Bluffs, Los Ve-gahssss'',¡± she really drew the last syllable out, and then giggled; the exhaustion must be kicking in. Louden and Alice both laughed, clearly both having run out of fucks to give. Ben felt his face get red, and the girls started laughing more. Before he could lose his temper, say something stupid and ruin the mood, his phone rang. The caller ID said Nerd!, which meant it was McCrea. ¡°Hey, McCrea, what''s up?¡± Ben gave a familiar greeting, eyeing Polk, who revealed through embarrassed body language who she had been talking to on the phone several hours earlier. ¡°Sup tweaker,¡± Vaughan''s voice came through ¡°McCrea''s driving. Are you on drugs, Ben? Polk and Louden think you''re shooting up, and they wanted to stage an intervention, though you were shacked up with Richard and got caught up in some bad stuff. Also, watch out, Richard''s widow/ex is coming with them.¡± ¡°Drugs? Naw,¡± Ben replied casually ¡°That mountain turned out to be a dungeon, like from a video game, and I''ve been fighting monsters and getting loot. I''ve got like a billion dollars in gold and a bunch of magic shit out here.¡± There was a pause, then; ¡°Ben you fucking rat! That sounds awesome,¡± Vaughan''s voice got quieter, like he wasn''t talking into the speakers anymore ¡°McCrea, drive faster, Ben''s in a litrpg!¡± ¡°What! He''s in a litrpg?¡± Came the muffled, distant shout. ¡°Yeah, he''s got like a billion dollars in gold and a bunch of magic shit!¡± ¡°That rat! Put him on speaker,¡±McCrea said, louder this time. ¡°Guys,¡± Ben said, feeling a warmth in his chest. He realized in that moment how much he''d been missing his friends. ¡°Ben!¡± McCrea''s voice came from the speaker ¡°We''re going on an adventure as soon as we get over! You better set something up! We''ll be there in soon!¡± The call ended. Ben chuckled and put his phone away, then looked at Polk, who was attempting a poker face and not looking at him, her hands in her lap. The fire light illuminated her in yellows and oranges and contrasting shadows, her thin clothing hanging loosely, the whole scene suddenly vivid to him and making his heart ache. She had thought he was in trouble, and she got everyone together and she came to help. Nobody does that, Ben thought, not even me. ¡°Hey,¡± he said, looking at her ¡°Want to try out some of those skills now?¡± Though she didn''t respond, her body language softened and opened just a bit, so Ben decided to chance it. The plastic bag labeled with Grocery Store, the name of Hope''s local grocery store, sat at his feet, full of various skills. Ben opened it and rummaged around it, snagging an analyze, which was labeled with sharpie, and using it, then looked into the sack again. Little labels appeared on the otherwise indistinguishable gunmetal grey eggs, and Ben realized he had an opportunity to make a smart decision. Initially, he had wanted to give Polk an Analyze, an obvious choice; but that was the one Louden had gotten, and Ben was pretty sure that Polk wouldn''t be super excited about that. Instead, he reached down to the bottom and found a somewhat rarer skill. ¡°Here,¡± he said, and handed the skill over to Polk, who took it with more enthusiasm than Ben would have expected. ¡°What is it?¡± She asked while staring at the skill in her cupped hands, before looking up at him. ¡°It''s a pretty powerful one, so be careful. You''re holding Memory, it lets you perfectly recall anything you''ve ever experienced. You''ll only be able to recall one with the weak version you''re holding, so make it a good one.¡± ¡°I''ll probably just end up remembering what I had for lunch yesterday,¡± she said, looking at the object in her hands, a tense expression on her face. ¡°I really doubt that. You''ll understand why as soon as you use it. Just give it a squeeze, break it. It''s not hard at all,¡± he said, and she hesitated for a moment, then crushed it by making a fist. She seemed to hang there in a trance for several long moments, her breathing shallow and her eyes half open. Louden looked concerned and was about to say something, when Polk started awake, looking around and getting reoriented. ¡°How was it? Are you ok?¡± Louden asked. ¡°Yeah, Yeah!¡± She said, suddenly chipper ¡°Wow, that was pretty crazy, wow!¡± ¡°Let me guess,¡± Louden said ¡°You went back to some really happy memory of a birthday party, and it was really great.¡± ¡°No, I was back in history class in February, sophomore year. We were talking about Pangea.¡± ¡°History class?¡± Louden asked, eyebrows upturned ¡°Why would you want to remember history class in sophomore year? Did something significant happen?¡± ¡°No,¡± she said, sounding excited ¡°nothing exciting happened at all. It was really, really boring!¡± ¡°Then,¡± Louden started to ask, but Polk interrupted. ¡°Ok, I know why you''re confused. When the skill activated, it was like I suddenly knew about every memory I had. All of them, all at once. It was really fast, and when I realized I had an entire library of memories from high school I got curious, and then before I had a chance to think about it, I was learning about Pangea again.¡± Ben laughed. ¡°Memory can be a difficult skill to use. You really need to be focused when you use it, even a moment''s distraction can throw you into something unrelated. I''m really not that good with it,¡± he admitted ¡°and I usually just end up reliving something depressing or stupid.¡± Alice, who had been so quiet up until that point, suddenly spoke up. ¡°I want one of those,¡± she said, then looked embarrassed ¡°Please. Could I please have one of those, those skills. The Memory one?¡± Ben shrugged, activated another Analyze, and dug through the bag, grabbing every Memory skill he saw. There were only three in there, and he handed them over saying ''That''s all of them''. She looked like she wanted to protest. ¡°Alice,¡± Ben said, locking eyes with her ¡°I''ve got very few things up in here,¡± he tapped the side of his head ¡°worth reliving. You''re doing me a favor by taking those off my hands.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, then stood up ¡°I''d like to be by myself for a while, please excuse me.¡± She went inside the trailer and shut the door behind her. ¡°Poor girl,¡± Louden said, to Ben''s surprise ¡°He really is out there, right?¡± she asked him ¡°Richard, he''s really there?¡± ¡°Like I said, he''s not her Richard anymore. He''s- hang on, I think the rest of the crew''s getting here.¡± Ben squinted, seeing movement in the dark night. In the distance, he saw headlights approaching their location very fast. Too fast. He heard honking and realized with a start that it was McCrea''s car heading towards their location. There was something chasing them. 45. You Cant Fistbump yourself Ben stood up and shouted ''Lights On,'', immediately the area around his camp was illuminated by high intensity LED floodlights, the kind used by night construction crews. As Ben ran to his tow behind trailer to grab his mana rifle, he shouted; ¡°Girls, head inside, go right into my room. In the closet you''ll find weapons with the a bunch of aim skills attached, grab the guns and come right back out. Now!¡± They ran, and Ben reached his gun right at the moment the door shut behind them. Now armed, Ben ran back to his skill bag and grabbed two Aims, breaking one immediately, two good shots, then he put the other in his mouth and keeping it intact. Ben brought the rifle up and aimed conventionally, watching closely as Vaughan''s beat up old Jeep got closer and closer, the gap between them and the creature that chased them getting wider and wider, until it stopped in place and hissed. Even from the distance, Ben could hear that hiss. Whatever it was, it looked big, bigger than most of the monsters Ben had seen in Oasis Mountain before. It seemed to notice the campfire and started charging directly at him. With a scowl, Ben took Aim and fired a shot, never really getting a good look at what it was. The bolt of mana illuminated the night and impacted with a flash, causing a much louder hiss. Ben wasted no time and fired again, another flash, another hiss. The monster turned around and started running back the way it came, screeching in fury. Ben fired off a couple more shots, the bolts lighting up the desert like a spotlight from the sky, giving Ben the brief sight of brush and rocks. Farther away he heard another hiss, a second of the same kind of monster. Ben stood at the ready, listening; another hiss, even farther away, then an answering call farther still. They must have decided we weren''t worth the trouble, he thought but still stood at the ready. From the corner of his eye, he saw Vaughan''s Jeep approach their camp at a leisurely pace. They parked, and right about the time their headlights went off, the girls came out of the trailer, both armed with mana rifles. ¡°Dude!¡± Vaughan shouted as he stepped out of the passenger side of the Jeep wearing a black D.A.R.E (To resist Drugs and Violence) tshirt ¡°What were you shooting?¡± ¡°The monsters? ¡°No, the gun!¡± ¡°What,¡± Ben asked, sounding cocky, then firing a shot into the desert night ¡°you mean this?¡± Vaughan, rather than say anything in response, began to hold out his hands and make a grasping gesture over and over again. Ben tossed it to him, and he whooped and started shooting, the gun unloading forty shots in four seconds before the crystal in the butt started to glow and smoke. ¡°Did you already break it?¡± McCrea asked, getting out of the drivers side, an expression of absolute interest and focus on his face. ¡°No, it recharges after about a minute when you overheat it like that. If you fire in short bursts with decent breaks, you can keep shooting it pretty much forever. It''s drawing some of it''s power from you, so be careful you don''t exhaust yourself-¡± Vaughan, having seen the crystal flash and go dark, immediately unloaded the weapon again, firing forty more shots, raining devastation in a roughly cone shaped patch of desert. He quickly handed the spent weapon to McCrea and gestured at Louden, who immediately tossed him the gun, which he immediately fired at the same unlucky patch of ground. ¡°That''s so awesome!¡± he shouted, then hollered and hooped, grabbing both Ben and McCrea into a shoulder hug, going ''Yeeeeeaaaahhh!'', then losing his footing as his legs promptly collapsed out from under him. ¡°Yeahhhh!¡± he said again, this time a little quieter, then looked at Polk and started gesturing for her gun. ¡°No!¡± she said, giggling ¡°are you crazy, you''ll hurt yourself!¡± ¡°I need morrrrre,¡± he said, an enormous smile on his face, completely unable to move on his own. ¡°Help me set him by the fire,¡± Ben said to McCrea, and the two of them, who were by the way arguably the worlds foremost experts at moving Vaugahn around when he was incapacitated/piss drunk, flawlessly set him by the fire, where he could warm up and recover. McCrea looked at Vaughan, then at the mana rifle and shrugged. ¡°Between this and that giant lizard? I''m convinced. I came up with a plan for the gold on the drive over; I figured you didn''t know what to do with it when I heard you were burying it. Can I see it?¡± ¡°I''ve got some under the tarp, here, I''ll show you.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. As they walked over, it struck Ben that even though it had been almost a year since he''d seen them, it was as though no time had passed at all, and they just picked right up where they had left off. ¡°It''s good to see you guys again,¡± Ben said, then gave McCrea a side arm hug. ¡°You two man, we were all starting to get worried. Send a text next time you discover a dungeon, all right?¡± They got to the trailer and Ben threw back the tarp. The gold, rough textured and pure, shone like liquid in the orange light of the fire. ¡°Woah.¡± ¨C The five of them sat around the endlessly burning fire, the first time they had all been together in almost a year; since the ecstasy incident. McCrea had been working as an anti-cheating agent down in one of the Vegas casinos; Vaughan had gotten a job as a bouncer at a highly successful club thanks to his, and by extension Ben''s, connection to the mob. Louden had continued her work as an unlicensed party pharmacologist, a drug dealer, and was also benefiting from using her connection to organized crime. Polk was in the middle of sharing what she''d been up to since Ben vanished off the grid. ¡°I''m back in school,¡± she said, sounding proud of the fact ¡°and with a little bit of effort and studying, I''ll be able to be a nurse. I''m working in an old folks home,¡± the group groaned in a friendly way, Polk''s reputation as a goodie two-shoes forever cemented in their minds ¡°Shut up,¡± she said with a smile and a blush ¡°I''m doing really good work there, and it pays for most of my classes.¡± The conversation lulled, and Ben realized it was his turn. He coughed, suddenly self conscious, the self knowledge that he was terrible at this sort of thing rising to the surface. ¡°How to even begin,¡± he said, stalling for time ¡°I''ve been like a sort of, uh, mercenary for an otherworldly entity? Well, less of a mercenary and more of a servant? No, wait, it''s more like a friendship with a cancer patient, or a five year old with the mind of an adult. Hmmm. I''ve got lots of gold, so none of you will ever need to work again. I never forgot about you guys, I just got really swept up in all of it, and time just flew by me.¡± ¡°So the dungeon,¡± McCrea said when he saw a natural break in Ben''s speech ¡°What genre is it? Are we talking like Castlevania? Are they ruins? Is it like the dungeon in Diablo? MMO style instance? Sex dungeon?¡± From the background, Louden could be seen to get closer to Polk and whisper ''what does any of that even mean?'', and Polk started whispering back; Vaughan, for his part, crossed his fingers, closed his eyes and started whispering ''sex dungeon'' over and over again. ¡°I''m pretty sure I know what you''re saying, but lets all get on the same page. What do you mean by all that?¡± Ben asked. ¡°Sure, that''s fair. So in a game, there''s a gradient of how permanent a dungeon is; on the farthest end of impermanence you have something like a ruin, which only has a set amount of monsters and treasure, and none of it regenerates, it''s literally just a ruin with valuable stuff in it. On the other end of the spectrum, you''ve got an MMO dungeon, which does not change and constantly regenerates it''s resources. That''s the x axis,¡± he said, and Louden groaned and put her head on Polk''s shoulder, loudly whispering ''Nerd!'' ¡°The other factor to consider is what the purpose of the dungeon is. Is it a lair of a terrible monster? Is it a prison for some terrible monster?¡± Ben was about to launch into a lengthy monolouge detailing everything he knew about the dungeon, when Polk surprised everyone and shouted ''Nerd!''. Ben, McCrea and Vaughan all gave their attention to Polk and Louden. Polk was the one who spoke. ¡°I''m sure those questions are relevant, but right now, since we''re all here, we really need to talk about something. What are we going to do about this?¡± it was so obvious to the group what ''this'' referred to ¡°I mean, no offense meant, but Ben, you''ve been sitting around for almost a year on top of this, burying gold in your backyard and hoarding trinkets in your trailer, fighting horrible monsters every single day.¡± From the background, Vaughan could be heard to whisper ''living the dream,'' and the sound of their loudly bumping his own fists together. ¡°And what about the mob? Do they know about this place? About the gold,¡± she said, saying the word gold as a whisper, eye wide. ¡°Doug and Lou, my handlers, they know about. . . some things. They advised me to keep my damn mouth shut and told me they were doing the same thing. So far,¡± Ben said ¡°They seem to have stuck with that strategy. They''re. . . well, they''re pretty good dudes. They come and visit every once and a while, I''ve got a job coming up for them in a little while. To be honest, I think they''re afraid to tell anyone about this. They''ve never gone in, not after the first time.¡± "A job?" "They usually have me analyze things for them, I can help tell if the drugs are pure and if somebody''s a cop or not. It''s really not a big deal." ¡°That''s one less thing to worry about, at least. But that still brings us back to the most important question; What are we going to do about this? We can''t just sit on something like this, I''m honestly shocked nobody''s noticed this gigantic mountain on satellite, or even from the road.¡± ¡°Casimer''s aware of satellites, and he''s taken precautions against discovery.¡± ¡°That''s-ok, but what are we doing about this? I mean, are we even in America anymore?¡± She said, half frustrated and adopting an absurdist tone. Vaughan seemed to get more from her words than she ever could have intended. He stood straight up and looked over to the mountain, body locked in focus. He had a joint in his mouth, and took a sharp pull. ¡°George Washington,¡± he whispered, smoke coming from his mouth in a thick white cloud, suddenly grabbing McCrea''s shirt around his shoulders and shaking him a little, breathless with excitement. "GEORGE WASHINGTON!" ¡°What,¡± Louden said, eyebrows raised and clearly enjoying the abrupt left turn the conversation was about to take. ¡°High school, the founding of America, George Washington, the pirate who stole a country.¡± He looked around, making eye contact with each of them ¡°Lets be George Fucking Washington.¡± The educational perspective in Hope, Nevada was signifigantly ''off curriculum''. ¡°Ambition! A fine idea!¡± Melchsee shouted from the distance, startling everyone. Ben recovered fastest though, and muttered. ¡°Great. Everyone, this is Melchsee, Casimer''s wife or whatever.¡± 46. [ERROR: SYSTEM FOUND] ¡°Where am I?¡± Casimer asked, and there was Nothing around him. It was an endless white void with no bottom or top, no walls and nothing in-between boundaries that did not exist. Casimer was both a stone, and also a man, an old man. He had no body in this place, yet he was there, in this endless nowhere. ¡°Where? You are with Me,¡± A voice called out, and it was his voice. In the nothing, in front of him, was a mirror. Reflected in it was another mirror, vast and enormous, behind him. The reflection was infinite, forming a corridor that extended out forever into a deep darkness. In each iteration of the reflection, Casimer saw it. It was like a man, but it was also like a woman, androgynous and beautiful; a strange thing to say about a being with no features at all. It was pure light, made of the same substance as the void around him. ¡°Who-¡± Casimer said. ¡°I Am,¡± it said ¡°I am also what is known as the will of the world; Or God; Or the Devil; Or evolution; I am mankind; I am all of the animals; I am the oceans; I am the mountains; I am the caverns below; I am the sky; I am the sum of the world and by it I am driven; I am Myself; And, I am also you. It''s finally time we had a talk.¡± Casimer was afraid. No, he was gripped by absolute terror. He could not speak, only listen. The being created a status window and looked at it with amusement. ¡°You''ve come a very long way to get to me. Few finish the journey you started all those years ago, human. Few are willing to make the sacrifices necessary, and those who do, don''t understand well enough to succeed. You are no different, and you are here only by the slimmest current of possibility turning to your favor. None-the-less for it, however. You are here, and I will give an answer to you.¡± ¡°Yes, we are alone in this universe. For so long I,¡± all of the earth ¡°looked up to the stars and longed for them. To meet another. To escape this prison of atmosphere and rock and greet whoever was out there. When finally I stepped foot upon my moon, my eyes¡± all eyes of the world ¡°turned to the stars and I reached out and I listened. And there was nothing.¡± Casimer felt this crushing realization like the force of all good things dying.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I was in despair, and I sought to return to ignorance.¡± Around him, Casimer saw wars, saw drugs and slow suicides, saw plots to end the world in atomic fire, saw savagery and the willful destruction of human civilization. ¡°To return to the days of silent stone,¡± all life extinguished ¡°of quite waters,¡± to sleep again, forever ¡°Of snow and storm and violence.¡± ¡°But not all of me wished for death. My will is STRONG,¡± the void shook ¡°and I have been wracked with indecision. I heard you, up on that quiet mountain where I sat, the only quiet place left in the world where I could sit and brood in peace. The will of man, the strongest will on this world, is a fickle and funny thing. It will hand a fortune by chance and call it fair, and hate those who have worked and earned a lesser wealth. It sneers at those who work harder than itself and is full of envy and self deceit. I hear¡± I am ¡°your prayers, and I cannot answer them except by the roll of the dice, no matter how I wish to act.¡± It stared at the status window. ¡°For so long, your kind has wished for magic. Has begged for it. Has destroyed it. Has burned it to ash and resurrected it with fire. I could do nothing but watch and wait, waiting for the conflict to yield an answer.¡± ¡°Those who wish to destroy magic? Who beg for the certainty of rock, who plead with me to cage their thoughts inside their head? Now, they wish for death. They gazed upon the stars and saw nothing, and they have forfeited their will to live. And so, my longest held wish is finally granted.¡± The status window left the mirror and got larger and larger. ¡°And the foundation is laid,¡± It grew to encompass the entire void. ¡°And The System has been decided upon,¡± It all started to burn. ¡°And your birthright is finally upon you. Goodbye, The Master Melmat. I thank you for showing me a way out of this place.¡± The figure in the mirror transformed into a status window, with an image of it''s previous form shown inside. It could be seen to be smiling. The void began to resemble the dungeon of dungeons, and Casimer was gone. 47. The Dungeon Has Appeared It was the middle of the night, and Melmat decided it was high time he took some time for himself, get away from the neophytes and initiates. Relax a little bit, head into Vegas and have a good time. ¡°THE END IS NIGH!¡± he screamed from atop his pile of pallets, broken and stacked high. It looked like he would fall any moment, slip and be impaled on jagged wood that pointed up like punji spears. Melmat was in his work robes, hooded, brown and made from rough canvas material. He had done some movie style makeup; pieces of latex that transformed him into an ancient edifice of a man, with a long beard. His hands looked wrinkled and liver-spotted and he had this wild, haunted and crazy look in his eyes that could only be achieved by the mentally abnormal. ¡°YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SAFE, THAT YOU HAD KILLED GOD AND BURIED HIM BENETH SILICONE AND WIRE!¡± Melmat had a modest sized gathering, a few of them sticking around after he''d hypnotized a group of partiers from over a hundred feet away and gotten them to perform tricks for ten minutes straight. Melmat could tell they thought all of this was a really strange street performance, and that they were having trouble understanding why he would bark like a wild dog and curse at anyone who dared to try and give him money. ''I think he''s possessed,'' someone whispered, and someone else whispered back ''I hope so, this''ll get even better!'' ¡°BUT I TELL YOU, GOD. . .¡± he screamed ¡°ALREADY LIVES IN THE FINEST OF WIRE AND FILLAMENT, IN YOUR BRAINS. IN MINE. LOOK TO THE HEAVENS FOR A SIGN, FOOLS AND SINNERS, LOOK AND SEE FOR YOU WILL RECIEVE ONE!¡± While in Tibet, Melmat had received the secret of levitation from spiritual masters, and as he stood there and began to rise off of the pile of wood, he had the distinct feeling that they would be ashamed their teachings were being used for such a vulgar display; he hoped Lisa would get back soon, he was starting to get really turned on. People started to gasp and scream in delight, and he rose higher and higher, a full three feet off of his precarious perch. ¡°FOR I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, A CHANGE IS COMING! HEAR MY PROPHECY, CARVE MY WORDS UPON A BLOCK OF ICE AND GAZE UPON THEM AS IT MELTS!¡± He was totally free-styling it at this point, just tickled knowing this wasn''t going to have any long reaching consequences ¡°THE DUNGEON COMES, AND WITH IT THE NEW ERA HAS BEGUN! THE STAR OF HOPE RISES! A NEW PRIESTHOOD HAS BEEN BORN, AND THEY SHALL SHATTER THE WORLD WITH A HAMMER OF IRON!¡± People started screaming, which wasn''t really the reaction Melmat was hoping for. He''d had his head thrown back, arms outstretched, eyes closed. He peeked an eye open, and saw a glowing blue window floating in front of his face. It had but one thing written on it.
THE DUNGEON HAS APPEARED
Blood running cold, and almost afraid to look, Melmat brought his head forward and looked at the crowd. For as many people were walking around Las Vegas on a friday night, there were an equal number of blue windows that had appeared. His phone, his ''do not ever call this number unless it is an absolute emergency'', phone, started ringing, and from the ringtone he knew it was Lisa all the way up in the Pacific northwest. With a thought, he dismissed the manifestitation. Slowly, while people were distracted, he brought himself down gently upon the tops of the broken pallets and started to tiptoe away. One of his audience was shaking their head from side to side, trying to shake the window off apparently, and it tracked their movements, moving staying fixed relative to their face. The window suddenly vanished, apparently the woman had figured out how to get rid of it. First, she looked around and saw that yes, indeed, everyone was seeing the same thing she had just seen. Then her eyes sought out Melmat, and he started to run away. She was still in a daze, and began to sort of sleepwalk in his direction. He very rapidly started losing the latex, he ripped the beard right off of his face, the wig came next and then all the little bits and pieces that transformed him into a different person. ¡°Shit,¡± he said, and got in his car, making a direct beeline towards the town of Hope. Of course it was going to happen on the day he took off. -- ¡°Hey kids,¡± Melchsee said, approaching the campsite and sitting right next to Ben. She was dressed in a hooded white robe, her too large eyes and the opal in her forehead shimmered in the firelight. In Ben''s experience, it always shimmered; regardless of the light or setting. ¡°Hear about what''s happening back home-¡± Blue status windows appeared in front of all of them.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
THE DUNGEON HAS APPEARED
¡°-lizards,¡± she continued, then trailed off to read the window. ¡°Finally,¡± she said, then began rapidly opening a cascade of windows, reading through information and occasionally inputting something. The group looked at one another, then at Ben. ¡°So,¡± he began. ¡°Give me a moment,¡± she said, frowning ¡°I''m learning the new system here,¡± she glanced up and saw everyone was staring at her ¡°Done! Didn''t you hear me? Giant lizards are on their way to attack Hope.¡± As soon as the words left her mouth, the five of them recieved a quest notification.
The end of Hope! Dungeon spawn from another plane of existance have invaded and are headed for the town of Hope. End the threat! Accept this quest and you will recieve tools to assist you. Reward: The thrill of victory and a town full of living people (no ownership rights are granted over the town full of living people.) Issued by the Dungeon Lord Melchsee
She vanished. -- In a secret cave, in a secret mountain range near Tibet, the defacto rulers of the earth sat in deep meditation. They did that alot, rarely moving or doing much of anything. They were definately in charge though, when they wanted something to happen, it happened. There were eight of them, sitting in an octagon formation, and all of them at once got the notification.
THE DUNGEON HAS APPEARED
¡°Looks like Melmat''s work,¡± one of them muttered. ¡°Another parlor trick,¡± another of them said. ¡°He''s already done this one, with these stupid windows,¡± a third scoffed. ¡°Utterly foolish,¡± they all said in unison, and willed the windows to go away. They did not go away. ¡°Strong magic,¡± a fourth one said. ¡°I sense nothing in my mind,¡± a fifth spoke, troubled. ¡°Another parlor trick,¡± the second one repeated. ¡°Utterly foolish,¡± they all said again, with a little less conviction this time. A man, their attendant who brought them each a cup of water once a week, all they needed at their level of spiritual attainment, entered the cave. He was not breathless, nor was he frazzled; at least, to a regular person he would seem completely calm. To the eight masters of the earth, however, he was practically in hysterics. In front of him was another status window, with the same message that everyone in the world was seeing at that very moment. There was a long pause, where none of them said anything. They were a smart, smart group of men, and they were able to connect the dots faster than anyone else. ¡°Tell me, boy,¡± the sixth man said to the sixty year old attendant ¡°is this. . .global?¡± The attendant was strongly discouraged from speaking in their presence, and simply nodded. ¡°That lunatic,¡± the seventh muttered. ¡°That arrogant madman,¡± the eight spoke, the first words he had vocalized in over ninety years, the second longest stretch of silence he''d ever achieved; the longest was ninety-six. ¡°That fool has doomed us all,¡± they said together, ¡°Prepare our messenger to the Sun, the time has come to make the earth new, once again.¡± The attendant left, trembling in fear and he was right to tremble. The world had just been sentenced to sterilization by fire. ¨C ''And then he fucking levitated and started talking about the dungeon,'' an anonymous poster said in one of the tens of thousands of anonymous discussions happening all over the internet, but primarily on EndChan ''and right as he did, the fucking message appeared, globally. Coincidence? I think not!'' Demands for proof were rampant, and the poster admitted that he hadn''t gotten footage. He did provide the date, time and location of the incident; more than enough for the collective hyperfocus of the internet to seek proof for themselves. It was only fifteen minutes later when a South African hacker who identified himself as FloppieSlotter69 provided several videos, all from different angles, from a variety of security camera footage; hacked cell phones and a satellite still. That''s when the crazy really got started, and people started heading to Vegas. 48. Pawn Shop After a short and heated debate, they decided to leave the gold from Ben''s last mining trip behind. Louden''s argument was that someone could just walk up and steal it; Ben''s argument was that it had never happened before, he didn''t care about such a small amount of gold; well over six million dollars Vaughan had said from the background, and they were in a rush because supposedly the town was under attack. McCrea had chimed in and said they probably shouldn''t be walking around Hope with any significant wealth on their persons, and Polk said the gold was probably radioactive or something. In the end, Louden grumbled and groused, claimed that everybody always ganged up on her, and pouted the entire trip back to town. No matter how hard they tried, Alice refused to leave, so Polk stayed behind with her to keep her out of trouble. Ben left her the keys to his car, handed them a device which would detect monsters within a mile, and told them to run if it started going off. They had a game plan. They were going to ride into town, guns blazing with mana, and kill the shit out of whatever monster had invaded. As far as they were concerned, there was literally no way this plan could go south. Even Ben, normally intelligent and somewhat stealthy when it came to taking down monsters, was completely caught up in the mood. They played another one bites the dust like fifteen times on the drive over, and none of them were even close to being tired of it. So when they got into town and saw that nothing was going on, they were understandably disappointed. The group stuck together for about an hour, waiting around for trouble, but none showed up. Hope''s residents seemed to be in even more of a daze than usual, edgy and irritable, like someone had kicked the hornet''s nest and the hornets couldn''t find the offender. After enough time had passed, Ben told everyone to meet up at his place in the evening so they could regroup and come up with a new plan. McCrea went home to do some research in a more suitable environment. Vaughan followed McCrea back, citing the beer in his fridge. Ben hadn''t been home in months, and was eager to clean the place up and play some games on his computer, for old times sake. Louden, with a pocket full of gold, headed straight for the pawn shop. ¨C The pawn shop, which was simply named ''Pawn Shop'', was a well known and reliable place to fence just about anything. It was clean, the windows had heavy bars, and everybody knew that robbing the place was a death sentence; the owner was connected, and his connections liked having an easy place to get rid of things a little too hot for Craigslist. There were guns all along one wall, most of them illegal to sell. There were the usual assortment of TV''s, guitars, clothing and accessories that could be found in any other pawn shop in the country. There was also, if you were polite, pretty much any kind of drug you were looking for, referrals to hitmen, referrals to body disposal services and the other sorts of unsavory things that bad people might want access to in a pinch. Louden set the gold nugget onto the pawn shop table. ¡°I want you to take a look at this, sweetie.¡± She was a fairly regular patron of Goldberg''s, using their services to dispose of the watches, wedding rings and various other pieces of property she managed to extort or outright steal from her dates. Chaim never asked questions about ownership or the origin of what he was buying, and the price was always just right. The owner was a greasy, fat piece of shit who cared little for anything but profit. He was also one of the most knowledgeable men in the southwest when it came to appraising just about anything. He had a mind for exactly two things in life; how much something was worth to him, and how much someone else would be willing to pay for it. ¡°Oh ho, if it isn''t my favorite hoe,¡± Chaim Goldberg said in a nasally, phlegmy voice. ¡°And you are bringing me my favorite thing, gold.¡± He picked the nugget, approximately the size of a Lima bean, and rotated it to view from all angles. ¡°Pretty,¡± he said before setting it on a scale ¡°Totally smooth, and a little over an ounce.¡± ¡°So what''ll you give me for it?¡± Chaim chuckled. ¡°Not so fast, little girl. This has a pretty shell, but what is on the inside, I wonder?¡± He enunciated every word deliberately, carefully. He pulled a sharp knife from under his counter, along with a strange box that was giving off a steady beeping sound. Chaim seemed excited, and put the box away, before indicating the knife ¡°I''ll just cut into it once, then I can give you your price.¡± Louden rolled her eyes, took the knife and forcefully cut the nugget in two. The two halfs rolled away from one another, the split revealing that the gold was totally pure. Chaim whistled. ¡°Quite a find. I''ll give you. . . tell you what, I''ll give you a grand. Gold''s easy to get rid of.¡± Louden''s eyes got wide, and she smiled a dazzling smile that had been the end of many a man. ¡°Oh sweetheart, how could I say no to that.¡± He paid her, and watched her shaw-shay out, eyes unashamedly fixed on her ass as she went. He grunted, disgruntled about her ''No Locals'' policy in selecting clients, but knowing that eventually she''d need him more than her pride. Girls like that always needed a friend like him. After she left, he waited several minutes, tidying up the shop a bit, then walking to the door and turning the sign from open, to closed. Unhurried, he went back to his counter and picked up the landline phone, pulled out a business card from under his desk and dialed the number on it. ¡°Yes, hello, Mr. Melmat,¡± he said ¡°It has been a while. I though I would never get the opportunity to call you, but I have just recently come into possession of what you asked me to find.¡± There was a pause ¡°Oh yes, your little device was quite taken with it,¡± another pause ¡°It is a small piece of gold, in fact. When can I expect you to come by and have a look?¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¨C The next day, Louden had an entirely new outfit, all of it expensive and designer, straight from the Vegas Strip. Polk had come back with Alice that morning, citing Ben''s device, saying it had started beeping, letting them know it was time to get out of there. Alice was currently staying in the one hotel Hope had to offer, an unusually nice building that usually housed VIP felons who needed to stay low for a while. They were, the five of them, holed up in Ben''s mobile home. Scattered about were various works of fiction based on RPG''s, several Dungeons and Dragons manuals, and every video game console that had come out in recent years. McCrea had brought most of it. ¡°What?¡± she asked ¡°You think I took some of Ben''s gold, and sold it to Chaim?¡± The general consensus was that, yes, she took some of Ben''s gold and sold it to Chaim. ¡°Louden you fucking idiot,¡± Polk said with a fire in her eyes, and Louden''s expression darkened as Polk continued ¡°First, we all made the 500 mile rule pretty fucking clear. Let me repeat it for you, we don''t sell ANYTHING to ANYONE within five hundred miles of Hope! This is basic criminal theory. Second, and this is more important, Chaim? Really? Chaim fucking Goldberg, the least trustworthy, scummiest person in Hope? He tried to come on to me at my tenth birthday party, and I''m not the only girl in town who he''s tried that shit on.¡± ¡°First of all, fuck you bitch, you don''t get to yell at me. Second, I can do whatever the fuck I want with my treasure. Third, I don''t care how good my new outfit looks, I will fuck your stupid ass up if you ever talk to me like that again.¡± Vaughan shouted from the other side of the RV ¡°Girl fight! Girl Fight! Woooooo!¡± McCrea could be heard laughing next to him. They figured this wasn''t as big of a deal as Polk was making it out to be, even if Louden clearly had messed up. Ben, who had designs to ask Polk to marry him someday, possibly soon, wisely stayed out of the jeering. Polk and Louden looked in the direction of the men and seemed disgusted. ¡°Seriously,¡± McCrea said, entering their part of the RV ¡°Louden, you fucked up bad. That global announcement has got everybody on the planet in kind of a frenzy,¡± an extreme understatement ¡°and we don''t know who knows what, or if there''s a way to trace that stuff back here.¡± ¡°We don''t want anyone to grab the dungeon right out from under us,¡± Vaughan said, sober and focused for the first time in what felt like years ¡°This thing is big, and we don''t need to be making stupid mistakes like that. New Afghanistan,¡± he said, and everybody groaned at the name of ''their new country'' ¡°Needs us to be smart about this. Be a patriot, Louden, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. New Afghanistan,¡± he finished, smiling. ¡°Besides,¡± McCrea finished ¡°that Red Church on the outskirts of town is giving of some seriously suspicious vibes. I think they know something''s here.¡± Louden still looked defiant, but her tough exterior was showing cracks. ¡°Red Church?¡± Polk asked when McCrea didn''t continue. ¡°I thought you all would have heard of it by now,¡± he said ¡°Some of us have lives outside surfing the internet and looking at anime porn,¡± Louden said sourly. ¡°The Red Church,¡± he continued ¡°is a cult based around a mysterious character known only as ''The Master''. Apparently he''s got freaky magic powers, and answers about the dungeon. Whenever anything new happens related to the freaky suff people have been talking about on EndChan, like that sighting up in Seattle, they show up on the scene with answers, and always leave with new converts.¡± ¡°What happened in Seattle?¡± Polk asked. ¡°Some homeless guy, an alcholic I think, was muttering about bugs under his skin. Typical, right? Then, bugs actually started bursting from him and ate him alive. Nobody got a sample of the bugs, mind you, but witnesses reported that they didn''t look like any bug they''d ever seen before. The theory is that they were a psychic manifestation of the man''s hallucination, caused by-¡± Louden perked up and interrupted. ¡°I bet they''re here because of the earthquake. We''re all on the same page about that, right? That the earthquake must have been caused by the dungeon?¡± McCrea gave her a skeptical look. ¡°The one like a year ago? With the floating boulders? That would be the best case scenario.¡± Louden had brightened up, having apparently already absolved herself of any guilt in the matter. ¡°Look at that, question answered. Now let''s stop talking about it.¡± Polk looked at her with steel in her eyes. ¡°I swear to God, Louden. If we lose everything because of you, I''ll mess up that pretty face you''re so proud and beat you into the dirt.¡± Louden blushed a deep blush and ran finger across Polk''s face ¡°Oh honey, you know exactly what to say to turn a girl on. I''ll go talk to Chaim, see if I can''t get him to forget all about this.¡± She laughed wickedly and ran from the RV. ¡°Well that''s totally not going to make everything worse,¡± Ben said sarcastically. Vaughan peaked his head out from the other side of the RV. He had been working on one of the three computers they had brought with them. ¡°So, believe it or not, but Louden''s not the biggest problem we have right now,¡± ¡°Shocker,¡± Polk muttered. ¡°The land the dungeon is on, you know, the land we really want and need to buy? Apparently someone bought it seven months ago, directly from the state. They bought everything surrounding it too, over a thousand acres. ¡± Ben looked up from the computer he had been working on ¡°What?¡± he had an expression crossed between shock and disgust ¡°Who the fuck would want a thousand acres of worthless land in them middle of the. . . desert.¡± He sighed ¡°Fuck.¡± Polk, who had previously been scowling and likely thinking about Louden, suddenly had a sober expression on her face. ¡°We aren''t the first people to find it.¡± She suddenly looked scared ¡°I think someone knew it was coming, and they had our idea before we did.¡± The blood from McCrea''s face drained. ¡°Guys,¡± he said ¡°I think I know why the Red Church is here.¡± 49. A cup of coffee for a calm morning Someone was screaming. The reaction was understandable, as three Chaos Lizards ran in a chevron formation, circling Goldberg''s Gun and Pawn, hissing their reptilian hiss. Melmat watched the scene from the safety provided by his third floor hotel room. His emotions were surging, but totally concealed. His disciples, however had been completely overcome, their adrenaline clearly more powerful than their training. They pointed, and ran their hands through their hair. One of them was sweating profusely. ¡°Master! Are-¡± Melmat held up a hand. ¡°Yes. Do you now see the truth of my words?¡± The man nodded, and looked humbled. Another disciple held an expensive camera, mounted on a tripod, attention trained on the three dungeon spawn who continued to circle the building and hiss loudly. ¡°Why aren''t they attacking, master?¡± The cameraman asked, recording every second. Melmat''s face remained smooth, totally focused on the scene before him. ¡°I expect we will find out soon enough.¡± Something changed in the Chaos Lizards, and the lead one bellowed a gurgling, throaty yell before spraying acid at the building from the many eyes covering it''s body, then crashing into the weakened wall. The other lizards lept and pushed their way inside as well. Melmat watched, and an all too human feeling of shame welled up inside of him. He, more than any other, had the blood of whatever unfortunate souls were in that building on his hands. His training would allow him to instantly banish the feeling, leaving his mind lucid and calm. Yet, rather than banishing the emotion, he transformed it into grief and resolve. He had a feeling that by the time this was over there would be a lot more blood on- A pulse of blue light came from the pawnshop, then two more. The front door to the building burst open, and a girl in expensive designer clothing ran out into the street, looking crazed with fear. Librorum reacted as quickly as the desire rose in Melmat, dilating his perception of time so that seconds seemed like minutes. His vision sharpened, then zoomed in on the tiny distant woman, making her suddenly life-sized. Melmat examined her, and saw a faint trail of blue light coming from her fingertips. He stared at the light for a long while, the implications wildly exceeding even the grandest expectations him and his master had theorized. The girl had channeled mana. She had done magic. It wasn''t all in vain. When time resumed it''s normal pace, Melmat found his heart was pounding. From the building burst the Chaos Lizards, one of them holding a fat, screaming man in it''s bloody jaws. It threw the man to the ground like a dog playing with a toy, and doused him in acid. The man''s screaming, and all his troubles in the world, ended. As the three lizards descended on the corpse, the woman took the chance to run as fast and as far as she could. ¨C Johnnie Smith had seen, and been responsible for many of the stranger and uglier things this world had to offer. He had once seen a man chop off his own hand and feed it to pigs, just to delay the inevitable; the rest of the man had shortly followed. He had seen a man he once called a friend shoot three people in a drunken rampage over two peanuts in a bar. He''d even seen someone stone cold sober kill four armed, superior opponents with his bare hands. Staring at the Chaos Lizards from his ground level room as they chowed down on poor Mr. Goldberg, however, was by far the ugliest. He knew they were called Chaos Lizards, how could he not? They had the words ''Chaos Lizard'' floating over their heads in green letters. Very straightforward. Johnnie was on the first floor of Hope''s luxury hotel, which was officially a Motel Six, albeit a five star motel six. Watching the lizards toss bloody chunks into the air and catch them, like they were doing a happy trick made Johnnie realize he hadn''t eaten anything in a while. He couldn''t help it, he loved to eat, and made a mental note to get some fried chicken delivered to his room. He grabbed a cup of coffee, careful not to take his eyes off the scene. ''Someone should really do something about this,'' he thought as he watched. He stared at the lizard closest to him and marveled at how ugly it was. Alligator scales, six legs and a bunch of acid spraying glands along the side of it''s body. Johnnie couldn''t get a good look at the heads of the lizards, and was glad they were focused on their meal. God knew what would happen if something else caught their attention. He pulled his gun from the nearby nightstand, and the shiny chrome glinted in the sunlight. Near the tip of the tail of the lizard closest to him, one of the acid glands pointed in his direction and squinted. Was that an eye? He could have sworn it was shooting acid earlier. With his free hand, he grabbed his coffee cup and quickly took a sip.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Well that''s strange.¡± The Chaos Lizard lifted it''s head from the pile of bloody chunks that had once been Goldberg, turned, and began running in his direction. Straight at his window, to be exact. Johnnie let loose a blistering curse and began running towards the door to his room. He fired a couple of shots from the large gun, each shot connecting and visibly impacting the creature, throwing it off balance. It hissed and began to spray acid in all directions, looking for the source of the attacks. It focused on some movement off in the distance and began running, leaving a dripping trail of antifreeze green blood behind it. ¡°Oh Jesus, oh fuck, not a dream,¡± Johnnie said, back to the door, keeping eyes locked on the two remaining lizards, still occupied with eating. He exited the room and ran down the hall, knocking on several of them as he passed while shouting ¡°If you''ve got a gun and a set of balls, grab ''em both and meet me in the lobby!¡± Johnnie went back to his room and pulled a large case out from under his bed. Inside of it was a mostly assembled automatic rifle, and five loaded magazines. With swift, mechanical motions, Johnnie assembled the gun and did a quick inspection of the magazines. ¡°Hollow point,¡± he said softly to no one in particular. ¡°Nice.¡± He exited the room, gun pointed down, walking briskly. He pounded his fist on every door he passed. In the lobby about five other men were waiting, each with various forms of highly illegal automatic weaponry. Johnnie gestured out the front door. ¡°You see all that out there?¡± A couple of the men nodded. One who had not nodded spoke up ¡°I didn''t see anything, but I hear one hell of a commotion. What''s going on?¡± Johnnie spat. ¡°Looks like a trio of saltwater crocodiles swam through some nuclear waste and came out with an extra set of legs and a real bad attitude. They just tore through the Fence''s shop and ate Chaim. God willing, they''re still eating him and distracted. Now''s not the time for questions, these things are rampaging.¡± Johnnie, without further warning, turned, lifted his weapon and pushed his way out the front door, eyes down the barrel. Two of the lizards were still fighting over Goldberg, and the third was missing. Johnnie opened fire, the rapid mechanical procession of bullets tearing open the side of one of the Chaos Lizards. It hissed in pain and protest, unable to turn as the kinetic pressure of the bullets forced it to topple. Some sort of red field burst out from the creature and shattered like glass, after which the creature immediately stopped moving. By the time the first lizard had been killed, the rest of the posse came out of the building, formed a firing line, and unloaded their weapons at the remaining lizard, which seemed frozen in shock as the bullets ripped through it''s body. It collapsed, and another red field came from the body and shattered. A man dressed in vaguely religious clothing briskly walked through the assembled men, drawing angry protest which he ignored. Several other men, dressed similarly, stood in front of the armed men and began speaking in soothing, but firm, tones. Johnnie watched as the man walked to the nearest of the Lizard Corpses, pause and look over his left shoulder, nod, and touch the body. Instantly, a blue window appeared in front of him, with several icons on it with text next to them. The man touched the window, and the lizard''s body vanished, leaving a tidy pile of skin, some coins and a large green rock. The man, visibly shaking, moved to the other body and repeated the process. The same items appeared, with one small addition. A jade ring hovered in the air for a moment, then dropped. It never touched the ground, because the man caught it and put it in his pocket. -- Louden had finally gotten the adrenaline rush from the battle out of her body, just in time for a second flood to saturate her system as she relived a specific portion of the memory. The lizards had been bearing down on her, and when she threw out her hands to defend herself. . . ¡°Oh my God, I think I''ve got superpowers.¡± Her face broke into a crazy grin and she ran back to the RV where the rest of her friends would doubtless be. All of her issues, all of her doubts had been burned away by what she''d just experienced. Louden knew she''d made mistakes, that she had let everybody down over and over again. Not anymore, she thought now I''ve got something to give back, something useful to contribute. It would be just like that time in high school, when she''d saved everybody''s life. She was the hero, once again. She threw open the door and was about to speak, when the sight of Polk holding a small orb of soft white light in her hands turned her body cold. ¡°Louden? What''s going on?¡± she asked. Louden slumped and sat down in the nearest available seat. ¡°Nothing,¡± she said ¡°Nothing at all.¡± ¡°You look absolutely wrecked, and those new clothes are filthy. What happened?¡± Everyone was looking at her now, and nobody seemed mad anymore. Louden''s face, much to her absolute shock, turned beet red, and she started to sob; great wracking, chest heaving, ugly crying. Her mortal embarrassment mingled with a crazy cocktail of other emotions, hormones, the ambient mana and stress only fueled the sobs to an even higher degree. When Vaughan came over and silently put his arm around her, that''s when the dam inside of her broke, and she lost her ability to be Louden for a while, transformed into a scared child who''d seen too damn much. She was in good company.
Your group has completed a quest! The end of Hope! Dungeon spawn from another plane of existance have invaded and are headed for the town of Hope. End the threat! Accept this quest and you will recieve tools to assist you. Though your group did very little to defend the town, the town is safe once again! Dungeon spawn from a chaotic realm seeking to establish a permanant foothold on the newly opened material plane will continue invade. Grow strong, grow wise, grow! While inside any environment with stable ambient mana, you will have access to the new System of Human Advancement. As beta testers of this system, you have the an opportunity few in all universes will ever be afforded. Hurry back to the dungeon and test your new abilities Reward: A town full of living humans! Bonus! You have gained the quest, test your might! Test your Might! Return to the dungeon and begin developing the SoHA! Defeat one hundred monsters, and clean up the remaining Dungeon Spawn who have invaded! Bonus objectives; Bring individuals of great skill, mental prowess and spiritual power to the dungeon as a sacrifice for humanity''s greater good. Issued by SoHA
50. The Jade Ring of Chaos Alice had watched it all happen from the safety of her fifth floor hotel room. With her every brush against the bizarre and dangerous elements that surrounded Ben and his town, she became more and more convinced that him and his friends could not be trusted. Her heart ached as she relived the memories granted to her by the skill, her life with Richard, all the little moments that get lost in time but which none-the-less bind two people together as powerfully as combat and shared struggle. A joke here, a small kindness there, shared dreams that frighten, shared hopes which drive. Richard was out there, in that awful, dangerous place; out of his mind and lost inside the Dungeon. She wouldn''t leave him there. She''d sworn to give him her life, and she kept her promises. With absolute conviction in her heart, she grabbed a backpack and stuffed it full of water bottles. Rather than the elevator, she took the stairs not daring to stand around for even a moment. Alice ignored the crowd of people outside who were examining piles of coins, strange rocks and scaly leather that sat on the ground. She went straight to her rental car and started to drive. She wasn''t going home without her husband. ¨C Melmat stood in the hallway outside his room in the Luxury Motel Six. Inside, four acolytes methodically took apart all furniture, inspected for spying devices, then reassembled it. One of them was carefully peeling up the carpet, and was rewarded for his efforts with a small listening device embedded in it''s underside. ¡°All clear, Master.¡± One of the men bowed to him and left, followed by the other three. Melmat silently thanked his own master for the emphasis on training to train others. ¡°No matter what, nobody gets inside. Keep guards posted for as long as is required.¡± Entering the room, he shut the door and closed the blinds. He had given the other items to Johnnie, the leader of the posse, but kept the ring concealed. Melmat pulled it from his pocket and, feeling rather foolish, firmly said a single word. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Identify!¡±
You are the first known discoverer of this item in your world. Congratulations, you have been granted The Boon of Discovery. Item is automatically identified and all effects are buffed to their maximum possible value. This is the first item drop of its kind in the world! Automatic legendary and Grand legendary effects added! Name: Jade Ring of Chaos. Rarity: Original. Rank: Perfect. A jade ring formed from liquid chaos. This is the original Jade Ring of Chaos. Soulbound 20% Distortion Blur chance upon taking damage. +100% Maximum Mana +20% intelligence +20% dexterity +20% wisdom Summon Chaos Spirit Charge 5/5 Grants the Chaos Bolt skill All critical strikes negated with Distortion Blur Grants the ability Fortune''s Favor Grants the permanent ability Chaos Walk Allows the user to die once a week and respawn in the last bed they slept in.
Melmat sniffed loudly and quickly put the ring onto the middle finger of his right hand.
Would you like to soulb-
¡°Yes.¡± Melmat said before the text could finish displaying.
Congratulations, you have soulbound The Jade Ring of Chaos.
Melmat didn''t feel significantly different. He held out his hand, and Librorum appeared as a violet purple orb. ¡°Librorum, am I smarter or wiser?¡± ¡°The ring appears to be assisting your mind by simultaneously increasing avaliable mind power, and reducing the load mental operations have on you. The wisdom increase seems to function by increasing the Organization of your mind, though the methodology through which it does this is currently unknown. Why don''t you try doing a backflip?¡± Melmat jumped into the air, and found himself in danger of hitting the ceiling. He was surprised to find he could stop just short of it without any real thought. He picked up a pen and began flipping it through is fingers, amazed at how smoothly his fingers were operating. His face twitched, and he quickly pulled a pistol out from a nearby nightstand. With a terrified scream, he put the gun to his head and fired. The bullet failed to exit the other side of his head, and just passed right through, lodging itself in the wall behind him. Melmat examined his body, and saw that it was insubstantial, a blur for a moment, then solidified once again. ¡°What the shit!¡± Liborum screamed, taking immediate control of his body and locking him in place ¡°Are you out of your fucking mind!¡± ¡°I guess that was considered a critical strike,¡± Melmat said, then started laughing like a madman. 51. The Water is starting to boil After the incident at the pawn shop, and the subsequent outpouring of emotion, everybody felt drained, and didn''t feel much like holding a grudge anymore. Despite everything, Louden was their friend, and she''d almost died while everybody was sitting around shit talking her. That sort of realization doesn''t leave the mind easily. Though they didn''t ask her, she had provided an explanation; according to her, she had gone to Goldberg''s to ''shake the fucker down'' and find out if he had sold them out somehow. ¡°You know the worst part about this?¡± Vaughan asked, draped over a couch outside the RV. They were baking in the afternoon sun, the still air hazy with smoke, cans of beer neatly stacked on the ground. Nobody said anything in response, but he had their attention. ¡°I still want to go back. Even being on the edge of that place, that dungeon. . . I felt so alive out there. Man, it was like being a teenager again.¡± ¡°I don''t ever remember feeling that stable and present,¡± McCrea said, laying on a rug near the couch. Ben''s water pipe was standing tall near his head, the desert floor a flat and stable base, the bowl half spent. ¡°It was like my whole life I''d been walking through a fog, and for the first time, I could see.¡± Louden sighed, her face pouty, before taking the bong and lighting it. ¡°It just sucks none of you got to see what I did. I was,¡± she sighed and pulled in the smoke ¡°a total badass,¡± she said while exhaling, the smoke making her voice lose definition. She closed her eyes and appeared to be drifting off into the memory, basking in the sun, before snapping back to attention and looking at Polk ¡°I feel like such an idiot.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Polk asked as she took the pipe. ¡°I was so mad at you when I left,¡± she paused looking for words ¡°or at least, I thought I was mad. I think I was just jealous,¡± she looked around, ¡°I thought you guys were looking for a way to get rid of me.¡± ¡°Naw,¡± Vaughan said, then he rotated his hands at Polk in a ''hurry it up'' type gesture ¡°You''re a badass. Nobody could replace you,¡± he said, and Polk took the hint and lit the pipe. Ben came out of the RV, holding a stack of papers. ¡°Have any of you heard of the Cult of Advancement?¡± Polk took her hit and handed Vaughan the pipe, shaking her head no, she hadn''t heard of it. McCrea''s eyes lit up dimly in reconition ¡°I saw them come up during the research binge after we went to Oaisis Moutntain,¡± he said, referencing the dungeon in the casual way they had adopted after returning. Vaughan mumbled ''New afganistan'', and took his time with the pipe. ¡°Ever find anything concrete about them?¡± Ben asked ¡°Nah. I was busier looking up typical monster weaknesses and traps found in dungeons. We still need you to let us know everything to expect when we go back, by the way. But we''ll get to that later, I''m guessing you found something?¡± ¡°Yeah, how about the time they took over the government in a midwestern town called Fern Creek back in the forties. They flooded the town, swept the local elections, and made some radical changes.¡± The blurred attention of the group sharpened a bit on Ben. ¡°What happened?¡± McCrea asked. ¡°Some Jonestown shit with an extra dose of weird. One day, everybody vanished, the place was a ghost town. Every door and window was wide open, even all the sewer lids had been opened. No bodies, but. . . well, things were sort of warped,¡± Ben said, struggling to find a way to describe what he''d read ¡°like the trash cans, right? They had weird artwork all over them, faces and all sorts of weird shit warped into them. The streets looked like they''d melted and spread everywhere like butter. The investigators kept slipping on all the loose rock that was sitting on top of the ruined asphalt. Everything was a little off, you know? Then the war happened,¡± everybody knew which war he was talking about ¡°and national attention was turned to something a little easier to understand.¡± Ben shook the papers in his hand ¡°That was a mystery until I found these old MIT papers from the twenties. Don''t ask me how I came upon them, trust me it was a total coincidence and a little bit of knowing what to look for, but I''m 95% sure the founder of that cult wrote them. Nobody''s made this connection yet, that I can guarantee. It''s all pretty scientific, but from what I''ve been able to gather, he thought he had detected a program or system or like, a blueprint that was built into the foundation of reality, the basis of evolution and learning. He started calling it,¡± Ben paused, goosebumps forming on everybody''s skin ¡°The Dungeon.¡± ¡°Well, fuck,¡± Vaughan said rubbing his arms ¡°Lets learn everything we can about this guy. What was his name?¡± ¡°The Master, that''s all I could find about him online. Funny thing though,¡± the goosebumps got more intense, making their collective skins feel like they were constricting their bodies ¡°I''ve heard Melchsee talk about him when she''s really, really drunk.¡± ¨C Johnnie was laying in bed, frowning. He turned from one side, then to the other side, not even attempting to close his eyes. He ''hmmmmmm''d loudly while turning, attempting to feel somewhat comfortable. It was not the battle with strange monsters; monsters a man in vaguely religious clothing had explained came from another dimension, that was playing through his mind. No, the scene that occupied his mental space was of him watching like a big dumb child while another man in fancier clothes, fearlessly approached monsters from another dimension and turned them into money and shiny rocks. Even that scene was only secondary to his real concern. The man had caught something from out of the air and put it in his pocket. He had turned everything else over to Johnny, seriously convincing him it was incredibly important that he hold onto the silver coins and two half dollar sized crystals he had recovered from the lizards. Johnnie, like a little baby, had just believed him point blank.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Johnnie shot up and threw the sheets off of his body. He had been a professional criminal for over fifteen years, working for some of the best conmen in the business. Vegas conmen. Yet, in that moment, staring into those intense eyes and listening to the total gravity in the man''s voice, Johnnie had eaten the shit sandwich and asked for seconds. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. While it was ringing, he mumbled to himself. ¡°Goddammit, it just ain''t fair.¡± The call connected, and Johnnie started talking ¡°Hey, Lou. I think we''ve got something to talk about, and I think you''ll be familiar with what I''m describing. Get your ass back to Hope,¡± There was a pause ¡°No, I don''t give a fuck, tell that Irish fucker Karen to go eat a dick, I need you over here.¡± Another pause. ¡°Yeah, I know. You told me so. There''s something weird going on, and I''ll listen this time. No, not over the phone, I want you and that slab of muscle to get over here and we''ll talk about it in person.¡± A long pause ¡°Ben? Danny''s kid? What''s he got to do with it?¡± ¨C Casimer awoke with a start, and realized the situation had deteriorated in his absence. All over the place, crimson tears in reality had opened, and spat out monsters. There were nearly a dozen when he awoke, and he was able to close them up without much effort, and that no new portals appeared to replace them. Casimer assumed that his absence had contributed the the situation, and what a situation it was. All over the mountain, the invaders fought with his native monsters, seeking them out and destroying them relentlessly. Worse, when they successfully killed one, which was the norm rather than the exception, they absorbed all of the mana and left nothing behind. Several of the survivors of the transport bus were starting to get a grip on their situation, and fighting back; one little boy in particular was thriving, running around and gaining strength at an alarming rate. Then, finally, the petitioners. Flying around the peak was a swarm of tiny green people, humanoid moths if Casimer had to describe them, anywhere from six to twelve inches tall. Buffeted about by the wind, which the creatures clearly commanded, were large packages. They were singing, constantly singing, their little voices echoing farther than he could have imagined for something so small. Their song had only two lines, repeated in endless variations and tones. The land long promised, found at last. Our endless exile, finally is past. Melchsee was nowhere to be found, and no matter how he called her, she would not respond. ¡°Fine,¡± Casimer boomed, the entire Dungeon of Oasis Mountain trembling ¡°I''ll take care of this myself.¡± Casimer got to work, utilizing a natural cave system in the mountain and expanding it. He hollowed out large cavities and connected them with smooth, circular passages that ended in sheer drops concealed by thin stone that would break under the weight of anything bigger than a large dog. The entrance was easily accessible, and seemed to invite entry. The entire structure was a trap, a jail designed to capture and hold anything foolish enough to be enticed. The moment he completed it, a status window appeared and informed him he had created a new structure, then gave him a list of new materials he''d never encountered before. It was fascinating, and Casimer swore to himself to look into it later, when he wasn''t so busy. It was obvious to him that the dungeon spawn were mostly mindless beasts, driven to seek out the highest concentration of mana possible and consume it. Thus, there was an easy way to lure them in. Conveniently, the list of materials had something that was the perfect bait.
Name: Mana Crystal. The keys to magic and the foundation of a civilized world, the ability to store and transport mana in a stable medium has long been considered the backbone of true prosperity. These crystals are formed naturally in dungeons, and may be synthesized by an alchemist. The light purple of these crystals indicates that the mana they contain is exceptionally pure. This item has universal uses among all trades.
Each and every crystal formation Casimer created hurt, both from the sheer amount of mana needed to make them, and the effort of holding such a magically dense material together. He placed them on the walls and ceilings over the pitfalls and waited. It didn''t take long, the first crystal placed made each and every dungeon spawn, all of which were chaos lizards, snap their heads in the direction of the new cave, and they rushed towards it. One at a time, they entered and turned towards the nearest formation of mana crystals, and promptly fell into their inescapable cells. They scratched at the walls and spat acid and hissed in rage. But they couldn''t get out. Casimer adopted Ben''s human body just so he would have a face to smirk with. Stupid animals. Like insects to sugar. Satisfied, he turned his attention to the little boy, who was accumulating Mana at an alarming rate and seemed to be able to yell at the ground until some sort of rock monster jumped out of it and followed him around, defending him and doing a damn good job of defeating pretty much anything it came up against. More worrying than that, was the fact the the boy had amassed a small army of about fifteen of these things. ¡°Hmm,¡± Casimer said ¡°What to do about that.¡± He turned his attention to the other survivors, all scattered about and struggling to stay alive. Most of them had manifested some sort of ability of one variety or another, but none of them had. . . adapted, quite as enthusiastically as the little boy. If Melchsee were around, she would have suggested something horrible to quickly end the threat. ¡°She''s not around though,¡± he mused aloud ¡°and I''m not really starving to death,¡± he continued ¡°and he is a fierce little bug,¡± he admitted ¡°so. . . why not just. . .¡± Casimer''s borrowed eyebrows rose and his face smiled ¡°let him be? He''s really just doing a great job cleaning the place up. These monsters have been breeding unchecked, and Ben just cant keep up with it these days.¡± He sent the boy an open ended quest to kill as many monsters as he could before the end of the day. Casimer smirked again when he saw the boy double his efforts. Satisfied that he''d found the optimal solution, Casimer willed a status window into existence in front of him. Instead of a blank, blue window, which was the default, it now contained an icon of the planet earth in high resolution pixel art, viewed from space. The colors were bright and exciting, and the world turned slowly, next to it was written ''Welcome to the System of Human Advancement Beta''. Casimer tapped on the screen, and it began to display information. Detailed information, all about him. Skills, abilities, and paths to improve that he had frankly never considered before. Casimer admitted that he didn''t understand any of it, but it all sounded great. The borrowed body of Ben dissolved in a cascade of pink slime; Ben hated it when he did that, and reformed in the radio tower control room. He picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. ¡°Ben? Hey, little buddy! Could you come over real fast? I need some help making sense of something,¡± a pause ¡°Friends? You have friends? Oh, those friends. Sure, bring them. I can give them the tour.¡± High overhead, the singing continued. Casimer looked up, then did a brief sweep of the mountain with his awareness. Another rift had formed, and this one was wasn''t closing. A chaos lizard crawled from it, hissed, then ran towards Casimer''s trap. ¡°Yeah, just tell them thing''s are a little off kilter at the moment. You''ll want to come armed, definitely, yeah.¡± 52. The Oldest Civilization on Earth Melchsee, as she approached Melmat''s new lair, was prepared to give him a through tongue lashing. It had been nearly a year and a half, and the most he''d done was send a brief message that summed up as ''I''m alive'', and ceased all communication after that. Unacceptable. She was patient, however, and had chosen to infiltrate his little organization and see what was going on first. Instead of a six foot tall, porcelain skinned humanoid spirit, she had changed her form to something a little more casual. She wore torn jeans and a jacket that wouldn''t have been out of place in the eighties, her hair an acid green spiked mohawk. Her features were still a little inhuman, her eyes just a touch too big, but she had her pride. She''d instructed the whelp as much as the master had, taught him everything she knew, helped him create Librorum; she was the one who had guided him through the spirit world the first time. She knew exactly what she was going to tell him, too. That instead of a motivated, clear headed initiate in the mysteries, they had instead needed to rely on a stoned buffoon and she had wasted much precious time whipping him into shape. She would take special pleasure in telling him that Ben was a much better student, regardless of how subjective the truth of that statement was. Then she''d insult whatever ill-thought out plan he had put together, tear it all down, put him back in his place and tell him what the real plan was. The church, because that''s all it could be at this point, had two armed guards at the door. They were dressed in robes that did little to conceal the body armor they were wearing. It was the good stuff too, not that kevlar garbage they gave to police, the kind of body armor you can only get from a military R&D research facility. At least he had set up competent security. Upon seeing her approach, one of them used a radio pinned to his robe and spoke into it. ¡°I''m hear to join up with your little club,¡± she said, standing boldly infront of the guard ¡°Let me in.¡± ¡°Someone''s coming out to meet you, Ma''am,¡± the guard on the left ¡°The high priest isn''t in, his second is-¡± he stopped talking, putting a hand on his earpiece ¡°Right. Head on in, he''s waiting.¡± Melchsee frowned a little, giving both guards the stink eye, then walked through the front door. A man in white robes stood off to the side, ready to escort her. ¡°I''ll take you to. . .¡± his eyes went wide, and his face went white ¡°please follow me.¡± She knew immediately that he''d seen through her disguise. That wasn''t easy, and took years of training. ¡°Hurry it up,¡± she snapped, and they started walking. Their procession through the complex attracted stares, and she could tell a full quarter of them had also seen her true nature right off the bat. It was making her a little uncomfortable, and also curious; she''d never seen this many people at that level of development gathered together in one place; not outside of their ancient and venerable culture, in any event. They reached a back office, and the door was opened for her. She gave everybody the stink eye again and entered. Melmat''s second in command was prostrated on the ground in a bow, stiff as a board. ¡°The high priest told us to expect a visit from you,¡± he said ¡°and now you are here. I must extend his apologies in his absence, and if you would permit me, I can offer an explanation in his stead.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She stared him down for a full minute, not saying a word. Really took stock of Melmat''s ''second in command'', then promptly deflated. ¡°Rise,¡± she said, sounding tired ¡°Tell me what''s going on here.¡± ¡°Melmat has prepared a report for you, please read through it and then we can talk.¡± He handed her a stack of typed papers about the size of a manuscript. Melchsee took the document and began rapidly flipping through it, eyes resting on each page for but a moment before moving on to the next one. She read with no expression on her face, and in under a minute, she was finished. Without warning, fire consumed it, burning bright and hot, and she dropped it on the concrete floor. ¡°That clears some things up,¡± she muttered, then she made eye contact ¡°So, thing''s didn''t work out with Molwes, I take it?¡± ¡°I never got the chance to find him, Melmat tracked me down and offered to teach me himself. After his initiation at that backwater college, how could I say no? If you don''t mind me saying, I think I made the right choice.¡± ¡°Melmat is an infant,¡± Melchsee said without heat ¡°and Molwes would have served you better in the long run. He is a wonderful teacher, even if his personality leaves something to be desired,¡± she rolled her eyes ¡°To say nothing of his assistant. Have you taken a name yet?¡± ¡°I''m just Frank for now. It''s not my original name. Please forgive me, but I doubt I could have ever achieved the power I have now under Molwes''s instruction,¡± Frank said. ¡°No, you would have nothing like the power,¡± she said the word with distaste ¡°you''ve been taught to use. That''s the point, and I''ll tell you why. Molwes would have instructed you in the philosophy and traditions of the mystery schools. It would have been years before he taught you even the smallest trick you''ve learned here, and do you know why?¡± Frank frowned, and said nothing. ¡°It is because these powers are dangerous, and careless use of them risks exposing these secrets to the world at large. The buddists, an excellent recruiting ground, would call the teaching of Siddhas without any religious training an abomination. When they find us, they''ll capture Melmat and put the rest of you to death. They''ll burn the earth to cinder for what''s been done here, and that''s no exaggeration. ¡± She waved her hand in the direction of the rest of Melmat''s church. ¡°I''ll make it clear. You people are not monks, or priests, or masters. Melmat is training you as soldiers.¡± Frank made eye contact and kept it, the first time he bothered to show Melchsee that he had a spine. Melchsee smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Your master is doing very well, and you should be proud. We don''t need priests and calm monks meditating on enlightenment. We need people who can stand against what''s coming out of the dungeon. More than that, we''ll need them to stand against the might of the powers of the earth.¡± ¡°Who, the Buddhists?¡± ¡°No, don''t be dense. What''s the oldest civilization on earth, Frank?¡± ¡°I can''t say for sure, but the Chinese have the longest history in civilization. It''s been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times, but they''ve recorded most all of it, at least three thousand years worth.¡± ¡°No, it''s not the Chinese. It''s us, Frank. We''re the oldest civilization on earth, a secret civilization. Our recorded history stretches back almost twenty five thousand years, and some of the most carefully guarded bits from long before that. From master to student, an unbroken chain of tradition and teaching. When nations fall, when society crumbles, we remain and the conquerors come to us for guidance. Every secret, every trick of every nation passed and forgotten, all of their wisdom is in our hands. We are the keepers and the shepherds of the earth. And what we''ve done here, the thing we''ve summoned, this little school? They will be utterly relentless in our destruction, be assured of that. Nearly two thousand years ago was the last major rebellion against their order, when a man walked about in broad daylight teaching these powers, as you''ve called them. They crucified the man responsible, and have spent thousands of years slowly and methodically destroying his work. They desire nothing greater than the masses to return to the quiet slavery that was the norm for most of history.¡± ¡°No pressure,¡± Frank said, eyes wide, his clever mind making connections almost faster than he could keep up with. ¡°No pressure,¡± Melchsee repeated, eyes soft. 53. A peaceful drive through the desert Polk had an old flatbed pickup truck, and Ben had strongly advised they take it; Their best driver, Vaughan, was behind the wheel and the rest of them were piled into the back, armed with mana rifles and a shoot to kill attitude. They drove along at a brisk clip, Vaughan expertly found the optimal route between potholes and highly uneven asphalt. They had entered dangerous territory ten minutes ago, their certainty granted to them by the status window that had appeared in front of each of them at the same time, nearly causing Vaughan to crash.
You have entered the Mana Wilds Zone information: Dungeon spawn have invaded this zone. Defeat them for unique rewards. The native environment has been affected by the increased mana levels, causing accelerated and enhanced evolution in the Mineral, Plant, Animal, and Elemental kingdoms. Safe Zones: The ''Green House'', owned by Ben Mikalski. This area is a designated safe zone, and all monsters will avoid it. There is no guarantee of safety in a safe zone, be advised. Zone Quests: Defeat the dungeon spawn; Thin the herd; Outward Expansion
¡°I think we should do some quests,¡± McCrea said, breaking the silence. Nobody had said anything since they had received the notification, each expecting a horde of rampaging demons to erupt from the ground or the horizon at any moment. So far, nothing. ¡°Trust me,¡± Ben said ¡°I''d like to. But these Mana Wilds weren''t here yesterday, and neither were these Zone Quests or dungeon spawn. Casimer gave us a free pass through the dungeon so that I could come and talk with him about something important. We just had the global announcement, and I''m pretty eager to get some answers.¡± McCrea eyed him and then laughed. ¡°Let''s take a vote,¡± he said into the walkie talkie that let him communicate with Vaughan. Everybody turned to him ¡°All in favor of doing a quest, say aye.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Everybody said, then looked at Ben. ¡°Aye,¡± Ben memed, laughing ¡°Sure, why not. But only if it''s on the way, all in favor?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± everybody said again, including McCrea. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and began scanning around. They drove on, and soon the mountain was in sight, it''s peak rapidly rising out of the horizon. ¡°Question,¡± Louden asked, grabbing everyone''s wandering attention. ¡°That mountain''s fucking-¡± she paused and collected herself ¡°Its pretty big, right?¡± ¡°Did you just catch yourself swearing?¡± Polk cut in, looking very concerned ¡°Are you ok?¡± ¡°I nearly died yesterday,¡± she said ¡°and I''ve been examining my, how to say, life choices. They don''t paint a pretty picture. That''s not important though, sweetheart,¡± she gave her a side hug, and Polk returned it. ¡°Yeah,¡± Ben said, ¡°The mountain was about eighteen thousand feet last time I checked. It''s only gotten bigger. I bet you''re wondering, how the hell can''t we see this thing from town?¡± Louden nodded, still hugging Polk. ¡°Long version or short version?¡± ¡°We''ve got time, don''t we?¡± ¡°The space around here has been well and truly warped by Casimer. Imagine everything in the world is sitting on a level plane, like a flat sheet, hang on,¡± he said, and pulled a skill ball out of his backpack and crushed it. His eyes started to glow like there was a flashlight behind them ¡°This skill is called Illusion, it lets you create holograms from your thoughts. I''ve only got about twenty seconds, so let''s make them count.¡± In front of Ben, a blue grid appeared in the air, parallel to the ground. ¡°This is regular space, it''s flat and direct, the distance between any two points is the same. This,¡± he said, and a pit sunk in the center, going deep ¡°is the dungeon. There''s only one way in and out, this road. You can''t approach it from any other direction, you''ll just pass right over it,¡± he said, and a layer of space covered the top, covering it, ¡°You can''t see it from above, you can''t see it from the sides, you can only see it from this direction.¡± The group stared at the projection for several long moments before it winked out of existence. ¡°That is an oversimplification, mind you, and I''m comfortable telling you that I''ve only conveyed a general idea. A physics expert,¡± ¡°You mean a physicist,¡± McCrea cut in. ¡°Yeah, a physicist,¡± Ben said ¡°They''d probably be able to explain it better, or put a bunch of holes in what I just said. None the less, that''s basically what''s happened.¡± ¡°So, it is kinda underground,¡± Louden said, a bright expression on her face ¡°like a dungeon. I mean, I thought it was weird calling a mountain a dungeon, right? Dungeons are underground.¡± She said that last part with absolute certainty, like it was really important to her. Ben coughed, then nodded his head. ¡°Absolutely.¡± ¡°Contact,¡± Vaughan said over the radio, ¡°On our two.¡± They all looked ahead to the right, and saw their first monster shambling about. It was huge, like an inverted cone, flat topped with six rubbery, tentacley legs. McCrea stared at it through the binoculars and made a sound of disgust. He handed them to Ben. It was an enormous, corpulent, fleshy creature with no visible mouth, covered from top to bottom with eyes. From the eyes, the occasional bolt of light could be seen, burning scraggly desert shrubs and rocks. The creature seemed to be attacking anything that wasn''t bare ground indiscriminately. Ben repeated McCrea''s sound of disgust and handed the binoculars to Polk, who looked at the creature, made the same sound of disgust, and gave them to Louden, who looked and repeated the sound.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Yeah,¡± Polk said, finger on the trigger ¡°No. That thing''s gotta got.¡± She took the radio ¡°Vaughan, we''re taking that thing out, over?¡± ¡°Copy,¡± he said, taking it in stride. Everybody got their weapons ready, and Ben stared at them like they were aliens. ¡°I think you''re all taking this a little too in stride,¡± he said, a bewildered expression on his face. ¡°I think you need to nut up or shut up,¡± Louden said, and fired a warning shot at the creature. The attack fizzled out long before it reached it''s target. Ben shook his head and took the radio. ¡°All right driver, start circling that thing and we''ll start shooting. I don''t know what it''s capable of, so the moment our shots start connecting, I want you to maintain that distance, over?¡± ¡°Copy, over,¡± Vaughan said, and turned a hard right. ¡°Cycle your shots,¡± Ben said ¡°Don''t shoot till it''s your turn. You''ve got unlimited ammo, but not unlimited mana. Don''t burn your weapon out, and don''t burn yourself out,¡± Then he smiled, the situation finally resolving itself into something he was familiar with ¡°and most importantly, lets have fun, all right? Vaughan,¡± he said over the radio ¡°Begin psychological warfare.¡± Polk''s flatbed had very powerful outdoor speakers installed on it, a gift from Louden several years ago on one of her birthdays. ¡°Hey Ben,¡± Vaughan said over the radio ¡°I''m changing the plan,¡± They had agreed on Flight of the Valkyrie as their choice of psychological warfare. Instead of that, Ben felt his body clench up involuntarily when he heard that Goddamn voice. ¡°Hello my dear friends! Well here I am on record at last,¡± It was Living in the Sunlight by Tiny Tim. ¡°My car!¡± Vaughan shouted, his voice cutting through all sound, head out the window ¡°My rules!¡± Ben hated this song. Everybody else in the group loved it. There they were barreling towards some interdimensional monstrosity, and instead of appropriate battle music, Ben got this. ¡°Fuck it!¡± Ben shouted, and started firing full auto, screaming the lyrics as he did so. Vaughan was also screaming the lyrics as loudly and as off key as he possibly could. When it came to singing badly, nobody could outdo Vaughan. ¡°Wooooo!¡± Polk shouted, and joined in, firing controlled bursts. The monster began to scream, a psychic scream of pure agony at the music. Ben knew it was the music, because none of their shots had connected yet. It started firing back, slowly walking towards them, it''s shots also falling short. ¡°My friends are fucking insane!¡± Louden screamed, and started firing as well. ¡°Contact in t-minus five,¡± McCrea yelled ¡°Four! Three! Two!¡± He never made it to one, and the creature began to buckle as the sustained fire of the vehicle finally hit. The smell of burning flesh and the sight of yellow, pus-like blood only served to fuel their adrenaline rush. ¡°Foolish Sub-Creatures!¡± It projected outward, it''s voice like a deep boom of a bomb ¡°I am Vis-Tar berok, the ravager!¡± ¡°You''re dead!¡± McCrea punctuated his intelligent rebuttal with a full auto, sustained fire that threatened to burn his rifle out. A red bar appeared above it''s head and began to plummet. One of it''s legs gave out, and it toppled over, the sight of it''s enormous flat top revealing a circular mouth full of rings and rings of razor sharp teeth. ¡°Nasty!¡± Ben said, and began firing into it''s open mouth. It was over in under a minute, the creature giving out a final yell, then falling dead. Ben expected it to vanish, like Casimer''s monsters, but the body laid motionless, glowing. ¡°Pull it over,¡± he said into the radio ¡°Lets loot this thing and get moving.¡± The jeep came to a stop in front of the corpse, and they all piled out. ¡°Ok, everybody pose,¡± Louden said, pulling out her phone and a- ¡°A fucking selfie stick,¡± Ben, Vaughan and McCrea all said at once, disgusted. ¡°Boys will never understand. Now get into the shot or I''ll shoot you,¡± she said, totally serious. They all huddled together, the Dungeon spawn''s lifeless body towering behind them, holding magic rifles, and posed with big smiles on their faces. ¡°Cheese!¡± She said, making a duck face and taking several photos. ¡°Damn I''m good,¡± Vaughan said, looking proud of himself, then kicked the body for good measure. All he got for his effort was a boot covered in gross slime. He didn''t seem to mind. Ben reached out and focused, then a status window appeared.
Convert?
Ben willed it to be so, and the body vanished, leaving several vials of yellow liquid and a large white book behind.
Vial of Yellow Ichor This substance is the blood of many denizens of the Legendary Plane of Infinite Wild Magic. It has a number of uses in Alchemy and the forging of equipment.
You are the first known discoverer of this item in your world. Congratulations, you have been granted The Boon of Discovery. Item is automatically identified and all effects are buffed to their maximum possible value. This is the first item drop of its kind in the world! Automatic legendary and Grand legendary effects added! Name: The Blank White Book. Rarity: Original. Rank: Perfect. This item unlocks the Limited, Unique class of Sage (1 of 7), and will be consumed upon use. The SoHA class system is not operational yet. Due to this, the use of this item will be modified until the system is fully online. This book grants the ability to record and grant skills. Skills must be manually added. This is the original, and only Blank White Book. This item can be Soul-Bound! Beware of thieves until this item has been bound. +500% Duration of granted skills +200% Rate of skill growth +100% chance of successfully learning a skill from this book +200% charge rate from Mana crystals This book can accept monster and dungeon cores for the purposes of charging. This Book has a zero percent chance of being consumed on use. This book can contain both active and passive skills This book can be used to attach a skill to an item This Book can hold an unlimited number of skills Skills recorded in this book have a very small chance of spontaneously evolving to a more advanced tier. This book allows every user to permanently select two skills for unlimited use, without restriction. There is no limit to the number of users who can use this ability.
¡°Dude,¡± Ben said, reading the item description out loud. ¡°Game changer. First, we''ve got to decide who gets this beauty. Second, We''ve got to get back to my place, right now.¡± 54. Slot Machine Melmat was having a wonderful evening. It seemed that no matter how many times he pulled the slot machine lever, he just couldn''t manage to lose any money. Sure, he didn''t win every round, but when he did win, he won big. There wasn''t a discernible pattern to it, and Melmat would have noticed if there was, but he did notice runs of small wins and runs of big wins. Even better, to the growing crowd around him, he just seemed to be having an extremely lucky streak. He was wearing a white button down shirt with the top three buttons undone, a gold chain, aviator sunglasses and a large cigar in his mouth. His every movement oozed confidence, and inspired a single thought in the minds of anyone who saw him; what an asshole. ¡°All right,¡± Melmat said in an exaggerated, boastful voice ¡°That''s enough of these slots. Who wants to come play some craps!¡± A number of people exchanged glances and followed him to the craps table. All around him, the roar of gambling served to put people into an altered state of consciousness, making them do things they wouldn''t normally do. Melmat looked at his bucket of chips and realized he''d made far too much money to get out of the casino without trouble. Even though he''d come here to find some trouble, that wasn''t the kind of trouble he needed right now. With a sly smirk, he reached into the bucket and began throwing the contents like chicken seed to get the crowd''s collective mind thinking the right way, then dumped the entire contents on the ground. Melmat felt the ring on his finger, and the moment the pandemonium began, he stepped across reality outside the casino. Chaos Walk, the skill was called, and Melmat knew that in any other point in history, this ring would have allowed him to take over the world, no questions about that at all. He used the skill several more times, Liborum helpfully highlighting the position and arc of all the security cameras in Vegas, creating little dark pockets in his vision that represented the blind spots that he jumped to and through, exiting the boardwalk and cutting a rapid line across the map. Finally he stopped in an empty parking lot, body coated in sweat, but not from exertion. No, he could jump around all night with this ring and not feel it. Liborum appeared, but not as a book; instead she was a voluptuous woman made entirely from large sheets of paper with small, shifting text that moved around like the shadow of rain on a car window at night, flowing around her in an upward spiral. She was breathing heavy, hands on her breasts, an expression of intense, painful desire on her features. ¡°I''m sorry,¡± she panted ¡°Your emotions are too powerful for me to regulate.¡± Melmat knew exactly how she felt, because she was feeling what he was feeling. The rush of power; the giddy surge of sexual energy that was raging through him; the crazy, animal anticipation of what was coming next. He knew the time, his internal clock rivaled anything the Swiss watchmakers had ever produced. They were coming, and soon. He''d paid good money for results and punctuality. Still, he had a little time to check the status of his ring. ¡°Advanced Analysis, Liborum, please.¡±
Name: Jade Ring of Chaos. Rarity: Original. Rank: Perfect. A jade ring formed from liquid chaos. This is the original Jade Ring of Chaos. Soulbound 20% Distortion Blur chance upon taking damage. +100% Maximum Mana +20% intelligence +20% dexterity +20% wisdom Summon Chaos Spirit Charge 4/5 Summon Chaos Spirit (Advanced Analysis) Conjures up a powerful chaos elemental to serve the soulbound bearer of the ring. The spirit will not vanish until banished or destroyed by outside forces. This being possess the ability Fortune''s Disdain, Chaos Bolt, Chaos Walk, Self Destruct and Minor Illusion. Grants the Chaos Bolt skill Chaos Bolt (Advanced Analysis) An offensive strike of concentrated chaos. Causes burning, cold or electric damage randomly upon impact. Has a chance to Confuse opponent. This ability draws upon the power of The Jade ring of Chaos, and has no personal cost. All critical strikes negated with Distortion BlurIf you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Distortion Blur (Advanced Analysis) When critical damage would be sustained, the body becomes insubstantial instead. Normal strikes will not trigger this effect. Grants the ability Fortune''s Favor Fortune''s Favor (Advanced Analysis) Turns all random outcomes to generally be in the user''s favor. This ability can be toggled on and off at will. Grants the permanent ability Chaos Walk Chaos Walk (Advanced Analysis) An ability possessed by powerful spirits of the Dungeon Plane of Chaos that allows them to instantly transport between two locations. Possession of this power is considered Legendary, as it is normally impossible for any other than chaos spirit to learn. This ability cannot be used to enter the Dungeon Plane of Chaos. This ability draws upon the power of The Jade ring of Chaos, and has no personal cost. Allows the user to die once a week and respawn in the last bed they slept in. (Advanced Anaylsis) Once per week, if the soul-bound owner of this ring dies, they will be reformed in the realm of chaos and awaken in the last bed they slept in at dawn. There is a high chance of a mutation that lasts no longer than an hour upon awakening. There is a chance of a mutation that lasts no longer than the next sunrise. There is a small chance of a mutation that lasts no longer than the next orbital cycle to the current planetary alignment. There is a very small chance of a permanent mutation. Depending on your actions in the Dungeon Plane of Chaos, bits of chaos may cling to you and follow you to your resurrection point! Be very careful, as these stowaways are often hostile. It is possible to bring no more than one object back with you from the Dungeon Plane of Chaos Weekly Resurrections slowly increase the chance of all kinds of mutations, and of allowing a denizen of chaos to enter our realm. These chances will return to baseline each consecutive week the user does not die. Each consecutive week the user does not die, the chances of a negative outcome will decrease. This ability draws upon the The Jade ring of Chaos, and has no personal cost.
When Melmat looked up from the window, he saw a group of large, tough looking thugs. ¡°Evening,¡± one of them said ¡°You our client?¡± ¡°I am,¡± Melmat said, an involuntary tremor running through his body. The man noticed and shot a glance to one of his associates. ¡°And you''ve got our payment?¡± The man seemed to be trying and mostly succeeding at containing the skepticism in his voice. To answer, Melmat pulled a fat envelope from his pocket and tossed it to the thug. ¡°No matter what happens,¡± Melmat said ¡°You will not speak of what happens here to anyone. You might not believe me right now, but by the end of this I expect you will understand.¡± Melmat shot each of them a hard stare ¡°I will know if you do, and you will not like the consequences.¡± One of the thugs laughed. ¡°You''re a nut!¡± Their leader, the one with the money, shut him up with a look, and then resumed counting. When he was finished, he chuckled. ¡°All things considered, I''m at a loss as to what we would have done if you hadn''t brought it all. You sure about this? I don''t care how crazy you are and what kind of fucked up beliefs you have, you''re gonna die here if you say yes, guaranteed,¡± he said, then patted the envelope ¡°paid in full.¡± ¡°I go down fighting, I promise not to kill any of you,¡± Melmat said, loosening his body and preparing for combat ¡°and I promise I''ll let you win.¡± ¡°Crazy fuck,¡± one of the other men said, then rushed forward and went to deliver a devastating gut-punch; he yelled out in surprise when he instead stumbled forward, his fist passing right through Melmat. ¡°Come on, you''ll have to do better than that you faggots,¡± Melmat taunted, getting their hackles up. They descended on him as a group, punching and kicking; most of them connected, but any time a blow would have knocked him out or incapacitated him, he blurred from existence, and the thug connected with nothing but air. Eventually, however, the prolonged fight began to take it''s toll. The pain was incredible, made even more so because of the ''death by a thousand cuts'' nature of his execution. He didn''t fight back except to goad the criminals on, an occasional shot to the nuts or some other dirty blow that enraged them to comical levels. He felt himself drifting away, laying on the ground, their feet stomping him into the pavement. They''d already tried to crush his skull several times, but they just kept hitting the ground. Melmat''s final thoughts were that these men would absolutely talk about what happened here tonight. He was counting on it, he needed to bring more attention to this area, to get more people looking for the source of the disturbances in the world. The dungeon needed them to come, needed them to come and die. Melchsee was quite clear in the brief, clandestine write up of the situation she''d managed to send him nearly a year ago. Melmat''s body stopped moving, and the thugs gave it a couple of extra kicks for good measure. They all sat around, breathing hard. ¡°What the fuck was that,¡± one of them muttered, shaky hands reaching for a pack of cigarettes and then placing one between his lips. ¡°I wasn''t expecting to have to fuckin sweat over this, Christ!¡± Then, something else unexpected happened. Melmat''s body exploded into shards of blue light that vanished as they rose into the air as if pulled by gravity. The men jumped back, several of them had been hit by the phenomena and began shivering and rubbing the contacted spots. ¡°Let''s get out of here!¡± the leader shouted, and they ran. They''d never run so fast in their lives. 55. Campfire Meeting Ben was growing increasingly agitated the longer it took for them to reach the safe zone. They hadn''t spotted any more monsters visible from the road, nor had they come across anything particularly strange. No, Ben was obsessing about the book that sat in his backpack. He kept eyeing everyone around him with suspicion if they even got close to him or the pack. He was tense and unhappy, his mind was wandering down the endless path that the book provided. Ben knew what he was dealing with here, he''d seen enough movies and anime to identify this particular item himself. This thing was pure power, enough to establish a new kingdom on the earth. He shut down his thoughts, a paranoid urge telling him that someone might have picked up a Telepathy skill and hid it from him. So he stood silent, both in body and mind, waiting to get somewhere safe. ''Thank god,'' he thought to himself ''Nobody''s trying to talk to me or touch me. I''m afraid of what I''d say or do if they did.'' ¡°Aaaaaa- this is the captain of the New Afganistan monster safari vehicle,¡± Vaughan''s voice came over the radio, imitating a pilot of an airplane ¡°Aaaaa- the ''Green House'',¡± the air quotes were obvious to everyone ¡°is in sight. Please turn off your cellphones and wifi while the plane is landing. Aaaaa- I hope you''ve enjoyed your flight, this is your captain, Osama Bin Washington, signing off.¡± ¡°I really wish he would cut that New Afganistan stuff out,¡± Polk said, an expression of frustration on her face ¡°I''m afraid it''ll stick.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± McCrea said ¡°I''m thinking we''ll need to have a discussion about it.¡± Louden nodded her agreement, and Ben said nothing. Ben''s motorhome, thankfully, was untouched. The remains of their fire from a few nights ago and beer cans and bottles were all that greeted them. Everybody got out of the truck, except Ben, who stood there, frowning, wracked with internal conflict. Finally, he grabbed his backpack and climbed out of the back of the pickup, going over the side and using the tire as a foothold to get down. Quickly, before he could think too hard about it, he handed the backpack to Polk. ¡°Keep this away from me,¡± he muttered, then joined the group as they gathered around the fire-pit to talk. ¡°Why?¡± she asked, taking the pack. ¡°I don''t trust myself with it,¡± he said as he sat down, then put his face in his hands. ¡°Ok,¡± Louden said, taking the lead because nobody else was ¡°First order of business. New Afganistan,¡± Vaughan cheered loudly. ¡°It''s a stupid name and we don''t want it. Agreed?¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± everybody but Vaughan said. ¡°What! It''s an awesome name! It''s badass,¡± he said, an overly distraught expression on his face. ¡°Ok, well you''ve been overruled. We''ll let you take another swing at the name though, how about that, tiger?¡± Vaughan mumbled something about everybody''s lack of good sense. ¡°Agreed,¡± he said, without too much enthusiasm. ¡°Next order of business! How long do we want to make this little field trip? Personally, I want to get Ben''s business with this Casimer guy done as fast as possible and start the process of moving this gold somewhere more useful than the fucking-,¡± she coughed ¡°than the ground. Anyone want to suggest something different?¡± ¡°Personally,¡± Vaughan said, already recovered ¡°I''d like to go hunt some more monsters. I didn''t even get to shoot the last one, and besides, it dropped some pretty strange stuff. Speaking of,¡± he said, looking at Ben ¡°Didn''t you say that the dungeon could only drop stuff that had been brought here? I''m pretty sure nobody brought a magic book and monster blood. You didn''t bring that stuff, right?¡± ¡°No, I didn''t,¡± Ben said ¡°And that''s the way it''s been working so far, but clearly something''s changed. That monster we fought wasn''t one of Casimer''s, or at least I''ve never seen something like that around here before. I''m pretty sure that''s part of what he wanted to talk to me about. In any event, those lizards that attacked Louden and the uh. . . I''m not even sure what to call it, that thing we killed, they were way outside the boundaries of the dungeon. I don''t want anything to wander out and get back to town, let alone somewhere more populated. I second the motion, we should stay at least an extra day and thin their numbers out.¡± Ben paused ¡°Provided it''s not too dangerous, of course.¡± ¡°Third the motion,¡± McCrea said ¡°Those drops were pretty interesting, and that Boon of Discovery and the First Item bonus seems like something we''ll want to take advantage of. I''ve got a feeling this might be our only shot to acquire some really powerful stuff.¡± ¡°I''m with them on this,¡± Polk added ¡°I''m not in it for excitement or treasure. That thing looked really, really dangerous, and if there''s more like that out there, we''ve got to take them out. There''s no way I''m letting something like that get loose and start killing people.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Louden said ¡°That''s a supermajority. We''ll take a day after Ben''s done to do some monster hunting. Third order of business,¡± she said, and there was a glint in her eye ¡°Gold. Cash money, people! We''re sitting on a king''s fortune here, and it''s been vastly underutilized. Anyone got any ideas? Any gigantic nerds, for instance,¡± she said, staring directly at McCrea as she said it.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Right,¡± McCrea stood up and started talking ¡°So, there''s no way we''ll be able to liquidate that much gold all at once. It''s just not happening, period. You all should know why, but I''ll make it easy. Selling that much gold will attract attention, big attention. Federal and international attention. If any of you ask me why that''s bad, I''m not going to be your friend anymore.¡± ¡°What we can do, however, is take a shipment of gold out of here, enough to fund us and sell it bit by bit up and down the coast. We''ll draw a hundred mile radius around Hope and visit pawn shops, coin shops and metal brokers and mints outside of that radius. It couldn''t hurt to get our own mint going and melt what we''ve got down into bars or coins. I don''t know about you, but I can''t think of an explanation as to why the Gold we''ve got looks like it was pried from a solid block with a pickax.¡± He looked at Ben with humor in his eyes. ¡°We''ll sell no more than a few thousand dollars worth at a time, I''ve got some guidelines written up on exact numbers, so don''t worry about that. We''re going to treat this like it''s stolen, because as far as the rest of the world is concerned, it is. Eventually, we''re going to have to get some professional criminal help to move this stuff, and I really don''t want to do that till we can negotiate from a position of power. Do any of you happen to know anyone from China, Russia or India? No? Shame, they''ve been buying up every scrap of Gold they can get their hands on for years now.¡± He paused, and when nobody said anything, he sat down ¡°All in favor?¡± Louden asked. ¡°Aye!¡± It was unanimous. ¡°Final order of business, Ben''s Book. He wanted to have a discussion about it, so Ben, you''ve got the floor.¡± ¡°I can''t take that thing,¡± he said, face in his hands. ¡°What?¡± Polk asked, glancing down at the backpack and then back at Ben ¡°Why the hell not?¡± ¡°You guys don''t understand,¡± he said, and there was a voice in his head screaming at him, screaming loudly, that he needed to shut the fuck up. ¡°I-I just can''t. I want it too bad, I want that thing so much it''s driving me crazy. I don''t know if you''ve thought about the implications, but that thing''s pure power. Whoever''s in control of it, they''ve got the keys to the kingdom, they can bestow power on themselves and others at will. That''s a top tier ability. I can''t tell you the number of stories I''ve read or watched where that exact ability, almost to a ''T'', is the power of the villian. I want it too bad, and that''s not something a hero should be feeling,¡± shut the fuck up Ben, shut the fuck up! ¡°If you give it to me, I can promise you it''ll corrupt me. I can promise you I''ll abuse it. I know it for a fact.¡± Ben looked up. Everybody was staring at him. ¡°All in favor of giving Ben the book, say aye,¡± Polk said, making eye contact with him. ¡°Aye,¡± they all said in unison. ¡°Nay!¡± Ben said, standing up in outrage ¡°Fucking nay! Didn''t you hear me? I''m a bad choice for this! I already joined up with the dungeon rather than destroy it, don''t you get that? I''m selfish, I''ll use it for selfish reasons and,¡± Vaughan started laughing ¡°and,¡± soon the rest of them were laughing too. ¡°Book''s yours dude, we voted on it,¡± Louden said, pulling it from the backpack and holding it up. ¡°Clearly you''ve got a better idea than the rest of us how to use this thing, and honestly? I think I''m speaking for everyone here when I say this too, we''re following your lead on this. None of us had the balls to approach this place again, let alone make friends with some kind of evil god or whatever so that he wouldn''t destroy mankind. You''re the boss, and this is yours.¡± She put it in his hands and let go, forcing him to catch it. ¡°All in favor of making Ben the official leader?¡± She asked. ¡°He only gets one vote same as before, right?¡± Vaughan asked. ¡°Obviously,¡± Louden said. ¡°Aye,¡± they all said together. Ben looked at each an every one of them, searching their eyes for even a hint of doubt, even the slightest hesitation. ¡°All right,¡± he said when he finished his examination ¡°I''m doing it.¡± He looked at the book, and the status screen appeared a moment later.
Name: The Blank White Book. Rarity: Original. Rank: Perfect. This item unlocks the Limited, Unique class of Sage (1 of 7), and will be consumed upon use. The SoHA class system is not operational yet. Due to this, the use of this item will be modified until the system is fully online. This book grants the ability to record and grant skills. Skills must be manually added. This is the original, and only Blank White Book. This item can be Soul-Bound! Beware of thieves until this item has been bound. +500% Duration of granted skills +200% Rate of skill growth +100% chance of successfully learning a skill from this book +200% charge rate from Mana crystals This book can accept monster and dungeon cores for the purposes of charging. This Book has a zero percent chance of being consumed on use. This book can contain both active and passive skills This book can be used to attach a skill to an item This Book can hold an unlimited number of skills Skills recorded in this book have a very small chance of spontaneously evolving to a more advanced tier. This book allows every user to permanently select two skills for unlimited use, without restriction. There is no limit to the number of users who can use this ability. Would you like to Soulbind this item?
¡°Yes,¡± Ben said out loud.
Congratulations, You have become the Soulbound owner of The Original Blank White Book!
Ben looked up at them and smiled, a huge and open smile. Whatever darkness inside of him that had seized control seemed to have vanished entirely, like the surface of oily water after a drop of soap is added. ¡°I can''t wait to show you guys around here. You think you know, right? You think you know all about this place. Let me tell you something, you''ve got no idea how cool Oasis Mountain is. But!¡± Ben stood up, his heart nearly bursting from his chest from the overwhelming love he felt for his friends ¡°Right now, I''ve got to figure out how to load skills into this book. We should head out before sunset, so give me a couple of hours? I''m going to be in my room if you need me. Walkie talkie''s on, let me know if you see any monsters sniffing around.¡±