Rune Seeker

As soon as Terminal activated, pure potential lit up like the sun in Hiral’s eyes, while his runes and the double helix written in on his skin flared with energy. If he’d had hair, it would’ve been standing straight above his head in the billowing force. Maximum rank. Full power. Everything he had.

And he put it into his Rune of Separation.

Energy flowed between his hands like an electric current—sching—and that was it. No big explosion. No Troblin ripping apart in front of him. And all the built-up potential drained out of his body in an instant. Did it even work?

Then the Lord’s eyes rolled back in their sockets, followed by its head rolling back off its body. The arms around Hiral’s chest slackened at the same time the glow from his body completely faded—the Terminal ability spent—and he pushed himself out of the lingering grip while the Troblin’s body toppled to the side.

He landed with another grunt of pain, the jarring motion sending agony through his chest, and he reflexively wrapped his arms around himself. A quick look at his status window for the System Shock debuff—nothing. He’d managed to use it without suffering the penalties. This time.

“Left, banner,” Right ordered as he rushed over to support Hiral.

“It’s here,” Left said, the familiar glow washing over them and slightly easing the sharp pain. Would it actually heal broken bones? Probably not.

“Did we do it?” Right asked, helping Hiral sit on the ground without falling to get there.

Dynamic Quest Complete

You have entertained and defeated the Troblin Lord!

Please access a Dungeon Interface to unlock class-specific reward.

“We did it,” Hiral confirmed, wincing as he settled on one of the few spots of the wooden floor not carved up by the battle with the Lord. He read the notification again just to make sure, then dismissed it.

Congratulations. Achievement Unlocked: Who Needs Friends with Enemies Like These?

You have completed a Zone-Capping dungeon without the aid of others.

Please access a Dungeon Interface to unlock class-specific reward.

Hiral scanned the notification, then told Left and Right.

“Maybe something like One Man Army?” Left asked.

“Maybe,” Hiral agreed, but a quick check showed the bonus already sitting at twenty percent. Five percent increase for defeating the Boss? Nice.

“Any other achievements?” Right asked.

“Hopefully, one that fixes ribs,” Hiral said, dismissing the notification only for another to immediately spring into place.

Congratulations. Achievement Unlocked: Who Needs Enemies with Friends Like You?

You have carried an injured party member through a dungeon without their aid.

Please access a Dungeon Interface to unlock class-specific reward.

Hiral explained it quickly, then looked over at Cal. The notification made it sound like she got credit for the dungeon, which was one less thing to worry about. Still, six achievements for one dungeon would be exciting, if it wasn’t for what drove him into it in the first place. He’d need to collect his rewards, then… then what? Waiting out the hour was probably safest. Whatever. One thing at a time. He closed the window, and a seventh popped into his vision.

Congratulations. Achievement Unlocked: On to the Next Challenge!

You have cleared all three dungeons in this zone. Congratulations!

Please access a Dungeon Interface to unlock class-specific reward.

“Zone?” Hiral asked after reading it out to Left and Right. “The geography for the three dungeons connected to the Asylum?”

The others shrugged, and when Hiral closed that notification, no more immediately popped up to replace it.

“Right, can you bring Cal over to join us under the banner? Maybe it’ll help her,” Hiral suggested.

“I… think I can bring… myself,” Cal said, pushing herself up off the ground as Right jogged over to her. With his help, the limping healer woodenly sat down beside Hiral. “Looks like I got a couple of achievements while I was unconscious," she said with a forced smile.

“Glad to hear that,” Hiral said. “How are you doing?”

She looked slowly around at who was with her, and clearly at who wasn’t, then shook her head. “I… I don’t… Please don’t tell me where the others are. I don’t think I can deal with it right now.”

Hiral forced his face to stay neutral, his jaw clenching despite the pain it caused in his chest. Was it easier for her to believe the others were okay? Or that they weren’t?

“Did I hear you say something about ribs?” she asked, taking a deep breath through her nose.

“Yeah, think the Boss broke a couple,” Hiral said.

“I have an ability that can fix those,” Cal said, and she chuckled slightly at Hiral’s jaw dropping. “No, Wule doesn’t have an ability like this, but it’s got a long cooldown. Don’t get hurt too badly again for a while.”

“Deal,” Hiral said.

“Give me your hand,” she said, and he did.

As she closed her eyes, solar energy rolled off Cal, then roots made of sunlight grew out of her wrist. The glowing roots crawled from her hand to his, then up his arm and gently spread across his chest, warmth and relief following in their wake. They didn’t just stop at his ribs either, extending along his entire body, washing away his pains and even partially restoring his solar energy.

“Wow,” he said a moment later, the pain entirely gone, and his body feeling better than it had since they’d left The Mire.

“Like I said, long cooldown. Take it easy from now on,” she said, gently patting his hand. “And, thank you for taking care of me.”

“That’s what friends do, right?” Hiral said, heat rising up his neck. “Uh, want to see what kind of rewards we got?”

“I’m not expecting much since I didn’t do anything,” she said, but she accepted Right’s offer to help her up.

“Dungeon interface appeared in front of the throne,” Left said.

“Still can’t believe it was only one enemy,” Right said as they all walked over.

“One was enough,” Hiral pointed out, then waved his hand over the dungeon interface. As before, all light fled the room in the blink of an eye, then eerie torches sprang to life at the entrance hallway. Though their illumination felt like it wasn’t nearly enough to cover the entire large room, Hiral didn’t have any trouble spotting the three chests—a large one beside the pedestal, and two smaller ones. “Looks like there’s something for you.”

“Looks like it,” Cal said, her voice sounding forced.

Don’t push her too hard. She’s been through a lot, and even if she doesn’t want to talk about it, she has to suspect some of the others didn’t make it.

Hiral watched her a moment longer while she opened her chest, then turned to his. Like in The Mire, it was far more like a treasure chest than the trunk Cal opened.

“Another special reward for all the work you did?” Left asked quietly, and Hiral could only shrug and open the lid.

“Uh… this looks more broken than the sword,” Right said, looking at the pieces of crystal in the chest.

“It… does…” Hiral agreed, lifting the first curving piece of crystal out of the chest.

The edges weren’t jagged, like the sword, but whatever this had been, it’d take some work to get it back into one piece. Oddly enough, View didn’t give him any information on the object either. Maybe something my Mold Crystalability can help with?

“I think I can fix it,” Hiral said. “Whatever it is. Let’s put the pieces in one of the packs and I’ll figure it out when we get to the Asylum.”

“Sure,” Right said, fetching the pack they had and carefully sliding the new pieces inside as well.

“Oh, Left, what’s in the central chest?” Hiral asked, his double already peering inside.

“I’m… not sure,” Left said, lifting out a bag of something that clinked. “They look a lot like the crystal chips you use up on Fallen Reach as currency.”

“Money? What do we need money for down here?” Hiral asked.

Left just shook his head and shrugged. “Should we bring it with us?”

“Definitely. If the dungeon gave it to us, there must be a reason. Put it with the other stuff?”

“The other stuff I’m carrying?” Right asked.

“It’s a good thing you have all those physical stats,” Hiral said, but he couldn’t stop the grin from quirking his lips.

“I’m not a packhorse,” the double mumbled. Still, he worked with Left to add the currency to the backpack.

“Cal, what did you get?” Hiral asked, turning his attention to the healer. “Cal?” he asked a second time, when she didn’t respond immediately.

The healer jumped a little, then slowly turned, holding up a hand-mirror. “I guess Dr. Benza thinks I need to fix my hair,” she said, another forced smile on her face.

Mirror of Memories popped up above the mirror as she held it, but Hiral didn’t comment on the name—Cal was clearly hiding something about the strange object. There’d be plenty of time to ask about it later, and maybe it should be Seeyela who really talked to her. Who… told her about what had happened.

Just the thought of breaking the news to Cal had Hiral turning around and waving his hand over the dungeon interface again.

“Achievement Rewards,” he said even before Dr. Benza fully materialized, and the first notification window mercifully sprang to life.

Achievement: Kneel Before Zob

Class Reward: Ability (Active) – Intimidate (60 second cooldown)

Intimidate (Active) – Your mere presence radiates how dangerous you are. Successfully Intimidated opponents will flee or suffer penalties for thirty seconds when fighting you.

Sounds like some kind of debuff. Straight-up avoiding fights could be handy for weaker enemies, though it doesn’t say if I can use it on a group or just one monster. Needs… yup… testing.

Knowing Right and Left would learn everything about his abilities as soon as he absorbed them, he skipped over explaining Intimidate, then closed the window so the next one could pop up.

Achievement: This Isn’t Even my Final Form!

Class Reward: Class Modification – Inspirational Growth

Inspirational Growth – In extreme situations, your chance for Spontaneous Ability Evolution is increased by a factor based on your base Atn.

Spontaneous Ability Evolution? Like what the Growers have? Then again… I got Mold Crystallike that, so maybe I’ve always had it? Not something I can rely on, but it talks about extreme situations, so when I need it most. Could be handy.

A mental swipe and the window vanished, the next replacing it right away.

Achievement: Oh, Lord!

Class Reward: Class Modification – PIM Upgrade – Party Interface

Party Interface – Create a Party by linking your PIMs to communicate over long distances and know the direction of your allies.

Note: Requires initial setup after all members have received the Party Interface Class Modification.

Note (2): Parties can only be created once every 240 hours. Choose carefully.

Hrm. I wonder why it has the time restriction on it? And how long is long range? Either way, also really useful to coordinate. The battle with the Prince and the totems would’ve been way easier with this. I’ll have to see if it applies to Right and Left… Next!

Achievement: Who Needs Friends with Enemies Like These?

Class Reward: Class Modification – Killing Spree

Killing Spree – Each enemy defeated within sixty seconds of the previously defeated enemy grants the following stacking bonuses:

+10% experience gained, +2% to all attributes (Duration: 60 seconds or until a new stack of Killing Spree is obtained), +2% solar energy instantly regained, and instant minor health recovery.

Stacking attribute bonus? Even if it’s only for a minute, that has potential. Not to mention the recovery aspects. They also stack... which means the more enemies I kill, the stronger I get? Crazy! If it applies just to contributing to fights, like experience, this could really get out of hand.

Hiral hesitated before closing the window, mind running over the numbers, but finally shook his head. He’d have to see how it worked in a fight before he got too excited. One minute between enemies like Elites wasn’t very long. So, how about that next achievement?

Achievement: Who Needs Enemies with Friends Like You?

Class Reward: Class Modification – The Life of the Party

The Life of the Party – Simply being in a party with you (and nearby) grants the following buffs to your allies:

+10% to all attributes, solar energy capacity, solar energy output, and solar energy absorption.

Hiral’s jaw practically dropped. Ten percent, just for being in a party with him? It didn’t stack up like Killing Spree, but it also didn’t have any ramp-up time. And all attributes? Wow. The only question was whether or not he would get the bonus. Probably not, but maybe Left and Right? Even if they didn’t, that was a huge boon. Hiral’s hand hesitated again, just imagining the look on Yanily’s face when he saw this, then finally closed the window and moved on to the next.

Achievement: On to the Next Challenge!

Zone Reward: The Asylum is unlocked for you, as is the path leading to it.

Asylum – You’ve earned a rest, enjoy it, but remember—more challenges await.

Hrm, nothing fancy, but probably the most important achievement of the bunch.

“You got the Asylum achievement?” he asked Cal, and the healer nodded. “That’s a relief. So, here’s what I’m thinking… Ah, I should explain something first. There was… there was an Enemy outside when we came into the dungeon,” he said, skirting around the topic of Picoli. “That’s why it’s just you and me in here. Anyway, I think we should wait the full hour before we exit. Hopefully, it’ll be clear by then.”

“That… that sounds good to me,” she said absently, still staring into the strange mirror she’d received. “I’m… uh… just tired,” she added, seeing something on Hiral’s face. “I’ll be ready in an hour.”

“I could use the rest too,” Hiral said as he watched Cal slowly walk over to one of the walls and gently slide down it to sit on the floor, her eyes on the mirror the whole time.

“What do you think she’s looking at?” Left asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” Hiral said. “We’ll worry about it when we get to the Asylum. For now, let’s join back up so we can recover more solar energy. And, guys, thanks. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“We’ve always got your back,” Right said. “’Cept when Troblins are hugging you, apparently. Sorry we couldn’t get you out of that.”

“It’s okay—I handled it,” Hiral said with a cough and a wink. Then he absorbed the two doubles and sat right there in the middle of the floor to recover his energy—no way to know what they’d face when they left the dungeon.

The hour passed in no time, and with just three minutes left on the countdown, Hiral stood and activated Foundational Split.

“Cal, you ready?” he asked, and the woman slowly pushed herself to her feet and ambled over.

“Is it just me, or does she look more tired now than before?” Right asked.

“You may need to carry her again,” Hiral said. “We’ll have to move quickly.”

“No problem,” Right said, and Hiral did a quick check to make sure he had everything.

Both RHCs were on his thighs, the greatsword across his back, and he had the pack with the crystal supplies and the broken dungeon reward.

As ready as they would be, he waved his hand over the dungeon interface crystal. Ah, damn, I should’ve used the time to go through the tutorials. Oh, well, the Asylum is sure to have them too. “Dr. Benza, Exit Dungeon,” Hiral said.

However, instead of the portal appearing, Dr. Benza’s image shimmered. “Warning,” he said in a strange, almost metallic voice. “Enemy presence detected outside dungeon. Portal opening creates too great a risk.

“Calculating options. Calculations complete. Next best course of action chosen.”

“Enemy? Next course of action?” Left asked. “Why don’t I like the sound of this?”

“Exit request denied. Resetting dungeon,” Dr. Benza said, then he and the portal vanished.

“Resetting…?” Hiral asked before looking toward the interface, which was also gone. In its place, though, sat the Troblin Lord, who slowly began to stand when it saw them. “Oh shi…”

As soon as the Troblin Lord reached to the side to summon his spear, Hiral ripped the Emperor’s Greatsword off his back and charged in. Activating Eloquent and Enraged, and pouring his solar energy into the Rune of Gravity as fast as he could, he piled on the weight. Hundreds and hundreds of pounds with every inch, the blade arced around until it struck the Lord where its armored helm met its shoulders.

CRAAAACK. The sound of the impact was like a tree shattering, wood splinters exploding in all directions as the sword tore in one side and straight out the other. The Lord’s whole body twitched, and Hiral reached out with his Rune of Attraction toward the head sailing away.

The armored head jerked in the air, then landed at Hiral’s feet, at which point he flipped the greatsword around and drove it point-first straight down through the Lord’s face. A twist for good measure, then he turned his attention to the still-standing body.

“Uh… why didn’t you do that the first time?” Right asked, gently giving the body a push. The eight-foot monster toppled lifelessly over.

“Didn’t know it would give us a free shot last time,” Hiral said, eying the corpse just to make sure it wasn’t going to still jump into phase two of the fight. When it didn’t even twitch, he finally sheathed the sword on his back again and let out a breath.

“Well, with that out of the way,” Left said, pointing at the Troblin, “an Enemy outside?”

“Guess we have no choice but to wait it out,” Hiral said. “Which isn’t bad since I just threw half of my solar energy into that one attack.”

“Half?” Right asked. “You only gave us each ten percent.”

“Yeah. The sword multiples its weight exponentially by how much solar energy I put in. One percent is doubled weight, two percent is four times the weight, three percent eight times the weight, and so on and so on.” He plopped down on the ground. The drain of using that much solar energy all at once made him feel like he’d sprinted a marathon.

“So you basically hit it with…?” Right started.

“A lot of weight,” Hiral finished. “It was worth it, though,” he added, checking the experience he got from it and noticing a blinking buff notification.

Oh, Killing Spreeactivates on the first kill.

It’d fade long before they got into another fight, but that was handy to know for the future.

“Back to waiting for another hour?” Cal asked.

“Looks that way,” Hiral said, then glanced at the throne. The interface hadn’t reappeared, so they couldn’t leave even if they wanted to.

Cal didn’t seem to have the same reservations, her face slack, and she went back to her spot against the wall to sit down.

Just how long are we going to be stuck in here?

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