Time Since Reckless Self-Endangerment: 4 Days 12 Hours

Goal: Save Tarquin

Nic carefully scanned the room for a trap before advancing, but the space had none of the hallmarks of the System preparing for a battle. There was barely enough room for a fight, and no lurking threats, no hints of coming violence.

And using Archive Recall on the corpse produced nothing unusual. It was really and truly nothing but a dead body.

Iteru Frog-Man. G-Class // Dead. In life, this specimen of the small and faithful race of the Iteru served as protectors of sacred rivers and pools. Revered among his people, this monk has gone to death in quiet meditation as his world burned around him.

He reached forward and pulled the blood-colored lump from the mummy’s hands. Bits of long-dried skin flaked away. The lump was sticky and wet in his hand, and Nic nearly dropped it as a heartbeat pulsed through the mass.

Tributary Bloodclay. F-Class // Medicine. This potent physical medicine comes from the shores of the Red Bourn, a land that seethes with life so potent even the soil is animate. Cut from a rich vein of blood on an outer stream, this lump of living clay has the power to break open hidden bloodline talents or aid in evolution.

“Hidden bloodline talents? Let me see, is that where my regeneration comes from?”

“Correct. You’ve unlocked all the bloodline talents of your race at its current stage, but it might help you find some hidden thread of a more ancient bloodline within your ancestry. If we had access to more than one I’d suggest eating it immediately, entirely to see if the System blessed you with any deeply buried secondary bloodlines. As it is- We should absolutely save this for evolution.”

“We should talk about evolution soon. The sooner I break through, the sooner I’ll be ready to clear this dungeon. It should be a massive step forward in power, yeah?” All the E-Classes he’d seen were entities on another scale of power from the F-Classes. The jump between the two was clearly much greater than the jump between F- and G-Classes.

“You could crush everything in this valley, even the Guardian, if you were at E-Class.” Sofia confirmed. “The sooner we reach it the better. You’ve gained more than enough momentum to take a shot at the weaker claimants to the Dominus Nodes, and that will give you the third condition to break through.”

The living clay squirmed in his hand. Both disgusted and hungry, Nic tucked it away into his bag for now.

“We’ll hit the human camp, collect Tarquin’s message, and then…” He didn’t know. Whatever Tarquin needed help with came first, but right now, Nic wasn’t sure how he could help someone who was a world away. He knew people who won the Lottery sometimes came back as heroes who’d helped conquer a new realm for Logos - but he didn’t have time to wait until the Integration is over. “And then we’ll evolve. Everything after that, we’ll figure out as we go.”

“Agreed.”

“Now let’s get out of this valley before I get any more sunburnt.”

---

Along the way back to the temple and the cleansing fountain, Nic stopped at the first statue where he’d defeated the River-Drinker. A huge oasis had formed around its feet, little breakaway pools hosting hopping toads while large horned deer bathed in the main expanse of glittering blue water. Clouds and the bright sun were reflected in the mirror-smooth face of the lake.

He climbed atop the goddess’ shoulders and looked out. From this perspective he could see the bridges that crossed between the valley’s upper walls, and certain golden marks written across their surface. He squinted and adjusted until they fit together-

And the message unraveled into his mind.

In the seven hundredth and twelfth year,

This land that you see was rich and fertile. Rivers ran across the earth and gave green life all the sustenance it desired, nourishing great plains of grass. Crawling insects and hopping toads filled the reeds. There were boats that carried the dead towards the palace of the sun, there to be tested, and if found worthy, given an immortal life as a servant of the gods.

It was a good world.

And I will have my revenge on those who took it from me.

My name is Anet-Mu. If you are reading this message, you are destined to be part of my vengeance.

Nic let the words wash over him. Unlike the rest of the System’s messages, these ones seemed to have a soul. A faint lingering tone of bitterness trapped in every word.

The confirmation that he’d found another lore fragment was completely emotionless, by contrast.

He searched around the area a little further, mind slowly working through the implications of the message. He’d assumed the ancient words were just a record or a history of a dead world. Now, this first entry seemed to suggest they were leading him towards something, and that they had a purpose in mind when they told him these things.

Anet-Mu…

It sounded like this land was just lousy with heretics. And if Nic stuck around too long, he’d probably end up becoming one of them.

It wasn’t like he loved Logos, Pathos, or the System very much. His world…

Somebody had done the same thing to his world, hadn’t they? By the time he was born there were no blue skies, no great forests, nothing to speak of on d23 - but they had to have existed once. Before the gods of the System ate up everything and left a concrete prison behind. Before that prison filled up with generation after generation of unwanted children.

It was odd.

Until he came to this world he’d never once wondered what his own used to look like, before Logos came. He hadn’t even really thought about there being a ‘before’ and an ‘after’. The System had seemed ageless. Like it had always been there.

The cursed peach tree was still growing. Beasts were slowly pouring into the area, chewing on the bones and caracasses left behind from the last cycle as they waited for the next fruit to bloom.

Nic shouldered his pack and carried on.

There was one last message left to find.

---

As he entered the cool shadowy space of the temple, the Guardian’s stone statue was nowhere to be found. The shards Nic had broken it into had vanished.

Instead, the fountain was filling up, bright and luminous waters pouring in through three rivers that originated in the clay jugs held by the statues of the goddesses. The tiled basin in the center of the room was just deep enough to totally submerge his body in.

As he stepped inside, he heard the goddesses’ voice again.

“Temper yourself.”

“Let the strength of the river become your own.”

“Let the sacred water purify you.”

As he sank inside, the bottom of the fountain suddenly glowed. Golden hieroglyphs appeared in the waters, and one by one they shot forward, piercing through his chest and heart in a rush of powerful energy. Each strike was completely harmless, but caused his entire body to resonate with an ancient power that pushed out toxins from his skin in black globs of filth.

With each moment he felt his bones and muscles tightening, compacting to become harder and stronger. With each compression new muscle grew so that he didn’t lose mass, only gained in density. The feeling was bizarre and impossible to describe, but not unpleasant. It felt a little as if he was melting and regrowing in steady cycles.

Until the power of the well was exhausted and the last of the golden runes flickered out.

Your sin and penance have been wiped away. The guardian of the valley will trouble you no more.” The goddesses’ spoke. “But be wary. Three times we can cleanse you. If you commit a fourth sin, we have no power to spare you from your fate.”

So even with the fountain, anyone who became too greedy for the valley’s treasures would be destroyed. Nic was glad he’d chosen not to risk the curse and fill his bag with loot.

The ring on his finger shivered, and a black spectral rune was pulled out of the golden band. It struggled and shook like a living thing but was slowly dissolved into the water like ink. With that, Nic felt a burden lifted from his soul.

He burst above the surface. Even as he left the waters, the feeling of weightless drifting remained. His strength made his entire body feel light even though the density of bone and muscle had actually increased.

Essence 2,916 / 5,234

+ 12.97 per Minute

(2.162 Base)

500% Local Modifier

+ Devoured an F-Class enemy (200%)

+ Consumed a G-Class treasure (100%)

+ Rested in toxic environment (100%)

Cultivation Base (Unranked)

VI Physical Strength (Locked)

III Mental Acuity (1,073/4,000)*

I Spiritual Clarity (96/1,000)*

I Regeneration (0/15,000)

His locked Physical Strength had actually exceeded its limits and burst up an entire rank without costing him any essence. Nic grinned, turning towards the statues of the goddess and dipping his head. “Happy to help!” With a wave he turned for the entrance-

And then turned back.

The System-marked door was still there. And it still had a first clear bonus unclaimed.

It couldn’t hurt…

Or if it did hurt, it probably wouldn’t kill him...

Licking his lips, Nic made his way up the stairs. The door swung open easily at his touch, and he circulated energy to the Eight-Eyed Mantle as he stepped through, extending his senses to their limit to search for danger.

A gentle mist covered the floor and the walls. The room was empty of threats.

Instead, three small pedestals were arranged around a statue of a sphinx made from crumbling golden-brown stone. The eyes seemed to follow Nic as he walked through the room, carefully circling the display.

A pair of heavy iron manacles joined by chains sat on one pedestal.

A serpent coiled around a length of bone on the next.

On the third was the skull of an ape-like creature, flames burning in its eyes.

“You must choose one.” Said the sphinx statue, her stone lips moving. Her voice was like a golden bell. “And ascend to the valley’s heights within one hour carrying your chosen burden. If you fail, the Guardian will come for you.”

“The manacles weigh as much as your sins, and will drag you down.”

“The serpent will bite you and drink your blood.”

“The skull, you must protect, for it is the soul of one the Guardian would destroy.”

“Choose.”

Nicolas paused. It really seemed to easy. In fact, it seemed like an obvious trap. His hand reached for the manacles, since he was hoping his ‘sins’ would be fairly light-

His danger sense prickled. It was faint, but he detected a malicious power within the rusted black-iron bands. As his hand turned towards the serpent the same faint shudder ran through his senses.

Nic realized right away that counting on his ability to absorb poisons to deal with the serpent wasn’t a winning strategy either.

In the end he had no choice but to take a familiar evil. He’d faced the Guardian before, and he was confident he could go toe-to-toe for a second round if it came to that. He lifted the skull from its pedestal and watched as inky black energy flowed across the bone to form a ritual mark between the brows.

“A fair choice, although beware. The Guardian will not leave you in peace until you reach the final step of the final stair.” The sphinx warned. “In any case, it is too late now.”

Nic nodded. He was confident in his choices.

A stone door at the end of the hall grated open, and sunlight flooded in. The glow in the sphinx’s eyes dimmed as the mist covering the floor was swept away.

With the fog gone, he could see the teleportation circle on the floor now. It was another carving of the desert dungeon, showing every detail down to a tiny model of the temple he was in, nestled deep inside a huge valley that carved a scar in the earth.

Looking around he saw a gleam in the hand of a statue. A single bead of dark green glass, the same as the crystal he’d used to power the teleportation circle in the kingdom of the Sand Devils.

He finally had his way up to the river in the sky.

Of course, Tarquin had to come first. And getting out of this valley before that. But the prospect was tantalizing.

He pocketed the jewel, tucking it into his bag with the rest of the treasures he’d claimed from the valley. As he tried to stow the skull away as well, a sudden force rejected it, pushing it out of the mystic bag. Nic frowned. It seemed he’d have to carry it the old fashioned way.

As he turned for the stairs back down to the fountain room, Nic turned back briefly.

There was another set of stairs, leading up to the final floor of the temple. A System-Seal floated over the stone doorway. Like the teleportation circle, it was tempting…

But he’d have to save it for another time.