You have Appropriated the book, ‘The Battle Bards of the Sandalwood Basin.’ This book can now be recalled to your hand using the Summon Book power and can remain up to 1 hour. You currently have 2/50 available books in your Library. Congratulations! You have completed the Quest given by your Career, ‘Quality Bookkeeping,’ having appropriated an Item Quality 10 book that relates to a Knowledge Skill you Possess. In this case, The Book ‘The Battle Bards of the Sandalwood Basin’ relates to the Knowledge: Lore skill. You have gained 5 Career Points for completing the Quest, ‘Quality Bookkeeping.’

In the Hotel’s Lobby, Colin waited a few more short minutes for Paladin to show up. He sent the man a return message on his Information Tablet telling him that they would wait for him here but received no reply. That was of no genuine concern since the man wasn’t late yet, and Colin was sure he was finishing up some business on Earth before coming back.

Until then, He decided to wait another moment before looking into which Career Power he wanted and was glad he did. The system had decided to take its time sending him his next Career Quest.

Quest: The MindScape Book?

Description: You have Appropriated a few books to build your Library, but one does not have two books and call it a Library. Appropriate more books into the MindScape Library so that one day, you may have enough knowledge in your Memory to put Sword and Magic to shame with your power.

Objective: Appropriate 10 Books of a minimum Item Quality of 8 into your Library. Reward: 10 Career Points. Time Limit: None.

“Ten points, Hmm. That’s enough for a Tier two power,” Colin muttered, thinking about it. Then stopped and opened his Career Menu, deciding that he needed to spend the five new points anyway. He focused on the tier one choices that he hadn’t unlocked since these would be the ones he could afford.

Peripheral Learning

(5 CP) Just as something moving on the edge of your vision can catch your attention, hearing something can have the same effect on you. Any information that is spoken within 5 meters regarding a Knowledge Skill that you have at least 3 levels may add to your Knowledge Skills experience if it is new information. For the purpose of this description, the conditions of the environment must be ideal for maximum range to be achieved. Detect Knowledge

(5 CP) Everything has an aura, books and documents included. With this ability, you can see the auras of the written word, getting some semblance of what is contained within, how relevant it is to you, and how old it is before you even touch it. Written Words Might

(5CP) All of Reality can be broken down into words that can be written down as truth. This is especially true with creatures since all can be broken down into specific, unchanging facts. It doesn’t matter if the creature is Living, Dead, Corporeal, Elemental, or Extraplanar; they all obey the rules of their creation.

With this ability, any creature that falls under a Knowledge skill you possess and you have a Book in your Library that pertains to it, you gain a bonus to Damage and precision when attacking said creature. All extra Damage is considered Psionic Damage.

“Hey, Nox,” Colin spoke quietly. Checking those around him to see if anyone heard him, Colin continued when all he got was a small questioning look from a few with higher Perception Skills. “I got a new Tier One Career power. Does this kind of thing happen a lot?”

“No,” Nox stated. “This usually happens if you met a new criterion that favors your Career. Like I got extra Career choices when I unlocked the subskill for alchemy called Alchemical Enchanting. Did you get any new skills since the last time you looked?” the Goblin questioned.

“Yeah,” Colin answered. “Knowledge: GolemCraft and Knowledge: Magic.”

“There it is,” Nox said, his voice coming out a little smug. “Like Rielle told you, Librarian Careers usually focus more on knowledge skills compared to proper bookkeeping. So, those new skills you got must have been what unlocked your new choice. What was the new choice?”

Looking around and noticing a few people eyeing him, Colin shook his head, “I’ll tell you later. Too many people to overhear.”

“Hmmm,” Nox hummed in understanding and went silent.

Before getting this new choice, the Antagonist was going to get Peripheral Learning because of its more immediate usefulness. But now, and considering what he was going to do next, he decided on the Written Words Might power.

You have gained the Ability, Written Words Might. You now gain a 0.1% bonus to attack damage and attack accuracy to creature types that you have an applicable knowledge skill for and a book in your Library. This bonus increases by 0.1 % per level in the relevant skill and for every book in the MindScape that applies to the target.

Example: You need the Knowledge: Religion Skill AND a book in your MindScape Library that applies to angels or Demons to benefit from the bonuses.

It could be helpful, but Colin had no books in his Library that applied to this ability. Luckily, Paladin hadn’t arrived yet and so he had a little time to see if he had something to make it work. But before he moved, Colin decided to see what this selection had unlocked and found two options.

Literacy Bane

(10CP) The term ‘the pen is mightier than the sword is more accurate than most people would like to believe. With this power, any spells that are the Bane of a creature that Knowledge skill that you have that encompasses deals more Damage. Correct Applications

(10CP) You’ve read how to do something, so you can do it better than the average person. Any book in your Library that pertains to an active Skill (Like Acrobatics, Stealth, Sprinting) grants you a bonus to the relevant skill.

Both good but useless until he got some more points. Moving on, he walked over to the registration counter that seemed perpetually to be busy with mostly NPC’s arguing with the receptionist. Ignoring them, Colin walked over to the far side of the desk and started withdrawing the books he’d gotten from his robbery of the Prince.

When he was done with those, he pulled out the books that the Imps had grabbed in their ill-begotten search. Several of them had uses, but only one of them had been an Item Quality 10 book.

Several dozen books had been withdrawn onto the top of the desk when he was done and laid there while he looked through them with renewed interest. Annoyingly, most of them were Item Quality 7 or lower, so none of them would be helpful to his current Quest. But that didn’t mean they were useless.

From the Prince’s collection, he Appropriated books with titles like ‘The Planes of Existence and You,’ ‘What’s in the Dark and how to keep it from eating you,’ ‘How to avoid becoming the Mimic’s Dinner,’ and something called ‘Quietus and Doom,’ and several others. All of them had references to creatures like Shapeshifters, Elementals, Celestials, Infernals, Oozes, Undead, and something called Abominations. Monsters that Colin was sure he would love to have bonus damage against.

Colin had to wait for a few minutes between each book and was about to Appropriate a book called ‘Intermediate Enchanting’ when a large hand touched his shoulder.

“Yo, Walker? What’re you up to?” Paladin asked, his gave going from Colin to the books on the counter. “You enjoying yourself?”

Colin shrugged, “just playing with my Career. How about you?”

The big man shrugged, “yeah, I’d say so. Your wife’s weird, though, man.”

“How so?” Colin asked, having to suppress a smile.

“After telling her your message, she immediately asked me where you were in-game then hung up on me,” Paladin shook his head. “I don’t know; she just seemed… intense the moment she believed that I was actually talking about you.”

Colin nodded, a familiar chill going down his spine. “yup, that sounds right.”

“Whatever, man. So, what’s the plan for today?” he asked, folding his tree-trunk arms over his massive chest.

Before he spoke, Colin could feel Rielle and Larry’s eyes on him as he was about to answer the question. “It occurred to me that we could use an edge for the main fight to come with ALAN. Also, if we give the Outworlders and NPC’s a chance, they might be more prepared to join in the fight. To both of those ends, I decided that now would be a good time while the Dungeon is unguarded to seriously challenge it. How does that sound?”

All four of the people who are part of the conversation, including Nox, said nothing for long moments. The first person to speak was Larry, and his only response was, “which Dungeon is that?”

“Zagan’s Besieged Fortress,” Colin answered while waiting for anyone to tell him if it was a good idea.

Larry’s confused look curved upwards into a fierce smile. “I’m in. The Dungeon Master there is Zagan himself, and there is a large bounty in hell for the being or beings that free him.”

“Really? How does one free him?” Rielle asked the first thing she’d said in a while.

Larry grinned even wider and gave Colin a meaningful look. The Antagonist joined the Demon in its look as the thought hit him like inspiration. Months ago, A roaming Boss in the Dungeon had suggested to Colin that it was possible to free it from the Dungeon by destroying it. Initially, Colin had dismissed it as something to accomplish later but now… there was a need.

Colin started packing the books on the counter into his Dimensional Bag and readied himself to leave. Once all his things were packed, the Antagonist asked again, “last call, does anyone have any qualms that they want to address now?”

Paladin shrugged, “I’m okay with fighting some Demons. I was hoping to go into the Dungeon eventually while I was here, so this works out for me.”

“I know Larry’s response, so what about you, Rielle?” Colin asked.

She shook her head, “I don’t think it’s a good idea. It wasn’t that long ago that we last attempted the Dungeon and got out. Not to mention that you killed and pissed off Janaxi when we last tried. If he remembers us, he is going to be pissed and probably have something ready for us.”

Nodding along with her argument, the Antagonist found only one flaw in her statement. “All that is true, but we are also stronger and more prepared this time, too,” Colin said, gesturing to Larry and Paladin. “He’s not a real Paladin, but he’s pretty good.”

“And?” Larry said, rolling his hand to keep Colin going.

Rolling his eyes, he asked, “Really?”

“If you would,” Larry told him, smiling.

“Ugh, and we also have Larry, who has proved to be a good choice of Familiar and is also a pretty good fighter.”

“I appreciated that,” Larry told him, turning away from the group and walking towards the Lobby’s exit.

“He’s also arrogant,” Colin stated, hurrying after him with Paladin following suit after Rielle.

<><><><><>

The Dark Horse Hotel has many features that can attract prospective guests. The first is the levels of protection weaved into even the cheapest of the rooms. These amenities include break-in detection, Anti-teleportation wards, Anti-scrying wards, reinforcing wards, and anything else they felt necessary. The next feature was that it was considered a 5-star hotel with great chefs, efficient staff, and constantly cleaned rooms.

Another feature that was one of its most significant selling points was that it was the closest Hotel to the Dungeons entrance.

“So, how exactly do we destroy a Dungeon?” Rielle asked, keeping her bow raised and an arrow nocked as they walked towards the Entrance.

“Actually, destroying it is the easy part,” Larry stated. “You get to the end of the Dungeon, defeat the Dungeon Master, then find the Core. The Dungeon Core is different per Dungeon and is always the hardest thing to reach.”

“If it’s this easy, why don’t people destroy more Dungeons?” Colin asked, eyes looking through the buildings around them. There had been traces of movement, but Colin was sure it was just some people hiding out and avoiding any kind of trouble. It was probably wise of them considering the Golems. Still, if ALAN wasn’t stopped soon, eventually, they would run out of food and clean water.

“There isn’t a lot of points to do so,” Nox answered from Colin’s shadow. Dungeons provide a great place to train and get rewards. Destroying them would remove those possibilities from the world, and there isn’t usually a reward from anyone for destroying them.”

“I see,” Colin responded, unsure how he felt about that. Almost everything that could be used for something could be used for something else. Springs, hoses, knives, gears, and many other things could be used in multiple devices and applications. He’d have to take a look at the Core when he got to it. “So how do we actually do it?”

“Usually, you shatter it with a high-grade weapon or fill it with magic until it explodes. Both your Mythic Xiphos and your Imbue item skill would possibly do the trick. Again, it’s more of a matter of getting down there to do it,” Nox explained.

“Especially if the Dungeon didn’t reduce Zagan’s power at all. He’s a King in Hell and will be hard to defeat if the Dungeon didn’t weaken him for the people who commonly challenge him. With any luck, he’ll be weak enough for us to takedown together,” Larry told the group, as he took the rear position. A moment later, he summoned a HellRime Bow and Arrow firing it and another within the same breath at a Rogue Golem that was preparing to pounce.

With both arrows in it, the Golem fell off the roof, and the fall took care of the rest.

The group rounded the corner and found themselves in the center of the city, staring at the large set of double doors decorated with demonic imagery. Usually, these doors would be surrounded by Guards from the Church of Anaheim and dozens of Outworlders hoping to gain Entrance. Currently, the only thing in the center of the pavilion where the Entrance was found was a giant Golem that could be described simply.

“Did ALAN make a Dragon Golem?” Paladin asked, stroking his chin as he observed the giant Golem sleeping in front of the door.

Indeed, the creature looked like a Dragon but not like any of the Dragons he knew from movies that McKenna made him watch. The creature’s head featured a large jaw with large sharp teeth, an elongated snout, large eyes that were thankfully shut, and horns that fanned out from the back of its head. The neck and body were connected to two large clawed arms, the whole body covered in spines that looked barbed. The whole thing was colored a mottled dark-green, and black and the air around it seemed to hum with electricity.

Colin stared at the Dragon-thing Golem and hoped one of the Knowledge Skills that he’d gotten before this whole mess would come in handy. Knowledge: Monster Identification only had one solid use after all.

Monster: Lindworm Golem (Mini-boss).

“Lindworm?” Colin muttered, hoping the others might have heard him.

As it happened, Nox decided to step out of Colin’s shadow and looked out at the seemingly sleeping Golem. “Shit, let’s hope that you won’t have to deal with that… thing until we get out of the Dungeon.”

“Not that I disagree, but why?” Colin asked.

Rielle whispered, “Dragons, any type of Dragon, are known to be some of the most powerful creatures in the world. They can easily dominate creatures twice their size with sheer power, their breath can destroy entire cities, and they usually have other powers that make them a nightmare.”

“The Fey have an emergency rule for if a Dragon ever comes to any city,” Rielle continued, looking at the Lindworm Golem and swallowing audibly. “Abandon the city.”

“Any chance we can get by it?” Larry asked.

Nox looked at the Mechanical Dragon and shrugged, “probably. Golem versions of any creature appears to make them stronger in some areas and weaker in others. If I had to make a guess… this thing probably can’t hear as well as the real thing.”

“What makes you say that?” Colin asked, his voice low.

Nox grinned at them, showing off his sharp teeth, “Because Lindworms, any Lindworm, hate anything they think is inferior to them. It would have woken up and attacked us by now, given that Lindworms have incredible hearing.”

“Well, shall we try?” Colin asked, looking around at the group. Nox just stood next to Colin, observing the group.

All of them nodded, but the only one that did it apprehensively was Paladin. When Colin gave the man a quirked eyebrow, he looked down at his gut and patted it softly. “I’m not exactly a stealthy character build here, Man.”

“Fair,” Colin told him. “Alright, let’s go for it. Just remember that we need to get inside within the same minute to be a part of the same instance of the Dungeon. So we need to hurry. Paladin, you head over there first and just sneak as best you can. If you wake the Lindworm, I’ll distract it, and everybody else will run for the Entrance. Do not go in unless you think I’ll make it, got it?” Colin confirmed.

When they all agreed to the basic plan, Colin pointed out the long path they should take. The way was long and drawn out, but hopefully, it would avoid the giant Golem’s immediate vision if it were to wake. At least for long enough that Colin could do something to get its attention. Other than Larry, he had had the best chance of survival if it woke.

So the group headed towards the specified path, all of them, except Rielle was practically tiptoeing along. The Death Fey herself was going at a half jog as she kept her eyes on the Golem and at all times. It was a great example of how the young woman had grown in her time with Colin. Before, she was all hesitant and unsure if she should do something. Now, she knew what she had to do and just did as she thought was best. She was sometimes still uncertain, but at least it wasn’t in her job.

“You know this thing will kill you easily,” Nox stated.

Colin nodded, “I think we’ll be able to avoid this threat. If it does wake up, I have backup plans to help get to the Entrance.”

Nox nodded, observing their progress for a moment. “You were hoping that I’d get you over there, weren’t you?”

“No, never,” Colin said, dismissing the Goblin with a soft laugh. Seconds passed, and Colin then shrugged, “I try not to assume that you’ll do anything to help. If you recall, you’ve already let me die once already,” He told the Goblin, trying to keep his tone low.

“Indeed, I did,” He agreed. “I can promise that I would not have let you die so easily if you were not an Outworlder. You are much too interesting to let die without a proper stage, and I want to see when that stage is made ready for you, DevilWalker.”

Colin smiled at the Overpowered Goblin, “you know that does not make me feel better about our relationship, right?”

“I do, but I have a strong feeling that you are okay with this. Or is it possible that I misread that about you?” Nox asked, quirking an eyebrow at the Antagonist and looking over his relaxed posture and unmoved stance.

“No, you didn’t,” Colin answered. His feelings were entirely mixed about how the Goblin involved himself in Colin’s struggles. Sometimes it seemed utterly random with him giving out free advice here, threatening gods here, then he’d do nothing to protect him against demons. It was actually comforting to hear that he was observing Colin for entertainment and curiosity. Not for some weird long-term way to lure him into a trap. “And I think I can live with someone observing me out of curiosity.”

The Goblin nodded and looked at the sleeping Lindworm Golem and had a contemplative look while Colin watched the group. Rielle had already reached the Dungeon Entrance and was worriedly looking around while Paladin crept over. Larry was behind Paladin, but he was walking in a very relaxed manner with his face pointed directly ahead at the Entrance.

“DevilWalker,” Nox said, his tone way too level for Colin’s comfort. “I have bad news.”

The Antagonist turned his gaze to the Goblin. Colin swallowed, having an awful feeling about whatever this could be. In reality, the options for what this could be were limited, but he hoped he was wrong. “What is it?”

“First, that Golems do not need to sleep. If this one is asleep, it means that it is acting under a Lindworm’s base nature. But that doesn’t mean it’s actually asleep. This thing is just being a lazy, idiotic, no good, metal husked lizard,” Nox said, watching the Golem for any reaction.

To Colin’s horror, the Lindworm Golem’s eyes opened, and its eyes turned towards them.

“Oh, shit,” Colin groaned, grabbing at a patch of scales in his pocket.

“Indeed,” Nox said, waving a hand at the Lindworm. “It wasn’t asleep at all, just being a slothful worm, lounging in the sun.”

“And you decided to annoy it instead of leaving it be?” Colin asked, activating the Channel Effigy power ‘Scylla’s Scales.’ This power took ten seconds to take effect, and Colin hoped the Quasi-Dragon Golem would take its time.

Four seconds passed with it merely looking at them in awe at their audacity. At the five-second mark, the Lindworm Golem used its arms to lift its massive bulk up into the air. The sound of scraping steel sounded with every shift of its plated metal scales.

With its head raised in the air, looking much like a cobra ready to strike, Colin’s countdown ended, and his skin was covered in green-black scales.

“So Nox, any chance we can beat this thing?” Colin asked, more trying to confirm that they had little hope more than hoping they had any.

Nox shook his head, “With me, definitely. But otherwise, no chance whatsoever without one or all of your dying,” he stated bluntly.

The Lindworm cocked its head as it looked at the two of them entirely. Then it opened its mouth, showing off its sharp, serrated teeth as it roared. The sound was something between a herd of trumpeting elephants and a bellowing hurricane, all noise, and intimidation.

You have taken 39 points of Damage and now have 561/600 health remaining. You have gained the ailment, Tinnitus. All actions and spells that require concentration lasting more than an instant now have a 20% chance to fail.

True to the name, the second the roar ceased, Colin had a high-pitched ringing in his ears that lessened the rest of the noise around him. He shook his head once to reorientate his focus on the matter at hand before looking at said matter. The Lindworm’s spines were arcing with electrical power as the creature crouched itself low and extended its claws into the ground.

Groaning, Colin recognized what the Golem was going to do and activated Kinetic Vigor. As the potential power moved his body, he sprinted to the side and cursed himself for not having any movement-based spells made.

The Antagonist could feel a change in the ground under his feet as the Golem pushed off, lunging its mostly serpentine body towards where Colin was seconds before. The sound of metal scraping on stone and metal resounded through the air as the creature slowed its stop with its arms. It let out a barking roar as it finally stopped its momentum before hitting any of the nearby buildings and started to pull itself forward, the motion between a snakes slither and a lizard pulling itself forward.

“Into the Dungeon!” Colin screamed at the group, rushing towards the giant door. The speed boost from Kinetic Vigor only served to alleviate the decrease from using Scylla’s Scales as he sprinted. He could feel the halt in the floors shaking when the Golem stopped for a moment, and Colin skidded to a stop before zagging to the left.

Seconds later, he was glad to have activated the Effigy Power as a blast of ball lightning shot past Colin and impacted the ground. Detonating a five-foot section of the gray stone brick floor in a burst of shrapnel.

Your Armor has resisted the Damage from stone shrapnel.

The blast did cause him to stumble forward as the concussive force hit him. But he only let the stop him for a moment as he regained his balance and pushed forward as the Dragon rushed him again.

Then, as Colin was approximately fifteen meters away from the Dungeon Entrance, he found Rielle taking a few steps forward. None of her weapons were raised, but she looked determined as she stared at the oncoming Golem. Then her eyes ignited in Gold-green fire, and the seismic steps of the Lindworm Golem faltered in their rhythm.

It was only for a moment, probably more surprise than anything else, and Colin chanced a quick look back as he kept moving. The Lindworm was looking at its body, engulfed in the Heavenly Blight and trying to remove the flames. Colin would have to thank her later, the Golem had stopped where it was, and if it wasn’t for intervention, it would likely have caught him.

But the Golem’s attention diverted from its initial shock and simply ignored the flames still attacking its body. Its gaze moved to the still running Colin and hurried after him; its trumpeting roar as it rushed him could be heard from everywhere in the city.

Seconds passed as Colin hurried through the meters left to the Entrance; he grabbed Rielle as he reached her, forcefully deactivating her Heavenly Blight Skill. She rushed with him, actually faster than him, then touched the Dungeon’s door, vanishing within the instance. Colin reached it a few seconds later, with the Lindworm close behind. He touched the door and vanished into the Dungeon.

You have entered the Instanced Dungeon, ‘Zagan’s Besieged Fortress.

Colin stepped through the portal, finding Rielle, Paladin, and Larry there on the damaged stone bridge that led to the fortress itself. Below them was the same ocean of magma. In front of the covered bridge, they were on was the fortified structure. Above that was the skeletal remains of the true Dragon that hung Impaled on a yellow and black crystal.

ERROR! A creature tried to enter this instance but was much too large to enter. If this was not a mistake, please find a means to reduce the creature to a more manageable size.

“Hell no,” Colin said, dismissing the prompt as he looked at the group.

Paladin was looking around them with excitement; having never been in the Dungeon before, Colin couldn’t blame him. Rielle and Colin had been here before and were just giving the Outworlder a chance to take in the sights. Larry was looking nonplussed as he waited for everyone to be ready to go.

“Nox, you still here?” Colin asked.

“I am,” the Goblin said from Colin’s shadow.

“The same deal as before for Rielle, keep her alive, and I will pay you back later if it is necessary. Sound agreeable?” Colin asked.

Nox accented to Colin’s request and moved himself to Rielle’s shadow instead.

“Let’s go,” Colin said, drawing his Mythic Xiphos and letting Larry take the lead. The Demon conjured a round kite shield and javelin before taking ten steps forward; the Demon knew his job as group tank. Rielle readied her bow, and Paladin simply walked along next to her.

The Antagonist smiled at the group. He wasn’t sure how well they’d do, but he’d give this Dungeon hell before dying, if nothing else.