Chapter nineteen D.

The portal pulled at me, the feeling of walking down a long corridor grew, and I could feel myself being jacked into a higher frame rate of time. 16:30.

Our steps ended, and we emerged in a low lite cavern; the high ceiling was covered in mossy plants. The floor crunched underfoot with aged dry soil. The cavern was filled with a rich, wonderful loam smell and a spicey scent not unlike cinnamon or nutmeg.

The soft light of the cavern and the rich scent began to have an immediate effect. I felt calm and relaxed with a wash of giddiness. ‘This dungeon is going to be easy…’ I started to think when Titus called out, “Ok, I know they taste like shit, but down one potion now everyone.”

With his command given, we all pulled out the Sober up potions and drank. The calm giddy feeling I had was almost instantly removed as the acutely medicinal taste of the potion went down my throat.

[Effect added: Sober up. Duration: 29:54.]

“Form up everyone, you know our job, keep Lord Eric alive. If he doesn’t come out, we all might as well spend the rest of our lives in this dungeon.” Titus said.

“Yes sir.” They all responded.

“Eric you will be in the rear along with Clymiphae. You may mount her if you get tired of walking. Branwen lead the way, remember the traps change so keep an eye out. Lucius and Chariklia behind me.” With Titus’s orders given, they all formed up. I moved alongside Clymiphae to her right, allowing me a better line of sight.

The cavern was obviously made to look natural, and at the far end, there was a tunnel that would allow for two to walk abreast. Branwen moved to the opening and knelt. She expertly examined the floor, walls, and ceiling. Motioning us forward, we descended.

Speaking in a soft voice, Clymiphea asked, “Lord Eric, what kinds of spells do you use? We want to provide you with the chance to get the most experience.”

Creeping into the tunnel, I answered, “my arcane shield is at level 10, I can heal, control plants and have some fire magic.” I said noncommittedly, leaving myself with some options.

“All around not bad, don’t worry about taking the brunt of any enemy attacks we will subdue them and allow you to finish them so you can gain more experience.”

Branwen stopped in the middle of the tunnel and crouched. “Lord Eric come up here.”

Moving past the three shields, I knelt by Branwen. A tripwire was clearly visible, “this is a basic trap, they get far more hidden as we go. Bye passing them is ok, but not best, it is best to trip them so if we must retreat for any reason our path back is clear. Move back everyone.”

Taking a few steps back, she pulled a long pole with a hook on it out of her bag. Branwen tugged the wire, and jets of gas released from the sides of the tunnel walls.

Quickly she reached into her bag at her side and produced a small ceramic ball the size of a golf ball. The ceramic ball sailed from her hands and cracked into dozens of pieces on the floor. There was a soft swirl of light and a whoosh of air. The tunnel filled with a gust of wind, and the gas was swiftly dispersed down the hallway.

“That gas was a stronger dose of the intoxicant the plants of this level naturally produce.” Branwen said.

“Back in formation.” Titus said.

I moved back to my position alongside Clymiphae. Branwen continued guiding the group forward, but I notice that instead of walking in the center of the hallway, she had moved her position to alongside the left-hand side of the tunnel wall. We moved at a steady slow pace, and a few dozen meters down the hallway, the floor in front of Branwen cracked loudly, falling away.

Her left foot had continuously been pressed up alongside the left-hand side of the wall. So as soon as the floor gave out underneath her right foot, she gracefully shifted all her weight onto her left; it was still supported by a thin ledge.

In the same moment, the plants that lined the top of the tunnel began to writhe aggressively. Vine tendrils shot down and started trying to force Branwen from the ledge she was moving across. In a moment of terror, I saw that she was beginning to fall into the hole, but as the vines move to release her, she grabbed onto them with her hands. Using the vines as ropes, she swung to the far end of the pit trap. When her two feet touched solid ground, she smoothly drew a dagger in sliced the vines that had shifted to trying to pull her back into the hole.

“By Alleystra’s nourishing tits, I hate these plants.” Titus said. “Alright move across one at a time.”

Titus and the others moved across the ledge. Watching them move, I thought the vines would force them from the ledge. But as the tendrils wrapped themselves around their arms and other body parts, the three heavy combatants barely noticed the plants trying to pull them from the ledge. Clymiphea’s method of getting across the pit tramp was much more straightforward in a few leaping bounds she vaulted herself across the open floor.

“Could you swing across…” Titus started to say, but with a flick of mana, I cast [manipulate plant] using 20 mana bring the vines to a dead stop as I crossed the ledge.

“Humph…we’ll leave the vines their low level and not worth the effort, you have to pull them out by the roots to kill them, fucking weeds…Form up, first room is just ahead. Remember Eric let us disable the snakes, you can have the finishing blow. I’ll have you use fire magic on any stationary plants.” Titus said, nodding at me.

The tunnel continued for a few more meters, Branwen still diligently checking for traps. The room that opened at the end of the tunnel was cragged with rock outcroppings. Spilling from the walls and over boulders were vines and different plants. The place looked like a mess of a jungle, and bright orange light filled the room from an unknown source.

The air was muggy, and the intoxicating Effect purified by my body left me with the feeling of having a slight hangover. The faint sound of falling water could be heard, as the ferns, bushes, and trees made seeing more than a few meters nearly impossible.

“All right Lord Eric, this level has smaller snakes that are venomous if they bite you. The poison will not kill you, but you’ll feel drunker than a priestess of Sippsie during a festival of revelry. Deeper in the lamia will show up. Don’t worry about us and try and keep yourself from being bitten, you’ll have a gut-wrenching hangover if you have to drink another potion.” Titus said as Branwen moved back in between Lucius, Chariklia, and me.

The crunch of gravel was accompanied by the brushing aside of plants. Ten meters along the path, a snake dropped from the trees overhead. Before the fangs could find their mark on Titus’s neck, his hand darted out, catching it just below the head.

The others made room for me as he held it on the ground; with my drawn sword, I easily stabbed it in the head.

[You have killed wine snake: Experience gained: 200.]

This pattern continued for the next twenty minutes. Snakes of various kinds would drop from the trees, slither from the bushes, and dart from behind rocks. They futilely tried to pierce the armor of Titus, Lucius, or Chariklia, each time being held down for my sword to deliver a killing blow.

You have killed a:

Wine snake: times ten. 2000xp.

Ale viper: times five. 500xp.

Tipsy asp: times six. 3600xp.

Copper keg: times two. 2000xp.

Opium rattler: times three. 2100xp.

King of dreams: times one. 2000xp.

Cossa coiler: times one. 5000xp.

[ You have leveled. Level 27.]

[ You have leveled. Level 28.]

‘Ha well this is not bad. They just bring me stuff to kill. The Exalted mages have it easy as shit...I guess that means me too…ha.’ I thought. The last snake brought to me was a massive anaconda-looking thing, the cossa coiler. It took both Titus and Lucius to control its body as they laid its head at my feet.

Placing the 30-meter snake in one of Clymiphae’s side bags that all the others had gone into, Branwen explained, “there fuck all annoying, and the skin is worthless. But the meat if eaten gives the same intoxicating effects as the snakes, and they can be used to make a variety of potions with pleasurable effects.” Branwen said with a purr.

“Good to know.” I said as we formed back up and followed the overgrown path.

Minutes later, Titus broke into a small clearing. I was at the back when I heard the shrieking hiss of three lamias. The scaled bodies broke from the trees. The lower half of their bodies were thick and fully resembled that of a snake. The upper half of the body though humanoid in shape was covered in scales, and the face was elongated into a maw. Slitted reptilian eyes held nothing but malice in them.

Two of the Lamia darted forward in Serpentine patterns. With a loud resounding crack, the two Spears they held struck the shield of Titus. The third lamia came in from the side, but unfortunately for it, it had decided to attack from what was the left of Clymiphea. She darted forward, catching the spear on her shield. This allowed Lucius to pivot in a fluid motion and impale it just below the segmented section, between its human and snake half.

Chariklia quickly charged forward with her spear, parrying the spear of the right-hand lamia and driving it to the ground, pinning it with her incredible strength. Most unfortunate of all was the lamia that ended up being nearly completely impaled down the length of its snake body by Titus’s spear.

In a bear few seconds of combat, the three lamias were subdued, and I was allowed to walk up to them and drive my sword into each of their heads.

You have killed: Lamia huntress. Times three. 1700xp.

I notice that when I was done dispatching the lamia that none of my party members moved to claim their corpses, so I asked, “Is there nothing worth taking form their bodies?”

“No, not really. You can eat their snake half but… it’s not pleasant. Better to just leave them.” Lucius answered.

The dog ran up the tree. The cat chased the dog up the tree.

Moving through the arboretum-like room, we made our way to the far end of the clearing and continued walking the gravel paths. Stones began tripping my feet more often, and I felt the giddiness of being in the dungeon return.

As the path bent to loop back on itself, two more of the spear-wielding lamia jumped out. Coming up from behind the three heavy fighters, it was Branwen that struck. Spears skidding across the backplate of the armor of Chariklia, Branwen struck. Two arrows were fired simultaneously by her, hitting both lamias in the back of the neck, where skull met spine.

“Apologies Lord Eric, I meant to hit them low to immobilize them.” Branwen said, purring unapologetically.

“It…s…All…Good.” I said, stumbling over my words slightly.

Feeling wobbly, we walked along a sand bar of a river. Five lamias were at the river under the branches of a swaying tree. Seeing Titus, the four picked up spears and rush forward while the fifth picked up a bow and fired arrows. The arrows bounced harmlessly from the armor of Titus, Lucius, and Chariklia; the ricochet of the arrows was more dangerous to me than the archer.

I kept an eye open for any other hostiles and stray arrows. The sway of the tree looked unnatural, the trunk shuttering and ripples flowing down the branches. The four lamias were dead in what I would guess to be three seconds, while the fifth got an extra second of life, allowing for the time for the hatchet Chariklia threw to reach the archer.

“WOOO…GO…TEAM!” I blurted out, a wash of giddiness flowing through my body. “WE…ARE…AWSOMMMMMMMMME.”

“My Lord?” Titus said, looking at me strangely.

“YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST; WE COULD DO ALL THE LEVELS…ALL OF THEM…BE EASSY…EASSY PEASSY LIMON SQUEZZIESSS.”

“I think it’s time for another potion.” Titus said as the rest of the party quickly drank another one.

“NO…I don’t want it…this feels great…we are unstoppable.”

“Lord Grayson you are being poisoned right now.”

“Yeah…but its good poison…everrr butttnys needs poisonnnsss then’s now….”

“Umm…”

“Let me sir….” Branwen said, walking up to me. “Oh, Master Eric, I’ve got a super fun drink right here.” She said in a purring hypnotic voice.

“Itzz…fun potion?”

“Yes…special fun potion.”

“Ok…me drink kittieeee catttyyy juuuicyyyy.”

The potion was tilted to my lips, and I drank the wonderful, amazing, sweet, cool, vibrant.

Wait, what? They tricked me.

Individual Statistical Analyses.

Name: Exalted Lord Eric Grayson.

Race: Human.

Level: 28. Experience to next level 5300/9000

Health: 100 percent.

Mana capacity: 400.

Mana regeneration: Error…Max [23 mana per second.]

Attributes: 4 points per level. 8/8

Strength: 20.

Body: 21.

Speed: 25.

Dexterity: 18.

Mana capacity: 40.

Mana regeneration: 20.

Charisma: 30.

Affinities:

Arcane mana manipulation: 100 percent.

Earth: 100 percent.

Fire: 100 percent.

Air: 50 percent.

Water: 50 percent.

Life: 85 percent.

Death: 15 percent.

Light: 85 percent.

Shadow: 75 percent.

Space-time: 25 percent.

Summoning: 25 percent.

Abilities: 1 per level. 2/2

Graceful doge: 10 out of 10. Passive. Increase balance, doge chance, area awareness and all movement actions. Saving heal: 5 out of 10. Passive. If health drops to zero and death is activated instantly heal for 50 percent. Once per day. Resurrection: 3 out of 10. Passive and active. If ability holder dies automatically resurrect to 60 percent health(secondary), limbs are not regrown. Activate on a corps that had been dead for less than one hour to revive. Revived party has skills returned to apprentice, spells set to level 3 and Base level set to 2. Inspect: 10 out of 10. Active. Used to identify objects, people, animals, monsters, beasts, and void horrors that have crossed over into the system. Ability level superior. Linguist: Level 10 out of 10. Grants the capability of speaking any langwidge that is heard; langwidge must be within human vocal cord range. Allows for the complete automatic translation of heard languages into one’s native understanding. Allows for reading and wright of foreign languages as long as the wielder of the ability could read and wright beforehand. Increased cum load: Level 3 out of 10. Increased maximum volume of cum. your balls and prostate glands have increased in density providing three times the amount of normal cum.

Skills: 1 per level. 2/2

Enchanting: Apprentice, create normal enchantments, initial cost and sustaining cost average.

Center of the water way: this enchantment when placed on the steering device of a water vessel will keep the vessel equidistant from land. The initial cost of activation is 250 mana, the sustaining cost is 30 mana per minute. Hydrostatic Propulsion: This enchantment allows for the use of water to provide high torque thrust when enchantment location is under water. Mana cost: 1 mana per minute.

Tailoring: Novice. Create basic clothing and other items made from cloth.

Mapping: novice. Can draw and read maps.

Longsword: Journeymen: The fundamentals of long blades are understood. Fighting styles of different types of blades are condensed. A small amount of mana is infused in ones sword to improve edge quality and durability.

Gardening: Journeymen: Proper gardening techniques are understood. Soil nurturance, acidity, moister level, mana density and plant dispositions are known. Can create gardening tools from mana.

Herbalism: Journeymen: Wild and cultivated herbs can be gathered and grown. Pastes, poultices, teas, brews, tinctures and essence oils are known. Mana can be used to stabilize the effects of herbs.

Alchemy: Journeymen: Basics of powders, potions, elixirs and pills are known. Drying, distilling, sublimation, concentrating, condensation, refining, balancing, aging, antimonnation and fulminating are understood. Can use mana to create even heating and cooling, as well standard weights and measures.

Junk skills:

[Breathing, walking, blinking, hand waving, knot tying, sitting, sleeping, bowels movements, urinating, itch itching.]

Spells: 1 per level. 2/2

Arcane mana manipulation:

Fuse: Base cost: .1 mana per square inch of material to be atomically bodied. Level 1. Butcher: Base cost: initial cast 10 mana 1 mana per pound per second. Level 1. Cut: Base cost: Error… .1 mana per inch cut (2.5cm), area twenty feet, (6m). Level 1. Arcane shield: Base cost: Error… .1 initial mana, .1 mana per second. Level 10.

Fire:

Candle flame: Base cost: Error… 0.1 mana per, minuet. Metal shaping: Base cost: Error… 10 mana per second. Purify: Base cost: 5.1 mana per square inch. Level 1. Campfire: base cost: Error… .1 mana per minute, fire must be in a hearth or pit. Level 1. Fireball: Base cost: Error… .1 mana per casting. Level 1. Flame whip: Base cost: Error… .1 mana per foot of flame whip, .1 mana per second per foot. Level 1. Plasma beam: Base cost: Error… .1 initial mana, 15 mana per second channeled. Level 1

Earth:

Stone spike: Base cost: Error… .1 mana per inch of spike. Level 1. Collect element: Base cost: N/A. collect desired element from surrounding area one quarter mile spherical, one half mile spherical. Level 1, 2. Fertilize soil: Base cost: .1 mana per cubic foot of fertilized soil. Clean: Base cost: Error… .1 mana per square inch (2.5cm). Level 1.

Air:

Shuriken wrath: Base cost: 42.5 mana. Level 2. Yarn spinning: Base cost: .1 mana per second of spinning, level 1, 2. Weave: Base cost: 5 mana per 10 seconds of weaving. Level 1, 2. Lightning bolt: Base cost: 75 mana, error… 1 mana per second channeled lightning. Level 1.

Water:

Nutritious water: Base cost: 5 mana per oz of species-specific nutritious water. Ice spear: Base cost: 35 initial mana, error… .1 mana per 1mile per hour (1.6Km an hour). Level 1.

Life:

Analyze body: base cost: 3 mana a second. Level 1. Focused healing: Base cost: 7.5 mana per second. Level 10. Mass healing: Base cost: 12 mana per second, area a ten-yard radius. Level 1. Manipulate plant: Base cost: 4.5 mana per second of movement. Level 2. Rapid growth: Base cost: .1> <100 mana per second of growth depending on plant or animal complexity. Level 1, 2. Invigorate: Base cost: 15 mana to boost usable cellular energy in target. Sleep: Base cost: 12.75 mana on willing target, mana amount varies. Level 1. Paralysis: Base cost: 3.75 mana per 10 seconds. Level 1. Mass Paralysis: Base cost: 7.5 mana per 10 seconds; area a 10-yard radius. Level 1

Light:

Mana eye: Base cost: 5 initial mana, .5 mana per ten seconds. Level 9.

Space-time:

Internal Dimensional Expansion: Base cost: 300 mana per cubic inch of extradimensional storage. Level 1.

Soul bound items:

Imperial Royal Bank identification card: Grants access to your account at any Bank certified shop. May only be used by the soul bonded individual.

Enchanted Storage Ring: Finally crafted. 1 mana to store or retrieve item. Auto object tracking. 100 feet (30.5m) cubed. Bonded.

Inlaid mithril master slave band: Exceptionally crafted. Bonded. May hold the contracts of 125 slaves. Slaves cannot be stolen or cross subjugated. Enhances slave bond. Price: 96 platinum coins

Dungeon instants tracker: This chain allows for the individual entry into the Dungeon of the Legion within their own instants. Levels can only be reached with appropriate tag. Party tags allows for individuals to enter the same instants. Soul bound item

Bound slaves:

Sasha Whitetail: Kitsune, female. Age 23; revives 7. Level 21.

Milly: Boviness, female. Age 19; revives 4. Level 8.

Zora: Minobous, female. Age 26; revives 16. Level 6.

Holly: Minobous, female. Age 22; revives 12. Level 7.

Timmothy: elf, male. Age 172, revives 212. Level 16.

May: elf, female. Age 43, revives 6. Level 13.

Tamara: elf, female. Age 35. Revives 16. Level 8.

Child: Maestra: elf, female. Age 2. Revives 0. Level 1. ½.

Ray’me’a: elf, female. Age 20. Revives 2. Level 6.

Amber: elf, female. Age 28. Revives 3. Level 15.

Child: Tera: elf, female. Age 4. Revives 0. Level 1. Child: Trix: elf, female. Age 2. Revives 0. Level 1. ½.

Candace: elf, female. Age 23. Revives 8. Level 12.

1.Child: Brin: elf, female. Age 2. Revives 0. Level 1. ½.

Dryads 8.

Anya: dryad, female. Age 289. Revives 228. Level 14.

Nymphs 6.

Brith: Nymph, female. Age, 47, Revives 5. Level 6.

Ferries 14.

Thera: Friary Queen, Female. Age 87. Revives 77. Level 7.

Kitsune.23 + 6 kits

Mizzy: kitsune, female. Age 24. Revives 87. Level 1.

Alma: Kitsune, female. Age 19. Revives 212. Level 1.

Iolanthe: Kitsune, female. Age 20. Revives 326. Level 1.

feather steel Chainmail leather armor set: Quality: finely crafted. Scarcity level: common. Well-made medium armor. Leather with chainmail, this armor provides excellent protection from slashing.

feather steel long sword. Quality: finely crafted. Scarcity level: uncommon. An enchanted long sword made from feather steel. This sword possesses the three most common enchantments durability, clean and sharpen.

Pocket watch: Quality: Superb. Scarcity level: Unique. this pocket watch is set to Imperial standard time. The fine mithril parts allow for an acceleration enchantment. Acceleration: movement speed is increased by three times for five minutes once a day.

Small mana crystal: Mana Capacity 200. Mana recharge rate: .14 per minute. Quantity: 4.

Medium mana crystal: Mana Capacity 800. Mana recharge rate: .55 per minute. Quantity 2.

Large mana Crystal: Mana Capacity 2000. Mana recharge rate: 1.39 per minute. Quantity 1.

Potion: Sobber up: Quality: good. This potion is used to sobber up after a night of drinking. This potion has had the sobering effects lengthened to purify intoxicants form the body for longer periods of time. Duration: 30 minutes.]

Divine Quest: From: The Goddess Sippsie. Complete my tasks to know the pleasure of the flesh and how to best serve your master or husband.

Female:

Discover your pearl above the lips of your flower and find the way to your own bliss. Taste the petals of another flower and drink of the nectar. Taste of the stem of power and drink the sap; collect the sap in under five turnings of a minute glass. Take into your flower the form of the stem and coat it in your nectar. Take into your flower the stem of someone close and receive its sap. Ride a lover in the hay and in the open fields, while the summer sun warms the sky, know the tender kiss and the pains of goodbye. Unknown to you and unknown to them the secret nectars mix. Quickly plowed is poorly sown but the seasons time can be demanding. Done one way then another yet there’s more, twice you must think to bend the stem toward the sun again for nectar and sap to mix.

Many blessings these shall bring. Some know now, some in time, others hidden as if blind.