Chapter nineteen F.

16:36. After twenty minutes of sitting and waiting for my supposed mana to refill, the wash of giddiness began to return. I really did not want to drink an additional potion, as the hangover was now a complete throbbing in my head. But like a good little adventurer, I pulled another potion out and drank it.

Titus did the same; for some reason, I did not think he really needed the potion but was doing it more in solidarity with me. His head was lying in Branwen’s lap; he as well downed the horrid potion. The others in our group did the same.

“I know they are horrible Lord Eric, but using more expensive potions on this level is just not worth it. When you get to level 15 of the dungeon, better ones are far more economical.” Clymiphae said while she stroked my hair lightly, her fingers brushing along my scalp in the most pleasant of ways.

“On to the queen then.” Titus said, getting up from Branwen’s lap.

“Right boss.” Lucius added.

“Yes sir.” Everyone else said.

Following Titus’s battel plan, we moved across the bridge and approached the open clearing of hard-packed dirt. Moving in, the lamia queen uncoiled with a loud hiss. She was vaguely humanoid, covered in light brown and green scales. At the shoulder joints on her human half were two arms each, giving her four arms in total. The fan of flesh behind her head was reminiscent of a cobra from the earth, and her body was covered in bone armor, inlaid with lines of gold and silver.

I was going to have to participate more in this fight if I wanted to get XP. While disabling the smaller lamia it did not negate the amount of experience I got when I killed them, if major injuries were delt by my party members, the amount of XP I would get from the level 33 Queen would be drastically reduced.

Following the plan, as soon as the four lamia archers slithered out from behind rocks, Branwen, Chariklia, and Lucius released a bevy of throwing knives and hatchets. Before the first arrow was fired, the four were dead.

Titus, in the same moment, dashed forward and caught the lamia queen’s first strike on his tower shield. Her shields were each held by her lower arms and in her upper left hand was a short spear, and in her right, she held a long spear.

Coiling with rage and echoing hiss’s the battle was joined by both Lucius and his Auxilia shield Chariklia. They held off their attacks, only lunging strikes forward to keep the queen distracted.

Branwen and Clymiphae took up positions on both sides of me. They were protecting me from any unseen attacks that might come as I began my part of the battle.

Staying out of range from the striking snake, I dashed to the right of the field of combat. This would normally be easy for me, I could kill it a hundred different ways to Sunday in a moment, but I had to keep my power partially hidden from the Titans shield.

This left me with fire magic as it was the most obvious offensive magic I had. If I used plant magic, I could easily, within my self-imposed limits, bind the lamia, but my task was to kill the thing while it was being distracted by the others. Forming my magic, I used the base spell [Fire ball] once more. I could not coat the thing in fire like the tree, as the fire would most likely not hurt my team, but it seemed wholly impolite. The same would go for the standard exploding ball of fire. Though not deadly to my team, it seemed in poor taste to the spirit of this training exorcize.

Setting my intention into the spell formation, I created dozens of tiny flaming needles. The tips of which I had overheated. The needles were made more from plasma and did not have any true matter in them. As the first spell formed and I hurled the dozens of needles at the lamia, I became the flaming porcupine of death.

The barge hit the lamia squire on one of her shields she raised to deflect the blow, and under the staccato rhythm of dozens of pops, small pits were gouged along her left-hand tower shield.

Moving fast, I circled to the right, releasing another two waves of the fiery quills of death. Her bone armor blocked most of them, the segmented linked finger bones shielding the attack. The needles that looked like they would find a place between the armor were stopped by a hazy blue flare of light from the enchanted bone armor.

“YOU’ER GOING TO HAVE TOO HIT IT HARDER THAN THAT LORD ERIC.” Titus yelled over the steady clang of spears on shields.

‘Yeah, no shit….’ I thought, reforming a new spell, letting the porcupine quills of death go.

‘Let’s try something bigger.’ I thought, creating another spell, this time going for the opposite of small. With my guards still at my sides, I formed a flaming lance from the [Fire ball] spell once more. I super-heated the long point at the end with the same plasma and flung out my hand.

“BACK!” I yelled, releasing the spell. As the lamia coiled in on itself, the three tanks jumped back. My spell flew by them and impacted the lamia just below its navel. The flare of blue light erupted once more, but as the tip burned hotter than the surface of a sun, a hole was punched in the magical defenses.

The shaft of fire followed into the hole and burned a cavity into her. The lamia thrashed upwards, letting out an agonized hiss, coiling back onto itself. The charred discolored pink flesh left the lamia holding her stomach. The fight having momentarily left the creature, I loosed two more of the flaming spears. One impacted the queen below the throat; the other burrowed deep into the larger section of her body.

Pretending to stumble, I sank to a knee. The others looked at me in mild surprise. Pulling a light blue potion from my ring, I drank it. Understanding filled the faces of the group as I drank the obvious mana potion. The queen laid still for only a few seconds, and as my display of magic was covered up by drinking a potion, I received a notification.

[ You have killed:

Cassanra, the bone queen. 20000 XP.]

[ You have leveled. Level 31.]

Falling back onto my ass, I kept the look of mana exhaustion about myself but tried not to play it up too much.

“Well done Lord Eric.” Titus said as he came over to me, stowing his weapons.

“Yes, Lord Eric, very well done.” Branwen purred.

“Looks like we’ll get an almost complete set of the enchanted bone armor from her as well.” Lucius said from over by the body.

“That’s good news. Things worth a silver per bone.” Titus explained.

“Whys that?”

“Oh, the small bones have an extension effect on them, to carry the main shield enchantment throughout the armor. Cities and towns use them along their walls to reinforce and create magical shields.”

Branwen and Chariklia came from around the boulder that the queen had been in front of, carrying the same kind of shabby-looking wood chest. Lucius followed them over from the body as they set the chest in front of me.

“Take your time, we’ll start stripping the queen of her armor.” Titus said, gathering the others and walking back to the body.

Reaching out, I opened the chest and began taking out items.

Items gained:

Dungeon letter: A letter addressed to Exalted Lord Eric Grayson.

Steel spearhead: Quality: Excellent. Scarcity: common. Spearhead that can be attached to a stave. Times 4.

Roll of Lamia snake leather: Quality: pristine. Scarcity: uncommon. Treated scale leather from the lamia queen ready for crafting. 12 meters.

Potion: Warm-blooded reptile: Quality: Refined. This potion is made from refined blood. Effect: keeps the body at optimum temperature in hot and cold climates. Does not prevent burning from fire or cold. Duration: 30 minutes. Times 6.

Engraved snake rib: Quality: Finely crafted. Scarcity: Rare. This rib is enchanted with a magical shield projection. Activation: 35 mana, up to 3 mana per second.

Imperial coin: 6(Gc) 60(Sc).

Dungeon level 2 tag. Times 1.

I placed the letter in the breast pocket of my armor, intent on reading it later. I took 1 gold and 10 silver and left the rest of the coin for the group. I took the potions and the enchanted bone for myself and left the rest for the party. With the chest loot sorted, the others had diligently stripped the queen of her weapons, shields, and armor.

“The shield and spears aren’t much, but they should get us a few silvers at least. There are about 850 of the smaller bones, and 12 main pieces. Two of which are intact shield enchantments.” Titus said as they finished up and walked over to me.

“Excellent, you can keep everything from the queen. Also, the spearheads and leather from the chest.” I added.

“Really, thank you Lord Eric. Did you get the warm potions?”

“Yes.”

“Good, those are helpful for the next level, all frozen wastelands. Colder than the frozen fang sea it is in there.” Lucius said.

“So, why do you do this?” I asked.

“Do what?” Titus asked.

“Escort exalted mages.”

“Why for the honor of it, and gold.” Titus answered.

“Really, how much do you get paid?”

“Two gold per party member per level of the dungeon up to level ten, then ten gold per party member from level ten to level twenty.” Titus answered.

“Seems like you could make more money just running the higher levels of the dungeon.”

“True, but the taxes from the guild and the Empire are not cheap. The guild takes twenty five percent, and the Empire takes another twenty five percent.” Titus answered.

“Well, that’s disappointing.”

“You don’t have to worry about that Lord Eric, Exalted mages are exempt from the taxes, as is only right for one of the esteemed peerage.” Branwen added in a purr.

“It still seems like it would be better to forgo escorting exalted mages.” I said.

“The truth, besides the honor of it. It is a mandatory requirement to become an A or S rank within the guild.” Lucius said with a shrug.

“Oh, that makes more sense.”

“How often do you have to escort a mage?” I asked.

“At least once a week or be available once a week.” Titus answered.

“What if you are not at the college?”

“The time accrues. Unless while you are away you are in service to an exalted mage.” Titus said, sitting after having stowed away the rest of the loot.

“Well, what’s the next level like?” I asked.

“It’s a frozen nightmare. Cold with more cold. Frost wolves and frozen spiders. With great beasts with long trunks, tusks, and long shaggy hair. Giants and snow cats the size of carriages. It’s a vast wilderness in perpetual night. The floor boss is a frost giant that moves his camp around the floor. It’s a great level to collect furs for the winter months of the Empire.”

“Does the dungeon ever talk to people? From the accounts in the pamphlet, it sounded like it does.”

“Oh that, well, yes and no. The dungeon talks to adventures when they get to deeper levels. The Arch mage of the college probably talks to it, and the Emperor if his glorious self ever wished it.” Titus answered.

“So, want to do another level?” I asked.

16:39.

Titus looked at the other group members, who gave a shrug. “While we are more than willing to accompany you, I would advise that you at least distribute your points and get some armor that is more impact resistant. The next level, well, let’s just say the monsters are all about heavy hits. Also, we won’t be able to easily subdue the monsters for you.”

“Can I buy appropriate armor from the one-eyed man we got the potions from? I don’t mind fighting.”

“From Oodson, yes. And you can of course use the provided repair tools, a few quick enchantments might help, if you can create them. most of what he has comes from the dungeon, so it is relatively expensive but well worth the cost. You are proving yourself worthy of the title Exalted Mage, many do not enjoy the fighting.” Titus said, hiding his disgust behind the ambiguous statement.

“Sounds like a plan to me.” I said. ‘I can’t help but notice the affection between him and Branwen… I wonder if he might be more sympathetic to the slaves… He’s a legionary though…Lucius and Chariklia are the same way, if not gruffer with each other. Why did he leave the legion?’

Getting up, I said, “Right, I will head back.”

“We will see you in a second Lord Eric.” Titus said.

“Leave dungeon now.” I said, and a flash of white filled my eyes.

The Titans Shield:

“He’s strange…” Clymiphae began.

“That’s one way to put it, never seen a fire lance break a shield like that.” Chariklia said.

“Yes, he’s not telling us much. Never heard of a noble named Grayson either?” Lucius questioned.

“Do you think he was a common citizen?” Titus asked.

“No, my love… I don’t think he is…he does not think like a noble but his demeanor is close…he is hiding something.” Branwen purred, coming to stand next to Titus.

“Any ideas?” Titus asked?

“Not a noble of the Empire, maybe from the scattered kingdoms?” Lucius added.

“Possibly, but the magic of the college would have discovered that. And I don’t think they would have allowed him entrance if that were the case.” Titus said.

“From the north lands?” Branwen asked.

“More unlikely, they hate the Empire in the north.”

“Should we trust him?” Chariklia asked.

“Not yet, we don’t know enough. How much mana do you think those spells used?”

“No real way to know, a lot though. He seemed to be at his limit at the end.” Chariklia said.

“Seemed is the key word there sister. It was a good show, but we have all seen mana exhaustion on young mages before. The potion was a good cover, but he seemed to not feel sick at all after that. We know the sickness last much longer.” Branwen purred, settling into a squat.

“Why would he try and hide his power?” Lucius asked.

“Well, he doesn’t trust us as well.” Branwen added, “Clymiphae you were by him most of the dungeon, how was he.”

“Focused, but never fearful as many young mages are. Excited almost, as well he seemed to find the whole thing funny.”

“Yes, I did notice that, like he couldn’t believe we were bringing him kills. Will he last on the second level?” Titus asked.

“To make it though, I think yesss. To have our backs, yes as well…though not trusting, he was not malicious or disdainful to us. He even rested against Clymiphae and enjoyed her touch.” Branwen said, tapping her lips.

“Should we try and find out what his thoughts are?” Titus asked the group.

“Yes.” Clymiphae said.

“I think so.” Branwen added.

“I think it’s the right idea.” Lucius said.

“We should be careful, but yes.” Chariklia said.

“Then it is decided. Let’s go before he gets too suspicious.” Titus said.

Eric Grayson.

I walked out from the same portal I entered. The stone tables, alcove booths, and low hum of noise greeted me. Far sweatier than I had realized, the slight chill of the room sent a shiver down my spine. Walking from the wide portal, I headed to the back counter where Oodson, the guild quartermaster, would gladly take my coin.

As I walked over, I thought about what to do with my points. I needed some faster reflexes that I knew. I was at the point where I was above what the peak performance of a human could be, but not quite double. I did not have time to wait for the body stats or strength, or speed. Plus, speed without coordination was just far more dangerous. That left Mana capacity that had no negative side effects when applying points.

Condensed stat sheet.

Reaching the back counter, I heard the clopping of hooves behind me as the rest of the group followed me. Titus walked up alongside me as I approached the Oodson, “Exalted Lord Grayson, Titus Titan shield, what can I do for you.” Oodson said, pulling out a form.

“Just taxes and the usual. Cleared the first level with Exalted Lord Eric and he is wanting to head back in.” Titus said.

“Good to see the Exalted Lord putting in the work. Alright what do you have?” Oodson said.

With that, Titus and the others unloaded Clymiphae’s saddlebags. With the snake bodies and loot handed over, the total came to 22 gold coins and 75 silver coins. Then came the taxes for the Titans Shield, and I watched that drop to 11 gold, 37 silvers, and 50 coppers. Without even a sigh of resignation, Titus stepped aside to let me find what I needed. I noted they did not add the whisky to the transaction.

“So, you’re heading back in Exalted Lord Eric?”

“That’s right, heard the second level is cold, and I might need better armor.”

“That is true, want something that can take a hit. Your feather mail is good for slashes and piercing, but one hit from a giant might make paste out of you.”

“Yes, that is slightly concerning.” I said.

“Slightly concerning he says, ha. So, what did you have in mind Exalted Lord?”

“I want a set of plate that could be attached to this,” I said, pulling out my Onesie once more. “Along with a shield, spears, throwing knives, and such.

“Hum…not bad…not the best either. Did you want it to have enchantments?”

“Yes, something for speed and defense if possible.”

“And what is the Exalted Lords budget, if I might ask?”

“I would prefer it kept under a mithril or two.” I said nonchalantly.

“That will get you what you are looking for…Let me think… I have just the thing, are you able to attach the pieces yourself?

“Yes, it should be all right.”

Heading into the back room a few minutes later, Oodson came back out carrying a bundle. Looking the items over, I used the [inspect] ability.

Sha’vala armor: Quality: exquisite. Scarcity: Rare. This armor is worn by the Sha’vala knights on the fourteenth level of the dungeon of the legion. Renowned for their speed and power, the armor is crafted to enhance the nocturnal powers of the Bloodounara and not hinder their speed of movement. Breastplate: Body enhanced times four. Helm: Impact dampening. Greaves: Speed enhanced times two. Cuisse: dexterity enhanced times two. Vambrace: strength enhanced times two. Pauldron: Impact dampening. When the set is worn together, impact forces are reduced by half. Price: 1 mithril and 85 gold coins.

Mobius gel belt: Quality: Exquisite. Scarcity: Rare. The Mobius belt automatically attaches weapons and items placed to it. It can be shaped into any kind of body attachment point. Price: 12 platinum coins.

Isan’s Kite Sheild: Quality: Exquisite. Scarcity: Rare. The shield will follow the wear of the parent ring and automatically guard the wearer. Distance 3 meters. If the shield is deformed or broken will repair itself with ambient mana. Price: 14 platinum coins.

Throwing knives: Quality: finely crafted. Scarcity: common. Steel throwing knives. Times 6. Price 60 silver.

Steal throwing spear: Quality: finely crafted. Scarcity: uncommon. Steel throwing spear. Times 4. Price 1 gold coin.

Dieanus’s spear: Quality: Exquisite. Scarcity: Uncommon. The spear is laced with mithril and allows for spells to be channeled through it to the tip. Price 23 platinum coins.

“Will these be acceptable Exalted Lord Eric?” Oodson asked.

“Yes…Yes these should do nicely.” I said, moving over to the bank card reader. After the price was imputed, I confirmed the price of 1 mithril, 49 platinum, 86 gold, and 60 silvers.

“Best of luck to you Exalted Lord Eric.”

“Thank you Oodson.” I said, collecting the bundle of gear in my ring and turning to my group. “Give me a few minutes to get this sorted then we can head back in.”

“Very well Exalted Lord Grayson, we shall wait for you.” Titus said in a much more formal voice now that others could hear.

16:59.

I moved back behind the offset counter to the workspaces that had been set aside for adventures to do basic repairs on their armor. Taking an empty alcove, I laid out my wonderfully soft Onesie. It was so uncomfortable in the beginning, yet now it had what I knew to be a fortune of cloud wool on the inside…Gods not to mention the mainsail on my ship. However, the flexible weave of the metal was going to make attaching this armor easy.

Cutting out the bottoms of the feet, I began. Luckily no one was paying me any attention, and the work area was mostly hidden. I undressed down to my boxers. Sliding my warm and comfortable boots into the legs of the Onesie, I used the [Fuse] spell to attach the weave to the perimeter of the soles of the boots.

Sliding into my now booted Onesie, I belted it with my new waist leaving my chest bare. I attached the greaves to the front of each shin and around the back of my calves. The Cuisse’s came next, protecting my upper leg while still allowing me to move freely. Putting on the upper half of the Onesie, I attached the Vambraces to my forearm.

Next came the breastplate. It opened like a book permanently magically joined on the left side. Attaching the back plate was tricky, but by spot Fusing it, then taking off the Onesie, I made a complete connection along the back. Now the armor swung open like a door allowing me to climb into it. When the front plate closed, the back plate would magically seal its self-closed along the left side of the body.

Pauldrons fastened to the top of the back plate and shoulders of the Onesie left only the helm. Pulling the chain hood up, I placed the full helm on. The front faceguard opened like the breastplate to one side and, when closed, leaving only my eyes exposed. Binding it to my hood, I now could let it hang behind me…much better than attaching it to my belt.

Gazing at my deflated Onesie, looking more like a mannequin made of jelly than a fierce piece of armor, I climbed into it. The soft cloud wool hugged me, and I felt like taking a nap more than traipsing through a dungeon. The normally 25Kg weight of the armor was thankfully reduced to 5Kg.

Putting on my belt, it snugly held everything up. My sword scabbard attached to the belt just by placing it on the weird taffy-like accessory. Throwing knives and spears went into my ring. Placing the shield ring on my left hand, the kite shield momentarily shuddered before leaping off the table, circling around me. I made it attach to my forearm like a normal shield and sent it spinning around me a few times before having it settle into place on my back.

‘It’s still missing something…What would every pretentious noble need. I need a cloak, that’s it.’ I thought as I got ready to leave. Storing my old armor in my ring, I pulled out the letter addressed to me and read.

Dear world walker Eric,

It has been a long time since one of your kind has graced the depths of my dungeon. Nearly 200 years. I am writing to inform you that I have stayed true to the accords set forth by your predecessors. All laws and agreements have been upheld by my part of the deal struck. I am looking forward to watching you progress through the halls of the legion. Do try and stay alive.

In regards to the item, it is still in my possession and guarded by me. Until later…

Sincerely,

The legion. Ps: I will be watching and waiting.

‘Hum I wonder what that is about….’

Walking back to Oodson, I asked, “One last thing, I need a cloak. Preferably black, forest green and silver.”

“Let me check the back Exalted Eric.”

Coming back out with a roll of black leather, he handed it to me. 5 platinum coins later, I was the owner of.

Obsidian troll cloak: Quality: Finely crafted. Scarcity: Unique. This cloak is made from the self-healing skin of the obsidian troll. Auto repairs self.

the thing was a black trench coat, ‘ugh…I am going to have to get Sasha to embroider some vines or something on this, like hell if I am going to walk around like some noble edge Lord douchebag.’ I thought as I wrapped the coat around myself, it sizing to fit me perfectly.

Walking over to the Titans shield feeling far better about my armor situation, I asked, “So how do I look?”

“Well by the tits of Alleystra, you managed to make that almost look fearsome… Exalted Lord Eric.” Titus answered.

“Really it’s not bad, proper armor. You look quite heroic.” Clymiphae said.

“Ha… knowing what it looked like to begin with… It’s much better, the cloak really brings it all together.” Lucius said, holding back his laugh with a wide smile on his face.

“Fine, well, are we going to do this or what?” I asked, smiling as I put scorn into my voice.

“Right, rest breaks over everyone, let’s go.”

17:35.

Stats with armor.