Chapter 021

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‘ ‘ for thoughts.

“ “ for speech.

* * for actions.

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Warning: May contain mature content.

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Jack continued decimating the giant lizards in the second level of the Infested Caves. He lured them with void bolts and followed it up with a void breath. If the lizards survived and were in melee range, he would rely on entropic leech and soul scream to slow/disorient them, while dispatching them with force claw enhanced unarmed attacks.

It took longer to deal with each group of giant lizard. However, Jack had to spend less PP as he partially relied on melee attacks and his Entropic Leech slightly boosted his PP regeneration. Furthermore, with Entropic Leech active, dodging the clumsy green lizards was a joke. Jack only lost some HP when each group had two or more of the shimmering striped lizards.

There were around thirty to forty groups of giant lizards with each group having three to seven giant lizards. Despite the overall lower number of foes, it took him almost 10 hours to clean the second level of the dungeon. However, Jack still hadn’t found any lizard eggs.

The shimmering stripped lizards, despite having lower defense and HP than the green lizards, were higher leveled foes, around lv60! This resulted in the infested caves being superb for grinding levels for Jack; given his skill set was suited to disabling and countering the melee lizards. On the flipside, he gained barely any loot from the dungeon.

Jack: ‘Where the fuck, are the lizard eggs stored? Although I shouldn’t complain…this is some pretty awesome exp. Since this is a quest related dungeon named ‘Infested Caves’ at that, I doubt the monsters will respawn like other dungeons do.’

Jack: ‘Ahead is the entrance to the third level I think. I still have a few hours in game before I have to call in sick.’

Jack proceeded down the entrance to the next level of the infested caves. Instead of arriving in a large tunnel which interconnected a series of caves, Jack arrived in a single large cave. There were around thirty clusters of eggs strewn about. Each egg was around 4 to 6 feet high and 2 to 3 feet wide, and each cluster had around three to seven eggs.

In the distance, there was a massive reptilian lizard curled around something. It was copper in color and was sheathed in an aura of purple ethereal flames. Jack estimated that it was around 20 feet long from head to tail and almost as high as him, while it was curled on the cave floor! It was staring at Jack, not making a move at all.

Jack: ‘Oh boy, Is that a boss? Those fucking kobolds want me to steal and smash eggs while mommy lizard is watching? Nope Nope Nope.’

Jack: ‘It seems cautious, maybe it won’t attack until I attack its eggs? Its reptilian eyes seem extremely intelligent. I will try talking to it… worst case scenario I am dead. I definitely won’t be able to deal with it if it wants to kill me anyways.’

Jack heavily depended on his Danger Sense skill to scout out hostilities. Though it wasn’t precise…it gave him a rough idea of the threat level he was about to face. Right now his danger sense was indicating him to be extremely cautious, and run away if the giant fire lizard attacks.

Unknown to Jack, when other players depended on system assist, they would see notification boxes pop up over monsters/NCPs who could be killed without gain in infamy. These notification boxes showed the exact level, HP and the type of monster/NCP.

Since Jack didn’t depend on system assist, he didn’t know the exact level, HP or type of monster and at best could roughly estimate how much % damage his attack would do after it was successful. The Danger Sense that he had developed in game acted as a replacement for the notification boxes which other system assisted players could view.

Danger Sense had one major advantage over system assist for notification boxes, apart from the minor HP boost. This was that, while notification boxes showed what could be killed without infamy gain, his Danger Sense subskill of survival would give him a rough estimate of the relative power and level of hostility of creatures he encountered or was about to encounter.

This was the reason why Jack considered alternative non-violent approach with the kobolds, when his danger sense indicated that they weren’t automatically hostile towards him. Other players would see a notification box with the level, HP and monster type (kobold warrior/kobold shaman for example) and were conditioned to treat them as nothing but mindless monsters to grind for xp and loot, thus potentially losing out on quests and various other rewards.

Jack cautiously approached the massive flaming lizard, standing a healthy 10 feet away from the flaming lizard. The humongous lizard was still staring at him, probably waiting for the foolish traveler to attack it. Despite the distance, Jack was literally sweating due to the heat radiated from the lizard. He dared not activate Entropic leech to cool off the surrounding air, as the boss lizard might take it for an offensive move and kill him; locking him out for 24 RL hours, thus automatically failing the pest control quest.

Jack: “Umm, hello? Can you talk? I really don’t want to die, so please don’t attack me.”

Giant Flaming Lizard: *telepathically* ‘Yes I can “talk”. Do you take me for some dumb beast? Most humans I encountered are simply too dumb for their own good and attacked me in groups. Obviously, I killed them for annoying me. It is good that you know your place, traveler.’

Jack: “Yeah, umm poor them. Those idiots certainly deserved it if they dared to think that they could possibly be a threat to you. Anyway you are talking in my head…that’s like so cool. Can you read minds and stuff?” *enthusiastic*

Giant Flaming Lizard: *telepathically* ‘Not unless you give me permission. If I try to force it, you will be dead before I can read beyond your surface thoughts. Why are you here anyway? You clearly killed a lot of my weakest whelps on the way here.’

Jack: “Umm sorry about that. I didn’t know they were children of such a mighty creature as you. They were quite weak, honestly. Your weakest whelps were hunting too much of the surrounding wildlife, and a nearby tribe of kobolds were going hungry.”

Giant Flaming Lizard: *telepathically* ‘Ah, so my weakest whelps were strong enough to disrupt the local balance here in this plane? You have my apologies for that. Looks like in this batch, no one worthy of my inheritance will be born once again. And don’t refer to me as mighty creature; you may call me “Lady Salamander”. You are unworthy to know my common name and it is a privilege for someone as weak as you to be even conversing with me.’ *pleased at Jack’s flattery*

Jack: *bowing* “Of course lady salamander. Please do excuse me for my ignorance. And what do you mean by this plane?”

Jack: ‘I best not piss her off. One snort and her flames will be enough to disintegrate me.’

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘So someone with enough wisdom not to attack me, is actually unaware of the planes of existence? No matter, you will know in time, if fate wills it. Now I am a bit bored, and I can remain here for a maximum of three days. Why not keep me company, traveler? I will give you something worthwhile for it. Now explain in detail the exact situation, which resulted in our meeting.’

Jack: ‘That somehow sounds more of an order than a request… Best listen to her, might get something useful and I plan to skip work on Monday anyways. Ah so that’s why the quest had a time limit of four days, the boss mommy is leaving.’

He then explains his encounter with the kobolds, the meeting with their chief /head shaman. He then explained their request about clearing the lizards and bringing some of their eggs and the promise of their reward of meeting their father spirit. The kobolds were having trouble with the poison and fire resistance of the giant lizards. He also explained how he hoped for a powerful spirit contract to boost his arsenal of spells.

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Dismiss all thoughts about giving my eggs to those filthy creatures. So you aren’t a shaman, yet seek to contract with a spirit? What are you exactly?’

Jack: “Of course, Lady Salamander. I am just a humble Bhikku.”

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Haha, an initiate of the Brahman Sangha? This is interesting. Standards have fallen far it seems, for a pathetic worm like you to be inducted in the order. What exactly do you hope to gain from a spirit contract? Being a bhikku means you can shape your own spells freely without constraints of other commonly utilized spell casting systems. And considering that you made it far enough to meet me with such a low level of power, you must have some nifty spells yourself.’

Jack: ‘Oh, so she knows about Brahman Sangha? It looks like this sect is quite well known among the upper echelons of power in Asunder Online’

Jack: “While that is true, I want some sort of summoning spell…and perhaps a short range teleportation spell. I honestly cannot fathom how to go about developing them.”

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Haha good judgment. They are the most complex branches of spellcasting, for most races who cannot shape mana instinctively. How about you show me your spells? You won’t be able to hurt me even if you try. Don’t hit any of my eggs.’

Jack then proceeded to demonstrate his spells, starting from his unarmed/melee enhancement spells, to his spiral mana bolt, soul strike, mana breath and soul scream.

Jack: “And Lady Salamander, this is my newest spell, and the one I am most proud of. I call it ‘Entropic Leech’. It creates a small aura around me, which slows down everyone except me, and helps me regenerate my Prana! It is more effective on beings with a higher fire affinity, and less effective on beings with a higher ice affinity.” *activates Entropic leech*

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Impressive insight traveler to have already unlocked your Prana at your pathetic level of power and mental discipline. Looks like the Brahman Sangha inducted you mainly for your potential, and not for your accomplishments. That Entropic Leech spell also means you must have mana control and not just mana manipulation. You are worthy enough for me to remember your name. State it.’

Jack: ‘Oops, I need to be careful with my words…but looks like it was favorable in this case anyway. Might as well keep Entropic Leech on, though it seems to make barely any difference with the heat she is radiating.’

Jack: “I am known as Jack, Lady Salamander. If it is not too much to presume, I have a request.”

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Speak up Jack.’

Jack: “If most of your whelps are weak, can I fight with them once they hatch? It will help me improve my strength.”

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Hmm, alright as long as all their scales aren’t similar in color to mine. Although don’t you dare to harm any unhatched eggs. Every few hours roughly one cluster should hatch.’

Jack: “I am grateful for this privilege Lady Salamander. In a few hours though, I have to leave to my world to tend some affairs, I seek permission to leave for a while. I will however return after that.”

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Of course Jack. Ahh one cluster just hatched. All of them are pathetically weak. Fight with them and amuse me. Don’t use spells which might harm the other eggs accidentally. I will be…displeased.’

Jack: ‘So that means I can use unarmed enhancements, Soul strike, Soul scream and Entropic Leech. Well I should be able to handle them with those anyway. What an alien mindset she has. She is willing to cull a lot of her weakest children just for some amusement, but that just means more xp for me! She is very protective of her unhatched eggs though, and I certainly do not want to see her “displeased”.’

A group of five giant lizards approached him. Three of them were green, and two of them were the shimmering copper stripped ones. However, they were a lot smaller than the lizards he had encountered till now; each one was at max four feet long. Jack activated Entropic Leech and Force Claws and dispatched them without any trouble in under a minute.

Jack continued chatting with Lady Salamander about his journey in Asunder Online and his situation in Real Life. He was extremely careful so as to not reveal any of his spirit eater abilities. Occasionally a cluster of lizards hatched, and Lady Salamander would restrict him from using certain spells while fighting them, turning it into some sort of game. She never forbade him from using Entropic Leech though.

Soon it was time for his morning parkour circuit, but he decided to skip it today as he was supposed to be sick. It wouldn’t be good if someone from work accidentally spotted him and reported to his boss. He used the in game phone linking feature for the first time, and texted his parkour group that he wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be joining them today, and continued his interaction with Lady Salamander.

After a couple of hours in game, Jack exited the dungeon and climbed a nearby tree, before logging out. He called in sick. It wasn’t too much trouble convincing his boss, as he rarely took any sick days. Before logging back in, Jacob decided to freshen up and he took a shower. He was also feeling too lazy to cook a proper meal, so he just made a sandwich of store bought corned beef and scrambled eggs, garnished with BBQ sauce.

Jacob logged into Asunder Online, and continued entertaining Lady Salamander, periodically fighting groups of juvenile giant lizards with her restriction of spells. Once, she forbade him to use entropic leech and Jack lost almost two thirds of his HP dealing with that particular group of 6 juvenile giant lizards. This seemed to amuse her to no end. Fortunately, she didn’t restrict him from using Entropic leech again. None of the lizards yet had the full copper coloring of Lady Salamander.

Jack exited the dungeon, to log out only for lunch, dinner and his ablutions; logging back into Asunder Online in FuDi mode after dinner. After almost two and a half days in game, only a single cluster of eggs was left, and it was almost time for Lady Salamander to depart. Jack used up almost all of his stock of rabbit meat jerky to fill his satiety. He dared not eat the lizard corpses in front of lady Salamander.

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘It was interesting knowing you Jack. The time when you were half dead because I forbade you to use Entropic Leech was interesting. You were running around like an insect using your soul strikes to potshot the whelps. That was the most amusing thing I witnessed in the last decade. Train that spell well. It seems to have enormous potential. Naturally though at its current level, I can disrupt it with barely a thought.’

Jack: *bowing* “I am glad to be of service, Lady Salamander.”

Jack: ‘These past three days in game, I was completely in her power and her personal bitch. There is no shame in being a bitch to someone as mighty as her. And it is just a monster NCP and no one from RL will know anyways. I do hope I never get into a relationship with someone who can treat me like that though.’ *consoles himself mentally*

Jack: ‘Also why it, that most of the quests I take part in doesn’t involve just simply killing stuff and looting them? The only exception was the spider extermination with the guards’

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Since you were interesting enough, I will give you a parting gift and a few words of advice before I depart this plane. Go to the last cluster of eggs and carefully place all of them near me.’

Jack obeyed her and went towards the last cluster of eggs. He carefully placed them in his inventory and deposited them near Lady Salamander’s maw and retreated backwards, as the ambient temperature was too high for comfort, even with his Entropic Leech activated. He observed with his spirit senses that she breathed out a bit of mana. The mana reacted differently with each egg, to Jack’s spirit senses, though he wasn’t able to decipher its significance.

She observed the eggs for a while and touched one of them with her gigantic claws. For an instant, the ethereal purple flames coating her covered the egg, transforming it into the size of a small pebble. The egg looked completely morphed, and now looked like a polished pebble of translucent jade, with a fiery red spark barely visible in its center.

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Take the egg which I transformed, and listen carefully. Do not reveal my presence to anyone, including the kobolds or your masters in the Brahman Sangha. When the kobolds allow you to meet their father spirit refuse any concoction, if they offer you one. It will only muddle your mind, and you will need your wits about you when bargaining with spirits.’

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Instead, hold this gem I granted you in your hands and enter the portal. It should protect you from the ravages of wherever you are transported for a while, as long as it is an elemental plane associated with fire. I wish you best of luck with your spirit contract. Now leave, I need to prepare to depart this plane and I do not wish any witnesses.’

Jack: *stores the egg-gem in his inventory and bows humbly* “Of course Lady Salamander. I am extremely grateful for your gift and I will strive to be worthy of it.”

Lady Salamander: *telepathically* ‘Leave. Now.’

He jumped at the last mental communication, and ran away at full speed till he exited the entire dungeon, not caring for his PP at all. Only when he had exited the Infested Caves, did he dare to rest to regenerate his PP.

Jack: ‘Oh boy, she didn’t seem pleased at the last bit of flattery. But I got my reward, hope it is useful while meeting the father spirit. Guess I should go to meet one of the kobold sentries and complete this quest.’

Jack: ‘Pretty ironic, that the quest was titled “Pest Control”. Lady Salamander viewed me nothing more than a “pest” and “controlled” me like her personal bitch for three days. I survived only because I didn’t attack her, or her eggs and she found me amusing. The overlord AI sure likes it’s inside jokes. On the bright side, I am level 60 now, almost lv 61! I will invest my stats after meeting with the fire spirit, depending on the type of spells I get. With the addition of entropic leech and force claws to my spell arsenal, I should be able to handle any monster on the way.’

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A/N: So here is another Chapter! Last Chapter, my grammar was a bit lacking due to having to explain briefly the entropy/thermodynamic stuff, and it was bit of a rush job. Hopefully, this chapter has better grammar and is overall higher in quality. Tables and stuff comes after Jack deals with the father spirit.

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