If there was anything that Silpha hated more than the risk of being shivered was the endless void of madness called the astral. Protected as she was, the first had shrunken exponentially thanks to a series of odd circumstances no one but Tella or Oblivia could have foreseen.

Unfortunately for her, Myles Chase, the curious, overtly-lucky mess of power he seemed to be, managed to somehow drag her influence into the astral itself when he wandered onto the second floor by accident. Well, wandered and accident were a pair of a strong terms. All he had to do was dream, after all, and it wasn’t like she was allowed to tell him anything to give him an advantage.

Not that she hadn’t come close to breaking that rule. The fact it took them so long to figure it out frustrated her beyond belief. It couldn’t have been any more obvious that the prize they all received was the key to the floor. Why else would the dungeon give them lucid dreaming pillows? Really!

Despite it all, being there when a parasite attacked his sleeping mind was his dumb luck. Silpha could have resisted the pull of his pain or decided against keeping an eye on him. If she had though, his life would have ended like so many others that night. Nothing about her relationship with him was simple. Sure, Silpha could have let him die, but she knew better. Letting Myles die just wasn’t in her own best interest. If he died, she’d still be trapped in that pen and have fewer rights than she currently had, and she couldn’t count on the next person to come along to be as accommodating as Myles was. Whoever found her would probably end her life without a second thought. No, with Myles dead, it would have made everything worse for her. On top of that, it would have made Ashra upset with her as well. So, there was no question whether she was going to put herself on the line for him.

When the dream ripper tore out his head, Silpha willed the space to obey her will and follow his.

When his spine was gone, Silpha stanched the spiritual bleeding and used her power to connect the nerve endings.

When he awoke, she nearly shattered keeping the mental construct of his beating heart in place. It worked, but only in part. Such a powerful working across their connection interfered with the spinal construct and caused Myles’s legs to fail.

In all honesty, Silpha still counted it as a win even as strained as she was. She’d done something unique and had even surprised herself that she’d been able to use their link to hold him together with Influence alone. A strong breeze could have shattered her, but it was worth it.

Then everything got complicated.

The Overseer got curious.

How he had sensed her presence in the astral or the fact she was keeping Myles alive in a way she fully wasn’t intended to, Silpha could only guess, but once a dungeon core had his attention, there was no escaping the spirit of the grand dungeon’s curiosity.

Lucky her, he didn’t decide to shatter her into an incalculable pile of dungeon core dust for breaking a rule that didn’t exist. No, far from it.

Are you sure that is what you want, Silpha?

He rewarded her.

Silpha?

The dungeon core glowed ever so slightly in acknowledgment as the terms and new Soul Attributes presented themselves to her once more at the voice of the Overseer. She didn’t need to read them, per se, but she missed the action sometimes as she looked over the glowing blue pane of energy that materialized in front of her.

A Soul Attribute has been offered to you by the Overseer of the Grand Dungeon of Kess for services rendered above and beyond the scope of your duties.

Dungeon: The Purifying Wake

Soul Attributes Earned: 11 (8 Locked due to Rank restriction. Current Rank - C)

Soul Attributes available for unlock: 7

Advanced Runic Knowledge: 300 SE

Advanced Nature Lore: 300 SE

Environmental Lore: 500 SE

Minion Evolutionary Lore: 500 SE

Advanced Mana Manipulation: 1,000 SE

Advanced Transmutation: 2,000 SE

Dimensional Lore: 10,000 SE

Of course, she already had made her choice.

Like so many others, dungeon cores gained Skills and Attributes like anyone else. Their method was a little different though. As Silpha weighed the options granted to her, she wondered how many adventurers would have had to fall to her to gather that much Soul Energy. A free Attribute was no joke, which meant there was only a single choice to make. If the Overseer was going to be sending them around the planes of reality, there was only a single choice…

“Dimensional Lore, and of course I’m sure,” Silpha repeated aloud as she agreed to the terms once more.

Just being sure, kit.

A sound like rustling leaves echoed in the endless ocean that was Silpha’s pen in reply as the Overseer spoke again. His tone was gentler now like it had been in the days before the Run began again. It was a tone that Silpha missed.

Did I ever tell you how I got that? It was a gift for me too.

The admission surprised her, but not enough to divert her from her goal.

“Why choose something easier when this is probably only the tip of the iceberg on our dimensional trip?”

Our? The jovial laughter continued for just a moment more. What you do with the Skills matter more than the Skill itself. I believe you will enjoy the knowledge it brings. There’s just so much potential in Lore Nodes. You remind me a lot of myself, Silpha. The somberness of an autumn night returned as he sighed. Just remember to be careful where you poke your nose near the cookfire, or it might get burned.

“I’m always careful,” Silpha lied.

The emptiness within the hood scoffed merrily.

We both know immortality makes us cocky, the hooded figure of the Overseer replied. I’ve blown myself up more times than I can count, but I mean it this time. The Pantheon and even some Outsiders are already involved. From tip to tail, I have a bad feeling about this.

Silpha said nothing as she considered that statement. The Overseer was always odd, always curious, but always nervous when it came to his dungeon. Still, it didn’t seem to her to be his normal care. There was something in the way he spoke that resonated with her. This seemed like something different. The Pantheon always got involved. The Outsiders, while rare, still chose champions at times when they fit in their agendas. Rarer still when the living, or fallen, Starfallen influenced the runners.

Though it wasn’t spoken of outside of the Overseers, all the cores knew there was a reason why only seven of the runs were remembered.

Which brought her mind full circle to what Myles had tried to show her.

The space was empty as the void, but there was clearly an impression on his fingers when he presented it. She'd been unable to detect anything there even with her focused Influence, but now that she thought on it further, a sufficiently powerful Influence or magical protection could have blocked her senses.

But why would someone have done that?

Was it the Overseer’s intervention, a god’s influence, or an Outsider’s insertion into the training grounds? Anything made by a Starfallen would have been a void to her, but she ruled that out immediately. Though Myles’s Class gave him unique opportunities, it wasn’t inherently broken, and it lacked the corruptive aspects that followed the Starfallen’s chosen.

The more she thought about it, the more she considered it was better off as one of the few things she didn’t question further until she had more information. As usual, her trail of thought had gone into the woods and gotten lost as the Overseer spoke louder to get her back on the path.

“Silpha? Are you listening, little one?”

“Yes. Sorry, yes. I am listening, Overseer.”

So much like me. The somber fall tones returned, and the Overseer sighed. Prepare yourself. This one’s going to hurt.

The next moments were the worst pain Silpha had felt in two lifetimes as her senses and Skills were flooded with new information, new power, and a variety of new ways she’d never dreamed possible as the knowledge solidified itself.

Dimensional Lore

Skill Type: Passive - Dungeon Core (Restricted by Rank)

Cost: None

Effect 1: You have gained passive knowledge of the realms beyond the physical including but not limited to the elemental planes and the astral.

Restriction: Due to your Rank, you cannot obtain deeper realm information until either you travel there, encounter a denizen of the realm, or encounter an event unique to it.

Effect 2: When identifying items, you have an innate understanding of the interactions between dimensional script and the item it is inscribed upon.

Restriction: Due to your Rank, you cannot craft items with dimensional aspects until you unravel the scripting or enchantments on your own. Absorbing dimensional aspect items have a chance to add the information to your Lore Skill.

The power surged, building and solidifying within her soul. Soon, she knew everything. Silpha’s world had expanded, reaching further than she thought possible as she saw the world in a new light. The pain vanished, but there was still something lingering, waiting as her senses returned, and she heard the Overseer curse like a pissed-off dwarf that had just been cut off by the barkeep.

“Sket! I told you not to interfere! You gave your word, you spherical, glowing bastard! You are not welcome here! Nearly a thousand years, five corrupted purges, and failed runs more than I can count, and now you show up?”

For a moment, Silpha didn’t understand. In the Grand Dungeon of Kess, the Overseer’s word was law. He controlled everything. He was the law outside of the Grand Accords between his others. Nothing could go against his will— nothing mortal anyways.

Power lingered at the edge of her soul, and the realization of who the Overseer was arguing with came crashing down around her.

Eventide, the God of Trials has offered you a boon for acting towards the betterment of the sapient races in accordance with the Accords of the Seven and the Grand Accords.

Eventide, the God of Trials has offered to advance Dimensional Lore to Extra-Dimensional Lore upon acceptance of their blessing.

Do you accept this boon? Y/N

The Grand Dungeon of Kess was arguing with a god, and that was something far above her pay grade.

Boon accepted.

That didn’t mean she wasn't going to take advantage of free knowledge, however.

Dimensional Lore has been advanced to Extra-Dimensional Lore via the boon of Eventide, The God of Trials.

Extra-Dimensional Lore

Skill Type: Passive - Dungeon Core Variant

Cost: None

Effect 1: You have gained passive knowledge of the realms beyond the physical and the truly understood including but not limited to the elemental planes, the astral, the Null, and the Beyond.

Effect 2: You have gained an understanding and passive knowledge of entities from the Beyond and the Null commonly referred to as Outsiders and Starfallen. Efforts of these entities to hide or suppress their power require an active, continuous Willpower check to pass.

Effect 3: When identifying items, you have an innate understanding of the interactions between dimensional script and the item it is inscribed upon.

You may share your information freely with those connected to your soul as an Interface notation.

Before the Overseer noticed her newfound gift, Silpha sunk back into the furthest part of her soul, hid the power the best she could, and let the two have their little talk. For the first time since her ‘taming,’ Silpha was happy for the luxuries that the small pen provided like her soundproofing.

Once she was alone again, there would be fun to be had!