Ring of Sand and Steel

Value: None

Accessory - Ring (Soulbound-Multidimensional)

Description: A ring forged of Kinetic Steel and Desert Sand.

Detail: A reward granted by the subconscious of another for the successful annihilation of a nightmare. This enchanted item only exists within the waking world and allows the user to change their physical form within the realm of Somniums when equipped before entering.

Primary Effect: Somniums Only - Shed your human form and become a monsterkin with all related abilities of said form.

Secondary Effect: When worn in the waking world, warps the perception of Soulsight used by the related species.

Myles wiped his brow as he finished reading the description. At least it wouldn’t be permanent, but it still bothered him that his monsters were restricted when he wore the ring. He couldn’t think of a situation where he’d want to use it outright, but thinking back to the damage he’d done, it was hard to deny the power the ring would give him. If he could master it, and the dysphoria he felt now that he had time to just be, it would be useful.

It was far from the only item he’d received as he focused on the notifications in his interface.

Essence of Nightmares

Value: 80

Crafting material - Essence

Description: The physical manifestation of a nightmare’s energy

Detail: A nightmare is never truly gone, only changed. Essence of Nightmares is a physical residue left behind that is heavily influenced by fear and chaos.

Essence is used to create enchantments, etchings, and other magical items.

Do not eat the Essence of Nightmares.

Bridge Key

Value: None

Key Item - Bridge Key (Somniums Only - Soulbound)

Charges: 1/1

Description: A small, unassuming block of crystal used to bridge the gap between the psyche of individuals.

Detail: An item said to be designed by Vul the Farseeing in conjunction with Rani of the Moon to bring peace to those suffering from nightmares and other ailments related to the realm of Somniums. When used while dreaming near another, create a pathway between two sleeping minds that can be traversed. The item recharges after a full day’s rest.

Primary Effect: Created a traversable pathway between the dreams of others.

In all honesty, it was a comfort to see the small message at the end of the essence. It meant that somewhere, somehow, his Taste Test and Item Lore skills were still active, but the bridge key stole any thunder the comfort might have had. It was exactly what they’d been looking for, and to see it had been designed by a pair of gods working together only strengthened his hope about it.

Dismissing the information from his interface, he caught Ashra staring at him again. For a moment, their eyes met and their thoughts aligned. She was appraising him, weighing his worth for the moment as he sat up awkwardly. Then as if noticing his attention for the first time, she turned it elsewhere.

Even so, he could feel her curiosity and desire to test herself, but it was tinged with an annoyance that he couldn’t place. He thought about asking her, but she never kept eye contact long enough for him to get the words out.

Besides, without the threat of his death, he doubted he could get back into fighting shape. Everything still felt so wrong, like he was piloting a golem made of flesh and blood that was just a little too fast and a little too quick to respond properly. The frustration of it all made him want to pull his hair out, or rather the hare out of him.

A moment later, the world flickered.

***

Myles nearly got sick as his sleeping mind rejoined his waking body. The dysphoria of being a rabbitkin and then a human as he blinked the sleep from his eyes did nothing for that as he rolled off the bed and onto the floor with a thud that could wake the dead.

Will seemed to have already awoken and left the room thankfully, so no one had been there to catch his fall or see him in a heap of blankets struggling to tear free of his cocoon.

“A little help?”

There was no surprise as Squishy failed to be of any help whatsoever. On a whim he felt too late, the young monsterkin girl flopped off the bed a moment later, laughing like a fine bell as she collided with Myles’s chest.

“Not helping.”

As he struggled with an overly attached, amused slime girl, Ashra looked over the side at the pile and, though she didn’t smile, Myles felt her amusement. Propping himself up with a little help from his brawn, he managed to roll her off and stand up to straighten out his clothes. His shirt was a mess, and his pants had halfway…

He stopped mid-brush and looked down.

A smile bloomed on his face as he realized the implication of what he’d done.

He stomped his feet and paced around the room before going to the door and calling out into a shambling mass of his half-woken teammates.

“I can walk!”

Kendra turned to him and stared, hair looking like she’d been struck by a bolt of lightning and survived. She looked haggard, more so than even after the fight with Shardking. “Too loud…”

“Sorry.”

“We’re happy for you,” Mitchel said, seeming as chipper as Kendra was dour. “Some night. I take it your plan didn’t work?”

Myles shook his head. “Partly? I met up with Ashra, and Nod was a huge help. Plus, I got an item to use tonight.”

“Tonight?” Kendra asked. “We’re going back?”

“Yes?”

Her already baggy eyes got a few pounds heavier as she shook her head. “Not tonight, tomorrow night. I need a break from that place.”

“You remember?”

She shook her head. “Not exactly, but I feel it.” Her hand went to the side of her face, stroking it gingerly. “It’s like my jaw hurts, but when I try to find out where the pain comes from, it disappears for a bit. Then, it feels cold, but when I touch it, it's warm. Don’t feel like I had any sleep either, so I’m saying we skip tonight and go tomorrow.”

The others were waking more by now and seemed to echo their agreement. Lyna was exhausted and Tail’s tail drooped like they’d been dunked in a lake and left to air dry.

All except for Will and Mitchel.

“We need to get to the next floor,” Mitchel said. “When someone opens the gate, it’ll keep the other runners from dealing with Somniums. If we can get there, we’ll save lives, and it sounds like you’ve got what we need to present a united front.”

“I just don’t want to be fighting even when I’m asleep,” Will added. “As long as it's not another event floor, we should be fine. I’m up for another round.”

Myles nodded and then thought back to the item he had. It had a single charge per night, so he had to use it wisely to get his team together. If he wanted to keep as many of them safe as possible, that meant only bringing them in one at a time.

He felt the exhaustion in his bones as he knew what he had to do.

“Mitchel, I know the couch isn’t exactly comfortable, but I can only create one bridge a night. I’d rather have another front liner before we start bringing you in, Will. Even with Nod, Ashra, and Squishy, I want to move as fast as we can, and with Mitchel, we can go harder once you come in.”

Will hesitated before nodding. “So, what’s the plan then.”

It wasn’t perfect, but Myles’s plan was a simple one.

Each night, another person would come back to stay at his place. He wasn’t sure if the distance mattered, but it had worked with Ashra. He wasn’t quite ready to invite Mitchel or the others into his bed though. The couch would have to do until things made more sense, and an order was established.

First, it would be his front-line fighters: Mitchel, then Kendra, then Lyna. After that, the more fragile fighters would join them. Will would be the first of them, and Tail would be the tail end.

So in about a week’s time, they’d be back to full strength and ready to challenge the floor boss when it revealed itself. Then, hopefully, the door to the next floor would open back in the ruins, and they could all forget about the nightmare of a floor that was Somniums.

Of course, that wouldn’t matter if they couldn’t win.

With that dark thought, Myles slipped the magic sand-colored ring from his hand, went into the kitchen, and made the most important call out of the day.

“What does everyone want for breakfast?”

***

As the morning went on and his team was fed and their mess was cleaned up, Myles went into the bathroom to check on his newest experiment. It felt like it had been ages since he walked towards the nest of towels by the heater and smiled down at his monsters.

“Morning, everyone.”

Paragon and the others greeted him with a loud purr.

Nope, nothing strange here.

The newest member of his support team was tinged a soft violet and was nestled atop Doughnut in what looked like a nest.

Taking equal parts healing and mana potions, the slime had taken on a soft purple hue since the last time he’d visited, but it was still small as it had been. As it purred louder, Myles gave the slime its food and opened his interface to check for any updates.

Name: Paragon

Age: Stage 1+

Sex: None

Race: Slime (Violet)

Patron: none

Primary Class:

Slime- Novice

Brawn: 1

Dexterity: 2

Will: 2

Influence: 2

Soul Energy: 20/20

Mana: 0/0

Elemental Alignment:

None

Skills:

None

Traits:

Adaptability

Slime Regeneration

Core Soul

Soul Link: (Myles Chase)

Huh. A violet slime?

Monster Lore Unlocked!

Violet Slime information obtained!

Violet Slime

Dungeon Creature - Slime (Small)

Rank E Threat level

Best trait - Adaptability

Preferred Method of Attack - Absorption, Swarm

Known Drops: Violet Slime Core

Diet: Everything

Breeding Groups: Amorphous

Special Ability: None

The violet slime is a middling stage before stage advancement. A violet slime has lost its purification ability as it has adapted to its diet and will devour nothing else. As they feed, they advance to the second stage of life in which they take on elemental affinities and additional traits based on their diet and environment. The more mana rich an environment and the more plentiful the food, the faster stage advancement will occur.

Stage advancement is usually within a day of this stage beginning.

Class Specific Information: [Monster Tamer]

Slime stat advancement only occurs during stage advancement and will be static until another stage advancement occurs. While temporary enhancements will occur, enhancement only lasts half as long. This is also true for any affliction due to the Slime Regeneration ability. As a slime is constantly generating new material, the new material is no longer under the influences of status enhancement or affliction. This can be bypassed by directly targeting the slime core via touch. Effects via touch are doubled in length.

Slimes do not feel pain to their membrane or their slime layers. Smarter slimes can sense danger when their mass layer is damaged and act pained; however, it is usually a ploy to draw their prey in closer or to escape danger.

Class Specific Information: [Succulent Mage]

Violet slime cores have little use due to their low mana density and unfocused ability. At this stage of advancement, these cores can be ground up and added to recipes in place of gelatin.

Myles smiled. He really loved having Monster Lore.

As Myles crouched next to it, Paragon took the chance to hop from Doughnut to Myles’s shoulder and continue its quest for attention. The small slime nuzzled against his cheek and purred louder. He did his best not to laugh and encourage it, but he did scratch it where he imagined its ears to be and set it back down.

“Now, I’ll be back later for your next feeding. When you advance, we’ll start practice, okay?”

Paragon purred louder, and Myles hoped that was a yes. It was then that he noticed something strange. Its emotions were simple but harder to read than the others had been at that stage. Even Squishy’s emotions had been sharp, but Paragon’s were hazed. It nagged at him, but ultimately, there wasn’t much he could do about it until Paragon advanced or his abilities advanced.

Taking a few more minutes, Myles fed the rest of the slimes, harvested more dough, health, and mana slime, and closed the door behind him.

“Got a few things to do today, Myles,” Kendra said as she surprised him with a casual kiss on the cheek. “Gotta run.”

He smiled despite Lyna’s teasing cheer in the background. “Sure. Don’t do anything stupid?”

She shrugged. “If it happens, it happens.”

“Please, don’t make my life harder,” Will sighed.

Kendra grinned. “You just made it more likely to happen. You know that, right?”

“Same here,” Lyna explained. “The going, not likelihood of doing something stupid.” Kendra gave her a hard glare, but she only smiled back warmly. “I need to take a few things to the smithy for repairs.”

“And I need time to myself. I’m starting to smell,” Tail said bluntly.

“I think we all are, and you’re stingy with that shower of yours,” Mitchel laughed and returned to washing the dishes from breakfast.

The group said their goodbyes for the day, and Myles went to help as Tail closed the door behind them. Soon, the two fell into a rhythm. While Mitchel washed, Myles dried and put them away until everything was returned to its proper place.

Wiping his brow, Mitchel turned back to Myles and looked sheepish, which was an accomplishment in itself considering how hard his face could be. “Myles, are you still okay with me crashing here?”

“Hm?” It had occurred to him that Mitchel probably wouldn’t be welcomed for long at the Seeker’s home. He was surprised he hadn’t asked sooner if he was being honest with himself. Slinging his towel over his shoulder, Myles replied. “Of course not. The couch is all yours as long as you need it, but if you want to stay long-term, we’re going to have to put down a few rules.”

Mitchel smiled and produced a few vouchers, comfort and stone from the coloring. “Consider this my first rent then so that you know I can pull my weight…”

Myles dismissed them quickly. He couldn’t use them, after all, and he wasn’t going to throw a member of his team out into the city. His father taught him better than that. “Don’t even think about it. Magus Chase wouldn’t let me live it down if I didn’t help. If you need me, I’m here, and if you want to help, fine, but I’m not going to charge you.”

Mitchel gave him his usual goofy grin, put the vouchers away, and nodded. “Fine, but I am paying for the room when we get an upgrade core after the next floor boss.”

Myles had completely forgotten about that reward.

Every floor after the first offered the Runners a house, shop, weapon, or armor upgrade core. Like a Skill Gem, it would allow their associated items to upgrade into a more powerful version of themselves without needing to reforge or rebuild them.

Speaking of cores…

If Mitchel was going to be staying with him long term, he may have to introduce the man to his dungeon core before too long. Silpha wouldn’t be withdrawn forever, and he’d have to go and train with…

~Oh, I’m here, and don’t worry. Introducing us is fine. Mitchel is trustworthy from all I’ve seen, but we have more important things to discuss! Come over here as soon as you can.~

Over the next few minutes, Myles had a hard time explaining why he’d nearly died of a heart attack.