Rune Seeker

Hiral closed the window with a thought and braced for another one, but it didn’t come, so he ran over to join the others gathered around Yanily.

“How is he?” Hiral asked.

“Hurting,” Yanily said, though he gave Hiral a thumbs-up. “We did it, and got a new record! Means we beat Seeyela.”

“Stop moving until I finish healing you,” Wule interrupted. “These injuries are nothing to joke about.”

“He’s got Hiral’s hairstyle now,” Vix pointed out, and Yanily’s eyes widened a second before he winced again.

“My… my hair?” Yanily asked.

“Went fwoosh when you ate a faceful of purple fire,” Vix said.

“Fwoosh?” Yanily asked, tentatively reaching his hand for his head, only for Wule to slap it away.

“What did I just say?” Wule scolded him.

“Obviously, he’s fine,” Seena said, but there was relief on her face.

“I’m not fine! My hair!” Yanily said.

Hiral looked at him and nodded his understanding.

Seena rolled her eyes and shook her head, then smiled. “Yanily’s hair aside, good job, everybody. That was definitely more difficult than I expected for E-Rank.”

“Way more difficult,” Nivian said. “My arm is killing me from blocking that monster’s axe.”

“Honestly surprised he didn’t cut you in two,” Yanily said from where he lay on the ground, but his flesh was a healthier pink from Wule’s healing.

“C’mon,” Hiral said, offering his hand, then pulling Yanily to his feet. “Us bald guys gotta stick together.”

“I’m not bald. I’m… follically challenged. Besides, it’ll grow back.” Yanily looked at Wule. “It’ll grow back? Right?”

“Uh…” Wule said, looking everywhere but at Yanily. “How about we find that dungeon interface? We’ve got a whole mess of achievement rewards to collect.”

“There’s something in the center of those torches where the duke was,” Vix said.

“The torches that are still burning,” Hiral pointed out, looking at the other purple torches around the room. “We’re sure that’s the end of the Troblins? More aren’t going to come running out of those suspiciously placed hallways?”

That question made everybody pause.

“No… we aren’t sure at all. Stay on guard, folks,” Seena instructed.

“I’m not going to be much good until we get out of here and I can grab a back-up spear from one of our supply stashes,” Yanily said.

“Here,” Hiral said, returning Yanily’s knife to him.

“Not exactly the same, but thanks,” Yanily said, then the whole group moved up to the circle of purple torches.

“I’m going first, aren’t I?” Nivian asked.

“Yup,” Vix said. “Give him the shoulder tap.”

“Do you need the shoulder tap?” Seena asked Nivian.

“No, I don’t need the… whatever,” Nivian huffed.

He entered the circle of torches, his shield back up at the ready. Nothing changed and no more monsters burst into the room, so the rest of the group followed him in and up to a pedestal at the center of the ring.

“Looks the same as outside the dungeon,” Hiral said, spotting the crystal and waving his hand over it. However, instead of an image of Dr. Benza appearing, every torch in the room simultaneously blinked out, plunging the party into absolute darkness.

“What?” somebody asked, and then the torches burst back to life, this time in shades of green and yellow. Six chests of various sizes sat spaced around the inside edge of the torches, while one larger and plainer one appeared next to the pedestal, though Hiral was too busy preparing for another ambush to pay them much mind.

When nothing immediately attacked the group, though, their eyes began turning to the strange containers.

Hrm. One chest in front of those two yellow torches, and the rest in front of green torches of various shades. Connected to our races? And this big one in the middle? What’s it for?

“Is this the loot Dr. Benza was talking about?” Seena asked, nodding her chin toward the largest chest.

“I guess so,” Hiral said. “He did say something about unique equipment the first time we completed the dungeon. Should we open the chests?”

“We’ve only got fifty-five minutes until we’re forced out, so yes, let’s open the juicy equipment chests,” Yanily said as he rubbed his hands together in front of a very long and narrow chest. “I mean, I’ve never been very good at guessing presents, but even I know what this is. And I can’t wait.”

“It could be a fishing rod,” Vix said, and Yanily’s jaw almost hit the floor.

“No. No way,” Yanily said, shaking his head. “It’s a spear. It has to be.”

“It could be,” Vix said flatly. “It could also be a fishing rod.”

“Don’t make me hurt you,” Yanily said, alternating his glare between Vix and the uniquely shaped chest.

“Not much threat without a spear… or fishing rod…” Vix mumbled.

“You think it’s safe?” Wule asked.

“I do,” Hiral said, stepping up and crouching at the chest in front of the yellow torches. “Dr. Benza seemed to be saying the point of these dungeons is to help us grow, and the equipment will help us against the Enemy, whoever that is.”

“Well, I’m guessing the fishing rod chest is for Yanily,” Seena said, her lips quirking, “and the one in front of the yellow torches is for Hiral. What about the rest of us?”

“Match your status window color to the two torches in front of the chest,” Hiral said.

“Huh, he’s right,” Nivian said. “My green is a bit different than this one… and this one…” he said, walking around the ring. “I think this one matches.”

“This one is mine,” Vix said in front of another, and Seena and Wule quickly found their own as well.

“Doesn’t look like Left and Right get chests,” Seena said, looking at the two doubles.

“Sorry, guys,” Hiral said.

“It makes sense,” Left said. “This dungeon was designed for six people, and although we have status windows, we are not technically people.”

“People or not, I don’t know if we would’ve gotten through without you,” Nivian said before glancing over at Seena. “Uh, I mean, of course a strong party of six people would have no problem getting through…”

“I’m sure my sister and her party are fine,” Seena said.

“Still, let’s get our loot and get out there,” Hiral said. “I’m sure she’ll be worried about us as well, if we take too long.”

“What about this big one in the middle?” Right asked. “Should we open it first?”

“Yeah, why don’t you do that?” Hiral offered.

“Aw, c’mon, how come they get to open something?” Yanily whined, but his mouth snapped closed at a look from Seena.

“There are packs in here,” Left said, peering into the now opened chest. “Six, unsurprisingly.”

“What’s in them?” Hiral asked, though his eyes were glued to the smaller chest in front of him.

“Seriously, they get to open something else too?” Yanily whispered.

“Hrm. Food,” Left said, “along with some other supplies and necessities. I see a couple of tents, light blankets, and clothing, though I don’t recognize the material.”

“Tents sure would be useful, considering the rain,” Wule said.

“So would a fishing rod,” Vix pointed out.

“It’s not a fishing rod!” Yanily snapped. “At least, it better not be, considering what this dungeon cost me.”

“Your hair?” Vix asked.

“My spear!” Yanily said, then whispered, “And my hair.”

“Either way, the stuff in that big chest is going to be really useful. We didn’t have a lot of supplies in the cave with us,” Seena said. “Still, I’m kind of curious what’s in these smaller chests. Maybe we should have Left and Right open…”

“C’mon!” Yanily said, but Seena was chuckling. “Jeez, can I open it now? Please?” Yanily asked, practically salivating at the chest in front of him.

“You’re such a kid sometimes,” Seena said.

“Sometimes?” Vix asked quietly.

“Go ahead, open these up and let’s see what we’ve got,” Seena said, reaching down to lift the top of the chest open.

Not wanting to wait any longer for his own either, Hiral turned his back to the others and flipped his chest open to find a pair of strange, foot-long crystal objects resting on two crystal plates. The devices were somewhat cylindrical with what looked like handles on one end, complete with a trigger.

What are these? Kind of like hand-crossbows.

As soon as he reached into the chest and touched one of the objects, a notification window popped up in front of him.

Runic Hand-Cannons: Impact

RHCs project the power of the contained rune.

Range and Damage (if applicable) based on user’s combined Dex and Atn.

Impact: Projects focused, concussive force.

They’re weapons? Nice. And what are these?

Hiral’s hand touched the plates the RHCs rested on, and though he didn’t get a pop-up notification for them, he instantly understood the weapons would use solar energy to bond to the plates, kind of like a sheath. Likewise, the plates would also use solar energy to attach to his skin or clothing.

That’s convenient.

Hiral lifted the two RHCs and their plates out of the chest as he turned to see what the others had found.

“Awwwww, yeah,” Yanily said, lifting a spear out of the chest in front of him. “Told you it wasn’t a fishing rod. Kind of creepy-looking, but whatever; it has an amazing ability.”

Hiral looked at the weapon in Yanily’s hand, and the man wasn’t kidding—the spear radiated a sinister aura. The haft looked to be made of charred wood, black as night and cracked, while the blade glinted with a familiar purple sheen. There were even crude etchings extending from the haft all the way to the tip of the serrated blade.

“Yanily wins the prize for the spookiest-looking item,” Seena said, holding what appeared to be a vine-wrought tiara in her hands. “What did everybody else get?”

“Should we call you princess-boss now?” Wule asked, holding up a two-foot-long rod of solid ice. “Ah, it gives me some attack options,” he said as if in explanation.

“Shush, you,” Seena said, but she still slipped the tiara on her head. “Speeds up the… uh… cast time of my abilities. Reduces cooldown by a lot too. What about you, Vix?”

“Bracers,” he said, holding up the paired leather items. “Apparently gives my punches a range of ten feet?”

“If your arms go all wiggly and long, you’ll take the spookiest item crown,” Seena said, then looked at Nivian. “You?”

“An amulet,” Nivian said, holding up what looked like a simple flower with its stem twisted around. “It adds my strength, dexterity, and endurance to give me some kind of additional armor effect. Looks like it stacks with my Bark Armor too.”

“Oh, nice,” Seena said. “Hiral?”

“They’re called Runic Hand Cannons. Ranged weapons, from what I can tell,” Hiral said.

“Isn’t your class called something like that?” Wule asked.

“Runic Artificer, yeah. These must be connected. I’m going to take a closer look at them when we get out. They seem really interesting, and there’s another rune in there.”

He held one of the plates to the side of his right thigh and pushed some solar energy into it. The plate immediately adhered in place, and there was practically no weight to it despite the RHC being attached too. The other went on his left thigh a second later, and then he turned his attention to the dungeon interface, along with everybody else.

“How do we get these achievement rewards?” Yanily asked, though he was taking practice stabs with his spear in the opposite direction.

“Just wave your hand over the crystal, I think,” Hiral said. “Why don’t one of you go first, just to make sure it works for somebody other than me?”

“I say we should let Nivian go first,” Wule said, looking at his twin, who took a step back.

“Why? You think it’s going to explode or something?” Nivian asked warily.

“What? No,” Wule said. “I actually meant the opposite.”

“Oh, you think I’m going to explode?” Nivian asked.

Wule walked over and gently punched his brother in the shoulder. “You always go first into the dangerous situations. Figured you should get to go first for some of the good stuff too.”

“Oh,” Nivian said, nodding. “Thanks, Wule. Is that okay with everybody else?”

“All yours,” Seena said, gesturing with both hands toward the panel, and Nivian walked over to it and waved his hand.

“Sure hope it doesn’t explode,” Wule whispered loud enough for everybody to hear.

“You…” Nivian growled. He hopped back from the interface, his eyes wide. “Oh, uh, achievement rewards.” Then his eyes opened even further. “Wow, that’s a lot of achievement notifications. You guys may want to get started.”

“How many?” Seena asked.

“A bunch. Can’t tell how many, exactly, since they’re hidden behind each other,” Nivian explained, and one by one, the party members went over and waved their hands above the crystal.

Time Records

Achievement Rewards

Rank Evolution

Exit Dungeon

As much as Hiral wanted to get his class-specific rewards—Still can’t believe I have a class after all this time!—he instead focused on the top option and said, “Time Records.”

Splitfang Keep Clear Times

Party (Seena) – 31:23

Party (Seeyela) – 35:58

“Your sister’s party also cleared the dungeon,” Hiral said.

“Time Records,” Seena said immediately, and a tension in her shoulders relaxed as she saw the clear notification. “Good thinking, Hiral. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Hiral said as the clear times vanished and the original menu reappeared. “Achievement Rewards.”

Hiral instinctively stepped back as a barrage of status windows cascaded in front him, and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw he wasn’t the only one.

Achievement: Terminal

Class Reward: Ability (Active) – Terminal

Terminal (Active) – Once per 24 hours, you may initiate an ability or item at its maximum rank for up to 180 seconds.

Note: Utilizing Ability – Terminal (Active) risks the Debuff – System Shock.

System Shock: No class abilities can be used for one hour.

Okay, so that must be similar to what I almost did by accident during my Shaper test. Same debuff too. Maximum rank, though? That could be handy—though I don’t know if the risk would be worth it in the middle of a fight. Let’s see what’s next.

Hiral pulled up his status window, noticing Terminal was now listed under his abilities, then closed the first achievement window to look at the next.

Achievement: Unsullied and Unsummoned

Class Reward: Class Modification – Infernal Conjuration

Infernal Conjuration – Conjured items or creatures gain the Infernal characteristic.

Infernal? What in the Fallen’s names does that mean? Wait… conjured creatures?

Hiral’s head turned toward Left and Right, and memories of the purple smoke monsters sprang to mind.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” Right asked.

“Ah, never mind. We can talk about it later,” Hiral said, dismissing that particular notification window. Another popped into focus to replace it immediately.

Achievement: Just the Right Amount of Heat

Class Reward: Class Modification – Gourmand

Gourmand – Consuming food or drink will now add limited buffs.

Note: Strength of buffs dependent on ingredient quality and preparation.

Er, wow. We can get buffs just by eating? That could be pretty powerful.

Hiral double-checked his status window to see both classmodificationswere listed under a special section of his abilities, then closed the notification window.

Achievement: Hazards of the Duke

Class Reward: Ability – Eloquent (self buff) (1 hour cooldown)

Class Reward: Ability – Enraged (self buff) (1 hour cooldown)

Eloquent (self buff) – Increase all mental attributes by 50% for 180 seconds.

Note: After Eloquent (self buff) fades, all mental attributes are reduced by 50% for 180 seconds.

Enraged (self buff) – Increase all physical attributes by 50% for 180 seconds.

Note: After Enraged (self buff) fades, all physical attributes are reduced by 50% for 180 seconds.

Fifty percent? To all stats for three minutes? Another really powerful ability… unless the fight lasts longer than that. That’s worth testing out, though. Looks like just two more after this.

With a thought, the notification window vanished and the next one popped into focus.

Achievement: The Trouble with Troblins

Reward: Class Modification – Racial Growth

Racial Growth – By defeating multiple creatures of the same type, you gain stacking bonuses to damage and damage reduction in future encounters.

Racial Growth: Troblins – Level 1 Achieved – 5% bonus

Racial Growth: Troblins – Level 2 – 0/10

Okay, so if we kill ten more Troblins, we’ll get another bonus when fighting Troblins? Handy. I wonder how high it goes—and if it’s the same number of monsters for each type. Fighting ten of those lizards would be much tougher than ten Troblins. Only one way to find out, but first, one more notification.

Hiral closed the current window to bring up the last.

Achievement: My First Dungeon

Reward: Class Modification: View – E-Rank (constant)

View – You gain additional information through your PIM when looking at objects or creatures.

Note: View is upgradable to provide more information.

Additional information? What kind of information?

Hiral finally closed the last of the notifications and looked up to find Seena staring at him.

“Your last name is Dorin?” she asked at the same time he saw a name floating above her head in green script.

“And yours is Aliside?” he asked. “And you’re High-E-Rank. So, name and level?”

“Yeah. You’re Mid-E-Rank still?” she asked.

A quick look at his status window, and Hiral nodded. “Hit level fifteen, but I guess high must be from sixteen on?”

“Mid is the biggest category,” Seena confirmed. “Everybody get their achievement rewards?” she asked the group at large, and a wide-eyed party looked back at her.

“Class modifications, abilities… This was a major haul,” Yanily said. “Why didn’t we do this sooner?”

“No Islander in our party,” Vix pointed out.

“Well, yes,” Yanily agreed before shuffling over to stand beside Vix. “So, buddy, what did you get?”

“We can compare what we got when we get out,” Seena said, holding up her hand to forestall Vix from answering. “In fact, we’re going to make a point of it. If you guys got anything like I did, it’s going to change how we fight. How we fight together.

“We can run this dungeon twice more, from what Dr. Benza said, and I intend to use those runs to fine-tune what we can do and our teamwork. First, though, let’s get out of here before Seeyela starts worrying.”

Yanily winced, then looked at Vix. “Yeah, Vix. Let’s get out of here and then talk about the nifty stuff we got.”

Vix glared at the spearman, but wisely kept his mouth shut, and Seena swept her hand over the interface crystal.

“Exit Dungeon,” she said.