by A F Kay
When he picked up the book containing the cipher, a prompt appeared.
This Black Pyramid cipher will allow the user to read and write text that has been encoded with ciphers up to and including level 1.
Do you wish to learn the Black Pyramid cipher level 1?
Yes or No
He chose Yes, and the book in his hand burst into flame. Ruwen jerked his hand back, but he didn’t feel any heat and his hand wasn’t burned. A cool mist wrapped his brain, and he shivered. In a heartbeat, the sensation disappeared.
Looking down at the brown book, he could now read the title: Killer Recipes for the Busy Shade. He picked up the book and opened the notification.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid has rewarded you…
Name: Manual, Killer Recipes for the Busy Shade
Quality: Rare
Durability: 10 of 10
Weight: 1.0 lbs.
Description: Basic recipes for poisons and potions created from ingredients found in the Black Pyramid. Taste testing not recommended.
He flipped through the pages. Each recipe had a detailed description with information on how to find the ingredients, possible substitutes, dangers, uses, storage, and disposal.
“This is really thorough,” Ruwen said.
“Shade’s first rule: death arrives on an overlooked detail.”
Ruwen placed the book in his Void Band. He would study it later when he had the time. His heart beat rapidly as he removed the parchment he’d gotten at the Blood Gate. His curiosity had been killing him ever since he’d gotten it. Paper in hand, he closed his Void Band.
This time when he looked at the text three columns appeared. The first column looked like a list of about thirty capital or large cities, the second had a sequence of gate runes like Ruwen had seen on the stone doors, and the third had a brief description. The descriptions were things like “lower dock warehouse, east slum side” and “high temple, north spire, second subfloor.”
A notification blinked and he opened it.
Do you wish to update the map with these Gate Runes?
He chose Yes and the parchment in his hands dissolved.
The map pulsed and he opened it, but the only thing visible was the large room they stood in and the eight rooms they’d cleared. He tried zooming outward, but nothing happened. Whatever had just occurred, he couldn’t see it. Losing the parchment wasn’t ideal, but his memory was good enough to recall everything on the page. He would add the gate runes to his journal later.
“Okay, sorry about that. I’m ready,” Ruwen said.
“Io and I have been trying to remember the fastest time for the recipe quest. We think it was six weeks.”
“Really? I got lucky. Sometimes I can see patterns in things. My memory helps, too.”
“Well, whatever you got going on up there,” Sift said and tapped Ruwen’s head, “is pretty impressive. Blapy even showed up.”
“She doesn’t always come when someone finishes it?”
“Never. I hear her a lot. She likes to walk near me and whistle. But she rarely shows herself.”
“Hmm, I don’t know if that is good or bad.”
“Oh, it’s bad. You do not want Blapy’s attention.”
“Great. Thanks for easing my general level of anxiety.”
“Glad to help,” Sift said with a smile. “I have my own problems. Io doesn’t want to tell me about Uru. It’s the first time he hasn’t wanted to talk.”
“Maybe she made him take a vow of silence or something,” Ruwen said.
“Ow!” Sift said.
Ruwen jumped and looked around. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not dumb. Ruwen’s just smart,” Sift said to Io. Sift looked at Ruwen. “Io says thanks for figuring that out.”
Ruwen nodded. “It looks like Io can’t talk about it. See if he can answer yes or no questions. Ask him if Uru gave him to Ky.”
“Io says yes. And now he’s super excited. He can’t keep a secret to save his life, and I bet these have been killing him.”
“Let’s start now. I love learning secrets.”
Sift shook his head. “We’ll talk to him after we’ve gotten you to level five. Ky would kill me if she found out we talked to Io instead of focusing on her commands.”
“That’s true.”
Sift walked to the wall and pulled on a scale that had a pile of keys on one plate and opened locks on the other. A small section of the wall opened, revealing a dark tunnel that sloped downward.
Sift walked into the tunnel, and Ruwen followed. As soon as he passed the door, a quest appeared.
Ting!
You have received the Black Pyramid quest…
It’s Your Turn to Cook (Level 2)
Collect 3 ingredients that can be used in Killer Recipes for the Busy Shade.
Reward: 10 Black Pyramid tokens
Reward: 1,000 experience
Accept or Decline
“Did you get the next quest?” Sift asked.
“Yep,” Ruwen said as he chose Accept.
“Which one was it? Sometimes Blapy will give you a clue about what’s next.”
“It’s your turn to cook.”
“Oh, no.”
“Is that bad?”
“Well, there really aren’t any good ones.”
“The first quest was taking out the trash. This one is cooking. It looks like Blapy has a chore theme going.”
“Blapy’s humor is much darker than that. I just hope I put extra underwear in my bag.”
Ruwen didn’t know how to respond to that, so he ignored it. “How do the monsters get through this door?”
Sift closed the door and started down the tunnel. “They don’t use it. I’m not sure how they get up here. I don’t know if Blapy just creates them there, or if there is this huge network of tunnels and secret doors that only the monsters use.”
Ruwen imagined monsters walking to work through service tunnels and shook his head. This whole experience had been unbelievable. “What is the next area like?”
“It’s a big open cavern, but Blapy creates different weather inside it. You don’t really know what you’re going to get until you arrive.”
Ruwen noticed it getting darker. “Do the lights not work down here?”
“No. I think the first level has them because it is a waiting area for people. Down here, it’s all monsters.”
Ruwen turned his Detect Temperature on, and Sift turned a light red.
“Just stay close to me until we figure out what the flavor of the day is,” Sift said.
“Is it usually just one type of monster?”
“No, more like one type of environment, and the monsters will be native to that environment.”
Ruwen pulled his staff off his back and swung it a few times. The temperature increased, and Ruwen wiped the sweat from his forehead. Thankfully, it stopped getting darker, and the ambient light stabilized around dusk. They had been walking downward for almost ten minutes when Sift slowed.
“The tunnel ends at that turn. We’ll have about ten feet before it opens into the cavern. Stay close,” Sift said.
Ruwen stayed behind Sift as they turned the corner and walked to the tunnel exit. The cavern didn’t look like a cavern at all. The ceiling, hundreds of feet above them and obscured by fog, gave him the impression he stood at the bottom of some canyon and not in an underground dungeon. The cavern was devoid of trees or anything living. Boulders and tall red rocks littered the sandy floor, which rose and fell like a stormy sea. There were plenty of places for things to hide. The heat hit Ruwen like a fist, and his Detect Temperature made everything red. Sift, cooler than his surroundings, looked blue against all the hot rocks in front of them.
Sift closed his eyes for a few seconds. “Spitters.”
“What are those? Are they bad?”
“No worse than anything else. It’s just this is my favorite shirt. One second.”
Sift took off his shirt. He paused for a moment and
then took his pants, socks, and shoes off too. Thankfully, he kept his underwear on. He placed all his clothes, along with a sheathed Io, into his Traveler’s Belt.
“Do I need to do that?” Ruwen asked.
The thought of fighting already made him nervous, but having to do it wearing a belt and underwear would make it ten times worse.
Sift bit his lip and stared at Ruwen for a few seconds. “No, if might keep it off your skin. The worst part is –”
Sift leaped to the left as the sound of spitting reached them. A stream of clear liquid arced through the air directly toward them. Sift intercepted it in the air, blocking it with his body, and taking the full brunt of the attack. A few droplets struck Ruwen’s arm and a heartbeat later, it ignited.
Ruwen screamed as his skin blistered. An eight flashed on his Health bar as it decreased. He tried to wipe it off, but it just smeared like some sort of burning jelly. A five flashed on his Health bar as his hand burned as well.
Ruwen looked up at Sift and screamed again. Sift stood in front of him, covered in the burning jelly, on fire.
“Are you okay?” Sift asked.
“What! Am I okay? You’re on fire!”
Sift looked down at the flames that covered him. “I know. We are fighting a Spitter. That’s why I didn’t want to ruin my shirt.”
“You are on fire!” Ruwen screamed again.
The spitting sounded again, and Ruwen heard more of the gel strike Sift’s back.
“I hate how it goes so cold before igniting. It’s —” Sift grimaced as his back exploded in flames. “It’s like a cold shower. I hate cold showers.”
Then he turned and sprinted toward the source of the spitting. Flames trailed him as he ran like some sort of land-bound comet.
What Sift called a Spitter looked more like a six-foot salamander with a black beak for a nose. As Sift neared it, large scaly wings unfolded and snapped downward, sending the creature forty feet to the left. Sift followed, still burning.
While the fire had gone out quickly, Ruwen’s arm and hand still burned. How did Sift survive being covered in that stuff? Movement to his right made Ruwen turn. His Detect Temperature didn’t work well in here because everything was really hot, including the monsters, so he turned it off. He relaxed as he saw what looked like chickens. There were six, about twenty feet from him, and they tilted their heads back and forth. One pecked the ground, and Ruwen sighed in relief. He supposed there had to be normal animals down here too. Probably for the monsters to eat.
As Ruwen turned away, one of the chickens lifted its tail and aimed its butt at him.
“That’s not very nice,” Ruwen said.
The chicken shot an egg at him. Ruwen stood in shock and at the last moment swung his staff, trying to knock the egg away. His chest filled with pride as he made contact, and then it exploded. He landed hard on his back, the air knocked from his lungs. He rolled onto his stomach and got to his knees, gasping. Once again, he had lost his staff. He looked at the group of chickens and was horrified to see another two aiming at him.
He pushed himself to his feet as two more eggs shot toward him. The lack of air in his lungs made running impossible, but he shuffled away as fast as he could. The two eggs detonated behind him and threw him forward ten feet. His head spun, and the Vertigo debuff appeared under his bars. The entrance to the tunnel was in front of him, and he crawled forward. Just as he entered the tunnel, three more explosions sounded behind him, but the entrance protected him from the shock wave.
The debuff disappeared, and his head cleared. Cursing himself for dropping his staff, he twisted his baton off his belt. He looked at the tube with all its various bumps and indentations and cursed again. Because he hadn’t spent any time familiarizing himself with the baton, he had no idea what did what.
An egg exploded in front of the tunnel and rocks peppered him. He realized if those chickens got one in the tunnel, the enclosed space would make the explosion even more powerful. He had actually crawled to the most dangerous place. His breath was back, though, and he pulled on a random bump. A hoe magically unfolded from the rod. It would have to do.
He peered around the corner of the tunnel and saw the chickens wandering around. Thank Uru they weren’t too bright. He didn't have a lot of options spell-wise, so he did the same thing he did with the Floating Clasper on the floor above.
Casting Bleed on his baton caused his Mana to drop twenty-five points. Peeking around the corner again, he focused on the area just past the chickens and cast Distract for another ten Mana.
Ruwen sprinted toward the chickens. Too late, he realized his mistake. The distraction had caused all the chickens to aim their butts at what they thought was a threat, which meant their eyes were all staring directly at him as he left the tunnel. As one, they all turned, aimed their butts, and fired at him.
Ruwen channeled his Leap spell and jumped, and jumped again, each leap gaining an extra 20% from his spell. His Energy pool had dropped by twenty in the couple of seconds it had taken, but when the eggs exploded, he was thankfully out of damage range. One more leap and he landed in the middle of the chickens. They scattered as he stopped channeling Leap.
Swinging his hoe, he missed the chicken he had aimed for but hit the one next to it. The hoe embedded itself in the chicken’s side and Ruwen swung his baton wildly trying to get it off. The chickens ran around in circles.
Reaching up, he pulled the chicken off his hoe and chased the remaining chickens. As long as he kept running at them, they kept moving, and they couldn’t set up for a shot. It took him almost ten minutes, but he finally killed them all. Panting, he collapsed to his knees. His arms and legs shook from the constant swinging and running.
He noticed Sift sitting on a boulder, watching him.
“How long have you been sitting there?” Ruwen asked.
“I don’t know. Probably five minutes or so.”
“And you didn’t help?”
“I’m not sure you can be helped.”
“Listen, they’re faster than they look.”
“They only have one, maybe two, eggs in them. You probably weren’t in any danger anymore.”
Ruwen closed his eyes for a few seconds. “That would have been super helpful to know BEFORE WE CAME IN HERE!”
“Hey, no need to shout. I was going to tell you, but then I wasn’t sure you were even trying to kill them.”
“I was! They’re fast! And you were on fire!”
Sift held up his hands. “Easy. I’m not burning anymore, and look,” Sift said, standing, “I even had an extra pair of underwear. Hopefully, that was the only Spitter because this is my last pair.”
Chapter 23
Ruwen laughed, and after a moment, Sift did too. Ruwen let all the fear and embarrassment flow out of him and then stood. Dead chickens surrounded him.
“I really showed them,” Ruwen said.
“I’m pretty sure most of them died from confusion or exhaustion.”
“Well, you have to work with the tools you’ve got.”
Sift pointed behind Ruwen. “Very wise. Now collect your loot. We haven’t even made it fifty feet into the cavern. At this rate, I’ll die of old age before we finish.”
Ruwen turned around and saw the brown leather bag he expected, but next to it lay a fine mesh shirt made of silver metal.
“Is this yours?” Ruwen asked.
“Yeah, see if you can take it.”
Ruwen knelt, touched the shirt, and immediately received a prompt.
This item is soul locked. Interaction may cause serious harm.
Acknowledge
Ruwen quickly removed his hand and acknowledged the prompt.
“Nope,” Ruwen said.
“Figures.”
Ruwen dumped out his bag and screamed when three eggs bounced around in front of him. He picked one up but didn’t receive the notification he expected. They must be common, he realized, so he opened his log.
Tring!
The Black Pyrami
d has rewarded you…
Name: Booming Eggs
Quantity: 3
Quality: Common
Durability: 1 of 1
Weight: 0.08 lbs.
Description: Ingredient in various potions. An explosion of taste in every bite.
Ruwen carefully placed them in his Void Band. He scrolled up to see the experience he’d received from killing the chickens.
You have killed a Booming Hen (Level 3)!
You have gained 26 (118*(22% level modifier)) experience!
You have missed a Booming Hen (Level 3)
You have missed a Booming Hen (Level 3)
Critical Miss!
You have fallen
50% defense reduction (Prone)
You have been pecked by a Booming Hen (Level 3)
Critical Strike!
You have taken 5 damage (3 base+(2*1 critical))
You have missed a Booming Hen (Level 3)
You have missed a Booming Hen (Level 3)
Alright, maybe Sift did have a point. He scrolled up to see if he’d received any experience for the Spitter.
You have killed a Roasting Lizard (Level 5)!
You have gained 54 (244*(22% level modifier)) experience!
Fifty-four experience wasn’t bad for basically doing nothing, but with Sift taking almost 80% of the experience, it was going to take a while to level again. He closed his log and looked at Sift.
“Blapy thinks you’re four times better than me,” Ruwen said.
Sift frowned. “That’s all? Maybe there’s a cap to how much she takes.”
“Hey! Not all of us can walk around on fire. Please explain that.”
Sift shuffled from one foot to the other. “I told you, I sift things.”
“So that means you’re immune to fire?”
“Yes, well, on these levels. I’m sure there is stuff down below that would overwhelm me. But I can handle all the energy up here.”
“You’re immune to any form of energy?”