by Aleron Kong
Richter spoke up, “Portal Construction?”
For the first time, a faint smile touched her face. It wasn’t a kind smile, but neither was it cruel. “Ahhh, the choice of ruler. Are you sure, noble warrior? That was not my most advanced skill.”
If there was one thing Richter had remembered from history class, it was that empires flourished on their ability to be mobile. Rome had built roads to conquer the known world. Britain had built ships to become an empire. The Western confederation had won WW III because they mastered orbital flight. If Richter could build portals, then nothing would stop him from doing just that.
“I’m sure.”
“Very well,” she said. She put both of her hands on his head, and his mind was ripped apart. Years of experience, and massive amounts of knowledge poured into his head. Complex magical calculations and theories of spatial displacement became as easily understandable as left from right. She took her hands away and Richter fell to one knee, gasping. The disorientation cleared after a second, and he looked up to see the warriors crossing through the portal. As each entered they became flesh. More of their kind ran up and greeted loved ones lost eons ago. The queen and her consort were the last to go. The tall warrior bowed deeply to Richter, and with a soft touch to the cheek of his beloved, crossed through the dimensional door. She looked fondly after him, and then turned to Richter, “Use this gift well, but never forget that a doorway opens both ways.” She turned to leave, and then looked back at Richter one last time. Pointing one finger, she indicated the central crypt, with a small smirk and then entered the portal. The doorway faded from view leaving the crypt once more, silent as the grave.
CHAPTER 22
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Portal Construction. Magical portals were reportedly once common place, but now only a few are reported to exist. You now have the knowledge and skill to create a magical portal. This will allow for instantaneous travel between this portal and a second one. Creating a second portal will allow for travel between those two points instantly. At the level of Novice, you can travel only between two points on the same ley line.
Congratulations! You have advanced from Novice to Initiate in: Portal Construction. You can create portals to allow travel between any two points on the same type of ley line.
You have received 2,500 (base 2,000) bonus experience for reaching Initiate level in: Portal Construction.
Congratulations! You have advanced from Initiate to Apprentice in: Portal Construction. You can create a portal that can exit onto multiple types of ley lines. This can only be built at a Place of Power.
You have received 6,250 (base 5,000) bonus experience for reaching Apprentice level in: Portal Construction.
TRING!
You have reached level 16! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!
You have either characteristic points or skill percentage points to allocate from the previous level. Now that you have progressed again, you must allocate your points within the next week or they will randomly be assigned for you.
Richter got back to his feet. He had lost track of his leveling, just trying to survive the dungeon. Now that he had two levels worth of points to invest though, it wasn’t something he could put off. He could just see himself losing track of time and then, whoops! He’d have twelve more point in luck.
His first impulse wa1xs to invest in one of his combat skills. He already seemed to have a penchant for daggers. The increase in speed could be amazing at high levels. Besides, EVERYBODY knew that Chun li was a better choice than Ryu! He couldn’t do it though. He was only two skill levels away from level 40 in Herb Lore, and all the sweet experience that came with it. So he invested the 50% there bringing his skill level to 39. Seeing as how he was here to unlock another of his powers, he decided to invest all twelve of his points into Intelligence. A quick check of his status page revealed how he had grown.
Name: Richter
Age: 24
Level: 16, 11%
Status Alterations: Cankerous Rot
Health: 330 Mana: 420 Stamina: 110
Strength: 29
Agility: 24
Dexterity: 34
Constitution: 15
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 35
Wisdom: 21
Charisma: 24
Luck: 15
Abilities:
Limitless
Gift of Tongues
Fast Learner
Psi Bond
Skills:
Herb Lore Lvl 39; 17% to next level
Alchemy Lvl 1; 0% to next level
Analyze Lvl 6; 4% to next level
Pierce the Veil Lvl 23; 45% to next level
Stealth Lvl 4; 91% to next level
Traps Lvl 21; 87% to next level
Trap Disarm Lvl 21; 99% to next level
Archery Lvl 10; 24% to next level
Imbue Arrow Lvl 5; 18% to next level
Focus Lvl 3; 78% to next level
Double Shot Lvl 3; 31% to next level,
Drill Shot Lvl 2; 40% to next level
Swordsmanship Lvl 2; 15% to next level
Small Blades Lvl 4; 43% to next level
Unarmed Combat Lvl 1; 10% to next level
Pressure Points Lvl 1; 15% to next level
Light Armor Lvl 8; 18% to next level
Grace in Combat Lvl 5; 38% to next level
Air Magic Lvl 4; 19% to next level
Life Magic Lvl 5; 50% to next level
Earth Magic Lvl 3; 32% to next level
Water Magic Lvl 1; 23% to next level
Dark Magic Lvl 3; 78% to next level
Light Magic Lvl 1; 56% to next level
Fire Magic Lvl 1; 22% to next level
Map Making Lvl MAX
Trade Lvl 14; 86% to next level
War Leader Lvl 2, 43% to next level
Enchantment Lvl 1; 44% to next level
Portal Construction Apprentice
Marks:
Master of Mist Village
Blood Oath
Resistances:
Air 50%
Earth 20%
Mental 15%
Spiritual 15%
Race: Human (Chaos Seed)
Reputation: Lvl 3 “You seem like someone worthy of my attention.”
Alignment: Neutral
Language: All
There seemed to be a new dimension to his page, ‘Status Alterations.’ His disease, Cankerous Rot, was listed and he could see that his Endurance and Constitution had dropped by ten points each. He had to get cleansed! He had cast his spell Cure, but it did nothing. He hadn’t expected it to, but he had to try. Since he couldn’t do anything about his disease right now though, he pushed it out of his mind.
His new Portal Construction skill didn’t have a percentage next to it. He knew somehow that it didn’t level like his other skills. It required a mixture of knowledge, practical experience, and an innate ability for mana manipulation. From the information the queen had given him, he knew that the skill would only be increased by building portals and learning more about the concepts that now filled his head. Discovering more Lore was now a high priority as well. Why the hell did it seem like he had fifty high priorities, he bemoaned silently. He was not looking forward to how much it would probably cost him to buy the books that would give him the info he needed.
He continued scanning through the information when something clicked. All gates required two types of keys: activation and destination. The activation key was unique to each portal, and looked a jewel. It was set into the archway of a portal and without it neither incoming or outgoing gateways were possible. The destination key though, looked remarkably like the rune that was attached to the armor he had found. He pulled the leather chest plate out of his Bag of Holdi
ng. With his new knowledge it was clear that they rune was a destination key. So wherever this Chuthriom Gate was, the rune would grant him access. Provided the activation key was present in the receiving portal that is. It was a good bet that it would be somewhere near. The adventurer’s gear had seemed custom tailored for this dungeon. He would have to keep an eye out.
Richter got to his feet, and quickly scanned through the new knowledge in his head. There was way too much to completely go through now, so he was just about to shut it from his mind, when the list of building materials of a novice gate came to mind… Ten pounds of gold? A soul stone with a special quality soul? HOW many rubies enchanted with durability spells??? This thing was going to cost a mint… and he had to build at least two! Those Potions of Clarity better start selling, or he was going to end up turning tricks on the corner to pay for this thing! He threw his head back and raised one fist to shoulder height, and shook it slightly in frustration.
“Are you okay, my friend,” Sion asked.
Richter looked back, and saw that Sion had walked up behind him. Daniella was propped up comfortably on a pack, looking at him in concern as well.
He realized how strange he must look staring at a disappearing portal, shaking his fist in the air. He was basically screaming “KHAN” into a communicator… this was not a good look! A rueful smile found its way to his face, “I’m fine. The queen indicated we should take a closer look at the sarcophagus. Give me a hand.”
Richter and Sion went over the sarcophagus inch by inch. At first he didn’t see anything, but then he looked at the junction where the white stone coffin was bound to the grey slate wall. Stylized filigree adorned the side of the marble casket, and a one-inch section of the stonework started to glow blue. He never would never have seen it if the queen hadn’t told him to specifically look. Richter ran his fingers over the area looking for a latch or switch. With some manipulation, it depressed at an angle. He pushed until he heard a click. As soon as the mechanism was triggered, dust shot out from every edge of the coffin that was touching with wall. There was a corresponding sound of compressed air being released. Richter and Sion looked at each other, then both grabbed a side of the coffin and pulled. The thing was massively heavy, but Richter braced one foot against the wall to increase the strength of his maneuver. The coffin slowly slid away from the wall. They kept pulling for several minutes, and they were able to move the heavy slab two feet away from the wall revealing a hidden alcove. Try as they might, the coffin didn’t move any further.
Being the smaller of the two, Sion sidled between the coffin and the wall. He called for light and Richter sent Futen inside. The sprite started laughing and told Richter to come in. Squeezing into the small space, he followed his Companion. With some manipulation he found himself in a small room. There was still a good deal of dust in the air, which triggered a coughing fit in Richter. It soon passed, though. When Richter raised his head and saw what was in the room, he started laughing as well. Sion raised his hand in a gesture he had learned from his friend, and Richter slapped palm to palm giving his bestie a high five.
“Yes,” Richter shouted. “It’s a festivus miracle!”
Bags of coins sat on the shelves to the left. Some were cinched tight while others lay haphazardly on their sides, spilling their contents onto shelves or the floor. The right shelves had jewelry of various types strewn across them. The wealth would go a good way to funding his new building project, Richter thought with a smile. Despite that it wasn’t the gold or jewelry that really captured his attention. It was what lay directly in front of the two Companions. An iron shelf was set into the wall. Above and below it were neatly stacked ingots of metal. The largest piles were stacked on the floor. He recognized the first as high steel. It had the same faint blue reflection as his long sword. The next bars of metal were white as cream. Moonstone his prompt told him. On the shelf, were two smaller piles. The first was smoky grey, and had faint swirls worked into the metal. The next pile looked like silver and though the bars were not moving, they had a shimmering appearance as if they might run off the shelf at any moment and pool at his feet. Cobalt and quicksilver he discovered. At the top of the wall was a final small alcove, and inside were ten bars of what looked like dark green glass. Each was crystal clear with no impurities. When he examined them, he learned that the metal was something he had never heard of before. Elementum.
He looked at the treasure of the Tefonim queen, and understood them better. While gold and jewels were valued by them as much as they were by any race, what took a place of honor was the metal. A race of builders and warriors, the potential of good materials was cherished.
Not wasting any more time, he began shoving all of the loot into his Bag of Holding. He was never so thankful for the weight reduction properties of the Bag. Without it, he would have had to leave most of the treasure behind. He poured all of the coins into the bag, letting the Bag’s autosort do its job. Then he scanned all of the jewelry with his wand. None shown white, but they would sell all the same, he thought happily. He took it all. Everything except a gold bracelet beset with amber. That Sion said he would like to keep. Having a good idea who would be receiving it as a gift, Richter agreed with a faint smile. Sion just huffed when he saw his friend’s grin, and went back to shoving the jewelry into the Bag.
When they were done with the side shelves, they started loading the ingots. The large piles disappeared into the black bag which never seemed to get any bigger. To Richter though, it was clearly getting heavier. When he touched the moonstone pile, a screen filled his vision.
Quest Update: The Right Tool for the Job. You have found a higher quality metal. Bring this metal back to the dwarves of your village. Once you have picked which metal you will use to create your Magic Forge, your quest will be finished. Make your Forge, and collect your prize.
My thoughts exactly, Richter thought with a smile. They loaded the rest of the metal, and left the treasure room. The Bag was extremely heavy now, but it was still well below his max carrying capacity of 290 kilos. Daniella had fallen back asleep, and was snoring ever so softly. Yoshi’s chest continued to rise and fall regularly, but he still hadn’t woken up. The smile slipped from Richter’s face when he saw his injured comrades again. Despite having restored their health points as much as he could, some things apparently still took a while to recover from. Whatever toll the crypt mistress’s last spell had taken, Yoshi would still need more time. As for Daniella and her wan complexion, healing did not replace the blood she had lost. The smurfette would need to replenish her fluids.
Richter looked at Sion, whose own mood had sobered as well, “We need to get out of this dungeon. We can’t just sit, and wait for them to heal though. Who knows if this disease will ever heal on its own? It might even get worse. I say we open the next hatch and face what comes.”
Sion nodded, his face firm, “The two of us have always been enough in the past. We will be equal to whatever challenge comes our way.”
Richter nodded and set Sion to gather their things. He moved around the rooms and collected the weapons and armor from the fallen draugh. Nothing was left of the crypt mistress but ash. His dagger was laying in the remains. The queen’s spell had removed sixty durability, but the impossibly hard glass dagger still had 73/250 durability left. He resheathed the weapon at his waist and moved on. The draugh had a combination of bronze, iron and steel weapons and their armor was iron, leather or hide. None of it was noteworthy, but ‘waste not want not’ was Richter’s policy. His Life dagger had not fared so well as its glass counterpart. Only 10% of its original twenty durability remained. He knew he couldn’t trust it in a fight again. Not that he would have even if he could. Both daggers’ attack stats had decreased with their drop in durability. He placed the Life dagger in his Bag nonetheless, in case it could be repaired by his smiths. By the time he was done, Sion had rolled up his bed roll and gathered up Daniella’s items, now ready to move.
She gave a slight whimp
er as he picked her up, but otherwise didn’t complain. Richter picked Yoshi up in a fireman’s carry and started walking back towards the central chamber. Sion followed quickly behind, and Futen hovered above them, illuminating their way. Alma was flying ahead crooning in delight. When he asked why, she sent him an image of a stunned rat. The dragonling had apparently found something to break her fast of dried tack, and her recent feast had put her in a grand mood. Soon all of them were back in the light of the golden column.
They left their wounded comrades right next to the column, but they arranged them so that the column was between them and the hatch. If any enemies emerged from the soon to be open round door, maybe Yoshi and Daniella wouldn’t be noticed at first. Every second they went unseen was another second that Richter and Sion could deal with the potential threat.
The two friends buffed up, and then stood in front of the hatch. Richter also allocated Alma’s new points. Staying with the same plan, he increased Brain Drain by two levels, using all five of her unused points.
You have chosen to increase your familiar’s ability: Brain Drain to level 3. Successful kills will now give 3% of total experience to both you and your familiar. Drain occurs faster. Stun can occur on enemies level 11 and below.
You have chosen to increase your familiar’s ability: Brain Drain to level 4. Successful kills will now give 4% of total experience to both you and your familiar. Drain occurs faster. Stun can occur on enemies level 16 and below.
Richter would have to wait four more levels before leveling Brain Drain again. Luckily there didn’t seem to a time limit to allocating points for his familiar, like there was for himself. He checked her status page.
Name: Alma
Level: 7, 7%
Health: 170 Mana: 170 Stamina: 170
(Unused level points: 0)
Abilities:
Psi Bond – Lvl 1, points to next level: 1
