Fragment of Divinity

by Jamey Sultan

  “So, you need me to get you some ironweed?” James asked.

  The Smith nodded. “Pretty much.”

  “Where can I get it?”

  “Oh, Nana said I could stop by and grab some from her garden. I need it by the end of the day tomorrow if possible.”

  You have been given a quest: Picking Plants

  Picking Plants: Bring Kyrwin 5 Ironweed by the end of the day tomorrow.

  Suggested level: 3 - 5

  Reward: Unknown

  Penalty for failure or refusal: Unknown

  James accepted the quest, reassuring the smith that he would be back in time with the ironweed. The quest seemed simple enough, and he might be able to get both of his quests done at once. He had a suspicion Nana had arranged it that way.

  When James arrived at Nana’s house, he found it locked and dark. He tried knocking anyway, but nobody answered. She was probably out for the day, so James approached the greenhouse and pushed open the door.

  Entering dungeon: The Garden (Ground Floor).

  Recommended level: 1-3.

  Hot, humid air rushed out of the open doorway, sticking to his skin. He peered into the greenhouse before stepping inside, but he couldn’t see through the thick vegetation. Drawing his sword and taking a deep breath to steel himself, he took a step inside.

  By the time James was five steps into the greenhouse, he couldn’t see the door through the thick brush behind him. It felt like he’d stepped into a different world. Well, another different world.

  The garden was alive with the chirping, rustling, and chattering of various animals. It was dark underneath the canopy of dense trees, much darker than he’d expected, considering the building was made of glass. But any light coming into the greenhouse barely penetrated the dense foliage.

  Cautiously, James crept forward, his shirt stuck to his back with sweat as he tried to stay quiet as he followed a meandering path deeper into what looked like a tropical forest. It was clearly magical and unlike any greenhouse James had ever seen before.

  James had no clue how he’d find anything in this thick brush. He wished this world had quest indicators, and he could follow a floating marker to find the ironweed. He didn’t even know what it looked like.

  A screech next to his ear caused James to jump backwards, sword raised, but nothing happened. Taking deep breaths to calm his jackhammering heart, he continued deeper into the jungle.

  Partially into his walk, James noticed a bush overflowing with plump berries. Perfect, his harvesting skill was low, so hopefully he’d be able to harvest them without issue and level the skill up.

  When James got closer to the bush, he realized that they weren’t berries at all. They were deformed, purple fruit. Carefully, James picked a fruit and inspected it. It seemed to be rotten, because his fingers punctured the fruit with ease, leaving them coated with a sticky pulp.

  Deadnettle:

  Rank: Unusual

  A strange plant usually found in swampy environments. Toxic when consumed, the Deadnettle bush sends creatures that consume its fruit into a never-ending sleep.

  James noticed the corpses of a few small animals scattered around the base of the bush in various states of decay. Curious, James sniffed the fruit. A sickly sweet smell overpowered him, travelling up his nose and into his brain, where it descended like a fog.

  - 1 Wisdom.

  Don’t sniff strange plants.

  Coughing, James quickly tossed the fruit onto the ground and stumbled away from the bush. He tripped over a root and fell down, hard. He landed next to a cluster of seeds, surrounded by chunks of rotted fruit.

  Deadnettle Seed:

  Rank: Unusual

  These seeds let off an unusual gas with anesthetizing properties.

  With his last vestiges of consciousness, James scooped a handful of the Deadnettle seeds into his pouch.

  A loud rumbling noise filled the area as the surrounding earth shifted. Two large, clawed hands poked out of the dirt, scooping it away as a mole the size of a Great Dane poked its head out, sniffing the air.

  Star Mole (Level 3)

  It had a long, pink nose that twitched as it took in its surroundings. Its paws were wide and pail-shaped, with long white nails at the end of each digit. James didn’t see any eyes.

  Moving slowly as to not make a sound, James stood and drew his sword. He moved like molasses and got a few steps closer to the Star Mole as it continued sniffing the air.

  He raised his sword.

  And hesitated.

  He’d never killed an animal before. And no, spiders didn’t count.

  He’d always thought he wouldn’t have any issues hunting deer, but he’d never actually tried. It wasn’t like he was a vegetarian. But none of that mattered now. He was in a dungeon and faced with a dangerous beast. Just because it hadn’t attacked him yet didn’t mean it wouldn’t as soon as it noticed him.

  James realized he’d let the sword dip slightly while he’d been thinking and raised it again. This time he didn’t hesitate. He swung down full force.

  Just as he’d started swinging, the Star Mole homed in on his scent. It let out an ear-splitting screech, its pink nose splitting apart into five segments to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth.

  So that’s why they call it a star mole. James stumbled back, his sword biting deep into a nearby tree.

  You resisted the status effect [Deafened].

  After it’s failed screech, the Star Mole jumped into the air and flipped, diving back into the earth. The ground split for the mole, as if it were an Olympic diver and the dirt was its pool. Everything was quiet once again except for the sound of James’ heart thudding in fear as he spun, searching for his opponent.

  James stood stock-still in the clearing for a couple minutes, waiting for the Star Mole to re-emerge.

  Nothing.

  Eventually, he realized that the mole probably wouldn’t reappear for a while, so he continued his quest, searching for the ironweed. But now, he was on edge, startled by every slight noise.

  A faint light caught his attention, cutting through the shadows like a knife. A group of silvery stalks shimmered in the dim moonlight. He approached them and, after reassuring himself that he wasn’t about to be attacked, he harvested the plants.

  Ironweed (x10):

  Rank: Unusual

  Ironweed can grow from iron-ore in Mana rich environments. It is a strong and flexible form of refined iron and highly coveted by weavers.

  You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Harvest.

  You are now Skill Rank 2.

  Quest update: Picking Plants (10/5 Ironweed).

  He’d only let his guard down for a second, but as soon as he did, the earth started rumbling. James instinctively jumped out of the way as the Star Mole burst from the ground.

  It sniffed the air for a second before it turned towards James, opened its mouth, and roared. This time, the sound reverberated through his body, rattling his bones as if he were standing next to the speakers at a concert.

  The roar slowly faded away, then… nothing. The chirping and chattering of the creatures faded away, replaced by a dull ringing in his ears. The ringing slowly faded to complete silence.

  You have been [Deafened].

  Deafened:

  Duration: 5 Minutes

  While Deafened, you will be unable to hear.

  A small ear icon appeared in the corner of James’ vision, with a small digital timer next to it, counting down.

  5:00

  4:59

  4:58

  James looked around wildly. Without his sense of hearing, he felt lost, unable to balance properly.

  The Star Mole sprung towards him.

  He reacted instinctively, the muscle memory from his sword lessons taking over as he caught the Star Mole mid-jump with a deep, bloody gash to the belly.

  It wasn’t enough.

  The mole swiped at him, but this time, James was ready. He raised his sword and blocked the claws, then stepped back to crea
te some room.

  Once the initial shock of deafness had worn off, he’d realized that the debuff really wasn’t that bad. He could still see the Star Mole. Even if it went underground again, he could feel for the rumbling that signified its approach.

  James advanced on the enormous rodent, sword at the ready. The mole tried to dive back into the earth, but James didn’t give it a chance, stabbing at it every time it got ready to launch itself. The mole dodged a few strikes, but it was blind and cumbersome. With a final thrust, James skewered it through the chest.

  You have killed a Star Mole (Level 3)

  + 7 experience points

  Quest Update: Help the Helpless III (1/3 Star Moles) (0/1 Moonlight Moth)

  Level up! You are now level 4.

  Jesus. I’ve got two more of those monsters to kill.

  James assigned his stat points, settling on putting two points each into Strength and Constitution.

  He checked his health. He hadn’t sustained any large injuries, just glancing blows, and his health was now at 117/126. Since the regeneration rate was so slow, he’d have to keep careful track of that, but if things continued as they’d been going, then he’d have enough to take out the other Star Moles before moving on, and he could rest up for a few hours before taking on the moth.

  James sat down on a rock to wait out the rest of his status effect. Slowly, sounds started filtering back to him. The timer flashed as it counted down the last few seconds of his deafness.

  Before continuing through the dungeon, James took a minute to butcher the mole, figuring it would give him a bit of time to restore a couple of points of health and stamina. He pulled his dagger out of the sheath at his waist and cut into the corpse. He tried to cut nice chunks of meat to store in his pack, but he didn’t actually know anything about butchering, so after a few minutes of hacking at the corpse, he ended up with five large hunks of meat. His cooking skill also increased.

  Star Mole Meat (x5):

  Rank: Common

  A large hunk of poorly cut Star Mole meat. When eaten, this meat gives + 20 health regenerated/hour for 5 hours.

  You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Cooking.

  You are now Skill Rank 2.

  You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Anatomy.

  You are now Skill Rank 5.

  James stood up, his lower back protesting. He cleaned his dagger before sheathing it and drew his sword. It was time to kill some more moles.

  He’d taken less than ten steps when the next mole attacked. It burst out of the earth and slashed at James with its claws. Startled, James didn’t react in time and the creature’s claws cut into his cheek, narrowly missing his eye. Before he’d even realized what happened, the mole already disappeared back into the earth. James was left standing in the clearing, confused, and with blood dripping down his face.

  Chapter 10

  James spent the few hours hunting down the last two Star Moles. It was frustrating. Every time he damaged one, it would hop underground and disappear for a while before erupting from the ground with another attack.

  Between attacks, James tried to gather as many ingredients as he could. Since his Harvesting skill was so low, he wasn’t able to pick most of the plants he encountered, but he’d managed to cut a few useable stalks. By the time he’d found and killed the other two Star Moles, James had added some soldier’s nettle, roundleaf, and river maple to his inventory.

  He butchered the other two Star Moles, netting him fourteen experience and ten Star Mole Meats. His skill was improving—one cut was a higher quality than the rest.

  Star Mole Steak:

  Rank: Common

  + 30 health regenerated/hour for 5 hours.

  A high-quality cut of meat off of the flank of a Star Mole.

  His Swordsmanship Rank had also increased.

  You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Swordsmanship.

  You are now Skill Rank 16.

  James had also, on an impulse, tried to harvest a Star Mole’s nose. He’d failed to do it successfully on the two he’d just killed, so he wandered back to the first one and harvested it successfully.

  Star-Mole Star:

  Rank: Unusual

  The flower-shaped nose from a Star-Mole. Your knowledge of potions is too low to see potential uses for this ingredient.

  It was deep into the night by the time James had finished harvesting and he was tired and hungry. He tried to retrace his steps out of the dungeon, but after almost a half-hour of walking in circles, he gave up. There was no way he could retrace his steps under the oppressive darkness of the thick canopy that obscured everything but the slightest beams of moonlight.

  But it was beautiful.

  Far more beautiful than anything he had seen back on earth.

  James searched the area and found some loose stones, which he arranged in a circle. He dug a shallow pit in the center and piled some dry leaves and moss shavings in it. Once he had everything together, he got two sticks and wedged one inside of the branches of another. Hopefully this would work, he’d seen it in a survival television show.

  James started rubbing the sticks together to create friction. A small tendril of smoke escaped, winding its way through the leaves as it rose. Heartened, James increased his speed until he created an ember. Gently, he blew on the ember until one of the dry branches caught. In the windless environment of the Greenhouse, James was soon sitting in front of a merrily crackling fire.

  He set to roasting a nice bit of Star Mole meat on a stick, saving the steak for later. Normally, he was a medium-rare kind of guy, but he wasn’t on Earth, and didn’t want to chance food poisoning. So, he cooked himself a well-done cut of Star-Mole meat.

  Star-Mole Meat (Cooked):

  Rank: Common

  A slightly burnt and poorly cut segment of a Star-Mole. Impressive, it’s edible this time.

  You have gained 2 Skill Ranks in Cooking.

  You are now Skill Rank 4.

  Two levels from one meal! James chuckled. It was probably because his first attempt at cooking was so bad. Or maybe because he was at such a low level that producing something edible was an achievement. Either way, James took a bite out of the meat. It tasted okay, but he wished it were juicier.

  You have eaten Star-Mole Meat (Cooked)

  + 20 health regenerated/hour for the next four hours

  Belly full, James debated his next move. He could sit around the campfire for the rest of the night and try to stay awake, or he could wander around in the dark. Neither option particularly appealed to him. Sitting by the campfire would be boring, and the fire might attract more creatures.

  A light breeze stirred, carrying a silvery powder around his campfire. Staring into the flames, James’ eyelids felt heavy as a contented warmth filled his chest.

  What more could I want? I’m in a beautiful forest with a full belly. What would be the harm in a brief nap?

  His eyelids grew heavier by the second, his desire to sleep overwhelming his anxiety.

  But something nagged at him.

  James ignored the feeling, drifting deeper towards a comfortable sleep.

  His eyes snapped open.

  What was he doing? He was in the middle of a dungeon. He might never wake up if he wasn’t careful.

  You resisted the status effect [Sleep].

  James jumped to his feet and drew his sword, looking around for whatever had caused the status effect. He strained his eyes, trying to pierce the darkness, but couldn’t make out anything.

  He wasn’t sure what caused him to do what he did next. It could have been his sword training, or maybe his subconscious mind heard the barest whisper of wings in the darkness. One thing was certain—stepping to the side and raising his sword ended up saving his life.

  A blade of wind sliced through the air directly towards him, impacting his sword and reflecting off into a nearby tree, cutting a deep gash into the wood.

  James spun around, looking for the source of the attack. His eyes swept back and forth, falling on
a patch of darkness.

  Something shifted.

  He stared, concentrating, trying to find form in the blackness when suddenly, an enormous moth appeared. Dappled spots of white on decorated its wings, reminding him of starlight leaking through the forest canopy.

  Moonshadow Moth (Level 5)

  The moth hovered, and a dim blue light cut with small streaks of white built up around its wings. Then, it beat its wings hard, sending another gust of razor-sharp wind at James. He parried it with his sword and followed with a lunge, trying to close the distance between himself and the moth—he needed to get inside its range. But the Moonshadow Moth flew towards the dense canopy overhead, the darkness seeming to reach out and envelop the moth. Before James could react, the it disappeared into the night.

  Just like with the Star Moles. How annoying.

  James realized that having a campfire had been a stupid move. He’d basically lit a beacon for anything living in the greenhouse. The campfire had acted as a signal flare to all the mobs in the area. I’m here, come eat me!