by A F Kay
Hamma’s Health looked fine on her portrait, and Ruwen relaxed. Hamma stood, a determined look on her face.
“Submit!” Hamma shouted as she slapped her hands together.
The thunderclap from the stun Fist of Order detonated by Sparkle’s head, and the cat froze. Sift dashed in and struck Sparkle in the neck. The cat fell to its knees and Sift struck it in the temple. The sound of chimes filled the air as Hamma spun her staff.
“We aren’t going to do this with me focused on healing. So I’ll try to keep it stunned,” Hamma yelled.
Sparkle stood and whipped its body around. Sift ducked the loot bag, and then the cat leaped toward Hamma. Hamma swung her staff at the attacking cat and struck it in the face. But the blow didn’t seem to faze the cat, and it swiped at Hamma with its paw.
Hamma flew twenty feet and landed hard before skidding to a stop near a rock. She lay still, her shield gone. Ruwen feared the worst, but a glance at her portrait showed red in her Health bar. The Light Guardian cast a shield on Hamma and then started healing her.
Sparkle crouched to pounce on Hamma. Ruwen opened his Void Band and launched the remaining thirteen marble chunks at the cat. Over half of them struck, and gems flew into the air.
The cat spun around and faced Ruwen. He had expended all his ammunition and didn’t have anything left to attack with. He thought about dropping the Fastidious Blade into his Void Band and shooting that, but he didn’t have time. Sparkle would be here in a moment. The only distant attack he had was his Distract, but he didn’t want to rupture everyone’s eardrums.
Unless Ruwen focused the sound inside Sparkle? Could he do that? As the cat arced through the air, Ruwen cast Distract and directed it inside the cat’s chest.
Ruwen heard the faint sound of shattered glass, and then Sparkle crashed into him. The cat stood and swayed. The spell had clearly had an effect. The cat lowered its head and tensed to attack. Ruwen’s Distract spell had a five second cooldown and wasn’t ready.
Sift dashed into view, and Sparkle shifted focus to the new threat. The sound of chimes filled the cavern again, and Ruwen smiled. Hamma was okay.
“Whatever you did, do it again,” Sift yelled. “I think your face upset Sparkle’s stomach.”
Either Sparkle could detect the flow of Energy as Ruwen cast his spell, or the cat was just lucky. In either case, it threw itself to the left as Ruwen finished, and his max volume Distract spell detonated only partially inside Sparkle.
Ruwen’s Health dropped by ten, and the Dazed and Deaf debuffs appeared. Sift staggered over to Ruwen, blood running from his ears. Ruwen grabbed Sift’s shoulder, and two seconds later completed the cast of Massage.
Sift’s ears stopped bleeding, and he shook his head. As the Dazed and Deaf debuffs disappeared, Ruwen heard two things at the same time. The sound of chimes and Hamma’s voice.
“Move you idiots!” Hamma screamed.
Ruwen looked up just as Sparkle crashed on top of him and Sift. A yellow finger of Sparkle’s lightning aura weaved like a snake, forked, and struck both of them. Sift stiffened as he absorbed the energy. Ruwen’s health dropped by thirty-three, but the stun failed this time.
Sparkle’s paw ground into Ruwen’s chest, and he reached up and grabbed the diamond leg. Channeling twenty Energy to Harden, he gripped the leg tightly. Unlike with the limestone, which had exploded immediately, nothing seemed to happen. Then the gems under his hands vibrated, and a moment later, they exploded.
Ruwen’s Health dropped by nineteen, taking him under one hundred Health again. He looked at his bloody hands, and then Sparkle fell on top of him, doing another seventeen points of damage. His Health bar was nearly half empty.
The cat hadn’t moved, so Ruwen took two seconds and cast Massage on himself. He pushed upward with his hands, still channeling twenty Energy into Harden. Gems exploded, taking chunks of twenty Health each time from Ruwen’s Health bar. After the second explosion, when his Health bar only had a quarter of red left, Hamma’s heals landed.
Ruwen didn’t know how long that lasted, pain from gems exploding and shredding his hands, immediately followed by a heal so he could keep going. When Hamma’s Mana ran out, he stopped channeling Harden, knowing he would kill himself if he continued. He hoped he’d damaged the cat enough.
Sparkle lay on top of Ruwen, and he felt the cat move. Panic filled his thoughts and he channeled Harden again. The cat moved to the side, and he realized his friends were pulling the cat off him.
“Are you okay?” Hamma yelled.
Was he okay? “I think so.”
Sift groaned with effort, and Sparkle’s body rolled off Ruwen. Hamma knelt next to Ruwen, grabbed his bloody hands, and channeled Uru’s Breath. Ruwen’s hands immediately felt better, and his Health bar ticked upward.
“What happened?” Ruwen asked.
“You destroyed Sparkle’s leg, and then when it fell on you, whatever you were doing injured it. Sift was able to strike some vulnerable areas in its neck. The two of you killed it.”
Sift walked up and whispered loudly to the kneeling Hamma. “Don’t let him play with it.”
Chapter 36
Sift and Hamma helped Ruwen get to his feet. Sparkle had already disappeared into the floor. Ruwen’s quest loot lay nearby, and near the exit, two more loot bags had appeared, one glowing brown and one white, next to the pile of treasure that Sift would ignore.
“Did you open your quest reward?” Ruwen asked.
“No, I wanted to wait for you,” Hamma said.
“Open it up, let’s see what you got. It should be terrific,” Ruwen said.
Sift and Ruwen watched as Hamma removed the leather bag from her Inventory. Carefully she pulled the bag open and reached inside. Her eyes widened, and she gasped as she brought her reward out.
Hamma held up the bracelet, and the light fractured, creating hundreds of rainbows all around them. Rubies, sapphires, diamonds, emeralds, and more gems Ruwen didn’t recognize twisted around each other in three loops. Hamma just stared at it.
“Hamma?” Ruwen asked after a few seconds.
Hamma looked up at Ruwen, and her eyes were misty. “It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
“What does it do?” Ruwen asked.
Hamma’s cheeks reddened. “I haven’t opened the notification yet.”
Her eyes glazed over as she read the notification. She gasped and swayed, and both Ruwen and Sift reached out to steady her.
“Are you okay?” Sift asked Hamma.
Hamma looked between Sift and Ruwen. “I…it’s just…” Hamma stammered. She took a deep breath and tried again. “I’ve never had a soulbound item before. Or anything of this quality. It’s more than I ever thought I’d own.”
“What does it do?” Sift asked.
Hamma grinned. “It adds three to my Charisma and ten to my Wisdom. There’s a chance an attacker will get the Dazzled debuff from the fractured light coming from it and be stunned for one to three seconds. Lastly, it cuts the Mana cost of any healing spell in half.”
“Wow,” Ruwen said, stunned at the quality of the item. “That is amazing.”
Hamma put it on, and the bracelet shrunk to fit around her wrist. She stared at it for a few seconds. Then she hugged Ruwen.
“Thank you,” Hamma whispered.
She let go of Ruwen and hugged Sift.
Hamma stepped back and looked at Ruwen. “Your turn.”
Ruwen walked to his quest bag and knelt. He had gotten to know Blapy and her sense of humor enough to not risk sticking his hand in the bag. Instead, he tilted the bag and dumped the contents onto the floor.
A leather bracer, worn and frayed, fell out of the bag. Faded symbols circled the bracer, and it looked too fragile to pick up.
“Well, we know who Blapy’s favorite is,” Sift said.
Ruwen knew better than to judge an item’s worth by how it looked. He carefully picked it up and read the notification when it appeared.
Trin
g!
The Black Pyramid has rewarded you…
Name: Suffocation Bracer
Quality: Rare
Durability: Indestructible
Weight: 1.25 lbs.
Effect: Fortifying poses and Refinement forms are twice as effective. Stacks with breathing techniques and other Suffocation items.
Effect: Poses, training forms, breathing, and focus are twice as difficult.
Effect: Internal Spirit manipulation for Fortifying or Refinement creates a spatial bubble, hiding your techniques from view. Warning: the spatial bubble is not defensive, and attacks will penetrate.
Restriction: Soulbound.
Description: Progress is the sound of labored breathing.
Another smaller notification appeared over the item description. It had red borders and couldn’t be minimized.
Warning!
The Suffocation Bracer requires full integration to function.
Warning!
This binding cannot be undone.
Do you wish to permanently bind to the Suffocation Bracer?
Yes or No
Ruwen studied the effects. He couldn’t imagine the process being twice as hard, but this would double his advancement speed with his Spirit training. His first experience with Fortifying had almost made him pass out from the strange breathing patterns. The thought of that being twice as hard depressed him. Even if it was soulbound, he could still remove it and stash it in his Inventory if he needed a break. If he could somehow manage to practice with this bracer on, it would be a huge advantage.
The fact that there were other types of Suffocation gear and that they stacked with each other fascinated Ruwen. If he ever found another piece, he could quadruple his progress. At his current level, it would probably kill him. But he would keep his eyes out for other items like this now that he knew they existed.
The spatial bubble was fantastic. Ruwen didn’t know what the forms looked like, but the poses were all very peculiar, and when you added the odd breathing to it, he must look like some type of freak. He would never have been able to practice Fortifying anywhere but the most private places. This should allow him to practice anywhere.
Ruwen chose Yes, and the notification disappeared. He slid it onto his right wrist, and the bracer shrunk to fit comfortably.
“What does it do?” Hamma asked.
Ruwen froze. He hadn’t thought about what he would tell Hamma. The bracer helped something that should be impossible for him. He was reluctant to explain it right now, but he didn’t want to lie either. The bracer really only left him one choice.
Sitting, Ruwen crossed his legs and leaned forward at a forty-five-degree angle. He held his arms out like he hugged a large tree, and tilted his head back. It felt like his mouth and nose were stuffed with fabric, and he immediately gasped for air. Even without closing his eyes, he felt Spirit climbing from his chest and into his head.
Hamma gasped.
“Where did you go?” Sift asked.
A hand slapped Ruwen in the head, and he lost his pose.
“Hey!” Ruwen said.
“Sorry, I thought you disappeared,” Sift said.
“So it’s some sort of invisibility bracer?” Hamma asked.
Ruwen nodded.
“Well, that’s pretty useful. People are trying to kill you after all,” Hamma said.
“Interesting position,” Sift said.
Ruwen glared at Sift. Sift would have learned the different poses from his parents.
“It’s for meditation, and it triggers invisibility,” Ruwen said. “Let’s go collect the loot for defeating Sparkle.”
Ruwen walked to the other bags, wanting to change the subject. As he neared the exit, Sift’s treasure became clearer.
“Yeah, Blapy does have a favorite,” Hamma said, pointing to the pile of gems and weapons.
“No, she only does that because she knows I won’t take it,” Sift said.
“Your game with Blapy is the dumbest thing you do. And you do a lot of dumb stuff,” Ruwen said.
“Maybe it appears dumb because you’re too dumb to understand its brilliance,” Sift said as he tapped his temple.
Ruwen shook his head as he stared at Sift.
Before Ruwen could respond, Hamma picked up her loot from defeating Sparkle. “Looking in these is so exciting.”
Hamma gasped and removed a dark blue ring. “The entire thing is sapphire, and it adds to my Mana Regen and Charisma.”
Hamma slipped the ring onto her left hand and stared at it. “This is the best day of my life.”
“Is there anything else?” Sift asked.
Hamma looked back in the bag and removed six purple vials. “Mana restoration potions.”
“Those are useful,” Ruwen said as he knelt by his bag.
Ruwen had a much larger bag, and he dumped the contents onto the ground. A large book landed with a thud, along with a small leather bag and six blood-red vials. The pink book’s cover had a mirror in the middle with sequins surrounding it. Ruwen picked it up, staring at his reflection as he opened his notifications.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid’s Ink Archivist has reclaimed…
Book Title: You Are Good Enough
Topic: Daily Affirmations to Help Reveal Your Inner Shine
Author: ugmHardl beVlokish the 117th
Publisher: Black Pyramid Press
Book Id: 025103 (Lower Branch)
Quality: Common
Durability: 9 of 12
Weight: 5.9 lbs.
Loan Count: 923 (Overdue!)
Restriction: Black Pyramid mark required.
Description: Pink book covered in sequins. Master beVlokish, having just returned from his inspirational tour of levels 125 through 150, summarizes his philosophy in this Black Pyramid Best Seller.
It was the first time he had been referenced by his new title, and he kind of liked it. Once again, the real lives these creatures had shocked him. A self-help book? And Blapy published books as well? How would Sparkle even read a book like this?
At the bottom of the cover, in a worn area, Ruwen could just make out the words: Press Here.
Ruwen pressed the location, and the book opened.
Welcome to another Black Pyramid Press original, narrated by –
Ruwen pushed on the bottom of the page, and the page turned, interrupting the voice. Ruwen picked up the book and looked underneath it, trying to figure out where the sound came from. The voice spoke again.
You Are Good Enough, written by ugmHardl beVlokish the –
“How can you stand that sound?” Hamma shouted with her hands over her ears.
Ruwen closed the book and glanced at Sift, who also covered his ears.
“You guys didn’t understand that?” Ruwen asked.
“It sounded like a rock being ground against another rock while someone with rocks in their mouth screamed,” Sift said.
“It wasn’t pleasant,” Hamma said, and then her brow furrowed. “Did you understand it?”
“A little,” Ruwen said.
Remembering his quest to collect books, he opened his Void Band and dropped the book in it. His item count didn’t go up, and the book wasn’t in his Inventory. He opened the library quest and saw the recovered books now read one of three. Had Blapy really snatched the book back to the library from Ruwen’s Inventory? Could she only do that because he was inside the Black Pyramid?
He closed his Void Band and picked up the small pouch.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid has rewarded you…
Name: Diamond Dust
Quantity: 50 carats
Quality: Fine
Durability: 1000 of 1000
Weight: 0.02 lbs.
Description: Alchemy component. Very hard.
Powered diamonds after what he’d done to Sparkle seemed appropriate. He welcomed more alchemy components and wondered what recipes took diamond dust.
“Diamond dust for alchemy recipes,” Ruwen told H
amma and Sift as he added it to his Inventory.
“Feels bad,” Sift said. “You really suck at loot.”
“No, it’s valuable to me,” Ruwen said. “But I do feel like I have terrible luck.”
“There’s no such thing as luck,” Hamma said.
Sift nodded at Hamma. “Very true. Shade’s First Rule: eat knowledge, drink sweat, crap luck.”
Ruwen covered his face.
Hamma shook her head. “Your count is off. You gave me the first rule earlier. And does crap luck mean you create your own luck or that you’ll have terrible luck?”
Ruwen laughed. “Yeah, Sift, learn to count.”
“It’s not my saying, and your numbers could use some work, too, prime boy,” Sift said.
Ruwen pointed at Sift. “This is the fastest you’ve ever gotten here. I –”
Hamma interrupted Ruwen. “What’s in the vials?”
Ruwen stopped arguing with Sift and glanced at Hamma. “Sorry, we’re easily distracted.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Hamma said.
Ruwen picked up one of the six vials.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid has rewarded you…
Name: Minor Vial of Health
Quantity: 6
Quality: Uncommon
Durability: 1 of 1
Weight: 0.75 lbs.
Effect: Heal recipient for 60 Health over ten seconds.
Directions: Drink for full effect. Place on skin for three-quarter effect. Smash vial near recipient for half effect (must breathe vapors).
Description: Basic healing potion. When you wish to delay the inevitable.
“Healing vials,” Ruwen told Hamma and Sift.
Ruwen stood and placed the six vials in his Inventory.
Hamma gasped, and Ruwen tensed. She saw his reaction and waved her hand.
“Everything’s okay. I just noticed I’m almost level seven now,” Hamma said.
Ruwen glanced through his log. They must not have actually killed any of the Hoppers since he couldn’t find them in his log. The quest had resulted in seven thousand nine hundred fifty experience, and defeating Sparkle, who was actually a Gem Leopard (Elite), had given him one thousand one hundred thirty-nine experience. He opened his Profile and looked at his experience.
