Chapter 52: Chapter 44, Broken bones, tattered flesh and mushrooms

Chapter 44, Broken bones, tattered flesh and mushrooms

 

 

I’ve barely stepped onto the 16th floor before my first opponent presents itself. It’s another lizard and it looks exactly like the [Clattering Climber Sceloporus] except for the dark mist of mana that cling between segments of the hard exterior. The most startling difference however is the amount of noise it makes. The previous clattering lizards were loud as hell while this one is eerily silent, only creating a low susurration that I wouldn’t have picked up without the recent improvements to our vessel’s senses.

Enhancing myself with mana to our new maximum limit I hit it on the side of the head with a roundhouse kick, cracking the skull open and killing before it even smacks into the wall, breaking the spine on impact. There’s no need to use [Telekinetic Force Manipulation] to amplify the kick as the massive amount of power contained in my body is sufficient on its own. I grin broadly at that thought, our seven weeks of toil haven’t been for nothing.

 

 

Ding! You have slain [Swarm Stalker Sceloporus - Level 256]. Experience awarded.

 

 

Swarm stalker? I can understand ‘stalker’ but what is this about a swarm?

I barely get to finish the thought before two more swarm stalkers dash into the chamber, one along the ceiling and one along the wall. My ring blade takes care of one, severing it in the middle as the other lunges from the ceiling straight at me. Deciding to try out my new skill, [Kinetic Lock], I target the quickly closing lizard and activate it. The skill almost breaks as the mana expenditure needed to halt it in mid air goes precariously close to reaching 1000 mana per second.

The skill automatically adapts the telekinetic forces and the lizard quickly comes to a stop, only traveling some 40 centimeters from the point of activation until the momentum is gone. The skill pulls it back to the exact point in space where it had been during the skill’s activation in less than half a second, leaving it hanging in the air as the lizard struggles against the invisible bonds.

The telekinetic forces can’t adapt quickly enough to completely freeze it in place but it’s enough to limit the lizard to weakly thrashing, barely being able to move its limbs a few centimeters before being corrected. It looks quite funny and I’m really happy with the result. It’s the perfect skill to complement the previous one and I select the head as my target before using [Point Compression].

The lizard gets a swift but ugly death, hanging in the air until I cancel [Kinetic Lock]. Before the carcass even hits the floor three more of the monsters come rushing into my line of sight from the left most corridors leading out of here.

Is this what ‘swarm’ is related to? They’re going to keep coming forever?

 

Luckily they do eventually stop coming. Either the giant mounds of carcasses I’d erected in each corner of the chamber has made them apprehensive or I’ve emptied out this section of the floor, which is probably more likely. I had to use telekinesis to move the bodies out of the way as they just kept piling up and there’s probably 70 or more of them here already. I also practiced with my new skills as a combo, their cooldowns almost the same length. They’re very powerful skills for their currently low levels.

“Fucking hell, Zel. This is the perfect floor to grind our way through, increasing our skill levels and class level.”

“Yup, let's grind down every one of them on our way towards the floor guardian.”

Continuing through the floor I’m almost constantly beset with lizards from all directions, coming from behind from another passage, crawling in through holes in the walls that quickly close behind them or seemingly popping out from nowhere even though I don’t notice their arrival. There’s also a few plant monsters here and there and even those have small segments of bone on their vines as protection, sometimes needing a little extra power to be cut through.

It’s an unending battle as they swarm me while I try looking for the floor guardian, this floor is like a wide maze though. When I finally see a new creature in a chamber up ahead I’m sure it’s the floor guardian, getting a surprise when identifying it and being proven wrong

 

 

[Swarm Sceloporus Champion (Roaming Guardian) - Level 270]

 

 

It’s another lizard, clattering and clunking as it moves instead of being eerily silent like its lessers, the contrast giving the 2.5 meter tall guardian an ever greater presence. Kicking a silent lizard hard enough to become shrapnel as my ring blade zooms away, taking out the two bone-encrusted, plant monsters I make my way towards the lizard as it charges at me. Planting my feet and pulling back my arm I force its maw to remain shut, removing the possibility of biting me as it nears.

My fist connects with its snout, the amplified telekinetic force spreading far along the elongated head, its brain turning to mush from the facial bones and teeth penetrating it as the neck snaps from its own forward momentum.

Almost falling over from the force of the impact, not getting hurt in any way but neither being able to remain in place, I instinctively use [Kinetic Lock] on myself, amazed when I come to an abrupt halt.

 

 

Ding! You have slain [Swarm Sceloporus Champion (Roaming Guardian) - Level 270]. Experience awarded.

 

 

“Whaaat?! You used the skill on us and it worked?”

I laugh out loud at Ari’s incredulous exclamation as my ring blade zooms past and splits the last lizard jumping at me from above, adding another carcass to the chamber. Pulling the core out from the guardian’s brain-goop I polish off some of the gore on my even dirtier crop top that’s more brown and dark red than white. The core is gray, white and black and I store it in my collection with the others before continuing.

 

---

 

 

Ding! You have slain [Thicktail Scalebone King (Floor Guardian) - Level 280]. Bonus experience awarded.

Ding! You have cleared the 16th floor of the Grizklesat dungeon.

 

 

The large lizard with an absolutely enormous tail thunders to the ground beneath me as my axe kick smash its skull apart so completely that I land where it should have been if still intact. The two meter thick neck spurts blood with the last heartbeats, drenching my legs and feet placed on a thin layer of gore and shattered crania. The core is lying in the open air on the ground, having been dislodged with the explosion of flesh. I pick it up, admiring the swirling, glowing white lines on its surface before storing it and moving into the stairwell, then downwards.

The addition to the next floor's decor seems to be a few crimson crystals interspersed randomly along the emerald ones, pulsating even slower but more powerfully. The 17th floor is where the Azelian Blood Cap can be found, if Maya had the correct information, and it’s the last thing I need to gather in order to complete my last, unfinished adventurer posting. I’ll make sure that I don’t leave the floor until I’ve found at least one as failing an accepted posting feels like a lazy way of doing things.

 

I’m taken completely by surprise when I exit the stairwell, walk through the first empty chamber and slightly narrower corridor, halting at the end of it as walking any further would have me drop 15 meters down. The second chamber is at least 50 meters wide and my eyes can’t light up the wall on the other side, being more than 80 meters away and requiring me to instead rely on the dingy lightning from the sparse and flickering lanterns.

I’m fairly sure that I see some sort of ladder’s outline leading up to the corridor on the other side at the same elevation but the darkness isn’t making it easy to make out. Looking down on the wall beneath me I see deep grooves carved out from the uneven rock, making a hazardous ladder. It’s most likely the same on the other side. I’m more concerned with what’s on the bottom than any ladders though.

Either hundreds of thick monster vines cover the entire chamber’s floor or it’s entirely made out of decorative flora. Whatever the case, I can’t see any rock or moss beneath. Inspecting one has me breathing out in relief though.

 

 

[Vine]

 

 

No levels or anything meaning it’s not a monster and merely inert plant material. Not needing to climb the ladder to drop 15 meters, knowing that such a height no longer poses any danger to my overhauled body, I jump down and land on the vines, surprised at the softness of them before immediately going straight through and barely slowing down in my descent. The remainder of the chamber opens up before me as I break through, having been hidden under the cover of inert vines that no longer seem to be a mere decoration.

Falling another 15 or so meters I crash on a floor practically made of bones causing a deafening clatter. Dozens upon dozens of thick vines sprout from between the bones, reaching up towards the thin layer of vines I’d smashed through and spreading out, looking like sleek, green trees making an interwoven canopy of leafless branches. They’re nothing that amicable though.

With sudden, violent ripping sounds, every thick vine jerkily splits apart into four thinner ones, their sides having been previously pointed inwards displaying razor sharp, white teeth dripping with sanguine fluid. Even the canopy comes to life, splitting up into their thinner teethed segments as they shudder before violently starting to trash about all over the place. Identifying one coming for my face, teeth poised to shred my eyes, I duck beneath it as the ring blade disassembles behind my back.

 

 

[Camouflaged Trapping Pit Shredder Vine - Level 295]

 

 

I send the blade segments spinning around me, shredding everything in my reach while flinging celestial flames in every direction, setting everything ablaze as the scattering bits of burning vines distribute it even further. Feeling like my mind is splitting into hundreds of individual thought processes, [Multitask] straining to its limits, I simultaneously try to divert and stop all vines striking wildly everywhere and going in my direction by accident or those specifically targeting me.

I don’t manage to get all of them though as there’s just too many and I’m more thankful than ever of the overhauled body as the sharp teeth merely rip my flesh apart instead of completely tearing me half with their applied force.

 

As the last vine lets out a final spasm and shriek, dying in the flames consuming it, I collapse to my knees on the gore stained bones. It’s both my own flesh, skin and organs as well as the bisected and burning plant material spread all around me, Ari having constantly regenerated the bits being torn away. Checking my mana I’m both amazed and horrified, swiftly cutting the power to the celestial flames to not make the situation worse.

Mana: [3632 / 9650]
Capacitor: [0 / 43,339]

“Shit, that was actually quite close. A few dozen more plant monsters and we’d probably been left completely drained. Slow down the last of our regeneration, Ari. We need a bit in reserve for anything unexpected.”

“You sure, Zel? Do you want me to shut off the pain in the meantime?”

I can understand why she’d hesitate as my bones are more visible than not, flesh and skin hanging in tatters as celestial blood leaks everywhere. My head is completely shredded and my eyeballs torn out, ears torn off, lips and cheeks looking like ribbons as they dangle.

“I’m fine. It seems I have to get used to ending up a bit bruised now and then.”

A slightly nervous chuckle leaves me, both carrying the pain and relief, Ari soon joining me in venting some of the feelings as the battle-high wears off. It’s honestly bizzare being this torn apart.

“We’ve probably leveled quite a bit since we last checked and we could do with some more intelligence and wisdom right about now. Notifications?”

“Sure, Zel.”

 

 

Ding! You have slain [Swarm Stalker Sceloporus - Level 251]. Experience awarded.
…
Ding! You have slain [Camouflaged Trapping Pit Shredder Vine - Level 298]. Bonus experience awarded.

Ding! [Arcane Telekineticist] has leveled from [48] to [73]. +[125 AP]

Ding! [Arcane Telekineticist] has new skills available [1].

Ding! General skill [Identify] has leveled from [62] to [63].

Ding! General skill [Aerial Acrobatics] has leveled from [97] to [102].

Ding! General skill [Dodging] has leveled from [304] to [321].

Ding! General skill [Unarmed] has leveled from [229] to [245].

Ding! General skill [Arcane Spatial Ring] has leveled from [179] to [183].

Ding! Skill [Sensors] has leveled from [382] to [390].

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Ding! Skill [Passive Power] has leveled from [591] to [599].

Ding! Skill [Arcane Manipulation] has leveled from [703] to [721].

Ding! Skill [Capacitor] has leveled from [426] to [450].

Ding! Skill [External Modules] has leveled from [307] to [328].

Ding! Skill [Power Profiler] has leveled from [147] to [163].

Ding! Skill [Telekinetic Force Manipulation] has leveled from [358] to [384].

Ding! Skill [Point Compression] has leveled from [9] to [37].

Ding! Skill [Kinetic Lock] has leveled from [1] to [26].

 

 

Ding! Attribute [Intelligence] has been increased from [193] to [253].

Ding! Attribute [Wisdom] has been increased from [1025] to [1090].

 

Attribute Points: [0]
Strength: [110] -50%
Constitution: [110] -50%
Vitality: [110] -50%
Agility: [175] -50%
Dexterity: [110] -50%
Intelligence: [253] +400%
Wisdom: [1090] +395%

Mana: [9689 / 12,650]
Capacitor: [2370 / 56,925]
Mana regen: [5395] / Minute

 

 

“Look! A new skill, Ari.”

“Our second class sure is generous with giving out skills compared to our first. Let’s have a look, shall we?”

 

---

-[Arcane Telekineticist]-
Combining the rare ability of telekinesis and mana without a naturally occurring elemental structure you walk a path of your own making. You can not tell where this path leads but there is surely greatness to be found when delving into the unknown. Embracing the infinite possibilities, you seek to master the essence of the intangible power you have come to rely on.

Perks:
-[Intelligence] + 100%
-[Wisdom] + 100%

Skills:
-Telekinetic Force Manipulation - [384]
-Point Compression - [37]
-Kinetic Lock - [26]
-Empty
-Empty

 

Available skills [1]

---

 

 

[Defensive Ripple]
Send out a shockwave of telekinetic force carried on arcane mana with your position as the center. Minimum skill cost [5000] mana. Maximum skill cost [5000 + Skill Level * 50] mana. Maximum shockwave radius [5 + Skill Level / 10] meters. Cooldown [30 / ((Skill Level + 99) / 100)] seconds.

 

 

“A defensive skill? Didn’t expect it but I suppose it makes sense that we got one.”

“Yes. Magical classes often get one or two defensive skills before the first evolution. Our [Mana Machine] class is an outlier in more ways than one and didn’t get anything like this. We would have to create our own shield using an already existing skill to make it work. Considering that, what do you think about this skill, Zel? I think it sounds neat.”

“I agree. We still have two more empty skill slots and waiting to acquire it later makes little sense to me.”

 

 

Ding! [Arcane Telekineticist] has gained the skill [Defensive Ripple].

 

Skills:
-Telekinetic Force Manipulation - [384]
-Point Compression - [37]
-Kinetic Lock - [26]
-Defensive Ripple - [1]
-Empty

 

 

Waiting for the last of my body to slowly regenerate before standing up, I try activating the new skill. A visible ripple, distorting either the air or the light, can’t tell which, extends like a shockwave all around me. Everything it touches gets forced away from me at high velocity by the ripple of telekinesis, the gore lying a bit aways from me being sent splattering against the walls and that beneath me crushed against the floor. The ripple visibly weakens during its expansion, eventually disappearing when having used all the invested mana. The shockwave reached the 5 meter radius under half a second from skill activation, giving anything close to me almost no time to move a safe distance away.

 

 

Ding! Skill [Defensive Ripple] has leveled from [1] to [2].

 

 

“Nice.”

“Mhm.”

Ari’s noise of agreement is filled with satisfaction.

Extracting one of the monster cores from the vines and storing it I move to the ladder on the other side of the chamber. I also make sure to look around for the Azelian Blood Cap, a luminous, crimson mushroom no more than 5 centimeters in height. There’s none here that I can see however.

The cutouts in the rock, covered with slick moss and dripping water looks very unsafe but it's not like I’ll die if I fall anyway. Starting my climb, nearly slipping immediately, I climb the 30 meters up to the ledge before pulling myself up.

Dispersing all my clothes I let Ari clean me up, teasingly as usual, before putting everything back on, styling my hair and hanging my daggers back on the belt with telekinesis. Her teasing had gotten more and more stimulating during our time down here, my sexual frustration skyrocketing through the roof every couple of days. We don’t dare enter our mind space down here but that doesn’t mean we’re all out of options. I’ve had to fuck myself the traditional way with a physically manifested cock every fortnight to not go insane by her teasing. It isn’t a bad way to release some tension but it’s nowhere near as good as fucking Ari.

“Come on darling, tone down the teasing a little bit will you? We’re soon getting out of here.”

My words may convey a reasonable request but my real feelings still leak through and that’s the only thing Ari appears to hear as she responds with a viciously infatuating pulse of carnal desire and love, setting my heart aquiver from the cocktail of emotions.

 

Shaking my head and smacking my cheeks lightly I clamp down on the at the moment unwanted desires, feeling Ari doing the same, before I refocus on the corridor we’re walking through. It turns sharply left then right, right and then left again before going straight for a few dozen meters, finally opening up into the next chamber. Seeing the exact same scene, a large room with vines on the “floor” I scoff. I’m not going to fall for it twice.

Sending my ring blade flying down to kill them from above I’m taken by surprise yet again. Most likely triggering some sort of trap, the walls slam together behind me before forcefully expelling me from the corridor like a projectile.

I prepare myself in mid air, disassembling the ring blade in preparation for another violent scuffle and sending the eight blade segments into the vines as I land, dislocating my shoulder from the impact.

“Ouch! What the hell?!”

It doesn’t hurt much but the unexpected impact still has me shouting my surprise out loud as I’d expected to fall straight through, not land on vines hard as rock with my shoulder first. My blade segments also get stuck in the vines, merely cutting through the first layer of them before stopping dead.

Click, click, click, click.

The four, short, consecutive sounds like enormous buttons being pressed has me looking up, my eyes widening at seeing the four giant holes opening in the ceiling and disposing rivers of ‘swarm stalker sceloporus’ lizards, almost literally, down into the chamber. There has to be several hundreds of them landing in each corner, the first ones dying from the fall before the next ones merely cripple themselves. As the piles grow higher and higher more make it out unscathed though and they all tumble, scramble or dash towards the center, towards me. I can’t help making another loud exclamation at the sight.

“SHIT!”

 

 

[Swarm Stalker Sceloporus - Level 286]

 

 

Quickly dislodging the blade sections I start frenziedly cutting down lizards in all directions, soon having to kick and punch to not get completely buried in them. Their number is constantly growing, their brethren continuously falling down from on high faster than I can kill them. As things start looking desperate I remember the new [Defensive Ripple] skill and immediately activate it.

It works wonders as the closest lizards crack, break and shatter under the telekinetic forces pushing them together and I use the short breathing room to enhance my legs as much as possible, lowering myself into a crouch before launching straight up towards the ceiling.

My momentum is way too high and I crash straight into it but I don’t care for the dull ache as I madly scramble for a lantern dangling on their rusty iron link chains all around me. The chain screeches with an awful noise as I swing back and forth, hanging from it together with the lantern.

I have to keep two of the blade sections spinning around me along the ceiling to kill all the lizards climbing up the walls or creeping in from the four holes while the rest cut apart everything beneath me. It’s still a lot better than my previous situation and I breathe out in relief before putting my whole focus on quickly disposing of all the monsters.

When only fifty or so lizards remain I finally let myself drop down, crashing into the floor now made up of carcasses instead of vines. With the addition of me kicking and punching them to death as I dash and launch myself across the body-strewn floor I put the last ones down in quick order.

 

“The dungeon really got us with this one, didn’t it?”

“Yes. You’re so easily fooled, Zel.”

“YOU!-”

I sigh.

“-Yeah, whatever.”

Ari giggles and I can’t help but smile.

Standing on the largest pile of lizards I launch myself towards the corridor leading out from this chamber, having opened up again now that every monster is dead, and leaving behind a much smaller pile of bone fragments and gore thanks to the 15,000 mana of telekinetic force I put into the carcasses beneath me when jumping. There was no reason for me pulverizing the pile other than for the fun of it. Grinning and laughing with childlike glee I land, my ring blade assembling itself behind my back before I continue onwards.

 

---

Exiting the long and winding corridor I enter a much more reasonably sized chamber, filled with more lizards that continue swarming from the other corridors leading into it, forcing me to kill at least a hundred of them. I pass through five chambers like this, having to backtrack at one time as I’d taken the wrong corridor, immediately getting ambushed by even more lizards coming out of nowhere ‘cause why not?

Walking into the sixth chamber I spot it, the mushroom I’ve been searching for and I launch myself towards the corner where it’s sitting between a few rocks covered in moss, water trickling down around it and refracting the crystals’ crimson and emerald light. I completely ignore the 40 lizards, only killing one that gets in my way before I reach the Azelian Blood Cap, pick it and immediately send it into my arcane spatial ring, breathing out in relief as it’s now safe.

Fighting all these lizards, sending bone, blood and flesh in all directions isn’t such a good idea if I want to keep any fragile flora in the surroundings intact but I get back to it now that I’ve already secured one. Not even two chambers after finding the first mushroom I find another, feeling like the luckiest person in the world.

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