Chapter 23: 21. Beyond the Dead End Tunnel

BREATHING ENCHANTMENT

Allows breathing underwater for one day.

 

“Underwater charms?” Theo’s avatar asked. “Am I going for a swim?”

The elf placing the enchantment on him grunted. She didn’t like being rushed, especially since Theo had already made a fuss about going on the mission as quickly as possible. Normally, there would have been a full day of preparation. Instead, she and two others were forced to rush talisman preparation only because a foreigner demanded it. Not only that, but the human was constantly complaining about it.

“You’ll need air in the tunnels below,” the elf replied, keeping her calm. “We have found that the berthing charm works best under these conditions.”

“Heh.” Theo crossed the arms of his avatar.

From his point of view that was a completely useless trinket, as were most of the ones he was outfitted. True, it gave him a rare opportunity to practice his arcane identify spell, but other than that it was all just a waste of time. He might have just gone on the stupid task and be done with it.

“Do I get anything to control roots?” the avatar grumbled.

“That would take far too long to complete.”

Somehow the answer didn’t surprise Theo. It wasn’t so much his view that the universe was conspiring against him, rather than the practical reality. It had taken him the greatest amount of energy to identify the bracelets that could control the forest. During his brief stay in the “throne hall”—or whatever the proper name of that dump was—he had also noticed that a number of the elf nobles also were wearing similar bracelets. In comparison, all the other trinkets were equipped with minor enchantments.

“Are we done, yet?” he asked. “Seriously, I don’t need all these enchantments.”

“Yes, you probably don’t,” the elf admitted. “However, we mustn’t risk the prophecy. You are to be granted any help we could provide before you go on your search for the forest core.”

“I never knew that prophecies were so specific.” The avatar, nodded several times, impressed. Strangely enough, that brought a smile to the elf’s face, one that she quickly hid by returning to her usual neutral expression.

“The prophecy isn’t that specific. We’re just smart enough to hedge our bets.”

The conversation should have ended here, but something in the way she said it intrigued the dungeon. It was almost as if she were talking from experience. If that were true—and since the curse still hadn’t been lifted—things must have gone quite poorly with the last candidate. Either that, or there were more parts to the prophecy that had been shared. Not wanting to find out the hard way, the avatar cast his arcane identify spell on the elf.

Naturally, nothing happened. The elf wasn’t an object and as such not subject to the spell’s functionality. However, that had never stopped Theo before. At each unsuccessful he increased the amount of energy in the spell. As he did, he slowly started sensing a faint presence on the elf. It almost felt as if there were a water bubble somewhere that popped just before he could identify it. Any person would have stopped at this point. Over a thousand mana spent was more than any mage wouldn’t be willing to waste on a hunch. Theo, however, just doubled the energy spent. On the tenth time, the elusive bubble gave in.

 

HEART OF THE SEER

(Unique Elf Enchantment)

Grants grand prophetic and insight powers to the owner.

Due to the destructive strength of the enchantment, it is cast on a bud crystal and given to a child shortly after birth. Elf children without prophetic inclination reject the crystal causing it to crumble to pieces. Those born with the rare talent, allow the crystal to merge with their heart, slowly replacing it in time.

 

“Huh?” The avatar trembled.

“What’s the matter now?” the elf asked, more annoyed with his behavior than anything else.

“Nothing. I just didn’t know that you were a seer.”

The second part of the sentence slipped out unintended. Theo knew full well how irresponsible it was to reveal what no doubt was both a personal and highly secret fact. At the same time, some of his annoying habits from his previous life still lingered on, namely revealing more information that one should when caught doing something that he shouldn’t have.

 

ARCANE IDENTIFY - ULTRA

Allows you identify hidden, masked, and shielded enchantments.

Can only be used once per hour.

 

The elf froze for several seconds. Then, she quietly stood up and went to the small table and proceeded to tie another jade talisman to a thread.

“How long have you known?” she asked.

“I just found out now,” Theo replied.

“You’re not sparing me by lying,” the elf said. “The moment you appeared in the forest, we knew that you were stronger than all of us combined. His Everessence believes that if we combined all our efforts, we could probably defeat you. Maybe we could, but it would come at a great cost.”

“I see…” But I honestly found out just now! Theo wanted to say.

It had started as a hunch, brought on by a combination of impatience, boredom, and curiosity. Now, no one was going to believe that he wasn’t the great wizard they had hoped for.

“Let’s just get done with this,” he said in a slightly stern voice. “The sooner we can start our trip, the better.”

The rest of the preparation process continued in silence, although it wasn’t any faster than before. Piece by piece, Theo’s avatar was equipped with half a hundred talismans, over three quarters of which were absolutely useless. If he were human, he’d be protected from choking, paralysis, fire, five types of poison, bleeding, and blindness. As an avatar, though, he had that protection by default.

As much as the prospect of the dungeon’s existence annoyed him, it was by far preferable to the panic taking place in Rosewind. The arrival of the royal messenger had caused quite the stir, to put it mildly. News of a fleet of flying airships on their way to attack the kingdom had already circulated every part of the town twice and continued on to the villages in the area. That, in itself, wasn’t bad, since it gave a reason for people to mouth a unified defense. Unfortunately, that’s the last thing that had happened. Sir Ribbons had quickly informed the Earl’s heir about the situation, who in turn had sent scouts to find his father, as well as called all nobles, to the castle. Unfortunately, none of the nobles took him very seriously. Peeking from dozens of buildings, as well as the entire wall, Theo had gotten more gossip that he could bear and none of it good. By the sound of things, nothing was going to get resolved until the earl returned, or the town was razed to the ground, whichever came first.

Finally, the final talisman was added to the many others, making Theo feel as if he had a Christmas tree for an avatar.

“Are you sure these will hold?” he asked, lifting one of the jade talismans that had a Greasiness enchantment. Despite the name, it was rather useful, decreasing the chance of him getting stuck.

“Do not concern yourself,” the elf replied. “The threads are enchanted with durability. They won’t snap.”

That wasn’t what Theo was asking, but he chose not to press on. Already, too much time had been wasted. Standing up, he straightened his clothes, then went towards the door.

Knowing full well the network of Silvarian tunnels, the avatar made its way to the prince’s chamber. A few steps from the door, it swung open, allowing him to enter. Upon doing so, he saw that Liandra was already there. To his surprise, she was wearing half as many talismans.

“Is he ready?” the price asked, denying Theo the chance to do the same.

“Yes, Everessence,” the elf said. “We have done everything that we could. He’d have no better chance than now.”

Not the best encouragement, but given the circumstances, it was going to have to do.

“I see that Liandra has less amulets than me,” Theo tried to be as diplomatic as possible. “Any reason for that?”

“Magic doesn’t come free,” the price said. “A lot of skill and mana is required for a talisman to be made. Our effort was to be sure you’re as well equipped as possible. Of course, we discussed the matter with the hero beforehand.”

A nod from Liandra suggested that the prince wasn’t lying. That only made everything more annoying. If anyone had bothered talking to Theo’s avatar, an hour or two would have been saved. Still, there was no point in crying over spilt mana.

“Alright, where do we start?” The avatar cracked his fingers.

“Our enchanter will take you to the dead end tunnel,” the elf said. “Before that, I have something for you.”

A single wooden ring levitated through the air, stopping in front of the avatar. Using arcane identify on it revealed nothing. Using the ultra variant, however, showed it to be a rather peculiar dimensional ring. Unlike the one Theo already had, this one had the ability to hold a single magical item of enormous strength. In many ways it resembled a prison. Also, on further inspection, it seemed that Theo wasn’t able to control it.

“When you find the forest core, free it from the roots, then press the ring against it. That will help you carry it back here without worrying about dangers on the way.”

“Use the ring on the core,” the avatar repeated, grabbing the ring from the air. “Got it.”

“I would also suggest you avoid carrying it in the open. Some of the forest’s guardians might react poorly.”

Forest guardians? That was conveniently skipped during the elf’s previous explanation. Maybe there was a point in carrying all those amulets, after all.

“Alright.” Theo placed the wooden dimensional ring within his own. “Anything else?”

“Gods’ speed and good luck.”

“Thanks, and good luck to you too,” the avatar replied instinctively, then headed towards the door.

All the elves in the hall tensed up, along with Liandra. As far as they were concerned, this was a thinly veiled threat that Theo was displeased with the present arrangement. Also, it sounded like a warning about what might happen if they tried to trick him. Several of the nobles instinctively reached for the hilts of their weapons, quietly waiting for the “savior wizard” to leave the chamber. Once he did, Liandra and the seer rushed behind him.

Walking through the runnels ended up taking a lot less time than Theo feared. Clearly now that the deal was struck, the elves didn’t believe in wasting time, so the seer took the direct path to their destination.

The dead end tunnel, as one might expect, ended up being exactly that: a tunnel that ended halfway. The unexpected bit was that there were three massive wooden doors and two metal gates along it.

“Any reason for all this?” The avatar patiently waited for the seer to use her magic to unlock the final gate before the end of the tunnel.

“For general safety,” came the response. “The magic of the core attracts many creatures. That’s why we keep the tunnel buried further on.”

“Will we get a shovel?” The avatar tilted his head, asking in his most sarcastic voice.

“There are several on the ground at the end of the tunnel.” The final gate clicked open. The elf opened it, then stepped to the side. “From here on, you’re on your own. Good luck.”

“Thank you,” Liandra said with a smile, preventing things from escalating. “I’m sure that Baron d’Argent will easily do what’s asked of him.”

The elf and the avatar looked at each other, but said nothing.

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The shovels were where they were said they’d be, half buried in dirt. Thankfully, the anticorrosion, antirust enchantments on them made them retain their pristine condition. Theo picked up one and slid a finger along it, while the sound of clicking and locking went on behind him.

“I don’t think we’re the first ones to be sent on this small fast,” he said, then placed the shovel against the tunnel wall.

“We aren’t,” the heroine replied, more concerned with the elf than their current predicament.

“Thanks for your support, by the way. With everything I’d seen you do so far, I would have expected you’d at least say something when in the presence of an elf prince. You weren’t this quiet, even in the Earl’s throne room. What happened? Did you get star struck?”

“It’s…” Liandra let out a deep sigh. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated? We have a thousand people locked on our own airship which is entangled by vines that shot miles into the air. Oh, not to mention that it turns out that I’m part of some prophecy which forced me to steal the heart of an entire forest. How more complicated could your story be?”

“The elves were the ones who created the first heroes,” the woman said.

Back in Rosewind, the doors of several buildings gaped open in surprise. Personally, he had explained something along the line that she had elf blood in her veins or something. Learning that all the heroes originated from elves was way too much. For starters, he wasn’t sure what that even entailed. Did she mean that heroes were, or at least had been, half-elves?

“Spok, do you know if there’s any relation between elves and heroes?” the dungeon asked in one of the new ballista towers he had constructed.

“I’m only familiar with heroes when it comes to dungeons, sir,” the spirit guide replied, as she adjusted the massive ballista to aim in the appropriate direction. “Neither elves, for that matter. Is there a reason you’re asking?”

“Just curious. Carry on with the defenses.”

Several times Theo’s avatar opened his mouth trying to voice the question and several times it stopped, trying to find a better phrasing. In the end, he decided to go with the simplest version.

“How exactly?”

Liandra looked at him, then picked up a shovel from the ground and started digging.

“We better get to work.” She avoided the question. “It’s a long journey to the forest’s roots, so if you plan for us to finish in a week, we—”

The avatar places his hand against the hard soil. Instantly, a room formed with a convenient flight of stairs going down. It wasn’t especially large, but a clear indication that digging wouldn’t be a problem.

“How?” he repeated.

“What I’m about to say stays between us.” The heroine looked at him. “Give me your word on that.”

“I give you my word.” Most likely, that had to be some formal heroic contract that bound him to secrecy. Frankly, it didn’t matter, for the dungeon had no intention of sharing it with anyone.

Liandra nodded, then went down the stairs. The avatar followed.

“Back during the wars between deities and demons, the elves were one of the few races that had the power to withstand the creatures of evil in a one-to-one fight. However, similar to the deities, they were few. Humans were abundant, but weak. That’s why, at one point, the elves decided that they would share part of their divine spark with the mortals.”

“Giving rise to a race of half elves?” Theo added hurriedly.

“What?” Liandra stared at him in near shock. “No! They gave us a drop of their essence,” she said. “Their magic.”

“The first heroes were mages?” The avatar put his hand on the farther wall, creating a new room further on. “That’s a bit anticlimactic.”

“No, they gave us our heroic trait. That’s how the first heroes were born. And since humans multiply a lot faster than elves, more and more of them appeared. That is why the heroes have an eternal debt of gratitude towards all elves. We cannot do anything in their lands without their approval. To do so would be to go against our own blood. Some have tried and all without exception lost their heroic trait as punishment.”

That explained a lot. Not to mention, it gave Theo another reason to dislike the elves. If it hadn’t been for them, there wouldn’t have been heroes to pester him. Although, he could also see the positive side. If the demons had won over the fight against the deities, the world would be a very different place. There was no guarantee that dungeons would be welcome either.

From what he had seen, among the rooms he could create all those involving any sort of demons came with warnings. Apparently, there had been cases of unsecured demons wreaking havoc in dungeons after being summoned. That was one of the reasons the spell, Demon Dispel, had been explicitly requested from the deities.

For the next ten minutes Liandra and the avatar went on walking in a straight line along the continuation of the dead end tunnel, forming new rooms as they did. Now and again, Theo gave in to the impulse and added a few exotic elements, such as thick carpets, bowls of fruit, or random statues, to break up the monotony of it all. It got him a few annoyed glances from the heroine, but Theo felt good with himself. At one point, upon making the next room, only half of it came into being. The second half was replaced by a burrow-like tunnel that continued further on. Being a dungeon, Theo would have been able to have a pretty good idea how far it continued. The only reason he couldn’t this time was because the continuation of the tunnel was blocked by an impressive large mole-like creature.

Large black eyes winced, annoyed at the light from the torches that Theo placed in all of his created rooms. Moments later, the eyes of the creature shifted to glowing red.

“Look out!” Liandra grabbed the avatar by the collar of his shirt and leapt back, pulling him safely away from the creature’s clawed paws.

The mole let out a roar that would have put a pride of lions to shame. Fangs the size of daggers, green with poison and decay, became visible in his mouth. It was obvious that the Silvarians knew of this type of creature, else they wouldn’t have created so many anti poison talismans.

Without hesitation, the avatar pointed forward. A wave of flame emerged from his hand, pouring onto the creature like a torrent of water.

The roaring changed into screechy screams. The pungent smell of roasted fur and meat filled the air as the flames burned through the creature and continued along the tunnel for hundreds of feet before finally dissipating.

 

CORE CONSUMPTION

1 mole core fragment converted into 200 Avatar Core Points

 

It was only at that point that Liandra let go of the avatar, summoning her own weapon in the process. Seeing that she had summoned her two-handed sword, Theo could tell that things were serious.

“What was that?” he asked.

“A mole,” the woman replied.

“Maybe if you hadn’t roasted it, I could have told you.” tears appeared in the woman’s eyes. “How can you stand that stench?!”

“This?” Being a dungeon, Theo had experienced worse. Of course, from his perspective, aromas weren’t good or bad, but rather informative. The thing he really disliked, and currently regretted, was the sensation of the king slimes traveling throughout his tunnels created. “I’ve got a talisman for this,” he lied. “It’s a breathing enchantment. Want it?”

Before Liandra could refuse, the avatar took off the talisman in question and tossed it to her.

“Better?” he asked.

“Not much,” the heroine replied, but still put it on.

Holding her breath, she then went to the charred remains of the creature. There wasn’t much left, but after a while, Liandra managed to pick up a bone that had managed to survive the inferno.

“Doesn’t look like anything special,” she said before tossing the bone aside. “Probably just a normal mole affected by the forest’s core.”

“You call that normal?”

“Cores help things grow. Why do you think they attract creatures to them?”

“Personally, I thought cores were only found in dungeons and demons.” Theo feigned ignorance.

“Even then, the cores attract. It’s difficult to resist raw power.”

“Just great. So, we have all these things to face in addition to everything else?”

“Well, I’ll tell you one thing. Next time, warn before burning them. I’ll make sure to hold my breath.”

Continuing along the ready tunnel, it soon became evident that others weren’t as lucky. Rotten remains started appearing. Some appeared to have been dead for less than a decade, while others were hundreds of years old. In all cases, there was a weapon of some sort lying by. Now and again, they even come across gear in perfect condition—indicating there was some magic involved in it. Theo suggested they split the loot amongst themselves, but Liandra was firm that they were to collect everything and present it to the elf prince. After that, it would be up to him to decide whether he’d share it with them, or give it to someone else.

Naturally, there were also a lot more critters further down. Given the amount of core points the moles provided, Theo hoped they’d come across a few more of those. Unfortunately for him, giant ants seemed to be the new flavor of the month, and while large and annoying, they provided a fraction of what the moles did.

The tunnel kept on branching and twisting, but even so, it wasn’t difficult to tell which was the direction towards the core. As Liandra had pointed out, all the roots they’d come across were pointing in the same direction. At one point, the tunnel came to an end yet again. Now was the time for the next decision.

“What do you think?” The avatar rubbed his hands. “Forward or down? Or maybe diagonal?”

“It’s difficult to tell.” The heroine tapped her chin with her index finger.

“It’s supposed to be a guess. It doesn’t particularly matter. I have the mana for both.”

“In that case, best go down. We’ll have to sooner or later.”

“Down it is.” The avatar stomped on the ground, creating a rectangular chamber extending from his food. In a way, this reminded him of his experience in the Mandrake Mountains. He had done a lot of digging there in his attempts to escape. As much as Theo hated to admit it, he was starting to like creating rooms. Maybe it had to do with the dungeon’s desire to expand. Doing it with an avatar seemed like a sugar free version: he did what his nature craved without increasing in volume.

“What do you think the guardians would be like?” he asked as he floated down within an aether bubble. “As tough as Lord Mandrake’s demons?”

“Probably,” Liandra jumped down directly. “Otherwise, the ants and moles would have devoured the core by now.”

“I have my doubts. I know you’re supposed to be impressed by the elves and all, but they didn’t seem anything special. If it wasn’t for the airship, I could have—”

Before he could finish, the floor of the latest chamber gave in. Twisted roots shot from beneath, wrapping themselves around Liandra and pulling her down, before Theo could even blink.

“Liandra!” he shouted, focusing on his telekinetic ability to pull her back up. The roots, however, proved stronger. The avatar quickly floated down, but the moment he approached, a giant rusty blade smashed the aether shield around him.

Hollow eyes sockets with green flames stared at the avatar, who despite the loss of the spell remained floating mid-air.

“Interesting,” a deep voice screeched as the rest of the skeleton emerged from the air. “You aren’t a hero, but you still know a few tricks.”

Theo felt a strange sensation pass through him. One look at the skeleton was enough for him to know what he was facing. It wasn’t the creature that he was worried about—he could probably defeat that with his fireball spell alone; what really worried him was the fact that the being standing in front of him was a minion, and for a minion to exist, someone must have created it.

 

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