Dungeon Noble - Squire

“Answers?” Felix turned a curious look toward Jake. “Have I not been clear?”

“No, you haven’t,” Jake all but growled in frustration. “Your instruction has been great. I’ve learned a lot already, and I can’t thank you enough. This is too far, though. What point is there to delving alone, to subjecting myself to enough injuries that I’ve already used four potions!”

“What point is there?” Felix echoed before shaking his head. “Have you forgotten your own history so soon?”

“Of course, I haven’t,” Jake said through gritted teeth, trying to keep a leash on his anger.

“Then you should understand why we’re doing this. You are a Dungeon Noble; you will grow more slowly than the others unless you can clear Dungeons. I know enough to know that for sure. Your Class gets stronger the more Dungeons you defeat, which makes each new one a reward for you. An incentive to explore which your friends lack.”

“You’re saying I should delve without them?”

“I’m saying that you might have to,” Felix said, his tone softening as he gave Jake a sympathetic look. “Time is not our friend, so we need to make you as strong as we can, as fast as we can.”

“What then?” Jake asked in a subdued tone, playing out his future in his mind. “I rank up, and I gain boons from Dungeons, but then what?”

“You continue to use your Class as it was intended.”

“Why?” Jake’s voice was flat as he met Felix’s eye. “Why not give it up at the end of this tier? Why take it further?”

“Dungeon Nobles are powerful. It is a strong Class, a rare Class,” Felix said, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

“I would trade it away in a heartbeat for a normal life with my friends. For the chance to seek that power on my terms, not someone else’s.”

“I see,” Felix said after a long pause. “I thought that the power of your Class was enough to drive you forward. I didn’t realise you felt this way.”

“We’ve not exactly had the chance for many discussions on the matter,” Jake said in a dry tone.

“True enough.” Felix flashed Jake a slight smile before his expression turned serious. “I’m not the one to guide you in your Class. I know little about your Patron and the purpose it strives toward. That being said, even if you change your Class for the next tier, it won’t protect you now.”

“So, what do you suggest?”

“Work with me. I will train you as hard as I can, and you will help tier up the Dungeons in Strovia. At the end of it, you will be strong, regardless of your choice, and the Triarchy will be left with a black eye.”

Jake took a few moments to consider Felix’s offer. Training from such a powerful instructor was worthwhile itself, and being able to weaken the grasp of the Triarchy was enticing.

The problem Jake had with his Class was that he was binding his fate to the goals of a Patron he knew nothing about.

What Felix said was true, though. He needed strength to survive, and working with his Class was the best way to get there in the short term.

That meant gaining Boons, and that meant doing all the Dungeons he could, not just the ones that were easy or nearby.

“What do you get out of this?” Jake addressed what he’d been thinking since Felix took over their training.

“I know Ari explained how I need Worthy students. My hope is that both you and Karl will count toward that.” Felix paused before letting out a heavy exhale and carrying on. “Beyond that, I dislike the Triarchy and the events here in recent years worry me. It costs me dearly to be here, but something is happening within Strovia, and I like none of what I see.”

“What do you mean?” Jake had a feeling that Felix meant more than just the usual Triarchy problems.

“Strovia is the only region within Vash without any Dungeon Noble or Inquisitor activity. Your friend is the only Inquisitor I’ve come across in the last two years of roaming the country. Despite that, Corrupter activity is less than I’d expect. Most see that as a good thing, but it worries me.”

“Are others with my Class really so common elsewhere?” Jake asked, trying to wrap his head around how something that was so problematic here could be fine outside of Strovia.

“Common, no, not at all,” Felix laughed, waving his hand to forestall Jake’s indignant expression. “I’m not laughing at you, more at my own poor explanation. There are many Dungeon Noble bloodlines, but I have met a mere handful of you in all my years. Most of what I know is hearsay from older Classers.”

“Oh, I see,” Jake said, trying to hide his disappointment.

“Any other questions?” Felix asked, turning his hand palm up.

Jake gave it a moment before shaking his head, satisfied with what he now knew. “No, nothing else.”

“Good, we can start again whenever you’re ready,” Felix said, gesturing to the trail ahead of them. “The last thing I’ll say on all this is that other Patrons grant their Classers power to help spread their influence. Yet, from what I’ve seen, only those whose Patrons are part of The First actually seek to build and improve for all.”

Jake had been about to start forward, but he turned back to Felix with a frown. “What do you mean by ‘The First’? Who are they?”

“They are the first pantheon, the oldest of the gods. The Great Dungeon, The Woven Artificer and The Watcher. Even the Triarchy don’t act against their interests, or at least, they never used to.”

“All three of them are here now,” Jake said, sighing a little at Felix’s curious expression. “A crafter of the Woven Artificer wants to join our group. Between the three of us, that’s one for each god in that pantheon.”

“It seems that the First Ones have taken an interest here after all. There are not many who follow the Woven Artificer, and they are always in high demand.”

“Yeah, I can see how he’ll be useful,” Jake said, trying his best to look on the bright side of it all. The problem was that Felix was right; this was clearly outside manipulation. Three of them, all tier one still, being brought together like this was too much of a coincidence for it not to be.

The worst part was that Jake knew there was no way he could say no to Varin joining them. The potential benefits were just too large.

Turning away from Felix, Jake started down the path once more, gripping his sword tight. He hated this influence in his life, the way he was being moved around according to someone else’s plans. He couldn’t do anything about it right now, though.

Maybe killing some of these stupid flowers would help him work out his frustrations.

-**-

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Jake hissed as he limped away from the small patch of spite flowers, trying to scrape off the sap he had gotten on himself while not getting any on the bag of Wyrdfruit he was holding. “Fucking stupid Challenges.”

Pressure began to build as Jake hobbled back to the starting point of the Challenge, where a set of scales was waiting for him. He’d cut it close.

The Challenge had been a timed one, where he had to find as many apples as he could, which would then be weighed on the scales.

Similar to the one in the firey Dungeon, this Challenge had a wager of the little finger on Jake’s left hand, so he hoped all the blisters and burns he had gotten were not for nothing.

Dropping the sack of apples on the scales, Jake let out a silent prayer of relief as it very slightly tipped in his favour. The numerous ways that Jake had died had left him somewhat resistant to the worry of losing a finger, but he’d by no means been looking forward to it.

The door out of the Challenge lowered, presenting a small alcove where a good-sized sack of Wyrdfruit was waiting for Jake.

Adding the two bags together came to forty of the Wyrd-infused apples that the Dungeon seemed to favour.

Ignoring the pain from his blistered skin and the burns that went up one arm, Jake sheathed his sword and hefted up the sack before heading back through to the Dungeon.

Felix was waiting with a potion in hand when Jake stepped through. Jake eagerly took it and poured it over his many burns with a groan of relief.

“I see you’ve yet to learn how to best dodge the stationary flowers,” Felix commented with a quirk of his lips that only grew at the glower that Jake gave him.

“Now I know where Ari gets it from,” Jake muttered, unable to be too irritated with Felix while so much pain was being taken away. He’d gone in with the last of the potions he’d brought but had been forced to use it quite quickly, leaving him to push through the pain for the rest of the Challenge.

“I find that a balance is needed for the best results, something my old student tends to wilfully ignore.” Felix’s amused expression fell away as he looked over the bag that Jake had emerged with. “Good, these will be useful shortly. Are you ready for the next floor?”

“Give me five minutes,” Jake said as he sat on the dirt and leaned back against one of the trees that bordered the path.

They were at the end of the fourth floor now, and Jake was feeling exhausted. Each floor took a lot longer on his own, and without Felix there to pull him away when he got injured, he’d have died a while back.

At this point, this was more an exercise in endurance and pain tolerance than anything.

The minutes quickly slipped by until Felix shifted a little and got to his feet. “That’s the sign for us to keep going.”

Jake wearily got to his feet and stretched before picking up his gear. He still wasn’t feeling the pressure that Felix mentioned, but he also wasn’t in the mood for further discussion.

Taking a deep breath, Jake got himself into the right frame of mind and walked through the archway to the Guardian floor.