Dungeon Noble - Squire

Jake was exhausted when he finally crawled into his bedroll. Felix had made him infuse his sword again and again, making him describe what he was doing and why as he did.

The most annoying part was that it had actually helped.

Jake wasn’t foolish enough to think he’d made any breakthroughs in one session, but he could understand what he was doing wrong, and that was a good step in doing it better.

Felix had likened his current technique to someone watering a field by pouring all the water in one corner and letting it spread naturally. It might do something, but it was a pale imitation of what it could be.

Waking up early the next day, they set off as soon as they were all ready. Surprisingly, Felix walked at the rear of the group, conversing quietly with Rhew.

Jake imagined that it was to do with Rhew’s request for help, so he focused on practicing his infusing. It was a waste of Wyrd in some ways, but Jake didn’t intend to use it any other way, so he might as well get some practice in.

Besides, he had a feeling that Felix was going to work them to the bone when they got to the Dungeon, so this might be the only chance he had to really practice.

Part of him wondered just how Felix thought Jake could make it to tier two in the next few days. Whatever it was that needed doing, though, Jake would do it gladly. He owed that much to Nepthys.

Still, if the ranks continued as they were, he needed over a thousand more Wyrdgeld, which frankly seemed impossible. Especially as Felix had already discounted just giving it to them.

Putting it aside for the moment, Jake focused on his practice and keeping a good pace. Felix had said they’d be there by midmorning if they pushed.

-**-

True to Felix’s estimation, they arrived in good time, finding a settlement built up around the Dungeon entrance. It was quite reminiscent of the first one they’d gone to, but was a lot larger.

Unlike the first, this one was bounded by a palisade wall, though it looked neglected. Nor was it the only thing that had seen better days. A good half of the settlement looked to be abandoned.

There was still a decent amount of activity around the entrance to the Dungeon, though, which didn’t quite seem to make sense with the abandoned buildings.

Jake considered it as they approached the outskirts of the settlement, eventually turning and asking Ari about it.

“Ah, that’ll be because this used to be a tier two Dungeon,” Ari said with a sage nod as though that explained everything.

“Wait, so Dungeons can go down a tier?” Jake asked in surprise.

“Yeah, they go from one to two and then eventually reset back down to one. I don’t know why. That’s the sort of thing you’ll probably have to learn from other followers of your Patron.”

Jake nodded, casting one last glance at the abandoned buildings in the distance before focusing on the Dungeon.

Felix had wasted no time in getting them over to the entrance. “Right, we’re lucky enough to be able to head straight in, so go as soon as you’re ready. This is training for the higher tier Dungeons, so take it seriously.”

Jake cocked his head to the side, wondering why the wording of that had sounded somewhat strange. It didn’t really matter, though.

It was time to get started on binding a new Dungeon.

-**-

Jake rammed his sword down into the large beetle that was trying to clamp onto his leg, crunching through its carapace and out through its weak underbelly.

“Jake, dodge!” Alan’s voice called out, sending Jake diving to one side as a spurt of caustic acid shot through the air where he’d been standing.

“I’ve got it!” Rhew shouted, throwing a dense cluster of sharp icicles at the beetle who’d attacked Jake. “I think that’s the last acid spitter.”

“And that’s the last krok fly,” Karl called out as he swatted one of the irritating bugs from the air with his hammer.

“Well, that was different,” Jake said, eyeing the various pools of acid scattered around the area warily. The Guardian floor had been difficult, but they had managed it without any serious injuries.

The new Dungeon had started out almost the same as the first one, though with beetles rather than rats. That similarity was underlined when the second type of monster was Krok Flies once again.

Instead of giant rats with armour-like fur, though, this Dungeon had beetles that spat acid. To make matters worse, they looked almost identical to the normal ones until they attacked.

Each of them had taken a potion at one point or another to heal an acid burn, but even so, they’d managed to complete the Dungeon quickly. The Challenge room had also been quite fast, which certainly helped.

The format here had been different to the others they’d seen, with the Dungeon making them split up and individually fighting five beetles. Once they killed their five, they could move to assist their friends, but not until then.

The beetles were tough and hardy but also very slow, which meant Alan and Rhew had been able to keep away long enough for Jake or Karl to come and help them.

“So, how does this work with your Class?” Rhew asked as they made their way over to gather the reward for finishing the Dungeon. “Do you have to do something special?”

“Actually, no, we just leave as normal and…. Well, it just happens,” Jake said with a wan smile, deciding at the last moment to not reveal the exact manner of the binding.

As much as he disliked it, he knew that they were going to split off from him when this was done, and that meant he needed to be careful with what he told them. He doubted that this particular piece of information was worth anything, but it was best to be careful.

“Huh,” Alan said as he opened the reward chest and began to pass out the Wyrdgeld it held. “I’m not sure what I was expecting, but that’s not it. I mean, I know I’ve not seen you do anything special in the past, but I think I’d built it up in my mind a bit.”

Jake shrugged, not liking how he wasn’t being totally honest with them. “Yeah, it’s weird. Let’s get moving, though. I think Felix wants us to go again.”

Nodding, Alan got to his feet and led the way over to the exit, stepping through without hesitation.

-**-

Congratulations, Jake Khesh, you have bound the Dungeon Wilfek Murk. Choose from one of the four rewards the Dungeon has selected for you.

Jake felt the flow of power from the binding run through him, invigorating him and providing clarity to his thoughts as he rose from the Throne and stepped down to see the rewards the Dungeon offered.

They weren’t ideal.

Maybe someone else would look at them and see how useful they could be or otherwise be interested in what they could achieve, but not Jake. Each one came with a change to his body, the worst being the ability to spit acid in the same manner as the beetles.

Jake could only imagine how that would taste, not to mention what the Boon would do to his mouth and throat to make it safe.

No, none of these worked for him. Fortunately, however, he could take the fourth option again, increasing his Manifestations. Doing just that, Jake triggered his status to check the status.

Name - Jake Khesh

Patron Deity - The Great Dungeon

Class - Dungeon Noble - Squire

Tier - I

Rank - V

Dungeon Network - 4

Plexus Strength - Minor

Plexus Manifestations - 2/3

Plexus Points - 1

Plexus Boons

Plexus Development - II - This Boon may only be increased in rank by choosing it at additional Dungeons, but it has no cap on its rank level. Increases Manifestations available by one per rank. Granted by the Haugask Deja and Wilfek Murk Dungeons.

Jake nodded in satisfaction as he read through his status. Things were progressing nicely, and that third use of his Boons was more than welcome. Ideally, the next Dungeon that Felix took them to would have a Boon he could take, but even if it didn’t, more Manifestations were hardly a bad thing.

Nodding to himself, Jake left the way he’d arrived, rejoining his companions as they all exited the Dungeon. As usual, none of them seemed to be aware of the time when Jake had been absent.

The Dungeon’s ability to do that did raise some alarming questions about how much time Jake was potentially missing each time he went through a doorway, but he didn’t dwell on them. The amount couldn’t be too large, or they would notice when they left, and anything less than that he could accept as the cost of using the Dungeons.

Felix was waiting for them as they left the Dungeon, his eyes narrowing as he took in their appearance. “Good, you seem to have done well. Rest for half an hour and then run it again, it should take you around two hours per completion. That means we can fit several completions in per day, with short rest breaks.”

“Only half an hour?” Karl asked with a touch of disbelief.

“If you worked hard, then you should only need that much,” Felix said before motioning toward the nearby benches. “I’ll let you know when it’s time to go back in.”

Jake shared a tired look with the others before shrugging and leading the way. Felix did have a point. They could get a lot done here, they just needed to put the work in.