Dungeon Noble - Squire

Jake woke early the next day feeling far more rested than he had any right to, especially considering the relentless delving of the day before.

Rising smoothly to his feet, Jake rolled his shoulders and bounced on his toes, feeling a greater level of strength flowing through him than he’d expect from a single rank up.

Jake had gotten used to the slight increases in physical strength, but this felt different. It was more like all of him had been improved a little.

Calling up his status, Jake took in the changes with pride.

Name - Jake Khesh

Patron Deity - The Great Dungeon

Class - Dungeon Noble - Knight

Tier - II

Rank - I

Dungeon Network - 5

Plexus Strength - Minor

Plexus Manifestations - 3/3

Plexus Points - 2

Traits

Physical - Lesser Noble Constitution (IV) - Rare - Descended from a Noble bloodline, you have a medium enhancement to physical characteristics.

Mental - Lesser Delver’s Will (I) - Common - Gird your will, advance endlessly. Provides a minor bonus to willpower when delving Dungeons.

Skills

Passive - Personal Plexus (I) - Very Rare - You gain the ability to bind Dungeons and form your own Plexus that may contain Dungeons of minor strength. Currently, Dungeons up to Tier I can be bound. Doubles the Wyrdgeld cost of advancing in Class Rank.

Active - Infused Strike (I) - Uncommon - You are able to infuse your weapon with a minor amount of Wyrd, strengthening your blows and sharpening the edges of your weapon.

Patron Gifts

Passive - Agent of the Great Dungeon (II) - Very Rare - You are bound to the Great Dungeon by blood. Other followers of the Great Dungeon will recognise you and aid you as they may.

Passive - Sense Dungeon (II) - Rare - As an agent of the Great Dungeon, you are able to passively sense the location of nearby Dungeons in a meagre range.

Passive - Authority of The Great Dungeon (I) - Very Rare - You have the approval of The Great Dungeon and may enact rituals in its name. You gain the knowledge of the Ritual of Castigation. Misuse of this authority may result in its removal.

Plexus Boons

Hidden Fang - (II) - Granted by the Holrswar Murk Dungeon, this Boon allows you to Manifest a dagger with inherent poisonous properties. Using the dagger, summoning it and dismissing it all draw on the power held within it on Manifestation.

Orchard’s Gift - (II) - Granted by the Aptofir Veranis Dungeon, this Boon allows you to Manifest an apple infused with vitality. Ingesting the apple transfers this vitality, healing and sating the hunger of its consumer.

The Mighty Drake - (I) - Granted by the Engans Deja Dungeon, this Boon allows you to Manifest Moby, a mighty drake, to aid you. The Manifestation is consumed in maintaining Moby’s presence, not his actions.

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.

Deed requirement to increase Tier

1 - 5 Tier II or higher Dungeons bound

2 - Rank X

Requirements to increase to Rank II

1 - 440 Wyrdgeld

The Delver’s Will Trait was new, but he had high hopes for what more willpower would help him achieve in the future. These solo delves had been tough, both physically and mentally, and his hope was that the new Trait would help with that.

Infused Strike was also new, though that was more of an extension of what he already knew. Still, it would be interesting to compare the difference between what he did and the Skill.

Beyond the new Abilities, Jake was most interested in his new Class name. He was apparently a Knight now, which was both amusing and satisfying in equal measure.

Reading through the rest, Jake realised that the wording of his Noble Constitution Trait had changed, with the benefit going from ‘meagre’ to ‘medium’, which might well explain how he was feeling this morning.

Thinking back on Ari’s initial explanations, Jake realised that the trait would also improve his physical recovery, and it would synergise well with Felix’s Trait.

The question then was what reaching the next tier had done for Jake. The System had spoken about his Soul, but exactly what that equated to, he didn’t know.

Jake went to use the only method he had that touched on his Soul and began to channel his Wyrd into his eyes before pausing as he felt the amount of Wyrd he could draw on.

It wasn’t double what he had previously, but it was pretty damn close, and that was a terrifying prospect. If a single tier more gave this kind of increase, just what did a fourth or fifth-tier classer have access to?

-**-

With their tight schedule, Jake was only able to revel in the congratulations of the others for a few minutes before they had to get moving. They were all at the peak of the first tier now and only needed to complete their Deeds to be able to ascend to the next tier as Jake had.

Exactly how long that would take, none of them knew, but it was clear that Jake would be getting ahead of them, at least for the moment. To reach the third tier, he needed five Dungeons at tier two bound to him, and as he’d yet to even come close to completing one, that felt like quite the task.

Such problems were for the future, however, as their main concern now was rescuing Nepthys.

Felix had explained that the average Triarchy guard was at the peak of the first tier, in the same position as Jake’s friends. While most guards would have had time to buy new Abilities and rank them up, they were no longer well beyond their capabilities.

While they had spent around ten hours of travel to get to where they were, a direct line back to Casthorpe took more like eight, especially with their improved physiques.

Those eight hours passed slowly, with each of them lost in their own thoughts and worries. What they’d done so far was one thing, but what they were planning was taking things to a whole new level.

If they did this, the Triarchy would never let it go.

Jake was ready to accept that for himself, but the fact that he was also bringing his friends into it weighed heavily on him.

Soon enough, the cabin they’d stayed at previously came into sight, and after a cautious check from Ari, they all made their way inside.

“We’ll head into Casthorpe and get an update on the situation,” Felix said once they were all safely inside. “Wait here for the moment and take some time to relax and recover. You’ve all pushed hard for the last few days, and you’ll need to be in good form for what comes next.”

Jake barely had the chance to nod before Felix was back out of the door, Ari following swiftly after him and leaving the rest of them to drop their packs and rest their feet.

“I wish there was an easy way to see how close we are to completing our Deeds,” Alan said after a few minutes, sighing heavily before continuing. “You’ve worked hard for yours, Jake, so I don’t begrudge you, but it would be nice to know how far away mine is.”

“Yeah, I can second that,” Karl said with a laugh. “I didn’t quite understand the problem with ‘worthy’ enemies when Ari first explained, but I do now. I think once this is done, we need to try another second-tier Dungeon and see if that can help push us forward.”

Karl’s tone had been light, but they all knew that it wasn’t as easy as that. There was a real chance that not all of them were coming back from this, which was unsettling.

Jake had seen his friends die many times, sometimes more brutally than others, so death had taken this strange amorphous nature for them. His fight with the Triarchy guard had undone a lot of that, but he was still struggling to align their delving experiences with the rest of reality.

No doubt it only got worse, and Jake felt a shiver run down his spine as he wondered just how many classers had died permanently due to reckless behaviour they’d picked up from delving.

-**-

Felix and Ari returned within the hour, both of them wearing serious expressions as they entered the cabin.

“The Triarchy guards arrived early, and the Seeker had them move out immediately. They are almost a full day ahead of us, making it almost impossible to catch them,” Felix said, his eyes seeking out Jake’s as he spoke. “The good news is that they’re heading for the outpost, not for Port Emerald, so we still have a chance to pull this off.”

“What do you mean?” Jake asked, still reeling a little from the revelation that they’d taken too long at the Dungeons.

“The outpost is old and has a small garrison. Ambushing them on the road would have been best, but we can go in after her. This is guesswork right now, and we have no idea what the defences will look like, but it’s an option.”

“I’m in,” Jake said without hesitation. This was his fault, which made it his responsibility, and as far as he was concerned, the change in target made no difference.

The others hesitated for a moment before nodding, and despite the pause, Jake could see the determination in their eyes.

“Very well then, take these and get your packs ready,” Felix said, tossing them each a small pack of dried food and a canteen of water. “We need to move quickly, and once we’ve won free, we’ll need to avoid any nearby settlements.”