Rune Seeker

Left and Right resummoned, and, softly chuckling, Hiral once again climbed back onto the wall with a stomach-flipping application of his Rune of Gravity.

“Don’t cancel Foundational Split while you’re up too high,” Seena said, one hand over her mouth as she tried to hide her giggles.

“Thank you for the sagely advice,” Hiral said flatly, pulling the skates back under his feet, then racing away from the snickering party.

Good to know losing access to the runes cancels the gravity effect, though. Wouldn’t want to have figured that out at the top.

Considering the top, Hiral drew his RHCs since there could be something up there waiting for him, then skated around the circular room towards the alcove. Coming at it from an angle on the silent skates, he focused his hearing on the space above, but other than the chuckles conveniently coming through the party chat, the room was completely silent.

He slowed when he got to within fifteen feet, then practically crept the rest of the way, until he stood on the edge of the alcove, looking down the hall to a large, heavy door at the far end. The thing had to be made out of metal, or maybe stone worked under some kind of ability, and gave off a very solid feeling. Not something a Low-D-Rank party would have much luck knocking down, but how would they deal with it?

“Looks clear, but let me check one more thing,” Hiral said into the party chat.

He stepped over the lip and flipped his gravity around again. With the inertia of his step pulling him around the edge on a fulcrum, Hiral’s brain dropped like he’d been hit by the Disoriented debuff again, but it only lasted a split second. It was getting easier and easier to acclimate to the changes in gravity, but it wasn’t perfect yet.

Feet back on the floor—a stable surface, unlike the slick material of the wall—Hiral sheathed one RHC and tossed out a gentle wave of Rejection to push against the walls and floor. They hadn’t found a single trap in any of the dungeons they’d run, but something about the place being a prison—and this the exit—made him want to be extra cautious.

“Looks safe to come up,” Hiral said, turning back to the edge and waving down to the party.

“I’ll put the portal right on the alcove up there, but make sure you take a big step through,” Seeyela told the others. “Back up, Hiral. Don’t want my portal to cut you in half.”

Eyes wide as the words registered, Hiral took two very quick, very large steps back, and the curtain of black rolled down in front of him a few seconds later.

“Your portal could do that?” he asked as Yanily came through first.

“No idea, but figured that might be something you didn’t want to test,” Seeyela said, Seena following behind Yanily at the same time.

“I appreciate your consideration on that,” Hiral said, and Seeyela herself finally came through.

“That wasn’t as bad as I expected, actually,” she said. “The efficiency bonuses and higher capacity are really showing their worth. Only thirty percent of my solar energy.”

“Thirty is still a lot,” Hiral said, canceling Foundational Split and reactivating it to bring his doubles up to his sides.

“Better than trying to climb that,” Yanily said, carefully peering over the side. After a shake of his head, he came back, and the whole party turned their attention to the huge door.

“We taking this down?” Right asked, cracking his knuckles.

“Wait,” Seena said, holding up a hand. “This looks like a heavy-duty door. Since this is a Low-D-Rank dungeon, we can probably do it, but what do you make of this?” She approached the door and pointed at a large slot near one side.

“A keyhole?” Hiral said.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Seena said.

“Did anybody get a key from the Army Ants?” Yanily asked.

“They wouldn’t have it,” Seeyela said. “They were the prisoners, remember?”

“So, who would…?” Yanily stopped when Seeyela pulled the first Mid-Boss’s strange-looking mandible out of her Interspatial Ring.

“It opened the door with its face?” Hiral asked.

“Pretty sure that’s how ants do most things,” Seeyela said, sliding the mandible into the slot. A clear click sounded almost immediately. “Here goes,” she continued, putting both hands on the odd key and twisting. The whole thing moved surprisingly smoothly, and the key turned ninety degrees in an instant.

Ka-chunk sounded from within the door, and barely a touch swung it inwards.

Dynamic Quest: Update

Abominations slain: 9/9

You have destroyed the lingering work of a process better left lost.

Escape the prison.

Prison escaped: 1/1

As soon as the window popped up, it vanished for another one to take its place.

Dynamic Quest Complete

Congratulations. Achievement unlocked– The Enemy of my Enemy… is Still my Enemy.

You have destroyed the lingering work of a process better left lost and escaped the prison that held it.

Please access a Dungeon Interface to unlock class-specific reward.

“Nicely done, guys,” Seena said as they all dismissed the floating windows. “Hiral, you’re up.”

“Got it, boss,” Hiral said, RHCs up and at the ready as he pushed the door the rest of the way open, then exited the alcove into yet another tunnel.

“They really are endless, aren’t they?” Yanily asked.

“Yeah, and looks like we have company,” Hiral said, a pair of large ants rounding the corner ahead of them. Compared to the Soldier and Artillery Ants the party had fought before, these things stood roughly fifty percent larger, with wide, edged carapaces. Even their heads were blockier, with natural protection up around their eyes, while their mandibles were sleeker. Sharper.

“Is it just me, or do those ants look like they’re wearing armor?” Seena asked, her tomes floating up on both sides of her.

“They definitely do,” Hiral said. “Too bad for them I have Internal Injuries, so that armor isn’t going to help them a whole lot.” He aimed both his weapons at one of the ants as they charged forward, noting the appearance of their name.

(Elite) Royal Brood Guard – Low-D-Rank

Still Low-Rank?

Hiral pulled both triggers. The hand cannons spat their glowing bolts of Impact down the hall and into the guard on the left. Like it’d run straight into a wall, the thing’s entire forward momentum was completely arrested, its body bending awkwardly as the twinned blasts hit it square in the head. Above, its red health bar dropped more than sixty percent, and the monster staggered like it was drunk, its brains obviously a little scrambled after taking the hit.

The other ant, however, continued its mad dash forward, getting to within one hundred feet of the group and activating some kind of movement ability. Jets of compressed gas rocketed out of its rear end and the joints around its legs, blasting the thing forward as its mandibles clacked in anticipation of closing around one of the party members.

The roar of the ant’s flight resounded off the circular cave walls, more compressed gas venting as it shot ahead. Its mandibles clack-clack-clacked, opening and closing. It covered half the distance… three-quarters… and then it was right in front of the party, bearing down on…

Lightning struck it from below, electricity arcing along its whole body, before the bolt shot past to hit the fifteen-foot ceiling and rebound back down. Without even giving it time to recover from the initial hit—half its health gone, just like that—Yanily slammed into its back spear-first, crushing the large ant to the ground.

Armored carapace or not, it wasn’t nearly enough to stop Yanily’s Skyfall, and the ant was left with a bare two percent of its health. Its legs twitched as Yanily straddled its wide body, and Hiral put both barrels against the side of the monster’s head—careful to stay clear of the mandibles—then pulled his triggers.

With the first creature dead, Hiral turned to look at the other, but he needn’t have worried about it. Cinder+ after Cinder+ scarred across the ant’s face, its legs still wobbly beneath it, and then Seeyela Bamf’d above it. The fight was over the moment her twin Fangs of the Lady were buried in the ant’s neck.

Green light shone from within the ant’s multifaceted eyes, but then its head seemed to rot from the inside out. The whole beast fell to the ground while its innards leaked out between the seams in its carapace.

“Oh, yuck,” Seeyela said before Bamf’ing away and back to the party.

“Your venom is too strong for these Low-D-Rank monsters,” Hiral said, but even he had to turn away as the puddle that had been an ant spread.

“Can you… do something about that?” Seena asked him. “I don’t want to step in it.”

“Seeyela should portal us past it since it’s her fault,” Yanily said.

“It’s not my fault,” Seeyela said defensively. Then she paused. “Okay, so maybe technically it is, but I don’t think it’s fair to lay that all on me.”

“The ant was injured before she stabbed and poisoned it to death,” Hiral said. “That could have something to do with it? Or, maybe these have a lot of solar energy in them. The Ghost-Web Venom says it does more damage based on that.”

“Whatever it is… could you…?” Seena pointed at the puddle inching its way towards them, the ominous green glow of the venom still present.

“Sure,” Hiral said, sheathing an RHC and gently pushing the goop to one side of the hallway with his Rune of Rejection. Where the sludge had been, the floor was pitted and scarred. “Not stepping in it was very smart.”

“That’s why she’s the party leader,” Yanily pointed out, and Seena looked at the spearman like she was expecting more to the statement. When nothing came—Yanily was being straight—her expression softened.

“Thanks, Yan,” she said.

He just gave her a thumbs-up in return.

“We continuing?” Hiral asked.

“Yes, let’s go kill some more ants,” Seena said, coming over and tapping Hiral on the shoulder.