Rune Seeker

Just fifteen minutes after evolving, Hiral flopped down on the stone, the ground on one side of him crushed into a tiny ball like one of Seeyela’s Gravity Wells had been there. On his other side, it looked more like some of Seena’s exploding minions had dug underground and then exploded, a dome of loose dirt standing twenty feet tall.

For his part, Hiral was completely drained of solar energy. The tattoos were back on his skin, but a quick look at his status window showed him two new runes: the Runes of Compression and Expansion.

“Figured it out?” Seena said to him over the party chat, though she was still on the far side of the room training with the others.

“I did,” Hiral said, sitting back up. “I was right. The rune in the blunderbuss is related to increase—it’s expansion. It’ll make any shots from the weapon hit things in an area-of-effect, like your fireballs do.”

“You trying to take Seena’s thing?” Yanily asked, lightning flashing across the stone as he moved around.

“No way I can compete with that,” Hiral said. “Might be able to help a bit more, though.”

“Sounds good,” Seena said. “How long do you need before you can join us? Need to make sure you’re not tripping over your C-Rank feet like somebody.”

“One time. It was one time,” Yanily said. “And there was a rock sticking up. Wasn’t my fault.”

“Just give me a few minutes,” Hiral said, tuning out the others and focusing on Cycling+. While it didn’t seem like he had a particular flavor of solar energy his body preferred, like the others, actively cycling drastically increased his absorption rate. It didn’t take him long to restore enough energy to activate Foundational Split and summon his doubles out to sit beside him.

“Congratulations on your new runes,” Right said as soon as he was fully formed.

“Thanks,” Hiral said, only to notice an odd pull from behind him.

The Ring of Amin Thett?

But, no, that wasn’t it. The pull was closer than that, like it was right on his back… The Emperor’s Greatsword! Reaching up over his shoulder to take the hilt of the weapon in his hand, Hiral got to his feet and drew the sword. The source of the pull—and the difference—was immediately visible as he spotted a new, glowing rune on the flat of the blade.

Sitting above the diamond configuration of the other runes, a Rune of Expansion was now clearly visible.

“What is it?” Left asked without getting up.

“Let’s find out,” Hiral said, taking a step back and holding the weapon out to one side.

With its weight reduced to almost nothing so he could easily carry it around on his back, it was no problem to hold one-handed. Then, when he was sure he wasn’t likely to hurt anyone, he pushed solar energy into the blade and up the matrix of runes.

Like usual, the broken end of the crystal blade flared with power before extending to bring the sword to its full, six-foot length, but then Hiral’s solar energy continued on to the new rune. All at once, more energy burst outward, the blade gaining an additional six inches in width, and two feet in length of solid, glowing energy.

It was as though he held a sword-shaped fallen star in his hand, the edge shimmered razor-sharp, the weapon exerting a palpable influence over the surroundings. Dirt and small rocks floated off the ground, while the air around him practically vibrated under the influence of the sword’s power. Creatures in the E-Rank likely wouldn’t be able to stay standing in the field, and it would even slow D-Rankers.

Amazing.

Dynamic Quest: Update – Unfathomable Power

You’ve replaced a missing piece of a legendary—yet broken—S-Rank item, loosening the limiter on the weapon’s bound potential. Find a way to restore it to its original state.

Repair Progress: ??/100%

Hiral’s eyes widened at the quest update. There’s a limiter on the weapon?

“I know that look,” Right said. “What did you do?”

“Repaired the greatsword,” Hiral said.

“You completed the quest?” Left asked, a touch of excitement in his voice.

“Progressed it,” Hiral corrected. “I thought I’d need to physically repair it, but just by discovering the Rune of Expansion, that did something. Maybe part of it is more runes.”

“Sounds win-win to me,” Right said.

“I’m not complaining,” Hiral replied, cutting off power to the weapon, and it returned to its broken state. With that, he reluctantly sheathed it over his shoulder and looked at Left. “Me getting the rune should’ve gotten you, what, Touch of the Primal?” He looked down at his own abdomen, where the two new runes glowed on his black Second-Skin of Ur’Thul.

“Yes,” Left said. “I still won’t be able to keep up with you or Right, but it will help me get closer.”

“It’s a good tattoo,” Hiral agreed.

“If I can control the downside to it.”

“You already think too much,” Right said. “Letting instinct take over a bit more can’t be too bad.”

“The tattoo’s reliance on instinct can fail,” Left said. “Spectacularly, I might add, if faced with a cunning opponent.”

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“I can’t believe you just said cunning opponent. Who even talks like that?” Right chuckled.

“Most people who used the Touch of the Primal don’t have the same attunement you do,” Hiral said, though his lips quirked at the way his twins spoke to each other. “That should synergize well with the instinct.”

“If the three of you are just sitting around talking, you have enough solar energy to come over here and join us,” Seena said through the party chat.

“Yes, boss,” Hiral said, his doubles standing up to join him. “This is as good a chance as any to test the tattoo.”

“Let’s see what you can do,” Right added. Then he looked at Hiral. “Uh, maybe not the giant S-Rank cleaver for the moment.”

“Fair,” Hiral said. “Left?”

“I hope you’re ready,” Left said, the corner of the double’s mouth quirking in a smile, and he reached down with his right hand to touch the tattoo on his left abdomen. The inked pair of clawed hands quickly glowed yellow from the solar energy, then vanished as Left pulled his hand away. The solar smoke lingered between abdomen and fingers before snapping out, and a glowing sheath of light wrapped around Left’s body.

Similar to the ability Seena used to veil her body in the phoenix’s power, this sheath took on the shape of a powerfully muscular humanoid and covered Left from head to toe. Though most of the energy was transparent, with Left still visible through it, the hands became more substantial, with claws at the ends of his fingers. Most notable of all was the snarling, bestial mask over Left’s head, completely obscuring the man’s face, like some kind of massive, hunting cat.

“You got control in there?” Hiral asked.

Left, in response, reached over and sequentially activated his Dagger of Sath and Wing of Anella. “See if you can keep up,” the double said, and the Chord of the Primal Echo sang in Hiral’s ears.

Then, powered by their new, C-Rank bodies, the three identical fighters launched themselves at each other. Hiral activated Runes of Rejection and Impact to compensate for the overwhelming strength of his two doubles, while they struggled to keep up with his balanced speed. Sure, Right was as fast as him, but he didn’t have the same sense of the flow of battle Hiral got from his high Atn.

Left, on the other hand, had always had the same level of perception, but his body had lagged behind. The Touch of the Primal helped tremendously to offset that, though it still wasn’t up to Right or Hiral’s level of speed and agility.

With the Chord guiding them, the three pushed themselves—and each other—through the motions of testing their physical constraints. They sparred, raced, dodged, and competed, reaching for their new limits, and then struggling to surpass them. What had been impossible before was suddenly within their grasps, and the three were almost a blur as they rebounded across the room.

Buffs came and went during Hiral’s engagement with his doubles, a smile spreading across his own face as he got a good sense of what they were capable of—and, more importantly, where they could grow.

Right was, of course, a monster of a powerhouse, his C-Rank Str enforced by his Meridian Lines warping the air just from a swing of his fists. Left, on the other hand, had an uncanny instinct to be just where he needed to be to avoid a blow or capitalize on an opening. Hiral, for his own part, relied heavily on the Chord of the Primal Echo, and the way it forced him to change styles. It was his strength, but at times his weakness, such as when he had to move away from a style of attack that was working just to maintain the stacking bonuses.

“Good,” he said as they all leapt back from each other at once, obviously thinking the same thing. “Got a feel for being C-Rank?”

“A decent start at it, at least,” Right said, shaking the hand he’d used to block one of Hiral’s Impact-infused punches. “You definitely hit harder.”

“B-Rank runes.” Hiral looked at Left. “How’s the new tattoo?”

“I’ll get used to it,” Left said, and the sheath of light faded from his body. “The solar energy consumption is manageable.”

“How do you all feel about running the dungeon again after we get out of here?” Seena said over the party chat, the other three pausing in their exercise as well. “Could be a good opportunity to get a little practice in.”

“Low-D-Rank enemies aren’t going to be worth much experience,” Yanily said. “But, it might be our last chance to get some live training in before we get up to Fallen Reach. I’m all for it.”

“Do we have time, Left?” Seena asked.

“Plenty,” Left said. “We should see the edge of the storm give way to the sunlight around Fallen Reach sometime soon, since we’re close to the direction the islands are coming from.”

“How long will it take the islands to get to the jump point?” Hiral asked.

“Once we see the edge of the storm, it’s about two hundred miles,” Left said. “So, a bit less than seventy hours. We could theoretically leave the dungeon and find the sun already over our heads.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice?” Seeyela said. “I can hardly remember what it looks like, and I’m so tired of the rain.”

“It would make it safer to travel without having to worry about the Enemy,” Hiral added. “And most D-Rank monsters shouldn’t be much of a threat to us at this point.”

“There are some High-D in the zone,” Seena said, “but you’re probably right. The jump to C was bigger than I thought. I don’t think they’ll be as much of a challenge as I was worrying about before.”

“Does that change your stance on using our Reflections to fly up to the islands sooner?” Hiral asked.

“It might, actually,” Seena admitted. “But, let’s tackle that question when we’re finished with the dungeon. Even if we do leave and it’s sunny out, the islands are still a hundred miles away. We have some time to figure out the limits of the mounts and whether or not they can get us up there.”

“I can’t believe this trip to the surface is… almost over. Finally,” Seeyela said, her voice heavy. “It feels like we’ve been down here for forever, but it’s only been a few hundred hours, if that.”

“Time like this would’ve passed in a flash back home,” Hiral agreed.

“Even after we save Fallen Reach, we’re not done with the surface,” Yanily reminded them. “We still have to track Picoli down.”

“And pick up Nivian and Wule,” Seena said. “Yeah, we’re not done with the surface for a long time yet.”

Hiral nodded but didn’t say anything, that doubtful part of his brain wondering if he’d be coming back down with them or…

“Hiral, I know that face,” Seena said. “Of course you’re coming with us. Assuming you want to.”

“I do,” Hiral said, squashing the small voice in the back of his head once and for all. It was well past time to stop doubting his friends—and himself. “Somebody needs to keep you all out of trouble.”

“Oh, would you listen to him?” Seena asked, thumbing over shoulder at him as she talked to Seeyela and Yanily. “Sis, did we ever tell you about the jump down from the island and how Mr. Confident over there nearly flew straight into the side of the cliff?”

“Or got buried under a whole building?” Right offered.

“Jumped into a Blood Aura?” Yanily said.

“Got caught and thrashed around by a Mid-Boss?” Left offered.

“I…” Hiral started.

“Was just keeping us out of trouble, right?” Seena asked, her hands on her hips, with Li’l Ur copying her pose while he hovered in the air at her shoulder.

“Something like that,” Hiral grumbled, but he smiled at the same time the others did. Yeah, he’d come back to the surface with them, or follow them anywhere else they needed him.