Rune Seeker

“You know,” Hiral said as he sat and tinkered on his RHC, “this really isn’t how I expected our first dungeon run at B-Rank to go.”

“No?” Yanily asked between bites of a pastry he’d pulled from his Interspatial Ring. “Wanted more of a challenge?”

Hiral looked from his weapon, down the slope from where they sat at the top, to his doubles and sisters battling against a never-ending onslaught of worms. “Considering the company, I wouldn’t say I wanted a challenge. But, between you and me, I do kind of miss it.”

“I may be an experience junkie, but you’re totally an adrenaline junkie,” Yanily said.

“Which is why he keeps doing risky and stupid things,” Seena cut in over the party chat.

“Not recently,” Hiral pointed out.

“You’ve been hiding away in tunnels,” Seeyela cut in from beside Yanily. “Give it time. We still have an entire dungeon ahead of us. How are the girls doing, anyway?”

“Getting better,” Seena said. She and Li’l Ur were overseeing the pair of sisters training under Left and Right’s watchful eye. The doubles would keep the girls out of any real danger, though that didn’t mean they weren’t getting hurt. “We’ll give them a bit longer before we push deeper into the dungeon.”

“Thanks again, everybody, for giving them the time to learn the ropes a bit,” Hiral said. Sure, he kind of complained about almost literally sitting around and doing nothing for the last hour since they’d entered the dungeon, but really, it was good for Nat and Milly.

With an entry hall similar to the Endless Tunnels dungeon, this Crawling Pits dungeon was giving them the chance they needed to see what real combat was like. As Artists, they’d only occasionally trained for a fight, and it was more hobby than anything else. Even if they both had chosen strong support classes – and planned on having Shapers tanking the front line – that didn’t mean they’d ever truly be safe.

Thankfully, this first room in the Crawling Pits had a wide… well… pit in it that endlessly spawned new monsters. They didn’t spawn in packs of five like the ant dungeon – and not nearly in the same numbers – so it proved a perfect place to let the girls get accustomed to things trying to eat their faces. While Left and Right mostly acted in the tank and damage roles, they weren’t pushing their B-Rank bodies to their limits. Instead, they almost seemed to purposefully let some of the worm-type enemies by to harass Hiral’s sisters.

That resulted in some torn clothes and bloody girls – despite the armor Hiral had enhanced. Surprisingly, neither Nat nor Milly had complained at all. They’d just healed up and done it all over again.

What happened on Fallen Reach really made them feel helpless. They don’t want that to ever happen again.

“It’s no problem,” Seena said to his earlier comment. “This is how we got trained the first time we came down to the surface. Not in a dungeon, obviously, but the same idea. They’re learning quickly. Good reflexes – especially Milly – and a strong sense for the flow of a fight.”

“Milly’s Fool tattoo is strong the way she’s using it,” Hiral said. “Anybody who passed up on getting it is going to be so jealous when she gets a couple more Ranks.” Looking down at his sisters dealing with a trio of the eight-foot-long Wigglers – PIMP and its naming sometimes… – he had to agree with Seena’s assessment. They were handling themselves well for only really having an hour of experience.

They weren’t perfect, yet, and the ground behind the group shifted as a fourth Wiggler erupted. The seemingly flat and rubbery end of the leg-thick worm split apart to reveal circular rows of leech-like teeth as it lunged for Milly’s back. For her part, the girl didn’t even see it coming, and while her shield and armor would probably protect her from it…

Well, her big brother could protect her better.

In less time than it took Hiral to blink, his right hand snapped out with his RHC, and a pull of the trigger spat a bolt of searing impact. The bolt moved so fast it almost looked like a line of light connected Hiral’s weapon to the “head” – if it could even be called that – of the worm. Then, just like that, the far side of the worm’s body exploded as the blast exited, hurling the monster hard to the side to slam into the ground. The crack of stone right behind them made both Nat and Milly jump and spin around to find the worm lying with a smoking hole in its side.

It didn’t take either of them long to glance in his direction and nod their thanks before turning back to the Wigglers they were dealing with.

That done, Hiral went back to tinkering with his weapon.

“Something wrong with your RHC?” Seeyela asked. “You’ve been playing with it almost the whole time we’ve been in here.”

“Nah, nothing wrong with it,” he said. “At least, not exactly. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“These are the first real weapons I got from the dungeons,” Hiral said. “Besides my runes, of course. And, I don’t know, I really like them, but I feel like they’re falling behind. D-Rank worms aside, they’re just not putting out the same kind of damage as my other weapons. And I’m not just talking about the Emperor’s Greatsword here.

“Maybe it’s because they have a cooldown between shots, even though that’s dropping with every rank I get, but I find myself going to my other weapons when I need to get something done. The Bestial AxesI got from the rat Boss, in comparison, are really strong – and they’re the same rank. Death Knell and Stormstrike have a lot of strengths too.”

“So, you’re seeing if you can improve them at all?” Seeyela figured. “Like you did with the crystal armor, or that undead sabre?”

“Yes, but I don’t think it’ll work like it did with the Reinforced Blightsteel Sabre or the armor,” Hiral said, looking to the side and blasting a distant worm out of frustration. Similar to the first one, the bolt tore the poor, low-rank monster in half. “The sabre and the armor were both D-Rank to start. They were made by us. Well, not us us, but our ancestors. The RHCs though, they’re A-Rank, which means they were made by the Progenitors. I don’t know if I can modify them.

“At least, I haven’t found a way yet. They’re already… perfect? They each have the three slots where I can change up runes, but I haven’t found a better combination than Runes of Impact, Energy, and Increase.”

“My crossbows are better for delivering debuff poisons than actual damage.” Seeyela pointed to one of the grips over her shoulder. “Could you use them that way?”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Other than Distracting Shot, I don’t have any debuffs I can use on command. Everything else comes from getting a critical hit through the Primal Chord’sSecond Movement. And, no, before you ask, the Third Movement doesn’t change that.”

“Still waiting to see what that does,” Yanily pointed out.

“Once we get moving, I’m sure you’ll get your chance,” Hiral said with a chuckle. “No, what I need are some more active abilities I can use with these.”

“Did you try that Power Attack ability you got?”

“Huh,” Hiral said. “No, I didn’t actually. That’s not a bad idea. I’ll have to see how it interacts with the cooldown, but it could work…”

“What are you waiting for?” Yanily asked while finishing off his pasty and immediately pulling another one out of his ring.

“You keep eating those and we’re going to be rolling you through the dungeon,” Seeyela said, poking the spearman in the gut.

“I’ll work it off once we get moving,” Yanily said with zero-guilt, and took a big bite.

Putting the two across from him out of his mind, Hiral turned his attention to the room where his sisters battled the constant stream of Wigglers. Picking another one at the far side of the room for his test, Hiral activated Power Attack at the same time he pulled – and held – the trigger of his RHC. Unlike normal, the weapon didn’t immediately spit a bolt of death at the weak monster. Instead, Hiral felt energy gathering within it.

After one second, blue wisps of energy circled the barrel of the Runic Hand Cannon. After two seconds, the streamers seemed to be hardening and forming straight lines. After three seconds… Hiral could only blink in surprise as he continued to hold the trigger.

The energy gathering around his RHC had taken on an actual shape – almost like an extension of the weapon’s barrel. A large extension. Solidifying as an additional foot in length in front of the RHC, the new barrel was easily four inches wide, and consisted of hexagonal plates of rigid energy. When he moved the weapon, the extension followed as if it was attached.

“That’s new,” Seeyela said with a whistle. “You just going to swing it around, though, or see what it can do?”

In answer, Hiral snapped the weapon back towards his original target, and released the trigger. No boom followed – in fact, it hardly sounded different than the normal shot – and the bolt crossed the distance to punch through the side of the Wiggler exactly as his earlier shots had. Like before, the blast tore the worm in half, and Hiral was just about to complain about nothing different happening.

Then the effect of Power Attack seemed to catch up, and it was like a large fist slammed into the sides of the two halves of the worm. About a foot around where the bolt had passed, the Wiggler’s body compressed before getting further shredded.

“That’s right, it’s extra damage based on the original power,” Hiral mused. “With a ranged weapon, it must follow a heartbeat later.”

“Cooldown?” Yanily prompted.

“Nothing, so the RHC cooldown must start when I press the trigger, not when I release it,” Hiral said.

“That’s not bad,” Seeyela said. “Means you can chain them one after the other.”

“Well, every three seconds,” Hiral said. “Hrm. I wonder…”

With the musing, Hiral drew his second RHC in his left hand, then aimed both weapons at another distant Wiggler. If he could activate Power Attack with both weapons at the same time, he’d be able to…

Hiral’s thoughts arrested when he noticed his twin weapons doing something unexpected. Sure, he’d been able to activate two separate Power Attacks – one for each RHC – but where he anticipated seeing bluish energy wisping away from each one, that wasn’t happening. Instead, the energy seemed to be rising off them as a pair. Even as he watched, the solid constructs of energy didn’t form around the individual barrels, but grew even larger around the two weapons as if they were a single entity.

As soon as the third second passed, Hiral had a massive, almost shoulder-width barrel in front of him. “Hand cannons indeed,” he mumbled, at the same time a notification began blinking in his Party Interface. Before he addressed that, however, he moved the newly created barrel slightly.

Instinctively, he felt that if he moved the barrels too far apart, or tried to aim at two targets, the ability would shatter, wasting the solar energy he’d dedicated to it. Not a big deal considering how little it is. Other than that, as long as he held the triggers or moved the weapons together, he could alter his aim easily enough.

Could take some practice to use this while moving…

Catching Yanily’s mouth opening out of the corner of his eye – the spearman was going to ask what he was waiting for – Hiral released his shots at the distant worm. Like before, the two searing bolts crossed the distance in the blink of an eye and ripped the poor Wiggler apart. A fraction of a second later, the additional damage hit – almost like the compressed air of something passing really fast. Except this wake hit like a stampeding bull.

A section of the worm practically evaporated beneath the power that ripped into it.

“Not bad,” Hiral said, lowering the weapons and checking the notification.

(Lost) Duelist of the Runic Cycle: Class Ability (Active) Unlocked – Dual Power Attack

Dual Power Attack: By focusing strength with both hands, increase damage of a two-handed attack by 15% for every second the attack is held before striking.

Note: Damage caps at 45% (3 seconds of held time).

Note (2): If two separate weapons are used, each receives the same damage bonus.

Hiral couldn’t help but whistle, and he quickly shared the ability window with Yanily and Seeyela before they even asked. They both responded with a whistle of their own after they’d had a chance to read it.

“That’s a real nice bonus,” Yanily said. “Though, it doesn’t do anything to change the weakness of the ability – the fact you need to charge it up for three seconds.”

“You think it’s enough to bring your RHCs up to the level of your other weapons?” Seeyela asked.

Before he answered, Hiral looked at the two weapons in his hands. Yanily had a point. The increased damage was good – he’d never complain about being able to hit harder – but how would it fit into his build? His preferred style was hitting as often as he could, bringing on buffs and debuffs through his Chord of the Primal Echo. For that, it didn’t matter how much damage the individual hit did, as long as it was a critical. More hits meant more criticals. If he charged both barrels, sure he’d do a bigger single hit, but that would be one potential crit instead of six.

And, actually, now that he reread the wording, it would actually be less overall damage, since he’d get two shots at almost one-and-a-half times damage, instead of six at regular damage. If anything, he was cheating himself out of a lot by using it, and he explained his thinking to the others.

“You’re right,” Seeyela finally said, nodding along with him. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. Nope, that actually doesn’t sound worth using.”

“Good thing I didn’t waste energy getting jealous,” Yanily said sagely.

“That’s obviously the most important part of all this,” Hiral agreed with a chuckle, but cut off when he saw Seena coming over to join them. Nat, Milly, and the doubles were behind her.

Though the girls looked more than a little worse for wear – dried blood, torn clothes, and hair like they’d just gotten out of bed – they both had satisfied expressions on their faces.

“How’d they do?” Hiral asked Left.

“They’re quick learners,” the double said. “Especially Milly, with her Fool tattoo. She made the most progress, but Nat is a bit more of a natural reading the flow of battle. Both of them need to continue working on the timing of using their abilities to control the fights, though they’ve reached the limit of what they can gain from challenging these same worms over and over again.”

“Does that mean what I think it does?” Yanily asked, popping the last bite of a third pasty into his mouth.

“It does,” Seena said with a nod. “Time to work off all those sweets you’ve been eating by burying a few Mid-Bosses.”

“They’re actually both underground types,” Yanily said, licking his fingers. “So, they’re already buried when we get to them.”

“Don’t make me bury you instead,” Seena said, once again rubbing the bridge of her nose.