Chapter 153

Kosha

Dungeoneering II

“Now, this is a sacred art that we are passing down to you.” Brenna began. As she spoke, Kosha who had begun to think of the woman more and more of a big sister, listened intently. For when she spoke, the world made sense. She spoke of ways to understand the world, and people. Most importantly she was the one who clearly understood what Lykan was thinking and feeling, just from his posture. Seeing the way she viewed the world and was able to articulate what she saw so someone like Kosha could follow was impressive.

While Kosha had realized her own cognitive abilities had also increased dramatically, they were still well short of Brenna’s insights. The fact that she and Lykan both did everything in their power to protect her and make her feel safe in this world was not lost on her.

The only person that she listened to more than Brenna was Lykan. But that was who he was, for when he spoke, even Brenna would stop everything she was doing to pay attention as well. He was so quiet and unassuming that he would get lost. It was almost a crime for someone that beautiful to be able to blend into obscurity so easily. Still despite how much Brenna took control of the conversations, it was clear that Lykan was the leader of their group. With but a word, gesture, or a simple glance the three of them would move and be expected to execute flawlessly.

That was why, when Lykan said the simple word “jump,” Kosha did so without hesitation. So absolute was her trust in him and his reasoning that she jumped without hesitation. She also knew that he had purposefully flown lower, just for her. So, she could jump down and break her fall by hitting the trees.

Then when she heard the attacks happening, she understood why he had told her to jump. The monster Lykan and Brenna both fought was something so fierce that it caused shivers to run down her spine. Just being near the beast spoke of death, and ancient horrors. Still the two fought the monster without hesitation, why? Well, it was simple, they were the only ones who could. Even the beaconing in her mind ended when those two began combating the strange beast.

With each strike and parry of the monster, Kosha felt her heart beat a little faster. Each strike caused but a minor crack to form. Even with what equated to a metal stick, Lykan was the equivalent of the fiercest monk fighting. At night, around the campfires of her village she would sit and be told stories of famous warrior monks who originally fought off evil from the lands. These were of course classic tales from the land, far before even the first fall. Back before the war between the titans and the gods, back when the biggest enemy to man was mankind and a fierce and untamed wilderness. Those were the stories that lived on, even to this day.

But nothing, she had heard could prepare he for the battles she had seen with Lykan and Brenna. It was clear now that she would likely never meet up with the Cerusians, the supposed assassins of corrupt rules and monarchs. The fact that she saw them, and they backed down from Lykan, only served to heighten the respect she had for Lykan and Brenna. It was also clear that they somehow knew him, or of him. While he was a Veteran of Valor, it was clear their respect for him went deeper.

Still even after the encounter, the only thing Lykan was worried about was her. He would do whatever Kosha wanted. He would even turn her over to the Cerusians if it meant she would have a shot at a better life. The only condition, to make sure she was strong enough to stand on her own. The plan was once her bonuses all totaled over +25, and each of her attributes were in the third tier or thirties, once her base Attributes were added. She would be turned over, that was of course before the call from the Gods.

Even now, she like Lykan and Brenna had been given a secondary request from the Gods. One that even the monster elementalist hadn’t been given.

Their request was simple enough.

Divine Request: Permanently Destroy the Dungeon Under the High Wood Elf Settlement. Permanently Destroy the Dungeon Under the High Wood Elf Settlement. The High Wood Elf Settlement was built over an old dungeon created by the Titans. Your task is to go to the heart of the dungeon and deactivate it, special bonus rewards will be offered for killing off the other monsters of the dungeon.

“Now one thing to know. Is that even if you gain magic, or magical abilities. Never use those abilities here in the Dungeons. Likely the reason you were given this request, is because you are like Lykan and me. Meaning you are naturally immune to use of mana. This means when or if we ever get the ability to wield mana, our bodies will still be impenetrable shells that mana cannot exit from, unless we want it to. In Lykan’s case, he can only absorb mana and convert it to qi within his body.” Brenna said.

The entire trek down, Brenna kept going on and on, while Lykan walked ahead. Occasionally, Lykan would gesture with his hand behind his back. Brenna would nod. Then Lykan who never even looked back would dart forward.

Brenna for her part would draw her weapon and stand ready to engage any monsters that somehow made it past Lykan. But even in a dungeon, Lykan was unstoppable. His speed was unmatched. Even Kosha’s enhanced senses couldn’t pick up his movements. Instead, she learned to follow the sounds of battle, as she listened for the sounds of monsters crumpling to the ground, the sounds of weapons striking bone and flesh. The more she listened, the more she became able to keep up with the flow of battle.

As was her job now, she would follow the path of battle. Then she would provide the killing blow. Thereby earning at least, a portion of the blessings provided by the gods.

Blessing Bestowed: Wingless Poison Slayer Wingless Poison Slayer (Legendary): You managed to slay a legendary wingless male poison dragon. As a reward the gods have granted you +1 to all Attributes.

These were small rewards, but they added up quickly. Especially with Lykan and Brenna all but forcing the blessings upon her. As she made her way, through the dungeon her eyes began to grow wide with shock.

“These are dragons?” Kosha asked.

Hearing that, Brenna just laughed and nodded. “Yes, looks like. Each dungeon is unique. Each one has a different eco system that is used to host different species of monsters. Monsters that will eventually be released upon the world once these dungeons are done terraforming the planet.”

Hearing the words, caused so many more questions to form in her mind. She had heard them talk about this, she even knew what a planet was, thanks to the wise men and women from her village. But hearing Brenna speak with such confidence, about these dungeons spoke to a lifetime’s worth of knowledge. Knowledge that would likely be lost forever is Lykan or Brenna died. With that thought, she had an epiphany. She didn’t know if it was an act of divine inspiration, or of her ever-expanding mental capacity, but she realized someone needed to write this down. Someone needed to retain this information so it could be passed down to future generations. While Kosha knew the basics of reading and writing, she felt to get this level of information out would require full time workers.

Kosha’s Attributes kept going up, as she was force fed monster to kill after monster. Finally, when she reached the +40 threshold they stopped.

Kosha didn’t even notice when or if a signal had been given. Just one second the monsters went from being knocked unconscious, to dead. Honestly, the level of precision showed by Lykan was impressive.

“Why did he stop? Didn’t you say that the benefits stop at +50?” Kosha asked.

“They do, but we are both concerned about the benefit that comes with +50. It is called Perfect Body. The only problem is, both Lykan and I were fully grown when we met that milestone. We do not know what would happen when you reach it. We don’t want you to be cursed and stuck forever in the body of a small child. That was partly why we stopped when you were at +25, but since you received this call. We both agree that you should be a lot closer to your maximum.” Brenna said.

Hearing that Kosha paused. “You two are talking? Even now?”

Hearing that Brenna smiled brightly, “you are smart. I would expect nothing less. In a way we are talking now. Though we had many of these conversations when we first met you. The rest is us just signaling each other.”

“What was the signal?” Kosha asked.

Brenna just laughed, then after a second she indulged. “Remember when I spun my axe around?”

Hearing that Kosha looked on with confusion. “Yeah, but what about it?”

“We have different signals to mean different things. That was a quick turnaround, which meant stop leaving monsters for us.” Brenna said.

Hearing that, a whole level of understanding filled her mind. “So, you developed this form of communication so you could travel without attracting attention?”

“Yes. Though you two talking would technically negate the purpose for silent signals. But they are still nice, when trying to communicate over long distances, without others hearing your conversations.” Lykan said, from behind Kosha. His sudden appearance from out of nowhere caused Kosha to jump.

Lykan just stared at her with an incredulous glance. “Was that necessary?”

Kosha, for her part, felt embarrassed. If there had been any real danger, then she had no doubt that Brenna would have reacted. Instead, she seemed to be perfectly okay. That should have been enough for Brenna to know that she was not in any real danger. But her instincts still told her that danger was nearby.

Fortunately, Kosha’s instincts were correct. Even more fortunately for her, her instincts were unneeded as this danger was on her side. Still, the sudden scare caused her heart to beat faster as her adrenaline was released. She was on heightened awareness, this was good, but ultimately useless as the dungeon had been cleared.

“Come on. We should show you the core room. Every dungeon has one, and they are the heart of a dungeon. If you shut down the core, then you shut down the dungeon.” Brenna said.

With that, Brenna put away her battle axe and took the girl out of the biome area of the dungeon. At least that was the term used by Lykan to describe everything. He pointed to plaques that were written in an odd alien language, but nothing seemed to stick with Kosha. Instead, she was ultimately forced to follow Lykan’s lead.

“These are all laid out the same. The only difference comes with the orientation. But once you realize where you are, they are all the same. So, since I can’t read the plaques, I start to notice different paths and layouts that help me identify where the core rooms are.” Brenna said.

With that the two began walking Kosha through the alien structure. The entire process was odd. This was technology that had never been seen in millennium, and yet the two seemed to know every passageway and secret compartment.

“Here is the generator room. There is an escape shaft over there.” Brenna said, pointing first to a room that glowed with an evil red energy. Then she pointed off to the ceiling. “You can escape over there, but only if you can fly. And by fly, I mean fly exceptionally well.” Brenna said, then gave a glance to Lykan.

Lykan for his part was going ahead to a room down the hall. He opened the door, tension clear in his shoulders. Then upon looking in the room, he visibly relaxed.

“Clear?” Brenna asked.

“Clear.” Lykan confirmed with a nod.

Hearing that, Kosha let out a nervous breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. When she entered the room, she saw an odd assortment of crystalline structures all over that shined, glowed, and pulsed with different energies. Off in the far corner was a dark crystalline structure that was large. Looking at the giant comb like structure Kosha imagined ten-foot-tall bees standing there, waiting and gathering honey. The thought was so absurd that she had to ask.

“What are those?”

“Those are the cryogenic chambers of the Titans. These pods can keep the Titans alive for millennium, even if they are suffering from grievous wounds. You need to be careful when entering these rooms. That is why we let Lykan go in first.” Brenna said.

“Because he can kill them?” Kosha asked.

Hearing that Brenna just laughed. “Oh gods no. No, he can sense them from the furthest away. He would have been more guarded if he thought one still survived in hibernation.”

Hearing that Kosha just nodded. She realized that despite their strength, the pair did seem to be overly cautious.

“So, what do we do now?” Kosha asked, wondering what was left now that the monsters were all dead.

“Now we show you how to shut down a dungeon core.”