“Thank you, Mommy Maggroth, for birthing Gli!” I cheerily waved at the giant worm squirming up the wall. “Okay, that sounded weird. I take it back.” I opened my Akashic Configuration and tapped the Aritu Form Ocadule slotted in the first of the six smaller hexagons. It displayed its newly unlocked skill.

Lvl. 1 Healing Embrace: Spread your revitalizing Ancestral Flames, wrapping you and your allies within a small radius in its warm embrace, healing for (110%) of [Healing Touch] (excluding its heal over time buff).

Passive: Permanently increase maximum [Rejuvenation Charge] by (1)

Generate for each target healed: 1 Rejuvenation Charge

Cost: 70 Ancestral Shroud

Cooldown: 12 Seconds

An AoE heal skill? That’d increase my value as the party tank. Herald Stone, the Greatest Team Player, that’s who I am! I grinned, realizing that Melonomi would have passive-aggressive rants about this.

But too bad that [Healing Embrace] didn’t fully copy [Healing Touch], only half of its effect. Though judging from its modifier, I bet [Healing Embrace] would double, perhaps more, its modifier at max level. Also, it could affect up to six people instead of the solitary target of [Healing Touch].

Lvl. 4 Healing Touch: Use a touch of your revitalizing Ancestral Flames to heal yourself or an ally for (400 + (Vigor x 3.5) + 6% Ancestral Shroud) Health Points, and grant the target a buff that heals over time by the same value over 10 seconds. (Heal buff does not stack for a target.)

Generate for target: 1 Rejuvenation Charge

Cost: 35 Ancestral Shroud

Cooldown: 3 Seconds

It didn’t stop there. [Healing Embrace] also increased my [Rejuvenation Charge] cap and helped its generation. One cast healing my entire party, and I could gain max charges; I didn’t need to cast [Healing Touch] several times.

Rejuvenation Charge (Base duration 10 seconds):

Each Charge will add (Max counter [5]):

+3% Healing Increase

+3% Healing Received

+5 Ancestral Shroud per Second

[Healing Embrace] was a splendid new skill. But such timing, though, appearing now.

Fate was telling me to stop thinking about Health on Hit. Higher levels of [Healing Embrace] would probably further improve [Rejuvenation Charge], translating to higher healing modifiers—and those didn’t help Health on Hit whatsoever. Then again, I wasn’t one to listen to fate.

“The challenge just makes me more interested,” I lectured my Aritu Ocadule displayed on a floating screen. “Herald Stone is always hard for a challenge. Wait… is always up for a hard challenge. That’s what I meant.”

I cast [Healing Embrace]. “Woah! What the—?” Ghostly arms of emerald flames emerged from my body. Creepy effect. They swam like eels around me briefly before dissipating into green sparkles.

Like a kid with a new toy, I couldn’t wait to show my party mates this skill, especially Paritor, my Big M bro. We’d become even closer best bro friends, and he’d spill his knowledge of Mehubanarath’s quest without thinking I owed him a favor in return. I was curious to learn the level of his Asipu Ocadule and if he had already returned to Big M’s hideout.

I should kill Mommy Maggroth quickly to reunite with my party soonest.

But half my mind considered not doing so, instead brewing poisons while AFK-leveling off the infinitely spawning Grubs, the same as I did with the Frost Feral Macaques. Finding a good farming spot was hard these days with the population explosion of Mardukryon players—too much competition. I could remove a piece of my Blighted Vinereaver’s Revenge set to get rid of [Blight Cloud] and let the poison on my equipment expire. That way, nothing could kill Mommy Maggroth.

On the other hand, I couldn’t return to my party without [Embers of Rebirth]. I made them wait for a couple of hours already. It’d be a huge bummer if I told them I decided to get it some other time—a stain on Herald Stone, the Pillar of Commitment.

Either that or I could pretend I failed, which was illegal.

“Eh, I can just ask Kezo to leech me some other time,” I said. “Or Paritor. He’s eager to show his use to the party, and I could take advantage—Huh? What’s going on?”

Uncanny howls filled the chamber. Was Mommy Maggroth making that noise?

The giant worm was in the middle of the ceiling. It had formed a circle on the ceiling with its serpentine body. Furious winds gathered around the spiky circle while the inside was calm. It was like the eye of the storm.

Not like. It was actually making a small storm!

Rotating gusts buffeted ancient dirt carpeting the chamber. The stirred dust mixed with white powdery particles that came out of nowhere. I held out my hand and caught some of the mysterious material. I rubbed it between my fingers.

Was this… snow?

“Frozen meatballs from outer space,” I gasped. “It has ice powers.”

None of the Maggroths I had fought used any ice-related skills. They were monster worms living deep in the earth; why would they have ice powers?

I gazed upward again but could no longer see the ceiling or the Mommy Maggroth attached to it. Winds continued to wail, and snow became thicker. The temperature must be dropping, but the dried magma skin encasing my upper body and the thick fur coating my lower parts kept me warm and toasty.

Clouds of snow clumped into dozens of balls as they whirled around. They hit my armor, disintegrating on impact. They inflicted debuffs. Gradually, the snowballs became bigger and denser, pounding harder.

A Paunch Maggroth Grub burst out of the curtain of snow and smashed into my shield. I didn’t budge. The Grub bounced away and curled into itself on the floor as if dying.

Did I kill it? It shouldn’t have died from just that.

I trotted over to it. Icicle shards crept up its body, encasing it in ice. Other Grubs I could see through gaps in the blizzard were also getting Frozen. Their mother was killing them.

A loud and sharp crack echoed. I had heard that sound before—ice breaking.

The Frozen Paunch Maggroth Grub exploded into ice shards. I raised my shields but couldn’t react fast enough because it was right beside me. Several pieces hit my face and body. [Greater Pyro Shell] negated most of the damage. The other Frozen Grubs also exploded, turning the blizzard into a whirlwind of ice spears.

I lowered my shields and confidently faced the incoming shards, my horns and tusk cutting through the streams of snow washing over me. The ice shards eventually destroyed my shell. I didn’t recast it.

“This is more painful than expected,” I muttered, observing my life slowly draining.

Slow, yes. But still going down.

I cast [Healing Touch], and my health bar returned to full. The Heal over Time helped my regeneration fight the damage. This wasn’t [Greater Pyro Shell], so I wasn’t cheating or going back on my decision to tank the snowstorm without a barrier, okay?

Something dropped behind me—one of the cocoons. Mommy Maggroth continued to offer its offspring as tributes to level me. More were probably dropping, but I couldn’t hear or see them because of the thick snowstorm. I waited for them to approach, placing a poison cloud at my hooves. Maggroth Grubs burst out of the heavy snow. Some turned into icicle bombs, and the rest died to my skills.

The snow thinned, and the winds weakened. I spotted the boss worm descending—this was its cycle. “Here we go again.”

After fighting with me—it couldn’t kill me, of course—Mommy Maggroth climbed back up to strengthen the snowstorm and lay more eggs.

Three more cycles later, the Greater Demon Maggroth wasn’t so great anymore… because it was dead.

[ Loot: 22169 Artas, (7) Demon Maggroth Horn, (5) Blood-Stained Eye, (8) Corrupted Flesh, (5) Maggroth Cocoon, (1) (Unidentified) Ocadule Shard, (1) Kruos Ichor Sliver ]

“What do we have here?” I rubbed my hands together. “Seems like a decent haul.”

Artas was always welcome. Even the materials Mommy Maggroth dropped might fetch a pretty Artas at auction—I doubted people farmed Greater Demon Maggroths on the regular. As for the [(Unidentified) Ocadule Shard], it could be a source of happiness or disappointment—I needed a [Perceiving Glass] to reveal what it was. My party mates should have spare. And lastly…

Kruos Ichor Sliver| Amount: 1

A minuscule shaving off a crystallized drop of the Mountain Guardian’s blood, shed in ancient battles long forgotten, it retains much of its power. It grants those who would survive ingesting it the authority to command hails and blizzards.

Price: 55,000 Artas

I snapped my fingers. “Explains the ice powers.”

Herald Stone’s theory of evolution was that a not-so-monstrous version of Maggroth existed long ago. One of them mutated due to consuming the Mountain Guardian’s blood, giving birth to the many different kinds now infesting the tunnels. The original Maggroths were pushed into extinction by the new ones. And that’s my expert opinion.

The hidden achievement I hoped for didn’t materialize, but I was satisfied with a second [Kruos Ichor Sliver]. I got my first one from the Frost King Macaque. My sample size was too small to draw a certain conclusion, but this particular item seemed to come from non-mandatory quest bosses.

Maybe my party mates could give me clues about what the Ichor was used for. They’d be more inclined to help after I’d show them my contribution to the party by getting [Embers of Rebirth].

Now, to find it and reach the other side of the cliff walls.

I placed the five golden crystals into their designated notches on the floor, some ancient mechanism made by Mardukryons long past. The crystals radiated a powerful burst of light that filled the chamber for a blink before melting into liquid. I cursed, rubbing my eyes, caught off guard by the light.

The golden liquid spread through the etching on the floor and then seeped into it, disappearing into nothingness.

I looked around with a questioning brow. “So… what am I—? Oh, there we go.”

The colossal door rotated to the left, showing the exit concealed. Passing a short tunnel, I came upon a small room with three pedestals and a rectangular slab of stone on its far end that must be a door. On top of each stand was a broken piece of an Open-Compatibility Accessory Data Module—an Ocadule Shard. They looked like shattered remains of an alien-looking motherboard, reminding me of the sci-fi elements of Mother Core Online.

Two choices were DPS skills. The one in the middle was a support skill—[Embers of Rebirth].

Kezo had told me that the DPS skills rewards were prized not only because they were great but also because this quest was their only source discovered so far. DPSers aimed to get both of them—one from the quest and the other from the auction. Kezo had both.

Limited supply meant high prices. And because the DPS Ocadule Shard rewards costs were so high, even support players would choose them to sell and just find resurrection skills in Healer Ocadules.

But I didn’t want to get Healer Ocadules. I should be more discerning when choosing my remaining four Ocadules. My Aritu Ocadule already filled the healing part. I wasn’t aiming to be a tanky healer, but rather a tank that could heal—big difference in build and role.

I reached for [Embers of Rebirth].

[ Choose: Ocadule Skill Shard: Embers of Rebirth: Y/N? ]

[ Received: Ocadule Skill Shard: Embers of Rebirth ]

Lvl. 1 Embers of Rebirth: Coax the smolders of your life force into a roaring fire and use it to bind the soul of the deceased back into their body, resurrecting them with (10%) Health and other secondary resources.

Cast Time: 10 Seconds

Cost: 30 Energy

Cooldown: 180 Seconds

The tops of the other two pedestals opened to swallow their Ocadule Shards. Then all three descended one by one, becoming flush with the floor with a satisfying click. Our ancestor Mardukryons gave it their all, making fancy mechanisms contributing to the fantasy dungeon vibe.

If I had to guess, the three pedestals were some kind of lock for the door. Sure enough, the slab also began to descend into the floor. Then something shone at the distance of the newly opened path, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

“Oh, not proverbial,” I said, galloping up the ramp. “It’s the actual way out. Finally!”

Shadows congregated at the exit above, blocking some of the light. Enemies? No, I heard voices. Familiar sparkles flared at the top of the ramp. Megan’s excited voice echoed, “Herald’s here! He made it out!”