After leaving Nele-Diel's Church, Cairn and Kaia immediately made for the Den of Greed, intending to head back inside, explore, and ultimately camp within rather than check into a room at a local Inn. The guards gave them strange looks, as it hadn't been that long since they left, but they had no reason to stop them, eventually allowing the duo through after confirming their identities.
"So, Champion's Flagbearer?" asked Cairn, adopting a teasing smile as he added, "Guess that makes you my hype woman."
As Flagbearers were individuals who championed a specific idea or belief, Kaia's newly acquired Title implied she was responsible for increasing his fame. It also meant she had become one of the symbols representing his tenure as Champion, linking their fates more inextricably than ever before.
"It's a great honor," asserted Kaia, adopting a somewhat 'smug' smile as she raised her head and puffed her chest with pride.
"Well, aren't you just adorable..." mused Cairn, ruffling Kaia's hair as she exhaled a merry chuckle. In truth, her designation as Cairn's Flagbearer made her feel a little pressured, but just as she had vowed to Restia that she would continue following the path set out for her, she was prepared to do whatever it took to support him...
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With most of the first floor already cleared by them, Cairn and Kaia made their way to the second, descending roughly 50m to reach a much cooler, notably 'moist' level. There, they explored the rooms closest to the stairs, finding many had already been cleared.
"Looks like we're trailing behind someone fairly competent," said Cairn, turning to Kaia to ask, "Can your ears pick up anything...?"
Closing her eyes, Kaia performed her usual ritual of amplifying her sense of hearing, revealing, "There are echoes from an ongoing conflict not too far from here. It's difficult to make out the numbers on either side, but—"
Before Kaia could finish, she winced, the muscles in her ears contracting as even Cairn heard the distant sound of an explosion.
"Seems they have a Mage with them," surmised Cairn. "If that's the case, they're likely a full Party. We should try to avoid them."
"That's probably for the best," agreed Kaia, her ears perking back up after flattening for a few seconds. Afterward, she and Cairn retraced their steps, Kaia using her extraordinary hearing and Hunting skills to determine their new path...
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"You ready...?" asked Cairn, waiting until Kaia nodded before opening a crystalline chest, within which a tapered glass bottle containing blood-red liquid could be seen. The liquid was an Intermediate Health Potion, worth as much as 5,000 Graadis, but it was more commonly diluted to produce several weaker potions.
Following the chest's opening, a stone slab fell from the ceiling, trapping him and Kaia within the chamber. However, unlike an ordinary Party, they weren't even remotely surprised. Instead, they appeared eager as a pack of eight bark-covered wolves materialized, their bodies an average of two meters long.
Blinking in surprise, Cairn remarked, "Oh, wow, they look kind of badass," even as the wolves, known as Barkhounds, began to circle him cautiously. Two even broke off from the main group to approach Kaia, demonstrating a degree of intellect Cairn hadn't seen since the Longcats.
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Name: Kurrao
Species: Barkhound
Gender: Male
Age: 0
Title: N/A
Class: Tracker(Common)
[Attributes]
Level: 13/26[Tracker(13)]
HP: 3,385/3,385
MP: 458/458
Str: 19
Agi: 49+14
Vit: 85+22
Int: 22+6
Dex: 41+11
Cha: 18
Talent(s): [Enhanced Senses(13/20)], [Bark Plating(13/26)], [Pack Hunter(13/26)], [Scent Lock(34/47)], [Hunting(24/40)], [Night Vision(19/35)]
Skill(s): [Tail Hammer(7/10)], [Charge(7/10)], [Bite(6/10)], [Marking(4/10)], [Bark Burst(1/10)]
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Interrupting Cairn's perusal of their stats, one of the Barkhounds that had managed to get into his 'blind spot' charged forward, emitting a faint blue light as it accelerated and attempted to bite his ankle.
With Ookami's Visage giving him a much wider field of view than normal, Cairn had no trouble observing the actions of the sneaky Barkhoud. His Level had also increased twice since his and Kaia's arrival in the Den of Greed, so he didn't hesitate to release a bluish-white pulse of energy from his shield, stunning the opportunistic canine but dealing only 218 points of damage due to its barky armor plating.
Acting before the other wolves could react, Cairn swung Mr. Boomy down onto the immobile Barkhound's skull, piercing through the top of its head and killing it in a single blow. Barkhounds were famous for their durability, particularly around their backs, but there was no way their thin skull could withstand the penetrative force of a tool designed to harvest much harder materials. Not with Cairn's boosted stats.
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Name: Adam Masterson
IWN: Cairn
Gender: Male
Age: 27(Apparent Age: 16)
Title: Fledgling Hero(Growth Rate+100%)
Class: [Jack-of-All]
[Attributes]
Level: 14(58,593/65,951)
HP: 4,390/4,390
MP: 665/750
Str: 23->40
Agi: 40
Vit: 90+19->93+37
Int: 24->50
Dex: 40+10->40+16
Cha: 60+12->60+24
AP: 0
Talents: [Slow Start, Endless Potential(11/100)], [Never Say Die(MAX)], [I Can Do It Too(1/10)], [Animal Magnetism(4/90)], [Shadowflame(4/100)] [Mining(24/100)], [Shield Mastery(17/100)], [Pain Tolerance(17/100)], [Cooking(14/100)], [Pickaxe Mastery(7/100), [Disease Resistance(4/100)], [Grooming(4/100)], [Thievery(1/100)]
Skills: [Insight(MAX): 1MP], [Domination(1/10): 200MP], [Shield Bash(7/10): 50], [Sophistry(4/10): 30MP], [Taunt(2/10)], [Penny-Pinch(2/10): 50MP], [Gamble(1/10): 10MP]
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Thanks to the Barkhound's body vanishing after he killed it, Cairn didn't have to worry about pulling it free from the monster's head. Thus, when two more of the creatures charged toward him, he was able to swing Mr. Boomy in a sideways arc, slamming into the flank of one while using the momentum from his swing to twist his body, blocking the second with his Aberrant Aegis.
Snorting through its bull-like motifs, the Aberrant Aegis reflected 20% of the Barkhound's damage, causing its teeth to crack as its head whipped back violently. Witnessing this caused the grin on Cairn's face to become even more prominent, his mind making a mental note to 'thank' Elle as he unequipped Mr. Boomy, temporarily returning it to his Inventory to avoid having to dislodge it from the Barkhound's side manually.
With the two Barkhounds recoiling in fear, the one struck by Mr. Boomy limping severely, the remaining canines kept a safe distance, their bark-like scales beginning to bristle and shake violenting as their pointed in Cairn's direction.
"Petty fucks...!" exclaimed Cairn, shielding his chest behind the Aberrant Aegis as the bark blanketing the Barkhounds' bodies discharged violently, peppering him with fast-moving shrapnel. Doing so cost them nearly half their Health and lowered their defensive stats, but it was an effective way of dealing with opponents they couldn't approach safely.
Seeing his HP plummet by nearly 20% in a single go, Cairn was relieved to have boosted his Vitality to its current extent. His body felt like someone had taken multiple baseball bats to it, but his Pain Tolerance allowed him to push through the pain, grinning like a demon as shadowy vapor rose from his body, increasing his Health Regeneration at the cost of his Mana.
"You bastards just fucked up," said Cairn, lowering his stance as he used his Taunt Skill. Doing so didn't force the Barkhounds to attack, but it kept their focus on them as Kaia, having killed the two hounding her, bounded over and stabbed one of the unsuspecting hounds near the base of their skull. This caused the remaining Barkhounds to panic, making them easy pickings for the increasingly coordinated duo...
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"Oh? Is this what I think it is...?" asked Cairn, perking up when he and Kaia encountered a 'crack' in the Dungeon's wall, connecting to a cave emitting faint blue light.
"I hear water," confirmed Kaia, prompting Cairn to take the lead, soon after discovering a tiny pond filled with clear, glowing blue liquid that appeared to be fed by a hole near the bottom of the pool.
"Seems our luck is pretty good," said Cairn, removing one of the empty potion bottles he had prepared in advance, filling it with the liquid from the pool.
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Unstable Recovery Potion
Rank: Rare
Level: N/A
Use: Restores 5-20% of the consumer's Max HP over 20-180 seconds.
Description: A natural Elixir that sometimes appears within Dungeons. Its effects are potent but quickly diminish, making it challenging to store and process.
Ingredients: [Dungeon Spring Water]
Medicinal Potency: 20%
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Demonstrating just how unstable the potion was, the light emanating from the solution faded, becoming ordinary spring water even before Cairn had finished reading its description. Fortunately, so long as he placed the vials into his Inventory before they decayed, he could store them as long as he wanted.
Pulling out the barrel he sometimes used as a tub, Cairn plunged it into the Spring, allowing it to fill up before placing it back into his Inventory. To his amusement, the name/description of the barrel changed from an ordinary Barrel Bath to a Colossal Recovery Potion(Unstable), restoring between 2,000,000-10,000,000 HP once consumed or applied.
Not wanting to be 'too' greedy, Cairn was going to suggest they leave the remaining spring water alone when Kaia surprised him, declaring, "There's something coming..." while staring intently at the pool.
Just as Kaia finished speaking, Cairn noticed a Name, Level, and Title appear within the Spring's depths, revealing the true reason for the hole at the bottom.
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Name: Lagia
Species: Aquaregios
Gender: Female
Age: 23
Title: One Who Punishes Greed(HP/MP increased by 100%)
Class: Slime Priestess(Epic)
[Attributes]
Level: 22/63(138,553/151,370)[Slime Priestess(22)]
HP: 71,647/71,647
MP: 23,492/26,880
Str: 22
Agi: 25
Vit: 305+201
Int: 193+127
Dex: 117+77
Cha: 98+43
Talent(s): [Blessing of the Fountain(22)], [Shapeshifting(22/63)], [Potion Body(22/63)], [Resilient(35/68)], [Magic Resistance(28/40)], [Elemental Affinity: Water(23/65)], [Alchemical Knowledge(11/42)]
Skill(s): [Water Healing(MAX), [Purification(MAX)], [Assimilation(MAX)], [Water Bullet(8/10)], [Water Jet(5/10)], [Make Potion(3/10)]
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"Well, that's not good..." muttered Cairn, staring with wide eyes as the pool appeared to rise up, the body of the Aquaregios indistinguishable from the glowing spring water.
Before Cairn could think to give the order to retreat, both he and Kaia were surprised when the pool towered over them slightly, stating, "It is not a sin to consume what one needs to survive. You who have taken far more, what say you in defense of your actions...?" in a distinctly feminine voice.
Recovering from his stupor, Cairn adopted a serious expression as he activated his Sophistry and firmly replied, "We have no intention of selling the liquid, if that's what you're concerned about. Instead, we will use it to treat injuries, not just our own, but any needing assistance..."
Though he didn't signal for her to do so, Kaia backed Cairn's statement by pulling out the wooden slip denoting her status as a Neophyte. When she did, the Aquaregios turned its attention to her, lowering its 'head' to within a few centimeters of the intricately carved totem and the Statuette of the Goddess next to it.
"So, that's how it is..." muttered the Aquaregios, its voice a pleasant echo as it recoiled slightly, asking, "The two of you are representatives of the Goddess, Restia, correct...?"
"That's right," replied Cairn, gesturing to himself and revealing, "My name is Cairn. And this adorable Karakut is Kai'ankh, a dear friend and a reliable ally."
Bowing its 'head' slightly, the Aquaregios responded, "And I am Lagia, the Aquaregios. I would say it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but I'm afraid your status as representatives of the Goddess means I cannot simply overlook you..."
Halfway through her response, Lagia began to transform, taking on the appearance of a thin, incredibly long-haired woman with a voluptuous figure, her body comprised of pale blue liquid while her 'clothes' were a slightly darker shade of blue. Much of her translucency was lost in the process, but if you looked closely, it was possible to see through both her body and clothes.
Bringing her hands together as if she were praying, Lagia closed her eyes and said words that sent a chill through Cairn's body, specifically, "In the name of our Venerable Father, Lord Techt, I shall now imprison and slowly devour you until the only thing remaining of your will is the desire for death..."
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(A/N: Well, that's not nice...)