Warden awoke feeling sore all over. It was still dark all around him, but he wasn't in a dungeon any more. He peeked around to find he was inside a cavern, the one where the dungeon should have been.
"What happened to the dungeon gate?" he mumbled as system notifications flashed over his peripheral vision.
[Void Prison Realm successfully accessed Hidden Aperture (Wrist, Heart Vein): The Gate of Spirit.]
[Congratulations! You have unsealed hidden Aperture (Wrist, Heart Vein): The Gate of Spirit.]
[Left Hand of Calamity capacity rises to 10%.]
[Assimilating unique Fatelock ability: Void Space.]
[Spirit Space Formation Report:
Formation: Incomplete.
Grade: 9
Energy Density: Stable
Elemental Stability: 6.9
Link to Void Prison Realm: Incomplete.
Spirit Assimilation: Incomplete.]
[Achievement Unlocked! Dungeon Eater.]
[Dungeon Eater: You have assimilated a dungeon into your Spirit and made it your own. Not many have achieved such feats. You are one step closer to regaining your lost visage.]
+40% Spirit Efficiency]
[Updating system. . .]
Warden read almost twice after listening to the monotonic system voice uttering them. Now he had a pretty good idea what happened to the dungeon, though he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not.
Well, it was good for the villagers, as they wouldn't have to worry about dire wolves any more. But what about him? The dungeon was literally inside of him—he wasn't sure how that was possible—would the creatures still spawn within him?
Warden lifted his left palm to find the black spiral mark all over his palm, reaching his wrist to form a new swirling circle that seemed to revolve just with a stir. The newly opened aperture.
Warden was prepared to check how to access the dungeon, but considering his state and place, he only satisfied himself with a quick check of a mental image of his apertures.
He saw two thick roots following and connected to the core in his centre. Even though he was sure, he felt a sheer spike in his strength. He hadn't tested yet, but he figured he had at least quadrupled his strength from this disaster, come fortune.
Fortune. Warden's mind stirred as he remembered the voice and what she told him. Somehow, he was unable to remember it all, but the voice did leave a strong impression in his mind.
Find the Oracle. . .
Warden clasped his fist and came out of the cavern. It was bright sunlight outside, an hour into the noon. As always, he found his cloak pristinely clean as he turned it back to white and hit the road towards the village.
There was dirt and blood on his body, his stomach growling in both thirst and hunger. The hearts he ate barely did anything to quench his hunger, to be honest.
With a thought, he summoned the system to have a quick look at the changes. However, he certainly hadn't expected so much more in it.
___________
[Warden]
Race: Human/Celestial (Prime/Corrupted – 31%)
Title: [Dungeon Eater] [Redacted] … [Redacted]
Fatelock: [Void Prison Realm]
Unlocked Aperture: [The Palace of Toil, (Left Palm)], [The Gate of Spirit (Wrist, Heart Vein)]
Bonded Artifact: [Cloak of Void Radiance (Legendary)], [Maya's Protection (Legendary)] [The Divider (Rare, Growth: 0%)
Disposition: Chaotic
Rank: [Broken Calamity (Iron)]
[Core: Unique, Void Element. Unable to determine further.]
Attributes:
[Strength: 79.8] | Efficiency: +40%
[Dexterity: 75] | Efficiency: +20%
[Mind: 14.9] | Efficiency: —
[Spirit: 78.7] | Efficiency: +80%
[Recovery: 99] | Efficiency: +62%
Abilities:
[Imbuing: Copper- 64%] [Regeneration: Iron - ??%]
[Left Hand of Calamity: > 10%] [Void Space: Grade-9]
_____________
Warden barely got any information on the very first time he woke up near the stream. However, after opening an aperture, he received a better view of his status. But by opening the second aperture, the system quantified his status much more clearly. There was even a new attribute. Dexterity, marked at 75 points.
Did that mean there would be more information the more aperture he unlocked?
Dismissing the thought, Warden checked his status. The first thing he noticed was the Celestial tag in his Race along with the corruption percentage rising to 31%. That was much to think about, but not at this moment.
The rank added (Iron) as well, which probably entailed his current capabilities with two apertures unlocked. Warden hadn't failed to notice how the system termed that he unsealed the hidden aperture, not unlocked it. Perhaps that needed some consideration for later as well.
Just assimilating with the Dungeon didn't entail all the increases. Opening the Gate of Spirit, perhaps? The system didn't specifically mention it, but then again, the system wasn't omniscient, nor did it show all it knew.
The Efficiency part was interesting as well, though he had no clue how the calculation was made. [The Divider] added 20% present to Strength and Spirit, and the [Dungeon Eater] achievement added 40% as well, but the rest of the numbers eluded him.
There was a new [Regeneration] ability, which he figured was always there, but the system didn't show it or was unable to determine it before.
His strength really more than quadrupled, even though there wasn't much boost to his Strength or Mind, or Spirit. The Efficiency made the attributes all the more efficient; he guessed.
For example, with 40% efficiency in Strength, he would have as much as 40% more strength than someone else with the same number in Strength.
However, the greatest achievement of them all was boosting void energy capacity to 10%. Warden couldn't imagine what he could accomplish with that. There was the new ability too, that he couldn't wait to check, but he would go to the village first.
At last, he could comfort them completely. Their problem of dire wolves was solved. They could finally leave in peace, which puts his mind at ease when he leaves the village.
Moreover, Warden had a lead to his past as well.
Find the Oracle. . .
As far as he was concerned, an Oracle can see the future, present, and sometimes even the past. The voice said the oracle, instead of an oracle, which meant there was a good chance the Oracle was someone from his past.
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