Soon they came across a yellow dot on the mini-map amid a heap of fallen jumbo-sized trees. A beehive the size of a treehouse. Knocked over, leaking the treasure.
๐พ๐ ๐๐๐๐ โ๐ ๐๐๐ช [๐ผ๐๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ (๐ธ)]
๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐พ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ก. ๐ธ๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐๐๐๐-๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐ฆ๐ฃ๐.
Zane left most of it to his friends. He was getting plenty of essence just from Monster stomping. And they were all making good progress toward Nascentโgetting pretty close. He would feel a lot better when they also got there. Zane could attest the difference was pretty big.
Actuallyโฆ
He looked around at the whole areaโall the trees spread out about them. Still teeming with Monsters.
He scratched his head. He wasn't sure why he was in so much of a rush, now that he thought about it...
He took out his axes. Savage Edge lit the ends. Nothing had managed to slow them yet.
He tossed one to his leftโthere was a crashing, a booming, a shrieking of insects and bird-Monsters, a great tumblingโlines of trees falling over, exploding one after another, racing into the distance.
A good thirty seconds later, it came to a shuddering halt. And thenโ
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐ผ๐ค๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ -> ๐๐๐
Nice.
He did this another few times. Just chucking out his axe, and seeing what could stop him.
Nothing could stop him.
That was how he collected a handful of easy Levels on their way to the next section. And how he hollowed out vast swathes of the floor. He had never collected so much essence so easily.
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐ผ๐ค๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ -> ๐๐๐
They took a few detours, cut around to treasure areas. Harvested more of those giant beehives full of essence honey, and slurped happily. Really this floor was turning out to be one big treasure area. Zane wasn't even pumped as he went about it. It was more like a stroll for him.
Reina wondered why this floor was going so easy. Maybe whatever Monster trying to kill Zane couldn't find enemies that could stand up to him? Or maybe it had justโฆ given up? She wasn't sure.
They kept ambling along. It wasn't long before they got to the next section.
The trees started fading away. Stone totems started cropping up, pillars etched full of inscrutable symbols. Wings, heads of beasts of prey. Smooth stone slabs started littering the ground at random. Soon they started linking to vague paths.
Follow along, andโ
๐๐ ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐:
๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ ๐-๐: ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐ โค๐ ๐
A vine-riddled stone temple lay before them. Like something out of an ancient long-lost civilization. Giant serious-looking stone heads flanked the entrance.
A big yellow blot lay right in the middle of it. A treasure area.
A notification popped up:
๐ผ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ, ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐! ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ โ๐๐ฅ๐, ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅโฆ ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐ช๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐ โค๐ ๐.
It was made of big slabby stone blocks. There were mosaics carved of simple brushstrokes. Mythical beastsโthree-headed lions, burly gods riding storm-clouds. A kind of pantheon, making a massive mural stretching stone after stone. At the center of it all was a Cyclops in what looked to be a toga. One eye stared straight at them. It was holding up a three-fingered palm, some kind of gesture, as though casting a spell.
They neared the temple. Neared those two big stone heads.
The heads promptly came to life.
But they had barely moved when two flaming hammers fell upon them with all the wrath of Zane.
The heads promptly went to death.
Zane nodded at the ruins, satisfied. He had come not to trust big stone statues guarding things. His intuition turned out to be correct.
Sneaky. They were quite bird-like in that way.
โฆMaybe that was why they rubbed him the wrong way, now he thought about itโฆ
The compass on the mini-map showed they would have to go through this Temple to get to the other side. The path Zane's Axe had blazed ended here.
There was no big clusters of red dots running through the Temple. Nothing sinister-feeling. Just that one treasure area in the middle of it. It was almost too calm.
He looked to Reina, scratching his head. He wondered what was up with the place. He couldn't make much sense of that notification. She wasn't sure either. Avery put her hands on her hips, squinted for a bit. But she didn't sense any obvious death-traps.
It did seem weird, though. When Zane focused in on it, really felt the place with his soul, he felt a bit of warbling in the Astral Plane. There was a Concept there, maybe a Law, that he was not sure he had seen much before.
It felt like pretty high-up stuff. It kind of felt like the subtle auras some scrying glasses or portals gave off. But cranked up much stronger.
They all blinked at the thing for a bit longer.
Zane shrugged.
Whatever the case, he was pretty sure if he came across something unexpected he could smash it without much trouble.
He led the way up a flight of mossy, vine-laced steps. This time nothing attacked them. They went in.
The air inside was cool. The humidity dried up instantly as they passed between the mossy columns. It was as though they had entered a new dimension. Torches lit the walls, which kept up those mosaicsโthey were all linking to form some kind of long-winded story, Reina thought.
Their footsteps echoed stone halls barren save for moss and vine. The only other things there were the statuesโlittle gold ones on little marble pedestals.
๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ โค๐ ๐ [๐ผ๐๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ (๐ธ)]
Zane's belly growled.
Hm.
He grabbed one, inspected it.
This was good metal.
They seemed to be some kind of god. Very serious-looking fellow. He stuck the head in his mouth and took a nibble.
It was surprisingly tasty. Zane's sense of taste had changed more and more the more he took in Titan Rhino blood. Metals did not taste rusty and stale anymore. They all became various flavors of sweet. Some, like steel, tasted like rock candy and sugar. Silver tasted licorice. Gold dissolved in his mouth. These were like chocolate. It had been quite a while since he had good chocolate.
He finished it off in three big chomps.
After a fewโ
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐ป๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐'๐ค โ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฅ ๐ -> ๐๐
They kept going. Getting closer and closer to that big yellow dot in the very middle. Soon an open archway lit the distance. A gale of rich essence streamed out. The temple was opening up to some new area.
There were two more big heads guarding it. They barely had a chance to come to life before Zane smashed them.
They passed through the final archway.
๐๐ ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐: ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ ๐-๐
๐พ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐ฅ๐
It felt like they were wading into a lake of pure essence. So much filled the air the atmosphere could have been its own low-grade Earth treasure.
It all came from the flowers. Spread out across the breadth of the Garden, going in dizzying spirals.
Their petals were translucent, made of faintly pastel colors. And their centers seemed like motes of pure light. There was something ethereal about them, something ghostlyโlike if you touched on them, blew on them, they might just dissolve into the wind.
A description popped up.
๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฅ ๐ก๐ฃ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐ โค๐ ๐. ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ค ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ช ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐. ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ค ๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ฅ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐โ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ค๐ฅ ๐ค๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ค ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ช ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ช ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐โฆ
They all took a few moments to take it all in. The flowers were all pretty eye-catching. A few were of particular interestโ
๐พ๐๐๐'๐ค ๐ผ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ [๐ผ๐๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ (๐ธ)]
It was a clutch of Wood-Element ferns. Perfect for Reina. She was pretty close to her third Conceptโshe had been chipping away at it for a few days now.
Then there wereโ
๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค ๐ ๐ โ๐ [๐ผ๐๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ (๐ธ)]
It was like sunshine captured in physical form. Motes of it glowing on the edges of swaying flowers that were little more than tricks of light. Evan gasped.
A few were limpid lilies, trickling freshwater off their petals.
๐๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ค [๐ผ๐๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ (๐ธ)]
Avery pounced.
His friends needed a lot less essence than Zane to level up. Just these might get them to Nascent. Evan was already pretty close to Level 300โthey were all Leveling pretty fast, it felt like.
This third floor was turning out pleasantly so far.
They decided to stay for a bit and soak in all the treasures here. With how far they'd gone along, Reina felt this could be one of the last chances to rest and power-up before they went for the finish.
She called a meeting. "Let's make the most of this," she said brightly, looking at all of them. "I'll get as close to mid-Fusion as I can. You should too, Avery."
"Yes m'am!" said Avery with a salute.
"Evanโlet's take those dandelions and push for Nascent, okay?"
"Okay!" said Evan.
"Zaneโฆ" she paused, pursed her lips. There wasn't really much he could break through on right now, it felt like. He just had a bunch. They blinked at each other. "โฆYou're doing great," she said at last, and gave him a pat on the arm.
"Thanks," said Zane.
In the end Zane sat Evan down and gave him a pep talk on how to do the breakthrough. Most of it ended up boiling down to "try very very hard."
"Okay!" said Evan.
They went off to do their things.
Zane found a few Fire- and Steel-element flowers. And ate. The Steel Flowersโ'Ironhead Tulips'โgot him another Skill Level.
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐ป๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐'๐ค โ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฅ ๐๐ -> ๐๐๐
After that there wasn't much for him to do but wait, he supposed.
He wandered deeper in. Through spiraling routes of flowers, not quite sure where he was going. Just poking around idly. Soon he was convinced he'd gotten totally lost. This was with a mini-map on him. Even Zane was not sure how he managed to do this.
That was when he came across the hill.
It had no other flowers on it. Just a plain of grass, leading up to the very top. Where there was just a single flower.
๐ฝ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ [๐ผ๐๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ (๐+)]
โ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ฃ, ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ โ๐๐ฅ๐.
Zane rememberedโthe message in the temple description. Way back at the very start of this thing. Something about the end of his Path. He shuffled up to it, gently picked the flower. It did not feel, or look, or smell particularly dangerous.
He considered it for a bit. Then shrugged, and swallowed it.
Instantly he started feeling sleepy. As though he'd been struck by a spell.
He frowned. He could fight this he sensed. His Soul Pagoda was starting to act up, ready to respondโbut it did not feel harmful to him. Instead it just felt like it wanted to show him something.
So he tamped down on his Pagoda, and his urge to resist. He let the flower do its thing.
The feeling washed over him. Zane swayed on his feet, eyelids drooping. He yawned, blinked. He felt a littleโฆ
He dropped face-first into the ground.
THUMP. The whole hill shook with the impact.
He was snoring in seconds.