The rest of the night was spent trying to conserve my mana while Gamma was determined to master the air elental orb. I finally had to put a stop to it so I could get so sleep and actually let my core recharge. While Gamma was disappointed, they understood that the next day was Arena day. Which both they and Beta were looking forward to, and that ant begrudgingly accepting calling it a night.
Before I could do that, though, I needed to remove the dungeon from my possession again. This was sothing I was going to need to solve in a more permanent fashion, as I wasn’t big on being forced to do this every ti I left the world, especially when you considered how often it was likely I’d need to spend ti in the Arena. The good news was that Alpha was willing to stay behind this ti, as I didn’t want to force it on Corey again. Even better was that both Travelers were willing to work with them to make sure the dungeon was controlled, and with that safely out of the way, it was ti for bed.
I was woken up the next morning by loud knocking on my door, interspersed by soone calling my na. As my brain fully woke up, I finally processed who the voice belonged to. Why was Alex beating on my door so early?
“Dad, wake up. They got the gate working, and Mom is here. Pryte wants you out here now!” she yelled louder this ti.
“Ugh, alright, I heard you. I’m coming,” I said as I hopped out of bed, threw on so of the rapidly dwindling clothing I had left, and dashed out of the room. My thoughts were oddly stuck on where I could even get new clothing these days. That was before I noticed the number of people already at work. Were there normally this many people about so early?
The gate had been constructed outside, near the building that housed the Traveler’s Gate. We would likely move it in the future, but at the ti, it seed the most convenient place, as we didn’t want a direct connection to any of our current buildings. And that was where I found Pryte greeting Laura and a handful of other people coming in behind her.
“Nice of you to join us, Dave,” she said as I joined Pryte near the group.
“Sorry, needed my beauty sleep. I assu these are the various engineers?” I replied, forcing a smile. Judging by the sun, it was later than I realized. That explained all the people. Had yesterday taken more out of than I thought?
“Yeah, this should be everyone you need. I think we’ve got enough materials for the trade, too,” Connie said, sauntering up to us. “How long ‘til the next floor anyway?”
“We’ve got about an hour until Rorge is here to pick us up. Quarilyn, could you take these people to Ivan? He can start the explanation of everything we will need while we’re gone. Laura, why don’t you join us for a late breakfast before we head out?” Pryte ordered.
“I suppose,” Laura replied, shaking her head slightly as she followed us back to the dining hall.
Both Alex and John hugged her when she walked through the door. Unlike last ti, Alex seed less annoyed with her mother. I was glad for that. Hopefully, the start of the restored communications network had allowed them to talk more. That thought, coupled with the reality that this would be the most ti I had spent with Laura since I moved to Alaska, left with very mixed feelings about the future.
“So what can I expect during all of this? This may have beco commonplace for all of you, but try to rember I’ve never left the planet, let alone negotiated with another species,” Laura said, as she took a seat next to Alex.
“You will sit in the waiting room, along with , while we wait for the floor to be completed. Once that’s done, we will attempt to go find the giants. Hopefully, they will be at the sa bar we found them last ti,” Pryte answered.
“And the giants themselves? What are they like exactly?” She asked as she pulled out her cellphone and started typing away on it.
The rest of breakfast was spent with Pryte giving every detail he could think of about the Golden Mountain Hamrfists and the giants that made up the faction. I had no idea how much of it would be useful, but at the sa ti, I fully recognized her abilities in diplomacy. I had seen Laura talk many a professor into a higher grade, and she hadn’t found herself working for the United States governnt by accident. She was incredibly good at what she did, and I hoped that would make the difference in what we needed to do here.
Interestingly, as we filed out for the porter, none of the humans, Laura included, seed taken aback at the sight of Rabyn. I wasn’t sure if it was because of how differently he tended to dress from the other Orcs, or if they just assud that if he was with us, that ant he was an ally. I didn’t want to question it, in case it dispelled any illusion that he just wasn’t an Orc. At the mont, it was best to leave his species unsaid.
With Grant and Yorela’s addition, the squad was slowly climbing to fifteen. At this rate, we might be fielding a full unit before the fiftieth floor. Hell, maybe soday we could even have a second squad.
“Everyone ready?” Rorge asked. He was standing near the gazebo. It felt like we had built it so long ago.
“Yep, thanks, Rorge,” Pryte replied, giving the large man a nod.
The hostead around us vanished, instantly replaced by the familiar waiting room we had claid as our own. Laura handled the transition better than Grant, who looked ready to vomit. But within monts, he seed to steady himself.
“Ah, glad to see you all back. It’s also good to see that your squad has grown. I was always worried about you with so many empty spots. Still, I hope you find another four, but I think for today, you should be just fine,” Floor Master said, as they led us toward the already open door.
“Wait, four? Wouldn’t that an we had eleven? That’s not right.” I turned to ask Floor Master about the extra, and spotted l having entered the darkened hall with us, just before the door closed.
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“Took ya long enough ta notice. Figured it was ‘bout ti I stopped expecting y’all to risk yer lives without ,” the cloud man replied, a giant smile plastered across his face.
“Well, this should be quite interesting. When did you manage to get yourself registered, lhelm?” Elody asked.
“Ah, told Pryte ta add when he added the other two, but wanted it ta be a surprise, and the look on Dave’s face has made it entirely worth it,” he replied, the smile still there.
The blackness vanished before anyone could question him further. We were suddenly all falling through the air, as a large white cat with wings swooped toward us. It screeched and opened its mouth wide as it approached. And then the fight was over. l had produced a single halberd and sohow launched it like a spear through the creature’s form before it could reach us. The room area faded back to black as the experience notification popped into view.
!Combatants Defeated!
Colossal White Jaycat
x1
1.8E16
-Experience Gained
1.8E16 Points
Arena Bonuses
Floor 11 Cleared
1.024E12
-Experience Gained
1.8001024E16
Multipliers Applied No Armorx1.1No Weaponx1.1Unoccupied Squad Positionsx16Overwhelming Victoryx10Do a Little Betterx1.5-Total Experience Gained5.2274973696E18 Points
That was two things I hadn’t been expecting. Apparently, the growth orb even affected experience gained in combat. I had left it on just for the added training benefits of the fight, not that there had been any of those. Then the fact that l had ended the battle before it had really kicked off was sothing else altogether.
“Sorry, wasn’t sure I still had it. Next ti I won’t do it all myself,” l said as the door opened.
“That’s a bit of an understatent. We barely even registered what happened out here before it was over,” Pryte replied.
“It is an honor to see lhelm of Halberd back in the Arena, sir,” Floor Master said.
“Yeah, enough of that, didn’t like it before, and sure as hell ain’t gonna start now. ‘Sides, that monster wouldn’t have stood a chance against any of us. Save yer damn awe for when I really do sothing impressive.” l’s color had shifted pink as he spoke.
I kept Beta and Gamma secure in my System storage, knowing both of them would be unhappy about how quickly the fight had ended. Though l did have a point, based on the experience, I imagined that fight would have paled to what we had fought on the floor before. Still, the addition of l was a welco one.
“l, just how powerful are you?” I asked. He couldn’t have been on Sanquar’s level, but I thought he was certainly above us at the mont. Then again, with my new orb additions, who knew?
“Don’t really know the answer. It’s been a long ti since I had this level of exposure ta a cloud tree. Didn’t think I had a lot of ti left in when we first t Dave, but now, well, now a lot has changed, and I’m gonna make it all worth it,” l replied, his color shifting back to green.
“I’m honestly not sure what to say. What the hell even was that thing?” Laura asked.
“A White Jaycat, whatever that is,” I answered, not that I really knew the answer. It had looked like soone had sohow turned a dragon into a fluffy white cat.
“I have no idea why that was the creature that made realize how real this all was, and not the many odd companions you’ve gained, but it did do it. Nothing is ever going to be the sa again, is it, Dave?” Laura asked, her face a mask of calm.
“Nope, but once you get used to it, there is a bit of fun behind it all.” I gave her a half smile as I said this. “Now co on, it gets even stranger once we leave this room, and we’ve got so giants to find.”
The Core Symbiosis Initiates are an illegal order within the Spiral. Officially, Spiral representatives claim to have wiped them out, but considering how little is known about their mbership, that seems an impossible claim to prove. They are, or were, a group of people who allowed dungeon cores to bond with their own soul-core reaction. This supposedly granted them much higher powers, but the cost seems incredibly high. Can you truly trust a dungeon core not to turn on you?
Orders, Both Secret and Public of the Spiral by Qquauqq
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