Kai even thought he saw the dragon's lips curl slightly.
When they finally collected themselves, Kai moved onto his next request, asking for a larger piece of Spectre’s shroud, only to be told he could not request the same item more than once.
That was when, as per their plan, he deferred to Alicia, who asked for something that would help keep her hidden from enemies in a fight.
The dungeon master offered her a skill book called The Art of Stealth, one with the shadows and hiding in plain sight.
They had been anticipating an item the likes of his spectre's shroud, but this was better, as items could get lost, stolen, broken or become redundant with levels, but skill could be improved, adapted and even taught to others.
At thirty thousand points, she bought it.
Kai just hoped the knowledge in the skill book was worth the cost; he would find out when he came to Alicia to find out if there was anything she could teach him.
She then requested something that would help with the cultivation of essence, its refinement core layering techniques, and core compression.
That took the dungeon master back a step when he presented advanced system action: custom core development, cultivation and automatic levelling up parameters.
They had hoped for a skill book or tome, but an actual system action, that was insane; the dungeon master even teased them with the fact it had three uses. They were over the moon, so to speak. The only issue, at their low level and early stages of their core development, was that such an item was both greatly wanted and desperately needed.
Alicia had actually been specifically chosen to make the request, as she seemed to be the least interested and as she had no real interest in gaining any new dungeon loot besides one particular item.
But despite their attempt to keep the cost of any potential item down, the dungeon master quoted a hefty five hundred and fifty thousand points.
They expected as much; such a thing at their level was invaluable. But it was also worth taking the shot; there might have just been something within their price range.
Unable to buy the system action even if the three of them had not gone mad buying what amounted to magical clothing, they hastily moved on before the dungeon master could make an offer on the dungeon keystone; they had already come to what should be their last request.
Alicia made her request for the one item she really wanted and asked for a greater runic regeneration ring for the second time.
They had discussed the pros and cons of her having such an item as an archer, ultimately deciding anything could happen and that it was best to be prepared. That, and after a little ribbing from both Syl and Kai, Alicia wanted something that they would all have.
The last time she had checked, she had been quoted a hundred thousand points.
This time, however, the dungeon master, with an eager glint in his eyes, quoted a price of one hundred and twenty-five thousand points.
Apparently either Alicia’s want or need of the item had increased since the last time they met the dungeon master. Either that or the man was taking advantage of them.
Once they traded in the majority of the loot they got from looting the abandoned village and all the cursed and trapped items from the lich’s crypt, they were still short a good ten thousand points.
The dungeon master was almost salivating.
That’s when Syl pulled out a quiver, a pair of boots, and a lot of arrows, both arcane and mundane.
The dungeon master did not look happy when he took her old dungeon rewards, putting their total points just above what Alicia needed for her own regeneration ring.
Now that they were collectively out of points, they let the dungeon master make his offer.
“As you have been quite selective with your requests and purchases, how about I give you, oh, I don't know, five hundred thousand points each? All you have to do is trade back the dungeon core.” The dungeon master licked his lips. “This is your last opportunity to gain any dungeon loot that you desire. You have yet to request a growth stone. Just imagine turning those runic rings into growth items.”
Kai took the lead, “Why do you want the keystone so much? Can you not just make your own with your access to the dungeon?”
There was another rumble from the dragon.
The dungeon master looked over his shoulder and tsked.
“If you must know, it is a restricted item; the architect, the abyss take them, set down some very strict restrictions on the dungeon keystone. I cannot reproduce it.”
“Why not just take it then?” Syl asked.
“Because that is one of those restrictions. Once an adventurer finds the keystone, it is theirs by right; only they can give it, or in this case, trade it to another.”
“You still haven’t explained why you want the keystone.”
The dungeon master sighed as he looked over his shoulder at the head of the giant wyrm. Both its eyes wide, its focus dead set on Kai.
“Let’s just say it’s to right an injustice.” He turned back to face Kai. “Now, do you want the points or not?”
Trying his best to be diplomatic, Kai said, “I’m sorry, but we already discussed it. We would like to enter the next chamber and see what it holds.”
“Are you sure I cannot convince you with-“
“Enough!” The whole chamber resonated with the deep, rumbling voice as a wave of pressure descended on the chamber.
“Damn,” the dungeon master hissed as he spun around.
The bulk of the dragon moved first, lifting off the ground as its head rose up above them, “I tire of this.”
“There’s still room to negotiate; don’t be so impatient!”
Two giant scaled arms unfurled from beneath the dragon as it got up to stand on all fours, its wings flaring only to catch on the walls of the chamber.
The mythical lizard's proportions remind Kai of a giant horned ferret with longer legs, bat-like wings and leathery, scaled hide.
“No, I tire of this.” The dragoon spoke, each word pulsing with pressure that washed over Kai, threatening to bring him to his knees.
“Trengor, please, you know me. I ca-“ the dungeon master started.
The dragon moved faster than Kai could track.
“I said,” its scaled hand came slamming down where the dungeon master was standing, “ENOUGH!”
The shock wave from the impact threw both Kai and Alicia back a few feet as Syl, in her projected form, remained unfazed. The dragon's head lowered down to her level, its amber eyes focusing down to narrow slits that locked on her.
Alicia didn’t turn away as she said, ‘Don’t do anything hasty; this guy could kill us with an errant thought. Remember everything we discussed.’
“I may not hear you. But I can sense the mana vibrate between you.” Its lips curled back to display a maw that would make a tyrannosaurus rex blush. “Keep silent and listen to my offer.”
Syl nodded.
“You needed an item capable of completing that spell; I can give you one.” Its jaw opened wide, its tongue pressed flat as a brilliant light formed in its mouth only to dim, revealing the form of a giant pearl.
Kai got up and walked cautiously to Syl’s side and examined the item.
Trengor’s Pearl.
This pearl is a physical manifestation of a portion of an ancient dragon's power and knowledge. The scope of its true characteristics remains unfathomable to the uninitiated.
Its description certainly made it sound like it would work for Syl’s physical manifestation. The only problem was Trengor’s pearl was the size of an inflatable beach ball. “Wait a minute, you’re Trengor?!”
Syl coughed abruptly, cutting Kai off. “Your pearl is indeed generous, but it is far too big-“
The dragon's jaw slammed shut with a crack, only to open again, revealing a much smaller pearl about the size of a large marble. The dragon's lips curled back in what Kai thought must be a smile.
Examining the much smaller item revealed a slightly modified description.
Trengor’s Condensed Pearl.
This condensed pearl is a physical manifestation of a portion of an ancient dragon's power and knowledge reduced to a convenient size. The scope of its true characteristics remains unfathomable to the uninitiated.
“I'm sorry, but such a trade would be one-sided. Your pearl is just too precious; you would be giving up a part of your very being.”
“My pearl would enhance any minor spell you could possibly work in ways you cannot even begin to imagine, my knowledge working to enhance your physical form in ways beyond the limits of your tier.”
Syl hesitated for a moment, licking her lips nervously as she looked over to him and Alicia.
From the look she gave them, that pearl must have been something amazing.
Catching his eye, she smiled and turned back to face the dragon, her shoulders set. “I’m afraid we already found the perfect focus… the one Lady Merribellium specifically designed the spell to work with.”
The room rumbled, and the pressure increased. Kai had to redouble his effort to stay on his feet.
The dragon snapped its jaw closed and reared back once more.
The hide of the beast vibrating, hundreds of loose scales rattling and falling free as the dragon's scales darkened to a multi-hued black, the same as Kai’s gauntlets.
The horns on its head cracked and split from a pair into a crown of four horns.
Slamming back down to all fours, Kai, Alicia and even Syl were blown back as the beast roared.
The blast shattered the sequence of barriers Sly had hastily thrown up like they were nothing but thin sheets of ice.
His ears ringing Kai struggled to get to his feet, stumbling as he tried to get his bearings. He saw the hazy figure of a giant black dragon's head, its lips curling back and nostrils flaring as it tasted something in the air as it moved between him Alicia and Syl.
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Something caught its attention as its head tilted to the side, and a set of two blood-red eyes on the side of its head locked on him.
Showing a set of vicious white teeth, it hissed, “You.” The single word was more menacing than anything Kai had ever heard in his life.
Kai reached for one of the longest hilts stuffed into his belt.
‘Kai, don’t!’ Syl cried in warning into his mind, "He will kill you the moment you show him hostility.
He halted, staring down the dragon as it slowly backed off, disappearing into the liquid smoke that billowed from its mouth.
“You should have accepted my copies offer… or my pearl. Is nothing good enough for you?” The words echoed around the chamber as the smoke condensed into the form of a man. Because I promise you, you will not like this final offer.”
A tall, pale man with sharp, long elven ears and notched lobes, his black hair slicked back below a crown of four ridged and spiked horns.
He wore a set of black scale armour that reminded Kai of Trengor’s gauntlets. The armour flexed and shifted as he walked their way through the now empty chamber. The black metallic scales wrapped the man perfectly, like a second skin with no discernible weak points.
His red eyes burned into Kai as he raised one clawed hand after another, a thick red crackling dome of mana slamming into place around both Alicia and Syl.
With a flair, Trengor raised his palms up into the air. The barriers surrounding his two team members lifted abruptly, carrying their startled occupants to float behind him as he walked ever onwards to Kai.
Kais immediately checked his connection with Syl; she was there, but just like his test with Kain, she seemed distant. ‘Syl, what do I do? We didn’t plan for this.’
No answer.
‘Syl!?’
Still no answer.
Kai chanced a look at Syl; she wasn’t moving.
It was like the time he had slowed down time around the mayor; Syl looked like she had been frozen in place.
A quick look over Trengor's other shoulder told him the same thing had been done to Alicia.
Looking back at the dragon-turned man, Kai knew he had to stick to the plan, at least what was left of it.
About to panic, Kai had to remind himself this was the final test; there was no way they would let them die now. Not after everything they had put them through the tests, the rewards, the assessment, it would all be pointless.
Watching, Trengor pulled a long, black, twisted, thrice-pointed spear that was twice as long as Trengor was tall from the air beside him.
Kai prayed to the first god he had ever known. Oh please, Atheos, don’t kill us now.
Trengor paused, coming to a stop where he stood, his head tilting for a moment before he looked back to Kai and grinned, his tongue rolling over the bottom of his fangs; his voice echoed around the chamber. “Atheos can’t save you; this may be her dungeon, but she made it my territory.” He slammed the butt of his spear into the ground to punctuate his sentence.
With his free hand he reached out to Kai, “Now, Give me the keystone.”
The words seemed soft but commanding, resonating in his mind. Kai mentally reached into his inventory and stopped.
What was he doing? He couldn’t just give Trengor the keystone.
Kai's head shot up to see Trengor waiting, his hand outstretched, expecting Kai to hand over the stone as if it was a certainty.
“No…” Kai resisted.
“” Trengor commandeered once again.
Kai anticipated the words this time; they tickled his mind, but nothing more.
He stood taller and asked for the third time through gritted teeth, “Why do you want it!?”
Trengor took a step back as if slapped. “H-How can you resist dragon tongue? You're far too weak; no one your level could possibly.”
“I’m special, now please, why do you want it?” Kai asked with all he had.
Trengor's eyes widened as Kai was hit with a wave of pressure he recognised.
The black dragon, his eyes narrowing, was examining him with overwhelming force. The power of it stripped away Kai’s willpower as he instinctively attempted to hide his information.
The spectre’s shroud turned opaque as it consumed more and more of his mana, blinding Kai as it failed to obscure him from the onslaught, the thin fabric tearing and ripping free from his face.
Trengor smiled, “Yes, you are indeed special. Who would have thought that all this time one of the lost, a fake progenitor, stands before me?” He shifted forward, and in a blink, he stood before Kai, his face mere inches away, his spear tearing through Kai’s abdomen. “Was that enough?” he said in disgust.
Kai gasped, the air knocked from his body.
Looking down at the twisted black metal pinning to the dungeon floor where he stood, he fought through a wave of black that seemed to creep in on him from his peripheral vision as a high-pitched whine filled his ears, deafening him.
His runic regeneration kicking in as a chunk of his mana disappeared, the arcane rings went to work trying to heal the wound; he found he was able to think, the black pushed back, and sound returned to him.
He watched, oddly curious despite the dangerous situation he found himself in.
Something was clearly wrong.
Trengor's spear was doing something to him, to his injury. Each time a rune from one of his rings drew close, it was burnt, the magic crackling on his skin as it fizzed and faded without doing much of anything to his injury.
His mana draining rapidly, he realised he had to do something else.
Focusing, he reached down and pulled, slowing time in the space around where he had been skewered like a fish.
“Stop that, you fool; you will confuse your nervous system and affect your circulatory system. It's a good way to send yourself into shock.” Trengor said as he stepped back, “Just give me the damn keystone, and this will be over.”
Releasing Trengor might be right; he released his mental grip on time and space and instead reached forward to get a hold of the situation.
His gauntlets fumbling clumsily as he tried to get purchase in his injured state, finally finding grip, he pulled himself up ever so slightly to try and take his own weight off the weapon, the effort sending sharp, piercing pulses of pain each time he jostled the spear shaft.
Certain that he had his footing despite the spear, he looted the weapon.
Or at least he tried to; he felt his soul ring pull on the item, but nothing happened.
Shit… He had thought that would work; Trengor wasn’t even touching it; it was in him; surely that qualified the spear as his… He needed the spear out of his gut so he could heal, or at least he hoped that was the case; he was screwed if he pulled the thing out to find its effects lingered and he bled everywhere. What was he missing?
Trengor looked at him. “Did you just try looting the spear? Putting my willpower aside, it's my spear?”
Well, that answered that question.
Shrugging, Kai summoned his best diplomatic smile and tried asking again, “The keystone, why do you want it?” biting off each word with purpose and intent, almost commanding Trengor to answer.
Trengor scowled, “You really want to know?”
“I asked how many times? I thought that it was obvious.” Kai teased as if he wasn’t in mortal danger.
Trengor's scowl turned into a frown. “I worked with Atheos to design this dungeon… It was supposed to find gifted individuals such as yourself and test their character and their drive. If they met the criteria, she would offer them her blessing or recruit them to her cause… Do you even know the value of a god's blessing?”
Kai shook his head.
“It’s not important; all you need to know is I saw the value in the work. Only when that work started killing the gifted more often than it ever triggered this side trial, we decided to test the dungeon. Send someone in to find out what had gone wrong. Being a dragon, I was able to limit my power and enter the dungeon just as any other would.”
Trengor spoke with disdain, visibly fidgeting in his agitation, his fist opening and closing as he worked his way through his explanation.
“Everything was going perfectly. I and my team encountered the rune bear; we ran, we returned, we found the keystone, and we entered the second trial.” Trengor's hands balled into fists, his gauntlets creaking with the strain.
“Day by day we worked our way through each test; my team, specifically selected by me, proved themselves time and time again. Finally we reached this very chamber for the second time; there were no problems so far as I could tell. But just when I thought everything was done, Atheos descended and asked to check our keystone. I gave it to her… and she destroyed it.” Trengor fumed, his form curling up in a primal rage, the muscles in his neck tight as his eyes burned with fury.
“She killed my team and destroyed my vessel, releasing my true form; the power I released was captured by the dungeon, empowering it to spawn on a million more worlds and run for aeons to come.”
“Why-“ Kai coughed, tasting blood; he asked, “Why would she do that?”
“Because Kai,” Trengor spat, “it was never about finding talent. You see, with each person that enters her dungeon and survives, she is rewarded by the system, the difficulty and value of the rewards only serving to multiply her gains. It may not be worth the effort when there are just a few hundred of your dungeons across the multiverse, but when there are millions, possibly trillions, those system rewards soon add up.”
Kai had a good idea how system rewards could add up.
“So you’re saying what? You need the keystone to get out, to escape this chamber and seek revenge.”
Trengor stood taller, a look of hope on his face. “No, I can leave, regain my power, call upon my allies, and shut this farce down for good.”
Kai was feeling weak; his mana was getting low, but the runic regeneration must have had some effect on the injury, as his health had stabilised and the rate at which his mana was decreasing had slowed drastically.
He needed to figure this test out and find the solution; he pressed on.
“What would happen to the three of us, left to rot, to starve or die of old age? None of this adds up. You may have stuck me with this little stick, but if you were truly hostile, I would be dead already; my challenge stone would have driven to it.” He grinned.
Trengor shook his head in clear disappointment and vanished again.
He reappeared right in front of Kai, his gauntlet hands wrapped around both of Kai’s wrists. “You’re a fool if you don’t think I am hostile.” He looked down at the dragon scale gauntlets he held in his tight grip. “You know these were mine before Atheos killed my vessel… I don’t think you deserve them; shame they’re growth items, this will hurt.”
Trengor squeezed, and Kai felt the scales of his gauntlet bind together and resist the force the man was imparting. Unfortunately that wasn’t the only thing Trengor was doing. He was infusing them with mana, an inane amount of mana, more than Kai had ever seen.
The gauntlets tried to absorb the mana that was coming in, but it was foreign to Kai’s own, and it couldn’t be converted too easily; it proved to be too much. First they began to glow and grow hot. Then the scales started to pop and crack before finally they shattered one by one, starting with the smaller scales wrapped around his fingers and then onto the back of his hand and up his forearm.
Kai cried out in agony; his arms felt like he had just dove them both into hot coals up to the elbow. But that pain was nothing compared to what he felt from his core as something inside himself broke, there one moment but then gone the next.
Trengor let go and tsked, “Yes, losing a growth item can be quite painful, agonising from what I remember; you’ll be recovering from the soul damage for a while.”
“You still haven’t killed me.” Kai said through gritted teeth.
“Aren't you listening! I’m not a copy, I’m not dungeon spawn!” Trengor yelled as he reached past Kai’s armour and pulled out his challenge stone. “This piece of shit doesn't work on me. Now give me the keystone.”
His mind tickled. Kai was really beginning to doubt.
The plan was to assume everything was a part of some test.
But he saw no way out of this; he just had to trust Syl knew what she was talking about. Not that it mattered; if what the black dragon was saying was true, they would be screwed if they handed over the keystone.
Looking at Tengor glaring back at him, he realised he was damned if he did, damned if he didn’t.
He looked up at Syl, then Alicia; they were relying on him. He gritted his teeth and tried again, “Atheos, she said others had completed the trail before us. Why didn’t you demand their keystones?”
Trengor took a step back, grasping at his own face in a moment of heightened frustration before sighing, “I’m not an evil person, Kai. I begged and pleaded. My copy, the dungeon master offered the same deals. They all refused. But when you revealed that Inego had become a god, I knew too much time had passed. I no longer have a choice; I must leave.”
If that was true, this situation, their predicament, it was all his fault. But Kai couldn’t relent now. “We need the keystone to leave; I can’t just hand it over to you.”
Trengor looked over his shoulder and snarled, “You would be locked away as I was, only woken when someone entered the trials; the others will take care of you. To you, it would be but a moment. You need only wait for me to shut this dungeon down, and you will be freed.”
“And how long would that take, days, months, years, or a millennia? You’re asking too much; Alicia will be giving up everything she’s ever known. And what if you fail? We will be trapped forever…” I can’t make that decision alone.” Kai said hoping to get the others released.
Maybe, just maybe, they would see something he was missing.
Trengor took a moment to look over his shoulder. Turning back to Kai, his eyes narrowed as a vicious smile crept onto his face. “How about I make things easier for you?” Without looking away from Kai, he reached back towards Alicia with an open palm. “You won’t have to worry about her if she’s dead.” He closed his grip slightly as if he was tightening it down around the spherical barrier surrounding Alicia.
A crack resounded around the chamber as a flare of red energy was released, the barrier around Alicia shrinking in a flash.
“Stop!” cried Kai.
Trengor's eyebrow rose. “Oh, you’re going to give me the keystone…” He looked over his other shoulder. “Or would you rather I dispose of the other one? I admit I’m a sucker for princesses myself, especially the el’viairen ones; something about them gets me all fired up. Just a little dragon fire, and I can burn the ginger one right out of your soul.”
Trengor snapped his fingers, and flames started to wick around the base of the sphere, holding Syl in place. “I tell you what, how about I kill them both and release you so that you can tell Atheos to get her skinny little butt in here so I can have a word with her.”
“Please…” This wasn’t the plan. “Stop.”
They had decided to not give up the keystone no matter what happened. It was supposed to be a test…
But Trengor had proven he was hostile. Surely damaging Kai’s soul by destroying the gauntlets, a growth item proved it, proved Trengor was trapped, proved he wanted out…
“I haven’t got eternity, the princess, the soul bond or both. Personally, I would just give up the keystone. Take your chances, look at the positives, and train with some of the best masters the multiverse has to offer. Play house in your little domain if this drags out. But don’t test me any further; I will kill the lot of you out of spite alone. I can wait for the next batch; hopefully they won't have a know-it-all, and the dungeon master can just get the keystone through trade.”
Trengor's eyes narrowed again as the flames under Syl flared again, and a crack rang out, Alicia’s barrier cracking down, threatening to crush her.
“Okay!” Kai yelled.
He couldn’t do it. Trengor would kill them. Being locked away for God knows how long was better than death; surely Alicia would forgive him.
He summoned the keystone and let it drop to the floor. “It’s yours.”
Just then Kain Merribellium appeared at Trengor's side. He turned to her, and she nodded.
Trengor smiled, raised his hand and snapped his fingers, the spear within Kai disappearing.
All the stress, the weight of facing a menacing dragon, his injury. It all hit him at once; the world closed in on him, everything turning black as the ever-present pressure of Trengor vanished.
His legs alone could no longer hold him.
Kai collapsed.