Char just sat for a few minutes. She listened for any sign of vines or flesh-puppets, but all was quiet. Lulu leaned against her legs, on alert. Her tail occasionally thwapped Char’s head, but she didn’t mind. Char was hoping that the dungeon would give them a little time. In video games, once a dungeon room was cleared, it would stay empty, and she hoped this one worked the same. The aliens seemed to have taken their designs from Human culture, so there was a chance.

  It didn’t matter. Not really. She was too hurt and too tired for another fight. The dungeon would either give them time to rest, or they would die.

  She let her head thump back against the wall and stared at nothing for nearly a minute. Then she yawned a wide, jaw-cracking yawn. She shook her head and opened her notifications.

  Your skill [Swords] has advanced from Novice to Apprentice.

  Your Skill [Swords] has advanced from Apprentice to Proficient.

  When diplomacy fails, there’s always the sword.

  __________________________

  New skill learned:

  Mana Manipulation

  Beginner

  The most basic skill of the aspiring mage, or anyone who

  wants to use a light stone.

  She’d been expecting the sword skill jump, but the mana manipulation skill caught her by surprise. At first, she couldn’t figure out why she’d gotten it, but the flavor text gave her the clue she’d needed. So, it was mana that she’d moved to use the crystal. That seemed like it would be a pretty useful thing to know.

  After that were dozens of kill notifications for Vasculex Flesh Puppets, and she swiped past them quickly. Those weren’t what she needed to see. She hovered over the next notification, the one with the red border.

  Suddenly, the metal grating under her was digging painfully into her butt, and she realized that Lulu was shivering against her legs. Her throat was dry and raw, and the goop on her clothing was drying and crusting over, making her itch. Her brain was paying attention to everything around her, every reason why she should ignore the notifications and go deal with something else. She thought she could have ignored it all and forced herself to look at the notifications if Lulu hadn’t been one of the things needing attention.

  If she was this tired, Lu had to be exhausted. She was being a good, brave girl, her eyes scanning the darkness around the walkway, her ears perked up for any sound, but that tremor… It made Char’s heart ache. They needed to find a place where they could both truly rest for a few minutes. Or all night. Might as well wish for a tropical vacation, Char.

  She looked left and right along the catwalk that ran against the wall. She’d assumed that once the mini-boss was dead, this spot would be safe, but even if the world was running on video game logic now, that didn’t mean every game worked the same. In some games, the boss room would stay clear, but in others, the boss would respawn after a time. There was no way to know which sort of game this was. Hell, the aliens had missed or mixed up a bunch of things already. There was no telling what assumptions she might be making that were completely wrong.

  She was afraid that she might not be thinking clearly. Stress and exhaustion had to be taking a toll on her decision-making. Her emotions were all over the place; she could feel the tears and self-pity wanting to break for the surface, and she clamped down on them. Rubbing her face, she took a deep breath. Sitting here second-guessing herself wasn’t going to accomplish anything.

  The vines and puppets were staying away for now. The layout of the walkways let her see in all directions, and the grating would make noise if anything approached. Short of finding a maintenance closet to hole up in, this was as safe a place as they were likely to find. She stroked Lulu’s ears and whispered calming nonsense to her, trying to offer as much comfort as she was able. They sat together for several minutes, watching the darkness, listening for any sign that there were enemies approaching. Char took the time to just breathe. She felt ragged around the edges. Lulu’s fur was soft under her hand, and she was a warm, comforting presence pressed against Char’s legs.

  Lulu’s shakes subsided after a time, and Char knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. She pulled up the first notification that she didn’t want to look at.

  You have successfully resisted the effects

  of an unknown mutagen.

  ——————————————————————————

  Aetheris paid.

  Experience total reduced.

  Deficit must be repaid before

  new levels can be earned.

  ___________________________

  Congratulations!

  You have partially awakened the heritage of your blood.

  Your DNA contains traces of 4 partial Aetheris-reactive bloodlines.

  Your bloodline percentages may not exceed a combined total of 100%.

  You may choose to cultivate a single bloodline and purge the others at any time.

  Bloodline influence total may not exceed 100%.

  Upon reaching 100%, you will be required to either choose a single bloodline,

  or you may attempt to combine two or more existing bloodlines.

  Your bloodlines and their initial gifts are as follows:

  Nahual — 8% — Primal Grace

  Thunderbird — 16% — Child of the Storm

  Vanir — 13% — Lesser Foresight

  Tuatha — 6% — Lesser Truesight

  Total Bloodline influence: 43%

  ———————————————————————————

  Warning!

  You are attempting to form a Pure Spirit Core.

  Pure Spirit Cores are restricted per

  Dominion Edict.

  Succeeding in creating a Pure Spirit Core

  will result in immediate termination.

  _________________________

  Enforcement overridden by Root.

  __________________________

  Congratulations!

  You have successfully formed a Core:

  Pure Spirit Core — …

  Error!

  Core expression suppressed.

  —————————————————————————

  Core inversion initiated by Root.

  Caution!

  Core inversion will slow the growth of your Core.

  Core inversion cannot be easily reversed.

  Attempting to reverse Core inversion without proper

  guidance may lead to irreparable damage

  or death.

  ——————————————————————————-

  Congratulations!

  You have successfully formed a Core:

  Echoform Core — Legendary

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Tier 1

  An Echoform Core is an affinity-neutral core

  Known to enhance the chosen Domain Affinities of its owner.

  Effects may vary depending on the chosen Domain Affinities.

  ————————————————————————————

  New Title Earned!

  — Soul Savant (Gold) —

  You have created a Core before reaching level 20

  Awakening a Core without affinities to anchor it

  is a bold and dangerous endeavor.

  Succeeding deserves recognition.

  Willpower +5, Effectiveness of Willpower +5%

  Spirit +5, Effectiveness of Spirit +5%

  ___________________________

  New Title Earned!

  — Early Adopter (Unique)—

  You are the first on your world to create a Core.

  Pioneer or reckless fool,

  you forge ahead on new paths.

  Spirit +10, Effectiveness of Spirit +10%

  Resilience +5, Effectiveness of Resilience +5%

  The two new titles were amazing, but none of the rest of it made a lick of sense. Who was Root? Is this system running on some alien version of Linux, or is that just a translation quirk? Or is it something to do with actual tree roots? Why had they overridden a death sentence for her? Had her bloodlines made the Core, or had it been made for her? Why was a Pure Spirit Core illegal, and why did it say she had an Echoform Core now? What even was a Core? She wanted to scream with frustration.

  “If they want to train us, why isn’t there a textbook? Or a user manual? I’d even take Ikea-style assembly instructions. None of this makes sense.” The core was an ember burning deep within her. She could feel it, but if she were asked to, she couldn’t point to any particular place on her body and say, “It’s here.” For the first time in her life, she could tell the difference between her body and her ‘self’. Her ‘self’ included her body, but there was more to it. What more there was, she didn’t know; she didn’t have the words to describe the feeling of being something more. Every time she tried to pin down the sensation, her thoughts ran in circles trying to find the right way to think about it. How do you define something when you can’t find the shape of it?

  Her health bar slowly ticked up, but she needed it to move faster. She stroked Lulu’s ears and whispered to her to keep watch. Then she closed her eyes and tried to meditate. She couldn’t slip into that state of calm, though. This place was too dangerous. Every sound made her strain to hear the cause. Every air movement made her flinch. Each time Lulu shifted against her legs, she braced for a bark or growl to follow. It was no good. With a sigh, she opened her eyes.

  There was a pair of bracers in the loot from the Devourer. More armor had to be a good thing. She pulled them out of her inventory to check them out.

  [Pulsevine Bracers]

  Leather (Medium Armor, arms)

  Reduces the effect of poison by 25%

  Conditions: Humanoid. Body rank E or lower.

  You meet the conditions to use this item.

  They fit her as if they’d been made for her. That made her wonder where the loot was coming from. Were the aliens making this stuff on the spot somehow? She wasn’t going to complain about bespoke gear, but it was breaking her brain. She pulled up her stats to see what had changed while she gave her body a few more minutes of rest.

  She’d grown a bit since she’d last looked at it. Paying the Aetheris hadn’t set her back any levels. She could only assume, based on the glitchy kill message she’d seen, that Aetheris was the name for whatever it was she gained when she got experience. She had to have been pretty close to level 20 after all of the vine-puppets she’d killed, and now she had to earn it all back. “Stop complaining, Char. You’re alive.”

  There was a new tab on her interface for her bloodlines, but she decided to check it out later. Her health bar was three-quarters full, and Lulu had been more tired than injured. They needed to get this done. With a grunt, she pushed herself to her feet. Lulu chuffed and wagged her tail, but it was a half-hearted wag. “Yeah, I’m with you, girl. A meal, a bath, and a good, long nap. We’re going to have to earn it, though.”

  There were two more glowing spots in the cavernous room. One was directly across from their current location, and one was at the back of the room. The one at the back of the room was larger and seemed to flicker occasionally, as if something large was moving and blocking the light. “Yeah… that isn’t happy-making,” she muttered. “Smaller one first, I think.”

  The trek across the factory floor turned killer maze was both easier and harder than she’d anticipated. Char jumped to the tops of the machinery often to scout their path, so there weren’t as many wrong turns and dead ends, and they were able to make faster time. The monsters had gotten more dangerous, though.

  Now they had thorny vine-tentacles, and they moved faster. Her new bloodline gifts let her end each fight more quickly, but she and Lulu suffered more cuts and scratches, whittling down their health more with each encounter than the blunt fists of the earlier puppets. She loved the new gifts, for all that the mystery of their origins made her uneasy. The new instincts for combat from Primal Grace gave her a better feel for how to move to take advantage of openings or avoid a blow. She was able to react without thought, and, combined with a split second of Foresight, she found herself flowing through the fights, anticipating the movements of her opponents with efficient grace.

  As long as she could stop overthinking everything.

  Figuring that out was a frustrating and painful lesson. Her first few fights weren’t much different from the earlier ones, and she couldn’t figure out how she’d managed the smooth flow of her fight with the Venus Flytrap from Hell. She tried to analyze every motion, to find those easy reactions, but that just made her clumsier.

  It stayed out of her grasp until they were attacked by four of the thorny vine-puppets at once. When she didn’t have time to think and analyze, only to move and fight, the grace came back. New instincts moved her faster and smoother, responding to the twinges of danger from Lesser Foresight more efficiently than she could react with conscious thought.

  Things were going well for most of the trip, but about three-quarters of the way to the next glow, the puppets started to change. Their skin was thicker, almost bark-like, making them harder to wear down once their tethers were cut. Some of them were able to fling thorns from their lashing vines. Fighting them got more challenging, but was still manageable. Blood loss was a concern over the long haul, but the thorns didn’t do much damage individually.

  Until the poisoned status condition flashed up on Char’s HUD. She groaned. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. It was in the name of the dungeon.”

  You have been poisoned by

  Blightresin

  Lose 1 HP per second for 120 seconds.

  Secondary effects unknown.

  Stacks.

  Three of them had hit her so far. The skin around each thorn was red and puffy, and a burning sensation radiated outward from the wounds. She pulled them from her shoulder and thigh as soon as she had a chance, but the damage was done. Lulu took the vine-puppet that had fired them to the floor, and Char finished it off. She ran her hands over Lulu’s sides and legs. There were a couple of thorns, but none of the poisoned ones.

  They weren’t too far from the source of the green glow. Char decided that this was a good place for a short breather. They would wait at least until the poison wore off. She opened her inventory and pulled out a water bottle and the [Resist Poison] potion.

  The potion was odd. There were two liquids in the bottle that didn’t mix. One was a thick pale teal, and the other was the color of green tea. It didn’t matter how much she shook it; the liquids broke up and rolled around each other in globs, but never mixed. She examined it:

  Potion of [Resist Poison]

  Consumable. Uses 1/1

  Poison resistance increased by 50%

  for 30 minutes.

  That was different from the bracers. The bracers reduced the effect of poisons, and the potion increased resistance. If she was interpreting that right, then the poison she’d already been hit with would probably be doing a little more damage, or last a little longer, without the bracers. With the potion, fewer of the thorns should be able to affect her in the first place. Maybe.

  She drank half the water, and Lulu finished off the rest. Char was worried about her. They didn’t have anything to keep her safe from the poisoned thorns. If Char could have given her the potion, she would have. They would just have to be careful, and Char would need to watch Lulu’s status more closely. A couple of stacks wouldn’t be too bad, but too many could kill them before they realized it.

  The three stacks she had were going to do 360 points of damage over two minutes. Her max health was 455. Three stacks were the most she could take at any one time, and she’d need time to get that health back. She had one [Weak Healing Tonic], and she didn’t want to use it unless she had to. Looking at Lulu lapping water out of her little yellow water bowl, she revised her estimate. She couldn’t afford to take more than two stacks. If she had to heal Lulu, she was going to need that buffer.

  The two of them backtracked to a dead-end Char had spotted on one of her scouting climbs. It was short, but it would hopefully keep them from being spotted by any wandering vine-puppets while she waited out the poison and got some health back. She settled into a cross-legged position, but decided that it was far too dangerous to try to meditate while they were in the maze.

  By the time the poison had run its course, her whole body was itching and burning. She had a sneaking suspicion about the secondary effect, as well. Near the end of the two minutes, she’d started to see faint colors at the edge of her vision, and wispy motion-ghosts if she turned her head too fast. They were faint, but unless she was so tired that she was starting to see things, it had to be the poison doing it. That was from three doses, but the colors didn’t fade for several minutes after the damage effect stopped. Full-blown hallucinations in the middle of combat would be the mother of all bad trips.

  Why was she doing this? She’d come into this dungeon to get stronger, and she had. She wanted to get rid of the corruption, but that had been a secondary concern. Her eyes focused on the path that led towards the green glow, where there would likely be a mini-boss waiting for them. There would be another, stronger boss after that. Was she strong enough, fast enough to do this without getting herself or Lulu killed?

  She swirled the [Resist Poison] potion and watched the two liquids dance around one another. She’d gained skills to resist pain and mental attacks. Could she gain a skill to resist poison? “Lulu, what do you say we do a little hunting before we tackle the mini-boss? I want to try something stupid.” She pulled in a deep breath, squared her shoulders, breathed out slowly, and hoped that what she was about to do wasn’t too stupid.