Dungeon Noble - Squire

Once they were out of the Dungeon, they decided to head back to the inn and split the Wyrdgeld they’d gathered.

Ari had held onto their Wyrdgeld while they were inside the Dungeon, so it was easy enough to retrieve their pouches before splitting the loot.

They ended up with an odd amount, so Nepthys took the lower number, leaving Jake and the other two with thirty-nine Wyrdgeld each.

Unlike other Dungeons they’d run, the undead one had just given Wyrdgeld out, nothing else, so the raw amount of coinage seemed to be higher.

Jake had enough now to rank up this evening, and they were going to head to the forest Dungeon after lunch, which would hopefully net him another Boon.

It all felt like it was coming together.

-**-

It was Jake’s turn to lay out everything he knew about the Dungeon as they made their way out to it, Ari once again accompanying them to the Dungeon. The older Classer would wait outside as he had before, saving them the cost of using Ivaldi’s services.

Jake had thought it a waste of Ari’s time at first, but there was a surprisingly serious expression on their instructor’s face. Jake had also noticed that Ari had tensed when they saw a pair of patrolling triarchean guards on the way to the Dungeon, which he hadn’t done in the past.

Felix had said that the guards were unusual, but perhaps it was more of an issue than Jake had expected.

Thankfully, they had no issues heading over to the Dungeon and in short order, they were entering the first floor.

The familiar forest path stretched out ahead of them, and Jake’s lips twitched into a slight smile as the other three looked around in surprise.

After his own shock at the environment of the undead Dungeon, it was nice to have it the other way around.

The rootlings on the first two floors were little impediment to the group, especially when Jake could remember where they were roughly located. There was some variance from delve to delve, but the Dungeon floors weren’t big enough that it was too noticeable.

The third floor was just as straightforward for them despite the appearance of the Spite Flowers.

After how much sap Jake had endured during his solo delves, it was satisfying to watch Alan put an arrow through the first flower they saw, killing it without needing to risk anyone getting injured.

Sadly, not all of the flowers could be dealt with like that; they were positioned in such a way that it wasn’t possible to see them before you were already in their spitting range.

Nepthys did offer to use her shield Skill to block the sap and allow them to take the flowers out without any risk, but Jake didn’t want to waste the Wyrd.

They were already on the third floor, so he doubted that Nepthys would run out with a few breaks for her to catch her breath, but that wasn’t the point.

Solo delving with Felix had reignited Jake’s desire to push himself to be the best he could be, and that meant treating these Dungeons as learning opportunities. Yes, Nepthys could remove the danger, but there would come a time when she wouldn’t be able to.

There was a risk of injury doing it this way, but they had healing available, and Jake had plenty of practice already.

Nepthys took turns with Jake once she realised his intent, using her higher-ranked speed and agility to outpace the slowly turning flowers.

The fourth floor was slightly more complex, but the return to clearings meant that Alan and Rhew focused on any flowers present while Jake and Nepthys dealt with the rootlings.

The Challenge room was much easier with more of them able to search, and they ended up splitting into pairs, letting them finish with plenty of time remaining.

The Guardian floor had been the worst for Jake; the two Enhanced creatures had stretched him to his limit. Now, however, he had a lot more support and was able to charge straight at the Malignant Tender while Nepthys, Rhew and Alan focused on the rootlings and the tendrae.

Jake didn’t waste any time in using his Hidden Fang Boon to stab the giant plant, leaving the dagger in place to continually pump poison into it before dodging around its questing roots and out to safety.

All of the energy contained in that Manifestation of his Boon was expended as it steadily poisoned the tender, but Jake considered it a worthy exchange.

With the tender dealt with, they were able to take down the remaining monsters with only a few minor wounds between them. The worst was taken by Nepthys when a rootling got onto her leg and left several tendrils in the back of her thigh when it was ripped away.

With the monsters dead, Jake took a few moments to dig out the pieces of root from Nepthys’s leg. The wound was in an awkward position, and Jake had to all but crouch down behind her with her trousers hiked up as far as they would go.

“Got it, all done,” Jake said, tossing aside the slivers of wood with disgust before gently applying some healing potion to the puncture wounds. As soon as they started healing, he got back to his feet and passed the rest of the vial to Nepthys.

“Thank you,” Nepthys said in a soft tone, downing the rest of the vial to help with a few other scratches and cuts she’d picked up.

For a moment, Jake thought that there was a red tinge to Nepthys’s cheeks, but she was quick to turn and head over to where Rhew and Alan were examining their reward.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Jake followed suit, noting that, once again, the Dungeon had given Wyrd-infused wood as part of the final reward.

The Challenge room had given them a cloth bag of Wyrdfruit once again, standing in stark contrast to the undead Dungeon, which had only given coins.

With Varin lending them his services, the materials were perhaps more valuable than the coins now, so Jake took them as his share. It did mean that he had more Wyrdfruit than he knew what to do with, but Jake was sure he’d find some use for them.

With the division of the rewards agreed on, the others left the Dungeon, and Jake went to claim his next Boon.

The Dungeon’s Throne was cold yet comforting as Jake took his seat.

Congratulations, Jake Khesh, you have bound the Dungeon Aptofir Veranis. Choose from one of the four rewards the Dungeon has selected for you.

As normal, the pedestals within the room began to glow, highlighting the options as Jake felt a familiar presence touch his mind. Forcing himself to relax, Jake felt the rush of power course from the Dungeon through to his soul and breathed out shakily.

Feeling so much power move through him was always invigorating, and Jake pushed himself to his feet with a grin before stepping down to see what Boons were available.

The first was an image of a bleeding arm, but the blood was tinged green. Whispers in his mind told him that the Boon would let him make his blood grow slightly caustic to others for a time, giving him a defence against invasive creatures.

The second was of Jake, but his skin had a rough, wooden texture to it. Unsurprisingly, the whispers spoke of a Boon that would let him turn his skin into tough bark, protecting him from being cut.

The third Boon was of an apple, bright and red with a healthy sheen that went beyond even the Wyrdfruit that Jake had seen. He half-expected it to be filled with poison or something, but the whispers told him that it would nourish and heal the person who ate it.

As always, the fourth Boon was an offering of raw energy, which Jake now knew would increase the number of Manifestations he had available.

While it was tempting to take the energy, Jake wanted a second Boon that he could actually use directly. The blood and the bark Boons were out; they were far too blatant a change for his taste.

Perhaps in the future, he’d take something like that, but for now, it seemed foolish.

The apple Boon was intriguing, though. A source of food that could never be taken away from him was valuable all on its own, but the healing part of it was what really caught his eye.

Healing potions were finite and could be damaged, so a backup like this had the potential to save a life in the right situation.

Nodding to himself, Jake took the Boon, feeling the brief taste of apple bloom in his mouth before quickly fading.

A grin spread across Jake’s face as he triggered his status once more.

Name - Jake Khesh

Patron Deity - The Great Dungeon

Class - Dungeon Noble - Squire

Tier - I

Rank - IV

Dungeon Network - 3

Plexus Strength - Minor

Plexus Manifestations - 0/2

Plexus Points - 2

Traits

Physical - Lesser Noble Constitution (I) - Rare- Descended from a Noble bloodline, you have a minor enhancement to physical characteristics.

Skills

Passive - Personal Plexus (I) - Very Rare - You gain the ability to bind Dungeons and form your own Plexus that may contain Dungeons of minor strength. Currently, Dungeons up to Tier I can be bound. Doubles the Wyrdgeld cost of advancing in Class Rank.

Patron Gifts

Passive - Agent of the Great Dungeon (I) - Very Rare - You are bound to the Great Dungeon by blood. Other followers of the Great Dungeon will recognise you and aid you as they may.

Passive - Sense Dungeon (I) - Rare - As an agent of the Great Dungeon, you are able to passively sense the location of nearby Dungeons in a meagre range.

Plexus Boons

Hidden Fang - II - Granted by the Holrswar Murk Dungeon, this Boon allows you to Manifest a dagger with inherent poisonous properties. Using the dagger, summoning it and dismissing it all draw on the power held within it on Manifestation.

Orchard’s Gift - I - Granted by the Aptofir Veranis Dungeon, this Boon allows you to Manifest an apple infused with vitality. Ingesting the apple transfers this vitality, healing and sating the hunger of its consumer.

Plexus Development - I - This Boon may only be increased in rank by choosing it at additional Dungeons, but it has no cap on its rank level. Increases Manifestations available by one per rank. Granted by the Haugask Deja Dungeon.

Deed requirement to increase Tier

1 - 5 Tier I or higher Dungeons bound

2 - Rank X

Requirements to increase to Rank V

1 - 160 Wyrdgeld

Jake read the information on his new Boon, his grin growing as he dismissed his status and headed towards the exit.

This was a solid increase in versatility for him, and while it was limiting right now, he was starting to see how quickly he could grow.