180. The S-Rank Dungeon (XII)

The explosion rippled out from the core of the Blob King. Every squishy, stretchy fiber of its being bulged, blowing out, trembling like a balloon about to burst. Gouts of Stormfire plumed from its nostrils. Its eyeballs bulged out of their sockets, cracking with veins. And exploded in bright blue flame.

The Blob King opened its mouth to bellow or scream or whimper. But no sound came out. Only more Stormfire. Stormfire consumed the rest of it, and that great roundness was lost to the raging pyre…

It took almost half a minute of waiting there with bated breath until Stormfire had its fill, melted it to a puddle. Wisps of it dance this way and that, roaming over the remains. Like the fire was licking its lips.

Zane quenched it with a crush of will.

And a huge glut of essence poured into him.

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟠𝟜 -> 𝟙𝟠𝟝

"It's over," gasped Reina.

Relief flooded all of them, all at once. Evan gave a little cheer.

Then Zane's eyelids suddenly felt very heavy. A spell of nothingness struck him over the head. He blanked. He'd kept forcing himself on, and on, asked things of his body it couldn't give, asked things of his soul it strained to give—he frowned.

He hit the ground facefirst.

****

He later learned he only blacked out for less than a quarter of an hour. His soul felt very sore. His body was fine though.

He groaned, head throbbing. He was blacking out too much these days. He had to stop doing that. It happened when he pushed too far beyond his limits. His body broke down far before his will did.

Reina was by his side healing him as she cradled his head on her lap. She also seemed to be doing that a lot lately. She wasn't healing his body this time but his soul, spreading a soft hand over his head, washing warmth all over him.

Something had leveled up about her healing lately. Somehow she could heal him better than she could heal anyone else. She felt it had something to do with their souls. Sometimes when she looked at him like right now she felt a kind of tenderness, a warmth in her chest, she reserved just for him. It made the Skill more powerful somehow.

"Avery and Evan scouted out the rest of the cavern," she said. "We're safe. You took out the last of them."

Zane nodded.

She pursed her lips at him, brows drawing tighter a little, just looking at him with her big warm brown eyes. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, just feeling—she was feeling quite conflicted. Quite proud of him and quite worried all at once. She brushed a lock of curly hair out of her face.

She wanted to say something, but she wasn't sure what. In the end she gave just said softly, "You did well," and gave him a kiss.

He could take a guess what it was about. Whenever he got badly hurt, anywhere near Critical, Reina felt like a giant fist was tightening around her heart. Zane was only feeling it secondhand and he found it very unpleasant. She cared far more about his life than he did, weirdly.

But it wasn't like he wanted to get that badly hurt. Sometimes it was just what he did to win. They looked at each other, and they both knew they knew that. Nothing really needed to be said.

He did promise her he would never let himself die, if it would make her feel better. He wouldn't do that to her. She got a weird look on her face at that.

"Oh, Zane," she sighed. She ran a gentle hand down his face.

She moved on.

Her Skill itself had made good strides these days too, alongside her Laws. Healing him was good practice. She said she felt she was on the edge of a Concept. Something linking Wood and Earth.

Soon his soul was mostly healed. Still not all the way—a dull throbbing stayed in his head. But he was good to go.

****

They gathered before the Treasure Area. The S+-ranked Temple of Tiresias.

𝔸 𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕋𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕒𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝔼𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕤. 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕒 𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕕𝕠𝕞.

Zane had no clue what that meant. But if the Minions down here were already Level 199, what could the Boss of this floor look like? Or the Final Boss, the one whose lair was on the 4th floor?

Zane knew he could will his way through a lot, but even he had some doubts that would be enough, especially after how badly he'd been wrecked just now.

He hoped the thing in this Temple was really good. They could all do with a serious power up.

****

They crept in carefully. Avery was sure this time there was nothing left in the Chamber—she squinted at the thing for a while before declaring it. Still, that last Blob King jumpscare had left them cautious.

They passed the statue of the bearded God—Tiresias, Zane guessed. They passed the gates, stepped onto polished aquamarine floors. The walls were mottled, shifting darks and bright blues, like the deep and shallow parts of the ocean seen from a plane. Light streamed down from the open-air roof like sunlight filtering through water. It danced across the walls, making ghostly patterns.

Their footsteps echoed through the empty, cavernous space.

At the center of it all sat eight thrones. So big they seemed made for giants, ocean-blue jade, carved intricately, each with a different insignia: Trident, seahorse, kelp… they were all empty.

𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕕𝕤 (𝕊)

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕋𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕒𝕤'𝕤 ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕕𝕤. 𝔼𝕒𝕔𝕙 ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕕 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕠𝕣 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕟 𝔼-𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕟 𝕓𝕪 𝕋𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝔹𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕒 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘. 𝕀𝕗 𝕤𝕦𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕗𝕦𝕝, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕠𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕖 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕆𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕊𝕖𝕒𝕤 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕛𝕠𝕚𝕟 𝕙𝕚𝕤 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥 𝕒𝕤 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕚𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕤.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕕𝕖𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕤 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕋𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕒𝕤'𝕤 𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕗 𝔸𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕣 𝕏𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕒𝕤, 𝕒𝕝𝕤𝕠 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕒𝕤 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕤𝕚𝕥 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕒 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕒 𝕄𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕊-𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖.

Reina stared at the description for a bit, blinking, pursing her lips. She did this sometimes when she saw Alien terms, like there was some big database in her head she was updating—puzzle pieces she was fitting together and reshuffling to make sense of them.

Evan went around gasping at every one. Then he saw the thing in the middle, and gasped even louder. It was a single bowl. Simple, unadorned marble. Set on a white pedestal. A shaft of light streamed down from above, highlighting its place in the center of this strange throne room.

In that bowl was water.

It seemed like ordinary water at a glance. But the more you look at it, the more curious it became; it gave an impression of endless depth. It was wispy at the edges, vaguely ghostly. When Zane got close, it didn't even seem all the way there. This was just how it looked in the physical realm.

When Zane glanced at it in the Astral Realm, it felt like staring directly into the sun.

𝕎𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕋𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕒𝕤 (𝕊+)

𝔸𝕟 𝕖𝕩𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕋𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕒𝕤, 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕪𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕕 𝕃𝕒𝕨𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕆𝕔𝕖𝕒𝕟. 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕧𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕝𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕦𝕟𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟. 𝕋𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕛𝕦𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕦𝕟𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟.

𝕌𝕤𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕪, 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕠𝕨𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕡𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣…

Reina took one look at it and called for another break. They would take however long they needed to get the most out of this. She got a bunch of big glass vials and split them evenly—one for each of them.

They each took a throne, ready to cultivate. They each had a goal too. Reina felt very close to the Concept of Renewal. She hoped to finish up her Earth Elemental Law, then get Renewal too in one fell swoop. Her healing powers should skyrocket after that.

After that, she'd just need to nab a Wood Inheritance and she had all she needed for a Fusion.

Avery, meanwhile, had gotten her hands on a tome with her Mirage Fusion Law already. She just needed to finish up her concept of Projection. She was psyched about it.

Evan did not have anything in mind at first. He was just happy to be there. Reina told him to go try to comprehend whatever Fusion was in that Partial Light Inheritance they'd picked up. So he went about doing that.

The moment Zane sat down on that throne, it felt like he'd been plunged into cold water—the kind that shocks you awake, makes you alert—makes everything come sharper, clearer, brighter.

Then he brought out the Titan Rhino Manual, bound in a thick leather hide the color of rich stone. He wondered if it was taken from the Titan Rhino itself.

Zane needed more from his body. He needed to be able to physically dominate anything they came across.

It was time to try for the next layer.

****

 He touched the vial to his lips and drank of the Waters of Tiresias.

And it felt a lot like sitting down on that throne had just now—just amplified a hundredfold. Everything, his sight, sounds, thoughts—it all came to him as though put under a microscope; the details popped in his head. Everything flowed so smoothly now. He blinked and felt every eyelash touching the skin. It took a moment to get used to.

He cracked the tome, closed his eyes, and let his soul read it instead of his body. And a vision opened up to him...

It was the same man he'd seen before. The bald, bare-chested, scarred giant. The Barbarian Sage of the Steelheat Conclave, the one who'd written this manual.

"So!" he boomed. "You've taken the first step, disciple. You've developed the beginnings of an Indomitable Hide—and gained the requirements to try the second stage. That means you have taken in two drops of Titan Rhino blood essence."

He nodded curtly. "You are now ready for the trait for which the Titan Rhino is famous. Or infamous. The signature power of its Bloodline. If you felt that last stage was challenging enough… this stage will be a critical bottleneck which stops ninety-nine Chosen out of a hundred! Whether you succeed or fail—your fate is in your hands now."

Zane did not feel that last stage was challenging at all, actually. He noticed sometimes these old guys blustered a lot about how hard things would be, but they always ended up almost disappointingly doable. His mind stepped pretty easily around those warnings now.

"I speak... of Behemoth Muscle!" said the Barbarian Sage, eyes flashing.

He spread his arms wide. "Behold!"

The scene dissolved.

****

When it reappeared, Zane stood in a lush green valley at the foot of an icy mountain range. A mountain range that stretched from horizon to horizon, from earth to cloud, and farther. It was far too vast, too big to be anywhere on Earth.

It looked to be mid-day, mid-spring in the valley, when the trees started shaking the frost off their boughs and little leaves peeked out from once-barren branches. Everything was a little blurry, a little hazy, as in a memory.

When he sensed it in the astral plane he had to do a double-take—and even the little blades of grass here were richer than S-Rank treasures on Earth. It was a little absurd to see. Everything had so much essence, so much Law and Concept, it almost blinded his soul.

…Were those phoenixes soaring overhead? And butterflies, trailing clouds of pink and gold dust… a silver-scaled dragon…

Those had to be some strong, rare beasts.

But two in particular stood out to him. Two whose shone the brightest in the Astral plane; two who the other creatures gave a wide berth, even the phoenixes.

Two Titan Rhinos. One big one chewing slowly, peacefully. Another one, less than a quarter its size, with a little nub of a horn, happily paddling at its mother's heels, nuzzling at her legs. Mother Rhino gave it a lick.

Then she stilled.

She looked up. She snorted.

Everything began to tremble. The grasses, the trees—the whole valley. So violently the trees started to bend, giant boulders jump and roll. But it all came from above, rippling down. It came from the top of the mountains.

A wall of white roared down from the peak. Building speed, and power, and momentum at a shocking pace—an avalanche you'd never see on Earth. The sheer scope of it was mind-boggling. Ice cascading on ice—not just any ice. Every little thing there was a deep well of essence and Law. It uprooted rows of trees, swallowed lesser hills, swamped the lower peaks, dragging them into that mad rush, adding their colors to the mass…

Soon it was like the whole mountain range was collapsing. A world of dirty white descending on the valley. You couldn't even hear the creatures' screams. They were drowned out by the rumbling.

The Titan Rhino gave a snort. Its lazy eyes blazed. Its muscles stiffened—and its Bloodline began to burn.