12th Floor IV
It's been exactly one week since the banquet.
After almost five hours of dancing with beautiful noble ladies, chatting, and eating, the duo was finally allowed to leave. Although they had more fun than they thought they would, neither of them wanted to repeat it anytime soon.
Over the last weeks, the capital has been rather lively as news spread that the fourth prince was making a recovery, though Orthis hasn't seen him since that day.
Besides the news of his recovery, there hasn't been anything interesting going on except one small thing.
"Back already? I expected you to come back around midnight." Orthis suddenly opened his door to see Urman sneaking back into his own room.
If there was something noteworthy about the banquet and the week, then it would be that Urman hit it off with the first princess and has been 'secretly' sneaking out to meet her. Back then he didn't make any secret of his attraction to her and didn't even hide that he was staring at her for hours.
He received a lot of unfriendly eyes for that but what most didn't notice, was that the puppet princess, Anatesa di Kersihm, also kept glancing at the not so gentlemanly swordsman. After their official dance during the ball, they met during the night almost every night.
Of course, this wasn't nearly as secretive as they tried to make it as even Orthis could see through their act, not to mention the royal mages who were constantly surveying everything in the capital. It stood to reason that the only reason Urman was still alive was that he was under Ellt's protection and that their relationship was rather innocent for two young adults, consisting mostly of dancing, chatting, and holding hands.
Orthis wasn't sure if Urman was just taking it slow or if he was aware that if he went further, he would instantly be killed. He was only allowed to have this relationship because of the fourth prince but if he took what only the husband she was going to be sold off to was allowed to take, then such things wouldn't matter.
She was a tool meant to be used to establish connections with other powerful forces and they couldn't allow her to be happy if it meant weakening the kingdom. If destroying their relationship now didn't mean causing internal conflict with the faction of the fourth prince, they wouldn't allow it at all.
It was safe to say this relationship was as dangerous and unstable as it was romantic.
"I don't know what you're talking about, I just went out to get some fresh air." Urman tried to defend himself, unaware that his dates with the princess were never a secret to begin with. "Anyway, I'm tired, see you tomorrow." He tried to close the door behind himself but Orthis jumped through before he could.
"Oh, come on. I have been patiently waiting for you to tell me yourself but at this rate, I will have a beard before you do. Tell me, how is she?" Orthis asked, suddenly becoming aware that he liked gossip more than he thought.
Knowing that he had been caught, Urman just glared at him before answering. "She's nice, gentle, and refined, the exact opposite of other girls I've met. Not to mention how beautiful she is." He kind of went off course at the end and began to stare into the air like an idiot but if Orthis were to say that aloud, Urman would remind him that he did the same thing often as well, though for other reasons.
"So you're into the gentle princess type? Good to know. And you shouldn't judge someone based on their appearance, it's what's inside that's important"
At that Urman looked confused "Isn't that just for refrigerators? How am I supposed to know their personality before I talk to them? What if they are just acting? Or do you mean that literally? Because I don't care what they look under their skin."
Now it was Orthis' turn to be silent. He didn't believe his own statement but he wanted to sound wise by just repeating what everyone told him back on Earth, clearly logic of 'modern' society doesn't work on the sane people born in the Tower.
Orthis didn't get to ask many questions before he was thrown out and begrudgingly went to bet, though he was secretly happy to have teased and learned more about his best friend. There were some things that you just didn't learn about another, no matter how many times you fight back-to-back in life-and-death battles.
The next day was the day he finally had his first class on divination, one of the classes he got after getting noble backing. Despite the subject's reputation of being unreliable, cryptic, and sometimes even being the very cause of the divined disaster, he was very interested in the subject.
The first class was just an introduction to the subject and everyone tried to predict the weather the next day by spreading some sand on the table. There were a lot of ways to divine the future as long as one was willing to see the signs.
At the end of the class, Orthis tried looking into his own future using fate cards. They were basically Tarot Cards but with a lot more cards and pictures. The results were cryptic, as usual, but also a bit concerning.
"Death, Fire, Circe, Mountain, Birth, and two other Mountains? What is this supposed to mean? Am I going to die in a volcano? Highly unlikely considering my fire immunity, the lava would make a nice bath at most."
Orthis spent until midnight trying to decipher his possible death before giving up. He didn't even take time to look into the crystal ball he was given at the end of class. Unlike other methods, looks into the future and destiny are a lot more precise than other methods, as well as deeply connected but at the same time harder to use.
Everyone was given a crystal ball to look into whenever one had time but there was no guarantee anyone would see anything, Things seen in crystal balls are more in the category of unbreakable prophecies than unsure predictions.
Two weeks passed like that and Orthis has long given up on trying to figure out his possible death and tried looking into the crystal ball. He did it for two hours every day but never even got a sign of any kind, at least that was the case until one day before he was scheduled to go to the academy's dungeon with Urman, and the two people placed behind them during the tournament, the assassin and the Dragonoid.
It was already late when Orthis decided to look into the crystal, having no expectations but already being used to the routine. At first, there was nothing until the inside of the crystal seemed to grow and get closer while the sounds from his surroundings disappeared, like really disappeared. No breathing no heartbeat, no airflow, nothing.
By the time he snapped out of his trance, he was already in a quiet, dark place. It was quiet like no sound had ever been made since the beginning of this place and something told him making a sound wouldn't be a good idea.
Time seemed to be irrelevant and Orthis felt like he had been inside the crystal for days, months, possibly even years. He tried to leave, look at his body, or do anything except just look into the blank nothingness but it was like there was nothing except this place.
That was until Orthis began hearing whispers. They didn't speak any language he knew nor could he make out exactly what they were saying but the millions, maybe more, voices grew louder until they no longer sounded like whispers but raging winds.
Just as Orthis began to have a headache that was growing increasingly painful, the sounds stopped from one moment to another and Orthis could swear that he was no longer alone. He could neither see nor feel the other party's presence but he just knew.
"H̴̡̹̤͍̙̦̞͕̠̝̲͚̰͐̌̔͑̋͆̊̀͘̚͠ȩ̷͚̜̞̯̂̇̄͛̽̽̎̿̓͝͝l̵̺͓͔̘̼̠͎͑̄̊l̷̪̆̈́̀̅̃̕o̸̧̬̬̘̥͈̫̹̪̍̿̓͊́̔̔͂͆̊̚"
The headache that disappeared the moment the voices grew quiet suddenly exploded the moment the thing made a sound with an intensity Orthis never knew was even possible. The next thing he knew was that he was lying on the floor and screaming in pain.
The door burst open and Urman ran in, only to see Orthis sprawling on the floor. He didn't hesitate to pull out some very expensive potions he got as a reward for the tournament when he saw the state his best friend was in and closed the door to stop the people outside the room from spectating anymore.
It took several hours for Orthis to wake up and even then he didn't feel well. It wasn't physical wellness or mental but even deeper, like his very existence knew he was sick somewhere but couldn't pinpoint where or with what and had no clue how to fight back.
"What happened? I heard you screaming and came to see what was going on but you were already on the floor and not responding to anything." Urman asked worriedly as he sat on a nearby chair and watched Orthis get up from the bed he laid him in.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." He said, trying to get used to the feeling like he was now an outsider inside his own body while also trying to remember what happened but most of what he recalled was just pain.
"Fine?! You were bleeding from your eyes! How is this fine?!" Urman suddenly lashed out when he was just brushed off after worrying so much and taking care of him. "That wasn't normal, even by your standards and as your friend, I think I have a right to know if this will happen more often from now on."
After a brief silence, Orthis spoke "Sorry, I don't know what happened, the memory is fragmented. I think I was just looking into the crystal ball like usual and then there was silence, then noise, and after that… something. I don't know how to describe it."
He paused for a moment trying to recall the sound from the thing he knew was there but couldn't sense. "I think it was a voice or at least a sound that was a mixture of every voice in existence plus something more. It said something but I couldn't understand it"
The more he spoke and tried to remember, the heavier his head felt and the slower his thoughts became.
Seeing how hard this topic was for Orthis, Urman decided to leave it at that for now, instead, he looked at the now cracked crystal ball and put it in his inventory. "I think it would be for the best if I got this thing as far away from you as possible"
Orthis didn't object, hell, he even decided to drop out of the divination course and take a break from trying to look into things that he clearly wasn't ready yet to make contact with. The two didn't continue on the subject and Urman convinced Orthis to go out for the night.
So here they were, sitting in a bar with some drinks in their hands and some food on the table. This was Urman's version of distraction and it was working… somewhat. While Orthis also appreciated the change of scenario, he has been feeling strange ever since he left his room.
At first, it was just incomprehensible whispers but by the time they left the academy grounds the whispers were now closer and he could swear he was seeing shadows in his peripheral vision but every time he turned around, there was nothing.
Thinking of this, he chucked down his entire glass as he began to realize his predicament and that the system message he received after the incident wasn't just empty words.
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[Trait: Eldritch Taint evolved into Eldritch Corruption]
[WARNING! Eldritch Corruption exceeded the resistance threshold. The effects will start to manifest and the corruption will continue to grow on its own]
[Eldritch Corruption: The corruption has taken root and can no longer be ignored. It's beginning to affect the mind and will continue to spread]
[Due to decreased soul quality, Magic cost doubled, and Mind to Mana multiplier was reduced from 40 to 30]
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The sudden decrease in Mana hit him hard even if it was still above the ten times multiplier normal human climbers had but he was starting to realize that this might be the least of his worries as he got the supernatural version of schizophrenia that would only continue to increase if he didn't find a solution soon.
As his future became clearer to him than ever, a sudden burst of emotions went off in his heart and he just took the entire bottle and poured it down his throat. Urman didn't say anything and only watched him in silence, even if didn't know what exactly was going on with his best friend but he could feel that it wasn't something good, besides, their goal for coming here was to get wasted anyway.
The night continued with them going from one bar to another, some people even joined them and they formed a small group. After a few hours, no one could even stand straight and they decided to go home. The moment Urman stumbled into his bed, he immediately passed out but no matter how much Orthis tried, he couldn't sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes, he felt like someone was standing above him and when he finally did fall into the land of dreams, he would immediately wake up with a racing heartbeat and sweating, clearly having a nightmare but not remembering what it was.
This continued for the entire night until it was finally time to get ready for the next day. Urman came out of his room in perfect condition, thanks to the hangover-free alcohol for climbers but Orthis looked pale with dark circles around his eyes.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked when he saw his condition. Over the night he got a better understanding of Orthis' current mental state by watching him.
Orthis didn't answer and just pulled out his spear and made his way to the academy's dungeon they were scheduled to take on today. He really needed to vent his turbulent emotions somewhere and this seemed like a heaven-sent opportunity.
"Guess that's a yes. Please tell me you won't be so grumpy for the rest of the day." He asked half-jokingly but except for a small glare, he didn't get any answer.
When they arrived at the room with the many gates that looked straight out of a webtoon, Digred and Joreon were already waiting for them but they weren't the only ones.
"You two, a word before you enter." The headmaster called them over to another corner of the room and put a privacy spell over them.
"What is it, Headmaster? You look worried." Urman asked while Orthis just continued to glance from right to left, trying to catch whatever was watching and whispering to him.
"It's nothing for now but it's still concerning. A truly massive bounty was put on both of your heads by a certain shadow organization. The only reason I can see for such a high bounty is that someone found out about you giving the fourth prince a Talent Awakening Elixir."
"How? We never told anyone and the only ones beside us who know of this are you two and what's this organization called? You seem more concerned about them than the bounty itself" This time Orthis asked.
"That's the point, this organization places so much importance on secrecy and anonymity that it doesn't even have a name, at least as far as we know. Even after almost a century of investigation, we still don't even know how they gather information, all we know is that even the royal family isn't completely safe from their reach. The information provided about you two along the bounty is also concerningly detailed, going from favorite food to your detailed fighting style and habits."
It took a few seconds for this realization to sink in. There were now assassins and bounty hunters out for their heads who now knew every single detail about them, down to the color of their underwear. This was a major disadvantage as they could now easily create a scenario where they had the advantage.
"Great, that's exactly what I was missing now." Orthis cursed
The headmaster looked at Urman, he knew of their trip outside the academy last night but not the reason "Is he alright? He seems distracted."
"Just ignore him, he's just having a bad day" Urman defended him, his problems didn't concern outsiders, even if it's their headmaster.
"Anyway, be careful and don't just leave the academy grounds like yesterday. Even if it might not stop them from getting information about you, at least you won't get attacked. And don't become careless just because you left this floor, there is evidence that they are also active on other floors."
With this, the two joined the rest of the team and entered the blue liquid-like portal, emerging in a lush green forest.
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[You entered the dungeon: East Forest of Subturio]
[Mission: Destroy all 3 Monster Stronghold to leave]
[Strongholds destroyed 0/3]
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Orthis didn't wait for anyone and just rushed into the forest alone. He really needed something to vent his pent-up emotions on and what better way than to bash someone's skull in with your bare hands?
The first monster entered his field of view and he didn't even check its information or take out his spear, he just grabbed its head before it could even react to his presence and threw it into the nearest tree with enough force to explode it. Strangely enough, the tree didn't receive any damage whatsoever but he was too preoccupied looking for the next punching bag.
For the next hour or so, he just went from one monster to another, pounding them into the ground, throwing them into each other with enough force to kill each other, or just squeezing or punching their heads with enough force to paint the beautifully green leaves red.
His team had long caught up to him but Urman convinced the other two to just let him vent for a bit longer. Orthis' rampage came to a halt when he ran out of monsters, so he just sat in the blood-covered dirt and looked into the sky.
Unbeknownst to him, he accidentally cleared the first stronghold but he didn't care about any of that at the moment because he finally saw a glimpse of hope. A way to prevent his soul from either collapsing or being taken over.
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[61 Monsters killed, Exclusive Skill: Wisdom activated]
[You gained 61 Mind stats]
[You gained knowledge about forestry, carpentry, stealth, conquest, cooking, fletching, medicine, hunting, butchering, magic, and crafting]
[Several skill proficiencies have increased]
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This was the first time Orthis had killed anything since he acquired his class. He assumed that the Wisdom skill needed his spear to work since their effects were very similar, but apparently, not.
While his Mind stat more than doubled, the increase his mind and soul got was closer to four times and it would have been a lot more if there were more monsters. 61 was actually a very low number for a stronghold but considering that none of them were weak, it balanced itself out. Even in his rampage, it took him an hour to kill them all, which showed just how strong they were.
This was a dungeon designed to challenge talented individuals, of course it wouldn't have cannon fodder inside.
With the sudden increase in his stats, his soul grew in size and quality. Due to the growing size, the Eldritch Taint seemingly shrunk as it now covered less percentage and the stronger soul slowed the corruption further.
Strengthening his soul might not be a cure but it will prevent him from succumbing any further and turning into something unnatural in the next few years. Although Orthis knew he wasn't saved, it gave him more time to find a way and that was also more than he could hope for right now.
As he just sat there, his three teammates approached him, Urman and Joreon with worry and Digred with an unreadable expression.
"Are you alright?" The dwarven assassin asked. He didn't know Orthis too well but he was a bit worried about his mental state, more so than his bloodied state.
"Huh?" Orthis shifted his attention before a wide and genuine smile appeared on his face. "Yeah, in fact, I feel fantastic. Thanks for not interrupting me by the way, I really needed that."
"No problem"
Before Urman could say something, Digred impatiently interrupted him. "Whatever, let's just get this over with, you can chat later. Why isn't the stronghold marked as destroyed yet, didn't you kill all the monsters?"
After a brief pause, Orthis answered. "I think we are meant to take the "Destroy" a bit more literally. Anyone wanna help me set up some explosions?"
At this, everyone smiled. No matter the species, which man didn't like to blow things up? Not much more needed to be said and everyone parted ways. They decided to place small magic circles around the stronghold and remotely detonate them while watching from afar. This was a very basic spell that everyone knew.
Just a few minutes later, everyone met up again and started looking for a nice place to watch the show. The main reason why it went so quickly was that there weren't any monsters interrupting them and even if they managed to place the magic circles around the stronghold when they were still alive, the spell wasn't very lethal and only caused large environmental destruction, at best it could be used as a way to distract someone.
As they all found a nice place to watch, the stronghold in the distance suddenly lit up as the first explosion went off, followed by a second, and many more after. In fact, you could even say they put up a few too many but no one regrated it and only watched every burn and be blown to smithers with satisfaction.
"Are you really better?" Urman who was sitting beside him suddenly asked without taking his eyes off the firework.
"Yes, sorry if I worried you. It's just that I never felt so desperate and helpless. Now that I think about it, these feelings felt unnatural, like they weren't mine, they were probably just an effect of the eldritch corruption. Anyway, they are mostly gone now, so don't worry," Orthis said sincerely, even revealing what had been troubling him while making sure that the other two in his team didn't listen in.
"Eldritch, huh," Urman said, his thoughts unknown even to Orthis. "Any way you better not pull something like this again, I didn't come here just to watch you have fun yourself." He said half-jokingly.
Orthis didn't reply and just watched the last explosion. He ignored the dreadful whispers behind him that seemed to be inching closer with every moment. He was enjoying the moment and wouldn't let anything ruin that.
He overcame the feeling of doom he had ever since the taint became corruption. Those feelings were now replaced by hope, this was also the first time he truly experienced the wonder of hope for himself, not just written in books.
Soon everyone got up and made their way to the next stronghold, this time together. It didn't take long for them to destroy the last two monster bases. By the end, Orthis stats increased once again as this time he wasn't blinded by anger and despair and used his spear.
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[You killed 35 monsters, Str +4, End +3, Agi +4, Mind +35]
[You gained knowledge of a lot of topics]
[Several skill proficiencies increased]
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********
{Current Status}
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[Name: Orthis]
[Talent: Sage (???-rank)]
[Race: Tower Human (Variant)]
[Class: Sage]
[Floor: 12]
[Health: 100%]
[Mana: 4560] (Mind x 40) -> (Mind x 30)
[Strength: 50]
[Endurance: 54]
[Agility: 49]
[Mind: 152]
[Skills: Spear Mastery (72%), Crafting (39%), Focus (100%), Regeneration, Presence Concealment (42%), Intimidation (23%), Meditation (11%), Wisdom, Instinct (36%), Mana Manipulation (60%)]
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