Rune Seeker
Chapter 8: Wild Dungeon

Almost two hours later, Hiral sat with the others on a Disc of Passage as it raced down a seemingly endless hall. They’d found it waiting for them in one of the two previously empty spots where they’d first arrived, and a quick swipe over the activation crystal had sent them on their way.

Nobody really said much, each person keeping to themselves, which was mostly fine for Hiral; it gave him time to tinker, until Seena left her sister’s side.

“What you got there?” Seena said, breaking the silence.

Hiral made a fist with his left hand and held it up, the crystal wrapped around his knuckles. “It’s for Right. A Rune of Impact so he isn’t always relying on one hand. I wanted to make them for his knees and feet, too, but…”

“What happens when he vanishes?” Seena asked, eyeing the crystal knuckles.

Hiral chuckled. “Exactly. This drops to the ground? They’re pretty easy to make, so I’ve got a couple for him. One isn’t a huge investment, but losing a whole set each time? That’d add up fast. Going to see how one works, then maybe I’ll figure something else out later.”

“Won’t he get more options as you unlock your runes?” Seena asked.

“There’s that, too, though he’ll never get anything on his left side,” Hiral said, pointing at the double’s Meridian and tattoo-bare side.

“Yeah,” Seena said, then shook her head. “Your Foundational Split ability has got to be the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. Left and Right are so much more than what I feel like an ability should be able to do. They’re so… real.”

“They are,” Hiral agreed. “And, more than that, they’re friends. Is it strange I’m friends with myself?”

“Yes, but I’ve been listening to you talk to yourself for quite a while now, so I’m used to it.”

“Thanks, I think?” Hiral stowed the crystal knuckles away for the moment and pulled out another foot-long bar of crystal about an inch wide. “Anyway, I’ve got something else I think you’ll like even more than the knuckles.”

“A ruler?” Seena asked, looking at the crystal.

“Exactly. You know how I feel about measurements and testing. This will make it much easier to…” He trailed off when Seena scowled at him, then just chuckled. “I’m kidding. I mean, we could use it as a ruler if we needed to draw a straight line… Okay, I’m sorry, I’ll stop! It’s to keep the rain off us.”

“What? Really?” she asked, the scowl vanishing instantly.

“Yup! I just need to wrap this bar around your upper arm. Then, when you thread some solar energy into it, it’ll activate the Rune of Rejection. See, right here.” He pointed at the rune.

“Have you tested it yet?” Seena asked, leaning in closer.

“Not yet. I just finished the set.”

Seena slowly but deliberately leaned back. “I heard about Yanily and his boots.”

“Uh… so?” Hiral asked, trying to keep his face neutral.

“This thing isn’t going to reject our arms off or something, is it? Wule can’t fix that, I don’t think.” Seena looked over towards where the healer was talking to his twin. “Hey, Wule, can you regrow limbs yet?”

“He can’t even regrow facial hair,” Nivian answered for Wule.

Wule scowled at his brother, then looked at Seena. “No, why?”

Seena looked at Hiral, then whispered out of the corner of her mouth, “Let’s test it on Nivian first.”

“Not Yanily?” Hiral asked.

“Both at the same time?” Seena offered as a compromise.

“I’ve got two.”

“Perfect. But, seriously, if it rejects their arms off, I’ll be annoyed. A sleeve is okay. Maybe a finger.”

“It won’t reject any limbs off,” Hiral said. “I promise. It’s not nearly powerful enough for that. All it’ll do is reject most of the rain about an inch away from their body. If the rain is really heavy, some will probably still get through, though.”

“Keeping any of it off us will be…” Seena started, but Left interrupted.

“We’re slowing down.”

“Oh, we’re there already?” Hiral said, standing up and looking down the tunnel. It still continued on for quite the distance, the glowing roots extending ahead on both sides.

“I believe it’s too early,” Left said. “Unless my calculations were off before we left.”

“Hiral has a new ruler you can use next time,” Seena said, elbowing Hiral in the side.

“You’re very funny,” he deadpanned, but they walked up to join Left—along with everybody else—as the disc noticeably slowed.

“There’s something ahead of us, I think,” Hiral said, a shape in the tunnel resolving in the darkness as the disc further slowed and finally came to a complete stop.

“Damn,” Nivian cursed, and Hiral couldn’t disagree.

The entire tunnel ahead had collapsed, thousands and thousands of tons of solid rock now completely blocking their way.

“Dr. Benza’s map didn’t have anything about this?” Wule asked, turning to Left.

“Nothing,” the double said.

“Can we dig through it?” Yanily offered. “How far are we from our destination?”

“At least a hundred miles, minimum,” Left said. “And, as for digging…” He just shook his head.

It was a fair question, but looking at the rock, Hiral had to agree with his double’s assessment. That wasn’t just a minor cave-in—no, the smallest rock was bigger than Hiral, while he couldn’t even make out the ends of some of the larger ones.

“We’re not getting through that,” Hiral said. “Back to the Asylum, then? See if we can find another route that’ll let us get ahead of Fallen Reach?”

“Do we have time for that?” Seena asked.

“Don’t see how we have a choice,” Hiral responded with a shrug, but before anybody else could speak up, a portal spiraled open at the end of the disc closest to the tunnel collapse.

“What’s that?” Yanily asked, and an appropriately timed notification window appeared in front of Hiral to answer the question.

Congratulations! You have discovered a Wild Dungeon – The Buried City

Dynamic Quest

Complete the Wild Dungeon – The Buried City to gain passage to the other side.

Note: Wild Dungeons are rare instances containing powerful Lost equipment and unique quests.

Note (2): Wild Dungeons appear randomly and may only be completed once.

Note (3): Wild Dungeons do not usually count towards Asylum access.

“That’s… interesting,” Hiral said, quickly reading the notification window a second time before minimizing it. “Everybody got that bit about a wild dungeon?”

“Powerful Lost equipment?” Yanily said. “Count me in.”

“It seems oddly convenient we found this wild dungeon here,” Seeyela said. “Do you think it will really take us to the other side of the cave-in?”

“Technically, it doesn’t say the other side of what,” Left pointed out. “It could just be the other side of the city.”

“Even if it does take us to the other side of the collapse, is it going to take the disc as well?” Wule asked. “Or is it just going to portal us out over empty air?” He peered over the side of the disc and into the darkness below.

“Dr. Benza may be a bit of a sadist, but I don’t think even he would do that,” Hiral said. “Again, the point of the dungeons is to make us stronger, not to kill us unfairly.”

“You think we should go in?” Seena asked him, then looked at the portal.

Hiral considered it for a moment, but there wasn’t really much to think about, so he nodded. “I do. Going back, we might find another path. On the other hand, this wild dungeon could be an opportunity to get an advanced class.”

“And powerful Lost equipment,” Yanily reminded them—again.

Seena ignored the spearman, turning to the portal and tapping her chin in thought. Going in was a risk—like any dungeon—and possibly also a waste of time if it didn’t actually get them past the collapse.

“Worst-case scenario, we lose three hours while we’re in there,” Hiral said.

“No, worst case is we all die horribly,” Wule pointed out.

“I won’t let that happen,” Nivian said, his tone cutting the joke off right there. “I won’t.”

“There’s no guarantee there’s another route available to us,” Left said. “The number of D-Rank zones connected to the first Asylum was quite limited.”

“Okay, we’re going in.” Seena then seemed to remember Seeyela was there and looked over at her. “Sis?”

“Hrm?” Seeyela said, her attention firmly on the portal until Seena called her name. She shook off whatever had distracted her. “Oh, I think it’s the right call. Since we don’t know how long the portal will stay open, or how to reopen it if it closes, I suggest we head in soon.”

“Wule, give us buffs, both of them,” Seena said. “We don’t know if we have the same waiting lobby the other dungeons had.” She then quickly cast Lashing Vines on the party.

Hiral reflexively glanced at the thorny vines wreathed in purple flames that grew painlessly from his shoulders.

You have been buffed by Lashing Vines.

Vines will make independent attacks to enemies within range for 21 minutes.

“Still pretty creepy,” he said. “Oh, duration went way up?”

“Yeah, a minute per level now that it’s D-Rank,” Seena said.

“Nice!” Hiral said, then felt two pulses of solar energy, along with a pair of notifications.

You have been buffed by Nature’s Bulwark.

Reduces damage taken by 10% for 210 minutes.

You have been buffed by Nature’s Blade.

Increases damage inflicted by 10% for 21 minutes.

“Blade got a duration increase, but Bulwark didn’t?” he asked Wule.

“I haven’t gotten Nature’s Bulwark to D-Rank yet,” Wule said with a shrug, his pair of lantern-like solar batteries now floating behind him. “Don’t use it as much as Nature’s Blade because of its longer base duration.”

“Why not just cast it again as soon as it fades, even if we’re not expecting to fight?” Hiral asked while everybody else made sure they were ready to go. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NøvᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“That’s actually a good idea. Before we started running dungeons, I figured it’d be another full rotation, at least, before I got to D-Rank. There just wasn’t the rush to level up abilities. Guess I have to rethink things.”

“We all do,” Nivian agreed, his triple-lash whip growing out of the palm of his right hand, a different element running along each—infernal fire, lightning, and flaming lightning. From his left hand, another vine grew, this one wrapping around the crystal knuckle Hiral had given him, then spiraling out to form a shield on his arm. Even at a distance, Hiral could feel the slight pull from the Rune of Attraction.

That should help make sure he blocks everything.

“Left, Right, I’ll bring you back out as soon as we get inside,” Hiral said, putting his hands on each of his doubles’ shoulders and absorbing them.

With that done, he drew his Runic Hand Cannons from his thigh-plates, nodding to show Seena he was ready to go.

Seena, likewise, pulled the tome she’d gotten from The Mire from a satchel at her waist, and the strange book immediately floated into the air beside her, opening on its own. “Looks like we’re ready.”

“Give Nivian the shoulder tap, and let’s go,” Yanily said, spear in hand and eyes practically twinkling at the thought of experience and loot.

“Let’s do this,” Seena said.

She tapped Nivian on the shoulder, and the tank strode through the portal.

Hiral watched the small party frames in the corner of his vision gray out one by one as the others stepped through.

“Hey, guys, can you hear me?” he tested through the communication magic of the Party Interface. No response, so he followed them through the portal.

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