A number of hours had passed since Elias had pried the three Aberrations from his flesh. Their yellowed fangs causing as much pain on the way out as they did on the way in—but he had eventually removed them all. Now, he was sat with the three corpses opposite him, each one serving as a trophy of his well-fought battle. Well, he had thought that until he used his skill 'scan' on one of them.
[Name: N/A – Race: Rat, Corrupted – Tier: 1 – Level: 1]
"Level one, really…?! Huh…" he thought as a wave of disappointment and irritation washed over him. For a few moments, he'd pictured himself an adventurer—vanquishing formidable Aberrations. Turns out, he'd wrestled with the lowest of the low. "Bar myself, of course."
The euphoria of the victory drained away as he rested his head against the altar. He'd finished the fight with no mana and had regained only a few points since. His Essence was at zero and he was far from perfect condition. His distinct lack of power, despite his training was evident—and he had eventually put it down to his 'partially-awakened' status.
His only real solace was that he'd finally found something in this damnable labyrinth; more than that, something within him had awoken. Both hands were held against his own chest as he felt 'something' it was as though he was resonating with the room somehow. His instincts were pulling him towards something and he couldn't work out what.
Once he'd composed himself, following his disappointing evaluation of the rats, he stood and turned to the obsidian altar beside him; the squared plinth came to his waist with the one-winged statuette raising to his shoulder. Now that he could see it clearly, it was captivating; it called out him—a shiver ran down his spine and he refocussed. The wing was so detailed that he could make out each individual feather depicted within the carving, it was as though the wing of a miniature harpy—or whatever creature it represented—had been perfectly preserved in stone. The Statuette pulsed with a faint inner light, imperceptible until now, its crimson hue was almost, enchanting.
An inexplicable yearning surged within him. His heart thumped in his chest and he knew he should act with caution—but, "Why should I?" he thought.
"Because it could be a trap?!" he responded within his own mind.
From his experience so far in the catacombs, it could be and usually was, but the urge he felt to reach out to the statuette was strong. It was as though the light within was calling out to him—combining that with his natural curiosity he could sense a disaster ahead.
He reached out and his fingers brushed the stone. A wave of warmth washing over him—it wasn't like the heat of a fire, but instead a deep, comforting warmth. It felt so; natural.
The surface of the statuette, previously cool and smooth thrummed beneath his fingers, energy within the carving pulsed like a heartbeat. He didn't feel any danger, only a growing appetite for the warmth it gave him.
Then came a deeper warmth, it began at his fingertips and moved quickly; embracing his forearms, then his shoulders. The energy touched upon his neck, face and eyes and his vision tinted crimson.
He felt a smile spread across his face as a System Prompt flashed in his periphery, his eyes locked on the wing in front of him as the thump within his chest grew louder.
Rectangles appeared on the altar's smooth faces, almost edge to edge, starting at the top and with each pulse of energy another set would appear below the last, identical in height. As more energy flowed into him, the edges transformed into solid blocks of obsidian as they protruded from the altar. The statuette in the centre began to sink as the obsidian protrusions pushed out.
"This is not good…" Elias thought as his eyes opened wide and he tried to pull his hand back—he couldn't.
As a small surge of adrenaline released a pulse came from the altar—it quelled the rush of sanity as quickly as it came. He felt as though his whole body was being submerged in a hot bath, each of his muscles beginning to relax and every worry he had began to fade as one word flashed in his mind.
Power.
Elias's smile turned into a toothy grin as he understood, the overflowing feeling within him was power, pure unadulterated power. It was intoxicating, the edges of his vision shimmered in crimson tones; he didn't care.
"I want…more!" he laughed
What felt like an eternity of euphoria began to fray as a tremor ran through him like a sudden discord in the harmony he had experienced. Then, a loud click sounded out.
The energy flowing into him ceased. Elias felt the warmth within him remained but the hold over his psyche did not.
"What the fuck?!" he grimaced as he pulled back from the altar, his unnatural smile disappearing immediately.
A sense of foreboding wrongness filled him, and he brought the two notifications flashing in his periphery to the forefront.
[Essence: 112 / 5 – Warning: Probability of adverse effects – Likely]
"Shit!" he cursed as his mind drew straight to 'Corruption Core', his innate ability—he didn't need this right now, he barely understood the power—curse, in the first place; he didn't need it playing around with whatever unholy altar sat in front of him.
A second notification waited and he steeled himself to read it, it was different from the others he had seen, its outline was emblazoned with a beading of gold and silver, the background was a translucent crimson. He ground his teeth together as he read the text:
[You have activated Dungeon of Orus – Dungeon difficulty adjusted within bounds for Tier: 0, Aspirant. – Please note: Dungeon of Orus is not a Tier: 0 dungeon and will contain foes above your Tier]
"What the fuck?! No, thank you!" he swore as he looked up, a crackling noise emanating from ahead of him—as he looked he saw a swirling vortex of crimson energy forming behind the altar. Jagged streaks of orange enveloped it like vines and pulsed like veins. The air around it grew frigid.
Without hesitation he shook his head and turned on his heels, "Uthred can stick that gem of his!" and he began to pace towards the open doorway.
As if the System had read his thought, one more prompt appeared, accompanied by the System's neutral drone.
[Quest: Survive – Part 2 – Do not enter the portal: 0 / 1 – Reward: Favour of the System]
He took two more paces with a small, self-satisfied smile—"It was the only decision that could be made!" he thought smugly as the System had finally shown the decency to reward logical thought.
The prompt began to flicker.
His feet moved slightly quicker as his heart sped up, the door was still open and only ten or so paces away.
The prompt cracked like smashed glass—"No! Come on, don't do it!" Elias said as he almost began to run towards the door. Was the system mocking him? Did it have a sense of humour? "Obviously not!" he thought, "This is not fucking funny!"
Through the cracks emerged a crimson light that enveloped the notification, restoring it with a darkness that sent a cold chill throughout his body. Cursive text washing over it as a voice, deep and guttural engulfed him:
[Quest: Survive Part: 2 – Enter the Portal: 0/1 – Reward: Power – Failure: Death]
The door a few paces in front of him shut—he sprinted, reaching the door and he pulled. Nothing. He punched, kicked and slammed into the door—Nothing. It didn't budge at all.
"For the love of Uthred's cursed gods! WHY ME?!"